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Chapter Text

Remus knocked once and without waiting for an answer entered Sirius' room. The lone occupant was sitting on the chair, his elbows propped up on the desk and his face buried in his hands.

"What are you doing here, Remus?" Sirius spoke from under his hands morosely. Remus wasn't surprised Sirius had guessed who he was. He was the only one who entered Sirius' room besides himself.

"I'm just checking up on you, Sirius," he muttered quietly as he sat on the bed facing his friend.

"Well, I'm fine, so you can piss off!" Sirius ground out harshly.

Remus sighed. "I'm sorry about Molly. She doesn't know how much Harry means to you."

Sirius looked up from his hands and Remus was saddened to see the despair in his already haunted eyes. "If it wasn't for Harry, I don't even know why I would live anymore," his voice broke as he whispered.

"Don't say that!" said Remus quickly.

"You don't know what it's like for me, Remus. I've loved Harry from the moment I held him. I would do anything for him! Hell, I would give myself up in Azkaban if it means he can be safe and happy. And for her to just throw it in my face about what an irresponsible godfather I was, that's just…" Sirius broke off shaking his head, lost for words.

Remus sighed as he put an arm on Sirius' shoulder. He understood where Molly was coming from. She had given Harry some semblance of family and acceptance when he was neglected by those miserable excuses of a family. But Sirius was the one who was appointed by James and Lily as their replacement, if ever anything happened to them. And even though Sirius had been unable to fulfill that duty for more than twelve years, Remus did not have it in him to hold it against Sirius. One need only look at Sirius to understand how much Harry mattered to him.

God knew, Sirius still blamed himself for what happened to Lily and James and for abandoning Harry. Sirius thought he deserved Azkaban, which in Remus' opinion, nobody did — least of all someone as innocent as him.

Sirius did not need Molly to be blaming him when he did that perfectly well himself.

"I'll talk to Molly. Don't get yourself worked up over this," Remus said consolingly.

Sirius looked up at him sharply. "Don't, Remus! She's not half-wrong now, is she? And besides—," Sirius hurried when Remus opened his mouth to retort. "—I wouldn't want to make it awkward between the two of us when she graciously feeds us and helps us clean this vile place. I am thankful for that and for giving Harry what his aunt and uncle didn't all these years. She is right about that. She has done more for Harry than I have."

Remus felt his heart ache at his best friend's predicament. Sirius had escaped Azkaban for Merlin's sake, just because he knew Wormtail was living very close to Harry. He had left his freedom and had come back as soon as Harry had said 'his scar had twinged a bit' and lived off of rats of all things. He had agreed to a life of being locked up in this nightmare of his house, just so he could be close to Harry. If that didn't speak of how much he loved Harry, he didn't know what did.

Remus shook his head. "That's not true and you know it. She has given Harry acceptance and affection, but you are giving up your life every day for him. Don't sell yourself short, Sirius."

Sirius still looked dejected, but he nodded.

Remus clapped him on the back as he stood up. "Sleep well, Padfoot. Harry's here just like you wished for. Enjoy it."

"Night," came his hoarse whisper as Remus left the room and Sirius to his own thoughts.

The next night, after Harry, Hermione, Sirius and the Weasleys had tired themselves for the entire day cleaning out the drawing room, they congregated in the dining room for dinner. They were all pleasantly chattering when Harry felt ready to go to bed. He had the beginnings of a headache and was wondering how he could make his leave when he saw Sirius getting up saying, "Well, I'll best be off to my room. Good night, everyone."

Quickly, Harry got up too, abandoning his almost empty dinner to follow suit. The occupants of Number 12 Grimmauld Place waved or murmured their goodbyes to Sirius and Harry's retreating forms.

Sirius turned towards Harry when they were going up the staircase. He looked at Harry and nodded upwards before walking upstairs. Intrigued and wishing to be alone with Sirius, Harry followed him to the topmost landing. There was a room with a plaque bearing simply the name, SIRIUS. He pushed open the door and led Harry in before shutting the door.

Harry watched in fascination at his godfather's childhood room. It was large and spacious with a carved headboard, a tall window framed with long velvet curtains. A candle-lit chandelier hung from the ceiling and the walls were so full of pictures that Harry could hardly make out the wallpaper. The Gryffindor banners stood out valiantly from the rest of the house, no doubt in rebellion to show how different he was to them.

Harry smiled when he saw the pictures of the four Marauders; there were also many pictures of motorcycles and bikini-clad muggle girls. Harry raised an eyebrow at that and was surprised when Sirius laughed.

"Drove my mother nuts to see that! I put a Permanent Sticking Charm just so she couldn't take it out even after I was gone," said Sirius mischievously. He gestured for Harry to sit when he spoke, "I wanted to speak to you last night, but… well, I didn't have the chance. So how are you doing, Harry?"

"I'm doing alright — I guess. Other than not getting any news all summer, I mean," said Harry shrugging before sitting on the foot of the bed. Sirius sat down, leaning against the headboard and faced him with a thoughtful look in his deadened eyes.

"I meant, how are you doing after the tournament, Harry?" said Sirius softly. Harry froze and looked away from his godfather.

Sirius sighed. "Are you having any nightmares?"

Harry contemplated saying 'No' but figuring Sirius deserved the truth from him, decided to be honest. "Yeah," he nodded, feeling a dull flush creeping up his cheeks.

Sirius leaned forward and put a hand on Harry's shoulder comfortingly. "That's nothing to be ashamed of, Harry. Everybody has their own nightmares."

Harry looked up at Sirius, wondering if he should tell him about the dreams he was having almost every week about dark corridors, but then decided against it. He chose to instead tell him about the nightmares that made sense to him. "It's just — Seeing their faces, talking to them — It's bad enough seeing Cedric dying every night. Why do I have to see them too?"

Sirius' eyes widened a fraction before he leaned forward and pulled Harry into his embrace. Startled, Harry felt himself stiffen but then relaxed into him, soaking in the comfort that Harry had never been privy to. Sirius' hand was on Harry's neck and he was stroking the back of his head gently.

"I'm sorry. If I could, I would douse you in Dreamless Sleep Potion, but you know that doesn't help," said Sirius softly, his voice echoing as a rumble from Harry's position with his head on Sirius' chest.

"I know," whispered Harry, his heart racing with affection for his godfather. He gently leaned back from Sirius whose eyes were filled with sadness, yet unmistakeably fond.

Harry wondered if it was okay for him to tell Sirius how nervous he was for his hearing. Harry didn't want to bother Sirius with his petty anxiety but he didn't have anyone else who he could go to. While he battled within himself, Sirius had already noticed Harry's expression.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius, ducking his head lower to look at Harry properly.

"If I'm expelled, can I come live with you?" said Harry, looking at Sirius hopefully.

Sirius looked pained. "You won't be expelled, Harry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But, just say—"

"Then I will gladly take you in," said Sirius firmly. "If you're alright with staying in this foul place," he added looking around him with a grimace.

Harry felt some of his anxiety ebb away. He would have a home to go to even if Hogwarts was taken away from him.

"I'm sorry you have to be stuck here," said Harry apologetically. He hated that Sirius was stuck in a house he had loathed growing up, but secretly Harry was very glad that he was here or Harry could never had gotten to see him.

"Though not as much as I would be if you thought I'd turn down the chance to be with you," chided Sirius half-heartedly.

Harry felt his lips tug into a smile but broke off in a yawn. Sirius clapped him on the back. "Off to bed then. Or Molly will have my head."

Sirius watched Harry leave his room, his dour mood ever since he had gotten here lifting at the mere sight of him. He could handle staying in this wretched home if it meant Harry could be with him.

Briefly, Sirius remembered that night more than a year ago when Harry had finally trusted and believed in him.

That one glorious moment, when he'd jumped at the idea of staying with Sirius. And then, everything went downhill a minute later because of Wormtail.

He sighed. Would he ever get to give Harry the home he deserved?

Chapter Text

Dumbledore had just arrived, rounding up the Death Eaters, invisible ropes binding them. Mad-Eye Moody was crawling towards Tonks, attempting to revive her.

Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of green light missed him narrowly as he dodged it out of reflex.

Harry's heart went to his throat as he released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, yelling 'Stupefy!'

He watched as Bellatrix ducked, then, her eyes widening in realization that Dumbledore had arrived, started running up the steps. She turned and her face full of malicious pleasure, carelessly threw a bolt of purple light behind her at Harry.

It was coming at him so fast, and before Harry could even think of anything, someone had pushed him aside.

A loud crack, was heard as Sirius fell to the ground, and gave a shout of pain. Bellatrix cackled and turned tail. Harry saw Lupin helping up Sirius, who was gasping, out of the corner of his eye. Enraged, Harry bolted after her. He couldn't let her escape, he couldn't let her roam free when his godfather had to hide…

Lupin was shouting at him "Harry, wait!" but Harry ignored him.

She aimed a curse over her shoulder, but Harry easily deflected it with a shield charm. She ran on towards the next door and Harry followed.

Ginny was in the room, helping Luna who was groaning. Bellatrix aimed her wand at Ginny who froze.

Quickly, Harry yelled, 'Expelliarmus!' but Bellatrix had whipped up a shield, easily deflecting it, then ran towards the door.

Determined to not lose her from his sight, Harry bolted after her again and entered the corridor with the revolving walls. Bellatrix tried to slam the door she was leaving through, but Harry was quick. He yelled, 'Aberto!' at the door and the door flew open before it had even closed. Harry ran through it to find the corridor that led to the lifts stretching ahead of him, torch-lit and empty. He ran forward and could see a lift clattering ahead; he sprinted up the passageway, swung around the corner and slammed his fist on the button to call a second-lift. It jangled and banged lower and lower; the grilles slid open and Harry dashed inside, now hammering the button marked 'Atrium'. The doors slid shut and he was rising…

Harry would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit of foreboding, going after Bellatrix alone. But after everything she had done, Harry would hate himself if he had a chance to catch her and the only reason that had stopped him was because he had been too scared to take it.

Besides, she wasn't going to kill him. He knew Voldemort wanted to finish him off himself. Of that he was certain.

After Voldemort and Dumbledore had stopped duelling, and when he was sure Voldemort had decided to flee, Harry made to run out from behind his statue guard, but Dumbledore bellowed, "Stay where you are, Harry!"

For the first time, Dumbledore sounded frightened. Harry could not see why: the hall was quite empty but for themselves, the sobbing Bellatrix still trapped under the witch's statue and the baby phoenix Fawkes croaking feebly on the floor—

Then Harry's scar burst open and he knew he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance—

He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape—

And when the creature spoke, it used Harry's mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move…

"Kill me now, Dumbledore…"

A familiar voice echoed distantly, calling for him.

Harry wanted to call back to him, wanted to shout for help. Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again…

"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy…"

Let the pain stop, thought Harry… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this…

Harry felt rough hands holding him, the same voice talking, pleading to him. Though Harry couldn't see him, Harry recognized him immediately.

A surge of emotion filled him as Sirius held him and ran a hand through Harry's hair. He felt the creatures coils loosen, and the pain was gone and he slipped into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Sirius was running as fast as possible, holding a hand to his side. Bellatrix's hex had broken a rib on his right. After a couple of tries, Kingsley had been able to mend it but the spell-work had been clumsy in his haste. His side was bruised and felt very sore, but he couldn't think about himself now. Harry had gone after Bellatrix and Sirius had to get to him as quickly as possible.

What was Harry thinking going after Bellatrix?

It took quite some time to cross the spinning room. He tried a couple of doors before finding the one that led to the lifts.

He slammed the grilles of the lift as it shuddered; he could already hear shouting and sounds of crashing from above. Hoping Dumbledore had reached Harry already and was protecting him, Sirius was shocked and surprised at the sight that met him when the lifts shuddered to a halt.

The Fountain of Magical Brethren was broken to pieces with parts of it lying randomly on the floor. Bellatrix was being held back by the statue of the witch and she was watching in horror at Harry.

Harry was screaming and yelling, his tortured cries echoing in the large Atrium. His eyes were screwed shut as a dark wave of something erupted from his chest and shot at the golden statue near him, which cracked and was thrown away. Dumbledore stood frozen, watching Harry as if he was afraid of him. Sirius had never felt quite as scared as he was when Harry spoke in a high, cold voice, "Kill me now, Dumbledore…"

Realising what Voldemort was doing to Harry, a sob threatened to break free of him as Sirius called out to him, "HARRY!"

Dumbledore's head snapped towards him but then turned almost immediately again towards Harry, who was curling in on himself. Tears were streaming through his eyes that were screwed shut against the agony that he must be feeling. Sirius ran towards him, unable to comprehend how to help his godson, unable to simply stand and watch.

Harry's eyes opened and Sirius nearly recoiled when he saw them. They were gleaming red and Harry spoke again in the same voice that sounded both like Harry as well as Voldemort. "If death is nothing Dumbledore, kill the boy…"

Sirius fell on his knees beside Dumbledore who was staring at Harry, frozen.

Harry yelled as he brought up his hands to his head.

"…stop..." Harry's whisper was hoarse and pleading, but unmistakeably his own voice. Tears sprang to Sirius' eyes as he tried to hold Harry; Sirius could feel every muscle in Harry's body, wound tensely as he yelled in agony. He realized Harry was fighting him, Voldemort, inside his head.

Sirius ran his hand through Harry's hair in an attempt to soothe him and with his face inches from Harry's ear, he whispered, "Harry, you can do this! You can beat him! Come on!”

Then, Harry yelled and his body was thrown away by an invisible force to the floor. His glasses flew away from him and he abruptly stilled. Sirius was sure his heart had stopped beating as he froze in horror. He knew what happened to the people that Voldemort possessed and also what happened when Voldemort left them.

Fearing the worst, he called out to him, hands slapping his face. "No! No, Harry! Wake up!"

He put his hand to Harry's cold, clammy chest and almost slumped in relief when he felt Harry's heart hammering wildly.

He heard lots of footsteps as a horde of people came running out of the fireplaces, the green flash of the fire reflecting eerily off of the polished wooden floors. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone Disapparating. He looked up to see it was Voldemort, who had appeared out of nowhere to take Bellatrix with him.

Dumbledore put a hand on Sirius' shoulder as he murmured, "Is he—?"

"Alive, he's alive!" Sirius breathed out in relief. He couldn't even bring himself to care that he was sitting in the Ministry of Magic in front of more than fifty Ministry officials and might as well be trapped. All he could feel was the relief that seeped into his bones that Harry was alive.

Sirius watched as the tiny gold statues of the house-elf and the goblin, leading a stunned-looking Cornelius Fudge forwards.

"He was there!" shouted a scarlet-robed man, who was pointing at a pile of golden rubble on the other side of the hall, where Bellatrix had been trapped only moments before. "I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!"

Fudge was shocked and baffled by what he had just seen.

"If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, striding forwards so that the newcomers realized he was there for the first time. "—you will find several escaped Death Eaters contained in the Death Chamber, bound by an Anti-Disapparition Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them."

"Dumbledore!" gasped Fudge, beside himself with amazement. "You—here—I—I—"

He looked wildly around at the Aurors he had brought with him and it could not have been clearer that he was in half a mind to cry, 'Seize him!'

"Cornelius, I am ready to fight your men—and win, again!" said Dumbledore in a thunderous voice. "But a few minutes ago you saw proof, with your own eyes, that I have been telling you the truth for a year. Lord Voldemort has returned, you have been chasing the wrong man for twelve months, and it is time you listened to sense!"

When Fudge finally relented and sent two Aurors to the Department of Mysteries to check on the others, he seemed eager to discuss what had happened here.

"We can discuss that after I have sent Harry back to Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

"Harry—Harry Potter?"

Fudge wheeled around and stared at Sirius who was crouching on the floor beside the wall, holding a limp Harry in his arms.

"Sirius Black!" he pointed comically at him, put his other hand to his chest. This time, he really did yell, "Seize him!"

About a handful of Aurors moved forward when Dumbledore stepped in between Sirius and the Aurors.

"He is no more a Death Eater than you and I, Cornelius. It is time you stopped blaming every attack that has happened so far on an innocent man and face the facts."

"Dumbledore, even you must know that he is a deranged mass-murderer—"

"Sirius is innocent," said Dumbledore simply. "I have known that for two years now. You will give the order for holding his rightful trial within the end of the week."

Fudge apparently confused by this turn of events could say nothing but, "Rightful. Ha!"

"I will explain everything," repeated Dumbledore, "when Harry is back at school."

He walked away to the place where the golden wizard's head lay on the floor. He pointed his wand at it and muttered, 'Portus.' The head glowed blue and trembled noisily against the wooden floor for a few seconds, then became still once more.

"Now see here, Dumbledore!" said Fudge, as Dumbledore picked up the head and walked back to Sirius carrying it. "You haven't got authorisation for that Portkey! You can't do things like that right in front of the Minister for Magic, you—you—"

His voice faltered as Dumbledore surveyed him magisterially over his half-moon spectacles.

"Harry?"

Sirius' question, though murmured, was audible throughout the hall. Harry was stirring in his arms, eyebrows furrowing as he opened his eyes. Sirius felt relief sweep through him as he saw that they were not a gleaming red, but their usual bright green.

"Sirius?" his whisper was hoarse and Sirius, still deep in worry for him, managed to smile.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Sirius helped him to sit up. He handed him his glasses which he put on with shaking hands. He had a look of utter confusion in his face. "Wh-What happened? Where's Voldemort—?"

"He's gone, Harry. Come on, up you get." Sirius hoisted Harry up to his feet and he immediately leaned towards Sirius, obviously unable to support himself. He was shivering and Sirius couldn't help but worry how clammy his skin felt through his shirt.

The bright, white flash of a camera startled him as he snapped his head in the direction of the flash. He scowled as he tried to position Harry away from the idiot man with his camera.

Dumbledore was sweeping his way towards Sirius again, holding the golden wizard's head that was a Portkey.

"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, peering at Harry through his half-moon spectacles.

Harry nodded. Sirius knew he was lying, if the way he was holding on to him was any indication.

"Take this Portkey, Sirius," Dumbledore said looking at Sirius, who nodded.

"Now, look here, Dumbledore! Black is an escaped convict. You can't just—"

"I will not hear more of this!" said Dumbledore, his tone impatient. Though Dumbledore had not turned away from Harry to look at Fudge, Sirius was certain Fudge had just taken a step back in fear.

Dumbledore held out the golden head to Sirius who took it. Harry placed his other hand, the one that was not holding Sirius, on the Portkey.

"I shall see you both in half an hour," said Dumbledore quietly. "One… two… three…"

Sirius felt the familiar sensation of a hook being jerked behind his navel and everything disappeared as he was flying forwards in a whirlwind of colour and sounds, with Harry safe by his side.

Chapter Text

Harry's feet hit solid ground; his knees buckled a little and Sirius quickly helped Harry to the chair as he took the other one, "How are you feeling?"

Chapter Text

...

"That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

Harry closed his eyes, remembering the intense pain, worse than he had ever experienced in his life that had taken him when Voldemort had possessed him. He remembered the agony he had endured and involuntarily shuddered. The weight of Sirius' hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.

Sirius was here, safe and alive.

Not exactly safe, seeing as the entire Ministry had just seen him in the open. Anxiety rose within him and more to just stave off the inevitable, Harry asked, "The end of the prophecy… it was something about… 'neither can live…'"

"'…while the other survives,'" said Dumbledore.

"So, does that mean that… that one of us has got to kill the other one… in the end?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore.

Harry looked away and watched the sun rising, hearing voices outside the office, perhaps of students going to the Great Hall for an early breakfast. He felt miles away from those people, and for a moment he selfishly wished he was one of them, without the burden of a prophecy and a murderer hell-bent on killing him.

"I feel I owe you another explanation, Harry," said Dumbledore hesitantly. "You may, perhaps, have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess… that I rather thought… you had enough responsibility to be going on with."

Harry looked up at him and saw a tear trickling down Dumbledore's face into his long silver beard.

Abruptly, Harry stood up. Sirius looked startled, but Harry wanted to get away from this room; he wanted to get away from himself, he wanted nothing more than to be away from it all.

"I'm going for a walk," he mumbled and before Sirius could get up, he had walked away from the office, the door clanging shut.

Dumbledore watched Harry scrambling to leave the room. He perfectly understood Harry's need to be alone. Sirius got up immediately and went to the door. He turned the doorknob but it remained shut. He turned to look at Dumbledore inquisitively.

"I believe his accidental magic made it so, that we did not follow him," said Dumbledore, resignedly.

Sirius, still with his hand on the doorknob, said, "He shouldn't be alone right now. There's no saying what is going on in his head."

Just then, an owl swooped into his office from the open window and dropped an official-looking envelope on his desk. Dumbledore opened it and read through the letter. It was an official summons for Sirius and also the date of a trial had been decided.

He relayed the information to Sirius, who looked as if he had forgotten what the consequences were to his little trip into the Ministry.

"I promise you, Sirius, I will do everything in my power to get your name cleared. I owe you and Harry that much, at least," said Dumbledore, with quiet conviction.

Sirius was looking at him with a faraway look in his eyes, before he nodded. Dumbledore waved his wand and the door to his office opened. Sirius left without a backward glance.

Dumbledore sighed as he put his face in his hands. He knew how much Harry meant to Sirius and he to him and felt a pang of guilt. The decisions he had made in regard to Sirius and Harry were no doubt two of the biggest mistakes he had made in his life. They had been far too alone and deprived of each other and that was partially his fault. Lily and James would not have approved of what he had done so far in regards to their son.

He stood up from his chair and walked towards the window, taking in the beautiful view of his school. The grounds were empty and the trees in the Forbidden Forest swayed gently, rustling its leaves.

He felt so old and burdened, but it was a burden he had to take, if Harry would ever have a chance at a normal life. He owed it to him after everything Dumbledore had put him through. Harry was already growing up and it would be foolish to deny him his godfather any further.

Even as he thought so, his mind was leaping to what the consequences of Sirius being freed and getting his legal guardianship would do to his plan. He had no doubt it was something the both of them would want. Harry would lose the blood protection from his mother if he left the Dursleys. But, he could not deny that the blood protection was a barrier that Voldemort had overcome last June. It certainly did not protect him from Dementors last summer. He could not deny what Sirius had insinuated, the neglect Harry was facing at his house. Was it worth risking Harry's safety?

He gazed at the Black Lake, mesmerized at the dance of sunlight in the sparkling water. He watched a lone figure walking up to the lake. He had no doubt who that was and it saddened him deeply to see him walking hunched forward, his hands in his pockets. One boy should not have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

A loud bark echoing across the grounds caused Harry to turn around and the familiar bear-like dog bounded up to him. It sniffed his hands, and Dumbledore watched as Harry absent-mindedly scratched behind its ears, both of them walking silently up to the lake. They didn't return for a long while and Dumbledore made up his mind.

Chapter Text

Sirius left Dumbledore's office and quickly transformed into his Animagus. He didn't need unsuspecting students yelling murder at him and Padfoot's senses were of much use in tracing Harry. He followed the familiar scent out of the Entrance Hall, a couple of students shrieking at the sight of a giant dog his size.

Padfoot paid them no mind as he trotted onto the grounds which were relatively empty at the early hour. The lone boy in school robes walking away from the castle was enough for him to deduce that it was Harry. He gave a loud bark and Harry turned to look at him. He bounded forwards and sniffed his hands. Harry understood the gesture as he patted his head and he continued walking in his intended direction with Padfoot beside him.

When they reached the lake, Harry found a secluded spot behind a couple of bushes and sat down. Sirius shuddered involuntarily at the sight of the lake. The last time he had been here, he had been surrounded by hundreds of Dementors ready to Kiss him and his godson had saved him. Guilt surged in Sirius; he should have been the one saving his godson, he was the one who was charged with protecting Harry. And he hadn't been able to do the single thing James and Lily had entrusted him with.

He changed to human and sat beside Harry. They sat like that in comfortable silence for a long time, each in their own thoughts, each taking silent strength from the other.

After about half an hour (it felt like ages to Sirius), Harry spoke, "Can we just run away somewhere? Out of the country?"

Sirius' steel-grey eyes were swallowed in sadness. "If you wanted to, we could do that."

"But that doesn't change anything, does it?" said Harry, pulling at the blades of grass.

Sirius sighed heavily. "No, it doesn't."

Harry looked thoroughly dejected as he mumbled, "It's just — I didn't want this — I just wanted to be…"

He sighed, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Sirius understood; it was really tempting to take Harry out on his suggestion and away from this war. He was certain James and Lily would have wanted their son to have a normal life with the only thing worrying him being homework and exams and girls. If everything he heard from Remus were true, his godson had not had a single normal year at Hogwarts. But it was also out of his hands. Voldemort had made Harry out to be his mortal enemy and there was no hope of changing that.

He wrapped an arm around Harry. "Look, you're not alone. I promised your parents I would look after you. Now I know I wasn't in your life for entirely too long, but I intend to keep that promise. I would die rather than let you face him alone."

Harry shook his head and spoke in a strangled voice. "Don't say that. I don't want you to die for me too! When I saw you in that vision, for a good couple of hours I thought… I thought you would be gone!"

Sirius was startled to see Harry's eyes were rather bright and he pulled Harry close to him. "But I'm here now, so don't you worry. It's going to be alright. You'll see."

Harry found himself believing Sirius though only half-heartedly. He heard people streaming out into the grounds, talking and laughing. He felt so isolated from them all; he had always been and always will be a marked man…

He dreaded returning to Privet Drive in a week's time. For the first time, he felt very opposed to going there again. He did not want to leave his godfather, not when he could be with him in Grimmauld Place. He didn't think anyone but Sirius could understand what he was feeling and the idea of staying away from Sirius was unappealing.

Harry felt like a punch to his gut when he remembered that Sirius was going to be produced in a trial.

"What about you? What's going to happen to you now?" asked Harry worriedly.

Sirius smiled weakly. "Dumbledore received the message just now that I will be tried in five days."

Harry froze and he pulled away from Sirius to look at him properly. "What? But Fudge won't let…he won't believe..."

Sirius looked away from Harry and watched the lake, looking thoughtful. "Well, the Ministry did get a good glimpse of Voldemort last night, so they know Dumbledore was right all along. There is hope that I will be freed. I think."

Harry did not like the uncertain tone of his voice. Sirius sounded almost resigned and Harry was filled with the urge to do something.

"I can testify. I can tell them the truth! You're innocent! They can't just throw you away in Azkaban again," said Harry vehemently.

Sirius gave a humourless smile. "I appreciate that, Harry. But I doubt Dumbledore would agree. Besides, he promised me he would do everything in his might to help me clear my name."

"Well, he should," Harry said forcefully and Sirius chuckled.

"Until then, can — can I come stay with you?" asked Harry.

Sirius' eyes widened before he frowned. "You mean you want to leave Hogwarts today? There's still a week before term ends and the trial is before that…"

Harry nodded, averting his eyes. "I don't want you to be alone right now."

Which was only partially the truth. He didn't want to be alone right now.

Sirius looked up at Harry and smiled sadly as if he understood just what Harry had thought, before he nodded. "I think we should talk to Dumbledore."

Harry did not want to talk to Dumbledore again so soon and he nodded reluctantly. If he wanted to leave school before term ended, he had to ask permission.

Harry got up to his feet and watched as Sirius transformed into Padfoot again. Harry remembered just then that he was yet to see his friends after last night. "Listen, why don't you go along to Dumbledore's office? I just need to make sure Ron and Hermione and the others are alright. I'll be back right after."

Padfoot gave a bark of agreement before they both set off. The grounds were now filled with students on a Friday morning; as OWLS were over  but other exams were still going on, there were fewer students than usual. As Harry walked up to the castle, people turned to look at him, pointing and whispering. Padfoot growled and Harry played idly with the thought that they were pointing at the great black dog which looked like the Grim and not him. One could make wishes.

They departed in opposite directions - Padfoot bounding back up to Dumbledore's office and Harry went to the Hospital Wing.

Sirius entered the office and Dumbledore motioned for him to sit. "How is he?"

"Upset," said Sirius shortly. He noticed the folded up Daily Prophet lying on Dumbledore's desk and half of the front page had the headlines screaming in large letters: HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS!

"I would be surprised if he was otherwise," said Dumbledore, inclining his head forward.

"He wanted to go out of the country," said Sirius, watching Dumbledore for his reaction.

The slight widening of his eyes was the only clue to Dumbledore's surprise but Sirius hastened, "But he knows it's futile. He just needs some time to come to terms with it."

Dumbledore nodded slowly and sighed. "I did not want to burden Harry with this prophecy so soon. He is still too young. He deserves a normal childhood."

"But Harry has never had a normal childhood; not at Hogwarts and certainly not at the Dursleys," said Sirius brusquely.

Dumbledore acknowledged that with another incline of his head, unable to disagree.

Sirius looked shrewdly at Dumbledore, as if daring to challenge him. "I'm taking Harry with me to Grimmauld Place. Today."

Dumbledore frowned but Sirius continued, "He said he didn't want to be alone right now. And he's right. He shouldn't be forced to continue as if he's back to normal when he clearly isn't, Dumbledore!"

For a long moment, Dumbledore surveyed him over his glasses, contemplating his answer. With a great sigh, he finally relented. "Very well. I would not say I didn't expect this."

Sirius was so gobsmacked that Dumbledore was agreeing to him, that he was startled when Dumbledore then called out, "Dobby!"

A crack and a house-elf appeared, but it was the oddest house-elf Sirius had ever seen. For one, he had never seen a house-elf dressed in such gaudy layers of colourful clothing. The elf gave a polite bow to Dumbledore who said kindly, "Dobby, I would like you to take Harry Potter's belongings from his common room to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Can you do that?"

The elf bobbed his head enthusiastically and Sirius was amused as the tea-cosy that the elf wore for a hat wobbled frantically. "Yes, Professor Dumbledore sir, Dobby will be honoured to serve the great Harry Potter."

With another loud crack, the elf vanished and Sirius looked quizzically at Dumbledore who replied, "Dobby can be trusted. He is very much loyal to Harry and would not betray his secrets."

"And do I need to know why?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps Harry will tell you later," said Dumbledore with a smile in his voice. His tone became serious again when he said, "On another note, Sirius — your trial. Are you sure you are ready for this?"

Sirius nodded and though his face was void of emotion, the tremor in his voice betrayed his anxiety. "I haven't got any choice, have I? It's my only chance of getting legal guardianship of Harry."

Dumbledore stared at him when Sirius said vehemently, "You didn't think I would let Harry go back to the Dursleys, did you? Now that Voldemort has Harry's blood, Lily's protection seems to work only when Harry is inside the Dursley's house. And you let him come to Grimmauld Place last summer anyway. It's not worth even one month of safety for Harry to stay there any longer. Voldemort is out in the open and I have a fighting chance to get myself cleared. And the first thing I do when I'm free is to get Harry's guardianship cleared out of the way. He is never going back there! I have neglected my duty to Harry for too long, Dumbledore, and I do not intend to do so further!"

Sirius was glowering at Dumbledore who seemed really calm for someone who was being shouted at. Sirius felt his anger ebbing but he continued to stand his ground.

Dumbledore murmured quietly, "I must let you know that this course of action is not my first choice…"

Sirius cut-in sharply, "He's my godson, Dumbledore. You can give me your opinions but it is ultimately my decision."

"I know, Sirius. Which is why, I agree. As I said earlier, I will do everything in my power to get you a fair trial. I also have Harry's best interests at heart," said Dumbledore softly.

Sirius hardly thought Dumbledore had his priorities right in regards to Harry. Harry needed to be safe, yes, but Harry also needed to be happy. What was the point of life if you weren't living?

He wisely chose not to comment and nodded instead when there was a knock outside the office.

Harry entered the Hospital Wing and saw five beds occupied. Ron, Hermione, and Neville were fast asleep. Ginny and Luna were awake, propped up on their beds and chatting amongst themselves. They looked up at him as he entered and gave cries of greeting.

"Harry! Where have you been?" said Ginny, putting down the Daily Prophet that she had been reading.

"Hello, Harry," came the mild voice of Luna Lovegood. She was looking at him with those wide eyes that always managed to make him discomfited.

"Hi Luna," said Harry as he sat down on the edge of Luna's bed which was the nearest. "Listen, about last night, I'm sorry I took you to the Ministry and led you into a trap…"

"Don't be silly, Harry. You told us not to come, but we insisted. It's not your fault," said Ginny, waving away his apologies.

"I think it was good of us to go. Everyone knows about You-Know-Who now," said Luna, her eyes wide as she pointed at the Daily Prophet lying on Ginny's lap.

"Er… right," said Harry, unable to come up with a good response to that because in a way, he knew she was right. "How are you both doing by the way?"

"Oh, we're okay," Luna said distractedly.

"Madam Pomfrey put us back in a trice," said Ginny, nodding. "She is still a bit dazed," whispered Ginny, jerking her head towards Luna discreetly.

"And what about them?" said Harry, pointing at his other friends.

"Madam Pomfrey says they'll be fine," said Ginny. "She fixed up Neville as soon as we came. Ron needs to be applied frequently with Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction. She said 'thoughts could leave deeper scarring', whatever that means. And Hermione, well, it could have been worse. But Dolohov's curse was non-verbal so the damage was lesser. I heard her say she'll need to drink ten different portions for a couple of days."

Harry felt guilt rise in him again when Ginny saw his face and quickly added, "Don't apologize! It's not your fault!"

Harry wondered why everyone seemed to be saying that to him for the past twelve hours. Clearly, it was Harry's fault, but he didn't think he had the strength to argue so he simply nodded.

"Well, when they wake up," he said pointing at Ron, Hermione, and Neville, "can you tell them I'm leaving for my godfather's house?"

He was very aware of Luna sitting beside him and resolutely looked at Ginny, who was frowning. "Today? Why? Is this about the trial I just read in the Prophet?"

Grateful that Ginny was very perceptive, he nodded.

"Oh," said Ginny. "Well, okay, I'll tell them."

Luna was staring off into space and didn't seem to have listened to their interaction. Harry stood up. "Tell them I'm sorry and I'll write soon."

Ginny nodded and Luna smiled at him brightly. "See you later, Harry!"

"Well, see you soon," said Harry before leaving the Hospital Wing.

He reached Dumbledore's office in about ten minutes and was already very happy about his decision to go to Sirius' house as soon as possible. He didn't think he could stand one more day of all the pointing and whispering and now, people were calling to him and waving too. No doubt they had all read the morning newspaper. Funny, Harry thought darkly, how one day could change people's opinions.

He knocked on Dumbledore's office and was not surprised to see Sirius waiting for him.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Sirius, frowning in concern.

Harry nodded. "Can we go?"

Sirius turned towards Dumbledore in answer, who was sitting at his desk. Dumbledore was surveying him through his glasses and Harry fidgeted nervously. If Dumbledore said no…

Dumbledore sighed. "I understand why you want to Harry and I will not begrudge you. You can take my Floo straight to Grimmauld Place."

Harry nodded his thanks before looking at Sirius again. "I forgot to get my things, I'll just go and…"

Dumbledore spoke to him benignly. "You'll find them all sent straight to Sirius' house. I took the liberty of asking your friend Dobby to do it for you."

"Thanks," said Harry, this time finding the courage to look at Dumbledore properly.

"We'll best be off then," said Sirius as he ushered Harry to the fireplace. Sirius went first, stepping into the emerald green flames. Harry took the pinch of Floo powder in his hands and then turned to look at Dumbledore. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate this."

Dumbledore smiled. "Sirius is very lucky to have you as his godson."

Harry nodded at him one last time and stepped into the fire.

Chapter Text

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was much different than how Harry had seen it before.

For one, it was completely deserted. Having been there with all the Weasleys during his previous summer holidays, it was plunged in a very different atmosphere now. It appeared more foreboding than ever and Harry was grateful when Lupin came by late in the morning just to see another friendly face around.

Lupin had been in St. Mungo's visiting Tonks and he assured them that she would be fine within a couple of days. Harry belatedly remembered that he was staying with Sirius and was quite happy to know there was at least someone who had kept Sirius company, when he had been in Hogwarts.

Lupin had given them a clear idea of what had happened when the Ministry had caught hold of the captured Death Eaters. He had been horrified to hear that Sirius had been spotted and was to be produced for a trial. The morning Daily Prophet gave them more insight on that matter.

The first half of the page displayed the Ministry's statement early in the morning about the Death Eaters and Voldemort infiltrating the Ministry. It had also mentioned rumours of Harry and his friends having been spotted in the Ministry. The bottom half was of Sirius who had been seen helping Harry up and also the impending trial and some rather wild speculations about what Sirius Black was doing with Harry.

Harry and Lupin were eating their breakfast that they had prepared when Sirius spotted Kreacher, whom he promptly kicked as soon as he laid his eyes on him. Sirius had yelled a lot and was almost dishing out brutal punishment when Lupin had stepped in. It wouldn't help to treat Kreacher badly — that was the main reason he had left Grimmauld Place. Even though Harry himself hated Kreacher for what he had done, he tried to put himself in Kreacher's shoes after Lupin's advice. Kreacher had just wanted a master that would care for him. Harry could understand that albeit grudgingly.

Lupin had then wriggled out a promise from Sirius that he would treat Kreacher civilly. Both Sirius and Kreacher had stared at each other for a whole minute with utter loathing. Kreacher had then bustled off to the kitchen, muttering obscenities under his breath.

After breakfast, all three of them had retired for a long overdue nap. They had all forsaken sleep the night before and meant to catch up on it. Harry was so tired that he had slipped into a dreamless sleep without even changing into his pyjamas. It was late afternoon when Harry woke up to find the gas lamps lit up along the dark corridors.

He took a quick shower and changed his clothes before heading down. He was surprised to see Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt chatting along with Sirius and Lupin in the dining area. Harry wondered if they were discussing Order related stuff and lingered uncertainly near the doorway when Sirius looked up at him and gestured for him to come in.

Lupin passed him a butterbeer and Harry felt Moody's eye on him, but they continued talking about the Ministry and their plans. Harry was grateful that they didn't ask him what had happened and was content to simply listen to them talk, sipping his butterbeer.

After a late dinner, Harry had retired to the room he and Ron had shared. He was not sleepy at all since he had slept in the afternoon and thus decided to write to Ron and Hermione. He pulled out a roll of parchment and quills from his trunk and sat on the desk, thinking. After about a quarter of an hour, he had his finished letter in hand which read:

Dear Ron and Hermione,

I hope you are doing well as you were both asleep when I came to visit early in the morning. I am so sorry about that night— I should have listened to you, Hermione, when you said it might be a trap. All I can say is I'm thankful we all made it out alive. I'm sure you know by now that Snuffles is getting a trial by the middle of this week. I'm all he's got and I wanted to stay with him for support. Professor Dumbledore has given me permission, so I left last morning.

Thank you for coming with me by the way. I don't think I would have made it out alive if it weren't for you both and also Neville, Ginny and Luna. I hope they are doing well too.

I'll write to you soon.

Best,

Harry.

Harry wondered if he should tell them about the prophecy but decided against it. It wasn't safe to write things like that in letters and he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to tell them anyway.

He rolled up the parchment and left it on the table, waiting for Hedwig to arrive.

He changed into his pyjamas and lay on his bed, hoping sleep would overtake him to escape the crushing weight of guilt that seemed to creep up on him at odd times. No matter what everyone said, he knew it was his fault just like it was his fault that Cedric died last summer. How many more lives would he lead to danger?

He sighed and tossed to his side, punching his pillow into a better position. He wondered if Voldemort was reading his thoughts again. Would he manipulate Harry again into believing someone he loved was in danger? Dumbledore didn't think so, but what if Voldemort thought the pain he experienced was worth it if it got Harry or his friends killed?

He fell into a restless sleep, with dreams of thestrals and thr dreaded hall filled with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with glowing glass orbs…

Unbidden to him, he dreamed of Sirius kneeling on the black, polished floor of the Department of Mysteries, being tortured at Voldemort's hand. The screaming was worse, he wanted it to stop, but the image of Sirius convulsing in agony was burned into his eyes…

Sirius' first thought upon being woken up was recognising the sound of the rickety squeak of old furniture. He wondered if maybe Kreacher had made some noise that had woken him up. He sighed and he tried to go back to sleep. He hadn't slept properly at all for the past twenty four hours. Hell, he hadn't slept properly for more than a year now.

Again, he heard the same sound and his eyes snapped open. Was it Remus or Harry? But, it couldn't be Remus. It was a full moon tonight and he had already left early to transform somewhere private.

Just before he could make up his mind about getting up, he heard a muffled yell and he was instantly awake as he bolted upright on his bed.

The house was eerily quiet at all times and even the slightest sound was audible. He heard the muffled yell again and his heart quickened. It sounded like Harry!

Sprinting quickly down the steps, he leaped past two of them at a time to the room Harry was sleeping in. He could already make out Harry's voice, moaning. "No, stop! Sirius! SIRIUS!"

Heart-leaping into his throat, he tried to open the door. But it was locked.

Cursing himself for leaving his wand upstairs in his room, he rammed his shoulder against the door, which remained firmly shut.

Harry was outright screaming now and Sirius was panicked. "HARRY! Harry, open the door!"

At that moment, he heard the click of the door unlocking and he burst open inside without hesitation.

Harry was tossing and turning on his bed, tangled up in his sheets with his eyes screwed shut. Sirius quickly put a hand on Harry's shoulder and tried to jostle him awake. "Wake up! It's just a bad dream!"

Harry's eyes snapped open and they wandered frantically around the room. He immediately tried to sit up and Sirius put a calming hand on his chest. "It's okay, Harry. It was just a nightmare."

Harry reached for his glasses from the side table and put them on. He looked at Sirius with something akin to horror, gasping as if he had run a mile.

"You… you're…" he stuttered and put a trembling hand over his eyes to cover them, visibly slumping in relief.

Sirius waited for him to calm down and watched as Harry's breathing became somewhat regular and he sighed. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Sirius sat on the edge of bed. "That's alright. Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry was staring in the opposite direction outside the dark window. Sirius was slightly worried when he saw his expressionless face but a moment later, Harry shook his head. "No, it's fine. It was just a bad dream."

Sirius looked at him a moment longer and nodded. "I'm going to get myself a hot chocolate. I'll be down if you need me."

He left Harry's room and proceeded down to call for Kreacher. The elf appeared in the sitting room with a crack and immediately swooped low in a mockery of a bow. "Master called for Kreacher. Kreacher lives to serve the… "

Sirius, who was quite irritated with that loathsome elf, snapped. "I don't want to hear your nonsense. Get me a cup of hot chocolate."

Kreacher bowed again and vanished. Sirius took a seat on the old, worn out sofa opposite the fireplace when he heard footsteps coming down. Predictably, Harry entered with his hair sticking up worse than ever and took a seat beside him. He avoided Sirius' eyes, mumbling, "Can't go back to sleep."

Kreacher popped in with the hot chocolate and Sirius handed it to Harry before asking another one for himself.

Sirius sipped his hot chocolate, quite satisfied at the presence of his godson with him. He usually hated the quiet and silence. It reminded him too much of Azkaban — which was partially why he hated this godforsaken house. It was too silent, which was all the more true when it was devoid of the Order members. He was thankful that Remus stayed with him, but even he had Order missions or full moons that meant Sirius was stuck alone with nothing and nobody to entertain himself with.

Harry broke the silence and the train of his morose thoughts, "I dreamed you were being tortured and then… Voldemort killed you."

Sirius was surprised and pleased that Harry felt comfortable enough to share that with him. But he was frowning as he realized what was plaguing Harry's nightmares.

"It wasn't a vision or anything, was it?" Sirius asked slowly.

Harry shook his head. "No, my scar would hurt if it was. This is just what my head makes up."

Sirius grimaced at the thought. That must be painful to watch. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

He didn't think it was unusual or strange to be dreaming like that. He himself had all sorts of nasty nightmares, even before Azkaban. War did that to people.

He stretched out his right arm around the head of the sofa as he leaned back, finishing his hot chocolate. He placed the empty mug on the coffee table and propped his legs up. Harry was leaning back against the couch with his eyes closed. For the first time in a very long time, Sirius was content at the companionable silence. He watched the fire crackling merrily and a pleasant buzz of haziness filled him as he unwittingly fell asleep.

The clatter of the door opening was unheard by the two occupants of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. A pale-looking man in shabby clothing walked up the corridor past the kitchen and the sitting room and towards the stairs.

He froze when he saw the silhouette of the back of a head on the sofa. On closer inspection, it turned out to be Sirius, fast asleep with his legs propped up on the coffee table. What surprised Lupin was the other person who was curled on the sofa with his head on Sirius' lap, one arm hanging down the edge of the couch. Sirius had his right arm over Harry and Lupin fought a smile.

He shook his head, smiling, and walked up the stairs to his room. He had had a rough night last night and he was going to sleep till tomorrow.

Chapter Text

The next couple of days was oddly, very… normal. Harry slept in, a luxury he hadn't had for months what with his OWLS he had sat for the past two weeks, which felt like he had written ages ago. It was very comforting and relaxing to wake up feeling well-rested.

At least, as well-rested as possible. He had not forgotten the prophecy. He didn't think he could ever wipe out the memory of Professor Trelawney's hoarse, distorted voice that had doomed him to an uncertain future.

Besides, he had another thing to worry about. Sirius' trial was coming up in three days and they had yet to get word from Dumbledore about how to proceed with it.

The third morning which was a Sunday, Sirius had woken up first and made scrambled eggs and toast. He was flicking through the newspaper that Lupin had brought in earlier, commenting casually at the day's Daily Prophet. 

"And after an entire year of name-calling, Harry Potter is now 'The Chosen One', huh? Bloody hypocrites, the lot."

"Seems like they already know about the prophecy," said Harry nervously.

"No, they don't! There are only three people in the entire world right now who know about it and that's including Dumbledore and us. The Daily Prophet is just making up fanciful rumours, no doubt wanting to sell their papers out. Business must have been bad after your Quibbler interview…"

He shovelled scrambled eggs into his mouth with a fork as he looked up at Harry thoughtfully. "By the way, how did you manage that?"

"The interview with the Quibbler? Hermione's had Skeeter under her control ever since the end of the tournament. She's a beetle, an unregistered animagus, you know."

Sirius' eyes widened disbelievingly. "Skeeter was clever enough to become an animagus? I thought that daft cow didn't have an ounce of sense in that brain of hers!"

Harry shrugged. "Beats me how she did it. But Hermione threatened to reveal her secret, so Skeeter did what she asked her to."

Sirius smirked. "Smart girl."

He continued with his paper and read out again, "Looks like Dumbledore's been reinstated into the Wizengamot. About time."

"That gives us a better chance with your trial right?" said Harry. Having Dumbledore as the Chief Warlock could only help them.

"Let's hope," Sirius muttered darkly.

Harry's friends Ron and Hermione had written to him via Hedwig, both quite annoyed that he had left before they had woken up and also full of sympathy and comfort for the upcoming trial on Wednesday. They had filled him in on what was happening at Hogwarts and how Umbridge had been sacked. Sirius had had a good laugh reading Ron's detailed description of Peeves whacking Umbridge alternatively with McGonagall's walking stick and a sock full of chalk.

Dumbledore had dropped by that evening. He had brought along the letter from the Ministry issued for Sirius containing the details of the trial, which was to be a closed one. Dumbledore had said that as the Ministry was already facing public scorn, it was wise of them to keep it private. They had gone over their defence that they would all present and Dumbledore had also given pointers about who should talk and when.

They had decided Sirius and Dumbledore were to be the witnesses for the defence. They would rope in Kingsley Shacklebolt when they exposed the lack of documents convicting Sirius. They couldn't drag in Lupin for a werewolf's statement would not be considered by all as worthy of consideration.

After much pleading and pestering on Harry's part, Dumbledore had agreed to let Harry come to the trial. Though he was not of age, if the need arose Harry would be called in to give testimony. Besides, the Daily Prophet was heaping praises on Harry; the good publicity could only help them for once.

Wednesday, June 26

The day of the trial came by quickly. Harry had hardly slept, remembering the same feeling last year when he had been to his own hearing for producing underage magic. Sirius had been rather quiet in the morning too as he pushed a plate of bangers and mash towards Harry, he himself eating nothing.

Sirius had dressed in plain, non-descript black robes that looked faded from disuse. His face was clean-shaven and his long hair that somewhat lacked its lustre after his stint in Azkaban was just below his shoulders. He had gained some weight after Azkaban, but he was still very lean, his skin stretched taut on his high cheekbones.

He looked better than when Harry had seen him the first time in the Shrieking Shack, but there was still a long way to go in Harry's opinion. Lupin had left early in the morning for work, but not before wishing them the best and pulling Sirius into an embrace, murmuring words of comfort and wishing him luck. He had wanted to come to the trial too, but Lupin himself said having a werewolf in the Wizengamot would not do any favours in aiding Sirius' innocence.

After half an hour of aimless moping, they agreed to get going. Before they reached the door of Number 12, Sirius pulled Harry aside. "If anything goes wrong, promise me you'll… take care of yourself and not get into trouble?"

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Harry swallowed down his fear, trying to be braver. "Sirius, nothing's going to go wrong. You're innocent! It's time everybody knew that!"

"Just promise me, Harry," he pleaded.

Harry wondered if he should plainly refuse. No doubt he was going to get into trouble, if the last five years of his life were any indication. Deciding it would be better to placate his godfather who was already anxious as he was, Harry crossed his fingers inside his pocket. "I promise."

Sirius looked at him for a moment longer, anxiety and worry creasing his eyes, before he nodded and clapped a hand on his shoulder. He held out the napkin that Dumbledore had arranged as a portkey for them and they were gone.

They had portkeyed straight to the Auror Headquarters where Kingsley Shacklebolt stood waiting for them along with four other Aurors. He didn't talk to them, as per Dumbledore's orders. It didn't need to be known that Kingsley already knew that Sirius was innocent and had been giving false trails to the Ministry.

The Aurors bound Sirius' hands with an 'Incarcerous' and after searching him with the Probity Probes he was frog-marched with Harry trailing behind, both of them surrounded by Aurors. They passed the familiar Auror office with its cubicles and flying memos. Heads turned to stare at them and Harry dutifully looked forward, avoiding their probing gazes.

They stopped in front of the, by now familiar doors to Courtroom Ten. He had never imagined he would be back again in this dreaded room so soon and yet here he was.

Sirius was marched in first, straight to the chair in the middle of the room which looked the same as ever and the mutterings ceased. Harry walked forward anxiously and took a seat in the benches on the side of the room.

"This is a private trial and you are underage, Mr. Potter. I am afraid you are not allowed to witness the court in session," came the hoarse voice of a man up in the seats.

Sirius looked up, irritation lacing his voice. "He wasn't underage when you tried him here last year, then?"

Madam Bones seemed to be gathering herself to answer, when Harry spoke, drawing attention from everyone. "I am his godson. It's not against the law if family is present, is it?"

The entire Wizengamot were staring at him and Harry was torn between looking away and staring back defiantly. His nerves settled when he saw Sirius grin at him from his seat.

Madam Bones gave a look of exasperation and she spoke in her booming voice. "No, it is not. We may begin."

Harry watched Sirius who was studying each and every one of the members of the Wizengamot. There were only a handful of people other than the Wizengamot, including some Aurors and Ministry representatives. Dumbledore caught his eye from the Judges' table and gave a faint smile. Harry felt a surge of confidence and looked up politely waiting for the hearing to start.

Chapter Text

The trial was very long in Harry's opinion. His bum had gone numb and he couldn't even get up to relieve the numbness, lest he draw attention to himself.

Harry thought he must have been in the room for about two or maybe even three hours. Sirius had spoken his piece and then the accusations had come raining down. He had calmly reasoned everything with the air of a man of infinite patience. This in itself was so unlike Sirius that, for a moment, Harry wondered if he had known him at all.

Two other Aurors who had been Hit Wizards during Sirius' sentencing fifteen years ago, came in to give their account of the scene they had witnessed when Sirius had apprehended Wormtail. Sirius had then questioned if they had checked his and Pettigrew's wand for Priori Incantatem on arrival. Madam Bones had requested a clerk to bring in Sirius' wand from the Ministry records.

Sirius mentioned how Pettigrew's body was never found and then went into the tale of Wormtail cutting off his finger and escaping as an Animagus.

Dumbledore had also given his word and retracted the accusation that Sirius was his parents' Secret Keeper. Sirius had then questioned the Wizengamot why there hadn't been a trial for him and he was thrown into Azkaban without giving a chance to defend himself. Kingsley then entered and gave confirmation regarding the lack of documents convicting him.

It seemed plain to Harry that most of the Wizengamot members were starting to believe him. Harry took time to notice each and every one of them, some squirming in their seats at what he thought was the biggest mistake the Wizengamot had done in regards to Sirius, and he was particularly satisfied when he realized Fudge had been more or less mum the entire time, despite being the interrogator. If the Daily Prophet was to be believed, Fudge was getting so much backlash, that they were thinking of sacking him. Harry hoped Sirius' innocence when proved, would do just that.

Then they had gotten round to Pettigrew being alive for which Dumbledore had recounted Harry's story of the graveyard and Voldemort's resurrection. Harry knew everyone in the room had read his interview which he gave in The Quibbler, which had also been published in the Daily Prophet. More than a handful of people eyed him and Harry, feeling nervous, looked straight at his godfather.

Sirius managed to look bored and anxious at the same time. He looked up suddenly at Harry as if he had known Harry was watching him. His eyes softened and a small smile wound its way on his lips. He winked at Harry and Harry shook his head, fighting his smile. It looked like even Sirius understood that things were beginning to look up.

"...testify that he's no more a Death Eater than you and I," said Dumbledore, finishing his testimony.

It was quite a sight to watch Dumbledore giving his statement from beside Sirius. Though he had been reinstated as Chief Warlock, he chose to stand next to Sirius in his Wizengamot plum robes as he was the only defence other than Sirius. He then walked up to the Judges' table resuming his seat.

Sirius looked up at Madam Bones pushing the sleeve of his robes to reveal a clear arm free of the Dark Mark. "I was never a Death Eater. Pettigrew is and he's still out there. You've been chasing the wrong man."

Kingsley had also claimed that everyone captured in the Department of Mysteries had had the Dark Mark, including Lucius Malfoy. People gasped and more whispers ensued as people assimilated this new information.

The murmurs grew audibly louder as the Wizengamot talked among themselves, deliberating the validity of Sirius' statement. The Ministry clerk, who Madam Bones had sent earlier, had come in carrying what he proclaimed to be Sirius' original wand that had been procured at the time when he was sent to Azkaban.

It was fascinating to watch the Priori Incantatem being done. A blue bubble appeared which Harry deduced was the ghost of a shield charm. It was then followed by a few wisps of light, but Harry couldn't understand what spell it could mean, but apparently the Wizengamot understood as some were pointing and calling out the names of spells.

After about a minute, it was declared that Sirius' wand never did perform a killing curse or anything similar to a blasting curse. Harry was very glad that there was some evidence to back up Sirius' claim.

Dumbledore, ever the opportune speaker, spoke up. "If Sirius was a Death Eater, Harry Potter would not be alive and sitting with him here now, would he?"

It looked like a lot of them agreed, but a wizard at the back had sneered then accused Harry of aiding and abetting a wanted criminal.

Fuming, Harry had stood up unaware that he had. It was disgustingly irritating watching them all go in circles and circles when the evidence was staring them at their faces.

A hush had fallen upon the Wizengamot but Harry didn't notice against the blood pounding in his ears. He thought he saw Sirius' eyes widen in alarm, but Harry disregarded everyone as he looked up at the Wizengamot, summoning his courage.

"It's not my fault that the people who have been entrusted to uphold justice had failed abysmally to do their job. I realized the truth and I decided to help. I would have requested a trial straight away in my third year if the Minister didn't have a Kiss-on-sight order for Sirius who he thought was a criminal."

Harry rounded on Fudge, who visibly shrinked away from him. "Last year, we had Barty Crouch Jr. admit to Voldemort's— (the entire collective of witches and wizards shuddered, save for Sirius and Dumbledore)— resurrection. But you didn't have time to listen to evidence, did you Minister? You decided you knew better than anyone and had Dementors suck out his soul. That man is responsible for everything I suffered through that year, but even I wouldn't wish such a fate on him. Who gave you the right to take lives, Minister?"

"Who keeps the Minister in check from abusing his powers?" he said, looking up at the Wizengamot and feeling a twinge of satisfaction when more than a couple of people fidgeted in their seats.

"If you are going to insinuate I aided and abetted an innocent man, I will gladly accept that accusation. I did aid and abet my godfather because you thought it was right to throw him to the Dementors for being innocent. If this is how much regard you have for innocent lives, you're all no different than Voldemort."

The silence that followed was deafening, and Harry faintly wondered whether or not it was respectable to sit back down. He felt a flush creeping up his neck realizing what he had done. He had just stood up, out of call and yelled at the entire Wizengamot and the Minister of Magic!

He nervously looked up at Sirius, who looked torn between mirth and worry. Dumbledore cleared his throat, and Harry looked up at him to see his moustache quivering. "Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?"

Harry thought he heard his heart beating frantically from somewhere near his throat. He watched as almost everyone, save for a couple or two, put up their hands, even Fudge, although he looked like he had swallowed a lemon and his hand only went half way up. No doubt, he was trying to save face in front of the Wizengamot.

"And in favour of conviction?"

Not a single hand was up and Harry sank into his seat, relief swallowing him like a wave.

Madam Bones cleared her throat. "The accused does have one charge; that of being an unregistered Animagus. Which merits three years in Azkaban."

Dumbledore spoke up politely, a smile in his voice. "Ah Amelia, but we have already condemned an innocent man to twelve years in Azkaban for no reason. Surely, we can drop those charges, if not as compensation for our mistake?"

People were murmuring and nodding when Madam Bones sighed and looked rather politely at Sirius. "Sirius Black, you are hereby cleared of all charges and declared innocent. The Wizengamot apologizes profoundly for this gross miscarriage of justice and would like to award ten thousand galleons in compensation. It is, by no means, equivalent to the ordeal you have been through, but we do hope you will accept the apology of the entire Wizengamot when I say, we are very sorry for your loss of time, health and reputation because of the Wizengamot's negligence."

Sirius was beaming when he looked at Harry, then at the Wizengamot. "I would like to bring to the Wizengamot's notice that I would like to take up legal guardianship of Harry Potter. I am his godfather after all."

Harry was startled. They hadn't discussed this at all when Dumbledore had come over. Was this happening for real?

Madam Bones shuffled through her papers, picked one and was reading it quickly through her monocle.

The chattering was louder than ever when Madam Bones announced, "It is in accordance with the Potters' will. I don't see why not. But, Mr. Potter's current guardians might..."

Dumbledore spoke over her as he passed a bundle of papers to Madam Bones. "I have taken the liberty of collecting this for you. It is Harry's current guardians giving up their guardianship to Sirius."

Harry wondered when Dumbledore had had time to do that. Had he visited Aunt Petunia? He felt a rush of gratitude to Dumbledore for his foresight.

"Mr. Potter, are you willing to accept Sirius Black as your legal guardian?" Madam Bones looked down at him sharply after taking a minute to look through the papers.

Harry was ecstatic when he spoke immediately. "Yes!"

"Well, that's settled then! Sirius Black, you are awarded full legal and magical guardianship over Harry James Potter. Please sign these papers here. Congratulations," she said in her booming voice.

Dumbledore beamed. "Court dismissed."

The wizards and witches started getting up from their seats, but Harry had eyes only for Sirius. Sirius wanted him, his godfather wanted to be his legal guardian. Sirius was free. And Harry didn't have to go back to the Dursleys anymore. Harry was free too.

Harry quickly got down the seats and saw Sirius standing up, rather dazed but still beaming. He saw Harry and smiled so genuinely, Harry thought he looked years younger. He opened his arms just as Harry got to him and pulled him into his embrace.

Harry murmured, "Thank you."

Sirius pulled away from him, his hands still on Harry's shoulders. Harry was surprised to see his eyes were rather bright, but also rather proud. "Thank you, Harry."

Chapter Text

A few members of the Wizengamot stepped down from the Judges' table to shake hands with Sirius, some gracious enough to offer their apologies and also congratulating him. Sirius got his wand back and some of the Wizengamot stopped to watch as it gave out a shower of crimson and silver sparks. Sirius then signed the papers that Madam Bones had produced before him, the smile never leaving his face.

Harry and Sirius had then been mobbed by frantic reporters waiting in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, seemingly having gotten wind of the result of the trial from the grapevines. It seemed even the Ministry workers had stopped to watch what was causing all the bedlam.

"Mr. Potter, can I have a word—"

"Mr. Black, did you really confound Harry Potter to provide witness for you—?"

Sirius was scowling again and Harry was amused to note the reporters were standing a good three feet away from him, simultaneously walking fast to keep up with him yet also at a distance.

They took the telephone box ride up as they could not shout their address in the Floo with all the reporters watching in. It was a relief to step out into the relatively calm muggle street. They reached a dirty alleyway flowing with rubbish and Sirius stretched out his arm. "Grab on to my hand. You can Side-Along Apparate with me."

Harry took hold of Sirius' arm when Sirius warned, "Hold tight. Here we go."

He felt Sirius' arm twist away from him and redoubled his grip; the next thing he knew, everything went black and he was being squeezed from all directions; he could not breathe, his eyeballs were being forced back and his eardrums were being pushed into his skull and then—

He gasped, taking in great lungfulls of air and opened his streaming eyes. That was the most bizarre sensation he had ever experienced, like that of being squeezed through a taut rubber tube.

Sirius was bending down to look at him properly. "Are you alright? You do need some practice to get used to the sensation…"

"I'm fine," said Harry, rubbing his ears which felt rather like he was underwater. "But I think I prefer brooms…"

Sirius gave a bark of laughter, clapping him on the back. Harry felt his ears pop at the sudden jerk. It was then that Harry noticed they were standing on the top step outside the familiar door of Number 12.

Lunch was prepared by Kreacher, who for once kept the muttering to a minimum. After a comforting portion of steak-and-kidney pie (there was no dessert), they had a visitor in the form of Remus Lupin.

He looked pale and anxious as he entered but he got one look at Sirius and nearly burst into tears. Harry found it quite amusing to see the usually mild-mannered man displaying his happiness so exuberantly.

"You made it! You finally made it!" Lupin embraced Sirius, who was beaming in obvious happiness as he gestured him to sit.

"You should have seen Harry," said Sirius, shaking his head and grinning. "He put down Fudge in front of the entire Wizengamot."

Lupin's eyes widened comically. "What?"

Harry looked down rather sheepishly and pushed a plate in front of Lupin. "It wasn't like that."

Sirius was roaring with laughter. "He told the Wizengamot that they were no better than Voldemort!"

Lupin looked torn between being scandalized and amused and settled for taking a sip of water. He put down the glass and smiled. "Well, at least it all turned out well in the end."

"They gave back Sirius' wand," said Harry inconsequentially, nodding at Sirius who produced it out of his robes.

"I've used my grandfather's spare wand all this time, but this definitely feels so much better," said Sirius, waving his wand as the dishes washed themselves.

Members of the Order like Tonks, Kingsley, and Moody had stopped by later with bottles of Firewhiskey to congratulate Sirius and then toasted to him. The Order members had a casual meeting of sorts and Harry had retired for a nap. It had been a long day.

Thursday, June 27

SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT

In a surprising turn of events this Wednesday, Sirius Black, notorious mass-murderer, charged with killing twelve muggles and a wizard named Peter Pettigrew and also infamous for being the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, has been cleared of all charges and declared innocent.

Black, who was spotted helping Harry Potter during the mysterious disturbance at the Ministry of Magic last Thursday, was summoned for a trial presided by newly re-reinstated Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore. Black, who arrived at the Ministry willingly along with Harry Potter, was tried by the entire Wizengamot in a closed session and found to have been falsely accused of killing the thirteen people.

In a press release by the Ministry on Wednesday evening, it was revealed that Black was framed by the aforementioned Pettigrew, who had been assumed dead for fifteen years. Pettigrew is currently a Death Eater and responsible for the resurrection of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and also for betraying the Potters' location to the Dark Lord during the last war.

Rumours abound that Harry Potter, who is now revealed to be Sirius Black's godson, accepted the accusation by a Wizengamot member that he aided Black in escaping the country after he had realised the truth of Black's innocence. Read more on why Sirius Black was falsely accused on Pg. 4

Mr. Potter also insinuated that the current Minister of Magic had been abusing his rights as Minister in matters of justice. This turn of events cannot bode well for Cornelius Fudge who is now facing an inquiry in light of recent events. Read more on why Harry Potter wants Fudge out on Pg. 7

The Wizengamot has publicly apologised to Mr. Sirius Black for the discredit to his name and has allowed for compensation to be made immediately. He has also been granted the legal guardianship of our young hero, Harry Potter (more on Pg. 12).

The day after Sirius' trial, the Daily Prophet seemed to have taken an undue amount of interest on Sirius. People from all over England had something to say – some were Sirius' year mates, some had been Sirius' past girlfriends and some were people he had no idea of. There were many claiming they had known he was innocent all along and others berating the Ministry for freeing a violent mass-murderer.

"Ah, shame. You can't please everyone," said Sirius nonchalantly.

"Looks like people have something new to talk about other than me," commented Harry offhandedly as he flipped through the pages of the Daily Prophet. Sirius snorted.

"Oh, here I am! Who was I kidding?" Harry said in a mock-surprised voice as he leaned in to read an article, THE CHOSEN ONE'S GUARDIAN, SIRIUSLY?

Sirius looked over Harry's shoulder to see the article when Harry said, "Now that's a bad pun."

"At least they got a decent picture of me," said Sirius happily.

Harry couldn't help but grin at that. Sirius was right.

It was one of the only pictures Harry liked himself in because it was shot when Harry wasn't looking. It was just after the trial had ended and Sirius and Harry had walked through a bustling Atrium. Harry had been quite put out at the presence of all the cameramen and reporters, when Sirius had clapped him on the shoulder comfortingly.

The picture showed Sirius with a hand on Harry's shoulder, beaming and Harry was looking down to keep his face away from the reporters, but a small smile tugged his lips.

Friday, June 28

The next day, Sirius had suggested to Harry that the first thing they did to celebrate his freedom was to visit Gringotts. Harry was slightly apprehensive about showing up in public again but he also knew that they needed money first for anything and everything.

So, after a simple breakfast and a fair bit of transfiguration on both of them by Sirius, they had Side-Along Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and then left for Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was different to how Harry remembered it as today was Hogwarts' last day and consequentially, there were no students bustling about doing their shopping. The students were probably getting onto the train at Hogsmeade at the moment.

The Daily Prophet stands were overflowing with newspapers showing the front page proclaiming Sirius' acquittal. There were moving photographs of Sirius along with his parents during their wedding, and the new one of both Sirius and Harry. Sirius had jokingly remarked that Voldemort would be buggered that his return was shunned to second page.

They reached Gringotts and the goblin at the reception peered over his spectacles at Sirius who calmly stated his name. "Sirius Black, here to make a withdrawal."

Harry wondered if the goblin would believe him with their transfigured faces, but the goblin grinned maliciously. "Ah, Mr. Black. One of our old customers. I will need identification as you seem to be in disguise."

"Of course," said Sirius.

The goblin produced a quill that was all too familiar to Harry. He watched apprehensively as Sirius picked it up and signed on a piece of parchment.

The ink from his signature (which he knew by now was blood) spidered out and combined again to form the word 'Black'. The goblin seemed satisfied but Harry was puzzled.

Sirius explained on seeing Harry's quizzical look. "If I were someone else, it would have revealed my true identity."

Harry nodded, taking in this new information about blood quills.

Sirius added, "We'll need to visit Harry Potter's too."

The goblin looked over at Harry and grinned, showing pointed teeth. Harry handed his key to the goblin for inspection and apparently satisfied, he nodded. "Very well. Gornuk, take Mr. Black to his vault."

A young goblin ushered them to the carts off of the hallway.

Harry looked up at Sirius curiously. "Why don't you have a key?"

"Because," said Sirius, "the Black family is a very old one and have been doing business with the goblins for centuries. The only good thing about being a Black I guess, or I could never have gotten you that Firebolt."

Harry grinned and Sirius stopped talking after that as the cart zoomed forward. It would be hard to hear with the wind whistling past them anyway.

They reached Harry's vault first. Gornuk unlocked the door and stepped outside, waiting. Harry moved to collect his gold when Sirius put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "We don't need to use your money, that's my responsibility from now. We're here for something else."

Puzzled, but also feeling a warm sort of happiness, Harry looked intrigued as Sirius walked to the left wall of his vault. He felt the rough stone wall for something and apparently found it as his fingers curled along a hidden groove. He pulled out a concealed compartment and Harry watched awestruck as Sirius searched inside it.

He pulled out a sheaf of parchment and read through it. "Here it is. These are the documents for your grandparents' house. James told me that they mentioned in their will to sell it and raise the money for a charity organization that fights for Muggles' rights. James never got around to doing it as he went into hiding shortly after."

"So, the house still belongs to us?" asked Harry, piecing the information.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. And it's where we are going to stay," said Sirius, grinning.

Harry's eyes widened. "Really? We get to stay in my grandparents' home?"

Sirius smiled nostalgically. "I told Dumbledore about it and he has agreed to provide it with more protection than what already your grandfather put in place. You'll love it, Harry."

Harry beamed. It felt like someone had granted him a wish he had never known he had made.

Sirius suddenly looked uncertain. "I meant to ask earlier — it's technically your house after all — would it be alright if Remus stays with us?"

"Of course!" said Harry immediately. "You didn't even have to ask. I'll like the extra company. Besides, he's family too."

Sirius grinned and ruffled his hair. "Thanks."

Harry huffed as he tried to flatten his hair again and watched as Sirius noted down the address on a spare bit of parchment and put it in his pocket, explaining. "I always Flooed or Portkeyed to your dad's so I haven't a clue to its exact address until now."

Still quite giddy with happiness, Harry simply nodded and they left his vault to visit Sirius' next. They went deeper and the cart was gathering speed. The air became colder as they hurtled round tight corners. Harry thought that their path looked vaguely familiar as they went rattling over an underground ravine and he realized this was almost the same path as he went on when he first visited Gringotts – to Vault 713.

They stopped in front of Vault 711 – his guess wasn't quite bad after all. Like the vault he visited during his first year, it had no keyhole. Gornuk slid his finger down the wall and the door melted to reveal a dimly lit, cavernous room, glinting with mounds and mounds of gold, much more than even Harry's vault had held. There were even artefacts and precious gemstones and jewels on another deep corner farther away.

Sirius started piling the gold into four drawstring bags and explained to him. "The original Black family vault exists, but is no longer in use of course. When there is a new generation of children, the money is split up according to hierarchy into their own separate vaults that don't need keys for identification, but wands or blood instead. A stupid pureblood notion using blood if you ask me, thinking themselves above the muggleborns because they have vaults in Gringotts for generations."

Harry made a sweeping gesture with his hand to indicate the gold. "But didn't your mother blast you off the tapestry? I thought you were disowned."

"Yes," said Sirius with a grimace. "I inherited some from my Uncle Alphard after he died. But as it turned out, my grandfather still had my name down as one of the heirs. That's how I got the house since Regulus died and I'm the only heir left."

Sirius pocketed two bags of gold and handed the rest to Gornuk. "I'll need them in muggle currency."

"That can be arranged in the reception area," said Gornuk.

They once again set off on the carts, whooshing past the darkness. A burst of light on his right blinded him and Harry craned his neck to look out the swiftly-moving cart.

"I've always wondered, do they have dragons here?" Harry asked, shouting to be heard.

"I remember seeing one here when I was a boy," Sirius yelled back and they finally reached the upper levels. Harry found himself sitting in the waiting area, nervously trying to avoid the curious glances of the goblins while Sirius exchanged the money.

After Gringotts, Sirius had stopped at Madam Malkin's to get himself fitted for brand-new robes. He had also forced a half-hearted Harry into getting some regular-wear robes and one for formal occasions. "You're a growing wizard! You're going to need it, trust me," he had said when Harry tried to refuse.

Sirius had shrunken the wrapped parcels, pocketed it, and they left Diagon Alley for a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and then walked into muggle London.

Harry found it amusing when Sirius kept getting distracted with all the new models of motorcycles and cars racing down the roads. He quizzed Harry about them endlessly. Harry had to tell him for the hundredth time that he had no idea about things like that because he hadn't been keeping up with the Muggle world.

"This is pretty much the first time I'm spending a day out in Muggle London since I was eleven," said Harry exasperatedly.

Sirius growled in annoyance. "Those bloody Dursleys! Are you sure we shouldn't pay them a visit? I'd love to give them a piece of my mind."

"No," said Harry quickly. "I'd like to forget they even existed."

Sirius was still frowning, but a moment later, he glanced down at Harry and his expression cleared. "Well then, our next stop is for clothes."

Harry looked at him, bewildered. "More clothes? But we already got them at Madam Malkin's, didn't we?"

"I mean Muggle ones. I can't let you wear that whale of your cousin's clothes. Besides, once we get new ones, it's best if you just burn them," said Sirius, grimacing.

Harry snickered. That sounded about right.

Chapter Text

Friday, June 28

No matter how touched Harry was of his godfather's gesture, it didn't change the fact that he hated shopping for clothes.

Harry had went in and randomly picked out three simple T-shirts, when Sirius had shook his head saying that there wasn't enough variety. Harry had offhandedly suggested that maybe Sirius should pick them out.

Jumping onto the idea a little too enthusiastically for Harry's liking, Sirius had proceeded to aggressively pick out a pile of clothes, from jumpers to jackets, to button-ups and jeans. If that wasn't worse, he badgered Harry to try them on, and after the thirteenth try-out, Harry had had enough.

He was going to make up his mind about what he wanted, Sirius' approval be damned.

"You know what?" ground out Harry, frustrated. "You get your own and I'll get mine. That way, we'll be done in fifteen minutes, okay?"

Sirius smirked. "Finally."

It turned out Sirius needed at least forty-five minutes to finish his shopping and Harry was growing agitated. Finally, they were finished and with more bags now in their hands than earlier, Sirius led them to a dark alleyway behind a deserted shop. Then, he called for Kreacher.

The sight of filthy old Kreacher on the muggle street was odd to say the least. He popped in and bowed low, his nose grazing the ground. Sirius had given Kreacher all of their bags and barked at Kreacher to take them to the house, who then vanished.

The sun was already setting and Harry and Sirius were free to explore London without any bags weighing them down. Even as he enjoyed the time with his godfather, Harry noticed Sirius' hand was at all times in his pocket, no doubt clutching his wand ready. Harry felt content and safe knowing that he had someone to look out for him. After stopping by for ice-cream as Sirius' way of making up to Harry for the dreadful time spent clothes' shopping, they Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Saturday, June 29

Sirius had left early in the morning to meet with Dumbledore and Harry was left alone with Kreacher and Lupin who was in the study as he was wont to whenever he was home.

Harry had gotten mail from Hermione and Ron, who had just reached home from Hogwarts yesterday and congratulated Harry excitedly on Sirius getting his guardianship. It was a quiet day with Harry spending time with poor Buckbeak, who had also been locked up for a year in this gloomy house.

Sirius came around at lunchtime and was telling them rather enthusiastically about Dumbledore having added his protection to Harry's grandparents' house and that they were moving in tomorrow.  Sirius and Dumbledore had performed the Fidelius Charm and Sirius being the Secret-Keeper, gave Harry a parchment of paper with the words:

Potter Manor can be found at Number Seven, Rosedale, Yorkshire.

Harry passed the parchment to Lupin, when Sirius said gruffly, "You're living with us too, Moony. No excuses."

Lupin looked at Sirius with an odd expression before looking back at Harry, who nodded. "I want you to stay too, Professor."

He smiled. "It's Remus, Harry." He took the parchment and after he had read it, burned it to ash.

Sirius said, "Nobody else can know the address. I agree with Dumbledore on this count – with Voldemort in the open, it is for the best if we limit it to just the three of us and Dumbledore."

Harry nodded, not too bothered by that – he was finally going to have the life he had wished for.

oOo

Sunday, June 30

Rosedale, North Yorkshire was undoubtedly, the most picturesque village Harry had ever laid his eyes on. It was nestled in a valley under rolling hills and heather moorlands. The crisp, fresh smell of pine forests was rather intoxicating and reminded him a bit of Hogwarts.

The Potter Manor was hidden from the muggles' view by a hedge of tall pine trees encompassing seventeen acres of land. It was a beautiful country style manor with its rough stone walls and large leaded windows. There was a small greenhouse on the front and a winding path lead to the front of the house. The dark oak door was rather old and worn and had a brass knocker but no keyhole.

Lupin tapped his wand and the door clattered open to a hallway. Harry, fully expecting a dusty, musty house like the House of Black was surprised by how relatively clean the house was.

The floors were of dark oak and the whitewashed walls were patterned with floral wallpapers in a crisp ivory. Crimson drapes hung from the windows allowing for sunlight to enter freely.

The warm rug was only slightly dusty, but after Sirius' dark and gloomy house, this house was a welcome reprieve. The living room had a couch and chintz armchairs around a toasty fireplace, where someone had already started a merry, crackling fire. A large gramophone stood on a table beside the couch and the coffee table was draped with cloth and dried flowers stood on a vase.

Lupin was smiling nostalgically as he looked around. "It looks just like I remember it."

Harry, who had been gaping and taking in the house, had not noticed Sirius watching him closely. "What do you think?"

Harry broke into a happy grin. "It's perfect."

Sirius was grinning too and Harry couldn't help but ask, "But how is it so…?"

"Clean?" finished Sirius. "Because of Twitchet."

"What?"

"Twitchet," repeated Sirius. "Your house-elf."

"I have a house-elf?!" blurted Harry. "How has he been living alone all these years?"

It was Lupin who replied, "She. Twitchet is a she. You should call her."

"Me?" said Harry, goggling.

"Yeah, you. You're her master, so call her," said Sirius, simply.

Harry looked at Sirius warily, trying to decide whether Sirius was pulling his leg or telling the truth. "Um… Twitchet?"

Crack. Harry jumped at the sound of a high-pitched squeak. "Young Master Harry! You is finally home!"

The elf was old, almost as old as Kreacher. She wore a white toga similar to the Hogwarts house elves, but it was fading and yellowed. While Kreacher had looked at everyone with loathing, this elf was looking back at him adoringly, tears pouring from her large eyes, reminding Harry too much of an old and female Dobby.

Harry spoke uncertainly, "Hello, Twitchet. How have you been?"

She squeaked reverently. "Twitchet has been waiting and waiting for young Master to come home. And Twitchet's wishes have come true!"

"Er… thanks," said Harry, a little overwhelmed.

Sirius laughed. "You've done a good job in one day, Twitchet. The house looks so much better than yesterday."

The elf bowed low, beaming. "Thank you, Master Sirius. Twitchet has waited so long to serve her master."

Sirius and Lupin had then shown Harry around the moderate-sized building, replete with tasteful furniture in oak wood. There were six bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, the living room, a dining and kitchen area and also a library, a study and an attic. Everything looked lived in and a little old from disuse but Harry couldn't care. This was where his father had been born and had lived.

It was really fascinating to watch the many photographs that adorned the mantelpiece and most of the walls of the house. His father and grandparents were in quite a lot but there were also photographs of Sirius, Lupin and Wormtail in his dad's room and also a few of his parents' wedding.

Sirius and Lupin were rather nostalgic and reminiscing the stories that had happened here whenever they had come over for the summer holidays with his dad. Sirius had his own room in the house which was quite devoid of decorations as he had moved out when he was seventeen. Lupin took the guest room, adjacent to Sirius'. James' room was taken by Harry, though, it too was quite empty.

Sirius explained, "Well, your dad got your house in Godric's Hollow as a wedding gift from your grandparents. He most likely cleared out his things here."

"Godric's Hollow…" Harry said testing the name. "Is that where we lived, before?"

Sirius looked rather shocked as Lupin asked slowly, "You didn't know?"

Harry shook his head and Sirius looked furious as he growled, "Yes. That's where you lived."

Twitchet had stocked the house and had whipped up an elaborate breakfast, seemingly trying to make up for sixteen years' worth of the house being empty. After eating, Sirius and Lupin made two quick stops to Grimmauld Place to bring over their belongings.

With the help of Twitchet, Lupin had gotten around to re-decorating their rooms to make themselves at home. Harry had spent the entire afternoon with Padfoot gambolling alongside him, checking out the vast outdoors. It was a good thing the house had a lot of open space outside, as Sirius wouldn't be too cooped up like in Grimmauld Place.

It had been an eventful day as they settled in and played a round of tag on their broomsticks. Lupin was watching from the patio, reading a book and occasionally checking on them. Sirius who was flying a spare one of his dad's that they found in the attic was no match to Harry on his Firebolt. They had eventually given up, Sirius promising to buy himself a good broomstick just so he could keep up with Harry.

Later that night, after they had finished up their dinner, Harry got to sleep in his father's old room in the house that Harry could finally call 'home'. Rest assured, it was the first time he slept, his heart light with happiness.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, July 3

Sirius took a long drag and exhaled, watching the puff of smoke swirling in the air. Being back at the Potter Manor was so much better than his own house. He felt at home here, but it didn't stop the unbidden memories surfacing now and again. Remus was visiting Dora and Sirius was left alone with his morbid thoughts. He had been too upset to sleep in his own room last night, memories of James in every hallway and had gotten down to the living room early in the morning to have a quick smoke.

He couldn't drink with Harry around, so a fag had to do.

Sirius was watching the smoke patterning the air, hypnotised, when a quiet voice cut through the fog in his head.

"I didn't know you smoked."

Sirius looked up to see Harry in his pyjamas, leaning against the kitchen door, arms crossed in front of him. He looked like he had rolled straight out of bed and Sirius wondered why he was up so early. Sirius was relieved to note that Harry was not looking at him judgementally, just an honest expression of curiosity as he furrowed his eyebrows.

A smile tugged at Sirius' lips. "You don't know a lot of things about me."

To his dismay, Sirius watched as Harry pulled up a chair looking saddened at those words. Sirius cursed himself mentally. Of course, he didn't know! It was not Harry's fault that he hadn't been present in his life just as he had promised James, fifteen years ago.

Sirius sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. Merlin, had it already been fifteen years?

Hoping to cheer Harry up, Sirius put-out his cigarette and tossed it to the trash. Sirius walked over to the kitchen top as he looked over at Harry. "Breakfast?"

Harry nodded and Sirius pushed a plate of toast and fruits over to Harry that Twitchet had eagerly prepared early in the morning. He watched Harry eat his food quietly.

"You know," said Sirius slowly, gauging his reaction, "your Dad and I used to do it when we were in school."

Harry looked up, eyes wide in surprise. "Really?"

Sirius nodded to himself. "Yup, quite the show-offs we were. Idiots, more like. But then, during seventh year, your Dad quit smoking, you know, with trying to impress your mother and all."

Harry wrinkled his nose, "He sounds like he was a stalker."

Sirius laughed out loud. "Trust me, it did seem like that. But he changed a lot during that year. And the funny thing is, your mum said she herself had a phase when she tried her hand at smoking too."

Harry who had been lifting up a toast to his mouth abruptly halted. "My mum?"

Sirius laughed as he continued, "Yes. She was a feisty woman, your mother. She quit after two months, said she didn't enjoy it much after all. Made sure your dad quit too."

Harry's mind was reeling. Everyone always said his mum was really sweet and charming and all-round lovely. He had never known his mother had a rebellious streak in her too. Somehow, the idea did not disturb him. It seemed oddly… fitting.

Harry smiled as he bit into his toast. "Tell me more about them."

Sirius, looking rather mischievous, then went into great detail as he told him stories of his mum and the Marauders' days in Hogwarts. Harry had been shocked to learn many things – his mum was Snape's best friend for a time before the incident that Harry had seen in Snape's memories. After that, she had quit being friends with him and Harry was comforted. It was disturbing already knowing they were pals once.

He had laughed himself silly when Sirius had regaled him of the many pranks that the Marauders had pulled off, shook his head disbelievingly when Sirius retold the stories of his many girlfriends and also of his dad's various attempts to capture his mum's attention.

It was already noon when Sirius had ran out of things to say for the moment and both Harry and Sirius lay spread out on the couch and the armchair respectively, each clutching a bottle of butterbeer. The old gramophone was playing an upbeat song from one of his dad's old records.

Harry was simply content; all these years, he had always thought of his mum and dad as brave, kind and noble people. Somehow, it gave him the idea that he had known his parents in a two-dimensional manner.

Now, learning that his parents had various quirks, learning of their faults and mistakes, made them feel so much more real to him. James and Lily Potter had lived as something more than just the larger-than-life people he had imagined. They had left a mark on this world. The man sitting before him was proof. And nothing had ever been more comforting than that idea, that his parents weren't gone forever, that they would live on in Sirius' and Harry's memories.

Living with Sirius was vastly different to Harry than living with the Dursleys. For one, Harry did not have to wake up early for breakfast. He could sleep in and go downstairs later to have a delectable spread almost similar to Hogwarts' feasts.

Another major difference was of how much Harry had become rather outspoken. At the Dursleys' he was content to never have a conversation with them if he could help it. Even at the Burrow, there were too many people that Harry sometimes was happy to just listen.

Not that he wasn't a talker, he always had plenty of conversations with Ron and Hermione. When they started to bicker though, he was rather silent, unwilling to give himself a headache.

But at the Potter Manor, there was only Sirius and Harry. Lupin would be available sometimes, but otherwise, he was leaving to meet with someone that he had no idea of and also said quite kindly that he didn't want to intrude on Sirius and Harry's time together. When he asked Sirius who Lupin was meeting with, he simply smirked and told Harry that he would know soon enough.

Harry and Sirius had to fill the silence, so they would make conversation and get to know each other better. Every now and again, some indistinct action would trigger Sirius' memory and he would fill Harry in on stories of his parents as they played a round of Exploding Snap. Harry had learnt so much about his parents in the last week itself than in his entire life.

Harry found himself easily trusting and opening up to Sirius as he told him in great detail of his adventures in Hogwarts, which seemed to either infuriate him or made him laugh till he was hoarse. He had already heard of some things from Lupin but Harry could tell them all from his point of view. He had been downright terrifying though, when he heard about Harry's various run-ins with Voldemort. He paced furiously wondering what on earth Dumbledore was doing calling Hogwarts a school.

At some point, Harry told him about the blood quill that Umbridge had used on him as detention. Sirius had gone white as he asked Harry to show his hand.

"What were you thinking? Why didn't you tell Dumbledore? Or any other teacher?" said Sirius, nearly yelling.

"Dumbledore spent a lot of time not wanting to be in my presence, so why would I go and tell him that?" said Harry, frowning.

"You know he had a reason for that, Harry," said Sirius bracingly.

"I know now. But it doesn't mean I was not upset when he was actively avoiding even looking at me," said Harry, grimacing.

"But you could've told me!" said Sirius, with hurt in his voice.

Harry felt the need to apologise. "I'm sorry I didn't. But in my defence, if you had known, you would probably have come bursting into the castle and I couldn't let you do that!"

Sirius was looking at him oddly and Harry squirmed under his gaze. "I can't just let this go! That bitch tortured you! I'm going to make sure she gets back what she deserves."

"No, Sirius. It's over. There's no use making a fuss about it. She's already left Hogwarts," said Harry firmly.

"Then, I'm taking this to the Ministry!"

"No, you can't! I'm already being talked about every day in the Prophet. I don't want to have even more attention on myself because of a stupid injury," said Harry, trying to make Sirius see sense.

"This is not just a stupid injury. She tortured you willingly, for hours might I add!"

"Yes, and I did not complain then. What would be the point of dragging this up now when I just want to forget it?" said Harry, praying Sirius would let it go.

Sirius was still glowering but after a moment, he finally sighed, "Promise me you won't hide anything like this from me again."

Harry looked back dumbly, before nodding. "I promise."

He wished Sirius would change the subject. Sirius must have seen his reluctance to discuss it any further, as he steered the conversation to safer waters, which turned out to be him wanting to know all about Harry's girlfriends at school.

Harry dully cursed his luck.

After five days of living in the Potter Manor, Harry could see how this could become his life for the indeterminable future, though sometimes it still felt like a dream that could be snatched away from him anytime. He felt safe and wanted and he violently quashed a pang of sadness, that he hadn't got it all sooner.

Friday, July 5

Sirius was an early-riser and he took advantage of the open grounds to go for a morning run. Harry had been concerned about the safety of that when Sirius had assured him that Dumbledore himself had placed protective enchantments around the grounds, so they were completely safe.

True to Sirius' word, Harry had disposed of his old hand-me-downs (it had been entirely too satisfying to chuck them into the fireplace) and pulled on a new shirt and jeans. They fit him perfectly and Harry felt grateful to Sirius again for the little things he did to ensure he was happy, even though he didn't ask of him.

The sound of music filled the house as he walked downstairs. Sirius had found his dad's old records the other day in the attic and the old gramophone had been playing ever since as Sirius didn't like the house to be too quiet.

Harry had first thought of the music as too old-fashioned, but after days of being in its continued subjectivity, Harry had become increasingly hooked. He had never really had a passion for music before, but he never really had a passion for anything at the Dursleys'. He did hear the occasional wizarding music that some of his house mates played in the Gryffindor common room.

But, this was different.

He was listening to the Beatles and Pink Floyd with marked enjoyment, his ears differentiating the beats and his mouth humming the different songs at random moments. Sirius was worse; he would break into song and coax Lupin to sing-along. It was rather heartening to see the good changes that the house had brought about in Sirius.

Harry entered the dining area to find Lupin, having his breakfast. He was sipping his tea and reading the newspaper. He looked up as Harry entered and smiled in greeting. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Professor."

Lupin chuckled. "For the last time, it's Remus. I haven't been your professor in years."

"Er…sorry. It just slips out." Harry ducked his head but came back up when Twitchet placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of him.

"Yes, I quite understand. Imagine calling your Professor McGonagall, Minerva within two months of leaving school," chuckled Lupin… Remus.

Harry grimaced before asking, "What's it say?" nodding towards the Prophet.

"The usual. People are becoming increasingly on their guard, now that Voldemort is back in the open. There's already been a killing, a muggle family in Oxfordshire," sighed Remus.

"What's the point of killing muggles? Why would Voldemort do that?"

"Instilling fear and terror. That is one important thing Voldemort also did during the first war. He gathers followers that way, luring and convincing them that they are on the winning side," said Remus.

"What is the Ministry doing about it?" asked Harry, thoughtfully.

"Well, as you know, Fudge was sacked three days after Sirius' trial. It was the final blow for him and now Rufus Scrimgeour has taken his place," said Remus.

"I read that he had some sort of disagreement with Dumbledore as soon as he took his office. Is he any good?" asked Harry, honestly.

"Well, he was the Head of the Auror Department and he's… well, shall we say aggressive? But, yes, he will be much more capable than Fudge."

At that moment, Sirius entered the room, his hair damp from his shower and wearing a fresh t-shirt and pyjama pants. "Good morning," he said brightly to mumbled replies, sitting down at the head of the eight-seater dining table.

He enthusiastically heaped his plate with food and Twitchet placed a goblet full of steaming purple health potion for Sirius. Twitchet had been horrified at her Master Sirius' health and had been taking it upon herself to fatten Sirius up, ever since they had arrived. Though Sirius had grumbled that he did not need it, he never outright refused as he liked the elf too much and did not want to disappoint her. He was already showing marked difference in his appearance, his gaunt face having filled out a little.

Sirius took a sip from the goblet and grimaced before he spoke, "So, Harry. I've been meaning to discuss something with you. I have decided I am going to train you in duelling for the rest of this summer."

Remus looked up interestedly, but Harry was perplexed. "I thought we're not allowed to do underage magic at home?"

"Oh, that's such a load of bollocks!" said Sirius, waving his hand dismissively. "The Ministry cannot trace people doing magic in wizarding homes."

"What?" said Harry, shocked. "You mean the Trace isn't really… real?"

"That's just a way of keeping children in line," said Sirius, solemnly. "The Trace can only detect where the magic is coming from but not who does it."

Harry was gaping in stunned disbelief. "That explains what happened in my second year. I got a warning for using underage magic at the Dursleys' but it was actually Dobby, the house-elf!"

"Yes, you see it falls upon the parents to enforce the 'no magic outside Hogwarts' rule," said Sirius.

"Which you seem to have forgotten about, Padfoot," said Remus, staring pointedly.

"Not all sixteen year-olds have a Dark Lord hunting them, do they Remus? I say it's perfectly fine in Harry's case to break the rule to train him up," said Sirius, leaning casually against his chair.

Harry became subdued, realising the implication that Voldemort was after him and all because of that damned prophecy.

"When do we start?" he asked Sirius, interestedly.

Sirius gave his bark-like laugh. "If you don't have any pressing matters to attend to, 'Oh-Chosen One', why not today?"

Chapter Text

Friday, July 5

"First thing's first. By now, you must already know the basic counter-curses, hexes and jinxes if your little club was any good. At least, I think it was," said Sirius, standing relaxed in the backyard under the cool morning sun.

"Hey!" exclaimed Harry, annoyed

Sirius looked smug. "Right, right. This is the Chosen-One we're talking about."

Harry scowled. Sirius took an inordinate amount of pleasure mocking that appalling appellation that the Prophet had come up with over the days. Even Harry had come to see the lighter side of things by the end of the week, but somehow the prospect of duelling lessons had sobered him with the gravity of his situation.

"You're not helping my nerves," said Harry sullenly.

"Blimey, relax! Here's something to lighten you up." And with a wave of his wand, Harry was reduced to laughter as he fell to the ground, invisible fingers tickling him. "Oi- stop… can't breathe!"

It stopped as suddenly as it came, but the lingering grin on his face didn't vanish. Sirius smirked.

"Now that we're warmed up, let's begin. The first thing you need to know Harry is your Summoning Charm. Not just any-…"

Sirius was cut short as Harry said 'Accio!' and his wand zoomed out of his hand.

Harry caught it out of reflex and grinned. Sirius huffed a laugh, "God! You're more impatient than I am. And that's saying something."

Sirius stretched out his wand-arm as if asking Harry to return his wand to him when unexpectedly, Sirius' wand zoomed straight back to his hand.

Harry gasped in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"If you would listen, you would know," said Sirius, looking smug. "As I was saying, you need to know your Summoning charm. And not just any summoning charm, Harry. You need to be able to summon wandlessly. This is very handy, because your wand is everything in a duel. But disarming an opponent is very simple as you well know. If you find yourself disarmed by an opponent, you need to get your wand to your hand pronto and wandless summoning is your only aid here.

Now wandless magic is a bit tricky, Harry. I personally haven't seen many do it, aside from Dumbledore and Voldemort when we fought him in the last war. It requires primarily, force of will. You need to will the wand to get to your hand. It will take some time to get the hang of it, but when you do, it just gets easier."

Harry's face had fallen. "But I haven't got will power. I can barely transfig…"

Sirius talked over him in a firm tone. "Harry, if there's anyone I know who's got will power in spades, it's you! It wasn't just an accident you could push that golden bead of light back at Voldemort or throw off his Imperius, you know."

Harry realized Sirius was referring to the graveyard at the end of the Third Task. When his and Voldemort's wand had connected by a golden thread, Harry had willed it to push it back at Voldemort. If he could do it then, he can do it now.

With a faint smile at Sirius' praise, Harry nodded, visibly steeling himself. "What do I do?"

"Real simple, actually. You raise your wand-arm, thinking of the object you want to summon and incant 'Accio!'"

As he said so, he raised his hand and Harry's wand zoomed straight towards Sirius' grasp. 

Sirius nodded at him. "Try doing it now."

Harry nodded and raised his wand-arm, fingers poised to catch. He looked firmly at his wand in Sirius' hand, then yelled, "Accio!"

Nothing happened.

At his crestfallen look, Sirius said encouragingly, "You can't just expect to do it on your first try! This is magic way beyond NEWTs. Keep trying. Again."

Harry gathered his mind as he bored his eyes into the wand, willing it to jump back into his hand. He raised his hand. 'Accio!'

Still, nothing happened.

Sirius said patiently, "You need to force every being of you to will that wand into your hand. You need to imagine the action as if it's already done. In this case, imagine your wand already in your hand. Picture the result of your summoning charm."

Harry closed his eyes again and exhaled softly, trying to not have too much expectation of himself. Vaguely, he remembered Remus saying the same in his third year as he tried to summon a Patronus charm, even then trying to do something way beyond his capability. He had got it in the end, hadn't he?

It took more than half an hour of practicing for Harry to finally get it. He raised his right hand, and imagining the wand in Sirius' hand zooming straight to his, yelled, 'Accio!'

He jerked in surprise as the wand soared towards his arm and his reflex kicked in as he caught it.

Sirius whooped. "That's my boy!"

The rest of the day, Harry spent all his time summoning anything and everything wandlessly.

Sirius had Apparated to Grimmauld Place in the meantime, to bring home Buckbeak. Harry was worried, but Sirius had promised that he and Buckbeak would be disillusioned and the ride was only about three hours. Harry agreed, mostly because, he felt really sorry for poor Buckbeak cooped up in that place. He spent the day trying to master the wandless summoning charm. After a full morning of practicing it again and again, he could easily summon anything within thirty feet of him.

Sirius arrived late in the afternoon with Buckbeak who was so wildly excited to be outdoors again, that it took some time on Harry and Sirius' part to calm him down. He had his own patch in the backyard and Twitchet was tasked with feeding Buckbeak regularly.

When Harry demonstrated his progress with the summoning charm, Sirius was so proud of him that he decided to treat Harry that night to dinner, making him promise not to tell Remus who was again visiting this mysterious person. They had left disguised, and watched a muggle film Independence Day, and Harry didn't know who was more excited by the prospect of it, him or Sirius, because Sirius was practically bursting with excitement. They had then had dinner at a fast-food joint in the nearest town. It was very hard to imagine that a war was brewing when Harry felt so normal and happy at the moment.

Sunday, July 7

"What are we learning today?" asked Harry, excited.

"I thought," said Sirius, in a lecturing tone, "it would be very beneficial to learn how to protect yourself from curses, hexes and jinxes. What are the ways you can protect yourself when someone throws a stunning spell at you?"

"You can use a shield charm," said Harry immediately.

"Or, and this is the easiest, you can dodge them. When you have an unknown spell thrown at you, the best thing would be to jump or Apparate out of its way. But, it's not always possible at the heat of the moment or if you cannot Disapparate because of certain enchantments. So we'll learn some other ways you can use a shield charm."

"There are different types of shield charms?" asked Harry, intrigued.

"Imagine it like this," said Sirius, thoughtfully. "If you have fire thrown at you, you can use a shield made of water or ice and vice versa. If you have hexes or curses thrown at you, there's always the handy Protego horribilis. It's more powerful against dark magic than a regular Protego."

"Now, what do you do when you have a killing curse aimed at you," said Sirius, quite conversationally.

"Hope I don't die like the last time Voldemort did it?" said Harry, startled by the question.

Sirius laughed. This boy had too much cheek for his own good. "That would make my life so much easier."

Harry grinned before asking quite nervously. "What do I do when I have a killing curse aimed at me?"

Sirius' expression darkened and the smile fell of his face. The threat was real and Harry was really going to face a time when it did happen. He spoke firmly, "Like all curses, the first option would be to dodge it. No known spell exists that can deflect a Killing Curse. But, there is one way to stop it from reaching you. You erect a solid object, preferably metal in front of you."

Harry was frowning thoughtfully. "When I was in the Ministry, Dumbledore enchanted the statues, you know the Fountain of Magical Brethren, to take the hit."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, that is the only way I know of that can stop a killing curse. But, therein lies our problem. There is no variation of Protego that can create a metal shield. So, the only way would be to conjure a solid block of sturdy metal out of thin air, or to transfigure metal objects that are already available at hand."

Harry visibly deflated. "I'm hopeless at Transfiguration."

Sirius frowned disbelievingly. "You can't be that bad."

"But I'm not excellent either!" said Harry truthfully.

"You will be, if I have anything to say about it!" said Sirius with such confidence that Harry resolved to try hard, just to not let his godfather down.

Sirius and Harry spent the rest of the day in the library of Potter Manor that had an extensive collection of books on duelling and also a training room for duelling practice hidden just behind the library that Harry hadn't noticed before. Sirius had told him that his grandfather, Fleamont Potter, was quite the expert at duelling.

Sirius had picked out a few books from the library, dismissing some knowingly when he read the author's name.

"I never really pegged you as the book-reading type," remarked Harry.

"Nah. That was Remus, of course. But one does need something to while away the summer holidays stuck with my dear mother."

It took three whole days for Harry to grasp the theory right. He had to admit Sirius was a brilliant teacher and he said so too one afternoon.

"But you're a quick learner and I don't have that much patience anyway. Teaching is Remus' forte," said Sirius, dismissing the thought.

Harry then proceeded to transfigure small objects to iron. It took a lot of time mastering and Sirius decided that Harry should spend at least a couple of hours, every day solely for this purpose.

In the meantime, he was teaching Harry different curses and jinxes. Remus too would drop in to oversee them and teach Harry. He claimed he wanted to make sure Sirius wasn't teaching Harry something too advanced, but Harry knew Remus enjoyed the aspect of teaching it all the same.

Harry wondered if he should ask Remus where he was always off to, but when he had run the suggestion by Sirius, he had gotten rather mischievous. "I think Remus should tell you in his own time, but my bet is that you'll know by the end of the month."

When Harry was getting rather taxed with too much practice, Sirius would drag him out to fly on his broom or they would play Exploding Snap. Harry loved and cherished his time at the Potter Manor, even though he was mostly learning. But it was different because Harry always enjoyed practical work to theory and it really helped when you could joke around and have fun with your teachers.

Chapter Text

Sunday, July 21

Almost three whole weeks had passed since Harry, Sirius, and Remus came to live in the Potter Manor. It already felt so much more like a home than Privet Drive ever did and was infinitely more beautiful to wake up to. Even the July summer was rather cool and cheerful yellow daffodils stood outside the house, courtesy of Remus who had found gardening quite therapeutic. The greenhouse looked much better, its weeds having been removed and new plants having been potted.

Harry and Sirius spent time flying or playing games with Remus or practicing new spells. Harry was proud of the progress he was making and it made him even more satisfied when Sirius or Remus praised his efforts. But the third week of July ushered in disturbing news. There had been an attack on the muggle Junior Minister. Though there still hadn't been any attacks in the wizarding world, there was a dull sense of foreboding at the stalling game that Voldemort was playing.

Hedwig had brought him letters from both Hermione (who was holidaying in her grandmother's for the whole summer) and Ron, who had written quite a bit about Fleur Delacour, who was engaged to his older brother, Bill and was visiting them at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley had passed along the message that he was invited to the Burrow whenever he wanted to. Though Harry was touched by her kindness, he graciously declined. He wanted to spend as much time with Sirius as was possible. They had fifteen years to catch up on anyway.

So it was quite a surprise when during lunch that Sirius announced they were going on a holiday of their own.

"You mean like a vacation?" asked Harry, bewildered. He had never been on a holiday before.

"Yup. I figured a week's getaway to the south of France would be your birthday present this year," said Sirius, grinning.

Harry's mouth fell open. A vacation as a birthday present? Even Dudley had never gotten something as big as that for his birthday.

Remus cut through the fog in his head. "Is it safe, Sirius? And does Dumbledore know about it?"

"It's totally safe!" said Sirius, dismissively waving his hand. "We'll be out of the country and Harry will be with me! And no, I didn't plan on telling Dumbledore about it."

Remus gave a long-suffering look. "Sirius, you cannot possibly–"

"Come on, Remus! Harry deserves to live a little. What good would it be if he stays cooped up like this? And till when? Till Voldemort is gone? That could be forever!"

"But Harry will be safe! Isn't that more important?" said Remus.

"You sound like Dumbledore now. Harry was mighty safe with the Dursleys. But was that good for Harry?" said Sirius, cuttingly.

Remus replied politely but firmly, "No, but this is different! This is intentionally–"

Harry was watching both of them argue, still with his mouth slightly agape.

Sirius spoke over him. "And besides, we'll be travelling the muggle flying way! There will be no chance of Voldemort coming at us, then."

Harry finally found his voice. "We'll be going by aeroplane?"

Sirius grinned excitedly. "Yes! I found this travel thingamabob in the town when I went there last week–"

"When did you leave to town without us knowing?"

"–and I made an enquiry and found they have tour packages to France!"

"Sirius!" said Remus in a louder voice. "Please, think sensibly. You could be followed, you could be ambushed–"

"Now really, Remus," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "I will be there with Harry and I would never let harm come to him."

Remus sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Why do you always have an answer for everything?"

Sirius grinned as he turned to look at Harry. "What do you think, Harry? Do you want to?"

Harry was torn. He really wanted to go on a vacation of his own; all his friends had been overseas at least once in their life. But Remus was right too. With Voldemort out in the open, was it really safe?

The few seconds that Harry hesitated, he saw the disheartened look in his godfather's face and hastened to reply, "I really, really want to, but I agree with Remus."

Sirius looked crushed and even Remus looked up startled. But Harry continued, "We should go under disguise and also inform Dumbledore."

The grin that broke into Sirius' face was magnificent and he clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Excellent!"

Remus shook his head with his lips pressed, admitting defeat.

Sirius and Harry had gone into town and spent a day shopping for their holiday in France. Remus had later apologized as he would not be making it to the trip. He had looked at Sirius meaningfully and Sirius had nodded.

Remus had been tasked with getting tickets for both Harry and Sirius. When Harry asked his godfather why Remus wasn't coming with them, he had smirked knowingly. "Remus is going to be spending time with uh… someone else."

Harry's eyes widened as he realized the implication. "You mean like a girlfriend?"

Sirius laughed. "Don't tell Remus that I told you."

"But who is it? Why doesn't he say anything?" asked Harry.

"He's still rather uncomfortable about it, poor sod. He didn't actively date when we were in school, because of, you know, his problem. Even after Hogwarts, he convinced himself that people like him weren't meant to date."

"Bet it's someone really special to make him reconsider his opinion," mused Harry.

Sirius grinned. "It is."

Wednesday, July 24

"Okay," Remus said as he handed a yellow envelope to Sirius. "Your tickets are here. I have already exchanged your muggle currency and it's in this envelope. What else? Have you informed Dumbledore yet?"

"Ah right…" said Sirius, uncharacteristically nervous. "I was hoping to do that now."

"Now?" exclaimed Remus, aghast. "You mean you haven't let him know yet? Your plane's leaving in less than six hours! And you need to leave within three if you want to make it in time!"

"Right… So let's not waste any more time dawdling," said Sirius, nodding as he walked over to the mantelpiece and took a pinch of the Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "Headmaster's Office!"

Sirius stuck his head into the fire and quelled his urge to cough. He saw the familiar office and Dumbledore was sitting on his desk, lost in his thoughts as he held something small in his hand.

"Dumbledore," he said politely, by way of greeting. Dumbledore quickly turned to see him and Sirius was momentarily amused by his surprise.

"What brings you here at this time of the day, Sirius?" he asked as he turned in his seat to look at Sirius properly.

"Well, you see…"

"Is Harry alright?" interrupted Dumbledore, with a worried frown.

Sirius huffed. "Of course he is! Why won't he be?" Why did everyone think he was not fit to keep Harry safe?

"Then what is the matter?" said Dumbledore, curiously.

Sirius took in a breath – it was best to do it quickly. "We, that is to say, Harry and I are going on a holiday to France, for a week."

Predictably Dumbledore shook his head. "Sirius, I cannot possibly allow…"

Sirius had practiced his speech for this very same eventuality. "Dumbledore, please. I'm not asking for your permission. I am merely informing you because Remus thinks we should not keep information of our whereabouts from you."

"Very wise of him," said Dumbledore sagaciously.

"That's Remus to you!" nodded Sirius. "Look, I have already made all the arrangements. We leave this afternoon since we're flying the Muggle way. It will be perfectly safe and you know I'll keep an eye on Harry."

"It's not a question of whether you can keep him safe, Sirius," said Dumbledore slowly.

"Harry needs a break! He has never gone on holiday before thanks to those bloody relatives he calls Aunt and Uncle. You want to treat him like a child whenever you decide to keep him in the dark. But when it comes to living like one, it's not acceptable? He deserves to have some semblance of normalcy in his life."

Dumbledore was staring at him and after a moment sighed. "I assume no amount of convincing on my part is going to discourage you."

"Too right you are!" proclaimed Sirius victoriously.

"Then, I think you will agree that it will be prudent of you to check in with Remus or me every day, just in case."

That was not a bad suggestion at all. Sirius nodded, "We can do that. I'll give one of my two-way mirrors to Remus, so it won't intrude too much with our time there."

"Very well. I wish you and Harry a safe journey."

Sirius grinned. "Thank you. See you in a week."

"He agreed?" asked Remus incredulously as Sirius stood up from the fireplace.

Sirius put a hand to his heart and said with mock-hurt. "Is that how much faith you had in my powers of persuasion?"

"I admit I thought it would take a lot of time to convince Dumbledore," said Remus.

"He was rather distracted when I first saw him, now that I think about it," said Sirius, casually. "But yes, I am a little surprised myself that he agreed so quickly."

Remus was looking at him worriedly when Sirius beamed. "Oh, cheer up! It'll be fine. Besides, you get the house all to yourself for a week. I have no qualms and I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind if you decided to invite your lady-friend over for the week."

Remus blushed and stammered. "What–no–That won't be–We are not that close yet."

Sirius, very observantly noted the hopeful 'yet'. He took a piece of parchment from the mantelpiece and quickly wrote something down. "Here's the address, if you change your mind. It's not like I don't trust Tonks and I hope we'll be seeing more of her soon."

Remus was muttering, "I'm not ready to get serious with her. She doesn't deserve to be with someone like me!"

"That's what you say," said Sirius, quite seriously. "She seems perfectly happy with you though. I think you should give it a chance."

And before Remus could reply, Sirius left the room, whistling the same Pink Floyd tune that had been stuck in his head for the whole day.

Chapter Text

Catherine Johnson was nervous and excited. It wasn't every day that you get invited to join a top-secret organisation. She had gotten to know about the Order of the Phoenix from her sister's friends, Fred and George Weasley. Her younger sister, Angelina, had invited her along with another of her friends, Lee Jordan to the Leaky Cauldron to congratulate the twins on their new venture, Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.

Catherine had agreed to come only because she had met up with Angelina on her way to Gringotts and also because she knew Angelina had a thing going on between herself and one of the twins, and as her older sister, she was concerned.

The twins had then acted rather suspiciously and taken them to a muggle restaurant outside the Leaky Cauldron and then proceeded to tell them about the Order of the Phoenix. She had been amazed to hear that Dumbledore was the head of the organization and that the Weasleys were already part of it. They had also invited them to join, saying that they invited only the people they could trust.

Angelina had been thrilled by the idea and immediately agreed along with Lee Jordan. Catherine wasn't fooled. She knew her sister had agreed mainly because the Weasley boys were also a part of it. Catherine, who was an Auror Trainee, was apprehensive and rightfully so.

"Come on, Cathy. We always said we'll do something to make a difference. Joining the Order seems like the right thing to do," pleaded Angelina.

"That's why I joined the Auror program. To make a difference," said Catherine reasonably.

Lee spoke up. "But the Ministry hasn't been doing much regarding You-Know-Who all this time, have they? They never believed Harry was saying the truth until they saw him for themselves."

Catherine knew that too. She and Angelina had always shared a close bond despite having a five year age gap between them. She had told Catherine over the holidays, all about Potter's little Defence group and how much she had learned. She was quite astounded to hear about their daring, to tell the truth. 

"But how can I juggle my time between my Auror training and the Order? I can't make excuses in the Department," said Catherine.

"Don't worry," said George Weasley. "The Order won't give us anything to do beyond our time and capability. Look at us, for example. We have a shop to run, but even we get time-offs like the evenings and weekends." 

Fred added, "We need members, especially, ones in the Ministry. Helps keep an eye on what they are up to, you see. We have Aurors in the Order too."

"Really? How many Aurors are there," asked Catherine, genuinely interested.

"As far as I know, we have a retired Auror, Alastor Moody, who was the best in the field and also two Aurors who are currently working in the Ministry. There might be more, they're trying to recruit over the summer," said Fred.

Catherine was tempted to join now, partly because she could meet the Alastor Moody. He was almost a legend in the Auror Training program. But then, she realised something.

"I'm not that good of a fighter, I'm still just a trainee," said Catherine truthfully.

George waved his hand dismissively. "At least you're an Auror trainee! Imagine us! We're barely out of school. That's not at all a problem. Moody has been tasked to train up the new recruits, so we'll be fine."

That was what had made Catherine accept the invitation finally. She could learn from the best, while also doing her part in the war. It was a win-win scenario.

She entered the twins' flat above their shop in Diagon Alley where Angelina was already there along with Jordan and the twins.

George clapped his hands together. "Now that we're all here, let's get going. The meeting starts in fifteen minutes and we're going to take a portkey directly to Headquarters."

He pulled out a bent tin-can and held it out to them and everyone put a finger on the portkey. It glowed brilliantly and they were off.

Sunday, July 28

They arrived on a small patch of unkempt grass on a street. The surrounding buildings with their grimy walls and broken windows looked unwelcoming in Cathy's opinion. Fred (or George) was ushering them behind a couple of trees. He pulled out his wand and muttered, 'Homenum revelio.'

Making sure they were well and truly alone, he pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Here, read this. Memorize it," he said handing it to Jordan. She and Angelina leaned in to read the paper which had a narrow, loopy handwriting.

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found in Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

George took back the parchment and burned it to ash with his wand tip just as Jordan said, "But where's…"

Catherine gasped, and so did Angelina and Jordan, as she saw a house materializing right in front of her eyes. She looked back at the twins' dumbly but they were already pulling them forward.

Fred said, "We'll leave in batches. Catherine, Jordan, with me. Angelina, you're with George."

Catherine was the only one to notice the blush rising in Angelina's cheeks before she followed Fred along with Jordan and crossed the street to the dilapidated building. It had the number 12 on the door with peeling paint and a knocker in the shape of a snake with no keyhole. Fred tapped the door with his wand, which then unlocked with a series of rattling sounds and swung open ominously.

"In you go," he said and waited for George and Angelina to catch up. Once they were all in, he shut the door and they were plunged into darkness. A thrill of foreboding washed over Catherine as Jordan whispered, "Why is it so dark?"

A hissing sound accompanied the sudden burst of gas lamps along the walls, illuminating a threadbare carpet and a cobwebbed chandelier along with old, grimy portraits. Both the chandelier and the candelabra were shaped like serpents. Wondering why on earth the Headquarters of the Order was in a place that looked like it belonged to someone who diligently practiced the Dark Arts, she silently took in the house.

George whispered, "Keep your sounds to a minimum," and he walked forward with the rest shuffling noiselessly behind.

At the far end of the hall, Catherine could hear murmuring and George opened the door to a spacious dining. People were seated haphazardly and talking amongst themselves when the voices quietened as they entered.

Fred announced, "Everyone, meet the newest recruits. Angelina and Catherine Johnson and Lee Jordan."

Catherine felt awkward as people watched politely, some offering greetings when she heard the familiar voice of her Head of House, Professor McGonagall.

"Johnson, Jordan and ah Miss Johnson," she added lastly, smiling at Catherine. She had always had a soft spot for her and Catherine politely shook her former teacher's hand.

"Why Professor, you seem to have forgotten us!" said Fred with a wicked grin.

"You both know you are unforgettable with that stunt you pulled whilst leaving Hogwarts," said McGonagall, her lips twitching.

Fred and George both mimed an odd choking sound. "That is… the highest praise we have ever received from you, dear Professor!"

Angelina and Catherine laughed while Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes. "It is a pity I can't take points off of you now."

Jordan and the twins were still laughing when the room quietened again and Catherine turned to see Professor Dumbledore striding into the room, looking resplendent in his midnight blue robes.

Everyone scrambled to take up the seats in the dining table, which seemed to have been magically enlarged to seat around twenty people. She recognized two boys with flaming red hair who looked like they were the twins' brothers, their father Mr. Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt who she knew was a top Auror and another Auror with bubblegum pink hair that she had only seen in passing in the Ministry.

After a round of introductions for the newcomers, Dumbledore made some announcements.

"I have grave news. Amelia Bones was found murdered in her house this evening."

People gasped and exclaimed in horror when Dumbledore called for quiet. "It will be in the Prophet tomorrow. But the time has come. Voldemort has made his first wizarding attack and it will only be a matter of time before he progresses to attack all muggleborns and anyone who stand in his way."

Professor McGonagall looked close to tears. "Why was Amelia targeted? She hasn't explicitly done anything against You-Know-Who!"

"I presume it has to do with Sirius' acquittal. She was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement."

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked thoughtful. "I wonder if You-Know-Who did it to show the world that anyone who helps Sirius and in turn, Potter, will be dealt with similarly."

The silence was too loud as people sat in their seats stunned by the idea. Moody spoke up, a permanent grimace on his marred face. "You-Know-Who has been lying low ever since his return has been publicised, because he lost many key Death Eaters to Azkaban. With Dementors as his allies, it is only a matter of time before he breaks them out again."

Shacklebolt said in his deep voice. "This leaves the Order with the job of tailing the Death Eaters. We need to get wind of their plans and make sure to stop them before it comes to fruition."

Then, Dumbledore and Moody had detailed the plan to train the members of the Order. Catherine was excited by that and then the younger members had to take their leave as Dumbledore detailed mission plans to the older members.

Catherine along with her sister, Jordan, the twins and their brothers were ushered to a drawing room on the first floor along with the other Auror in the group.

The Auror with pink hair came up to her. "Wotcher, I'm Tonks!" she said brightly.

Catherine instantly thought she liked the young witch who was about a couple of years older than her. "Hi! I'm Catherine Johnson" she said, offering her hand to shake.

Tonks smiled as she shook her hand. "You're a trainee, aren't you? I've seen you in the Department."

"Yes, I am. I got in just last year," said Catherine proudly.

"What makes you join the Order?" asked Tonks.

"Well, I want to help out because someone has to, don't they?"

"Well said," said Charlie, joining in the conversation. Catherine remembered seeing him in school, but he had been a couple of years senior to her and she hadn't talked to him before.

Catherine flushed. "Also, I wanted to learn from Alastor Moody."

"Oh! That's splendid!" exclaimed Tonks happily. "Moody was my mentor, you know? He's just the best. He may be a little difficult to get along with at first, but he's alright."

Catherine smiled when Bill Weasley spoke up. "Before we start, there are some things you need to know."

"First, and most obviously, you are not to repeat anything, and I mean anything, that we discuss in the Order. No mentioning the names of members or any plans to meet, nothing. Are we clear?"

When everybody nodded their heads to show their understanding, he continued. "Also, it's quite imperative that as an Order Member you should be able to produce a Patronus. That's the fastest and most reliable way of communicating. We'll be practising that first."

"And," said Bill, as if remembering something at just that moment, "whenever there is an Order meeting, you will Apparate directly onto the top step of Number 12. Not even a step below, you understand?"

"Why's that?" asked Angelina curiously.

"Because, this house is under the Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore himself placed it, which means you physically cannot relay the address of this place to anyone or bring anyone with you who is not a member of the Order, unless Dumbledore himself tells the address."

Catherine understood then that the piece of parchment she had read was written by Dumbledore.

"So," continued Bill, "Apparating directly to the top step is important since the Fidelius Charm covers till that area. Anywhere else and you'll be spotted by outsiders. The date and time of future Order meetings will be relayed to you by word of mouth. In your case, you'll get to know from Fred or George or even Tonks."

After that, they got around to practising the Patronus Charm, which was easily the most difficult spell till date that Catherine had tried. She was amazed when her sister and Jordan could produce one within a few tries.

"We learnt it in the DA last year. Harry taught us," said Jordan, grinning as his Patronus form vanished.

Feeling rather put out, she had been relieved when Tonks had cheered her up, saying it took her days to get it right too.

The meeting below was almost over and the older wizards and witches along with Dumbledore had left, leaving only them and few others namely Mr. Weasley, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin.

They were busying around the stove making dinner and Catherine also offered to help. It was a rather joyous affair, chatting and getting to know each other and the twins made conversation very light-hearted and interesting. She was eating her steak, talking to Ms. Vance and Tonks, who caught her up with the current affairs in the Ministry.

"How is Sirius by the way, Remus?" said Mr. Weasley, talking across the table.

George asked, "Where is he now actually? The Prophet didn't say…"

"Sirius moved in to a new house although I can't tell you where," said Lupin, mildly.

"Bet Harry loves that!" grinned Fred.

It was only then Catherine realised that they were talking about Sirius Black and Harry Potter, Daily Prophet's source of unlimited fodder for the month.

Lupin was smiling. "I swear it's like having two teenagers in the house, instead of one!"

Most of them laughed when Angelina asked unsurely, "Is Sirius Black really Harry's godfather?"

It was George who spoke, still smiling. "It was a bit of a shock for us too when we found out."

Jordan was confused. "But why did he break into Hogwarts in our fifth year if he wasn't really a mad killer then?"

Catherine was then sucked into the wildest story she had ever heard – of betrayal and illegal Animagus and werewolves (where she was startled to learn that Lupin was a real werewolf) and a man who was wrongly convicted for twelve years in Azkaban.

She shuddered, still unable to imagine how a man could have been sane, staying in the maximum security prison with Dementors standing guard day in and day out.

It was altogether a very eventful day and her mind was still buzzing with the things she had heard when she went to sleep.

Remus walked into the empty bedroom and Dumbledore closed the door behind him and cast a silencing spell on the door.

"I am sorry I have to put you through this again Remus, but if there was another way, I would…"

"It's alright, Dumbledore. I understand the importance of our situation. I am the only werewolf around who can do it, so it would be stupid of me to not at least try," said Remus.

Dumbledore looked at him for a moment before sighing. "How is Harry? And Sirius?"

Remus smiled genuinely. "I talked with them just this morning through the mirror. They are doing fine. Harry is really good for him."

"I think it goes both ways when it comes to Sirius and Harry," said Dumbledore thoughtfully.

Remus nodded. "You could say that. I've never seen Harry so happy before."

Dumbledore sighed again looking every bit his age. "There is no need to inform them now of what is happening here, Remus. They will know eventually. Let them enjoy the few days they have left in peace."

"When do I start the mission?"

"I think you must visit the werewolves within the week. We do not want Voldemort to get to them first. Try to convince Greyback, or as many as the other werewolves in the pack. But if all else fails, return home, Remus," said Dumbledore, gravely.

Remus nodded anxiously, yet determined. "I will try my best."

Chapter Text

Saturday, July 27

"I think I've made up my mind what I want to do with the rest of my life," said Harry, as he scooped up the steadily melting lavender flavoured ice-cream, a local delicacy.

"Other than becoming an Auror, you mean?" said Sirius, without opening his eyes. He was lying down on the beach towel, in his white button-up which was undone, as he soaked in the sun of the Cote d'Azur, the most beautiful beach Harry had ever seen with its crystal-clear turquoise waters and rows upon rows of umbrellas sheltering naked bodies of men and women from around the world as they all indulged in the glorious warmth of the Provençal sun.

"Yeah, I'm going to travel the world after I finish school," said Harry, nodding.

It had taken him two days for his nerves to settle down and stop being so 'jumpy' as Sirius put it. He was almost positive that a Death Eater would jump around the corner and apprehend him when he was not noticing.

But after two whole days of walking around the cobbled stone streets of Aix-en-Provence, visiting the local theatre festivals and swimming in the Calanques de Cassis, he was now thoroughly enjoying their trip and was marvelling at the fact that the world was so much bigger than just England. There was plenty to see and learn and experience that he thought he might have found his calling in life.

"That's a splendid idea, Har–James," stumbled Sirius, opening one eye to make sure nobody was around to have noticed the slip.

Harry and Sirius, or in other words, James and John Evans were the innocuous father and son duo of their little tour group. They had settled for their middle names and his mother's surname but Sirius had to take Remus' middle name as 'Orion' was in no way a common muggle name.

Other than themselves, there was a couple along with their seventeen year old daughter, another woman who had ended up alone on what should have been her honeymoon and a small family with two young boys.

Their official cover was that James (Harry) was John (Sirius) Evans' son, whose wife had left him and he had attained custody of him after a long and arduous custody battle. This was their first trip as father and son and it was fairly amusing watching Sirius spin the tale even further with practiced ease to the lovely Miss Jane Evesham. The poor woman had been stood up in her wedding and had decided to come to France (her would-be honeymoon destination) and wallow amongst strangers.

She was a pretty woman in her late twenties, very slim and petite with a beautiful face - although, it had been rather blotchy for the first two days of the trip. Since learning Sirius'…or rather John's story, she found some sort of mutual companionship and was hanging by his arm since.

The woman in question was currently walking towards them from the waves, her slim bikini-clad figure looking quite appealing.

Feeling apprehensive, Harry finished his lavender ice-cream quickly and stood up muttering, "I'm going to look for Alicia."

"Don't go too far," came Sirius' lazy drawl as Harry walked away. It was only maybe ten seconds later, when a loud shriek made him turn back immediately.

What he saw made him break into hysterical laughter along with some of the rest of their tour group. Sirius, who had earlier been digging a rather large hole in the sand, had spread a blanket over it to cover it up. Jane had apparently tried to lay back and promptly fell into the pit, screaming.

Sirius was howling with laughter as Jane pulled herself up and was punching Sirius everywhere she could get her hands on. "You–think–that–was–funny–John?"

Sirius, still chuckling, tried to get hold of her assaulting hands, smiling roguishly. "Yes. Yes, it was."

Harry blushed when she suddenly leaned into Sirius and he quickly turned away. He didn't need to see that.

Thankfully, someone joined him. "You'd think she would be rather upset after her fiancé stood her up just four days ago, but no. She's having the time of her life here with your dad."

"She needs to de-stress. That's why she came here, isn't it?" said Harry as he took in the cynical expression on Alicia's face.

"You're not at all upset that she hangs out with your dad?"

"No," said Harry truthfully. He had just spoken last night with Sirius, who had assured him it was nothing more than harmless fun.

"You're weird, James," said Alicia, shaking her head, her beautiful brown hair cascading over her shoulders. "You know that's how I thought too when my stepdad came in to the picture. Next thing I know, he's marrying my mum and moving in with me."

"You're saying I should be worried that Jane might marry Si-my dad?" said Harry, incredulously.

"I'm just saying, things do not always stay the same," said Alicia decisively.

Harry shrugged as they walked along the shore, the cool water splashing on their feet. Alicia Bloomwood was a rather nice-looking girl and was very loquacious. They formed a tentative friendship as they were the only teens of similar age in the group. Her mother and stepfather were always together leaving her on her own and Harry felt rather sorry for her.

It was very refreshing to talk to someone who wasn't already familiar with his name and his story. They talked about simple things and her travels around the world which Harry had to admit had sparked his curiosity to travel too.

They reached a small gift shop and headed inside, Alicia stopping to take pictures. She was an avid photographer and partly the reason her parents left her alone to wander.

"Hmm… What do you think I can get my friends back home?" asked Harry, picking up a coffee mug.

"I'd get them a bottle of champagne and be done with it," said Alicia offhandedly as she checked her camera.

"Ron's mum will probably kill me if I give something like that seeing as we're still underage," said Harry, blanching at the idea.

Alicia looked up curiously. "You mean you haven't had a drink before. At all?"

"No," said Harry truthfully and was only slightly embarrassed.

"Wow, you're missing out. Thank goodness we have a wine-tasting session on the cards." And just like that, she walked off towards a shelf to see the various products lining the wall and she bought herself a charm to add to her bracelet.

"I think Hermione will like this," said Harry, looking over a small pink journal with a leather cover which gave a subtle aroma of lavender.

"Oh, is she your girlfriend?" Harry did not miss the sharpness of her tone.

"No," said Harry coolly. "Just a friend."

Alicia looked at him with an air of smug superiority. "That's what all the boys say."

"No, really," said Harry, wanting to make himself clear. "She's like my sister. We practically grew up together."

Alicia was now looking at him very interestedly. "Okay… So, any girlfriends back home?"

"Well," said Harry, thinking to make sure nothing he said would blow their cover off. "I did have one last year but we broke it off."

"Why?"

Harry was fidgeting now, feeling rather awkward, "Um… she was just too…"

"Clingy? Girly? Emotional?" Alicia supplied helpfully and a little too excitedly.

"Yes, emotional! That's the word. It was just too overwhelming."

Alicia smiled wryly as she waggled her eyebrows, "Was she a good kisser?"

"Um…" What is it with this girl?

"I'll take that as a no," she said happily.

"It wasn't like that!" said Harry, hastily. "She was just crying when we did…"

Alicia wrinkled her nose. "Why was she crying when you kissed her?"

Harry couldn't possibly tell her that Cho's last boyfriend had been murdered. He mumbled, "You ask too many questions."

Sirius' smile froze as Jane leaned in and kissed him. For a moment, he was lost in the sensation, unusual as it was, before reality kicked in. He pushed her away gently, frowning, "What are you doing?"

Jane was now pink with embarassment. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for…"

Sirius hastily made himself clear. "I'm not upset."

"I—I shouldn't have—" She sniffed loudly, before she started crying in earnest.

Sirius, quite startled, did not know what to do. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder waiting for her to calm down. Merlin knew, he was a git when it came to crying girls.

She sniffed again. "God, I'm a mess! I'm not usually like this, you know. It just... makes me gutted to realize I might never be married again."

"Come off it," said Sirius with a scoff. "You're young, you're fit! Just because one bloke called it off doesn't mean you ought to get all mopey and miserable."

"You must think me a right idiot," Jane gave a watery chuckle. "I never thought I'd be crying all over a stranger in the middle of bloody France!"

Sirius laughed. "No, you’re fine."

Jane leaned on her elbow, watching him curiously. "How about you?"

"What about me?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow, smirking.

Jane's cheeks coloured. "That wife must have been nasty if they gave you your son instead of her. No plans for a girlfriend just yet?"

Sirius was quite certain she was making a move on him. He chose to speak at least half of the truth. It was sometimes really tiring making up so many lies. "I just got–my son and I want to spend all my attention on him. I don't have time for anyone else."

Sirius was quite befuddled when she smiled. "See, that's why I like you. It’s plain for everyone to see how much you love your son. You’ve been chatting me up but you haven’t yet made a move on me, which I find absolutely enchanting. There's not many blokes around like that."

"I find that a little insulting on behalf of all men. Surely, there are plenty of good blokes around?" said Sirius, watching Harry out of the corner of his eye.

Jane was silently observing Sirius watching Harry and he would be lying if he said he didn't find that a little disconcerting. He turned to look at her properly. "Besides, you're not in a good state of mind to be getting into another relationship right now. Just relax, enjoy your vacation. You'll have plenty of time later to worry about whom to tie the knot with."

"You're right. I do hope we can forget this—“ she gestured at herself roughly, ”—ever happened. I don't want it to make anything awkward between us for the rest of the trip."

"I assure you, it hasn't," said Sirius, grinning and watched bemusedly as she spread sunscreen over her body, not at all looking like she had had a weeping fit minutes ago.

He would never understand women.

Chapter Text

Sirius was pretty sure James would have been laughing himself silly if he could see him right now. He had just turned down a girl, an admittedly beautiful one at that.

It had been entirely too long since he had slept with a woman. If his twenty-year old self saw him right now, he would have died of horror. Azkaban had done a number on him and being on the run wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

Staying in Number 12 Grimmauld Place for the past year had made him gain some weight so that he didn't look too sickly, but it was ultimately the past month that had changed him.

Twitchet's cooking and the health potion Twitchet made for him every day had made him gain some significant weight though he was still rather lean. His face had filled out and his skin wasn't waxy anymore, but his hair still lacked its healthy shine. Otherwise, he was better than ever considering what he had been through.

He decided to visit the local salon later to get himself a good haircut instead of the self-trimming he was wont to since Azkaban. It would be one more step in the right direction that could make him feel like himself again.

He drank his cold beer and watched as a fit-looking woman in a rather skimpy swimsuit winked at him, looking up for it and he automatically smirked in response.

Perhaps, he wasn't as sickly looking as he thought he was?

On second thought, shagging a stranger didn't seem so bad an idea. After all, he was desperately in need of practice.

Wednesday, July 31

Their final day in Provence was the most interesting day of all. After the day spent at the beach, they had gone hiking around the local villages and had seen the beautiful lavender and sunflower farms. It looked nothing short of magical at this time of the year, the air smelling sweet and flowery as they sampled lavender honey drizzled over warm croissants.

After the last two days of rock-climbing the world's second largest canyon, the Gorges du Verdon and white-water rafting in the Verdon river, the wine and cheese-tasting session in Marseilles sounded almost rather boring. It was definitely anything but.

Harry and Sirius uncommonly bonded over a mutual love for cheese. From Roquefort to Camembert, Brie to Fontagne, they both loved the creamy, piquant cheeses which, when paired with wines, was nothing short of astounding. From white wines, sparkling rosé and full-bodied reds, Harry had been dazzled with the variety of wines available. Sirius had ended up spending a considerable amount of money buying a lot of it to take back home, when Jane reminded them they couldn't possibly take all of it through immigration. Sirius had been confused by that but bought them all anyway.

The afternoon was spent at the local market sampling juicy melons and succulent peaches, ripe tomatoes, Nyon black olives atop just-baked bread and wandering around Marseilles snacking on sweet nougat and calisson and then a light lunch of bouillabaisse, which reminded Harry strongly of Fleur Delacour and the Yule Ball while he sat under the large umbrellas outside the café.

Harry stopped when he saw something outside a hipster T-shirt shop where there were blokes with tattoos discussing up front. Sirius was buying a water bottle a few shops away and Harry entered the shop to buy the thing soon before Sirius got to him. It was a rather crude gift in his opinion, but if Harry knew Sirius at all, he was bound to like it. Grinning, he quickly paid for it and exited the shop before Sirius could notice, stuffing the gift into his backpack.

In the evening, there was a small birthday party for Harry by their tour group. He was rather taken aback when everybody broke into song, wishing him a happy birthday and Sirius had brought in the cake.

"This is a surprise," said Harry happily. Never in his life had he had a birthday party just for him.

"It's not every day my boy turns sixteen, is it?" said Sirius, beaming as he placed the cake lit with candles in front of him.

Harry grinned. Even though it was all a charade, Harry was secretly really glad whenever Sirius referred to him as his son.

Alicia chimed in, "Make a wish, James!"

Harry rolled his eyes at her, feeling like a kid. What could he wish for? He had everything he had ever wanted right now. Well, maybe he could wish Voldemort never existed. Even thinking his name was surreal after the blissful week he had had.

He decided what he would wish for and he smiled. He was not going to close his eyes, he was not a child. But, he did think of his wish when he blew out the candles, hoping it would come true.

Everyone cheered and clapped as Harry cut his cake. And isn't that itself a novelty? mused Harry as the cake was divided among all and wine and juice were flowing.

Harry beamed as Sirius came up to him, a goblet of golden Sauternes in his hand. Harry took two steps forwards and wrapped his arms around Sirius, who returned it with a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you, for everything," said Harry with only a slight choke in his voice.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder still smiling as he handed the wine to him. "You deserve this and more. Happy sixteenth, Harry."

Harry smiled. He knew then he had wished for the right thing. What could be better than hoping he could always have his godfather with him?

Harry sipped the Sauternes, having a new liking for the sweet French wine after the wine-tasting session. Alicia had come to personally wish him and Harry smiled in greeting. "Hello."

"Looks like someone is rather fond of wines. Pretty neat for someone who had never had a drink three days ago, I would say," she beamed.

Harry laughed. "All thanks to you."

"I wanted to give you this, you know, as a birthday present."

Saying so, she pulled out a thick envelope from her purse and handed it to him. Harry took it, intrigued as he saw the writing on top: Happy Birthday! Love, Alicia. She gestured for Harry to open it and Harry set down his goblet before flipping open the contents of the envelope.

They were pictures, almost twenty of them, muggle photographs of Harry and even Sirius. There was a picture of Harry wearing a sun hat looking out into the bright blue sea, one of Harry in the gorgeous lavender field, Harry and Sirius laughing as they sat in a café, a picture of both of them from behind as they stood atop the cliff of the canyon, and even a goofy picture of both of them with helmets and goggles on, near the waterfall before they went rafting. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts he had ever received in his life.

Harry looked up, lost for words. "How—When did you—?"

Alicia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know—I just thought you'd appreciate it seeing as this is your first trip with your dad and I never saw the both of you with a camera or—"

She was cut off as Harry, in a moment of instinct, had leaned down to press his lips to hers. She gasped, but she enthusiastically kissed him back as Harry had put aside the gift and placed his hands on her hips.

After a minute (or forever) later, they broke apart gasping. Harry felt light-headed; that was perhaps the best kiss ever, in his admittedly limited experience.

Alicia was looking at him dazedly. "Blimey! You're an amazing kisser, James. Don't let that ex-girlfriend of yours tell you otherwise."

Harry flushed with happiness and he did not mind at all when Alicia pulled him towards her again.

Thursday, August 1

"Well, this is it," said Alicia, hoisting her backpack.

"Yeah, I guess," said Harry, as he watched the others in their tour group saying goodbyes at the airport.

"Thanks for hanging out with me," said Alicia sincerely. "I had a great time."

"Same," beamed Harry. "I didn't expect this trip to have been so much fun. Thanks for the gift again. That is really one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given to me."

"You're welcome," said Alicia with a bright smile. Both of them loitered around uncertainly and before it could get awkward, Alicia said, "Well, this is goodbye. Until we meet again, James."

She offered her hand to shake and Harry took it, a wave of sadness washing over him. "Do you think we will? Meet again, I mean."

"If we're meant to, then we will."

Harry smiled too. He liked the thought of it. It was rather romantic, yet also made him feel a little melancholy. Alicia's parents gestured for her and she turned to leave, waving Harry goodbye.

Harry raised his hand in farewell and she beamed once more. Then she was gone.

Harry watched the place where she had turned around a corner for a moment longer before shaking himself out of his reverie. He turned to look for Sirius and grinned when he saw Sirius coming towards him, a blushing Miss Evesham watching him from behind rather wistfully.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "Well that was a fun trip, wasn't it?"

Indeed, it had been the best trip ever and he was almost sorry to leave that blissful week in the most beautiful place on Earth. Harry smiled in agreement as they left the airport to Apparate back home.

Remus was tending to the greenhouse when he heard the tell-tale crack of Apparition. He turned, knowing who it would be and saw the two figures walking up the driveway pulling their luggage behind them.

Remus nearly froze when for a moment he was transported to a time twenty years ago, seeing James and Sirius walking towards him. He blinked as they neared and he shook himself. Harry and Sirius were talking but Sirius raised a hand in greeting as he saw Remus. Remus noticed Sirius' hair was shorter and layered, almost similar to how it was when he was younger. He hadn't seen that when they mirror-called three days ago. Admittedly, the last two days it had been Harry who spoke to him.

They were both sporting a healthy tan and rather large grins on their faces. He smiled. It was good to see them happy and healthy.

"Hey Moony, missed me?" said Sirius as he clapped a hand on Remus' shoulder. Remus rolled his eyes. "It was actually rather nice having the house to myself."

"Oh, of course it was," said Sirius with a mischievous grin and he winked. Remus felt himself growing flustered at Sirius' implication and decided to change topics.

"Hello, Harry. How was Provence?" he said kindly and Harry grinned. "It was brilliant! I wish you had come too."

"Moony was probably having more fun than either of us," said Sirius, waggling his eyebrows.

Remus glowered at Sirius, who was grinning like the devil, when Harry surreptitiously tried to walk around Sirius and inside the house. "I'm starving. What's for lunch?"

Thank goodness, Harry had inherited Lily's common sense.

Chapter Text

Saturday, August 3

Dumbledore Apparated straight outside the gates of Potter Manor. He pushed open the gate as he took off the Disillusionment Charm on himself and walked forward, admiring the view.

It was a tranquil place, with its lush green grass and the tall pine trees surrounding the plot. A light breeze shattered the silence as it rustled the leaves of the trees and a few birds chirped at the early hour. Dawn was just around the corner as the hidden rays of light fell upon the rippling blades of grass.

Dumbledore could make out a hippogriff flying down and landing on a patch of grass to the side of the house which had to be Buckbeak. Cheerfully swaying daffodils at the front of the house that had not been there the last time he had visited made the house look more welcoming. He walked up the driveway, and for a moment, forgot his many troubles as he breathed in the homely scent of pine trees which reminded him of his beloved school.

He tapped the front door with his wand and the door clattered open. The sound of loud music filled the house incongruously at the ungodly hour as he entered the apparently empty drawing room, which looked warm and welcoming.

He walked into the living area and noticed certain things that had not been there before. There was a bottle of red wine labelled Cabernet Sauvignon on top of the mantelpiece with a set of wine goblets and a couple of books lay on the coffee table. A stack of the Daily Prophet was lying on a desk and also an envelope that lay open with its contents in disarray.

Dumbledore, wondering if he had arrived too early, moved forward and inspected the pictures which had been inside the envelope. They were muggle photographs of Harry and Sirius presumably taken on their recent trip. He had always found the still quality of muggle photographs very endearing – they almost made it look timeless. He wondered who had taken the beautiful pictures when a loud crash made him turn immediately towards the sound.

He found himself amused to see it was Harry in his pyjamas, who seemed to have missed the last step on the staircase and fell into a heap at its bottom.

Harry was cursing under his breath as he put on his glasses "—a racket at six in the morning! How many times do I—"

He promptly yelped, jumping a foot back when he laid his eyes on Dumbledore.

"Professor! What are you doing here?"

"I assume Sirius did not inform you that I was coming?" said Dumbledore a little loudly to be heard over the thumping music.

"No, he didn't!" yelled Harry as he went to the gramophone and turned it off. "How long have you been waiting here?" asked Harry in a normal tone, running a hand through his bed hair trying to make it look somewhat presentable and failing miserably.

"Not more than five minutes, dear boy," said Dumbledore.

Harry motioned towards the dining area. "Do you want to have breakfast while Sirius takes time with his shower? I swear he takes more time than a girl!" said Harry.

Dumbledore chuckled as Harry led him and called for Twitchet, who had snapped her fingers and immediately laid the table with nothing short of a feast.

Dumbledore sat and gestured for Harry to join him while he surveyed the food choices before him with interest. There was the usual toast, fruits, cereal, sausages and eggs, but also croissants, a pot of lavender honey and a tub of creamy blue cheese, probably something they picked up on their holiday.

"How has it been living in the Potter Manor?" asked Dumbledore politely by way of making small talk while he buttered his croissant and drizzled the fragrant honey over it.

Dumbledore couldn't help but notice how healthy Harry looked. Harry had always been rather pale and shall he daresay, peaky, especially during the start-of-term, but now he looked like a normal healthy teenage boy. He felt saddened to realize that Harry's less-than-stellar home life was due to his own actions and he inwardly thought that it was good of Sirius to have taken Harry on a holiday. It would be a long time before that could happen again.

Harry, who had been observing his blackened hand, instantly lit up at the question and Dumbledore felt guilt wash over him at the bright, youthful expression on Harry's face. "It's been wonderful. I love it here!"

Dumbledore beamed. "I am pleased to hear that, Harry."

"Sir, what happened to your hand?" asked Harry, frowning.

Dumbledore smiled but said in a tone of firm conviction. "It is a story for another time, Harry. It is a thrilling tale and I wish to do it justice. I assure you, I will tell you soon enough."

Harry nodded and left it at that before asking, "Not to be impolite sir, but what are you doing here?"

"I have some matters to discuss with Sirius. Also, I came to deliver this," said Dumbledore, as he produced an envelope out of his pocket.

Harry took it from him and gasped seeing the Hogwarts insignia. "Is this our OWL results?" he asked nervously.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, eating his croissant. "Normally, the school owls will deliver it of course, but since your house is under the Fidelius, it is not easy to do so and I was coming here anyway, so I saw fit to bring it to you."

Harry was still staring at his envelope with dread and Dumbledore chortled. "You do not have to open it here with me, Harry. I understand your worry, although it is misplaced."

Harry seemed to be gathering his courage as he opened it with shaking hands. He spent a moment reading his results, his eyes flying across the parchment when Sirius entered the room in his dressing gown.

"Ah, Dumbledore! You're here early," said Sirius casually, plopping into his chair. Dumbledore had to admit he was slightly amazed at the massive difference in Sirius in under a month. It went to show just how important happiness and a good home were for a person's health, more than just having food to survive.

Dumbledore thought it fruitless to point out that it was Sirius who was always perpetually late and he merely inclined his head. Sirius was looking at Harry. "What's that, Harry?"

Harry seemed to have gone deaf and Sirius leaned over his shoulder to read the parchment, his eyes widening. "Blimey! Will you look at that? After everything you do at school which is completely unrelated to schoolwork, you manage to get seven OWLS and an O in DADA! And I knew you were lying when you told me you were hopeless in Transfiguration.Good job, Harry!”

Sirius ruffled Harry's hair affectionately and Harry tried in vain to flatten it down.

Harry smiled weakly. "I wonder what Ron and Hermione got."

"I dunno about Ron, but knowing Hermione, she probably got straight O's in everything!" said Sirius, laughing.

"You are quite right," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Mr. Weasley secured seven OWLs too. Although, if I remember correctly, there was only one student in your year that got an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry's eyes widened as Sirius clapped him on the shoulder with distinct pride in his voice, "That's my boy!"

Harry looked down rather sheepishly as he ate in silence and Dumbledore did not miss the faint pink that tinged his cheeks. He said kindly, "I believe you haven't quite looked carefully in your envelope."

Harry was puzzled as he searched inside his envelope and his eyes widened. He took out the Quidditch Captain badge, gaping at it.

Sirius gave a hearty laugh. "Oh, this is marvellous! Quidditch Captain, just like his father! I've seen you fly, Harry and nobody deserves it more!"

The grin that lit up Harry's face was brilliant.

"So, what brings you here, Dumbledore?" said Sirius as he finished his breakfast.

"Rufus wants to meet with you," said Dumbledore sighing and noticing Sirius' skeptical expression added, "I have tried, more times than I can count, to tell him that you will not agree to whatever he says Sirius, but he is adamant. I doubt anything, other than you meeting him personally, can placate him."

"What does he want with me?" said Sirius gruffly.

"You are Harry's guardian and Rufus seems to think Harry needs top-security, which includes a dozen Aurors to protect him when visiting Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station from here."

"I will be with Harry," said Sirius hotly. "That's all the protection he needs! And besides, we can't reveal our location to the Ministry. We have no idea who can use that kind of information."

Dumbledore sighed. "I did tell him the same. But as you are Harry's guardian, he expects to hear personally from you."

Sirius was scowling. "Fine. I'll have a word with him if that's what he wants."

Harry finished his breakfast and stood up to take the dishes to the sink, Twitchet bustling in and taking it from him, even though Harry assured her it was fine.

Dumbledore was saying, "I have some other matters to discuss with you, Sirius. And it needs to be private."

Sirius' eyes darted towards Harry who nodded in understanding before leaving the room.

Dumbledore cast a silencing charm at the closed door before turning to look at Sirius, who was looking at his arm.

Dumbledore sighed exasperatedly at his intrusive stare. "I will tell you what happened to my arm soon."

Sirius nodded after a moment, conceding. "What is it then?"

"As you might know, I am one staff member short and I have plans to hire Horace Slughorn."

"But…" said Sirius, frowning. "Doesn't he specialize in Potions? That must mean…"

"That Severus is the Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts this year," finished Dumbledore.

"That git finally got his wish, eh?" said Sirius scowling, before adding, "What's this got to do with me?"

Dumbledore refrained from chastising Sirius on his language. He had no time or patience to argue with Sirius, so he ploughed on to the important matter at hand. "I need to ask a favour of Harry. Horace is proving to be quite elusive and he needs some…persuasion to take this offer at Hogwarts."

"Persuasion," said Sirius slowly. Dumbledore could practically see the cogs in his brain working furiously. "You mean to show-off Harry in front of him. Use him as bait…"

"You are quite aware of his tendency to want to teach the famous, Sirius," said Dumbledore quietly.

Sirius nodded. "But why ask someone to take up the job when they don't want it? Surely, there must be plenty others qualified to fill in the position?"

"Not in the current scenario, no," said Dumbledore with a sigh.

"But that's not the only reason you are specifically asking Slughorn to join, is it?" said Sirius.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very observant as usual, Sirius. I assure you, you will know in due course."

"And why can't I have that information now?" said Sirius, raising an eyebrow.

"Sirius," said Dumbledore, exasperatedly, "it would take me an entire month to explain it sufficiently. And neither of us have the time for that. Voldemort has already made two attacks— on Amelia Bones and Florean Fortescue. We need to collect as many fighters as possible and train them before the war can begin to escalate. And I need Horace within the safety of Hogwarts as soon as possible."

Sirius nodded before he spoke again, "So, you want to take Harry with you to meet Slughorn? You see, I can't let you do that."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in question when Sirius replied, "Harry is a person of his own. As his guardian, I do not approve of you using him for your own needs. If you want Slughorn so badly, you coax him somehow, but leave Harry out of it."

Dumbledore was surveying him with new interest and Sirius was looking back at him unwaveringly when suddenly Dumbledore said, "I see. Then, I think it would be better if you came along with me to meet Horace instead of Harry."

Sirius looked rather taken aback. "Me?"

"You," said Dumbledore simply.

"What do you think I can do to bring him around? I can barely tolerate him!" exclaimed Sirius.

"But, you were one of his prized pupils. And, not to mention, you are Harry Potter's godfather," said Dumbledore.

Sirius was still baffled with what Dumbledore was asking of him. "Regulus was his favourite, not me. But if this keeps you off of Harry's back, then I will agree."

"You have my word, Sirius," said Dumbledore and Sirius reluctantly nodded. "When do we meet him?"

"Why, now of course!" said Dumbledore, clapping his hands as he stood up. Sirius' eyes darted towards Dumbledore's blackened arm once again before he said, "I'll get changed. And, I need to inform Harry too."

"Excellent!" said Dumbledore as he watched Sirius leave the room. Dumbledore strode to the living area again and sat on the armchair waiting.

He would be mistaken to say he was not disappointed in the change of plans which was quite unexpected of Sirius. But Dumbledore could not argue with Sirius, who seemed to have more concern for Harry than he had originally thought. It was rather heart-warming to know Harry had someone to look after him even when he would be gone by the end of the year.

Sirius entered, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans with a travelling cloak thrown over him, looking effortlessly handsome, not as he once was but ultimately still good-looking and more like the Sirius that Dumbledore remembered during happier times. He was talking to their house-elf, "— have an eye on Harry at all times. It's completely safe here, but if anything happens, take him and Apparate straight to Number 12, Grimmauld Place and tell Harry to have his mirror with him. Uh…What else?"

He looked positively flustered, running a hand through his hair, when Twitchet squeaked, "Twitchet will look after Young Master. You need not worry, Master Sirius."

Sirius exhaled loudly. "Why am I like this? I feel more nervous than when I sat my NEWTs! And I wasn't even really nervous then!"

Dumbledore laughed good-naturedly. "Welcome to parenthood."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Let's get going."

Chapter Text

Saturday, August 3

Sirius Side-Along Apparated with Dumbledore to what appeared to be a sleepy little town.

Dumbledore motioned him forwards when Sirius asked, "Where are we?"

"This is the town of Budleigh Babberton," said Dumbledore as they walked up the empty streets. It had been half-past six when Sirius left Potter Manor and the town seemed deserted at the early hour.

After a few minutes, Sirius broke the silence. "What do you actually want me to do?"

"I am certain your presence alone should be enough for him," chuckled Dumbledore.

"How do you know he lives here by the way?" said Sirius, looking around. "You said he's quite elusive."

"He is," said Dumbledore. "I had Fawkes take me to the place where he delivered the letter I sent to Horace."

"Having a phoenix as a pet does seem to have its advantages," said Sirius, impressed.

"Quite," said Dumbledore, as he pointed forwards. "Just through this left and…oh dear. Oh, dear…"

Sirius tensed as he took in the house in front of him, its front door hanging by its hinges. He pulled out his wand and noticed Dumbledore doing the same as he looked up and down the deserted street.

Dumbledore opened the gate and walked forward swiftly, Sirius at his heels. He pushed the front door with his wand raised and at the ready as he ignited his wand tip, "Lumos."

Sirius lit his wand too as he took in the scene of total devastation in front of him. Everything was broken and the house was in complete disarray.

Dumbledore was walking between the piano and the overturned sofa and examining them closely. Sirius couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right and not everything was what it seemed.

"It can't be Death Eaters. For one, there's no Dark Mark," said Sirius, eyeing around the house suspiciously.

Dumbledore merely nodded and suddenly plunged his wand into the seat of the overstuffed armchair which yelled, "Ouch!"

"Good evening, Horace," said Dumbledore calmly.

Sirius watched, eyes widening as the armchair turned instantly to the fat, bald, old man that was none other than his former professor, Horace Slughorn.

"There was no need to stick the wand in that hard," said Slughorn gruffly, clambering to his feet. "It hurt."

"What gave me away?" asked Slughorn, irritatedly.

"My dear Horace, if the Death Eaters had indeed made a visit, there would have been the Dark Mark as proof," said Dumbledore.

Slughorn hit his forehead with his pudgy hand, muttering, "I knew I forgot something…"

With Dumbledore's assistance, they put back everything in its place to reveal a charming little house.

"What kind of blood was that incidentally?" asked Dumbledore.

"On the walls? Dragon," replied Slughorn. "My last bottle and prices are sky-high at the moment. Still, it might be reusable."

It was then that his gaze fell upon Sirius. His eyes widened comically as he stated in a surprised tone, "Sirius Black!"

"Hello, Professor," replied Sirius coolly. "Long time, no see."

"Sirius, m'boy!" said Slughorn boomingly and hurtling forwards to shake his hand. "What a shame, convicting you on false charges in Azkaban for twelve years! I never believed it when they said you were a murderer."

Sirius raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Never?"

He was slightly amused to watch his old Professor looking sheepish, "Well, I…"

"How have you been Professor?" cut-in Sirius.

"Not so well," said Slughorn at once, his eyes narrowing suspiciously from him to Dumbledore. "Weak chest. Wheezy. Rheumatism too. Can't move like I used to. Well, I'm not getting any younger."

Sirius suppressed his snigger at the blatant lying but Dumbledore said, "And yet, you must have moved fairly quickly to prepare such a welcome for us at very short notice. You can't have had more than three minutes' warning?"

Slughorn said, half-irritably, half-proudly, "Two actually. Didn't hear my Intruder Charm go off. I was taking a bath. Still," he added sternly, "the fact remains that I'm an old man, Albus. A tired old man, who's earned the right to a quiet life and a few creature comforts."

"You're not yet as old as I am, Horace," said Dumbledore.

"Well, maybe you ought to think about retirement yourself," said Slughorn bluntly. His pale eyes had found Dumbledore's injured hand. "Reactions not what they were, I see."

"You're quite right," said Dumbledore serenely, shaking back his sleeve to reveal the tips of his burned and blackened fingers. "I am undoubtedly slower than I was. But on the other hand…"

He shrugged and spread his hands wide as if to say age had its compensations, when Sirius noticed a ring on his uninjured hand that he had never seen Dumbledore wear before: a large gold ring set with a heavy black stone that had cracked in the middle. Slughorn's eyes lingered for a moment on the ring too but then he motioned for them to take a seat and both Sirius and Dumbledore took the opposite-facing armchairs.

Dumbledore asked Slughorn about the Death Eaters and if they had come recruiting. Slughorn admitted that he had been on the run for over a year now.

Dumbledore said, "But it sounds a rather tiring existence for a broken-down old buffer in search of a quiet life. Now, if you were to return to Hogwarts—"

"If you're going to tell me that my life would be more peaceful at that pestilential school, you can save your breath, Albus!" said Slughorn, irritated and Sirius found himself nodding in agreement. Living in Hogwarts was anything but peaceful, if even half of what Harry told him was true.

Slughorn continued, "I might have been in hiding, but some funny rumours have reached me since Dolores Umbridge left! If that's how you treat teachers these day—"

Sirius abruptly cut in, rage filling him at the mention of that cow, "Even a troll would have the sense not to stride into the forest and call a horde of angry centaurs, 'filthy half-breeds'."

Slughorn looked at him quickly, as if he had forgotten Sirius was there. "That's what she said, did she? Idiotic woman. Never liked her."

Sirius smirked but the anger in his eyes did not fade. The next time he saw that woman, he was going to murder her. Slowly.

Dumbledore stood up rather abruptly.

"Are you leaving?" asked Slughorn, looking hopeful.

"No, I was wondering whether I might use your bathroom," said Dumbledore.

"Oh," said Slughorn, disappointed. "Second on the left, down the hall."

Dumbledore strode from the room. Once the door had closed behind him, there was silence.

Slughorn turned to look at him interestedly. "How have you been, my boy?"

Sirius raised both his eyebrows. "I've been in Azkaban for twelve years and on the run for three. How do you think I am?"

Slughorn looked abashed. "That was rather tactless of me. I regret to have ever questioned your allegiance like the rest of the world. And as your former teacher, it pains me even more to hear what you had been through. The newspapers were flooded for a week; even I couldn't miss what was happening last month. But I must say, you look really better now."

A small genuine smile found its way on Sirius' face. "That credit goes to Harry, of course."

Slughorn's eyes widened excitedly. "Of course! Harry Potter – the Boy-Who-Lived and now the Chosen One."

Sirius scowled. He hated what the Prophet did to Harry giving him those stupid titles. He made fun of it often of course, in front of Harry, just so he would know that Sirius had no expectations of Harry like the rest of the world seemed to have.

"He's just Harry to me," said Sirius gruffly.

Slughorn immediately replied jovially. "Of course, of course… I didn't mean to insinuate anything. It's just remarkable what an impact a teenage boy has on the entire Wizarding World. Does he stay with you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, he does," said Sirius neutrally.

"Is he like Lily, or perhaps like his father, James?" Slughorn asked, openly curious.

Sirius did not like the unnecessary interest that his former professor was showing on his godson, but he also understood Dumbledore was banking on his ability to coax Slughorn to join Hogwarts. He sighed.

"He looks exactly like James, but he has Lily's eyes. He has her nature, too," said Sirius, fondness seeping naturally into his tone.

"How wonderful! How wonderful!" Slughorn was saying, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He seemed to be holding back his urge to ask more questions when Sirius changed the subject. "Why won't you teach at Hogwarts?"

Slughorn's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Did Dumbledore talk you into coming here?"

"No, we were on our way to the Order meeting for today," lied Sirius easily.

"Hmpf! The Order is exactly the reason I can't teach at Hogwarts. Taking up a post at Hogwarts just now would be tantamount to declaring my public allegiance to the Order! And while I'm sure they are very admirable and brave and all the rest of it, I don't personally fancy the mortality rate—"

Sirius rolled his eyes at the man's cowardice. "You don't have to join the Order to teach at Hogwarts. There's not more than a couple of them in the Order. Besides, Hogwarts is the safest place to be in the current climate. Voldemort has never touched Hogwarts, has he?"

That was quite a bit of a lie and Sirius was glad Slughorn won't know it.

Slughorn had predictably shuddered at the mention of Voldemort's name but was now staring into space, thinking over Sirius' words and muttering to himself.

Dumbledore re-entered the room and Slughorn jumped as though he had forgotten he was in the house.

"Oh, there you are, Albus," he said. "You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"

"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines," said Dumbledore. "I do love knitting patterns. Well, Sirius, we must be leaving soon. We have the Order meeting in ten minutes."

Sirius stood up from his seat, amused to know that Dumbledore had been listening in after all and added for good measure, "You're quite right, Dumbledore. Harry will be expecting me soon."

Slughorn seemed taken aback. "You're leaving?"

"Yes, indeed," Dumbledore said, "I think I know a lost cause, when I see one."

"Lost…?" Slughorn seemed agitated. They bid Slughorn farewell and were at the front door when there was a shout from behind them.

"All right, all right, I'll do it!"

Dumbledore turned to see Slughorn standing beside the doorway, panting.

"You will come out of retirement?"

"Yes, yes," said Slughorn, impatiently. "I must be mad, but yes."

"Wonderful," said Dumbledore, beaming. "Then, Horace, we shall see you on the first of September."

"Yes, I daresay, you will," grunted Slughorn.

As they set off down the garden path, Slughorn's voice floated after them, "I'll want a pay rise, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore chuckled and even Sirius had to laugh. The garden gate swung shut behind them and they set off back down the hill.

"Well done, Sirius," said Dumbledore.

"Did you think I wouldn't be able to do it?" said Sirius, grinning.

"I had full faith in you. You always did have a gift of persuasion," said Dumbledore, chuckling good-naturedly.

Sirius couldn't help but think Dumbledore was poking fun at him and he snorted as they parted ways and he Disapparated back to Potter Manor.

Chapter Text

Monday, August 5

Sirius stepped out of the telephone box into the bustling Atrium on a Monday morning, his crisp, well-fitting black robes blending into the sea of witches and wizards scurrying about. He strode purposefully, noticing the empty plinth where the Fountain of Magical Brethren had once stood and thought the Atrium almost lacked its usual glamour without it.

He joined the group of Ministry employees making forward, grateful that nobody had noticed him yet. He stepped out of the stream of people heading for the golden gates, toward a desk on the left over which hung a sign saying SECURITY. A wizard in peacock-blue robes looked up as he approached, putting down his Daily Prophet.

"Visitor," stated Sirius and was not at all surprised when the man gaped open-mouthed at him. He knew he must have looked a bit intimidating with the flat expression on his face and the reputation that surely preceded him. People still couldn't shake off the thought that he was a violent, mass-murderer.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I haven't got all day."

The man quickly came to his senses as he stood up hastily. He produced a pair of Secrecy Sensors and ran it down Sirius' front and back, nervously. Then, he asked quite politely, "I need your wand for identification."

Sirius handed it to him and the man dropped it into the brass instrument which vibrated then produced a strip of paper. The wizard read it aloud confirming its identity and handed his wand back to him. Sirius nodded and joined the crowd of wizards and witches heading for the golden gates.

It led to a hall where at least twenty lifts stood behind wrought golden grilles. Sirius walked to stand beside one that was relatively less populated. The lift descended and Sirius followed the two witches and two wizards as he entered the lift. A couple of wizards who had been about to enter the lift, froze as they took one good look at his face. They hurried away, presumably to take another one. Sirius was amused to note that the occupants already present had edged as far away from him as possible and the grilles shut.

The lift stopped at Level Seven where predictably the people waiting outside did not enter the lift and then at Level Six, where one of the wizards behind him scurried out.

Sirius idly noted the flying memos that he had not seen before his time in Azkaban. It must be some sort of new method of communication. At Level Five, two witches got in and stood to a side, watching Sirius unabashedly.

After a couple more stops, the entire lift was empty as he descended straight down. The cool female voice announced, "Level One, Offices of the Minister of Magic and Senior Undersecretary to the Minister."

He stepped out into the purple-carpeted corridors. It seemed like a spell had been cast over the unnaturally silent corridors. He walked forward and turned a corner to see a door ajar leading into a hallway where there were a couple of Hit Wizards standing guard. A desk was propped up beside a large set of oak double doors with the plaque:

Rufus Scrimgeour

Minister of Magic

He went up to the desk and watched as the witch who, he assumed was some sort of assistant, looked up at him with a self-important expression, which immediately morphed to amazement.

"Sirius Black. I have an appointment with the Minister," said Sirius by way of introduction.

The witch nodded hastily, pushing back a strand of her hair as she rifled through the parchments in front of her. "Yes, yes. Of course."

She stood up and knocked one of the doors before pushing it open and walking inside. Sirius waited, noting the Hit Wizards staring at him apprehensively. A moment later, the witch came out and held the door open for him. "The Minister is expecting you."

Sirius inclined his head and walked forward where the Hit Wizards stopped him before passing the sensors down his front and back again. He bit back a comment at the absurdity of checking him again and stepped into the grand office as the doors shut behind him. It was a large office with plush furniture and the same purple carpets. An oak desk was stood on one corner of the room, and tall bookshelves lined the wall. There was also a chest of drawers with expensive-looking wine bottles and crystal goblets.

Behind the desk was none other than the Minister of Magic himself surveying Sirius with unabashed interest, leaning back on his chair.

Sirius took a moment to appreciate the irony of the situation. Not two months ago, Sirius Black was the most wanted criminal in all of Wizarding Britain. Now, he was having a meeting with the Minister of Magic on his request.

He walked forward and decided to be polite till he could observe the man properly and make further opinions of him. "Good morning, Minister."

Scrimgeour inclined his head, his great mane of grizzled hair catching the light from the candles in the chandelier. "Good morning. Please, take a seat."

Sirius obliged and looked back at Scrimgeour who seemed to be closely observing Sirius, for what, he didn't know. Sensing that Scrimgeour wanted him to make the first move, Sirius said, "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," said Scrimgeour. "Dumbledore is very protective of you. Which is merited I must say, after what the previous Ministry has done in regard to you. I extend my sincerest apology on behalf of the Ministry, Mr. Black."

Sirius nodded and said brusquely, "Your apology is appreciated, but I must confess, not exactly accepted. But that's not why I am here. Why did you want to speak with me?"

If Scrimgeour was taken aback by Sirius' blunt response, he did not show it. He spoke now with a tone of calculated calmness. "I invited you here to speak with you in regards to your charge, Harry Potter. At the present climate, it would be a boost to the people's morale to know that the 'Chosen-One' is involved in the fight against You-Know-Who."

Sirius did not like what Scrimgeour was saying, but chose to keep his cool as he narrowed his eyes, "Involved, how?"

Scrimgeour looked almost relieved that Sirius was willing to listen. "It would be beneficial for the public to see that Harry Potter is working closely with the Ministry. It would give them hope to know that we, that is to say, the Ministry and Potter stand together."

Sirius, whose expression had steadily darkened, said with an expression of forced neutrality. "I don't believe what you’re trying to say. You, essentially, want to use a teenage boy to be your mascot.”

"He is a symbol of hope, which is exactly what we need in the present climate—"

Sirius interrupted, "If the war against Voldemort (Scrimgeour flinched) and his Death Eaters is resting on the shoulders of a sixteen-year old boy alone, then we're buggered. You want to give people hope? Then do something worthwhile enough against Voldemort instead of sitting around and parading my godson for your whims and fancies.”

Scrimgeour's tone was steadily rising. "You do not understand how dire our situation is! If Potter is indeed the 'Chosen-One', he has a responsibility—"

Sirius had stood up so fast that the chair toppled to the ground, righteous anger seeping into his voice. "Harry is not responsible for anyone! I find it despicable that the Ministry is trying to pass off their responsibility of protecting the people to a mere boy. I didn't think you, Minister, would be gullible enough to believe the drivel that the Prophet's spouting."

Scrimgeour had stood up too, scowling. "People are dying. Potter has to help—"

Sirius growled, "Harry doesn't have to do anything. It's you who should be helping the people and the young ones. Not the other way around."

They both stood like that, glaring each other down when Scrimgeour finally spoke, "That is your final word?"

Sirius straightened. "It is."

"I also wanted to discuss about Potter's security when he visits King's Cross and Diagon Alley," said Scrimgeour, almost as an afterthought.

"I am all the protection Harry needs," said Sirius, sharply. "I will not have the Ministry interfering unnecessarily with our lives. Good day, Minister."

Without waiting for a response, Sirius had turned his back on him and exited the door. The two Hit Wizards promptly moved away as Sirius stormed out, still seething.

How dare the Minister ask Harry's help? If the entire Ministry was collectively all dunderheads, it was not Harry's responsibility to right their wrongs! He would be damned if he allowed Scrimgeour to even look at Harry ever again.

Sirius did not notice the murderous expression on his face had driven away everyone from entering the lifts. He stalked out of the lift and to the Atrium, people pointing and whispering at him. He couldn't care less as he stepped into the telephone box and out of the Ministry.

It was not at all a surprise when the Evening Prophet reported on Sirius and his visit to the Minister of Magic. There was wild speculation on what he had been doing there – some were ludicrous, like the one about Scrimgeour requesting Sirius to join the Auror Program. Sirius had scoffed when Harry read it out of the newspaper. "Like I would ever join the Ministry! After everything they've done to me and to you, they would have some nerve to think they can have me under their leash."

Harry exclaimed, "But you would make a brilliant Auror!"

"Everything I know, I learned from Moody and Dearborn when I joined the Order straight out of school along with your parents and Remus. He trained us up for a year and we spent the rest learning by ourselves. Even Moody used to say Auror trainees weren't half as good as we were. I'll stay in the Order if I want to make a difference in this war, thank you very much," said Sirius firmly.

Harry nodded, feeling a bit better. He had been quite dejected for days since he knew that he hadn't got the OWLs necessary to take Potions which was required to join the Auror Program. He had thought becoming an Auror would be useful in learning with the best of the best and it would help him defeat Voldemort. But he did have other ways of playing his part in the war. Like joining the Order of the Phoenix when he was of age. Like Sirius and his parents.

Remus entered the room, his expression miserable as he sat down beside Sirius. Harry knew Remus was leaving for almost a couple or more months for an Order mission involving the werewolves. Sirius looked more forlorn than Remus as soon as he saw him and asked Twitchet to bring three mugs of hot chocolate.

The three of them were gathered in the drawing room, the dull thud of the music in the background as Remus told them, "I'm all packed. I'll be leaving by tomorrow morning. Don't try to contact me, even using owls Harry. It's safer if Greyback doesn't know that I am in contact with other wizards."

"Who's Greyback?" asked Harry curiously. He was worried by the 'no-contacting' rule. What if something happened to him? Who would be able to help him?

Sirius growled in abhorrence at the name, as he accepted the hot chocolate that Twitchet was serving.

"You haven't heard of him?" Remus' hands closed convulsively around his mug of hot chocolate. "Fenrir Greyback is perhaps the most savage werewolf alive today. He regards it as his mission in life to bite and contaminate as many people as possible; he wants to create enough werewolves to overcome the wizards. Voldemort has promised him prey in return for his services. Greyback specializes in children… Bite them young, he says, and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards. Voldemort has threatened to unleash him upon people's sons and daughters; it is a threat that usually produces good results."

Remus took a sip of his hot chocolate then said, "It was Greyback who bit me."

"What?" said Harry, astonished. "When – when you were a kid, you mean?"

Remus nodded. "Yes. My father had offended him. I did not know for a very long time the identity of the werewolf who had attacked me; I even felt pity for him, thinking that he had no control, knowing by then how it felt to transform."

Sirius muttered darkly, "Only you, Remus."

Remus smiled wryly. "But Greyback is not like that. At the full moon, he positions himself close to victims, ensuring that he is near enough to strike. He plans it all. And this is the man Voldemort is using to marshal the werewolves. I cannot pretend that my particular brand of reasoned argument four months ago was making much headway against Greyback's insistence that we werewolves deserve blood, that we ought to revenge ourselves on normal people."

"But you are normal!" said Harry fiercely. "You've just got a—a problem—"

Both Sirius and Remus burst out laughing as Sirius said amidst laughter, "You're just like James. He called it Remus' ' furry little problem' in company. "

Remus chuckled. "Many people were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit."

Sirius let out a shout of laughter and even Harry smiled a little, before it quickly fell off his face. "But if we can't contact you, what if… something happens to you? How will we know if you're all right?"

Remus was looking rather stonily. "Nothing will happen to me. Among werewolves, I am an equal and I can hold my own against them."

"But still…"

"I have already done this before, Harry. I assure you there is no need to worry," said Remus with a small, genuine smile.

Harry looked at him a moment longer before nodding. "If it gets too bad, just… just come back home. Forget the mission, it doesn't matter…"

Sirius cracked a smile. "That's right, Moony. Make sure you keep your priorities right. Knowing you, you probably have got it all wrong."

Remus grinned. "I really appreciate that, Harry. I'll be back within Christmas, I reckon."

Harry finished his hot chocolate and bid farewell to both men as he retired for the night, dreaming uneasily about werewolves and small children getting bitten.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week passed by lazily; Harry revelled in the feeling of being home again and practiced the spells Sirius and Remus had taught him. He could successfully transfigure objects into iron but the problem was that it took at least ten seconds to finish the transfiguration. That would be of no help in a battle, so he had to get down the time to at least a second.

Sirius had to leave that afternoon for an Order meeting. He had been exempt from them the past month seeing as he wanted to spend time with Harry, but after the shocking murder of Amelia Bones and the disappearance of Florean Fortescue, he could not deny that the war was beginning and the Order needed all the help they could get.

Harry had the mirror Sirius gave him in his pocket at all times and was told to stay indoors, which meant no flying in his broom. He didn't mind much, it was just one day, so he spent much of his time in the Potter Manor's library as he had nothing else to do.

His grandfather seemed to have an extensive collection of books on Defence against the Dark Arts, which seemed to be his forte. Harry liked to think he got his interest from him as Sirius had told him his Dad was good in Transfiguration and his mum in Charms and Potions. There were books that were almost centuries old and was sure would have only been in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. Hermione would probably live inside here all year if she could.

Harry perused the titles of the many books and stopped when a book caught his interest – Elemental Transfiguration and Ways to Implement in Duelling.

He asked Twitchet to get him a hot chocolate as he propped up his feet on the desk and began to read.

oOo

Saturday, August 10

It was her third meeting at the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters and Catherine had arrived early as usual. After considerable practicing every day, she could finally get her Patronus right. They had had more bad news the last meeting, where Moody had mentioned that Florean Fortescue had been announced missing. His house was wrecked and the Aurors were investigating, so the Order couldn't do much regarding it.

Catherine sat next to Tonks with a bottle of butterbeer, "Hello."

Catherine had been very thrilled to learn that Tonks was a Metamorphmagus. She knew they were really rare and had enjoyed it immensely when Tonks entertained her for the better part of an hour doing various things with her facial features and hair. Today though, her hair was a dull mousy brown mirroring her dispirited expression. She was sipping from a bottle of firewhiskey and Catherine was quite apprehensive.

"Is everything okay?" said Catherine uncertainly.

Tonks looked up with a faraway look in her eyes. "Oh… yes, yes. I'm fine."

Catherine could tell she was lying, but she didn't want to press her. She wasn't sure that they were close enough yet that Tonks would discuss her problems with her anyway.

Catherine felt slightly awkward, but Charlie joined them as he sat beside Tonks. "What's got you down?"

When Tonks didn't reply, Charlie glanced up at Catherine and she shrugged as she shook her head.

Tonks took a large gulp of her firewhiskey. "I'm fine, really. It's nothing to worry."

Saying so, she put on a very forced smile and it was very clear from her expression that she wanted them to not talk about it anymore. Catherine quickly took the opportunity to discuss the progress she had made with her Patronus and Tonks looked grateful.

The door of the dining area opened to reveal a plump, kind-looking woman with the trademark flaming red hair of the Weasleys.

"Boys!" she exclaimed in greeting as she walked up to the twins who had been discussing something with their heads put together at the table. They looked up and raised their eyebrows in unison, when Mrs. Weasley went up to them and pulled them in a crushing hug.

"Ouch, mum!—"

"—You're squeezing us!"

"How I've missed you! Why don't you ever come and stop by the Burrow? Ron and Ginny miss you so much!" said Mrs. Weasley rather tearfully.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Really mum!"

"They saw us just a month ago," said George.

"And besides, we're busy with the shop!" added Fred, grinning.

Mrs. Weasley looked annoyed. "That doesn't mean you don't visit your family once in a while! It's pretty lonely at home without you two!"

Fred grinned. "And get stuck with our future sister-in-law? No thanks!"

Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to smile but she hastily looked around as if to make sure Bill wasn't around. Thankfully, he was yet to arrive.

"Where's Ron and Ginny?" asked George.

"Oh, they're upstairs. I couldn't leave them all alone at the Burrow. Why don't you go up and see them?" said Mrs. Weasley.

The twins got up in unison as they left the room. Charlie looked inquisitive. "How did you all get here?"

"Bill got us a portkey from Dumbledore. We couldn't possibly get one from the Ministry, with the Fidelius and everything," said Mrs. Weasley as she moved to sit next to Ms. Vance.

They were all chatting amicably when Moody entered along with Bill and Mr. Weasley and the meeting was called to order just as the twins entered again. Bill cast Silencing charms, a Locking charm and an Imperturbable charm on the door which had never been done in their previous Order meetings. When Catherine had questioned Charlie, he said it was because of his brother and sister upstairs.

Moody was saying that they were going to allot teams to tail the known Death Eaters on the loose, to monitor who they talked to and where they went. Moody and Vance were allotted Bellatrix Lestrange and Bill and Doge were allotted Mulciber.

Fred, George, Lee, and Angelina would work in pairs and shifts to tail Jugson. Since they were new and young enough, it was a good choice. Catherine and Charlie would be tailing Rowle in shifts. Hestia and Dedalus Diggle would be tailing Macnair.

Kingsley, who was busy with the Ministry of Magic and the muggle Ministry, was not able to join. He detailed the Death Eaters' known locations and gave them ideas on how to disguise themselves and when to report.

It was all rather thrilling and during the small break they took, Catherine was discussing with Charlie on how best to allot shift times as were the others who were talking amongst themselves. It was then that an old and filthy house-elf popped into the dining and announced that 'Master Sirius' was waiting outside.

Bill took off the Imperturbable charm and opened the door to reveal a rather handsome man, striding in wearing all black robes. Many of them gave cries of greeting and he grinned. Catherine couldn't help but blush when the unbidden thought crossed her mind that he had a very fetching smile.

"Late as usual, Sirius," said Kingsley as the man took a seat at the end of the table where usually Dumbledore sat. Catherine was astounded to think that this good-looking man was the Sirius Black, the supposed mad, mass-murderer. He looked nothing like what she had seen in the newspapers.

"I got caught up in something," he said casually and called out, "Kreacher!"

The same house-elf appeared again and bowed low when Black ordered for tea to be served for everyone. Mrs. Weasley smiled gratefully, no doubt for being spated from the work and Black inclined his head in welcome.

"What are we up to?" said Black and the rest of the members caught him up quickly on what they had discussed. Kreacher served them all tea and Catherine wondered if this was perhaps Black's house. It explained why the house-elf took orders only from him.

Black was saying "…why was Fortescue attacked? Do we know who he last talked to or dealt with?"

"I asked around one of the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley," said Kingsley. "Two days before he disappeared, Jugson had apparently met with Fortescue."

"We know the Death Eaters took him. I want to know why!"

"His family has always been against the Death Eaters. His son Magnus Fortescue was killed in the last war," said Moody.

Bill spoke, "So, if it's just a matter of…"

Abruptly, he was cut off as a raven form of a Patronus flew into the room. Everyone froze as they watched, startled. It opened its beak and spoke in a familiar female voice, "Emmeline, I just saw six Death Eaters enter Ollivander's a few seconds ago. I don't think anything good will come of it. You and your friends need to help…"

"That was Madam Malkin. We need to go now," said Vance as she stood up quickly.

Catherine was perplexed when Kingsley pointed out, "We can't all go."

Moody said gruffly, "Right. Sirius, Vance and I will go. Others, it's not safe yet to show to the world where your allegiance lies."

Tonks spoke quickly, "I'll come with you in disguise."

Saying so, her entire appearance changed into an unassuming woman with dark eyes and the same mousy hair. Black's eyes narrowed before he nodded. He quickly left the room followed by the others when Shacklebolt spoke up, "I better leave for the Ministry. I'll be needed soon."

He too left, leaving the rest of them in silence as each contemplated what must be going on.

Sirius Apparated straight outside the alleyway near Ollivander's. He noticed Moody, Tonks and Vance beside him and motioned them forwards.

Mad-Eye disappeared under his cloak, as a backup and they walked unhurriedly along the nearly empty Diagon Alley at the lunch hour. They heard a loud crash from Ollivander's and now raced forward as other shopkeepers came running out.

Sirius reached the place first and threw open the door which tinkled absurdly.

There were six masked Death Eaters and a livid Ollivander was facing them down, wand in hand. Everyone had turned to look at him when he entered and Ollivander used it to his advantage. He fired a spell at the nearest Death Eater and many things happened at once.

Two of the Death Eaters had turned towards Sirius firing at him, and he quickly pulled up a shield around him. The others caught up with him and it was an outright battle as jinxes and curses flew left and right. Oddly, the stray spells simply bounced off of the shelves instead of breaking the wands to splinters. Must have been Ollivander's handiwork, thought Sirius as he tried to lure them outside.

Sirius was fighting two Death Eaters, ducking and dodging as the fight was taken outside the shop and to Diagon Alley. People were screaming and running away from the scene, the tell-tale cracks of Apparition sounding like whiplash.

One of the Death Eaters he was duelling with threw a silver stream of light, which blew a crater on the wall of a shop behind him, showering them with broken glass and rubble. Sirius coughed as he tried to look past the dust rising and was alarmed to see two of the Death Eaters throwing a spell at Ollivander that made him fly a few feet before hitting the ground.

Sirius hurried towards him and noticed Vance just behind him, but the Death Eaters saw them coming and threw killing curses straight at them.

"Duck!" yelled Sirius, as he dodged and watched Emmeline leap out of the way at the last minute, when one of the Death Eaters guffawed.

Enraged, Sirius hit a Severing charm at him that caused a deep gash across his chest. He yelled as he tried to stem the blood flowing freely when Sirius hit him with a stunning spell. He hit the ground, his wound still bleeding and Sirius turned to look at the others that were still fighting.

Moody and Tonks were fighting three of the Death Eaters and Sirius looked around for the other two. "Where are the rest of them?" he asked aloud.

"There!" shouted Vance and he saw them running towards Ollivander who was lying motionless on the ground. Sirius quickly threw a Stunning spell, but the Death Eater easily deflected it. Vance's 'Impedimenta' hit one but the other Death Eater, quickly grasped Ollivander in one fluid motion and Apparated away.

Sirius swore as he turned to help Tonks who was sporting a bloody lip as she duelled the mask-less Mulciber. Sirius fired a Stunning spell but the man quickly ducked away. He then turned and Apparated along with the rest of his little team, noticing that the job was done.

Moody was walking up to Emmeline and Tonks, who quickly tied up the two Death Eaters (who turned out to be Nott and Jugson) they had captured with an 'Incarcerous' and put Anti-Apparition Jinxes on them, to make sure they would not escape.

Seconds later, the Aurors Apparated on the scene.

It was an hour later that their little team Apparated back to Number 12, Tonks and Kingsley taking care of the Death Eaters along with the rest of the Aurors.

Dumbledore had just arrived and was looking solemn as they gave the news of Ollivander having been kidnapped. The members of the Order counted the capture of the two Death Eaters as a small victory and many of them left for their homes. It was only Sirius, Dumbledore, Moody, and the Weasleys and their sons Bill and Charlie left, still discussing the events of the day.

"—they definitely didn't want to kill Ollivander, so why does You-Know-Who want him?" said Arthur Weasley who had arrived late to the meeting after his work.

"For information, no doubt," grunted Moody as he cleaned his eyeball in a glass of water.

"He's a wandmaker, so You-Know-Who must want to know something about wands. Maybe, he has a problem with his wand?" said Bill and the others were continuing the discussion, but Sirius didn't hear what they were saying.

He had frozen at Bill's implication because it was exactly what he had thought of too.

He glanced quickly at Dumbledore who was deep in contemplation. Was Voldemort trying to remedy the fact that Harry's wand and his could not be used in a duel? If he tortured Ollivander for information, Voldemort would know about the twin cores that Harry's and Voldemort's wands shared.

He hated the thought of that. At least, it had been a first line of defence – the fact that Harry and Voldemort's wand could not duel properly. If he remedied that, Harry wouldn't stand a chance.

"…alone all this time, Sirius?"

Sirius shook out of his reverie as he looked up. "What?"

"I said, have you left Harry alone all this time?" said Molly with a frown on her face.

Sirius, was still rather distracted. "Oh… yeah."

Molly's lips thinned with disapproval as her voice rose, "What were you thinking, Sirius? Leaving him alone at the present time? Harry won't be safe!"

"He's perfectly safe where he is, Molly," said Sirius coolly.

"You could have brought him along with you at least! It's not alright to just leave him alone in a house all by himself."

"As protected as this house is, Harry is better off at our home. There are people coming and going every day and not everyone are people I can trust yet," said Sirius, frowning. He noticed the Weasley boys gaping at them and Dumbledore watching silently, but he didn't care. He was tired already and was not going to take it lying down anymore when people implied that he wasn't fit to keep Harry safe.

Molly flushed with anger. "Are you saying that you don't trust us with Harry's safety?"

"One of my best friends," spat Sirius with venom, "of eleven years betrayed and framed me, enough to get me carted off to Azkaban. You will excuse me if I have trust issues."

Molly looked like she was going to retort when Dumbledore cut in firmly, "Molly, Sirius is right. With all the new members that we have here, it is better for Harry to be in his home. Nobody can touch him there."

Arthur quickly put a hand on Molly's shoulder before she could argue further. "Harry is safe. He's under the Fidelius and nobody but Sirius knows where he is. I think it's best to keep it that way."

He looked at Sirius apologetically and Sirius simply nodded before standing up, wanting to leave. "It's getting late; I better be off."

Dumbledore stood up too. "I shall be going too. Arthur, the portkey is charmed to leave in fifteen minutes. Farewell."

Sirius nodded in their general direction and walked out to the top step to Apparate home.

Harry was still reading the thoroughly interesting book after three hours. It really helped that he could do magic at home as he was very eager to try out the tips and tricks mentioned. He was making good progress and could already complete the metal transfiguration in seven seconds, which was a good improvement in a mere three hours.

He heard the door open and close, the clatter echoing up the stairs in the silent house. "Harry?" called out Sirius and Harry marked the page in his book, before he went downstairs.

"That was a rather long Order meeting," said Harry casually as Sirius plopped onto the sofa, looking tired.

"It was a short one at first, which then went steadily downhill," said a sullen Sirius.

"What happened?" asked Harry, concerned.

"Ollivander was kidnapped."

"The wandmaker?"

"Yes, we got a tip-off and we rushed to the scene. Six Death Eaters in Diagon Alley tried to apprehend him. We fought them, but they still managed to get him. We caught Macnair and Jugson though, so that is some victory I think."

"Why would Voldemort want Ollivander?" asked Harry curiously.

Sirius looked stonily at the mantelpiece for a moment before shaking his head. "No idea."

Harry was aware that Voldemort had started making his moves and it was quite disconcerting every time to listen what was happening in the outside world. Potter Manor felt like a peaceful little bubble, strong and impenetrable. Harry sometimes felt guilty that he was very safe here when others might not be.

But another part of him, the part that had craved for some sort of relative to whisk him away ever since childhood, was selfishly very glad that he even had a place he could willingly come home to.

He decided to pull Sirius out of his melancholy. "Let's have dinner, I'm starving."

Sirius followed him into the dining place. "You could have eaten without me."

"I was too busy reading that I forgot," said Harry. "You won't believe how many amazing books granddad seems to have in his library."

"I never really read books while I was here. Your dad and I spent all our time flying," said Sirius with a reminiscent smirk.

"I couldn't do that, because of you," pointed out Harry with mild acccusation. "So, I went to the library. I already brought my transfiguration time down to seven seconds, but if the book was any good, I can get it down to a second by the week I reckon."

"What amazing book was that?" asked Sirius wondrously as they sat down for dinner.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, August 13

The days following Ollivander's kidnapping, the Ministry had started issuing leaflets along with the Daily Prophet.

The purple leaflet had a few simple rules to follow, which when Harry thought about it, weren't really useful at all. For example, it had nothing on what to do when a Death Eater did come knocking.

Sirius and Harry had discussed it over breakfast as they agreed on a simple set of questions, mostly for the sake of humouring each other. They did not have any pressing matters that required them to leave the house, so it turned out to be a fun way to get to answer each other's questions and play 'who knew the other best'.

True to Harry's word, his Transfiguration work had gotten better and better. It now took only a couple of seconds to transfigure an object into iron.

"Why iron though?" asked Harry, tossing aside the spoon that had turned to solid cast iron. "Why not gold?"

Sirius was lounging on the armchair as he read a book with one hand and idly stroked Hedwig with the other, who was perched on the armrest with her eyes closed and seemingly basking in Sirius' ministrations. Harry had noted that Hedwig always seemed to be very affectionate to Sirius, nipping his finger or perching on his shoulder.

So was Buckbeak, thought Harry. Sirius never once bowed to Buckbeak, even though Harry had to, but he knew Sirius and Buckbeak had lived together for two years, so there was bound to be some trust and friendship there. He realised something suddenly. Merlin, even Crookshanks! Maybe, Sirius had some strange pull over all magical creatures. That was worth a thought for another day, Harry decided.

Sirius looked up, raising an eyebrow. "I'm amused you even ask that. Iron is a lot stronger than gold."

"But Dumbledore enchanted the gold statues to take the hit, didn't he?" pointed out Harry.

Sirius looked contemplative. "As far as I know, only goblin-wrought metal is stronger than regular iron. The Fountain of Magical Brethren was goblin-wrought which might explain why it could withstand the curse."

"And goblin-wrought metal can't be conjured," said Harry glumly. That explained it.

"Yes, so iron has to do," said Sirius with a nod as he went back to his book which on closer inspection turned out to be on Inferi.

"Is that book about the Inferi that was mentioned in the leaflet?" 

"Yup, I've heard about it during the last war, but I never really knew anything about it other than the fact that they are corpses."

"What?" Harry was sure he had misheard.

"Inferi are corpses that are enchanted to do a wizard's bidding," said Sirius with a grimace.

Harry's expression contorted in disgust when Sirius saw the look on his face and nodded. "Sounds vile, doesn't it? Enchanting a corpse is Dark Magic. A corpse doesn't really become alive but the enchantment is enough to carry out the wizard's commands. I've heard Voldemort killed enough during the last war that he created an army out of them."

Harry still looked revolted. "But how does one kill something that's already dead?"

Sirius smiled. "That's exactly the reason I found this book up in the library. It says in here," he said rifling through a few pages before stopping to read, "that an Inferius thrives in cold, dark places and naturally loathes light and heat, like most of the other Dark creatures."

"Light and heat…" mused Harry.

Sirius continued in a lecturing tone, "Which means that we would…"

"Light a fire!" finished Harry.

"Yes, there are about fifteen different variations of Incendio listed and like I said before while practising Shield Charms, one of it is the Protego Incendium which conjures a shield of fire."

Harry muttered, "Protego incendium for Inferi. Right. Why doesn't the Ministry give good tips like that?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter as he shook his head. Suddenly, a bright white light appeared in the middle of the room and both of them jumped, startled. Hedwig squawked and soared away from Sirius and outside the window.

It was a phoenix Patronus which opened its mouth to speak in Dumbledore's voice, "Emmeline Vance was found dead early this morning. The Aurors have arrived at her house. Do not leave the house until I say so."

It dissolved into thin air and Harry looked at Sirius, horrified. One of the members of the Order had just been murdered. Sirius was looking stunned as he whispered, "Poor Emmeline."

The news of Emmeline Vance's death brought a sordid sense of gloom to the inmates of Number Seven, Potter Manor. Harry was more determined than ever to learn to duel properly and with nothing else to do, Sirius announced that he was going to teach him the finer points of duelling.

On an unnaturally cloudy summer's day, Sirius and Harry decided to duel outside since it was a risk with all the flying spells if they duelled inside the house. The duelling room was designed for just that, but Sirius reckoned it would be good to be outdoors for a few hours at least. The weather was completely opposite to the past month of bright sunshine and clear skies. It had been raining intermittently for the past week and it was nice to be outside for a few rain-less hours.

"The difference between a good duellist and an expert duellist is not defined by how many spells you know or how strong your spells are. It's all about timing, reflexes and knowing the exact method to counteract your opponent's spell," Sirius was saying as they both stood ten feet away facing each other, wands in hand.

"Let's duel now and we'll see how well your instincts are," said Sirius, raising his wand at the ready.

Harry mirrored him when Sirius threw a Disarming spell at Harry, who quickly ducked and shot an 'Impedimenta'.

Sirius' shield deflected it easily as he shot a spell at the ground near Harry's feet. The dirt exploded and Harry was forced to cover his face on reflex. In that quick moment, Sirius had disarmed him.

Harry was coughing when Sirius said, "Verbal spells are easy once you get the hang of it, but a non-verbal one makes it tricky for your opponent. Because you have no idea what's coming at you."

Harry raised his hand and murmured 'Accio wand' and his wand came zooming into it from somewhere behind him.

"Maybe I should learn to use spells non-verbally," said Harry, a little sore that he hadn't even lasted ten seconds against Sirius.

"It is a little advanced, you probably learn it this year for your NEWTs."

"If I can do a wandless summoning charm, I should be able to do this too," said Harry, face set in determination.

"Summoning is one of the easiest wandless magic, I reckon," said Sirius. "You can't possibly hope to stun or disarm someone wandlessly. It takes too much energy and concentration. Which is the same case with non-verbal spells. Sometimes, your spell even decreases in its intensity when spoken non-verbally."

"But you can do it! It's not impossible."

Sirius sighed exasperatedly, his twitching lips giving away his amusement. "With lots of practice, it should be easy to get it right."

"Okay, then. From now on, I'll try doing all my spells non-verbally. Duel with me," said Harry as he raised his wand.

Sirius probably had decided to go easy on him as he spoke aloud all of his spells to give Harry an edge.

Harry deflected Sirius' 'Expulso' with a non-verbal shield charm that cracked as soon as the spell hit it. Harry stopped, puzzled. Normally, he could hold up his shield for something more powerful than that.

He looked up at Sirius, who seemed to be waiting for Harry to get his head back in the game. Harry aimed and concentrating very hard, (which was slightly easier now thanks to his practising the wandless summoning) thought 'Stupefy'.

Bizarrely, Sirius did not put up a shield or even dodge the oncoming spell. Harry wondered if that was what Sirius meant when it gave the enemy the advantage of not knowing what spell was cast. Sirius fell to the ground and Harry hurried over to him.

He was slightly disappointed when Sirius started to get up seconds later.

"My Stunning Spell is definitely stronger than that," grumbled Harry as Sirius stood up, grinning.

"I told you, you need lots of practice."

Harry huffed. "I'm getting the hang of it before I step foot to Hogwarts."

Sirius' expression fell slightly and Harry wondered what he had said when he immediately realised the reason for Sirius' sullenness.

Harry pocketed his wand as he walked over to him. "Are you okay?"

Sirius looked up quickly and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Let's take a break. Come on, we'll get something to eat and ask Twitchet to tell the many stories she has of Potter Manor."

Harry smiled at that as they headed inside. Twitchet did have some amazing stories. And she also made the most delicious treacle tart.

Saturday, August 24

With the prospect of Hogwarts' start-of-term coming closer, Sirius had agreed to go to Diagon Alley to do their school shopping along with Tonks as backup security, who had some sort of job to do in Diagon Alley for the Order anyway. Harry was almost getting used to the feeling of Apparition as he Side-Along Apparated with Sirius to a Muggle street close to the Leaky Cauldron and then they had made the walk to the non-descript pub.

The Leaky Cauldron seemed to be devoid of its usual patrons and Harry spotted a young witch with mousy hair sitting in a barstool. Sirius called out to her, "Hey, Tonks!"

She turned towards them and Harry was slightly taken aback by the lack of her usual bright smile. She smiled wanly. "Wotcher Sirius, Harry. You both look good."

"The same can't be said of you, I'm afraid," said Sirius, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, let's get going then," said Tonks, easily deflecting Sirius' statement as she gripped her wand in her pocket. "You both go ahead and I'll cover you from behind."

Sirius stared at her a moment longer before nodding. He too had his hand buried into the pockets of his jeans as they set off and so it was with a sense of foreboding that Harry stepped in to Diagon Alley. Ron had written to him saying that they would most likely be visiting Diagon Alley that day too, along with Hermione. He hoped to see them; it was about two whole months since he had seen his best friends.

Diagon Alley looked nearly empty. Where the last time he had been here, there had been newsstands full of papers headlining Sirius' acquittal, now there were large Ministry posters pasted over every inch of the walls of the shops. Most of these purple posters carried blown-up versions of the security advice on the Ministry pamphlets that had been sent out over the summer, but others bore moving black-and-white photographs of Death Eaters known to be on the loose.

The shoppers walked clustered together, almost afraid to stop and chat or even look at the others. A couple of the shops were boarded up and Harry noted Ollivander's was among them too.

"What will people do for new wands?" asked Harry.

"There are other wandmakers here, but Ollivander was the best," said Sirius, a scowl plastered on his face.

On the other hand, a number of shabby-looking stalls had sprung up along the street. A seedy-looking little wizard was rattling armfuls of silver symbols on chains at passersby. The wizard hid his face when they passed by and Harry frowned.

It was then that Harry noticed the people around him were looking at Sirius rather fearfully, one woman picking up her little girl and almost dashing off in a hurry.

"If you keep up that look, people will think you really are a mad, mass-murderer," said Harry exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. He would be remiss to say he wasn't amused.

A smirk flitted its way on Sirius' lips before quickly changing to his now-permanent scowl. "Trust me, even if I walked in here grinning like an idiot, they would still think the same."

Harry snickered. They visited Eeylop's Owl Emporium to buy Hedwig's owl treats and then visited Madam Malkin's to buy new school robes. They walked out and were strolling along when Sirius stopped dead, staring at someone in front of him. Harry realized that it was Draco Malfoy and a woman who was probably his mother and Sirius' cousin, Narcissa Malfoy. She too had stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at Sirius, her expression one of great distaste, mirroring Sirius uncannily.

Malfoy was sneering at Harry and eyeing Sirius with a nasty smirk, when Sirius grudgingly put a hand on Harry's shoulder and steered him away, scowling at them.

Narcissa Malfoy, still staring at Sirius, tugged her son by his forearm to move away too, but he yelled, "Ouch!"

All four of them froze, when the woman spoke hastily apologizing to her son. "I'm sorry, Draco! I forgot your injury."

Malfoy was frowning but accepted his mother's apology with a reluctant nod as he rubbed his forearm. Harry smirked in satisfaction and Malfoy retorted, "Watch out Potter, your godfather is not going to stick around too long."

Harry drew out his wand instinctively and Narcissa Malfoy snarled, "Put that away! If you attack my son, I'll ensure that it's the last thing you do!"

"Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?" asked Harry, staring into her arrogant face. Sirius' hand on his shoulder tightened, no doubt to rein him back.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled unpleasantly. "I see that having dear Sirius with you has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. Your godfather won't always be there to protect you."

"You think Voldemort (the Malfoys flinched) is going to protect you then?" asked Sirius. "I don't see him rushing to save your husband. How is Azkaban suiting old Lucy?"

Malfoy snarled, "Don't you dare talk about my father like that!"

"Admirable loyalty," said Sirius with a haughty expression that rivalled Narcissa Malfoy's. "But, utterly childish. You have no idea what your father has done and is capable of, do you boy? You hope to follow in his footsteps? Become a Death Eater like him? A foolish choice."

"Unlike you? You defied your pure-blood family and for what? Even your so-called friends turned their back on you!" said Narcissa, sneering.

Before Sirius could retort, Tonks joined in. "Is there a problem?"

"Considering your presence, yes there is," said Narcissa with a curl of her lips. Draco sneered derisively.

"Sirius, we're getting late. Come on," said Tonks, glaring at the Malfoys as she ushered them away. Harry was mildly surprised to note that they had attracted a lot of attention as quite a number of people had stopped to watch what had been happening, but now were quickly hurrying away as if fearing eye-contact with any of them.

Chapter Text

Saturday, August 24

Sirius and Harry were heading back to Flourish and Blotts when Harry was pleasantly surprised to see a group of people with the tell-tale red hair moving towards them. Harry raised his hand in greeting as Ron hurried forwards, grinning and clapped him on the back. "How are you, mate? And you, Sirius?"

Sirius smiled in greeting when Harry said, "We're good. Where's Hermione?"

Just then, Hermione appeared from behind the Weasleys along with her mother, beaming. "Harry! It's so good to see you!"

She hugged him enthusiastically, then turned to greet Sirius.

"Harry dear! How lovely to see you!" said Mrs. Weasley as she too hugged him. After pleasant exchanges of greeting with Mr. Weasley and Ginny, Ron was saying, "We really must visit Fred and George's new joke shop! I heard its brilliant and they're raking in the galleons!"

Mrs. Weasley said, "We'll leave that for last. It's best we be off to Madam Malkin's first–"

Mr. Weasley interrupted, "That will take too much time, Molly. Let's just divide into groups. The kids can go together to get their robes and we can get their books from Flourish and Blotts."

"I've already got my robes," said Harry, then indicated Sirius. "We're going to Flourish and Blotts too."

"Oh, okay then," amended Mr. Weasley. "Molly, you can go with the kids to Madam Malkin's and I'll get the books…"

Sirius added, "Tonks can go with them too."

Tonks nodded as she and Mrs. Weasley ushered Ron, Hermione and Ginny who promised to meet up at the joke shop.

Sirius offered to wait outside the crowded bookshop as Harry and Mr. Weasley purchased the new books. After they had finished, Mr. Weasley lead them to a building at the end of the Alley which turned out to be the wacky shop of Fred and George.

Harry and Ron led the way inside as they took in the shelves piled high with joke shop products. He noted Sirius looked somewhat awed and he shook his head. "They really mean business, don't they?"

Hermione was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly-coloured picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship labelled 'Patented Daydream Charms'. "You know, that really is extraordinary magic."

"For that, Hermione," said a voice behind them, "you can have one for free."

A beaming Fred stood before them, wearing a set of magenta robes that clashed magnificently with his flaming red hair.

"How are you, Harry?" They shook hands. "And you, Sirius, mate."

"This is amazing, Fred," said Sirius warmly, a youthful smile lighting up his face.

"Thanks," said Fred, grinning. "Come on, I'll give you the tour."

After the quick tour, Sirius turned to Harry. "I'll be waiting outside, Harry. I have some things to discuss with Tonks. Don't wander off."

Harry nodded and Sirius set off outside the bustling shop.

It wasn't that he was not interested in seeing the twins' shop – it was like his thirteen-year old self's dream come true to look around the place with its dizzying variety of joke products. But Sirius was painfully aware that he wasn't as interested in buying it, as he was when he was a kid. Merlin's saggy Y-fronts, was he getting old?

The meeting with Narcissa was still running in the back of his mind as he went to the door. He nearly froze when Narcissa's boy walked alone past the shop, surreptitiously glancing behind him.

His eyes narrowed. Everything about his body language screamed 'suspicious'.

Sirius checked around for Tonks, but she was not there. She had probably gone off in disguise to look around Fortescue's, which was why she had come to Diagon Alley in the first place.

Making a split-second decision, he hid behind the shop and cast the Disillusionment charm on himself. He walked in the shadows following the Malfoy boy, who turned into Knockturn Alley.

Sirius almost rolled his eyes. That boy had to learn how to not come off as suspicious. Going into Knockturn Alley in the current climate was equivalent to practically yelling you were working for the Death Eaters.

Knockturn Alley was almost empty which gave Sirius the courage to walk forward faster with his Disillusionment charm. It worked amazingly when you were still but while moving, it was better to be in the shadows.

He saw the Malfoy boy entering Borgin & Burke's. Sirius waited outside and watched the boy standing near a large black cabinet and talking animatedly to the proprietor, Mr. Borgin, who was looking at the boy with mingled fear and resentment.

Sirius wanted to listen to what was being said and drew out his wand to perform the Sound Amplifiying charm when he nearly jumped seeing a flash of white about ten feet away from him.

He forgot about what he was doing there as he stood stock-still searching for whatever had caught his eye. He waited and waited, looking around frantically and after almost a minute, he saw it. It was a pair of trainers, which were oddly both right-footed. And what was more. One was instantly recognisable to him as Harry's new ones, with that glimmering strip of blue on white.

He immediately realised that Harry and probably his friend, Ron, were under the invisibility cloak and if he was quite right in assuming so, had followed Malfoy just like him.

The next moment, the bell tinkled loudly and Malfoy stalked off the shop, looking very pleased with himself. Sirius nearly swore when the cloak fluttered around their knees. He was certain that even Hermione was with them now.

Before he could even think of yelling at Harry for coming out to Knockturn Alley, Hermione swept out of the cloak, looking harried.

Sirius marched straight up to her as she checked her reflection on the glass of the empty store nearby. He cast a Silencing charm on her and grabbed her by her shoulders, dragging her behind the building.

Hermione screamed in horror, but no sound came out. Sirius quickly took off his Disillusionment charm and watched Hermione's eyes widen in realisation. He looked meaningfully at the space behind her, where he knew Harry and Ron were standing hidden.

He led them to the back of the shop as Harry took off the cloak, looking slightly alarmed.

"What the bloody hell were you three doing here?" hissed Sirius angrily, as he took off the Silencing charms. "I thought I told you to not wander off the shop, Harry!"

Ron and Hermione looked chagrined, but Harry retorted half-heartedly. "It was Malfoy! We wanted to know what he was doing down here all by himself."

"So you decided to simply take off on your own? You should have alerted me!" said Sirius in an angry whisper.

"But you weren't there!" said Ron.

"And you, Hermione. Did you think you could just have a friendly conversation with Borgin and find out what Malfoy was doing there?"

Hermione was upset and mortified in equal measure, so Sirius said quite kindly. "You're lucky I was there. Borgin has been dealing with the Malfoys and the Death Eaters for years! You do not want to make yourselves suspicious for him."

Harry looked apologetic. "Sirius, I didn't mean—"

"It's fine," said Sirius abruptly. He would be the worst hypocrite in the world if he made Harry apologise for something he himself would have done. Bloody hell, he had done it now too.

"Come on, we need to get back quick! Molly will be looking for you," said Sirius and jerked his head meaningfully at the cloak.

All three of them put it on and followed Sirius out of Knockturn Alley. An old hag and a warlock who were passing by, scurried past them hurriedly on seeing Sirius, who led the way to the twins' shop.

Molly was waiting by the entrance, looking around anxiously.

"Sirius! Where have you been?" said Molly, with slight accusation. "Ron, Hermione and Harry have been missing for a while!"

"Missing? Since when? I was here till five minutes ago when I left to check something. They can't have gone past me," said Sirius, frowning.

After their last meeting, Sirius and Molly kept their conversation to a minimum and almost always in the presence of someone else, like Arthur. Though Sirius was offended by Molly's accusations, he did not want to create problems between them as Harry liked and respected his friend's mother. He didn't think he could bear it if Harry was caught between them and somehow became disappointed in Sirius.

"Oh!" said Molly, looking puzzled. "But, they're not inside…"

"You mustn't have checked properly, Molly," said Sirius, bracingly. "They're probably in the back room."

Predictably, all three of them were in the back room just as he had said so and Molly was questioning them thoroughly. They built up on Sirius' alibi and Molly let it go, still a tad suspicious. Sirius was slightly amused when all three of them had the tell-tale expression of the figurative 'tail between their legs' as they left the shop, casting apologetic glances at him. He shook his head. They really needed to work on their guilty faces.

Chapter Text

Saturday, August 24

Harry was pondering the meaning of Malfoy's behavior in Knockturn Alley while he followed the rest of their group to the Leaky Cauldron. What disturbed him most was the satisfied look on Malfoy's face as he had left the shop. Nothing that made Malfoy look that happy could be good news. To his slight annoyance however, neither Ron nor Hermione seemed quite as curious about Malfoy's activities as he was.

"Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy, Harry," said Hermione as she sipped her butterbeer. Hermione's mother was chatting with Mr. Weasley and Ginny was talking with her mother. Sirius was with Tonks, which left him, Hermione, and Ron on a separate table. "But there could be a lot of explanations, couldn't there?"

"Maybe he's broken his Hand of Glory" said Ron vaguely, as he looked through the things he had bought from the twins' joke shop. "Remember that shrivelled-up arm Malfoy had?"

"But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that one safe'?" asked Harry. "That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."

"You reckon?" said Ron, still rifling through the small bag.

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?"

Ron looked up, blinking. "Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?"

"I don't know!" said Harry, frustrated. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and…"

Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.

"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"

"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" asked Ron nervously.

"He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!"

There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry," said Hermione in a repressive sort of voice. "What makes you think —?"

"Earlier, when I saw him with his mother, she touched his left arm by accident and he yelled out in pain and jerked his arm away from her. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"Well…" said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

"You said that his mother mentioned it as some injury," said Hermione, reasonably. "He probably fell off his broom at his house."

Ron laughed at the idea, but Harry couldn't see the humour. "He showed Borgin something we couldn't see, something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it… he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!"

Ron and Hermione exchanged another significant look.

"I'm not sure, Harry…"

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join…"

Harry was annoyed at the pair of them for not seeing reason, and it must have shown on his face because Hermione quickly said, "Let's talk about something else. How is it at your new house?"

"Yeah, mate. Mum has spent all summer speculating where you and Sirius might be," said Ron, looking relieved at the change of subject. "Thinks Sirius locked you up in a big, old house like Grimmauld Place." 

"I can't tell, because I'm not the Secret Keeper. You should both come by next summer though," said Harry, a little buoyed by the idea.

"That would be wicked," said Ron, grinning.

"Sirius took me to France for my birthday," said Harry, rather casually. He hadn't told that in his letters to them.

Hermione nearly squealed, "Oh, that's amazing! Where did you visit? I've only ever been to Paris before…"

"Provence. It was amazing," said Harry, smiling. He was getting into the finer points of where they had visited in Provence when Sirius called him over.

"I'll see you then on September first, I reckon," said Harry and Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "Course, mate."

Hermione hugged him. "I'm so happy for you, Harry!"

Harry grinned as he hugged her back. "Thanks."

After shopping in Diagon Alley, they had stopped at the Leaky Cauldron for a quick round of butterbeer. Harry was talking to his friends when Sirius joined Tonks who was sitting alone.

"Look," said Sirius, bluntly. "Why don't you come with me and Harry to our house? You look like you could use a friend. Or even a drink."

"No, I'm fine," said Tonks, shaking our head.

"Come on, Tonks!" said Sirius, rolling his eyes exasperatedly. "We both know you're lying. Besides, Harry could use the company."

"Fine," huffed Tonks. "I feel sorry for the poor lad anyway, locked up in that big house all alone." Her tone was mocking and Sirius couldn't help but assume she was quoting Molly.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius, mildly annoyed. "He's not locked up and he's not alone! And how is it that you know it's a big house?"

Tonks blushed. "I came by—didn't Remus tell—?" She cut herself off abruptly.

"I know," said Sirius knowingly and gestured for Harry to come over. Harry waved goodbye to his friends. "Is it alright if Tonks comes over to our house? I need to have a little chat with her."

"Sirius, you don't have to ask," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

Sirius grinned. "Come on, then."

The three of them had Apparated straight to the gates of Potter Manor and Harry was taking in Tonks' expression, who did not at all seem to be surprised or showing any sort of emotion.

Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Have you already been here, Tonks?"

Tonks nodded. "Remus brought me over."

"Remu—Oh." Understanding dawned on Harry. "Oh! You're his girlfriend!"

Tonks flushed and her expression darkened. Sirius rolled his eyes. "How very tactful of you, Harry!"

"Sorry," said Harry sheepishly, ducking his head.

"It's alright, Harry," said Tonks with a tremulous smile. "I'm not his girlfriend anymore."

"What?! Why not?"

"He broke up with me," stated Tonks flatly.

"What?!" Harry couldn't believe Remus would have broken up with Tonks so soon. That explained Tonks' glum attitude though.

Sirius was muttering, "When he comes home, I'm kicking that git's arse."

Tonks looked up at him hopefully. "Do you know when he'll come back?"

"Not for certain," said Sirius, shaking his head.

"He said he'll be back before Christmas," said Harry, somewhat hoping she would cheer up with a definite answer. She nodded gratefully and they entered their home.

"I'm taking all my things to my room," said Harry and Sirius re-sized all of their parcels and handed it to him, who took it all upstairs to his room with Twitchet's help.

Tonks went over to the couch and sank into it dejectedly. "Why is he doing this to me? He could have left with a simple 'goodbye' and 'see you soon'. Why did he have to break up with me?"

Sirius opened the bottle of Sauvignon lying on the mantelpiece and poured it into two goblets. "Look. For Remus… this is all new to him. He never really imagined himself liking someone enough to date them over months. He didn't even think you would like him that much."

"How could he think that?" retorted Tonks. "I don't care what he is! I've been very clear with what I want from the start."

Sirius handed her the goblet as he sat on his favourite armchair across from her. "Trust me, I know! I can see how much he likes you. He's just worried that he'll be ruining your life."

Tonks looked livid. "He can't decide for me! It's my life and I will do whatever I bloody well please!"

"He just needs some time to wrap his head around the idea," said Sirius. "Probably this little holiday gives him that."

Tonks nodded and took a sip of her wine, humming appreciatively. "This is good stuff."

Sirius smiled. "A souvenir from our trip to France."

The familiar spark in Tonks' eyes was back though not as bright as usual. "How was France? I never got to ask…"

And they spent the next half hour chatting amicably when Harry had decided to come downstairs.

"I'm bored. Can we go flying?"

"Oh, it's been ages since I flew," said Tonks wistfully.

"You can have a go in my Firebolt if you want to," offered Harry and was rewarded with a smile from her. "You would? Oh, thanks a ton, Harry! Come on, then!"

After Tonks had left looking marginally more cheerful, Harry decided to tell Sirius what had been nagging him for the past two hours, ever since he saw Malfoy in Borgin & Burke's. He couldn't shake off the feeling that Malfoy was seriously up to something.

"Sirius, you know when I followed Malfoy into Knockturn Alley…" Harry trailed off uncertainly, wondering if Sirius was still upset about it.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you earlier…" said Sirius, narrowing his eyes. "What did that little git do in Borgin & Burke's? I would have listened in, but I was busy searching around for who was near me."

Harry looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," said Sirius quickly. "If you do something you feel is wrong, just come clean with me and own up to your actions. You don't have to apologize to me."

Harry blinked bemusedly. "Er… right. Well, Ron had Extendable Ears on him so we could listen in to what they were talking."

"Really?" said Sirius interestedly and sat up straighter. "You heard what he said?"

"Yes," said Harry, nodding. "Malfoy was asking Borgin how to fix something… And he also said something about 'keeping the other one safe'. He even threatened Borgin that Greyback would check in on him to make sure Borgin was doing so."

Sirius seemed deep in thought. "Did you see what he was talking about? Did Malfoy have it with him?"

"No, he wasn't. It must be something big, because he thinks he'll look silly carrying it in public."

Sirius made a face. "Something big, or something small that's too noisy or flashy in the open."

"Yeah, maybe," said Harry, trudging on. Sirius was probably going to think he was crazy for suggesting it, but Harry had to share his suspicions with someone. "I think Malfoy has replaced his father as a Death Eater."

Sirius didn't seem surprised at all and he nodded slowly. "That is what I thought of too."

"Really?" asked Harry, very taken aback that Sirius had thought the same.

"When I was in school," said Sirius, "Lucius Malfoy, and a whole host of the Death Eaters of today, had already joined Voldemort. They were probably sixteen or seventeen then. It's not impossible at all that Malfoy's son has become one too. Voldemort needs all the followers he can get now that some of his men are in Azkaban."

Relieved that Sirius was seeing sense, Harry added quickly, "That's why he probably yelled when his mother touched his arm. It was his left hand too, mind. It could be that he had got his Dark Mark quite recently."

"You're right," said Sirius, eyes widening. "If Malfoy's son is planning something, it's best we be on our guard. I think I can talk to Arthur about this. He's been promoted, so he can probably conduct a raid in Malfoy's house and search it for any dark objects. Merlin knows, they must have a whole lot of it there."

Harry blew out a breath in relief – that Sirius was accepting his suspicions and was also taking a step to look into it. He wasn't a nutter for being paranoid and it was rather nice to have someone who he could share this with without fear of them shutting his ideas down.

Chapter Text

Sunday, August 25

Harry was at home, alone again as Sirius had left for another Order meeting. Harry was using the time to get his nonverbal spells right, as he had made himself a promise that he would get the hang of it, at least before he left for Hogwarts.

His grandfather's duelling room was very useful as it had all sorts of books and practice dummies that repaired itself after a spell had hit it.

Harry had been practising for the better part of an hour and was almost confident he could do the basic defence spells non-verbally. They were a little weaker than his regular spells, but it was a good improvement to last time.

The nonverbal spells he had been practicing had effectively pushed the metal transfiguration lessons to the backburner. Thinking of brushing up on it again, he decided to read his now-favourite book, Elemental Transfiguration and Ways to Implement in Duelling.

Sirius had borrowed it from him earlier, so he went up to Sirius' room to get it. He pushed open the door to Sirius' bedroom and searched around for the book on the bedside table.

However, something else caught his eye.

It was a framed moving photograph; Harry picked it up to look at it closer. It was Sirius, obviously when he was younger and more handsome, sitting beside Harry's father. Sirius was unmistakeably holding a baby in his arms and gazing at it fondly. Harry realized that the laughing baby was himself when his father smiled and clapped a hand on Sirius' shoulder as he too looked at the baby. Harry snorted when he saw that his baby self was wearing a sleepsuit with the words: I HAVE THE WORLD'S GREATEST GODFATHER. No doubt Sirius must have gotten it for him.

Harry felt his eyes growing misty and quickly brushed away the wetness in his eyes. The happy grins on his father and godfather reflecting the happier times of the past made Harry yearn for his dead parents. He wished he could go and visit them at Godric's Hollow; now that he knew that's where he had lived before, he had such a great longing to look at the place that would have been his home, if not for that dreadful Halloween night.

He placed the picture back where it was. To think that Sirius had this picture on his bedside table made him really glad that his parents had chosen Sirius as his godfather.

That afternoon, Sirius came home with the news that he had notified Arthur Weasley and so he would look into the matter of Draco Malfoy soon. Harry was relieved that it seemed taken care of.

Harry waited until after lunch to break the other pressing matter to Sirius that had been on his mind for the whole day. He was very uncertain how to go about it, but decided to broach the subject sooner rather than later.

"Um… Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"I – I was wondering if I could visit Godric's Hollow."

The silence would have been deafening, if not for the thumping Beatles' song playing in the background. Sirius had gone pale and Harry was momentarily angry with himself for not having thought about how it would affect Sirius. He had probably never visited their graves too, seeing as he had been in Azkaban all this while. 

Sirius swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. "Uh… you mean today?"

"No!" exclaimed Harry. He wasn't ready for that yet and clearly, Sirius wasn't too. "I mean, not today, but… some day soon… maybe during the holidays."

Sirius' fathomless grey eyes, which had never quite lost the haunted look from his time in Azkaban, were shadowed with sadness and he nodded resignedly. "Okay, Harry. I can't say I didn't expect this. How about during your Christmas holidays?"

Harry smiled a little. "Thanks."

Sirius tried to return the smile and failed.

oOo

Wednesday, August 28

"I've done it!" floated Harry's excited voice as he thundered down the stairs.

Sirius looked up from the paper, raising an eyebrow. "Done what?"

Harry pointed his wand at the book lying on the desk and thought of the spell non-verbally, 'Ferrum Duro'.

In the blink of an eye, the book turned to a block of solid iron. Sirius picked it up, looking at the heavy object with appreciation. "Well done, Harry!"

Harry grinned as he turned it back to its normal state. "Having gotten the transfiguration right, I can finally move on to conjuration, next."

"Maybe," said Sirius as he put down the now-normal book where it had been, "we can deal with that during the next holidays. Do you think we can test your non-verbal skills in a duel now?"

Harry's face was set and he nodded resolutely.

Harry and Sirius duelled entirely using non-verbal spells, hexes and jinxes flying from each of their wands as they ducked and dodged to avoid them.

It was to that scene that Dumbledore arrived in Potter Manor, equal parts horrified and amazed. That Harry was using magic at home didn't really surprise him for more than ten seconds. It was Sirius' doing after all.

But the way they duelled was enthralling to watch. Sirius was an expert duellist; of that Dumbledore had no doubt. Sirius, with his graceful movements combined with his aggressive fighting style, was a force to be reckoned with.

But it was Harry's skill that astounded him.

It was very clear Sirius had been teaching Harry, if the way Harry's movements somewhat mirrored Sirius' were any clue. There was a confidence in his gait and his quicksilver reflexes, that proved him to be the best on the Quidditch field, were put on clear display. It was amazing how much Sirius had taught Harry in such a short amount of time.

Still, Sirius had the upper hand with his knowledge and experience. A quick tripping jinx that Harry's non-verbal shield hadn't blocked in time and a non-verbal 'Incarcerous', ensured Sirius was the clear winner.

"That was very good, Harry," said Sirius as he helped Harry up and vanished the ropes binding him.

"I thought I could do better than that," said Harry, somewhat dejectedly.

"The last time we duelled, you didn't last ten seconds against me. How long have we been here? Ten minutes?"

Harry looked at his watch. "Twelve."

"Exactly! That is a massive improvement in my opinion," said Sirius encouragingly.

Dumbledore walked up to them and realising his presence, they turned to look at him. He was amused to note Harry hurriedly stowing away his wand as if afraid of being caught doing magic at home.

"Good morning to you both. That was a rather skillful display of non-verbal spells, Harry," said Dumbledore.

Harry flushed but smiled in relief. "Thanks, sir."

Dumbledore addressed Sirius, "I have something to talk to you in private, Sirius."

Sirius' eyes narrowed as he said to Harry, "Could you excuse us, Harry?"

Harry nodded and looked at them a moment longer before heading back to the house, frowning.

Sirius had folded his arms over his chest and was looking at him with the same haughty expression that seemed to be a by-product of Black genes. "Are you going to lecture me for allowing Harry to use magic at home? Because if you are–"

"I had no intention of doing that," interrupted Dumbledore. "I think it is necessary for Harry to learn to duel and who better to teach him than you?"

Sirius was stumped and abashed in equal measure and Dumbledore ploughed on. "Sirius, you wanted to know what happened to my arm? I can tell you now that it was the after-effect of a cursed object."

Immediately, Sirius looked horrified and angry. "What? Who tried to curse you?"

"Oh, it was not somebody's well-thought-out plan," said Dumbledore, placidly. "I… stumbled upon an artefact which caused it. Luckily, I could take the necessary measures in time to stop it. But, that is not what I came to tell you. I want you to accompany me to certain places that I might ask you to over the forthcoming months."

Dumbledore found himself assaulted with a barrage of questions. "What places?" asked Sirius. "Where will you be going? And why should I be the one to accompany you?"

"I am in search of an object – a very powerful and valuable one. I will tell you more about it in the forthcoming days. But it is proving to be difficult to search for them unaccompanied. Which is why I am requesting your help, Sirius."

Sirius was watching him with narrowed eyes. "As long as you will tell me more about it, I'm in."

"I will, I promise you. Please remember that this is very private and I do not wish to share it with anyone, even members of the Order. What I am about to tell you over the months is very sensitive information."

Sirius nodded. "You have my word."

Sunday, September 1

"You've got everything?"

"Yes," said Harry and nodded. As much as he loved Hogwarts, he had been dreading this day all last week. He hated that he was going to be away from Sirius just when he had finally gotten his godfather free. Sirius had been trying so hard to not show his displeasure, but Harry knew. How could he not when he felt just the same?

"If you've left anything, just write to me and I'll send it for you." They were standing by the doorway of Potter Manor, his home – the place that had given him so many happy memories, Harry thought that if he had to, he could produce the strongest Patronus in the world with them.

Harry nodded again and stood where he was unwilling to leave his home. Sirius was looking at him with an unreadable expression in his grey eyes.

"I'm going to miss you," said Sirius, a slight tremor in his voice betraying emotion.

Harry gulped, took two steps forward just as Sirius opened his arms to embrace him. Harry was going to miss Sirius too and it hurt so much that an ache was building up in his throat.

Sirius finally pulled away and said hoarsely, "Let's get a move on. There's just thirty minutes left for the train."

Harry pushed his trunk forward along with Sirius, who had one arm on the trolley and one inside the pocket of his jeans, clutching his wand. They were strolling along King's Cross among the Muggles and Sirius was giving some 'well-meaning advice' to Harry, "— You're sixteen and if I'm not mistaken, girls are going to be throwing themselves at you. You remember what I told you last month right?"

Harry felt himself flushing at the reminder. During one of their many conversations when Sirius had pestered Harry about his love life, he had given an unwitting Harry 'the Talk' which was probably the most embarrassing two hours of his life.

"I can't look at a girl the same now, thanks to you," muttered Harry.

Sirius was grinning. "Sixth year is the best time of your school life! You don't have the stress of seventh year exams but you're still older than most and have time for delightful things to do, like with that charming Alicia on your birthday."

Harry rubbed his hand over his eyes. "You just had to see that, didn't you?"

"Who didn't see with all that shameless snogging? I was surprised Alicia's mum didn't come rampaging when she saw. Points to you for that sort of bravery, Harry. "

Harry pressed his lips to keep from commenting. As they reached the wall between platforms nine and ten, Harry gasped looking to the side. "Miss Evesham!"

Sirius's eyes widened comically as he whirled around so fast, that he nearly tripped when his foot caught on the trolley. Harry was roaring in laughter as he dashed forward into the wall, Sirius hot on Harry's heels.

"Who's talking about bravery now?" said Harry, amidst laughter.

Sirius smacked him up his head but Harry was still laughing. "You should have seen your face!"

"I'm getting you back for that," muttered Sirius, yet his eyes were dancing with amusement.

Harry snorted disbelievingly. "I'll be in Hogwarts. What could you possibly do?"

Sirius said nothing but the familiar mischievous smirk lit up his face at the challenge and Harry felt slightly unsettled. It was best to be on his guard from now.

Harry noticed that heads were turning as people already occupying the compartments pressed their faces on the windows to look at them.

"If this is how my entire school year is going to be…" trailed off Harry, exhaling a breath.

Sirius, who had been frowning at the sight, turned to Harry grinning. "Don't be ridiculous, they're all admiring me of course!"

That made Harry laugh. He spotted Hermione beckoning him over, standing with her parents at a platform where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood along with Ron and Ginny, who greeted them happily. Hermione and Ron left to find the Prefect's compartment and Ginny was exchanging last minute hugs and goodbyes with her parents when Sirius turned to him, a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Stay safe, Harry."

"I try," said Harry, almost exasperatedly.

Sirius continued with a rather serious expression. "I want you to have your invisibility cloak with you at all times. Even during class hours and breaks, alright?"

Harry nodded. He couldn't help but wonder why he was feeling slightly nauseous at that moment.

Sirius' expression suddenly cleared and he gave a cheerful smile that didn't seem entirely natural. "Alright, chin up there. It's just another school term."

When Harry continued to be solemn, Sirius dropped his smile. "I also wanted you to know, if you have anything sensitive to tell me, don't put it into a letter. Use that mirror."

The train whistled and Sirius looked up at the train, before looking back at Harry. Quickly, he pulled Harry into a one-armed hug, who held very tightly to Sirius in that brief moment, soaking up the feeling. They pulled away rather sooner than he would have liked and Sirius helped Harry load his trunk onto the train.

"Go on, then. Have a good term, Harry."

Sirius shut the door and Harry leaned out of the window to speak to him.

"Promise me you'll look after yourself, Sirius," said Harry, concerned. With nobody but Twitchet at their home, Harry was worried what the loneliness would do to Sirius.

"I promise."

Sirius looked at Harry with such fondness that he felt a jolt in his midriff, an unexplainable feeling. The train started to move and Harry raised a hand in farewell and Sirius gave a wistful smile. Harry was still looking out the window at Sirius' steadily diminishing figure, and then he was gone.

Harry stood there for a minute, unable to suppress the feeling of bereavement nestling in his heart. Never before had he felt resentment than at that moment for going back to Hogwarts.

Chapter Text

After the train had left the station, Harry decided to get a move on and get himself a compartment. Ron and Hermione were probably cloistered in the prefects' carriage, so he would have to sit alone. Or he could find Neville, Ginny or Luna. He trudged along, pulling his trunk with him.

People stared shamelessly as he approached. They even pressed their faces against the windows of their compartments to get a look at him.

It was a relief when Neville and Luna came up to him and Harry greeted them happily.

"Let's find seats," said Harry, and the three of them set off along the train. At last they found an empty compartment and Harry hurried inside gratefully.

It was a pleasant time chatting with Neville and Luna and about two hours later, Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.

Ron was just talking about Malfoy not doing his prefect duty when the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom and Harry P-Potter," she faltered as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out two scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. Perplexed, Harry and Neville took the scroll addressed to each of them and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.

"What is it?" Ron demanded as Harry unrolled his.

"An invitation," said Harry.

Harry Potter,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.

Sincerely,

Professor H. E. F. Slughorn

"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously, as though he was expecting detention.

"No idea," said Harry. What would the new DADA professor want with him and Neville?

"Let's get going, then," said Neville, looking like he was dreading the idea of meeting a professor in person.

The pointing and whispering seemed to have increased and every now and then, students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming.

A fleeting image of Alicia and her incessant questioning about his previous girlfriend came into his thoughts. He almost longed to have been with her at the moment. At least, she never gawked at him like he was a zoo exhibit.

When they reached compartment C, they saw at once that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Harry was the most anticipated.

"Oho! So, this is the Harry Potter!" said Professor Horace Slughorn, jumping up at the sight of him. "I see Sirius was right! You look just like your father! The likeness is uncanny, if it weren't for Lily's eyes!"

Though Harry was almost exasperated by now when people compared his appearance with his parents, he was also slightly surprised. "You knew my parents, sir?"

"Didn't Sirius tell you?" said Slughorn, slightly put-out, but then continued with more than a hint of pride. "I taught them both and your godfather! One of the brightest bunch of witches and wizards to step foot into Hogwarts, I daresay."

He added smiling at Neville, "And you must be Mr. Longbottom!"

Neville nodded, looking scared. At a gesture from Slughorn, they sat down opposite each other in the only two empty seats, which were nearest the door.

Harry was wondering when Sirius had met his former professor and why he hadn't told him. After a round of introductions, Slughorn spoke to Harry with something akin to awe. It was quite off-putting when he asked about the rumours concerning the prophecy, but Ginny and Neville were quick to put down all of the rubbish that the Daily Prophet reported.

"Yes… well… the Prophet often exaggerates, of course…" Slughorn said, sounding a little disappointed, but he did not seem convinced by Neville and Ginny. "But it is true that Sirius officially adopted you this summer, isn't it? It was all over the papers! He was an exceptionally bright student, him and your dad. Such a pity he didn't get sorted into Slytherin like his brother…"

"You're in Slytherin?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Yes," said Slughorn. "Oh, now" he went on quickly, seeing the expression on Harry's face, "don't go holding that against me? You'll be in Gryffindor like Lily and James. Yes, it runs in families. Not always, though. Sirius was an exception in his family. There hadn't been a Gryffindor in the Blacks for centuries!"

Harry beamed with pride at that.

The journey from Hogsmeade to the Great Hall felt like it took ages. The amount of people turning to look at him, pointing and whispering was maddening. He realized that with Sirius, at least people had dashed away in fear of him. That was infinitely better to this, as people even stood up on their seats to take a look at him.

"Blimey! You'd think they have nothing else to talk about," ground out Ron, frustrated on Harry's behalf.

"At least, it's for something positive. Unlike last year…" trailed off Hermione, darkly.

Harry knew what she was talking about. Last year, people had thought he was an attention-seeking nutter. While he much preferred people thinking he was sane, he didn't enjoy this either.

After the Sorting was over, the food had appeared and they dug in.

"So what did Professor Slughorn want?" Hermione asked, when desserts had appeared.

"To know what really happened at the Ministry," said Harry.

"Him and everyone else here," sniffed Hermione. "People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren't they, Ron?"

Harry was very surprised by that and wondered why no one had dared ask himself about it.

"Yeah," said Ron. "All wanting to know if you really are 'the Chosen One' —"

Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

"What happened to his hand?" gasped Hermione.

She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore's right hand was as blackened and dead-looking as it had been on the morning he had come to Potter Manor.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…"

"His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer," Harry whispered to Hermione. "I thought he'd have cured it by now, though… or Madam Pomfrey would've done."

"Dumbledore visited you?" asked Ron, his eyes wide. Even Hermione had turned to look at Harry curiously, who simply nodded. He was painfully aware of Ginny, Seamus, Neville and Dean listening in and so he gave Ron a look that said 'Later.'

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn"— Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight — "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?"

"Potions?"

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right. Ron, Hermione, and Harry exchanged bemused looks.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" said Harry so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn't it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?

Harry had come to terms with the idea that he wouldn't be studying Potions over the summer. A part of him had been almost glad that it would be worth it just so that he wouldn't have to see Snape's face again. And now he was going to have to face him for a whole year again.

"Well, there's one good thing," he said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year… Quirrell actually died doing it… Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…"

"Harry!" said Hermione, shocked and reproachful.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and gave words of Voldemort and his threat and the need to ensure safety of everyone in school. After his speech was over, he smiled again.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

With the usual deafening scraping noise, the benches moved back and the hundreds of students began to file out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories. Harry, who was in no hurry to leave with the gawping crowd, lagged behind, pretending to retie the lace on his trainers, allowing most of the Gryffindors to draw ahead of him. Hermione had darted ahead to fulfill her prefect's duty of shepherding the first years, but Ron remained with Harry.

Harry was grateful for that. At least with Ron by his side, he didn't feel too worked up when the others turned to stare at him.

When he changed into his pyjamas and pushed back the curtains on his four-poster bed that night, something lying on the sheets caught his eye. It was a scroll of parchment, neatly tied together with red ribbon.

Wanting privacy, Harry climbed into his bed and drew the curtains around him. He lit his wand and read the letter, which was in the familiar narrow, loopy handwriting of Dumbledore.

Dear Harry,

I wish to give you private lessons this year. I would like to start next Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at 8PM where we can discuss it in more detail. I hope you enjoy your first week at school.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, September 3

After their rather eventful first day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a free period early next morning. They walked over to their favourite beech tree and sat down under the cool morning sun.

Harry caught them up on Dumbledore's visit to his house. He had been meaning to tell them quite earlier, but the common rooms were always crowded and people had the annoying habit of trying to listen in on their conversations. It was very difficult to find somewhere private these days as everyone wanted to know what the Chosen One was up to with his friends.

"So, he came to deliver your OWLs? That's it?" said Ron, looking rather disappointed.

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes.

"Well… we thought he would discuss… things with you," said Ron, mysteriously.

"Ron!" came Hermione's reproachful tone.

Harry pulled out the letter that had been in his bed on his first night back at Hogwarts and thrust it into Ron's hands. "This was left for me in my bed on our first night back."

Hermione leaned in to read the letter along with Ron.

"Blimey! Private lessons with Dumbledore? Could this be because of the prophecy?" Ron blurted out excitedly. Hermione gave him a withering glare.

Harry pretended to speak casually, "We did discuss it at the end of last year."

Ron and Hermione froze as they hung on to every word he was saying.

"The glass ball that smashed wasn't the only record of the prophecy. The Daily Prophet has got it right this time," said Harry in the same would-be casual voice. "At least, the prophecy said, 'Neither can live while the other survives.'"

Hermione nearly squealed. "Harry, oh, Harry…"

She put her arm on Harry's as she looked at him worriedly. "We wondered, after we got back from the Ministry… Obviously, we didn't have time to say anything to you and we couldn't put that in any of our letters, but from what Lucius Malfoy said about the prophecy, how it was about you and Voldemort, well, we thought it might be something like this… Oh, Harry…" She stared at him, then whispered, "Are you scared?"

"Not as much as I was," said Harry. "When I first heard it, I was… but now, it seems as though I always knew I'd have to face him in the end…"

"But, this is brilliant!" said Ron, eagerly. "Dumbledore wouldn't be giving you lessons if he thought you were a goner, wouldn't waste his time — he must think you've got a chance!"

"That's true," said Hermione. "I wonder what he'll teach you, Harry? Really advanced defensive magic, probably… powerful counter-curses… anti-jinxes…"

Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them. He had more than only Sirius on his side. He had his best friends with him too.

"… and evasive enchantments generally," concluded Hermione. "Does Sirius know about this?"

"Yes," said Harry, a smile on his face. "He was with me when Dumbledore told me last year."

"How did he take it?" asked Hermione, curiously.

"He knew about it, because my mum and dad told him when I was born."

Ron and Hermione gaped. "He knew all along?" said Ron, surprised.

"That explains why he was insistent on telling you about 'the weapon' during the Order meeting last year," said Hermione, nodding in agreement. "He knew what it really was, and he must have known you would want to hear about it sooner rather than later."

"He's been teaching me duelling this summer," said Harry.

"But—but you can't do magic at home!" exclaimed Hermione, scandalized.

Harry had promised Sirius he wouldn't tell Ron or Hermione about the Trace. Hermione would be seventeen soon, so it didn't matter, but Ron would probably take it to heart and use magic at home over the holidays. Sirius did not want to get into Molly's bad books for this, especially as they always seemed to be at loggerheads. Harry had already come up with a little white lie.

"It's the Fidelius. Magic can't be detected when you're under it," said Harry, looking away slightly.

Hermione still seemed disapproving but it was Ron's reaction that was priceless. "You mean we could have used magic for two months at Number 12 and we didn't!"

Harry sniggered. "Yes, actually."

"Merlin's pants! We could have used magic at least to clean that infernal house!"

Ron spent a good half hour, ranting about wasted opportunities when Hermione was discussing with Harry on what defensive spells Sirius had taught him over the summer.

Before retiring to the common room that evening, Harry had taken the mirror Sirius had given him. He perused the Marauder's Map and found an empty classroom close by. Making sure the corridor was sufficiently empty, Harry looked into his mirror and called for Sirius, his voice slightly echoing in the silence.

A moment later, Sirius' face appeared on the mirror and Harry smiled.

"Hello, Harry. Miss me already?"

"How come you never told me the new professor was your former teacher?" said Harry, trying and failing to keep the slight accusation out of his voice.

"Oh, you mean Slughorn?" said Sirius, before adding nervously, "Uh… has he talked to you already?"

"Yes," said Harry, frowning. "He invited me on the train along with Neville. He seems to like making acquaintances with students who have famous relatives."

"That's Sluggy to you! Lily, James and I were part of his club, making us meet all these famous personalities and connecting them to us," said Sirius, grimacing. "James and I made it a point to skip those boring little parties he always hosted. Poor Lily, though. She was too polite to refuse him. Slughorn liked her too much, it drove James up the wall."

Harry pointed out, "And Slughorn teaches Potions, apparently. Which makes Snape the DADA teacher."

Sirius scowled. "I know. Dumbledore told me."

"What was Dumbledore thinking, making him the defence teacher? Personally, I hope he's gone by the end of the year. Everyone knows that job is jinxed!"

Sirius threw his head back and laughed. "You won't hear any arguments from me. I heard from Dumbledore though that it's getting really hard to hire teachers at the present time. Because joining under Dumbledore practically means you have become an enemy of Voldemort."

"Except for Snape, of course," muttered Harry, scowling.

"Quite right," nodded Sirius.

"I had my first class with Slughorn yesterday," said Harry. "You won't believe what happened. Do you by any chance know someone called 'the Half-Blood Prince'?"

"'The Half-Blood Prince'?" said Sirius, incredulously. "No, I don't. You're not thinking of calling yourself that, are you? I thought the Chosen-One was already—"

"It's nothing to do with me!" said Harry hotly and Sirius smirked. "The Half-Blood Prince used to go to Hogwarts and he's really helped me with Potions—" and Harry told him about the book and how it had won him the Felix Felicis.

"For real?" said Sirius, excitedly. "You got the Felix Felicis from Slughorn! That's splendid!"

"Not through my own talents for sure," admitted Harry. "I was wondering if perhaps you might know who this 'Half-Blood Prince' was."

"There aren't any Wizarding princes. And, it sure isn't me. Or James. We're purebloods and I'm very certain it wasn't Remus." He looked thoughtful as he suggested, "Maybe you should check when the book was published. Perhaps that can give you an idea about when this Prince was at Hogwarts."

"That's a good idea," said Harry, wondering why he hadn't thought of that.

"How was it on your first day back?" asked Sirius.

Harry grimaced. "I thought I was prepared for all the pointing and staring, but clearly I was wrong. At least when I was with you, people seemed to run away in fear."

"Then, shall I make a visit and scare those pesky students away?" asked Sirius with a very mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hastily, Harry added, "No, no. I think it will die down after a while. It's still better than last year. What are you up to?"

"Just Order meetings and stuff," said Sirius, dismissively. "I'm thinking of visiting my old flat and cleaning it out. I should probably make a good income out of it if I could lease it."

"Like you need more money after that grand prize the Ministry gave you in apology," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

"True. I have another use for the flat in my mind, but I'm not going to say it out loud, for fear of jinxing it," said Sirius, with a smile.

Harry, however looked worried. "You're not thinking of moving out are you?"

"Merlin's balls!" exclaimed Sirius, aghast. "What the hell gave you that idea? I'm staying with you in this house until you get married." He remarked almost as an afterthought, "Probably even after that, if your future wife allows it."

Though Harry secretly cheered, he rolled his eyes instead. "No one's getting married anytime soon."

"Then, you're stuck with me for the indefinite future. And you don't have a say in it," said Sirius lifting his chin with an air of finality.

Harry couldn't quite contain the grin threatening to break free. He remembered something else, however. "Dumbledore told me he'll be giving me private lessons this year."

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Did he tell you what it was about?"

"No. He said he'll discuss with me in detail on Saturday," said Harry.

"Hmm… I'll be having a word with Dumbledore about this," said Sirius, who didn't seem angry or upset, just intrigued and a little thoughtful.

Harry waited for Sirius to add something but when no response was forthcoming, he shrugged. "It's getting late. I'll see you next week."

Sirius looked at him fondly, his deep-set eyes crinkling. "I'll always be here if you need me. Don't ever doubt that, Harry."

Harry nodded, beaming. "Good night, Sirius."

Wednesday, September 4

It hadn't been until early next morning after the mirror call, that it really hit Sirius how much he missed Harry. He had been busy the last two days with the Order meetings, but now he was acutely aware of the gaping hole that had been Harry's presence for the past two months. It felt like the longest two months of his life, yet also felt like it had flown by in the blink of an eye.

It was something to love Harry blindly at first, because he was his best friend's son. He would have loved him no matter what he was like just for the sake of his godson. But, Sirius had really gotten to know Harry in the time they had spent and, if possible, Sirius loved him more. Harry was the best possible combination of both his parents. He had James' wit and Lily's cheek, James' nobility and Lily's heart of gold, but he also had James' stubbornness and Lily's temper. It occurred to him that James and Lily would have been extremely proud of how their son had turned out to be. Merlin knew, he was.

He decided to pull himself out of his melancholy and made the decision to visit his old flat. Showered and dressed, he Apparated to Upper Flagley, one of the wizarding villages in Yorkshire. He had chosen the little town when he was seventeen as it was in the same vicinity as Potter Manor. He was pleasantly surprised to find the building still there.

It was as he had expected. Someone had searched it; probably during the time he was put in Azkaban or had escaped from it. A thick layer of dust had settled over everything and the air smelled musty and rotten. He summoned Kreacher and ordered the elf to clean out the house within the week. He spent the rest of the day, retrieving anything that might be of value.

He was in for a shock when he saw the drawers full of yellowing parchments, letters and pictures that he had gotten from James or Lily when they had been in hiding. He had collected the boxes of things that he could use along with the letters and left for his home.

Reading and rereading them, tears in his eyes to think of all he had lost, he was almost thankful when Tonks came over to visit Sirius at Potter Manor that evening.

Sirius was in Mr. Potter's study, all the letters and pictures he had collected strewn over the desk, a goblet of firewhiskey in his hand as he stared at the last letter James had written to him. That was how Tonks found him.

"Twitchet said you were here. Wha… What's wrong?" stuttered Tonks, looking taken aback.

Hastily, Sirius tried to wipe his eyes and said hoarsely, "It's nothing."

"It's clearly not 'nothing'. What's all this?" said Tonks, looking around curiously.

Wordlessly, Sirius invited her to take a look at them as he threw back the firewhiskey in one gulp. She picked up a few and skimmed through, gasping as she made sense of it all.

"Oh, Sirius… I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine. It's just a shock, is all," said Sirius, pushing away the bottle and lighting his cigarette.

Tonks cooed, looking at a picture. "Aww, is that baby Harry? Merlin, he's flying a broom when he was one!"

An honest smile found its way on Sirius' face, and he looked chuffed. "Yes. I bought him that for his first birthday."

Tonks was smiling as she looked at the other pictures. "You should show these to Harry."

"No!" exclaimed Sirius, alarmed. "He – he'll probably hate me."

"Hate you?" asked Tonks, raising her eyebrows. "For showing him letters that his parents had written?"

"For knowing that I could spend so much time with them, when he couldn't! I'm the reason he never knew his parents. It's not fair at all that they died and I lived!" exclaimed Sirius as he stood up, agitated. He never could forgive himself for that even after all these years.

"Sirius, I'm sure Harry wouldn't think like that," said Tonks, slowly. "That boy loves you and he'll be really happy that you can give him things like these of his parents."

Sirius walked over to the window and watched the misty drizzle, the cool air whipping his hair. He took a long drag from his cigarette. "How is it stationed at Hogwarts?"

"Not bad, but not very good either," said Tonks, unperturbed by the sudden switch in subject. "Dawlish is a right jerk. He knows I'm your cousin and he keeps pestering me for information about you. I know for a fact that he'll do anything to please his superiors, which is Scrimgeour in his case. It's only the fact that he works against You-Know-Who that's keeping me from hexing him."

Sirius nodded slowly and remembering something added, "Arthur told me to remind you that the next Order meeting is on Friday. Make sure you have your shift covered for 5 o' clock."

"Sure. Do you mind if I see off that last bottle of wine?” asked Tonks, a bit eagerly.

Sirius motioned for her to help herself and she grinned, a small skip in her step when she walked out of the study.

Chapter Text

Saturday, September 7

After the Order meeting on Friday had finished, Dumbledore and Sirius had Apparated to Potter Manor, where they had no fear of being overheard.

Dumbledore had then told Sirius in detail about the research he had been making for quite a few years. About, how Voldemort had survived the repelled killing curse the night Lily and James died. It had taken Dumbledore two days to explain the possibility that Voldemort had split his soul, possibly more than once and hid each one of them, using Dark Magic. Sirius was appropriately horrified by this information about Horcruxes.

Dumbledore told him that he would be imparting this information with Harry too, though in more detail and along with information on Voldemort's past. Sirius realised this was what Harry meant by the "private lessons" and was worried by the idea; it wasn't that he wanted to shelter Harry, but the Horcruxes were really Dark Magic and to think Harry would have to know about it didn't settle well with him.

Dumbledore reasoned, "Harry has a right to know. I made the mistake once of protecting Harry from the truth and it did more harm than good. I will not repeat the same mistake again. We will not always be there to protect Harry and it is only a matter of time before Voldemort starts to actively hunt for Harry, especially once he finishes school. He needs to be armed with the knowledge if he needs a chance to defeat Voldemort."

Sirius had no defence to that, so he merely nodded. No matter how many times he had heard that Voldemort would hunt Harry down eventually, it never stopped his heart clenching in anxiety.

Dumbledore then told him about Riddle's diary that Harry had stabbed in his second year and also the ring that Sirius had seen him wearing to Slughorn's, which he had found in the Gaunts' house. He had then speculated that Voldemort might have used an object each of the Hogwarts' founders – Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket were a likely possibility.

"But what could he have used of Gryffindor? Other than the Sorting hat and the sword, there isn't any other artefact of his, is there?" asked Sirius, curiously.

"I am confident that the Sword of Gryffindor is the only known relic of Godric Gryffindor. Alas, I do not know of the rest," said Dumbledore. "Of course, there is also the possibility that Tom could have used something else entirely."

They lapsed into silence and Sirius couldn't help but wonder how on Earth they were supposed to find all of these Horcruxes. Where does one even start to search?

"Where would Voldemort hide something as precious as his soul?" wondered Sirius.

"Can you not think of any place?" said Dumbledore, quietly.

"Ruling out any Muggle locations," said Sirius, pondering on the idea for a moment. "I can't think of a safer place than Gringotts. Or Hogwarts. Does Voldemort even have a vault in Gringotts?"

"Not that I am aware of, no," said Dumbledore. "But let us not forget that whatever Tom might show himself as to the world, he was brought up in a Muggle orphanage. We should not be hasty in ruling out Muggle locations in his case."

"Have you been to the orphanage where he had lived?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Twice. Once when I delivered him the Hogwarts letter. The next time I visited, the orphanage had been demolished."

So, that was ruled out. Dumbledore had already visited the Gaunts' house and procured the ring, which meant it was now ruled out too. Where else had Voldemort lived? It came to Sirius, instantly, "But, what about the forest in Albania? He hid there for roughly thirteen years! He couldn't have just randomly picked Albania for the scenery."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, stroking his beard with his blackened hand. "I admit I have foreseen it as a possibility. The Aurors could not locate him in Albania which suggests he must have concealed his location using some means not known to them. Perhaps we must make a visit, to make sure he has hid nothing in his last hiding place."

"When must we leave?" asked Sirius immediately. It would feel good to know he was doing something worthwhile in the fight against Voldemort now that he had more time on his hands without Harry at home.

"I will have to make arrangements in Albania if we are to stay," said Dumbledore. "We will be going in disguise of course. We shall leave on Monday and I will meet you here at six in the morning. It will be best if you make arrangements as we might stay for more than a couple of weeks."

Sirius nodded "I'll be ready for that."

Saturday, September 14

The first two weeks of school had passed in a blur. The classes were more demanding than even their OWLs and what with Quidditch practice as the team captain, Harry was stretched thin.

Nonverbal spells were now expected not only in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in Charms and Transfiguration too. Harry was rather good at it to Ron's chagrin, and the teachers' appreciation rankled Hermione, though she did not comment on it as she was equally good.

The post owls arrived, swooping down through rain-flecked windows. Most people were receiving more post than usual; anxious parents were keen to hear from their children and to reassure them, in turn, that all was well at home.

Harry spotted the snowy white Hedwig circling amongst all the brown and grey owls. Thinking that it was a letter from Sirius, he eagerly watched as she landed in front of him carrying a large, square package. A moment later, an identical package landed in front of Ron, delivered by his minuscule and exhausted owl, Pigwidgeon. He quickly understood what it was all about.

"Ha!" said Harry, unwrapping the parcel to reveal a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making, fresh from Flourish and Blotts.

Hermione looked on in anger and disapproval when Harry switched the covers of the Potions books, but was distracted by a third owl landing in front of her carrying that day's copy of the Daily Prophet. She scanned the front page.

"Anyone we know dead?" asked Ron in a determinedly casual voice; he posed the same question every time Hermione opened her paper.

"No, but there have been a couple of Dementor attacks," said Hermione. "And an arrest."

"Excellent, who?" said Harry, thinking of Death Eaters.

"Stan Shunpike," said Hermione.

"What?" said Harry, startled.

Hermione read out the article and the three of them agreed that it was very clear that Stan's arrest was a mistake.

"They probably want to look as though they're doing something," said Hermione, frowning. "People are terrified — you know the Patil twins' parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgeon has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night."

"What!" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "But Hogwarts is safer than their homes are bound to be! We've got Aurors, and all those extra protective spells, and we've got Dumbledore!"

"I don't think we've got him all the time," said Hermione very quietly, glancing toward the staff table over the top of the Prophet. "Haven't you noticed? His seat's been empty as often as Hagrid's this past week."

Harry and Ron looked up at the staff table. The headmaster's chair was indeed empty. Now Harry came to think of it, he had not seen Dumbledore since their first private lesson a week ago. Harry immediately remembered talking to Sirius through the mirror the night after his first lesson – how he had told him in a very short and quick message not to try contacting him as he would be away on a mission for a couple or more weeks. Harry had been worried about it, even though Sirius had assured him that he would be fine.

"I think he's left the school to do something with the Order," said Harry in a low voice. "Sirius is always very quiet about it. I mean… it's all looking pretty dire now, isn't it?"

Hermione and Ron did not answer, but Harry knew that they were all thinking the same thing. There had been a horrible incident the day before, when Hannah Abbott had been taken out of Herbology to be told her mother had been found dead. They had not seen Hannah since.

After dinner they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron, who had been in a bad mood ever since Slughorn had invited Harry and Hermione to his first party, folded his arms and frowned at the ceiling. Hermione reached out for a copy of the Evening Prophet, which somebody had left abandoned on a chair.

Hermione caught an article that announced that Mr. Weasley had conducted another raid in the Malfoys' house after a confidential tip-off.

"Yeah, that's Sirius," said Harry immediately. "I told him about Malfoy and that thing he was trying to get Borgin to fix! Sirius told me he would notify your dad about it. Well, if it's not at their house, he must have brought whatever it is to Hogwarts with him —"

"But how can he have done, Harry?" said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. "We were all searched when we arrived, weren't we?"

Harry belatedly remembered that he too had been searched when he came to Hogwarts, where Filch had jabbed them all with Secrecy Sensors. Really stumped this time, Harry found nothing else to say. There did not seem to be any way Malfoy could have brought a dangerous or Dark object into the school as even the owls were being searched. He wished he could talk with Sirius, but seeing as he was not available, he looked hopefully at Ron, who was sitting with his arms folded, staring over at Lavender Brown.

"Can you think of any way Malfoy —?"

"Oh, drop it, Harry," said Ron.

"Listen, it's not my fault Slughorn invited Hermione and me to his stupid party. Neither of us wanted to go, you know!" said Harry, firing up.

"Well, as I'm not invited to any parties," said Ron, getting to his feet again, "I think I'll go to bed."

He stomped off toward the door to the boys' dormitories, leaving Harry and Hermione staring after him.

Chapter Text

Sunday, September 22

"I can't believe Voldemort could have stayed here for more than ten years. How could he have survived like that?" said Sirius, taking a drag from his cigarette and stepping over a particularly gnarled trunk of a felled tree.

He was walking along with Dumbledore through the dark forest, which had taken them a little more than a week to locate in Albania. Sirius and Dumbledore had portkeyed into Valböne, a small village nestled between the mountain passes of the Albanian Alps. It was a little ominous to learn that they were also called the Accursed Mountains.

Dumbledore had taken Sirius to a Wizarding village not far from there, making sure they were disguised to look unassuming and they had made some inquiries. It was tedious work as they had to ask around without raising suspicions on where they were heading. A wizened warlock, older than even Dumbledore, and looking thoroughly drunk, had finally given them a clue indicating that Aurors from their own Ministry had visited a forest about 600 miles from where they were staying.

Sirius and Dumbledore had then travelled to a Muggle village close to the forest and got themselves a place to stay. They had woken up early in the morning to travel into the forest, relying on only their wands to show them the way. The black pine and beech trees were tall and formed a canopy, which made it seem like sunlight had never reached the ground and the fallen leaves had been squelched together liked a mushy blanket, muffling their footsteps.

"I believe, as it was only his soul that survived and not his physical body, he did not need sustenance. Possibly, he possessed small creatures to tie his soul to a body. It must have been excruciatingly painful and yet he chose this path towards immortality," said Dumbledore tiredly. Travelling on foot at his age was not ideal even though he was surprisingly more agile than Sirius had believed him to be. But, it did take his toll on him.

"Serves him right, if you ask me," said Sirius scathingly. "What are we looking for again?"

"Some place where there are traces of Dark Magic in abundance," said Dumbledore, as he marched along the forest, his travelling cloak trailing behind him across the wet ground. "If Voldemort has hidden his soul, he no doubt has enough enchantments around it for protection."

After half an hour of aimless searching, Dumbledore heard a rustle nearby and both of them froze as they looked around. Sirius dropped his cigarette to snuff it out and pulled out his wand muttering, 'Homenum Revelio' but there was no one around. The screech of a bat in the distance made him wonder if it was some sort of animal nearby.

He looked around searching for anything that might give it away, when he heard the low growl of a wolf.

Two gleaming eyes shone from behind the large trunk of a tree and immediately, Dumbledore raised his wand and shot a spell at it. But, the wolf jumped and Dumbledore turned on the spot to Apparate behind the wolf.

He quickly saw the big, black dog that was Padfoot bounding forwards and leaping on top of the grey wolf. The wolf barked as it tried to bite down on Padfoot's neck but Padfoot rolled over and slashed at the wolf viciously, clawing a deep gash onto its side. The wolf howled in pain as it tried to retaliate but Padfoot stood his ground and gave a deep, threatening growl.

The wolf turned tail, yelping in pain and Padfoot barked loudly at its retreating form.

A moment later, Sirius was standing in the place of the dog, hair slightly tousled and not at all looking like he had fought a wolf single-handedly.

Sirius walked towards a stunned-looking Dumbledore. "Oh, come on! I do this every time when I'm with Remus."

"I see," was Dumbledore's only response as they walked along. Sirius lighted a fresh cigarette again. He had tried to refrain from smoking in front of his former headmaster, but after four days, his resolve had weakened. Dumbledore never commented anything about it, so Sirius took it as his cue that he could do so in his presence.

After another hour, and nothing remotely interesting happening other than Sirius' cloak getting caught on the brambles twice, Sirius was growing restless. "How will we know when we find the place?"

"Magic leaves traces. You will understand it when we find it," said Dumbledore simply. He used the Point-Me spell and motioned Sirius to follow him, as he had been doing for quite a while now. A light wind rustled the leaves making Sirius tense slightly.

"Alright, I have an idea," said Sirius and in the blink of an eye had changed to the black dog again. He thought he had smelt something funny when he had changed to Padfoot earlier and it would be well worth a try to follow it, instead of meandering about hoping to stumble onto the place where Voldemort had hidden.

He sniffed the ground and after a few seconds woofed at Dumbledore and jerked his head as if asking him to follow. Dumbledore chuckled, "Of course."

Padfoot wagged his tail and trotted along at a moderate pace to allow Dumbledore to keep up. After almost an hour, Padfoot stopped suddenly; his hackles raised and he emitted a low growl.

"Can you feel it too?" came Dumbledore's quiet voice as he put out his hands in front of him as if searching for something.

"I can feel something's not right, but I can't say what," came Sirius' voice as he had changed back to his human body.

Dumbledore was staring into the darkness before him, his hands still raised as if pushing an invisible glass wall. "It is a shield, of sorts. We cannot pass through."

Sirius put out his hand too, but could feel nothing. "How can that be?" he asked curiously. "There's nothing stopping us physically."

"It detects magical presence and if I'm not mistaken rejects it," said Dumbledore who then muttered to himself, "How curious…"

"What happens if we walk forward anyway?" asked Sirius.

Dumbledore merely smiled. "You are welcome to try."

Sirius looked at Dumbledore for a moment before deciding to throw caution to the wind and walked forward. Immediately, as if a large hand had grabbed him by his shoulders and yanked him, he was thrown back.

"Okay, I get it now," muttered Sirius crossly, as he got back on his feet and inspected his grazed hand. "Can't we undo the enchantment?"

"Knowing Tom, it will not be that simple to undo, though I believe there is a way in. The only problem is finding the entrance," said Dumbledore.

Sirius watched as Dumbledore murmured something, his hands raised as if he could physically touch the magic in front of him. He wondered how Dumbledore had detected that it was a magical shield. He could feel something dark crackling in the air when he was Padfoot, but nothing was specific enough for him to understand exactly what kind of magic was in front of him.

He stretched out his hand, wondering if he would be able to feel anything like how Dumbledore had. Suddenly, the air before Sirius shimmered with a bright white light.

Sirius and Dumbledore were startled as they aimed their wands but a moment later, the light had dimmed to reveal a faint archway which seemed like the entrance Dumbledore was talking about.

"How did you do that?" asked Dumbledore, only a little incredulously.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Sirius, breathlessly. "I just tried to feel around the shield like you did, and suddenly it happened."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful before asking Sirius to show his hand, which had been grazed when he had fallen.

He hummed in understanding. "Ingenious. The entrance required blood as payment which you unwittingly gave."

"Blood as payment? Sounds like Voldemort's idea alright," said Sirius as he looked back at the archway with interest. "We're very lucky to have stood exactly before this entrance when I put my hand out."

"I do not think it had anything to do with luck, Sirius," said Dumbledore, studying the entrance too. "Somehow, as Padfoot, you must have recognized the exact point where the entrance was. The enchantment of the shield is, curiously, not any brand of Dark magic; only the blood payment at the entrance is."

"Is it safe to go in?" asked Sirius.

"After me," said Dumbledore and walked, very bravely in Sirius' opinion, through the entrance.

Again, Sirius felt the sensation that someone had grabbed him by the shoulders and he braced himself for what was to come, but immediately the sensation ceased. The silence was deafening inside the entrance. There was no sound of even a bird chirping or the wind rustling the leaves. All seemed deadly quiet and darker than it had been outside the invisible shield.

A gnarled looking tree that was probably the biggest and oldest tree that Sirius had ever seen stood further ahead. The rotten smell of decaying flesh stung his nose and he silently cast the Bubble-head charm on himself. He watched Dumbledore walking towards something on the ground. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the skeletal remains of an animal, probably something as large as a horse.

"A unicorn," said Dumbledore. "He needed unicorn's blood to keep him alive."

Dumbledore walked towards the tree now, which was surrounded by small bones like gravel. The trunk was almost twice as thick as the Whomping Willow and Sirius noted that there were no leaves at all on its branches, which looked burnt and deadened.

"Is this where he must have hidden when he escaped?" said Sirius, nearly whispering.

"It seems most likely," murmured Dumbledore, "if the evidence of Dark Magic here is any indication."

The massive tree had a large, dark hollow and Sirius watched as Dumbledore stretched his lit wand towards it. Sirius craned his neck eagerly to look inside.

He was almost disappointed when it turned out to be empty.

Dumbledore was murmuring incantations again as he touched the trunk of the tree and Sirius watched quietly. After a moment, Dumbledore said, "I thought so. There are traces of Dark Magic here no doubt, but it is old. Whatever might have been here, Tom must have removed it."

"Great. All this work for nothing." It was hard to keep out the disappointment from his voice.

"I would not say so," said Dumbledore, placidly. "We now have an idea of the defences that Tom is capable of and most likely has used to protect the other Horcruxes. It seems we can rule out Albania from the list of potential places where Tom must have hidden his Horcruxes. This is worrying as we are running out of places that we know for certain that Tom has visited."

"Right," said Sirius, grimacing. "On that disappointing note, can we leave now? This place is giving me the creeps."

Thursday, September 26

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as he flopped into his warm bed in Potter Manor. It had been a long fortnight with Dumbledore in Albania, the search having been quite futile. They had returned home that evening, a slight delay having been caused when they had run into a vampire colony on their way back in the forest. Dumbledore had left for Hogwarts as soon as they had arrived as he needed to rest.

Sirius had thought of calling Harry through the mirror, but it was a weekday and he didn't want to unnecessarily disturb Harry's schedule. He would probably write to him tomorrow. Besides, there was an Order meeting the next day and he groaned at the thought of having to explain to everyone why he had not been present at the last three Order meetings.

Dumbledore hadn't given him an alibi, but had been firm that nobody ought to know that Dumbledore was travelling in his company. The Order members wouldn't dare ask Dumbledore twice, if he refused to share details with them. But, Sirius was fair game for them.

They were going to make the connection that Sirius had been absent during the same time as Dumbledore and were going to want answers.

He really wished he could have had Remus with him right now. Remus knew what it was like to go on Order missions without the knowledge of the other Order members, for that was how it had been during the last war. And was also, quite possibly, the main reason that Sirius had doubted Remus and not trusted him with the task of being James and Lily's Secret-Keeper. One of his many regrets.

Remus would understand and trust him unquestionably this time and could even try to make the others back off. Would everyone start to doubt his loyalty again? Sirius didn't think he had the energy for a 'round two' of mistrust and suspicion. He contented himself with the fact that Harry and Remus would be by his side, even though they couldn't be so at the Order meeting tomorrow.

It looked like he was going to fight them on his own.

Friday, September 27

"—has been out of Hogwarts for days! What is Dumbledore up to? Why haven't the Aurors outside Hogwarts been able to keep an eye on him?"

Catherine wondered if it was wise to wait a little longer to knock the door. Surely, the Order needed to know that the Minister of Magic was suspecting Dumbledore and having him tailed?

"Dawlish has reported that he tried to follow Dumbledore, but apparently he lost his trail," said Gawain Robards, the Head of the Auror Office. "You must know, Rufus, that this is Dumbledore, we're talking about! If he doesn't want to be followed, I don't think anyone can do so successfully."

"That is rubbish! Why haven't you got Kingsley stationed at Hogwarts instead?" ground out Scrimgeour.

"Kingsley is one of our most valuable assets in dealing with Muggle relations. I can't pull him out for a simple task as tailing Dumbledore," said Robards, with slight annoyance.

"Quite right, quite right," said Scrimgeour immediately. "Who else have we got stationed there?"

"Proudfoot, Savage and Tonks. They're three of the best here."

"That's not enough," snapped Scrimgeour. "They're probably growing tired and not paying attention if all three of them have missed the fact that Dumbledore has left the school grounds for days. I want another two Aurors to join their team by the end of this week."

"We can't pull out Aurors from the office for something like this!" said Robards, incredulously. "We're already in need of all hands at the moment. There have been three attacks just last week and –"

"Then use your Trainees," suggested Scrimgeour. "This must be good practice."

Catherine heard Robards give a long-suffering sigh, "I'll do that."

Catherine thought she had dawdled along quite long enough and knocked politely. The door opened and the Minister of Magic himself walked out, sparing her a curious glance. Catherine nodded. "Minister."

He nodded back and left the place. Catherine entered Robards' office with a smile plastered on her tired face. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Ah, Johnson," he said looking relieved. "I see you have the reports."

"Yes, sir," said Catherine as she placed them on his desk. "Last week's, all sorted and filed."

"Good, good," said Robards distractedly.

"I'll be taking my leave then," said Catherine as she turned to leave when Robards said immediately, "Johnson. How would you like to be stationed at Hogwarts for three months?"

Catherine was not surprised as she had already had an inkling that Robards would ask her, when she had entered his office just after listening to the Minister's talk. She had almost expected him to ask her, because as long as it was herself, Dumbledore would have one less person to worry about. She chose to play naïve instead. "Uh, sir?"

"You'll get extra credit and you'll only be working eight hour shifts everyday with weekends off," said Robards, almost pleadingly. "What do you say?"

"How much extra credit do I get if I say yes?" asked Catherine curiously.

"Twenty. Also, can you suggest me someone else to join you?"

"Matthews," said Catherine, quickly. He was the least likely person to turn against Dumbledore for something as silly as credit or impressing their superiors.

"Good. You can inform him that you will both be transferring to Hogsmeade next week. Good day."

That evening, Catherine arrived at Headquarters, eager to share the information she had overheard about the Minister's attempts to tail Dumbledore. Most of the members had already arrived and Moody was saying, "Jones and Diggle tell me that Macnair was behind the death of Joanna Abbott. And it seems they are planning to attack her brother-in-law, Edmund Abbott by the end of the week. We need to ensure he is informed and protected or moved to a safer place. I'll also need volunteers to stand guard –"

"Count me in, Moody," said Sirius Black as he joined the others at the table, late as always.

"Look who finally decides to show up," said Charlie with a grin at Black, who was ordering Kreacher to get them all dinner.

"Where have you been, Sirius?" asked Bill, inquisitively. "Tonks said you asked her not to contact you for two weeks."

"I had other work to do," said Black casually, unbuttoning his coat and taking his seat at the head of the table.

"Do you mind sharing with us what sort of 'work' this was?" asked Hestia.

"I don't think it's any of your business to know," said Black, superciliously. "Now, we were talking about volunteers. Besides myself, who else are volunteering?"

"We are," came the voices of Fred and George in unison.

"But what about your shop?" asked Charlie, looking quizzical.

"Since school has started, we have a somewhat manageable crowd," said Fred and George added, "Our staff must be able to take care of it for a few days without us."

Arthur Weasley was shaking his head. "You're not properly trained up yet –"

"And what better way to train than in the real world," said George, cheerfully.

"If your mother hears about this—"

"She can't dictate every single thing we do!" said Fred hotly.

George added, "And no, dad, you are not telling her about this."

"Don't worry, Arthur. They'll be with me," said Black, with a smile.

"We'll volunteer too," said Hestia, jerking her head towards Dedalus, who eagerly nodded. "Of course."

"That's settled then," said Moody. "You'll need to start with protective enchantments around Abbott's house first. I reckon Sirius and you two," he nodded towards Fred and George, "can take the night shifts while Jones and Diggle take the morning ones."

After that was settled, Catherine decided to relay the bit of information she had heard in the Auror Office. "It looks like the Minister is suspecting Dumbledore's absence from Hogwarts and wants to have him followed. Robards has actually asked me and another Trainee to be stationed there from next week along with the rest."

"You need to make sure the other Aurors don't pay too much attention to Dumbledore leaving or entering Hogwarts," said Moody immediately. "Tonks is there as well so it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Do we know where Dumbledore has been going?" asked Arthur Weasley, frowning.

"No," grunted Moody. "And believe me, I have asked him. He has never been more adamant about not telling me something and it is for the best if we stop questioning his decisions."

"Sirius, do you know where Dumbledore has been going?" asked George, rounding on Black with a frown.

"Yeah, you were absent almost as long as he was," said Fred with a gleeful expression. It was plain to Catherine that he was excited by the connection he had made between Dumbledore and Black's absence.

Black was looking back stonily. "No, I don't. I've been away on a personal errand."

"That's enough of this nonsense!" barked Moody, bringing the subject back to Order business. "If Johnson is going to be stationed at Hogwarts, we're one more member short in our tailing routine. Charlie, you're on your own to keep an eye on Crabbe." Charlie nodded solemnly.

"Someone should meet with Edmund Abbott and warn him," said Arthur. "I can do that tomorrow on my way to work. He's in the Floo Department."

"Wouldn't it be safer to simply ask him to go into hiding?" asked Angelina.

"We can't simply ask all the Abbotts to go into hiding. They have jobs and school to get back to," said Bill.

"Since we are aware of the Death Eaters' plan," said Black with a glint in his eye, "our first move will be to try and let them think they have the upper hand. It will be a good opportunity to apprehend and capture them. If we fail, making Abbott and his family go into hiding anyway would be Plan B."

"Right, that's the gist of the meeting done for today. Practice sessions start in five minutes, you lot," grunted Moody and Fred groaned. "Five minutes isn't enough! Give us fifteen, I'm starving!"

"Ten minutes. Or you can practice by yourself today," said Moody.

Though Fred and George grumbled, they shovelled their shepherd's pie into their mouths at alarming speed, eager to not miss Moody's lessons. Catherine had already had dinner before arriving and so she waited, while Angelina and Lee also ate up.

"—come on, Sirius! Why won't you tell us what you've been up to?" asked Hestia, who was sitting adjacent to Black.

"Why does it even matter?" said Black, exasperatedly.

"I'm just curious as is everyone here," said Hestia, casually looking around at the others who were leaning into the conversation unintentionally, Catherine noticed with amusement. "What was so pressing that you disappeared for nearly a fortnight and asked Tonks not to contact you?"

"Fancy a guess?" asked Black, looking on as Kreacher poured him a cup of tea magically

Hestia hummed, furrowing her perfectly arched dark brows in mock seriousness before she snorted. "If I must, I'd say you went into the Muggle world and got yourself a pretty bird or two to mess around with."

Catherine, who had been drinking her tea, tried to suppress a laugh but choked on her tea instead. Charlie thumped her on the back as he laughed openly.

Black, who had been laughing as well, shrugged, "You know, that's not a bad suggestion at all."

"You mean that's not what happened?" asked Charlie, hiccuping.

"That's exactly what happened," said Black with a decisive nod.

For a moment, Hestia looked perplexed, before she scowled. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking? Abandoning Order meetings for... that? If Dumbledore hears about this..."

Black had not even blinked. He looked back with the same amused expression on his face, the corner of his lips twitching. "Why don't you tell him? I definitely want Dumbledore to listen to what I've been up to when I skipped those precious Order meetings."

Hestia pressed her lips, no doubt annoyed. "I think you're taking the mickey out of me.” Black shook his head, sniggering. "Nope."

Chapter Text

Saturday, September 28

"Perfect. I can't see a thing," said Sirius, looking at the disillusioned selves of Fred and George standing before him.

"Do we take turns patrolling or—" came the disembodied voice of Fred, or George - he couldn't tell which.

"You both can stay together and patrol the left of the house and I'll take the right," said Sirius. "If anything happens—"

"We'll send a Patronus," came the voice of one of the twins. Sirius had to admit it was quite eerie.

"Right. Stay alert," said Sirius and then departed to the right side of the house. He cast the Disillusionment charm on himself and waited.

The Abbotts' house was an ancestral home and consequently, an old and large one. Hestia and Dedalus had cast the protective charms around the house that morning and Arthur had alerted Edmund Abbott about the threat to his family and given him the general idea of what the Order would do to protect them.

Edmund's sister-in-law, Joanna, had been murdered just weeks before and the whole family was mourning, including Joanna's daughter and Edmund's parents. The Death Eaters would probably follow Edmund when he came home from work and so it was essential that the family stayed put, so as to not alert the Death Eaters that they had already gotten wind of their plan.

If worse came to worse, Arthur had given them a portkey that would take them straight to the Burrow. Sirius hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He sat on the ground behind some bushes and waited patiently, wondering what Remus was doing at the moment. The full moon was shining bright above him and he felt slightly glum knowing that he wasn't with Remus when he transformed into a werewolf tonight. Since his legal acquittal, he was yet to accompany Remus on full moons. He made a promise to himself to do just that when Remus returned — after kicking his arse for doing what he did to Tonks, that is.

He froze suddenly when he heard the sound of a muffled yell and the next moment the Patronus form of a bear had charged towards him speaking in George's urgent voice, "We need help!"

Sirius transformed into his Animagus and ran as fast as he could to the other side of the large house. It took him almost half a minute to reach them; he quickly counted the presence of at least four Death Eaters surrounding the twins whose Disillusionment charm had come off. He switched to his human self and pulled out his wand and charged forward, stunning a Death Eater who had been caught unawares by his sudden presence.

This however, alerted the rest and one of them rounded on Sirius with a jet of the tell-tale green light of the Killing Curse. In the blink of an eye, he had conjured a circular wall of iron floating in front of him, which shook violently as it absorbed the Killing Curse before dissolving into thin air again.

Sirius shot a 'Reducto' at the man's feet and the ground exploded with dirt, temporarily giving him cover. Quickly, he cast a full Body-Bind but the man jumped away from the spell at the nick of time and ran towards Fred and George, who were duelling with the other two Death Eaters. Sirius aimed a Stunning spell at him but he dodged it and reached the Death Eater that Sirius had stunned earlier. Sirius swore as the man revived the fallen Death Eater and he jumped out of the way of two Killing Curses rushing towards him.

Sirius crashed hard onto the ground and before he could get up, he heard one of the Death Eaters yell, "Let's go! Greyback will be here any minute."

Sirius' eyes widened in alarm as he sat up and watched the Death Eaters Apparating away.

Suddenly, Fred yelled, "SIRIUS, LOOK OUT!"

Sirius already knew what would be behind him when he spun around. The grey werewolf was growling ferociously and bounding towards him.

He had just barely changed to Padfoot again when Greyback got to him, lunging and pushing him to the ground. Padfoot struggled against the werewolf's strong grip, his claws scrambling for release. Greyback was snarling; his jaws clenched and then opened wide as he reared towards Padfoot.

Suddenly, someone had thrown a curse at Greyback but it clearly wasn't effective as it simply bounced off. But, it had caught Greyback's attention. He snarled, looking around and bounded away from Padfoot and straight towards Fred and George.

Padfoot got to his feet and followed him, barking. Fred and George looked identically white as a sheet, the moonlight reflecting on their faces as they tried to run to safety. Greyback lunged but Padfoot had already leaped and pushed him away before he could reach the twins. Sirius became human again as he urgently said, "Go home. NOW!"

"We're not leaving you!" said George, his voice quavering even as he jutted his chin in defiance.

Greyback stood up, considerably larger than Padfoot, and advanced towards them menacingly.

"Get the Abbotts out of here, then!" yelled Sirius.

Just as Greyback lunged forward again, Sirius turned to his Animagus and met him halfway and it became a very violent fight between the two canines.

Padfoot saw Fred and George edging towards the entrance out of the corner of his eyes, the bear Patronus galloping inside the Abbotts' house.

Greyback snarled and scratched across Padfoot's forelimb with his sharp claws. Padfoot yelped in pain just when George yelled, "Sirius, they're out of here! Come on!"

Padfoot pushed Greyback away with as much strength as he could and galloped towards the twins, warm blood seeping through his forelimb. He changed to human mid-run and Fred (or George) had already gripped his uninjured arm firmly as they Apparated away with him.

Molly Weasley was cleaning up after dinner, her wand twirling in her hand as the dishes washed themselves. Fleur had already retired for the night and Bill, Charlie, and Arthur were chatting together at the drawing room. She was somewhat glad that she had Bill and Charlie stay in the Burrow instead of finding their own place like the twins had. Granted, both of them had left behind their careers in Egypt and Romania respectively and they were in war, but she still loved it when the Burrow had more than just Arthur and herself at home.

She dried her hands on a napkin and she joined the rest of her family in the living room. They seemed to be talking about some Order matters and she found herself grimacing in disapproval. Her entire family was in the Order and it worried her to no end to think what could happen to them. She had already lost both of her brothers, Fabian and Gideon in the last war and they had been part of the Order too. Though she believed in what the Order stood for, a very small part of her blamed the Order for what happened to her dear brothers. Of course, they joined the Order by their own will, but still, it was easy to blame rather than deal with the consequences…

She was shaken out of her thoughts when a bright, blue light glowed outside their window. Bill and Charlie jumped in alarm, pulling out their wands.

"What was that?" said Molly breathlessly as the frantic thought crossed her mind that it could be the Death Eaters.

"Arthur! Arthur!" came the worried yelling of a man and Arthur's eyes immediately widened in recognition.

"Edmund! It's Edmund Abbott."

Bill looked surprised and he rushed out of the door followed by Charlie and Arthur. Molly was startled when Arthur ushered in about four people who she vaguely recognized as the Abbotts.

"What's happening, Arthur?" asked Molly, unable to understand why they had suddenly materialized out of nowhere outside their house.

"Your boys! Arthur, they're still there!" exclaimed the man, Edmund. Arthur had gone white and Molly started to panic. "What do you mean our boys? Not Fred and George?"

"Mum, stop panicking. They'll be fine," said Charlie, who seemed to be struggling to stay calm himself

The elderly woman, Mrs. Abbott, who was tightly clutching a girl about Ron's age to her side, said, "We heard howling. We think there was a werewolf!"

Molly felt faint as she clutched her heart, which seemed to be hammering wildly. What in Merlin's name were they both doing?

Arthur stood up immediately. "Bill, Charlie, with me. Hurry!"

Both of her sons had their faces set as they followed their father out and before Molly could even ask them what was going on, a loud crack sounded followed by a dull thud.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Fred and George, standing outside their door, trying to hold up Sirius, who seemed to have crumpled to the ground.

Charlie rushed forward to help. "What happened?"

Molly gave her sons a once-over and when she was satisfied that they were unharmed, she watched as Bill and Charlie helped an unconscious Sirius up on the couch.

She gasped on seeing his left sleeve, torn and drenched with blood, steadily dripping onto her carpet. She hurried over to help just as Mrs. Abbott too came forward. "I was a Healer. We need to clean the wound, quick."

Molly tore off the bloody sleeve with a Severing Charm and Mrs. Abbott cleaned the blood with a whispered 'Tergeo'. She heard the twins talking behind her, explaining what had happened.

"We were ambushed by four Death Eaters" said Fred quickly. "We fought them, but then they retreated because Greyback was there and it's the full moon tonight."

Molly gasped in horror. "You mean Sirius was scratched by a full-fledged werewolf?"

"He was in his Animagus form when it happened, you know that giant, black dog?" said George. "It was horrible to watch; Greyback was fighting him brutally and at some point, Greyback scratched him. He barely had time to get to us before we could Apparate."

"That is not good at all," said Mrs. Abbott as her wand sealed the gaping wound, fresh blood smearing around it. "One should never Apparate when you have a bleeding wound. It accelerates the blood loss."

"We had a giant werewolf on our heels! What else were we supposed to do?" said Fred irritably and Mrs. Abbott looked at him quite kindly. "It was not a reprimand, dear boy. I am merely saying that he has lost a lot of blood and is in dire need of a Blood Replenishing potion."

"I don't have any," said Molly, shaking her head. "It's not something I commonly keep in stock."

"We'll get it from St. Mungo's then," said George, indicating him and Fred.

"You are not leaving this house without explaining what it is you were doing tonight!" exclaimed Molly angrily.

"Dad will explain. Sirius saved us tonight, mum. It's the least we can do," said Fred with determination.

Arthur looked sternly at Molly. "Let them go, Molly. Sirius needs the potion and fast."

Molly pressed her lips but she nodded. She did understand that Sirius was in an emergency and no matter what her misunderstandings were with him, she would never deny him the help he needed.

oOo

It was late afternoon when Sirius woke up in a strange house he had never seen before. He blinked blearily, wondering what on earth he was doing here. He brought up his hand to rub his eyes, but then hissed in pain when his left arm stung.

He was baffled to see that his arm was bandaged heavily and felt quite sore.

"You're finally up then," came the familiar voice of Molly Weasley and he turned to look at the face of the older woman.

"Where am I?" whispered Sirius hoarsely.

"The Burrow, of course. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Sirius thought back and instantly it came to him. The Abbotts. Death Eaters. Fred and George. Greyback.

Sirius tried to sit up and asked quickly, "Is Fred and George okay?"

"They're alright. Thanks to you, Sirius," said Molly quite kindly as she summoned a throw cushion and placed it behind his back.

"Where are the Abbotts?"

"Arthur took them back to their house today," said Molly and she turned to enter the kitchen. "Bill, Charlie and Moody have gone too, to strengthen their protective enchantments."

"Look who's awake!" came the cheerful voice of Fred Weasley as he came down the stairs with his twin.

"You gave us quite a fright last night mate," said George, taking a seat beside Sirius.

"Here, Sirius. Drink this," said Molly and she handed him a goblet of potion. He raised his eyebrow inquisitively. "It's Blood-Replenishing Potion. You need to take it every hour for the rest of the day. You were badly injured last night."

"Mrs. Abbott said werewolf scratches can make one… um, unusual," said George uncertainly.

"Yeah. You're not going to turn into a werewolf on us are you?" asked Fred bluntly.

"Fred!" reprimanded Molly but Sirius smirked.

"If it had been you that was scratched last night, I'm sure we would have seen at least some side-effects. But since it's me, there's nothing to worry about."

"And why is that?" asked Molly curiously.

"Because, I'm an Animagus and I have much experience with werewolf scratches, thanks to Remus," said Sirius.

"Do you mean to say that if you're an Animagus, a werewolf can't turn you into another werewolf?" asked George incredulously.

Sirius nodded and Fred grinned. "I'm totally becoming an Animagus just for that!"

"NO, YOU AREN'T!" said Molly, shaking with suppressed rage.

Fred said pleadingly, "Oh, come on, mum—"

"You'll be really glad the next time a werewolf tries to bite us," pointed out George.

"YOU BETTER PROMISE ME THERE WON'T BE A NEXT TIME OR ELSE—"

"Alright, alright! We're not becoming Animagi. We'll just call for Sirius the next time we find ourselves in the company of a werewolf," said Fred, winking at Sirius.

Molly calmed down considerably and she turned to Sirius with a genuine smile. "Thank you for that by the way, Sirius. Goodness knows, they wouldn't have been alive if it wasn't for you."

"No problem, Molly," said Sirius, grinning.

Chapter Text

Sunday, October 6

"So, Greyback is actively working for the Death Eaters," stated Dumbledore resignedly from his place in the headmaster's chair.

Dumbledore had sent Fawkes to Potter Manor, requesting Sirius to come to Hogwarts as he was unable to come over himself. Sirius had been perplexed; Dumbledore usually came over to Potter Manor to discuss. But he understood his reason, once he actually laid eyes on Dumbledore. He was tired and looking older than Sirius had seen him.

Sirius had wasted no time in telling Dumbledore what had happened at the Abbotts'.

"Yes," said Sirius sharply, loosening the ascot knot on his necktie. "I don't understand why Remus still hasn't come back if Greyback is a lost cause."

"Greyback may be the leader of the pack, but there are other werewolves that Remus must try to convince against joining Greyback and in turn, Voldemort," said Dumbledore, leaning back on his armchair in his office. It was a little disconcerting to have a desk between them as Sirius had gotten quite used to the informal environment in which he had been meeting Dumbledore for the past couple of months.

Sirius huffed in annoyance but did not disagree with him. The werewolves always aligned with Voldemort just like during the last war. With the way the Ministry ostracized them, he couldn't blame them. But there might be some like Remus, who would wish to help in the fight against Voldemort. Maybe.

"What's next? Where do you think we must search for the Horcruxes?" said Sirius, leaning forward placing his elbows on the desk.

"Currently, I am researching some possible locations where Tom might have kept a Horcrux," said Dumbledore. "Once I am sufficiently convinced I have found a possible location, I shall inform you when we can make a visit."

"The Order is getting increasingly curious about where you're off to," said Sirius, with a frown.

After their visit to Albania, Sirius had been injured during the attack on the Abbotts and was told to take it easy for a week. He knew Dumbledore was still leaving Hogwarts without him for his 'research', but the others were getting very interested to know what Dumbledore was hiding from them.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes. I did hear Hestia's suppositions on what you had been doing during your absence as well."

Sirius snorted before continuing, "Johnson told us the Minister himself is trying to have Aurors tail you. That's why there's two more trainees, including Johnson, to the security team around Hogwarts."

Dumbledore sighed. "Scrimgeour was very upset after your meeting. Now that he knows you will not allow Harry to stand by him and the Ministry, he has become much interested in my whereabouts when I'm not in Hogwarts."

"In some ways, Scrimgeour seems to be no better than Fudge," said Sirius, scowling.

Dumbledore did not reply, but merely inclined his head, which in itself, spoke volumes on his opinion about Scrimgeour.

"What was so important that you called for me here anyway?" asked Sirius, curiously.

Dumbledore leaned back on his chair. "Severus tells me that the Death Eaters have a fledgling idea to attack the Longbottoms. Augusta has been vocal about her opinion of them since last summer and they plan to retaliate in an attempt to threaten her."

"Did he say anything about when this attack would happen?" asked Sirius, his eyes narrowed.

"No," said Dumbledore and Sirius rolled his eyes. Trust Snape to leave out the details. "Nothing has been decided yet. But it is imperative that the Longbottoms be on their guard. You need to inform Alastor and get the Order to plan for their protection."

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "We really need more members in the Order, do you know that? Half of them are busy because of their jobs and the rest are not properly trained up yet."

"Recruitment is an option," said Dumbledore, with a nod, "but I do not expect an influx of members rushing to join the cause. Being an Order member does paint a rather large target on your head."

"You don't see us running away from that threat," said Sirius, irritably.

"And you are better men and women than the rest for that very reason," said Dumbledore, beaming with something akin to pride. 

"Does being a better man excuse me from this stupid party?" said Sirius, nearly whining in annoyance as he tugged at his stupid necktie.

Dumbledore sighed for the umpteenth time before covering his eyes with his blackened hand. "You yourself told me the Aurors are keeping an eye on where I go and what I am doing, Sirius. Do you not think it will be rather suspicious if you visit Hogwarts at this time? They will easily make the connection that you are meeting with me and you too will be in the Ministry's crossfire."

"I could be visiting Harry," pointed out Sirius.

"No parent is allowed on school premises unless visiting sick or injured students," said Dumbledore, reciting the school rule as if from rote memory.

"I could just hide around Hagrid's and leave when the party is over," said Sirius, pleadingly.

"You will need at least some eye-witnesses to prove you really were in Horace's party. Besides, I promised Horace you would be coming tonight," said Dumbledore with an air of someone of infinite patience borne out of years of being the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Fine!" said Sirius, scowling.

The portrait of Phineas Nigellus huffed. "I would never have indulged in such insolence, Dumbledore, even if it was from my great-great-grandson."

"And we all know you were the least popular headmaster for the very same reason," snapped Sirius, getting up from his chair.

"Have an enjoyable evening," said Dumbledore mildly as Sirius stomped out of the office.

Since it was almost evening, there weren't many students in the corridors and Sirius made sure to refrain from taking all of the shortcuts the Marauders had discovered during their school years. He was walking in a sedate manner, taking as much time as possible before he absolutely had to go to that dratted party of Slughorn's.

He was pleasantly surprised when he ran into Harry near the Entrance Hall. Harry was dressed in his red and gold Quidditch robes, his Captain's badge gleaming proudly. He was holding his Firebolt over his shoulder and heading towards the grounds with some members of his Quidditch team.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Sirius? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Harry." Sirius' face rested into an easy smile and Harry broke away from his team members and walked towards him. Ron and Ginny joined him too as they greeted Sirius, but the others lingered behind awkwardly.

"Why are you all dressed up?" said Harry, smirking. He glanced pointedly at Sirius, who had indeed been wearing pristine formal robes in navy blue.

"Slughorn's," said Sirius bluntly and with a grimace.

Harry sniggered. "Who made you do it?”

"Who else?" said Sirius, rolling his eyes and Harry nodded in understanding. Even he knew only Dumbledore had the ability to convince Sirius to attend such a pompous party against his will. 

Sirius glanced at Harry's Quidditch team members lingering behind. "I reckon that is exactly why you seem to be having a Quidditch practice session at this time of the day."

Ginny snickered. "Harry's been scheduling all of our practices each time Slughorn sends out invitations. Poor Hermione, though!"

"It can't be that bad," said Ron, bemusedly.

"Trust me, it is," said Sirius, solemnly. "You'd rather listen to Binns drone on for an hour," he said to Ron before asking, "When have you got your first match? Who're you playing?"

"There's still a month to go, but we're playing against the Slytherins," said Ginny.

"Do make sure to kick some arse."

Ron and Ginny laughed when Harry said, "How about you guys start the practice? I'll be down in five minutes."

They left with goodbyes and joined the rest of the team as they headed for the grounds.

Harry turned to him after watching their retreating forms, "I've missed you."

Sirius smiled, clapping a hand on Harry’s shoulder and steering him towards the outdoors. "It isn't the same at home without you.”

"Really weird to wake up to a quiet common room," said Harry, wistfully.

Sirius led Harry out into the darkening grounds, the windows in the castle lit up at the late hour.

Harry asked, "How is Twitchet?"

"She's doing fine. Misses her Young Master," said Sirius fondly.

"What are you really doing here?"

"I came to see Dumbledore for some Order business," explained Sirius. "But the Aurors outside report to Scrimgeour and I needed to have some excuse for my visit. That's why Dumbledore suggested I go to Slughorn's party, so I'll have a good reason to be here."

"He'll be thrilled," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

"Wotcher, Harry!"

Harry started in surprise when he saw Tonks walking up to them, who was dressed up somewhat formally in magenta robes.

"Tonks!" Harry exclaimed, "Wait… are you going to Slughorn's party too?"

Sirius replied, "I asked her to accompany me. I'd hate to have nobody I know there except old Sluggy. It's not like I'm some successful Ministry worker that Slughorn gets to show off, is it?"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Tonks, raising both her eyebrows. "You're the talk of the town! I'll bet a galleon he has eyes on nobody but you."

"That's why I have you," said Sirius, bluntly. "You'll be the distraction I need when things get uncomfortable."

"Wow, way to make me feel appreciated," said Tonks, pressing her lips.

"That's Remus' job not mine!"

“Are you still having problems with your Metamorphmagus transformations?" asked Harry.

"Well, it's not like I can control how I feel, is it?" she said, pushing a strand of her mousy brown hair behind her ear.

"I'll better be off, Sirius," said Harry. "Practice started ten minutes ago."

Sirius smiled wanly. "Of course. See you later."

Tonks waved at him. "Bye, Harry."

"Have a great night, you two!" Harry said over his shoulder as he hurried out to the darkening grounds.

"That's not happening," muttered Sirius.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but will you lighten up? It can't be that bad!"

Saturday, October 12

Their first trip of the term to Hogsmeade arrived.

Dressed in his new winter clothes, Harry made his way down to the common room along with Ron, where they caught up with Hermione to head down for breakfast. Just then, Ginny came up to him. "Hey, Harry, I'm supposed to give you this."

It was a scroll of parchment with Harry's name written upon it in familiar thin, slanting writing.

"Thanks, Ginny… It's Dumbledore's next lesson!" Harry told Ron and Hermione, pulling open the parchment and quickly reading its contents.

"Monday evening!" He felt suddenly light and happy. Harry had been worried that Dumbledore had forgotten all about his lessons since he was almost always absent. It was good to know that despite whatever Dumbledore was busy with, his lessons were going ahead.

The walk into Hogsmeade was not enjoyable. It was freezing with snow falling heavily on them.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," said Harry. "It'll be warm."

They entered and Harry went towards the bar to get themselves some butterbeer when Ron and Hermione found seats.

He was surprised to find Tonks again with the same mousy brown hair, sitting on a stool and clutching a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Now, this seems familiar," said Harry and Tonks looked around. She cracked a small smile at the sight of him.

"Wotcher, Harry! We need to stop meeting like this," she agreed with a nod.

"What are you doing here, Tonks?"

"Oh, didn't you know? I'm part of the Auror team stationed outside Hogwarts."

Hermione hurried over when she noticed it was Tonks and greeted her too. Harry continued the thread of conversation, "How many Aurors are there over here?"

"There's me, Dawlish, Proudfoot and Savage. We work in shifts," said Tonks before standing up and downing the rest of the bottle in one. "I better go. It's already been five minutes since my shift started. I'll see you around, you two."

Harry noticed that she was moodier than she had been when he had last seen her with Sirius and wanted to ask her what was wrong. But, Hermione was with him and Tonks had already hurried out of the shop anyway. They grabbed the butterbeer and headed back to the table Ron had saved for them.

"Was that Tonks? What is she doing in Hogsmeade?" asked Ron as he grabbed a warm bottle from them and took a large gulp.

"She's part of the Auror team outside Hogwarts," answered Harry.

"She seemed a bit down," said Hermione, frowning.

"Uh, really? I didn't notice that," said Harry, trying to keep from fidgeting.

"I think… I think it has something to do with Sirius," said Hermione slowly, as if she was revealing a big secret.

"What do you mean?" said Harry, quickly.

"Sirius was here last week, wasn't he? I saw him in Slughorn's party. He…uh, he—"

"He—what?" prompted Harry, impatiently.

Hermione grimaced before speaking very quickly. "I saw him making out with Gwenog Jones!"

Ron spat out his butterbeer in disbelief. Coughing, he said incredulously, "Blimey! The Gwenog Jones? Captain of—"

"The Holyhead Harpies, yes. Slughorn introduced us to her. Personally, I thought she was a bit full of herself, but—"

"I don't get it! What's that got to do with Tonks?" said Harry, confused.

"Oh, don't be so thick, Harry! How would Tonks feel if Sirius left with Gwenog Jones when it was actually her that he brought on a date?" snapped Hermione.

"Why would Tonks feel anything?" asked Harry, feeling very dumb.

"Because she fancies him!" exclaimed Hermione as if it was the most obvious conclusion.

There was a pause when Harry blinked, before roaring in laughter. A couple of people turned to look and Harry tried to quieten himself in vain. "That is definitely not what's happening!"

Hermione looked offended at Harry's quick dismissal and continued waspishly, "I hate to break it to you, but it's almost pure-blood tradition to marry their cousins, so—"

"Tonks is not in love with Sirius. Because she actually loves Remus!" exclaimed Harry, still amidst gasps of laughter.

"What?" blurt out Hermione incredulously. Ron stared back and forth between them, mouth slightly agape, his half-empty butterbeer forgotten.

"She came over after we went to Diagon Alley," said Harry. "That's when I knew she liked Remus. She was really upset because Remus left on an Order mission and broke up with her."

"Oh!" said Hermione, stunned. She punched Harry on his shoulder. "Well, you could have told that earlier, you prat!"

"It's not my place to tell," said Harry. "You won't tell this to anyone else, will you? Remus wouldn't want others to know."

"Of course, we won't!" said Hermione, firmly.

"But," interjected Ron, "that means Sirius snogged the Gwenog Jones. I wonder if they —"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ronald Weasley!" exclaimed Hermione shrilly, pointing a threatening finger at him. 

They left the Three Broomsticks after that and were heading back to the castle just behind Katie Bell and her friend, discussing Tonks and Remus.

They were distracted when loud voices came from two girls, one of which was Katie Bell, walking in front of them. Harry squinted at their indistinct figures. The two girls were having an argument about something Katie was holding in her hand. "It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" Harry heard Katie say.

Leanne made to grab hold of the package Katie was holding; Katie tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.

At once, Katie rose into the air gracefully, her arms outstretched. Her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne had all halted in their tracks, watching.

Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Leanne screamed too and tried to tug her down. The three of them hurried to help, when she crumpled into a heap below them, writhing.

Quickly, Harry went to get help and was relieved when he spotted Hagrid and told him what had happened. Hagrid carried her back to the castle while Hermione tried to console Leanne, who seemed to be sobbing. She told them that it had happened just as soon as she had touched the thing inside the package. Harry noticed the open package lying a few feet away from them – it was an ornate opal necklace which gave off a greenish glow that Harry vaguely remembered seeing in Borgin and Burke's four years ago.

Harry bundled it into his scarf and carried it back to school to give to the teachers, his mind working furiously. One thing was clear to him – this was Malfoy's doing.

Katie Bell had been moved to St. Mungos's by that evening and the entire school learnt of what had happened. Harry had relayed his suspicions about Malfoy to Professor McGonagall since Dumbledore was away yet again. He was sorely disappointed when none of them, including Ron and Hermione, shared the same views as himself.

So, he went to the only person who would believe him.

On Saturday night, Harry closed the curtains around his four-poster bed and cast a non-verbal spell, Muffliato, one of the Half-blood Prince's invention, which he had found to be very useful when having conversations and didn't want others to listen in.

He pulled out his mirror and called for Sirius, whose face appeared within moments.

Sirius frowned on seeing Harry's face. "What's wrong?"

Harry immediately told him what happened in Hogsmeade to Katie Bell and also how he thought it was Malfoy. Sirius was still frowning. "Did you tell this to Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, she said it can't have been Malfoy because he was in school at that time doing detention," said Harry, scowling. "But, that's stupid. He could easily have used an accomplice, right?"

"Maybe. Do you know who she intended to give the package to?" asked Sirius, urgently.

"No. But, Voldemort might love to get rid of loads of people. Dumbledore or…"

"Slughorn," said Sirius. "Dumbledore reckons Voldemort might go after him. But what worries me is that if it really is Malfoy, he's not being particularly careful about who touches that necklace. It seems like it doesn't matter to him, who he finishes off along the way, as long as he gets his target. Has Malfoy behaved any weird at all to you, Harry?"

"I actually haven't had a one-on-one with him since start of term. Which is strange, now I think about it." Malfoy had always made his presence known whenever he had been in Harry's vicinity. Granted, being in sixth year they didn't share many classes, but the fact remained that he had not had the opportunity to observe Malfoy closely.

"I'll talk to Dumbledore," said Sirius. "But, something tells me it's no use unless we have some solid evidence to say it really is Malfoy."

Harry knew that to be true, but he didn't necessarily like it. He switched topics. "Where is Dumbledore? Why is he always leaving Hogwarts?"

Sirius looked pained. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, Harry."

The frustration at being kept in the dark again must have shown on his face as Sirius hastened, "Look, I think you'll know sooner or later. Dumbledore might probably tell you himself during those private classes."

"It's got something to do with the Order isn't it?" probed Harry. He was already making a mental note to ask Dumbledore himself during the lesson on the following Monday.

"Quite right," said Sirius, nodding. "Now, you be careful and keep your eyes open. Make sure you have your cloak with you at all times. I'll see you later."

"Good night, Sirius," said Harry, somewhat dejectedly. Even though he felt better after talking to Sirius, he wished someone would take action soon. He always did hate the waiting game.

Chapter Text

Sunday, October 13

Sirius was making his way through the dark corridors of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, heading straight to the room where people were conversing in loud voices.

He entered the dining area to find all pairs of eyes turn to look at him and immediately turn back, continuing whatever discussion they were having. Sirius blinked. Not one sarcastic quip about his tardiness. He must have finally broken them.

He took off his coat and draped it behind the chair as he slid into his usual seat, absently noting two new faces. Sirius caught the tail end of the conversation, and looked up sharply.

"Who had a run-in with the Dementors?" he asked.

"I did," squeaked Dedalus Diggle. "I was heading home last night after my shift. There was a dementor just around the corner of the street. Luckily, I managed to banish it before the muggles could notice."

"There has been two dementor attacks in Kent so far," said Kingsley, "disregarding the unsuccessful one on Dedalus. The dementors are getting to be a problem now that the Death Eaters are setting them on unsuspecting people."

Molly looked horrified. "Were they wizards?"

"Muggles," said Hestia, scowling.

Bill leaned forward, his fang-earring dangling and catching the light from the candelabra. "I have some news. I think the Lestranges are up to something. I was watching them on Wednesday and they were definitely discussing something about a plan of attack."

"Did you hear anything that could help us? Where or who they plan to attack?" asked Arthur.

"I couldn't risk revealing myself, so I had to give up mid-way. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Bill," said Sirius. "I, for one, have information that they plan to attack the Longbottoms."

Some of them gasped but Moody looked curiously at Sirius, who nodded. Not all of the Order, especially the new members, knew that Snivellus was spying for them. It was best to keep it under wraps as it would mean a higher chance of the information not reaching Voldemort's ears.

Hestia huffed in annoyance. "Great! Now, we need another set of volunteers to stand guard over them. We're running out of people who can actually show their faces to the Death Eaters. They already know Fred and George are part of the Order and we've had to place protections around their shop."

"We must disguise ourselves from now on," said Moody gruffly. "That way we can have more people on the field."

"Disguise ourselves, how?" asked Charlie. "Polyjuice Potion? That's difficult to brew and not to mention, expensive."

"Leave that to me," said Sirius. "Transfiguring our appearance is also an idea for those who are good at it."

"And I think we must look into securing all of the Order members' houses this week," said Kingsley. "It is better to be on the safer side."

Everyone agreed and Arthur added, "We should also secure Hermione's home and her parents. Being Harry's friend –"

Sirius nodded. "Of course."

Within an hour, they had already outlined the bare essentials of a plan, as they discussed over dinner that Kreacher had prepared with Molly watching over him.

The discussion soon became relaxed as they treaded into casual territory. Fred and George introduced Sirius to the two newcomers – Alicia Spinnet and Oliver Wood who had been part of Harry's first Quidditch team. They had joined a week ago, around the time Sirius had been injured.

After fifteen minutes, Moody and Sirius took on the task of training the younger ones. Bill and Charlie joined in as they headed to the drawing room on the upper floor. Tonks had shift-duty in Hogwarts, but Catherine Johnson had come and was conversing with Charlie.

Harry's entire Quidditch team were a rather loud bunch, and as it was almost like a reunion after school, they were chatting merrily. Sirius smiled nostalgically as he remembered himself, James, Lily, Remus and Peter doing the same when Dearborn and Moody were training them. He frowned as his mind stuttered on Wormtail's name. It was sickening to think almost all of his happy memories were tainted with that rat's presence.

Moody called for quiet as they divided into batches. He would take Catherine and Charlie as they were slightly advanced to the rest. Sirius would take the twins, Lee Jordan and Angelina while Bill would continue the training sessions he had started earlier with Alicia Spinnet and Oliver Wood.

Sirius divided his charges into pairs and they got into the duelling practice that always preceded their lessons. Sirius noted each of their moves and spells, showing them the right wand movements and coming up with critiques and encouragements.

George was slightly better than Fred with his reflexes and Angelina's spells packed a punch. But, Fred was the most creative of the lot and Lee could produce a solid Shield charm. Overall, Sirius was exceptionally pleased with their work as he said, "Great job all of you!"

They beamed and the twins high-fived.

"Now, this week we'll be focusing on dark creatures and how you're going to fight them. I'm not talking about Kappas or Grindylows, but the likes of Dementors, Inferi and—"

"—Werewolves," said Fred, grinning, his knowing look hinting at their altercation earlier.

Sirius never did like the term 'dark creatures' applied to werewolves, because he instantly associated it with Remus. But after Greyback, he could quite understand why they were termed as such, so he conceded with a nod.

"And werewolves. Now, since we already have a problem with Dementors and werewolves running around at the moment, it's best we'll start from there."

Sunday, November 3

More than three weeks had passed since Sirius had tipped off the Order about the Longbottoms and the impending attack. Augusta Longbottom lived alone, frequently visited by her brother Algernon and his wife, Enid. Frank and Alice's son, Neville was in school and safely out of the way.

It was tedious, watching over the Longbottom's house every day. Moody had drawn up a six-hour rota and it usually involved Order members paired up in twos or threes, some disguised using Polyjuice Potion and others transfiguring themselves to look unrecognizable.

Sirius wondered if maybe Snape had somehow gotten the wrong information regarding the attack. There wasn't even a whiff of any Death Eater activity in the Blackpool area. Or was it some elaborate joke of his to keep the Order busy with this mission and consequently stop their focus on tailing the other Death Eaters?

Sirius felt the slight ebb of suspicion creep into him. He wouldn't put it past Snape to do just that. How could Dumbledore know he was still on their side anyway? He was a Death Eater in the First War and Sirius knew that if you were once a Death Eater, you were always a Death Eater. Wasn't that how he had lost Regulus last time, because he had gotten cold feet?

Still, despite his nagging suspicions (that the other Order members did not share), they went on with their mission. It wouldn't do if they abandoned the Longbottoms now and the Death Eaters finally made a move on them, so Sirius had dropped bringing it up in their Order meetings.

The sun was setting and Sirius couldn't wait for his shift to get over. Granted, there was nobody home but Twitchet, but he would get the opportunity to finally let down his guard and unwind instead of being constantly on the edge.

Which is why, he flinched when he felt the soft tap of somebody on his arm.

"It's me, Bill!" hissed the familiar voice of one Bill Weasley.

"Bloody hell! Give a bloke a warning, next time!" exclaimed Sirius once he had caught his breath.

Bill, who looked nothing like himself because of his transfigured appearance, suddenly turned his wand onto Sirius. "What was the first dinner my mother made for you?"

Sirius did not even hesitate. "Meat and two veg, wasn't it?"

Bill lowered his wand, grinning. "You're like Ron. He never forgets anything when it comes to food."

Sirius snorted. "On that note, I'm going to eat. Has Hestia relieved the twins on the other side?"

"You know Hestia. Like clockwork, that woman."

Sirius gave a tired smile as he clapped a hand on Bill's shoulder before walking a safe distance away to Apparate home.

Twitchet served him a magnificent dinner, but his appetite was lacking. After half-hearted apologies to the kind house-elf, he retired to Fleamont Potter's study. He removed his jacket and tossed it to the desk as he headed straight to the chest of drawers on top of which sat Mr. Potter's liquor collection. He uncorked a bottle of gin with the tap of his wand and poured a generous measure for himself.

He usually tried his hardest to forget this day – the damned date of his birth, which had been easy when he was in Azkaban. He could hardly remember things like dates or months when his mind had been running on a loop, watching James dead, again and again.

When he was younger, he hadn't really enjoyed his birthdays at his parents' house. He couldn't when his parents made it a socialite event and he was forced to mingle with his snobbish relatives.

His only good memories of his birthdays were after he met James and Remus and Lily. He stubbornly refused to think of the other boy, the man who had so expertly fooled them all on this very same day and nobody had seen it coming. He scowled and took a large gulp of the gin, the after-burn nearly punishing in its intensity.

You deserve it, Sirius found himself thinking morosely. You deserve it for having ripped apart a perfectly good family. If only he had never met James, he would have been alive today, raising his beloved son like he had always wanted. Sirius felt disgusted with himself for even thinking that he was filling in for James.

He threw back the rest of the gin and refilled his goblet before crossing the study to sit on Mr. Potter's chair behind the desk.

You should be here doing this, James. You should be the one to see how much Harry enjoys flying on a broom. Or how his eyes nearly light up when there's treacle tart after dinner. Or how very particular he is to the Beatles just like Lily.

But even as he thought so, some selfish part of him was very glad that he had met James. His life would have had no meaning if James was taken out of the picture. He couldn't even imagine how he would have turned out if he hadn't taken that compartment with that boy with his messy black hair and glasses on September 1st, 1971.

Then he reverted to cursing himself again. Harry rightfully deserved more time with James than he did. It would mean the world to Harry, if he had even got to spend at least half the time Sirius had had with James.

All because Sirius Black had to be born on this day, hadn't he?

He didn't know how long he had been stuck inside the unending cycle of dark thoughts inside his head, when he heard the door of Potter Manor open and then shut. He knew he was far gone when he couldn't even muster the energy to become alert or even suspicious.

Maybe if it really is a Death Eater, he could put me out of my misery already, he thought idly as he stared at the open window in front of him, the thin white curtains dancing with the howling wind. He didn't even flinch when he heard familiar footsteps coming up the stairs and the door was thrown wide open.

"Sirius," came the voice of Tonks slowly as if she was wondering whether or not to interrupt his melancholy. But, Sirius still could not remove his eyes from the open window. A part of him became disappointed that it wasn't some Death Eater like he had wished for and then guilty for even thinking of it.

What about Harry, you idiot? Would you really leave him alone just because you couldn't deal with something as silly as your grief, when Harry has more right to grieve James and Lily than you do?

He jerked in astonishment when he felt the goblet lifted out of his hand. Tonks was looking at him pitifully and Sirius didn't like that. He didn't deserve that.

"I'm alright," he whispered hoarsely as he looked away unable to meet her eyes.

Tonks shook her head. "That's not true and you know it."

And just like that, tears sprang into his eyes and Sirius couldn't understand why he felt so emotional all of a sudden. It was jarring to hear those words and it felt like déjà vu to him.

"I just wish Remus was here," said Sirius, blinking repeatedly to clear his eyes. Remus would know just what to say. He was not ashamed to think that that's what he needed at the moment. Assurance from his only best friend left that he too deserved to live.

He felt himself enveloped into the comforting soft embrace that he came to associate with Tonks; something that gently reminded him of Lily.

"I wish he was here too," she said softly before Sirius pulled away. He stood up, albeit a little shakily. Tonks threw out an arm to steady him. "Where are you going?"

“I'm heading out for some fresh air," he said, looking at the door from which she had entered.

"Sirius, you're drunk. It's not wise—"

Some corner of his mind was vaguely amused at how similar she sounded to Remus at that moment. But he would not be deterred.

"Please."

Whether she heard the desperate pleading in his voice or the need to escape from that place as quick as possible, Tonks understood. She simply nodded. "Okay."

"You can stay here tonight if you want," said Sirius as he walked out. "I'll be back before breakfast."

Chapter Text

Sunday, November 3

The Gryffindor celebration party was in full swing in the common room after their victory against the Slytherins. Harry was surrounded by a mob of people congratulating him, and it was some time before he could try and find Ron. At last, he extricated himself from Romilda Vane, who was hinting heavily that she would like to go to Slughorn's Christmas party with him. As he was ducking toward the drinks table, he walked straight into Ginny.

"Looking for Ron?" she asked, smirking. "He's over there, the filthy hypocrite."

Harry looked into the corner she was indicating. There, in full view of the whole room, stood Ron wrapped so closely around Lavender Brown it was hard to tell whose hands were whose.

"It looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?" said Ginny dispassionately. She clearly had not forgotten the incident where Ron and Harry had walked in on her snogging Dean. Harry flushed as he remembered the scene. He had never even imagined Ginny in such a way before that. Ginny, still scowling at Ron and mercifully oblivious to Harry's thoughts, continued, "But I suppose he's got to refine his technique somehow. Good game, Harry."

Harry smiled as she walked off to help herself to more butterbeer, ignoring the swooping sensation in his stomach when she had patted him on the arm. He turned away from Ron, just as the portrait hole was closing, a mane of bushy brown hair bobbing out of sight.

Harry left the common room to search for Hermione. He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. She was sitting on the teacher's desk alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair.

"Oh, hello, Harry," she said in a brittle voice. "I was just practicing."

"They're really good…" said Harry as he walked to stand next to her.

She spoke in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, "Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations."

"Er… does he?" said Harry.

"Don't pretend you didn't see him," said Hermione. "He wasn't exactly hiding it, was he?"

"I s'pose," said Harry, shrugging. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Don't go apologizing for him," she said sharply, her voice regaining her usual bossiness. She looked at Harry and tried to soften her expression. "You should go, Harry. You're missing out on the party."

"I don't want you to miss out on it either," Harry pointed out, as he leaned against the teacher's desk that she was sitting on. "And since you're in no mood to go, I'd rather stay here."

Hermione smiled as she twirled her wand lazily, one of the birds sat on her shoulder, twittering.

"You know, I feel really bad now that I gave you that lavender-scented diary," said Harry after a while.

"Oh, please! I'm not that sentimental. I do love lavender, the flower I mean," she added with a scowl and Harry sniggered.

"Do all girls like lavender? Alicia did too," said Harry absently, failing to notice the curious gleam enter into Hermione's eyes as she asked, "Alicia who?"

"Alicia Bloomwood. The muggle girl I met in France. Surely, I've told you that," asked Harry, feeling a flush creeping up his neck.

"No, you didn't!" exclaimed Hermione, now turning to look at him fully. "What's the deal with her?"

"Well, she's seventeen, budding photographer," said Harry distractedly. "I'd like to think we became friends."

"You liked her a lot more than that, didn't you?" said Hermione, a smile in her voice.

Harry looked at her properly. "Am I that obvious?"

Hermione waved her hand wiggling her fingers. "You've got that look about you, almost like how you looked when you used to see Cho."

"She's way better than Cho," defended Harry quickly.

Hermione hadn't heard as she started laughing. "You have a girlfriend and I never knew! Is that why you're not asking out any of the other girls in school?"

"She's not my girlfriend," said Harry and scowled when Hermione smiled disbelievingly.

He folded his hands in front of his chest. "We shared a kiss— alright, we snogged once— or twice. But, that's not got anything to do with my lack of girlfriends here. It was nice with Alicia, because she didn't swoon as soon as she heard my name."

Hermione grimaced as she nodded in understanding. "I hear you. Well, you better smarten up and get yourself someone because the girls in fifth and fourth year are getting hysterical. They reckon they're going to somehow get you to ask them to Slughorn's Christmas party."

Harry muttered under his breath. Slughorn had found Harry's schedule through Hermione just to make sure Harry wouldn't miss the party this time.

"I'm not taking anyone I don't know," said Harry, standing up. "I would ask Ginny. But, she's with Dean, so that's a no."

Harry had heard enough stories from Sirius to know never to ask out a girl who already had a boyfriend. Sirius might have enjoyed the challenge, but Harry did not fancy being turned down. He had already had one bad experience with Cho. And besides, Harry thought gloomily, Ron would probably murder him if he ever asked Ginny out.

Harry did not miss the slight widening of Hermione's eyes and mentally berated himself for slipping up. He sighed exasperatedly. "I'll figure it out."

Hermione scoffed. "Right, like you always do at the last—"

The door behind them burst open. To Harry's horror, Ron came in, laughing and pulling Lavender by the hand.

"Oh," he said, drawing up short at the sight of Harry and Hermione.

"Oops!" said Lavender, and she backed out of the room, giggling. The door swung shut behind her.

There was a deafening silence. Hermione was staring at Ron, all pretence of her light-heartedness vapourizing into thin air. Ron refused to look at her, but said with an odd mixture of bravado and awkwardness, "Hi, Harry! Wondered where you'd got to!"

Hermione slid off the desk. The little flock of golden birds continued to twitter in circles around her head again.

"You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside," she said quietly. "She'll wonder where you've gone."

She walked very slowly towards the door. Harry glanced at Ron, who was looking relieved that nothing worse had happened.

"Oppugno!" came a shriek from the doorway.

Harry spun around to see Hermione pointing her wand at Ron, her expression wild. The little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets toward Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking at every bit of flesh they could reach.

"Gerremoffme!" he yelled, but with one last look of vindictive fury, Hermione wrenched open the door and disappeared through it, a sob echoing in the silent corridor.

Harry quickly waved his wand at the attacking birds saying, 'Finite Incantatem.'

They stopped dead and he quickly vanished them with a wave of his wand and walked towards a slightly bleeding Ron.

Ron was blustering furiously, "What the bloody hell was that? Was she trying to kill me? She's bloody mental!"

"I'm sorry, but you had it coming, don't you think?" said Harry, standing at an arm's length away from him, in case Ron decided to vent out his frustrations on him.

Ron was breathing heavily but did not say anything more as he got up and stomped off.

Harry tried not to feel too upset by the behaviour of his two best friends. He wandered back to his common room, where the party had become even rowdier than before. There were a lot of snogging couples near the shadows and Harry was growing uncomfortable. He saw Lavender talking to Ron near the foot of the staircase that led to the boys' dorms and wishing to not interrupt them, he stayed back waiting for them to finish whatever they had to speak… or do.

He suddenly noticed Romilda waving at him from a distance and getting up from the couch to come over to him. Before Harry could even make up his mind to turn tail and run to his dorm, the-snogging-Ron-and-Lavender-be-damned, someone else joined him. It was Parvati Patil, who smiled up at him, clutching a butterbeer. "Hey, Harry. Fancy a butterbeer?"

"Thanks," breathed out Harry in relief, accepting the bottle. He saw Romilda's disappointed look and was momentarily satisfied.

"How are you? I heard your parents wanted you to leave," said Harry, distracting himself with the girl in front of him.

"I managed to talk them out of it for the time being," said Parvati. "That Katie thing really freaked them out, but as there hasn't been anything since, they've agreed to let me and Padma stay. With all that's going on outside, they understand that Hogwarts is safer, relatively."

She paused taking a sip of her butterbeer and Harry mirrored her. He didn't know what prompted him to, but he got the words out of him. "Say Parvati, what do you think about going to Slughorn's Christmas party with me?"

Parvati froze as she looked at him with something akin to surprise and hesitation, "With you?"

"As a friend," said Harry, hastening to make himself clear. After his talk with Hermione, he thought it would be better if he asked out someone he knew and hoped the other girls would leave him alone.

Parvati sighed with obvious relief. "Oh! Thank God. Yes."

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Great! Wait… what did that mean?"

"Harry, I do not fancy you in that way," said Parvati as if it was very obvious. "And I know you don't too. But, I'd love to go with you as a friend. You do owe me one after that disastrous date to the Yule Ball."

Harry laughed, his anxiety melting away at her assurance. "It's a deal then. Please don't expect me to dance though."

"That's okay, I'm sure there would be someone in that party who's better at dancing than you are," she said smirking before she left. Harry headed straight up to his dorms, when he noticed Lavender going up the girls' staircase with Parvati, and Ron was nowhere to be seen.

Predictably, there was only one occupied bed with the curtains around them and Harry did not wish to disturb Ron lest he bring up the topic about Hermione. He was changing into his pyjamas when he remembered that he had to talk to Sirius. Harry had sent his godfather a present for his birthday that morning along with a long letter through Hedwig. Still, he thought he could talk to Sirius just then to tell him about their victory against the Slytherins. He shut the curtains around his four-poster bed and cast a silent 'Muffliato'.

"Sirius?" he called out to the mirror to no response. He tried again but when there was no answer, he left it at that. Maybe, Sirius was already asleep or on some mission for the Order. He made a mental note to call him in the morning, before he went to sleep.

Monday, November 4

The weak sun that fell on her face was a blissful way to wake up, mused Tonks. She yawned as she rolled over on the bed and opened her eyes to find herself in the now familiar guest room of Potter Manor. Since the day Remus had left, she had dropped in here for the night about three times. She tried to avoid Remus' room as much as possible and so took one of the guest rooms that Twitchet had made up for her.

She lay awake on her bed, thinking back to what had prompted her to come to this place last night.

She had been on duty outside Hogwarts, as usual, then she had had lunch with Catherine at the Three Broomsticks. Though she was a Trainee, she was the only girl in their team of six and Tonks liked having another Order member with her, who could tell her about the meetings she couldn't make it to. Even if she hadn't been a member, Tonks genuinely liked the girl and enjoyed spending time with her, to keep away the boredom of being a security detail and also to take her mind off of Remus.

She had headed to her room in Hog's Head and had been ready to retire for the night, when she belatedly remembered the date. It was Sirius' birthday, and if he was anything like last year when he had been stuck in Grimmauld Place, he was probably drinking away. And Remus wasn't there for his friend this time.

She had grabbed a cloak and Disapparated straight to Rosedale, Yorkshire and was momentarily startled by the howling wind whipping through the trees. She tugged her cloak around her tightly and entered the gates to Potter Manor and was met with Twitchet, who had sadly told her that Master Sirius was in Master Fleamont's study.

She had hurried up to the study to find Sirius, looking pale and staring unblinkingly at the window, a goblet of something like gin in his hand.

She didn't quite know what to say or how to console him and was heartbroken when he told her that he wished Remus was there. Oh, how she wished he was here too!

He had abruptly decided to leave the house and had told her that she could take a kip if she wanted to. She chose to take him up on his offer as she didn't want Sirius to feel lonely when he returned home.

Tonks rolled over in her bed and shrieked when she fell right out. She cursed as she tried to untangle herself from the twisted blankets, now fully awake.

She headed downstairs to the dining area which was empty to her surprise; she had thought Sirius would have returned by now. He was always an early-riser, very much the opposite of Remus who slept in like there was no tomorrow, just like herself. Unbidden to her, she smiled at the thought before quickly frowning as another horrible thought crossed her mind.

What if Sirius had been captured by Death Eaters?

She nearly fell off her chair when Twitchet popped in from thin air. "Miss Dora, breakfast is served."

At the snap of her fingers, there was a delicious breakfast spread in front of her, but Tonks was growing panicked.

"Twitchet, did Sirius come home yet?"

"Master Sirius is in his room. He came home at four in the morning, Miss."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

Considerably cheerier, she dived into her breakfast with gusto. It had been a while since she had had a good home-cooked meal. "This is really delicious, Twitchet!"

"Thank you, Miss Dora," said the elf happily, making a bow. "Twitchet loves to serve the friends of her Young Master!"

Tonks smiled at the old house-elf, when Sirius came in looking distinctly dishevelled.

"Good morning," she said and Sirius simply nodded in her direction before taking his seat. There were dark circles under his deep-set eyes, making them look sunken and reminding her more of the Sirius she had seen in the papers when he had escaped Azkaban.

He propped his elbows up on the table and buried his face into his hands. Tonks asked, "Are you okay?"

"Just have a raging headache is all," came his mumbled reply from under his hands.

Almost immediately, Twitchet was bustling in with a goblet of potion, thrusting it into his hands. "Master oughtn't have become so drunk."

Sirius looked up and eyed the goblet inquiringly to which Twitchet squeaked, " 'Tis for your hangover, Master."

Sirius downed the entire goblet of potion in one and Twitchet tutted disapprovingly, "Young Master Harry would be very disappointed."

Sirius turned to look at her pleadingly. "Please, don't tell him!"

"Twitchet likes Master Sirius," she squeaked. "Twitchet will not tell Young Master unless there is another repeat, sir."

Sirius breathed out a sigh, closing his eyes. "There won't be, Twitchet. Thank you."

Twitchet simply smiled before disappearing with a pop. Tonks was smirking when Sirius caught sight of her and asked bluntly, "What?"

"Someone's got you under a leash," she laughed.

"Twitchet is a good elf. Even though I'm not her Master, she treats me like one. Unlike that bloody elf of mine," he growled.

Tonks was nearly finished with her breakfast when Sirius started his.

"Has there been any word from Remus?" asked Tonks quietly.

Sirius sighed as he shook his head. "I know you're worried. But, Remus will be fine."

"What if he isn't?" asked Tonks, desperately. "We know for sure that Greyback has joined the Death Eaters. What if he's done something to Remus?"

"There are other werewolves besides Greyback. We'll have to believe in Remus and trust that he can handle himself," said Sirius, not unkindly.

"That's not an answer!" exclaimed Tonks angrily.

"Look, I wish I had better news. You know I don't like this just as much as you. It was exactly like this the last time during the war. When Remus is sure there's nobody left to convince, he'll be home. You have to trust in him, Dora. That is all that we can do."

Tonks got up, angry tears threatening to spill. She knew that Sirius wasn't responsible for her plight, but she hated that that she could do nothing about it. "I have to be going. Thanks for the breakfast," she said and left as soon as possible.

As the sun was setting, Sirius turned up at the Longbottom's house in Blackpool for his daily shift. He relieved Charlie and took his place, making sure that Hestia and Angelina had arrived on the other side too. It was very dull work, patrolling the outskirts of the house and casting 'Homenum Revelio' every so often to make sure there was nobody around.

The night wore on and Sirius half-wished he had a partner like Hestia, so he would have someone to talk to. But the Order was already spread thin between tailing Death Eaters and having real-world jobs that Sirius was almost always assigned alone as he was more experienced than the rest on the field.

Then, it came to him. He could talk to Harry of course. He hadn't talked to him last night, because well… he hadn't been in his right mind. And it had been Harry's first match of the year yesterday. He had to know the details and also if they had won, which knowing Harry, they probably had. He thrust his hand into his pocket and was surprised to find it empty.

He wondered where he had put the two-way mirror, when he remembered that it was in his jacket that he had removed and left it at that in Mr. Potter's study last night. He made a mental note to pick it up later when there was a resounding crack.

Sirius whirled around, raising his wand arm at the ready. He hid behind a bush as he saw people with cloaks Apparating straight outside the Longbottom's house.

"Ah, the memories," came the shrill cackle of one of the persons he hated the most, Bellatrix Lestrange.

Sirius made a quick headcount and watched as five masked Death Eaters besides Bellatrix, joined in her mad laughter.

"Enough chattering, let's get this over with," came the deep grunt of one of the Death Eaters that Sirius couldn't identify.

"You don't give orders around here, Rowle!" snapped Bellatrix and the Death Eater, Rowle bowed down meekly.

Sirius knew he had to contact the Order immediately, but a Patronus would give him away in an instant. It looked like he had to hold his own, at least for a short time, before the Order got here. He braced himself and waited for an opportunity to attack.

Bellatrix walked up to the compound and was stopped by an invisible barrier, which was one of the Order's protective enchantments that they had offered for the Longbottoms. Sirius thought he could see her face contort into a frown before she stood back and raised her wand.

"No shield of theirs is strong enough to keep me away," she screeched as silver streaks of light were emitted from her wand. The Death Eaters too joined her in trying to take down the shield, and Sirius took it as his cue to attack, with their wands focused elsewhere.

He ducked out of the bush and cast a non-verbal 'Stupefy' which immediately stunned one of the Death Eaters and in the few moments that they were caught off-guard, Sirius conjured his Patronus and sent it away just as Bellatrix's eyes found him.

"There's someone over there by the bushes!" yelled Rowle, pointing near the vicinity of Sirius and shot a Stunning spell, which missed him narrowly.

"Go take care of him!" barked Bellatrix, still trying to bring down the shield with the rest of the Death Eaters. Rowle obeyed and walked forward cautiously and Sirius stood still waiting for Rowle to come into view. As soon as he did, Sirius immediately shot a stunning spell that missed Rowle, who had jumped out of the way. But now, Sirius' cover had been blown and it became an outright duel.

Just then, a lot of things happened at once. There was a loud crack as people Apparated onto the scene and Sirius noticed two women, whom he guessed were Hestia and Angelina as they were in disguise, running towards them from the other side.

Two of the Death Eaters stopped trying to take down the shield and started to duel them. One of them went up to the fallen Death Eater to revive him leaving Bellatrix, the lone person who finally brought down the shield.

The air crackled with energy as the barrier dissolved and the few moments that Sirius had been distracted, Rowle caught him off-guard and sent a hex that slashed a long gash on his cheek, blood oozing out immediately. Sirius was now fully focussed on Rowle, and after a minute, he finally managed to incapacitate him.

He quickly Incarcerated him and rushed forward just as the Longbottoms came running out of their house, wands at the ready.

Two more Death Eaters now surrounded Sirius, who swore as he began to duel them. He saw Hestia and Angelina had taken down one of the masked men and the other, Crabbe, was giving them both a tough time.

Bellatrix was cackling madly. "I always did have a thing for you Longbottoms."

The three Longbottoms were engaged in a duel with Bellatrix, who seemed to be enjoying herself. One of Sirius' opponents was down and Sirius took a moment to shoot a Cutting hex from behind that caught Bellatrix's attention when a large gash appeared on her shoulder. She snarled, her eyes bulging, "You!"

Sirius wanted to make some snarky comment but he used that moment to inform the Longbottoms, "I can handle her."

Enid and Algernon took his place in fighting his opponent, but Augusta stood her ground and Sirius joined her, engaged in a duel with Bellatrix, whose smile had left her face and was replaced by a snarl.

More cracks of Apparition sounded and Sirius knew the Order had arrived. Augusta was a very formidable witch and Sirius was impressed with her range of spells. He called out to her just as he ducked a curse from Bellatrix, "You're really good!"

The woman smirked as she sent a spell that caused an explosion under Bellatrix's feet, throwing her backwards. Sirius thought it prudent to stun her quickly, 'Stupe-'

"Incendio!" yelled Bellatrix, pointing her wand at Augusta and rolling out of the way of Sirius' spell. In the space of a second, Sirius processed it instinctively that Augusta would not be able to duck as fast as he could because of her age and he didn't know what came over him, but he pushed her out of the way.

A flash of bright, yellow flames blinded him as he crumpled to the ground, heat searing his left side making him yell in pain. He thought he heard a shriek and then the cracks of a number of people Disapparating nearby.

Fragile hands turned him over and he bit his lip, groaning. The pain was excruciating and he tried to stop himself from screaming out, but the sheer effort made him moan in agony. He felt something warm trickling down the side of his face and the darkness of the night was not helping his hazy vision. He put a hand to his side to stem the pain, but he felt sticky skin and hyperventilated in panic.

Someone was talking above him. "—go to St. Mungo's—" and "—put him out of it—"

He thought he saw a bright flash of red before he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Monday, November 4

Harry was woken up in the morning by Ron, who seemed to be in a better mood than last night for which he was grateful; he did not think he could handle a moody, aggressive Ron along with an equally upset Hermione. When Ron had gone to shower, Harry pulled out his mirror and called for Sirius again – to no reply. He couldn't understand why Sirius was not available. It was early enough in the morning for Harry to be sure Sirius was at home.

Briefly, Harry wondered if something had happened to him. But he quickly cast aside the idea as soon as he had thought of it. He must be over-reacting.

Wouldn't be the first time, Harry thought darkly.

Sirius was probably in some mission for the Order and had left behind the mirror at home. Yes, that seemed more plausible.

Thinking that he would try calling Sirius one more time tonight, he got up from his bed to get dressed.

Ron and Harry went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, where Hermione was conspicuously absent. Ron did not seem affected by this as he ate his breakfast, but after fifteen minutes, Hermione had entered the Hall and taken a seat beside Harry.

Harry thought he saw Ron glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, but a loud distraction came in the form of Lavender, who squealed, "Won-Won!"

Ron turned a brilliant shade of crimson as students nearby in the Hufflepuff table laughed openly. Hermione joined in their amusement and this seemed to rile Ron up, because he leaned in to kiss Lavender 'very affectionately'.

Hermione picked up a sandwich and hurried out of the Hall, looking upset. Neville, who had been sitting opposite to her, glanced at Harry inquisitively. Harry grimaced in answer – he hated it when people asked him what was going on between Ron and Hermione. He couldn't effectively blame either of them in front of the others, so he contented himself with eating his breakfast, refusing to acknowledge the snogging couple beside him. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

Harry didn't see Hermione at all that day, other than during classes. Knowing her, Harry guessed she must be in the library. He left the common room, and Ron didn't even notice, wrapped up as he was with Lavender by the fire.

He found Hermione sitting alone in a corner of the library, with books and parchment sprawled out around her, looking like some sort of mad scientist.

"Where have you been all day?" whispered Harry as he took the seat opposite her, pushing away some of the parchments on the desk. They had to speak in whispers as Madam Pince, the librarian prowled the shelves nearby.

Hermione scowled but didn't raise her head to look at him, fully concentrating on her homework, "I couldn't possibly get anything done in the common room."

Harry understood plainly the implication, that she couldn't watch Ron and Lavender kissing all the time. He took out his Potions book and began his homework and the two lapsed into silence.

Harry was vaguely wondering why Sirius hadn't at least called him himself. True, Sirius always preferred for Harry to call him as he didn't want to intrude with his school schedule. And, they did usually talk only about once a week. He tried to reassure himself that he was getting unnecessarily worried over him. Sirius was a free man now and Harry should stop worrying about his godfather getting chucked into Azkaban like he had done so for the past two years. For all he knew, Sirius could be going to a pub for a night out and God knows he deserved it too. Harry couldn't possibly expect him to always be available at his beck and call.

He distracted himself with the essay, checking the Half-Blood Prince's copy for tips and hints.

Hermione's whisper cut through the silence, "Incidentally, you need to be more careful."

"For the last time," said Harry, speaking in a slightly hoarse tone after three-quarters of an hour of silence, "I am not giving back this book. I've learned more from the Half-Blood Prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in —"

"I'm not talking about your stupid so-called Prince," said Hermione, giving his book a nasty look as though it had been rude to her. "I'm talking about earlier. I went into the girl's bathroom before I came here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party, and they all seem to have bought Fred and George's love potions, which I'm afraid to say probably work —"

"Why didn't you confiscate them then?" demanded Harry, astounded. Wasn't she always the one going on about upholding the rules?

"They were just discussing tactics and they didn't actually have the potions with them in the bathroom," said Hermione scornfully. "As I doubt even the Half-Blood Prince," she gave the book another nasty look, "could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, I'd just invite someone to go with you. That'll stop all the others thinking they've still got a chance."

"But, I have!" exclaimed Harry, "I asked Parvati last night and she said yes."

"Really?" she said, her eyes widened before narrowing again. "But… it seems outrageous that Parvati didn't tell anyone yet. Knowing her, she should have probably let the whole school know by now."

Harry knew what she meant. While Parvati was okay, she and Lavender did gossip a lot. He didn't know if he felt grateful or not that she hadn't boasted about him asking her out to the whole school yet.

Hermione cut through his thoughts, speaking grimly, "But be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business."

"Hang on a moment," he said slowly, after a moment of silence. "I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

"And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?" asked Hermione.

"But aren't all the owls being searched? How come these girls are able to bring love potions into the school?"

"Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions," said Hermione. "It's part of their Owl-order service."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

Hermione gave him a nasty look, the kind she had just given to his copy of Advanced Potion Making.

"It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer," she said coldly, "I don't go around putting potions in people's drinks… or pretending too either, which is just as bad…"

Harry interrupted, "The point is, Filch is being fooled, isn't he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school —?"

"Oh, Harry… not that again…" she rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"Come on, why not?" demanded Harry.

"Look," sighed Hermione, "Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses, and concealment charms, don't they? They're used to find dark magic and dark objects. They'd have picked up a powerful curse, like the one in the necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register — anyway Love potions aren't dark or dangerous -"

"Easy for you to say," muttered Harry, thinking of Romilda Vane.

"— so it would be down to Filch to realize it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from —"

Hermione stopped dead; Harry had heard it too. Somebody had moved close behind them among the dark bookshelves. They waited, and a moment later the vulture-like countenance of Madam Pince appeared around the corner, menacingly.

She was outraged at the sight of the Half-Blood Prince's copy of the book, covered with scribbles and Harry tried to assure her that it wasn't the library's. But, she looked as though she might have a seizure; Hermione, who had hastily packed her things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frog-marched him away.

"She'll ban you from the library if you're not careful. Why did you have to bring that stupid book?"

"It's not my fault she's barking mad, Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something between them…"

"Oh, ha ha…"

Enjoying the fact that they could speak normally again, they made their way along the deserted lamp-lit corridors back to the common room, arguing whether or not Filch and Madam Pince were secretly in love with each other.

"Hi, Harry!" said Romilda Vane, the moment he had climbed through the portrait hole. "Fancy a gillywater?"

Hermione gave him a "what-did-I-tell-you?" look over her shoulder.

"No thanks," said Harry quickly. "I don't like it much."

Romilda wasn't deterred; she insisted Harry take some of the Chocolate Cauldrons her grandmother had sent her. Harry extricated himself from her and he hurried off behind Hermione.

"Told you," said Hermione succinctly. "Why didn't you just let slip you're going with Parvati? That should have kept her off—"

But her face suddenly turned blank; she had just spotted Ron and Lavender, who were intertwined in the same armchair where they had been an hour ago when Harry had left to search for Hermione.

"Well, good night, Harry" said Hermione, though it was only eight o'clock in the evening, and she left for the girls' dormitory without another word.

Harry was growing tired of his friends' behaviour already . He headed straight to his dorm to find it empty as all the boys were in the common room. He chucked the Chocolate Cauldrons that Romilda had given him into his trunk and hastily pulled out the mirror from his pocket and called for Sirius.

There was still no response.

A slight bubble of anxiety was swirling in his stomach now. It wasn't like Sirius to ignore him. He took a moment to think of what he could do. It wouldn't do him any good if he simply assumed things, like the last time when he had gone to the Ministry…

He shook his head to clear that memory. Harry had sent a letter yesterday along with Sirius' birthday present and Hedwig hadn't returned yet. He wondered if he could use a school owl, but quickly dismissed the thought. Their home was under the Fidelius and hadn't Dumbledore told him that they wouldn't be able to find it?

Harry was left with the only option of calling him by Floo. But, he couldn't do it from the common room as it was packed with students. He would have to wait till they cleared out, which could take until late after midnight or he could ask one of the teachers, maybe Professor McGonagall, to use the Floo in her office.

It seemed like a better plan, so he took off down the stairs and was met with surprise.

A hush had fallen over the entire common room and Harry was startled to see that Professor McGonagall herself had just entered through the portrait hole.

"Mr. Potter, could you follow me please."

Harry walked forward numbly, dread swirling in the pit of his stomach, making him feel uneasy.

A few of the students were whispering but Harry couldn't care as Professor McGonagall ushered him to the portrait hole and outside. He was surprised to find Tonks, with a very urgent expression on her face.

Harry found himself asking, "What's happened?"

Tonks answered hurriedly, "It's Sirius! He's hurt."

The fireplace burst into green flames spitting out Harry and Tonks into what seemed to be a corridor that connected to a reception area. Tonks was walking fast with Harry in tow, and they reached the Inquiries desk where they impatiently waited in line.

They had both left immediately through the fireplace in Professor McGonagall's office. Harry had asked Tonks what had happened to Sirius, but she seemed as clueless as he was.

"I got the message from Kingsley. He didn't specify and I'm not even sure if you should be allowed here," she had said.

Harry noted the portrait of Dilys Derwent, behind the Inquiries desk, watching them with great interest as they reached the front of the queue and Tonks spoke to the witch at the reception, "We're here to see Sirius Black."

The witch looked sharply at her and then Harry before snapping back to Tonks, "He was moved to a private ward thirty minutes ago. First floor, last door on the left."

Tonks nodded and ushered Harry through the double doors and into the familiar narrow corridors that Harry had passed through just last year to visit Mr. Weasley. He couldn't admire the floating bubbles with candles inside that lit up the portraits lining the wall or the odd sounds and sights from inside the public wards as witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed. A strange sense of disconnect seemed to have befallen him as he followed Tonks.

Finally, at the end of the corridor, which was much quieter, stood Alastor Moody and a woman that Harry remembered as Hestia Jones from the Order, who seemed to be wearing a splint around her right arm.

Moody growled on seeing them, and pointed at Harry accusingly. "Why did you bring him here?"

Harry spoke over him, "Where is he?"

"Later, Mad-Eye," said Hestia, pushing Moody out of the way and held the door open for Harry and Tonks. Harry briefly read the plaque 'Private Ward 110' and the handwritten Healer-in-charge: Mildred Peyton.

Harry didn't know what to expect and the knot in his stomach clenched as he entered. The room was small and dingy but had only one bed propped to a wall along with a side-table and a couple of chairs for visitors. Sirius was fast-asleep or unconscious, Harry didn't know. The blankets were tucked up to his waist, exposing his heavily-bandaged chest.

He felt a small hand rest on his shoulder and felt Tonks whispering, "What happened, Hestia?"

"We were doing our shifts as usual around the Longbottom's house," came the answering whisper from Hestia. "Then, we got a patronus call from Sirius. We hurried to help and there were six death Eaters taking down the shield we had set up. We must really find something more powerful, you know, if Bellatrix and the others could take it down that quickly. Anyway, we were duelling, but we were outnumbered two to one. Thank goodness the Longbottoms came to help. I didn't actually see how it happened, but I think it was Bellatrix that cast that Incendio on Augusta. Sirius pushed her out of the way at the last minute, but he took the brunt of it. Backup arrived at that time, so the Death Eaters were forced to retreat. We brought Sirius straight over here. The healers say he's got second-degree burns, but it looked awful. He was in so much pain they decided to put him out of it."

Moody had entered the room, and spoke in a low growl, "The Minister is aware that Sirius is here. We had Healers within a quarter of an hour offering to move Sirius to a private ward. I wouldn't be surprised if we have Aurors stationed outside for security by tomorrow."

"What's all the fuss for?" asked Tonks, curiously.

Moody looked pointedly at Harry. "It's Potter's godfather, isn't it? Would be a fine target for the Death Eaters if he's here all trussed up and unconscious..."

Harry felt cold at the realisation that Sirius would be targeted just because he was his godfather. He walked forward and pulled up a chair to sit beside Sirius. He seemed so… pale and still, without the spark in his eyes, or his mischievous smirk. Harry could only remember the last time he saw Sirius like this: beside the lake with hundreds of dementors surrounding them. He suppressed a shiver at the memory.

"…which is also why you shouldn't have brought him here," Moody was saying to Tonks. "If Dumbledore had been at school, he wouldn't have allowed it. You should take him home, Tonks."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Harry heatedly, turning in his chair to look at them.

Tonks said reasonably, "Harry has more right to be here than any of us, Mad-Eye."

"I'm not saying that isn't true," said Moody, not unkindly. "But, you must understand that this is a public building…"

"I'm an Auror if you've forgotten, Mad-Eye. I'll stay here with him," she said looking at Harry. Harry felt a rush of gratitude for her and allowed himself a small smile.

A witch with blonde hair in lime-green robes, presumably a Healer, entered at that moment and said sharply, "Not more than two visitors."

Moody and Hestia walked out and the witch looked at Harry sitting in the chair. "Are you family?"

Harry said firmly, "Yes."

The witch seemed a little flustered, but quickly composed herself. "I'm the Healer-in-charge, Millie Peyton."

Tonks nodded in greeting before asking, "How long does he have to stay here?"

"About four days. The inflamed skin has to slough off and only then can he be given the potion for skin regeneration," she said. "He's under a very strong Sleeping Draught. I estimate it'll work for about eight to nine hours. I'll be back in the morning to check on him."

She checked the bandages on Sirius then left as fast as she had come and Tonks said, "Well, looks like we're in for a long night."

The first thing Sirius realized when he came to was that he was cold.

Something icy cold was pressing down on him on the left side of his torso. He brought a hand to the side of his chest and was not surprised to find bandages there. He could remember everything vividly – the searing heat of the flames eating at his flesh, the skin around it feeling like he was continuously bathed in fire and the potion that the Healers had made him take that had made him fall asleep very quickly.

The charmed bandages were soothing on his inflamed skin, even though it made him numb in other places. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a different room from before. Earlier, it had been a public ward with two more beds beside him holding some very curious patients. He had been annoyed at that and was grateful that they had moved him elsewhere. He turned his head to the left to see Harry, sound asleep on the chair with his head resting on the window.

Tonks, who had been staring off into space, jerked at the sight of Sirius being awake and immediately stood up from her chair. "Wotcher. Do you need anything?"

"No," said Sirius hoarsely, then cleared his throat. "When did you both get here?"

Tonks, pulled her chair closer to Sirius and sat down. "About eight hours ago."

"You should both go home and get some sleep," said Sirius, nodding at Harry.

"We wanted to make sure you were doing okay," said Tonks before yawning hugely. This however woke Harry, who blinked blearily and rubbed his eyes underneath the glasses.

His eyes widened. "Sirius, you're awake! Are you okay?"

"I'm alright. These bloody bandages are really cold but I can't feel a thing," said Sirius, smiling. He hadn't even realized how happy he was that Harry was here.

The door to the private ward opened and the Healer from earlier entered with a clipboard in hand and a wand in the other, bringing up a hovering tray. "Ah, you're awake, Mr. Black!" she said in a voice that sounded both cheerful and clinical.

"Is there any pain?" she asked as she floated the tray containing the potions to the side-table.

"No, I simply feel numb," said Sirius, rolling his eyes at the repeated question.

"Good, good." She proceeded to give him three potions that he was supposed to take every hour and placed them on the side-table. Announcing that she would be back within a couple of hours to change the bandages, she left.

Harry said, "I've been trying to contact you through the mirror since yesterday. Didn't you have it with you?"

Sirius looked abashed as he glanced at Tonks before answering, "I forgot to take it with me."

"You forget to take the thing just once and look what happened!" said Tonks jovially, eliciting snickers from both of them.

"I'm surprised Dumbledore allowed you to come, Harry," said Sirius.

"Well, he wasn't at school…" started Harry.

Sirius looked at Tonks with wide eyes. "You didn't smuggle my godson out of Hogwarts, did you?"

"Of course not!" scoffed Tonks. "Professor McGonagall was all for Harry coming to see you."

"Always did like that woman," said Sirius, smirking. "So, tell me, Harry. Did you win the match?"

"Yes, we did," said Harry, grinning.

"Ha! I knew it!" exclaimed Sirius and he tried to sit up. He hissed as he felt the skin pull against the bandages. Harry was instantly at his side, helping him up and looking worried. "What's wrong?"

"Burns like hell, alright," said Sirius, through gritted teeth. Tonks propped up the pillows and Sirius leaned against it gratefully.

There was a knock on the door and Tonks opened it to find Charlie and Mrs. Weasley, carrying what seemed to be a basket full of homemade goodies.

"Sirius! And oh, Harry dear, you're here too," she said, hugging Harry briefly before going up to Sirius and placing the basket on the side-table.

"How are you feeling, Sirius? I wanted to visit last night, but Mad-Eye was insistent we visit only in the morning."

"That's no problem, Molly. I feel loads better," said Sirius, beaming.

Charlie made a motion for Tonks to scoot over and took her chair. "Bill was part of the backup, along with Kingsley last night. Kingsley was saying this morning that the Minister has ordered Aurors for your security. You'll technically be watched round the clock from now on along with your visitors."

Sirius scowled. "Wonderful."

Chapter Text

Tuesday, November 5

Harry had Side-Along Apparated with Tonks to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place and had found themselves in the midst of a handful of Order members – Bill Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Dedalus Diggle and for some reason, Alicia Spinnet and Oliver Wood.

They had been enthusiastically welcomed and Harry came to know that they were part of the Order.

"Our entire Quidditch team is in the Order, save for you and Katie," explained Oliver, beaming as he shook Harry's hand.

Alicia, however, looked sad. "How is Katie? I heard she had been cursed!"

"She's still in St. Mungo's," said Harry. "It's been a headache trying to find a replacement for her."

They spent the next few minutes discussing Harry's woes in regards to his Quidditch team and their first win of the season.

Kreacher had been serving breakfast, looking like it took a great deal of control to stop the insults from slipping out of him. Harry knew that Sirius and Kreacher had struck a deal of sorts, thanks to Remus. Sirius would be civil (or at least, try to be) and Kreacher would stop insulting the people who passed through the doors of the house of Black and actually take on the duties of a house-elf. It seemed to be working as Harry didn't hear a single comment, veiled or otherwise, escape from the house-elf.

After breakfast, Harry went up to the room he had shared with Ron to find his belongings already there.

"Professor Dumbledore sends his regards," came the lazy drawl from the portrait of Phineas Nigellus.

Harry looked at the wizard in the portrait, who stared back looking bored. "Has he come back to Hogwarts then?"

"I'm afraid that doesn't concern you," he said coolly, leaning against the frame.

"So, he is back," snapped Harry. "Thanks for answering my question."

Before the wizard in the portrait could mutter more than, "Insolent dolt," Harry quickly pulled out his muggle clothes and dashed to the bathroom for a shower.

Well-fed and dressed, Harry was taken back to St. Mungo's by Bill Weasley as Tonks had left to get some sleep.

Bill was surprised that Harry was unfazed by Side-Along Apparition and was talking to him amiably as they went up to the first floor of St. Mungo's. When they reached the end of the corridor, both Bill and Harry froze in their tracks.

Standing just outside the door to Sirius' private ward was none other than Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic, along with a couple of Aurors.

Bill gripped Harry's shoulder as he led them both forward and said in a clipped voice, "Good morning, Minister."

Scrimgeour glanced once at Bill, before fixing his eyes on Harry. "Good morning, gentlemen. May I request a private word with Mr. Potter here?"

Bill's hand on Harry's shoulder, tightened. "I hardly think—"

"It's fine," said Harry. Bill looked worriedly at Harry, then glanced at the closed door to Sirius' ward. Harry knew he was thinking of asking Sirius, but Harry assured him, "Really, It's okay."

Bill nodded and let go of Harry who found himself ushered to the nearby Private Ward 109. It looked like a replica of Sirius' ward, save for its empty bed. Scrimgeour shut the door behind him and turned to look at Harry, who looked back with polite indifference.

He knew what Scrimgeour wanted from him but it didn't mean he had to like it. Harry hoped he would keep his temper in check. No matter Harry's differences with him, he was the Minister of Magic after all.

It was late afternoon and Harry and Sirius were joined by Tonks who had brought a pack of Exploding Snap along with a basket of chocolates and sweets.

"From mum," she said, as Sirius enthusiastically pulled out the Chocolate Frogs, "she sends her regards. The Order didn't want too many new faces visiting you as you're being watched, so she couldn't come."

"Remind me to thank Andy later," said Sirius, biting off the chocolate frog in half.

Harry helped himself to the pumpkin pasties and Tonks set up the Exploding Snap to pass their time.

"I heard the Minister for Magic was here," said Tonks, looking at Harry.

"How did you know?" asked Harry, dealing the cards.

"The Aurors outside told me," said Tonks nonchalantly, pulling out a card from the deck.

Sirius growled in anger. He was still furious when he heard the Minister had whisked Harry off right under his nose. "That git doesn't seem to know to lay off when he's been told. What was he expecting anyway? For Harry to stand up and give speeches about the amazing work the Ministry has been doing, which is absolutely nothing?"

"Is that what he wanted? I never thought of Scrimgeour needing – Whoa!" she yelled as the card she had been holding exploded with a small puff of smoke.

"That was a Hungarian Horntail card too!" said Harry, snickering. Sirius was laughing as bits of burning paper floated to the ground, before re-forming into the card again.

The door opened and Healer Peyton bustled in, clipboard in hand. "What was that noise?" she asked looking around.

Sirius was still grinning. "Nothing worrying, I assure you."

Healer Peyton however spotted the Exploding Snap cards, and looked at Harry with a resigned expression. "Do try to use a muffling charm next time, won't you?"

Harry was relieved she didn't ban them from the ward and smiled sheepishly, "Yes, ma'am."

Tonks was gathering the cards. "But Harry's not allowed to do magic outside Hogwarts."

Like that would stop him, thought Harry, glancing at Tonks and returning her smirk.

Healer Peyton looked confused. "You're still underage? The Daily Prophet never mentioned that."

Harry nearly rolled his eyes.

"Will you look at that Harry?" quipped Sirius, sarcastically. "The Daily Prophet conveniently forgot that their 'Chosen-One' is still underage."

"S'not the only thing that the Prophet's made up about me," mumbled Harry.

Healer Peyton, however, looked thoroughly abashed. "That was tactless of me. I—I apologise, Mr. Potter."

"That's okay," said Harry. "If every apology I'm owed was a galleon, I'd be richer than the Malfoys."

Tonks and Sirius sniggered and Peyton too, let out a hesitant chuckle.

"I must ask you both to leave now," said Peyton, kindly. "It's time to change your bandages, Mr. Black."

Sirius groaned and Tonks stood up. "Come on, Harry. We'll go get some tea."

"Get a cup for me too, will you?" asked Sirius and immediately Peyton snapped to her no-nonsense Healer voice, "No drinking tea or coffee, Mr. Black. I've told you it will hinder the potions you are taking from being effective."

Sirius huffed, "Fine. Get some butterbeer then, won't you Tonks?"

Peyton's voice was rising, "No alcohol either!"

"Butterbeer isn't alcoholic," said Sirius haughtily but under Peyton's glare conceded, "…much." He rubbed his eyes in exasperation, "Merlin, what is it that I can drink?"

"Water," said Peyton simply as Harry and Tonks left the room, laughing.

Thursday, November 7

Rain was battering furiously against the window panes, the stormy grey clouds almost a permanent fixture ever since he had arrived to St. Mungo's.

Harry and Tonks usually left to Number 12 for the night as Sirius had strictly told Harry that he need not stay the night to keep him company. Even so, Harry stubbornly made it a point to arrive at St. Mungo's early along with Tonks, who sometimes dropped off Harry before she went to work. Sirius was warmed by Harry's presence, so he didn't complain too much. Besides, he would be leaving tomorrow and he couldn't wait to sleep in the comfort of his home rather than this ghastly excuse of a bed.

Sirius was doing the crossword in the Daily Prophet, sitting up on the bed, feeling particularly irritable that afternoon. The charmed bandages had been gone by the first day and the burning pain, mitigated somewhat by the potions he took, left him fidgety and grumpy. He dearly wished for a cigarette, but he doubted the Healer would be so indulging. And, he didn't want to be weak in front of Harry to give in to a quick smoke and he could use with some practice to help him break the habit anyway.

Harry was on the floor doing some of his homework as Sirius had suggested, since he would have to catch up on classes once he went back to school. Yeah, he was a hypocrite.

Sirius looked up from his crossword to see Harry frowning over something he was reading from his Transfiguration book as he wrote some essay. Sirius was a tad bored by the silence so he decided to rope Harry in to help him with the crossword.

"What's eight letters and flies fast?" asked Sirius out loud, quill poised over the Daily Prophet.

Harry raised an eyebrow, looking up from his book. "That's a stupid clue. Lots of things are fast fliers."

"Well, this is a difficult crossword," said Sirius, simply.

"A Snidget?" asked Harry, then shook his head, answering himself, "Nah, it's seven letters."

"Flitterby?" Sirius counted the letters in his mind. "Nope, that's nine."

"I got it. Billywig," said Harry, smugly.

Sirius filled it in and looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "Not bad."

"You don't have to sound so surprised," said Harry rolling his eyes and returning to his homework.

Sirius snorted and watched the rain outside, which seemed to have gotten worse. He rubbed absent-mindedly at his side to relieve some of the constant burn he felt. It didn't seem to help. The wound had started to scab over and it took a monumental effort to restrain himself from giving in to the urge to relieve the itching.

"Say Harry," said Sirius after a moment, more to distract himself. "Have you been practising the spells I taught you over the summer?"

"Sometimes," said Harry. "I don't really get much time with all the Quidditch practice and homework I've got."

"Well, you should set some time every week to practise them," said Sirius. "It would be a waste of time if you start struggling with it all over again."

"We're still on for conjuring iron next, aren't we?"

"Depends on how good you are with the transfiguration part by now," said Sirius.

Harry had an anxious and doubtful look as he pulled out his wand and did the spell non-verbally pointing at the empty wooden basket which Molly had brought in earlier. A shocked Harry realized it took about thirteen seconds for him to successfully transfigure it into iron.

"No way! I could do it under a second!"

Sirius gave him an 'I-told-you-so' expression over the newspaper. Harry frowned and he reverted the basket to its original state and pointed at it again, this time spelling it out loud, 'Ferrum Duro.'

It took longer than a second, but it was much more effective than his previous attempt.

Harry spent a good half-hour, trying to bring his time down to a second again, doing and re-doing the transfiguration non-verbally. Sirius had finished the crossword by then and leaned to put it aside at the table. His skin pulled uncomfortably; it felt like hot lava was being poured on him and he hissed involuntarily.

"Does it still hurt?" asked Harry worriedly, looking up from his practising.

"Stings a bit, but it's better than it was," lied Sirius easily, leaning back on his pillows. Harry had a troubled expression on his face that Sirius had seen sometimes in Harry in the past couple of days.

"Why did you do it?" blurted out Harry suddenly, as if the question had been on his mind for a long while.

"Do what?" asked Sirius, tilting his head to the side. He had waited for Harry to come around and say what was on his mind and was now very curious what had been tormenting him.

"Why did you take that spell when it wasn't meant for you?"

Sirius was confused. "You didn't expect me to stand by and watch a seventy-year old woman get hit with fire, did you?"

"No, I get that," said Harry, shaking his head. He stood up and walked up to Sirius' bed.

Sirius shifted slightly to make room for him near his uninjured side and Harry sat down. "But you could have cast a spell or something to protect her," continued Harry. "You didn't need to put yourself in front of her."

"I wasn't thinking straight at that time," Sirius admitted. "It happened so fast, it seems like a blur right now."

Harry was quiet before speaking again in a low voice, "Imagine what it would be like for me if you had been seriously hurt or worse?"

Sirius blinked but said nothing; he knew Harry opened up only when he was unprompted and so he waited. As if struggling to convey something very deep, Harry started speaking in a troubled voice, "Sirius, this last few months… It's literally what I wished for ever since I knew I didn't want to stay with the Dursleys. It's more than that, in fact."

Not for the first time, Sirius wondered exactly how the Dursleys had treated Harry for him to want to run away from them. Harry had always carefully avoided the topic and Sirius knew not to push. He could see himself in Harry when he got closed-off at the Dursleys' mention and that was more troubling for him. Because, he had a very good idea what that could mean, more than anyone.

Even James hadn't known the full extent of Sirius' home life at Number 12, though he probably knew more than anyone else.

Sirius was staring at Harry, who turned his face away from him as he continued uncertainly, "Sometimes, the Weasleys had me over... and I'm grateful they did, I would have gone crazy otherwise. But with you... that's my home. And if something happened to you, I couldn't… I can't imagine…"

Harry's eyes were glistening by then and Sirius was so startled that he pulled Harry into his embrace, unable to watch him without tearing up himself. Even though Harry hadn't said it out loud, Sirius understood that after all these months, Harry was still having a hard time believing it and was worried that it was all going to be taken away from him.

And Sirius knew how that must feel like. He had felt the exact same way when the Potters' had allowed him to stay, when he had run away from his house at sixteen. Sirius had been very doubtful that they had took him in only because of an obligation as he had gone straight to their home, that he had packed his bags and moved out as soon as he was of age, not wanting to overstay his welcome.

His heart clenched to think of Harry harbouring the same feeling that he had had. Mr. Potter had been his friend's father, but Sirius was Harry's godfather, which he liked to think was much more than that, dammit!

And Harry was the only family he had left too.

Harry stayed silent as he leaned onto him, and Sirius spoke slowly, measuring his words, "I want you to listen carefully to me, Harry. You are never going back to the Dursleys, because I'm always going to be here for you. Now, I might be a git sometimes and I might get hurt or it could even be the other way round, but I'm going to make sure that you've always got a home with me. Nobody is taking that away from you."

Sirius felt Harry nod against him and he wished he could stop the tear falling from his own eyes, but he didn't. Even as heartbroken as he was to have made Harry anxious, his heart was glowing with happiness to know that Harry thought of him as his home.

Chapter Text

Friday, November 8

Harry arrived at Hogwarts the next evening, Tonks having Side-Along Apparated with him. After a short goodbye, he had walked up to the castle and taken the stairs straight to his common room outside which Ron was already waiting.

"Harry! Your trunk just appeared in our dorm, so I knew you were coming. What happened? McGonagall didn't say…"

And Harry told him what had happened as he followed Ron trudging downstairs again to the Great Hall for dinner.

Ron was saying, "McGonagall said he was hurt during Order business, but Neville got a letter from his grandmother. That's how we knew Sirius was there at the Longbottoms. Mum wrote to me and Ginny too, so we—"

He was cut off as Hermione looked up, surprised. "Harry! Is Sirius okay? We didn't—"

"Yes, everyone's fine! Blimey, Hermione, keep it down!" hissed Ron as they took seats at the table next to Hermione and Ginny. Predictably, people had turned to watch and eavesdrop, so Harry switched immediately to talk about homework and missed classes, which Hermione dutifully filled in for him.

After dinner and feeling comfortably full, Harry and Ron retired to the common room along with Hermione. Harry was just revelling in the fact that both his friends were on good terms again, when Lavender appeared out of nowhere and pulled Ron away to a deserted corner of the common room. Hermione seemed unaffected as she left for her dorm with a muttered 'goodnight', and Harry resisted the urge to curse himself for jinxing it. Parvati came up to him, seeming embarrassed and bored of her friend's antics just as much as Harry was frustrated with his.

"Hi, Harry. I heard about your godfather. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking," said Harry, noticing Romilda and her bunch of friends were watching him and batting their eyelashes. He took Parvati by the arm and pulled her to a corner, feeling compelled to ask, "Tell me if I'm wrong, but have you not told anyone that we're going to Slughorn's Christmas party together?"

Parvati scoffed, pointing a thumb behind her. "And find myself the target of those harpies? No thank you."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Not even Lavender knows?"

"Of course, she does!" exclaimed Parvati indignantly. "What do you take me for? She's my best friend and she can keep a secret. Admittedly, she's been too busy with your friend to even care…" trailed off Parvati.

"Spare me the details," muttered Harry, before adding desperately, "Come on, help me out a little here! If they know we're going together, they'll leave me alone."

"But we're not going together," said Parvati matter-of-factly. "We're going as friends."

"Yes, but at least they'll know they don't have a chance anymore," pointed out Harry.

"Why should I be the one to let everyone know?" said Parvati, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Because, I'd probably look like a prat if I went around saying I'm taking you out just as a friend," said Harry. He could already imagine the teasing that would take place in his dorm, especially from Seamus and Dean.

"So I won't look like one when I tell the same?" said Parvati furiously, her tone rising.

Harry backtracked immediately, not wanting to bring her ire upon himself. "That's not what I meant! This is girls' stuff and all I really want out of this is for those girls—" He looked askance at Romilda. "—to leave me alone. Hermione says she heard them planning to slip a love potion into my drink," he added with a grimace, hoping to gain her sympathy.

Parvati looked skeptical, but Harry could tell she was feeling sorry for him (hopefully). "But, imagine all the taunting and hexing I'll have to endure. You have no idea what it's like in the girls' loo."

Harry looked at her determinedly. "I'll have a word with them, if it goes out of hand, alright?"

Parvati still looked dubious, but then huffed as she relented, "Fine!"

Harry blew out a breath in relief. "Thank God."

"But," said Parvati, and Harry immediately became wary, "I'll tell it to them my way."

She was smirking now and Harry blinked confusedly. "What way is that?"

Without giving any answer, she pulled Harry forward by his collar and kissed him full on the lips. Harry was too stunned to even respond, when she pulled back. "Are they watching?"

Harry was dumbstruck, but realized what she was saying and chanced a glance at the fourth-year girls. Every one of them stared back open-mouthed in horror and disbelief.

"Yes," said Harry hoarsely.

Parvati smiled, "Good. Now, everyone will know by tomorrow. Quick and simple."

Harry stared at her. Girls could be scary sometimes.

Just as Parvati had predicted, the entire school was buzzing with the fact that Harry Potter had kissed Parvati Patil (when it really was the opposite). It didn't need to be said that they assumed Parvati was his girlfriend and Ron was stupefied by the revelation.

"You never told me you had a thing for her, mate! I didn't think the Yule Ball date went that well for it to carry over to this. But she is pretty, I'll give you that…" trailed off Ron as he wolfed down his breakfast in the great Hall.

Harry sighed. "I don't have a thing for her. We're going as friends."

"I didn't know friends kissed each other that way." Ron smirked at him and waggled his eyebrows.

Harry gave up explaining as he shook his head and caught up with his homework. Hermione and Ginny arrived with the latter taking a seat between Hermione and Harry. He knew Hermione wanted to sit as far away from Ron as possible, but he wasn't complaining if it meant Ginny was sitting beside him.

"Hello, Harry," she smiled and Harry felt the same swooping sensation in his stomach as he greeted her in return. Ron looked up and asked her with a nasty smirk, "Guess who Harry's taking to Slughorn's party?"

Ron clearly had not forgotten Ginny's taunting about him having kissed nobody before, when Harry and Ron had ran into her kissing Dean. Well, he was making up for it a lot with Lavender, mused Harry. Still, he could already sense the conversation was going to go downhill.

Ginny nodded unaffectedly. "Parvati, right? Good for you, Harry!"

Hermione, who had witnessed the exchange, looked at Ron scathingly as she addressed Ginny, "Who are you going with, Ginny?"

"Dean, of course," she said brightly. "I asked him ages ago."

Harry couldn't help but feel a blow to his chest when he heard that. Ron was blustering, "You better behave yourself with him, or I'll… I'll—"

Ginny had flushed in anger and she snapped, "You'll what? Oh, that's right! You won't even be at the party because Slughorn didn't invite you!"

Ron's ears went equally red and before he could say something that he would regret, Harry intervened, "Okay... We need a time-out."

Ron, having finished his breakfast, stood up and stormed out. Harry grimaced at Ginny and Hermione in apology before leaving to catch up with his friend.

Monday, December 2

The days in Potter Manor wore on grimly as Sirius returned for Order duty within a couple of weeks. There had been an increase in werewolf attacks and also an attempted break-out in Azkaban, which thankfully the Aurors had prevented due to a discreet tip-off by the Order in the form of Kingsley. The Order itself was not gaining much in allies or leads in finding Voldemort's hiding place.

In the meanwhile, the manor had developed a new problem. Remus' greenhouse plants had matured well and were attracting all sorts of magical creatures meandering into the backyard of Number Seven. It took Sirius and Twitchet's combined effort to keep off the gnomes and also the occasional nifflers and hinkypunks from taking up permanent residence.

After a terrible afternoon dealing with a dementor attack in London, Sirius had come home to the peace and quiet of Rosedale and lounged in the drawing room with the gramophone playing the blues and a cup of hot chocolate. The mug was a gift from Harry for his birthday with bold red letters – WORLD'S GREATEST GODFATHER. He didn't know if it was coincidence or if Harry had stumbled upon the photo lying on his night stand in his room. Either way, he was very touched and proud.

He must have slipped into a light doze, as a moment later he startled awake when he heard the door open and then clang shut. He was already reaching for his wand, but stopped short when he saw who it was.

Remus stood on the threshold, looking exhausted, clutching his battered briefcase and sporting more than a few scratches on him.

"Remus!" exclaimed Sirius, shocked as he stood up. "How—what happened to you?"

"Hello Sirius," he said hoarsely.

Sirius hurried towards him, taking in the scratches on his face, which on closer inspection were rather fresh. He pulled him into an embrace, glad to finally have him home after four months, and noticed how cold he was against him.

"Come, sit by the fire," he said, ushering Remus to the couch, worried when he seemed to be leaning onto Sirius for support.

His untouched hot chocolate was still warm as he handed it to Remus, who drank from it deeply.

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked again.

"I have to report to Dumbledore," said Remus, not answering his question. "He should never have sent me of all people to the werewolves if he wanted allies."

"Tell me what happened!" said Sirius urgently.

"I had a less than warm welcome," started Remus, "as I predicted. Greyback had already managed to gather followers from his own pack and were not very considerate of me trying to even have polite conversation with the rest."

Before Sirius could wonder what passed as polite conversation for Greyback and the other werewolves, Remus continued, "I had to leave within a week to escape them. But, Bloodhound, that's another werewolf, was a neutral party and offered to hear me out, so I stayed with his pack. I was making good progress alright, if you count a dozen werewolves who were willing to listen to even a word I said. But, the worst that I had anticipated, happened just two weeks ago."

"What happened?" asked Sirius in a hushed tone.

Remus sighed before speaking again. "One of the werewolves figured out that Dolores Umbridge had passed the new anti-werewolf legislation two years ago, just after I had been sacked from Hogwarts."

Sirius frowned. "What's that got to do with—"

"They think it is because of me that the Ministry was pushed into making more laws against werewolves," said Remus bluntly, staring at the fire and gripping the warm mug between his hands. "They're not wrong really, seeing as it was my foolish decision to think I could ever settle down with a respectable job for once…"

"Don't you dare feel sorry for yourself!" exclaimed Sirius, jumping up furiously. "For all I know, it's that great greasy git's fault for leaking the information that you were a werewolf to the whole school! Oh, I can't wait to hex the life out of him…"

"It would have gotten out eventually," said Remus dejectedly while Sirius paced the length of the room to vent his frustration.

"…sticking his giant nose into things that don't concern him! But Dumbledore is blind, I tell you. Trusting that imbecile…"

Remus rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed, which distracted Sirius sufficiently. "We should get those scratches looked at. Wait… don't tell me you got into a fight with Greyback himself!"

"No," said Remus, setting the finished mug on the table. "I never saw Greyback after that terrible first week. This—" He pointed at his face. "—was Bloodhound's work, after I tried talking to another werewolf whom he had just converted into one, two weeks ago."

Sirius growled and ran his hand through his hair. "Why did Dumbledore even think of sending you there? I have half a mind to go up to him right now."

"Please, don't," said Remus wearily before flopping onto the couch, looking dead to the world. Sirius swore but decided to do something useful and left to get Twitchet's help in brewing a batch of Essence of Dittany from Remus' greenhouse.

Sirius and Remus found themselves in the dining room the next morning, having their breakfast. The Essence of Dittany had done wonders and Remus looked much better with his injuries healed and after some food in his system.

Remus used the fireplace to Floo-call Dumbledore and relay whatever it was that he had to report.

After a fifteen minute session of floo-calling and sore knees later, he sat on the couch opposite Sirius. "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort's ranks are bound to increase almost by a third if the werewolves have joined him."

"Why does this sound so familiar?" said Sirius dryly.

"Just like last time," Remus nodded. "The Order is going to be outnumbered if that is the case."

"Let's just hope Dumbledore can get the Ministry to deal with this sooner rather than later," said Sirius uneasily.

Remus looked morose and Sirius distracted him by steering the conversation to Tonks.

"She was devastated," said Sirius, straightening. "She still can't get her Metamorphmagus abilities to work, you know."

Sirius thought he saw a flash of a smile or something on Remus' face, but he must have surely imagined it as he looked, if anything, more dejected now. "And I was right for doing what I did. After these months I spent with the werewolves, I get exactly why people like me aren't meant to settle down."

"But you're not like them, Moony…"

"Aren't I? I don't see the difference."

Sirius couldn't help but feel miserable just hearing that defeated tone and hoped to somehow get him out of it. "For one, you would never willingly hurt a fly, let alone someone who loves you…"

Remus flinched.

"Yes, Remus," said Sirius, nodding. "She does love you! I've seen how she is around you, especially last year. I can't believe you cannot see that."

"Simply loving her will not make my problems go away!" said Remus heatedly. Sirius was almost glad he did not reject the fact that he loved her, when Remus continued, "How do you think I am to support her? I can barely find a house, let alone a job! And what if we had children? I will not be selfish enough to pass on my lycanthropy to an innocent soul. Don't you get it? That is exactly why werewolves never settle down!"

"You won't go to starve as long as I am alive, Remus," said Sirius gravely. "And I don't think Dora minds whether or not you can have a job!"

"I can't live off of you or her, Sirius," said Remus, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I cannot allow that on my conscience."

"I can't believe I am having this argument with you all over again!" exclaimed Sirius, his voice rising. "When we left Hogwarts, James was perfectly capable of supporting you and I will not hesitate to do the same to you now."

"But that is my point!" said Remus, matching his tone. "After James… I was reduced to nothing! If I cannot be independent… no, I can't do that to Dora too!"

"I should have made my point clearer," said Sirius, before breathing through his nose to calm himself. "You won't go to starve even if I die, Remus."

Remus was stunned for a moment as he tried to make sense of what Sirius had said. "You mean—Sirius—No, you can't do that!"

"I can do whatever I want with my money, I think," said Sirius superciliously.

"You have Harry to look after," said Remus, looking like he was groping for straws. "He's your godson; he'll need it more than I do."

"Harry has enough from James and Lily. Besides, you're like a brother to me, you're family," said Sirius, firmly. "You can't expect me to choose between the both of you."

There was a pause as both old friends stared at each other, hard grey eyes boring into unwilling amber ones, before the latter finally conceded.

"I—thank you, Sirius."

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "You don't need to thank me. And it would be better if you have this conversation with Dora. She'll probably be here in an hour or so."

"Wh-What?"

Sirius snorted at his nervous stutter.

"She comes in to check in on me. Make sure I am alive and sorts," he added casually.

"I'm not ready to see her just yet," said Remus, still in a sense of horrified shock.

The sound of the door opening had both Sirius and Remus turn instinctively. Sirius wanted to laugh, but Tonks' timing and her expression were priceless as she gaped at the two of them. Sirius didn't understand why she had arrived earlier than usual, but he couldn't care less. Remus needed to have that talk with Dora now, before he threw himself into a downward spiral of guilt and depression.

Sirius stood up and said heartily, "Hello Dora! I'll be heading out for a drink I think. Feel free to make yourself at home!" And with a cheery wave at Remus, who looked extremely panicked to see him go, Sirius left the house.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, December 3

"So, you're leaving?"

"Yes," said Catherine as she sipped her warm butterbeer amidst the lazy afternoon crowd in the Three Broomsticks. "Robards says there's not going to be any more need of us trainees stationed here. Personally, I think the Minister is not interested in having Dumbledore followed anymore. What would have caused him to change that opinion, you reckon?"

Oh, Tonks had a very good idea what, or rather who, had happened - Harry. But she played nonchalant as she answered, "No idea. It'll be boring around here without you, though. Dawlish and Savage have no sense of humour."

"Proudfoot is nice," said Catherine.

"Maybe. When he's not hitting on me."

"He's a good-looking bloke. I'm surprised you're not interested."

"Come off it!" said Tonks, scoffing. "I have better taste in men than him."

"He's practically Prince Charming!" exclaimed Catherine. "Either you're secretly into very bad boys or you already have someone else in your life."

Tonks felt her cheeks flushing, but judging by the lack of comments about any change of colour in her hair, her hair definitely was still the same mousy brown. Even though she missed the fact that she couldn't properly change her hair colour ever since he left her, she was very glad about that fact at the moment.

But apparently Tonks had underestimated Catherine's ability to read people, as her eyes widened slightly. "There is someone else, isn't there?"

"No," said Tonks quickly, hating herself for lying. Catherine didn't seem to buy it, though, as she looked back questioningly.

Tonks relented with a sigh. "It's complicated."

Catherine looked back at her seriously. "Well, if you ever need a listener, feel free to come to me."

Tonks felt a rush of gratitude for the younger woman and a smile spread across her face. She had enjoyed Catherine's company immensely and was sad now that she had to leave. "Thanks, Cathy. I'll be sorry to see you go."

"We'll still see each other at Order meetings though."

"Yes, thank goodness," said Tonks, laughing.

After Catherine had left, Proudfoot had dropped in to the Three Broomsticks and informed Tonks that their shifts would become longer once again with the departure of Catherine and Matthews. Her shift would start late that night, so she decided to drop in at Sirius' for some company much earlier than usual.

However, she was in for a shock. Sitting beside Sirius, looking paler and thinner than ever, was Remus.

She could do nothing but stare as Sirius said something and left the house. Her mind was buzzing and there was a ringing in her ears. When had Remus come back? Why hadn't he or Sirius told her?

The door shut loudly in the silence and Remus looked at her before saying tentatively, "Hello."

"Wo—", she had to stop herself from replying in greeting; she didn't know how to feel about this. Remus was back, a tad ill-looking but safe, and she was equal parts overjoyed and confused and angry.

Remus, however, took her lack of response negatively and his expression darkened. Tonks didn't want him to look that way. Where was that kind, sarcastic, and funny man she had grown to love in the space of a year?

"When did you come back?" she said slowly, turning to look at the crackling fire, breaking the growing silence.

"Yesterday."

She nodded, quite unable to tell what was on her mind. Why had he broken up with her? Where did they stand now?

Her frantic thoughts were cut off as a hoarse voice interrupted, "I'm sorry."

Tonks looked up instinctively at his eyes. He looked genuinely apologetic, but no, that wasn't enough.

"For what?" asked Tonks as she crossed her arms over herself, and he fidgeted nervously, now unable to meet her eyes for some reason.

"For everything. For what I did to you," he said.

Tonks frowned as she said slowly, "I don't understand. Are you saying you're sorry that you broke up with me or you're sorry that we went into a relationship?"

"I'm sorry that I had a hand in messing up your life and I'm very sorry that I broke up with you,—" Tonks couldn't help but notice how he choked on the words 'broke up'. "—but, and I hate myself for saying this, I am not sorry that we went into a relationship even though it wasn't meant to last in the first place."

Tonks could feel that she was either hyperventilating or anxious… or was she angry?

"Why?" she blurted out. "Why should we stop? Give me one good reason why we should stop being together. And don't tell me that you being a werewolf is a good enough reason!" she added just as Remus opened his mouth to speak.

"Alright," conceded Remus, but his tone was slightly louder. Tonks could already make out that there was a full-on rant coming. "You won't hear me out if I say I'm a werewolf, which is enough of a reason if you ask me, but there are plenty of reasons why this cannot work out! You're young and beautiful and successful. You don't deserve to waste away your life with someone who is old, poor and jobless. There could be hundreds of others who would be a better match for you!"

"Yes," nodded Tonks, frowning. "Like Proudfoot at work, who is an all-round decent bloke, unless you count the fact that he's a complete snob and looks down on muggleborns! Or Greg from the Department, who is an arse and thinks he knows what I want better than I do!"

Remus visibly flinched, and Tonks hoped he got the insinuation that she was making as she said furiously, "You can't tell me who I'm allowed to love, Remus John Lupin!"

Remus looked up sharply at Tonks, mouth agape looking like a fish out of water. After a few tense seconds of silence, he ran a hand through his hair sighing. "I haven't a clue what you see in me. If we get together, what do I bring into this relationship?"

Tonks felt incredibly angry at the entire wizarding world in general for their stupid stigma against werewolves, which no doubt was the main cause for Remus' low self-worth.

"You give me happiness, you are the order to my chaos and I love you," she said and found herself smiling despite herself.

Remus' eyes were as wide as saucers, but Tonks found the strength to go on. "I love you, Remus, and I don't mind in the slightest that you're a werewolf or that you're not making enough money, which is in no way your fault. You're a great man, Remus, and it shows in the way you treat your friends and your enemies."

Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes, "Dora, I—you don't understand. My kind just don't reproduce. There is a reason you do not settle down once you are a werewolf. If we were to have a baby, I cannot and will not put a child through that much pain from their infancy, which would likely kill them. It's quite impossible to have that future if you want to be with me. And I love you so much, Dora. I don't want to deprive you of that!"

Tonks' heart skipped and her face broke into a huge grin. "You do love me?"

"Yes, I do!" said Remus forcefully and Tonks was sure even he could hear her heart beating so loudly with those sharp ears. "That's why I want you to think about this, Dora!"

Tonks took two long strides forward and pressed her lips to his, savouring the feeling of comfort and familiarity that she associated only with Remus. His hands wound around her back and hips instinctively as he deepened the kiss. When they finally pulled back, gasping for air like they had been drowning, with their foreheads pressed together, Tonks whispered, "I've had four months to think about this. And my answer is the same. I'll be brave enough for anything as long as it's only with you, Remus."

Tonks was startled as tears glistened in Remus' eyes and he whispered, "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but God, I love you so much," before he kissed her gently on the lips. She was so taken by the affectionate gesture that she blushed, shy and slightly embarrassed. And after four long months, her hair was bright bubblegum pink again.

Sunday, December 15

Winter had arrived and the castle had been decorated with its usual festive flair.

Though the talk about Harry and Parvati had lessened after a week, since they rarely met after that weird kiss, Harry had found that the buzz surrounding Slughorn's party was gearing up again as the day neared. After one too many tripping jinxes and curses that resulted in acne aimed at an unsuspecting Parvati in the corridors, Harry was forced to put his foot down in front of Romilda and her friends, before he hurried off behind Parvati to the hospital wing.

Harry had to repeatedly keep apologizing to Parvati for putting her through this, but she took it like a good sport.

"I feel very flattered by all that jealousy," she said dryly as she inspected her now smooth skin in the mirror that Madam Pomfrey had provided. She sighed dramatically, "The perils of being your pretend-girlfriend! I'd hate to see what would happen to the real one."

"I'm still so sorry! I'm never asking anyone out as long as I'm in Hogwarts ever again," said Harry glumly, as he took her back to the common room, Parvati's voice ringing with laughter.

Hermione came up to Parvati to check on her and Harry noticed Ron and Lavender wrapped up in each other again, a few yards away. Hermione had taken to ignoring Ron and spending her time with Ginny and Neville. This had left Harry in a very awkward position of meeting up with either of them only separately. Hermione was stubborn to reiterate that she couldn't be bothered with who or what Ron kissed, but Harry could tell that there was more going on than she let on. Ron, however, had gotten more carefree and had even laughed when Harry told him about some girls stalking him, which would have been cause for jealousy otherwise. Harry liked this new, confident Ron, but he hated the divide it was creating between the three of them. Grimacing, he turned to the conversation in front of him.

Parvati was asking, "You're coming to the party tonight too, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm meeting Cormac at eight, and we're —"

There was a noise like a plunger being withdrawn from a blocked sink, and Ron surfaced. Hermione acted as though she had not seen or heard anything.

"— we're going up to the party together."

"Cormac?" said Parvati. "Cormac McLaggen, you mean?"

"That's right," said Hermione sweetly. "The one who almost–" She put a great deal of emphasis on the word. "—became Gryffindor Keeper."

"Are you going out with him, then?" asked Parvati.

"Oh - yes - didn't you know?" said Hermione, with a most un-Hermione-ish giggle.

"No!" said Parvati, looking wide-eyed at this piece of gossip. "Wow, you like your Quidditch players, don't you? First Krum, then McLaggen."

"I like really good Quidditch players," Hermione corrected her, still smiling. "Well, see you… Got to go and get ready for the party…"

She left. At once, Lavender and Parvati put their heads together to discuss this new development. Ron looked strangely blank and said nothing. Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

When he arrived in the entrance of their common room at eight o'clock that night in his new dark blue robes, he found an unusually large number of girls lurking around the common room, all of whom seemed to be staring at him equal parts admiring and resentful, as Parvati approached him. She was wearing a set of peach coloured robes with glitter around the neckline. Her glossy, dark hair was pulled up in a high ponytail with sapphire studs on her ears. She looked beautiful of course, and Harry unwittingly found himself taking note of how much she had changed since their last disastrous date.

Harry smiled. "You look good."

"You're not so bad yourself," smirked Parvati as she slipped her hand into his.

Harry led her out of the portrait hole and away from the onlookers as she asked, "Where is this party?"

"In Slughorn's office," said Harry. "Did you hear, there's supposed to be a vampire coming?"

Parvati gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "Oh, dear! Is it safe having one loose among us?"

"Make sure to stay away from people who are deathly pale and you'll be good," said Harry and Parvati chuckled, albeit a little forced.

They were approaching Slughorn's office and the sounds of laughter, music and conversation were growing louder with every step they took. Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study, probably using magic in some way. Almost as soon as Harry and Parvati had entered, Slughorn boomed, "Harry, m'boy! Come in, come in, so many people I'd like you to meet!"

Slughorn led Harry purposefully into the party; Harry seized Parvati's hand and dragged her along with him.

"Harry, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires — and, of course, his friend Sanguini."

Worple grabbed Harry's hand and shook it enthusiastically; the vampire Sanguini, who was tall and emaciated with dark shadows under his eyes, merely nodded. Parvati recoiled in fright, but a gaggle of girls was standing close to him, looking curious and excited.

Parvati whispered, "I'll be by the drinks table," before she hurried off.

"My dear boy, the gold you could make, you have no idea —"

"I'm definitely not interested," said Harry firmly to the man who was suggesting he wanted to write Harry's biography, "and I've just seen a friend of mine, sorry."

He had indeed just seen Hermione disappear between what looked like two members of the Weird Sisters.

"Hermione! Hermione!"

"Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Where's Parvati?"

"She's gone for a drink. What's happened to you?" asked Harry, for Hermione looked distinctly dishevelled, her bushy hair slightly tousled and her hairclip lopsided.

"Oh, I've just escaped — I mean, I've just left Cormac," she said. "Under the mistletoe," she added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her.

"Serves you right for coming with him," he told her severely.

"I thought he'd annoy Ron most," said Hermione dispassionately. "I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole —"

"You considered Smith?" said Harry, revolted and the two of them made their way over to the other side of the room, scooping up goblets of mead on the way, and they ran into Neville and Luna.

Luna was dressed in spangled silver robes, looking quite nice along with Neville, who looked relieved to see familiar faces. "Harry! Hermione! Quite a party, eh?"

Harry hoped he was being sarcastic because it definitely was anything but. Just as they were getting round to talking with him properly, Luna said politely to a passing Trelawney, "Hello."

Neville gave an exasperated look before he followed Luna, and Harry turned to Hermione.

"Let's get something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered at Keeper tryouts?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Do you really think I'd stoop that low?"

Harry looked at her shrewdly. "Hermione, if you can ask out McLaggen —"

"There's a difference," said Hermione with dignity. "I've got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might, or might not, have happened at Keeper tryouts."

"Good," said Harry fervently. "Because he'll just fall apart again, and we'll lose the next match —"

"Quidditch!" said Hermione angrily. "Is that all boys care about? Cormac hasn't asked me one single question about myself, no, I've just been treated to 'A Hundred Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen' nonstop ever since — oh no, here he comes!" She moved so fast; one moment she was there, the next, she had squeezed between two guffawing witches and vanished.

"Seen Hermione?" asked McLaggen, forcing his way through the throng a minute later.

"No, sorry," said Harry and he hurried away to escape conversing with him. Parvati had joined Luna and Neville, who were talking with Trelawney and Harry was in no mood to have his death predicted at the moment, so he went up to the table with the hors d'oeuvres.

Ginny was picking up a pastry, looking so breathtakingly beautiful in her red robes that Harry had stopped to stare. She looked different, more lady-like and Harry had to shake himself out of his reverie, before he went up to the table. She looked up as he approached and a warm sensation filled him as she stared at him a little longer than necessary.

"Like what you see?" Harry mentally berated himself. It had slipped out of him before he could stop himself and he blamed Sirius entirely for having introduced him to that stupid pickup line.

But it was nearly worth it as Ginny blushed as bright as her hair and straightened, making a show of looking him up and down with a smirk. "Definitely better than fourth year."

Before Harry could process that Ginny was actually flirting back, she asked, "Where's Parvati gotten off to?"

Harry sipped his mead as he leaned against the table and gestured with the goblet in Parvati's direction. Ginny followed his gaze and grimaced. "I wouldn't want to be there too, if I were you."

"Ginny, there you are! Care for a dance?" came the sudden voice of Dean and Harry's mood instantly dipped.

Dean led her away and Ginny looked back at Harry. "See you around, Harry!"

Harry felt like cursing under his breath at the lost opportunity as he walked forward unthinkingly to Parvati, belatedly remembering who she was talking with. "Harry Potter!" said Professor Trelawney in deep, vibrant tones as soon as she had seen him.

"Oh, hello," said Harry unenthusiastically.

Before he knew it, Harry's group was joined by Slughorn and to his horror, Snape. They were interrupted by the untimely and unwelcome appearance of an ill-looking Draco Malfoy who had apparently been trying to gatecrash. Snape whisked Draco away, promising punishment and in a split-second decision Harry followed them.

Harry's mind was still reeling with what he had heard Malfoy and Snape talk about. Malfoy had almost up and confessed that he was working for Voldemort. All he wanted to do now was to talk to Sirius as soon as possible. But he had a date waiting for him, so he went back to the party, distractedly.

McLaggen came up to him and furiously demanded where Hermione was. Harry presumed she had already left but did not say that to McLaggen, instead playing clueless, hoping he would bugger off before Harry hexed him out of sheer irritation.

There were couples dancing to the music in the centre of the room, one of them was Neville with Luna and a red blur waltzed past them, which made Harry immediately forget about Malfoy or McLaggen. Ginny was dancing with Dean, not a care in the world. Frustrated, he grabbed a goblet of Firewhiskey that one of the house-elves was carrying and took a large gulp.

It lived up to its name alright. It was spicy and his throat burned, but it was a good kind of pain, so he drank from it again to wash off his bitter mood, nearly emptying it.

Parvati came up to him as soon as he had spotted her, finishing a dance with a seventh year Ravenclaw boy that Harry had seen sometimes.

"You owe me a dance," she said as she brought two goblets of Firewhiskey for both of them. He had already had lots of mead and should definitely stop, but he looked around Parvati to see Ginny swaying along with Dean and decided he couldn't care.

Harry looked at Parvati before saying, "I'll apologize now for how ghastly it's going to be."

Parvati laughed. "That's what the Firewhiskey is for."

"Oi! Wake up or we'll miss the train!" came the loud voice of Ron.

Harry grunted, "I'm up."

He threw open the curtains around his bed and recoiled when the sunlight hit his face and his head throbbed mercilessly. He rubbed his hands on the temples of his forehead, wondering what on earth he had done to warrant such a headache. Last night's party was still a blur and he came to the belated realisation that he must have gotten drunk!

"What happened?" asked Harry, groaning. He saw the boys in his dorm packing up their trunks and Dean looked up, grinning. "Pretty wild, last night was, don't you think?"

Harry felt annoyed at seeing Dean, though he couldn't say why, so he gave a noncommittal sound in response.

Almost all of the students were leaving Hogwarts for Christmas this year as the parents wanted to have their children close to them as much as possible during these dark times. Harry would have left this year even if that wasn't the case. He was going home (his home!) to spend Christmas with Sirius. He felt his mood brighten considerably at that thought.

The train was packed almost as much as it had been during start-of-term. Harry was just musing how this was the first time he was taking the train at this time of the year during his six years at Hogwarts as he sat with Hermione and Neville. Ron had left after the first half hour to meet up with Lavender and only then had Hermione even opened her mouth to speak.

It was late afternoon as the train reached the station and Harry got off the train, searching for Sirius. But he was completely gobsmacked to see Remus and Tonks standing with Sirius.

Harry pulled his trunk as he went up to them, ecstatic as he greeted Remus with a one-armed hug. "When did you get back? Nobody told me…"

Remus was just saying he got back a fortnight ago when Harry heard a few snatches of sentences clearly.

"—there's too many wizards here—" said Tonks, grinning into Sirius' ear.

"—we'll nab him just outside the wall then, take him straight to the Dark Lord—" said Sirius, with a manic expression so unlike himself.

Harry's brain went into alarm. He immediately pulled out his wand and stepped away from Remus, pointing it at the three of them.

The man who looked like Remus, sighed, "Now, you've scared him!"

Stupid, stupid, stupid, thought Harry. Sirius had told Harry to first ask the secret question the last time they had called in the mirror. Now, he had played straight into the hands of someone who had disguised themselves to kidnap him. He felt his heart fluttering in panic. Where was the real Sirius?

"Relax, Harry. It was just a joke!" said Remus' look-alike. The person disguised as Tonks laughed and Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed before. Her hair was bubblegum pink, which was not possible, as she had not been able to change it for the last six months.

Harry looked around himself. Where was Ron and Hermione? Nobody seemed to even be looking his way.

"What was the first movie you took me to?" asked Harry, pointing his wand at Sirius' doppelgänger, whose face broke out into a true smile.

"Independence Day and we had burgers for dinner at the Slim Joe's."

Harry frowned. That sounded alright and he lowered his wand, slightly stumped by the correct answer.

"I told you I'd get you back the last time we were here," said Sirius, his trademark grin in place as he waggled his eyebrows.

It was like a bulb had been lit inside his head as Harry understood. His eyes widened in realization as his heart-rate became normal again, "That wasn't funny!"

Harry was beside himself with relief as he let out a laugh, still unable to believe that they had just outwitted him. "That was not funny at all!"

Sirius and Tonks exclaimed in chorus, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" before they broke out into hysterical laughter as Harry stowed his wand inside his pocket, feeling slightly out of sorts.

Remus shook his head. "He's going to become as paranoid as Moody."

The hilarity of the situation finally hit him as he too laughed, mostly out of relief that it wasn't real. Remus was smiling too as he placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Ignore these idiots. Let's go home."

Chapter Text

Saturday, December 21

"With Remus back, he can take over for Sirius and teach the lads."

"And ladies," added Angelina and Moody's blue eye looked at her curiously. "Another Nymphadora, eh?"

"No, the first Angelina, hopefully," said Angelina and everyone snickered. Tonks reached across the table to high-five Angelina.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" snapped Moody and everyone winced.

"Ow, Mad-Eye!" exclaimed Tonks, who was sitting next to Moody, as she rubbed her ears.

"There's a time and place for laughter and this is not it!" growled Moody.

"Don't be such a killjoy, Mad-Eye," said Charlie, grinning. "We could all use a laugh, now and then."

"There have been five attacks just this week! If you think sitting around here joking is what the Order is about, Weasley—"

"Whoa there!" said Charlie, hands up in defence as his eyes widened.

"Easy, Mad-Eye," said Remus, calmly. "We are all taking this as seriously as Voldemort himself."

Almost everyone around the table shuddered but Tonks, put a hand to her heart. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to drop a 'Sirius' pun."

Sirius smirked realizing that having Remus back had definitely improved Tonks' moods.

Remus was staring at Tonks, who blinked and turned sheepish when she realized nobody was laughing. "Merlin's pants! You're serious!"

"I will stop myself from making the very obvious pun now and say that, yes, we are," said Sirius, with a straight face.

"Continue, Mad-Eye," said Remus, but Sirius would swear that he saw the corner of Remus' lips were twitching.

"As I was saying—" He looked askance at Tonks, before continuing. "—Remus will take over for Sirius, for the time being."

Bill added, "You have better teaching experience, Remus, and this also allows you to rest for a while, after these long four months."

Remus nodded his gratitude and Moody spoke again. "This also calls for a change in our tailing routine. No matter the disguises we assume, it would be foolish of us if the same people always kept watch in a location on a day-to-day basis. If the Death Eaters are watching us, which I doubt, this could easily give away our identities. From now onwards, Sirius, you will be watching Lestrange."

Sirius grimaced. "Brilliant."

Moody spoke brusquely, "We've learnt that any plans that the Death Eaters make, goes through her. So, our best bet to finding out whom or where they intend to attack, is by keeping tabs on Lestrange and who can know her better than you."

"You also get to choose a partner," said Kingsley, as he set a sheaf of parchment on the table before him. "You will be working in shifts with them."

"I'll take Hestia," said Sirius after a moment of consideration. Hestia looked surprised and Sirius asked her, "You're not too scared of her, are you?"

Hestia bristled. "I'm a Gryffindor!"

Sirius was smirking and Kingsley looked at her quizzically. "Agreed?"

"Yes!" she said firmly and glared at Sirius, who had already turned back to watch Kingsley writing their names down.

The remaining Order members were assigned each Death Eater of their own and each was given individual vials of Polyjuice potion that Sirius had volunteered to purchase from the apothecary in Upper Flagley.

After their discussion, the Weasleys and Harry's Quidditch team, made their way up to the first floor to get ready for their training session, leaving only Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, and Hestia alone in the dining area.

"Why couldn't Arthur make it to the meeting today?" asked Remus, sipping his tea.

"He has been very busy since he got that promotion, but he's also the one in charge of recruiting members for the Order," said Kingsley. "It helps that he is in the Ministry full-time, unlike me."

"Do the muggles notice the attacks that go on around them?" asked Tonks.

"Two of the werewolf attacks last week were on muggles," said Remus, with an expression of disgust.

"How would they deal with that?" asked Hestia, horrified.

"The Ministry is busy as it is, with covering up these attacks from the Muggle world and upholding the Statute of Secrecy," replied Kingsley. "One of them died from their wounds but the other has been taken to St. Mungo's to help readjust with their lives. With that attempted breakout and thus increased security in Azkaban, it's no wonder that the Ministry is finding no headway in finding You-Know-Who or where he is hiding."

"Even if they did find him, I don't see how they plan on defeating him," said Moody.

"Surely, if all the Aurors joined together…" trailed off Hestia.

"If Dumbledore couldn't do it, I'd like to see who could!" growled Moody.

Sirius felt uneasy. Even if the Order found Voldemort, they could not and should not try to engage Voldemort with the hope of killing him. Because, the fact was simple. He wouldn't die, not with all those Horcruxes he has made. It would be wiser to keep the deaths on their side to a minimum and try as hard as they can to bring down the Death Eaters as Voldemort would be severely handicapped without them.

"—if Potter really is the Chosen-One," Hestia was saying. "But, it's hard to believe a schoolboy could actually defeat him."

Sirius tried very hard to keep his calm and breathed through his nose. "What we need to do—" He said leaning forward, his hair falling into his eyes. "—is to keep tabs on the Death Eaters, find their weaknesses and capture or kill them. And regarding defeating Voldemort—I'll just say, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Everyone quietened, looking rather sombre when Hestia deftly asked Kingsley how he was going to spend his Christmas,

"Who has got time to celebrate a holiday when there's work to be done, eh?" said Moody, reclining on his chair.

"We know that drowning a vat of mead passes for your Christmas celebration, Mad-Eye," said Tonks, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"It will be a quiet Christmas with my sister's family," said Kingsley in his deep voice after the snickers had subsided. "What about you, Hestia?"

Moody stood up and headed for the stairs. "Training begins in five minutes."

"My cousin, Gwen, is in town," said Hestia, ignoring Mad-Eye. "It's been a long time since our school days and we're making up for lost time. She's always been too busy with Quidditch, and now that…"

"Hang on!" said Tonks as she leaned forward. "You can't possibly mean Gwen Jones?"

"Of course, didn't you know?" asked Kingsley, standing up and putting on his coat.

"The Gwenog Jones is your cousin?" said Tonks, wide-eyed.

Sirius choked on his tea and spluttered. "What? But, does that mean you went to Hogwarts with us?"

He looked at Remus bemusedly, who nodded. "She did, Sirius."

Sirius frowned. "I don't remember you."

"I was in my first year when you were in your seventh," said Hestia.

"Well, that explains it," said Sirius with a nod. "But it is weird that we shared a common room for a year and I can't even place your face with anyone I know. Azkaban must have done a number on me."

Sirius ran his hand through his hair grimly. Hestia looked slightly glum, but then her expression cleared and she scoffed. "Of course, I wasn't as unforgettable as dear Gwen."

Sirius' expression brightened as he said rather dreamily. "She was very fit. Still is, actually," he added with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, please! I've heard enough from her already," snapped Hestia, who then turned pink when she realized what she had just said.

Sirius was staring at her in surprise, realizing that Gwen had likely told her about their little encounter during Slughorn's party. And why was Hestia so flustered?

"All good things, I presume?" asked Sirius, grinning.

Before Hestia could answer, the voice of Mad-Eye floated from above the banisters as he snapped. "Quit chatting her up and get up here, Sirius!"

Sirius blinked and when he looked around, he was surprised to find the dining empty, save for Hestia and himself. When had the others left?

Hestia was glaring at him, her cheeks flushed in anger as she left the house with a loud "Good night, Mad-Eye," completely ignoring him.

Sunday, December 22

Potter Manor looked marvellous at this time of the year. Snow had settled over the roofs and window ledges making it look remarkably like a holiday cottage, surrounded by the tall pine trees.

The lurid daffodils had been charmed to be snow-free and warm, and looked somewhat absurd surrounded by the winter snow. A wreath of holly adorned the front door, similar to the decorations inside the house. The fireplace was lined with stockings, beside which stood a Christmas tree that Harry and Sirius had spent an entire morning to find and cut down. It was twinkling with fairy lights that were actual fairies, which they had spent the night catching in their backyard.

Harry was excited for this Christmas as he was going to spend it with people who he could call his family, in his home that he loved. Tonks was also going to be celebrating with them as Harry had learned that Remus and Tonks had made up as soon as he had come home.

Twitchet's holiday baking was simply sumptuous, bringing out fruit cakes, pumpkin pies and Yule logs for dessert after every meal. Afternoons were spent playing wizard's chess or Exploding Snap and when it wasn't snowing, they went outside for a game of Quidditch.

That evening, Harry was alone with Sirius as both Remus and Tonks had gone out together.

They were indulging in a bit of baking, after having coaxed Twitchet out of the kitchen to get some rest.

Both Sirius and Harry could cook fairly alright, but baking was not their forte. Twitchet had found a cookbook that had been his grandmother's and given it to them after it became clear they couldn't make out heads or tails of what they wanted to do.

"Say Sirius," said Harry, measuring out the flour that they would need for the gingerbread biscuits, the Beatles playing loudly through the hallway.

Sirius was fiddling with the oven and he replied without looking up. "Yeah?"

"What is the best way to let a girl know that I fancy her?" said Harry, trying to keep his voice as conversational and light as possible.

Sirius froze as he turned to look at him properly. "You fancy someone?"

"No," said Harry hastily.

Sirius straightened excitedly. "Yes! Who is it? Is she pretty? Or is she smart?"

"She is both, but I'm not telling you who she is!" exclaimed Harry, feeling hot around his neck.

"Come on!" pleaded Sirius.

"No!" said Harry stubbornly. He couldn't bear to imagine that Sirius would likely tease him mercilessly in front of Ginny. "I'm not telling you. Just answer my question."

Sirius huffed, "Fine." He cracked open the eggs onto a bowl as he spoke, "Do you talk to her? Do you see her every day?"

"I see her every day, but not that much talking, no," said Harry, watching Sirius refer to the book for the next step.

"See, that's the thing with girls," said Sirius, as he summoned a whisk without even raising his wand. "They want you to get to know them better before you make a move, out of the blue. Try to make friends with her and find some reason to make small talk."

"Make friends with her…" trailed off Harry. "I think we are friends, sort of. She was in the D.A. last year."

"Then, make her want to look at you as boyfriend material. Be a gentleman with her, you know, offering to walk her somewhere when she's alone or carrying her things for her. Your dad was all about that rubbish when he was trying to impress Lily," added Sirius, with a grin.

"Have I mentioned that she already has a boyfriend?" said Harry, slightly incensed as a vague memory of Ginny in her red robes dancing with Dean, popped up in his mind.

"A bird that's already taken, eh? Blimey! You're more adventurous than James!" exclaimed Sirius with a bark-like laugh.

"No, I sound like you," sighed Harry. He did not want Sirius to tell him to ignore that other boyfriend and kiss her if he wanted to. "And you didn't go to all that trouble with Miss Evesham and she still wanted to be with you."

Sirius exclaimed, "Ah, but Harry! That's exactly the difference between fancying someone and wanting to sleep with someone. If you wanted a good make-out session with just any girl, I can help you plenty."

He consulted the book and waved his wand as the whisk worked of its own accord. "But, take it from me. You don't want that. You're better off learning to love someone by building a relationship with friendship and trust. Make her see that you're available and be her confidant. If she does fancy you, she'll ditch that boyfriend for you. If not, well, there's always plenty of other fish in the pond."

Harry blinked. Sirius looked up at the silence and added sagely, "I know. I surprise myself sometimes."

Wednesday, December 25

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" came a cheerful, feminine voice and Harry groaned. Tonks had been staying at Potter Manor ever since the holidays and while Harry liked her a lot, he had the feeling that he was surrounded by two versions of Sirius instead of one.

"Go and annoy Remus!" said Harry, his voice muffled as he pulled a pillow and buried his face into it.

"He's even worse than you when it comes to being an early-bird," said Tonks and a squawk ensued from the cage near his desk. "Oh, not you Hedwig! You, on the other hand, deserve to sleep in."

She came up to his window and pulled open the curtains, the winter sunlight instantly illuminating his room. "Breakfast is ready. Twitchet's made all your favourites."

"Five minutes," mumbled Harry sleepily from the depths of his bed sheets. Tonks must have left his room because it became blissfully quiet when suddenly…

"AARGH!"

The large black dog pounced onto his bed, and Harry had jumped so violently that he rolled out of the bed and to the floor, tangled and twisted with his blankets.

He cursed under his breath as he put on his glasses and saw Sirius, sitting atop his bed, wearing a grey, argyle sweater and a ludicrous, red hat very reminiscent of Father Christmas. "Happy Christmas, Harry! Now, enough sleeping. Come down and look at all your presents!"

Harry perked up considerably and ten minutes later, he made his way downstairs after showering and throwing on his dressing gown. The Christmas tree was glinting merrily and underneath them were piles upon piles of presents. The Weird Sisters' latest hit was playing loudly, as Tonks had scorned the muggle songs and brought in her own collection for them to listen to.

Remus was sitting in the couch looking rather tired and drawn. His hair was mussed as if he had been forced awake, just like he had been. Sirius had told him that tonight was a full moon and it pained Harry to know Remus would be going through the werewolf transformation on Christmas night. At least, Sirius had promised him that he wouldn't be alone.

Harry put on a smile as he sat on the floor. "Happy Christmas!"

Remus grinned. "Happy Christmas, Harry."

Tonks joined Remus on the couch and she whispered something in his ear. Harry was slightly embarrassed and averted his face as he picked up the nearest present that was addressed to him.

"Good God! There are children in here!" whelped Sirius, clutching a hand to his eyes.

"Harry's not a child!" said Tonks, rolling her eyes from beside Remus.

"He means himself, Dora," said Remus, smirking.

"Very funny," said Sirius dryly as he sat beside Harry, who had opened half of his presents already. There was the usual sweater from Mrs. Weasley, a large box of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products from the twins and all the Honeydukes' chocolate he could eat from both Remus and Tonks. Sirius' gifts were varied – a pack of brightly-coloured Fwooper quills, a broomstick-servicing kit exclusively for his Firebolt and a small, green rucksack.

"Are we going camping or something?" asked Harry, inspecting the bag.

"That sounds delightful, but no," said Sirius, shaking his head. "It's enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm on one of its compartments. So, you can keep whatever you want inside it and it will hold. I thought it would be quite handy, maybe for our next vacation."

Harry opened the rucksack and noticed two compartments – one was a normal-looking one, but the other had no visible bottom. He put all of his presents inside, and there was still room for more. Harry grinned, "Thanks!"

"I got the idea when we were packing after France," explained Sirius. "Remember when that woman, Jane, said we couldn't get all of that wine we had hoarded through customs? A little spellwork on our rucksack under a false bottom and it worked like a charm."

"That's illegal, Sirius," said Remus, although he didn't seem too upset.

Tonks swatted his side playfully. "What the Muggles don't know, can't hurt them."

Sirius grinned. "That's the spirit!" as he went through his presents.

"Hey, what's this?" asked Harry, inspecting a slightly damp, moldy-smelling package that came with a label reading To Master, From Kreacher.

"Do house-elves usually give gifts to their masters?" asked Harry. Twitchet hadn't given him anything and Harry was pleased about that. Twitchet's help around the household was enough of a gift for him.

Sirius pulled a face. "Throw that into the fire, Harry."

"Aren't you going to open it?" asked Harry hesitantly. As much as he only tolerated Kreacher, it seemed oddly kind of him to remember to give Sirius a Christmas present.

"Trust me, you don't want to know what's inside," said Sirius.

"But—"

"He gave a bag of dead rats last year," added Remus from the couch.

"At least that was useful for Buckbeak," nodded Sirius, with a grimace. 

When Harry still looked hesitant, Sirius gestured at him. "Okay, you can open it if you want."

Harry looked slightly doubtful as he cautiously opened it but a moment later he had given a loud yell and stood up, scurrying away; the package contained a large number of maggots.

Tonks was laughing along with Remus, but Sirius looked disgusted as he picked it up and threw it into the fireplace muttering, "That filthy elf."

Harry was still hesitant to sit back down, when Sirius had pulled a present that looked like his own gift for his godfather. Sirius was unwrapping his gift enthusiastically and Harry felt a flutter of panic as Sirius pulled the present out of the box. It was a plain, black T-shirt with bold, white words:

SON

OF A

BANSHEE

Sirius gave a shout of laughter, "Blimey! Where did you even get this?"

Remus leaned forward. "Hang on! The words just flickered. It's enchanted."

And without warning, he pulled out his wand and just as Harry yelled "Wait!" Remus had muttered, 'Revelio!'

The words shimmered before dissolving to reveal:

SON

OF A

BITCH

Harry bit his lip but Sirius' grin widened. "This is more accurate, don't you think?"

Sirius was taking off his sweater when Remus said, "Did you charm it yourself, Harry?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "I didn't want it to be too…"

"Offensive? It'll take more than that to offend me!" said Sirius, now wearing the t-shirt and looking chuffed.

Harry shook his head and said exasperatedly, "But, you don't get it!"

"Get what?" asked Sirius, raising his eyebrow.

"It's supposed to stand for your initials," said Harry.

There was a pause before all of them began roaring in laughter. Sirius was wiping away tears of mirth from his eyes, "We'll make a Marauder out of you yet!"

Lunch was a joyous affair but when they had finished, Sirius felt the beginnings of anxiety start to flutter in his stomach. Sirius had remembered Harry's request to visit his parents' grave during the summer and asked Harry when he wanted to go last night. Harry had immediately answered that he would like to go on Christmas day itself. As much as he knew he wanted Christmas to be a happy occasion for Harry, he could not deny Harry when he had wanted to go to Godric's Hollow so badly.

After tea, Sirius quietly asked Harry if he was ready to go and Harry nodded. Sirius told Remus where they were going before he headed to the front door and Harry was already waiting for him, wrapped up in his scarf. They set off outside when Sirius stopped to gather a handful of the daffodils before they headed towards the front gate, outside which they could Apparate together. Sirius held out his hand wordlessly for Harry to hold onto, before Apparating away.

Once the familiar crushing sensation had eased, Sirius opened his eyes with his heart beating in his throat. Twilight had fallen and they were standing in a small alleyway beside two buildings, and a light snow was falling. Ahead of them, a glow of golden streetlights was visible, where Sirius knew the centre of the village was.

"Come on," muttered Sirius as he led Harry outside the alleyway.

It was as if he had stepped back in time. Villagers were walking to and fro, children holding their parents' hands and joyous laughter in the air. There was what looked like a war memorial in the middle that he had never seen before, strung all around with ordinary fairy lights and partly obscured by a windblown Christmas tree.

Sirius froze when he realized what the war memorial actually was. His eyes widened in shock as the war memorial had transformed. Instead of an obelisk covered in names, there was a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms. Snow lay upon all their heads, like fluffy white caps.

Sirius felt like his feet were glued to the ground as he gazed up into James and Lily's faces. He had never imagined that there would be a statue. It was so life-like and Sirius saw Harry draw closer, out of the corner of his eyes.

The fixed smiles on James and Lily's face felt strange to him. The stone could not capture the mischievousness of James' smile or the sparkle in Lily's eyes. They looked beautiful together even though it was a mockery of what could have been — a serene, happy family. James' ego would have grown tenfold if he had seen this, were he alive.

Sirius jerked slightly, when he felt someone tug his sleeve.

"C'mon," whispered Harry.

Sirius led him again, his feet effortlessly carrying him through the well-worn paths. He could hardly remember the buildings around him properly and yet he knew exactly where he was going as he headed to the church. The exact place where Harry's christening had been held with only James, Lily and Sirius in attendance. It was a muggle custom that Lily had insisted on and when Sirius had learnt that it was the godfather's duty, he had thrown himself into it readily, eager to fulfill his responsibility to Harry.

And yet, when it really mattered the most, you threw away that responsibility to go after that rat, said the unforgiving voice inside his head.

Sirius could make out the kissing gate behind the church which he knew led to a graveyard. How many times had he seen that place and yet he had never imagined that it would be his best friends' final resting place.

The sky was getting steadily darker as they reached the kissing gate and Sirius reached forward and pushed it open with a shivering hand, from both the cold and the apprehension of what lay beyond.

Rows upon rows of snowy tombstones protruded from a blanket of pale blue that was flecked with dazzling red, gold, and green, wherever the reflections from the stained glass of the church hit the snow.

Sirius spoke up for the first time, in a hoarse voice, "I have no idea where they could be. We'll have to look through."

Harry nodded as they set off together, deeper and deeper into the graveyard, gouging dark tracks into the snow behind them, stopping to peer at the words on old headstones. He was dreading while simultaneously yearning to see James and Lily's graves soon.

Harry stopped suddenly and Sirius felt a thrum of panic, when he noticed the name Kendra Dumbledore, a short way down her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana. There was also a quotation:

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

"I never knew Dumbledore's family could have lived here," wondered Harry aloud.

"Dumbledore himself lived here," said Sirius.

"What?" asked Harry, shocked.

"I remember Lily telling me once in a letter," said Sirius, frowning. "His family was friends with Bathilda Bagshot, who also happened to be your neighbour."

"Bathilda Bagshot? The author of Hogwarts: A History was our neighbour?" asked Harry, stunned by this revelation.

"She still probably lives around here," said Sirius distractedly, before turning away from the headstones of the Dumbledores. "Come on," he said, a bit impatiently. He wasn't here to discuss long gone neighbours and Dumbledore's family.

Every now and then, Sirius came upon familiar surnames and he could tell from the dates that it had either died out, or the current members had moved away from Godric's Hollow. Deeper and deeper amongst the graves they went, and every time he reached a new headstone, he felt a little lurch of apprehension and anticipation.

After about fifteen minutes of relentless searching, Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, his breath hitching and Harry ran straight into him. Harry peered from behind him and moved towards the headstone, kneeling beside it. But Sirius couldn't move, as the uncomfortably painful sensation of his heart clenching, took over him.

The headstone was made of white marble and this made it very easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Sirius didn't even need to kneel or approach closer.

JAMES POTTER

BORN 27 MARCH 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

LILY POTTER

BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

It looked so inevitable. This was it – his best friends, his family, were here right next to him and yet they had never been further out of his reach.

His eyes felt hot and his vision was hazy when Harry read the last sentence aloud in a hoarse whisper, "'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…' What does that mean?"

Probably something that Dumbledore came up with, thought Sirius. It seemed so noble and yet so cold. Maybe, Dumbledore should have kept it simple. Beloved parents and dear friends. It sounded more appropriate to him. But, Sirius attempted to divine its meaning for Harry's sake, trying to put himself into the way that Dumbledore would think.

He kneeled beside Harry and produced the daffodils from inside his coat and placed them near the headstone. He grazed the cold marble with his palm, rubbing away the frost as he answered, "It means to live beyond death… not physically, but rather in the hearts of those who will always love you."

Harry placed his hands on the snow beneath him and tears filled Sirius' eyes when he saw that primal gesture – of wanting to be close, to touch something of his parents. The parents that he had never known and Sirius knew then, that what he was feeling, was nothing compared to what Harry must be going through.

Sirius placed his hand gently on Harry's shoulder and Harry immediately leaned into him. He could feel Harry shaking with suppressed sobs and the weight of Sirius' grief finally overwhelmed him. He held Harry tighter, his chin on top of Harry's head as he cried for all he had lost, while thanking the stars that Harry was alive – James and Lily's final gift to him.

After a long time, Sirius told Harry that it was time to go. Harry nodded as he stood up shakily and looked at his parents' grave for one last time, as if committing it to memory, before he set off with Sirius outside the graveyard.

"Can we—can we see where the house is?" asked Harry, tentatively.

Sirius was not surprised by Harry's request but it was still very painful to agree to see the place, where all his nightmares began and ended.

They headed back the way they had come and beyond the war memorial. The street was lined with cottages on both sides, Christmas decorations twinkling from the windows and Sirius could imagine any of it as being James and Lily's home.

He turned towards an adjacent street and walked forward, his cold hands buried deep into his pockets. There was a dark mass that stood at the end the street and Sirius felt like he was back to that terrible night of the last of October, 1981.

Sirius stopped outside the gate and gazed at the building, flashes of James' body lying on the base of the stairs assaulted his mind's eye.

The hedge had grown wild and the grass was waist-high. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, and the right side of the top floor looked exactly as he had last seen it – blown apart, where the curse had backfired.

He saw Harry lay a hand on the snowy and thickly rusted gate and immediately cautioned, "I don't think we should—"

But, Sirius was interrupted when a sign rose out of the ground in front of them, up through the tangles of nettles and weeds, and in golden letters upon the wood it said:

On this spot, on this night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.

And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy-Who-Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names in Everlasting Ink; others had carved their initials into the wood, still others had left messages. The most recent of these, shining brightly over sixteen years' worth of magical graffiti, all said similar things.

Good luck, Harry, wherever you are.

If you read this, Harry, we're all behind you!

Long live Harry Potter.

"How dare they write on it?" growled Sirius indignantly. People had come and visited this place as if it was a tourist spot and it irked Sirius to no end.

But, Harry beamed at him. "I think it's brilliant!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow skeptically. What made Harry think that, he did not know.

Harry said, "Thank you for bringing me here, Sirius."

Sirius smiled sadly and ran his hand fondly through Harry's messy hair. "You don't have to thank me, Harry."

"I think I'm ready to go home now."

Sirius was grateful. As much as he had longed to come back to the place of both the best and worst times of his life, it was getting to be too much for him. He stretched out his hand and Harry grasped it as they Disapparated back to Rosedale.

Chapter Text

Thursday, December 26

"Catherine! Over here!"

Tonks was waving at her from her place in the dining area of Headquarters, indicating the seat she had saved for her. Catherine smiled gratefully as she slid into her seat between Tonks and Charlie, opposite to Hestia.

Tonks looked different than Catherine remembered - happier and her hair too was a shocking purple, a bright contrast to the mousy brown she had been used to for the past couple of months.

"You look better," said Catherine curiously.

Tonks beamed and Catherine noticed a sparkle in her eyes. "I feel better," she said happily.

Before Catherine could wonder what had caused the difference, Tonks let out a hefty sigh. "Whose brilliant idea was it to have a meeting on Boxing Day?"

Charlie leaned forward to join in the conversation, "I'd rather be here than at home doing chores."

"Had a boring Christmas, did you?" asked Catherine inquisitively.

"Nah, it was alright, I s'pose – being with family after a long time and all," said Charlie, shrugging. "But I didn't leave my job in Romania to sit around and transfigure gnomes into ugly fairies."

Fred and George apparently heard what Charlie had said and one of them (Catherine thought it was Fred, but she couldn't be sure), scoffed derisively, "Oh, shut up, Charlie! We know you were the one who found it adorable that we stuffed him into a pink tutu!"

"That was Ginny, you idiot!" retorted Charlie. "I nearly threw up when I saw that hideous excuse of a fairy!"

"And thus you gave him wings and very sparkly ones at that!" grinned the other twin making Tonks and Catherine snicker in amusement.

"Watch your tongue, young man!" screeched Molly Weasley from the doorway, arriving with her husband exactly when Charlie had started spewing obscenities at his brothers.

Charlie looked around at his mother sheepishly, before glaring at Fred and George, who had moved away and were greeting Sirius Black rather heartily.

"Gits," muttered Charlie. He turned towards her and Tonks again. "How did you girls spend your Christmas?"

"I spent it at my parents' house as usual, along with Angie," said Catherine, shrugging. "Dad always insists on celebrating Christmas as a family, seeing as we spend very limited time with them - first due to Hogwarts and now work. Says that's the only downside of us being witches. He's a Muggle, you see."

"I had the most wonderful Christmas this year!" exclaimed Tonks, beaming, and was interrupted when Black yawned hugely and leaned onto the table. He propped his head on one hand and his handsome face caught the light. Catherine thought she saw a dark bruise on his jaw and also on his forearm.

"Speak for yourself. I haven't slept in twenty-eight hours!" he groaned.

"Well, I slept like a baby," said Tonks cheerfully to which he grumbled.

"Of course you would've."

"What's up with you, Sirius?" asked Charlie.

"He kept me up all night," sighed Black as he buried his face into his hands, sounding exhausted. "And he wants me tonight too!"

"It has been the first time you've both been together since he got back," said Tonks consolingly.

Catherine blushed as her mind went down the gutter. Hestia's rosy cheeks went pinker and Charlie coughed uncomfortably from beside her.

"I'd forgotten how tiring it was to stay with Remus," said Black, looking up at her over his hands. "The scratches I can handle – I've gone through an entire cauldron of Dittany — but the bruises!" he exclaimed, pointing to his bruised face. He rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't have the energy for this! I'm probably getting too old to keep up with him."

The silence was so deafening that Catherine could almost imagine hearing the vehicles passing by outside the house.

Black looked around him at the sudden quiet, raising an eyebrow and very clearly at a loss. "What?"

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat loudly and bustled into the kitchen. Almost everybody looked away, embarrassed, when Tonks burst out laughing.

"So, uh… where is Remus?" asked Bill hesitantly, drawing up a chair next to his father. Tonks was still laughing so hard that no sound was coming out and her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. She finally gasped for air and said through heavy breaths, "They thought – you – you and him—" and she dissolved into laughter again.

Black looked at her like she had gone mad before his eyes widened and he groaned, "Oh, for goodness' sake! It was a full moon last night. I kept him company as an Animagus!”

It took a moment for Catherine to remember that Lupin was a werewolf and there was a collective sigh of "Oh!" in understanding, and in some cases, relief.

The twins and Lee Jordan apparently found it extremely funny as they laughed uproariously and the others snickered at their amusement. Black, for his part, was unabashedly glaring at Tonks, even though Catherine could see his lips quirked at the hilarity of it all.

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Moody had arrived at that moment, taking their seats next to and opposite Black respectively. Mrs. Weasley entered the dining again with a pot of tea and levitated it over their heads skilfully, pouring the liquid into each cup.

As much as Catherine had been slightly alarmed when she had first met Lupin, he had always been unfailingly polite and she felt rather sorry that he had to go through that, especially on Christmas.

Mrs. Weasley seemed to share her sentiment as she frowned sympathetically. "Poor Remus! That too on Christmas night!"

The chattering around the table quietened slightly when Tonks grinned. "Well, he had a wonderful Christmas, if Sirius is to be believed!"

Just as another round of amused chuckling rippled through the room, the door opened and Albus Dumbledore entered along with Professor McGonagall to murmured words of greeting, the levity in the air finally disappearing.

Dumbledore politely replied to their greetings as he took his seat at the head of the table. Catherine thought he looked tired, almost like Black did, but as soon as Professor McGonagall sat next to Moody, the meeting commenced and she pushed the thought out of her mind.

Dumbledore said, "My sources have given me new information that Lord Voldemort plans to attack and infiltrate the Ministry. Rufus is an able Minister, and as frustrated as we might be that his Ministry has not made much progress in crippling Voldemort for good, he is an important asset to the Wizarding World, as we are certain of his loyalties. And thus, Voldemort may plan to either kill him or Imperius him, and it would be of utmost importance that we prevent such a thing from happening."

Moody spoke, "Shacklebolt could discreetly warn Robards, who can step up the Minister's security."

"It would be prudent to keep an eye on all of the Heads of Departments too," said Arthur Weasley.

"With only two of us in any position to even meet the Department Heads, I don't see how it is going to help," said Kingsley, his deep voice reverberating through the room. "But maybe we can notice if there is any sign of someone being Imperiused and let the higher-ups know immediately."

"That is all that we can do for now," said Dumbledore with a dip of his head in acquiescence.

Charlie spoke up from next to her, "Catherine and I have been keeping tabs on Travers and we definitely heard it mentioned twice that the Carrows have rejoined You-Know-Who's ranks."

McGonagall made an expression of disgust and the sentiment was shared by many around the table.

"Alecto and Amycus, is it?" growled Moody. "They weren't part of his Inner Circle the last time."

"With half of them in Azkaban, they got promoted it would seem," said Catherine.

After that bit of depressing news, Fred and George put in their two sickles.

"Madam Malkin has been keeping an eye out as she had promised."

"She says she's noticed a booming black market trade taking place in Knockturn Alley," said George.

"And any of them could be working for You-Know-Who," finished Bill.

"Isn't that why we have Mundungus Fletcher?" asked Molly Weasley, her face wrinkling in disgust at the mention of the name. "As much as I consider him a worthless addition to the Order, he could be of some help in getting to know the shady dealings which take place in Knockturn Alley."

"Mundungus wouldn't deal with the Death Eaters," said Fred confidently.

"But he could be holding valuable information that would not reach our ears otherwise," said Dumbledore nodding, as he steepled his long fingers in thought. He took a moment to deliberate before announcing, "I suggest questioning him before we Obliviate him for good."

Almost everyone around her looked a little surprised at that, but Catherine could not even fathom who this Mundungus Fletcher was.

Arthur voiced aloud, "Obliviate him, Albus? You mean—"

"Make him forget everything about the Order, yes," said Dumbledore, now leaning back in his chair. "Although he knows the location of Headquarters, he will not be able to reveal the location since this house is under the Fidelius. Yet, he is still a loose thread that could unravel everything we are working towards at the moment. His usefulness in the Order is long past. He knows who the members were a year ago and it would paint a higher target on us all if he ever finds himself in the wrong hands. It would be merciful for him and for us if he was removed from the Order, but not before we get what we want from him."

Everyone seemed to absorb what Dumbledore was saying. Catherine was slightly alarmed that being removed from the Order meant discarding your memories of the Order too.

"So, who will go looking for Mundungus?" asked Kingsley. "He could be anywhere and he is not exactly easy to find."

"Oh, I think Sirius will be up for the job," said Dumbledore, looking at Black, who simply nodded.

Dumbledore continued speaking to Black, "After myself, you're the only one who can intimidate him and it would be wise of us to use it to our advantage. I'd like a word with you alone before we leave, Sirius."

Black narrowed his eyes, before nodding, "I'll find him within the fortnight."

Dumbledore inclined his head in agreement and the meeting proceeded with each of them relaying their missions to Dumbledore.

Angelina, Oliver, Lee, and Alicia had been working together in keeping track of Rowle and Selwyn and had learnt that they were plotting to indulge in some Muggle baiting, especially the Muggles surrounding homes of the likes of Pius Thicknesse and Gawain Robards in a move to terrorize the wizards in proximity.

McGonagall looked worried as she remarked, "This is as good evidence as any that You-Know-Who might try to capture and Imperius them, effectively installing his puppets into the Ministry."

The meeting got over shortly after that and the crowd started to disperse. Dumbledore stood up and looked at Black. "A word, Sirius."

Black jerked his head to his right, indicating the room next door, and led Dumbledore out of the dining.

Sirius shut the door and waved his wand, charming the door of the small sitting room to be sound-proof. Dumbledore stood by the window and turned around to look at Sirius. "Are you alright, Sirius? You look tired."

"I could say the same of you," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows before he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It was a full moon last night."

"Ah," said Dumbledore, with a nod of understanding. "Remus is lucky to have you as his friend."

"Yes, well..." trailed off Sirius with a roll of his eyes and Dumbledore cut straight to the point.

"You know why I wanted to talk to you alone."

Sirius frowned as he guessed, "You've found the location of another Horcrux?"

"I believe I have," said Dumbledore solemnly.

"Where is it? When can we set off?" asked Sirius eagerly.

"I would like you to report to me once your business with Mundungus is finished, after which we will depart," said Dumbledore. "I, too, will have settled my affairs at Hogwarts by the time we are ready to leave."

Sirius nodded before remarking, "What do I tell the Order? Mad-Eye will not be very tolerant if I leave my post. We are already stretched thin as it is."

"I assure you, it will not take more than a day," said Dumbledore. "Meanwhile, I must warn you again that this information is not to be revealed to anyone, not even Remus. I know that we can trust him, Sirius," he added with a raised hand as soon as Sirius had opened his mouth to argue. "But this is sensitive information that cannot reach Voldemort at any cost."

Sirius was slightly annoyed by the secrecy, but some rational part of him could understand the wisdom behind his caution. "Does Harry still not know about the Horcruxes?" Surely, he would have been buzzing with questions already if Dumbledore had told him by now?

"Not yet, but I am getting to the vital information as soon as the holidays are over," conceded Dumbledore. "How is he doing? I heard Scrimgeour finally got a word with him."

"That bloke has enough nerve alright!" fumed Sirius. Just the mention of Scrimgeour set his teeth on edge. "Harry didn't go into much detail, but the gist of it was that he wanted Harry to work with the Ministry. Just what Scrimgeour asked me too, of course. But he also wanted to know where you were going."

Dumbledore frowned, the lines on his face more pronounced, "Last I heard, the two Auror trainees have been removed from guard duty outside Hogwarts."

Sirius' lips were twitching when he said, "Harry may have told him that he was wasting his time with having you followed when there was more useful work that needed to be done."

Dumbledore chuckled, "It seems I owe Harry my gratitude."

When Sirius headed home that afternoon, all he dearly wished for was to sleep. He was sufficiently distracted when he saw Harry practicing the iron-conjuring spell, which he had taught the basics of just that morning.

Sirius had come home after an entire night spent with Remus on the full moon and he had wanted to hit the sack. But Harry had been sitting round the table at breakfast, looking glum, which he thought had to do with their visit to Godric's Hollow last evening.

Sirius had suggested that it was a good time to begin learning the spell to conjure iron and so they had retired to the duelling room and had taught him the basics, before getting dressed to leave for the Order's meeting.

"I hope your practicing is going better than my day," said Sirius as he took off his coat.

Harry didn't respond as he was concentrating very intently on thin air. He waved his wand and incanted aloud, 'Ferrifors!'

The air in front of him might have shimmered, but it did not solidify at all like he had hoped and Harry sunk into the couch dejectedly.

"Conjuring is trickier than transfiguring things," said Sirius consolingly. "You expend more magic as you aim to convert the air around you into a solid substance. It's perfectly understandable if you can't achieve this even for months! But there is no harm in knowing the theory and how to put it in practice."

"But what good is theory if it can't save my life!" cried Harry in frustration.

"Maybe you need to clear your head," said Sirius. "Why don't you go flying outside for some time?"

Harry nodded morosely as he stood up. "Are you coming with me?"

"You go on, Harry. I need to get some sleep before tonight again," said Sirius.

He nodded understandingly before he went outside.

Harry had to admit it was very relaxing to fly outdoors; the rush of cold air made him feel alive and he could forget the prophecy that had been on his mind ever since he had come home last night.

He had thought seeing his parents' grave would give him the peace of mind that he had wanted. But all it had done was bring home the fact that he, too, was marked for death. Just briefly, he had found the idea of joining them strangely alluring.

Harry shook his head violently as if he could shake off the thought by the physical action alone. He had a home now and Sirius and his friends. The idea of leaving them was even more painful and so with that grounding thought, Harry descended his Firebolt. He had had enough of the cold wind and so he headed towards the shed where Buckbeak was kept.

The grey Hippogriff was huddled on the ground of the shed, which was charmed to stay warm. When Harry entered, he opened his eyes and watched him like a hawk. Harry bowed without breaking eye contact and the Hippogriff returned the gesture almost immediately. He walked forward and sat down with crossed legs and started to stroke the animal lazily.

"How are you?" he murmured and the huge beast nuzzled the side of his face in a gesture of affection, making him smile.

How long he sat there with Buckbeak, he did not know, but the sky had started to darken by the time Sirius found him in the shed. He seemed more rested and awake as he exclaimed, "There you are! Have you been out here all this time?"

He came forward and Buckbeak immediately stood up and walked towards him. Sirius patted him affectionately and Buckbeak seemed to be truly enjoying his touch.

"How do you do that?" asked Harry. The thought had been bugging him for so long.

"What?" asked Sirius distractedly, his attention focused on Buckbeak.

"How do you not bow to him and he's okay with it?"

Sirius became quiet as he led Buckbeak towards Harry and sat down next to him, the Hippogriff settling himself on Sirius' other side. "You don't spend two years with someone entirely and not develop at least a modicum of trust." He looked at Buckbeak adoringly, "And he's saved my life on more occasions than I can count."

"What did you do as soon as you escaped, Sirius? Where did you go?" asked Harry curiously.

Sirius looked at Harry, grinning. "I headed to the South of France actually, because I knew the Dementors wouldn't follow me there."

"What?" said Harry, surprised. And Sirius was telling him this just now?

"Oh yes," said Sirius matter-of-factly. "That's why I wanted to visit it again last summer with you, you know. The first time I went there, all I could think of was bringing you with me too, someday."

Harry beamed when Sirius' expression turned solemn. "What's eating at you, Harry?"

Harry's smiled dropped as he mulled over that question. "It's—it's nothing. I was just thinking about the prophecy."

"What about it?" asked Sirius, his eyebrows furrowing.

Harry did not answer for a long moment and they sat in companionable silence. At last, Harry found his courage to be honest with Sirius as he said hoarsely, "'Neither can live, while the other survives…' What if I don't?"

Sirius' jaw clenched and his eyes darkened, but Harry was glad that he took his time to answer. He did not want to hear white lies or empty promises.

"I will be honest with you, Harry," he said, turning to look at Harry properly. "I can't make you any promises. But what I do know, is that it isn't death that we must fear. I, for one, would rather die than stand back and watch this world be consumed by the darkness that is Voldemort and his regime. That's why I joined the Order. Your parents believed in it too."

And there it was - the thing that had been on his mind all day.

"Why didn't they just save themselves instead of dying for me?" asked Harry, troubled.

Sirius was gazing at Harry with such intensity that Harry had to look away. He felt Sirius' hand gently card through his hair, causing him to look up at him again, when he murmured, "There are things worth dying for."

Tuesday, December 31

"Your wand movement is a bit wonky. You need to move your entire arm, not just your wrist," said Sirius. It was the last day of the year and a particularly cold evening; the wind was howling outside, the trees creaking and rustling. Harry was in the drawing room with Sirius, trying yet again to produce a shield of iron that never seemed to want to appear.

Sirius demonstrated the spell by incanting 'Ferrifors!' with his wand arm moving in an efficient circular motion. Harry watched in awe as a round, solid wall of glinting, silver-coloured iron materialized in front of him, floating in thin air like a shield. After a couple of seconds, it dissolved and Sirius continued, "You need to picture the size and its appearance very firmly and fix it in your mind. It needs to become an effortless thought, so once you need to conjure one, you don't think about it for too long."

It looked easy when Sirius had shown him, but after nearly an hour, Harry's frustration was running high and Sirius decided to call it quits for the night, as it was New Year's Eve after all.

"Only you and me tonight, it would seem," said Sirius, as he lounged comfortably on the couch, drinking eggnog from the mug Hary had given him. Remus and Tonks had gone out on a date to celebrate New Year's Eve together. Briefly, Harry was accosted with the memory of his own date with Parvati a fortnight ago. He had been too upset and had actually drunk a little too much. He remembered being upset even before he had spotted Ginny with Dean. Why had he been upset in the first place?

Harry strained his memory and he finally remembered bits and pieces of conversation from that night. "Malfoy," he breathed at last, setting down his eggnog.

"What?" asked Sirus, looking a little drowsy.

"Malfoy!" exclaimed Harry again, slapping his palm to his forehead. "I remember! I wanted to tell you as soon as I could, but then I got distracted—with—uh…" Harry trailed off as he remembered something else. He could not even distinguish it from reality and his own imagination. Still, it would be better if he kept that to himself.

"What's up with Malfoy again?" asked Sirius, knitting his eyebrows together.

Harry tried to recollect what he had heard. "I was in Slughorn's party on the last day of term— and Malfoy was there. I don't remember exactly why, seeing as he wasn't invited…" said Harry, who then shook his head, annoyed. "Anyway, Snape took Malfoy alone somewhere and I followed them."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Of course you did."

Harry ignored him. "I heard Malfoy confess to Snape that he was working for Voldemort."

Sirius raised his eyebrows as he sat up a little straighter. "What did Snape do?"

"He—he was offering to help him, I think," said Harry, frowning as he could not remember exactly what they had spoken, word-for-word. "He kept asking Malfoy what he was up to. But, Malfoy said he didn't want Snape to 'steal his glory'."

Sirius was quiet and Harry looked at him expectantly.

But, he was a little disappointed when Sirius said moodily, "I hate to even suggest this, but maybe Snape was trying to find out what Malfoy was doing on Dumbledore's orders?"

"Nobody is that good a liar," said Harry, quickly. "I thought you, of all people, would understand that Snape could be helping him!"

Harry had been hoping Sirius would back him up as he always did.

"As much as I loathe him, he has actually been very useful for the Order," said Sirius, pulling a face. "We've saved more lives with his information than without."

Though Harry was surprised to hear Sirius even utter a word about Snape in a positive light, he ploughed on. "But, he's playing the double act! How can we be sure we can trust him?"

Sirius sighed, sounding a little frustrated. "Look, I don't trust him! But Dumbledore does, and seeing as he's the only one that can put a stop to this, I don't see exactly what we can do."

"Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore as soon as term begins," said Harry, stubbornly. "Malfoy is a Death Eater and he's definitely up to something."

"Harry, I don't deny the fact that Malfoy is a Death Eater," said Sirius, with a sigh. "He probably is, seeing as we practically heard him admit it, when Narcissa touched his arm. But, I know Dumbledore and I'm telling you – don't expect him to treat this as new information. He might even know more about this than we do. Whatever Malfoy is up to, Dumbledore will take care of it. You promise me, you won't meddle yourself into this unnecessarily."

Harry could not believe that Sirius was pushing this under the rug with a 'Dumbledore's problem, not yours' attitude. Wasn't he the one who had said that he would rather die than do nothing and watch Voldemort and his cronies take over the Wizarding world?

He crossed his fingers behind his back and tried to keep a straight face. "Okay, I won't meddle unnecessarily, Sirius."

Sirius' eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, the door opened revealing the half-frozen forms of Remus and Tonks. It seemed to be a snowstorm outside and the wind was howling hauntingly, bringing in swirling sleet to their doorway.

Remus shut the door with one hand and turned to move but was stopped when Tonks made a sound of annoyance. She raised her gloved hand, which had frozen along with Remus' hand.

She pulled out the crusty glove, unsticking herself from Remus and nearly ran towards the fireplace, stretching her arms out in front of the fire. She sighed contentedly. "Fire! How warm and toasty are you!"

Sirius chuckled, "Why don't you just cast a warming charm on your clothes?"

Remus removed his scarf and pulled out his wand. "She would if she knew how to."

Tonks opened her mouth to argue, but shut it as Remus had waved his wand and her clothes became bone-dry in an instant.

She hugged herself, "Oh, this is cosy!"

"So, how was your date?" asked Harry, glad for their distraction.

"It was amazing before it turned out to become horrible with all that snow!" exclaimed Tonks as Remus dried himself with his wand and sat on the couch.

Tonks removed her coat revealing her canary yellow jumper, whose sleeves she pulled over her fingers for extra warmth.

"We didn't even make it to the café after we left the park," sighed Remus as he leaned back against the couch.

Twitchet popped into the living room at that moment. "Would masters and miss care for some hot chocolate?"

"Yes," agreed Harry and Tonks in unison, the latter drawing the word out with a longing sigh.

"We should have just stayed at home," said Remus as Twitchet bustled back with four steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"It wasn't all bad, Remus," assured Tonks, as she stood up and moved to sit on the couch, squeezing next to him. "Oh, you're so warm!" She snuggled into him and Remus' face reddened as both Harry and Sirius groaned.

"Ugh—I think I'm going up to bed," said Harry, scrambling to get up and scooping his mug to take up to his bedroom.

Sirius was grinning. "Come on Harry, it's not like they're snogg— Okay, I'm going to bed too!"

Harry had taken only two steps on the staircase when the grandfather clock by the fireplace struck twelve and chimed. Sirius opened his arms in a sweeping motion as he exclaimed, "Oh, hey! Happy New Year everyone!"

And after all three of them chorused their own "Happy New Year!" the room was empty, save for two people huddled together on the couch.

Chapter Text

Sunday, January 5

When the train had departed and Sirius and the Weasleys disappeared from sight, Harry and Ron found seats together in an empty compartment where Harry finally got the opportunity to tell Ron about Malfoy and Snape. Ron was appropriately astonished and chagrined when Harry felt vindicated in saying that he had been right all along about Malfoy being a Death Eater. Though Ron also shared the same concerns as Sirius, Harry was glad when Ron said he believed him.

The two spent a while playing Exploding Snap while snacking on pumpkin pasties and Harry was wondering why Hermione hadn't found them in the compartment yet, though he had definitely seen her on the platform.

His musing was interrupted as the door opened to reveal a scowling Parvati. Ron looked at Harry with a smirk, but Harry felt like groaning – he could already tell he would not enjoy this conversation.

"I want to have a word with you," she said coldly and Harry nodded before following her out. The corridor was not empty, so she gestured to the farthest end, which was secluded enough.

Harry braced himself as she turned towards him, arms crossed. "What the bloody hell were you thinking, Potter?"

It felt weird hearing her call him by his surname, making Harry assume that she was genuinely angry.

"Er—what do you mean?" said Harry tentatively. His sense of dreams and reality was muddled enough that he did not want to admit to something that he was not sure had happened.

"Don't you remember what happened at Slughorn's party?"

"We—danced?" ventured Harry doubtfully.

She looked around herself, making sure that there were no eavesdroppers before she hissed, "We snogged!"

Harry groaned, equal parts appalled and embarrassed. "That was real? I was pretty sure I had been dreaming!"

She looked furious now. "You don't even remember?"

"I'm terribly sorry!" said Harry, wondering why three-quarters of his conversation with her was always some form of apology by him. "I was a little drunk and I should not have taken advantage of you…"

"You didn't take advantage of me…" she mumbled with an annoyed expression before shaking her head. "But, the point is – I don't want you to ever mention that again to anyone, ever! Not even your friends, Ron and Hermione, alright?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Harry readily, wondering why on Earth he would even do such a thing. It was embarrassing enough that he had kissed her when he had been drunk, despite repeatedly telling Ron and Hermione that he saw her as nothing more than a friend.

"I mean it, Harry. I think we should stop pretending to fancy each other from now on," choked out Parvati, as if she was swallowing back tears.

Harry blinked. Well, he didn't remember a time when he had ever pretended to fancy her, but something sounded off in the way she was talking.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry frowning.

"It's—it's nothing," said Parvati, brushing it off, but Harry was really concerned now.

"Something's happened, hasn't it?" asked Harry curiously. "Tell me what's happened."

Parvati was wringing her scarf between her hands, as if she was having an internal debate whether to tell him or not. Finally, she gave in.

"My dad got a death threat over the holidays," said Parvati, speaking quickly, her voice breaking as she lowered it to a whisper. "He is a Department Head in the Ministry, you see. It's nothing worrying as there are Aurors surrounding him 24/7, but still, I thought—I thought it was because of you!"

Harry was thoroughly flabbergasted by the accusation. "Me?" he asked hoarsely.

"Harry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't—I'll just go…" said Parvati, making a move to leave when Harry took hold of her arm and turned her towards him. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Parvati, what do you mean it was because of me?" asked Harry firmly.

"I thought – maybe somehow— the Death Eaters found out about you and me. If they thought we were together or something, they could target me or my family," said Parvati, still looking at a spot over his shoulder instead of his eyes. "I know it's selfish of me, Harry, but I want my dad safe, so we have to stop meeting after this."

Outwardly, Harry was expressionless, but his mind was buzzing with this information. There was no Death Eater that could know of his so-called relationship except for Malfoy, seeing as he was the one in school with him. He must have heard of the rumours that Parvati and Harry were going out and relayed them to the Death Eaters. That was the only explanation that made sense to him.

"I'm so sorry! What must you think of me?" She looked genuinely apologetic as she started crying in earnest, and Harry patted her on the shoulder awkwardly.

"It's alright," said Harry understandingly. "You want to keep your family safe. I'd do the same if I were you, too."

But even after Parvati had left and Harry slowly walked back to his compartment, he could not shake off the thought that he was a real danger to the people he loved.

Ron was telling him about the dreadful Christmas present he had gotten from Lavender. Harry was not paying attention and was startled when Ron hit his head with a Chocolate Frog card.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked.

Harry looked up, puzzled, when Ron spoke again, "Did Parvati dump you or something?"

Harry nodded dumbly, unsure how to explain, when Ron shook his head sagely, "Girls. They're nutters."

He could not even bring himself to reply when Neville arrived at their compartment along with Dean and Seamus.

"Hi, Harry, Ron. Where's Hermione?" asked Neville, sitting beside Harry, Seamus and Dean taking the opposite side. Ron grew moody and Harry had to speak instead, "She'll probably find her way here soon enough. How was your Christmas?"

"It was good," said Neville. "My great uncle Algie gave me books on all sorts of hexes and jinxes to be able to protect myself. After that attack by Bellatrix Lestrange, he says we need to be prepared for anything. I can't wait to practice them in Hogwarts as I can't do magic at home."

Seamus sighed, "It's a shame we had to stop the DA meetings. You taught well, Harry."

Harry grinned, "With Quidditch and the NEWT workload, we'll be lucky enough to get some sleep, let alone a DA meeting."

"So, what are we going to do about the match with Hufflepuff, Harry?" asked Dean enthusiastically and the boys lapsed into discussions of gameplay and strategy together.

Harry met up with Hermione only after they had reached Hogwarts as he was making his way to the common room after dinner along with Ron.

"Where were you on the train?" asked Harry loudly.

"I was with Ginny and Luna. How was your Christmas?" asked Hermione matter-of-factly as Ron walked faster to join them.

"It was alright," said Ron at once when Hermione interrupted as if she hadn't heard him. "I've got something for you, Harry."

They reached the portrait to their common room and Hermione gave their new password, "Abstinence."

"Precisely," said the Fat Lady in a feeble voice, and swung forward to reveal the portrait hole.

"What's up with her?" asked Harry.

"Overindulged over Christmas, apparently," said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she led the way into the packed common room. "She and her friend Violet drank their way through all the wine in that picture of drunk monks down by the Charms corridor. Peeves caused quite a ruckus mocking them when I had gone down to the staff room to meet with Professor McGonagall. Anyway…"

She rummaged in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out a scroll of parchment with Dumbledore's writing on it.

"Great," said Harry, unrolling it at once to discover that his next lesson with Dumbledore was scheduled for the following night. "I've got loads to tell him — and you. Let's sit down —"

But at that moment, there was a loud squeal of "Won-Won!" and Lavender Brown came hurtling out of nowhere and flung herself into Ron's arms. Several onlookers sniggered; Hermione gave a tinkling laugh and led Harry to a spare table.

"So how was your Christmas?" asked Harry, trying to ignore Lavender's antics.

"Oh, fine," she shrugged. "Nothing special. How was yours?"

"Pretty good," said Harry, glancing at Ron who looked as uncomfortable as he felt. Hermione followed his gaze and scoffed derisively. Upset by the growing distance between his two best friends, Harry turned to Hermione beseechingly. "Look, Hermione, can't you —"

"No, I can't," she said flatly. "So don't even ask."

"I thought maybe, you know, over Christmas —"

"It was the Fat Lady who drank a vat of five-hundred-year-old wine, Harry, not me. So what was this important news you wanted to tell me?"

She looked too fierce to argue with at that moment, so Harry dropped the subject of Ron and recounted all that he had overheard between Malfoy and Snape.

"So my theory, and Sirius and Ron agree with me, was right!" said Harry, a little too excitedly. "Malfoy is a Death Eater and he's got something to do with Katie's curse."

Hermione took a moment before speaking slowly. "But it seems like Dumbledore is already trying to take care of it. Why else would Snape try and ask Malfoy what he was doing?"

Harry said nothing. Everyone seemed to think Dumbledore was all-knowing and thus would take care of Malfoy and Snape. Maybe, he should believe it too. But why was he having such an uneasy feeling regarding this?

Monday, January 6

Hestia checked her pocket watch as she hid behind the hedges outside the old country house of the Lestranges. Sirius should be here any time soon.

When he had called out her name to partner with, Hestia had to admit she had been a little flattered. But now she was cursing herself for accepting it in the first place. She had not considered that Sirius' tardiness to the Order meetings would carry over to his missions too.

She huffed in annoyance as the chilly wind ruffled her blonde hair. The Polyjuice would be wearing off soon and she did not want to take another dose and be stuck in the form of this blonde Muggle for another hour.

Bellatrix Lestrange had not made any move to come out of her house. Sirius and Hestia had kept watch for nearly a week now and it was quite spooky with how nobody seemed to live there. Perhaps she was relying on other travelling methods that the Order could not track. If so, they were simply wasting their time waiting around here.

She saw something approaching from the corner of her vision and she turned around, wand at the ready. It was the familiar black dog that slinked into the shadows before transforming into Sirius.

"Well, you're here early," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Has there been any activity around here?" asked Sirius, ignoring her jibe.

"None. It's simply a waste of time in my opinion," said Hestia, scowling.

Sirius sighed, "I don't think Bellatrix is living here."

"That can't be! Moody was watching her a few months ago in this same house!" exclaimed Hestia.

"Yes, but I think somehow she must have gotten wind of the fact that we're watching her," said Sirius, looking beyond the hedge and at the front door of the house. "That is the only explanation I have of why she's suddenly missing."

"You don't think she could be with You-Know-Who, do you? In his hiding place?" asked Hestia, frowning.

"It is a possibility. Bellatrix is Voldemort's right-hand man—woman—after all," he corrected himself.

It was strange to think that for fourteen years, she had thought that position belonged to him, and yet here they were.

"We must inform Moody. We could put our time to better use," said Hestia.

Sirius looked at her properly now, eyes gleaming. "Exactly! Do you have another vial of your Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" asked Hestia warily.

"Drink it and come with me!" said Sirius, already turning to leave.

"Where?" asked Hestia, only slightly taken aback by his sudden change of plans.

"I need backup if I'm going into Knockturn Alley."

"Tell me why we are going to Knockturn Alley again?" asked Hestia, securing her scarf around her neck with one hand, her wand gripped in her other. They had Apparated straight into Diagon Alley, the regular crowd more subdued than usual. A small number of people were walking fast, huddled together doing their shopping.

"Dung is around here at the moment," said Sirius, eyes trained forward as he walked purposefully.

A young man, who had been hurrying in the opposite direction, bumped into Sirius on his way. Hestia caught a glimpse of a freckled face wearing glasses when Sirius turned to glare at him. The man gasped and scurried away after picking up his parcels hastily.

They turned left and entered Knockturn Alley, which seemed to be empty at first glance though Hestia spotted a couple of people lining the street as they walked further down the alleyway. Hestia looked around her, taking note of anyone even remotely suspicious. This proved to be quite pointless as everyone looked to her, like they were hiding something. An ancient warlock with a missing arm was chatting with what looked to be a vampire, who was glancing around himself furtively. There were a couple of men dressed in shabby robes peering into a bag that was emitting sparks.

Hestia had never been one to traverse this seedy alley for the notorious types of people it attracted. She stuck closer to Sirius when she saw a man with long, matted hair, grinning at her lecherously, revealing pointed teeth.

"How do you know he is here?" whispered Hestia curiously.

"I've had him followed for days. Just under here," he said, taking hold of her arm and dragging her to an alcove behind a shop which had a dusty board that read 'Cobb & Webb's' and seemed to have been closed for good. He looked at her with an air or seriousness, "You stay here and cover for me. Keep an eye out."

Without waiting for her response, he walked out of the alcove and toward the run-down building with boarded windows opposite the Cobb & Webb's. He leaned against the wall in a relaxed manner, blending with the dark background in his black robes, hidden in plain sight under the shadows.

They were waiting, for what she did not know. After some time, Sirius had lit a cigarette and was taking a long drag from it, looking quite striking as the shadows darkened his deep-set eyes and the cleft in his chin.

Hestia snapped out of her reverie and hit herself with the heel of her palm. She was here to watch out for suspicious people, not admire Sirius Black, no matter how good he looked.

After about a quarter of an hour (Hestia had been checking her watch every five minutes), someone came out of the run-down building with a bag of something in his hand, looking remarkably familiar.

She saw Sirius straighten as he snuffed the cigarette with his boot and raised his wand simultaneously. A non-verbal spell hit Mundungus and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

Sirius levitated the man, and checking to make sure no one was watching, he walked straight towards her hiding spot. He jerked his head to the side, indicating her to move out of there, and he took Mundungus into the alcove.

"Keep your eyes open," he added again to Hestia, who nodded, feeling slightly vulnerable standing in the open. She was very thankful that she was disguised to look unassuming.

"Don't try to run away now, Mundungus," said Sirius, quite cheerfully, as he undid the charm.

A groan of frustration ensued from Mundungus, who then grinned on seeing him. "Ah, Sirius mate! Been a long time, eh?"

"Well, you have been pretty elusive, not showing up to meetings. Care to enlighten me why?" asked Sirius, his wand still pointed straight at Mundungus, who glanced at it in fear despite the carefree tone of his voice.

"Right!" he exclaimed before looking uneasy. "I dunno, mate. The Order don't pay me, you see. And the climate's ripe for business too."

"Of course it is," scoffed Sirius. "I'll deal with that later. I have some questions for you. Have you noticed any Death Eaters around here? Have you been approached by any Death Eaters for information about us?"

Hestia rolled her eyes before casting a muffling charm around her. One would think Sirius would have learnt to be cautious, having been on the run for years and all.

"Blimey! I don' do business with 'em!" choked out Mundungus, as if it was the most insulting thing he had heard of.

"I'm not asking if you do business with them, Dung," said Sirius, lightly. "I'm asking whether anyone has tried to get information out of you?"

"I don't come 'ere too much, Ministry raids an' all," admitted Mundungus. "I come 'ere only to meet my buyers."

"And who are these buyers?" asked Sirius, not quite successful in hiding his curiosity.

"Ah… I can't tell you tha'," muttered Mundungus.

"I'll give you one chance to rethink that decision," said Sirius, still keeping his tone casual.

"No, I really can't tell you tha'. I've no idea who they are mostly," said Mundungus, grimacing.

"So, they could be Death Eaters and you wouldn't know," said Sirius, visibly frustrated.

"It don' bother me as long as they pay. I've seen the werewolf 'ere though, visitin' Borgin and Burkes…"

"What?" growled Sirius as he gripped the front of Mundungus' filthy robes with one hand and pushed him against the wall. "Greyback? When?"

"Las' week I reckon. Let go, mate!" exclaimed Mundungus with a slight whimper. Sirius let go of his collar and Mundungus straightened before speaking again. "He's a real piece of work. Terrified my buyers away…"

"Did you see what he bought?" interrupted Sirius urgently.

"I don' stick my nose in tha' werewolf's business," said Mundungus, looking alarmed.

Sirius took a moment to consider something before he said, "Too bad, because I've got a job for you, Dung. I want you to watch out for Greyback if he visits Borgin & Burkes again and to tell me what he's interested to buy or has bought, you hear me?"

"Mate, I 'ave 'ad enough of this Order," said Mundungus, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I'll pay you."

" 'ow much?" asked Mundungus quickly.

"Fifty galleons."

"Seventy," bargained Mundungus predictably.

"It's fifty or nothing. It's very reasonable considering what you're making at the moment," said Sirius firmly, jangling the bag of money that Mundungus had with him.

"Deal."

"Good. And remember, I'm having you watched. It won't be difficult finding you again," said Sirius warningly.

"Alrigh' alright! I'll come by 'eadquarters next week," grumbled Mundungus.

"No, this isn't Order business. I want you to send me a Patronus when you've found something useful and meet me here," said Sirius.

"You've got yourself a deal. 'ave my fifty galleons ready," said Mundungus grinning before Disapparating with a crack.

Hestia stared at Sirius, who looked up frowning. "What?"

"I thought Dumbledore told you to Obliviate him," said Hestia disapprovingly.

"I need to know what Greyback is up to," said Sirius shortly.

"And having Mundungus on the loose without Obliviating him means putting all our necks on the line. You want to risk that for information on Greyback's shopping list?"

"I know that Greyback along with a couple of Death Eaters are very interested in something from Borgin & Burkes. They're up to something," said Sirius.

"What makes you sure they haven't already bought it yet?" asked Hestia.

"They're not going to buy it," said Sirius knowingly. "But the Death Eaters want to use it, whatever 'it' is."

Hestia pursed her lips, not bothering to ask where he was getting all this information or what he planned to do with it. The less she knew, the better.

They walked out of Knockturn Alley when Hestia saw a man leaning against a lamp post with his hood up straighten as they passed him. Hestia was quite sure it was the same man that had bumped into Sirius earlier.

She gripped Sirius' hand and whispered, "There's a man following us."

Sirius didn't stop walking, but it was clear from the sharpening of his eyes that he had got the message. He nodded imperceptibly as he casually turned to look around himself.

But Sirius froze, staring straight at the man. Alarmed, Hestia too turned around.

"Percy?" asked Sirius, eyes narrowing.

The man lowered his hood, revealing horn-rimmed glasses and a mop of curly red hair, looking remarkably similar to the Weasleys.

Percy's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know me?"

"I know your entire family," said Sirius matter-of-factly.

"Of course," said Percy, nodding. He looked around himself, as if making sure nobody was watching, before saying, "I need to talk to you, privately."

He glanced at Hestia when Sirius asked, "How do I know this isn't an elaborate trap set by the Ministry?"

"I'm not here representing the Ministry," said Percy quickly.

Sirius stared at him before nodding. "I can take care of this. You better go," he said, looking at Hestia.

"What if he's a Death Eater impersonating Percy?" whispered Hestia.

"I'll be on my guard," said Sirius.

Hestia looked back worried. "I'll wait at Headquarters. If you don't come back within half an hour, I'll send you a Patronus."

A smile flickered on Sirius' lips as he nodded again and Hestia Apparated away.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Sirius lightly. He and Percy had found a table in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron and Sirius had cast the muffling charm around them after getting themselves two Butterbeers. Percy looked anxious and determined in equal measure as his eyes darted around nervously.

Sirius had heard about Percy from both Harry and the twins. The Weasleys refused to mention his name ever since it became known that he chose the Ministry over his own family. And as much as he disliked Percy for not standing up to the Ministry when they had put Harry through a hard time last year, some part of him was curious to know why Percy would do so in the first place. It baffled him how the son of someone as good and noble as the Weasleys could go wrong.

"How – How is my family?" asked Percy hoarsely after a long moment, still not meeting his eyes.

"They're doing alright," said Sirius, narrowing his eyes before adding, "Why don't you ask them yourse—"

"I have made a terrible mistake!" interrupted Percy.

Sirius watched him quietly, as Percy stammered, "I was foolish to think — if they can be wrong about you for fourteen years… and Harry – I understand he's your godson and I apologize for what I've done to him."

Sirius was quite stunned, so to speak. The twins had always been very vocal when they spoke against him, saying that he chose to turn his back on his family and that he was quite a 'pompous git'. It seemed out of character for Percy to come up and admit to his mistake.

"Why have you come to me?" asked Sirius curiously. "As much as your apology is overdue, I think your family is the one who needs to hear this, not I."

Percy wrought his hands together in obvious discontent. "I can't—they wouldn't understand—"

"What wouldn't they understand?"

"They would not understand that what I did was not out of dislike towards them!" exclaimed Percy heatedly. Instinctively, Sirius looked around himself before remembering that he had already cast a muffling charm.

Percy continued again, though he lowered his voice. "They think it is entirely my fault for going against their wishes."

"Is it? Entirely your fault, I mean?" asked Sirius.

"I will admit most of it is my fault. But my family was not very supportive of what I wanted to be either," said Percy, frowning.

"What you wanted to be..." repeated Sirius thoughtfully. "I might be wrong, but it seems to me that all you wanted was a career at any cost, even if it meant your own family."

"They've been talking about me, haven't they?" asked Percy indignantly.

"They only stated facts," said Sirius shrugging.

"They don't understand how important my career is! Fred and George — it's easy for them to mock me — they have that little shop that is doing well and they expect me to what? Settle for a lowly desk job that pays me the same forever? Is it so wrong that I wanted to go higher than any of them?" asked Percy, his cheeks flushed.

"You would give up your family for a career?" muttered Sirius again, grimacing distastefully. "And once you earn all that bags of gold, then what?"

Percy looked angry but he did not respond for some time. Sirius said, "I don't know about you, but family is everything. And you are lucky to have a family that's good and kind and will accept you back if only you apologized."

It was a long moment before Percy finally muttered, "I'm sorry."

Unbidden to him, Sirius felt pity on the poor boy. For he was just a boy, nearly only Regulus' age when he, too, had made a mistake. Sirius hoped he would see the error of his ways and make it back to his family, unlike his own brother.

"You have no need to apologize to me. You can ask your apology to Harry if it means that much though," said Sirius, shrugging. "But, in my opinion, your family needs to hear it first. Why don't you approach your mother? I know she's the one who misses you most."

Briefly, Percy looked hopeful before his expression shuttered. "It's—it's difficult."

"It is," nodded Sirius. "But we're gearing towards a war and it would be better if we didn't put off our apologies till it's too late."

Percy looked down sombrely, before raising his eyes up. "Please don't tell anyone what I told you, not even my family."

Sirius rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "I just said —"

"I know what you said. But I need some time," said Percy uncomfortably.

"I understand," said Sirius, looking to make sure that Percy knew he really did. Percy stared at him before nodding once.

"Don't linger too long. It isn't exactly safe outside, especially for someone who associates with me in public," said Sirius as he stood up, dropping two galleons on the table before he left.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, January 7

"Harry!" exclaimed Sirius with a frown as he looked into the mirror, surprised that he was calling him so soon. It had only been a couple days since he had left for Hogwarts.

Harry got straight to the point. "Sirius, do you know anything about Horcruxes?"

Sirius' eyes widened. "Where are you right now? Are there people around you?"

"I'm in my dorm. It's empty and I put up a muffling charm so it's safe," said Harry shrugging, before asking doggedly, "But does that mean you know what it is?"

Sirius looked at Harry contemplatively. "Dumbledore's been teaching it to you in those lessons, I presume?"

"Yes."

"He did mention it to me," said Sirius with a nod. "But I think you must take this slow, Harry. Dumbledore means to teach you something out of those lessons and he will explain it to you soon."

Harry looked really curious now. "Why are you all mysterious? Is it that dangerous?"

"Dangerous and Dark magic, Harry," said Sirius, quite seriously. "You don't want anyone around you to hear about it. Although, I don't think any school student could know. Even I had no clue about it before Dumbledore told me."

"He showed me a memory of Voldemort when he was in school as Tom Riddle," said Harry. "Slughorn was his professor."

Sirius' eyes widened. "Blimey! I knew Slughorn was old, but old enough to be Voldemort's teacher?"

"Or Voldemort is younger than you think," smirked Harry.

"What was this memory about?"

"Riddle asked Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes," said Harry matter-of-factly.

"And?" asked Sirius, surprised. "What did Slughorn say to him?"

"That's the problem," sighed Harry. "Apparently, Professor Slughorn was so ashamed of it that he tampered with his own memory before he gave it to Dumbledore."

"Hmm, let me guess," said Sirius, making a show of thinking. "Dumbledore wants you to get it somehow from Slughorn?"

Six months ago, Sirius would have been upset with the way Dumbledore was 'using' Harry. But his knowledge about the Horcruxes made him quite understanding of why Dumbledore would use any means possible to get the information now.

"Yeah," said Harry glumly. "I don't see how I could get it from him when Dumbledore himself couldn't."

"But you're Harry Potter," scoffed Sirius, very much aware of what Dumbledore was intending. "Slughorn would give it to you if you simply went up and asked it of him."

"That's what Ron said," said Harry, shaking his head. "And I did try that. He shut me out, very rudely might I add."

It sounded to Sirius like that memory was very important to Slughorn if he could do that to Harry.

Harry was saying, "—and I was wondering if there was a spell or something that could make him reveal that memory."

"There's always Veritaserum," suggested Sirius off-handedly, knowing full well that it was impossible to use.

"But that's illegal. And Dumbledore said it would be pointless using Veritaserum or any other method that would divulge the information by force, as Slughorn probably knows all of its antidotes and keeps it handy on him."

"Then I don't see what you want from me, Harry," said Sirius, shaking his head and at a loss. "Clearly, Dumbledore wants you to get it from him because he knows Slughorn would be rather fond of you. If there was a spell that could help, Dumbledore would have used it himself."

"You're no help at all!" said Harry, frustrated.

Sirius sighed. "Look, Slughorn adores famous people and someone like you, who is famous as well as the son of his favourite student…"

"He liked my mum a lot, didn't he?" interrupted Harry, a frown marring his forehead.

"Yes," nodded Sirius before adding dismissively, "Lily respected him too, but I personally can't see why she tolerated such a—"

"But that's an idea!" exclaimed Harry. "I could ask to talk about her or something. I don't think Slughorn would want to see me alone just yet. I'll let this rest for a while before I ask him again. Or maybe I will go to one of those wretched parties after all. I don't care if I'd have to reschedule my Quidditch sessions."

Sirius shuddered. Rescheduling Quidditch for one of Slughorn's parties sounded very extreme in his opinion. But he supposed, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Saturday, January 11

"Have you Obliviated Mundungus?" asked Dumbledore, watching Sirius fastening his travelling cloak as they stood on the threshold of Potter Manor.

"I've dealt with him," said Sirius with a nod.

He had not, in fact.

Mundungus was yet to contact him, which meant Greyback had not been sighted in Borgin & Burke's. Sirius briefly wondered whether Mundungus had been caught by Death Eaters and if he was unnecessarily risking the Order members' lives by letting Mundungus roam free without Obliviating him. He felt the slight stirring of doubt and vowed to contact Mundungus himself once he returned home.

If Dumbledore knew he was lying, he did not show it nor did he press him. They took off to the gates beyond which Sirius Side-Along Apparated with Dumbledore to who knew where.

Sirius opened his eyes and was startled by the roar of the waves crashing against land. He and Dumbledore were standing on a cliff that overlooked the sea. Sirius looked over the edge of the cliff — there was a drop of about fifty feet. Dusk was approaching and the orange sun set fire to the tides below.

"What is this place?" asked Sirius finally.

Dumbledore, who had been watching the sea thoughtfully, looked at him. "You suggested that we try and search for the Horcruxes in every place that Voldemort is known to have lived, Sirius. As we seemed to have exhausted that list, I decided to look into the places that Voldemort must have visited in his lifetime."

"But he could have been in hundreds of places!" exclaimed Sirius. "Why here?"

"Because this is the place he had visited when he was in the orphanage," said Dumbedore, looking back at the sea. "I do believe he had never been elsewhere other than here during the first ten years of his life."

"They brought the kids from the orphanage here?" asked Sirius. It seemed too dangerous to bring kids to for a day trip.

"Not here, precisely. But to the village behind us," said Dumbledore, turning around. Sirius mirrored him and found the distant pinpricks of lights far behind.

"So, why are we here?" asked Sirius again, looking around.

"I took great pains in acquiring a memory from a Muggle woman who was once an inmate of the orphanage along with Tom," said Dumbledore. "All evidence suggests he visited this place alone or perhaps with one or two children and swam across. It would be a worthwhile use of our efforts to check this place."

"You're not saying we'll have to jump off the cliff or anything, do you?" asked Sirius, unable to stop himself from imagining Dumbledore jumping down the cliff for a swim in full robes.

"No. We can Apparate to that rock below," said Dumbledore, pointing to a dark outcrop of rock below the cliff, where waves frothed and churned against it. "But after that, I believe we will have to swim."

"Swim?" Sirius was instantly turned off by the idea of swimming in twilight, at the beginning of March too. He was certain it would be freezing below.

"Oh, yes," said Dumbledore, quite cheerfully for someone his age at the idea of swimming. "The first clue that Voldemort could be hiding something here is the presence of strong Anti-Apparition enchantments beyond the outcrop."

Sirius and Dumbledore Apparated on top of the rock and Dumbledore lit his wand as he guided them down, where the sea met the rock in a mass of jagged edges. Sirius was surprised to see a fissure on the wall of the cliff into which dark water was swirling.

"Inside?" asked Sirius unnecessarily. It already seemed the most plausible location by how ominous it looked.

"It seems to be," said Dumbledore with a sigh.

"Are you sure you can do this, Albus?" asked Sirius, a little worried.

"I am able," said Dumbledore with a nod, a look of determination on his face.

Sirius pulled out his wand with a 'Lumos!' and gave it to Dumbledore, who looked politely puzzled. The next moment Sirius had transformed into Padfoot and taken his wand from Dumbledore's hands with his muzzle.

He wagged his tail once and jumped into the cold water, looking back at Dumbledore as if beckoning him to join.

Dumbledore chuckled before snuffing out his wand light and thrust it into his pocket. He slid into the sea with an agility that beguiled his age and followed the wand light of Padfoot as they swam into the fissure.

After a moment, the fissure opened into a dark tunnel. The slimy walls were very narrow, only about three feet apart, but in his dog form he fit in comfortably. He could not say how it was for Dumbledore though.

Sirius could feel the land rising by the way his paws brushed the sea bed below. He emerged out of the water and dropped the wand from his mouth. Padfoot shook his body fretfully, droplets of cold water spraying everywhere, and Dumbledore joined him out of the water.

Sirius turned back to human and he was freezing cold! He hadn't felt it that much when he was a dog. He picked up his wand from the floor of the cave and quickly dried his clothes, just as Dumbledore did the same.

Sirius looked around himself. They were standing inside a cave, considerably larger than what Sirius had expected. Sirius felt like there was something piercing in the cold air; if he were a dog right now, he was sure his hackles would have risen at the unwelcome feeling.

Dumbledore had his wand lit again as he held it high and observed the walls and the ceiling.

"Why do I have such a foreboding feeling?" asked Sirius, quite rhetorically.

"I must say your instincts are right. There are traces of Dark magic here," said Dumbledore.

"This can't be it though, can it?" said Sirius. There didn't seem to be any Horcruxes hidden around; granted, there were not even any hiding spots around him. "There must be something beyond?"

Dumbledore didn't answer as he approached the wall of the cave and caressed it with his blackened fingertips, murmuring words in a strange tongue that Sirius could not understand. On an impulse, Sirius turned back to a dog and sniffed the air.

It was eerie alright and he caught on to a trail of scent that reminded him vividly of Albania. He paused in front of the wall on the right of Dumbledore and barked once to attract his attention. Dumbledore looked up from his position and walked towards him, running his fingers backward and forward over the particular spot, until finally he stopped, his hand pressed flat against the wall.

"Well done, Sirius," murmured Dumbledore appreciatively. "We go through here."

Sirius turned back to human again and suppressed the redundant "How?" that was on the tip of his tongue and watched as Dumbledore stepped back from the cave wall and pointed his wand at the rock.

For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing white as though there was a powerful light behind the crack. Sirius was half-hoping a door of some kind would emerge, the same way it had happened in Albania, but the arch simply shimmered before disappearing.

Sirius watched interestedly as Dumbledore seemed to be looking at the wall intently. "How predictable, Tom," he said finally as he raised his withered hand and Sirius was surprised to see that there was a bleeding, jagged cut on his forearm. "The tunnel is not exactly the right fit for an adult human," he explained in answer to Sirius' questioning gaze.

Dumbledore brushed his injured forearm on the rock surface and then drew his wand over it, healing the wound. Sirius waited with bated breath as he and Dumbledore stared at the wall.

The blazing silver outline of an arch appeared once more, but it did not fade away. The rock within it simply vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed to be total darkness.

Sirius glanced at Dumbledore, who met his eyes before nodding. Wordlessly, they stepped into the archway, wands lit and at the ready.

They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Sirius could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake; it was reflected in the completely still water below. The greenish glow and the light from the two wands were the only things that broke the otherwise dense darkness.

Sirius wandered forward to the edge of the lake, his footsteps echoing through the cavern, and felt the hair on his arms erupt in goose flesh at the sight before him. There were piles upon piles of pale, lifeless bodies inside the water, reflected off of his wand light.

"Uh…" Sirius turned to look uneasily at Dumbledore who had joined him by the edge of the lake.

"Inferi," said Dumbledore distastefully. Sirius felt sick at the sight – never before had he seen Inferi in the flesh. He was already wishing to get out of the place as fast as he could.

He looked at Dumbledore and whispered, "Where do you suppose the Horcrux is?"

"Obviously, over there in the middle of the lake," said Dumbledore, looking at the greenish glow in the distance.

"But how do we get there?" asked Sirius. "I'm not swimming inside that," he added, pointing at the water below him.

"I don't think the Inferi are here for the sole purpose of deterring us from getting into the water," said Dumbledore gravely.

Sirius frowned, "You mean they are part of the protection for the Horcrux?"

"It seems only plausible," said Dumbledore. Sirius did not want to know what the Inferi would do to protect the Horcrux and he hoped he would never find out.

Sirius wondered if they could conjure a boat of some kind. He pulled out his wand and muttered the incantation with a wave of his wand. A simple boat made of wood appeared on the water but before Sirius had even dropped his wand the boat vanished into thin air.

Dumbledore, who had been watching him hopefully, seemed undeterred as he said, "This can only mean that Voldemort would have some way of reaching it, if he ever wanted to check on it for himself." He nodded at Sirius, "Give me a moment."

Sirius made sure to stay as far away from the water as possible, and watched as Dumbledore walked around the lake, murmuring things again. After a long time that seemed like hours to Sirius, Dumbledore finally exclaimed in surprise.

Sirius hurried towards him, his footsteps echoing noisily. He was surprised when he saw a thick, coppery-green chain, extending from the depths of the water into Dumbledore's clenched hand. Dumbledore tapped the chain, which began to slide through his fist like a snake, coiling itself on the ground with a clinking sound that echoed off the rocky walls, pulling something from the depths of the black water. A ghostly, green boat broke the surface and floated, with barely a ripple, toward the place on the bank where they stood.

Sirius did not ask how Dumbledore had found the boat. He had resigned himself to the fact that Dumbledore knew more than he let on. He looked at Dumbledore. "It's rather small."

"I suggest you take to your Animagus form," said Dumbledore. "It will be rather cramped."

He gestured for Sirius to go in first, who turned into Padfoot and leaped into the boat noiselessly. Dumbledore stepped in after him, coiling the chain onto the floor, and immediately the boat started to move.

There was no sound other than the quiet rustle of the boat's prow as it pushed against the water. It moved without their help, heading straight towards the green glow. Soon they could no longer see the walls of the cavern; they might have been at sea except that there were no waves.

Then suddenly, the boat stopped

Padfoot growled as his hackles raised and a great churning sound filled the air.

It was like the worst nightmare. Throngs of pale, ghost-like bodies in half-decay rose up all around them, rushing straight towards their boat. Padfoot barked as the hands made to grab for him when Dumbledore raised his wand like a lasso and a ring of fire surrounded their boat, temporarily keeping away the Inferi.

Sirius had a quick brainwave to propel the boat magically, but for that, he needed his wand. He turned back to his human form and there was barely enough space as he stood on the boat. He pointed his wand at the boat thinking, 'Locomotor—'

But before he could finish the spell, the boat had started sinking. Sirius swore as he saw the pale hands of the Inferi trying to drag the boat down from inside the water.

"We need to get out of here!" yelled Sirius over the roaring fire and the sloshing water as he looked at Dumbledore, who was frowning in concentration, still keeping the ring of fire around them. It would become completely pointless once they drowned.

"We should swim," said Dumbledore shortly as water started to fill into the boat.

"WHAT?" yelled Sirius in alarm and his echo rang through the cavern.

But Dumbledore had already jumped into the lake and Sirius could do nothing but follow him. The water was cold, but the icy panic that numbed his mind was even worse as he swam as fast as he could. The fire had gone out and the lake was completely dark again.

Terror gripped his heart when hands from inside the water grabbed him. He yelled but he found himself gulping mouthfuls of the icy water. He tried not to think about the dead bodies that had stewed in the water for years, lest he lose his lunch at a very inopportune moment.

He tried to shake the Inferius off, but dead as they were, they had a surprisingly strong grip. He pointed his wand blindly behind himself, 'Relashio!'

He felt the grip loosen but again and again another pair of hands took hold of him and dragged him down with them. He threw spell after spell that would banish them and even tried 'Protego Incendium' that he had discussed with Harry in what seemed like years ago, sitting in their living room. But, the water simply extinguished the fire before his wand had even conjured it.

About a dozen Inferi were around him, hands choking him and dragging him down. He was certain this was going to be his end and regretted not having talked to Harry before leaving. He tried very hard to kick the Inferi off and in that brief moment, saw Dumbledore struggling against them just as much when Sirius saw him pointing his wand inside the water.

Sirius knew it would be useless. He'd already tried — but then an enormous mass of fire in the shape of a bird erupted out of his wand that the water did not extinguish. Sirius threw a 'Difffindo!' at the nearest Inferius having him in a chokehold and it fell back into the water. He swam towards Dumbledore, around whom there were mercifully no Inferi, protected by the fire.

Dumbledore kept his wand raised, and the fire-bird which Sirius now assumed was Fiendfyre, flew around them in a large circle inside the water as if it were air. He couldn't bring himself to worry too much that it was Dark Magic when the Inferi scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the fire as they sank into the depths of the lake, unmoving again.

With renewed energy, both of them swam back towards the entrance of the cave. Dumbledore still had his wand outstretched as they got out of the water, the Fiendfyre circling them. Once he was certain the Inferi would not rise again, he waved his wand and the firebird vanished.

Sirius looked at Dumbledore worriedly. "What do we do now? We can't swim all the way back there!" he said, pointing to the distant green glow.

"We will have to come another time," said Dumbledore, sighing. He looked exhausted from the combined effort of the Fiendfyre and the swimming.

"Do you think you can swim again?" asked Sirius. There was still the tunnel outside that they had to swim across to reach the outside of the cliff face.

"I will have to anyway," said Dumbledore resignedly. They walked together up to the sealed entrance and Dumbledore was already pointing his wand at his blackened hand when Sirius interrupted, "Save your strength for later, Albus. I can take care of it this time."

Dumbledore nodded in gratitude when Sirius noticed a particularly sharpened edge of a rock near the banks. He pressed his finger against the edge and drew it slightly to get the blood flowing. He looked back at the lake, now looking surreally calm, not at all like minutes before when hundreds of the living dead had risen out of it to drown them.

God, he was going to have enough nightmare material for days.

Monday, February 10

"Explain again why you want me to come with you?" asked Hestia, only slightly annoyed despite her words. She was disguised using Polyjuice again as a petite woman with brown hair, much shorter than her usual height, which she found very uncomfortable. "Clearly, I'm not needed in your off-the-record dealings with Mundungus."

It had been nearly five weeks since they had met Mundungus and he had not had any information for them until today. He had apparently contacted Sirius by sending a Patronus, who had in turn asked Hestia to accompany him.

"You never know when you could be attacked. It's best to have backup even if it seems unnecessary," said Sirius simply, a lit cigarette in one hand as usual.

Hestia would have believed that he was simply taking precaution if she had not witnessed how lax he was about such things when they had first met Mundungus in Knockturn Alley.

Sirius let out a puff of smoke and Hestia wrinkled her nose. "Must you always smoke?" she asked testily.

"Must you always pry?" retorted Sirius, not without amusement. Hestia decided he was a lost cause and wisely refrained from commenting as they walked together through Knockturn Alley.

They reached the closed shop of Cobb & Webb's, and wordlessly, Hestia moved to stand guard outside the same alcove as Sirius hid behind it and waited.

"What if he doesn't show up?" asked Hestia, merely for the sake of breaking the silence.

"This is Mundungus we're talking about," said Sirius. "He's not going to pass up an opportunity for more gold."

"Did someone say gold?"

Mundungus had crept up from behind and thrown an arm around her, causing Hestia to jump in alarm. She shook off his arm with such force that he nearly fell over and scowled at him, raising her wand threateningly.

Despite her treatment of him, the oblivious idiot grinned. "I'm sure there was a differen' girl las' time, mate. This 'un looks better," he said, looking her up and down. "Why d'you bring 'em along anyway? Not complainin', though. I like the view," he added and Hestia jabbed her wand into his chest forcefully, trying hard to keep from talking, lest she reveal herself.

"That's none of your business, Dung," snapped Sirius, beckoning Mundungus to join him in the alcove with a jerk of his wand. "What have you found for me?"

Mundungus did not answer but was eyeing Sirius' cigarette. Sirius looked annoyed as he threw away his fag and pulled out a new one, handing it to Mundungus, who quickly lit it with his wand.

"This is good stuff, mate," said Mundungus appreciatively. "Where didja get 'em?"

Sirius snarled, "If you don't start talking within the next five seconds—"

"Alrigh', alright!" said Mundungus, raising his hands defensively. "I tried to keep watch like you said," he said with a great sigh. "Didja know how much time I coulda spent doin' other things? I coulda made cauldrons of money if I hadn' wasted—"

"Yes, yes, we know what a loss it is to the economy without the illegal money that you could've earned," said Sirius exasperatedly. "Get to the point!"

"Lucky for you, Greyback dropped by yesterday."

"At Borgin & Burke's? What did he do?" asked Sirius, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Threatened 'im, that werewolf did," grunted Mundungus. "'e was scared witless, Borgin was, when Greyback said he'd drop by on the next full moon."

"Did you see what he was interested in?"

"Dunno mate, I hadta escape. Some ministry blokes decided to raid Knockturn Alley at the time."

"And they didn't notice Greyback?" asked Sirius, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"They usually ignore Borgin & Burke's. They've been around for a long time, see. I think Borgin bribes 'em. Can't blame 'im," added Mundungus as he shrugged sympathetically.

Sirius scowled, "Tell me you found something useful!"

"I think 'e might 'ave mentioned a cabinet. Can't be sure," he added, scratching his head. "He mighta meant carbuncle for all I know."

Sirius pressed his fingers over the bridge of his nose and exhaled, looking visibly irritated. "So all you have for me is that Greyback might have mentioned a cabinet? And you expect me to pay fifty galleons for this?"

"A deal is a deal, mate," said Mundungus immediately. "No backin' away now."

"True," nodded Sirius. "My only consolation is that you won't remember most of this."

Mundungus gaped in confusion, "Wha'?"

'Obliviate!'

It took almost a whole minute to finish Obliviating him. Hestia supposed making someone forget about an entire year's worth of Order meetings would, of course, take a while. And before Mundungus' expression had cleared, Sirius dropped a bag of gold by his feet and dragged Hestia away from there.

"You didn't have to give him that gold," ground out Hestia. "He didn't give us anything useful at all!"

"A deal is a deal," echoed Sirius. "Besides, he just lost some of his memories. Don't you think he deserves some compensation?"

Hestia pursed her lips, feeling slightly sorry for Mundungus despite herself.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she saw Sirius duck into a narrow alleyway.

"I'll have to disguise myself first," said Sirius, taking out a small vial from his robes containing what appeared to be Polyjuice Potion and took a gulp. "Enough for half an hour, I reckon," he added after he had transformed.

Hestia felt a little unsettled seeing and hearing him. He usually never disguised himself, preferring to Disillusion instead since it was very clear the Death Eaters knew he was part of the Order. The average-looking Muggle man with grey hair before her spoke in a deep voice so unlike Sirius, "I won't take more than ten minutes."

"I need to go to Gringotts," said Hestia, who had decided when Sirius had called on her that it would be safer as long as she was in Diagon Alley with someone.

Sirius nodded, "Why don't you go ahead? I'll wait outside Gringotts when I'm done."

They parted ways after that, Hestia heading to Gringotts and Sirius to Borgin & Burke's.

Borgin & Burke's was empty when Sirius entered and the bell tinkled to announce the arrival of a new customer.

"Good morning," said Sirius, nodding his head politely at the old shopkeeper.

"Morning," came the less-than-enthusiastic response.

"Mr. Borgin, I presume?" asked Sirius redundantly. He had been good friends with his father. 

"And who are you?" said Borgin, looking at him suspiciously, but Sirius looked back coolly.

"An interested buyer."

After Sirius had stated his budget, Borgin seemed to be genuinely happy for a customer and he showed Sirius around, explaining the things he had in store – a skull turned upside-down containing what looked suspiciously like blood, jars labelled as containing bone ash, spiked instruments and leering masks lined the wall. Sirius kept his eyes peeled, but there was no sign of any cabinet on display. What if it had been moved elsewhere?

Borgin was saying, "So what would you like to buy, Mister—?"

"Gray," he supplied before asking, "You don't suppose you have any magical cabinets, do you? I seem to recall one from years before and yet it seems to have vanished. Was it purchased?"

Borgin turned pale as he stuttered, "Y-yes — I'm afraid we don't have any vanishing cabinets, Mr. Gray. But we do have vanishing flasks, perfect for storing and transporting dangerous potions—"

"No, I'm not interested. Perhaps another day," said Sirius smoothly as he hurried out of the shop.

Was he mistaken or had Borgin just mentioned that the cabinet in question was a vanishing cabinet?

Sirius reached the marble-columned building of Gringotts and waited outside pacing as he pondered what a vanishing cabinet had to do with all of this. He knew they were all the rage during the First War. People could slip inside when a Death Eater attacked their homes and turn up later when the attack was over. And if Harry had heard right, there had been two of them. Sirius had not a clue what a boy of Malfoy's age would want to do with two vanishing cabinets.

And there was a more confusing observation. It was only Greyback who had mentioned a cabinet – he could have easily tried to buy one for completely different reasons. Hadn't the boy used a necklace to curse that poor girl? Why would he want another cursed necklace to stay in the shop? Unless he planned to curse Borgin himself.

He was back to square one again with no idea what Malfoy or Greyback had in store. He supposed he could ask if Harry had heard or seen something regarding Malfoy, but he knew Harry. He would probably take it as permission to investigate Malfoy and the last thing Sirius wanted was for him to get entangled with a Death Eater. Merlin knows that boy found enough trouble without Sirius' help.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he jumped in astonishment when a scream pierced the air. It was a good thing he had jumped too as a Stunning Spell just missed him by an inch and went whizzing by his ear. He whirled around, pulling out his wand.

Three masked Death Eaters had surrounded him out of nowhere, in the middle of bleeding Diagon Alley.

People were already screaming and running away when Sirius began to duel them. He was outnumbered three to one and had time to only be on his defensive, casting shields as they took the volley of spells thrown at him. He knew he had to Disapparate, but Hestia was still inside Gringotts and he couldn't leave her alone.

He ducked as his shield faltered and a hex thrown right at his face missed by inches.

Enraged, he yelled 'Stupefy!' but the Death Eater had anticipated it and jumped out of its way.

He saw a horde of Aurors Apparating onto the scene just as Hestia came running out of Gringotts, blanching at the sight before her. Sirius wasted no time in sprinting towards her; he grabbed her hand and Disapparated.

"What just happened?" asked Hestia, panting as they entered Headquarters together at a run, afraid to stand in the open. It took a moment for her to realize that Sirius was still holding her hand from when he had Disapparated with her. A second later he had let her go as he walked to the dining area.

"They just attacked out of nowhere!" answered Sirius, looking dishevelled as he took off his cloak and draped it over the back of his chair.

"They're attacking publicly now?" said Hestia, alarmed. "And we were disguised! They couldn't possibly know who you were!"

"I think they must have watched me in Borgin & Burke's. Or— oh, bugger!" exclaimed Sirius, slapping his palm to his forehead. "It was Borgin that alerted them! He must have realized I was asking unnecessary questions."

Hestia narrowed her eyes. "Really, Sirius. I thought you knew better than to ask him directly about the cabinets!"

"How else was I supposed to ask?" retorted Sirius, looking broodingly at the wall and they descended into silence.

"Why do you care what Greyback is buying at Borgin & Burke's anyway?" asked Hestia curiously.

"It's nothing," said Sirius, shaking his head dismissively. And before Hestia could pester him further, he quickly summoned Kreacher and asked for tea and scones to be served, effectively closing the discussion.

Their disguises had worn off by the time and they talked pleasantly for a while, discussing that day's Daily Prophet before Hestia announced that she had to go home as she had work.

Sirius, looking like himself again, frowned. "I can't believe I've never asked this before, but what do you do?"

Hestia shook her head, amused. "I work part-time for Whizz Hard Books as a copy editor. It's quite interesting and it gets me by every month," she added shrugging.

"It must be nice having a job," remarked Sirius.

Hestia looked back at him with raised eyebrows. "Maybe you should get back into one. It would do you well."

"I wouldn't know. I haven't worked a day in my life," said Sirius smirking.

Hestia rolled her eyes. "It must be nice being rich."

"It's easy," said Sirius, flatly. "Get yourself wrongly convicted for fourteen years and I'll see if you can say it again."

"Oh, do you have to bring that up?" groaned Hestia rather good-naturedly but Sirius seemed a bit taken aback as he stared at her with something akin to surprise. She coloured under his gaze when Sirius stood up suddenly. Hestia thought he looked rather put-out.

"I'll best be off too. Have a good evening," said Sirius offhandedly, putting on his cloak as he walked out, leaving Hestia wondering if she had missed something.

oOo

Chapter Text

Saturday, March 1

It was nearing eleven at night when Harry finally got to his dorm. He was still a bit shaken by the fact that Ron had been poisoned right in front of his eyes. Everyone was grateful he got the bezoar to Ron in the nick of time, but he could not imagine what would have happened if he hadn't come across it in the Prince's Potions book.

And to top it all off, Hagrid had let slip that Dumbledore had had a disagreement with Snape. He had a feeling that Sirius was right. Dumbledore knew much more than he let on and would likely not want Harry taking matters in his own hands and do something foolish.

But Ron could have likely died today and if Malfoy was behind the attack, he could not sit by and watch Malfoy targeting those who were close to him.

He knew that Malfoy was disappearing for long hours from the Marauder's Map. He had a fleeting idea to ask Sirius how that could be possible but quickly decided against it. Sirius had wheedled a promise out of Harry during the holidays that he would not meddle with Malfoy unnecessarily, even though Harry had already known he couldn't keep that promise.

He sighed as he got into his bed after pulling on his pajamas. The rest of the boys in his dorm were already asleep, not knowing that Ron had been poisoned. Harry suspected the news would have travelled throughout Hogwarts by breakfast tomorrow. He drew the curtains around himself and fell back into his bed, wondering again what Malfoy could be doing when he was not on the map.

If only he had someone who could keep an eye on Malfoy at all times, even when Harry was in class…

He quickly sat up, exhilarated by the idea. He could ask Twitchet to follow him and find out where he went!

Almost as soon as he thought of it, he deflated once he tried to think it through. Sirius would figure out if Twitchet was absent from Potter Manor. And would she even be allowed inside Hogwarts? Sure, Dobby had popped in to warn him during his second-year despite being—

Dobby! Harry grinned in the dark, feeling euphoric at his brainwave. Dobby would only be too eager to help. He would find Dobby tomorrow in the kitchens and tell him to keep an eye on Malfoy and if possible find out where he went.

Feeling his buzzing mind ease after that resolution, he fell asleep.

As he had guessed, everyone in Hogwarts had come to know that Ron had been poisoned and had endlessly asked Harry, and by extension, Hermione and Ginny, how it had happened. People did not think too much of it though – they suspected it was only an accident. He was in the Potion teacher's study when it happened after all. And he had been given the antidote immediately, so there would be no lasting harm.

Hermione finished her breakfast more quickly than usual and got up. "I'm going to the library, Harry. I'll need a few books for my Arithmancy homework."

"I'll be at the Hospital Wing," said Harry and with a nod, Hermione hurried off.

Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, followed Hermione's retreating form and smirked. "I'll bet a sickle she'll get to the Hospital Wing faster than you."

Harry sniggered. "I'm not betting against that."

"How long do you think before Ron finally comes around and realizes he fancies Hermione?" asked Neville from beside Harry, surreptitiously glancing at Lavender, who was sitting a few seats away. "It's painfully obvious. I wonder who Ron is trying to fool hanging out with Lavender."

Ginny chuckled. "He can be completely thick when it comes to Hermione."

"Hermione's not acting so smart now either," pointed out Harry.

"Love can make a fool out of even the smartest witches," floated a dreamy voice and Harry looked up to see Luna, who joined them from the Ravenclaw table.

Neville was greeting Luna happily, but Harry noticed Ginny had turned pink and was trying to hide it by taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

Luna was saying, "—and I am going to try out. I heard there's no one applying for the post and decided I could give it a try."

Harry had no idea what she was talking about as he was busy glancing at Ginny out of the corner of his eyes, but Neville looked taken aback. "Oh, I hope you get it. I think you'll do well."

"Thanks, Neville," said Luna beaming.

"I have to go," said Ginny abruptly. "I said I'd meet Dean."

"Ooh, enjoy yourself, Ginny," said Luna, her protuberant eyes wide.

Harry, who felt like he had something stuck in his throat, said hoarsely, "Yeah, have fun."

She turned back to wave at him and left, her red hair swinging behind her jauntily. Neville and Luna resumed their conversation and a miserable Harry was confronted with Lavender, who had come up to him and asked all sorts of questions about Ron for the second time that morning. He excused himself finally after ten minutes and left for the kitchens.

Since it was a Sunday, Harry did not have to worry about missed classes. The corridors were mostly empty, as everyone had taken to the outdoors to enjoy their first snow-free Sunday.

Harry walked leisurely as he rounded the corner behind a suit of armour and stopped dead. It was Ginny – along with Dean; the latter was holding her hand and talking in whispers very close to her. Even as Harry felt a blow to his stomach, he managed to keep his composure as he turned to walk away hastily.

"Harry?" said Ginny's voice and he turned back hesitantly to find Ginny and Dean staring at him. Dean had moved a little further away from Ginny and looked very embarrassed, but Ginny looked unabashed.

"Uh, sorry," mumbled Harry, dearly wishing he had put on his Invisibility Cloak. It was just inside the pocket of his robes after all.

"Whatever for?" Ginny wondered aloud and Dean whispered, "Let's go somewhere else."

"I was just heading to the kitchens," explained Harry unnecessarily.

"Didn't you just have breakfast, mate?" asked Dean, snorting.

Harry shrugged unapologetically but did not reply. The moment could not have gotten more awkward with all three of them simply staring at each other when Dean took hold of Ginny's hand tentatively. He looked at Harry before looking at Ginny and said, "Come, Ginny. We'll better go somewhere private."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Thank goodness Ron isn't here to hear that."

Dean looked at Harry, amusement clear in his eyes, before the couple walked away.

Harry stood there frozen. He had wondered all through the Christmas holidays of how he could get Ginny to notice him. Yes, she was with Dean and though it inspired some sort of hatred towards him, Harry knew he wasn't to blame for his predicament. Dean was of a good sort and he had supported Harry last year when even his best friend hadn't and joined the DA without Seamus' knowledge. Harry had no right to be petty against Dean. He had gotten to Ginny first after all.

What had he been doing while Ginny grew up to be a smart and beautiful girl?

Of course, he had been too busy dealing with a prophecy that would determine his fate. Ginny was free and she had her whole life ahead of her. Harry could see nothing but Voldemort at the end of his road. It wasn't his fault that he hadn't taken time for a girlfriend in his life, other than pretend ones.

Which brought him to another matter that had been nagging him ever since Parvati had 'broken-up' with him. Parvati's father had gotten a death threat over the holidays. There could be any number of reasons why he had gotten it, but Parvati was afraid that one of them could be because of him.

Would he want to put Ginny's life on the line too if she ditched Dean and became his girlfriend by some miracle?

The answer to that was obvious.

Ron had just been poisoned. The Weasleys were already in danger simply because Harry was close to them and Ron was his best friend. He would not have anything happening to Ginny be on his conscience too.

"Harry Potter, sir!" came an excited voice and Harry jumped in surprise. He had reached the kitchens while he had been pondering his non-existent romantic life and the door was open with Dobby standing by the entrance with his tea-cosy hat and layers of jumpers.

"Harry Potter has come to visit Dobby!" squeaked the elf happily.

"Er—yes. How are you Dobby?" asked Harry as Dobby grabbed his hand and ushered him inside.

"Dobby is doing fine, Harry Potter sir. Does Harry Potter wish to have something to eat?" the elf asked enthusiastically. The other house-elves were already pushing flagons of pumpkin juice and carrot cake towards him.

"No, thank you. I just ate," declined Harry. "On second thought, I'll take some of these for Ron and Hermione. I came down here because I need you to do something for me, Dobby."

Dobby looked delighted as he bowed. "Dobby will be honoured to help you, Harry Potter!"

Saturday, March 8

Sirius walked quickly through the corridors of Hogwarts, some students scurrying away or stopping to stare when they saw him. Dumbledore had sent Sirius a letter through Fawkes, telling him of Harry's Quidditch injury. Although, it was already mended and nothing to worry about, Dumbledore was using the opportunity to let Sirius come to Hogwarts so that he could meet with him and discuss the Order's latest news.

Still, Sirius had to see Harry first.

The Hospital Wing was empty save for the two beds on the far right surrounded by visitors. Hermione was standing next to Ron, who was lying against his pillows with his eyes closed. He wasn't asleep, as Sirius could see him replying to whatever it was that Hermione had said to him.

Sirius knew Ron had nearly been poisoned from the twins, who had mentioned it to him during one of their Order meetings. He had hoped to hear from Harry about it, but Harry had not contacted him through the mirror since the last conversation they had regarding Horcruxes. Sirius knew Harry must have been busy with Quidditch this past week and so didn't think about it too much.

Ginny, still in her Quidditch robes, was sitting next to Harry along with a boy and a girl from their team.

Hermione stood up when she saw him. "Sirius," she said in greeting and Sirius caught the full view of Harry lying prone on the bed with his head bandaged heavily and fast asleep.

The rational part of him knew he was alright, but Sirius could not help but feel a tad anxious on seeing Harry so vulnerable.

"Who did this?"

Ron, fully awake now, sat up on his bed with a grimace. "Cormac McLaggen. And he was on our team."

"If I get my hands on him…" growled Sirius.

"You won't have to," grumbled Ginny as she looked at Harry once before striding out of the Hospital Wing along with the other two teammates, looking as angry as Sirius felt.

"Afternoon, Professor McGonagall," said the other girl as she left the Hospital wing just as McGonagall herself entered.

"Afternoon, Miss Robins," McGonagall nodded before catching Sirius' eye. "Ah Sirius, you're here. Dumbledore is expecting you."

"I just got here," said Sirius exasperatedly.

"And you know it was strictly unnecessary," said McGonagall tartly. "Poppy fixed him in a trice; he'll wake up by the evening and be on his feet by tomorrow."

Sirius sighed before looking back at Ron and Hermione. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

When Sirius finally left the Headmaster's Office and headed back to the Hospital Wing, the sky was dark with streaks of orange. Lamps were lit along the corridors and there were much less students around.

His mood brightened when he saw Harry was already sitting up with a furious expression on his face beside a gleeful looking Ron.

Sirius' arrival interrupted whatever conversation they were having, and Harry grinned on seeing him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry.

Sirius stopped and shrugged. "Well, if you don't want me here—"

"Don't be thick, Sirius," said Harry, rolling his eyes good-naturedly as he shifted against his pillows to make space for him.

"It's a pity nobody will show me the boy who did this," said Sirius as he sat on the foot of his bed. "I'd like to give him a piece of my mind."

Ron sniggered. "Hate to break it to you, Sirius, but you shouldn't have a go at him. He's about the size of a troll!"

"There's always a good hex or two—"

"I hope for your sake you aren't giving them any ideas, Black." Professor McGonagall looked stern as she strode into the Hospital Wing, carrying an envelope in one hand.

"You can't tell me you aren't upset we lost because of that boy, Minerva," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows.

"I heard that Miss Weasley, Peakes, and Coote have, to put it politely, 'dealt with him'." Sirius was certain he wasn't imagining the smugness in her tone as she said that.

Ron looked considerably cheerful. "I would have given an arm to see that!"

"Whatever were you thinking putting him on your team anyway?" said Sirius, rounding on Harry.

"It's not like I wanted him on the team!" said Harry, glancing at Ron involuntarily. "I had no choice."

"What are you looking at me for? It's not my fault I was poisoned!" exclaimed Ron.

"Anyway," interrupted McGonagall as she handed the envelope in her hand to Sirius. "I came here to ask you to deliver this to Hestia. She wrote to me regarding something that she was researching and I have—"

She was interrupted by the doors slamming open and Sirius saw Tonks sprinting towards them, looking flushed with happiness.

"Sirius! Harry! Guess wha—Oof!"

In her haste, she bumped into McGonagall and at the same time seemed to try to avoid bumping into her – which only caused her to stumble over. McGonagall caught her by the arm before she could hit the floor and told her sternly, "Do watch where you're going, Miss Tonks."

"Sorry, Professor," she muttered before turning to look at them again enthusiastically. "Guess what happened?"

"Well, tell us before you explode," said Sirius, trying to hide his smirk. He knew he was unsuccessful when Harry looked at him curiously.

She held out her arm and a ring glistened there. "I'm engaged!"

Harry's eyes widened and Ron exclaimed, "Blimey!"

Only McGonagall replied appropriately, "Congratulations!"

Harry and Ron recovered quickly and congratulated Tonks, whose face looked about to split in two with happiness.

"When was this?" asked Sirius, grinning.

"Nearly four hours ago," said Tonks in a dreamy voice. "It was perfect! Remus even got down on one knee and—you already knew about this, didn't you?"

The look on Sirius' face was enough of a giveaway. "He's been planning it for weeks, that plonker."

McGonagall said warmly, "A celebratory toast is in order, Nymphadora—"

"It's Tonks, Professor!"

"Or Mrs. Lupin," said Harry, smirking.

Tonks blushed and shook her head in disbelief. "It's going to be so weird to get used to that."

McGonagall raised her wand, and a bottle of Rosmerta's mead and five silver goblets appeared on a tray beside Harry's bed.

"Cheers!" chuckled Sirius as he tapped the cork with his wand, which flew out, and he poured a good measure for each of them.

Ron looked at it warily. "Uh, no thank you." Clearly, the memory of his poisoning wasn't easy to forget.

"The best way to overcome your fears is to face them again," said Sirius as he handed Ron the goblet, who took it reluctantly.

McGonagall raised her goblet in a toast. "To Remus and Tonks!"

"To Remus and Tonks!" echoed everyone cheerfully.

The doors to the Hospital Wing slammed open and Madam Pomfrey bustled in, looking shocked. "Potter, I thought I told you not to overexert yourse— Minerva!" She halted on seeing McGonagall. "What is this?"

"We're celebrating, Poppy," said McGonagall. "Come, have some mead."

She handed a goblet to Pomfrey, who looked puzzled. "What are we celebrating?"

"I'm engaged, Madam Pomfrey!" beamed Tonks happily.

"Oh! Congratulations, dear," said Pomfrey. "To who?"

"Remus Lupin," said Sirius and she turned to look at him. Pomfrey was surprised and slightly shocked on seeing him for the first time since Azkaban, but she quickly schooled her expression to one of happiness.

"He was a fine boy, Lupin," said Pomfrey, smiling. "You have chosen well, dear."

Tonks grinned. "Thanks Madam Pomfrey!"

"Please, call me Poppy."

Tonks indulged her request before they toasted again to Remus and Tonks. The celebration finally winded down when Pomfrey noted Harry was squinting and immediately deduced he was having a headache. She vanished the goblets of mead and berated Ron for drinking after only a week of being poisoned. Before Ron could point fingers at Sirius, he bid Harry a quick goodbye and hurried out with Tonks. They left Hogwarts together for a drink in the Hog's Head where Tonks gave him a detailed account of Remus' proposal. He couldn't wait to torment Remus for days with the information.

Saturday, March 15

The sky was cloudy with patches of blue, and a chilly breeze ruffled his hair as Sirius was on Order duty that day in Upper Flagley. He was watching an extraordinarily old-looking building at the end of a narrow street with a grotesque looking gargoyle beside a door that had no doorknob or keyhole. There was no board proclaiming the name of the shop and the windows were darkened.

The building was actually a wizarding establishment, a tavern named Ye Olde Gargoyle, catering to witches and wizards who knew the password to enter it – something Sirius had discovered on their very first day of duty outside the tavern involving disguising himself as a lovable stray dog, much to Hestia's amusement. Kingsley had tipped them off about the tavern serving as a recreational spot for Death Eaters and their would-be lackeys. Since Sirius and Hestia had been pulled off of watching Bellatrix's house, they had been tasked with watching this place for Death Eaters.

The only unusual activity he had noticed that day was a snippet of conversation carelessly thrown around in drunken humour by two men. Sirius had had more fun watching the muggles as they went about their daily life, blissfully unaware of the wizards slipping in and out of the tavern.

After five hours standing in the same location under a disillusionment charm, he was tired and hungry and couldn't wait to get home for lunch.

A tall muggle woman in a pea-coat was walking straight towards him and Sirius watched her in idle fascination. He was certain of who it was when she came up to him. Only Hestia knew where Sirius hid despite being disillusioned.

Sirius sighed in relief as he led her behind a narrow alleyway with rubbish overflowing from the bins. The two of them had been watching this tavern for nearly a week now and had immediately gotten familiar with their routine and hiding places. "Thank goodness you're here! I'm starving."

Hestia pursed her lips and cast a muffling charm around her before saying, "Now you get the idea of what it's like for me waiting around for you. Besides, I'm exactly on time."

Sirius couldn't help but smirk at that. "As always."

He took off his disillusioning charm as Hestia said, "What's the report?"

"The Death Eaters could be using this tavern as a meeting point," said Sirius. "I saw a bloke today drinking with someone else, laughing about the fact that they Imperiused a kid. Tried to get him to kill his own parents."

"How horrible," said Hestia. "You don't think he was under the Imperius, do you?"

"I don't reckon anyone under the Imperius would be laughing about that," said Sirius.

"Can a person under the Imperius curse actually put an Imperius on another person?" asked Hestia curiously.

"Good point," said Sirius. "It could be a Death Eater in all fairness. I'm not exactly familiar with all of their faces."

There was a moment when they both lingered around, glancing at the pedestrians. Sirius, who hated awkward silences, decided to set off home. "Well, I guess I'll be—"

He was cut-off when the glowing Patronus form of a falcon soared right in front of them. It opened its beak to speak in Elphias Doge's urgent voice.

"Being ambushed in my house. Need help immediately."

Sirius and Hestia looked at each other wide-eyed before Disapparating immediately together to the outskirts of a farm in Devon.

It was noon; the weather here was warmer than in Upper Flagley and the place was quiet. But when they got closer, they could hear shouts and a bang coming from the cottage in front of them. Two hooded figures brandishing wands stood near the entrance, duelling the elderly Doge, but there was no sign of surrender from either of them. Sirius and Hestia rushed to help when they heard a faint pop and saw Mad-Eye too appear outside Doge's house.

One of the hooded figures saw the new arrival and came forward to meet them with a Killing Curse straight at them. Sirius and Hestia leaped away from it on either side, and Sirius immediately fired a Stunning spell that he managed to block easily.

The Death Eater sneered, "Black is it? The Dark Lord shall reward me if I were to finish you off for him too."

Hestia shot a 'Reducto!' that destroyed his mask, revealing the snarling face of Travers, who sent a spell that made Hestia fly backwards a few feet before crashing onto the ground. Sirius used his distraction to send a cutting hex that hit him straight across the chest. Travers yelled in pain and Sirius only had a moment of triumph before Travers sent a bone-breaking hex that hit his arm, making him drop his wand.

Reeling with pain and unable to lift his wand arm, Sirius concentrated with all his might to summon his wand to his left hand as he murmured 'Accio wand!'

Travers was holding a hand to his chest to stem the flow of blood that was drenching his robes and came running towards him, raising his wand simultaneously. Sirius felt a soft hand grab his broken forearm and he felt his body beginning to wind up in preparation for Disapparition when he saw Travers making a lunge at him. Raising his wand with his left arm, he had only a second to yell 'Impedimenta!'

He heard a shrill scream and the pain in his forearm became so intense that he passed out.

Chapter Text

Saturday, March 15

The first thing Sirius heard when he came to was a crackling fire in front of him. He opened his eyes and found himself very warm and lying on the couch in an unfamiliar house with a strange feeling of déjà vu. He tried to sit up only to find his forearm heavily bandaged and sore.

A flash of lightning illuminated the sparsely furnished living room through the window and a clap of thunder followed soon after. He noticed his cloak was draped on a wooden chair near the fireplace. Rain was lashing against the window panes, and Sirius felt his stomach rumble when the delicious smell of baked bread wafted through the air.

He looked at his hand and tried to flex it experimentally but then hissed when a sharp pain ran through his forearm.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't sure if I should mend them. I might botch it up."

Sirius looked up to find Hestia standing on the threshold that connected the living room to what appeared to be the dining area. She was in a simple dress; her hair was undone and dishevelled and she was holding a parchment and a quill in ink-stained hands. She looked very unlike the prim Hestia in her sharp robes that he knew of. A niggling suspicion entered his mind.

He searched for his wand in his pockets with his uninjured hand and found it missing.

"Your wand is on the table near the fire. It was soaked in the rain, so I left it to dry."

Sirius immediately took hold of it and pointed it at Hestia, who looked at him exasperatedly. "Oh, come now, Sirius!"

Sirius refused to back down. "Where were we before you brought me here?"

"Elphias Doge's house," said Hestia blithely. "And before that we were at that old tavern in Upper Flagley."

Sirius lowered his wand, satisfied. "But what happened? Why aren't we at Headquarters?"

Hestia put down her parchment and quill on the chest of drawers beside her and took a seat on the opposite couch. "I thought Travers was going to lunge at me and I didn't want to take him along for the ride to Grimmauld Place. So I Disapparated to my home instead."

"That's not very clever," said Sirius critically. "What if you brought him here to your house?"

"I panicked," shot back Hestia though her cheeks turned pink in faint embarrassment. "This was the first place I could think of."

"You need to shake them off by Apparating to a neutral location first if someone gets hold of you. We should teach this in the next Order meeting to the new recruits," added Sirius as an afterthought.

"Thank goodness for your presence of mind then," said Hestia dryly. "That Impedimenta slowed Travers down before he could get to us."

"What about Doge and Mad-Eye?" asked Sirius.

"They're at Headquarters and doing alright," reassured Hestia. "I sent a Patronus to Mad-Eye as soon as we got here."

Sirius nodded and looked back at his bandaged forearm. "You don't reckon you can mend this, do you?"

Hestia looked apologetic. "I know the spell, but I haven't ever had the need to use it."

Sirius knew Kingsley would know how to fix him or even Molly. But he couldn't go knocking to their homes for a simple fix that he ought to have learned by now. Besides, what could be the harm in trying?

He decided to throw caution out the window. "There's always a first time. You can try it on me."

Hestia's eyes widened. "Are you out of your mind?" she yelped. "I'm not a Healer! You should go to St. Mungo's."

"I'm not going to St. Mungo's for such a simple thing as a broken forearm," said Sirius firmly. "Come on, I'm giving you my permission. How will you learn if you don't practice?"

Hestia still looked doubtful, but after Sirius' repeated insistence, she took out her wand. Sirius held out his bandaged hand and waited for Hestia, who stared at his arm unwillingly.

Sirius sighed loudly. "What are you waiting for?"

She grimaced and pointed her wand at his forearm, frowning in concentration. When Hestia opened her mouth to say the incantation, Sirius immediately stopped her. "Wait!"

Hestia jerked in surprise and nearly dropped her wand. She glared at him.

"Don't think too much about botching it up," said Sirius with a slightly pleading voice. "That's a sure way to get it wrong."

Hestia shook her head resignedly. "And here I thought you hadn't an ounce of sense to trust me with this."

"What's the worst that could happen?" said Sirius, shrugging, and winced when the muscles in his forearm pulled.

"Don't say that!" grumbled Hestia. "Everyone knows things go from bad to worse when you say that."

"Could you get on with it?" he said through gritted teeth, the pain rippling through his arm.

Hestia pursed her lips and pointed her wand at his forearm. With a complicated flourish of her wand, she said clearly, 'Brackium Emendo!'

His forearm glowed a faint blue and he gasped when he felt something on his arm that was painful but also oddly comfortable. Hestia was biting her lip, worry etched into her face as she looked at his hand skeptically.

He flexed his hand as much as the bandages allowed and was certain it was healed, if a bit sore.

"Well?" she asked impatiently, and Sirius fought the urge to smirk at the dread lacing her tone.

"Feels sore but not bad for a first time. You should teach it to me someday."

She sighed in relief and stood up. "Thank you, I guess. Would you mind for something to eat?"

"I'm not going anywhere in that rain, so I suppose I could stay," said Sirius, moving to remove the bandages.

"Don't remove that," admonished Hestia mildly. "It's always advised to keep it on for a few more hours. There could be some swelling if you use your hand so quickly after healing it."

Sirius looked at her, intrigued, when Hestia called out, "Teeny!"

A crack and a young house-elf, smaller than any he had ever seen, appeared, bowing respectfully at Hestia.

"Could you get us some tea and biscuits?" asked Hestia.

"Of course, Mistress!" Sirius knew from the high-pitched voice that it was a female.

"Oh, and do tell me if you see Newt, won't you?" added Hestia. "I haven't seen him since I got here."

With another bow, the elf vanished.

Sirius looked at Hestia curiously. "Newt?"

"My cat," she explained. "I'm sure he'll be back once the rain stops. He likes to stay outdoors, but he simply hates the rain."

Sirius nodded and looked around himself properly. The living room was decorated tastefully; ivory-coloured drapes hung on either side of the leaded windows and the carpet under his feet was of a dark mahogany mirroring the colour of the woodwork in the house. An entire wall adjacent to the fireplace was lined with bookshelves with rows upon rows of books.

"Nice place you've got here," remarked Sirius.

The elf popped in again, holding a tray laden with ginger biscuits, fruit cake, and a pot of freshly-brewed tea along with its accompaniments. Hestia gestured for him to help himself as she spoke, "This was my parents' house. I've been here all my life."

"What about your family?" asked Sirius by way of small talk as he poured milk into her cup, familiar by now with each other's preferences.

"My dad was killed during the first war and mum died five years ago," said Hestia, a touch of sadness lowering her voice.

"Oh," said Sirius, looking up at her properly. He hadn't expected that. It was yet another brutal reminder of what the first war had done to all of them. "I'm sorry."

Hestia nodded and accepted the cup of tea that he handed to her and she continued, "I have a sister, Demetra. She lives in Sussex now with her husband and two children. And you already know my cousin, Gwen."

"Right," said Sirius hastily, clearing his throat. "What about you?"

The words were out of him before he had time to consider if it was polite or even appropriate. He supposed he was seriously out of his game when it came to what was socially acceptable when talking with a woman. He quickly amended, "Er, you don't have to answer."

He always felt like he was crossing some unspoken boundary whenever he spoke with Hestia and tried to keep from asking anything that was too personal.

Hestia was silent and seemed to be mulling the question over as she sipped her tea. Sirius wondered if he should maybe just leave for taking it too far, when suddenly she spoke in a low voice, "I had a fiancé when I was nineteen. I haven't needed anyone since."

Sirius' curiosity got the better of him. "Had?"

"He broke off the engagement when he left me for another woman." Hestia stared at the fire, her face contorting at the unpleasant memory.

Sirius couldn't think of anything better to say than, "He sounds like a right bloody git."

"So was I, for thinking he ever loved me," she said scornfully. She shook her head. "What are we doing talking about that? Tell me about you, Sirius."

Now Sirius remembered why he hated asking personal questions. They were always an invitation for the other person to ask the same of him.

He scowled. "What's there to know that the Daily Prophet hasn't already printed?"

"I'm talking about you before Azkaban," pressed Hestia, eager to divert the subject from herself. "Anyone catch your fancy?"

"Oh, plenty!" said Sirius, rolling his eyes and seeing no point in covering it up. It all seemed so long ago. "But an honest relationship? I don't think so."

Hestia set down her tea and took a bite of a ginger biscuit, before remarking, "That's depressing."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," said Sirius dryly, albeit amused. Hestia snorted in response and there was a comfortable silence when Sirius ate some of his cake, noticing the rain slowing down to a drizzle outside the window. "Why haven't you found someone else after that tosser?" he asked after a full minute of silence.

"Life got in the way," said Hestia unaffectedly.

"Were you by some chance sitting around in Azkaban trying not to lose your mind?" asked Sirius unthinkingly. Almost immediately, he regretted bringing up his stint in Azkaban with Hestia. He'd already learned she didn't enjoy hearing about it the last time. He didn't want to spoil her mood; and the realization that he even cared about not wanting to spoil her mood had been so startlingly unfamiliar that he had walked away from her as fast as he could during that pleasant afternoon last month in Grimmauld Place.

To his surprise, she huffed out a laugh. "No, I was upset."

Her short answers were egging him on and he asked doggedly, "Understandably so, but for ten years?"

"Not that long," she conceded with a small smile. "I was actually studying to become a Healer at that time, but I dropped out."

"Is that how you knew how to heal my arm?" said Sirius in understanding. "But why did you quit? No offence, but it seems stupid of you to quit over a boy."

"I didn't quit because my engagement was off," said Hestia, flushing heatedly. She then sighed as she added, "No, I agree that was part of it. But I had no choice. My mum was getting sick and had to retire early; my sister was still at Hogwarts and my father had debts that he hadn't settled before he died. Someone had to earn for the family. So I dropped out and took up all sorts of odd jobs, trying to make ends meet."

"But you could have taken up your Healer studies again," said Sirius, feeling sympathetic at her predicament.

"I tried to," explained Hestia with a wistful quality to her voice. "But my heart wasn't in it anymore. By the time I could finally catch my breath, my sister got married and moved out. A year later my mum passed away and I've been here since."

They lapsed into silence again and Sirius idly noted that the rain had all but stopped by now.

"Listen, thanks for fixing my arm and the tea," said Sirius, gathering his warm cloak from near the fireplace and fastening it. "But I have to get going."

Hestia seemed relieved that he wasn't asking anymore questions about her life and she stood up.

"There's the Order meeting tomorrow at five o' clock. Mad-Eye told me to let you know," she said and Sirius smiled gratefully before leaving her house. "I'll see you then."

Sunday, March 16

"We've been around that tavern for a week," said Sirius. "We have some evidence that the Death Eaters are using that place, if only the low-level ones. I say we get inside if we want to hear something useful."

The members of the Order were all assembled in the dining hall of Grimmauld Place. Half-finished cups of tea and platters of scones and lemon cake slices lay haphazardly on the table along with scrolls of parchment and quills.

"There would be no point in getting inside unless we are absolutely certain of the presence of a Death Eater," said Moody brusquely.

"It would simply be a waste of our Polyjuice supplies," supplied Dedalus, his ludicrous green top hat askew.

"There's no need to hurry," said Kingsley. "I say we wait a little."

"While Death Eaters are making children kill their own parents?" said Hestia distastefully. Sirius wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

"What are the Aurors doing about this?" asked Bill, looking at both Kingsley and Tonks.

The latter spoke from beside Remus, her new ring glittering proudly on her left hand. "I heard from Robards that the Aurors have targeted seven different places like The Gargoyle where there might be Death Eater activity. There's been no success finding or tracking any of them so far."

"The Aurors are already busy rounding up Imperiused people posing as Death Eaters," said Catherine Johnson.

"Azkaban must be teeming with prisoners," remarked Charlie.

"And it is of no consequence as long as the Death Eaters of Voldemort's inner circle are loose and running around," said Remus, looking remarkably better than Sirius had ever seen him since Azkaban.

"Did you see the Evening Prophet today?" asked Oliver Wood.

Lee nodded. "Mundungus Fletcher was taken to Azkaban."

"Dung?" said Fred incredulously. "But why?"

"He wasn't Imperiused or anything, was he?" asked George, sounding slightly worried.

"No," said Oliver, passing the newspaper along to George, who hastily rifled through its pages. "He apparently impersonated an Inferius when he was trying to burgle a shop in Diagon Alley."

"Are you sure you didn't addle his brains when you Obliviated him?" asked Hestia, turning to look at Sirius with a critical eye.

Sirius tried not to get too offended. "I'm certain I did it properly," he grumbled.

"At least, Azkaban won't be so bad without the Dementors," said Angelina.

Remus asked suddenly, "Arthur, have you been keeping watch for any Ministry folks suddenly seeming vacant or possibly Imperiused."

"I haven't found anything to be suspicious," said Arthur. "Although Dev Patil is still under tight security since he got that death threat over Christmas."

"I must ask, where is Elphias?" asked Kingsley.

"He's upstairs," grunted Moody. "Hasn't slept since last evening. I say we fortify his house before he goes back. We'll need at least five people to strengthen the charm."

Moody decided Sirius and Remus were to be part of the team along with Fred, George, and Oliver, who volunteered to learn the charm hands-on from them.

"Who was it that attacked?" asked Tonks, after the decision was made.

"Travers and some other Death Eater," said Hestia. "They tried to Imperius him."

"Which is why you never go anywhere without company," said Moody gruffly and Sirius nodded his approval. "We wouldn't know if one of us got Imperiused."

"Isn't there some way to break an Imperius charm on someone else?" asked Alicia Spinnet.

"Unless the caster himself lifts the charm, no one else can break it other than yourself," said Remus, ever the teacher.

Fred immediately spoke, "Harry could resist the Imperius curse, remember George?"

"Yeah," said Lee enthusiastically. "When the fake Moody, sorry Mad-Eye," he added apologetically to Moody, whose mouth twisted in disgust. "—cast it on him during our sixth year. Everyone was talking about it for a week."

"And thank goodness he did," said Angelina, shuddering. "Can you imagine what would have happened if he hadn't lifted the charm? He was a Death Eater in disguise."

Sirius was certain he felt his heart stutter for a second. When he put it like that, it seemed a miracle his godson was still alive and well after numerous attempts by Voldemort and his people to finish him. He made up his mind to check in on him through the mirror as soon as he got home and remind him to not forget to practice the Ferrifors and Ferrum Duro spell. He never wanted Harry to be unprepared again.

Moody growled, "Well, you aren't all Potter, so you better save your sorry arses from ever coming in contact with an Imperius."

"Can you cast off an Imperius, Mad-Eye?" asked Alicia curiously.

Moody looked very offended, his electric blue eye spinning. "Of course I can! I'm not a decorated Auror for nothing."

"Ex-Auror," corrected Fred cheekily.

Everyone was engaged in casual banter, teasing Mad-Eye, and though Sirius liked the pleasant atmosphere in this cold, dark house, he couldn't help but worry that the Order was once more staffed with very young people like the last time. That had been one of the biggest mistakes they had committed during the first war – not taking the enemy seriously.

It was painfully apparent now, when a new generation had taken their place. For the umpteenth time, Sirius was forced to come to terms with the fact that he was getting old. He grimaced at the thought. Sometimes, it felt like he hadn't even begun to live yet and he was already thirty seven.

Friday, April 25

The days were becoming sunnier as was Harry's mood. Ron and Hermione had made up after his attempted poisoning and Ron had finally broken up with Lavender when Harry had taken the Felix Felicis, successfully getting the memory from Slughorn.

After viewing the memory with Dumbledore and the illuminating talk that followed, Harry felt more clear-headed than ever. His lingering doubts about the prophecy and himself from during his Christmas holidays had resolved somewhat and he understood what Dumbledore was trying to teach him: Harry wanted to fight Voldemort and he wanted to be the one to finish him.

He had ecstatically relayed the incident with Slughorn to Sirius through the mirror, who was very impressed with how he had handled it. Sirius had reminded Harry again to keep practicing the Ferrifors spell every day as he had been doing for the past month during every conversation with him using the mirror. Even though Harry was still having trouble with it, he had produced a very thin sheet of iron during one particular practice in his empty dorm and was bolstered to try even harder after his talk with Dumbledore.

Remus, who had been a regular correspondent with Harry through letters, had sent a particularly long letter last month, telling him of his engagement with Tonks and all about their upcoming wedding that was planned for July. Harry was greatly excited and looking forward to the summer holidays for the first time in his life.

All through this, he had not forgotten about Malfoy. Dobby had told him that Malfoy was going to the Room of Requirement and Harry had spent a lot of his time trying very hard to somehow get inside but in vain. He had not given up on it yet, but his spare time was becoming more and more limited with practice sessions for the upcoming Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

When Harry told Dean that he wasn't needed on the team anymore as Katie had finally returned, Dean had sulked a lot but then cheered considerably after Ginny comforted him. Harry was not too swamped with jealousy when he witnessed that however, as their practice sessions were better than ever with Katie and Ron back on the team. He really had a feeling that his team could win this. It would be the source of his pride and happiness if his first outing as Captain was a roaring success.

The run-up to the finals also meant that this crucial match was preceded by all the usual features: members of rival Houses attempting to intimidate opposite teams with unpleasant chants as they passed; the team members themselves either swaggering around enjoying all the attention or else dashing into bathrooms between classes to throw up.

A few days before the match against Ravenclaw, Harry found himself walking down to dinner alone from the common room, Ron having rushed off into a nearby bathroom to throw up yet again, and Hermione having dashed off to see Professor Vector. More out of habit than anything, Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder's Map as he went.

For a moment he could not find him, but then he saw Malfoy's tiny, labelled dot standing in a boys' bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe or Goyle, but by Moaning Myrtle.

Harry dashed down the marble staircase and along the passageway below that was empty. Outside the bathroom, he pressed his ear against the door. He could not hear anything. He very quietly pushed the door open.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. "Don't… tell me what's wrong… I can help you…"

"No one can help me," said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it… I can't… It won't work… and unless I do it soon… he says he'll kill me…"

And Harry realized with shock, that Malfoy was crying — actually crying — tears streaming down his pale face. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, shouting 'Impedimenta!', but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another —

"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room.

There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern; water poured everywhere and Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, 'Crucio!'

Harry's mind was blank for the space of a fraction of a second and, out of habit and desperation more than anything, he yelled 'Ferrifors!'

The spell never worked and the Cruciatus hit him with full-force. He crashed to the floor yelling and writhing in pain and his wand rolled away from his twitching hands.

Malfoy was pale and his eyes widened in frightened realization as he tried to bolt out of the bathroom, but Harry's ears were ringing with the sounds of his own echoing screams and righteous anger coursed through him. He vividly remembered the scribbled words of the Half-blood Prince: 'Sectumsempra - For Enemies' and the idea of hurting Malfoy consumed his mind. He stretched out his wand arm and his wand flew back into his hand with a quiet thought before he bellowed from the floor, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash..

"No —" gasped Harry, stunned by what he was seeing.

Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and lunged toward Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his pale hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.

"No — I didn't — I never —"

Harry fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood. Moaning Myrtle let out a deafening scream:

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"

The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified. Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand, and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation. The flow of blood eased and the wounds seemed to be knitting.

Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. When Snape had performed his counter-curse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.

"You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that… Come…"

He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turning at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, "And you, Potter… You wait here for me."

It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey.

Chapter Text

Friday, April 25

Harry waited in the bathroom, frozen out of fear until Snape returned ten minutes later. He closed the door behind him and shooed away a wailing Myrtle, who dived into a toilet, leaving a ringing silence behind her.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," said Harry at once. "Malfoy used the Cruciatus on me."

"Don't lie to me!" hissed Snape through gritted teeth, taking a step towards Harry.

"I'm telling you the truth!" said Harry forcefully. "You can check his wand," he added, searching desperately for some support to his claim.

But Snape ignored this. "Be as it may, Potter. You decided to use Dark Magic to retaliate instead of going to a teacher for aid."

"He used an Unforgivable Curse on me," said Harry again. He could not believe Malfoy would get away from this scot-free.

"And yet—" said Snape, looking at Harry with disdain, "—you were not the one on the floor bleeding to death. If I had not been passing by the corridor, you would have likely murdered a student."

Harry felt horrible at the cold realization. "I didn't know what that spell did."

"Apparently I underestimated you, Potter," he said quietly. "Who would have thought you knew such Dark Magic? Was it that mutt, Black, that has been teaching you—"

"Don't you blame this on Sirius!" shouted Harry, his anger returning.

"I wouldn't put it past him," said Snape simply before enunciating each word, "Who-taught-you-that-spell?"

"I — read about it somewhere."

"Where?"

"It was — a library book," Harry invented wildly. "I can't remember what it was call—"

"Liar," said Snape. Harry's throat went dry. He knew what Snape was going to do and he had never been able to prevent it…

The bathroom seemed to shimmer before his eyes; he struggled to block out all thought, but try as he might, the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making swam hazily to the forefront of his mind.

And then he was staring at Snape's black eyes again, hoping against hope that he had not seen what he feared, but —

"Bring me your schoolbag," said Snape softly, "and all of your schoolbooks. All of them. Bring them to me here. Now!"

There was no point arguing. Harry left the bathroom immediately. Once in the corridor, he broke into a run toward Gryffindor Tower. People gaped at him, drenched in water and blood, but he answered none of the questions fired at him as he ran past.

Harry could not let Snape find out about the Prince's Potions' book.. He could not.

With a momentary whim of an idea, Harry hid the Half-Blood Prince's copy inside the Room of Requirement and used Ron's copy of Advanced Potion-Making instead to somehow fool Snape. He was wrong, however. Snape needed only to look into his eyes to deduce the truth, and the fact that Harry had lied didn't sit well with him. So he frog-marched Harry to Professor McGonagall's empty office.

Snape ordered Harry to wait there before he went to summon McGonagall. He had never been more anxious in his life as he waited for what was sure to be his punishment.

When Snape arrived again with a frowning Professor McGonagall, Harry felt like disappearing into thin air; he wanted to be anywhere but here.

McGonagall's eyes widened as she saw Harry's damp, bloody robes. "Potter, what has happened?"

If possible, Harry felt worse at her misplaced concern. He braced himself when Snape opened his mouth. "There is no need to be concerned about Potter, Minerva. He wasn't the victim."

The unjustness of this statement still stung and Harry looked up at Snape. "But Malfoy attacked me first with the Cruciatus."

"What?" McGonagall turned pale as she made to hurry towards him, but Snape put his hand out to stop her.

"Enough, Minerva," said Snape, turning towards Harry with a deprecating look. "Potter isn't as blameless as he looks. He severely injured Draco using Dark Magic, and if I hadn't been passing through the corridor, Hogwarts would have been facing the death of another student within two short years."

He went on to explain how he had found Malfoy in the bathroom, and any hope Harry had had of having McGonagall's support quickly flew out the window as her expression became stonier by the second.

She looked at him sternly. "Tell me, Potter, why in Merlin's name would you use such a Dark spell on your fellow student? Despite your circumstances, you should have left the scene immediately and summoned a teacher."

McGonagall harrumphed. "Duelling in school! You are fortunate Dumbledore isn't here. He would be most ashamed of what you have done."

Harry looked down at his soiled shoes and felt the stinging words wash over him.

She addressed Snape next, "And why would that foolish boy use an Unforgivable on Hogwarts grounds? Does he wish to join his father in Azkaban?"

Snape replied quietly, "We do not want word to get out about Draco's ah… misuse."

Harry looked up in alarm when McGonagall nodded. "Yes, yes, I quite agree."

"What?" Harry said loudly. "But Professor—"

"Unless you wish for the entire Wizarding World to know their 'Chosen One' attempted and very nearly succeeded in killing a student, you will remain quiet about this Potter," said Snape through gritted teeth.

That shut him up.

McGonagall, who had been frowning at both of them, added, "Both you and Mr. Malfoy will face detention for such unbecoming behaviour. I will write to both your parents this evening and I expect you to be present for your detention every weekend till the end of term at five o'clock sharp."

"Unnecessary, Minerva," said Snape silkily. "I will ensure they are punished appropriately."

"No, thank you, Severus," said McGonagall tartly. "I will take care of this as Potter belongs in my house. As Deputy Headmistress, I only want confirmation from you that you will not let this matter slide from Mr. Malfoy. No matter Potter's actions, Malfoy is on dangerous waters too, for using an Unforgivable Curse."

Harry was grateful that he would only be in detention with Professor McGonagall. Anything was better than doing detention with Snape.

The latter stared at Harry with a bitter expression, likely thinking of some way to get McGonagall to hand over the responsibility of his detention to himself. But her determined expression held and Snape conceded with a nod.

He left the office without another word and Professor McGonagall turned to Harry with an austere expression. "Do not assume being under the Fidelius would mean that I won't be able to write to your godfather. I will find some way to contact him and report this incident."

Harry nodded, looking at his feet, his stomach churning at the thought of Sirius having to hear about this.

McGonagall's expression softened slightly. "Are you sure you're alright, Potter? Is there any lingering effect of the curse?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm fine."

It was the truth. Harry knew the curse Malfoy had used on him was nothing like the one he had experienced two years ago under Voldemort's wand.

McGonagall's visage of concern didn't falter. "I expect you to go to Madam Pomfrey at once for a Calming Draught. I will know if you haven't followed my orders."

"I won't say 'I told you so,'" said Hermione, an hour later in the common room.

"Leave it, Hermione," said Ron angrily.

Harry had just finished telling Ron, Hermione, and Ginny what had happened, not that there seemed to have been much need. The news had travelled very fast: Apparently Moaning Myrtle had taken it upon herself to pop up in every bathroom in the castle to tell the story; Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide. Even his friends had no idea that it was Malfoy who had started the duel or that he had used the Cruciatus on Harry.

Ron and Ginny were fuming on Harry's behalf, saying that Malfoy deserved what he got. Hermione had been concerned for Harry too, but after half an hour, when it became apparent Harry wasn't suffering too much from the Cruciatus, she was of the attitude that Harry should never have used a spell from the Prince's book in the first place.

"I told you there was something wrong with that Prince person," Hermione said. "And I was right, wasn't I?"

"No, I don't think you were," said Harry stubbornly.

"Harry," said Hermione, "how can you still stick up for that book when that spell —"

"Will you stop harping on about the book!" snapped Harry. "The Prince only copied it out! It's not like he was advising anyone to use it! For all we know, he was making a note of something that had been used against him!"

"I don't believe this," said Hermione. "You're actually defending —"

"I'm not defending what I did!" said Harry quickly. "I wish I hadn't done it. You know I wouldn't've used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can't blame the Prince, he hadn't written 'try this out, it's really good' — he was just making notes for himself, wasn't he, not for anyone else…"

"Are you telling me," said Hermione, "that you're going to go back —?"

"And get the book? Yeah, I am," said Harry forcefully. "Listen, without the Prince I'd never have won the Felix Felicis. I'd never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I'd never have —"

"— got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don't deserve," said Hermione nastily.

"Give it a rest, Hermione!" said Ginny, and Harry looked at her gratefully. "Have you lost the memo like everyone else in this school that Malfoy used the Cruciatus on Harry? You should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!"

"Well, of course, I know what Malfoy did was unforgivable!" said Hermione, clearly stung, and she turned towards Harry again. "But you can't say that Sectumsempra spell was good, Harry. It's because you used that spell that Malfoy is escaping Azkaban. If you hadn't used an equally Dark piece of magic, he would have definitely been punished appropriately. I bet that's why McGonagall and Snape let both of your actions slide with only detentions."

Furious that she was right, Harry stood up and headed to his dormitory. He heard Ron and Ginny standing up for him to Hermione, but that only made him feel worse.

He dressed into his pyjamas and got into his bed, ignoring his rumbling stomach. He hadn't had dinner at all. He had no appetite and he didn't fancy people staring at and talking about him. He took out the two-way mirror from inside his trunk and shut the curtains around his four-poster bed.

He wanted nothing more than to talk to Sirius, but the idea that Sirius might either be disappointed in Harry or wholeheartedly agree that he was right for using the Sectumsempra (he wouldn't put it past Sirius) left Harry undecided and reluctant to speak to him.

So he simply stared at the mirror, wondering for the hundredth time why he hadn't used a simple Stunning Spell instead of that blasted curse.

He was so surprised when the person he most wanted to see appeared in the mirror at that moment.

Sirius laughed on seeing him. "Were you going to call for me?"

Words failed him as the dread of dealing with this now made him sick to the stomach. He nodded dumbly.

The happiness in Sirius' face disappeared and a frown marred his face. "What's happened?"

After an internal struggle that lasted for too long, Harry went into the day's incident, leaving out nothing.

Sirius' eyes had widened in shock and anger when he told him about Malfoy's Cruciatus, but after Harry narrated his using Sectumsempra, his expression sobered and by the end of it, Sirius remained unusually quiet.

"—and McGonagall said I would have to do detention with her every weekend till the end of term," finished Harry.

"Better her than Snape." He spat out the last word before looking at Harry worriedly. "Are you alright? Did you go to the Hospital Wing?"

Harry replied with the same two words he had said to McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny so far in the past two hours.

"I'm fine."

Sirius nodded slowly, not saying a word.

Harry waited for the anger on his behalf or the reprimand or something, but when all Sirius said was absolutely nothing, Harry became frustrated. "Say something!"

Sirius spoke after a whole minute of silence, looking very contemplative. "Obviously, I don't like the fact that you used an unknown spell on Malfoy, but that little whelp isn't blameless either," said Sirius. "And we know he is a Death Eater, so if anything I'm glad you saved your skin."

Sirius shook his head. "But—"

Harry had already seen the 'but' approaching from miles away.

"—you shouldn't have had to use a spell whose purpose you had no idea of," said Sirius. "I thought I taught you enough jinxes and curses during the summer."

"I tried to use the Ferrifors to defend myself from the Cruciatus," explained Harry. "But it didn't work."

"Have you been practicing it at all?" asked Sirius.

"I have!" exclaimed Harry in frustration. "It's just too difficult. I'm doing everything right and still nothing happens."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," consoled Sirius. "It's definitely not an easy spell." His eyebrows knitted together. "Where is this Half-Blood Prince's book now?"

"I hid it in the Room of Requirement, you know, where we hosted our DA meetings last year."

"Do you plan to get it back?"

The question was asked with simple curiosity and Harry's first instinct was to say 'Yes' wholeheartedly like he had said to Hermione. But the doubt creeping into him after Hermione's words made him answer honestly.

"I—I don't know," he said. "It's not like the book was advocating the use of that spell. And besides, it's been really helpful with my Potions."

Sirius' mute response only made Harry question his own reasoning.

"What do you think?" asked Harry quietly.

"It's your decision, Harry," said Sirius, shrugging. "If you think the book is worth the trouble, it's up to you. As long as you've learnt your lesson to never use an unknown spell on someone again."

"I won't," said Harry quickly.

The matter was dropped after that, and after five minutes, Harry was bidding goodnight to Sirius, who said, "Remember what I told you at St. Mungo's, Harry. We might be gits sometimes, but that doesn't change who you are to me."

Harry was in more cheerful spirits after he had talked to Sirius, who had also suggested that they should go on a vacation again this summer after Remus and Tonks' wedding.

He was already longing for the impending holidays.

When Sirius pocketed his mirror, he felt a sigh escape his lips.

Was this what it meant to have your own mistakes thrown back at you?

He couldn't find it in himself to be angry with Harry. On the contrary, he sympathised with him. It sounded remarkably like something he would have done and reprimanding Harry for that felt like hypocrisy to him.

Sure, his blood boiled at the thought of that nasty cousin of his using the Cruciatus on Harry.

But the boy could have died if Snivellus hadn't been around. Even if Harry's mistake was an accident, he could be in worse trouble than detention with McGonagall. Sirius grimaced at the idea that Harry would have unwittingly killed a student, very much similar to himself when he was sixteen.

Snape would probably be gloating that he was just like his godfather – the thought set his teeth on edge. God, he needed a drink.

Saturday, May 3

The day of the final Quidditch match arrived to Harry's immense relief. Although a lot of his school mates had been eyeing him warily the past week after the incident with Malfoy, Harry really hoped the win against Ravenclaw today would distract them sufficiently.

Harry arrived for breakfast to find the entire team already present among the sea of red and gold clad Gryffindors, who cheered on his arrival, and Harry beamed while taking note of his teammates.

Demelza and Katie were discussing their Chaser tactics; Ginny sat a few spaces away beside Dean, chatting away. Ritchie Coote was hogging down his eggs out of nerves while Jimmy Peakes looked pale and queasy.

Ron looked even worse in comparison and Harry took a seat beside him. "Morning."

Ron grunted in reply and Hermione looked up from the newspaper at him. "You might want to eat something."

Harry pushed Ron's plate of food towards him, he himself eating only toast. When Ron stubbornly refused to touch his food, Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and went back to her paper.

Ron leaned towards Harry's ear, lowering his voice. "You don't think I could have another go of the Felix, do you?"

Hermione looked up sharply. "Don't you dare indulge him, Harry!"

"Come on! Would I?" said Harry disbelievingly.

Ron huffed. "Some friend you are."

"Just remember how you felt during our first match," said Harry. "And our training last night was the best this entire year. You'll do fine."

Ron lapsed into non-committal grunts again and Harry watched Seamus and Neville trying to charm the faces of second and third years into the Gryffindor colours.

Harry pushed away his half-finished breakfast, his nerves getting the better of him, when he noticed other Gryffindors making banners and pinning red and gold rosettes to their uniforms, of which Lavender was not one. She had stopped confronting Ron after their break-up, but she was still sore about it and thus the lack of house pride. Harry couldn't help but notice Hermione seemed more decked out than usual with her bushy hair tied up with ribbons of the same colours and a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck.

Even the students from the other houses were taking sides – most of Hufflepuff supporting Gryffindor and the Slytherins rooting for the Ravenclaws.

He felt very jittery and stood up, hoping to walk it out. All of the eyes around their table turned towards him and he felt momentarily panicked before remembering that he was the Captain.

"Gryffindor team to the changing rooms," he announced, and a lot of cheers and boos ensued from the neighbouring house tables as his teammates rose up from the seats, clutching their broomsticks.

They strode outside to the grounds, commenting on the good weather conditions. The sky was bright with a smattering of fluffy, white clouds and hardly any breeze.

They headed to the changing rooms to get into their Quidditch robes. The stands were filling up, as the sound of chattering and footsteps surrounded them. Madam Hooch checked in on them ten minutes before the start of the game.

Harry's team gathered around him and he looked at each and every one of them, excitement and anxiety bubbling inside him. "We've been training hard this year and it all comes down to this. If we play like we did yesterday, I have no doubt that we'll have the Quidditch Cup in the bag."

A round of cheers later they walked onto the pitch to deafening applause from the stands. Madam Hooch stood waiting beside the Ravenclaws' captain, Cho Chang.

"Captains, shake hands!"

It was a very civil show of hand-shaking on both Harry and Cho's part, the latter even giving him a small smile.

"Mount your brooms!"

Madam Hooch released the Quaffle and then blew the whistle, signalling the start of the game.

"Weasley takes the Quaffle and is headed to the goalpost—but oh! Corner's well-aimed Bludger has loosened Weasley's grip. Clearly, there's no love lost between these ex-lovers."

The Slytherins jeered and laughed at the comment and Harry groaned as he realized Zacharias Smith was the commentator for today's match. He would have taken Luna over him any day.

He circled the pitch lazily, keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch, while also keeping his eye on the match. They needed to score three-hundred points more than Ravenclaw to win the season. And Harry's important job today would be to make sure Cho did not get to the Snitch before that. She was just a few feet behind him, clearly employing her signature tactic of keeping close to the opponent Seeker, simultaneously scanning the grounds.

"— and Benson is heading to the goalpost. Is the third time a charm for Keeper Weasley? Nope! Benson scores again! Ravenclaw: 30-10."

Ron was looking back murderously at the commentator's podium as Harry flew past him and shouted, "Don't listen to that babbling idiot. Keep your head in the game!"

Ron took Harry's word as he saved the next two goals from Benson and Connaught.

A Bludger flew past Harry and he swerved to avoid collision. He glanced behind himself to see Cho doing the same.

"Potter manages to avoid colliding with Corner's Bludger. Such a shame. Chang is keeping close to Potter's tail. Now I see why Corner hit that bludger," said Smith derisively.

The students in the stands jeered and Coote swung his bat against the Bludger aiming right at Corner. Ginny flew past Coote and yelled, "You're aiming for the wrong person!"

Harry laughed and the game progressed with Demelza and Katie scoring two goals each leaving Gryffindor at 50-30 when the game started to become slightly brutal.

Michael Corner hit a Bludger very ferociously at Demelza when she was in possession of the Quaffle. In a split-second, she had managed to avoid the Bludger but her broom had taken the brunt of the hit. She span away uncontrollably before descending very fast to the ground; Harry and Coote had to rush to catch her before she fell.

A timeout was called and Ginny and Katie were having a shouting match with the Ravenclaws, demanding a penalty from Madam Hooch.

Demelza, while unhurt, was now short of a broomstick and Harry suggested using the school brooms.

"No way! They're slower than a flobberworm! Harry, you should play your reserve instead of me," said Demelza reluctantly.

"But you're not hurt! And I have an idea," said Harry and quickly ran up to Ginny, who was still having words with her ex-boyfriend, Michael Corner. As Harry got closer, it was clear they were arguing about things more than Quidditch.

"Ginny!" yelled Harry and skidded to a halt beside her. "I need you to do me a favour. Could you ask Dean to lend his broom to Demelza?"

"Sure," said Ginny brusquely and she left immediately. A couple of minutes later, Demelza was holding Dean's Comet and the team was off again with more vigour than earlier.

It was the longest match that Harry had ever played, and that was saying something. He had seen the Snitch twice during the game and he had to distract Cho by either feinting or signalling Peakes and Coote to target her with their Bludgers to shake off her concentration. After almost two hours, Gryffindor had scored 160-130.

It was finally time for him to find the Snitch. His teammates were already growing tired and it would be beneficial to end the game as soon as possible. He looked around again for any sign of the Snitch. When he looked behind him as he had been doing for quite a while to keep an eye on Cho, he realized that she was making a U-turn and racing in the opposite direction away from him.

His stomach plummeted as he quickly followed her and tried to look beyond her for any sign of the Snitch.

"Chang is racing across the pitch with Potter miles behind. That Firebolt is giving him an unfair edge – he makes up to her speed. The two Seekers are neck and neck—"

Harry was certain once he got closer that Cho was feinting but he did not lose his momentum.

"Does anyone see the Snitch?" wondered Smith aloud as Cho pulled out of the breakneck speed with which both of them had been hurtling along.

Harry kept flying fast using the speed he had gained to quickly scan the pitch for any sign of a glint of gold…

And there, just ahead of him, fluttering high above the Ravenclaw stands was the Golden Snitch!

Heart pumping with adrenaline, he leaned forwards, urging his Firebolt to go faster.

"Potter doesn't seem to have realized Chang was feinting," said Smith laughing along with the crowd in the stands. "And Connaught is heading to the goalpost. He scores!"

Harry was close now and the Snitch was zooming straight up. He pulled up his Firebolt in a steep curve and shot upwards. The wind was roaring in his ears and the sounds muffled as he kept his eyes on the prize.

He leaned close towards his Firebolt and stretched out his hand. He could feel Cho brushing just close to his broom's tail having caught up with him. And with one swift movement he caught the Snitch with one hand and pulled out of the ascent with the other.

He was so far above in the clouds that he could hardly see the people in the stands. He flew lower with the Snitch clasped in his hand.

Katie was the first to spot him as she put her hands up in victory and yelled, "Harry's caught the Snitch!"

Madam Hooch sounded the whistle signalling the end of the game.

It seemed Zacharias Smith was very slow on the uptake as the stands erupted only about ten seconds later and his teammates cheered and clapped and hugged him mid-air.

It was a very happy moment when Harry held the Cup again for the second time in his life, his first time as the Captain. The Gryffindors had all clambered down from the stands and hoisted the entire team on their shoulders, the Cup being passed around for everyone to see and hold. The Gryffindor team was in very high spirits as they headed to the changing rooms. Peakes and Coote were holding the Cup together singing merrily. Dean ran up to Ginny and kissed her passionately. Ron, whose happy mood was on the verge of dissolving at the sight, was caught off-guard when Hermione came up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You were brilliant, Ron!"

Ron went bright red and stuttered, "T-Thanks."

Harry turned away smirking when Demelza, who had been looking at them, said, "Don't I get a kiss from anybody?"

Taking her up on her offer, because Harry had to admit he felt left out too, he went up to her and kissed her cheek. "You played really well today."

She smiled and touched the spot where he had kissed her, then shook her head. "You're such a gentleman, Harry."

"Victory party in the common room!" announced Dean and everyone cheered.

Chapter Text

Saturday, May 24

A faint pop heard in the quiet streets of a little town somewhere on the outskirts of Hampshire preceded a lone man, who walked up the road in the late afternoon, dressed casually in Muggle clothes.

He put his hands in his pockets, trying to tamp down the anxiety that welled inside him. He was going to visit Dora's parents after all.

He felt annoyed with himself for feeling nervous. It was only a simple tea that Andromeda had invited him to through Tonks.

He walked up the driveway of the small, vaguely familiar cottage and knocked twice before he stood back, waiting.

A couple of seconds passed and he tapped his feet unconsciously before he noticed his own behaviour and stopped himself.

It wasn't like they were going to be his in-laws.

The door clamoured open and a woman in her mid-forties stood on the other side. Her soft, light-brown hair was pulled into a bun and she was wearing a flowery apron over her purple robes.

The corners of her eyes crinkled in happiness as she smiled in greeting, "Sirius!"

Sirius hastily remembered his manners and leaned forward to kiss his cousin's cheek. "It's good to see you, Andy."

Andromeda was beaming as she pulled him into a proper hug. "You look better than I expected. Come in, Ted's here too."

Sirius found himself ushered into the drawing room that looked quite different from the last time he had been here. A set of chintz sofas surrounded the empty fireplace and a pot of aspidistra stood next to a delicate table on the side which led to a hallway that Sirius knew connected the dining area beyond.

There were far less wizarding photographs here than in Potter Manor, whose walls were so full of them that Harry and Sirius had had to take some of them down just so they didn't get creeped out at night. Sirius supposed that Andy did not have any pictures of her side of the family (that she would want to remember anyway) and Ted's family were Muggles. Only about a handful on the mantelpiece showed a happy family of three or Dora through the years.

Ted Tonks was sat on the sofa, reading the Quibbler. He stood up on Sirius' arrival and offered his hand to shake.

"Sirius! It's been so long since we met. What was it, twenty years ago?" said the fair-haired, big-bellied man jocularly.

"Seventeen, but I might be mistaken," said Sirius, returning the smile. He had only met the man once before when he had visited Andy just out of Hogwarts and immediately liked him.

"Ah well, time flies when we least expect it," said Ted. "Sit down, sit down. How have you been doing? I must say, freedom suits you a lot better than Azkaban."

"I'm doing quite better than I expected myself," said Sirius truthfully. "I finally have my godson with me and one of my best friends too. I can't complain."

"Harry Potter," said Ted simply, shaking his head. "It has to be quite a responsibility having him as your godson. Can't seem to stay out of the newspapers, that lad. Dora tells me a lot about him."

"They do get along rather well, especially since Dora stayed over at our house for the holidays."

At that moment, Ted asked Andy to get some tea for them and she smirked at Sirius before leaving to the kitchen. Sirius was quite puzzled, but the reason for Andy's amusement became apparent in the next few minutes.

"Ah yes," continued Ted as if there had been no interruption. "Dora says the place is delightful, but she hasn't given us a clue where it is. Always says it's a secret."

"It is," said Sirius simply, carefully avoiding the subject of the Fidelius Charm. It wouldn't do if Sirius told them that he was the Secret Keeper. Even though he trusted Ted and Andy, anybody could use that information.

"Well, I understand the need for secrecy. Your godson attracts a lot of trouble even when he's in Hogwarts and under Albus Dumbledore to boot."

Sirius couldn't have agreed more.

Ted glanced at him furtively. "Has Dora talked to you at all about her uh… engagement?"

"Of course," said Sirius. "Remus is my best mate. I'd have been gutted if I wasn't in the know."

"Your best mate. Right," said Ted, coughing uncomfortably. When Andy came back with a pot of tea and biscuits, Ted hastily looked at Andy with a pointed expression.

Sirius watched back and forth between them when Andy finally sighed. "What's the point in beating around the bush, Ted?"

She removed her apron and sat on the sofa beside her husband, looking up at Sirius. "I'm sure you aren't too surprised why we invited you, Sirius. We needed to have a word with you about our daughter's choice of fiancé."

"Remus?" asked Sirius with a frown. He already had an inkling of an idea on where this conversation was heading. "What about him?"

"He's not exactly what we had in mind when we came to know Dora was seeing someone," said Andromeda. Ted carefully avoided Sirius' eyes.

Sirius successfully kept his annoyance in check. "If this is about Remus not having a steady job—"

"That's not what concerns us, son," interrupted Ted, gently taking hold of his wife's hand. "We wouldn't dream of holding Dora back from loving someone who isn't earning much. 'Dromeda here would never have married me if it were so."

"I wasn't exactly well-off when I told my parents I wanted to marry you either. I was disowned faster than I could say your name," said Andromeda, looking at Ted affectionately. "The point we're trying to make is," continued Andy, turning towards Sirius, "we didn't really expect he would be a werewolf."

"I never took you to be the biased one, Andy," said Sirius, with a flicker of disappointment. "Have you even met Remus?"

"Of course, I have," said Andy unabashedly. "He's nothing short of a gentleman. I wouldn't have even cared that he's quite older than Nymphadora if only he weren't a werewolf. Sirius, is my daughter safe with him?"

The dread was evident in her tone and Sirius tried to reassure her as best as he could.

"Remus always makes sure to stay far away from everyone during the full moons. He would never hurt Dora as a werewolf. I can vouch for that, Andy."

After a moment of hesitation, Andy said, "I will take your word, Sirius."

"That clears everything up then," said Ted cheerfully, clapping his hands together, but when his wife still looked sullen, he became exasperated. "What now?"

"I'm still having reservations," said Andy with disquiet. "For one, how will they support themselves? What would happen if they were to have a child? I've never heard of a werewolf marrying and having children of their own before."

"But that isn't something that I can help you with," said Sirius. "It will be Remus and Dora's decision if they even plan on having children. If it bothers you so, I suggest you discuss this with your daughter, not me."

Andromeda grimaced at the thought while Ted chuckled, "Dora can be very stubborn when she's set her mind on something."

"I blame it on you," grumbled Andromeda but Ted laughed, "Dear, it's entirely from your side of the family."

"You're right on this count, Ted," said an amused Sirius.

"But she never makes a decision without thinking about it properly," said Andromeda, still looking thoughtful and pointedly refraining from joining in their amusement. "She took seven months to decide she was going to go into the Auror program and she's only excelled despite—" Andromeda cut off abruptly but Sirius could clearly hear the unspoken 'despite our expectations.'

"Then you'll have to trust that she knows who she's giving her heart to and accept it," said Ted to Andy, who nodded grudgingly.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Ted, relieved that the discussion was over. He eased into his chair comfortably and turned back to Sirius. "So, what have you been up to, Sirius? It's been almost a year since you were cleared."

"I've been in the Order of course," said Sirius matter-of-factly. "What better place to be than on the front lines of a war?"

"I'm not quite sure most people would agree with that," said Andy. "We'll be lucky if our entire family survives this war, unharmed and whole."

Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and Sirius looked in alarm as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Dromeda, don't fret. Dora will be fine, we all will," said Ted hastily, putting an arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm worried for her," said Andy. "Bella won't be so forgiving now that she knows Nymphadora's in the Order."

When Sirius looked quite puzzled, Ted explained to him, "Dromeda's sister had an eye on Dora the last time around when she was only a little girl. Threatened my wife saying that she would kill her if she ever decided to fight back."

Sirius growled in anger, "She said that, did she? That bitch!"

"Is it so wrong I just want my family safe?" said Andy, wiping her tears. "Who cares about the war as long as we're together?"

Sirius gave his cousin a sharp look. "There are kids just out of Hogwarts who've joined the Order too. It's not because they are being forced to. It isn't even because they don't have a family to go back to either. Somebody has to stand up and fight or we risk a life of slavery for us all."

"We could go into hiding," suggested Andy desperately. "We would be safe."

"James and Lily went into hiding thinking they were safe too," said Sirius quietly. "We just aren't anymore."

Ted bowed his head in silence and Andy stared out the window, collecting her thoughts, before she shook her head. "Sometimes, I wish Nymphadora was still a child so that I could ground her if she went out of line. I think she's too rebellious for her own good."

Andy's lips turned upward in a small smirk when she looked up at him. "I don't think even any child of your own, if you ever had one, would be as rebellious as she is."

"I don't know about my own, but Harry is enough of a troublemaker without even trying. He doesn't just toe the line; he jumps right across to the other side," said Sirius, rubbing his hand across his face. "It's a nightmare to think I should be the one advising or reprimanding him when I know full well I'm a hypocrite for even trying to act the responsible godfather."

Ted chuckled good-naturedly, "But that's what being a parent is all about!"

Sirius blinked at his words and Ted laughed. "You think you shouldn't reprimand your godson because you've made the same mistakes when you were his age? That's what makes you the right person for the job."

When Sirius still looked uncomprehending, Andy explained with a smile, "It doesn't make you a hypocrite if you reprimand your godson for the same things you've done when you were younger. It simply means you've grown up and learnt from them enough to know what is right and what is not."

"It still feels like it though," muttered Sirius, wondering why he suddenly felt relieved.

He spent the next half hour listening to Andy and Ted talk about their trials in raising their Metamorphmagus daughter with a side of parenting lessons for his unsuspecting self.

Thursday, June 12

Remus walked along the familiar street leading up to Hogwarts, with a slight bounce in his steps that was not visible to the untrained eye. Dumbledore had summoned him again as he had been doing whenever he intended to leave the school for wherever it was that he was going. Remus didn't mind the small favour that he was doing him – he got to be with Dora as an added bonus while they protected the school in his absence.

He strode at a leisurely pace, and in the distance, he could see two figures standing beside the tall iron gates that guarded the school.

When he got closer, he could see Dora properly, looking beautiful as always in black robes tonight. Her hair too was a muted brown to keep from attracting too much attention during their guard duty.

The other Auror, Proudfoot, lit his wand and spoke gruffly, "Who's there?"

"It is I, Remus Lupin," he announced himself and then added, "You look beautiful today, Dora."

Dora grinned and the next moment, she had sprinted into his arms and captured his lips in a kiss.

His heart was pounding as he responded in kind, his hands weaving behind her back without conscious thought.

The loud clearing of a throat made them break apart, but Remus was already feeling hot around his neck. "You know I'm not too fond of kissing in front of others," whispered Remus.

Dora laughed. "I think I've been quite successful in breaking you out of that habit. Besides, we're due to be married! I'm not afraid to show the world how much I love you."

Remus could not possibly imagine a good response to those heart-warming words so he simply smiled.

"You need to ask him the security question, Tonks," interrupted Proudfoot's annoying voice.

Dora grinned up at Remus. "Oh, it's him alright. I'm sure I know my fiancé's kiss better than anyone else."

Proudfoot looked at Remus with poorly hidden distaste – as usual. Remus knew from Dora that he had been fancying her for quite a while. He would have been a decent bloke if only he weren't prejudiced towards Muggleborns. Werewolves were worse in his opinion, but he kept from outright proclamations of his prejudice unlike others, for which Remus was grateful.

It didn't stop him from feeling very protective of Dora though and he gently took hold of her hand. Dora beamed at him approvingly when another figure was visible walking towards them.

It turned out to be Mad-Eye Moody, who was also going to be joining in their watch. After their routine security checks, they spotted a lamplight bobbing along the driveway leading up to the school. The silhouette came closer, revealing the stern face of Minerva McGonagall.

"Good evening, Remus, Nymphadora, Alastor," she said and with a tap of her wand the gates opened, creaking noisily.

"Why don't you go and have something to drink, Proudfoot? I'm sure you would not mind a break," said McGonagall crisply, looking at the man.

Remus knew from experience that this was so that Dumbledore could leave the castle unhindered in the space of those ten minutes before the Auror returned.

Proudfoot seemed relieved by the dismissal and left without a backward glance. He was already aware that Remus and Moody were here for additional protection. The Minister didn't care for Dumbledore's frequent absences anymore. Remus knew this was because of Harry's conversation with Scrimgeour, and the Aurors around Hogwarts were always grateful when they could take a break from guard duty. It was terribly boring, Remus had to admit.

Minerva led them back inside Hogwarts, informing them of their positions for rounds. Mad-Eye was stationed with Professor McGonagall herself on the West side of the castle. Remus and Dora would take the East.

They departed together towards the greenhouses with their wands at the ready.

"Are you okay after our visit with Mum and Dad?" asked Dora, referring to the day they had spent in Andromeda and Ted Tonks' house two nights ago.

"I see no reason to be otherwise," said Remus neutrally.

"That's a load of dragon dung, Remus," said Dora simply. "Mum was out of line when she asked all those unnecessary questions."

"As she's your mother, I wouldn't fault her for her words. They were rather important questions," said Remus.

"I told her not to talk about it, but no," said Dora, dragging out the last word. "She just had to be the typical mother-in-law with you, didn't she? Why does she care if we plan to have children or not?"

"She should," supplied Remus.

"You're not helping your own case, you know," said Dora, rolling her eyes, and Remus chuckled.

"I've told her we don't plan to have children soon, if ever," continued Dora. "What did she expect? You're a werewolf and I'm an Auror. I don't plan on having any and I'm sure you don't want any either."

Oh, how Remus wished he could! But that was one joy of life that Remus had to throw out the window ever since he realized the full effects of being a werewolf.

It pained him to think he would take it away from Dora too, no matter how many times Dora had assured him they didn't need to have children to be a family.

Remus hummed noncommittally before saying, "Are you completely certain about that, Dora? It would get awfully boring, just the two of us."

"I don't see how that could ever be possible," said Dora with an impish grin. "You know, Nicholas Flamel lived to the ripe old age of six hundred and sixty seven along with his wife. If we lived even for a quarter of that, I'm certain we would never be a boring, old couple."

Remus smirked and in a rare moment of boldness, he tugged her clenched hand towards him and she fell into his arms. He kissed her passionately and she kissed him back, pushing him with her hands on his chest backwards and inside the greenhouse. In her eagerness, she knocked over a potted plant that fell to the floor with a loud crash and broke into a million pieces.

The jarring sound in the silent night was enough to bring them back to their senses.

"Uh-oh," said Dora, looking flushed and sporting bright red hair.

Remus grimaced. "We're supposed to be patrolling, remember?"

"Right," said Dora hastily. Remus pulled out his wand and waved, causing the pot to repair itself and they hurried out of the greenhouse to resume watch.

It wasn't the ideal date, but it was still a day spent in each other's company to be considered as one.

Hestia was on full alert, keeping her eyes peeled on the entrance to The Gargoyle. If she had just seen what she thought she'd seen…

There was a faint pop behind her and she turned towards him, sighing in relief.

Sirius, however, looked cross. "I just left an hour ago. You better have a good reason–"

"There are four Death Eaters inside there," she interrupted urgently, pointing at the old building at the end of the street with its blackened windows.

Sirius' eyes widened as he looked at the building once before turning to her again. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am! There was Travers, Greyback, and two more people along with them."

"Blimey!" exclaimed Sirius. "We have to get inside and fast."

"What?" blurted Hestia, taken aback by his sudden plan. "We can't take on four Death Eaters at once!"

"We're not going to fight them," explained Sirius. "We'll just need to know what they're up to. Oh bollocks, I don't have any Polyjuice on me!"

"I have some," said Hestia. "We'll need to get some Muggles' hair though. But is this really the best thing to do? Going inside?"

"We haven't seen hide or tail of a single Death Eater in this place for months. Whatever they're here for, they're definitely up to something."

Hestia was inclined to agree, but it did not mean she had to feel good about this. She did not fancy being trapped in a building full of Death Eaters. While she had been frozen in her anxiety, Sirius had Disillusioned himself and snuck out of the alleyway.

It was a little more than five minutes later that he appeared again.

Wordlessly, she took out two vials from her pocket and Sirius added the hairs to both of them.

"The one on your left hand is yours," said Sirius, taking the other for himself.

"Yours looks better though," remarked Hestia, eyeing the pale blue solution of his vial. Hers was an olive green and she looked at it with distaste.

"You're welcome to trade if you don't mind being stuck as a bloke for the next hour," said Sirius.

Grimacing, Hestia threw back the vial as did Sirius. A minute later, in their place stood a young man with rather thick eyebrows and a sharp nose and a woman with olive skin and brown hair.

Sirius tugged on her sleeve and started walking out of the alleyway.

"Wait a minute! We need a plan," hissed Hestia in a voice much higher than her own.

Sirius turned back towards her. "We don't need a plan. We'll simply get inside, act like regular customers, and try to hear something that might be useful—"

"And leave before anything worse happens," finished Hestia.

"Exactly! Now, come on!"

Reluctantly, Hestia followed Sirius to the ugly gargoyle standing guard beside the black door. Sirius leaned closer to the gargoyle and whispered the password, "Antra Praedonum?"

The gargoyle blinked once and the door creaked open slowly of its own accord, revealing a narrow, dark corridor at the end of which was another door. The muffled sounds of people chattering amplified when Sirius pushed the door open.

It was a very old-fashioned tavern with an oak-beamed ceiling and a rough stone floor. There was a large fireplace in one corner that occasionally spouted wizards or witches who came in using the Floo. Though the place was spacious, it was poorly lit with only a few candelabras throwing flickering shadows on the walls, which were adorned with mounted heads of antelopes, hogs, and even a Welsh dragon.

Hestia and Sirius navigated the maze of rickety chairs towards the table near the corner where it was apparent the Death Eaters were seated. It amazed Hestia that no one was giving them a second glance, even though a corner of the wall was dedicated to 'Wanted' posters with their same faces. Clearly, too many people used this place for shady business to care about turning in a Death Eater.

Sirius indicated a table that was just behind the Death Eaters and they slid into it without drawing too much attention.

The barmaid behind the counter was a pale woman who seemed to be in her forties. She had dirty blonde hair and was wearing dark green robes that revealed her ample bosom a little too much to be tasteful. She was serving up a crowd of rowdy warlocks – some were groping her which the woman did not seem to mind at all. In fact, she was enjoying the attention.

Sirius was busy keeping an eye on the Death Eaters, who were drinking and chatting leisurely. Hestia caught a few sentences, but it only seemed that they were joking crudely about someone and nothing remotely like a plan of attack.

The barmaid came up to their table after a couple of minutes. "You seem new 'round here. How did you find my pub?"

"A friend recommended it to us," said Sirius smoothly.

"How charming," the woman trilled, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Paulopabita, the barmaid of this wonderful tavern on this side of Upper Flagley. What can I get you lovebirds?"

Hestia frowned at the woman, but she was oblivious as she had eyes only for Sirius, who asked, "What have you got?"

"Let's see. I have the usual – Campbell's Finest Old Whiskey. A barrel full of Simison's Steaming Stout just delivered today and I also have my very own Fishy Green Ale."

"Isn't there anything without alcohol?" asked Hestia and Paulopabita turned to look at her properly.

"Without alcohol?" she repeated in surprise, trying to contain a snigger. "Why would you come to a pub if you're not drinking?"

Before Hestia could retort, Sirius interrupted, "She didn't want to come here but I insisted. You see, darling, I've heard this place is brilliant. And the barmaid even more so."

The woman giggled, "Alright, handsome. I think I could whip up a Daisyroot Draught for your lady friend just because you asked nicely. And what will you be drinking?"

"I think I'll have a pint of your Ale this evening," said Sirius distractedly looking elsewhere and the woman impossibly blushed. She leaned on the table closer to him, thoroughly catching Sirius off-guard and she whispered, "You might find it tastes better than you expect."

She left with her hips swaying, leaving a completely shocked Sirius staring at her retreating form. Hestia glanced at Sirius with her lips pressed together to keep from laughing out loud. "You walked right into that one."

Sirius shook his head. "Let's not get distracted."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, listening intently to the snippets of conversation from the Death Eaters' table.

"—have information from the Dark Lord that it is tonight," grunted Travers. "We must rally our forces at once."

"Our forces? What forces?" came a hoarse voice that Sirius identified as Gibbon.

Hestia could see Greyback moving his mouth in reply, "I'm hungering for young human flesh. We don't need any more forces—"

"Unless you're having the Dark Mark, you better keep your mouth shut," hissed another voice and Sirius mouthed the word 'Yaxley,' identifying the man.

"The Dark Lord has given us permission to invite the Carrows," said Travers. "And we can rely on Rowle and Selwyn to aid us tonight."

Yaxley leaned closer and was speaking in a very low voice, pointing at Gibbon, but they could not hear what they were speaking in the din surrounding them.

Hestia could see Travers nodding when Paulopabita arrived with their drinks.

"One Daisyroot Draught for you," said the woman shortly, placing the pale, fizzing drink next to Hestia. "And one of my famous Fishy Green Ale for you, love," said the barmaid with a pointed smirk at Sirius before placing the bright green, foaming ale in front of him. She left with a cheeky wink and both Hestia and Sirius stared at the drink.

"You don't think she would drug me or something, do you?" asked Sirius uncertainly.

"Wouldn't put it past that tart," muttered Hestia.

After eyeing the Ale warily for a few more seconds, Sirius took a tentative sip and then a large swig.

"That’s the bee’s knees, that is!" proclaimed Sirius heartily and before he could take another swig, Hestia had to remind him, "Do try not to get knackered. Death Eaters behind you, remember."

"It isn't that strong," said Sirius, but he nevertheless placed the mug back on the table.

A few moments later, Yaxley and Gibbon got up and walked past them, headed towards the back of the tavern.

Sirius stood up in a move to follow them and Hestia grabbed his hand, hissing, "What are you doing?"

"I'll be back in a moment. You keep an eye on them," said Sirius, jerking his head in the direction of the Death Eaters seated behind him.

Hestia's eyes widened. "Wait a—"

But Sirius quickly left and Hestia wondered what in Merlin's name she was doing here.

Travers and Greyback were drinking and she took the time to look around herself properly, sipping her mild, floral tasting drink. There were lots of people with their hoods up or covering their face in some fashion. Hestia felt oddly exposed sitting there alone. She wished she could have some alcohol to calm her jumpy nerves.

The table in the middle of the tavern was the most crowded and everyone burst into raucous laughter occasionally. There were couples in the shadows with their bodies entwined together, doing things that made Hestia avert her eyes.

Paulopabita was seated on a table around which there were two pale-looking men drinking flagons of… was that blood?

A trickle of fear slid down Hestia's back as she became aware now that they were real vampires, if the way they hungrily stared at Paulopabita with blood dripping down their lips was any clue. Either that woman was immeasurably brave or awfully stupid to not be scared at all. In fact, she seemed to be chatting to them pleasantly.

Hestia's stomach was twisting itself into knots. Perhaps, she should have followed Sirius to the back too. She wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

She gasped when someone else slid into Sirius' vacated chair and her heart quite literally jumped to her throat.

It was Fenrir Greyback.

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 12

The stench of sweat and blood made Hestia gag, but the rising panic at the sight of Greyback sitting opposite her was more overpowering.

She willed herself to calm down. She was not looking like herself and she could take comfort in the fact that her identity was safe.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a pub like this?" rasped Greyback, crossing his filthy hands on top of the table.

"Please get out of the seat," she said firmly, grasping her wand inside her pocket. "My friend will be back soon."

"Your boyfriend? You don't have to worry about him, my sweet," said Greyback, leering. "I won't take more than ten minutes of your time."

Hestia clenched her jaw and pulled out her wand, but it simply flew out of her grip straight into Greyback's outstretched hand. He had disarmed her in the blink of an eye.

Greyback pocketed her wand and growled softly, "We won't be needing that."

Hestia glanced around her. Not one person was looking their way; the Death Eater, Travers, who had been accompanying Greyback, was nowhere to be seen.

Where the bloody hell was Sirius?

Taking notice of her distraction, Greyback leaned so close towards her that Hestia jerked back in alarm.

"Get away from me!" she yelled and stood up quickly, pushing her now vacant chair towards him to put some distance between them. A few people looked around at the noise and Hestia opened her mouth to yell for help, but no sound came out.

Greyback stood up too, discreetly pocketing his wand after having cast the Silencing charm on her. Hestia was uncomfortably aware of his huge build towering over her and edged back slowly in fear.

She could hear shouts from behind her and the sounds of a scuffle. People started screaming and a flash of emerald green caught her eye and she saw the fireplace just a few feet away from her bursting into flames. Some people seemed to be trying to exit the pub hastily while the rest, particularly the ones shrouded in darkness with their bodies entwined, were unaware of what was happening and going about their business. Paulopabita was seen hurrying people outside the pub.

Hestia bolted towards the fireplace too, but Greyback lunged at her. He pinned her to the wall in a dark corner of the pub and the sheer terror made her scream. Her throat ached but the sound never came. People would not even notice them in this pub if Greyback had his way with her.

Desperate for release, she hit and scratched him, trying to wriggle out of his grip, but he was an immovable rock. He grasped both her hands together in one hand of his and leaned very close to her ear. "I won't bite," he whispered in a hoarse voice that sent chills down her spine. "I'll save that for later tonight—"

He was cut short as Hestia propelled her clenched hands in his grip straight at his mouth with such force that blood coated his pointed teeth. Greyback was grinning like a madman, seemingly enjoying the violence.

He forcefully pushed his lips to hers and there was a loud yell and a bang that threw the heavy form of Greyback far away from her body.

Hestia slumped to the floor and retched despite herself. She wiped her mouth and looked around her to see the pub half empty.

A young man was standing a few feet away, looking livid with his arm outstretched and pointing his wand at a limp Greyback on the floor.

It took a moment for her to remember that it was Sirius, disguised just as she was.

"Come on!" yelled Sirius, grasping her hands to hoist her up, but she hissed in pain.

Sirius took in a sharp breath. "Great Merlin!"

She followed his gaze and looked at her hands to see long bleeding scratches that Greyback's nails had left on her forearm, as he had been gripping her very tightly when Sirius had thrown him off of her.

Hestia couldn't think properly; she felt like something was closing in on her and her vision blurred at the edges.

"Don't panic! It's alright," came Sirius' urgent voice, and she felt an arm around her waist, holding her upright.

A deafening bang sounded behind them and she heard Sirius shout, "We need to get out. Now!"

Hestia took deep breaths and nodded slowly. She thrust her hand inside her pocket to draw out her wand, but she realized it was empty. Her head cleared enough for her to remember that Greyback was in possession of it.

She broke away from Sirius' grip and tottered towards the body lying crumpled on the floor.

"Where are you going?" yelled Sirius, trying to go after her, but he was kept occupied with their attacker.

Hestia fished out her wand from Greyback's pocket, and out of spite, snapped his own wand in two and threw it on the floor. She blinked furiously and noticed that the pub was empty now and only Sirius and the Death Eater, Yaxley, were duelling.

Hestia undid the Silencing charm on herself and shot a Stunning spell at Yaxley, who jumped out of its way and straight into the fireplace, disappearing in a blaze of green flames.

"Let's get out of here," whispered Hestia in a hoarse voice. Sirius nodded and they both left the pub. He grabbed hold of her elbow and she found herself Side-Along Apparating with him.

"I was an idiot!" growled Sirius once they had reached Hestia's house and had rushed her inside. "I should never have taken you there with me."

Sirius let go of Hestia, who sat down on the sofa with a sigh. She called for Teeny and asked for some Dittany.

"And something made of pure silver," added Sirius, conjuring a wad of cloth from thin air and wrapping it tightly around her shaking hand to stem the flow of blood.

Hestia stared at her hand in shock. She had studied Healing and she knew it would be scarred forever. Would she be exhibiting werewolf-like characteristics too?

Sirius interrupted her musing, looking at her strangely, "Greyback wasn't a full-fledged werewolf tonight."

Hestia looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "You don't think I would—"

"No," said Sirius firmly. "I know enough about these things, so trust me. You won't have any lingering effects."

Hestia nodded wordlessly, but something in his conviction reassured her.

Teeny appeared moments later with a flacon of Dittany and a silver necklace and handed it to Hestia, who took one look at it and shook her head.

"No, no, we can't use that. That's my mother's—"

"You're mad," said Sirius, shaking his head and looking bewildered. He raised his voice and called, "Kreacher!"

The ugly elf that inhabited Sirius' house appeared with a crack and bowed low. "Master has called for Kreacher."

"Get me something made of pure silver from that wretched house. Goblin-wrought is preferable."

"Master wants to give away the treasures of my Mistress?" croaked Kreacher, distressed. "Kreacher will not allow—"

Sirius looked vexed. "If you can't follow orders, I'm giving away the entire rubbish bag you have hidden inside that den of yours."

Kreacher's eyes widened in alarm and with a look of horrified contempt disappeared only to reappear a few seconds later, holding one of the old silver goblets.

Sirius took it and with a muttered 'Reducto' turned it to dust. Kreacher whimpered at the sight of his beloved Mistress' treasure destroyed and Sirius sent him away with a contemptuous word.

"Could you get the measuring spoon, Teeny?" asked Sirius much more politely and Teeny hastened to obey. Hestia stifled a laugh at Teeny's behaviour. Teeny must have been alarmed by Sirius' attitude towards Kreacher.

Sirius meticulously measured out a scoop of the powdered silver and added it to the flacon of Dittany, which frothed and foamed on contact.

"It's a good thing you have a batch of Dittany already prepared," said Sirius offhandedly, conjuring another wad of cloth and soaking it directly into the dittany.

"Constant Vigilance," quoted Hestia, smiling wanly. "It was better to be on the safer side after Mad-Eye had insisted on everyone having the essentials always ready, just in case."

The next second saw Hestia screaming her lungs out as Sirius had placed the soaked cloth on her injured forearm.

"You must have known already about werewolf scratches," said Sirius, once she had stopped screaming. "You studied to become a Healer, didn't you?"

"Nobody told me it stings like a Billywig," said Hestia through gritted teeth.

Sirius turned towards Teeny. "Could you get her something cold to drink?"

Teeny disappeared and Sirius removed the Dittany-soaked cloth from her arm. Hestia watched in fascination as the wound had stopped bleeding and had sealed itself, but the three long gouges were still raw and red.

Sirius stood up at once and announced, "I have to go immediately."

Hestia's hand was still smarting, but she stood up too. "Where are we going?"

"No, you're staying here," said Sirius with a tone of finality.

Hestia narrowed her eyes. "I can handle—"

"I've had enough of dragging you along and putting you in danger," cut in Sirius furiously. Hestia drew back, hurt by his words, but Sirius didn't elaborate or apologize and he hurried out of her house.

Sirius had been spying on Gibbon and Rowle in the back of the tavern and the latter had been talking about rendezvousing at Borgin & Burke's. Sirius would have successfully sneaked out if only Harry's voice had not called his name from the mirror, alerting the Death Eaters to his true identity, and they had started the duel.

Sirius had no time to contact Harry again. He hoped Harry understood that he was in the middle of something, and thinking of speaking to Harry later, he Disapparated to Knockturn Alley.

Borgin & Burke's was closed, which wasn't anything suspicious. It was just past closing hour in the street. Sirius waited outside, wondering if the Death Eaters had probably tricked him, when the sounds of people inside the shop made him peer through the glass door.

He could make out only Borgin, illuminated by the light of a single candle, drawing curtains over a door.

That was strange. Sirius could have sworn he had heard shuffling footsteps belonging to several people just moments before.

He hid himself again behind the shop, hoping to catch the Death Eaters unaware when they met up. Perhaps he should alert the Order for backup?

He was pulling out his wand to summon his Patronus when two cracks of Apparition sounded in the dark. He could make out the silhouettes of two stocky people – a man and a woman – and when the light from the lamp-post hit their faces, he recognized Amycus and Alecto Carrow.

They walked up to Borgin & Burke's and, ignoring the 'Closed' sign, pushed the door open and went inside.

Sirius peered through the glass door again to see the Carrows exchange a few words with Borgin, who drew the curtains aside to reveal a vaguely familiar but ordinary-looking cabinet.

The Carrows walked inside and Borgin shut the door. Sirius' eyes widened – that was no ordinary cabinet. There was no way two people could fit inside and they didn't show any signs of coming out. It could only be a vanishing cabinet – perhaps The Vanishing Cabinet that Greyback had enquired about to Borgin months ago?

It still didn't make any sense why the Death Eaters were using it. Frustrated with his lack of information, he pushed open the door to the shop and cast a Body-Bind immediately on Borgin, who fell to the ground, solid as a rock.

He locked the door behind him and kneeled beside Borgin, taking his wand away from him. "Don't even think about escaping," warned Sirius before undoing the spell. Borgin gasped for breath, wheezing, and Sirius cast an 'Incarcerous' that tied up his hands.

"What were the Death Eaters doing in your shop?" asked Sirius gruffly.

"I don't know what you're talking about! You're mistaken—"

"You're associating yourself with the wrong people, Mr. Borgin," said Sirius. "Unless you speak up, your shop is going to have the same fate as Cobb & Webb's a few blocks away."

Borgin's eyes widened in fear. "No, please! You can't report me to the Ministry. You don't understand—"

"Try me," said Sirius. "I might be a recently acquitted convict, but I do have some friends in high places."

"My family – they aren't safe. I can't go to Azkaban!"

Borgin was pleading and Sirius took pity on him. "I won't report you if you tell me why you're dealing with Death Eaters."

Borgin looked conflicted. "I—I'll tell you. The Death Eaters are planning to attack Hogwarts tonight."

"What?" Sirius stared open-mouthed.

Borgin nodded. "This cabinet, it has a pair in Hogwarts. It creates a tunnel—"

"That leads straight to Hogwarts?" finished Sirius, amazed. He had thought he knew the school like the back of his hand. He had never known there was one more secret tunnel.

He had to alert the Order – he knew from Remus that Dumbledore was away again. It was the perfect opportunity to attack. And Harry! Sirius' blood ran cold. Harry was in Hogwarts now! Surely, this was an elaborate plan of Voldemort to get to Harry?

Sirius stood up immediately.

"They've been planning it for months," continued Borgin. "I had no choice but to help them. They threatened my family! Greyback—"

"Where does the other side end up in Hogwarts?" asked Sirius.

"I wouldn't trust this cabinet," said Borgin. "It's been faulty for ages. You could end up anywhere in Hogwarts or even get stuck somewhere in between."

"I'm not taking any chances," said Sirius. "I want you to lock this side of the door. Nobody is using this into or out of Hogwarts again, you hear me? Get out of here — run, hide your family."

Borgin was muttering, "He'll kill me! He'll kill me and my family if he knew..."

Sirius paid no attention and ran out of the shop to a dark, secluded alley. Summoning three of his Patronuses, he relayed the message, "Death Eaters are going to attack Hogwarts now through a secret tunnel inside the castle. Prepare yourselves!"

He sent the three dog Patronuses to Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye, then he pulled out his mirror, calling for Harry again. But there was no response. Maybe, Harry was asleep unaware of what was happening. Convincing himself that that was what had happened, he Disapparated to Hogsmeade.

"What do you mean you won't let me in?" growled Sirius angrily. He was standing outside the gates of Hogwarts, arguing with the Aurors on duty that night. Maybe he should have taken his chances with that cabinet after all.

"You have no business here, Mr. Black," said Dawlish in a bored voice. "You need permission from at least one of the staff to—"

"Have you been listening at all, you gormless idiot? Death Eaters are attacking Hogwarts right now!"

"Really, Mr. Black, one would think I know perfectly well who goes in and out of Hogwarts being the Auror on duty. I'm starting to think you're an impostor and you're only trying to find a way in."

"We can't get in unless a member of the staff opens the gates from the inside," said Proudfoot, speaking over Dawlish. He clearly realized the urgency in Sirius' voice better than Dawlish and was also seemingly ready to believe him.

Sirius huffed, "I'll find another way in."

Ten minutes later, Sirius and the two Aurors were running along the secret tunnel from Honeydukes' cellar after having broken into the shop. Dawlish had insisted on coming along with him, saying that he still couldn't trust him if he were an impostor and had summoned Savage to take his place on duty.

"Is this how you sneaked into Hogwarts when you had escaped from Azkaban?" asked Proudfoot.

"Why didn't you just use this instead of coming to the gates?" said Dawlish irritably.

"Could you shut up for a moment?" grumbled Sirius. He had tried to do the civil thing and go through the front gates instead of breaking into a shop. But if everyone wanted him to act like an escaped convict again…

Sirius had forgotten how long the passage took to get to Hogwarts. Proudfoot and Dawlish were a little further behind, just because Sirius wouldn't stop to help them up when they slipped and stumbled on the uneven floor.

After what felt like a long time, they reached the end of the tunnel and Sirius found himself on the third floor of Hogwarts, followed closely by the Aurors.

He changed to Padfoot, his senses becoming more pronounced as a dog. He could hear shouts and breaking noises far away and he followed them, bounding along faster than any human, leaving the Aurors far behind to catch up. He changed to human mid-run and pulled out his wand as he turned a corner and a body flew towards him with such force that he was knocked to the ground.

"Sirius?"

Sirius recognized Ron's voice and he was getting up when a spell whizzed past his ear and collided with the wall behind him.

"Get up, get up!" yelled Sirius, pulling up Ron, who was slightly dazed from the fall. "Ron, where's Harry?" he asked urgently.

Ron still looked disoriented. "He went with Dumbledore."

Sirius froze in shock. Dumbledore took his godson to a lake full of Inferi?

Before he could become properly angry with Dumbledore, his attention was taken by the scene in front of him, which was a mess. Half of the ceiling had fallen in and everything was covered in dust. Hermione and another girl were lying on one side; Rowle was fighting Tonks and Yaxley duelled Remus. Moody was taking on both Gibbon and Selwyn, and Sirius rushed to help, yelling at Ron to get out of there and take his friends with him. Sirius shot a Stunning spell at Selwyn who fell to the floor unaware of his attacker.

The dust cleared slightly and he saw Ginny taking on Amycus, who was giggling madly and throwing Cruciatus after Cruciatus. Ginny had no time to retaliate as she was busy dodging them.

Sirius joined her when, at that moment, Amycus threw a Killing curse straight at Ginny. Sirius immediately waved his wand thinking, 'Ferrifors!'

The round wall of iron reverberated when the Killing curse struck it and disintegrated. Ginny yelled 'Stupefy!' from behind the metal shield and the man was thrown back forcefully, his body limp.

It came as quite a surprise when Sirius caught a glimpse of Harry running past him after two black figures at the end of the corridor.

Sirius called for him, but Harry did not stop or even acknowledge him. Sirius looked around and saw McGonagall taking down Alecto Carrow with Proudfoot's help. Dawlish and Tonks had taken down Rowle, but Yaxley had likely escaped as Remus was helping up the kids.

Assuming that they were all safe for the moment, Sirius went after Harry, who was nowhere to be seen. He thought he saw a bloody footprint just ahead and he ran past. He could hear screams and shouts, and voices grew louder. He changed into his Animagus and ran faster, rushing past the Hufflepuff students who had probably awoken due to the clamour from the fight above.

More than a handful of students screamed at the sight of him, but Sirius leaped past the stairs and out through the front doors into the dark night.

He could see figures near the gates and the occasional bursts of light threw Hagrid's giant form into stark relief. Yaxley was fighting Hagrid, and Harry… Harry was flying backwards before he hit the ground. The man towering over Harry was unmistakeably Severus Snape.

Padfoot was sprinting fast – it didn't surprise him at all that Snape had turned on them. All that mattered was getting to Harry…

Padfoot could hear the inhuman rage from Snape when he yelled, "DON'T CALL ME COWARD!"

Snivellus had whipped out his wand but before he could point it at Harry, Padfoot leaped over him and pounced onto Snape, sinking his teeth into his flesh.

Snape yelled out in pain and attempted to throw him off, but Padfoot clenched his jaw tighter, tasting blood.

A powerful slam on his chest threw him aside and Sirius became human again. He spat out blood and wiped his mouth before looking up to see the Malfoy kid supporting Snape, both of them Disapparating just outside the gates. Yaxley too Disapparated, leaving a stunned Auror, probably Savage, on the ground.

"Sirius?"

Harry was walking towards him, dishevelled but mostly unharmed. Sirius stood up groggily, relieved that Harry was okay. Hagrid came out of the blazing fire that was his hut, holding Fang, and with Sirius and Harry's help, he put out the fire.

"What're you doin' here, Sirius? I just saw them Death Eaters and what the ruddy hell was Snape doin' with 'em?"

"Snape," spat out Sirius viciously. "That greasy git was a Death Eater all along! I can't wait for Dumbledore to know about this…"

"What?" thundered Hagrid. "What're yeh talking about, Sirius? Snape was giving the Death Eaters chase, wasn't he? Where's he gone?"

"He attacked Harry," explained Sirius, glowering. "He's a Death Eater, I know it."

"Nah, it can't be—"

Sirius and Hagrid looked around to see Harry already a few feet away, walking slowly towards the castle.

"Come on, Hagrid," said Sirius, "We'll need to help the others."

"Dumbledore must 'ave told Snape to go with the Death Eaters," said Hagrid reasonably, still not accepting the fact. "He must 'ave attacked Harry to keep his cover."

Sirius wasn't listening to Hagrid, however, as he saw Harry heading towards the foot of the tallest tower, directly where, to Sirius' horror, the Dark Mark was shining above. It was the stuff of nightmares, seeing the Dark Mark in person after years. People were beginning to huddle around and Harry's steps became hurried as he jogged forward.

Sirius' eyebrows knitted in worry at the cold realization that somebody had been killed by the Death Eaters.

Harry had already disappeared into the mass of people and Sirius had to fight his way to the front.

His eyes widened in disbelief. It seemed impossible. He had never imagined he would see Albus Dumbledore dead.

Harry was kneeling beside him, staring at the Headmaster, who seemed for all the world like he was asleep beneath the stars.

Sirius walked forward slowly; he heard Hagrid let out a howl of disbelief and more people pressed closer to see for themselves.

Sirius knelt beside Harry; it was like being in the graveyard back in Godric's Hollow all over again.

"He killed him," whispered Harry, still unable to look away from Dumbledore. Sirius did not have to guess who Harry meant. That was the only explanation of why Harry had gone after Snape.

"He killed him in cold blood," said Harry and Sirius saw his eyes glisten. Wordlessly, Sirius put his arm around Harry who immediately buried his face into his shoulder. Harry didn't sob; not even a whimper escaped his lips, but Sirius' robes were soaked through to his chest.

Shouts and wails surrounded them as people realized what had happened. More people were surrounding them and Sirius thought it best for Harry to move away from the crowd.

"We can't stay here," said Sirius and Harry nodded reluctantly. Sirius helped him up and pushed his way out of the crowd, past the students peering at them.

Ron was beside the marble staircase, looking pale. He took one look at Sirius and Harry and said, "Is it true? Dumbledore—?"

Harry nodded and Ron paled. He turned to Sirius. "McGonagall's ordered everyone to the Hospital Wing."

"Is everyone okay?" asked Sirius as they made their way together to the Hospital Wing.

"Everyone's fine."

"But there was someone on the ground," said Harry, speaking up. "I thought I stepped over someone…"

"That was probably Luna and Neville. They're okay," added Ron hastily, seeing Harry's expression. "Luna was simply stunned. Flitwick and Neville are both hurt, but they'll be okay or so Madam Pomfrey says. If we hadn't taken that Felix, we'd have all been dead, but everything just only missed us…"

"What about the Death Eaters?" asked Sirius.

"Those Aurors were a great help," said Ron. "They have all the Death Eaters rounded up and subdued. I heard that man, Proudfoot, saying they've alerted the Ministry to get the captured Death Eaters up to Azkaban soon."

They reached the Hospital Wing and they could see Luna and Neville lying prone on beds, fast asleep. Hermione, Ginny, Remus, and Tonks were gathered together, talking.

Everyone looked up and moved towards them as soon as they had entered.

"Is it true what they're saying?" asked Tonks. "Dumbledore's—"

"Dead," said Sirius, nodding.

"No!" exclaimed Remus in disbelief. Sirius knew Remus had respected and even treasured Dumbledore's trust in him. It was bound to hit him hard. Tonks held him in her embrace comfortingly and Sirius looked away just as Hermione asked in horror, "How did he die?"

Sirius was intrigued too and he listened to Harry explaining how they had been in the Astronomy tower together when the Malfoy kid disarmed Dumbledore, followed soon by Snape.

There was only silence when he had finished and it was broken by the lament of a lone phoenix. Sirius still could not believe that Dumbledore was dead. It sounded odd even to speak of it.

Dumbledore had always been the one constant person throughout the war.

He was always present, always giving them hope in the fight against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Sirius' time in Hogwarts despite being during the middle of a war had been fairly sheltered, safe even. All because of the unshakeable security that Dumbledore's presence had given them.

Sirius had joined the Order along with his best friends, not only because it was a cause worth fighting for, but also because they weren't without hope. A hope that had been Albus Dumbledore, the only person Voldemort had ever feared.

Of course, he was then put in Azkaban and had lost all of that hope in the man. In some way, it was his own fault for not having trusted Dumbledore enough to let him know of the switch in Secret Keepers.

But Dumbledore had almost made up for it, by helping to give Harry to him for good and also by trusting Sirius with the knowledge of how to finish Voldemort.

It was going to be a very different world now without their leader spearheading their cause.

The Hospital doors opened and Minerva entered along with Mad-Eye.

Minerva asked Harry how it had happened and she fell into a chair, looking faint, unable to believe that Snape had killed him.

Sirius wondered why everyone had held Snape in such high regard, enough to not even believe that he could have killed Dumbledore. He, on the other hand, had no doubts. He had always suspected Snape all along.

"Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater," growled Mad-Eye. "I wonder what that bastard did to convince Albus…"

"I know," said Harry, and Sirius looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."

Sirius' blood ran cold. "What?" he growled through gritted teeth.

So it was Snivellus that had heard the prophecy? It was no wonder Dumbledore had never revealed the identity of the Death Eater to him, James and Lily.

"And Dumbledore believed that?" said Remus incredulously. "Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James…"

"I'm going to kill that bastard," said Sirius, clenching and unclenching his fist. Not one of them disagreed.

"This is all my fault," said Minerva suddenly. She explained that it had been her who had alerted Snape to help them fight the Death Eaters. Remus consoled her, but Harry looked as furious as he did.

Minerva explained how Dumbledore had informed them that he was going to be leaving the school for the night and so Remus, Tonks, and Mad-Eye were stationed to protect all the entryways. "I still don't know how the Death Eaters can possibly have entered…"

"Using the Vanishing Cabinets," said Sirius.

"How do you know about that? How did you know there was an attack anyway?" asked Harry, curiously.

"I was on Order duty along with Hestia," said Sirius. "We noticed Death Eaters meeting in their regular pub and we disguised ourselves to learn what they were up to. They were planning to meet at Borgin & Burke's. They found out who I was before I could escape because of your voice through the mirror, Harry."

Harry looked puzzled before he remembered. "I tried to call you, to let you know I was going with Dumbledore."

"I figure that now," said Sirius with a nod. "There was a fight and Hestia was attacked by Greyback."

Almost everyone gasped and Tonks yelped, "Is she okay?"

"She's got a scratch that I'm afraid will scar though he wasn't a werewolf tonight, but otherwise she's fine."

Sirius went on to explain how he had come upon the cabinet in Borgin & Burke's.

"I should have just stunned those Carrows as soon as I had seen them," muttered Sirius spitefully. "But I hadn't a clue what those cabinets did until after they had gone through it. I told Borgin to seal that side of the door so no one could go in or out. I also alerted Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye about the attack."

"And thank Merlin you did," said Moody gruffly.

"We were patrolling the grounds; we had no idea they would already be inside the castle. As soon as you alerted us, we got into the castle immediately to check all the secret tunnels," said Tonks. "We ran into the kids and they let us know they had seen the Malfoy boy and the Death Eaters come out of the Room of Requirement."

"I should have believed you, Harry," said Minerva, looking distressed. "Malfoy was a Death Eater all along and I suspect behind all of the attacks this year."

"He was," said Harry, nodding. "He confessed as much to Dumbledore."

"I must ask you though what you were doing with him tonight," said Minerva, her usual sternness returning as she straightened. "It could be important."

"I can't tell you that, Professor," said Harry without hesitation. Mad-Eye and Remus were staring at him, the latter even giving Sirius a curious glance.

"Harry, it might be important," said Minerva and Harry nodded. "It is, very. But he didn't want me to tell anyone."

Minerva glared at him and then turned to Sirius with a frown. "Aren't you going to say anything about this?"

"There's nothing to say that Harry hasn't told you already," said Sirius and Harry looked at him gratefully. "I'm afraid this matter is not your concern, Minerva."

"But—"

"There's one thing you should know though," interrupted Harry. "Madam Rosmerta's under the Imperius Curse, she was helping Malfoy and the Death Eaters, that's how the necklace and the poisoned mead —"

"Rosmerta?" said Professor McGonagall incredulously, but before she could go on, the doors opened to reveal Proudfoot and Hagrid.

"The Minister has arrived," said Proudfoot. "He's waiting in your office."

"Yes, yes, I will be up momentarily," said Minerva. "Alastor, will you come with me to discuss the final rites with the Minister?"

Moody grunted and limped along with Minerva, who left the Hospital Wing, asking Hagrid to inform all Heads of House to go up to the Headmaster's office.

"What'll they do now?" asked Ron, breaking the silence.

"I suspect there'll be a funeral," said Sirius. Both Hermione and Ginny paled at the idea.

"Sirius, we have to gather the Order immediately," said Remus. "They need to be informed."

Sirius nodded and drew Harry aside. "Will you be okay?"

Harry stared up at him and in that moment, Sirius was painfully aware of how young he was to be dealing with all of it.

Harry swallowed and nodded. Sirius squeezed his shoulder and Harry leaned on to him briefly.

"Don't think too much and get some sleep," said Sirius. "We have all the time we need to deal with everything tomorrow, alright?"

Harry nodded again and Sirius left his godson with his friends to give the Order of the Phoenix the grave news that their leader was no more.

Harry watched Sirius, Remus, and Tonks leave the Hospital Wing with melancholy. He still couldn't believe Dumbledore was gone. He had already lost his parents and now his mentor.

He put his hands into his pocket and he clutched the locket that Dumbledore had fought so hard to retrieve. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were talking, and Harry slowly walked out of the Hospital Wing, his feet carrying him aimlessly through the dark, empty corridors.

The metal was cold against his palm and Harry pulled out the Horcrux, surveying it. He had noticed that it hadn't looked similar at all to Slytherin's locket when he had scooped it into his pocket – it hadn't mattered then, when he had been kneeling beside Dumbledore's body.

Now though, he realized it wasn't as big as the locket he had seen in the Pensieve nor did it have Slytherin's mark.

He opened it and a small, folded up piece of parchment fell out of it into his hand.

To the Dark Lord

I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.

R.A.B.

Harry had thought he couldn't be more shocked after witnessing Dumbledore's death, but he surprised himself. This wasn't a Horcrux at all. Dumbledore drank that potion for nothing.

Curiously, a strange sensation erupted in his chest and in spite of himself, laughter bubbled from his lips, uncontrollably gleeful. A sharp, hot pain coursed through his scar.

Triumph overrode his shock and he was drunk on ecstasy.

After a fleeting moment, his laughter stopped as sudden as it had come and his mirthless grin froze on his face.

The corridor seemed very quiet again and a chill ran down his spine.

That hadn't been him. That triumph and happiness hadn't been his.

It belonged to Lord Voldemort.

Chapter Text

"Harry?"

The sudden voice made Harry jump in surprise, having been lost in his thoughts for a while.

"Ginny," breathed Harry, relieved at the sight of the red-haired girl. He had to admit he had been terrified for a moment that it could be someone else. He was already spooked out by the sudden intrusion into his mind minutes earlier. He wondered where his two best friends had got off to. "What's wrong? Where's Ron and Hermione?"

"All the Prefects have been called up to the staff room," explained Ginny. "We're to go to our dormitories until the Prefects come and talk to us."

"Oh," said Harry distractedly, walking along with Ginny beside him.

"Are you okay?" asked Ginny with a frown.

"I'm fine," said Harry automatically.

Ginny looked like she didn't believe him, but thankfully she didn't press him about it. They walked together in silence for a while and they were met halfway by Dean, Seamus, Demelza, and Jimmy Peakes.

Dean looked at Harry, then at Ginny. "Did you just hear Dumbledore's—?"

"Yes," said Ginny, slipping her hand into his. "We heard."

"What do you think is going to happen to Hogwarts?" said Seamus. "I heard someone saying it would be closed."

"They can't close Hogwarts," said Demelza immediately. "What will Muggleborns like us do?"

"You really think Muggleborns will come next year without Dumbledore?" asked Jimmy.

"I, for one, will be coming no matter who's the Headmaster," said Demelza.

"Demelza's right," said Dean. "Won't it be McGonagall who will be the next Headmistress? Hogwarts isn't totally unsafe."

"You're saying that now," said Seamus glumly. "But it's not that simple. The Board of Governors will appoint the new Headmaster or Headmistress. Until they do, we can't be certain of who it'll be."

"I heard school is closing earlier than usual," said Jimmy. "What about our exams?"

"We have OWLs next week," said Ginny. "They'll most likely postpone them. Flitwick said they might."

They chatted aimlessly and reached the common room, which was packed with students, half-awake and in their pyjamas. A hushed silence fell on them and all pairs of eyes turned to stare at Harry.

"What are you all staring at?" came a voice from behind Harry, breaking the silence. Neville had entered just behind them and he was now pushing his way forward, taking a seat on a couch beside the fire. Dean, Seamus, and Ginny joined Neville on the carpeted floor, starting up a discussion on the events in the past hour that had took all the eyes off of Harry.

Harry was grateful to Neville, even though he probably hadn't intended to do so. He walked up to the stairs that led to his dorm, absentmindedly clutching the locket inside his robes. He was stopped by a hand on his forearm.

"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" asked Demelza.

Tired of the question but not of the genuine concern, Harry pressed his lips into a reluctant smile. "I'll be fine," said Harry truthfully.

Demelza nodded, her brown hair catching the light from the candelabra on the wall, distracting him. She walked away and joined the huddle of students seriously discussing speculations on how Dumbledore had died.

Harry turned his back on them and went up to his dorm. Maybe, he would heed Sirius' words and get a good night's sleep before having to think about everything that had happened this night.

Sunday, June 15

People began to disperse after the end of the funeral, but Sirius remained in his seat, staring at the white tomb, a blemish in his mind's eye of his memories of Hogwarts.

He spotted Hestia a few feet away in immaculate black robes and a wide-brimmed hat, which sat atop her perfectly coiffed bun. She was talking with Dedalus Diggle, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and her cousin, Gwenog Jones, looking sombre.

Gwenog was speaking with her hands gesticulating wildly, eliciting a laugh from everyone around. A strong gust of wind blew across the grounds and Hestia put up a hand to keep her hat from flying away. Her long sleeve fell back to reveal the raw scars on her left forearm. Sirius watched Hestia hastily cover it up and he tore his eyes away from her, finding it painful to even look at her injury.

The Weasleys were quite a gathering near the middle of the aisle, seeing as they were in the midst of a tearful reunion with Percy Weasley. Sirius was pleased to know Percy had heeded his words and done the right thing. If last night's emergency Order meeting was to be believed, he reckoned they would need as many people on their side as possible.

Noticing the benches around him were already empty, Sirius stood up and searched for his messy-haired godson. He passed by Hermione, who was chatting with Remus and Tonks, and Sirius caught the tail end of their conversation. It seemed Tonks was apologizing to Hermione for not having invited them to the wedding.

"—we really wish we could invite you all, but it's only going to be family," Tonks was saying.

Sirius smiled despite himself at Tonks' words. It had been so long since he had been part of a family again.

He spotted Harry silently walking away from the crowd, about twenty feet away from him. Sirius frowned when he saw Rufus Scrimgeour making his way to him, his entire entourage of Ministry officials waiting a good distance away.

Sirius approached Harry from the other side and Harry looked up from his conversation straight at him. Scrimgeour followed Harry's gaze, turning to stare at Sirius, who stood a few feet away from them. He put both his hands into his pockets and stared back.

After a significant moment, Scrimgeour limped away without even acknowledging Sirius.

"What did he want?" asked Sirius as soon as he was out of earshot.

"To know where I went with Dumbledore."

"And I thought he was finally seeing sense. Some people never change," said Sirius, shaking his head.

Harry nodded slowly and turned to stare at Dumbledore's tomb before speaking, "Sirius, I—"

He cleared his throat and looked down – thinking or at a loss, Sirius couldn't tell which. He waited for Harry to make up his mind when Harry slid one hand into his pocket and produced a gold locket.

"Is that it?" asked Sirius in a hushed voice, slightly amazed at what he was seeing. He had no idea how Slytherin's locket looked like, but it was the only explanation of why Harry suddenly possessed a locket at the moment. This was what Dumbledore had taken Harry with him for on that night.

But Harry clenched his jaw and shook his head.

Sirius looked at him, confused. "Then, what—?"

Harry pushed the locket into Sirius' hands and he stared at it curiously. It seemed familiar, like something out of a distant memory though he would have sworn he had never seen it before.

He opened it to find a small parchment. Sirius looked up at Harry, who jerked his head forward as if to say, 'Read it.'

Sirius did so, finding the handwriting uncomfortably familiar. When he reached the signature, his eyes widened in shock.

"It was all a waste," Harry was saying. "Dumbledore nearly gave his life and—"

"Regulus?" Sirius' voice was barely a whisper, but his brain was functioning so loudly, he could hardly hear what Harry was saying.

"What?"

Sirius looked up at Harry with eyes as wide as saucers. "R.A.B! That's my brother, Regulus Arcturus Black!"

The rest of the day was all a bit of a blur to Harry. Sirius had just proclaimed that the man who had signed the parchment inside the locket was none other than his long deceased brother, Regulus Black.

Harry agreed with Sirius that the first place they had to look immediately was Number Twelve, but school was closing only the next day. Harry asked Sirius to wait for him until then so that he could also come along to investigate, but Sirius was impatient. Fearing that Sirius would ignore Harry and go off to Number Twelve on his own, Harry sought out permission from McGonagall to leave school that afternoon and she readily agreed, thinking that Harry was too overwhelmed by the funeral.

Harry had hurriedly explained to Ron and Hermione about their findings before leaving, promising to meet them during the holidays.

At four o'clock in the evening, Harry and Sirius Apparated to Sirius' house, which was completely devoid of Order members.

Sirius rushed up the stairs, Harry close at his heels, before coming to the landing of the second floor outside the door opposite to his room with a plaque bearing the neatly-lettered words:

Do Not Enter

Without the Express Permission of

Regulus Arcturus Black

Sirius hesitated with his hand on the doorknob, and so Harry placed his hand on his and tried to push open the door. It was locked, however.

Harry looked at him inquisitively and Sirius cleared his throat, pulling out his wand. "I didn't want others snooping around," explained Sirius.

With a tap of his wand, the door clicked and swung open.

It was in every way the opposite of Sirius' room, with emerald and silver hangings emphasizing his house and his family. A thick layer of dust had settled on top of everything.

Harry walked into the room, looking around him, and he noticed Sirius still standing on the threshold.

"What's wrong?"

"It's been years since I came in here," said Sirius in a hollow voice.

He entered the room and walked towards a few photographs on the bedside table, inspecting them. Harry was looking around the room for any sign of a golden locket. He had to find it and destroy it; he had to make sure Dumbledore hadn't died for nothing.

After looking under the bed and inside the cupboards, Harry noticed Sirius was sitting on the dusty bed, staring at a photograph.

"A little help here," said Harry with slight irritation, rousing Sirius from his musings.

Sirius took one look at Harry, crouched on the floor, searching under a rug, before yelling, "Kreacher!"

A loud crack revealed the stooping house-elf, who croaked, "Master called for Kreacher?"

Harry sat up immediately. "Have you seen any locket around the house, Kreacher?"

Even though Kreacher's eyes widened in terror, confirming Harry's suspicions, he spoke in his annoying bullfrog voice, "Kreacher will not answer Master's brat. Blood-traitor—"

"Shut up and answer him," snapped Sirius before adding, "truthfully."

Kreacher's jaws clicked shut at Sirius' order and he looked disdainfully at the pair of them.

"Yes," said Kreacher unwillingly.

"Yes what?" said Sirius.

"Kreacher has the l-locket that belonged to Master R-Regulus."

"Where is it now?" asked Harry urgently, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Kreacher must not answer. Master Regulus forbid me—"

"I'm your Master now, so you better speak up Kreacher or help me—"

"Master Regulus forbid me to never ever let the family know even though it includes my blood-traitor Master—"

"It's been eighteen years! What's the harm in—"

"Kreacher will not—"

"Wait," said Harry, interjecting himself in between them. Sirius looked ready to kill someone, possibly the equally determined elf standing opposite him. "Wait, Sirius! I have an idea," said Harry, puzzling Sirius. Harry gave him a look as if to say, 'Go along with me,' and then turned to Kreacher.

"Kreacher? Regulus forbade you to tell the family, right? Well, I'm not Regulus' family. You can tell me."

"Kreacher has no obligation towards the brat—"

"I order you to tell Harry everything truthfully, Kreacher," shouted Sirius, his temper already on thin ice.

Kreacher looked around pathetically, clearly searching for a way to evade Sirius' orders. Harry turned to Sirius, "Maybe you should go out of the room."

Sirius was hesitant, but he turned around and reached for the door. He looked back at Kreacher with a strict order. "You won't try to escape from here or use magic unless you've told Harry everything."

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Tell me everything you know about this locket," said Harry to Kreacher, who seemed somehow afraid now that Harry was alone with him.

Kreacher reluctantly spoke, telling him of the story of the fate of Regulus Black.

"—and Kreacher could not tell her what had happened because Master Regulus had f-f-forbidden him to tell any of the f-f-family what happened in the c-cave …"

Harry stared in disbelief at Kreacher, who was wailing in despair. He could already imagine Regulus, looking somewhat similar to Sirius in his mind, being dragged into the lake by cold, dead hands. The thought made him shiver and he couldn't fathom how a boy of his own age had had the courage to give up his life willingly.

The sound of Kreacher's wails were broken by a dull thud just outside the door. Harry immediately rushed to the door and threw it open to find Sirius, looking so pale he might have been a ghost.

"Sirius?" said Harry and tentatively reached out his hand towards him when Kreacher's wails of "Forgive me, Master, forgive me—" seemed to break Sirius out of his haze.

Sirius looked simultaneously horrified and about to break down when he bolted down the stairs, despite Harry trying to stop him and repeatedly calling for him to wait for just one minute. The door to Number Twelve slammed shut and the curtains of the portrait of Mrs. Black shot open, screaming abuse.

Harry left the mad woman's portrait and ran back up the stairs to find Kreacher rolled up into a ball, sobbing his lungs out. Harry found himself feeling sorry for the pitiful elf.

"Kreacher! Kreacher! Listen to me," yelled Harry, trying to be heard above the loud sobs.

When it seemed fruitless, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Kreacher, who fell immediately silent. His eyes bulged and he clasped his shrivelled hand around his throat when Harry hastened to explain, "I'm sorry I had to. I'll take it off if you promise me to remain quiet. I have some important information about Reg- uh Master Regulus."

When the elf nodded mutely, Harry waved his wand again, taking off the Silencing charm. He showed the locket that Dumbledore had retrieved from the cave to Kreacher.

"This is Master Regulus'," said Harry and Kreacher's eyes widened in awe and horror.

"The brat is telling the truth," said Kreacher in a wretched voice, before breaking down again. "Kreacher recognizes his Master's locket. How my Master's locket came to his hands, Kreacher wonders—"

"I've been there," said Harry. "To the lake. Where your Master Regulus…"

Kreacher was truly silenced by the revelation and after a moment, he said, pointing at the locket in Harry's hand with disdain. "That isn't the brat's. It belongs to my Master—"

"It does," said Harry. "And I will let you have it if you just give me the locket that Regulus gave to you on that night so that I can destroy it for good."

"Give you Master Regulus' locket?"

"And I will destroy it," repeated Harry firmly. "Master Regulus will not have died in vain then."

Kreacher gave him a long analytical look that made Harry wonder what he would do if Kreacher refused.

There was a crack and Kreacher vanished into thin air. Harry sighed exasperatedly, certain now that the elf would have no qualms disobeying Sirius on this matter. What was he going to do now?

To his surprise, another crack sounded and Kreacher reappeared, holding a bigger locket that was also golden in colour. Harry was certain it was the one once he laid eyes on it in Kreacher's hand.

Harry stretched out the fake Horcrux to Kreacher, hoping Kreacher wouldn't trick him. Thankfully, Kreacher also gave him Slytherin's locket, which had an S-shaped serpent engraved on its face with two glinting emeralds for its eyes.

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Harry with a grateful smile. "I will let you know as soon as I've destroyed it."

Kreacher, who had been looking at the locket in his hands in awe and reverence, looked up at Harry and gave an awkward sort of bow before Disapparating.

oOo

Dark clouds were congregating together high above him, the air smelling of damp earth, the sunset not visible to the naked eye. The cemetery around the corner of Grimmauld Place was empty of visitors, save the lonely man in black robes kneeling beside a headstone.

Sirius couldn't believe nor had he ever imagined his brother had spent his last moments of his life trying to bring down Voldemort.

News of Regulus' disappearance came to him during the middle of the war. Sirius had mourned him for a day, perhaps a week – not for the boy that he knew, but for the brother that he could have been.

It was easy to move on when he had had family like James and Remus in his life and the entirety of the Order, actively working against the very cause that his brother had stood for.

He had heard from some of the inmates in Azkaban about the details surrounding Regulus' disappearance – that he had got cold feet and disappeared one fine day. Sirius had assumed Regulus had been found and killed by Voldemort himself. Surely, the price of Death Eater trying to abandon the cause was nothing but death itself?

But now that he thought about it, nobody in Azkaban had ever mentioned that he had been found or killed by Voldemort. The Death Eaters, especially his cousin Bellatrix, had distastefully told that his brother was a coward for not being able to stomach being a Death Eater.

He was just sixteen when he had joined for Merlin's sake! He wasn't even of age! Of course, he couldn't stomach watching those masked men killing and torturing other people. His brother had been too soft for his own good, so much so that sometimes Harry reminded him slightly of Reg when he had been little.

And Sirius hadn't cared. He hadn't bothered to contact his brother once he had left his home. He hadn't thought Reg would need him anyway. His parents always sung praises of him and he was very much loved and cherished in a way that Sirius never was. He was taking on the path that his parents had approved and he had dreamt of since he was nine.

Why hadn't his parents noticed the signs? Surely if a house-elf was capable of seeing the changes in him, they too must have noticed his conflicting ideals of being a Death Eater?

Why hadn't he kept in touch with Regulus?

Sirius could have offered him something, a place to hide, a person to confide in when he had had his doubts about being a Death Eater. Just why hadn't his brother reached out to him?

There were so many questions that Sirius would never get answered. He pulled at the grass below him in frustration, throwing it forcefully at the headstone. Mud splattered on the words:

Regulus Arcturus Black

1961-1979

Among the noblest stars.

Sirius wiped away the dirt from the epitaph. His little brother! After everything that had happened to him, Sirius could only remember only a handful of memories of him and Regulus as kids before Hogwarts.

Him and Reg pestering their father in Diagon Alley for the new Cleansweep when he was eight; Reg having a stuffed rabbit as a friend till he was nine – Sirius couldn't even remember its name. When Sirius was in his third year, he had bought Regulus a big box of sweets from Honeydukes for Christmas, even though they hadn't been speaking for months. Reg had been grateful of his gesture anyway and had given him his toy broomstick because his parents hadn't taken him out to buy a present for Sirius.

Once Regulus had started Hogwarts, they had never spoken much, instead keeping to themselves and their own circle of friends. Sirius had tried to stop Regulus from mixing with the wrong people during his first year, but it was easier said than done when Reg was surrounded by Slytherins and Sirius was unwelcome among them, being a blood-traitor.

Sirius knew now he had made a grave mistake by not trying harder to keep in touch with him. His brother had undergone a change of heart after all, despite how his parents had raised him up to be.

They had still been very civil when at home despite their parents' hardest efforts to keep Sirius away from Reg. But his mother's behaviour during the summer after his OWLs was the last straw for Sirius. He couldn't take the abuse any longer. He had left them all for good and never turned back.

Until now.

The first drop of rain fell on his hand, followed soon by a steady drizzle.

Sirius remembered Kreacher's words spoken through sobs.

"And he drank – all the potion – and Kreacher swapped the lockets – and watched … as Master Regulus … was dragged beneath the water …"

Sirius could imagine the scene as clearly as if he had been there. It had been the subject of his nightmares for so long – the ghostly green boat and the eerily silent lake, pale bodies rising up out of the lake surrounding him.

Had one of them been Regulus' too?

A sob wracked him at the idea of his brother's body being used as an Inferius. He touched the headstone again – this was an empty grave, a mere memory of his little brother, who had been so much braver than Sirius had given him credit for.

"I'm sorry, Reg, so sorry."

Rain was pouring now, beating against his body mercilessly. Sirius didn't care, for they masked the steady stream of tears in his eyes.

Chapter Text

Harry inspected the heavy locket in his hands. So this was it – this was the locket that contained a fraction of Voldemort's soul.

He tried to prise it open, but it remained firmly shut. He pulled out his wand and tried Aberto and Alohomora, but nothing worked. Well, it wasn't necessary to open the locket to destroy it beyond repair. He placed it on the floor and tried 'Incendio'.

The metal did not even tarnish.

He tried every spell, jinx, and hex he knew, but nothing seemed to produce any sort of damage on the shiny gold surface, let alone the locket. Maybe he should ask Sirius for a way to destroy this thing.

He slipped it into his pocket, wondering what Sirius was doing. He could have followed him, but he knew Sirius had needed to be alone right then.

He looked around Regulus' room, hoping to find something, exactly what, he wasn't sure. How had Regulus found out that Voldemort had hid his soul in the locket? Dumbledore had told him that Voldemort would never have divulged it to anyone, not even his closest Death Eaters. Regulus must have been exceptionally brilliant at such a young age.

The belongings in the room gave an idea of what sort of a boy Regulus might have been. He had definitely been fond of Quidditch. Harry guessed he had played Seeker and there were several books about Quidditch including a very early edition of Quidditch Through The Ages and several more about the Appleby Arrows, which seemed to be Regulus' favourite team. Harry spent a significant time going through the books about the Arrows before he remembered what he had been doing.

More books on Transfiguration surfaced from the depths of the drawers, and under a pile of old robes under the dusty bed was a box with the same neat lettering as on the door: Property of Regulus Black. DO NOT TOUCH.

He couldn't help but snort at Regulus' pretentious writing. The revelation from Kreacher had completely changed his opinion on Regulus as a person, from being the Death Eater-brother of Sirius to one of the most courageous boys Harry knew of.

He pulled out the box and blew off the dust when the sound of the front door opening echoed faintly through the silent house. Abandoning the box, he stood up and rushed out of the room, sure it could only be his godfather.

Harry had had no idea how much his brother had meant to Sirius, for he had never spoken to him about his family, other than the brief introduction Sirius had given him on the first day he had set foot into this house.

He didn't know how he was to approach him – he had no clue on how to comfort someone, always having been the one needing comfort that was seldom provided.

He did know that Sirius always held him close during the few days after their visit to his parents' grave and he had found some semblance of peace in Sirius' embrace just three nights ago, when he had learnt of Dumbledore's death.

Harry thundered down the stairs calling out, "Sirius?"

What Harry saw instead was a flash of black robes disappearing behind the door that was slammed shut again, as if someone was hurrying out.

"Sirius, wait!"

Harry reached for the front door, pushing it open, and he froze in shock.

It wasn't Sirius but Snape, who was glancing behind him as he tried to run away.

"You!" shouted Harry, pulling out his wand and firing several Stunning Spells in quick succession, rage coursing through him in mere seconds at the sight of his loathsome face.

Snape had already deflected them and Disapparated the next instant.

"Harry!" yelled Sirius from afar, running as fast as he could towards him without slipping on the wet road.

"It was Snape! He was—"

"I saw him," interjected Sirius quickly, gripping Harry's arm. "Let's get out of here."

They arrived on the grounds outside Potter Manor and they hurried inside. Once they were safe, Sirius turned to look at Harry apologetically. "I shouldn't have left you there alone," said Sirius, pushing his sopping wet hair away from his eyes. "That was too bloody close."

Harry slumped into the sofa. "I think he was trying to get into the building. I called out your name, thinking it was you, but I apparently alerted him because he rushed out immediately."

"We can't use Number Twelve for Headquarters anymore," said Sirius, pacing on the carpeted floor. "With Dumbledore dead, it makes every one of us, including Snivellus, a Secret-Keeper."

"Why do you think he was there?" asked Harry curiously.

"He can't have known we were there at that time," said Sirius, thinking out loud. "And it looks like he didn't attack you, even though he could have," he added with a shudder.

"Everyone in the Wizarding World attended Dumbledore's funeral," said Harry. "He must have thought Headquarters would be empty. But why would he try to get in when there's nobody inside? Are you sure the Order isn't hiding some sort of weapon that Snape might try to get his hands on?" asked Harry snidely, which made Sirius sigh.

"You know I wouldn't keep anything from you on purpose," said Sirius, gesturing Harry to scoot aside and sitting down on the couch.

"Technically, you did keep the prophecy from me," pointed out Harry, "on purpose."

"I tried to convince Dumbledore that we had to tell you, believe me," said Sirius. "He wouldn't hear of it. Said you were a child and you needed to be kept away from the fight. I couldn't disagree with that."

Harry grew melancholy again thinking of Dumbledore, who had allowed Harry in on the knowledge of finishing Voldemort just the year after. He was warmed that Dumbledore had changed his mind and trusted Harry with the job even though he had no idea where to even begin searching for the Horcruxes besides the locket.

Which reminded him... He pulled out the locket and showed it to Sirius, whose face darkened at the sight.

"We need to find a way to destroy it," said Harry, avoiding mentioning Regulus for fear of upsetting Sirius. "I've tried everything I know of, but nothing works."

Sirius tried a few more complicated spells of his own to no avail. Harry could tell he was not at all interested or in the mood for it.

"Why don't we deal with this later?" said Sirius tiredly. Harry nodded in understanding and Sirius took the locket, intending to keep it in a safe place until they could deal with it.

They traipsed up the stairs and entered Harry's grandfather's study. Sirius kept it inside a drawer, but didn't use any magic to lock it. "Magic leaves traces. Sometimes it's better to hide things without magical means."

Harry was reminded of Dumbledore's words and he could understand what Sirius meant after having seen the magic of the cave.

"It's getting late," said Sirius. "Eat your dinner before you sleep."

"But, aren't you also—"

"I'm not hungry," said Sirius in a low voice, turning towards the door.

Harry stared at him, at a loss for words. He reached Sirius in two strides and hugged him.

"I don't know how to help you," mumbled Harry before breaking away from him.

Sirius smiled wanly. "You already are."

Harry nodded and Sirius squeezed the back of his neck comfortingly before leaving the room. Harry watched him leave and decided to head downstairs. He was at the door when a prickling sensation on the back of his neck made him turn around. His eyes involuntarily fell upon the drawer in which Sirius had kept the locket before he shut the door and left the room.

Tuesday, June 17

WHO IS THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX?

By Darius Deighton

The Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, has announced that an entire team of high-level Aurors have been assigned with the task of investigating the recent death and possible murder of Albus Dumbledore, late Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Patrick Proudfoot, one of the senior-most Aurors, was part of the assigned Security team outside Hogwarts. He has given first-hand information to the Daily Prophet about the infiltration of the Death Eaters using a secret tunnel into Hogwarts by one of its own students, Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eater currently serving his time in Azkaban.

The only eyewitness to Dumbledore's murder was our Chosen One, Harry Potter, who is currently not available for any information.

His godfather, Sirius Black, agreed to speak on his godson's behalf and explained the events surrounding the assassination of Dumbledore by the hands of Hogwarts' own teacher, Severus Snape, who is now revealed to be a Death Eater and on the run. (The Full Mystery of Albus Dumbledore's Death Explained – Pg. 2)

More importantly, some of our readers are questioning the presence of three people who were not part of the Ministry-assigned Security team – Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. While the public are grateful that they fought for the protection of our children in Hogwarts, we at the Daily Prophet have done some research on why these three specific people were present in Hogwarts on the night of June 12.

A little digging on our part has unearthed information about a secret organization, the Order of the Phoenix, which was founded by none other than the late Albus Dumbledore during the last war. This group, unauthorized by the Ministry, has been on the forefront of the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, albeit secretively, rallying wizards and witches to their side to join the fight against the Death Eaters.

"This is welcome news," said a Ministry official who wished to remain anonymous. "Our minister is clearly not capable of handling the crisis that we are facing. We need more people joining this Order. They are doing much better against the Death Eaters than the Ministry."

Not all are appreciative of the efforts of this vigilante organization. "This is blatant undermining of authority," says Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. "The Ministry doesn't need interfering individuals and werewolves thinking they can do whatever they want, no matter how good their cause."

Our reporter learnt from a Ministry insider that this organization was also part of the scuffle in the Department of Mysteries surrounding the mysterious prophecy about Harry Potter last June, during which the three aforementioned parties were also present.

A trusted source revealed to us that one Dedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge are the only other living members of the previous Order sixteen years ago and can be assumed to be active members currently also. (The Fate of the First Order of the Phoenix and its members on Pg. 6)

Whether they are government-authorized or not, we can sleep a little safer with selfless people like them fighting against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Sirius looked up from that day's Daily Prophet at a disgruntled Mad-Eye, who had shown him the front page as soon as he had arrived.

"What does it matter?" asked Sirius. "The Order may be a secret organization but the Death Eaters surely know about us."

"Are you thick, Sirius?" said Tonks, with a raised eyebrow. "With the public knowing about the Order, it's only a matter of time until they start digging around for the names of the other members."

Moody nodded at Tonks approvingly, "Which makes it harder for us to recruit new members, let alone keep them."

"New members?" said Remus, looking drawn out and ill with the full moon around the corner. "We haven't increased in number for a year."

"Percy has expressed an interest in joining," said Bill, a smile gracing his handsome face. "I never thought I'd see the day he would willingly want to join a 'vigilante' organization."

Charlie, Fred, and George burst out laughing.

"Well, besides Percy," continued Remus, "I don't see who would want to join us."

"I agree," said Fred with a dramatic sigh. "The pay's terrible."

"What pay?" murmured Lee.

"And taking into consideration the odd working hours and no job security," said George, continuing in the same tone of voice as his brother's, "it's a miracle we have twenty-odd members willingly volunteering."

Everyone was laughing by the time Kingsley and Arthur joined the gathering in Doge's house. Sirius had immediately warned the entire Order of Snape's attempt to get inside Number Twelve. They had decided to use Elphias Doge's house for the time being, as it was the only one that could accommodate all of them.

"The Minister is really put out by the article on the front page," said Kingsley, taking a seat at the dining table. "He's ordered us to investigate who else is in the Order."

"That's very convenient for us," said Catherine, looking relieved. "You can give them false leads, like you did for Sirius."

"It's not that simple," said Kingsley, shaking his head.

"Who is this 'trusted source' that the Daily Prophet says they've talked to?" asked Sirius.

"It's Mundungus," said Kingsley with a grimace. "He let slip in Azkaban that he's part of a secret organization to a guard who leaked the news to the Daily Prophet. I'm guessing the guard was bribed to get more information out of Mundungus, which explains how the names of members of the Original Order are well-known by now."

"The guard must have used Veritaserum," said Fred. "Mundungus isn't one for disloyalty."

"Thank goodness you Obliviated him when you did, Sirius," said Arthur. "We'd all have been exposed by now if Dumbledore hadn't suggested it."

They lapsed into silence in honour of Dumbledore, and it took a loud yell from George to disrupt the sombre atmosphere. Apparently, he had been having a Golden Snidget in his pocket, and the poor bird had pierced his chest with its sharp beak.

Everyone surrounded Fred and George, clamouring to get a look at the rare bird, when Sirius turned to Dedalus. "Where's Hestia? Shouldn't she be back from work by now?"

"Didn't she tell you?" said Dedalus. "Hestia's gone to visit her sister in Sussex. She said she'd need some time after that werewolf attack."

"It was my fault for taking her in the first place," admitted Sirius for probably the hundredth time. He still blamed himself for her injury. If only he had alerted some of the Order instead of going inside that pub…

"Don't bother, Sirius," said Dedalus, waving away his apology. "What's done is done. It was no one's fault but Greyback's."

Dedalus frowned in disgust at the name of the werewolf. He sighed and mumbled to himself, "She was truly traumatized, my Hestia. She doesn't need any more of that in her life. She's had enough already…"

Sirius' eyebrows knitted in worry. "What do you mean?"

Dedalus looked up, eyes widening just a fraction. "Oh, it's nothing. I – I shouldn't..."

"What's happened to her before, Dedalus?" pressed Sirius.

Dedalus looked upset, pursing his lips as if trying hard to keep from revealing anything to Sirius. He adjusted his top hat before speaking. "It's not my place to tell, dear boy."

When Sirius was about to open his mouth again, Dedalus interjected, "She's like my daughter, Sirius. I would never give away her secrets."

"I wasn't going to ask you that," said Sirius, shaking his head. "I do understand."

"Please don't question her," said Dedalus in a low voice. "If she thinks you need to know, you will know it from her."

Sirius nodded and watched Dedalus move towards Doge, wondering what it was that had traumatized Hestia in her life before. She seemed perfectly fine to him; she had never exhibited anything from her behaviour that could indicate otherwise.

Was it that wayward fiancé of hers that had done something to her? But it didn't seem plausible to him for some reason. The man ran off, but they had been in love for Merlin's sake, enough for him to propose to her, before whatever illness afflicted his mind to leave sweet Hestia. Nothing else but him having gotten a screw loose in his head explained his elopement.

"I won't bite," whispered Greyback hoarsely. He pushed his lips to hers, biting down forcefully and drawing blood. She could feel the warm liquid trickling down her chin. Her heart was pumping fast; she felt faint. He was biting her! And he was a werewolf for Merlin's sake!

She tried with all her might to push him away, but he had the upper hand with her hands in his powerful grip.

Hestia's vision blurred and she swayed on the spot. She felt him draw back for breath and all she saw was a charming boy in front of her instead, with brown hair and blue eyes that were darker than hers.

"I love you," she heard herself saying.

"You know I do too," he said with a grin, placing a hand on her very pregnant belly. She could sense something was off in the way he said it. She had a feeling she ought to know he was lying.

White fog enveloped her vision again, but a few seconds later, she could feel a deep throbbing pain in her stomach. Her heart rate quickened. What was happening? Where was he?

She called out his name, but there was no sound but her own anguished groans of pain. She couldn't stand; her legs felt weak but also like lead. Something was very wrong.

What was happening to her baby? She prayed her baby would be safe, please let her be safe, please…

But the pain was so intense that she collapsed on the floor, feeling her robes get wet. Her panic mounted and she screamed for her mum, for her sister, to please help her. There was a piercing, sharp feeling below her belly, and she began to sob, for she knew something was seriously wrong…

"Mum! Demi! Help, help…" she said, her voice cracking at the end.

Someone was shaking her vigorously. "Hestia! Hestia! Wake up!"

Hestia's eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath. It took a moment to look at her sister in a dressing robe to know that she had only been dreaming after all.

Hestia closed her eyes in relief and was aware of the warm wetness inside her eyes. She tried to hold herself back, hoping the tears in her eyes would not spill.

"Are you okay?" asked Demi with a frown.

Hestia nodded wordlessly and opened her eyes. It was clear that Demetra didn't believe her.

"It's almost time for breakfast anyway," said Demetra, gesturing her to follow before walking outside of the small guest bedroom. Hestia saw a thin streak of sunlight penetrating through the foggy clouds outside her window. Deciding that her sister was right, she threw on a dressing gown and followed her to the kitchen area.

Hestia sat atop a stool beside the counter, accepting gratefully the cup of tea that Demetra pushed towards her.

"It wasn't about…her. Was it?" asked Demetra reluctantly. Her face was etched with sympathy when Hestia nodded.

"You know, maybe you should get some help," suggested Demetra tentatively.

"I don't need help," said Hestia immediately. "It's just because I was scared after having talked to you about Greyback last night. It's been ages since I got nightmares about her."

"It's not just the nightmares. This has affected you more than you know."

"How?" asked Hestia, hurrying to add, "And don't say that I have no romantic life of my own as your only reason."

"But it's true," said Demetra dolefully. "You'll be thirty-two in a few days, and I see almost no hint that you ever plan to find someone and settle down."

"I am settled down," argued Hestia. "I have a good job and…and…"

"And that's it," finished Demetra, nodding sagely. Hestia was always annoyed when her younger sister played the mature card.

"Gwenog isn't settling anytime too and you're always fine with her," pointed out Hestia.

"Because sweetie," said the sleepy voice of Gwen, who entered the kitchen, "I love my job and you just don't."

"I do love my job," said Hestia hotly. But Gwen simply yawned loudly, irritating her in the process.

"Face it, sis," said Demi, her lips pulling down. "You hate your job."

"Or possibly, her job hates her," said Gwen grinning. "You've never been promoted in seven years."

"You haven't been promoted in that long either," said Hestia, not giving in without a fight.

"I'm the Captain of my team," said Gwen proudly. "It doesn't get much better than that."

Demi high-fived Gwen, leaving Hestia to sulk in the corner.

Oh, who was she kidding? She did despise her job, but not enough to loathe it. Could she imagine herself doing this job forever? Maybe. It would be a boring life, but it wouldn't be too bad.

A small part of her gave a long-suffering sigh to even think about that path ahead.

There was a tapping sound on the window and Demi opened it to let the owl in. She paid for that day's newspaper and the owl took off.

"...You should consider a change of job. Right, Demi?" Gwen turned to look at Demetra, but she didn't reply as she was busy scanning through an article so fast, her eyes were racing from left to right. Gwen went up to Demi and took one look at the paper before asking loudly, "Who is the Order of the Phoenix?"

Hestia was certain her stomach had flipped.

Gwen's eyes widened at the sight of Hestia's expression. "Do you know them? You do, don't you?"

"No," said Hestia quickly.

"But you looked like you did," said Gwen, looking at her curiously. "How could you know anyway?"

Hestia opened her mouth, but she was shocked when Demi answered, "Because of Dedalus."

Demetra looked worried and Hestia did too when she realized she should not have known that.

"Show me the paper," said Hestia. Demetra laid it on the counter and Hestia joined her cousin, Gwen, reading the article.

"Sirius Black is in the Order?" wondered Gwen aloud. "Can this man be more exciting?"

Hestia bit her lip to keep from commenting and continued to read the article. She was worried because Dedalus' name was now publicly associated with the Order along with Doge. If You-Know-Who hadn't known then, he surely did now.

"How come Dedalus never told us he was in this Order?" said Demi with a skeptical look on her face.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" said Gwen, rounding on Hestia. "I saw it on your face."

Seeing no point in lying, Hestia conceded, "It's because I am in the Order."

Gwen's eyes widened. "It really does exist?"

"Of course it does," said Hestia. "That's why I'm visiting the both of you out of the blue. We need more members."

Demi began to laugh like Hestia had said something mental. Gwen, the oldest of them all, looked at Demi disapprovingly and the latter tried to rein in her mirth.

"What? You believe this hogwash?" said Demi, amidst hiccups of laughter. "Secret organisation! Ha! It sounds like something out of a book."

"It is true," said Hestia in an irritated voice. "I've been part of it for nearly two years now. Dedalus introduced me to them."

"Why would Dedalus not tell me then?" scoffed Demetra. 

It was Gwen who beat Hestia to the reply in a quiet voice much unlike her usual boisterous one. "Because you have children – a family of your own – which means you'll have more to lose."

That shut Demi up and plunged them into silence.

Hestia spoke tentatively, "I never thought of that. I planned to ask both of you to join us. Derek too," she added, referring to Demi's husband.

"No," said Gwen firmly. "Demi won't be joining."

Gwen glanced at Demi as if for confirmation, who nodded, still looking a bit confused.

Hestia turned to Gwen. "Then would you—"

"No."

"Why not?" said Hestia. "We need more people on our side. We're fighting for the freedom of everyone, including yours."

"I can't," said Gwen. "Not to sound arrogant, but I'm too famous. There is no way I can keep down a secret like that. I'm sorry, Estie," added Gwen quickly when Hestia looked to argue. "But I have too many practice sessions with my team to help you with this."

Hestia was thoroughly put out. This was not going the way she had intended at all. It was no surprise Gwen was choosing Quidditch over this. She was absolutely crazy when it came to Quidditch. Hestia could understand that, but to not even consider helping them in a war didn't sit well with her. If her own family were dead set against joining, she wondered how in Merlin's name they were to recruit more members.

"Mama, I'm hungry," said a sweet, little voice, breaking Hestia's train of thoughts.

"Sit down with your Aunt here, sweet pea," said Demi to her daughter. "Mama will get you breakfast right up."

The five-year-old climbed up onto Hestia's lap and snuggled into her. Hestia smiled at her niece. "Did you sleep well, Di?"

"Mm-hmm," nodded Di against her chest, eyes already closed as she fell asleep in her embrace. Hestia kissed her favourite niece's head and held her close, rocking her unconsciously.

"Di and Alex are very much looking forward to playing Quidditch with you both this evening," said Demi with a smile.

"How did you get your little Ravenclaws to get their heads out of their books?" remarked Gwen jokingly.

"I can't stay," said Hestia, gently stroking her niece's head.

"What? You said you would stay till the weekend," said Demetra. 

"I know," nodded Hestia. "But there's no point staying here now that I know you both won't be joining after all. There's work to do."

The lump on her lap wriggled to get a good view of her face. "No, please stay, Auntie Estie. I'll give you my Pygmy Puff."

Hestia smiled apologetically. "I would love to stay darling, but Auntie has work to do."

"Please?"

Hestia felt her heart clench at her niece's angelic face, but she remained firm. "I'll come by another day, okay?"

Di nodded after a moment of indecision and threw herself onto Hestia, hugging her tightly.

"I can't believe this," said Gwen, staring at Hestia. "You could never turn down Di when she turned on her puppy eyes! Something's up with you!"

"Nothing's up with me," said Hestia honestly. "I'm just busy."

"Busy with what? Or should I say, whom?"

Demi choked on her tea and spluttered. Hestia merely laughed. "Is it that hard to believe that I'm genuinely busy?"

"Yes," chorused Demi and Gwen, as if it was obvious.

"Tell me the truth," said Gwen. "Are you seeing someone?"

"No, I'm not," said Hestia calmly.

"So you fancy someone," stated Gwen.

"I don't—fancy–," mumbled Hestia, her voice getting caught in her throat.

Demi squealed in delight, jerking awake the child in Hestia's arms, who stuck both her fingers in her ears. Demi ignored her daughter. "Who is it? Is it someone we know?"

There was no way Hestia was answering the truth to Gwen, of all people, so she shook her head mutely.

"Great!" said Gwen. "What's his name?"

Hestia would rather hex herself than answer that. "I've got to be going," she said hurriedly, placing little Di on the stool and walking up to her room. She took her wand from the bedside table and packed her bags with a sweep of her wand.

"Come on, tell me. It's unbelievable someone even caught your fancy," said Gwen, leaning against the doorframe casually.

Hestia refused to reply and walked past Gwen to the kitchen again, with her duffle floating behind her. Gwen hurried to catch up with her.

"It's not important because I don't think he would ever see me that way," said Hestia, bending to kiss her niece.

"You've got to do something about it, Estie," said Demetra. "I know you. You'll never open up to someone on your own, ever. That's not always going to help you. What if this person actually likes you and thinks you're the one who's not interested?"

Hestia could hardly believe that was possible. "Then we'll go on our separate ways," she said simply.

"And that's okay? Are you mental?" shrieked Demi.

"What's stopping you?" asked Gwen. "Is he already in a relationship?"

"No," said Hestia.

"Is he someone you work with?"

"Yes," said Hestia, catching herself by surprise. She had never meant to reveal that.

Gwen was smug about the fact that she had caught her bait. "Someone in your office, huh?" she smirked. Hestia sighed in relief at the fact that Gwen had misunderstood.

"Yes, now I'll be going," said Hestia, turning to leave.

"Someone's very eager to see him at work," grinned Demi. "Is he good-looking?"

"How would you rate him on his looks?" asked Gwen, crossing her hands on top of the counter. "Not as good as Sirius Black? Or better than him? Which, I reckon, is just not possible."

Hestia felt her cheeks glow. "Better," she said, faking a cough to hide her smile.

She Disapparated as soon as she heard her sister and cousin squeal in delight.

Chapter Text

Two days after the incident in Number Twelve, Sirius sat Harry down and let him talk about what had happened in the cave.

Harry left out nothing; he explained about the potion that Dumbledore drank and also about the Inferi attack. Sirius told him how he had already been there with his Headmaster and how he had thought Dumbledore would take him along instead. But Sirius could not stay furious with their late Headmaster when he realized that he must have really trusted Harry, more than even himself. He must have known what that potion would do and had perhaps not wanted to be vulnerable with anyone else.

Harry didn't know how to feel about that – to know that was why Dumbledore had taken him along… He felt more like a failure for having done nothing but watch him get murdered right in front of his eyes. He should have tried to summon his wand or at least remove the spell Dumbledore had placed on him. A rational part of him knew it was impossible – he couldn't have summoned his wand when he was immobile – but what was the point of knowing non-verbal spells if he could not use them when it really mattered?

If only he had done something…

Sirius was quick to shut down Harry's regret when he pointed out that he would have been surrounded by Death Eaters and he was no match against the likes of Snape. Even though it made sense, Harry couldn't help but wonder how many more would die because of his ineptitude – his parents, Cedric, and now Dumbledore.

The days after Dumbledore's funeral were quiet in the Potter Manor. Sirius and Remus left for Order meetings almost every day now, leaving Harry on his own in the house. He didn't mind it too much anyway – he liked it when Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were around, but sometimes he just wanted to be by himself, without someone constantly telling him to eat (he didn't have much of an appetite nowadays) or fly outside to clear his head. He knew they only meant well, but it was grating on his nerves.

To keep himself occupied and to feel like he was doing something, Harry tried to look up any book that might have some information about the Horcruxes in his grandfather's library. But, predictably, there was nothing that even mentioned them.

He had taken to inspecting the locket in his grandfather's study every now and again. Harry tried looking up powerful spells that could destroy it, but it was time-consuming, as he first needed to master said spells, before he could use them on the locket.

One such practice session ended with the roof of the attic caving in, to Sirius' exasperation.

"I've told you a hundred times to practice only in the Duelling Room, Harry!" said Sirius through gritted teeth.

Harry looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry."

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Don't apologize."

"Right, sorr—" Harry pressed his lips to keep from repeating it again. He knew by now the aphorism that was always thrown around in their house. Harry had realized he had the habit of apologizing for anything and everything that went wrong, even if it was not directly because of him. Sirius pointed this out to him once and had made it his mission to break that habit of his, even if Harry really thought an apology was warranted. He would learn to use his words better, as Sirius had said, whatever that meant.

"You sound like my mum," groaned Tonks. The three adults had just been leaving the house when it had happened, and they had rushed up to the attic on hearing the crash. "Accidents happen! When did you become such an annoying parent?"

Remus snorted while Harry nodded in approval at Tonks' statement, turning to look at Sirius through narrowed eyes.

"Oh, shut up!" grumbled Sirius.

Tonks and Harry laughed and she walked up to the door, still smiling.

"I'd love to hang around and play, but I'd best be off to work," she said, waving goodbye to him. "You enjoy your day, Harry."

Harry returned her wave when Remus said, "I'll take you to the front door."

Tonks chuckled and she grabbed Remus' hand and left the attic, pulling him along.

Sirius watched the departing couple and shook his head. "I'll have to go now too. Remus and I are going to book the venue."

"Where is it going to be?" asked Harry eagerly. He had never been to a wedding before – neither magical nor Muggle. He was really looking forward to getting away from these four walls for a few hours.

"It's a Muggle place," said Sirius. "It's a good thing both of them are half-bloods. They have some sort of Muggle credentials that their parents had insisted on when they were younger. It's not exactly possible to register a marriage with the Ministry when the groom is a werewolf, you see."

Harry grimaced. "That's not fair at all."

"It's codswallop, but that's how it is," said Sirius, nodding.

"Why can't they just get married here like Mum and Dad did?" suggested Harry. If anything, he knew the place would look magical if any of the old pictures were to be believed.

"Apparently, Muggle weddings work differently than ours," said Sirius, matter-of-factly. "And we can't allow the Muggle officiant inside the house, even if it was possible to get married here."

"Why not? Won't they simply be bound by the Fidelius? It doesn't work any differently for Muggles, does it?"

"The Fidelius is a powerful spell, but it's not invincible," explained Sirius. "If the Secret-Keeper, that is I, were to die—" Harry made a vehement sound of protest, but Sirius continued without acknowledging him. "—everyone who attends the wedding could become Secret-Keepers. And if Voldemort got hold of them, wizards or Muggles, it would only take a minute to trick them into divulging anything. The power of the spell is greatly diluted by letting more people in on the secret."

"But I promised Ron and Hermione they could visit. And I trust them," added Harry firmly.

"And so do I," said Sirius. "As long as we can implicitly trust someone, we can tell them. That does not include the officiant for the wedding, no matter if he is a Muggle."

Harry nodded and Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, his mood brightening quickly. "You'll clean up this mess before I come back, won't you?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "You're not going to help?"

"I'm not the one who tried to master a Blasting Hex in the attic of a two hundred year-old house," said Sirius, turning towards the door. "And I don't see the point. I've tried everything I know on that locket. What could you possibly do that I can't?"

"It was worth a try," mumbled Harry.

"You should've been practicing the Ferrifors spell instead," said Sirius. "It can at least save your life when it matters."

Harry knew that was the more sensible choice, but it was boring and tiresome to keep practicing the same spell over and over again, with his progress as quick as a flobberworm.

"Why don't you get on with that instead after you've sorted this out?" said Sirius, playfully ruffling Harry's hair.

Harry leaned away from his hand with an annoyed look. "Are you kidding me? I don't think I've Reparo'd anything bigger than a teapot!"

"You'll figure it out," said Sirius, waving his hand dismissively and leaving through the door.

Harry scowled and watched Sirius leave before turning to the mess he had created.

A gaping hole, the size of a Hippogriff with its wings open wide, was above him, letting in the morning sunlight into the attic that must have never seen light since the house had been built. He would have thought a meteor had crashed through, if he hadn't known better. It was lucky that he had been at least ten feet away from his target when it had happened. His grandparents had stored lots of old boxes and things in the attic and half of them were likely crushed underneath the rubble. Harry blew out a breath in frustration. It was going to be a long day. Perhaps, he would call Twitchet to help him.

Saturday, July 5

"You're good to go."

Sirius finished adjusting the bow tie on Harry's rented suit. Harry was staring at himself in the mirror. He looked good, Sirius had to admit. Almost the exact way James had looked on his own wedding day. He stopped himself from slipping into painfully good memories.

"You don't have to keep admiring yourself," said Sirius with a bark of laughter. Remus looked up with a smile and shook his head.

Harry glared at Sirius before turning to leave the room.

"Hypocrite," coughed Remus.

"I heard that."

"I meant you to," said Remus nonchalantly, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. Remus had protested against the idea of wearing a suit, but they had no other choice. It was a Muggle chapel that Ted had suggested in a small town that had been his home while growing up. And they would look ridiculous in robes in early July.

"I never thought you'd be getting married in a Muggle ceremony," said Sirius sadly. "All these years and our world hasn't changed for the better."

"I never thought I'd be getting married at all," said Remus, his eyes widening a fraction to emphasize the last two words. "I'm not complaining that I don't get to be bonded with Dora in the Wizarding way."

Sirius laughed half-heartedly. "When all this is over, we should have a proper bonding ceremony with everyone present."

Remus chuckled humourlessly, before dragging his fingers through his greying hair. "It won't make a difference to me, Padfoot. I'll still prefer the one with only my closest family with me."

Sirius beamed and embraced his friend. Remus said quietly, "I just wish James and Lily were here to see this."

Sirius gazed at him wistfully. "Me too."

They broke apart and Sirius turned away to make sure Remus wouldn't notice his bright eyes, not realizing that Remus was doing the same. The grandfather's clock in the living room showed that there was only twenty minutes left and Sirius decided they needed to get a move on.

"Are you ready?"

Remus looked up and breathed out, trying to calm his nerves. Sirius waited for some response, but Remus instead blurted out, "Am I making a mistake?"

Sirius slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed, "Not this again."

They had gone over this about ten times just this week and their conversations had always ended with Remus deciding that he loved Dora too much for him to back out like a coward. To his surprise, Remus was laughing.

"I just had to see your expression," snorted Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not funny and I am not going to lecture you for the eleventh time on how much you two are perfect for each other. If you can't see that, it's your loss."

"Relax," said Remus, looking anything but relaxed. "I was just joking. Let's go." He steeled himself like a soldier preparing for battle, and Sirius approved the nervousness that was settling over his friend. It was good to see some sombreness before something as important as his wedding.

Harry was waiting by the door. "How long do you need to get ready?" he asked Sirius, who ignored the redundant question and they Side-Along Apparated together to the chapel in a quaint little town. They met with Ted, who greeted them politely and shook their hands. He proceeded to drag Harry to the side and showed him how to use his camera.

Remus was distracted when he saw a grey-haired and dignified looking man standing a few feet away. Sirius watched Remus move away to talk with his father, Lyall Lupin.

Though Remus and his father were on good terms since childhood, they hadn't been very close even during his time after Hogwarts. Sirius was surprised that it hadn't changed after all these years. He had assumed Remus would have reconnected with his father, after all of his friends were taken from him.

But he had learned from Remus only a year ago that that wasn't the case. Sirius could read between the lines – Remus had still been ashamed and regretted taking away his father's name and fame. Sirius had hoped his relationship with Dora will have brought about some positive change with his self-confidence. He was proved right when Remus had been open to the idea of meeting his father along with him just a couple of weeks ago.

In Sirius' opinion, Mr. Lupin was the happiest person of them all on hearing the news of Remus' marriage to Dora and it clearly showed how much he cared for him. He hoped Remus understood that now too.

He gave them their privacy, knowing they needed it.

"Yes, I know how it works, Mr. Tonks," Harry was saying politely, frowning at the end of the sentence in confusion.

He looked up to see Sirius and quickly snapped a picture. He turned to Ted and said, "See?"

"That's splendid, Harry," smiled Ted warmly. "I'll have to go and get Dora. Get everyone in, Sirius."

Harry was fascinated with the camera, taking too many pictures for Sirius' liking. He stepped down his foot when he noticed Harry taking pictures of a girl sitting on a bench in the park opposite the chapel.

"What do you think you're doing?" hissed Sirius, dragging Harry away by the collar.

"What? She's very pretty," huffed Harry in annoyance, trying to wriggle out of his grip.

"You don't go taking pictures of someone without asking them," said Sirius.

"I could ask her if I wanted to," proclaimed Harry with an expression as if daring Sirius to say he couldn't.

"You do know this is Ted's camera, right?"

Harry blinked before realizing what it meant. "Uh-oh."

Sirius snorted, "How're you going to erase it now?"

"There must be some kind of spell for this, right?" asked Harry, hurriedly trying to take out the film.

"Nope. And you would be wise not to take it out," said Sirius when Harry snapped open the lid. "Unless you want to explain to Ted why you got no photos of his one and only daughter's wedding."

Sirius ignored Harry's murmured swearing and ushered Remus and his father inside the chapel, where the officiant stood waiting.

Harry entered the chapel along with Andromeda, who was wearing a pale blue evening dress. She greeted Mr. Lupin and exchanged a few words before parting from him to slip into the seat on the other side of the aisle. She motioned for the pianist to begin and the music began to play.

Dora arrived just outside the doors, looking more beautiful than ever. She was in a pure white wedding gown that he knew belonged to her grandmother. It was altered with magic in some places, but it looked simply perfect on her. Her hair was in her favourite bubble-gum pink, but it was longer and swept onto one side of her shoulder in perfect curls. She smiled at Remus, who looked like lightning had struck him, much to Sirius' amusement. It reminded him too much of another person in another time, but he would not let anything dull this day for him or his family.

Harry was taking pictures as Dora walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her father. Ted kissed his daughter on the cheek before setting off to sit beside his wife, who already had her handkerchief out.

The officiant began with a speech, talking about love and commitment to one another during good times and bad. Sirius wasn't paying too much attention to his words – he already knew the gist of what they would say. Exactly twenty years ago, Sirius had been content to watch his best friend get married to the love of his life, never wanting the same for himself.

While twelve years in Azkaban and two on the run hadn't changed that opinion, this past year as a free man had given him some semblance of perspective on his needs and wants. He had on more than one occasion begun to question why he existed, purely in the philosophical sense of course.

Twenty years ago, he would have given the answer that he lived for his friends, the one who had betrayed them all for good, the one who had accepted him the moment he had known the truth and had been his solace for two years now, and the one whom Sirius loved so much that he promised to take care of his son as if he were his own.

Now, maybe he was selfish, but being free for the past year had made him want things that he hadn't really given a thought to in his entire life. He wanted more – much more than he had in his youth, which he had squandered away to a war and jail time.

"Ring?"

Sirius started, before pulling out the box from inside his pocket and handing it to them. Remus gently held Tonks' hand and slipped on a ring, the two smiling at each other and looking so openly in love, it actually made his heart ache.

They were made to sign a register along with Mr. Tonks and Mr. Lupin as the witnesses. The officiant beamed, "Remus and Dora, you have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of family and friends, have declared your love and commitment to each other. You have given and received a ring as a symbol of your promises. By the power of your love and commitment to each other, and by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and—"

BOOM!

If it wasn't for his reflexes, his godson would have been lying dead at his feet. But Sirius had noticed out of the corner of his eye something approaching him and had pulled out his wand reflexively, creating a solid iron wall onto which the purple hex collided with a loud ringing sound.

The Muggle pianist stood up and yelled in alarm when Sirius saw who had just gate-crashed the wedding. Of course, it was that bitch.

Harry nearly dropped his camera when he realized what had just happened. His fingers stumbled to get his wand out of his pocket when Sirius pushed him out of the way and he fell to the floor behind the benches. The sound of screaming halted abruptly, followed by a clang of the piano. Harry saw the pianist fallen on top of the piano and he turned around to make sense of what was happening.

It was the most fast-paced duelling he had ever seen. By Harry's estimate, there were around eight Death-Eaters and they were firing a volley of spells with such speed, it made it impossible to stop and Disapparate as quickly as they could. Harry joined Mr. Lupin in duelling two Death Eaters together when Sirius shouted, "Get Harry out of here!"

Harry couldn't imagine abandoning his family like a coward when their lives were on the line. And none of the adults had the space of time to divert their attention to Harry, which was all well for him.

"You filthy half-blood! You might as well go and join the Muggles!" screeched Bellatrix, before sending a 'Crucio' towards Tonks. Remus cut into the fight with a ferocious snarl, pushing Tonks out of the way and she slammed onto Harry. She immediately grabbed his hand and he felt himself Disapparating against his will.

They emerged outside Potter Manor and Tonks dragged Harry along inside the front door. "Don't leave the house!"

"Wait–"

She didn't stop to listen as she summoned her Patronus. A large, silver werewolf materializing from her wand and she relayed a message asking for backup. With a wave of her wand, it bounded off and Tonks Disapparated immediately.

Harry made to subconsciously follow her, when Twitchet Apparated in front of the closed door. "Young Master Harry should stay inside. Master Sirius' orders."

"He's not your Master, I am!" exclaimed Harry, indignantly. But, he heeded her words despite himself and paced the room to stave off his anxiety.

Harry's thoughts were going a mile a minute. What if something happened to Sirius or Remus? He could not imagine what it would do to him and he refused to even believe that it was possible.

They have to be fine. They will be fine.

Harry opened the front door and Twitchet immediately came forward, but Harry snapped. "I'm not leaving! I just want to keep an eye out."

Twitchet watched him closely but Harry was looking at the gates, waiting.

A series of pops sounded and Harry did a quick headcount. His panic worsened when he could count only five of them.

He walked out of the house and saw Sirius and Remus were alright. Relieved, but also properly noticing who was missing, he asked, "Where's Mr. Lupin?"

"Dad left," said Remus, wiping his bloody cheek. "I told him to hide for a few days. I saw him Disapparate, so I know he's safe."

Sirius walked with a slight limp and Harry looked at him worriedly. "What happened to your leg?"

Sirius grimaced. "I must've twisted my ankle. That delirious cousin of mine is pretty good at her aiming skills. No offence," he added to Andromeda, who made him sit on the grass and helped to fix him up.

"I knew something like this would happen," continued Sirius, wincing when his bones were put right.

"But, we were sure nobody knew where the wedding was taking place." Mr. Tonks said perplexedly to his daughter, whose pristine white gown was muddied and ripped in places. "Certainly, nobody could know it was in a Muggle chapel."

Tonks said, "I can only name a handful of people at work who even know I'm getting married. I can't think of anyone who would notify Death Eaters."

"Anyone could be Imperiused though," said Mrs. Tonks. "It's lucky the wedding was over by the time we were attacked."

They became solemn once again, and Harry watched her patch Sirius up with a splint around his ankle.

At least they were safe here. Harry felt the tension in his neck leave at that comforting thought.

Remus looked worried, so Harry took it upon himself to lighten his mood. "Aren't we forgetting something though?"

Sirius looked up at Harry, who looked pointedly at Remus and Tonks, hinting something wordlessly that Sirius caught on to. He laughed out loud, his eyes dancing with happiness when he announced from his place on the grass, "You may kiss the bride!"

oOo

They put aside the dreadful morning and had a beautiful lunch out in the gardens of Potter Manor to celebrate Remus and Tonks' wedding. Though it was short-lived, there were many stories shared about the bride and groom and their childhood, much to their embarrassment.

After their lunch, it was the right time for Sirius and Harry to announce they had a gift for them. Sirius pulled out a set of newly-polished keys from his pocket and gave it to Remus, who looked awed.

"But, this is—"

"This was my flat that we both shared when we were eighteen, before you moved out. I thought it is high-time you both got a place of your own."

"Yeah, we've had enough of seeing you both snog every day during breakfast," said Harry with a disgusted expression.

Tonks laughed happily, looking radiant when she gave Harry a bear-hug. "Thank you, both of you."

Sirius was saying, "It's got all the protective enchantments you need. Mad-Eye and I sorted it all out last week –"

"And we've even decorated it," added Harry.

"—yes, that too," finished Sirius.

Remus still looked disbelieving. "But Dora and I had thought of renting a place and—"

"I'll sort it out," said Sirius, beaming. "This is your own house, so you never have to keep moving anymore."

Remus looked touched and hugged Sirius with a murmured, "Thank you."

After farewells and some tears on Mrs. Tonks' part, the two newly-weds Disapparated just outside the gates.

"We've got to go and check on the officiant and the pianist, don't you think?" said Ted to Sirius, who nodded.

"Oh, I hope they make it out alive," said Mrs. Tonks worriedly.

"Don't worry," said Sirius. "I Stunned them both as soon as the Death Eaters got in. That way, they wouldn't be too much of a target and most likely won't need to lose too many of their memories."

Mrs. Tonks said to Harry graciously, "Thank you for the pictures, dear. I'll see you around soon."

Harry smiled and nodded, waiting for her to leave before whispering hurriedly to Sirius, "I left the camera in the chapel."

Sirius sniggered. "I got it."

Everyone had departed now and Harry was left to wonder why weddings felt like they were over before they had even begun.

Chapter Text

Saturday, July 12

The night was hot and humid and the valley of the Brendon Hills near Stogumber was silent. The crickets didn't chirp; there was no hooting of an owl or screech of a stray bat. Sirius felt the quiet pressing in on his ears and had the subconscious urge to look around him in precaution.

He could make out a huge wrought-iron gate across the road. Not even a leaf rustled on the trees lining the driveway of the huge mansion looming in front of him.

A familiar figure in dark green robes was quickly making her way to the building from the opposite side of the road. Her pale face stood out like the full moon from under her straight, black hair that was astonishingly let loose today. Sirius had to look again to make sure he hadn't mistaken that it was, in fact, Hestia.

"In a hurry, are we?" smirked Sirius, catching up to her. She turned around in alarm, whipping out her wand that she had apparently been holding on to. Sirius put up his hands in defence and she breathed out in relief once she realized who it was.

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, why would you do that?"

Her tone lacked some of its ire, having been thoroughly taken by surprise, and Sirius felt the stirrings of shame for having startled her.

"Er, I didn't mean to—sorry," he mumbled and she quickly waved away his apology. She tapped the wrought-iron gates with her wand and they creaked open slowly.

"Where's Tonks and Remus?" said Hestia, resuming her brisk pace with Sirius in stride, who breathed in the intoxicating aroma of crisp juniper in the air, relishing the scent.

"I think they haven't surfaced from their house for a week now," said Sirius with a light-hearted chuckle. "Newly-married and all that."

"Common sense would have led you to check on them."

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks. Why the bloody hell hadn't he thought of that? "Bollocks."

"I'm sure they're fine," said Hestia, rolling her eyes and looking past him.

Sirius turned to look at her in worry. "But what if—"

He was cut short when he heard a hushed voice, "Sirius, over here!"

He sighed in relief when he saw both Remus and Tonks and he rounded on Hestia, grinning. "You had me there."

Hestia gave no response, but Sirius could make out that she was smirking.

They met with the couple standing near the shadows beside the front door of the mansion. Both of them had the tell-tale looks of newly-weds, even though Remus was starting to look a tad ill. It was no secret that the full moon was coming up soon.

"You look worn out, mate," whispered Sirius into his friend's ear, nudging his ribs with a playful wink. Remus' face bloomed with colour and he glanced at Tonks surreptitiously. It took great effort on Sirius' part to stop from laughing out loud and embarrassing him further.

"One more word and I'll turn you into a bullfrog," Remus warned him through gritted teeth.

"How do we get in?" wondered Tonks aloud, thankfully not having heard their exchange.

"What do you mean how do we get in?" asked Hestia, puzzled.

"We're definitely not going through the front door," said Tonks, pointing at the old, battered wooden door. "It's locked. Remus and I have tried every spell we know."

"Then why didn't you send for someone?" said Sirius, pulling out his wand and conjuring his Patronus.

"I was just going to do that," said Tonks, nodding her head in his direction.

"No, you weren't," said Remus, smirking. "You were suggesting we should break in through the window."

"Mad-Eye wouldn't have expected anything lesser," said Tonks, jutting her chin out.

They were joined soon after by Lee and Angelina, who steered them to the back of the house.

"There's a ghoul that's been living here for years," explained Lee. "He's slumped against the front door on the inside, making the front hall inaccessible. We'll have to find some way to move him."

"This is the door we use to get in, at least for now," said Angelina, pointing at the wall on the side of the house beside a large mahogany tree, whose branches were grazing the wall. Sirius couldn't see any door, but Angelina whispered, "And the password is Troglodyte."

"Bet it was Fred and George who came up with that," said Tonks with a grin.

The outline of a door glowed faintly against the wall and the branches of the mahogany weaved themselves together to form a wooden door, set against the glowing outline. Tonks and Hestia 'Ooh'ed in unison and Angelina said excitedly, "It's so cool, isn't it?"

Sirius glanced at Remus and raised an eyebrow, decidedly unimpressed. That was definitely Doge's spellwork – he would know that since it was exactly the same they had used in their headquarters of the Order during the First war. It was a complicated bit of magic but it had lost its sense of wonder for him.

Remus looked at him with his lips pressed into a thin line before whispering, "I feel very old now."

Sirius sniggered in response and they followed the others through the door, stepping directly into the kitchen where an old house-elf was cooking something up.

"Don't mind us, Kenny," said Angelina, waving her hands at them to follow her. The house was older and much bigger than Potter Manor. Sirius could make out long corridors with several doors on the ground floor alone, besides the dining and kitchen area.

They climbed up a grand staircase and Hestia looked around curiously. "Who does this belong to?"

"We have new members joining the Order today," said Lee, bouncing in excitement. "And they were very kind to offer this property to use as Headquarters."

"New members?" said Remus with confusion before turning to frown at Sirius, who grinned. "You've been living under a rock, Remus. It's not my fault that you weren't updated by Moody."

"Who is it?" asked Tonks eagerly.

The question was ignored, as they were greeted by the members of the Order who were convened in a large drawing room on the first floor of the building. Tonks got her answer when she laid eyes on Edmund Abbott, who was conversing with Alastor, Kingsley and Arthur.

After their initial greetings, the meeting began in full session for the first time without Dumbledore. Percy Weasley was officially made a member of the Order, as was Edmund Abbott. He made it very clear that the rest of his family did not know that he was doing this. They would definitely not approve of his action, as they had already lost his brother to the first war.

"But how many more can we keep losing if we all run and hide?" said Edmund and everyone cheered.

The house was to be placed under the Fidelius as soon as the meeting was over, and Arthur was unanimously decided as the Secret-Keeper, as he was the one who was well-connected to everyone in the Order and was also the least likely to be suspected.

Kingsley caught them up on news about the Ministry. He thought that they were quite lax with security at the moment, having just rounded up more Death Eaters on the day of Dumbledore's death.

"What did the Ministry have to do with that?" asked Charlie, enraged. "It was us who captured them."

"And the article about the Order has actually shifted the focus on us," said Catherine. "The Ministry is more curious about the Order instead of using this time to find the rest of the Death Eaters."

Doge made the suggestion that it could be possible that Scrimgeour was under the Imperius, which would make him unwilling to take action against the Death Eaters.

"And if that is true, which I doubt," said Mad-Eye with a significant look at Doge, "You-Know-Who will have already got hold of the Ministry quietly and we wouldn't know the better of it."

"When did you start calling him You-Know-Who?" asked Sirius. "You could just say Voldem—"

"YOU-KNOW-WHO!" yelled Mad-Eye, silencing the entire room. "If You-Know-Who—" he said pointedly, emphasizing the words, "—has already gotten hold of the Minister, it's going to take him only a matter of seconds to trace us."

"What rubbish are you talking about, Mad-Eye?" said Tonks, looking as puzzled as everyone else in the room.

"I was the Head of the Auror Department for twenty-three years," growled Mad-Eye. "And I know things you don't, Nymphadora. The Minister of Magic himself has the supreme right and ability to use a powerful piece of magic. It's called the Taboo. You won't have heard of it, not unless you were the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement or the Auror Department or the DOM. It grants the Minister the permission to place a spell on any specific word. Once the Taboo's been placed, every single time someone in the country speaks the cursed word, any protective enchantment is automatically nullified and the Ministry can trace them. Imagine if the Taboo was placed on You-Know-Who's real name."

"He'll know it's someone from the Order," murmured Sirius, aghast.

"Nobody goes around speaking his name aloud other than Dumbledore and us – what's left of the original Order. And also Potter, because apparently Dumbledore taught him to not fear his name, just like his parents never did. While it's all brave and very Gryffindor-like, we shouldn't be courageous dunderheads, which is what You-Know-Who already thinks of us anyway."

"I never knew the Taboo actually existed," said Bill with amazement. "Mum used to tell stories about it—" He nodded at a worried Molly, "—but to think it's real…"

"It's real alright," growled Moody, "and it's a weapon against us in the hands of You-Know-Who. Be brave but more importantly be smart. We're not winning any battles by being bold enough to say his name."

This he added with a pointed look at Sirius, who quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't that hot-headed now, was he?

"And you should tell Harry about this too," chipped in Molly. "To keep him on his guard."

"Will it actually be powerful enough to break the Fidelius?" asked Remus with a calculating frown, his academic mind jumping into action. 

"The Fidelius is an ancient spell and I have never heard what would happen in conjunction with the Taboo," said Mad-Eye, pondering deeply in thought. "And I doubt Scrimgeour is Imperiused. I know him and he isn't easily tricked into doing something, even if he was enchanted to do so. But 'Constant Vigilance', as I say."

"I'll let him know," said Sirius, nodding at him. Moody was right – they should take no chances when it came to their safety. Especially when it came to Harry.

Sunday, July 13

"…all upcoming sports and entertainment events were cancelled on account of the untimely death of late Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and postponed to the next year. But this has been bringing criticism from avid Quidditch fans, who had been expecting to witness the Ballycastle Bats' four-hundredth Quidditch season this year…"

Sirius turned down the volume on the newly-repaired wireless which sat atop a stool by his armchair. He was playing a game of chess with Harry since afternoon while they listened to the Wireless. Harry had found it when he was cleaning up the mess in the attic, and Sirius had tinkered with it for days before it could operate again. It had been bleating ever since.

"Like that's what is important at the moment – Quidditch!" grumbled Sirius.

Harry nodded solemnly in agreement, not taking his eyes off of the chess board. He had been trying to decide on a move for the past fifteen minutes and testing Sirius' patience.

"It's been pretty quiet," said Harry, accepting a plate of chicken pie that Twitchet graciously served. "Without any death reports, I mean."

"I have no doubt in my mind that Vol–You-Know-Who is simply biding his time," said Sirius with a serious expression on his face and ignoring his own pie. "He's taken out what was his main resistance for all these years. He's either basking in his victory or this is just the calm before the storm."

"You'd think the Ministry would use this to their advantage and try to somehow find him," remarked Harry. "Do you think the Aurors are capable of taking him down at all?"

He sounded genuinely curious, as if he had never really understood how powerful Voldemort was. Of course, he wasn't privy to the first war like Sirius was. Voldemort had eluded the Ministry for years while targeting and taking out high-profile wizards and witches who refused to join him.

"Nobody has ever gotten close to finding his location or at least lived to tell the tale," muttered Sirius darkly. "It's probably good that they haven't too."

"Of course we don't want anyone throwing a Killing curse on him at the moment, not while he has all those Horcruxes around," said Harry, digging into the generous helping of pie. Sirius was slightly pleased to note Harry's appetite was somewhat back again.

"I reckon nobody could actually do that and get away with it," said Sirius, putting a damper on Harry's mood. "The last time the war was on," he explained, "we had the likes of Dearborn and Moody, who was the Head of the Aurors back then, and you know what happened to Dearborn. Moody has duelled with You-Know-Who, if I remember correctly, but it wasn't a proper duel. More like throwing a few spells before getting out of there. Now, we have this Robards chap, and while Mad-Eye tells me he's decent, I can't really bank on someone who plays second fiddle to Scrimgeour instead of second-guessing everything he does. What is the point of having people under you if everyone simply agrees to whatever you do?"

Harry ordered his queen to move four paces forward and she unwillingly obeyed, but not without a barb thrown at him.

"Can't you see better with those glasses, four-eyes?"

The chess set was a gift from Tonks and must have definitely been charmed as some sort of joke. His poor godson had never been more affronted by chess pieces in his life. Harry's white queen had already called him names of varying degrees of insult the past week, of which 'brainless dunderhead' was the most preferred, making Harry quite hostile towards his own team.

Harry lashed out, "Well, why don't you grow a pair and think for yourself then?"

Sirius sniggered and, a moment later, grinned like the Cheshire cat as he took Harry's queen out with his rook. The black pieces were jeering and Harry's queen chucked her crown at him before gliding out of the board to Sirius' laughter.

Harry glared at the little queen and placed her crown back on her head, and she became immobile to his relief.

"You know," said Sirius, "the Weasleys have invited you over for Bill and Fleur's wedding…"

"Yeah, Ron just wrote to me," said Harry. "I'm visiting a day before, right? Hermione's already gone over too."

"I already let them know," said Sirius, leaning back and stretching his legs. "Do be careful while you're discussing anything with your friends, won't you? We don't want anyone else to overhear—"

"Yes, yes, I know," said Harry with a morose countenance. "There's not much to discuss anyway. We found one of the Horcruxes, but we're as close to destroying it as we are to finding the rest of them."

"We can't give up hope so soon, can we? I think there must be at least some book that mentions it. If a boy Vol–You-Know-Who could read up on it, surely we can too."

"Great! Now, we actually have to read books about that thing?" griped Harry. "There's nothing about it in Granddad's library for certain."

"We're just looking in the wrong place then," said Sirius thoughtfully. Of course, there were no books about Horcruxes in Potter Manor. Sirius would have been alarmed if there were.

If there had been a library in Number Twelve, Sirius would have bet that was the first and best place to look for some information. But Grimmauld Place never had a library, as the only man of learning in his family was his loathsome uncle, Cygnus Black, whose house happened to be currently in the possession of his daughter, Bellatrix Lestrange. And he was never stepping foot inside that building, thank you very much.

Didn't Dumbledore say he removed the books that Riddle had used for research from the Hogwarts library? If so, where could they be now? Sirius knew that the Ministry had seized all of his possessions and he had no way of getting his hands on them if that was the case.

Hedwig took that moment to fly in through the window and perched on Harry's shoulder. She tried to nibble on Harry's pie, but he irritably shooed her away. "That's not for you."

Hedwig pecked his cheek harshly, drawing blood to Harry's indignation, before flying to sit on Sirius' armrest.

"What's gotten your wand in a knot?" asked Sirius, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm just tired," said Harry, leaning back and sounding worn-out. "I've been practising that stupid spell all day."

"Conjuring is not all about wand movement and incantation," said Sirius, stroking the owl's brilliant white plume, while she ate the filling of his untouched pie. "It needs tremendous amount of mental focus. You shouldn't be hard on yourself if you don't have that at the moment."

Sirius understood that even though Harry was feeling quite better now, mourning was an internal process and would likely last longer despite outward appearances. He knew bloody well that it took him years to get over his friends' death. He suspected he wasn't really over it in some ways and some part of him did not want to get over it. It felt too much like forgetting them and he didn't ever want to do that.

While Harry had lost a schoolmate a couple of years ago, Dumbledore was different. He understood it would be difficult to focus on anything, let alone a spell as complex as conjuring metal out of thin air, something even NEWT students didn't learn at school.

Noticing that his consoling words did nothing to improve Harry's disposition, Sirius made a suggestion. "Why don't we go out for a breath of fresh air?"

"To Upper Flagley?" asked Harry eagerly, sitting up straight.

Sirius nodded, "And we could eat out tonight, if you'd like."

"I just ate," said Harry, pointing at his empty plate. Hedwig gave a squawk and a withering glare that Harry returned in equal measure.

"Well, I didn't," said Sirius, standing up and stretching. "Come on then, grab your jacket."

Harry lazily put up his hand as if trying to grab it from thin air and muttered, 'Accio!'

His jacket zoomed towards him so fast that it smacked him across his face. "Why can I do this good-for-nothing spell perfectly?" he muttered under his breath, pulling it on.

"Well, it isn't what I'd call good-for-noth—" Sirius began to point out, but Harry cut in with frustration, "Let's just get out of here."

Harry had been to Upper Flagley only once with Sirius before, but he quite liked the quaint old village. While it wasn't as colourful with eye-popping displays on the walls as Diagon Alley was, it did have its own charm. Or perhaps Harry should have visited the village when there wasn't a war – he knew even Diagon Alley looked dull and boring now.

Upper Flagley was not an all-Wizarding village, but it was clear that wizards inhabited the area. Why else would there be a gargoyle standing upright next to an ancient building with blacked out windows and the passers-by didn't even bat an eyelid?

Sirius had warned him never to go in there if he had the choice. Harry didn't ask him how he knew about the place or why they had to be cautious. 

After a quiet supper in a muggle pub that was just around the corner of the street, Sirius took him to the apothecary.

It was one place that Sirius frequented for the Order's potions supply. The apothecary was hidden inside the cellar of a muggle tavern. The owner of the tavern was a Squib whose sister, Mrs. Em, ran the apothecary.

Sirius had insisted on disguising themselves for the sake of their safety. While Harry could change the colour of his hair, he didn't know much else about Human Transfiguration, which they would only learn properly in his seventh year.

He was never going to learn how to do that anyway, thought Harry idly. Not when he was planning on never going back to Hogwarts. He refrained from telling any of that to Sirius however and watched him perform a series of complicated spells on his face.

With both of them sporting light brown hair (and some other transfiguration that Harry could hardly see on himself), he thought they must look like a regular father and son going about the town.

The tavern was full at that time of the hour, with men and women drinking and generally minding their own business. Sirius whispered something to the owner of the tavern who led them to the cellar. They climbed down a dizzying staircase and arrived at a surprisingly large and smelly place that was teeming with witches and warlocks and even goblins. There were sacks of dried and shrivelled frog eyes and woodlice, steaming cauldrons on one side of the shop that were emitting sparks and thick locks of gleaming silver unicorn hair displayed with placards reading 'Fifteen galleons a strand'.

Harry was thankful that he was disguised as they pushed ahead of the haphazard crowd, everyone shouting to be heard by the woman behind the counter who Harry guessed was Mrs. Em.

The buxom woman looked harried as she barked orders to the two assistant girls, who resembled her too closely to be anything but her daughters.

"—Vanessa, what have I told you about crushing up Doxy droppings? They have to be finely powdered. Look at this – It's coarse! Do you want a poor customer to have it blow up a cauldron?"

The girl, Vanessa, shared a frightful look with her sister and hurried to comply with her mother's orders. Sirius stopped her and took her to a quiet corner away from the yelling crowd. The girl relaxed slightly once she saw Sirius' disguised face.

"Mr. Gray! The usual?"

"Make it a double and extra strong," said Sirius. "It'll save me another trip for a few months."

Vanessa nodded and smiled brightly at Harry, before turning to leave for the storeroom. Harry raised both his eyebrows in astonishment while Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, sniggering good-naturedly.

Harry was just about to make a sarcastic quip when a dull throb in the back of his head made itself known. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to relieve his discomfort.

Vanessa reappeared again with a drawstring bag and handed it to Sirius.

"What do you do with that much Polyjuice potion anyway?"

"Black market," mumbled Sirius distractedly as he was busy checking his purchase. The girl shrugged and glanced at Harry with bashful curiosity.

Harry was growing embarrassed and annoyed in equal measure and the pressure in his head wasn't helping him.

"Can we leave now?" whispered Harry discreetly.

Sirius looked up from the drawstring bag. "Yes that will do. Thank you darling," he said to the girl, and handed her another smaller pouch that jangled with gold.

Harry dragged Sirius out of the apothecary, wanting to get some fresh air as swiftly as possible and they climbed up the stairs, bumping into a couple of burly men on their way out.

Sirius began to apologize but the men didn't seem to care as they hurried down the stairs. Harry shared a quizzical look with Sirius but they ignored it and made their way out of the building.

It was just as they had stepped foot outside the muggle tavern that they heard the sound of explosions and screams from inside the building. The muggles in the tavern screamed in surprise, half of them rushing out of the building, pushing them to the side. Harry turned around and spotted the Squib owner hurrying towards the stairs, when he felt Sirius tug at his hand and they were Disapparating the next moment.

They arrived just outside the gates to their home and Harry immediately rounded on him. "Why did you do that? Shouldn't we be helping them?"

Sirius ignored Harry and steered him quickly inside the gates. "Not with you out in the open."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They're Death Eaters!" barked Sirius. "Who do you think they would rather kill today? Some nameless wizard or Harry Potter?"

"We're not defenceless! We shouldn't have to run and hide—"

"If you've forgotten Harry, we're in hiding!" snapped Sirius. "Showing up in Upper Flagley is going to narrow down our location easily for Vol—You-Know-Who!"

"We're disguised," said Harry. "They couldn't know it was us."

Sirius pointed his wand at his face and instantaneously, his hair became darker and longer again; his complexion became normal and his features morphed back to his own.

"They would do that to us in the blink of an eye," said Sirius. "Our attempt at disguise today is pathetically simple for Death Eaters to undo. We're not even Polyjuiced!"

Harry rubbed his forehead angrily, giving up the argument for the sake of getting away from Sirius. "I'm going to bed."

Before Sirius could speak another word, Harry stomped off inside. He reached his room, took off his clothes and slipped into his pyjamas before sinking into his bed. He took off his glasses and massaged his temples to stave off the pain which was slowly building to a threshold that he couldn't tolerate.

He tried to distract his thoughts to make him forget the ache. What had happened in the apothecary? Had the Death Eaters killed someone? Harry's wild imagination was quick to picture the girl, Vanessa, lying pale and dead with her eyes open wide. He wondered if Sirius could have saved them if he had not been worried about Harry then. He felt a stab of anger at Sirius for having brought him back home against his will.

Almost immediately, he was ashamed of himself for being angry at his godfather. Sirius had only been looking out for him and he had no right to be mad at Sirius for that.

He shifted uncomfortably against his bed, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes, hoping sleep would overtake him and he could forget about all of it for a while.

The light from a couple of flickering candles illuminated the room with its high ceiling and tall windows that showed the inky black sky outside, casting shadows on the man kneeling by his feet.

"Have you found him?" he heard himself speaking in a high, cold voice. The dark-haired man was bowed so low that it was hard to distinguish his face.

"Yes, my Lord," the man said silkily, who had to be Severus Snape. "He's hiding in a small town along with his family."

"What have you done about it?" said Harry, caressing the snake slithering around his thigh with long, pale fingers.

"My Lord?"

"You found Borgin and his family," said Harry, annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "What have you done with them?"

"Nothing, my Lord. As soon as I found where they are hiding, I came straight to you for orders."

He hummed softly, staring at Severus, looking into his mind for the truth. Satisfied, he gave his orders. "Kill Borgin. Once a traitor, always a traitor."

Severus ploughed on unflinchingly. "And his family?"

"I believe we should spare them," said Harry lightly. "I don't want to spill pure magical blood for one man's mistake. Let his death be a lesson to them. They shall join me or I will make them join me.

"Now, about the Order of the Phoenix…" said Harry with a sneer. "You have been useless to me in this matter, Severus. Why am I still not privy to where Harry Potter is being kept?"

"If I knew, my Lord, you would be the first to know," said Severus. "The Potter boy is likely under the Fidelius, but Dumbledore did not trust me with the secret."

"And what of his godfather, Black?" hissed Harry with curiosity. "I hear he lives with him."

"It is true, my Lord. I suspect he must be the Secret-Keeper or at least the werewolf, Lupin."

"The team is back together then," chuckled Harry. "Bring Wormtail to me. He must know of this development. He might also tell me the likely places where I could find Potter and Black."

Snape winced at the words and a shadow passed over his face. A moment later, he was looking into Snape's mind.

Harry withdrew from his inspection and laughed. "Bringing back old memories, isn't it, Severus? Never fear, for I am considerate towards my friends. You have done well killing Albus Dumbledore for me, and for that you will be rewarded. Finish Borgin and you will get the honour of killing Black yourself when the time comes."

There was a beat of silence before Severus replied smoothly, "My Lord is gracious."

"Now bring in Wormtail," said Harry, smirking.

Harry woke up abruptly with a gasp, feeling like he had been forcibly ejected out of a tube, almost akin to Apparition. It dawned on him that Voldemort had likely implemented Occlumency and Harry had been shut out of his mind. The first time it had happened, Harry was scared that Voldemort must have felt his presence inside his head. But Harry had dreamed again and that confirmed to him that Voldemort did not know what was happening.

Harry put on his glasses – his room was still dark, but he could see the silhouette of Hedwig's perch empty beside the open window. He rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses, trying to recollect what he had just seen.

Voldemort had promised to allow Snape the honour of killing Sirius. Harry felt his hands clench his sheets in anger. He hated that man with a passion. Harry swore he would never allow that to happen. Voldemort had also said something about sending Snape to do the dirty work. It wasn't surprising now that they realized his true colours. But it didn't sit well with him to know Borgin would die or was already dead for making the simple choice of helping Sirius.

And Harry couldn't do anything about it. Even if he woke Sirius up and tried to get the Order to do something, he knew it would be too late.

Was this how it was going to be? Harry would quite literally see what Voldemort was up to, but he would be absolutely helpless inside this wonderfully protected home of his. It made him feel sick of himself and guilty.

He trod out of his room and silently went up the stairs to his grandfather's study. Taking the seat behind the desk, he pulled out the drawer.

The polished gold of Slytherin's locket looked very alluring in the dim candlelight. He took it out, the cold weight of it comfortable in his hands by now. He simply stared at it: the gold snake with its glinting emerald eyes that made it seem like it was a real snake and not an engraved one.

He had taken to viewing it at odd times of the day since Remus and Tonks' wedding. It had been a wake-up call for him when they had been attacked. It had been easy to believe they were all safe during the days leading up to the wedding. But they weren't and Harry needed the reminder of the locket to know he had a job to do.

And yet, how was he going to do this job sitting safely ensconced in his house? Sirius and Harry had discussed about the Horcruxes and had given up for now on where to look for the others. They hardly knew how to destroy the one Horcrux that they did have.

Harry had reluctantly suggested trying the Killing Curse itself on the locket and while Sirius actually thought it was a good idea at first, he shut it down within minutes, saying that it simply would not work on inanimate objects.

And so they had left the subject to cool for a while, which meant they did not discuss it at all. Harry was growing discouraged with no clues, leads, or information. Why hadn't he asked Dumbledore how he destroyed the ring in the first place?

There were a lot of things that he wished he could ask Dumbledore, but he knew he was gone to a place far out of his reach. It was not Dumbledore's fault that he was dead (he could thank Snape for that). And it was no good thinking of what he could have asked Dumbledore and focus on what he did know instead.

Which wasn't much. Annoyed, he tossed the locket into the drawer again and went to his room. There were two scrolls of parchment lying on his table from his best friends that Sirius had given to him just that morning after an Order meeting.

He took the one with the neat handwriting and read it:

Dear Harry,

I guess Ron must have told you by now, but I wanted to say it myself that I'm at the Burrow as I write this. Mr. Weasley and my parents "spoke" about things and they "decided" to let me come to his house early this summer. I will tell you more when we meet soon.

It's a bit busy here with Bill and Fleur's wedding. Mrs. Weasley was very worried about the attack on Remus and Tonks' wedding and wants very stringent security measures around the house from the Ministry itself. I don't blame her. Is everyone alright?

Mr. Weasley told us that Sirius said you would come a day ahead of the wedding to stay with us until it was over. I can't wait to meet you. I know you said in your last letter that you have a lot to tell us and can't write it all here. Ron and I talked about this by the way. I know you're thinking of going ahead without us. But please don't rush things. You can't do this alone and you'll have me and Ron helping you every step of the way, Sirius too. Mrs. Weasley probably won't accept this, but we're ready to not go back this year so we can help you.

We'll talk more about this when you get here. I have loads to tell you.

Love,

Hermione.

Harry put down the letter, wondering what she meant when her parents "spoke" with Mr. Weasley. He knew Hermione was bursting with questions about what had happened after Dumbledore's funeral, as they had hardly discussed it yet. He pulled up Ron's letter which was lying beneath hers and read:

Mate,

Hope you're doing well since your last letter. But knowing what's happened, I think it's a moot point. Mum was bonkers when she heard what happened. She nearly used it as an excuse for Bill to actually consider this marriage thing again.

I think I've never seen Bill as hard as he was when he waxed poetic about Fleur. He sounded like Dad and that to me is a good sign that he should get married to her after all.

What am I doing talking about them?

I heard you're coming a day ahead. Should we get packed? Just in case?

I'm just kidding. Hermione keeps saying we should stay in your house instead of going to school. That sounds like a great idea to me. We'll be safe and we can search for the rest of them. I don't like the idea of going back to school anyway and it's weird that Hermione actually agrees with me on this. She's here for the wedding too, by the way. We'll just decide on something when you get here.

Cheers,

Ron.

Harry was touched by his two best friends wanting to stick with him instead of going back to Hogwarts. While he hardly thought it was necessary, it would be nice to have someone to talk to. The house was awfully quiet after Remus and Tonks had left and he would be glad for company.

If only he had not started to see into Voldemort's mind again, thought Harry. He put down the letters and sank into his bed, gazing at the ceiling.

This was the third time in less than a month that Harry had unwillingly looked into Voldemort's mind. Why was this happening? Was Voldemort too preoccupied with something that he forgot to use Occlumency every day? He had done so successfully for a year – Harry couldn't understand what could be different now.

And what worried Harry more was if Voldemort decided to use this connection to manipulate him again. Harry knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from seeing it – he was particularly inept in the subject of Occlumency. Even Dumbledore thought so.

He swore softly in the silent night, wishing he had Dumbledore now to ask what he should do next. He had not told anyone, especially Sirius, that the visions had started again. Something was preventing him from divulging it to his godfather, and he strongly felt that it would make Sirius more protective of him. Harry was still upset from when he came to know that Sirius had ordered Remus and Tonks to get Harry to safety first instead of allowing him to duel if anything were to happen at the wedding.

And last night just proved to him that Sirius would rather have him safe at home than allow him to help with the Order.

If Sirius knew he was looking into Voldemort's mind again, he might not even allow him to hunt for the Horcruxes and have him locked up inside this house instead. Harry definitely didn't want that.

But it was only a matter of time before he would realize what was happening to Harry. They did live in the same house after all and Harry wasn't exactly quiet when he had nightmares.

Unbeknownst to him, an idea began to form in his head – something terribly thrilling and frightening in equal parts. The answer to his problem was simple, yet he wasn't sure if it was a great idea.

He could get killed! This was a stupid idea.

He knew so, but the thought was capturing his mind with rapid intensity.

You need to do this.

It was the right choice on some counts – Harry would not need to be put above everyone else whenever there was a fight. He didn't want to be that kind of burden on anyone – especially on the people he loved. It was already enough that his parents had died for him.

If it really came down to it, Harry would face Voldemort and either be killed or kill the other, but at least it would just be him and Voldemort. After everything he had been through to gain a family of his own, he was not prepared to lose them for his sake.

And he would take down as many Death Eaters as he could. Starting with Snape, he thought to himself bitterly.

He had to get to him before he even laid hands on Sirius. And if he was going to do it, he had to get away from the watchful eyes of Sirius first.

Monday, July 14

Sirius jolted awake in alarm. The sky was just beginning to lighten outside and there was the chirping of birds just outside his window.

It was a beautiful dawn, but Sirius felt uneasy. He had been in a strange dream – he couldn't recollect the exact specifics, but the despair it invoked in him lingered even after he was awake.

Thinking to shake it off, Sirius dressed and headed out for his morning run to wake him up a bit and collect his thoughts.

The cool morning air whipped against his face while he jogged outside near the forest that was a little further away from their house.

He had hardly slept last night. After Sirius had left Harry at home, he alerted the Order and they arrived at Upper Flagley to a dreadful scene. There were Aurors teeming in the area and the Dark Mark floated above the muggle tavern. They had learnt that Death Eaters had been trying to find someone but they hadn't succeeded and had instead killed a random witch who had been at the apothecary at the time because she dared to insult them.

The Order was simply glad he had brought Harry home immediately. It was too much of a coincidence that the Death Eaters were searching for someone near Upper Flagley at the same time that he had been out with Harry. It might as well have been either Sirius or Harry that they had been looking for.

Moody was insistent that Harry stayed at home for the rest of the summer even though Arthur said Molly would hate it if Harry didn't come for Bill's wedding.

"If Potter is at the wedding, all of your lives are going to be on the line, Arthur!" growled Moody. "I bet Molly won't be happy if Death Eaters gate-crashed the wedding."

Arthur sighed, "I know. I'm just saying it will be tough for Molly to accept that."

"It's safer for Harry and everyone else if he doesn't attend the wedding," said Remus, who had still been in his pyjamas underneath his robes.

It was decided then and Sirius had come home at around midnight, wondering how he was going to tell Harry that he wasn't going to visit his friends for the summer.

Harry had already been short with him last night and it frustrated him that his godson couldn't understand how much Harry was important to him. They had to save other people, yes, but never at the cost of Harry's own life.

He hoped Harry would have a clearer head after a good night's sleep and he went about preparing himself for trying to talk to him later in the morning.

Half an hour later, he returned inside and took a cold shower before treading down the staircase to the dining area, feeling considerably better. He took a seat around the table and Twitchet appeared, serving him breakfast as usual. But Sirius couldn't help but notice she looked very miserable.

"Twitchet? What's wrong?"

Fat tears rolled down her thin nose and she squeaked, "Master Sirius! … Young Master is—is…"

Sirius stood up immediately. "What's happened to Harry?"

Without waiting for an answer, he ran up the staircase, his heart pounding in his throat. He threw open the door and realized it was unlocked and the bed was empty. Sirius could already feel his vision darkening around the edges in sheer panic.

He knew it! He knew something bad was about to happen since morning!

"Harry? HARRY!"

Sirius searched the bathroom and even tried Homenum Revelio. The house was completely empty save for himself and Twitchet.

They were safe under the Fidelius! How could he have gone?

He couldn't think; he felt helpless and he couldn't make sense of what was happening.

His mirror!

Sirius frantically searched his pockets, but they were empty as he was still in his dressing gown. He put one foot forward to leave for his room when a quiet clink made him freeze.

He looked at what he had stepped on and feeling a sickening lurch in his stomach, he glanced down, before slowly kneeling to pick it up.

It was Harry's mirror.

Chapter Text

Monday, July 14

Chapter Text

Thursday, July 17

When the Order was informed of the news of Harry leaving home during the next meeting, their reactions were mixed. While the adults were concerned, the younger members were upset with Harry for having abandoned them. With the full moon that night and only hours left before his transformation, Remus was feeling exceptionally annoyed with everyone while the verbal fight ensued.

"What sort of an idiot risks his life by running away into the open when he's the one person You-Know-Who wants to finish off the most?" Fred's words were echoed by most of Harry's Quidditch team, who knew he had a penchant for putting his life on the line carelessly.

"Look, I'm upset with him too! But stop talking about my best mate like that!" snapped Ron, who was attending with Hermione for their first Order meeting.

Remus knew that in any other situation it would have been impossible for them to attend as Molly would have been against it at all costs. But after having tried to wheedle the "secret" out of them unsuccessfully, she had been willing to allow them to attend the meeting. Remus suspected she thought she could pressure them along with the others into revealing it to her.

Which was fruitless, in his opinion. If Ron and Hermione were as devoted to Harry as Sirius was, they would guard the secret with their life.

"Quiet," barked Mad-Eye. "If Molly is to be believed, you said Albus left him some mission." He was looking at Ron, but his electric-blue eye found Hermione, who paled.

"What sort of mission?" asked Kingsley.

"That should somewhat explain why he had been leaving for days on end last year," said Doge, putting together two and two. "He never told us what it was himself."

"Albus must have thought he could handle it alone," said Dedalus, his voice lower than usual. "But, the fact is he's gone."

"And Potter thinks he's the one who should do it himself?" growled Mad-Eye. "The Order is more than up to any job that Albus might have to do!"

"See?" Molly rounded sharply towards her youngest son. "I've told you, Ron, you're not helping anyone by keeping secrets! We all have Harry's best interests at heart too."

"I'm not betraying—" started Ron, but was cut off when Arthur said, "Sirius, these are kids. We know Dumbledore trusted you with it too. Why don't you tell us?"

Everyone turned towards Sirius simultaneously, who had bags under his tired eyes and the beginnings of a stubble. Remus wondered if he had slept at all but when Sirius spoke, his words were sharp and not at all unfocussed.

"Dumbledore trusted me – us," he amended, looking around at Ron and Hermione. "—because we're capable of taking care of it on our own."

Molly opened her mouth to argue when Sirius cut in with a solemn expression. "I'm not opposed to your help, if it means my godson can come home sooner."

For one moment, Remus was almost glad Sirius was willing to allow the Order to help before Sirius uttered the next few words.

"But, this is out of my hands," continued Sirius, looking around at everyone, his jaw tensing visibly. "I cannot and will not reveal anything; there is a reason Dumbledore wanted as few people as possible to know. I reckon I don't know a lot myself and I might have to discuss with Ron and Hermione first. We may or may not need your help, but I want you to know, it is not our choice that we keep it under wraps."

Remus closed his eyes and sighed. Sirius had clearly thought about this in the last couple of days and Remus knew he ought to respect that. But it irked him to wonder what was so important that Sirius kept refusing to reveal it to him and he consciously chose to accept it for now, instead of question Sirius in front of everyone.

Maybe Sirius had promised it that night out of desperation to find Harry soon. Or it might have been the alcohol in his system, thought Remus wryly.

Hermione and Ron looked visibly relieved by Sirius' admission.

Fred and George, however, were upset while the rest of Harry's friends were merely curious. The adults wisely refrained from pressuring him further, as it was clear as a Demiguise in hiding that Sirius was too heartbroken.

"We already have a new problem at hand anyway," said Arthur, adjusting his wire-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose and sufficiently calming the tense atmosphere. "I just received information from the Minister this evening. He wants to meet with Ron, as well as Harry and Hermione regarding Dumbledore's will on July the thirty-first. The official letter will be sent within a few days."

"Dumbledore left something for us?" asked Hermione in amazement. "Me and Ron?"

Ron was speechless. "Blimey!"

"Why would they need to meet with the Minister?" wondered Hestia. "This is only a matter for the Department of Magical Records."

"Dumbledore isn't any ordinary man," said Remus. "It must be of vital importance if the Minister himself is involved."

"No," announced Molly firmly. "I can't speak for Hermione, but I will not agree to allow Ron to meet with the Minister."

"You can't stop me—"

"Molly is right," said Arthur, overriding his son. "You both are Harry's closest friends, and if Scrimgeour really is Imperiused, there must be some hidden agenda of the Minister if he wants to meet with the three of you."

"I say we go ahead anyway," barked Moody. The entire room quietened and stared at Moody like he was mental.

Molly's eyes widened in alarm when Moody explained, "Hear me out. We have a suspicion on Scrimgeour, which may or may not be true. But this gives us the opportunity to get close to him and verify for ourselves. With Potter missing—" His blue eye settled on Sirius, who, Remus noted, was frowning in deep thought. "—it's obvious that Sirius will be the one to go in his place. We should not raise alarm to the fact that Potter's not with us. As long as the Death Eaters think Potter is safe under the Fidelius, the better for him. But Sirius should go, as should Arthur along with you two." He nodded at Ron and Hermione. "We get the chance to see with our own eyes if he's under the Imperius."

"And if he is?" asked Molly faintly.

"You get the hell out of there as fast as you can," said Moody nonchalantly. "But that's nothing to worry about. I doubt Scrimgeour is actually Imperiused. He has a strong mind. Any Death Eater would have taken whatever Albus left in the will for himself instead of inviting you."

"It could be a trap to get Harry," pointed out Bill. "They don't know he's missing."

"I have to go with Moody," said Kingsley, his deep voice commanding the attention of the room. "I've known Scrimgeour for a long time and I do not think that he is Imperiused. Say what you will about his political acumen, but he does have a brilliant threshold against Imperiuses. Gawain Robards has told us Aurors on multiple occasions on how he could break four consecutive Imperiuses on him during training. He's best friends with Scrimgeour. One would think his best friend would recognize if he behaved differently."

"If only he put that brilliant mind of his to do something instead of holing up in his office," muttered George. Fred and Lee broke into sniggers, and Remus wondered if there was some private joke in there.

"More importantly," Sirius said grimly, leaning onto the table, "it is of great necessity to acquire the contents of Dumbledore's will. I'm not sure what exactly he has left for Harry and Ron and Hermione, but we need to know. If it could help us at all with this mission, then we need to lay our hands on it, no matter the risk."

"It is decided then," Moody announced. "Weasley and Granger will be accompanied by Arthur, along with Sirius. We'll have Nymphadora, Kingsley, Weasley—" He nodded at a nervous-looking Percy. "— and… where is Johnson? The meeting's halfway through!"

Remus noticed only then that Catherine was missing and almost everyone turned to Angelina for an answer.

Angelina frowned. "She said she told you she would be a little late today, Mad-Eye."

"A little late is very different from—"

The sound of hurried footsteps preceded her entry into the meeting room.

Tonks sniggered, "Perfect timing!"

"I'm sorry I'm late," said Catherine, peeking through the half-opened door before turning towards Moody. "I've brought him, Mad-Eye."

Mad-Eye leaned back in his chair, at ease. "Took you long enough, eh? Let him come in then."

The sight of the tall, muscular wizard in expensive robes that were fitted too tight to be comfortable put a damper on Remus' already fragile mood.

"Everyone," announced Catherine, "This is –"

"Proudfoot?" came two voices in unison. Dora and Charlie glanced at each other before staring back at the man with horror.

"Hello, Weasley," said Proudfoot smoothly before turning to wink at Dora. "—and it's good to see you again so soon, Nymphadora."

Dora was too stunned to respond and Remus breathed through his nose, counting backwards and trying to calm himself down.

No, it did not matter to Remus that the wizard who constantly flirted with Dora and derided him was joining the Order. It absolutely did not.

"What is he doing here?" asked Dora finally, with accusation in her tone as she glanced towards Mad-Eye.

"He's our newest Order member—"

"What?!" blurted Charlie.

"—so I suggest you act like it!" finished Mad-Eye with a threatening growl.

Both of them turned quiet, but Dora wasn't going to heed so quickly. "Who thought it was a good idea to have him in the Order?"

Catherine cleared her throat. "Actually, I did."

Dora looked at her like she had been betrayed, but Remus was studying the look on Catherine's face. He did not miss her embarrassed expression when Charlie spoke, "But Cathy, do you realize he's a Slytherin—"

"And what has that got to do with anything?" asked Catherine hotly.

"He doesn't think highly of Muggleborns!" cried Dora.

Proudfoot intervened, "Things can change, Nymphadora—"

Dora spoke over him. "And he thinks werewolves need to be banished from our society!"

Proudfoot clicked his mouth shut and his sharp eyes found Remus' before darting back to Dora. "I may have been wrong about things. I am not saying I haven't said everything you listed before, but I recently had my eyes opened."

At this, he glanced at Catherine for only a second, but it was enough for Remus to make sense of everything.

"I don't have to join this Order," he announced to the wizards and witches gathered in the room. "I am a pureblood from a neutral family. I am safer than most. But I don't wish to be a bystander in this war when it is my friends whose lives are on the line."

"Which friends?" echoed Charlie and Dora.

Proudfoot opened his mouth ready to answer, but he shut it again, swallowing.

The rest of the Order was watching the man before them with curiosity and even anxiousness in the case of Doge and Diggle. Remus had no doubt what they were thinking. Letting in people who they couldn't trust fully could be a potential problem.

Bill spoke up with a polite yet cautious tone. "How can we be sure he isn't just here to spy on us for the Death Eaters?"

A lot of them tensed at the question and Remus even saw the twins clutching their wands inside their pockets.

Proudfoot calmly lifted both his sleeves and showed his bare forearms. "I am not a Death Eater and I never intend to associate or work for them. I realize that is not enough for all of you, but I can't give anything more than my word that I care very much to see You-Know-Who gone once and for all."

"I give you my word, we can trust him," spoke up Catherine, and Remus was impressed with her upfront confidence in him. Proudfoot gave a winning smile towards Catherine, who beamed in return.

"That is good enough for me," said Mad-Eye with a nod towards Catherine who returned it back. "And since we have at least half an hour left, we'll have a practice session to break in our new recruits and also the duelling room we've set up here."

And with that the meeting ended and everyone began dispersing amidst the usual clamour. Remus had a quick word with Arthur when he heard Molly.

"Fred! George! You can't drop dungbombs on top of the ghoul!"

Molly glared furiously at the twins, who were hurriedly stuffing something into a bag. "We had to try something! That dumb ghoul hasn't moved in days, and nobody seemed to be bothered…"

Remus couldn't keep up with the rest of their conversation as the ache in his bones began to magnify. He had to get himself away from people as quickly as he could. Dora was chatting with Hestia, and Remus knew she would be leaving only later because he wouldn't be home tonight. He was just making his way to Dora when Sirius called for him, "Remus, wait up!"

"Sirius, you don't have to accompany me this time, I know you're—"

"—alone at home anyway," finished Sirius moodily. "It'll be good to forget everything for a while, maybe even a few days."

"Are you sure we can trust Kreacher with the house all by himself?" asked Remus. Sirius had been depressed that he had been proven right about the fact that Twitchet was not coming back the next day. But Remus helped him look on the positive side: that Harry was safer with Twitchet than without.

Sirius had conceded the point and had decided to call Kreacher to take care of the house in Twitchet's absence. Remus had been puzzled that the elf actually liked being in Harry's house, but Sirius was past the point of caring. So Remus refrained from questioning.

"He's not that bad nowadays, not since—" Sirius cut-off abruptly, clenching his jaw. "He's not that bad," he finished.

Dora broke the dismal mood with a curious question. "What do you guys do during the full moon anyway?"

"Bark and howl at each other, probably." Hestia spoke casually, but Remus' attention was on Sirius' face where he could have sworn he saw the shadow of a smile.

Dora grimaced. "Sounds better than having to be stuck here for practice with that prat!"

"You shouldn't let him get to you," said Remus. "I don't know him enough to judge him—"

"Oh, but I do," muttered Dora.

"—but maybe all he needs is a second chance," finished Remus. "He sounded very genuine."

"You're too trusting for your own good, Remus," sighed Dora, shaking her head despite the small smile quirking her lips.

"One of my better faults," said Remus with a wry grin and Dora laughed, the happy sound filling him with a carefree joy.

"I'm going to miss you," she lamented and stood up on her toes to kiss him full on the mouth.

Remus knew they were quite possibly locked into their kiss for too long as Sirius cleared his throat and they broke apart.

He noticed Hestia and Sirius pointedly looking away and feeling suddenly self-conscious, Remus decided to call it a day.

"I have to be going," said Remus, sincerely sorry that he had to leave.

Dora pecked him on the cheek. "I'll be seeing you on Sunday…" She leaned to whisper something in his ear that made him grow hot all over.

Dora snickered before speaking to her second cousin. "Just bring Remus back safely, Sirius."

Hestia frowned. "Shouldn't it be the other way round?"

They began to bicker in earnest and Remus left with Sirius, who was once again gloomy. He smirked to himself at the look on Sirius' face, which he had witnessed for just a fleeting second that anybody would have missed. But Remus wasn't just anybody.

Thursday, July 31

The Ministry of Magic was busy as usual on Thursday morning. It seemed strange to Sirius that it could still be functioning normally with everything that had happened in the past week.

Then again, it was only himself that had got the proverbial rug pulled out from underneath his feet.

For the umpteenth time, Sirius wondered what Harry was doing. Was he safe? Had he eaten? Did he sleep well?

Because Sirius sure hadn't.

And it was Harry's birthday today. His godson was turning seventeen, a very important number in a wizard's life, and Sirius wouldn't be able to celebrate even that with him, like the many birthdays of his that he had missed while in Azkaban. He must be the worst godfather in existence.

While lost in his thoughts, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he murmured automatically, but it was only Tonks.

"This isn't the time to be thinking about him," she hissed, walking off without stopping.

Sirius steadied his mind and walked with sure steps, pushing aside his worry for the time being. He noticed Kingsley and Percy on his way, and they nodded discreetly. Reassured, he took the lift to Level One, ignoring the openly staring crowd and finally meeting with Arthur and Hermione, the latter clutching a book in her hands.

They had arrived ten minutes earlier as part of Moody's plan to keep suspicion off of Arthur. Sirius' name was mentioned in the Daily Prophet as being a member of the Order after all, and it was safer if they pretended in front of the Ministry that they had no contact.

The two Aurors checked and double-checked him with their Secrecy Sensors when Ron finally walked out of the Minister's office. He was baffled and furious in equal measure, but Arthur hurried off with the both of them just like they had discussed.

The Aurors had some questions, as Harry was not present, but they decided to allow Sirius inside anyway. Scrimgeour watched Sirius like a hawk when he walked up to him.

"The meeting was scheduled with Harry Potter," snapped Scrimgeour.

"You're not even going to ask me to sit down?"

"Take a seat, Black." Sirius did not let the missing title before his name go unnoticed, but he sat down anyway.

"Where is Potter?"

If only he knew…

"I'm afraid I don't feel safe with letting Harry enter the premises. Not after the mass breakout from Azkaban two days ago that has gone unreported by the Prophet."

"You'd know all about how that happened, wouldn't you?" barked Scrimgeour. "Being the first one to break out of Azkaban in the first place? Why did the Wizengamot not bother to ask how you did that?"

He sounded supremely frustrated for having let go of the opportunity of questioning Sirius thoroughly during his trial.

Sirius spoke with a calm he didn't feel, "The guardians of Azkaban were Dementors when I escaped. It must have been very simple for the Death Eaters to do it with only your people stationed now. But let's not steer away from the heart of the matter – Dumbledore's Will."

"Since it involves only Harry Potter and not you, I will not be able to divulge confidential information—"

Sirius bristled, "As his guardian—"

"That doesn't matter," cut in Scrimgeour. "Potter turned seventeen today. He's officially an adult and he will be treated as one."

No wonder Scrimgeour had waited until Harry's birthday to call him to the Ministry.

Sirius spoke sharply. "With Death Eaters breaking out of Azkaban, who's to say they haven't already infiltrated the Ministry? I deem it unsafe and he's not stepping foot in here. I don't care about a bloody Will."

A moment passed with both of them locked in a battle of resolve, after which Scrimgeour finally conceded, "Nothing I say will change your mind?"

"None."

Scrimgeour stared at Sirius, before pulling out a golden, walnut-sized ball. "This is what Dumbledore left for him. 'To Harry James Potter,'" he read from a scroll of parchment lying unfurled in front of him and Sirius sat up straighter, "'I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'"

Sirius stared at the feebly fluttering Snitch before his brain caught up with the reason why Scrimgeour was very stubborn to give it to Harry in person. He believed something was concealed inside the Snitch and Sirius was actually grateful that Harry wasn't here at the moment, lest his touch reveal whatever Dumbledore might have left inside. 

Sirius put his hand out to take it when Scrimgeour retracted his hand. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to give it to you, not unless Potter himself were to collect it."

"What part of 'I'm his guardian' don't you understand?"

"I'm the Minister for Magic, Black. It's decided and it's final."

Sirius glared at the man before him. "That's all there is to discuss, then?"

"Not quite," said Scrimgeour, who looked bad tempered now. "Dumbledore left Potter a second bequest."

Sirius stared at him warily. "What is it?"

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," he said.

Sirius felt like an ice cube had slipped down his spine. What if this was what they needed to destroy the Horcruxes?

"Well, where is it?" asked Sirius hastily.

"Unfortunately," said Scrimgeour, eyeing him with undisguised curiosity, "that sword was not Dumbledore's to give away. The sword of Godric Gryffindor is an important historical artefact, and as such, belongs to Hogwarts." He scratched his unshaven cheek, watching Sirius appraisingly. "Why do you think—"

Thud. Thud.

There was the sounds of two heavy objects falling to the ground before the doors were slammed open.

There was the swift, successive shouts of "Avada Kedavra!" twice and Sirius had instinctively transformed to Padfoot and jumped out of the way. The two Killing curses narrowly missed Padfoot's smaller frame and hit Scrimgeour squarely on his chest, the golden Snitch fluttering out of his limp hands.

"It's Black!" shouted one of the masked wizards, and the other one tried to fire a spell at him, but Sirius was quicker than humans in his Animagus form. He pounced on top of the man, biting into his wand arm. The wizard screamed and the other tried to throw Padfoot off of him.

Padfoot knocked the other one off his feet and, with a huge leap, caught the Snitch hovering near Scrimgeour's dead hands before bolting out of the room. He ran past the two Aurors on the floor, who were stunned or dead, he had no clue. The corridors were eerily empty and he hurried into the lift, turning human again. He stuffed the Snitch into his pocket and clutched his wand at the ready.

The lift stopped at three Levels and Sirius fidgeted uncomfortably, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had just reached the Atrium when the man he had knocked out caught up to him from another lift. Sirius broke into a run, pushing past confused employees.

"Murderer!" The man cried, pointing at Sirius. "He murdered the Minister!"

Wizards and witches were screaming and yelling, some pulling out their wands to stop him. Sirius saw Kingsley and Catherine raise their wands, but Sirius was not alarmed. He stunned both of them, sparing them the necessity of firing spells at him, when Tonks jumped to his aid to shield him from the other Ministry employees.

They dodged the spells that were thrown at them and Disapparated together, once they reached the Apparition point past the empty plinth where the Fountain of Magical Brethren once stood.

Harry woke up late on the thirty-first of July, and he hardly remembered it was his birthday until Twitchet reminded him. While he was sad he didn't get to spend it with his family, he couldn't feel too depressed and was rather cheery when Twitchet made him his birthday breakfast.

He realized only during the afternoon, when he had unwittingly fallen asleep while going through Regulus' books, that the happiness he had been feeling all day wasn't his at all.

He had witnessed Voldemort congregated with his Death Eaters, who Harry had thought were in Azkaban until now. And they had been discussing gleefully about the Minister having been taken out. Being cut off from any type of news except his insight into Voldemort's mind, he was shocked by the information and resolved to learn more about it.

He put on his Invisibility Cloak and Apparated to a dark alleyway behind Madam Malkin's. He found a garbage bin by the corner of the street and quickly tried to find a used copy but was disappointed when there was nothing. He waited beside it under his Invisiblity cloak, hoping someone would throw a newspaper. He didn't dare summon one lest a flying newspaper give him away. He was in no hurry and he didn't mind waiting as long as he was hidden.

After around ten minutes, a flying roll of newspaper caught his eye before it even hit the trashcan.

He successfully nicked the Evening Prophet and quietly Disapparated to the shack.

He stuffed the Invisibility Cloak into his green backpack that had been Sirius' gift for Christmas. It was charmed to be bottomless, and Harry had all of his things inside it. He noticed Twitchet had laid out his dinner for him.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, and she gave a small smile. Pleased that she was finally starting to forgive him, he sat on the moth-eaten couch and perused the paper he had just filched.

His happiness was short-lived and his stomach lurched when he saw his godfather's face sprawled across the front page.

SIRIUS BLACK MURDERS MINISTER FOR MAGIC

He didn't believe even for a moment that it could be possible. He quickly scanned the article and was certain Sirius had been framed, even though the article painted his godfather in a bad light. To make matters worse, Tonks was mentioned as having helped Sirius escape and she was also wanted by the Ministry besides Sirius.

This proved that what he had seen in his dream was true though he had never expected Sirius would be framed for it. No wonder Voldemort had been in a good mood all day.

Harry turned the page and was startled again when he was met with a picture of Dumbledore, striding along looking harried, under the headline:

DUMBLEDORE – THE TRUTH AT LAST?

Harry's frown deepened as he read through the article about Rita Skeeter's new book. It was – in two words – complete lies. About Dumbledore, his youth, his achievements, and about his relationship with Harry himself.

Furious, he balled the newspaper and threw it into the fire, pacing the room in agitation.

Random phrases from Rita's article echoed in his head: An entire chapter to the Potter-Dumbledore relationship… It's been called unhealthy, even sinister… He dabbled in the Dark Arts himself in his youth… I've had access to a source most journalists would swap their wands for…

His blood was boiling at the fact that Dumbledore was being openly defamed and his godfather was framed again for a murder he didn't commit. This was the worst birthday ever.

A headache began to build again and Harry tried to calm himself. He sat on the couch and rubbed his forehead with his fingers, trying to ease the pain.

He knew he had made the right decision leaving home because his nightmares had progressively worsened. He was having them almost every day and even sometimes when he was awake. Often, he was just watching Voldemort talk with his snake or sometimes discuss matters with his Death Eaters.

But other times, he had not been very fortunate. He had been privy to seeing things that he would never have wished to have lay eyes on in his life. He had watched an old warlock being tortured before getting murdered. He had seen through Nagini's eyes when she had swallowed whole one of the teachers of Hogwarts, Charity Burbage. He had promptly vomited after that incident and for a moment was certain he had been the one to eat her. He could almost taste the flesh and blood, and simply thinking about it, had made him sick again.

It would have been a blessing if he had been blind, but Harry supposed it wasn't him that needed to be blind, as he was seeing it all through Voldemo—You-Know-Who's eyes.

Since Sirius had warned him, Harry was trying hard to remember to not speak his name. It wasn't easy, but it helped a lot that he had nobody to talk to and had less chance of slipping up.

To remove himself from the pain, he pulled out his wand, distracting himself with a few sparks and relishing in the fact that he could use magic freely. Two weeks of depending on Twitchet for everything from lighting a fire to travelling had made him appreciate the freedom that came with turning seventeen.

It took some time, but the headache slowly receded and Harry sat up again. The sky was inky-black outside and he supposed a lot of time must have passed. Shrugging it off, he pulled a rickety chair beside the small table and sat down to find his dinner stone-cold.

"So Scrimgeour wasn't Imperiused after all."

Moody leaned back against the chair ostensibly like he had made an interesting discovery. Only half of the Order was present for the emergency meeting they had gathered to discuss the day's events.

Sirius glared at him. The Evening Prophet had just announced Sirius as having murdered the Minister, and he had evaded capture by a hair's breadth.

And Moody found it as fascinating as a game of Wizard's Chess.

"It was Pius Thicknesse who raised the alarm against you, Sirius," said Catherine. "He must have been Imperiused days or even weeks ago."

"What are they discussing about the replacement Minister?" asked Remus.

"The vote is leaning towards Thicknesse, I'm afraid," said Kingsley. "Either half of the Ministry is already Imperiused or they must feel better with Thicknesse in charge. People might be thinking that he is on their side if he identified Scrimgeour's murderer."

"But you know what this means, don't you?" said Charlie. "You-Know-Who has successfully installed his puppet as the Minister for Magic."

"And Dumbledore thought we ought to fight against him with a children's book and a Put-Outer?" said Fred, playing with the Deluminator. "The Prophet wasn't lying then. This just proves he was off his rocker after all."

"What was it that Dumbledore left in his Will for Harry?" asked Molly, while an annoyed Ron snatched the Deluminator from Fred.

Sirius pulled out the golden ball and let it flutter. "The Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch game."

George followed the Snitch with his eyes. "I hate to say this, but I reckon these aren't supposed to help you in your mission at all. These are just toys with sentimental value."

"Scrimgeour also said he left the Sword of Gryffindor for Harry."

George shrugged. "I suppose it must be the only way you can defeat You-Know-Who – slicing him in half with that sword."

Even to Sirius' ears, it sounded laughable.

"If the Ministry has fallen, I think we are on our own now." Remus looked around at them all as he said it, and everyone shared troubled glances. This was worse than the last time in Sirius' opinion. They had had Dumbledore and they couldn't win even with the Ministry on their side.

"Whatever are we going to do tomorrow, Arthur?" said Molly, grasping Arthur's hand. "I can't trust that the Ministry can properly protect us if the Death Eaters have taken over."

"The Order can help with the protection," said Tonks readily from beside her. "What do you think we're here for if not for having each other's backs?"

"Thank you, dear," smiled Molly. "I'm very grateful. It would make more sense to cancel the wedding, but Fleur's family is already here and the invites are sent. We'll just have to hope everything goes without a glitch. I'll breathe easy when every one of our guests gets home safely after the wedding."

Saturday, August 2

It was a truly magical evening with the sound of music and laughter in the air and twinkling fairies fluttering above their heads. Witches and wizards danced in pairs, twirling around in their fancy dress robes, blissfully unaware of the difficult times ahead.

Sirius wasn't one of them however. He was in no mood to take part in the festivities. He was patrolling the boundaries of the Burrow along with a few of the other members of the Order. Disguised under the Polyjuice lest an unsuspecting wedding guest recognize him, he leaned against a silver birch tree feeling quite bored.

He lit a cigarette and took a deep pull. He had quite forgotten the taste of it for the last couple of months. But for the past week, it had become good company in his lonely abode that was the Potter Manor.

He was lazily keeping watch of the sky and the grounds when he felt his disposition lighten at the sight of Hestia, who waved at him once she caught his eye and made her way towards him. He wondered how she recognized him despite being disguised.

He automatically snuffed out his cigarette and smiled in greeting, taking his time to appreciate her as she walked up to him. She was clad in deep plum robes with her hair slightly mussed like she had come straight from work and Sirius found himself unintentionally staring at her.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she was saying. "My editor wouldn't let me off unless I'd – what?"

Sirius blinked and shook his head. "I was just – er, what were you saying?"

"Oh, forget it," she said flippantly. "I presume the marriage itself is over?"

"Half an hour ago," said Sirius nodding. "Remus and Tonks just went in to enjoy some time together. Kingsley and Dedalus are already on the other side keeping watch."

"No sign of any Death Eaters?"

"As much as I am thankful there is no sign of them, I can't help but wonder if something bad is going to happen," said Sirius, turning towards her and resting his elbow against the tree, his other hand clutched around his wand. "It would be much better if the guests left early. We could put up the protections in place as soon as everyone leaves and be done with it."

Hestia frowned in concern as she pulled out her wand too and kept it at the ready. "Let them enjoy it. We don't know when we could be having a party again. I just heard on my way here that Thicknesse is likely to be sworn in tomorrow."

"Wonderful," muttered Sirius. "Are people that dim-witted to not recognize an Imperiused wizard when they see one?"

"Who knows how many others are also Imperiused?" said Hestia. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell my suspicions to anyone. How can I trust they aren't too and already working for the other side?"

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Just like last time. That snake-face sure knows how to reign in chaos…"

Hestia broke into giggles. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her and she looked up at him, amused. "Is that what you're going to call him now since Mad-Eye said you aren't to call him by his name?"

Sirius smirked. "Doesn't sound as frightening as that You-Know-Who codswallop."

Hestia hummed in agreement, still smiling as she glanced around her, making sure they were safe. They lapsed into a comfortable silence when Sirius found a way to break it. "What were you saying earlier about you being late?"

"Oh, it's nothing. My assignment was just overdue."

"Miss Right-on-time is not punctual for once?" said Sirius, huffing a laugh.

"Very funny," said Hestia, looking decidedly unimpressed. "I've been researching my pet project for the last month and I've been behind on my work."

"What kind of project?" asked Sirius, knitting his eyebrows together. Hestia looked uncomfortable and Sirius backtracked immediately. "That's alright! You don't have to—"

"It's not a big secret or anything," said Hestia. "Well okay, it kind of is. But since it's you…"

She took a moment to decide before waving her hand dismissively. "It's about Transfiguration and Potions and stuff. I don't want to bore you with the details."

She seemed to be hoping Sirius would drop the question, but Sirius could never let go of something once he had been sufficiently enticed.

"You might be surprised," said Sirius, his interest peaked. "What are you working on?"

Hestia sighed. "You've heard of blood maledictions?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Sirius with a grimace. "My dear mother used to tell stories about that when I was young. Said it was a curse to be proud of because it proved you were a true pure-blood."

Hestia's eyes widened in astonishment. "How mad can a woman get?"

"You've seen her portrait," said Sirius. "What did you expect?"

Hestia stared at him before nodding. "Good point. Still, it's unbelievable to think that she's your mother."

"Was," corrected Sirius. "And who cares? I was done with her when I was sixteen and –"

Sirius broke off, unbiddenly reminded of Harry at that moment and the worry that came with it.

Hestia was gazing at him, bemused and Sirius forgot what he had been about to say. Whether she took pity on him or was kind enough to move the conversation forward, Sirius didn't know.

But he was grateful when she ignored his lapse and said, "Well, my mother died because of it."

"Oh." Sirius momentarily remembered her saying that she had dropped out of the Healing programme to take care of her ailing mother. But to think she had a malediction…

"She was an odd circumstance," continued Hestia, nodding. "It began only after she'd given birth to us and it was a rather late onset compared to the previous recorded cases. Still, no one bothers to find a cure for it, because it's incredibly rare and only resurfaces in purebloods who are pretty uncommon already. I'm looking to find a counter-curse or antidote or a combination of both. I've worked on it for seven years and I might be at a breakthrough."

Sirius blew out a low whistle, impressed. "That sounds remarkable."

"Thanks," grinned Hestia. "I'm great with Potions but Transfiguration is not my strength. I've been getting some help from McGonagall—"

"That explains that post she asked me to send you," said Sirius immediately, remembering the envelope she had asked him to pass on to Hestia. "That day when Tonks had just told us she was engaged. It was your research wasn't it? It wouldn't have been safe to send by owl, I presume?"

"Yes," nodded Hestia before hurriedly adding, "You should promise me you won't go talking about this to anyone though, not even the Order. If word got out—"

Sirius laughed. "Are you joking? Excluding Harry, my social circle consists of Remus, Tonks, and you. And those two are too busy with themselves nowadays. Who am I going to talk with about this?"

Hestia looked taken aback before she beamed and in the dim light reflecting from the torches beside the marquee, her flushed cheeks and bashful smile were the sweetest things he'd seen in a long time.

Hestia averted her eyes and cleared her throat while Sirius too looked away, for he had just spotted something in the sky.

An explosion of red sparks that could only mean one thing.

"That's Kingsley or Dedalus," said Sirius, exchanging a worried glance with her. He immediately raised his wand to produce a Patronus that would warn the guests if Kingsley hadn't already.

They dashed together towards the marquee and as planned, Hestia went in to help the guests leave as quickly as possible while Tonks and Moody joined him on his way to Kingsley and Dedalus on the other side of the Burrow. All of them were disguised to ensure the Weasleys would not be blamed for hosting some wanted criminals and put them into more trouble.

Death Eaters, masked and hooded, were firing a volley of spells that collided in mid-air against an invisible barrier. Kingsley and Dedalus watched in horror with their wands raised, wanting to fight back, but not willing to leave the safety of the Burrow either.

"What are you waiting for?" yelled Mad-Eye. "Attack them before they break in!"

That was the wake-up call everyone needed and the five of them rushed out of the barrier together in one coordinated movement. Sirius and Moody cast the Ferrifors together that would protect them from the oncoming barrage of spells till they got out and it dissolved soon after, unable to withstand them. But, it had got them outside in relative safety and the battle began.

Sirius couldn't see who was fighting or where everyone were, but he took on a Death Eater and they sparred with such speed that he missed a handful of spells by a hair's breadth only. His Reducto successfully destroyed the Death Eater's mask and Sirius realized that he was duelling none other than Lucius Malfoy of all people. He was thankful now that Molly had insisted the Order be disguised for the evening.

Sirius threw a Bone-Breaking Hex on his wrist, effectively disarming him. Sirius' elation at gaining the upper hand was short-lived when the Carrows took over immediately and Lucius Disapparated with his tail between his legs.

Now he was up against two mad Death Eaters instead of one. Sirius quickly transformed a garden statue behind the Carrows into solid iron. The Carrows hadn't noticed as it was out of their line of sight and continued firing spells at him that he shielded himself from.

He levitated the heavy iron statue and it whooshed from behind and fell straight on Amycus' head knocking him out cold.

Alecto snarled, intent on landing a Cruciatus on him and while Sirius dodged as swiftly as he could, he couldn't outmanoeuvre her forever and was struck by a Crucio that knocked him to the ground where he writhed in agony.

He tried to get up on his feet before another one made his way to him but he needn't have worried as the twins were there, taking Alecto on with practiced ease.

Sirius took a moment to look around him. Dedalus was injured and Sirius saw him turn on his spot and disappear just as something heavy collided into him and he fell flat on the ground.

It turned out be a disguised Tonks and she immediately Stunned the Death Eater whom she had been duelling, from her position on the ground before he could attack them.

The air suddenly crackled with heat and thin web-like strands of golden light crisscrossed in the sky above. Sirius realized that the shield they had erected over the Burrow had been taken down and the Death Eaters were casting the Anti-Apparition Jinx over them when he heard Mad-Eye yell something and Kingsley too turned on his spot and vanished. Sirius knew they had to Disapparate before the Jinx was fully in place.

"Let's go," said Sirius urgently, taking Tonks' hand in his.

"Not just yet," she said before pulling away and rushing towards the twins who didn't seem to be going down with a fight.

Sighing, Sirius too joined her and so did Mad-Eye who had also stayed behind once he caught sight of them. Mad-Eye was duelling ferociously, yelling for the twins to leave immediately. But the fight was so rapid that the twins had no time to stop and Disapparate.

The interweaving light above spread farther and they had to get out now if they had any chance of escaping, when the worst happened.

A blinding flash of green light and the sound of insane high-pitched cackling. Sirius was shocked when the rather stout man that had been Mad-Eye's disguise fell to the floor with a thud.

"NO!"

Sirius conjured the Ferrifors with all his might and the wall of iron that appeared between them and the Death Eaters was immense.

Before Tonks could go any further, Sirius caught hold of her and shouted at the twins. "Get out of here!"

The iron wall began to dematerialize, and he Disapparated with an unwilling Tonks by his side.

"Let me go, you twat!" Tonks yelled at him once they reached the gates of Headquarters, trying to pry her hand away from his but Sirius held on tightly.

"No," he said firmly. "Not unless you promise you won't Disapparate."

A pop sounded and both Sirius and Tonks jumped in alarm, but it was only Remus.

"They killed Mad-Eye! They killed him!" blurted Tonks as soon as she laid eyes on him. Remus walked up to her and Sirius felt safe enough to let her go. She ran to him and hugged him, sobbing into his shoulder. It looked odd to see Remus hugging another girl, even though he knew it was only Tonks in her disguise.

"We're not safe until we get inside," reminded Sirius and they hurried into the Abbott's mansion. Sirius saw Kingsley, Hestia, Ron, and Hermione gathered in the drawing room. Ron jumped up from his seat in the couch. "What happened to Mum and—"

"I don't know," said Sirius quickly. "There were too many of them."

"So you left them on their own?" shouted Ron. "Shouldn't you be helping them? How could you leave them?"

"All the guests had left safely and Arthur insisted I leave too before the Anti-Apparition Jinx was secure," said Remus. "They will be fine, Ron. As much as it seems foolish and unimaginable, You-Know-Who would not kill pure-bloods for no reason, even if they are blood-traitors."

"You're delusional!" proclaimed Ron, his face contorting in bitterness.

"We've gone over this," said Remus, rubbing his eyes. "If they were to attack the Burrow, it would be for the primary reason to find Harry. They would have guessed correctly that he would attend Bill's wedding. The most they would do is question your parents. Arthur has already set up your ghoul so he can cover for you when the Death Eaters come looking. You and Hermione are safest here."

"Sirius, where's Mad-Eye?" Kingsley spoke up for the first time and Tonks sniffled.

"Mad-Eye's dead," said Remus. Kingsley was shocked and Hermione covered her mouth in horror. Hestia was as white as a sheet when she spoke up, "And Dedalus?"

Sirius frowned. "I saw him Disapparate before Kingsley."

Hestia shook her head in confusion. "But he didn't return…"

"I think he was injured," recalled Sirius. "He must have left for his house."

Now that he thought about it, Dedalus should have arrived at Headquarters first.

Hestia was frowning in worry and she suddenly took off when Kingsley called out. "Where are you going?"

"I have to check on him," she said behind her shoulder.

"We can send a Patronus," suggested Remus, who pulled out his wand and conjured his Patronus.

But Sirius hurried to catch up with Hestia anyway.

"I'm coming with you," he said resolutely. Hestia simply nodded and they jogged together through the long driveway when they caught up with a pale and shaken Fred and George near the gates.

"What happened?" asked Sirius, halting in his tracks.

"They were waiting to ambush us— in our flat," said George, out of breath. "We were lucky we noticed them before we entered."

Hestia's face darkened and she ran out of the gates, Sirius on her heels. She grabbed hold of his hand and they Disapparated.

When they arrived, Hestia gasped in fear and Sirius felt his insides turn cold. The Dark Mark was floating above Dedalus' house and the front door was missing.

They ran towards the door, Sirius poising himself for a fight if there were Death Eaters inside. He put out a hand to stop Hestia, whose eyes were already bright. He signalled for her to follow him wordlessly and they cautiously entered the house.

Sirius jumped when Hestia called out, "Dedalus?"

He quickly turned to shush her but there was a commotion inside and Sirius rushed towards the source of the sound.

Past the dining area, they reached the kitchen where he saw three Death Eaters escaping through the back door. Sirius fired a non-verbal spell, but the man ducked and turned on his spot. Sirius caught a glimpse of straw-coloured hair before he vanished out of his sight.

His ire at the sight of the man's face took a back seat when the strong smell of blood hit his nose. He turned and gasped at the scene in front of him. All he could see was red and his mind went blank. He instinctively turned towards Hestia, yelling, "Wait! Don't—"

But, he was too late.

The air was filled with her piercing scream of shock and horror and he pulled her towards his chest to shield her from the gruesome vision behind him.

"NO! Dedalus! DEDALUS! What have they done to him?"

Sirius hugged her smaller frame tightly, her heaving sobs rocking through him. "We should get out of here," he murmured. He tried to steer her out of the kitchen but she pulled away from him, trying to get closer to Dedalus.

"No, I'm not leaving him like this—"

"There's nothing you can do here," he said softly, stopping her from going anywhere near the kitchen with a strong grip. "You shouldn't see him like this."

She kept sobbing but she didn't stop Sirius from guiding her out of the house, and he took her away from the horrendous sight.

Chapter Text

Sirius and Hestia Side-along Apparated to her house and the two of them made their way towards it in relative silence.

Hestia was still crying albeit quietly. Sirius did not have words to console her. Nothing could be said at the moment, not after seeing Dedalus like that. He was still having trouble trying to erase the picture from his mind, even though he knew it was not something one could forget easily.

Besides, he still had a job to do.

"I have to get the Order," said Sirius, halting just outside the front door. "We need to take his… him away from there."

Hestia sniffled and brushed away the fresh tears seeping down her cheek. Her eyes were bloodshot when she turned to look at Sirius. He wished he could do or say something to comfort her although he had no clue what had to be said.

For a second, her lips parted and she took in a breath as if she wanted to say something. It was only a moment in time, but Sirius would acutely remember it in the days to come for there was something intangible and heavy in the air – something that felt like a weight on his chest.

But the next instant, she simply nodded and turned to leave.

Sirius didn't know what came over him, but he reached out and gripped her shoulder. She stopped and turned halfway around, looking up politely puzzled.

"Are you—" he began but amended, "Will you be okay?"

Her lips quirked upward ever so slightly yet there was nothing light-hearted about her expression. "I'm going to my sister's. I have to let her know."

It was not the answer he wanted to hear but he let her go and nodded. "You take care of yourself."

Hestia returned an imperceptible nod, her eyes gaining a faraway gaze that worried him.

"If there's anything you need," said Sirius, with sincerity, "I'm just a Patronus away."

He was rewarded when Hestia looked at him properly.

"Thank you."

With a final nod, he turned her back on her and walked out to the gates before Apparating away, wishing he had done more.

Saturday, August 9

The once empty mansion of the Abbotts was now teeming with people. Besides Ron and Hermione, Remus, Dora, and the twins, Catherine and Angelina had also taken refuge with them as soon as the new law against the Muggleborns was enacted almost immediately once Thicknesse had been sworn in.

The idea of a Muggleborn Registration Commission was ridiculous and could only mean that almost all of the higher-ups were Imperiused. Blood traitors too were being watched and they had not heard from the Weasleys since the last Patronus they had received the day after the wedding – that they were safe and not to contact them.

Remus was glad he and Dora had been tasked with keeping Ron and Hermione safe in the house. With Dora wanted for supposedly aiding Sirius in Scrimgeour's death, it was a good thing they had not headed home straight from the wedding.

Fred and George had escaped ambush in their own flat only because Fred had spotted a boot-print on their threshold that had warned them a split second sooner of the presence of intruders inside. Dedalus hadn't been so lucky and Remus wondered if his injury had made him unable to escape. He shuddered at the memory of Sirius, Kingsley and himself trying to collect his body. He hadn't been able to sleep for days with the image of Dedalus' dismembered body etched in his mind.

With Arthur, Bill and Charlie incapacitated, and Mad-Eye and Dedalus dead, the Order was stretched thin. They had no resolve to spy on Death Eaters now anyway. Even after Dumbledore had gone, Mad-Eye had unswervingly stepped into the role of leader. Now they greatly lacked a guiding voice and the fear created by the Ministry's new laws meant nobody wanted to venture out of their houses for anything other than work.

The residents of the Combe Abbott had nothing but time on their hands and with the twins in company, Remus almost enjoyed their stint at their temporary home. Almost.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Angelina doubtfully peering at the odd contraption in Fred's hand that Remus thought was one of their signature fireworks.

"Of course it is," said Fred with easy bravado that reminded Remus a lot of a young James. "Our plan is ninety-nine per cent effective."

"I don't think it's a good idea," said Hermione with knitted eyebrows. "He isn't bothering anyone and we do have another door we can use to enter and leave."

"You might as well ask us to give up our houses to ghouls too," said George, discourteously.

Hermione looked affronted. "Of course not! I'm just saying this plan could cause serious injuries. What if he got hurt?"

"He's a ghoul," said Fred matter-of-factly, raising both his eyebrows at her as if he thought Hermione was dull for even thinking so.

"I'm not part of this nonsense," announced Hermione loudly before traipsing upstairs. Ron glared at Fred who scoffed. "We don't need any more naysayers. Hurry along to your little girlfriend."

"Sod off!" threw Ron behind his shoulder, flipping the bird before leaving.

Remus knew he had to intervene but he was thoroughly distracted when he turned to find Dora leaning invitingly against the open door that led to their room.

Her hair was a vivid purple that matched the Muggle clothes she was wearing. Remus felt his mouth go dry when his eyes found her.

It still astonished him some times to know that he was married (married!) to a woman he loved whole-heartedly. If anything, she was one of the only things he had done right by in his life.

Dora's smile widened and she raised an eyebrow seductively, clearly enjoying his attention. "All that trouble for moving that ghoul?" she wondered aloud casually, like she hadn't just turned off his brain with her mere presence. "Don't they realize it won't work because it isn't actually –"

"No, and they don't need to," said Remus, entering the room and shutting the door behind him.

Dora said something that sounded like, "—put a stop to them before anything worse happens?"

Remus groaned, "In a moment," before he kissed her, pinning her to the wall. He relished the strength that was his own during the new moon. She moaned delectably and things were just getting steamy when loud bangs erupted from outside their room followed by deep grunts.

Remus growled at the interruption while Dora sighed in exasperation. "I told you."

"No wonder Arthur is balding despite his age," he grumbled under his breath making Dora snicker.

He stepped out of the room, running a hand through his messed up hair, trying to look presentable before he gave a lecture. These were his former students after all.

The magnificent ruckus outside made Remus give the boys an earful for the better part of fifteen minutes. The ghoul was making loud grunts and moans, but it had predictably been unharmed by the fireworks. By the time he was done, the Order members had arrived for the meeting and Dora looked disgruntled as she plodded out of their room.

Remus was miserable himself. He should have listened to her, but could she actually blame him when she looked that enticing? He shook his head as he made his way to the meeting room, planning to make it up with her that night.

"Urgh."

Hermione looked up from the book she had just picked out and watched Ron stomp into the room morosely before plopping onto the foot of Angelina's empty bed. Hermione and Angelina shared a room in the Combe Abbotts and the latter was currently spending her time with the boys trying to scare away the ghoul.

"My brothers are absolute gits," proclaimed Ron before flopping onto the bed, with his long legs dangling by the end. Hermione almost didn't hear his muttered, "I miss Harry."

She felt her worry heighten and closed her book before putting it aside. "What do you think he's doing now?"

"I don't know." Ron stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. "The prat didn't get to celebrate his seventeenth birthday. I even had his gift picked out for him."

"Me too," said Hermione. They remained quiet when she whispered, "I'm scared for him."

"Harry's tough," said Ron confidently, sitting up and turning to look at her. "He's been through so much; he's done fine until now. I'm just mad he abandoned us."

"Nobody can stay strong forever, Ron," said Hermione, worrying her lip to keep herself from breaking down. "Harry was with those awful aunt and uncle for years, but now he has us and Sirius and the whole Order. You'd think if he was tough, he would have come to us."

Ron frowned, his blue eyes revealing his concern for a moment before being replaced with conviction. "I don't reckon he would think that way. If I know him at all, he must've left because he felt he wasn't making much difference sitting at home. I know I feel useless doing nothing too."

"But that's irresponsible of him!" exclaimed Hermione. "He could've joined the Order like we did. Sirius and Mad-Eye already planned everything to cover up the fact that we were going into hiding. And since we're officially part of the Order now, we should be able to go on missions too."

Ron arched a ginger eyebrow. "Do you think any of that would have happened if Harry hadn't left?"

Hermione stared out the window before speaking slowly, "Your mum would've never let us within five yards of anything that had to do with the Order."

Ron nodded sagaciously before standing up and moving towards the open window through which a cool breeze blew into the room, ruffling his hair. "And Sirius might've proclaimed Harry should be allowed to join in the Order before he was freed. But he's as bad as mum when it comes to keeping Harry in the house away from everything."

"It's for his own good," stated Hermione but Ron immediately put forth a question. "I suppose you think we should stay inside doing nothing too?"

Hermione couldn't answer that without sounding like a hypocrite. Of course, she wanted to contribute to the Order. But Harry was much more important to the war than she ever was and she could understand why Sirius would want to be more careful with him. It was of no use now however, because it had done exactly the opposite of what Sirius had intended.

"I just wish he'd come back to us soon," she murmured and Ron looked despairingly out the window.

There was a knock before the door was opened and Hermione saw Sirius glance at both of them suspiciously before shutting the door behind him. He waved his wand and there was a loud click.

"We need to discuss about our plan," said Sirius bluntly, skipping all introductions.

"What plan?" Ron wondered aloud.

"We know Harry left to find the Horcrxes. He's taken the locket with him. If we need this all to end, we need to find each of them soon."

"The locket was a fake," said Hermione. "Harry said so after Dumbledore's death."

"It was, but we found the real thing."

Ron and Hermione's eyes widened in shock and Sirius told them briefly of how they had found the locket in Grimmauld Place and who had kept it there.

"If Harry can somehow destroy it, we'll just have to find two more Horcruxes besides Nagini," said Sirius.

"But Harry can't destroy it on his own!" exclaimed Hermione, gaping. When Sirius and Ron looked at her puzzled, she reluctantly told them about the books she had stolen from Dumbledore's study, all the while fearing they would think the worst of her.

Ron and Sirius ignored her efforts to prove she hadn't been stealing and asked her to get to the point. She pulled out the worn leather book, Secrets of the Darkest Art, and told them everything she had learned so far about the Horcruxes.

"Hang on," said Ron, frowning. "The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn't it? How does that work, then?"

Sirius looked up in interest when Hermione answered, "While the magical vessel is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don't mean holding it for too long, it's got nothing to do with touching it," she added before Sirius could interrupt her. "I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You don't want to get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux."

Sirius sighed in relief and nodded, even though there was still a crease of worry in his eyes. She understood he had been troubled as Harry was likely in close contact with one. She didn't think it would be any trouble. How could you possibly become emotionally vulnerable to a locket?

Ron was saying, "So we just need a basilisk fang to destroy a Horcrux?"

"There are other ways too," said Hermione, "spells that can do irreparable damage. But they're terribly Dark Magic. Fiendfyre, for example..."

Immediately, Sirius shook his head. "I'll have none of that. We'll just resort to the basilisk fang—"

"—if we find a Horcrux," finished Ron dubiously. "Which should take forever."

"That can't be," said Hermione. "We know it's Hufflepuff's cup and something of Ravenclaw's. I think I can read up on famous relics or artefacts…"

"Yeah, that's how we're going to finish off You-Know-Who," sniggered Ron. "By reading books."

Before Hermione could become properly annoyed, Sirius agreed with her. "It's a start. Something which can't be said about whatever Dumbledore left in his will."

The sour expression on his face said everything of what he actually thought about it. Hermione was inclined to disagree when Ron fished out his Deluminator from his pocket. "At least Dumbledore knew I would have hated it if he left me children's books."

Hermione huffed. "We should be glad Dumbledore left anything at all!"

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I would have appreciated if he gave us something useful against You-Know-Who instead," said Ron, clicking the Deluminator which put out the nearest gas lamp.

"I'll have to agree with Ron," said Sirius, staring at the ball of light hovering above the Deluminator in Ron's hand. "What does he want Harry to do with a Snitch and a sword?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't know what a Snitch does?"

"I do, Hermione," said Sirius. "Snitches have flesh memories. Thank Merlin, Harry wasn't there to take it directly from Scrimgeour. But one does wonder what could be so important that could fit into a Snitch? I know we shouldn't be deceived by appearances but I still can't think of anything that small that could help us in any way."

Hermione had no answer to that. Unbidden to her, she began questioning the wisdom of Dumbledore having left her a children's book now, one that she had read three times already as soon as she had laid her hands on it. It seemed like an ordinary wizarding fairy tale and Sirius was right. How was it going to help them?

Kenny, the squat house-elf, appeared at that moment announcing the start of the Order meeting. With no leads or information, they left together to the meeting room.

With fewer Order members than usual, their meeting began with the pressing matter of appointing a Head for the Order.

To Sirius' surprise, more than half of the members wanted him as their leader.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sirius stared at them, wondering what on earth gave them the idea.

When had he ever shown any sort of leadership quality?

"If it's any consolation, you were not our first option," said Tonks, a wry grin on her lips.

"Well, who was the first option and why can't they be the leader?" asked Sirius looking around in puzzlement.

"Kingsley is still working under the Minister," said Doge. "He cannot be involved full-time as you can, Sirius."

"I'm taking offense to that," muttered Sirius, albeit with some levity. In truth, he was growing tired of the implication from everyone pointing out that he had nothing else to do besides the Order.

It wasn't by his choice, you know, seeing as he was 'Undesirable No.1' for apparently murdering the former Minister. He would have been gratified if he really had done the murders he was getting accused of in his life.

"I apologize if you did," said Doge, bowing his head. "But the point still stands. Nobody here can give it their all like you, Sirius."

Just for that, Sirius decided he would forgive Doge his previous statement. But he wasn't ready to take the offer up just yet.

"Remus and Tonks are in my club now too," said Sirius, turning to the pair of them. They were both conveniently staying in Headquarters full-time.

Remus laughed. "When was I out of this club?"

"For a year, Professor," said Fred, beaming. "Don't forget that glorious year."

Remus laughed good-naturedly. "I would not be inclined to do that, Fred."

"So why can't one of you do it?" asked Sirius, bringing them back to the subject in hand.

"Are you thick, Sirius?" Remus's expression morphed into seriousness. "This isn't just a position you fill up for despite lacking any qualification and hope to do your best. You would be accountable for every single person in this room. We don't want just anybody taking responsibility of our lives. We want someone who will give us a fighting chance. And I know certainly that's not me."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, when Tonks cut in, uncharacteristically grave. "You, Remus, and Doge are the last members of the first Order. The rest of us have no clue what the Order was subject to by the Death Eaters back then. Doge can't get around like he used to. It's only you left."

It looked like she had already had some sort of conversation behind closed doors with Remus regarding the matter, if she wasn't backing him up.

Every face in the room stared at Sirius, while he weighed the situation in his head. He did think he was one of the few options left besides Kingsley. But he didn't like the idea one bit. Being responsible for the lives of fifteen people? Hell, Sirius couldn't even protect Harry when it came down to it.

How was he going to live with the decision of leading a group of people against a man who was as surely immortal as time itself?

"It is the best option available," pressed Kingsley. "You are the only one with the knowledge of Dumbledore's plans for the Order."

And Sirius had to rationally agree to that. Merlin's beard, he had a niggling feeling that the old man had actually set him up to inherit his duties somehow.

That's a stupid idea, he argued with himself. Dumbledore couldn't have known Moody would die or himself for that matter. He might have made plans but there was only so much one could do from beyond the grave. It really did fall to his hands now.

The war was going to be brutal – Sirius had already known and experienced that – but it was jarring to realize they were truly on their own. The people in this room were all that were willing to fight against Voldemort. Yes, maybe, there could be some others, but Sirius didn't know about them. And so he could not rely on them to save each other's backs.

Sirius looked up with his jaw set and nodded.

"All in favour," said Tonks, beaming.

Sirius was surprised when everybody raised their hand as one and he bit back the choke that threatened to engulf his voice when he said, "I won't let you down."

The Weasley boys cheered as did Harry's friends. It was always an incredible feeling – Sirius had loved that when he had been in the Order the last time and nearly forgotten the hope it gave him. Something about banding together always left you feeling exhilarated and fearless, ready to take on anything.

As uplifting as it was, he also dreaded what was to come.

Quickly, Sirius brought everyone back to the crux of the meeting – which was discussing their next plan of attack. Everyone agreed that it was not safe to spy or tail Death Eaters at the current time, not when all of them had escaped Azkaban after they had gone through so much trouble to put them there in the first place. They would be better off saving themselves and the people in need, but in a more clandestine manner.

"How?" asked Hestia. Sirius was unhappy to note she had shadows under her eyes like she hadn't slept properly in days. Her family had held a private funeral for Dedalus and Sirius hadn't seen her for two weeks after, until now. "How can someone communicate with us if they need our help?"

"We'll have to come up with something," said Edmund Abbott.

"Hermione developed a cool way to communicate with the DA," piped in Angelina.

"Yeah!" agreed Lee. "I think I still have my Galleon somewhere."

"That won't work," said Hermione, firmly shutting down the idea. "We need a method for people other than the Order to communicate with us and maybe even vice versa."

Catherine said, "You mean like a radio that Muggles use —"

"George, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" interrupted Fred loudly, looking like the cat that had spotted the flitterby.

"You didn't even have to ask," said George, grinning before turning to announce, "Leave this to us. We have the perfect plan."

"Not again," groaned Ron.

"It's going to be brilliant! You'll see."

Both the boys were fidgeting excitedly, looking like they wanted to run straight to their rooms and get to work.

Sirius smirked at the pair of them. "Alright, you'll have 'til the end of the month to find a solution."

That was just three weeks but with the way the twins were grinning, they seemed to have taken it on as a challenge.

"The next matter on hand is Hogwarts," said Sirius, grimacing. Snape had been reinstated as the Headmaster. It would have been terrible enough to imagine without the added detail that he was a Death Eater too.

Kingsley spoke up with worry in his deep voice. "Muggleborn children around the country will be planning to go back to Hogwarts, with or without the knowledge that they will be targeted."

"Not to mention the first-year kids," said Tonks with wide eyes.

"And the Prophet paints the Registration Commission in a positive light," grunted Doge, lighting his pipe with his wand. "Muggleborns won't even know what they're getting into."

Edmund frowned in worry. "The adults can take care of themselves, but the children?"

"We need to warn them and their families before it's too late," said Sirius. "Make sure they go into hiding before the Death Eaters come knocking."

"How are we to track down all the Muggleborn children first?" asked Edmund.

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at Sirius who looked around at each face in the room with a sombre expression, before his gaze landed on Proudfoot and Percy. "You know what this means, don't you?"

Percy stared agape while Proudfoot grimaced like he had swallowed a lemon, clearly understanding Sirius' words better than most of the people in the room.

"We're going to infiltrate the Ministry."

Friday, August 15

To say he was afraid was a huge understatement. Patrick Proudfoot was terrified.

He knew he was better off than Weasley and Abbott who were both being watched as they came from blood-traitor families, but he could not shake off the feeling that something was going to go extremely wrong by the end of the day.

The Order of the Phoenix had come up with an emergency plan in record speed – to infiltrate the Ministry and gain information on the Muggleborn children who would be attending Hogwarts this year. They had to move fast because they needed to make sure the families of the children understood just what was happening in the Wizarding world before they could board the Hogwarts Express on September the first.

Sure, it sounded all righteous and Patrick was glad in some corner of his heart that he was making a difference.

But at the cost of his own life? He didn't realize he had signed up for so much when he had made the choice to be part of something bigger.

Still, there was no time to be contemplating his life choices when he was sharing a lift with You-Know-Who's puppet, Pius Thicknesse.

Percy Weasley steadfastly refused to meet his eyes lest they give away what the both of them were about to do. Patrick was beginning to feel queasy with the sheer magnitude of it all.

Yet Catherine had received "The Form," as they were prone to calling it at the office, just yesterday and she was wanted for a trial on September the third.

His blood boiled to imagine what would happen to her and it gave him the fire he needed to summon his nerve.

"Level One, Office of the Minister of Magic and support staff," the cool voice announced as the doors to the lift jangled open.

Proudfoot and Weasley got off along with the Minister, trailing behind him wordlessly. They reached his office at the end of the corridor and Proudfoot waited outside, taking up his new post which he had been assigned to just the day before. The other Auror who was also part of the Minister's security did not trade a word with him beyond a nod in greeting. Proudfoot was grateful – he didn't think he could open his mouth without throwing up.

Ten minutes later, Weasley left the office, wiping his sweaty brow. Proudfoot felt as anxious as he did but his training helped him to at least try to act calm and collected even when he wasn't.

Shacklebolt had told them to wait till the lunch hour to break into Mafalda Hopkirk's office. It was the only opportunity to corner her without the presence of her secretary. They would Stun her and make a copy of the school records and resume their post again. They couldn't go straight back to Headquarters as soon as they had finished – it would look too suspicious.

Thus, Proudfoot would be resigned to a day that would leave him high-strung throughout.

When lunch hour rolled around, Proudfoot knew the time had come.

He went up to Level 2 and walked along purposefully to ward off suspicion. It was one thing that was required in his Stealth training. Act like you belonged.

He was making his way to Hopkirk's office when a voice called out to him.

"Proudfoot!"

Proudfoot spun around, startled. It was Albert Runcorn, Junior Undersecretary, carrying an arm full of scrolls and seemingly heading towards the office of Denner, the current Head of the DMLE.

"Where is Weasley?" he asked in a deep, gruff voice that managed to be intimidating without even raising his volume. "I need the documents from Hopkirk on my table, now!"

Without waiting for Proudfoot's reply, he hurried inside Denner's office.

Proudfoot rushed to the Office of Improper Use of Magic and knocked once before bursting into the room without an answer.

Weasley jumped in alarm, dropping the files he had been holding. Mafalda Hopkirk was slumped on her chair under a light doze.

"Runcorn was just asking for you," whispered Proudfoot despite the lack of eavesdroppers. "Is it over yet?"

"Almost," hissed Weasley. He was muttering under his breath and waving his wand over a stack of files, duplicating it in the process.

Proudfoot levitated the fallen files, which flew back onto the table neatly, making a total of seven piles. One for each year's list.

Weasley then pulled out a small bag that he had slung around his neck, while Proudfoot shrunk them to fit into it. They had just finished piling it all, when someone knocked on the door.

Both of them exchanged horrified glances and Weasley stuffed the bag underneath his robes. Instinctively, Proudfoot Disillusioned himself and moved to a shadowed corner of the wall. There was a knock again when Percy glanced at him with an expression of panic before following suit.

This was it. Proudfoot knew they would be buggered when the intruder saw Mafalda slumped on the chair.

But at that moment, Mafalda came to and blinked bemusedly. At the more insistent knock, she stuttered, "C-Come in."

Proudfoot stifled his gasp when he saw Runcorn barging in, pale but also livid.

"Where are the documents?" he hissed. "The meeting has begun already and the Minister's waiting for it in Denner's office!"

"I meant to give it to you sooner but Weasley was summoned urgently," said Mafalda flatly.

"Blasted Weasleys! I'll have a word with him! Give them to me."

Mafalda stared at him blankly before clearing her throat. "Er—of course."

She stood up and walked over to a cabinet just a few feet from him and rummaged through it. Proudfoot stood stock still. He daren't even turn his neck, lest the resulting ripple in illusion caused Runcorn to spot him. From his position, he could clearly see Mafalda's eyes – unseeing and empty.

"Hurry up!" snapped Runcorn.

Mafalda did not even twitch as she continued to look through the cabinet without actually looking.

"What is it that Thicknesse needed?" she asked vaguely.

Runcorn raised his voice now in frustration. Proudfoot was fascinated by the relatively stoic man losing his cool – for fear of the Minister or because of respect, he wasn't certain. "The amendment draft for the Muggleborn Registration Commission! Have you been Imperiused or something, you daft woman?"

The stirrings of emotion crossed Mafalda's face as she pulled out a stack of parchment and gave it to him with a glare. "Watch who you're taking to Runcorn," she said coldly. "I might be a half-blood unlike you, but I have served the Ministry longer than you have. I certainly won't mind pulling a few strings with the Wizengamot and have you out of your new position. It would be a shame if you were fired just a week after your promotion."

For the first time, Runcorn appeared to be startled and a crease of worry marred his forehead. He muttered something unintelligibly and left without another word.

Just when Proudfoot thought he actually liked Hopkirk, she abruptly slumped into her chair again.

Understanding dawned on Proudfoot who stared as Weasley lifted the Disillusionment charm off of himself and Proudfoot did the same.

"Did you just Imper—" began Proudfoot, almost in awe, when he was cut off by Weasley.

"I didn't mean to! I panicked!"

Proudfoot could understand where he came from; he would have done the same too.

Now Proudfoot came from a pureblood family and he had second cousins who were directly working under You-Know-Who. Unforgivable curses weren't new to him, but it was still not something he would condone in any situation.

But if Weasley had not used the spell just this once, Runcorn would have raised the alarm as soon as he had spotted Mafalda unconscious.

If they had revived her and let her be, she herself would have raised the alarm. Proudfoot knew both options were not favourable for them. It was still a miracle that Runcorn had not spotted the two of them standing in plain sight, albeit Disillusioned. And besides, when the enemy wasn't afraid to use it on them without mercy, he could only think that they were justified in using it this time. They hadn't harmed anyone, had they?

"That was bloody brilliant though," said Proudfoot, not concealing his appreciation at the flawless effort.

Percy's ears turned red and he smiled sheepishly.

"Our job is done," said Proudfoot. "Let's just get out of here."

"Patrick," blurted Weasley and Proudfoot was startled by the sudden familiarity that he paused to turn around.

"Don't tell the others," he said. "I never meant any harm—"

"Relax, Percy," said Proudfoot, grinning easily. "You were lucky you thought of it quickly. We would have been caught red-handed otherwise."

Percy seemed relieved by his reassurance and smiled gratefully.

"You do realize we're buggered, don't you?" said Hestia casually over her cup of tea.

In a moment of overwhelming uncertainty, Sirius pressed his lips and nodded, conceding her point.

"Good," said Hestia, with a returning nod. "Just wanted to make sure you understood how this plan might never work."

"There's no harm in trying," said Sirius, shrugging a shoulder before amending his statement on seeing Hestia's raised eyebrows. "Nope, my mistake. There's all the harm in trying."

Hestia snorted and Sirius cracked a smile.

The meeting had ended half an hour ago and everyone had left to their rooms and homes respectively, leaving only Hestia and Sirius, who sat at one corner of the long table adjacent to each other under the dim candlelight. Neither of them had made any move of wanting to leave and had wordlessly taken it as consent to keep chatting with the other.

"It will be a miracle if we pulled this off," said Hestia.

"There are sixteen of us and we need to warn three hundred students within a fortnight," said Sirius raising his eyebrows as if thinking Hestia was mental for suggesting it.

"Hey, it's your idea!"

"And I'm thoroughly second-guessing that now," sighed Sirius. "I hadn't imagined there would be so many! There was only a little more than a hundred Muggleborns when I was in school."

There was a soft clink as Hestia set down her cup. "Then why would you give everyone the go-ahead just minutes ago if you weren't sure yourself?"

"I couldn't drop this plan just because of the sheer number of students." Sirius ran his hand through his hair in exhaustion. "If we save even half as many of these kids, that's still a victory in my books."

Hestia smiled with something akin to sympathy. "Then what's the worry?"

Sirius sighed. "That I won't save the rest of them and that will be solely my fault."

Hestia shook her head, still smiling. "It won't be your fault, Sirius. There is only so much a handful of people can do in a war this big."

They lapsed into silence when Sirius spoke in a hoarse whisper, "Sometimes, I think I was too hard on Dumbledore."

He had been upset at Dumbledore for many shortcomings on his part: not doing enough to protect Lily and James, not caring enough about Harry's well-being at the Dursleys nor at Hogwarts, not investigating enough to find out if Sirius had been guilty at all before carting him off to Azkaban. But could he really blame him now? There was only so much he could have done. Being the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Chief Warlock of the ICW would have turned anyone grey, but with the added responsibility of fighting against Voldemort and running a secret organisation?

He was astounded the man hadn't gone up sooner.

And Sirius had been blaming Dumbledore for the past weeks for the less than obvious directions he was giving them from beyond the grave. They had no idea as to where the rest of the Horcruxes were or how to destroy them. But maybe, Dumbledore had been just as clueless as he was now.

It was time for Sirius to decide for himself and the others, what had to be done next and face the full responsibility of it. He had to decide what the Order did next, how to proceed with finding and destroying the rest of the Horcruxes and also how he should go about protecting Harry from Voldemort till the end.

Sirius nodded unaware that he was doing so. "I shouldn't have always expected Dumbledore to solve my issues for me. It's my own to look after."

And so was Harry.

Chapter Text

Thursday, August 21

"Look, it sounds brilliant," Sirius agreed quietly. "But I can't allow anything like this unless I am guaranteed that it won't lead to us being caught."

"We knew you'd say that," said Fred, hands inside his pockets as he walked along with Sirius. "George, Lee and I have been working on it. We'll be using a pirated signal, so it should be detectable only if we use it more than two times in a single location. As long as we keep shifting our broadcast locations, it should be a piece of cake."

Sirius frowned, not at all appeased. "We'll need security during the broadcast then. That means we'll need ten, or at least seven members assigned just for this. Do you realize that's half of all we're left now? It'll be too much of a risk, Fred."

"Blimey, it's not going to be every day, Sirius," said Fred. "Perhaps, once or twice a month?"

"That's still risking everyone's lives unnecessarily."

"Look at how useful it will be," Fred pointed out. "It will give everyone a cause to rally around. Everyone wants to root for a saviour."

"And get their hopes up that Harry is going to kill Vol—You-Know-Who?" ground out Sirius.

"That's already what everyone reckons is going to happen," said Fred, shrugging his shoulder. "We needn't confirm nor deny. Besides, it'll be a splendid way of announcing to everyone out there, that there is a resistance and they're invited to join in too."

Sirius remained quiet, mulling over Fred's words. He reckoned it'd be useful. People were getting news from the like of The Daily Prophet, which blatantly vilified the Order. Sure, there were some sources like The Quibbler who shed some positive light on them, but all they could give people was guesswork. And Sirius did agree with Fred's words, albeit reluctantly: Everyone wanted to root for a saviour. That they considered it to be Harry was out of his hands, no matter how much he hated the idea.

He gave a long-suffering sigh. "This might be one of the stupidest and coolest things I ever agreed to do in a long time."

Fred scoffed. "Come off it! Nothing could be cooler than becoming an Animagus! Or breaking out of Azkaban. Or turning up at the Ministry when you're a wanted…"

"Is there a point you're trying to make?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow.

Fred snorted and they both stopped their walk to look around them, making sure the street was deserted. They crossed the road and marched up the driveway of a house, which belonged to one of the muggleborn children from Hogwarts' roster. Fred rang the doorbell and they waited.

"What's the boy's name again?" asked Sirius. He could be forgiven the lapse of memory. He couldn't possibly remember all of the children's names they had been assigned.

The door was opened by a fairly young woman with dark hair, looking politely puzzled.

"Andrew Coven?" asked Fred.

"That's my son," she said, her eyes narrowing. "And you are?"

"Mrs. Coven, my name is Sirius Black," said Sirius, smiling casually to ease the woman's apprehension. "I'm here to talk about your son and his admittance to Hogwarts."

The woman's eyes widened and she spoke in a hushed voice. "Oh! You're from that school?"

"More or less," said Sirius. "May we please have this conversation inside? We won't take more than ten minutes of your time."

The woman nodded and let them in to a small but comfortable living room. Sirius always did like the muggles' taste in decorating their homes. It was simple and functional. He was looking around appreciatively when Fred called out, "Hey Andrew! Nice to meet you."

Sirius turned to look at a small boy standing by the staircase when the smile he had plastered on his face in welcome, froze at the sight of him.

Harry?

The boy in front of him had black hair and bright green eyes. Sirius hadn't realized he was staring at the boy when Mrs. Coven cleared her throat, looking suspiciously at him.

Sirius blinked. Of course, the boy looked nothing like Harry. He didn't wear glasses and his black hair was neatly combed in a way that Harry's could never have achieved.

But for a moment he had been blinded by longing.

He shook his head and smiled in apology. "Sorry, you just reminded me of my godson."

"Why? Is he dead?"

It was an innocent question from an eleven-year old boy's mouth, but Sirius' stomach had dropped to the floor at those words.

"Andrew!" chided his mum before turning to Sirius apologetically. "I'm sorry, he didn't mean…"

Fred intervened cheerfully, "Dead? He's Harry Potter! The Boy-Who-Lived and bloody brilliant seeker who can outfly even seasoned Quidditch players. You'll meet him one day if you're lucky!"

The boy cocked his head to the side. "What's Quidditch?"

Fred put a hand to his heart. "You don't know what Quidditch is? Why, it's only the most amazing sport you will ever witness in Wizarding Britain! We fly on brooms to throw the Quaffle—"

The boy's eyes shone in curiosity. "You can fly on brooms?"

"Of course! All wizards and witches can—"

"Whoa, so cool!" The boy exclaimed before turning to his mother. "I want to go to Hogwarts now, mum!"

"Remember what Professor Flitwick said, Andy," said Mrs. Coven to her son, adoringly. "You catch the Hogwarts Express on—"

"September, the first!" finished Andrew, jumping excitedly. "I can't wait to fly on brooms!"

"Andy's a little too excited," said Mrs. Coven beaming, holding her son's shoulder.

Sirius was loathed to break the boy's bubble. But he'd rather see his dreams destroyed than his life.

"That's what we wanted to discuss with you, Mrs. Coven," began Sirius. "Your son should not go to Hogwarts this year."

The boy stared open-mouthed at Sirius. "What? Why not?"

"Because Hogwarts is not safe," explained Sirius. "Especially to children like you. Born to two muggle parents, I mean."

Mrs. Coven was shocked and even angry. "Are you saying they will discriminate against my boy?"

"Discriminate, torture or even kill," said Sirius, grimacing.

Mrs. Coven looked faint as she clutched her son. "What? Professor Flitwick never said that!"

"It wasn't always like this, you know," said Fred, solemnly. "Muggleborns have been welcome in our society for centuries. My best friends are muggleborn and we had a great time in Hogwarts. But things have changed, just a month ago in fact."

"There is a wizard who thinks muggleborns are beneath him," said Sirius. "Him and his followers, they want to enslave people like you. We've been fighting against him for nearly half a century. He was defeated the last time around and we have had relative peace. But now he's grown strong again. There's a war going on at this time and it is best if you and your son went into hiding, before they hunted you down."

Mrs. Coven looked like she couldn't believe anything they were saying. "Are you saying this man – this wizard – will kill my son?"

"And you," finished Sirius. "Every muggleborn and their family is fair game to them. You need to move away from here as quick as possible."

"Please tell me you're joking," she said with a half-laugh. "I'm already not able to process the fact that my son has magical powers. It's taken me and my husband a month to come to terms with it."

"Unfortunately, you don't have that much time," said Fred. "We're trying to warn all the muggleborn children to make sure they keep away from Hogwarts this year. The Death Eaters will definitely notice your son's absence and will come searching for him."

"Death Eaters…?"

"That's what his followers call themselves."

There was absolute silence as Mrs. Coven seemed speechless. Sirius could not imagine what the woman must be feeling.

"How can I believe you?" she asked, frowning. "Are you some official representative from the school?"

"The Hogwarts' Board of Governors has already been taken over by him," said Sirius. "They're not going to come to you with a warning. They'll be waiting for your son to go to Hogwarts where he'll be trapped and out of your reach."

The woman's eyes widened at the thought and she hugged her son tighter.

"I realize it's a lot to process," said Sirius. "But know that we have lost people from our side – friends and family – in the war too. This is not a warning you should take lightly. For your son's safety and your own, please, move away. Go into hiding."

"Will I never go to Hogwarts?" asked the small voice from Mrs. Coven's arms.

Sirius smiled sympathetically. "Not for now, Andrew. But when all this is over, you'll go to Hogwarts. And it'll be the best seven years of your life. Trust me."

Andrew nodded reluctantly.

"That went well," said Fred.

"Counting the fact that we haven't been called 'lunatics' or 'dunderheads', I'd say it went extremely well," said Sirius, joining Fred as they walked out of the driveway, eyes on the lookout.

"Four down, twenty six more to go," said Fred merrily.

Sirius groaned.

The door clicked shut and Sirius shrugged off his jacket and threw it over the sofa. An ache was building up in his head and he massaged his forehead, slumping into his armchair.

It had been a tiring day and all he wanted to do was sleep, but Kreacher popped in and made a bow, Regulus' locket dangling from his neck proudly. "Dinner is ready, Master."

It still boggled him to see Kreacher showing him even a modicum of respect, but it might also have had to do with the fact that Sirius did not care to treat Kreacher spitefully either. He had too much on his mind and no energy to fight, so he simply nodded. "I'll be up in a moment."

When Kreacher left, Sirius was still watching his vacated spot, the locket on his neck reminding him of Harry, who he knew was responsible for Kreacher's changed behaviour.

Sirius sighed and closed his eyes. It was nearing a month and a half since Harry had left. And Harry had not made any effort to contact him so far.

Where was he? Was he doing alright?

Sirius had thought of sending Kreacher to find him, but Remus had advised him against it. If Bellatrix and Narcissa could have fooled them once with Kreacher, there was no saying if they can trust Kreacher readily again. If Kreacher found Harry and it somehow led to the Death Eaters finding him…

No, no, Sirius could never let that happen. But he was completely out of options to find his godson without creating a scene and alerting the Death Eaters that Harry was not safe under the Fidelius.

He trusted Twitchet to not let him go to starve, but there was only so much a house-elf could do.

For the hundredth time, Sirius wondered what would make him do this. Had Sirius not been supportive enough? Maybe, he should have given the Horcruxes more importance instead of brooding over Regulus. He was his little brother, but he was long gone. Nothing Sirius did was going to change that.

But Harry… Harry was everything he had left. He should have been more attentive to what he was going through. He was already reeling from Dumbledore's death and he knew Harry had depended a lot on his Headmaster. Maybe he ought to have put the Order on hold and focused on Harry first?

The part of him that did not want to back down was insistent that he had put Harry first. He had told him, multiple times in fact, that they were going to do this together. He honestly did not know what he had done wrong to deserve this.

He was startled when a soft swoosh preceded a weight on his shoulder. A soft, feathered head nuzzled his cheek.

"Hullo Hedwig," mumbled Sirius, stroking the bird's pristine white plumes. "Do you miss him too?"

She hooted sadly. Sirius had made sure Hedwig did not fly off in search of Harry. She had been angry with him for days, but then relented forlornly. She must have understood that something was wrong.

With no way of finding Harry that did not also put him in danger, Sirius knew finding the Horcruxes as soon as possible was the only way he could have his godson back.

Maybe, he had to go off of Hermione's suggestion and find some information on the relics that belonged to the founders of Hogwarts.

He sighed and stood up, foregoing his dinner as he made his way to the Potters' library.

Time flew past in a jumble of days that held no meaning to Harry. He had spent a significant portion of it going over Regulus' box which contained his books and parchment in the hope of finding anything he could about the Horcruxes.

There were hand-written notes and Harry could glean from the little information he had, that Regulus was remarkably intelligent. He had studied the subtle clues that Voldemort had dropped in when he spoke to his loyal followers and somehow gathered that Voldemort had done something to his soul.

He must have been proven right when Voldemort asked to borrow Kreacher. The house-elf would have told Regulus everything had witnessed. What Regulus did not seem to know was that Voldemort had created more than one Horcrux as Dumbledore had deduced.

Harry had perused half of Magicke Moste Evil, and only when he had stumbled over the single sentence mentioning the Horcruxes, had he belatedly remembered that Hermione had already consulted the book in the Hogwarts Library last year. Arcane Magic and its Effects had nothing on Horcruxes as did Magic at its Deepest, but at least the latter proved to be a very interesting read.

Harry had been unintentionally drawn in to it, when he began to learn about the esoteric power of magic that governed a lot of untold laws much like the laws of nature. Everything from love and sacrifice, mercy and vows, murder and remorse held deep power in the magical world. He now understood why Dumbledore was always going on that Harry's 'power that Voldemort knows not' could only mean love.

How it was going to help him against Voldemort, he did not know. But he was beginning to have faith in Dumbledore's words.

After hours and hours of incessant reading, which in itself was so unlike him, Harry was losing track of the days. He only remembered to eat because Twitchet set down his food.

Harry put down Magic at its Deepest and yawned.

He had gained nothing about Horcuxes from any of the books, besides Regulus' notes that it was a fragment of a soul that made one immortal unless destroyed.

Well, Harry had tried destroying the locket in Potter Manor, but nothing he or Sirius did had worked against it. He was already toying with a thought, that if he had destroyed Riddle's Diary with a basilisk fang, it could work this time around too.

He knew it meant he had to make a trip to Hogwarts but he found himself reluctant to do so. He contented himself with the fact that it was likely heavily protected by a Ministry that had been taken over by Voldemort and would result in him being caught. There was a whispering voice inside him that told him he could use Twitchet, but his mind ignored the possibility before it could manifest fully. Maybe, he should find the rest of the Horcruxes first.

They had already taken out the diary and the ring. Harry had the locket and there was still the Hufflepuff's cup and something of Ravenclaw's, besides Nagini. So he had to find two more.

Where would Voldemort have hidden Hufflepuff's cup? What was once Ravenclaw's that Voldemort might have used as a Horcrux?

He sighed; already he was beginning to hate the thought of having to read more books, but he latched onto the idea if only to have something to do and also put the subject of acquiring a basilisk's fang to rest for a while.

His first thought was the library in Potter Manor but he didn't dare go back again, lest Sirius found him. Only a public library had to do.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, detesting the idea of sleep. It held no comfort for him these days and he wished he could get his hands on a Dreamless Sleep Potion, just for a few hours of uninterrupted rest.

He decided that the idea was too tempting and asked Twitchet to get him some. Though she looked at him sadly, she complied with his request.

When she had vanished, Harry took to cleaning the mess that was Regulus' things and he put everything back into the box. He placed the box inside his backpack, distracted by the amusing thought that it was a bottomless box inside a bottomless backpack.

Before he could properly wrap his head around that notion, Twitchet appeared with a fresh batch of Dreamless Sleep Potion, presumably purchased from the same apothecary that Sirius frequented.

"Please, no more than half a goblet, Master," she implored him.

Harry smiled wearily. "Of course, Twitchet. You have a good night."

Once she had bowed and disappeared, Harry poured himself some of the purple potion and drank it all at once. Before he knew it, his vision went hazy and he drifted to sleep.

It seemed like he had only closed his eyes when the next minute he was opening them again. That was one facet of the Dreamless Sleep potion that he hated. Though he felt thoroughly rested, his sense of time was completely off.

Well, breakfast was on the table and sunlight was streaming in through the stone windows, so he knew it was morning and that he had slept through the night without a single vision or a whisper to disturb him.

He did not want to lounge around in the shack today, not with the surge of energy he felt after a good night's sleep. Deciding to put it to good use, he finished his breakfast and set out to Diagon Alley on his own.

He made sure to cover himself fully with his Invisibility Cloak despite drinking some of Sirius' extra potent Polyjuice Potion. Sirius had told him in passing it lasted a good nine hours and it should work perfectly if Harry was going to be in a library for a couple of hours.

It had taken some time, but Harry had almost mastered the art of Apparating perfectly with the cloak on.

Diagon Alley looked worse than the last time he had been here to grab a newspaper. There were large posters of Pius Thicknesse proclaiming to be the new Minister. But gone were the blown up versions of posters announcing security measures against Inferi. What was up there made Harry feel revolted instead.

MUGGLEBORNS AND THE DANGERS THEY POSE TO WIZARDING SOCIETY

And underneath that, photos of Sirius, and Tonks were staring back at him with the words Undesirable No. 1 and 2 respectively emblazoned across their faces.

Feeling sick of it all, Harry decided to ignore them and moved past Flourish and Blotts, turning towards Knockturn Alley. Borgin and Burke's was deserted and Harry felt a pang of pity for Borgin. Had Snape really finished him for good just as remorselessly as he had killed Dumbledore?

He pushed the thought aside too and walked along the quiet alleyway. Harry knew there was an ancient library around here only because he had wandered the streets of Diagon Alley for an entire month during the summer before his third year and had heard and seen places that he would never have noticed otherwise. The alley that ran off of Knockturn Alley was deserted. Harry made his way past The Starry Prophesier and headed towards a building simply called The Archive.

He would have gone past it if he hadn't heard from Fortescue about the library that was in Knockturn Alley since time immemorial.

'Derelict' took another meaning. The building was older than any of the surrounding ones. It didn't have a lick of paint on its walls, which were made of massive stones instead of brick. There were a couple of small windows and the single door that led inside was made of a wood so heavy, that it could only be opened after Harry whispered 'Aberto.'

The interiors made him feel vaguely like he was in Number Twelve again and thus somewhat familiar. He removed his cloak and stuffed it into his backpack. He was glad the Muggle boy he was impersonating had startlingly clear vision without any glasses on.

There were gas lamps shaped like serpents which lit up as he passed and the long shadowy corridor with its barrel arches was unwelcoming. There was a light at the end of the corridor and Harry came face-to-face with the ugliest warlock he had laid eyes on. His face was ancient, flecked with liver spots and there were only a few wisps of white hair sticking to his bald pate. His grey robes were moth-eaten and smelled musty; it took a lot of effort to keep from scrunching his nose at the odour.

The warlock was perusing a tome which was as thick as his school trunk. Harry cleared his throat in nervousness and the wizard looked up curiously.