An In-Between Summer

CHAPTER 1 – Nightmares and Arguments

A/N: I own nothing. It is all JKR's creation and I am merely dabbling and presuming it all could have happened otherwise.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. And special thanks to Aurabolt, my most excellent beta.

...Where are we? ...
,,,Wands out, d'you reckon?...
...Someone's coming...
...Without warning, Harry's scar suddenly exploded with pain....
...Kill the spare....
...Avada Kedavra! ...
...Harry felt someone grab his arm.He looked numbly at the name on the tombstone.
TOM RIDDLE...
...It is ready, Master...
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given,....Flesh - of the servant - w-willingly given - you will - revive your master...B-blood of the enemy, forcibly taken..."
...A blinding bright light...
..And then he saw him...

...You have been taught to duel, Harry Potter? ....
..Avada Kedavra! .. Expelliarmus!...
...Hold on, Harry... Hold on for your father...
...Take my body back to my parents, Harry...
...flashes of different colored curses...He felt his body being tackled to the ground...
...Accio Cup!...

Harry woke with a start. His right hand felt empty, My wand! Then he saw he wasn't in the graveyard anymore. He tried to get his bearings, the moonlit window seemed familiar. He was in the infirmary. He was safe, it was over.He looked down at his side, at the familiar bushy brown hair at his bedside resting on a pair of small, delicate arms. Hermione. He lifted one of his arms, wincing at the effort it took and the pain that shot through his body.He pushed back some tendrils that had fallen on Hermione's face.

Her eyelids fluttered. Slowly the lids opened, her face breaking into a relieved smile when she saw Harry looking at her. "Harry! You're finally awake!" She sat up, touched his forehead. "How are you feeling?" Her voice was throaty with concern and worry.

"Like I was dragged through London by the Knight Bus a hundred times," he managed to croak.

Hermione gave him a small smile. She got up and grabbed a cup off his bedside table.
"Frigus vegrandis," she muttered with a flick of her wand. "Open your mouth a little."

He complied and she gently spooned small ice chips in his mouth. “Thanks, Hermione,” he said with a sigh of relief.

Hermione sat down on Harry's bed, looked over him worriedly. She knew he woke up from a nightmare, she could see beads of sweat near his temple and his face had a tense, strained look.She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked up at her, her heart wrenched at the haunted look in his eyes. Releasing his hand, she reached for the damp face towel she had just used to wipe another nightmare he had earlier in the night.

"How long was I out?" His voice was hollow.

"Four days," she answered softly.

"What happened after?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Harry averted his face. He said emotionlessly, "I was running from Voldemort.His Death Eaters were firing hexes and curses at me from all directions.I ran to Cedric's...body, and then I felt someone tackle me. I summoned the cup and I was back here. I was holding on to Cedric, someone took his body. And then I passed out."

"He told me to bring his body back." His voice was almost a whisper; his eyes were looking down at his wringing hands.

Hermione took a deep breath. Giving Harry's hand another gentle squeeze, he looked back at her.She moved closer and started to tell her best friend what he missed.

"We were all very concerned when you and Cedric disappeared with the cup. Dumbledore, especially, seemed to be as frantic as...well as Dumbledore can seem to be frantic.When you came back.." her breath hitched, "holding Cedric's body, all hell broke loose.Dumbledore, Fudge, McGonagall, and Moody ran to where you were.Fudge looked at Cedric and said he was dead. The crowd went into a panic. Dumbledore tried to calm them down but Cedric's parents ran down the field. McGonagall was checking you for injuries. Dumbledore told them to stay put while he tried to calm down the crowd but Moody picked you up while the Headmaster was busy."

"Harry, it was Moody who put your name into the cup." Harry's eyes jerked to hers unbelievingly. "Well, he...he wasn't the real Moody.He was Barty Crouch, Jr. He's a.."

"Death Eater. I saw him convicted in Dumbledore's pensieve. I thought he died."

"His father broke him out of Azkaban as per his mother's last request before she died. Crouch was keeping his son under an Imperius Curse while keeping him hidden under an invisibility cloak with his house elf taking care of him.Dumbledore and the others caught him as he was about to escape with you. They made him take Veritaserum.He had the real Moody locked up in his magical trunk while he polyjuiced himself as the auror the whole year. It was their plan to get you in the tournament so V-Voldemort can get you to bring him back"

Harry's head snapped almost painfully to look at Hermione.How did they know he was back? Have there been attacks? Was he followed back to Hogwarts? He grabbed Hermione's hands tight. "Hermione..."

Hermione paused. She looked deeply into his dulled eyes and took a really deep breath.

"Harry, when you came back, you said someone tackled you before you portkeyed...Harry, Pettigrew was brought with you." Harry's eyes widened. "We were all in shock when you suddenly appeared in the field.But I recognized him at once, I was lucky to hit him with the Impedimenta jinx before he could change back to a rat so Professor Dumbledore was able to stun him."

Harry's shoulders slumped. His head bowed down and he seemed to be shaking as suddenly, everything he went through flashed before his eyes.Hermione climbed fully next to him and put her arms around him.His shoulders only shook more."Shhh...Harry, it's over. You're safe here."His arms went around her waist and he buried his face in her neck as the first tears flowed from his eyes.Hermione gently stroked his hair."They caught him Harry. He's in Azkaban now; they're going to perform the kiss on him in two days. They made him take Veritaserum, he told them what happened in the graveyard and about Sirius."

Hermione's own tears were flowing freely as she felt Harry succumbing to the pain she saw in his emerald eyes since he awoke.She tried with all her heart to convey to him that he was not alone, that people loved him, and that sometimes the good happens with the bad. That's how life is.

"I'll always be here, Harry. Just let it all out." She whispered against his hair.

*************

Sirius looked down at the sleeping teenagers. Hermione had her arms around Harry as his head rested on her chest, much like a personal guardian angel. Her head was resting against his godson's head.He took Hermione's seat beside the bed.

It has been an agonizing four days of waiting for Harry to wake up.Ever since he appeared from god knows where with Diggory's lifeless body and the traitorous rat in tow, everything had turned upside down.Suddenly, he had his freedom back, his name was about to be cleared. The traitor who put him in jail and who had been the cause of death of the two people he had loved most was now where he belongs and is now awaiting the kiss of death. But he had felt that everything was pointless if his godson did not wake up.

Poppy said he was in a really bad state when they brought him in.He felt his helplessness as she told them that he was exposed quite cruelly to the Cruciatus Curse.That along with the acromantula bite and the stress and shock that he had gone through with Voldemort's return only spelled a long and arduous fight for his life and health.

Dumbledore had granted his presence as Snuffles beside Harry's bed.He knew that the others took this fact with a suspicious grain of salt but he didn't care. His godson needed him.He really did look so much like James, Sirius thought as he gazed down at Harry. But he's got Lily's gentle soul along with those eyes of hers.

He had tried to stay out of everybody's way the whole four days, especially the Weasleys.Sirius gave in to a small smile as he remembered how each of the Weasleys had stayed watch over Harry as much as they could. Molly and Ginny, especially, seemed distraught.His heart was comforted a little as he realized that they have adopted the young man as their own and that Harry at least had experienced a semblance of family with them.

He wondered at the amazing young man who could inspire such loyalty and love with everyone he came in contact with.Even Dumbledore and McGonagall had stayed over some shifts to check on how Harry was doing. Remus had to be forced to leave the other day so he could get some sleep.

What overwhelmed and at the same time moved him were the two best friends who had rarely left Harry's bedside. Ron and Hermione had spent almost all their free time looking over their unconscious friend. Okay, granted Hermione stayed more often but they had taken upon themselves to alternate guarding him at night even though the adults have assured them that they had the night watches covered.He actually just asked Hermione about it the other night and she worriedly replied that they both knew how bad Harry's nightmares can get. How he usually got sick when Voldemort had one of his jaunts inside the young man's head.They worried that since he came back, he might try to assault Harry in his extremely vulnerable state through his mind.

That worried him.He had never heard of how curse scars can cause a person such ghastly nightmares.He vowed to look for the answer to the best of his abilities.He was thankful, however, when Harry had the nightmare on Hermione's watch.He saw her massage Harry's temples gently and wipe his sweaty forehead with a damp towel while she cooed words of comfort. She lightly massaged his shoulders as she waited for him to ride the nightmare out.Harry quieted at her ministrations and he saw her drift to sleep and exhaustion holding Harry's hand.

But he must have had another one.He came in the infirmary as they were talking. Hearing Harry's voice, he nearly sank down on his knees in relief. His next impulse was to run and make sure Harry was indeed alright.Now, Sirius was an impulsive man.He was also a very independent, strong-willed and powerful wizard with the Black reputation and wealth around him as he was growing up.Thus, he never really learned the concept of thinking before acting since he always managed to save the situation and avoid the consequences.But something in Harry's voice stopped him. It was hollow and riddled with a deep, seated pain from horrors that no fourteen year old boy should ever have imagined, let alone experience as he did.He halted his steps and listened to the two young people talk. He settled into the shadows and let them have their conversation uninterrupted but was alert to anything that might indicate that they needed an adult's presence.And that's when he understood how beautiful the friendship was that the two shared.His eyes teared as he remembered another friendship, another unbreakable bond between three boys and an extraordinary girl.And even if his heart was breaking with Harry's loss of control, he was enormously grateful that his godson had what he had in the presence of his friends.

When they quieted down, he waited for the tell-tale sounds of even breaths before he emerged from the shadows.And his heart broke even further when he saw the two friends in each other's arms.

He had a lot to thank these two extraordinary teenagers for.He tugged at the covers that were starting to tangle between the two bodies and tucked them in without disturbing their exhausted sleep. He could feel his heart almost burst with love for these two people whom he owed his second life.They listened and gave him a chance to prove he was innocent when everyone would have killed him on the spot. They tried to defend him against people who wouldn't. They saved his life when all others have left him to fate. And now, they've given him his freedom back.

Sirius planted a soft kiss on each teen's forehead. He vowed he would do anything to protect them. Thus, with determination in his heart, he strode from the infirmary and went straight to the headmaster's office.

*************

"He is staying with me! I am his godfather!" Sirius roared in the Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore said nothing as he sat behind his desk and looked at the fury in the visage of Sirius Black. He looked older and more tired than he had in years but his voice was steady and calm as he told the young man, "You must understand that the blood wards I invoked at the Dursleys have kept and are still keeping Harry alive and safe."

Sirius ran a frustrated hand in his hair as he stood up and resolutely faced the great wizard. It took every ounce of his control not to shake the headmaster. He took a deep breath to try and calm the anger he was feeling. "I understand that but with the way things are going, Dumbledore, it's not helping him. I know you did what you thought best for Harry when I was captured and that you've done everything in your power to keep him physically safe. But have you even spared a thought to his mental and emotional well-being?"

Dumbledore looked as if he was struck.His eyes gave in to a deep regret he has been forced to live with ever since he deposited the fated infant at his relatives' doorstep. "I did everything I could, Sirius."

"I know," Sirius answered tiredly as he sat down again in front of the headmaster. "But since I am in the process of being exonerated, we can take a different path. Have you even told Harry why you forced him on those abominable people?" Dumbledore's silence gave him his answer. "He needs to know, Albus. After tonight, he would have to be told or else we are going to lose the wonderful person he has managed to be despite his upbringing." He looked the headmaster in the eye.

"What do you propose?" Dumbledore quietly asked.

"Let me take him in.I'll try to find ways to cure the neglect his childhood has given him. I'll train him to be as prepared as he could be for anything. I'm sure I can find people willing to help. And maybe, when we give him the answers he needs, we'll have our answer to his destiny."

Dumbledore's lips curved into a rueful smile. "I must say, Sirius, I never expected you to be this grown-up and wise."

Sirius gave a sorrowful smile at his former headmaster. "We all made mistakes which have cost us everything we fought for. But we are being given a second chance.Those extraordinary young people have gone through a lot for us to have this chance. I cannot, in good conscience, waste what they have sacrificed so much for. Harry needs to understand if we want to spare him any more emotional damage.I'm scared stiff of being the one to try and guide him and be what he needs now but I love him and would willingly sacrifice even my life so that he would have everything he should have had in the first place. He needs to be ready and he needs to come into his own and stop walking blindly into these terrors. He may have been extremely lucky in the past but I do not and will not wait for the time when his luck runs out."

The headmaster released a heartfelt sigh. "Very well. I do hope he'll forgive me when he learns everything. I did what I could, but I hope he'll learn to forgive an old man's mistakes. I did not expect to care for him this greatly. But you know Harry. And despite everything that he has gone through, you are right when you say that it is almost a miracle that he has remained the wonderful young man that he is. I hope you would still consent to include me regarding matters concerning him?"

Sirius' face broke into the first genuine smile he's had since the tri-wizard ordeal. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

*********************

Harry was slowly woke up being aware of warmth and softness around him. He felt a lightness seeping into his consciousness that can only come from a much needed release. He snuggled deeper into the warmth, burying his face in. His brow furrowed a little as he thought he heard a soft gasp from somewhere near him. Memories of last night seeped into his half-asleep mind and remembered how Hermione had comforted him.He can't remember a time when he was held like that. He felt safe. Then suddenly he recalled why there was warm and soft presence beside him.

"Umm Harry..." Hermione's questioning voice reached his ears.His mind was abruptly thrust into full consciousness, now extremely aware that he was snuggling in Hermione's very warm breast. Uh, I meant chest, he berated himself silently. He slowly pushed himself off his best friend, still a bit reluctant to release her reassuring presence but embarrassment was winning inside him.

"Er...um, I..uh..I'm sorry for uh..Good Morning, Hermione," he sat up and she settled next to him. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, a bit ashamed for causing the embarrassed flush of her cheeks.

Hermione was terribly aware of the position they had woken up in but her concern for her friend superceded any embarrassment and natural instinct she might have had. "How are you?" she asked, feeling his forehead.

"Much better, thanks to you." He gave her a small smile to convey his thanks. "How bad do you think it will be when I have to face them again?"

"I hope not too bad," she winced slightly, imagining the crowds at the great hall. Hermione gently touched his arm. "Harry, Sirius is still not exonerated, it's a given but they haven't released his papers yet.We're expecting the Ministry to announce it in a week or so. But it's all taken care of, so don't worry ok?"

Harry gave her a real smile. "That's still extremely good news."

She got down from his hospital bed and resumed her seat from the night before. "But he's been here ever since you came back. He's been guarding you as Snuffles. You should've seen Madam Pomfrey's face when Dumbledore told her the big black dog can stay." She chuckled.

Laughing a little, Harry asked, "Where's Ron?"

"Oh, he might still be asleep but I think he'll be here in a while. We've been splitting the night watches between us."

At this point, Madam Pomfrey came in and her face lit up when she saw Harry was sitting up and having a conversation with Hermione. "Mr. Potter, I'm glad you've finally joined the land of the living again. You had us worried there for quite a bit."

"Oh I don't reckon you can get rid of me quite that easily, ma'am." Harry gave the school nurse a smile that Hermione could see was not reflected in his green eyes.

Hermione stood up, "I should leave to get ready for breakfast and so Madam Pomfrey can finish checking you up. I'll tell Ron, he'll be extremely relieved when he hears you're awake." She started to leave but turned back when Harry grabbed her hand.

"Thank you, Hermione," he said it so softly she was afraid she might start crying again.She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "No problem, just don't scare us again like that ok?" she teased him.

Straightening up, she said "I'll see you later, Harry"

He nodded and let Madam Pomfrey start her check-up.

**********

It was an interesting day, to say the least.When the Weasleys heard Harry was up, they came down the infirmary by force. At first, it was just Ron, then twins, and Ginny with Hermione, then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley turned up after lunch and Remus made a surprise appearance.Even the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall stopped by to ask him how he was doing. They were having a grand time eating the get-well gifts that had piled up around Harry and laughing at the hyperactive antics of Snuffles when it seemed the whole Gryffindor house decided to invade the infirmary to wish Harry well.

Though they were there en force, Harry could see that each of his house members were greeting him in a tense, strained way except for those who knew him well personally. Of course, it didn't escape his notice either that Ron and Hermione - even the twins and Ginny to a point -- were somewhat acting as his buffers against the tension.Harry couldn't pinpoint the cause and it was nagging the back of his mind all day that he failed to register when Madam Pomfrey said he's well enough to be discharged the next day.

Not being able to hold it in any longer, he asked Ron straight out when it was just the three of them left. "Am I being a paranoid prat or is there something you guys forgot to tell me?"

His two best friends shared a meaningful look before they sat at each bedside. Ron started first, "Look mate, um...I know you know that they caught Pettigrew - thanks to you," he gave Harry a playful smack on the arm, "But the Ministry decided to squash the news that You-know-Who's back.They're trying to make it seem like a Death Eater attempt was made at your life with Crouch and the rat as masterminds. That's what they went to trial for."

Harry felt his face heating up and his temper rising. Snuffles got up in his bed and put a supporting paw on his hand.He looked at his godfather and he bit his cheek to abet the tantrum he felt coming.

"I'm sorry Harry, but Fudge just won't accept your version of the story even if they have Pettigrew.I think that may have been the row you half-heard between McGonagall and Fudge. Dumbledore was trying to make him see reason and start readying the wizarding world again for war. Fudge said it was unacceptable, I think he's scared he might lose his position if he announces Voldemort's, " Ron flinched when Hermione said the Dark Lord's name, "back.He released some fabricated story in the Daily Prophet a few days ago saying you were the target of an elaborate Death Eater attack."

Harry was silent with his eyes closed trying to count his temper into cooling down.In a frighteningly calm voice laced with hatred he said, "So everything I went through...Cedric's death," he almost spat, "was according to him, a complete lie."

Ron placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry mate, but that's what they're doing. If it's any consolation, Dumbledore acknowledged the Great Hall after the maze. He told them what really happened, how Diggory died.You should have seen him when he was arguing with Fudge. Blimey, I've never seen him so angry! It was bloody scary!"

"Yes, it was." Hermione agreed. "I think Fudge was a downright fool not to listen to Dumbledore. I mean, you could feel his magic flowing out of him. He was furious."

Harry had not said anything else the entire time. He was trying to sort out this latest piece of news in his head.Actually, he was such in a rage that he wanted to storm to the Ministry of Magic to yell at Fudge if he only knew how to get there.

His two friends could only watch him, not knowing how to help their best friend while his godfather was seething with wrath.

***************

Harry was leaving the Great Hall, walking to the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron and Hermione at each side. The last few days have really been a testament to how he could control his temper.With Dumbledore saying Voldemort's back and was responsible for Cedric's death on one side and the Ministry telling everybody that it was a Death Eater attack and constantly publishing disparaging articles about him in the Daily Prophet on the other side, the Hogwarts student body was slowly being torn apart.

Of course, the fact that he was in the middle of these two opposing views of events only made him more liable to suspicion.Going to class alone was impossible since students seem to take this as consent to approach him and start their own inquisitions.The Weasleys and Hermione had unofficially assigned themselves as bodyguards against such personal ambushes as they seem to have worked out his schedule without his knowledge.He was never without at least one of them the whole time, and he didn't miss their warning glances at the other students who even dared think to approach him with questions.They have also seemed to take it upon themselves to make everything seem as normal as possible. He loved it best when they half dragged him to sit by the lake or just walked around the grounds after classes.They all seemed to discuss everything except what happened when he was around.Harry could still feel their worried glances on him all the time though. He couldn't help it, he was still having nightmares of Voldemort's return and he knew Ron could hear him every time he had one. And of course, he passed on this information to Hermione without fail.

This particular walk to their Common Room has been harder than most.It was the last day of term and they were on their way to gather their things and go back home for the summer holidays.Dumbledore had given a tearful tribute to Cedric and Harry had fought extremely hard against the tears that threatened to fall.Halfway through the service, Hermione has slipped her hand under the table and squeezed his hand in support. He squeezed back and gave her a look that said he was fine though it was the farthest from what he was feeling.

Harry could feel his heart dropping heavily in his stomach.He would be stuck again with the Dursleys, he could tell. Neither Dumbledore nor Sirius has told him otherwise and he had the heavy feeling that it had something to do with the bloody blood wards Dumbledore had placed in Privet Drive. He could feel an angry protest rising in his chest and fought against his every instinct to storm the headmaster's office and demand that he be placed in Sirius' care.

Sirius. Thinking about his godfather still gave him a small smile. At least, one good thing came out of all of this, like Hermione pointed out. Sirius was free. He saw his godfather again one Hogsmeade weekend after he was exonerated.He was undeniably younger looking and he was starting to look like the engaging young man he saw in his parents' wedding photo.

Totally preoccupied with his thoughts of Sirius, he nearly collided with Cornelius Fudge. The Minister looked a bit flustered and he was carrying a small sack with him.

"What do you want?" Harry growled angrily.He could feel Ron and Hermione tense up on each side of him.

Fudge looked a bit bewildered at first before his face sharpened. "Watch your tone with me, young man.Have you forgotten who you're talking too?" At this point, several students had gathered at their exchange.

Harry's eyes flared with contempt. "I know exactly who I'm talking to. I'm talking to a doddering old fool and coward who is so enamored of his position and lineage that he can't even face the possibility of accepting Voldemort's return without soiling himself and everyone else he tries to hide the truth from. A truly hateful man who would rather have hundreds die at the hands of a madman than try to do the right thing. Believe me, I can't forget who you are even if I try."

Fudge's face turned into a nasty purple color reminiscent of Uncle Vernon. "You're as mad as they say you are!" He took a threatening step toward Harry before stopping, noticing the other two angry teens who were holding their wands at ready at Harry's side. Harry himself, was clutching his wand as though itching for a reason to use it.

Fudge looked around, seeing the number of students that have gathered around them, he thrust the sack he was carrying at Harry's free hand. "Here are your winnings," He raised his voice slightly, "There was supposed to be a ceremony to present it but given your mental state..." The Minister immediately turned to leave but Harry grabbed his arm.

"I don't want your blood money," He tried to thrust the sack back.

"I am warning you for the last time young man, let go of my arm," Fudge inserted a note of panic in his voice as a manic gleam entered his eyes.

Harry's temper shot up.He was about to curse the minister when he felt a calming hand close around his arm pulling him back. Hermione's hand went to his back, and gently tried to calm him down. She sidled to his side and in a soothing but firm voice, whispered in his ear, "Breathe Harry, you're letting him win by playing into his game."Harry could feel some of the anger dissipate as her words made their way into his raging psyche. He didn't register Ron stiffened a little at his left at Hermione's whispered advice.

He gave a disgusted sigh as he released the purple-faced Minister. He looked at Fudge straight in the eye and then said in a clear, composed voice, making sure he was heard by everyone in the hall, "I apologize for my hasty actions, Minister Fudge. You must understand that Cedric was a respected friend of mine and for your office to demean his memory like what you are doing, I'm afraid my emotions took hold of me." With that parting shot at the now agape Minister, Harry calmly turned on his heels and went straight for Gryffindor tower.

******************

"They all look like I'm about to blow up and would start hexing people left and right!" Harry disgustedly seated himself in the empty compartment they found as they made their way in the train.

"Well, think of it this way Harry, we're a shoo-in for the house cup next year because they're all going to be crapping themselves at the thought of making you angry," Fred said with a snicker. Hermione rolled her eyes as she took the seat next to Harry, while Ron was guffawing loudly at the mental image Fred gave them.

George sat down across Harry and nodded his assent. "Don't you see, this is a perfect opportunity to take over the school.We can do any prank we want because Filch would start soiling himself the second you glare at him." He lapsed into a moment of supposed deep concentration. "Maybe you'll even be able to petrify Mrs. Norris to a feline heart attack!'

Everyone in burst out laughing as they all remembered the time in Harry's second year when the school thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.

The compartment door opened and Malfoy, with Crabbe and Goyle at either side, greeted them with his standard smirk.

"Well, well, well.What do we have here?" Malfoy smirked as he arched his eyebrow. "A blood traitor party complete with the token mudblood and psychotic mascot." Harry immediately rose from his seat and instinctively positioned himself in front of Hermione and took a menacing step towards the blond haired bully.

Ron blocked Harry's path and glared at the Slytherin. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave right now, Malfoy."

"Ooh I'm so scared! What are you going to do, Weasel? Try to comfort Potter again so maybe he'll give your family some galleons?" Malfoy turned to Harry, "You chose the wrong side, Potter.I told you he'll be back! Diggory was the first! And he's going to come for them next and..."

Malfoy's comment was lost in the melee of hexes that erupted from the people in the compartment.

The six teens were all standing with their wands drawn at the three fallen Slytherins, wincing a little at the after-effects of six blinding hexes thrown at the same time.

"Interesting. Who used the Fununculus?" Fred asked.

"I did." A sheepish Hermione said while Ginny, still giggling over the effects of the mixed hexes on the three, sputtered, "I was calvus spell."

"Oh so that's why Malfoy went bald!" George exclaimed holding his sides in laughter. "Well, my partner in crime, let's clear out the trash and look for Lee, eh?"

"Let's" Fred replied. And they moved the three hexed students with their feet none too gently.

The remaining four students were still having much needed laughs when Neville joined their compartment.Of course, they had to tell Neville about it all over again and they had another round of laughs.

In the middle of Ron describing how Crabbe looked like with barnacles on his face, Harry stood up and took something from his trunk."I'll be back guys."

He walked towards the end of the train, looking for the twins and resolutely ignored the stares and whispers from the compartments he passed.He found the twins discussing what looked like an elaborate prank with their friend Lee. "Can I talk to you guys for second?"The twins got up and followed Harry in a secluded corner in between compartments. "What's up, Harry," Fred asked. Harry thrust the small sack he was carrying at George. "You guys take it. I don't want it. Use it to fund your joke shop or something."

Fred and George looked googly-eyed at Harry. "Are you mad, mate? This must be.." George muttered trying to count inside.

"A thousand galleons. I hope it's enough to help you guys out. I don't want it. I didn't earn it. I certainly don't need it either." Harry said with a determined face.

"Harry, we can't accept this." George tried to give the sack back to Harry.

"Use it. God knows we'll need laughter with what's coming." Harry's face darkened at the thought. "If it helps, then just think of me as your silent partner. Just please take the bloody sack and use it for good."

Fred and George looked at each other. They seemed to me having a conversation with their facial expressions.

"If you really do insist, Harry." Fred said.

"I do. Look, if you don't take it, I'm just gonna bloody leave it there for someone to find," Harry had a stubborn expression on his face which told the twins he would really do what he was threatening to.

George sighed. "Ok, we accept. It's a deal, partner." The three teenagers shook hands.

"Just one thing," Harry said while shaking George's hand. "Could you please buy Ron a new set of dress robes? Don't tell him where the money came from."

Fred had a thoughtful look on his face, again not a good sign from either twin. "Would you prefer if we bought a glaring orange one or baby pink with ruffles?" he asked keeping as straight a face as he could.

Harry was still chuckling as he reached the compartment with his friends.

*********************

Harry was slowly dragging his trunk behind him, trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible.Ron and Ginny had taken off as soon as they saw their Mum waiting for them at King's Cross.

Hermione was walking beside him with a pensive look on her face.She seemed to be scanning the crowds for someone. Her eyes flickered to her parents who were waiting patiently but still hasn't spotted her. She grabbed Harry's arm as she walked faster. "C'mon Harry, I'd like to introduce you to my parents."

Harry half-jogged trying to keep up with Hermione dragging his arm. She let go as she threw herself at the fairly tall man with curly brown locks, open engaging face and dazzling white teeth.

"Daddy!" Hermione had her arms around her father as he picked her up slightly in a hug. He put her down only to give her to the slender middle-aged version of Hermione next to him. "Mum, I missed you." The hug Hermione gave her Mum was a little less exuberant but no less loving and tender.

"Mum, Dad, this is my friend Harry Potter. Harry, these are my parents Dan and Emma Granger."

Dan shook the young man's hand as he took in the amazing friend Hermione had written them about for years.He was slightly small for his age and though he looked to be on the side of skinny, he carried himself with a grace and energy that can only come from athletic pursuits. His hair was wild beyond decent description but it was the deep green eyes which seemed to bore into your very soul that caught his attention.They weren't the eyes of a fourteen year old boy.They looked like the eyes of someone who had the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"Nice to meet you, sir, Mrs. Granger" Harry offered her hand to Emma Granger who he saw was like an altered version of Hermione. She had wavy dark, blonde hair which was cut in a small bob. Her face had the same shape as his friend with a slightly narrow nose and lips. But her eyes were Hermione's eyes -intelligent, sparkling, warm, deep chocolate brown ones.

"Call me Emma, and this is Dan." Emma Granger said as she moved to give the teenager a small hug. "By the way Hermione talks about you, we feel as we've known you for years."

"Mum!" Hermione was shaking her head with a small smile and her cheeks tinged with a slight flush.

"C'mon darling, it's our right as parents to embarrass you in front of friends from time to time." Dan Granger laughed at his daughter's reaction.

"Is this a private party or can I join in?" a deep baritone asked from Harry's shoulder as Emma released him.

Harry was shocked, "Sirius!" He immediately hugged his godfather. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking you up, what else do you think, kiddo?" Sirius laughed. Harry looked shell-shocked while Hermione was beaming with her mother at her side already wiping tears.

"What....You really mean it? I'm leaving the Dursleys? I mean, I'm coming with you?" Harry still couldn't believe it.

"Yes, yes, and yes. I am going to start being the godfather I ought to be to you, Harry. You never have to go back to those horrible people ever again." Sirius looked his godson straight in the eye. "I'm sorry you had to live there, kiddo. I'll make it up, I promise."

Harry couldn't say anything. There was a humongous lump at his throat and he felt that if he said something, he might start bawling like a baby right there at King's Cross so he just hugged his godfather again hoping it will be enough to express the joy he felt at having a real home to go to. "You know, pup, you really have to thank your very special friend here. She was the one who stunned the rat. And then she did everything legally possible to expedite my exoneration and the approval of my guardianship of you. She is a very special young woman," Sirius whispered to Harry while still hugging him.

Harry pulled away and discreetly brushed the tears that had escaped his eyes.He turned to Hermione, so utterly grateful for the stroke of fate that allowed her to be his friend for the past four years. He shuffled in front of her, looking at his feet, not knowing how to thank this wonderful person for helping him find a new home.

"Hermione..."

Delicate arms wrapped around him suddenly and he turned his head towards the wonderful scent that he knew only as his best friend. He couldn't speak, and only proceeded to hug the girl tighter.He felt so safe when her arms were around him like this. And now, he knew, she would do anything to keep him safe.He vowed in his heart that he would be a better friend and make her feel more appreciated.He swore he would die protecting this girl. Even from myself, a voice said at the back of his mind.

Slowly releasing Hermione, he looked at her face. He could see where tears streaked her cheek. He gently brushed them away, and looked into her warm brown eyes. "Thank you so much, Hermione. I can't.... I don't know how to thank you."

Hermione nudges him lightly. "Don't be silly,you don't have to do anything.That's what friends do.It's only what you would do for me. What you've already done for me for so many times."

Harry's face became so solemn and serious, Hermione briefly wondered if she had said anything wrong. The he gave her a genuine smile, a smile that she could see reached his beautiful emerald eyes.

"Yes, I would. And more."

He hugged her again briefly before releasing her. Dan was holding Emma, who was seriously crying by this time. He was surprised to see Mrs. Weasley right beside her, also looking like she's bawling her heart out. Sirius was a little teary-eyed but he seemed to be looking at everyone with amusement lurking behind his dark eyes. Ginny appeared to be a bit torn between looking mutinous and happy while Ron clearly felt uncomfortable with the sudden show of emotions. He gave Harry a big grin and flashed two thumbs up at him. The twins, however, were holding each other making a big show of crying complete with handkerchiefs they constantly dabbed daintily at their eyes.Of course, their mother couldn't see what they were doing but as soon as Harry and Hermione burst out laughing, she turned and saw the mock drama, earning each twin a playful smack on the head.

Mr. Weasley smilingly walked over to Sirius clapping him on the back. "Take care of Harry, hear?"

'I will, thanks Arthur."

With that, Mr. Weasley turned to the brood of redheads and hurried them out of King's Cross with their children hurriedly saying goodbye to one another and Mrs. Weasley enveloping both Harry and Hermione in a tight hug before leaving.

As the Weasleys were walking away, Hermione turned to Harry. "We have to go to, Harry. Have a good summer ok?"

Harry was grinning, "Of course I will, thanks to you."

Hermione blushed and then did something she never had before in the past. She briefly touched Harry's cheek, worry seemed to be clouding her eyes for a moment before she reached up to kiss his other cheek. It all happened so fast, she was already walking away with her parents waving goodbye before Harry registered the gesture. "Bye, Harry. Take care. And be sure to write me!" she shouted over the din of the people around the station.

Sirius was seriously trying to keep a straight face as he watched Harry watch Hermione leave King's Cross. With a lopsided smile, the teenager briefly touched the cheek where she kissed him before he seemed to compose himself and became the junior marauder that he rightfully was.

"So where are we going home again?" Harry asked with a big smile lighting his eyes.

A/N: I own nothing. It is all JKR's creation and I am merely dabbling and presuming it all could have happened otherwise.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. Also, my gratitude again to my most excellent beta, Aurabolt.

Remus was having a very nice start to his day.He was having breakfast in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, or as the two spirited punks in front of him called it - the Barmy Hole.

They were having a good laugh at something Sirius said about his mother's portrait. Remus' eyes quickly ran through the room, amazed at how the two men had managed to turn the Black Manor into a livable house in just a couple of weeks. The kitchen was given a new coat of some light tan paint, immediately lightening up the once dark room. They managed to blast off the grime that had accumulated for the last decade and everything was spanking clean. A part of the wall was blasted off near the corner with a floor to ceiling window put in its place and a small table with six chairs completed the new nook they were having breakfast in. There was a new refrigerator with shiny metallic double doors in one corner. (Harry's contribution, Remus had no doubt.) And all cupboards and shelves were scrubbed and newly polished. In the middle of the kitchen they set up a small rectangular island with a block of what looked like black marble on top.It did look like a real kitchen, he said to himself.

Sirius was also having the time of his life. When he and his godson reached the dark monstrosity he grew up in, they looked at each other with steely determination laced with skepticism at the task before them.The house had fallen in atrocious disrepair for more than a decade and it had a reeking odor inside, not to mention the dark, foreboding quality that the house exuded due to years of its inhabitants being ensconced in the dark arts. But slowly they made progress, blasting and remodeling slowly room by room. They had finished the living room and two bedrooms, halfway through a third one. Harry had taken it upon himself the task of redesigning the library.It was still a lot of hard work and they were usually covered in dust, soot and grime at the end of the day but they were slowly doing it.What he prided himself in was the training room that he and Harry just completed a couple of days ago.He had done an expanding charm on the room and now looked like a gymnasium inside. He had stored weights in it and a couple of treadmills. They enchanted the ceiling much like the Great Hall at Hogwarts to illuminate the whole room. Then he proceeded to create tall windows on two opposing walls to really give the feeling of size and light. He decorated it with mats, cushioning pillows, several medieval weapons he had found while cleaning, and some more training equipment that can be set up to look like an obstacle course. He was mulling over what else he might need to add to the room when Remus' voice cut in his consciousness.

"So what is the agenda for today? Have you decided to raze this atrocity and rebuild from the ground up?" His old friend said with a smirk.

"Hey, we love this atrocity! We think it fits our image of dangerous bachelors perfectly. Well, maybe we'll knock down some walls.I think it's good therapy for Sirius.We could probably start at the one with his mother's screeching portrait," Harry chortled.

"God knows, we have to find a way to get rid of the old hag. I know I owe her my life but if she doesn't shut it anytime soon, my sanity would probably follow her to the grave," Sirius gave a dark scowl.

At that moment, the fire in the fireplace next to the breakfast nook where they were suddenly turned green. In a flash, a slender young witch with bubblegum pink hair tumbled out in a graceless heap and landed on her bum. Sirius burst out laughing, clutching his sides. Remus rose to help the witch to her feet with a grin.

Harry was turning a bit red from trying to keep a straight face. "Hi Tonks, had a bit of trouble with the floo?"

Sirius was still laughing at his cousin and was promptly smacked on the head while the witch in question swiped a strip of bacon from his plate.

"Thanks, Remus. Unlike some people I know, you seem to be concerned about people's welfare," she said scowling at her cousin. "Wotcher, Harry," she said munching on the bacon while getting herself a plate and joining them at the table.

Harry was watching the three adults in silent amusement.It had developed into a habit for all four of them to have breakfast together ever since he went home with Sirius.Remus even helped them with the renovating when he had the time, as did Tonks. He regarded the witch with fondness. Like Sirius, she was also originally banished from the Black family since her mother had unbelievably (according to her family) married a Muggle. Of course, that made her and Sirius the only decent Blacks together with Tonks's mother as the family had deeply rooted themselves in the Dark Arts and Voldemort before. Harry can't stop grinning from the feeling that he had finally found a place where he belonged.

"Why is it that you can change into anything at will but you can't make it in the floo standing up?" Sirius teased.

Tonks stuck her tongue at him which produced a loud laugh from Remus. "Maybe if you family weren't such dark gits, I could’ve apparated in here. But they were so barmy, connecting your fire to mine took ages and several anti-hexes!"

The table was settling down a little, with only an occasional chuckle from Sirius.

"So Harry, you're looking better everyday. How much have you grown now? I think you're about three inches taller and about 10 pounds heavier.You look a lot healthier."

"Thanks.Sirius has been a real tyrant about my nutrition potions.You'd think Death Eaters have invaded when he realizes I'm late in drinking them." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well you need them.Did you ever take a good look at yourself when you arrived and how you look now?" Sirius pointed out.

"How so?"

Remus replied, "You look so much better because of the potions, Harry.It's helping your body recover from the negative effects of malnutrition from your younger years.It's a bit slower than, let's say, a regenerative potion. But the effects are always better because you are letting your body adjust on its own rather than recover it all in a night. Right now, you are looking more like you should if you had grown up properly.You're no longer on the short side, though I can't tell if you're going to be tall since James was more or less just a bit of average height."

"Your features are also more refined, you have a touch more color than when I first saw you. And I must say, all the ladies are going to love the musculature you're building," Tonks waggled her eyebrows at Harry who blushed.

"You'll have all the ladies eating out of the palm of your hands like charming ol' me," Sirius gave him a playful wink.

Harry muttered, "I don't really want them to do that, I'll be content with..."

The three adults' ears perked up but Harry refrained from saying anything more and just turned and even deeper shade of red.

Tonks took pity on the young guy, "So Harry, what do you and this scamp have planned for today? Maybe I can help, it's my day off and I don't have anything else to do."

"That will be awesome. I want to finish the library today. And I think Sirius wants to make some additions to the dueling room. If there's time, we'd really like to finish that third bedroom we've started in too," Harry was mentally ticking off each task in his head, extremely grateful for the manual and magical labor that had occupied his two weeks since term ended.He never let on with Sirius but he was still having nightmares about the third task and he often caught himself lapsing into depressed moments of silence when he was alone.

Sirius was looking at him thoughtfully, making him think he may have forgotten to cast a silencing charm on his room last night when he woke up with a scream from his latest nightmare. Then his godfather seemed to shake his head and turned to Tonks, "The help would be extremely appreciated, cuz. I'm sure Remus would happily cook a mouth-watering lunch for you."

Remus narrowed his eyes at his friend, "Oh I will, won't I?"

"C'mon Remus, you know you're the best cook among the three of us. Please? Do you really want Tonks to starve after all the hard work she's going to do later?" Sirius was making ridiculously cheesy puppy dog eyes at Remus which caused a choked laugh from Harry and a small sputtering of eggs and bacon from Tonks.

Suppressing a grin, Remus shook his head and quietly acquiesced with a long-suffering sigh.

They finished their breakfast and went from the room, ready to tackle the difficult chore of making every part of the Barmy Hole habitable.

****************

Harry's brow was intensely furrowed as he concentrated on what he wanted from the Black library. When he first saw the library, he thought it was a lost cause and so did his godfather.Sirius said the amount of dark books and magic in the room would make it especially resistant to his efforts of renovating it. After two days of intermittently working on the stubborn room, Harry could see his efforts pay off in the now halfway decent room.The library still had a chill, though not as pronounced as before. He and Remus had picked out some extremely dark books he wouldn't dream of opening and stocked them in a hidden vault of sorts that Remus conjured behind one wall that he set to be accessed only by Harry or Sirius touching a white pad on the seemingly normal wall panel. It contributed greatly to lessening the gloomy atmosphere of the room.

He had stripped the walls of their dark plasters and decided on some light wood paneling and floors. The room had brightened and warmed considerably as he laid the last tile in place yesterday afternoon. He also had Sirius blast a fireplace at the back wall of the library. He placed a grate over the fire to safeguard the books from the flames and ash. Then they blasted the side wall so they can create a window ledge that doubled as reading lounge.He laid a fluffy down cover over the ledge and had placed several feather throw pillows. He made sure Sirius created the ledge wide enough for two people to snugly lie down side by side.He shook his head as he remembered the amused smirk his godfather had as he followed Harry's very specific request.

With the foundations laid in place, Harry proceeded to rearrange the furniture in the room.With a sweep of his wand, he made everything float into a convoluted mass of books and furniture in the center of the room. He quietly thanked his godfather for the intense instructions Harry had been receiving on spell casting.Sirius had been giving him spell lessons and had assured him that with the wards on the Barmy Hole and the Fidelus charm on it, there was no way the Ministry would be able to track him using magic.

Returning his attention to the task at hand, he placed the soft dark brown leather sofa they had bought at the left hand wall after banishing the initial bookcase behind it.He positioned the matching armchairs on either side of the sofa before altering the dark wooden coffee table to be a bit higher than normal. He figured it might be more comfortable if he had to work in here. He then made bookcases that were up to the ceiling in the wall beside the sofa extending to the corner and the adjoining wall. Once done, he made the books arrange themselves alphabetically by subject. He remembered Hermione telling him one time that it was her preferred way of arranging books.There were still quite a number of books left so he made the wall to his right a floor to ceiling bookcase as well and proceeded to arrange the books accordingly. He then spelled the two tall bookcases to assemble themselves to stand lengthwise on either of the library's longer walls. Finally having all the books in the walls and bookshelves, he arranged a small light wood table into position near the back of the room, right in front of the fire. He levitated six comfortable chairs with arm rests to surround the table and then installed three electrical study lights in a row in the middle of the table.

With a satisfied sigh, he looked at the new library, unrecognizable from the dreadful disaster it was before. "Sirius!" He shouted with unmistakable pride and excitement in his voice.

His godfather padded into the room. He looked awe-struck at the now cheery and inviting library. He couldn't believe it was the same room that he used to avoid at all costs when he was younger.

"Wow, Harry, incredible job, pup!" His voice had a touch of pride and awe at his godson's increased magical ability, knowing he somehow had contributed to it with their lessons for the past couple of weeks.

He walked around the room peering at the titles of the books. He saw the fireplace and the study corner at the back and his face lit up. "This is amazing! You know you can work as an interior decorator if nothing works out for you in the magical industries."

Harry chuckled then looked around the room in amazement. He did well. He turned to Sirius and suddenly had a thoughtful look on his face. "Do you think Hermione would like it?"

Sirius bit back the grin that threatened to explode on his face. "I'm dead sure of it. How can she resist this? You'll be lucky if you can get her to see the other rooms in the house." He said with a reassuring smile that did nothing to hide the mirth in his eyes.

Harry smiled back and then smile grew wider as he took in the room one more time. He simply said, "Good."
A loud bang erupted from the room across the hall. The two men ran to where they knew Tonks and Remus had tackled the half-finished bedroom they left yesterday before dinner.

What greeted them made them double up in laughter.Remus was standing covered from head to toe in mint green paint, there was a patch of un-colored skin across his face. He must have shielded his eyes from the explosion. Tonks who was standing next to him was also drenched in the minty green goo and was grinning sheepishly.

After they had composed themselves, they returned to redecorating the room not telling Remus that they had left a mint green kitten on his back.

****************************************
Sirius woke up with a start. He reached for his wand and looked wildly around his room. Not seeing anything out of place, he pushed back the covers and made his way to Harry's room.

He placed his ear on his godson's door. Damn, he placed a silencing charm again, he thought. He cautiously opened the door and tried to see Harry in the darkness.He could hear his small whimpers from the direction of the bed.He realized that Harry was having another one of his nightmares. Entering the room as silently as he could, Sirius was still debating whether to wake Harry up or not when the boy quieted down on his own.He was drenched in sweat but he remained still, though his face was drawn with tension.Sirius let out a thankful sigh and crept out of his godson's room toward the kitchen.

He sat at the black island in the middle, nursing a glass with some firewhiskey, completely lost with thoughts of his godson.

He needs to be told. And his training should start soon, I've finished the room already. Sirius told himself as he took a sip from his glass. He could only mourn for the lost childhood of the young man sleeping upstairs.He had tried to give Harry a normal family life as he could the last couple of weeks, often urging Remus and Tonks to drop by so they could spend some time with the boy, the two were only happy to oblige and they had shared breakfasts and many dinners over much laughs and teasing.Remus and him were the only remaining Marauders alive, discounting the traitor Pettigrew, and Harry appreciated the connection that they could provide to the father that he never knew. Tonks’ mother Andromeda was the only cousin he got along with and he rather enjoyed reconnecting with them again. Tonks had taken to Harry immediately and was soon dropping by regularly, though he suspected Remus’ presence might also have something to do with her constant presence.However, they are all still building their relationship thus he can understand Harry’s current reluctance to open up. He could see he was still suffering from depression no matter how hard the youth tried to hide it from him. But he prided himself on seeing his face break out in loud laughs and genuine happiness more times than he's ever seen him do. He seemed to be relaxing a lot more now, and relished the job of renovating Grimmauld Place with an ardor that he could recognize as a wish to have the home he's always wanted.

Sirius gave another sigh. Thinking about his pup always ended up in reminiscing about James and Lily. His felt his heart tighten at the memory of two best people he's ever known.He was as proud and excited as James when Lily told him she was pregnant. He and James were shouting it from every rooftop available to them while Lily was just shaking her head laughingly. He was there when Harry was born and when James put the little tyke in his arms, he cried unashamedly. He loved Harry as he would his own son.He had not been as fortunate as James to find the love of his life so early but he had high hopes for a family whenever he looked at the three of them.Being raised a Black, his parents cared more about lineage and wealth and he only had worth as an heir to the whole Black fortune.He never really had a family up until he went to Hogwarts and got into a fight with one James Potter in the Hogwarts Express over a pack of Exploding Snap.He chuckled to himself as he remembered that after the fight, both of them had been worse for wear.He had a swollen lip and James had a cut above his right cheek but the bond between the boys started from that initial stage of grudging respect and shared love for mischief.

Things only started to get better when they met Remus, and Sirius thought grudgingly, even the rat. But he had to admit that it was only when James and Lily got together that he felt what it was like to have a real family.Lily was such a gentle soul, always unfailingly kind.She did have a horrendous temper too, Sirius laughed as he remembered several occasions when he had been at the receiving end of her wrath, but it took a lot to set her off and she forgave too easily anyway.Lily brought warmth into their hearts and calmed down the swirl of testosterone and hormones that were the Marauders.He had to admit, she always had a soft spot for scarred souls which might be the reason why she took to them so quickly.Each one of the Marauders was thirsty of genuine affection and she had willingly given them what they didn't know their souls needed.Lily was their mother, sister, and confidant in one. No matter how irritated or annoyed she might become with their infantile antics, Lily was always there to help and listen. They were happy in spite of the dark times.And then that stupid prophecy was made and everything went to hell. He lost his family in a flash of green hate all in one night.

The memories of his best friends swirling in his mind, he thought of Harry and the gigantic responsibility he unknowingly carries on his lean shoulders. The two weeks he had not said anything were his gift to both Harry and himself as he knew that nothing would ever be the same when Dumbledore would arrive tomorrow evening. He only hoped Harry would take the information as well as he thinks the boy would.He went over his plans silently.He knew the youth well enough to guess that he would lean towards a more proactive course of action.Which was why he had taken great pains to equip their dueling room as well as he could and had stocked the new library with the additional books they would need.

The mention of books shifted his thoughts on another remarkable teenager.Hermione always brought a soft smile to Sirius's lips.He would never tell those kids but the young woman had always reminded him of Lily. It was nothing physical but both had been lauded as the brightest witches of their age.They fought against the stigma of being muggleborns with grace and dignity that cannot be taught. Both voracious readers, they can very well live in the library if it was possible. But what strikes Sirius the most about the brown haired witch was how she had the special ability of soothing Harry's damaged soul much like how Lily was with them. He remembered what happened to the two at King's Cross station and his lips carved into a mischievous smile that usually spelled trouble for whoever he was plotting against. Hmm, what if, Sirius mused to himself.There were certainly the signs from both youth. But with how their friendship was and how caring he knew the teens were of each other, Sirius figured it's going to take them a decade to figure out their feelings and another decade before they did anything about it. Well, maybe since I'll be training Harry, Hermione would like to join. God knows it's a certainty she will be at the forefront of the war with his godson's side. And maybe some alone time might help push things along, he thought to himself smilingly. I need to talk to Remus, he made a mental note to himself.

He got up and washed his glass, decided to turn in with this decidedly more cheerful thought.

*********************************
Sirius had been acting weird all morning.First, with breakfast.Harry came into the kitchen from his now daily workout to find Sirius already up and cooking. Cooking! Sirius never cooks if there was any humanly possible way to get out of it. Then when Remus came in, he quickly dragged the other adult into the library where he could hear their voices plotting about something.He tried to listen in their conversation but Tonks chose to arrive at that moment and dragged his behind to another bedroom that needed renovating. He spent the morning alternating between saving Tonks from herself and doing what he could for the room given a disaster-magnet for a companion. There was no doubt he's never laughed so much cleaning.

Around lunch, Sirius had told him that Dumbledore would be coming after dinner to talk to him.Harry fell silent and he searched his godfather's eyes for a hint of what the headmaster wanted to talk to him about but Sirius avoided his eyes.It's tonight, he realized.

Harry knew there was a reason why things such as the Philosopher's stone, the Chamber of Secrets, and now the Tri-wizard ordeal kept happening to him.Deep down, he felt that these things were tied together but he didn't know who to ask.When he first went home with Sirius, he had lain awake in his bed that night after a horrendous nightmare woke him up.He thought about asking Sirius about these things. He knew his godfather would answer him honestly and would be offering his full support. But as days passed, he also saw what Sirius did. The past two weeks were a respite from his life. It was a normality that was out of its time yet, something that he felt would still have to come later as he sensed something big is waiting to happen before everything can be considered over and done.He had been extremely reluctant to let it go and had avoided any mention of what happened.Sirius complied with his unspoken request.But with the headmaster coming tonight, he knew his temporary peace had ended.

***************************************
Harry was clearing the plates when the fire in the kitchen turned green.He shared a grim look with Sirius.

Dumbledore appeared without being the least bit flustered, though the twinkle that was usually in his eyes was decidedly missing tonight.

"Hello Harry, Sirius,"

"Headmaster, how are you?" Harry asked politely. "Would you like anything to drink? We have butterbeer."

"Thank you, Harry, I'd like that"

Sirius had silently taken a seat at the black island in their kitchen.Harry brought over three butterbeers.Dumbledore was still looking around the kitchen with something akin to wonder.

"I must say congratulations to you, boys.If I didn't know where I was, I would never think this was the same house I visited a month ago. How did you manage this?" the headmaster had a small smile as he took another seat at the island.

"We worked hard together.It turns out Harry has a soft spot for Muggle conveniences.It was a nightmare to figure out how to configure the wards to allow the electricity though. We ended up shielding the appliances against magic using runes. I wouldn’t have bothered but Harry argued it would make everything easier and nicer if we had combined what we liked best from both worlds.Honestly, I think he was just trying to convince me to buy him that large television along with the DVD player and the game console he liked," Sirius chuckled at the memory when he and Harry had gone appliance hunting as the youth called it.

Dumbledore's twinkle came back in his eyes as he surveyed the quite striking young man sitting across from him. "That is a very wise attitude, Harry.And must I say, even twice as fun."

Harry gave the headmaster a smile, "Wait until you've tried the newest game I bought. I guarantee you wouldn't want to stop."

"I would like to try that very much.I hope I'll find the chance to." Dumbledore paused. He looked over the fourteen year old in front of him. The change in the young man was palpable. He could feel his quiet confidence.He also seemed to be calmer, more mature.Sirius was right, he needs to come into his own.From the snippets they have offered, it seems that Harry was slowly doing that.He decided allowing Sirius to take in the teenager had really been the right choice.The guilt and lost boy issues that he had seemed to have lessened considerably, not to mention the physical transformation that the boy seemed to have gone through. "Harry, my boy, I think you have an inkling of why we are sitting here."

Sirius said nothing.Harry silently nodded, looking straight at Dumbledore's eyes.

"I'm ecstatic to find you looking remarkably healthy and happy. I apologize for being the one to destroy this newfound peace."

"It was never permanent," Harry said softly looking at Sirius. "I knew we were putting things off, though I honestly have no idea what it is. But I knew this would come. It was too painful this time, too cruel."He felt Sirius gave his shoulder a squeeze for support.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and his eyes shone with regret. "Sixteen years ago, I was interviewing a younger Sybil Trelawney for the post of Divination professor for Hogwarts.I never cared for the art itself but it was my duty as headmaster to ensure that every magic was represented well. I had consented to meet with Professor Trelawney because she was the great granddaughter of the famed Seer Cassandra. But after a few minutes into the interview, it was apparent that she did not share the gift of her ancestor. I was trying to figure out a polite way of letting her down and making my escape when she launched into a true trance. I will show you what she said." The other two said nothing. Harry fell silent, his face showing no emotions.Sirius looked at the young man while he watched Dumbledore take something from out of his robes from the corner of his eye.This sullen and withdrawn aspect of Harry was bothering him.He knew the boy to be warm, if a little shy. But somehow, he's always seen that like his father, Harry wore his emotions at his sleeve.This new calm façade was worrying him more and more.

The headmaster had taken a shrunken pensieve from one of his robe pockets.He laid it out on the black marble in front of them and expanded it so both can have a look. He took a bottle out his robes and extracted a silvery strand from it and deposited it in the pensive.

Once the silver substance had settled, Harry and Sirius saw a much younger Sybil Trelawney in what seems to be a tavern booth. Harry saw her lapse into a trance much like how she did last year at the end of one Divination class where she had predicted Pettigrew's return to Voldemort and Voldemort's eventual return.Her voice was deep and throaty like he remembered when she made her prediction.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

No one said anything for the longest time.The three seemed to be absorbed in their own worlds.

"I knew there was a reason why, I just can't believe it was this." Harry was the first to break the silence.

"The prophecy was given to Dumbledore and he shared it with the concerned members of the inner circle of the group of people who were fighting Voldemort at the time.We were all called the Order of the Phoenix.At the time, there were members who were pregnant.One was your mother, and the other was Alice Longbottom."

"Neville's mum?"

"Yes, pup. You were both considered to be the child in the prophecy.Both your parents and the Longbottoms were active members of the Order and both had barely escaped three attacks by Voldemort.They went into hiding same time as James and Lily."

"But he came after me," Harry said despondently.

"The prophecy was overheard by a Death Eater who happened to be in the same tavern at the time but he did not hear of the whole prophecy.He was caught by my brother Aberforth before Sibyl finished her trance." Dumbledore said quietly. "Up until the point when Voldemort came after your parents, the prophecy still could have been either you or Neville Longbottom."

"Is there any chance it could still be Neville?"

"I'm sorry Harry but you heard the whole prophecy. Voldemort marked the child his equal." The headmaster indicated his lightning bolt scar. "But honestly, would you have expected anything else?"

Harry looked at his headmaster questioningly.

"Voldemort has taken everything of value from you. He has done nothing but continue to hunt you down. Would you rest knowing he had killed your parents, was indirectly the cause of your godfather's incarceration, and has been behind every attempt at your young life? He has forced you into putting your life on hold in fulfillment of what he believes to be true."

This was met with silence from the two younger men.

"So it boils down to either he kills me or I kill him then," Harry's voice was tinged a sad finality.

"I'm sorry, pup.But this does not make this prophecy final.It is what it is, just a prophecy. It can still be changed. Granted it has cost us everything we've held dear but we still have a choice to believe it to be true or not."

"Listen to your godfather, Harry.Just because it is a prophecy does not mean it is final. As I've told you before, it is our choices that make our destiny. Voldemort chose to believe the prophecy and went after an innocent infant. Thus he met staggering defeat and the prophecy came true for him. But you still have your choices. Knowing this exists gives you a distinct advantage over him.Your actions would never be ruled by this prophecy if you choose to."

'What do you think is the power I have?" Harry asked his two mentors.

Dumbledore was hesitant. 'I have a theory."

Sirius looked at him expectedly. He was desperate for any information to help his godson.

"You are a remarkable young man, Harry.I believe your godfather and I even had an explosive row not too long ago about how remarkable you are." The headmaster gave a small smile to Sirius who looked sheepishly at the headmaster. "If it has escaped your notice, Voldemort went after the child who had a similar background as him.Neville is a pureblood and if we listen to Voldemort's lunatic propaganda, he should've gone after Neville who with his pureblood ancestry is logically thought to be more powerful than you.But he went after your parents and their son, a half-blood like himself." Dumbledore paused. He sent Harry a look that seemed to be begging his forgiveness.

"I hope you would understand an old man's actions in the future and find it in your heart to forgive me.When Sirius was captured and I learned what happened, I decided to send you to your mother's sister.I knew that Voldemort was still alive even though the whole wizarding world was celebrating his demise.I knew that if I invoke ancient blood wards at Privet Drive, your mother's sacrifice would be enough to protect you until you came of age."

"I had no idea how Petunia would treat you.I thought I had stressed the situation plainly enough and I had begged her to raise you as her own.I could not believe the neglect and abuse you suffered at the Dursleys when I saw you arrive at Hogwarts. But you were still alive, that was what mattered then. You were not the little prince you would have been if you were raised in the wizarding world but were as close to a normal boy as I could have hoped. You cannot believe how proud I was when you took the Philosopher's stone in your first year. As an eleven year old, you had faced dangers most adult wizards would have shrugged away from. And even more significant was the fact that you faced these dangers by choice just because you had felt that it was the right thing to do.Your second year, you were faced with even more dangers and was even subject to public ridicule by vicious rumors from your fellow students.And once again, you rose magnificently to the occasion and even more comforting to my old heart was how I saw you flourish with true friendship by your side.Your third year, you found out the truth about Sirius.You paused and gave him a chance to explain, to prove his innocence to you when most would have killed him on the spot.Given the information you knew of him beforehand, even I would say that you were within reason to harm him if you had.And now even with the Tri-wizard events, you are still before me as remarkable as when you first entered the Great Hall when most people would have broken down and would have given up hope. Do you understand what I am getting at, Harry? Have you figured out the power I am referring to?"

Harry had increasingly grown silent as the headmaster was listing the events of his life.He didn't know what to say, and frankly he couldn't figure out where Dumbledore was going with this.

"Harry, like you Voldemort was a half-blood orphan who came to Hogwarts with the baggage of an unpleasant childhood. Unlike you, he chose the path of darkness.He immersed himself in gaining power and reveled in causing pain to others as he had gone through. "Dumbledore paused. "Love, Harry.Love is your power because you know love even with the terrors in your life. You know it and freely give it to anyone who would accept it.You rise above these trials in your life because you were usually powered by love.Memories of love by the parents you never knew, love from loyal friends, love for those who chose to love and care for you too. You have remained the hopeful and amazing person you were when you were eleven despite the hate you have seen and experienced firsthand.You would never turn to the Dark Arts because it is through them that your parents were murdered, you would never intentionally cause harm because you remember clearly how being hurt feels. And you would always extend a hand to the outsiders shunned by others because you know how it is to be shunned because of false impressions. You have learned to look at people for who they are because you crave them to do the same to you. I can go on and on and even then, you would only tell me at the end that you were only doing things you thought was right. And that is truly what makes you so special and loved by anyone who is given the chance to know you." The headmaster's eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Someday, I would ask your forgiveness for inadvertently adding to your more unpleasant experiences. Right now, I only vow to help you survive this war and would do everything in my power to protect you as best as you would choose to allow me too."

Harry looked at his headmaster who had an almost beseeching expression on his face.He heard what he said and though he was warmed by his words and regard for him, he could feel himself distancing from the great wizard.He wanted to lash out at him, to say that if he knew what he was going through, why didn't he do more? He was just a kid, what did they really expect him to do?He wanted the grandfather he fashioned Dumbledore to be in his mind. And then he thought of what he said. He grudgingly saw what he meant. He understood that the headmaster had only thought to do what he thought best. Given everything, their best was only what they can do. And yet he cannot help but feel that stab of betrayal in his heart.

Sirius had stayed silent the whole time, watching the interplay between Harry and Albus.He knew that they had shared a connection deeper than a concerned headmaster and his student.He knew that Dumbledore cared for Harry, but he didn't realize how much until he told of the stories from his point of view. He was studying Harry's reactions to what the headmaster had said.He could see how his shoulders had tensed up, could see the mutinous fire in his eyes as he realized the lost chances of escape from the difficult life he had led. He could actually feel his godson's temper rising. And then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could see the wheels in his head turning as he processed Dumbledore's words. And then the fourteen year old's shoulders stooped slightly and let go of the last hold he had on childhood.Sirius's heart broke when Harry looked at him with the eyes of someone who was forced to grow up too soon.They could never go back.

Harry gave Dumbledore a wry smile. "Thank you for the kind words, Headmaster. But what do we do now? I can't exactly hug it out with Voldemort, now can I?"

The great wizard allowed small chuckle but his eyes held indescribable sorrow.He had also seen what Sirius had seen. He had tried his best to delay this moment as long as possible but he knew as Sirius that everything was building up to this moment. "Sirius and I have decided to start training you this summer.I think you may have figured this out with the manic obsession your guardian has had over your dueling room." Harry's face broke into a small smile. "We've decided to let Sirius instruct you first. I think Remus and Tonks have also offered a helping hand."

"We're going to train you in dueling but I'm planning in including physical training. Too many wizards rely too much on their wands.I actually got the idea from you.The house looks so much better when we chose to combine both Muggle and Magical. I figured your training would work even better if we infused Muggle and Magical fighting.No one would expect it or figure out how to counter it.Also I'm planning to give you Occlumency lessons, I think it will help greatly in blocking those nightmares of yours, pup." Harry shot him a grateful smile. "And of course, it is already a given that you are also going to have Animagus lessons." Sirius said with a sly smile. "It's your birthright as the next generation of marauders."

"Oh dear, Minerva is not going to be happy with that,"

Sirius and Harry both broke into laughter at the headmaster's exclamation, finally breaking the tension of the evening.

"By the way, Sirius, I have revived the Order.We have been meeting at Lupin Manor for some time now, as I assume you've heard from Remus. I have not extended the invitation because I had an inkling you wanted to concentrate on taking care of everything first for Harry. Now, I'm asking you formally if you would like to join?"

"Of course, Albus.You needn't have asked."

"Can I ask to be included as well?"

"I'm sorry, Harry, I can't allow that. If you join, then the other youngsters would surely demand to be in the Order and I fear that they simply are not ready yet.It is too dangerous for anyone not of age to be inducted.I can, however, give my consent to Sirius to share with you any information we discuss during the meetings.If you have any suggestions, you only have to ask your godfather to pass it on to me and I promise I would give it careful consideration.In this case, you are actually a sort of unofficial member which I think is your right to be privy too.However, I feel that your complete focus should be on your training.Let the adults do some of the work eh?"
Harry nodded his assent.He could see Dumbledore's logic.He didn't really want to be involved with the Order at this stage and had only wanted to be given information regarding the Death Eaters' actions and the Headmaster had given him exactly what he wanted.

"I would try to limit your duties as much as possible Sirius, as like I said, I would like both your focus on Harry's training.We can work it out so that the other members need not know of what you will be doing this summer.I feel the less people who know you are getting ready, the better."

"I agree. The more the enemy underestimates you, the bigger your advantage Harry. I'm sure Remus and Tonks would consent to be my cover from time to time or take over Harry's training if I am forced to take on assignments.What have you guys been working on?"

"Right now, there is a copy of this prophecy in the Department of Mysteries.We have reason to believe that Voldemort is plotting to retrieve it so he can hear the whole prophecy himself. Our intelligence is still working on it."

"Good, at least that would keep him occupied for a while."

Harry stood up slowly, the two adults looked up at him. He gave them a shy smile. "I'm sorry, I just suddenly felt drained.May I go? I'm sure Sirius would fill me in tomorrow with what you guys have discussed."

"Of course, Harry. Remember, if you need anything, let me know."

"Thank you, Professor. G'night, Sirius."

"G'night, pup."

**************

a/n thanks to all who reviewed. I didn’t expect the warm welcome, I’m very grateful to you all.

CHAPTER 3 – Decisions and Aftermath

A/N: I own nothing. It is all JKR's creation and I am merely dabbling and presuming it all could have happened otherwise.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. And special thanks to The Scribbler for the most excellent beta work. And thanks to all who reviewed.

Author’s Note:

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

*********************

Harry had been up for some time now. Given the things he learned last night, he decided a nice, long and intensive workout seemed to be in order. He was itching to hit something today.

He let himself in the Dueling Room. A smile crept into his face as he took in the effort Sirius had put into it, and noticed two new electronic dummies had been added. He's really determined about my training, he thought. He made his way over to one of the treadmills. Setting the machine for a 20 minute uphill run, his thoughts mulled over last night.

He was furious with Dumbledore. Hmm, maybe furious wasn't the word, more like disappointed at the great wizard he once thought to be omnipotent. For all the kind words the professor told him last night, Harry saw through it all and was struck with how his life has been manipulated from the start. Most probably, the events that transpired every term were to a point, influenced by the headmaster himself. Harry was certain that Dumbledore felt that he was preparing him in a way. How could someone live with that kind of detachment? He wondered. All of a sudden, he had a sickening thought. How much of a set-up was his life? Harry couldn't finish his train of thought. It was too depressing to think about.

Revived by his warm-up run, he went to get a couple of boxing gloves from one of the shelves containing a variety of workout equipment. Walking over to the punching bag hanging off the side, he started with a few jabs and then proceeded to let out the frustration he wasn't able to release the night before. In no time at all, he had alternated between powerful punches and kicks on the bag, his mind and energy totally focused on releasing all his pent-up anger.

**************************

"So how did Harry take the news of being a fated murderer?" Remus asked his friend in an even, measured tone as they were setting up breakfast. It had been easy to fall into the habit of flooing over to the Hole every morning that it was now second nature to him. Sirius had been too quiet that particular morning. It was a little disconcerting to see his once carefree friend in these "grown-up" moments as Remus privately called them.

"He took it well. Actually, I think he took it rather too well."

"What do you mean, Padfoot?"

"He is fourteen, Moony. He should have been breaking things last night. I did see his temper flare up but he controlled it too quickly for my taste."

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? You have to remember what he has gone through. He cannot be expected to react to things normally."

"I know," Sirius let out a deep sigh. "I understand that. But I can also see how he is bottling everything inside. It's like he is delaying dealing with everything. He hears them, reacts introspectively, and proceeds to shove it away in his unconscious."

"You're worried he's going to break down?" Remus had a thoughtful look in his face.

"Yes, for lack of a better term. And I don't know how to deal with it."

"Maybe it's time to invite his friends over. Let him visit them too. He's been holed up here for too long, mingling only with adults. He needs to be with people his own age."

"Oh, I've invited Hermione over this afternoon." Sirius had the grace to flush.

Remus arched an eyebrow at the guilty look Sirius had. "You're matchmaking!" He accused.

"I am not," The reply came a little too fast. Sirius heard the defensive tone and winced. It didn't help that Moony was laughing at him either.

"Fine, maybe I am a little. It's not like I'm shoving them towards each other." He had a sly look on his face. "It's more like, I'm creating opportunities. Besides, that wasn't the main reason I invited her over. After last night, I knew Harry would need someone to talk to who wasn't over the age of thirty. I just thought she might be the best person for him to be with now. I overheard them talking when he woke up at the infirmary."

"You were eavesdropping?" Moony was incredulous his friend would stoop to such a thing.

"No, it wasn't like that. I was patrolling the grounds and when I came back to the infirmary, he was awake. I wanted to rush over and check him myself but they were already talking and didn't want to interrupt. Harry is more open to talking to her than I've seen him with anyone. Maybe it is because they are best friends and they've gone through a lot. You remember when we were his age. Do you honestly think Ronald would be a good choice to reveal such sentiments or even just to have a good cry with?"

Remus had a pained look on his face as he thought about what his reaction would have been if Sirius had done that to him when they were fourteen. "You have a very good point."

"So have you thought about what I've proposed?"

Moony was a bit taken aback at the abrupt turn in the conversation. He shared a conspiratorial grin with his friend. "Of course. I think it's a brilliant idea. After they talk, Hermione would surely ask to be included in training. I have to tell you though, Ronald would also insist he go. Those three do everything together. They will have to agree with you to train separately."

Harry chose to enter the kitchen at that moment, cutting off their conversation. His face lit up when he saw Sirius and Remus already eating.

"Oh thank god, I'm starving." He sat down and started piling food on his plate.

"So, cub, what's this I hear you signing up for warrior training?"

"Oh yeah, haven't you heard? I'm supposed to save the whole wizarding world." Harry said dryly with as he made his through the small mountain of potatoes, eggs, and bacon on his plate.

The two marauders laughed. "I suppose I should ask for an autograph now then while you are still relatively unknown." His former professor teased.

"Oh god, let's not even go there, please. So how do you guys plan on doing this training?"

"Well I told you last night I'm planning on fusing muggle defense and magic. I would be teaching you a combination of martial arts, I've picked up some instructional manuals on kickboxing and aikido. I'm sure you're familiar with what they are?"

Harry nodded.

"I've had some lessons in them actually so it won't be hard to teach. Then of course, defensive and offensive spells would figure greatly. Moony can help us with that immensely. With his teaching background and my Auror training, I'm confident we can work it out."

"You were an Auror?" Harry was impressed. He wanted to be one as for as long as he found out what they were.

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, pup. I was one before I was captured. And so was your dad, we were partners."

The boy lapsed into silence as he digested this new bit of information about his father. "Wow."

Sirius' face was a mask of regret. "I'll tell you more about your parents, Harry. With everything that happened, we sort of missed having those conversations. But we do have the whole summer before us."

He nodded. "When do we start?"

Moony answered, "We figured we can give you today to get ready and settled. Then we start tomorrow. We thought muggle defense should be at least thrice a week along with Defensive magic."

"And for two afternoons a week, I'd prefer if we concentrated on Occlumency. Practical dueling would be perfect for Friday afternoons, don't you think? We can start with the Animagus training after your birthday. I think we might have covered a lot by then to concentrate on it for a month. The transformations would require too much focus to intersperse it with too many other lessons."

Harry could feel his excitement building as the two marauders outlined their plan for his training. He had enough of being thrust into situations he felt absolutely no control over. Granted, with that damned prophecy looming over his head, his future was not looking so much brighter. However, this would at least arm him with enough knowledge to hopefully survive what was coming with a little more of his bones and sanity intact. "I like it but I'd like to have 'til this afternoon to think about the outlined schedule. I want to spend some time in the library, make sure we have all the bases covered. Maybe I can meet up with Hermione and Ron and see if they come up with anything else."

Sirius gave a noncommittal grunt. Then a snowy white owl came in the kitchen and landed on Harry's right shoulder. "Morning, Hedwig," He gave her an owl treat from his pocket as he took the letter on his familiar's leg.

"It's from Hermione. She says I might need to take a look at something in the Daily Prophet." Harry looked at the torn page of the prophet his friend sent. It looked to be a rehash of Skeeter's article telling of his Parselmouth abilities, noting of the rules he had broken since coming to Hogwarts. The article was making him out to be some arrogant boy who did what he wanted, rules be damned.

"I really don't need this right now." He muttered, extremely annoyed and tired of how things kept piling up this summer. He looked at the two men in front of him and noticed each had a guarded look in their faces. His eyed them suspiciously. "Okay, how long has this been going on?"

"A bit after the Tri-wizard tournament," Moony replied resignedly. "We were keeping it quiet at first because of everything that had happened but were actually planning to tell you...well, after Dumbledore had finished talking to you. Sirius’ exoneration was a blow to the Ministry and now Fudge is doing his best to discredit Dumbledore and you."

"I know we need to do something about it. The articles have been appearing more and more often but it is not a priority right now, Harry. There is an Order meeting this Saturday. I suggest you come with us to Lupin Manor and we have a talk with Dumbledore about this." Sirius suggested gently.

Harry thought it over. "I suppose that's best."

"C'mon finish up and then have a refresher course in the Dueling room. We'll just go through the spells and hexes you already know; maybe we can still improve them."

Harry reluctantly finished his breakfast and proceeded to go back to the room he had just left.

*********************************

It turned out that Sirius had the right idea. After a grueling three hours of the two marauders putting him through a round of combined dueling and physical work-out, Harry had calmed down enough to be able to sit quietly in the library. He had his books spread out, he figured he'll work through whatever homework he can get out of the way before his training officially starts.

It wasn’t long until Sirius called him to come down for lunch. The two men regaled the teenager with amusing stories of his parents at Hogwarts that had Harry laughing all throughout the meal.

They were clearing up the dishes when the fire glowed green again.

"Ah, our guest is here. Harry, make sure she doesn't fall on her bum this time, quickly" Sirius' mouth quirked up. Remus stifled a chuckle beside him.

Harry had a wide grin on his face as he moved towards the fireplace not a second later, prepared to catch Tonks. He was pleasantly surprised when his arms caught a flustered witch with wild brown hair.

"Harry!" Hermione promptly gave Harry a tight hug. Releasing him, she looked at him appraisingly from head to toe. "Wow, you look amazing!"

Harry had turned a bit red at the Hermione’s casual praise. He flushed to an even deeper shade at her appreciative look. "What are you doing here?" He asked with a foolish grin on his face.

His friend opened her mouth to reply but Sirius answered for her. "She's been bugging me to visit for ages. I finally had to relent under threat of death."

Hermione's head whipped to look at Sirius' expression. She seemed to understand his silent message as she gave the older man a discreet nod. "I missed my best friend, of course. I had to see where you were hiding him." Her eyes roamed around the now cheery kitchen. "Very nice! It seems you can accomplish miracles." She said to Sirius, her words laced with even deeper meaning.

"You've seen the Barmy Hole before?"

Hermione delicately wrinkled her nose. "The Barmy Hole?" she asked with a light laugh.

"Well, it was Black Manor before but we christened it the Barmy Hole when we started remodeling. C'mon, let's put your bag in my room and I'll give you a tour of what we've done." Harry grabbed her hand and practically dragged her from the kitchen.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, Padfoot," Remus said, still chuckling softly.

Sirius just grinned at his friend.

***********************************

Hermione was impressed at how Sirius and Harry had revamped Black Manor. The renovated parts of the house were an amazing balance of muggle and wizard living. The living room now sported a cushy black leather sofa set with a glass topped coffee table on a base of some sort of dark colored tree branches twisted so intricately it could only have been made through magic. A large brick fireplace was the focal point while a mini-bar stocked with butter beers and Fire whiskeys along with some muggle drinks she recognized was set up at one corner. A room downstairs had been converted into a den, mainly by Harry, she suspected. Everything about the room had spelled comfort from the soft suede couch and armchairs to the warm, tan color of the walls. It also had an expensive-looking home theater system with a large flat television propped against a wall seemingly on its own. It was the same with the collection of muggle DVDs alphabetically arranged at one wall, propped with invisible shelves.

She scowled a little when Harry confessed that he had heard of the movies when he was growing up at the Dursleys and had always wanted to watch them.(Any mention of his abhorring relatives had always called forth feelings of hate she didn't know she was capable of.) Harry said one of the habits he's picked up in the summer was relaxing in front of the telly and getting lost for two hours in another person's story. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised of his newfound affinity to films. They presented such a tempting escape from everything he's been through.

She looked at her friend from the corner of her eye as he was describing how they went through changing this particular bedroom he was showing off. She could see the tell-tale signs of tension around his mouth. His eyes looked tired. Something big happened, she realized, to have changed her friend so much. It was something so big that Sirius had practically begged her in his letter to visit this afternoon but had taken great pains to hide his invitation from his godson. Though Harry's joy at her being at the Hole (as she had consented to call the manor) was palpable, she sensed a great change had occurred in her friend. She chewed her bottom lip thoroughly as she was trying to solve this puzzle in front of her. Then he faced her squarely and looked her straight in the eye. A soft gasp escaped her lips as comprehension came to her hyperactive mind.

There was no vestige of the grief-stricken boy she had comforted barely two weeks ago. Standing before her with a resigned air and baffling quiet confidence was a young man with viridian eyes aged beyond their years. She realized she must have been silent for a while, as he seemed to be looking at her expectantly. She blushed and said shyly, "I'm sorry, Harry, I drifted into space for quite a bit."

Harry cocked his head a little but merely said, "Let's go back to the den. I can see you're about to pummel me with questions." She gave him a small smile and followed downstairs.

Comfortably sitting beside each other, Hermione went straight to the point with her usual directness. "What happened?"

Harry laughed dryly but his face was serious when he said, "Dumbledore was here last night. He had a talk with Sirius and me."

Hermione waited quietly with dread creeping in her heart.

"He...revealed something. Something that actually explained everything that has happened." Harry leaned into the corner of the couch. "Sixteen years ago, a prophecy was made about an infant born at the end of the seventh month who would be the downfall of the Dark Lord. He was to come from those who have escaped him thrice. A Death Eater overheard this part of the prophecy and immediately told Voldemort. Those concerned went into hiding, of course. My parents were one of those couples."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione moved to place her hand over her friend's arm. His voice bitter and mutinous, he continued. "He didn't know that what he heard was incomplete. The latter part said that the Dark Lord would mark him as an equal, with powers no one bloody knows what, and that neither can live while the other survives."

Both teens were silent as each gave in to chaotic thoughts.

"Well, guess who he picked?" Harry motioned towards his scar. "Now, based on the accursed prophecy, I have the enviable position of either killing the snake-faced murderer of my parents and save the wizarding world in the process or bite the dust before I've even finished adolescence."

Hermione didn't say anything. She wrapped her arms around his neck and seemed to try and hug the anger and resentment that was eating at his soul. Harry turned to bury his head in her neck.

“I’m scared.” Harry managed to mumble before giving in to tears. He felt all the frustration and misery he had bottled up come tumbling out. The resentment he felt, the injustice, his fears. His terror knowing that a madman would always be hunting him and everyone he cared for. He wanted to lash out at his helplessness. For the first time in his life, he wanted to give up. Events that were beyond anyone’s control were the cause of so much hate and heartbreak in his young life.

“Why me, Hermione? What did I do wrong?” Hermione’s heart broke at Harry’s question. Her tears ran unchecked as she wept for her friend as she also wept with him. She understood where her childhood friend had gone.

The vestiges of innocence fell away with each teardrop shed. Hermione was appalled at the twist of fate that had placed such a kind and loving soul into a decidedly horrific path. After what seemed like an eternity, they quieted down. Hermione slowly unwrapped her arms from Harry’s neck.

“It’s ok to be scared, Harry. I’d say you were crazy if you weren’t.” Her voice was scratchy from crying. “If it helps, I’m petrified.”

He looked at her questioningly.

“We’re scared together, don’t you get it? We are in this together. And so will Ron. And Sirius. And even Professor Lupin. You are not alone in this.” She said emphatically. “I’ve said it before. You’re a great wizard, Harry. We believe in you. We all love you… and we will be by your side whatever your decision might be. We’ll get through this. Just like how we did with the Philosopher’s stone, the chamber, and the tournament.”

“I told you, I will always be here. I believe in you. In us.” She said softly as she wiped away his tears.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he let Hermione’s words permeate his psyche. But the echo of Dumbledore’s words would not drown out. The events of his early years at Hogwarts were flashing behind his lids. Each life-threatening situation for him and his friends. The chamber. The graveyard. Cedric. He started to have trouble breathing as each scene unfolded in his mind’s eye.

“I can’t.” He managed to strangle out as he opened his panicked eyes. Suddenly, he felt suffocated. Black spots started to block his peripheral vision.

Hermione placed both hands on either side of Harry’s face. She could see the melee of thoughts swirling behind his eyes as she stared into them. “Harry, look at me.”

Harry tried to focus on her. He heard her soft voice as if it was coming from a great distance.

“Look at me.”

He stared at those chocolate brown depths. He let her gaze be his anchor as he willed his emotions to calm down. He took several deep, calming breaths without breaking their stare. His heartbeat slowed down to normal and the room slowly came into focus.

Hermione’s voice was quiet but laced with a hypnotizing inner strength. “I’ll never leave you. I know it must seem like your life was suddenly decided for you but you have to remember the power of choice. You might seem like a marked man but that is only true to those who would believe that stupid prophecy, like Voldemort. For me – for us who love you – you are a young and noble wizard who we can clearly see would do great things. Not because of some prophecy or unnamed power, but because you are you. If the future includes you defeating Voldemort, we don’t know. But I am certain that whatever the situation, you would try to do the right thing, as you have always done so in the past. If faced with the choice of defending those you love against him, I have no doubt you would do so without even a secondary thought to your own safety. And of course, I would have to be there to make sure you don’t get yourself hurt.” Her lips quirked up in a half smile.

Harry’s own lips quirked up in return. His eyes softened. “Thank you, Hermione.” And he let out a breath that seemed to cleanse the darkness he had been wallowing in. Her words were finally accepted by his heart. Hermione’s assertions were strong enough to keep his demons at bay for now and he let go some of the guilt that had harangued him.

A wave of relief washed over Hermione as she watched her friend release the gloom that had been clouding his handsome face since she arrived.

“Thank you.” He said quietly as for the first time since they met, Harry put his arms around her and hugged her. He held on tightly, as if by holding onto her physically would keep all his dark thoughts at bay. He let her sweet scent invade his senses and comfort him. She hugged him just as tight and her hands moved over his back and shoulders in soothing movements. After a few moments, he finally let go and gave her a grateful smile.

"Well, at least, now I can honestly say I have some exciting news." Hermione perked up from the enthusiasm in his voice. He was still changed, she noted. But then, she silently accepted that there was no way of recovering what had been lost.

"Sirius proposed to train me. He was an Auror before, apparently. He was partners with my dad."

"Like father, like son I suppose. But how can you do magic? You're under-aged!" Hermione was indignant as she realized that Harry had somehow by-passed this Ministry rule.

He gave her a mischievous grin. "Apparently, the Ministry’s trackers are not strong enough to bypass the Barmy Hole’s wards. Added to that, it is also unplottable and under the Fidelius charm which makes any magic we do here untraceable. I’ve been helping Sirius remodel using magic. He’s been giving me instructions already since we got here."

"Well, that explains why the Hole is nearly unrecognizable now."

He nodded. "It turns out he also knows a lot about muggle defense tactics. He's determined to give me a crash course on a blend of martial arts disciplines. He and Remus agreed that if we combined this with magical dueling, it would prove to be a formidable from of fighting."

"Of course." She immediately saw the advantages to Sirius' suggestions. "I can see how it can be effective, no one would be able to predict your actions in a fight. That would give us an immense advantage. Is that why you've started working out?"

Harry felt idiotically pleased that she had noticed the results of his almost manic obsession with keeping shape. Then his brow furrowed. "What do you mean 'we'?"

Hermione looked as if he had just insulted her. "You must be delusional to even think I won't be joining you. Not to mention Ron..."

"But, Hermione..." She sent him a glare as if daring him to argue with her about this.Harry wisely shut his mouth but he was secretly elated by the fact that his friends would be willing to undergo the same training that he will be under.

“Harry, it terrifies me just thinking of what we are going to be training for. The fact that essentially, we are actually preparing for war – it’s not really something I find palatable. But the thought of losing you….”

Harry took her hand in his. “I know.” He said softly. “I can’t even begin to imagine what I’ll do if you got hurt.”

They both fell silent. Then Harry remembered something Sirius said and smiled. “I can’t believe I forgot! Sirius said he’ll also give us Occlumency and Animagus lessons.”

Her eyes lit up at the challenge of mastering what she knew to be highly advanced branches of magic. "Oh, I can't wait for those! And I thought I'd be bored stiff this summer after finishing my homework."

"You're done?!" He couldn't help the accusing tone that had crept in with his surprise.

She had the grace to flush. "Well, I didn't have much to do at home. And you know how I get once I've started."

Harry just shook his head, laughing.

"When are you going to tell Ron?"

"I might ask Sirius if I can drop by the Burrow tomorrow sometime in the afternoon. Do you really think he’ll want to join us?”

“Of course.”

"Well, it's really not gonna be much fun, it's mostly going to be a lot of hard work. You know Ron. I hope he would, though. it'll be a blast spending almost the whole summer with you guys. And think of all the fun we can have when we've become Animagi!" Harry's eyes had an evil glint.

"You're seriously not thinking of being a full-blown Marauder, are you?" Hermione asked with a reprimanding expression. Harry just gave her his best puppy-dog eyes.

Hermione burst out laughing and shook her head. "Fine, but not all the time. And enough with the blatant rule-breaking. Some would be fun, but with the way we were going, we might be lucky not to be expelled at the end of the year. I intend to keep you guys more in line. You guys take too many risks sometimes." She relented a little. Then she remembered another topic she wanted to discuss with him. "What do you plan on doing about the Ministry though? They seem to be on the warpath with you. They can make your life a lot more difficult, Harry."

“I know. I only learned about it this morning with your letter. Sirius and Remus have been keeping it quiet from me. They said dealing with it is just not the priority right now and I quite agree. The summer would be hectic enough without me picking battles with the imbeciles of Fudge. I wonder how much filth Skeeter has been able to publish about me."

Hermione slapped her forehead. 'I can't believe I forgot about her!" She jumped from the couch and Harry could hear her run to his room. She was back so quickly, Harry was still recovering from surprise at her flight. He noticed she had a clear jar with her containing a strange looking beetle inside.

"Remember how I told you I'll find out how Skeeter was able to get those stories even if she was banned from school?" Harry nodded, not really sure where she was going with this. "I did! Well, actually, you gave me the idea. You mentioned unless she had us bugged, there was no way she would have been able to know about Hagrid and Viktor. Well, it's not exactly the bugging you were thinking of but..." Hermione showed him the beetle with a flash of pride.

He gave her a perplexed look and then studied the bug closely. It was a fairly fat beetle with some weird markings around its antennae. He remembered Skeeter and suddenly the pieces clicked in his mind. "Wicked, she's an unregistered Animagus!" And he recalled the events of last year when the abrasive reporter was able to hone in on some of the more private aspects of his life. "I saw a beetle when Hagrid was talking with Madame Maxine about being his mum! And Malfoy was talking to her when we saw him under that tree."

"Viktor pulled out a beetle from my hair after the second task and unless I'm mistaken, she must have been perched on the windowsill in Divination when your scar hurt. I haven't been able to decide what to do with her, though. So I brought her here. I caught her on the window one time when you were still unconscious. I was standing against the window by your bed when I recognized her. She must have been snooping for more stories as to what had happened. I put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar before we left school so she can't transform back. Then I added a Silencing Charm and transfigured the glass to be a one-way mirror from the inside. I wasn't going to take a chance she might pick something up from me lugging her around."

"Brilliant."

"What do you suppose we do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Let's ask Sirius. "Harry looked at his watch. He stood up and offered her a hand. "They must be in the library having a chat. That reminds me, I haven't shown you the new library. I was saving it for last but we sort of got distracted."

Hermione's eyes glowed. Last she was here, Sirius had shown her a large library but it was such a dreadful place that even her love of books wasn't enough to sustain her in the room for more than half an hour. "Well, what are you waiting for, let's go. "She took his hand and dragged him laughing all the way to the second floor.

*************************************

The two marauders were indeed in the library. There were going through books of several defensive spells that they thought would be best to start with tomorrow. Sirius looked up from a distinctly interesting one entitled "The Nasty Side of Safe and Everyday Magic" that outlined several nasty uses for simple charms and spells when a laughing Harry ushered in Hermione who gave a small shriek of delight when she took in the renovated library.

"Harry, I love it! This is utterly amazing, how did you manage to do this?" She wasn't actually waiting for a reply as she immediately made her way through the books and new furniture that adorned the room. Harry stood in the middle just watching her, taking delight in the enthusiasm shown by his best friend.

“Oh, Harry..It’s even arranged by subject! I can’t believe how much it’s changed. It’s exactly how I pictured my perfect library!”

Harry flushed. “Uh..actually, I fixed it with you in mind. I remembered you telling me how you arranged your books at your house. I even remembered that window ledge you told me where your Grandmum used to read to you when you were little. And you’ve always complained about the lack of lighting at the Hogwarts library and how we needed to have study corners with lamps and such.”

Hermione emerged from behind one of the shelves and threw her arms around Harry. “That is the sweetest thing. I can’t believe you actually pay that much attention to what I say.”

Harry looked bashfully at his feet. “I’m really sorry about not paying attention to you sometimes, Hermione. After everything you’ve done for me, the least I could do was create your ideal library. It isn’t much, but consider this yours.”

Hermione gave hand a tight squeeze and he looked up to meet her moist eyes. “Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me.” With one last squeeze, Hermione let go of his hand and disappeared behind one of the shelves again. Harry watched for some time more then turned and faced the two men at the tables near the fireplace.

Sirius could feel his shoulders sag in relief when he saw Harry's face. His plan paid off, his godson looked so much younger and the tension lines around his mouth and eyes had disappeared. He saw Harry notice his expression but the young man declined to comment.

He took a seat across the two men and looked surprised when he saw how late in the afternoon it was from the late afternoon sun shining through the window. He didn't realize how long they had stayed in the den talking. At that moment, Hermione came towards them, her arms loaded with a ridiculously high stack of books. Remus noticed the titles ranged from defense to occlumency and animagus transformations. He also took note of a jar with a beetle Harry had been carrying.

"I take it this means you're asking to join Harry this summer?" Sirius asked the young witch, looking guardedly at the stack she was arranging on the table and then took the seat next to Harry.

"What do you mean asking?" She had a stubborn look on her face.

"Hermione, the training we're planning would be intensive. It might be too..."

"What, dangerous?" She said darkly, clearly not happy with the older man's train of thought. "You, of all people, should know better than to think I wouldn't know how dangerous it is. It's not open for debate." The younger girl glared at him. Harry was silent beside her, watching the exchange with interest. "I'm in this, whether you like it or not. I am not leaving Harry."

Harry spoke up. "Sirius, I would also need to talk with Ron. I have no doubt he would feel the same as Hermione."

Sirius had cowered a little at the younger girl's palpable wrath but still had a studiously blank look on his face. Then he addressed the two teenagers. "You do understand that the more people who know about this, the more likely it will reach Voldemort's ears."

"Yes, we know. But you should also know that Ron and I will always be at Harry's side fighting with him until this ends." Harry shot her a grateful look.

"It will be difficult to explain this to everyone, especially if you three are cooped up here all summer and then come back to school obviously changed." Sirius reasoned.

Remus’ brow furrowed he caught on what Sirius was trying to do. He watched the teens as he tried to figure out on what they will decide on.

This time, Harry answered with a thoughtful look on his face. "I see your point. It will be difficult to explain their absences to their parents and any wizard who might notice. That and if they knew we've been together all summer and then show up at the Express obviously looking like we've gone through training cannot exactly be called careful."

Hermione pondered this new puzzle. "I can talk to my parents. I haven't been keeping anything from them the past years about what has happened in Hogwarts. I'm sure I can persuade them to let me stay here for the summer to train. They've been so worried. It would placate them to know I'll be given defensive training and at the same time, be safer than they could imagine here.”

She paused and walked around for a moment, before continuing with her thought. “We can think of a cover for my absence. Maybe we can tell the others I'm away at summer camp." Seeing the blank look at the marauder's faces, she explained. "It's what some muggle kids and teenagers do. They're specialized training camps they go to during summer vacation and can vary from theater to military training. It ends more or less a week before school starts. I think if we say I was sent to a physical fitness camp, it will be enough to explain everything."

The two men looked at her with amazement and delight as a particular obstacle to their plan was suddenly resolved. But Sirius still replied in a halting tone, clearly not willing to give his consent so easily, "That may work."

"It's a brilliant cover." Harry was amazed yet again by how Hermione's mind worked. "But Ron and the Weasleys are too visible in the wizarding world" he said, a bit distressed.

"Yes, they are. There wouldn't be any kind of counterpart of summer camps in the wizarding world is it? Wait, we can't use the same excuse twice that would make it too obvious." She chewed her bottom lip as she tried to think of a way to include Ron this summer.

Sirius looked at Remus while the two teenagers were lost in their thoughts and gave a silent nod. "Ok, Hermione, you can join us this summer. But including Ron might require a trickier course of action."

"I have an idea. I hope you'll be open to it though as it may not be exactly what you wanted." Remus said haltingly.

The two looked up at their former professor hopefully.

"For now, there will be no plausible way to have Ron stay over under the cover of a harmless reason and then suddenly emerge at King’s Cross looking obviously changed. Now, his parents, as well as his two oldest brothers are both in the Order. You are aware of the Order of the Phoenix right, Hermione."

"Yes, Professor". At Harry's questioning look, "Well, Ron isn't exactly the most discreet person. He told me about it the couple of times I visited him and Ginny at the Burrow."

Harry nodded and then looked expectantly at Remus again.

"Given the highly dangerous position of their family, I think Arthur and Molly would be relieved if I offer to give their kids additional Defense training at my old house. It is unplottable like the Hole and also under the Fidelius since Sirius recovered it from Gringotts and the Order started to use it as headquarters. The training might not be as intensive as what you guys are will be put through and I'm afraid I can't teach muggle defense like Sirius but I can definitely train them enough not to be far behind you two."

"You're saying them. So you'll be including the other under-aged Weasleys too, right?" Remus nodded at Harry's question. "Yes, it would make my offer of additional lessons more credible.”

“Well, that may not exactly be what I was hoping for but it sounds like the safest course of action we can take right now. I'll explain it to Ron when I talk to him."

Hermione agreed. "Yes, that seems to be best and we could encourage him to take up an exercise routine himself. We could suggest that it would help him greatly for Quidditch. He's planning to try out for keeper this year since Oliver left."

"He'll be happy enough to do that for sure if you put it like that," They both knew of Ron's almost manic obsession with the sport. "And once school starts, we can both tutor Ron on what he'd missed. It'd be easy enough to say we're doing some exercises for extra credit or a project. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would consent to vouch for us."

The two teenagers had a silent conversation between them. Then they turned to the two older men at the same time.

"We agree." Harry said in a firm voice. "I think it's better if we talk to Ron on Saturday also before we meet with Dumbledore. I'll send him an owl tomorrow to ask him if he can meet me there."

"Brilliant." Sirius beamed them a smile. "I'll be over at your house tomorrow morning to pick you up, Hermione."

Both teenagers narrowed their eyes at his quick and enthused reply and Sirius grimaced at his mistake before his face blushed a deep red.

Remus was laughing at his now disgraced friend. "I think they know what you’re doing, Padfoot." He turned to his former students. "As you guys will no doubt figure out by Sirius' slip-up, he originally wanted to train the three of you. But when we had talked about it though, we saw the problems we raised with you. We concluded that it might be best if I trained Ron and the other Weasleys with you two staying here under Padfoot. However, he wasn’t sure you’d agree to train separately and thus wanted you to see that dilemma for yourselves and just agree to what you think will be best to do. He’s just happy you decided on what he wanted initially."

Harry and Hermione looked flummoxed as they realized the amount of trust the two older wizards had placed on them to allow them to decide what they needed to do. Harry recovered first, "Thank you, Sirius. You have no idea how good it feels to be trusted to make my own decisions."

"You forget I spent a decade in prison, pup. That alone would ensure that you would always have that freedom from me. Not to mention that I trust and love you wholeheartedly." The older man was positively beaming at the praise his godson has given him. Maybe I can do this parenting thing right, after all, he thought to himself.

"Now that we've all agreed, can you please satisfy my curiosity as to why you've suddenly decided to collect bugs?" Remus looked pointedly as the jar that was still at Harry's lap.

"We forget about her again." Hermione muttered.

They introduced the hated reporter to the two wizards and repeated how Hermione had captured the illegal animagus. Sirius had a decidedly evil glint in his eye when they asked what they were going to do with the woman.

Remus nervously saw the punishments his friend was thinking of. "Let me take her, I'll make her swear an oath she would never fabricate another story again and then threaten her to reveal her nasty secret before I release her. She might be of use to us in the future against the Ministry's anti-Harry propaganda." Sirius looked disappointed but conceded that Remus had a point.

"I'll take you home too, Hermione. I'm about to leave anyway."

"Right, it's getting late. My parents would be worried. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry." The boy got up and gave Hermione a hug goodbye. She leaned in and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well."

The older wizard and girl left the library, making their way to the floo in the kitchen.
Grinning idiotically from the second kiss he'd gotten from his best friend, he told Sirius, "C'mon old man, I'm hungry. Let's make some dinner."

*************************************
They decided to watch one of Harry's muggle movies after dinner. Both men were sprawled at either end of the couch, nursing a butterbeer in each hand.

Halfway into the movie, Harry suddenly spoke up. "You invited Hermione this afternoon didn't you?"

Not hearing any trace of resentment in the boy's voice, Sirius straightened up a little from his position and nodded. "You couldn't fool me with the silencing charms and the cheerful façade, Harry. I saw how depressed you were and I knew when we've finished talking with Dumbledore, it would get even worse. But you were showing no indication of opening up and I must admit I had no idea how to talk to you when you were taking great pains to hide it from me. Ron and Hermione had both written to ask permission to visit and I begged off, telling them I just need some time to get the house ready and to give us some time alone to bond. I was hoping you'll come around to talking soon. But you were getting more and more depressed without any sign of coming to me so I begged Hermione not to ask you to visit yet with the promise that she can come today. I knew you would see through what I was doing if you knew I invited her over this particular afternoon."

"I apologize for that. It is taking some time to get used to the idea that there is an adult I can always run to about my problems. But thank you, Sirius. I appreciate what you did very much." A corner of Harry's mouth quirked up. "I seem to be doing nothing this summer but thank people all the time."

"You should never refuse help if it is offered with good intentions, kiddo. We do not pity you, we love you and we want to see you happy. That is why we are all doing this for you. You have to get it through that stubborn mind of yours that we all do love you and believe in your abilities. I've told you, you have my trust and I am not kidding when I say I do not give that so easily. You have earned it without question."

"Hermione more or less told me the same thing."

"She is a very intelligent and special girl...woman, I mean. She might smack me on the head if she heard me call her girl."

Harry laughed at the rueful expression of his godfather's. Then he released a sigh, "You were right when you said that I was bottling everything up though. It's just that everything was so perfect, I felt so bad at still being depressed all the time. I had you, a great home, my friends, everything I've always wanted but I still felt so miserable from what had happened and then that blasted prophecy. I didn't know what to do about it either."

"Don't stress about it too much, Harry. Right now, everything is still too new for you. You will settle down eventually. Never try to force it; it would only make everything more complicated than it already is."

"Don't I know that, now." The boy muttered under his breath.

The older man gave a soft laugh. "It will get easier, give it time."

"You know, I don't think I've ever told you, but you are doing this guardian thing brilliantly. I want you to know how grateful I am."

Sirius' eyes misted. "I told you I would be the godfather I ought to be to you, Harry and I intend to keep that promise. I would never ask you to call me dad; my heart would not be able to live with that. But maybe, you can call me Uncle? It's what you would have grown up calling me anyway if Lily and James had..." Sirius couldn't finish his sentence.

"I would very much like that, Uncle Sirius." Harry said quietly, looking him in the eye to let him know how much he meant it.

Another smile broke out in the older wizard's face and he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. They've made a breakthrough in their relationship tonight, he knew.

"Better go to sleep, kiddo. We have an early day tomorrow."

Harry got up and gave his godfather a hug. "Goodnight, Uncle. "And he left the older man still nursing his butterbeer, lost in the giddy feeling of hope that things are finally starting to look better.

Harry spent his first dreamless and uninterrupted night at the Barmy Hole.

**********************

a/n I’m re-reading all the chapters I’ve uploaded and I can see all the grammatical mistakes I’ve made. However, I don’t think I’ll be able to edit them presently as I’m more concerned on finishing the story as soon as possible while I still have my muse. I will re-edit this story after it is completed though.

CHAPTER 4 – It Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. And special thanks to The_scribbler for the most excellent beta work.

Author’s Note:

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

**************************

“Good Morning,” Sirius greeted the two teenagers standing in front of him. Both were in dressed in black training pants, trainers, and white tops.

“Right now, both of you are not in the best condition I’d like you to be before we start the defense lessons. Harry, I know that you’ve been working out since we finished this room but it’s still mostly just running and the occasional beating you give our trusty punching bag. I’m not so sure about you, Hermione. From what I can assess, you’re in good shape; though you don’t exactly have a physical regimen that you follow. Lugging around those books must have some merit in them,” he teased the young woman who turned a slight pink.

“So for the rest of this week only, we would concentrate more on conditioning. I want you both to develop an everyday workout even if we don’t have lessons scheduled. Trust me; you’ll need it if you want to survive what I’m planning to put you guys through.” The older man gave them an evil smile.

“To start, we will have a warm-up run. We’ll be starting with a 15 minute run right now. But by the end of the summer, I’d like you both to be able to sustain 45 minutes to an hour of running. You’ll also be doing push-ups, sit-ups, and squats not to mention some rope jumping, shadowboxing, and weight training. For this week, we have to accustom your body to handle the stress it’ll go through from trying to learn different disciplines at the same time. I am not going to teach you exactly as they are usually taught. Most likely, we’ll modify each so it will fit our needs. There would also be obstacle exercises and some weapons fighting. Now, I first told you I had planned on teaching kickboxing and aikido. I’ve reached the conclusion that sword fighting would be a great advantage too. So we’ll be including that.”

“We’ll be concentrating first on Muay Thai; it’s the traditional Thai kickboxing form. It is also what I know, so it’s perfect since it’s the one that we would need, not to mention the one I can teach. The traditional form would be using what is called “The Science of Eight Limbs” – your hands, shins, elbows, and knees. It is not so strict in form which makes it ideal for street fighting. Aikido is the art of self-defense concentrating not on punches or kicks, but mainly on how to turn an opponent’s attack against him with the minimum use of energy or movement. I think in the event either of you find yourselves ambushed; this would come in real handy. Also, it requires such small movements; your opponents will never know what hit them. I think it would also help you in honing your instincts since it is mastered by reacting automatically to each attack. That said, knowing it would be a great advantage.”

Sirius looked at them pointedly. Harry looked excited as Sirius was giving the overview on what he scheduled for them. He could see the physical challenges it presented were appealing to the natural athlete in him. Hermione, on the other hand, was starting to turn a little green. He knew she wasn’t particularly athletic but he knew her work ethic enough to be sure that by the time the summer was over, she’ll be giving even him a run for his money. Sirius had a little trouble keeping his face straight.

“Lastly, we’ll be having fencing lessons first as preparation for sword fighting. I’d like you both to be able to integrate the movements with your dueling, since they are similar in stance. Knowledge of weapons can also be very useful. Remus and I have found a spell which would let you use a corporeal partner for the sparring sessions. It’s perfect since that would lessen the cases of accidental injuries, plus it will let you experience practicing with different partners. That would be extremely helpful in training you for anything that might happen.”

“Corporeal?” Harry shot a perplexed look at Hermione.

“It means it has a physical, solid form,” Hermione answered promptly.

“Ohh,” The young man turned back to Sirius.

Not even bothering to hide the grin on his face, Sirius continued his explanation. “In any case, you don’t need to worry about that for now, since we’ll do Aikido and Muay Thai for the next three weeks before having our first fencing lesson. Now, I want you to start with the form that I am going to show you, and then I will have you do some stretches, then get your butts to the treadmill to finish that 15 minute run.”

The two teens complied. After the requisite stretches, they made their way to the mats, so that they could do ten minutes of Hu yung Bo. Sirius demonstrated the form once, had them go through it completely, correcting their posture as they did so, and then set a ten-minute timer for them. Once they were warmed up, they made their way to the treadmills at the corner. Sirius had added another one so he could have his daily run together with his trainees.

Hermione was breathing a little heavier after the run. By the time they finished a round of sit-ups, followed by push-ups, and a sequence of rope jumping, both she and Harry were panting heavily.

Sirius wasn’t as winded, but he was sweating already. He went to the little icebox near the treadmills and got three bottles with light pink liquid and three bottles of water. He gave each teenager one clear and one light pink bottle, “These are energy replenishing potions.” He said indicating the colored liquids. “They’ll help you keep up with the exercises and lessons. Please don’t rely on them though; I’d really like you to build your strength. And don’t take a huge gulp; you might be bouncing off the walls if you take too much.” They gave him a grateful look as they each took a reasonable drink of the potion. Immediately, they felt as refreshed as when they started the exercises. Their muscles were still aching a lot but at least they didn’t feel like they were ready to drop dead. They took another measured gulp before they opened their water bottles next, nearly draining it.

When the couple had regained their normal color and breathing; Sirius put them through a regimen of weights. He started Hermione with five-pound dumbbells, instructing her on the correct way of doing the arm exercises. Harry, he gave double the weight. They went through three sets of 15 each for every target muscle before he told them to do leg presses.

For the finishing touch, he let them have their fun with punching bag and the new body opponent dummy he added a few days ago. He was correcting each kick and punch they were throwing according to what he had learned from his Muay Thai instructor when he took the same lessons with James nineteen years ago before their Auror training began.

Finally, he took pity when he saw them breathing heavily again.

“Alright, that’s enough for now. Let’s have some late brunch then a round of dueling.”

The teenagers didn’t need to be told twice. They dumped their gear in a pile near the icebox before they grabbed their potions and headed straight to the kitchen.

*********************************

Remus and Tonks were having their second cup of tea and a rather lazy, late morning when two teenagers barreled into the kitchen followed by a grinning marauder. After Hermione cast a muttered re-heating spell on the food still spread out on the table, the two sat down and piled their plates high and started eating without another word. Sirius took a seat next to a laughing Tonks.

“Whatever did you do to these two, Padfoot?” Remus couldn’t help laughing either at the intense concentration the younger couple was lavishing on eating.

“He’s a monster,” Hermione replied, her mind had sufficiently recovered some of its processes after a few spoonfuls of late - terribly late - breakfast.

Sirius let out a laugh in the middle of swallowing some eggs and bacon. He had to be patted quite loudly in the back before he was able to calm down. Taking a huge gulp of water, he told the younger girl. “I did tell you what I had arranged.”

“You didn’t tell us you were also planning to turn into a tyrannical maniac,” She accused but gave a sigh. “I suppose, given what you had already said you wanted us to learn, I should’ve expected this.” Then she finally noticed the witch with bubblegum pink hair sitting in between the older men. “Oh hello, I’m Hermione. I’m sorry I was a bit preoccupied when I came in.”

Tonks shook Hermione’s outstretched hand with a huge smile, “Wotcher, name’s Tonks. I’m pleased to meet you finally. I’ve heard so much about you from these three but they seem to have forgotten their manners at the moment.” The two older men looked a bit disgraced but Harry was still silent and focused on his plate, totally oblivious of what’s happening.

“Tonks?”

“Her real name is Nymphadora, but she refuses to answer unless you call her by her surname.” Sirius said teasingly.

“And so would you, if you’re mother had named you that.” She retorted.

“I like your hair. It’s very…cheery” Hermione seemed to be suppressing a giggle.

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. Watch this.” Tonks changed her hair from pink to yellow to violet and then enlarged her nose to resemble an elephant’s.

“You’re a metamorphagus!” The younger witch exclaimed delightedly.

“Yes, and an accomplished one, as she never forgets to remind us,” Sirius said dryly.

Tonks haughtily flipped her hair at her cousin but with it still being a vibrant shade of violet, the overall intention was lost. Remus, on the other hand, was still amusedly watching Harry attack his food with unusual ferocity. “Are you planning to talk to us soon, Harry?”

That seemed to snap the boy back to the present. He slowly swallowed, took a drink of pumpkin juice, and then sheepishly said, “I’m sorry. I was famished after the torture Uncle Sirius put us through.”

Remus looked warmly at his friend who was sporting an inordinately pleased expression. He also noticed how the young man had addressed Sirius. “Are you planning on torturing and starving them the whole summer?”

Harry spoke up. “I think we’re going about this the wrong way. Maybe we should move these defense lessons in the afternoon. That way, we can start with a good breakfast and work on our homework or Occlumency without feeling like our whole body is protesting from standing up.”

“I think that’ll be better, we can always have an early light lunch so we won’t have stomach aches going straight to training after.” Hermione agreed.

“Yes, I realized that when I saw how you two looked when we finished and that was just my warm-up session. We’ll move all defense lessons in the afternoons and have the academics out of the way in the morning.”

“How bad was it?” Tonks gave them a pitying look.

“Let’s just say I’ve been reacquainted with muscles I never knew I had.” Harry said with a grimace.

The whole table laughed then Remus turned to Hermione, “Are you finished with your letters?”

She nodded. “I have them up in my room; I’ll bring it down after breakfast.”

“Letters to whom?” Harry was still shoveling a huge amount of food on his plate.

“I wrote to Ron and Ginny saying I’m going to be hard to reach this summer because my parents have asked me to attend a muggle self-defense and fitness camp to strengthen me. Because they’ve been worried about the constant dangerous situations we find ourselves in.”

“Why did you include Ron? Aren’t you going to tell him you’re here?”

“We can’t risk that right now. I was hoping you guys would be able to floo here and we could tell him together before going back to Lupin Manor to talk with Dumbledore.”

“I like how you think, young lady,” Tonks said.

Hermione flushed a little at the praise. “I just figured, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Tonks nodded. “I’ll be giving them lessons too, with Remus. I might even help out Sirius here. No use learning an old man’s tactics eh?”

“Who are you calling ‘old man’ ?” Both marauders loudly objected at the same time producing a round of snickers.

“Of course, I didn’t mean you, Remus. You look young enough for me to date actually.” Tonks said with a mischievous smirk which became a triumphant, knowing look when the older man colored like a ripe tomato.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and suppressed knowing smiles before they both turned back to their plates. Sirius, meanwhile, looked like Christmas had come early.

Remus tried to salvage his situation though his face was still flaming. “Um..er… Dumbledore was very happy when I told him what we had planned, Padfoot.”

“Really?” Harry interjected with an raised brow. Sirius and Hermione each shot him a look full of silent questions before his godfather said, “That’s good. Has he spread the word out?”

“Yes. He sent word to whoever will be guarding the Grangers that Hermione won’t be spending the summer there. And he’s prepared to talk to Arthur and Molly about the Weasleys’ lessons. He said Molly might be less worried and suspicious if the idea came from him. They’ll be more amenable about their children learning highly defensive and offensive magic. He’s asked them to come early this Saturday so he can propose the idea and suggest me and Tonks as teachers. If that foes well, I can floo Ron over here. You’ll have enough time to talk to him and it will eliminate the chance for you to be seen by the other Order members. We can come get Ron when everybody has left.”

“What do you mean?”

Remus and Sirius shared a look. “Snape is part of the Order, Harry.” Remus said softly.

“What?! Why?!” Harry was indignant. Hermione gave him a slightly reproving look.

“He’s working as a double agent with the Death Eaters, or so Albus says. I still don’t trust the slimy git no matter how much Albus would vouch for him.” Sirius said disgustedly.

“He’s not always at the meetings but we’d really rather not take the chance. We still haven’t decided to trust him with information as possibly detrimental as you being here. It doesn’t require a leap of imagination to conclude that living with Sirius would result in whatever form of training he can give you. Right now, the only ones who know that you’re here beside the ones at this table are the solicitors at Gringott's and the Weasleys. And they have instructions to keep it quiet.”

“Why?” Harry asked again but comprehension dawned on his face just as quickly. “Oh, the Ministry.”

“Yes. And of course, for Voldemort also. It’s important to have him and his Death Eaters underestimate you as much as possible since it’s a terribly good advantage to have. Dumbledore, Sirius, and I have a nagging suspicion that they won’t stop at the articles. So we are doing everything we can to keep the fact that you are here hidden as long as possible.”

“It was actually Ron who brought it to our notice.”

Harry looked at Sirius with just a touch of disbelief. Hermione spoke up, “It’s true. If you remember, after the tournament, articles debunking Voldemort’s return started appearing. Not long after, Ron and I noticed a few not so appealing articles and references to you had also found their way in print. We decided to keep watch for what else they would publish and Ron decided to write Percy demanding to know why the Ministry was bent on discrediting you. Percy’s reply was echoing what the Daily Prophet was publishing to the letter; it was obvious the paper was acting as the Ministry’s mouthpiece against you. He said you were an arrogant, attention-seeking and psychologically unstable boy and that Ron would do well to cut off your friendship. He mentioned that he, along with the higher Ministry officials he is ‘very close’ with, was sure that you would be showing your supposed real colors soon publicly. After the letter, Ron told me he had a feeling that the articles would be the start of what the Ministry was planning for you. He said Percy was too adamant and smug in the letter and if he knew his brother and the other stuffed shirts he worked with, they would have something planned for you aside from the articles.”

“I had asked Hermione to accompany me when I received my appointment from Gringott’s regarding the guardianship because she had been a really big help and I knew she’d be pleased to see the fruit of her labors. She was too quiet the whole trip so I knew something was bothering her. And then when I was about to sign the documents, she asked the solicitor how private the information would be. The goblin replied that if we wanted, a privacy spell can be added to the document for an additional fee. Hermione begged me to agree to it. So right now, anyone who is not given permission to view your information would see the parchment reflecting you still living at Privet Drive.” Sirius looked at Hermione proudly. “I then brought her here so we could talk privately and, at the same time, show her the house. When she told me of their suspicions, I had to admit they were right. I told Dumbledore and we’ve been trying to gather information on the Ministry since then.”

Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair, messing it further beyond belief. Hermione, who had been watching his reaction the whole time, suddenly let out a laugh. Harry looked at her irritably. But before he could ask what was so funny about the situation they were in, the other three people had also started laughing. “What?!” His eyes flashed at them with annoyance.

Hermione was trying to stop laughing but was failing miserably. “I think you may have dipped in some ketchup.” She said, pointing at his hand which had some spots of the red condiment. The same hand that he had run though his hair.

“Oh bugger,” He said, touching his hair. Sure enough, he came up with even more slushy red sauce. His mouth twitched and then finally gave in to laughter, forgetting his anger for the moment.

“I think we’re ready to go back the dueling room.” Sirius said after they had relatively calmed down and magically cleaned Harry’s hair.

The teenagers groaned but followed him out of the room without further protest. Soon after, the couple left at the table followed to help.

***********************************************

Hermione and Harry were enjoying a quiet Friday afternoon. Sirius, in an uncharacteristically good mood, had cancelled what would have been their first practical dueling lesson after he put them through another arduous conditioning workout that morning. After the four and a half grueling days where the man had seemed determined to test their limits in every physical and mental way possible, they thought it was only right of him to do so. They were enjoying a much needed break from the training, the Occlumency lessons, and Harry’s homework. As a result, they found themselves in the library.

Harry was half-sitting, half-lying on the window-ledge. His back was propped on pillows against the wall; his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. Hermione was facing him; her pose mirrored his and was reading a text on Advanced Transfiguration. A book on Charms was similarly propped in his lap. A book he was supposed to be studying, since he wasn’t done with his homework yet. However, with their lower bodies touching at every point, his hormones had made their introduction and seemed to have turned a deaf ear to his higher brain’s rebukes on his study habits.

She is your best friend! Harry sneaked another glance at the young woman. Yes, she is, and she was looking really good being his best friend, the workouts were starting to do their magic on her amazing body. His eyes traveled the length from her delicate ankles to her now even more well-defined legs and up all the way to… Oh why did she pick today, of all days, to wear those shorts? Harry shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He determinedly focused his eyes back on the text in front of him. When had he started to see Hermione this way? An annoying thought broke through his concentration. Her breasts, Harry’s eyes darted to the aforementioned body part. Every curve was hugged by the fit white baby shirt she was wearing. He suddenly remembered when he woke up snuggling to her. They were so warm. And soft. Such warm, soft breasts. No, no, no! Stop it! It’s her chest for god’s sake! Get a grip on yourself, mate. Harry shut his eyes and tired to banish the traitorous thoughts he was giving his BEST FRIEND. You can’t salivate for your friend no matter how fine looking she was, that’s against all the rules. Wait, what rules? What was he babbling about? Merlin, I’m just a normal fourteen (going fifteen) year old teenager. He rubbed his hand over his face. Why now? Am I reacting to Hermione just because of hormones? We have grown closer, he admitted. And though we’ve always been together at school, it was the first time they’ve spent time relatively alone. He thought about everything she’s done for him.

A very warm and loving feeling suffused him when he thought of how she had worked on Sirius’ case. And the way she held him that night. He’s never been one to be touchy but recently, he’s looked for excuses to be just that with her. He found himself offering his hand to help her more. He enjoyed holding and watching her during sit-ups than what may strictly be called friendly. Also, she was the only one who can hug him without his reactionary flinch. What about those soft kisses she gave him? Does she like me? Do I like her? Would I like to be more than her friend? His thoughts went into a less lascivious but definitely more confusing path.

Unknown to the young man with the currently raging hormones and confounded emotions, his seemingly calm best friend had been having the same discussions with herself.

While Harry was trying to concentrate on his homework, Hermione had been admiring the muscles he’s been building in his chest and arms. The new and now fitting clothes he’s been wearing only helped her veiled perusal. The vintage dark purple shirt was stretched across his chest, defining some of the muscles that were starting to build up. Her eyes slid downward to his flat stomach, her mind going overdrive at imagining how his abs looked like now.

Oh, how she would love to run her hands over that six-pack he should have after all the crunches and kickboxing they’ve been doing. Six pack?! Her mind shrieked. Good god, she groaned, I’m starting to sound like Lavender and Parvati. What was the matter with her? This was Harry, her best friend. Wait, her other best friend. She liked Ron, didn’t she? But Ron was so immature compared to Harry now. And he never could make her feel good about herself like Harry could when he gave her a compliment. No, that’s not fair. She couldn’t compare Ron and Harry; they were two totally different guys. They grew up in almost opposite lives. Just then, Harry raised his left hand and rubbed his face, effectively cutting off her very mature discussion with her inner self. Wow, he’s gotten some very nice...what were they called again, biceps? Whatever, very nice arms. Ughh, I am such a girl! I can’t be this shallow, can I? Her brow furrowed. Oh god, am I?

She stole a discreet look at Harry again. Or have I been suppressing an attraction for him all along? She averted her eyes back to her book while she chewed on her bottom lip. She admitted she hugged him more times than a normal best friend should. That was because he always seemed to need a hug, she rationalized back. Ok, fine, it feels really good to hug him, she forced herself to be honest. But it wasn’t just those. He was kind, and so insufferably sweet. And he had this way of making her feel safe even if they were in the direst of situations. She didn’t feel awkward with him like she did with Ron.

Ron had a way of making her temper flare up, a fact she actually hated since it usually caused her to make rash decisions and say hurtful things. Ron always seemed to make fun of her preference to follow rules and study habits. Harry, while he didn’t share her traits, never made fun of her. He simply accepted it as part of her personality. She knew she was intelligent and that it was one of her annoying habits to be somewhat of a know-it all. However, he never seemed to be bothered or intimidated by it. Oh Merlin, do I like Harry? He’s always been Harry to her. Her shy and sweet best friend who was always so generous with everything he had. He would always take the side of right, no matter how unpopular. He had strength of conviction she knew even most adults lacked. And….he’s always been so honest with her. Ok, so he had a knack for getting tangled up in not so enjoyable circumstances but he always managed to get out of them without ever sacrificing his beliefs. Do I like Harry? Oh god, she can’t stand this. She can feel the heat emanating from his body. This is not good, being this close. I need to think about all of this. But not while we’re lying side by side while he’s calmly sitting there with no idea how he’s wreaking havoc on my hormones.

“Harry,”

He looked up, looking more than a little lost and perplexed. Well, actually he looked like he was about to panic. Hermione picked up on his tension, she sat up straighter. “Are you alright? You look bothered.”

“What? Oh, er. No, I’m fine.” He was looking a bit guilty. That struck Hermione as a bit odd. But she gave a mental shrug. It was quite possibly her imagination.

“Would you just like to watch a movie?” She had to get out of this… intimate… situation.

Harry released a smile of relief. “Sure. Let’s get a couple of butter beers and make some popcorn. Would you like that?” Hermione nodded.

They both stood up and put their books on top of the study table. Neither noticed that they didn’t say a word to each other until they reached the den to argue about which movie to watch.

******************************************

Harry was pacing back and forth in front of the fire.

“Would you please stop? You’re making me nauseous.” Hermione said exasperatedly. “It’ll be alright, he’ll be here soon.”

“I know. I’m just a little nervous on what his reaction would be when we tell him.”

“He’ll be fine, Harry. He knows the dangers.” Hermione tried to reassure him as well as herself.

“Well, you know Ron. He might take it the wrong way when we say he can’t train here.”

“You think he’ll be jealous he isn’t being tortured by Sirius personally?”

Harry laughed and some of the tension left his body. He took a seat in front of Hermione at the table. “Well, a little, if I’m to be honest. I’ve been a little wary of his insecurities since our fight about the Tri-Wizard Tournament.”

Hermione placed her hand over his. “We’ll make him understand. At least you’re aware of his insecurities now and are doing what you can not to add to it. We’ll just have to reassure him this was the best we could do.” She said softly.

The fire glowed green at that moment. They turned to see a familiar, lanky, redhead holding a package stumble out.

“Harry, blimey, you look…. What are you doing here?!” He turned to Hermione accusingly then his eyes narrowed as he saw their still joined hands. Hermione saw what caught Ron’s attention and as normally and slowly as possible, she removed her hand and placed it on her lap.

“Hey, Ron.” Harry said nervously. He got up and fetched a butterbeer for his friend. “Have a seat. We have quite a lot to tell you.” He motioned the seat next to Hermione.

Ron was turning the famous Weasley red as he sat without a word and sat the package at the seat at his other side.

“Before you blow up or anything, we want to say that we thought of everything and had tried all that we could do, ok?” Hermione was slightly becoming more nervous as she saw Ron’s color. She mentally readied herself in case Ron’s temper went out of control.

“About a week ago, Dumbledore came here and revealed that there had been a prophecy made about me.” Harry went straight to the point, also noting his friend’s heightened color.

Ron looked taken aback. Apparently, this wasn’t what he expected to hear. His face lost some of its vivid shade.

Harry let out a relieved breath. “He was the one who heard the prophecy so he was able to show it to me as a memory. It said that an infant born at the end of the seventh month to parents who have escaped Voldemort thrice would be his downfall. A Death Eater heard this part of the prophecy and told his snake-faced master. My parents, along with another couple involved, immediately went into hiding. But the rest of the prophecy that Voldemort didn’t know about told of him marking the infant as his equal, had powers he didn’t know of, and that neither can live while the other does.” Harry was surprised at the normal tone of his voice. He sent Hermione a delighted grin.

Hermione gave him an equally beaming one of her own, letting him know she understood the barrier he had just broken through.

Ron still looked aghast as he tried to understand what the prophecy meant for Harry. He didn’t see the meaningful smiles his friends exchanged. “Bloody hell, Harry.” He had a disbelieving expression.

Turning back to the young redhead, “I know. Believe me, I was a wreck when I first heard it.”

“So you really have to kill You-know-Who? Or else… What are you going to do?”

Harry frowned a little at Ron’s ready acceptance of his supposed fate. “Ron, just because it’s a prophecy doesn’t mean it would have to come true. There are still a lot of things that can happen between now and when or if I do face Voldemort again. There are still a lot of other possibilities.”

“But, Harry…” Ron saw the look on Hermione’s face and shut his mouth though it was clear he thought the two must be slightly delusional.

“In any case, Uncle Sirius decided on some insurance in the event I do find myself face to face with the mad murderer and his Death knibblers again. We’ve begun training in defensive and offensive magic while building up our strength with exercises and physical fitness training.” Harry knew it might be a bit too complicated to explain the concept of Muggle martial arts to Ron.

“That is why I sent you and Ginny the letter. I’ve joined Harry in training.” At Ron’s hurt look, Hermione quickly placated her friend. “We just started a few days ago. Sirius and Harry had only decided to go ahead with it about a week ago.” For some unknown reason, Hermione was loath to tell Ron how involved she was with the decisions made a week ago. “I had to write Ginny not to owl me for the summer and of course, I had to send one to you. too.”

“With how things are with the Ministry, the Prophet, and Voldemort’s return, my uncle and Remus think that my training should be known by as few people as possible. They had wanted to start as soon as was possible so, I was only able to have a talk with you today. It was too dangerous to owl you with all this information what with everyone still thinking I’m at Privet Drive. It would be mighty suspicious if I could just drop by to visit friends anytime I liked. Hermione told me it was you who first suspected what the Ministry was up to. We are all taking that seriously as things seem to be unfolding as you feared. That was good thinking, mate. Even Dumbledore agreed, he has the Order on the lookout for any additional information.”

Ron flushed at the praise and finally smiled, releasing the tension between the three of them. “Well, uh...it was nothing. But Merlin, you two have been busy!”

“And so will you be. You didn’t think you’ll escape additional Defense lessons this summer, did you?” Hermione good-naturedly arched a brow at Ron who predictably groaned.

“Um, we tried everything to be able to have you stay here but Uncle Sirius and Remus said it would be too precarious if both of you disappeared for the balance of the summer. They, we, all decided it’s easier to cover for Hermione since she’s muggle-born and her parents’ interactions with the wizarding world are extremely limited.”

“Right now, Professor Dumbledore is talking to your parents about you and your siblings undergoing Defense lessons from Professor Lupin and Tonks. He’s telling them it’s because of your family’s involvement with the Order and your closeness to Harry. I don’t think your mum would be amenable to the fact that we are, if you think about it, training for war. Only the three of us, Sirius, Professors Lupin and Dumbledore are aware of the prophecy and its possible implications. I hope you’re not angry.” Hermione beseeched at Ron.

The young man didn’t say anything for the longest moment. Harry and Hermione was starting fidget, unsure of what else they could say. Finally, Ron released a sigh. “I suppose that is the best you could do. Though, I would have liked it better if I had been allowed to stay here with you guys. Bloody hell, Harry, you’re house is amazing!” Ron looked around the kitchen with awe.

Harry and Hermione shared relieved grins. Then Harry got up, “You wouldn’t have believed the disaster it was before. Apparently, Uncle’s family was as dark as you could be, even darker than the Malfoys. We’ve worked really hard to fix it up. We haven’t finished yet but we’ve made significant changes for us to be able to be comfortable here. I’ll give you a tour.” They took their butter beers and showed Ron the renovated parts of the house.

They had started with the bedrooms, then the library. Ron only looked over briefly at the sight of tons of book before asking to see another room.

Harry paused at a newly constructed wall in the hall where a mid-sized framed picture of a teenaged, redheaded witch was grinning happily in between a bespectacled boy with wild, black hair and a rather handsome, dark-haired young wizard with sharp cheekbones. “There used to be a horrible portrait of Mrs. Black hanging here. Every time she saw Uncle or me, she’d start cursing about blood traitors and half-bloods. We tried everything to take it down, and silencing spells weren’t working. Finally, one time, Uncle had enough and blasted the entire wall in a fit of temper. Turns out it was the only to get rid of it.” Harry’s mouth turned up at a corner while Ron laughed.

They continued to the living room and the redhead ogled at the array of liquors Sirius stocked.

“Wow, have you tried the Firewhiskey, Harry?” Ron was trying to see if the glass front shelves were locked by any kind of charm. He gave a triumphant yelp when it opened without any effort.

“Well, not really. I’ve been a bit preoccupied. Besides, you guys weren’t here so I figured it wouldn’t have been as fun as trying it by myself.”

“Can I take one?” He asked beseechingly at his best friend.

Harry would have happily let Ron take home one of the bottles, he was sure his Uncle wouldn’t mind since there have been a couple of times when he even offered Harry a glass. Just as he was about to reply though, he saw the thunderous look on Hermione’s face. He paused. “Er...”

“Oh c’mon, Hermione. Why don’t you loosen up a little? You’re worse than being with McGonagall sometimes.” Ron said mutinously as he knew immediately why Harry had hesitated.

At Hermione’s stung, hurt look, Harry’s temper irked. “Easy Ron, she was only looking out for us. It’s going to be too obvious if you show up with a bottle of Firewhiskey after visiting me.” He said a careful, measured tone, consciously hiding the annoyance he felt.

“Fine.” Ron was still petulant but Hermione gave Harry a quick look of gratitude.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to slip you one without anyone finding out how.” Harry waggled his eyebrows conspiratorially.

“Brilliant!”

“Harry!”

They turned to look at each other and laughed. They went on to the den where the two had a grand time showing off the electronic gadgets to Ron. He seemed especially entertained by the telly and let out a playful whoop every time he pressed a button that made the DVD player play or eject a disc

With Ron’s curiosity sated, they finally made their way to the dueling room. Ron was impressed as they took turns demonstrating how every piece of equipment worked and telling him how Sirius was bent on punishing their bodies almost every afternoon. Ron was torn between feeling glad that he wasn’t subjected to the rigid schedule as they were and envious of the obvious effects the exercises had given them.

“Well, you can’t complain of how you’ve changed, Harry. I mean, blimey, you must have grown about four inches since I’ve seen you and you say you’ve only started this a week ago.”

“That wasn’t exactly because of the exercise, Ron. Uncle had been adamant I take nutrition potions. He said it was to compensate for the malnutrition I had suffered. I guess its working fine then.” He smiled shyly.

“More than fine.” Hermione blurted out, before realizing she had spoken up. Both she and Harry turned a bright red. Ron looked from Harry to Hermione and back and clamped his mouth in a tight, tense line.

Harry shook his head. “Actually, we were thinking of a way to persuade you to have your own physical regimen this summer. I mean, I might have had some help with the potions but Hermione’s body..er.. I mean um, physique has been totally from the work-outs we’ve been doing.” The younger witch colored even deeper.

Ron’s eyes narrowed even further at Harry’s slip but still said nothing. He looked like he was having some sort of internal debate.

“I can give you instructions on how to go about it.” Harry was determinedly trying to pretend that nothing was amiss. He looked at Ron with a silent plead in his eyes. “You can take some of the weights, and one of the dummies. I think this will help you a lot when or if you decide to try out for Quidditch this year. Wood’s graduated.”

The young redhead wanted to scream at the two. He had a pesky feeling that something else was going on and he couldn’t help the wave of resentment that rose in his chest. He wanted to start a fight with Harry but he saw the almost desperate appeal in his eyes. A memory of their recent fight flashed in his mind and he cringed, friendship winning over his insecurities this time. “That would be awesome, Harry” He said, forcing a smile.

He saw Harry’s shoulders sag in relief, while the latter was mentally thanking Ron for getting his implied message. He just wasn’t ready to deal with…whatever it was. He proceeded to the weights; cast a lightening and shrinking charm on them before moving towards one or the dummies to do the same. Ron let out a panicked shout, effectively stopping him.

“Bloody hell, Harry, are you insane?! What do you think you’re doing? The Ministry would be here in a second!!”

“Calm down, Ronald. Sirius was an Auror before. The Barmy Hole is unplottable as well as under a Fidelius charm. Any magic we do here is untraceable by the Ministry. It would be the same when you train with Professor Lupin at Lupin Cottage. It’s also unplottable and under the same charm, it being the headquarters of the Order and all.” Ron looked mollified and then delighted at the prospect of being able to perform magic undetected.

“Oh well, that seems fair. By the way, I forgot to tell you, Fred and George asked me to give you a package. I think I may have left it on one of the kitchen chairs.”

Harry nodded. They spent several more minutes going over the uses of the equipment Ron was taking home before they went back to the kitchen where the redhead instantly discovered the function of a wonderful muggle appliance called a refrigerator.

*****************************************

The trio was washing the dishes when the fire again glowed green. It was already late at night, and they were feeling the effects of the butter beers they’ve consumed so they were happy to see Sirius, Remus, Professor Dumbledore, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appear in the kitchen.

“Harry, you’ve grown!” Molly Weasley gave him one of her infamous hugs which almost cut off his circulation.

“You’re looking good, Harry.” Arthur patted him on the back when his wife had released him and moved on to Hermione.

“What are you doing here, dear? I thought Ginny said you were at some sort of summer school.” Molly asked.

“Oh well, Harry asked me to come for the afternoon since Ron was visiting. He wanted us to see the house together. Sirius picked me up from camp and apparated me here.” Hermione flushed a little at having to lie at the kind-hearted woman who had taken them in for several summers.

“I have to bring her back soon, too. I promised the muggles there I’d have her back before midnight.” Sirius quickly backed up the fidgeting younger witch.

“Well, we’ll hurry up now then. We don’t want you to get in trouble.” The witch motioned to Ron.

Mr. Weasley didn’t say anything but gave them all a knowing look. “We’ll be going. It’s late and we only have the twins watching the Burrow. It’s good to see you, Harry. Come visit us sometime ok?”

“I will, Mr. Weasley.”

Molly gave them each another bone-crushing hug before the three Weasleys disappeared back into the green flames.

“I’ll turn in for the night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Harry.” Hermione half-hugged her friend, still feeling bit too conscious of the chaotic emotions she was battling earlier that afternoon. Then she bid goodnight to the Headmaster and Remus before reaching up to kiss Sirius on the cheek and left the kitchen.

Harry felt a stab of jealousy at the affectionate way his friend bid his godfather goodnight. Then he promptly berated himself at his irrational reaction. Get a grip! He told himself joining the three older wizards at the black island again, mirroring a conversation that had happened not too long ago. He looked at the Headmaster whose eyes seemed to be twinkling from amusement. He thought his reaction might not have been as private as he hoped. Either that, or the professor was a master at reading people’s hidden emotions.

“Hello, Harry. You are looking better and better every time I see you. I’m ecstatic at the steps you all have decided to take this summer.” Harry looked at the older wizard warily, trying to deduce if his compliment held any deeper meaning. “Alas, we must discuss a not so pleasant topic again this night.”

Sirius got up. “Would you all like some butter beers?” Harry shook his head, “Can I please have some pumpkin juice instead?”

The older two wizards begged off for tea. His godfather sat back at the table after fetching the drinks.

“Right now, I do not like what has been happening at the Ministry. There have been several instances of break-ins happening under their very noses. None of these have been offensive or aggressive. Most seem to be reconnaissance in nature.”

“Scouting missions.” Harry nodded and stared back to Dumbledore.

“Yes, they are. We are still not sure what Voldemort is looking for at the Ministry, but Sirius and I suspect it might be the prophecy; though we do not have conclusive evidence.” Remus spoke up.

“The Death Eaters have also been surprisingly quiet. Snape is being totally useless with his lack of information.” Sirius had a derisive scowl on his face.

Dumbledore turned a tired, reproving look at the dark-haired man. “He’s close to gaining Tom’s trust back. He’ll be able to provide us with invaluable evidence soon.”

The two men said nothing though they had the same doubtful expression at how invaluable any information provided by their childhood nemesis would be.

“So right now, everything we know is still guesswork?” Harry asked quietly.

“Not everything. We have taken note of the movements of the feelers Voldemort has put out. They all seem to be in range of the Department of Mysteries.” Remus offered.

“But, even more disheartening news is that Fudge still refuses to budge. He is doing nothing to prepare the Ministry and has even taken to redirecting the public’s attention on you.” Dumbledore looked angry, as he seemed to be remembering a recent altercation with the minister. “I have tried to talk to him again and make him see reason. But aside from withholding the kiss from being performed on Pettigrew, he has refused to do anything else.”

“He’s still alive?!” Harry’s temper immediately flared up.

“He is, though his cell at Azkaban is no more a prison cell than a box isolating him from everyone. Do not be hasty in meeting out a person’s punishment, Harry. Try to show sympathy to prisoners as best you can.” The Headmaster gently admonished him.

Harry wasn’t aware of his raised voice. “He betrayed my parents!”

“That is true, Harry. But he is also one of the Death Eaters who was inside Voldemort’s inner circle. He might still be able to provide us with information. He is a weak person; trust me when I say that his punishment is worse than being kissed by a dementor.” Remus said softly.

Harry fumed silently. No matter how he can see they were right, his heart could never agree with what they were saying.

“I don’t like it anymore than you do, pup. But we have to accept it for now.”

“Going back to the issue of Ministry’s attempts have discrediting you. We have to take some necessary steps.” Dumbledore shifted back the conversation.

Remus nodded. “It’s been getting worse. The Prophet isn’t publishing any more articles about you but they have managed to make you a joke through some nasty references and sly, inserted comments.”

“I know. Hermione and I have been reading the rag cover to cover everyday. She says I can’t exactly sue them for libel since they’ve stopped publishing any direct attacks on my reputation.”

“She’s right, which makes your position even more precarious. Sirius tells me that we have Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley to thank for the preemptive action he secured regarding your whereabouts.”

“I’ve also been making myself more visible and have taken to visiting my old haunts so as to pacify them in thinking I’ve just reverted back to my old, debauched bachelor ways.”

“That is wise. But what worries me is Harry’s lack of presence at Privet Drive. The Ministry might have someone check if he is still living there. I always have an Order member at the Dursleys, both as a lookout and a guard.”

They all fell silent as though they were all waiting for something. And then Harry spoke up. “I understand. I’m willing to show up at the Dursleys from time to time. It’s nothing really, as long as I know I never have to live with them again.”

Dumbledore gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you for volunteering to do that Harry. I had wanted to ask you but I was hesitant to tell you that you’ll need to see them again.”

“Maybe Tonks would agree to pose as you when she has her shift. That would lessen the time you need to actually be there.”

Harry gave his former professor a look of utmost gratitude. He abhorred having to spend any more time at the Dursleys and had only volunteered when he felt that the three men was at a loss on how to ask him to do it.

Remus gave him a soft smile. “I’ll talk to her about it tonight.”

Sirius suddenly had an evil look. “It’s quite late, Moony. What have you been doing with my little cousin?”

“She asked me to help her fix something at her apartment, thank you very much.” Remus retorted while Harry swatted his godfather on the arm.

Dumbledore laughed at the three young men. “Oh, you don’t know how you all give me hope in these dark times. Maybe it is time for you two to look for the appropriate witch for Sirius so he can have a taste of his own medicine.”

Harry grinned at the headmaster’s direction while Sirius visibly gulped at the knowing look on Remus’ face. The younger wizard failed to grasp the Headmaster’s implication that he and Remus already had their own appropriate witches.

“Harry, my boy, I forgot to ask you about a school matter.”

“Yes, Professor?”

“Professor McGonagall submitted your name as prefect this year but I haven’t approved it yet. I was actually thinking you might already have too much on your plate, but I had wanted to check with you.”

Harry felt grateful at the headmaster’s initiative. He was thinking maybe, he might be able to start trusting the professor again. He thought about the prefect privileges and duties. Can he handle it? He wondered if Hermione would be picked as the fifth year girl’s prefect. Well, of course she would, he snorted. Well, he definitely would like to be guaranteed some time alone with her next year but he still wasn’t sure if he could handle the additional work.

“Would you mind if I think about it for a while, Professor?”

“Dumbledore nodded, “Of course, Harry. Just send me an owl when you make up your mind.”

Harry nodded. “Thank you, Professor.”

CHAPTER 5 – Around and Around It Goes

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. And special thanks to The Scribbler for the most excellent beta work.

A/N: Hey guys, this is mostly a fluff chapter. Nothing really moves plotwise yet, but I just wanted to have this slice of HHr before we get into the gritty stuff.

Author’s Note:

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

*******************

Hermione had been up for quite a while. Safely ensconced under the warm covers, she stared at the ceiling of one of the guest rooms at Black Manor.

She had spent a restless night and right now, she wasn’t feeling inclined to leave her comfortable, soft bed. Her reason? Most probably, it was still sleeping in the room adjoined to her bathroom. What was happening to her? She asked herself. The swirl of attraction she felt for Harry yesterday was decidedly unfriendly and being caught unaware that she was attracted to her best friend was throwing off her whole equilibrium.

She can’t really like Harry, she tried to reason herself. He’s Harry. Wait, that’s completely illogical, she rolled her eyes. Fine, she might be attracted to him. Ughh, who was she kidding?! Ever since second year, she’s been feeling the slight tugs of attraction and somehow it started to hit her full force when he caught her in his arms the day she saw him again here at the Hole. He just looked so fine and happy. She can at least admit that. But he had always been so preoccupied and hadn’t showed her the slightest notice. Even Ron had at least had given her an appreciative look or two, while Harry had always been such a sweet, blasted gentleman. She didn’t know whether to like him more for this trait or not. Oh no, like him more? That could only mean I do like him. This is really annoying. She gave up and lifted herself off the bed. She turned to go to the bath as she continued her internal debate.

Well at least I know he likes how I look, she thought as she turned on the shower. She smiled when she remembered his face when he first saw her coming down the stairs at the Yule Ball. Hermione shivered delightfully as the unexpected compliment he gave her body yesterday slipped in her mind. I wonder if he’s been having the same problems with their proximity this summer? No, that’s absurd; she corrected herself as she took off her clothes and went in the shower. Why would he? Wasn’t he completely normal when they woke up snuggled in each other’s arms? He had just acted like it was nothing when he had been rubbing his face in my... Hermione shook her head.

Okay, so I like him for sure. I’m just not sure if I do like him enough. And what am I going to do now? This couldn’t have happened at a more inopportune time, you guys, she scolded her hormones. We need to concentrate on our lessons this summer. And he already has too much happening. I can’t add this, too. If this is confusing me like this, he’ll be worse and he doesn’t need another simpering fan. I just have to control my reactions as best as I can. Not like my when I blurted out what I thought about his body yesterday. That was a really stupid move, Hermione, she scolded herself as she toweled herself dry. It’s not good to have a completely bewildering conversation with my inner self either, she thought mockingly. She dressed and looked at herself at the full length mirror. Collect yourself, she admonished her reflection. Harry doesn’t need the additional adolescent issues she’s having. Maybe it’s best just to ignore everything for the moment. And if something else happens, well, I’ll just have to deal with that. Reaching some sort of truce, she went downstairs to start on breakfast.

Thinking the whole house still asleep, she was surprised when an appetizing smell reached her nose as she neared the kitchen.

“Wotcher, Hermione.” The witch at the stove didn’t even turn around when she entered.

“Morning, Tonks. How’d you know it was me?” She went to the steaming pot of freshly brewed coffee before sitting down at the table.

Bringing a plate of crispy bacon to the table, Tonks suddenly stumbled for no apparent reason.

“Oh, no!”

“Immobilus!”

Tonks heaved a sigh and started plucking the bacons from where they hung suspended in mid-air. “Thanks, Hermione.”

“No problem. You look a bit tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“I fell asleep waiting for Remus to come to my apartment. I was having a bit of trouble with a trunk from work and had asked him to come take a look. He came around pretty late, saying that he left Dumbledore, Sirius and Harry still talking. That’s how I figured you would be the only one up this early.”

“Professor Lupin was at your apartment late last night?” Hermione arched a teasing eyebrow. They had grown a bit close being the only two females in a swarm of testosterone.

Tonks was hiding her look of pleasure miserably. “Oh hush, I’ll get that enough from Sirius when he wakes up. And to inform your overactive imagination, nothing happened. He helped me, that’s all, and we talked.”

“Oh, about what?” The teen gave her a wide grin.

“Just about what’s been happening. And how glad he was that I’ve been spending so much time here helping out with Harry and you. And now with the Weasleys. God, that man is so frustrating! If I hadn’t had a crush on him since I was ten…”

Hermione finally gave in and laughed. It was sort of nice to know she wasn’t the only one having boy issues.

“I think I might know what you mean.”

“You do? Pray tell, Ms. Granger, enlighten me.” The older witch’s eyes were practically twinkling with amusement.

“Um, I just meant I could sympathize with what you were saying.” She could feel her cheeks burning.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to take the Mickey out of you a little.” Tonks was immediately contrite.

She quickly pacified the witch. “Oh, I know. I’m sorry. It wasn’t anything you said. I’m just a little… off this morning.”

”What’s wrong?” Tonks had a look of concern. “You can tell me anything, y’know. We are the only women here, we have to be able to turn to each other.” She gave her a soft, companionable smile.

Hermione studied the older witch. She realized she was having a difficult time with their conversation. It’s been one of her frustrations not to have that many girl friends. She spent her time almost exclusively with Harry and Ron. Ginny, she developed a friendship somewhat out of opportunity but theirs had the big sister-little sister dynamic more than equal confidants. It hit her that there really wasn’t anyone she could turn to when it came to her more feminine issues. Maybe this summer was also an opportunity for her to forge new friendships.

Unknown to the girl, Tonks was also studying her with the same calculating eye. The time they’ve spent together was still limited, she admitted. But she had grown to like the younger witch. She was exceedingly bright, kind, and a force to be reckoned with from what she saw at the lessons she’s observed in the dueling room. But she wasn’t arrogant, and was entirely too unpretentious. She also noticed how stilted their talks became whenever they grazed into more ‘feminine’ territory as if the girl was quite unsure how to sustain the conversation. She reached a decision. “I like you, Hermione. I’d really like us to have a chance to be close friends.”

The girl didn’t say anything for a moment. And then her face broke into a smile. “I’d really like that too. Thank you, Tonks.” She said softly.

She grinned. “Now that we have that out of the way, you’re having boy troubles aren’t you?”

The witch turned a bright red and dropped her eyes to her breakfast. “I’m not sure if they can be called that as more like I’m a little confused over… “

“How you feel about him?” She shot the girl an understanding look.

“Yes, a little.”

“Um, how little exactly?”

“Fine, it’s not a little thing. It’s very new though. I mean, I think that’s why I’m so affected. I think the attraction was always there but I never really noticed because of a lot of other factors. But now, well, it seems determined in making itself known. Though on the other hand, that can just be because of the circumstances since it hasn’t really been an issue before. I mean, such feelings can’t really mysteriously appear from nowhere right? They should have some sort of basis…a foundation, if you will. I really don’t think chemistry is just based on bodily pheromones. I’d like to think that relationships are made from something much more meaningful than that, don’t you? Of course, I can’t be entirely sure. I haven’t really had the experience from which to base it from. However, if you look at it from another angle, you could say that it might be a repercussion of what we’ve shared. Then again, how would you be able to tell if it’s real or not if you don’t have a ’normal’ model to compare it with? Besides, what exactly constitutes ‘normal’ anyway?“ Hermione shrugged her shoulder in irritation.

Tonks had a thoughtful look on her face. “Has anyone ever told you how much you analyzed your emotions?”

Hermione was stunned. “I do? Um, maybe it’s just a natural reaction. I tend to be like that.” She said sheepishly.

Tonks nodded. Then she sent haltingly, “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. And don’t take this the wrong way, Hermione. But you have to learn to loosen up a little.” At the girl’s slightly affronted look, she quickly explained. “I don’t mean it like that. I meant it in terms of being,” She searched for the best way to describe it, “comfortable with yourself. I’ve noticed you’ve always seemed too tense. It’s like you don’t really trust your body and your instincts. You are an independent, empowered young woman. Take pride in that and not try to downplay almost everything that makes you female just because you may think it’s too girly and weak.”

Hermione looked despondent. “I just don’t seem to fit. I mean, I can’t really bring myself to gush at the guys like most girls in my year do. I like learning and I adore books too much. I think it’s important to have priorities and goals rather than sweat over who’s going to be my next date. I do have my crushes but I don’t exactly think it’s necessary to spend every waking moment obsessing over them. I’m not interested in debating whether the rose blush or pink frost is a better shade of lip gloss for four hours when it looks exactly the same to me. I mean, there must be a reason why the only close and best friends I have are both guys. I just can’t stand all the girly stuff they all do.”

“That’s not being girly, sweetie. That’s actually a little bit bordering on silly.” Hermione’s head snapped back to look at Tonks who was giggling a little.

“There’s a difference between being too girly and being proud and comfortable being a woman. It’s not all about knowing make-up and the latest trend in shoes. It’s more on knowing what you want, attuned to what you feel and not being ashamed of it. We have a wider range of emotions than most men thus we’re more sensitive to everything which tend to make us more vulnerable - but never weaker - than them. You have to learn to see the distinction. Being feminine does not make you weaker. Actually, you should be conscious that we do wield a sexual power over them that they usually have not an iota how to control.” She said with a smirk. “Be aware of your sexuality and don’t be afraid to embrace it.”

The teenager fell silent digesting this new perspective that Tonks was offering. It was definitely intriguing and she can see what the woman was trying to make her understand. It’s nice to be able to turn to someone about all this for a change, she admitted.

“I have an idea. Why don’t we have a girl’s day out? Away from all these guys, let’s do some shopping in London and have a go at a salon?”

Hermione looked at the older witch from head to toe. Tonks didn’t even bat an eyelash at her appraising look she gave her when she would have squirmed and definitely blushed if she had been at the receiving end of such an inspection. “Why do you need to go to a salon? You’re gorgeous and a metamorphagus. You can just transform into what you want. And we have several beauty potions we can make in that makeshift lab Sirius made.”

“I don’t go for the normal reasons, of course. I go to be pampered. I usually go when I feel a bit down or in a terrible emotional state. You’ll feel loads better, trust me. It’s one of my secret girly indulgences so don’t dare mention it to Remus or Sirius.” She paused. “Or Harry!”

“I promise.” Hermione had small smile.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Change and I’ll leave a note for the men of the house, quickly!” The teenager excitedly went up to her room, her day definitely brighter than when she started it.

********************************

“It seems the ladies have left to make mischief,” Sirius told Harry when he came in for lunch, motioning to the folded note on the table. They had stayed up so late last night; he had just woken up.

Remus looked up from his plate. “Hello, Harry. How are you this morning? Or rather, afternoon?”

“Very good, thanks, Remus. How was the visit?” Harry teased.

Remus groaned. “Please, not you, too. I’ve already had a good ribbing from Padfoot. And no, nothing happened. She needed help. I helped her. We talked a little. And then I left.”

“What did you guys talk about? Anything interesting?”

“They talked about how good Tonks was in helping us out.” Sirius rolled his eyes. “You are still hopeless when it comes to women, Moony.”

“She can’t be interested in me, Padfoot. Or have you forgotten my furry little problem?” Remus growled.

“She isn’t like that! And you can’t live like a monk forever because of your insecurities. Just because you can’t get over your problem doesn’t mean other people can’t either. She’s liked you since we were kids or have you forgotten how she used to hang around us all the time and bug you?”

“She deserves better.”

Sirius gave derisive snort but let the go of the issue temporarily. “What do you say if we make like the girls and go to Diagon Alley to get you some contacts?” He asked Harry. “We can try some of those glamours you’ve been itching to use so that no one would recognize you. We’ll need to refresh the charms every hour or so but I think we can wing it since we’re only going to be there for a few hours.”

“There’s magical contacts? How do they work?”

“Well, there aren’t any permanent ways of fixing your eyes unless you’d like to have that muggle transfiguration that they have now with a laser thing. But some enterprising Healer had adapted the muggle contacts and modified it magically. They still look like the muggle ones but you won’t have to take them out every night and then put them back in everyday. There’s a potion they’ll give you which would refresh and clean it. It’s similar to those eye drops, I think they are called. You just have to remember to squeeze a few drops over your eyes at least once a day and you’re set. And you’ll still have to change them every two weeks.”

“Brilliant. I’ve been having trouble with my glasses during lessons. I’ll be relieved to get rid of them. Though do you think it’s possible for them to replace my glasses with clear lenses?”

“You want to keep up the appearance of needing glasses? That’s very sly of you, cub.”

“Like you guys have been constantly telling me, it’s always an advantage to be underestimated.” Harry said dryly.

“Well, I’m glad to see that you’re listening to some of the things we tell you,” Remus said, smiling.

“Alright, we’ll go after we clean this up. Let’s have a nice day of going around the Alley too. I think we all need a break from all this subterfuge.” Sirius said tiredly.

“Too true, my friend.”

**********************

Harry had a blast. Before flooing to the Leaky Cauldron, the two marauders charmed him to look ten years older with wavy, dark blond hair and hazel eyes. The glamours worked perfectly and he received no more attention than a cursory glance when people noticed that he was with Sirius Black. After buying his contacts, they went and admired the newest Quidditch equipment and had a lively debate on the chances of their favorite English teams. They were coming back from having ice cream at Fortescue’s when Sirius saw the joke shop and dragged the other two inside where he disappeared for a good number of minutes before reappearing with the most innocent look at his face. Harry could see the pranks being planned in his head and pretended to look nervous. Ron had given him a package the twins had sent filled with some products that they had been developing and he had been eager to see how they worked. It looks like I’m going to get the chance to test them after all, Harry thought evilly.

They entered the kitchen and Harry’s eyes automatically scanned the room for Hermione while Remus was removing his glamour charms.

“I thought they’d be here by now,” he muttered, looking around.

“Missing someone, pup?” He definitely didn’t like his uncle’s smile.

Harry was about to reply when they heard twinkling and decidedly feminine laughter coming from the living room. He just glared at his godfather and strode towards the room, shoving his clear glasses in the pocket of his jumper. He couldn’t wait to see Hermione’s reaction.

He paused when he got to the room. Tonks had disposed of the electrical lights and had opted for a nice, cheery fire. It had been a bit surprisingly chilly that afternoon. But beside her on the couch, half turned away from him was an unknown young witch who had lustrous, brown hair with golden highlights. From his point of view, he could see the amazing, feminine curves hugged by the thin, pale yellow sundress she was wearing. His eyes followed the length of her legs starting at where the above the knee skirt exposed her skin ending at the cute low-heeled sandals on her feet. His brow furrowed a little as he took note of the glass of red wine held by the dainty hand of the vaguely familiar witch.

“Hey, Tonks, where’s… “ Tonks’ unknown friend had turned at the sound of his voice and Harry’s jaw hit the floor. “Hermione?!”

His best friend gave him a dazzling smile. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off her face. She had done something to her hair. Soft, layered tendrils of light, golden brown hair now framed her suddenly noticeable cheekbones and delicate jaw.

“I see you had a very successful day,” Sirius addressed Tonks, who was trying really hard not to laugh at Harry’s face. “You look very beautiful, Hermione.” The young witch blushed but was still looking a little uneasily at Harry, who hadn’t uttered a word.

“You got contacts! I like it, Harry. Now everyone can see your nice eyes better,” She tentatively offered her friend.

Remus ushered the lad into an armchair, the sudden movement seemed to have joggled his brain back.

“Uh… Yeah… Well… They got it… But you, um, I mean… You are…Er.. You look…“

Hermione took pity on him. She cocked her head a little to the side and let out a soft, faintly amused laugh. “Thank you, Harry.”

“Should you be having that?” Remus pointed to the glass of red wine she was holding.

Tonks immediately defended her. “We’re celebrating. It’s her first, and I told her she can have another glass but that’s the limit. Besides, it’s just red wine. You guys offer Harry Firewhiskey and he’s almost a year younger.” She accused the two men.

“As long as it’s not often or too much and adults are present.” Sirius offered a truce. “You girls had a good time?”

“Oh yes, we did. It was nice to spend an afternoon with a bit of normalcy.” Hermione answered.

“Hear, hear. We took after you actually. We came back from Diagon Alley.” Remus agreed.

“Did you have a nice time, Harry?” Tonks was still delightedly giggling at the teenager who hadn’t taken his eyes off from taking in every aspect of Hermione’s appearance.

Harry was wondering when his friend had started developing all those curves (and how she had managed to hide it from him all this time) when Tonks’ question forced him out of his concentration. “Huh? Oh yeah. Um, we went to the Quidditch supplies shop and then had some ice cream.”

“Anything interesting?” Hermione asked, glad that her friend seemed to be settling down now.

“Nah, everything was blissfully boring.”

“I know what you mean.”

“You look really great, Hermione.” Harry had adequately recovered and had felt settled and brave enough to compliment his friend.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed again. “Thanks. So do you. It was Tonks’ idea. I have to admit, I am feeling loads better.”

The conversation went into safer topics, helped mainly by Remus and Tonks. They were truly having a nice, quiet night relaxing with friends. No one had mentioned the trainings, the coming war, or even the Prophet articles. They discussed everything from who might get the prefect badges to how the Marauders had pulled off a particularly nasty prank involving the Hogwarts bathrooms, Snape’s boxers, and Mrs. Norris. Hermione, meanwhile, was still feeling less than relaxed. Harry was watching her like a hawk and his attention was throwing her resolve this morning along with her hormones into a maddening swirl of chaotic emotions.

She put her glass on the table and stood up, determined to have a much needed respite from Harry’s perusal. “Would anyone like some snacks? I’m feeling I’d like something to nibble on.”

“I’ll help.” Tonks stood up immediately.

Harry couldn’t take his eyes away from how Hermione’s legs flexed and flowed into a standing position. Something’s changed about her, he thought. It’s not just the hair and clothes. But the addled young man couldn’t pinpoint what it was and could only watch the witch’s gently swaying hips as she walked back to the kitchen with Tonks. He turned to see the two older men in silent laughter.

“I told you it was going to work.” Tonks told Hermione smugly once they were in the kitchen and out of earshot.

Hermione set to gather what she’ll need for the sandwiches. “What do you mean?”

“Harry couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

The girl averted her face. “Who told you it was Harry who...”

“I am not daft, girl. I am a fully qualified Auror, you know.”

Hermione gave a resigned sigh. “I didn’t mean to do this. I just really wanted to feel better than I did this morning.”

“Hey, if it’s there, it’s there. You didn’t do anything too drastic. You just got a nice haircut and some color and decided to wear a dress. I mean it’s not cut to be even remotely sexy, though the French silk lingerie might have been a tad too much. That usually works on trying to reel in an older, more experienced man. I didn’t realize how it might flummox a fourteen year old teenager’s hormones into a frenzy.”

“I still don’t get what you say about two tiny scraps of silk making a difference. I mean, he doesn’t even know I’m wearing them,” Hermione finally admitted her feelings to her friend by implied assent.

Tonks noted the confession with a wicked grin but declined to comment. She understood that Hermione needed more time to settle in this newfound aspect of her sexuality and at the same time, what she guessed to be a fairly recent discovery of her attraction to the boy in question. “You’re overanalyzing everything again. The difference is not what you are wearing but how different you feel wearing the two scraps of silk as you called them. Lingerie like that makes you feel most definitely like a self-assured woman. Unconsciously, you were reacting to how feminine and sexy they make you feel. And it shows in the confident and definitely sensual aura you have now, in the way your carry yourself. I’m not saying everybody should wear them to feel like a woman. But they definitely help when you need that extra jolt of confidence. I’m sure even Remus and Sirius noticed it too but are most probably just amused by it. Have you noticed how Harry couldn’t take your eyes off you?”

“Yes. It was a bit unnerving, actually. That’s why I decided to get something to eat.”

“Hah! That’s what I’m saying. You are a pretty, intelligent, confident, and definitely sensual woman. You have very powerful feminine wiles from the effects you just saw on a particular previously oblivious young man. Own it.” Tonks gave her a wicked wink.

Hermione just rolled her eyes laughingly. “C’mon, they might think we got lost trying to get food.”

They left the kitchen carrying two plates of little sandwiches. Harry got up when they entered and took the plate Hermione was carrying, somehow discreetly able to maneuver to touch her hands. She blushed at the electricity that shot through her body at the touch and took her seat again, picking up her wineglass. They went back to their relaxed conversation when Sirius gave a squeak and turned into a small, yellow bird. Everyone suddenly fell silent and then burst out in loud laughs when Sirius changed back in a burst of yellow feathers. He looked perplexed for a moment before succumbing to guffaws himself.

“Now which one of you was responsible?” He was looking at each one in front of him. Remus, Tonks, and Hermione were shaking their heads, still unable to say anything from laughing. He turned to the Harry, who had tears from streaming down his eyes and clutching his sides desperately.

“Aha, you little scamp! You have no idea what you have just started!”

“You …have to admit…. it was… brilliant!” Harry said, sputtering.

*********************************

Sirius was getting frustrated at his young trainees. Oh, it wasn’t with how the lessons were going. They have actually been nothing less than phenomenal, he thought as he watched them spar. They were stronger and their stamina almost matched his now, though still aided a little by the potions he was giving them. They absorbed his instructions like a sponge. And Harry was showing the potential of being an amazing fighter with Hermione running a close second.

“Hermione, you should have blocked that with your shin! Begin again.” He shouted.

The young woman shot him a dark look first before moving in the requisite bowing position of each kickboxing sparring. Sirius smiled. The witch was definitely worming her way into his heart, right next to Harry. He’s been watching the two closely and their stolen glances and touches and he was just about a hair’s breadth from shaking the two into realizing that they like each other. He gave a frustrated sigh. He really shouldn’t meddle, he can understand how they can be so unsure of their feelings. Maybe it’s time I give them a little push, he thought wickedly. And he did owe Harry a prank from the other night.

“Oi, that’s enough for now. Do your stretches and you’re free for the night.”

The two beamed at him. “Alright, you two. Just go to the kitchen after you’re finished.” He cancelled their safety charms and then left them alone.

Harry watched Hermione as they packed up their gear. He found himself enchanted by everything she did the past few days. He knew it was making her slightly uncomfortable but it was like he couldn’t help himself. He was just mesmerized by how she was changing right before his eyes. He couldn’t say exactly how but she just looked more relaxed. Given the physical training they were getting, he thought it odd that he found her just a bit softer somehow.

“Would you mind if I took a shower first?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Not at all. You go ahead. I’ll finish up here.”

She gave him a smile and tucked a loose tendril that had escaped from her ponytail. “Thanks.”

His eyes followed every movement she made as she turned to leave the room. When she reached the door, Harry called out. “Would you like to catch a movie after dinner?”

“Sure, that will be nice.”

*******************

Dinner was a relaxed affair and now the two teenagers were sitting comfortably in the den side by side. They chose to watch “My Best Friend’s Wedding” after Hermione pointed out that Harry had picked the movie the last time.

Unconsciously, both had seemed to be trying harder to make everything appear the same as always. They refused to acknowledge that an underlying tension had somehow seeped under the confines of their previously entirely platonic relationship. They’ve been watching each other incessantly under hooded glances. Neither was ready to admit that their perception of the other has changed in the slightest.

They were near the end of the film when Harry thought he heard a sniff. He looked down at Hermione who was cradled in the nook of his arm, catching her as she tried to discreetly swipe a tear. He wasn’t able to suppress his chuckle fast enough and she gave him a glare daring him to make the leap from amusement to full-blown laughter.

“What?”

Harry, being the teenager that he is, finally gave in and guffawed. “Nothing”

“What is so funny? Do you think that what happened with them was funny? That was so sad.”

“No, it wasn’t the story. It’s just…” He couldn’t continue as he was still laughing, albeit a little softer at the indignant tone she had.

“Just what?” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re such a girl!” And he finally let loose the laughter that was bubbling in his chest.

“I am a girl, you daft git!” She moved to smack his arm. Harry moved to avoid her arm and one thing led to another and they were suddenly in a mock wrestling match with Hermione trying to smack him and Harry retaliating by tickling his friend.

Outbursts of laughter and giggles were heard as they played their game. Finally, Hermione had enough.

“I give!” She said breathlessly, lying on her back on the floor. She put her hands up in mock surrender.

“Aha, I win! Who’s the loser now, huh?” Harry was grinning, lying on top of her, his legs pinning hers, his hands still at her waist from tickling her.

The precariousness of their position slammed into their consciousness at the abrupt stop. Harry had his face inches from Hermione’s. Her breath hitched as her eyes darted from his eyes to his lips. She felt his eyes doing the same.

Harry felt her soft, pliable body under him. A sudden rush of an unfamiliar desire to move enveloped his senses. His hands tightened with control as he itched to roam them over every single, luscious crevice that he had been obsessing about for days.

Hermione’s hands moved to his chest. She closed her eyes as she made contact with the tense muscles of his chest and her fists balled, clutching his shirt. She made a swift movement with her legs and their positions were reversed.

Harry’s eyes fell shut also and he released an almost inaudible groan when he felt her hips move under him. He opened them again and he forgot to breathe when he saw Hermione’s face literally an inch in front of his, her breath weaving magic on his lips. He can see her eyes clouded with indistinguishable emotion. “You can’t win if your opponent only let you think you did.”

And with a flourish, she was off onto her feet and out of the room.

************************************

Given what had almost happened in the den, one would think that the two would have done everything they could to avoid each other. Interestingly enough, they did just the opposite and seemed to have stubbornly challenged themselves to the illusion that they can and will remain platonic friends despite the attraction they felt. They talked more. They studied together. They trained more fervently. They threw themselves at being friends with an almost manic obsessive focus. Denial, apparently, is not a river in Egypt. It is a freaking un-crossable and definitely exasperating ocean.

And so, with this in mind, a certain marauder devised a prank that he thought might finally make them face reality. As with any idea hatched with the greatest of intentions, he was, of course, gravely mistaken.

Their aikido lesson was nearing the end. Focused on their sparring, Harry and Hermione didn’t notice the extraordinary attention Sirius was giving each movement. When Hermione placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder in a move to throw a knee at his abdomen, he turned and let his weight fall on her, pinning her hand on the floor and at the same time deflect any blow to his head.

Unexpectedly, both of them emitted a bluish glow that was gone in a flash. Shaken from the concentration they had in training, they tried to get up. The key word being - tried. They suddenly found their hands stuck where they were touching the other. Finding themselves in another disturbingly suggestive position, but this time faced with no means of escape, they predictably panicked.

“What the?” Harry was trying to unglue his right hand from her left, shaking it in any way imaginable.

“Ouch, Harry, that hurts! What did you do?!” She accused him, equally desperate in yanking her right hand from his left shoulder while trying to wiggle her waist away from where his left was holding her.

“What did I do?! What did you do?! How can this be my fault?” His rose an octave as the reality of their situation sunk in.

“All I did was touch you!” She screeched back.

It was at this point that they noticed laughter coming from their improvised “sensei”.

Harry’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Sirius!” His bellow echoed around the room. Somehow, they both managed to get up even with their appendages glued to each other. They shuffled as menacingly as they could towards the laughing man.

“What the hell did you do?!” Hermione gave the perpetrator her best death glare.

Harry was momentarily taken aback from his anger on hearing Hermione swear. She never swore. But the guffaws that were coming from the marauder had his head snapping back at the problem um, on hand.

“I… told… you… I’ll get you… back!”

That had Hermione refocusing her anger at Harry. “This is a freaking prank?!”

He gulped. He can see no possible way he’ll get out of this with his limbs intact especially when Hermione had been kicking his arse in practice as he spent most of the time watching her. He tried a different tack. “Ok, Hermione, let’s calm down…” He said in what he hoped to be a soothing voice but he could hear the tremble of fear laced within.

“What do you mean calm down? In case you haven’t noticed we’re stuck! For god knows how long. And this is in no way my fault, especially since I was in no conceivable way involved with your juvenile pranks!” She was definitely seething.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t my idea to be stuck with you either! How can this be entirely my fault? I didn’t think of this! Do you think this makes me happy in any way?” Harry swallowed the pleasurable tingles he always got from touching Hermione in the face of the accusations she was throwing blindly at him.

“Guys, guys, it was just a harmless prank. Calm down. It’s not permanent.” Sirius had stopped laughing at the full-blown row that was the furthest from his goals.

“You! I can’t believe you! So what if it’s not permanent?! You had no right to involve me in these senseless pursuits of yours. I mean, grow up! If you wanted to humiliate yourselves being five year olds, fine! But you had absolutely no right to do this to me!” Hermione was almost in tears. From the frustration of the past few days or the prank they pulled, she had no idea.

“I’m so sorry, Hermione. I wasn’t thinking, you were right.” Sirius was genuinely contrite for his actions.

Hermione took a deep steadying breath. Harry, of course, felt her breasts press more firmly in his chest which had him close his eyes and imagined the nastiest, ugliest bloke he knew in a neon yellow tutu so as to stop certain…reactions.

“Ok, fine. Now, you know how senseless it was. Please do the counter-spell now!” Her voice was calmer but was in no way less forceful.

Sirius looked positively chagrined. “Counter spell? Uh… well…”

If it was possible for Hermione to look more murderous, Harry couldn’t imagine it. “You do know the counter spell do you Sirius?” He asked his godfather in an even tone, hiding his irritation and panic.

“Um, see, I’m really sorry, you guys. Um, I’m afraid I didn’t get that far in thinking this through.” Sirius was carefully inching his way to the door.

“Sirius, how could you!” Harry exclaimed, not bothering to hide his panic now.

The man was definitely running toward the door now. “I’m sorry! It only lasts for six hours anyway. I’m going to the library right now!”

“But what if we…What if we have to go to the bathroom, you nitwit!” Hermione sputtered after him but he was gone.

Harry was looking glum. If he’s forced to spend six hours glued to Hermione like this, he was definitely going to lose his mind. Not to mention the beating he’s probably going to receive from the young woman if she had an iota of the thoughts that were now swirling in his previously innocent mind. He tried desperately to push them away. “Um, Hermione, you don’t need to um… go to the bathroom right?”

She looked at him and sighed deeply, summoning every reserve of control in her body. “No, Harry, I don’t.”

*************************************

Harry and Hermione tried to make the best of the situation they now found themselves stuck in.

From the Dueling Room, they managed to move to the kitchen where Tonks was trying very hard not to laugh every five seconds while preparing dinner. Remus and Sirius were in the library looking for the counter spell.

“It’s really not that funny, Tonks.” Hermione tiredly tried to admonish her friend.

“Ow, c’mon Hermione, you have to admit it was still brilliant. And he really must have good eyes to time it just right.”

Hermione gave another deep sigh. Harry, still attempting to lay low and be as still as possible, fidgeted at her side. Her mouth quirked up. Finally, she did laugh.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he will live long enough to his fifteenth birthday after all, he thought as he joined in the laughter.

“Fine, it was funny. But he really should have had the counter spell ready. I’m famished!”

Harry groaned as the thought and scent of food made his stomach rumble. “So am I. God, I’m going to kill him for this.”

“Not before me, you won’t. And don’t forget for one second I’ve forgotten how liable you are in this.”

Before Harry had time to process what she said, Sirius and Remus came in brandishing a parchment like a pair of conquering heroes.

“We found it!”

“About time!”

“Hey, it wasn’t easy going through three books at once. And I’ve already apologized. I really am sorry, Hermione. I promise I will never involve you like this again.” Sirius sat in front of them.

“Just please do it so I can use my hands again.”

Sirius pointed his wand at them. “Manus Extrico Incantatem”

In another flash, their hands were free. “Oh thank god.” Harry said emphatically.

“Was it really that bad being stuck to me?” Hermione asked him with a bland expression on her face.

Harry turned beet red. “What? No! It was just…um. You see... Well, you were…”

Hermione laughed and stood up to join Tonks at the table, leaving a confused Harry to wonder what she had meant.

*****************************

They were all in the living room, now laughing at the prank Sirius pulled. Harry, Hermione, and Tonks were nursing a butterbeer each while the two older men opted for a glass of Firewhiskey each.

“See, it wasn’t that bad.” Sirius chided Hermione.

“That doesn’t make it right either. And you were still wrong including me on this.”

“Your faces were still hilarious though. I should’ve taken a picture of you when you came in the kitchen stuck like that. I was about to ask you to get a room.” Tonks said.

Everybody laughed. Harry was enjoying having full use of his hands but he secretly missed the feel of Hermione’s skin. He kept glancing at his friend, trying to gauge how bad it really was she felt being stuck with him. “You should’ve known better, Uncle Sirius.”

“I know, I know! I’m wrong ok? I’ll think of a better one next time.” He said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Hah! Let’s see if you can come up with something better than I can.” Harry said with a distinct note of pride.

“Oh no you don’t!” He didn’t notice how Hermione had slid right next to him.

“I won’t?” He said confused all at once at her nearness.

“You mean after you’ve managed to involve me in this you’re still planning on continuing this drivel?” She said.

“But he said he won’t now.” He countered, further burying himself in unknowingly.

“Harry James Potter!”

That irked his temper. “What now, Hermione? Are you going to tell me to go upstairs to my room?”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed at him. “And have you forgotten how you haven’t apologized to me yet?”

“You weren’t the only one who was stuck.” Harry said stubbornly.

“And I wasn’t supposed to be in the first place!”

“Oh, lighten up, Hermione.”

That had Hermione’s temper flaring. Harry thought he might have gone too far and was about to apologize when her eyes suddenly gleamed with an unholy glint. He gulped. He knew Hermione had an evil streak in her. He had, in fact, been the stimulus of it with all the rule-breaking and adventures he had dragged her along with him.

“Hermione?” He tentatively said, fear creeping in his heart as her face neared his.

The three adults watched the whole exchange with amusement and knowing glances.

Harry couldn’t concentrate on breathing again. He saw Hermione’s face come nearer. His eyes darted to her full, reddish lips. Half an inch away from touching his, she paused. “Harry,” she said ever so softly.

Harry’s eyes were concentrated on trying to will her lips closer, audience be damned. He gave a strangled reply, “Yes?”

“Do you like pranks?” She was still whispering.

This question should have confused him but he wasn’t exactly paying attention to what she was saying. “Yes.”

She abruptly turned her face and moved her lips closer to his ear. “You’ve been warned, Potter.” She stood up and looked down at his confused expression. “You like pranks? I’ll show you how it’s supposed to be done.” She left the room.

The other three guffawed at the terrorized expression on Harry’s face when he finally understood what she said.

“Oh God, I’m dead!” He turned to Sirius. “You have to help me! This is all your fault!”

“And how is this to be blamed on me again? You really should have just apologized, pup.”

“But I…”

“Too true, Harry. She really was just embarrassed by the whole thing. A simple apology would have done wonders.” Tonks scolded him but was still giggling, losing the severity of her advice.

“Wait a minute! I wasn’t the one who bloody thought it was funny to embarrass her!”

“Sadly, that is not the way the female mind works.” Remus said.

“Hey, I resent that!” Tonks smacked his arm.

“So what do I do? I mean, I know Hermione. I can’t compete with her when she’s like this. She’s bloody brilliant! I mean, without her, I couldn’t have figured out the chamber, and the basilisk, and Fluffy, and the polyjuice. And I can’t really do anything to her, I can’t…not now. This really isn’t fair. What did I get myself into now?” Harry was now pacing back and forth.

“She made a polyjuice potion at twelve?” Remus was awed.

“How did you think we were able to interrogate Malfoy as his stupid goons?”

“Wow, you are in deep trouble, pup”

“Not helping!” He glared at his godfather.

The two marauders looked at each other. “Fine, this is as much my fault. I’ll help you.”

Tonks suddenly stood up. “Well, I have to even the odds, don’t I?” She left the room.

Remus followed her with his eyes, an unreadable emotion on his face. “Now we really are in trouble.” He told the other two men with a deep, regretful sigh.

******************

CHAPTER 6 – Setting the Pieces

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

A/N: I'd also like to give credit to DrT (Triwizard Redux) for planting the "what if" seed of changing Harry's escape at the end of Gof. And special thanks to The Scribbler for the most excellent beta work.

Author’s Note:

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited, 2007, with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

*********************

“Try to clear your mind, Harry. Don’t forget. Take deep, even breaths.” Sirius’ voice was soothing as he tried guiding him in his latest Occlumency lesson. Hermione was in the other room, possibly concentrating like him learning from Remus.

He banished the thoughts of Hermione from his mind. Bitterly he thought, it seemed to be what he had been doing almost all the time now. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind.

“If it helps, think of your mind as like a room with numerous drawers and compartments. Try to hide your thoughts in each drawer. The room has a heavy vault door. That door would be your shield. Fortify it with everything you can think of.”

“Legilimens!”

Harry felt a probing presence enter his mind, like a thief stealing in a dark house. The library swam before his eyes then vanished, followed by an image of his five year old self watching Dudley riding a new red bicycle jealously. Hurriedly, he shoved all the drawers and compartments of his mind closed. He willed his self to turn his back at the memory and moved to push the vault door closed. It was budging slowly and he could feel the probe sneaking in going for one of the drawers. He raised his wand at the probe.

He yelled, “Protego!” Then he pushed the vault door shut.

Harry opened his eyes, he wasn’t aware he had closed them. Sirius was lying on the floor. “Uncle, what happened?”

“That is quite a shield you have there, Harry.” Sirius said dryly, picking himself up.

“Oh, did I really cast that?”

“You did. The shield was good, the blocking needs work. You have to block me mentally. Though you are making progress, you’re feeling the probe faster now. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to raise your shields automatically at the first hint of invasion.”

“Thanks. The mental images are really helping now. I think if I put my own touches on the room though, I’ll be able to secure it more.”

“Alright, we’ll try to do that. Try to resume your meditative state. I won’t guide you this time so you’ll be able to concentrate by yourself.”

Harry nodded and sat down on the cushions again. He took deep, even breaths and summoned the room image of his mind again. It was a big room with wood panels. He imagined bookshelves with every childhood memory he could think of. He sealed these bookshelves under a sliding panel that blended in the walls. He thought of the same white pad that Remus installed in their own library, the one which would only give him access to these memories. He then turned his attention to all his memories of his friends. When he first met Ron and Hermione, their adventures together. He organized these into a tall filing cabinet. The drawers didn’t have any latch. It actually just looked like a metallic gray square standing there. He imagined touching the folder and a memory of their first Hogsmeade trip came out in a silvery folder. He filed it back, disappearing into seamlessly inside. He nodded, satisfied. One by one, Harry filed and guarded each memory. Each access was set to his touch only. He turned to the newest memories of Sirius and the summer. Of her. He sighed. He imagined a hulking vault at the end of the room. He locked these memories away. He again touched the middle of the blank vault door and an image of Hermione biting her lip as she checked his Transfiguration essay played out in front of him. He smiled and locked it in again. He fortified his main vault door. He imagined it like the doors of the Gringott’s vault he saw. No latch or lock visible. Just traps inside for unauthorized presences that may dare touch it. He opened his eye slowly, still concentrating on his fortifications. He vaguely heard Sirius shout again.

“Legilimens!”

He felt the presence of the probe at once. He concentrated on the door. He felt the probe pushing it open. He pushed back with all his might. He felt the probe retreat. The image of the library solidified before his eyes.

“Brilliant, Harry!” Sirius shouted gleefully. “You did it! You felt it at once. You threw me out without spells!”

Harry grinned. He felt exhausted but triumphant. Sirius handed him a bottle of water. He gulped it down greedily, feeling as if he ran a marathon. “Now I only have to work on automatically summoning my shields without the meditation.”

“That would be easy enough with practice. The first steps are always the hardest. Knowing there’s a probe, summoning enough mental power to block it and throw it out, that’s the hardest part. You can’t really teach that since each mind is different from another and only the person learning can truly know how to do it. I could only guide you but your way is distinctly different from mine. But now that you’ve found your way how, we only need to harness it with practice.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” His godfather asked quietly, referring to the newest childhood memory their lesson had unearthed. They had begun to have these talks about his childhood since they were usually the ones that are extracted first by the spell.

“Not really.”

“I apologize again you had to live with them, Harry.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I was young, impulsive, and arrogant. If I had kept my mind at the time, I wouldn’t have gone after the rat. You wouldn’t have had to spend time with those horrible people.”

“You were acting from your heart. Please do not apologize for that.”

Sirius had no reply. He gazed at the young man silently.

“I think, I’ve figured, my childhood memories are the first ones that are extracted because they aren’t the ones I think are worth enough to guard.” He said softly.

Again, Sirius just silently nodded. Frankly, he didn’t know what to say.

“They are horrible, yes. And they have left their mark on me. I am still dealing with how they may have affected me. But you’ve helped with that. You, and Ron and especially Hermione, have all helped. I didn’t realize actually, she’s been doing it since I’ve met her. And I’ve become… aware of these problems. And I am dealing with them. It’s getting a little better everyday. I’m not saying they’re going away. They’re still there. I think they always will be. But that isn’t what’s important.” He turned to look at his godfather.

“What’s important are the memories I’ve formed since meeting all of you. They are the ones I’ll give my life guarding.”

Sirius nodded at his godson. Again, he’s amazed at the change he had gone from a depressed and angry boy into the powerful and confident young wizard before him now.

I just wish I can take away the solemn look of his eyes just as easily as I’ve nourished him back from his neglected childhood. He shook his head regretfully. He can still see how Harry felt detached from everyone else despite the family they had tentatively formed this summer. He knew he couldn’t banish his godson’s loneliness alone. He needs something else. Someone else. But he knew that he couldn’t tell Harry who or what he needs. There is another way but I’m not sure I can do it. So much can go wrong.

“Do you think I should take the prefect badge?” Harry’s voice cut in his reveries.

“What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to but I’m not sure I can handle it. I don’t want to take on too much.”

“Ron and Hermione can help you out. Remus is telling me Ron’s training is going very well. Whatever you guys said to him worked. He’s working his bum off learning everything he could.”

“That’s great! I knew he had it in him. I’d like to continue working when we get back to Hogwarts, maybe we can ask for permission from McGonagall to have a certain period for training.”

“That’s a good idea. Remus and Tonks have taken to dueling Ron at the same time. He might not have the physical and magical arsenal you have but Moony says the boy has an amazing gift for tactical acuity. That’s why they’ve decided to harness it by simulating fight situations. He’s getting sharp at assessing each set-up and reacting instinctively. He’s shown some Animagus abilities too, though not at prodigious as what you and Hermione have displayed. You will all start Animagus lessons at the same time. Hopefully you would have achieved full transformation by the time you get back to Hogwarts.”

“I’ll have a lot to tell him then when we visit him at the Burrow tonight. It will be nice to spend some time together again.”

“Do you maybe, want to talk about something else?” Sirius asked him haltingly.

Harry tried to read his godfather. As usual, it produced no results. He turned away and sighed.

“You mean about her.”

“You can’t keep dancing around it and pretending it’s not there.”

“We’re best friends. I can’t risk it. I can’t lose her.”

“It might be something more, wouldn’t you want that? Do you care for her?”

He looked at Sirius in disbelief. “You must be kidding.”

“I meant, do you care for her more than a really good friend?”

Harry fell silent. “That’s part of why I’m trying to keep everything the same as before. I’m not sure. We’ve grown so close, and I’m so used to being with her. She’s making me lose sleep. I keep making excuses to touch her, watch her. I’m starting to think I might be a perverted maniac.” He said dryly. “But what if it’s not real? What if I’m mistaking these feelings I have for something else?”

“Don’t you think you’d rather find out then lose your chance at something that could be really wonderful?”

“The risk is too great, I can lose her.”

Sirius sighed. “Don’t you think, Harry, that you should be able to trust her more than that? You have been through a lot. You said so yourself that your lives are intertwined so much you consider your life before meeting us – and her - as nothing more than requisite existence. I think you can count on your friendship to survive if you are mistaken. Which in my opinion, you’re not.”

Harry sighed. “She makes me feel everything. When she’s with me, I feel like I’m with her. Does that make sense?”

“She makes you feel like you’re here. Here, in this place, in this time, with us. She grounds you.”

Harry just nodded. “But she’s been my rock ever since. It’s like the way it’s always been but it’s different. I can’t throw away what we have just because I felt an itch that it can be something else. The risks are too great for me this time. I’m not even sure what I’m risking it for.”

Sirius put his arm around the young man in comfort. He knew what his godson was talking about. It was eerily similar to a conversation he had with another raven-haired boy years and years ago though the circumstances of the two were miles different.

But the emotion they’re describing was the same.

**********************************

“Harry! Harry!” Hermione shook her friend’s shoulder to catch his attention; He turned to her with glazed eyes.

“Oh hi, Hermione. Are we leaving?”

“Sirius says we have about an hour. We’re still waiting for Tonks.”

He nodded then turned his head towards the window again.

“Are you alright?”

“I was just thinking.”

Hermione bit her lip. She could tell he was reluctant to share but she also knew if she prodded him enough, he’d tell her what was bothering him. She raised a hand to his cheek and turned his face towards hers. His emerald eyes were clouded with uncertainty. She answered his gaze unflinchingly, looking for the hint on whether she should ask him to confide in her or not. Then she sighed and raised both arms to hug her friend.

It was not the time.

Harry buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the light perfume of her hair. He knew she wouldn’t ask. Not yet. Reluctantly, he released her and stood up.

“C’mon, let’s join them.”

Hand in hand, they silently went to the kitchen to join the adults. Sirius saw them walk in and raised a brow but said nothing. They each took a seat at the marble island.

“So Hermione, just tell them that you asked the muggles for a night off ok?”

Hermione nodded at the excuse they’ve agreed to give the Weasleys for her presence, though she really wasn’t comfortable lying to the Weasleys about everything. However, she did trust Sirius and Remus enough to follow their advice and, in her unvoiced opinion, slight paranoia at the precautions they were taking. She did understand though that they had lost so much in the last war and they were doing everything they could to make sure they did not lose anything more.

At that moment, the fire in the kitchen fireplace glowed green. Sirius moved to catch his cousin. To his surprise, he caught a tall, black-haired, young woman dressed in tight, low-riding jeans and a sleeveless, V-cut black blouse instead. Before she could stand upright, his vantage point let him see quite clearly that she was wearing a pink, lacy silk bra over firm, full breasts. They were mesmerizing. The unfamiliar woman raised her face to look at the owner of the arms which caught her and Sirius forgot to breathe. She had the blackest, softest hair imaginable with a heart shaped face framing high cheekbones and the pinkest cupid bow lips. To top everything, her large doe eyes slanted at the ends were the mesmerizing color of midnight blue, almost bordering on black. She opened her mouth, presumably to ask who he was but was distracted by his cousin tumbling to the floor beside them.

“Just my luck, the day you decide to help me out of the floo and I bring someone with me.” Tonks said as she looked up at Sirius still holding the young woman in his arms.

The visitor let out a musical laugh. She looked from Sirius, who seemed to have no intention of releasing her, to Tonks who was getting up from the floor. “Um, Tonks, did you forget to tell me anything about this mode of transportation of yours?”

“What do you mean?”

The woman looked at Sirius again; she seemed to be biting her cheek to keep from laughing. “Does is it really come with a personal catcher? And uh, how exactly would I get off?”

Tonks finally noticed Sirius’ face and let out a huge belly laugh which seemed to shake the man out of his stupor. Blushing furiously, he released the woman in his arms.

“Well…”

The woman’s eyes were sparkling with amusement. She held out a hand. “Hullo, I’m Lexie.”

Something; some spark, took hold of Sirius. Almost without thinking about it, he took her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it. “Enchante, Mademoiselle”. She felt his warm lips on the back of her hand and her eyes lit up in a way that Tonks had never seen before.

Lexie looked at him with surprise and something that he might have read, in his earlier years, as genuine interest. His eyes held hers for a long moment, before the spell was broken.

Tonks’ muffled laughter finally reached his now conscious brain. He angled his head to look past Lexie and saw the two teenagers and his old friend with their hands covering their mouths. They had been watching him all this time apparently.

“Um, I don’t really mean to be rude or anything.” Sirius’ attention was wrenched back to the stunning black haired woman. “But I will need my hand some time in the near future.”

Sirius’ face colored like a tomato again as he realized he had not released her hand. He shook his head to regain whatever dignity he could muster and let go. “I’m sorry. My name’s Sirius.”

Tonks took the woman’s waist and was also biting her cheek to keep from laughing. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the group now that my cousin has consented to let you go.”

“Oh, is he the one you were telling me about?” Tonks nodded.

Sirius eyed Tonks warily. “What exactly did she tell you?”

Lexie’s lips broke into a huge grin. “Oh, nothing. Just that you came from the other side. You’re Sirius Black right?”

He nodded. Tonks motioned the others in the room. “And this is Remus Lupin. The two hyenas there are Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.” Each person stood up and shook the newcomer’s hand.

“Guys, this is Lexie Montenegro, my cousin from my dad’s side. Her mum’s my aunt.”

A chorus of hellos greeted her.

Remus raised an eyebrow at Tonks. “You’re a Muggle?”

Lexie looked at Tonks first then nodded. “That’s what you call non-magical folks right? But don’t worry about the secrecy statute. I’m family anyway. Uncle Ted told us about him and Aunt Addie’s family long ago. Tonks is my closest cousin; we used to spend summers together when she came back from Hogwarts.”

“Nice to meet you.” Hermione said. “So what do you do?”

“I’m going to be graduated from the Cambridge University School of Law next year. I’m on summer break so I decided to stay for a spell with Tonks at her flat. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other.”

“Wow.” Harry could see Hermione was impressed. He’s heard of Cambridge Law, too. He knew it was a tough school to get into.

“So you’re the boy wonder.” Harry blushed at Lexie’s comment while Hermione stiffened and imperceptibly moved closer. The older woman, it seemed had very sharp eyes, as she raised an eyebrow at the young girl’s reaction. “And you’re the quote unquote smartest bloody witch of her age.” She then turned to Remus, her mouth quirked with a mischievous smirk. “And you, my friend, seem to be the strong and silent older man.” Tonks blushed furiously while she pinched her cousin’s arm. “Ow! That hurt, Nymphie!”

“Nymphie?!” All four pairs of eyes turned to Tonks. Lexie had the grace to look embarrassed and mouthed Sorry! to her cousin.

“Uh, she couldn’t pronounce my name when we were kids. It stuck.” She eyed the black haired muggle murderously.

“Nymph. I like it.” Remus stared at the young Auror intensely. Tonks felt her mouth go dry. “It suits you.”

Sirius cleared his throat. “Um, sorry about, um...” He gestured at the floo. “But uh, I assume you’re coming with us.”

The woman nodded. “Tonks told me you were visiting some friends. You won’t mind do you? I’d appreciate the chance to meet some more magical people. Tonks and her mum are the only ones I know, besides Uncle Ted. It all sounds so fascinating though.”

“It’s no trouble, is it Uncle? I’m sure the Weasleys won’t mind.” Harry asked.

“Molly would revel at another mouth to feed.” Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

Tonks took Lexie’s hand. “You’ll love the Weasleys. They’re the epitome of a magical family.”

Sirius led them to the floo again. He took some of the green powder and threw it into the fire. “The Burrow!”

*******************

Lexie was in heaven. Or rather a noisy, warm, and very fascinating version of heaven. She loved everything about the Burrow. Upon arriving and being introduced to the Weasley family, Molly had taken her in one of her infamous hugs and then proceeded to berate Tonks for apparently “underfeeding” her. She was fascinated about everything in the house. Everything captured her imagination - from the magical clock of the family, to the kitchen, which seemed to function on its own, down to the knitting needles making a sweater with invisible hands.

“Enjoying yourself, are you?” Tonks sat next to her.

“It’s all so fascinating! I had no idea it can all be like this. I mean, I spent summers at your house but this is just too much.”

Her cousin nodded. “They are one of a kind.”

“Now, let me get it straight. The one talking to the blonde is Bill right? And that’s his girlfriend Fleur. The twins are Fred and George. The one who went up to his room is called Percy. Ginny is the only girl, and that one over there with Harry and Hermione is Ron.”

“And I’m Charlie.” Lexie turned to look at the redhead who was extending a glass with pale orange liquid inside. “Pumpkin Juice?”

She smiled and took the glass. “I never knew you can actually make juice out of a pumpkin. I was rather in the notion of them just for Halloween and grinning.” She took a sip. “This is delicious! So what do you do?”

“Oh, I work with dragons. I usually stay in Romania. That’s where we raise them.”

“Dragons? Heavens, they’re real?! Aren’t they dangerous?”

As the witch and wizard regaled the young woman with details about the magical beasts, they failed to register a pair of dark eyes scrutinizing their every move.

“Careful, Padfoot. From looking at you, one would think you would like to tear Charlie Weasley from limb to limb.”

Sirius’ eyes snapped to Remus who was handing him a mug of tea. “I don’t like how he’s too close to her. This is all so new; he might take advantage of her fascination.”

Remus nodded. “Uh huh, and the fact that you almost didn’t let go of her earlier and have watched every single move that the woman has made has absolutely nothing to do with it.” Sirius scowled at him and Remus laughed. Sirius shook her head and tried to school his features into a menacing glare but he lost the fight and laughed.

“You know me too well, Moony.”

Across the room, the trio was also discussing the newcomer. “Blimey, she’s a looker, huh mate?”

Harry shrugged. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Hermione. “Yeah, she is.”

Blushing, she turned towards Lexie, Tonks and Charlie. “Sirius hasn’t been able to take his eyes off her.”

Harry grinned. “That’s true. You should have seen him when she first came out of the floo. He looked like someone punched him in the gut. I wonder if Tonks would start bringing her to the Barmy Hole.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

“That would be interesting. I’d like a chance to get back at him for his prank yesterday.”

Ron turned to Hermione. “What prank?”

Hermione looked like a deer caught in headlights. Harry just turned red and was looking like he’d downed flobberworms. “Uh, some stupid prank he pulled on Harry and me as retaliation to the one Harry pulled on him. Oh my, Ron, you should have seen it! It was brilliant how he turned into a canary! Tell him, Harry.” Hermione was frantic.

Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his friends. Harry gulped and made a big show of telling how he had tricked Sirius into turning into a canary. Fortunately, Hermione’s tactic seemed to work. Ron doubled up in laughter. “You should have seen his face!”

Hermione looked at Ron, breathing a discreet sigh of relief. She shook her head. She should have a talk with him soon but she had no idea how to bring their issues up without him running the other way. She looked at Harry and gave him a grateful smile. He gave her a grin back. A corner of her mouth turned up and she winked at him playfully.

Harry’s breath hitched when Hermione winked at him. Winked! She had never winked at him for as long as he could remember knowing her. Then his eyes traveled down to her full pink lips when one of its corners turned up. They looked so soft. I wonder how they would feel if I kissed her? Harry’s eyes widened. What the bloody hell is wrong with him? They were in the Weasleys’ living room. How the hell can I think about kissing Hermione? Be honest, you pervert. You’ve been thinking about kissing Hermione since that night in the den. You’ve been thinking of doing a lot more than kissing her. Harry shook his head, unwilling to be thinking such thoughts about Hermione. He felt like he was violating her for some reason. Determinedly, he turned to Ron. “Hey, Sirius tells me you’re getting really good at lessons.”

Ron flushed. “Really? Well, Remus and Tonks have been amazing. They set up all these obstacles and when it’s all of us, it’s really brilliant. Mostly, it’s been just me though. The twins are busy doing god knows what, they can’t come to every lesson. But they have been frighteningly asking Remus for the books he’s teaching from. I don’t even want to think what they’re planning to do with those. I think Dad figured out what we were doing. He’s allowed Ginny to join me a few times but you know how Mum get so she still can’t come regularly.”

“I knew he would. I saw his face that night. At least, he understands how we need it. Have you started your workouts too? You look really well.” Hermione teased him.

Ron turned an embarrassing shade of red. “Aww, Hermione.”

She laughed. But her laughter caught in her throat when she saw the dark scowl on Harry’s face. Her brow frowned. “Is everything alright, Harry?”

“What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about my next shift at the Dursleys.”

“Oh yeah, how’s that going mate? Are they treating you alright?”

“Well, they’re the same. It’s all bearable though. I mean, I get to go home after a few hours. I usually just do some chores outside when I’m there. I mean, it’s the whole point isn’t it? So thankfully, I really don’t spend much time interacting with them.”

“And you shouldn’t have to. They’re abominable.” Hermione pursed her lips.

Harry’s eyes softened and he placed a hand on her upper arm. “Thanks.” She looked him straight in the eye. He could lose himself in the chocolate depths of her eyes all night.

“Ahem.”

Harry looked at Ron and grinned. “Sorry, mate.” His friend actually raised an eyebrow at him in an eerily similar look of Hermione’s. His blue eyes bored into his deeply as if trying to figure out something. A silly, errant thought that they might be spending a bit too much time together flitted through Harry’s mind.

“Hey guys, excuse me for a second. I’d like some time with Ginny, ok?” The two boys nodded.

Harry’s eyes followed her as she made her way to where the youngest Weasley was laughing with the twins, Charlie, Tonks and Lexie.

“She’s changed.” Harry’s head whipped to see Ron also watching their best friend and then turned to him. “You have, too.” Harry nodded his head silently.

Ron was looking at the happy group with Hermione. “Everything’s changing, eh?” Harry looked at Ron as if seeing him for the first time. In all their years, he’s never heard him talk like this.

He sighed. “It was bound too. Are you alright?”

Ron shook his head. “Everything is just different, is all. C’mon, let’s join the fun.” They stood up and joined the group in the middle of the room. As they approached, Hermione gave him a beaming smile and handed them both a butterbeer.

“Oi, Harry, Hermione here tells us you used our Canary Creams on Sirius. How was it?”

Harry grinned. “It was bloody brilliant!”

Suddenly smoke enveloped him. Harry felt cold all over, like someone abruptly dumped a pail of cold water over his head. He sensed a tingle of magic washing over his skin.

“What the?!” Everybody coughed and tried to wave away the fog.

When the smoke cleared, a huge silence enveloped the crowd as they stared at Harry. Then there was a camera flash and everybody started laughing loudly. He looked at Hermione in time to see her clicking more pictures with a small camera at him. “Hermione, what are you doing? Stop that! You’re blinding me!” Thankfully, she granted his request. “What’s everybody on? What’s funny?” He said, turning to everyone. Tonks made wild gestures that seemed to indicate his clothes. He looked down and his eyes widened with horror. He was wearing a tight, baby pink, t-shirt with “I Heart Snape” printed in big red letters. And he was in his boxers, baby pink silk boxers, covered in fluttering multi-colored prints of Snape’s face! He desperately tried to cover anything his arms can reach. He looked at Hermione and his eyes narrowed with intent. “Hermione!!” He bellowed. He was going to kill her!

His supposed best friend had tears coming out of her eyes from laughing as she made her way to him. She placed both hands on his shoulders and raised herself on tiptoes. Harry suddenly forgot what he was wearing. He thought he might even have forgotten to breathe. His hands automatically went to her waist. She didn’t try to remove his hands though as she brushed her lips purposefully against his scar. It was so light a touch that he couldn’t decide if he felt or imagined her kiss. He felt like his body was being suffused again with cold water and distantly he recognized the effects of a Disillusionment Charm being removed but what he couldn’t explain was how the there came to be a swarm of butterflies in his stomach. He felt like he was being hypnotized by her twinkling, dark rum-colored eyes as she turned to look at him. His eyes closed involuntarily as he inhaled her very tantalizing perfume deeply.

“Open your eyes.”

Harry complied and saw everyone was still laughing save for Ginny who was definitely not smiling and looking at both him and Hermione very speculatively. He mentally shrugged her expression off and looked down to see, to his relief, that he was now wearing his own clothes again. Hermione stepped back and sat down beside Tonks. “Scared now, Potter?”

Ron was aghast. “That was you?!” The twins were looking at Hermione with something bordering on respect. The young girl flushed and grinned sheepishly.

“Absolutely brilliant!!” Sirius called out from across the room.

“Sirius, you’re supposed to be helping me!” Harry glowered at his godfather.

“Well, it was, you have to admit.” Sirius’ muttered comment was suspiciously audible.

Harry then glowered at his best friend. His supposed best friend. Hermione bit her lower lip. Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Instead of looking contrite, she looked like she was trying to hold back laughter. Her action refocused his attention to her lips again. Harry groaned mentally as he remembered her light kiss. Then he shook his head and started chuckling softly. His eyes met hers and she finally gave in to a deep, throaty laugh. His eyes darkened as he took in the rich, sexy sound. His lips split into a satisfied grin. No one, if he can remember it correctly, has ever made her laugh like that.

“Absolutely petrified, Granger.” He walked over to her and lowered to her eye level. “But of course, this means war.” His eyes were twinkling madly with imagined mischiefs to come.

Hermione’s eyes shone at the challenge in his voice. Then she held out the camera. “Ah., but I have proof.” She smirked at him smugly.

“Ahhcck!” He tried to wrestle the camera from her. Hermione tossed gadget to Ron who promptly ran away.

“Ron!”

Molly and Arthur sat back watching as the young adults, and the not so young ones, chased each other passing the camera back and forth as Harry tried to catch it desperately, seeming to have forgotten that he could have just summoned the gadget to him.

************************

“What are you planning to do with all the time off?” Hermione asked Lexie as she joined her and Tonks for breakfast. All the boys were still asleep.

“I’m not so sure actually. It’s the first summer I’ve taken off in a long while. I usually used my summers to take on some part time work or projects for extra money.”

“When was the last summer we took together?” Tonks scrunched in concentration. “It was after my first year of auror training. And that was after your final year at uni right?”

“Uhuh. I took the summer off before law school.”

“To work at that studio if I remember right. She’s a dancer.”

Hermione’s eyes twinkled. “Really? I took some classes when I was younger. My mother made me.” She made a face.

Lexie giggled. “I assume it was ballroom then.”

“Right on one.”

She smirked. “Well, you can get refresher courses then. I was a ballroom dance instructor.” Hermione groaned but her eyes lit up with excitement. “You started enjoying them didn’t you?”

“No one knows I took lessons so please don’t say anything to the boys. I’ll never hear the end of it. What do you teach?”

“Well, I leaned towards the Latin dances. Part of the heritage I guess.”

“She’s a mutt. Half-British, a quarter Spanish, and a quarter Brazilian.” Tonks interjected as her cousin stuck out her tongue at her.

“You’re just jealous that I have a tan all year round.”

“True. And you should see her on the dance floor. She’s phenomenal.”

“Would you mind if we did do some lessons?” Hermione asked hesitantly.

“Not at all. I adore dancing. Though I can only do the tango and the salsa. If you’re interested, I can also teach you a more modern Brazilian martial arts dance. Tonks told me you guys are heavy on working out this summer.”

“What is it called?”

“Capoeira. It combines dance, acrobatics, music, and fighting techniques. Each lesson is set to ambient music that’s heavy on the drumbeats and string instruments. It’s very involving but also intensive. There’s a lot of acrobatics involved like cartwheels, sweeps, kicks, that sort of thing. Capoeira requires balance and flexibility since the basic moves flow into one another while at the same time timing your moves with the music. It’s highly meditative that way and great for your cardiovascular system.”

“That sounds fascinating.”

Lexie beamed. “You’re in luck then. I’ve been studying it for some time. I’ll be happy to help you learn.”

“Help learn what?”

Lexie looked up as Sirius came in and her breath caught, He was wearing a white shirt over black pajama bottoms. The man absolutely dripped in sex appeal. His hair was rumpled and his eyes still had that sleep in look as he gave her a mind-blowingly sexy grin. Well, he sure knows how to use his charms, she thought dryly.

“Lexie’s a capoerista. She’s offered to teach me, says it’s a great workout.”

Sirius had an exaggerated look on his face “Merlin, now you’re asking for more exercise? Have I created a monster?”

Hermione stuck her tongue at him.

Sirius laughed. “What’s a capo-rays-ta?”

Lexie grimaced. “CA-PO-Ey-RA. It’s a Brazilian martial arts dance. I’ve been telling Hermione about it and she wants to learn. I told her I’d be happy to teach her especially since Tonks told me you guys have been into physical training this summer. I’ll be happy to include Harry too, if he wants.”

Sirius’ eyes honed on Tonks’. She stared right back at him with a determined tilt of her chin. He shook his head at her.

“So am I in the secret club?” Lexie droned tonelessly.

Apparently, he wasn’t as discreet as he thought. He openly glared at Tonks, clearly meaning that they would talk about it later.

Sirius sighed. “You asked for it. We can spar this afternoon. If they want to take these lessons, I’d really like to see first if it’s beneficial enough.”

Lexie just rolled her eyes at him. “Men,” she muttered under her breath.

*************************

Sirius couldn’t believe it. The damned woman was kicking his ass.

Harry and Hermione were sitting in the dueling room totally entranced with the fight between the two. They had Protector charms applied so they wouldn’t hurt each other but the fight was still taking its toll. Both were panting already as they stood in front of each other.

Suddenly, Lexie faked a right jab at Sirius who leaned back and moved his right foot to outbalance her. She dropped forward on both hands, her right arm blocking his foot while her left leg swung up from behind and connected with his face. She let her lower body propel her into a cartwheel and she was again on her feet facing him. Lexie was constantly lunging from side to side in ginga, which Lexie had told them was the most basic Capoeira move.

Sirius was fighting with a mix of Muay Thai and Aikido. Regaining his balance from the woman’s kick, he was standing with his arms raised in defensive stance. Lexie sprang forward. Right before she reached Sirius, she dropped her upper body to gain momentum and propelled her left leg in an upper arch then fluidly swirled again, this time her leg sweeping downwards. Sirius had anticipated her move and moved out of the way of her foot.

Frustrated with failure to connect with her opponent, she twirled upright to swing another kick at him before launching into a roundhouse kick which Sirius ducked to avoid.

Sirius tried to kick her with his right leg but Lexie dropped into a split then twisted her upper body into a side cartwheel, dropping onto a position facing Sirius on all fours. Her right leg swung up again. Sirius leaned back. From her kick, Lexie dropped her upper body forward presenting her lower back to Sirius while still watching him from the vee of between her legs. He stepped forward to take advantage of what he thought was a vulnerable position when her left foot shot out forward. He blocked by taking hold of her leg. Leaning her weight on the captured leg, she kicked Sirius with her right. He staggered back but recovered quickly and moved toward her. Lexie back-flipped into a handstand and while staying upright, proceeded to pummel Sirius with several kicks which he blocked effectively save for one which again sent him backwards. Using the force from her last kick at Sirius, Lexie spun on one hand before dropping back and springing into an upright position facing Sirius again.

Sirius shook his head. “Enough.” The woman had the audacity to grin at him smugly. The two teenagers stood on their feet and were clapping furiously, cheering Lexie. “I think they get how it’s supposed to be. Besides,” He gave her a charming grin. “My ego can’t handle anymore. You’re superb.”

Her eyebrow arched and a corner of her mouth turned up. Damn, the man had appeal. Lexie shook her head. “Thank you. I have been studying it for a while now.”

“You were absolutely phenomenal.”

“Thanks, Hermione.”

“That really was awesome. Can you teach us to move like that?”

“Um, I have to confess. That wasn’t strictly capoeira. I took some martial arts lessons when I was a kid so when I started taking Capoeira lessons, my style was heavily influenced by that, or so my Mestre says. The thing with the discipline is that it’s a complete chameleon so that it adapts to the purpose, background, and personality of the practitioner.”

“They won’t find it too hard, I think. It will blend well with the aikido and muay thai lessons they have.”

Lexie quirked a brow again. “Training hard, I see.”

Blast, the woman was too sharp for her own good. Sirius didn’t know how to reply since he really wasn’t thrilled at including a muggle that summer, even if she was Tonks’ cousin. So he just flashed his most charming smile and carelessly shrugged his shoulders. “School bullies.” Privately, he resolved to have a serious talk with Tonks as soon as possible.

She laughed disbelievingly. “Right. Well, chop-chop. Let me see what Sirius has been teaching you and let’s try to correct them as much as possible”

*******************

Remus and Tonks were quietly talking when the kitchen door swung and in came two grumbling teenagers, followed a grimacing marauder and finally, by a madly grinning black-haired woman.

“She’s worse than Sirius.” Harry muttered as he took his seat next to Hermione who was already piling food on her plate.

“You wanted to learn.” Lexie pointed out.

Sirius sat gingerly. Remus was stifling his laughter as he stood up and pulled up a chair for himself after surrendering his seat to Lexie. “Feeling old, old friend?”

Tonks patted her cousin on the back. “Good job.”

Sirius glared at her while Lexie just gave in to full blown laughter.

“How can you people be so happy torturing others, particularly us, like that?” Hermione shook her head.

“Hey, you guys were the one saying you are pressed for time so I am giving you an intense crash course. Besides, you have those pink energy drinks of yours. I had to learn all these for years and with only painkillers to help me.” Hermione rolled her eyes and then concentrated on eating once more.

“By the way, Padfoot,” Remus held out a locket to Sirius. “I found this while I was cleaning the attic with Tonks a few days ago.”

“Along with Kreacher’s body. He was clutching it together with a picture of ‘Auntie’ Bellatrix.”

Hermione’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who’s Kreacher?”

“So that’s why we haven’t seen him.” Harry mused. “Kreacher was the Black’s old house elf. He was as nutty as they come, kept mumbling to himself about traitors and half-bloods. He was pathetic but I felt kind of sorry for him, he wasn’t really treated well. I tried to be nice but he was too messed up already, I guess.

Hermione nodded. Then her head snapped back. “Wait, Bellatrix as in Bellatrix Lestrange is your aunt?!” She looked at Tonks horrified. “The same mad, Death Eater Bellatrix who escaped from Azkaban a few weeks back?”

Tonks grimaced. Harry grasped Hermione’s elbow gently. “Remind me to show you the Black Family tree later.”

Sirius was still turning the locket over in his hands. “I haven’t seen this before.” He said, his brow furrowed.

“May I?”

Sirius passed the locket to Hermione. It was an old locket, heavy in her hand. She tried to open it but it wouldn’t give way. She squinted at what appeared to be markings etched on it.

Harry watched as she bit her lower lip in concentration. Then she turned to him, holding out the locket. “What do you think of it?”

Harry grasped the locket. He turned it around in his hand just as Hermione had done, at a loss at what it was. He peered at the engravings. Suddenly, the markings seemed to move on its own before his eyes. He could feel himself being sucked in whatever was inside. His mouth moved of its own accord.

“SSSsshhkketh Lesshhhtkhanthe” The locket glowed in his hand and transfigured before his very eyes. A snake “S” carved itself on the front of the locket. Without warning, a sharp pain speared from his forehead.

“Harry!!”

Hermione’s fading voice was the last thing he heard before darkness engulfed him.

Chapter 7 – Pawn to E5

A/N: Terribly, terribly sorry for the delay. A plot bunny attacked me and wouldn’t let me be until I put it to rest. I know this is shorter than my usual chapter, I hope this tides you guys over before I can post the next one again. I’ll try to make the next extra long to make up for this. My tremendous gratitude to The_Scribbler for the excellent beta work as always.

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited, 2007, with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

**************************

Dudley got a menacing look in his eyes as he spied his gangly cousin walking alone the narrow alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. He walked faster to catch up with the freak. What was he doing here? He usually came and did chores around the house, what was he doing here tonight?

“Hey, you!” He called out. Harry didn’t turn around. Dudley was annoyed, he lumbered to catch up. “Hey, Potter!” He yanked the smaller boy’s arm.

Harry just stared blankly at him. “Yes?” He replied quietly.

Dudley scowled, “What’s wrong with you?”

Harry sighed and shrugged off his grasp, then turned back to walking towards Privet Drive. “Nothing, Dudley. It’s late, and I really just need to go back to the house and tell Petunia that I need to go home.” He turned back to him and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “It’s awfully late. Does your mother know you’re out at this hour?”

Dudley flushed and grabbed Harry’s arm again. “Who the hell do you think you are? Just because you don’t live us anymore doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that.”

“It would really be to your best interests, Dudley,” Harry hissed. “If you took your hand off my arm.” Dudley saw Harry take out a long and narrow stick from his left jean pocket.

He smirked. “You can’t use magic, you’re still in school.” He said, still not letting go of Harry’s arm.

Harry smirked back and leaned toward him. He saw his cousin’s eyes blaze red and he hastily dropped his grip but the smaller boy grabbed his arm and twisted it. Dudley groaned in pain.

“That would have been correct,” He heard the other boy whisper in his ear, “If I was Harry.”

Dudley’s eyes widened in fright; he pulled his arm from the doppelganger’s grasp and ambled quickly away. He could hear the boy’s laughter behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll tell! I’ll tell on you!”

“Aww, running to tell Daddy, Diddykins? Harry told me how you hide your lardy arse behind your equally lardy father.”

Harry’s laughter was cut off abruptly as the temperature lowered drastically. Everything became pitch black.

Dudley whimpered. “Stop it! Stop doing that!”

“Shut up! I’m not doing anything. Don’t move!” He heard Harry a couple of feet from him.

Dudley felt Harry grasping his shirt. He shook it away. “Get away from me!” He shuffled to his feet and started grasping his way through the alley.

“Dudley! Dudley, you idiot boy, come back here!”

Dudley only scrambled away faster in the dark. “No! I know you’re doing this. Stop it!”

“I’m not doing anything, you moron. Now shut up because I’m trying to listen on where they are.” Harry said exasperatedly, caught up with him and grasped a hold on Dudley’s shirt.

Dudley fell silent. Then they heard it; long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Dudley started squirming from Harry’s grasp. “Hold still!” Harry scolded him.

Suddenly, Dudley’s fist swung through the air and hit Harry’s face. He staggered back. Dudley scampered and ran away from his cousin.

“Dudley, you idiot! Stop! You’re headed straight at them!” Harry yelled. “Goddammit! Lumos.”

A strange eerie light filled the alleyway. Tonks, disguised as Harry of course, squinted to see further up and was alarmed to see a Dementor hovering over a shivering Dudley.

She snapped into action. “Expecto Patronum!” A large, silver wolf shot out from her wand and charged the Dementor. Tonks jumped back in surprise. What the hell? Her Patronus has always been a chameleon. Where did the wolf come from? The silvery, translucent bitch circled Dudley once before charging another Dementor that was coming up to her from behind. The Patronus circled them again before coming to rest on its heels in front of her. The wolf panted at her, lolling its tongue adorably. Tonks patted its head affectionately then it disappeared into thin air.

Tonks ran to the muggle boy shriveled up in a fetal position on the pavement. “Shite,” She swore softly under her breath. “Where the bloody hell did that come from?” She tried to lift the portly boy up and grunted with the effort.

“Did you see them?” Tonks jumped in alarm as a small, aged voice sounded from somewhere at her left. She turned around too quickly and promptly stumbled on Dudley. “Bloody hell, Mrs. Figg, don’t do that to me again.”

“I’m sorry, child. My kneazle, Mr. Tibbles told me what happened. Are you alright?” The aging witch asked, gray hair slipping from her hairnet in her haste.

“Yes, I am thank you. But can you help me with him?” She indicated the muggle boy. “I can’t really change back until I’m out of this area.”

She looked confused. “Change? You’re not Harry?”

“No, Mrs. Figg. It’s me, Tonks. Harry’s…ill. So I took his shift for now.” Tonks shrugged. “Good thing, I did though.”

“Oh dear, this is the sort of thing Dumbledore warned me about.” Mrs. Figg said, bending down to help Tonks shift Dudley between them.

“Well, I better get this boy home and feed him some chocolates. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”

**********************

Harry gingerly opened his eyes. A dull ache was throbbing in his head and everything was completely dark. He was in his room. He tried to remember what happened. The locket! One minute he was looking at it, and then it seemed to call to him. He remembered speaking to it.

“You’re awake.” Harry turned his head to see Hermione. She looked drawn and her hand came up to stroke his cheek softly. “You gave us another scare, y’know.”

“I’m sorry.” He sat up and made a space for her. She settled beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Are you ok?”

Harry nodded silently. His eyes strayed toward the window to gaze at the starless sky. “What time is it?”

“Half-past eleven.” She lifted an arm to drape it over him protectively. Harry leaned his cheek against her hair and inhaled her sweet, light scent. “You smell good.”

Hermione snuggled in more against the crook of his neck. Harry closed his eyes and moved his arms to hug her to him fully and bent his head in her wonderful wild hair. He felt the tension leave him as her hands moved soothingly over him. He felt his stomach lurch. It felt so good to hold her like this.

“We were all so worried.” He heard her mumble. He could feel her worry throughout her whole body.

“Shhh. I’m ok. I’m here.”

After a few minutes, both of them had calmed their beleaguered hearts. Hermione shifted away from him and stared at his beautiful emerald eyes. She raised her hand again to his cheek. “Are you ok to talk? I should get Sirius and Remus. They’re downstairs keeping watch.”

“Better to tell everyone at once, isn’t it?” He said dryly.

Hermione squeezed his hand then got up and fetched the adults. Both marauders faces broke into visible visages of relief when they saw him sitting up unharmed in his bed. They took seats beside his bed while Hermione resumed her place beside him again in a gesture of support.

“Are you ok?” Sirius looked at his godson.

Harry nodded. “What happened? What was that locket?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did you say to it?”

Harry looked at Remus perplexed. “You spoke in Parseltongue before you passed out, Harry.” Hermione said softly.

“I remember looking at it trying to figure out if I’d seen it before. It felt… familiar somehow. And then the markings on it seemed to move. Like the snake carvings on the door of the Chamber of Secrets. And then I heard a voice at the back of my head say that the locket was hiding something. Or rather, hiding what it was. I told it to reveal itself. I didn’t realize I spoke in Parseltongue. I saw the locket change; a snake carving was appearing on it. And then it seemed real and it came for me. That’s when my scar hurt. That was the last thing I remembered.”

Silence greeted him. He looked to see all of them with intense looks of contemplations on their faces.

“We have to get the locket to Dumbledore.” Hermione said.

Remus sighed. “I’ll owl to let him know I’ll be bringing it in.”

Harry lips thinned. “Also, tell him once he figures out what it is, I’ll appreciate it if he lets me know – unedited.”

“Oh Harry.” Hermione put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Hermione. He’s kept far too much from me. Things I would have preferred to know before this whole thing blew up in my face. I understand he thinks he’s protecting us all but I just can’t shrug off the fact that he’s treating me like a pawn in this war sometimes.”

She sighed. “I understand. It would have made everything a lot easier to go through if he’ll be more honest with you.”

Sirius was surprisingly silent the whole time. Harry noticed his godfather had gone a little pale. “Are you ok, Uncle?”

Dark haunted eyes snapped back at him. Sirius tired to smile. “Sure, pup. You’re the swooning hero here.”

Harry looked at him concernedly. “I’m alright. Been through worse.”

Sirius nodded. “Well, then we’ll let you rest.” He and Remus stood up and closed the door.

Hermione leaned her head on Harry’s shoulder, his head resting on top of hers again. He could feel himself being lulled to sleep once again.

“Harry, I should go and let you sleep.” She moved to get up from bed. Harry’s arm shot out and grabbed her elbow.

“Stay. Please.” Hermione stared into the eyes she loved so much that were already befuddled by sleep. Her face softened and she sighed.

“Okay.”

******************************

The adults at Grimmauld Place haven’t slept. The tiny bubble they had created that summer had cracked with the disturbing incident earlier that night. Their minds were eased a little when Harry had woken up unharmed and now, they were waiting for Tonks to come back from her stint as Harry in Privet Drive. The two marauders were lost in their own thoughts. Lexie, on the other hand, sensed they also needed to talk of it in the open.

“He’s in danger isn’t he?” She never really believed in beating around the bush.

The two men looked at each other. Remus finally answered. “Yes. Hence, all the training. But you’ve already figured that out haven’t you?”

“There is something special to him, I concede.”

“Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about this.” Sirius said sullenly.

Lexie arched her brow. “And when do you propose to discuss it? When they come down in the morning and become suffocated by the cloud of depression you have hanging on your head?”

Sirius glowered at the woman. “How dare you? You have no idea what is going on around here!”

“So what? I know something dreadful happened earlier tonight. And I figured it’s not a one time occurrence either from the looks of you. And the fact that my cousin is out god-knows where pretending to be that boy; That means whatever it is you are all preparing those kids for is something they shouldn’t have been involved in given how young they are. But I also know that being glum about it and avoiding facing it would only throw them in even deeper and murkier waters. They need you to be strong.”

They both glared at each other, eyes flashing. “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

Lexie took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m out of line. I was trying to help.” Sirius narrowed her eyes at her. Then his shoulders sagged. “Apology accepted. You were sort of right, anyway. We can’t stay sullen about this. Remus, you are going to Dumbledore tomorrow right?”

Remus nodded. “I think it’s best if we leave it to Dumbledore to figure out what this locket is first. We wouldn’t know where to start looking for answers anyway.”

“My brother.”

Remus fell silent. “Regulus?”

“I think it is something that involves him. Tell Albus that.”

At that moment, the fire glowed green and Tonks tumbled out, still in Harry’s form. Her clothes were all muddied and traces of sweat were visible through the thin shirt she had on. Her hair – still Harry’s unruly mop – was messier than usual. She was almost ashen. Remus shot to his feet to help her up, meticulously checking her for injuries without preamble.

“Tonks, what happened?” Sirius’ voice was alarmed.

Tonks was trying to shrug off Remus. She changed back to her own body in seconds and proceeded to swat the concerned man’s hand as it moved precariously close to her chest area. Remus seemed to realize that she had changed back at that moment and ceased his check up, blushing. Tonks gave Remus an apologetic smile.

Tonks moved to the dining table and tiredly sat down. Remus pushed a piece of chocolate at her. She looked at him gratefully before answering. “We were attacked by Dementors.”

“Dementors?!” Sirius was aghast.

“We?” Remus asked almost at the same time.

Tonks carefully nibbled on the chocolate. “I was walking back to the house; I’d done my prerequisite round the neighborhood walk. Harry’s cousin, Dudley, saw me and started harassing me. He thought I was Harry.”

Both Remus and Sirius’ hands clenched. Tonks flushed a little, “I was taunting him a little. But I couldn’t help it, you know. I’d heard how the git used to beat up Harry. I just wanted to scare him for a bit. Then all the lights went out and it became cold.”

The marauders had sat down at the table at this point; both listening to her intently. Lexie remained quiet, listening to her cousin’s story and also watching the men’s reactions.

“I tried to calm Dudley down. But the moron panicked and hit me, so I lost my hold on him. I had to use my wand for light and I just saw this Dementor hovering over the boy. I conjured my Patronus then; it turned out there were two. There was another behind me that I didn’t see. Good thing my Patronus drove it off too. Then Mrs. Figg showed up.” Tonks took another bite from her chocolate bar.

“Petunia’s squib neighbor?” Sirius asked.

She nodded at him. “She said one of her kneazles told her what happened so she rushed over to help. She helped me carry Dudley back to the house but I had to stay awhile because the Dursleys were panicking that I had done something to their son. I wish I could’ve memory charmed the lot of them, it would have made my night a lot easier.”

“Why couldn’t you?” Lexie’s voice cut in.

Remus leveled his gaze at her. “Harry is the only known magical resident at Privet Drive. Any magical resonance from there would automatically be assumed to be his doing. As is, the Patronus Tonks cast might already be trouble for us. They would assume that it was Harry, and he’s not of age yet. If we tell them it’s Tonks, we risk exposing her and the Order.”

“Remus!” Sirius warned his friend from saying any more.

“Do you honestly think, Padfoot, that a Muggle who just happened to be learned in defensive arts would just mysteriously appear this summer, ready to help you train Harry and Hermione?” Remus said softly.

Sirius turned to stare at the black-haired woman who had started fidgeting under Remus’ inspection. Then his anger switched over to his cousin who was keeping her head down, still nibbling on the chocolate.

“Tonks.” He growled.

“I can’t tell you anything, Sirius. I was approached as an Auror.” Tonks met his eyes.

“It’s not her fault.” Lexie interjected, her voice firm. “I had my orders too. I asked her to keep it secret. We had to keep it secret.”

Sirius’ jaw clenched. “Who the hell are you, really?”

Lexie kept her eyes trained on Sirius. “I’m a potential ally.”

Sirius barked a disbelieving laugh. Lexie’s mouth quirked up. “Well, that was expected.” She stood up. “I know you have some things to discuss. And I know you don’t trust me yet, so I’ll go. To show you that I’m prepared to help, I’ll go. You’ll tell me what you want when you’re ready.” She stood up and faced the fireplace. Then she turned back to Tonks. “Sorry, Nymphie, but can you?” She gestured towards the fireplace.

“Tonks’ flat!” The purple haired witch said to the fireplace, tossing some green powder into the hearth. Lexie gave the two men a nod and stepped into the green flames.

“Tonks, how could you?” Sirius said.

“She is my cousin, Sirius. I trust her, she checks out. She came to me, and told me everything. I know you’re not ready to hear what she has to say though, so we’ll talk about it later, ok?” She sat back down again.

Sirius ran his hand over his face irritably. “Like I have a choice.” Then he stared at the witch again. “Be sure of her, Tonks. Or I swear…”

“Yah, yah, yah…You’ll tie me up and hang me upside down, blah-blah. You know me Sirius.” The older man just nodded at her. “So about the attack?”

Remus groaned. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“I’m not sure what to do. Dumbledore should be informed right away though.” Sirius stood up and scribbled on a piece of parchment. He then walked over to Hedwig’s perch and stroked the bird awake.

There was a flash of red flames. Fawkes suddenly appeared in the middle of the kitchen.

“Bloody bird!” Sirius exclaimed still clutching his letter.

“Well, it seems Dumbledore already knows something happened.” Remus said dryly. He got up and took the note from Fawkes’ leg. He looked up from the parchment. “He wants whoever was at Privet Drive to come see him now. He says Fawkes has consented to bring you.” Tonks nodded at him and stood up. “Would you like me to come with you?” He asked her softly.

“That would be really appreciated.” She answered tiredly.

“Bring the locket with you, Moony. Better to have all this at once. I’ll have a kip; wake me up once you’re back.”

The couple nodded at him, grabbed Fawkes’ tail feathers and disappeared in a flash.

Sirius sighed in the empty kitchen. Then he went upstairs to collapse on his bed.

**********************

Sirius felt like someone was shaking him from underwater. He automatically swatted the arm that was joggling his shoulder.

“Sirius, wake the bloody hell up!” Tonks said, irritated.

He opened his eyes to see her standing over him. “Whuz?” He shook his head awake. “Back from Dumbledore?”

She shook her head at him. “It was too late, and I was about to collapse from exhaustion. Remus took me home and squatted on my couch. It’s already morning.”

Sirius looked out his window. He can see the signs of early dawn. “Let’s talk about it downstairs.”

Tonks nodded and left the room.

**********************

Feeling adequately awake, Sirius carefully made his way downstairs so as not to wake the younger residents of the house.

He walked in Remus and Tonks at the table, each staring silently at their cups of tea. “You two look like shite.”

“Looked in the mirror lately?” Tonks quipped back.

He went to the simmering pot of tea and poured himself a cup then joined them at the table. “What did he say?”

Remus sighed. “About the attack? He’ll memory charm the Dursleys into thinking that Tonks was visiting Harry. They met through Sirius, and all that. And she was the one who cast the Patronus.”

Sirius scowled. “So Harry would still face a trial then.”

Tonks nodded glumly. “Well, you have to admit, it covers all the bases. The trial is inevitable if I can’t admit that it was me posing as Harry all along. Besides, with how things would be, if I raise the question of why there were Dementors in Privet Drive in the first place, it would be more credible since I was there as an objective third party.”

“It was highly suspicious why they were there in the first place. It seems Fudge has made his first move against Harry.” Remus stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“He was bound to, sooner or later. Let’s just be grateful it’s still something that we can handle. Besides, if they accuse Harry further, I can ask for a formal investigation as the Head of the House of Black. The trial would be nothing more than an inconvenience right now. They know they won’t be able to go after him if I accompany him there.” Sirius said. “What about the locket?”

His friend took a deep breath. “He says he doesn’t know what it is.”

He snorted. “And I’m a monkey’s uncle. Whenever he says that, it means he has suspicions on what it is. And they are suspicions which usually turn out to be right. Did he at least tell you what he thinks it is?”

Remus gave a tired sigh. “I know him as well, Padfoot.”

“Well?”

Tonks answered. “He thinks the diary Harry destroyed in his second year and the locket are connected. He doesn’t know how, that’s why he says he still doesn’t know what it is. But that still means it is connected to Voldemort. He says it is an important item though, and that we may just have stumbled into something that may turn the tide of this god-forsaken war.” Sirius perked up at that.

“What do you think it is?”

Remus looked at his friend with haunted eyes. “I think it is something made from the bowels of the Dark Arts. Something that Voldemort may have poured his evil into. You saw how it had affected Harry when he applied magic to it. It was almost alive in its malevolence.”

“I was afraid of that. I felt the same thing.”

“So did I.” Tonks shuddered.

Silence prevailed between the three of them for a few seconds.

“So he claims he doesn’t know what it is? Do we trust him enough to leave it up to him to look for the answers?” Remus turned surprised eyes at his friend. He had never heard Sirius talk about their former headmaster using such a tone.

“Don’t get me wrong, Moony. I still trust Dumbledore with all my heart and I will still follow him even to my death in this war. I just cannot help but think that he may be moving all of us like chess pieces sometimes. He can be quite detached with dealing with delicate issues.”

“Like putting Harry with the Dursleys?” Tonks said softly.

He nodded. “If you look at it from his point of view, letting Harry live with the Dursleys is a stroke of genius. He is the unspoken leader of this war, Remus. And Harry is the chosen warrior. Granting the blood wards were his main reason, from a tactical point of view, he has ensured that the wizarding world had its champion by deciding to leave him with those loathsome people. He knew what they were. He was close to Lily and James, especially with Lily. There is absolutely no reason for him to be ignorant of her background. He knew that by leaving him with them, he would grow up to be ignorant of his infamous ‘greatness.’ He knew that by his eleventh birthday, Harry would be so miserable and alone there that he would jump at the chance to join a world where he is obviously welcome. And that at that point, he would be most receptive to whatever ideals and principles he would like Harry to adhere to. And I’ll bet that he knew that by exposing Harry to suffering, the boy would grow up to be someone who would choose to save people from others who choose to inflict it.”

Remus looked pensive. “I don’t know, Padfoot. It seems like he left an awful lot to chance.”

Sirius shook his head. “Don’t you see? It was a calculated risk because of the prophecy. He knew of what Lily and James was able to leave Harry with. If he had grown up in the wizarding world, Harry would have grown up to be arrogant, spoiled, and headstrong. He would have been impossible to mold into anything. I refuse to believe he had no idea how the Dursleys were treating him. He could have interfered. But he chose to leave him alone for ten years. He chose to let him suffer. And it was my fault.”

“You couldn’t have done anything, old friend.”

“It was my impulsiveness and temper which caused him his childhood. I should have thought of him first instead of my grief and thirst for revenge.”

“We were young, Padfoot. And we just lost the people who meant the world to us. Anyone would have lost their minds at the time. I certainly did, and as a consequence I withdrew from everything and everyone I knew. You couldn’t have known what would happen. Nobody would have. And you are currently making reparations for those actions.”

Sirius sighed deeply. “I know. And I am trying. But the question remains whether we leave him alone with the issue of the locket.”

“I know his actions might be questionable at times. But you have to concede that all his motives were for the greater good.”

Sirius looked at Remus long and hard. Then he nodded. “Alright then.” He then turned to stare in the fire. “For now.”

“Where are they, by the way?” Tonks said.

“Still asleep. I checked before I came down.” Sirius replied distractedly. He seemed to be contemplating something.

“Is something the matter?’

His friend didn’t reply for a few moments. Then he said, “If you had a chance to give someone a …gift but it would require you to do something that may be borderline unethical, would you take the chance?”

Tonks narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”

“Harry.”

“What about him?” Remus asked guardedly.

“He will be the one leading us in this war. We are training him but he has a long way to go. This is Voldemort we are talking about that he’s preparing to fight.”

Remus was silent. “I think we are giving him all the help we can afford.”

“I know. I’m just scared of losing him, Moony.”

“It will be like James and Lily again.” Remus nodded.” But we have to have faith in him. I, for one, believe he can win.”

“I do too. I’m not sure if I’m just being paranoid but I’ve taken to looking for every way, muggle or magical, to help him prepare. And I found something, but it might be too dangerous.”

Remus sighed. “I understand how you feel. But…” He shook his head. “What are you planning to do? I might as well hear you out before I pass judgment.”

Sirius smiled at them wryly. “Have you heard of the Itineris Verum Potion?”

Tonks frowned. “It’s vaguely familiar.”

Sirius nodded. “Yes, Itineris Verum, the Odyssey Potion.”

“Odyssey?” Remus repeated, trying to remember where he heard of it.

Sirius turned towards the fire. “Like the Greek myth where the hero Odysseus travels through innumerable challenges for twenty years before being reunited with his faithful wife Penelope and his family. The potion will put the drinker in a trance-like sleep which is supposed to be a journey of self-discovery in the subconscious. It’s said that you would encounter your worst fears in the dream, along with discoveries of your strengths and unknown weaknesses and will culminate in revealing your true desires.”

Both Remus and Tonks were silent. “I see.”

Sirius sighed. “It will be finished day after tomorrow.”

“No, it’s manipulation, Sirius. You have no idea what he will go through in his mind.” Tonks argued.

“He needs to do this.” Sirius gave a sad smile. “No one is more merciless in cruelty as your own self when you look at the mirror. I should know. There are no more terrifying ghosts than the ones you meet in your mind.”

“Isn’t there the possibility he might not wake up?” She asked him angrily, her voice raising a little.

“And there is also the possibility that in the morning, he’ll find out the meaning behind that blasted prophecy.” He replied, matching Tonks’s raised voice.

Remus opened his mouth to argue.

“And he’ll realize what has been in front of him the whole time.”

Remus snapped his mouth shut. He hissed at Sirius. “There is also the possibility that that may not be what he wanted. That he may cross over to the other side. That he might choose to be in the dream rather than wake up in this god-forsaken reality. Remember, Padfoot, True Desire!”

“I know all this!” He yelled at Remus. “But think of what he might gain! Knowing who you truly are, what you might be capable of, who you really love! He needs this as much as the training we’re giving him. I believe in him. I believe in them!”

His friend fell silent.

“If I fail in my faith, Moony, then why am I fighting this war?” Sirius asked softly.

“Tell him. At least tell him everything before you give it to him.” Remus replied firmly.

The three adults fell into brooding silence. Remus eventually got up and started to prepare breakfast.

Not one noticed a pair of trainers sneaking stealthily back upstairs.

*******************************

Harry and Hermione entered the kitchen an hour later. Sirius schooled his features to show a nonchalance he definitely did not feel. He missed the studying look Harry gave him. “Hello, pup. Had a good sleep?” To his surprise, both teenagers blushed. He raised his eyebrow, the bad mood he had woken up in dispelled for the moment.

“Er, yes, I did surprisingly.”

His mouth quirked up at the look of dread on both their faces. Clearly, they fell asleep together. He knew they were expecting teasing. He looked at Tonks. The pink-haired witch had an almost evil smirk on her face. “How about you, Hermione? Did you rest well?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Tonks. “Yes, I did.”

“Oh. Good for you.” The young witch snickered. Hermione rolled her eyes. “So I fell asleep in Harry’s room. Was that what you perverted individuals wanted to know?”

Harry groaned. “We are best friends, y’know. We have slept together before.”

Sirius gave a dramatic gasp. “Merlin! You move fast, young man. And under my roof without permission, no less!” Remus and Tonks laughed. A pancake hitting him squarely in the face stopped his theatrics.

“He meant sleep as in sleeping.” Hermione hissed at him.

“That’s what I meant, too.” He grinned back at her. She rounded the table to smack him at the head.

“You know you’re too old to be this immature.” She rolled her eyes at him. Sirius stuck his tongue at her.

Harry was pensively quiet. He was studying each face before him. He noted the tired lines of their faces, and the dark smudges beneath their eyes. He sighed as he took his seat and reached for his plate.

“Would anyone like to start telling me what happened last night?” He asked, not looking up from putting food on his plate. He felt Hermione look at him, studying his face. He raised his eyes to her. She then looked at the three in front of them with eyes narrowed.

“I think I’d like to be informed as well.” She said softly.

“Well,” Tonks started. “I went to Privet Drive as you last night since…because of what happened.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I bumped into Dudley. Then we were attacked by two Dementors.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. He could see Hermione with the same look of disbelief from the corner of his eye. “Dementors? In Little Whinging?” He asked.

Hermione clamped her mouth shut. Harry could see the wheels turning in her head. “This is obviously a scheme to discredit you, Harry. It must come from the Ministry, I mean, no one else can give orders to Dementors to leave their post in Azkaban.”

Harry looked at Sirius. His godfather stared back at him as he said, “That is true. We’re just not sure if this came from Fudge himself or one of his puppets. Tonks and Remus went to Dumbledore last night. He said he’ll memory charm the Dursleys into thinking that Tonks was visiting you. You met her through me. And she was the one who cast the Patronus.”

Harry massaged his forehead. Hermione took his free hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled at her in appreciation. She turned back to Sirius. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ll accompany Harry to his trial right?”

He sat up straight. “Trial?”

“It’s expected that the Ministry would launch an investigation at the magical surge that was recorded in the Privet Drive area. A Patronus is considered highly advanced magic. They won’t be able to ignore the high level of magical resonance it produced. They’ll assume that was you. But don’t worry. That would only be a formality. My presence there as your magical guardian would…insure that rules would be followed.”

Hermione arched her eyebrow. “You’ll accompany him as Head of your House.”

Sirius nodded. Harry turned to Hermione. “What difference would that make?”

“As a charge of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, Harry, you would be reasonably protected. It’s public knowledge that Sirius is your godfather, so that won’t be questioned. They won’t be able to accuse you of anything without credible proof. That would be tantamount to accusing Sirius. And accusing a Head of House is almost political suicide. The legalities and excessive amount of evidence such an act requires is almost insurmountable. I looked it up one time in the Hogwarts library. I was getting annoyed at how Lucius Malfoy kept getting away with everything, I wanted to know how he was able to do it.”

“Which would explain why Malfoy’s such an arrogant git then.” Harry quipped.

Hermione’s mouth quirked up. “Well, yes. Pureblood families get away with almost anything, especially if they are considerably wealthy. It’s really not worth it to fight them most of the time.”

Harry contemplated this tidbit of information. “So as your charge,”

“Actually in this case, as my unofficial heir, since I don’t have a son.” Sirius supplied. “When I adopt you, then it would become legal and uncontestable.”

Harry met his godfather’s eyes, unable to form the words to convey his gratitude at how Sirius had taken him in as a family without hesitation. Sirius just smiled at him. “So as your unofficial heir, I can tell them Dumbledore’s revised version of events and they won’t be able to question me too much?”

“We have two witnesses to support you. Tonks was there, and it was her Patronus. They can check her wand and it would still be a fact. Also, Mrs. Figg saw what happened too.”

Harry shot up in his seat. “Mrs. Figg? She’s a witch?!”

Tonks shook her head. “No, she’s a squib. Dumbledore had asked her to keep an eye on you while you were there.”

Harry went livid. “What?!”

“Harry, calm down.” Hermione held his arm. “What’s wrong with having a squib neighbor?”

Harry eyes flashed with anger, he was desperately trying to maintain control over his emotions. “He knew, Hermione! He knew how the Dursleys treated me and he didn’t do a damn thing! For ten years!”

Hermione gasped, her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, god.”

Tonks was glowering. Sirius and Remus were silent but their knuckles were turning white from clenching their fists.

“Dumbledore would have a lot to answer for.” Sirius said menacingly.

**********************