" Sirius Be, Well, Serious!"
LadyLing
Paulac@earthlink.net"
A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading this little anecdote of mine! I hope you like it, and if you do e-mail me about it! I receive enough junk already so I'm not afraid to post my address (Look up)! This has mostly romance of a Sirius nature(did anyone get my pun?), but I love Ron and Hermione too much not to throw in a little R/H and of course H/G!!! This takes place during the 6th year, during the 5th year Ron and Hermione got together and admitted their feelings!! Also, in this story I'm saying that Lily and James had Harry when they were 22, so Sirius is, and Lily and James would be if they were alive, 38. Read on!
Disclaimer: I don't own what I write about, J.K. Rowling does.
~~ Part 1~~
Harry Potter sat in the Great Hall with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, at the start of term banquet at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everything was going quite nicely; the food, the company (besides the fact that Harry had a large suspicious Ron and Hermione were playing footsie under the table), and the general atmosphere were far more cheerful than his whole summer at Privet Drive had been. The train ride had been peaceful enough and now he was relaxing, everything was going so well. Maybe, Harry thought, this year peace will last throughout the whole term. With a contented sigh he shoveled more sweet potato pie into his mouth and turned to watch the teachers. Everything looked in order there, except Snape looked even grouchier than when Harry had last seen him, if that was possible. Harry was about to point this out to a seemingly preoccupied Ron when Dumbeldore decided to make his start of term speech.
" Friends, here starts another year at Hogwarts. A new beginning and a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher yet again. She doesn't appear to be here..." with that a blur of black and pink whizzed through the door of the Great Hall on her broomstick! A collective gasp went up through the hall as the blur stopped at the high table and landed right between Snape and Dumbeldore and behind an empty seat. Snape glared and Dumbeldore smiled at a very pretty and very young woman who was desperately trying to smooth out her dark brown wind blown hair. Her face looked remorseful at having disturbed everyone, but her eyes, beautiful orbs of dark green with dark brown around the pupils, looked most pleased at her dramatic entrance. Dumbeldore turned from the woman to the crowd and said,
"...but she has just arrived. Please welcome Professor Jenna Delithon, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" Snape scowled as applause broke out. Jenna Delithon smiled, placed her broom (a firebolt ^_^) against the wall behind her and sat down.
"That's odd," Hermione murmured, "he didn't introduce any of the other new teachers."
"That's because none of them had her reputation!" Pavarti Patil, who had overheard Hermione, squealed.
" What about her?" Seamus Finnigan asked, intrigued.
" Well she's been engaged twice, married once, and divorced once." Lavender Brown answered for Pavarti, who was too busy giggling to answer.
" That's not really that big of a deal." Hermione said with a little contempt.
"Let me finish!" Lavender whined as she turned to Harry and Ron, who both had already lost interest in the conversation.
" It's the people she was engaged to! Guess whom!" Pavarti nodded as she and Lavender waited for anyone to guess. After a minute of no one answering Pavarti gushed,
" Sirius Black! The convict!!!" Three heads shot up with renewed interest.
" And then she was married to none other than our old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher..."
"Remus Lupin?" Hermione gasped.
"Who? No not him, Gilderoy Lockhart!!!" With that Lavender and Pavarti
collapsed into fits of giggles. Harry stared open mouthed at the girls before turning to look back at Jenna Delithon. How could she marry Gilderoy after being engaged to someone like Sirius, they were such different people! She was conversing in low tones to Snape and, to Harry's surprise, looking at him. When she saw caught his gaze she smiled before turning back to Snape and their heated discussion.
" She was looking at me." Harry said a little disbelievingly.
"Do you think she...err...knows about Snuffles?" Ron asked quietly.
"Let's write him and ask." Hermione suggested.
" Sure, great idea! We'll just say we ran into your ex and wanted to know what happened shall we?" Ron said sarcastically.
" No, Hermione's right, we should write him. Maybe she knows something about, well, about my parents." Harry said, looking down.
" Then it's settled. We'll go get Hedwig tonight and write him." Hermione said as she patted Harry on the back.
"Tonight?" Ron looked up from his pie suddenly. "Hermione, ahem, remember, well, WE were, you know, gonna..." Ron said somewhat haltingly.
"Its settled Ron." Hermione mouth was a thin line, but a smile was working its way into the edges.
"Fine." He muttered as he glumly finished his desert.
~*~
That night the three stole out of the crowded common room and up to the owlery. They were in good spirits from being together again and Ron and Harry were discussing the Chudley Cannons as Hermione tried to change the subject. They had just turned to go up the stairwell to the owlery when they meet Professor Delithon coming down from it. Up close they discovered she was much younger than any of their other teachers, with Snape in a close second. She gave them all a bright smile, but her eyes were fixed on Harry.
"Harry Potter." She murmured, but to Harry's surprise she wasn't looking at his scar but at his eyes.
" Yeah, um, that's me." Harry said, feeling slightly stupid having her just stare at him doing nothing. She gave a high pitched choked sob and her hand flew to her mouth. She looked like she was about to cry.
" Professor, are you OK?" Harry asked her; annoyed at Ron and Hermione for not helping him out a little. He gave them a backward glance and, taking the hint, Hermione spoke up.
"We were just going to write a letter to one of our friends."
"Which one?" Professor Delithon sniffed as she came very close to all three of them, looking as though she was about to shake them in order to get an answer. Ron, thinking hard (but really hardly thinking) said,
"His name's Snuffles. You wouldn't know him." It sounded very rude but Professor Delithon simply smiled and said,
"Actually, I think I do know him." This startled Harry, Ron, and Hermione very much. Harry knew she did know Sirius, but could she know the code name? And could he trust anyone who had married Gilderoy Lockhart? Seeing their startled faces she put on a placating look and said,
"Will you tell Snuffles that Jenna Delithon is here, at Hogwarts I mean, and that she says hello in your letter?" Sensing their dubiousness she quickly added, " I, as the new mysterious Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, will answer any question you put forth as comeuppance. Is it a deal?" Harry, deciding that they were already going to ask Sirius about her anyway, nodded his head
"All right, uh, that's good." He said. He looked at his friends and gave them a look that said, "what should we ask her then?" Hermione supplied a question.
"How did you get this job and why did you take it?" Harry could think of many better questions, but since they all involved Professor Delithon's love life, he decided to go with what Hermione had said.
"That's two questions dear bur all right." Said the Professor with a smile. " First off, I got the job here because I am the only person trained enough in this type of defense, that is currently available, that would sate Professor Dumbeldore's needs. He wants you to be prepared. I took the job to keep a promise to an old friend." She smiled at the three bewildered looks her mysterious answers had received and with a tilt of her head swept past them and sauntered off down the hall.
"What was that all about?" Ron wondered aloud. Harry certainly had to agree with him, the new professor was acting weirder than all the others combined.
" Strange yes, and what do you think she meant by those answers?" Hermione said as she brushed past Harry and started the ascent to the owlery. Harry followed her with the same question in mind, Ron next to him.
"I know, they were so weird. But the strange thing is," he said, as they climbed, "she didn't even glance at my scar. All her attention seemed to be focused on my eyes."
"Sorry she didn't gawk and take pictures. Missing the days of signed photos?" Ron said. Harry glared at him and tried to explain.
" No, its just people usually see my scar and can't help but stare at it. She stared at my eyes. It was...different. I'm not saying I like people identifying me by my scar, but it's like she identified me by my eyes. Does that make any sense?" Harry asked as they stepped into the owlery. Hermione seemed to think about this as she set up parchment, quill, and ink on a little table. Ron too, as he watched Hermione, seemed lost in thought. Harry watched the two of them and with a sigh said,
"I didn't think it would make any sense."
"No, that's not it. I'm just thinking." Hermione said as she finished putting out the supplies. Ron shrugged his shoulders at Harry and nodded towards the parchment. Harry dipped the quill that Hermione had laid out and asked,
"What should I write?"
" How 'bout 'we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher named Jenna Delithon' You know, not be too obvious about it." Ron suggested.
"OK." So Harry quickly scribbled a note.
Sirius,
Arrived at Hogwarts safely. There is a new Defense against the Dark Arts
Teacher named Jenna Delithon.
"What else should we say?" Harry asked.
"Ask if he knows anything about her because we think she's suspicious." Hermione suggested. "I mean she did act strangely down there. Just pretend not to know they were engaged and ask on the pretense of his wisdom of the wizarding world." So Harry wrote
Sirius,
Arrived at Hogwarts safely. There is a new Defense against the Dark Arts
Teacher named Jenna Delithon. She has acted strangely around us and we were wondering if you knew anything about her.
"Should I say anything else?"
"No, I think that's fine." Ron said. Hermione agreed so Harry signed the note and called to Hedwig who flew down and affectionately nipped his ear. He tied the letter to her leg and sent her off.
"That's that." Ron said hastily "plus it's only quarter to ten. I think I'll study for that Charms test tomorrow. Hermione, will you come with me to the library?" Harry was not terribly insulted the invitation didn't extend to him because he knew there wasn't a Charms test tomorrow. He was sure Hermione knew this as well but because she chose not to comment on it, Harry chose not to comment on it as well.
"Sure Ron. We'll see you later Harry." With a wave the two started down the stairs. Harry sighed and then started towards the common room himself.
~*~
The next day at breakfast schedules were handed out and it was discovered that they had double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin first. On Wednesday they also had double Potions with Slytherin. Ron at once started to bemoan this.
"Two double classes with Slytherin. That isn't fair in the least."
"Yes and I'd hoped we'd gotten a reply from Snuffles before we had Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione added.
Harry was about to reply that they probably wouldn't get a reply from Sirius for a long time when the post came in the form of hundreds of owls. One couldn't be heard over the flutter of wings so he waited until things had quieted down before talking. To his surprise Hedwig flew down to land in front of him looking none to worse for wear. She held out her leg and on it was tied a small piece of parchment. Harry untied it slowly and looked up at Ron and Hermione to suggest leaving to read it alone to find Ron glaring down the table.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Hedwig, realizing she was no longer needed, flew off for the owlery.
"Look what Ginny's got." Ron said. Harry and Hermione looked down the table and saw Ginny Weasley with a brown barn owl in front of her, a pink ball of what looked like fluff in it's talons.
" What is that?" Hermione asked as the ball began to shake in its captor's grasp.
"A nerarfk." Ron said in a voice that sounded like a nerarfk meant quick and sudden death. Harry was going to ask for a better description when the nerarfk freed itself from the owl and showed it had a mouth and hands. It had no need for feet because it bounced up and down. Ginny looked very embarrassed as the nerarfk burst into a song that was so loud it radiated around the Great Hall.
Her hair is of the fairest copper
A look betrays how much I love her
I am too shy to say my name
That is why this nerarfk came
My greatest wish's she was mine
Then I would no longer pine
I love her simply, plain, and true
I've done all that one man can do
Please help make her see
There is no other for her but me
A loyal and true Hufflepuff
I love you Ginny, is that enough?
By the time the nerarfk was done Ginny had buried her head in her hands and was dangerously close to sinking under the table. The nerarfk stopped bouncing and seemed to melt until it resembled a clump of pink wax in the shape of a heart. Ginny peeked up to glance at the heart and a look of surprise accosted her. Her hand shot out and grabbed what was left of the nerarfk. Harry just sort of gaped at her. Who could possibly be sending Ginny Weasley a love nerarfk? Sure, Harry could admit she was cute, OK she was quite pretty in fact, but she was so young. Plus, everyone knew Ginny had a crush on Harry. I mean the girl hid in doorways to squeak at him. Sure she hadn't done that in a while, OK a really long while, but the fact remained that Ginny was Harry's. No that wasn't what he meant, it's not like she belonged to him, but...argh! Harry didn't really know what he meant. He only knew that Ginny Weasley had no right receiving any kind of love letter. He glanced at Ron to see it portrayed on his face that he agreed with Harry's sentiment. Hermione, on the other hand, had a huge smile on her face and said,
"That's so sweet." Ron looked at her incredulously and said,
"Sweet?" It seemed that was all he could manage at the moment.
"Yes, I wonder which Hufflepuff it is." A look of grim satisfaction came over Ron and, getting up stiffly, he marched over to where Ginny sat and said (rather he commanded),
"Let me see it." Ginny looked up at him aghast. She seemed at a loss for words after that demonstration. Then, as she registered that Ron was ordering her around, Harry got his first glimpse of the temper of Ginny Weasley.
"Ron, please leave me alone." Ginny said as she too got up stiffly, but it was to no avail since Ron was blocking her path, forcing her to stand directly next to the table.
"Ginny, I demand to see who sent you that...that...thing!" So began the Weasley standoff. Ron was a lot taller than Ginny, but they glared at each other with equal fevor.
"Don't tell me what I must and mustn't do Ron!"
"I am trying to protect you."
"How is seeing who sent this to me protecting me?"
"I'll be able to punch his bloody face in for making a move on my little sister."
"In cause you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly little anymore!"
"Yes you are!"
"You started going out with Hermione when you were my age."
"That's entirely different."
"How?"
"It just is."
"That's a horrible answer Ron. Now go sit back down or I swear you'll be sorry." The Great Hall had lost interest in Ginny a few moments after the nerarfk had stopped singing. Now however, all eyes were again located at the Gryffindor table, this time at the two screaming Weasleys. Ron looked as if he was weighing his options, face Ginny's wrath or beat up a Hufflepuff, when Professor Delithon strode over. It seemed the other teachers had sent her to break up this family squabble.
"Please you two, do keep your voices down." She said very pleasantly. The sight of her reminded Harry about the letter Hedwig had delivered and it seemed to remind Ron as well. He told Ginny,
"This isn't over!" And strode back to his seat, fuming. Harry cast a glance at Ginny who was glaring after Ron and was startled by the fire in her eyes. Sure he'd talked to Ginny before but her anger made her look so...the word sexy flitted through his mind. What! Harry thought. His cheeks inflamed and he looked down to his food. Ginny Weasley was not sexy. No sure-e Bob! He was just startled to see her angry, that was all. He cast a glance in her direction to see Professor Delithon pat her on the shoulder as she sat back down. They had obviously had a talk. He saw Professor Delithon catch his gaze and smile, but her eyes drifted down to the parchment clutched in his hand. She quickly looked away and started back towards the high table. Harry clutched the letter to him tighter and said,
"Let's go." He, Ron, and Hermione got up and left, making their way to the library. It was practically deserted and they made their way to a particularly isolated part. As soon as they had sat down at a table next to the ghost section, Harry unrolled the parchment and started to read.
Jenna Delithon is an ally. Meet me as soon as possible in Hogsmeade, usual place.
"He's here? Again?" Ron said, surprised.
" I wonder what's going on?" Harry mused. They sat in silence for a moment before the first bell rang signaling class.
"We've got to get to class," Hermione said as she got up, "when will we meet him?"
"Tonight. It seems like he needs to talk to us." Harry said as he got up.
"After dinner though, right?" Ron asked. So it was agreed upon, after dinner the three would stole away to Hogsmeade to meet Sirius. So off they went to their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
~*~
The second bell had rung, signaling the start of class, and there was no sign of Professor Delithon. Harry looked around and saw that everyone else looked as clueless as he did. Never in all his time at Hogwarts had a teacher not been in class. Then, as if it was fate reacting to his thoughts, Jenna Delithon entered the room.
"Hullo, so sorry I'm late. It seems I'm always late, as witnessed last night as well as now." She breathed heavily as she set down her books and turned to face the class. A smile was pasted on her face as she rustled through the bag she was carrying and pulled out a long piece of parchment.
"Here is the class roster. Since I know almost none of your names, I'm going to use this first day as an orientation day and a name learning session for all of us!" She set her bag down on her desk next to her books and sat on the edge of her desk, facing the class.
"First let's take attendance, shall we?" After a long reading of all the names in the class, and finding no one was absent, Professor Delithon gave a start.
"Why, you're completely segregated! Gryffindors on one side of the room and Slytherins on the other! No that won't do at all." Harry's heart sank. None of his classes had assigned seats, and he didn't find the prospect of sitting next to two Slytherins a good one.
"I want everyone to sit between two people that aren't from your house. I have a list of what house you're in right here, so no funny business." With that the class rearranged their seats. Harry was next to two Slytherins he didn't know, but he looked behind him and saw Hermione next to Pansy Parkinson who was next to Ron who was next to Crabbe. In front of him sat Draco Malfoy. It was going to be a fun year.
"Good! Now these are your assigned seats for the whole year. You have to stay in one spot so I can learn your name. Onto the orientation. There wasn't a required textbook for this course because no textbook covers what I'm going to teach you. This year you will get to know the Dark Arts very well, and the consequences of using them. We aren't going to look at Werewolves or Vampires, but at the temptations of everyday and how to keep yourself from using the Dark Arts. This isn't going to be an easy course; I'm going to make it as hard as I possibly can, but I think it will be something you can use in your everyday life. It won't be something you have no need for, like History of Magic. Don't tell Professor Binns I said that. Are there any questions?" Harry looked around. No one seemed to be able to do anything except stare at Professor Delithon. She seemed to notice this as well so she smiled, a thing she seemed to do a lot more than any other teacher did, and pulled a book out from behind her as she stood up and flipped to a page.
"I though we'd do something fun the first day, so I got a captive shadost that our class can experiment with." She held up the book and the class saw a picture of a gray mist against a blue background. "This is a shadost. A shadost is a bit like a boggart, but it actually is a type of ghost." Professor Delithon looked out at her students who were just sitting there. Only Hermione was taking notes. "Does it seem like I'M TELLING YOU THIS FOR MY OWN ENJOYMENT? TAKE NOTES!" She yelled as she slammed the book onto her desk. Everyone hurried to pull out his or her parchment and quill as Professor Delithon continued. "Can anyone tell me the magical creature shadosts resemble the most?" Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Yes, Hermione, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's my name and..."
"Did your parents name you after the character in Shakespeare's play?"
"Yes, they did. How do you know who Shakespeare is? He was a muggle."
"Yes, a muggle. You see, back then, in the Elizabethan age," Professor Delithon said as she sat on the edge of her desk again, placing the book in her lap, "muggle and magic relations were a lot closer. The Minister of Magic practically lived at Buckingham palace. One of the "muggle mysteries" of today is how Shakespeare wrote so much in his short lifetime. They figured that he would have to write nonstop for, I think, fifty years to have written so much. Plus he had to have had time to think of the rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter. They don't take into effect the magic used to help, they just say other people wrote under his name. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes."
"Now can you answer my question?"
"Yes, a shadost resembles a dementor." A gasp went around the room as Hermione muttered "That's what I was trying to do earlier." Seamus Finnigan said rather loudly,
"I don't want to be near whatever you've got."
"No need to worry, it's captive. That means that it can't effect you unless you want it to. You see, when a shadost gets within a certain range of you, you get a glimpse of your worst fear. It seems to you as if you are living it until you get far enough away from the shadost that it gradually dissipates. The closer you are to the shadost, the stronger the feeling of horror is." Behind him, Harry heard Ron mutter rather loudly,
"This is fun?"
"Now," Professor Delithon got up from her desk looking excited, she obviously hadn't heard Ron, and said, "we are all going to write down what we think our worst fear might be. Half of what Defense Against the Dark Arts is is being prepared. If you can expect what the shadost will make you see you'll be more apt to fight it." Everyone wrote down what they thought their worst fear might be on a separate piece of paper. For Harry it was easy. His worst fear was Lord Voldermort killing everyone he loved again. He wrote it down and folded the paper in half so no one could see what he had wrote. He looked up and saw the back of Malfoy's head. He couldn't help but wonder what Malfoy was writing. Since he was practically a Death Eater it couldn't be anything like that, maybe it was Pansy Parkinson. Harry had to smile at that.
Professor Delithon had been walking around the room, looking at what people's worst fears were, but now she stood behind her desk facing the class.
"We can all experience our worst fears at once, because we are all in the vicinity of the shadost." She reached behind her desk and pulled up what looked like a large silver lantern with fog in it.
"Here is a captive shadost!" She said as she heaved the lantern thing onto her desk. "All I have to do is flip this switch and we will all experience our worst fears. I ask us all to remember what we see isn't actually happening. But, just to be safe," suddenly a pair of handcuffs appeared in front of each student," please handcuff yourself to your desk." With a big grin on her face Professor Delithon watched all the students handcuff themselves to their chairs.
"This is insane." Harry once again was the recipient of Ron's muttering as he handcuffed himself down.
"Now don't worry, I have built up an immunity to the shadosts' effects, so I will flip the switch again in five minutes. If any of you appear to be in real mental distress, I'll do it early. Everyone ready?" Everyone nodded and the switch was flipped.
At first Harry didn't feel anything different, but soon the smell of burnt cookies reached his nose. He tried to hold his breathe and not breathe in, but eventually he took in a great gasp of air and then everything gradually went dark. There wasn't anything around him but black. It was only he and the dark, as if nothing else existed. Then, suddenly thousands of balls started hitting him. Harry tried to jerk away but found himself chained to the spot. He started to remember the handcuffs and Professor Delithon saying none of this was real, but the things hitting him still hurt a lot. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore the onslaught stopped. Harry looked around him and saw that the black emptiness was littered with pink fluff balls. Harry stared at them incredulously. His worst fear was nerarfks! Sure he didn't like singing valentines any more than the next guy, but that didn't exactly make nerarfks his worst fear. He was about to try and kick one that lay near his foot when suddenly all the nerarfks mouths opened and arms spread. In unison they chanted in a low voice,
"Wheeeerrrreeeee isssssss Ginnnnnnnnnnny?"
"What?" Harry couldn't stop himself from saying. All the nerarfks weren't for him, they were for Ginny? The nerarfks had started to chant,
"Ginnnny, Ginnnnnnnnnny, Ginnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny!" They drew out the n in Ginny longer each time they chanted it. Harry had never heard anything that annoyed him as much as their chant. He knelt down so that he could cover his ears with his arms, as his hands were otherwise occupied. Then, the nerarfks began to fade away and the classroom began to form. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted his head and breathed in fresh air. Professor Delithon smiled at everyone before performing a spell that freed everyone of his or her handcuffs. Just as she was about to speak a big black dog bounded into the room, teeth bared. After it seemed to take in the room's occupants its growling ceased. Harry simply stared; he'd recognize that dog anywhere. But why was he here, in Hogwarts? Quicker than a flash Professor Delithon reacted.
"Fido! Where have you been? My poor doggie, I've been looking everywhere for you!" She threw her arms around Sirius' neck and proceeded to wail loudly.
"Clas-s dis-ss-mi-ssed, WAHHHH!" Everyone left except Harry, Ron and Hermione, who stayed on the pretense of collecting their stuff. Once all the other students had shoved their way through the door Professor Delithon got up and shut it, pulling the blind closed.
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" She asked with her arms folded in front of her. The dog changed into a man at once, but Harry still couldn't believe Sirius was in front of him. Sirius turned quickly to the three students and said,
"Hello, glad you are all right." Then he turned back to Professor Delithon with an angry look on his face. The angry look quickly turned to one of surprise as he saw the Jenna's horrified look.
"Sirius, look at you. All dirty and nearly starved." Sirius looked down at himself and an ashamed look crossed his face. Professor Delithon must have caught it because she raced over to him and grabbed his shoulders.
"Don't even think it. I'm just angry that all this has happened to you. I don't expect you to... I mean you're..." She trailed off and looked into Sirius' eyes. Harry saw a gentleness there he had never before seen. Professor Delithon had seen the same thing Harry had a second time, for she threw her arms around Sirius' neck and, just like the filth on his body, clung to him. Sirius' arms encircled her waist and held her so tight Harry wondered if she could still breathe. He stood watching until a sharp poke in the back from Hermione beckoned him outside. He followed her out with Ron beside him, he too rubbing his back.
They had only been outside for a few minutes when they started to hear the shouts from within the room. They still stayed outside until curious looks from those passing by forced them in to quiet the two down. Sirius and Jenna hardly seemed to notice the intrusion until Sirius suddenly turned, eyes dancing, towards Harry and said (rather, he yelled,),
"Why don't we just tell him now then? Since you've neglected to for the last, what is it, sixteen years?"
"Don't you dare!"
"Why not? I mean, you dared to marry Gilderoy Lockhart. This is miniscule compared to that."
"WHAT? Oh I get it you're jealous of Gilderoy!" Harry and Ron both snorted in laughter at the last remark.
"That stupid lying git! He doesn't even have a memory anymore!"
"And yet he's still more of a man to me than you ever were!" This was screamed so loudly that Harry was certain in the dungeons Snape had heard it loud and clear.
"How can you say that in front of your godson!" Sirius shouted with a finger pointed at Harry. Professor Delithon's hand flew to her mouth and she looked at Harry in horror. Harry glanced at Sirius' apologetic face and then swung his gaze back towards Jenna Delithon.
"Harry," she said with a sigh, "I'm your godmother."
LadyLing
Paulac@earthlink.net"
A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading this little anecdote of mine! I hope you like it, and if you do e-mail me about it! I receive enough junk already so I'm not afraid to post my address (Look up)! This has mostly romance of a Sirius nature(did anyone get my pun?), but I love Ron and Hermione too much not to throw in a little R/H and of course H/G!!! This takes place during the 6th year, during the 5th year Ron and Hermione got together and admitted their feelings!! Also, in this story I'm saying that Lily and James had Harry when they were 22, so Sirius is, and Lily and James would be if they were alive, 38. Read on!
Disclaimer: I don't own what I write about, J.K. Rowling does.
~~ Part 1~~
Harry Potter sat in the Great Hall with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, at the start of term banquet at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everything was going quite nicely; the food, the company (besides the fact that Harry had a large suspicious Ron and Hermione were playing footsie under the table), and the general atmosphere were far more cheerful than his whole summer at Privet Drive had been. The train ride had been peaceful enough and now he was relaxing, everything was going so well. Maybe, Harry thought, this year peace will last throughout the whole term. With a contented sigh he shoveled more sweet potato pie into his mouth and turned to watch the teachers. Everything looked in order there, except Snape looked even grouchier than when Harry had last seen him, if that was possible. Harry was about to point this out to a seemingly preoccupied Ron when Dumbeldore decided to make his start of term speech.
" Friends, here starts another year at Hogwarts. A new beginning and a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher yet again. She doesn't appear to be here..." with that a blur of black and pink whizzed through the door of the Great Hall on her broomstick! A collective gasp went up through the hall as the blur stopped at the high table and landed right between Snape and Dumbeldore and behind an empty seat. Snape glared and Dumbeldore smiled at a very pretty and very young woman who was desperately trying to smooth out her dark brown wind blown hair. Her face looked remorseful at having disturbed everyone, but her eyes, beautiful orbs of dark green with dark brown around the pupils, looked most pleased at her dramatic entrance. Dumbeldore turned from the woman to the crowd and said,
"...but she has just arrived. Please welcome Professor Jenna Delithon, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" Snape scowled as applause broke out. Jenna Delithon smiled, placed her broom (a firebolt ^_^) against the wall behind her and sat down.
"That's odd," Hermione murmured, "he didn't introduce any of the other new teachers."
"That's because none of them had her reputation!" Pavarti Patil, who had overheard Hermione, squealed.
" What about her?" Seamus Finnigan asked, intrigued.
" Well she's been engaged twice, married once, and divorced once." Lavender Brown answered for Pavarti, who was too busy giggling to answer.
" That's not really that big of a deal." Hermione said with a little contempt.
"Let me finish!" Lavender whined as she turned to Harry and Ron, who both had already lost interest in the conversation.
" It's the people she was engaged to! Guess whom!" Pavarti nodded as she and Lavender waited for anyone to guess. After a minute of no one answering Pavarti gushed,
" Sirius Black! The convict!!!" Three heads shot up with renewed interest.
" And then she was married to none other than our old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher..."
"Remus Lupin?" Hermione gasped.
"Who? No not him, Gilderoy Lockhart!!!" With that Lavender and Pavarti
collapsed into fits of giggles. Harry stared open mouthed at the girls before turning to look back at Jenna Delithon. How could she marry Gilderoy after being engaged to someone like Sirius, they were such different people! She was conversing in low tones to Snape and, to Harry's surprise, looking at him. When she saw caught his gaze she smiled before turning back to Snape and their heated discussion.
" She was looking at me." Harry said a little disbelievingly.
"Do you think she...err...knows about Snuffles?" Ron asked quietly.
"Let's write him and ask." Hermione suggested.
" Sure, great idea! We'll just say we ran into your ex and wanted to know what happened shall we?" Ron said sarcastically.
" No, Hermione's right, we should write him. Maybe she knows something about, well, about my parents." Harry said, looking down.
" Then it's settled. We'll go get Hedwig tonight and write him." Hermione said as she patted Harry on the back.
"Tonight?" Ron looked up from his pie suddenly. "Hermione, ahem, remember, well, WE were, you know, gonna..." Ron said somewhat haltingly.
"Its settled Ron." Hermione mouth was a thin line, but a smile was working its way into the edges.
"Fine." He muttered as he glumly finished his desert.
~*~
That night the three stole out of the crowded common room and up to the owlery. They were in good spirits from being together again and Ron and Harry were discussing the Chudley Cannons as Hermione tried to change the subject. They had just turned to go up the stairwell to the owlery when they meet Professor Delithon coming down from it. Up close they discovered she was much younger than any of their other teachers, with Snape in a close second. She gave them all a bright smile, but her eyes were fixed on Harry.
"Harry Potter." She murmured, but to Harry's surprise she wasn't looking at his scar but at his eyes.
" Yeah, um, that's me." Harry said, feeling slightly stupid having her just stare at him doing nothing. She gave a high pitched choked sob and her hand flew to her mouth. She looked like she was about to cry.
" Professor, are you OK?" Harry asked her; annoyed at Ron and Hermione for not helping him out a little. He gave them a backward glance and, taking the hint, Hermione spoke up.
"We were just going to write a letter to one of our friends."
"Which one?" Professor Delithon sniffed as she came very close to all three of them, looking as though she was about to shake them in order to get an answer. Ron, thinking hard (but really hardly thinking) said,
"His name's Snuffles. You wouldn't know him." It sounded very rude but Professor Delithon simply smiled and said,
"Actually, I think I do know him." This startled Harry, Ron, and Hermione very much. Harry knew she did know Sirius, but could she know the code name? And could he trust anyone who had married Gilderoy Lockhart? Seeing their startled faces she put on a placating look and said,
"Will you tell Snuffles that Jenna Delithon is here, at Hogwarts I mean, and that she says hello in your letter?" Sensing their dubiousness she quickly added, " I, as the new mysterious Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, will answer any question you put forth as comeuppance. Is it a deal?" Harry, deciding that they were already going to ask Sirius about her anyway, nodded his head
"All right, uh, that's good." He said. He looked at his friends and gave them a look that said, "what should we ask her then?" Hermione supplied a question.
"How did you get this job and why did you take it?" Harry could think of many better questions, but since they all involved Professor Delithon's love life, he decided to go with what Hermione had said.
"That's two questions dear bur all right." Said the Professor with a smile. " First off, I got the job here because I am the only person trained enough in this type of defense, that is currently available, that would sate Professor Dumbeldore's needs. He wants you to be prepared. I took the job to keep a promise to an old friend." She smiled at the three bewildered looks her mysterious answers had received and with a tilt of her head swept past them and sauntered off down the hall.
"What was that all about?" Ron wondered aloud. Harry certainly had to agree with him, the new professor was acting weirder than all the others combined.
" Strange yes, and what do you think she meant by those answers?" Hermione said as she brushed past Harry and started the ascent to the owlery. Harry followed her with the same question in mind, Ron next to him.
"I know, they were so weird. But the strange thing is," he said, as they climbed, "she didn't even glance at my scar. All her attention seemed to be focused on my eyes."
"Sorry she didn't gawk and take pictures. Missing the days of signed photos?" Ron said. Harry glared at him and tried to explain.
" No, its just people usually see my scar and can't help but stare at it. She stared at my eyes. It was...different. I'm not saying I like people identifying me by my scar, but it's like she identified me by my eyes. Does that make any sense?" Harry asked as they stepped into the owlery. Hermione seemed to think about this as she set up parchment, quill, and ink on a little table. Ron too, as he watched Hermione, seemed lost in thought. Harry watched the two of them and with a sigh said,
"I didn't think it would make any sense."
"No, that's not it. I'm just thinking." Hermione said as she finished putting out the supplies. Ron shrugged his shoulders at Harry and nodded towards the parchment. Harry dipped the quill that Hermione had laid out and asked,
"What should I write?"
" How 'bout 'we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher named Jenna Delithon' You know, not be too obvious about it." Ron suggested.
"OK." So Harry quickly scribbled a note.
Sirius,
Arrived at Hogwarts safely. There is a new Defense against the Dark Arts
Teacher named Jenna Delithon.
"What else should we say?" Harry asked.
"Ask if he knows anything about her because we think she's suspicious." Hermione suggested. "I mean she did act strangely down there. Just pretend not to know they were engaged and ask on the pretense of his wisdom of the wizarding world." So Harry wrote
Sirius,
Arrived at Hogwarts safely. There is a new Defense against the Dark Arts
Teacher named Jenna Delithon. She has acted strangely around us and we were wondering if you knew anything about her.
"Should I say anything else?"
"No, I think that's fine." Ron said. Hermione agreed so Harry signed the note and called to Hedwig who flew down and affectionately nipped his ear. He tied the letter to her leg and sent her off.
"That's that." Ron said hastily "plus it's only quarter to ten. I think I'll study for that Charms test tomorrow. Hermione, will you come with me to the library?" Harry was not terribly insulted the invitation didn't extend to him because he knew there wasn't a Charms test tomorrow. He was sure Hermione knew this as well but because she chose not to comment on it, Harry chose not to comment on it as well.
"Sure Ron. We'll see you later Harry." With a wave the two started down the stairs. Harry sighed and then started towards the common room himself.
~*~
The next day at breakfast schedules were handed out and it was discovered that they had double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin first. On Wednesday they also had double Potions with Slytherin. Ron at once started to bemoan this.
"Two double classes with Slytherin. That isn't fair in the least."
"Yes and I'd hoped we'd gotten a reply from Snuffles before we had Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione added.
Harry was about to reply that they probably wouldn't get a reply from Sirius for a long time when the post came in the form of hundreds of owls. One couldn't be heard over the flutter of wings so he waited until things had quieted down before talking. To his surprise Hedwig flew down to land in front of him looking none to worse for wear. She held out her leg and on it was tied a small piece of parchment. Harry untied it slowly and looked up at Ron and Hermione to suggest leaving to read it alone to find Ron glaring down the table.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Hedwig, realizing she was no longer needed, flew off for the owlery.
"Look what Ginny's got." Ron said. Harry and Hermione looked down the table and saw Ginny Weasley with a brown barn owl in front of her, a pink ball of what looked like fluff in it's talons.
" What is that?" Hermione asked as the ball began to shake in its captor's grasp.
"A nerarfk." Ron said in a voice that sounded like a nerarfk meant quick and sudden death. Harry was going to ask for a better description when the nerarfk freed itself from the owl and showed it had a mouth and hands. It had no need for feet because it bounced up and down. Ginny looked very embarrassed as the nerarfk burst into a song that was so loud it radiated around the Great Hall.
Her hair is of the fairest copper
A look betrays how much I love her
I am too shy to say my name
That is why this nerarfk came
My greatest wish's she was mine
Then I would no longer pine
I love her simply, plain, and true
I've done all that one man can do
Please help make her see
There is no other for her but me
A loyal and true Hufflepuff
I love you Ginny, is that enough?
By the time the nerarfk was done Ginny had buried her head in her hands and was dangerously close to sinking under the table. The nerarfk stopped bouncing and seemed to melt until it resembled a clump of pink wax in the shape of a heart. Ginny peeked up to glance at the heart and a look of surprise accosted her. Her hand shot out and grabbed what was left of the nerarfk. Harry just sort of gaped at her. Who could possibly be sending Ginny Weasley a love nerarfk? Sure, Harry could admit she was cute, OK she was quite pretty in fact, but she was so young. Plus, everyone knew Ginny had a crush on Harry. I mean the girl hid in doorways to squeak at him. Sure she hadn't done that in a while, OK a really long while, but the fact remained that Ginny was Harry's. No that wasn't what he meant, it's not like she belonged to him, but...argh! Harry didn't really know what he meant. He only knew that Ginny Weasley had no right receiving any kind of love letter. He glanced at Ron to see it portrayed on his face that he agreed with Harry's sentiment. Hermione, on the other hand, had a huge smile on her face and said,
"That's so sweet." Ron looked at her incredulously and said,
"Sweet?" It seemed that was all he could manage at the moment.
"Yes, I wonder which Hufflepuff it is." A look of grim satisfaction came over Ron and, getting up stiffly, he marched over to where Ginny sat and said (rather he commanded),
"Let me see it." Ginny looked up at him aghast. She seemed at a loss for words after that demonstration. Then, as she registered that Ron was ordering her around, Harry got his first glimpse of the temper of Ginny Weasley.
"Ron, please leave me alone." Ginny said as she too got up stiffly, but it was to no avail since Ron was blocking her path, forcing her to stand directly next to the table.
"Ginny, I demand to see who sent you that...that...thing!" So began the Weasley standoff. Ron was a lot taller than Ginny, but they glared at each other with equal fevor.
"Don't tell me what I must and mustn't do Ron!"
"I am trying to protect you."
"How is seeing who sent this to me protecting me?"
"I'll be able to punch his bloody face in for making a move on my little sister."
"In cause you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly little anymore!"
"Yes you are!"
"You started going out with Hermione when you were my age."
"That's entirely different."
"How?"
"It just is."
"That's a horrible answer Ron. Now go sit back down or I swear you'll be sorry." The Great Hall had lost interest in Ginny a few moments after the nerarfk had stopped singing. Now however, all eyes were again located at the Gryffindor table, this time at the two screaming Weasleys. Ron looked as if he was weighing his options, face Ginny's wrath or beat up a Hufflepuff, when Professor Delithon strode over. It seemed the other teachers had sent her to break up this family squabble.
"Please you two, do keep your voices down." She said very pleasantly. The sight of her reminded Harry about the letter Hedwig had delivered and it seemed to remind Ron as well. He told Ginny,
"This isn't over!" And strode back to his seat, fuming. Harry cast a glance at Ginny who was glaring after Ron and was startled by the fire in her eyes. Sure he'd talked to Ginny before but her anger made her look so...the word sexy flitted through his mind. What! Harry thought. His cheeks inflamed and he looked down to his food. Ginny Weasley was not sexy. No sure-e Bob! He was just startled to see her angry, that was all. He cast a glance in her direction to see Professor Delithon pat her on the shoulder as she sat back down. They had obviously had a talk. He saw Professor Delithon catch his gaze and smile, but her eyes drifted down to the parchment clutched in his hand. She quickly looked away and started back towards the high table. Harry clutched the letter to him tighter and said,
"Let's go." He, Ron, and Hermione got up and left, making their way to the library. It was practically deserted and they made their way to a particularly isolated part. As soon as they had sat down at a table next to the ghost section, Harry unrolled the parchment and started to read.
Jenna Delithon is an ally. Meet me as soon as possible in Hogsmeade, usual place.
"He's here? Again?" Ron said, surprised.
" I wonder what's going on?" Harry mused. They sat in silence for a moment before the first bell rang signaling class.
"We've got to get to class," Hermione said as she got up, "when will we meet him?"
"Tonight. It seems like he needs to talk to us." Harry said as he got up.
"After dinner though, right?" Ron asked. So it was agreed upon, after dinner the three would stole away to Hogsmeade to meet Sirius. So off they went to their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
~*~
The second bell had rung, signaling the start of class, and there was no sign of Professor Delithon. Harry looked around and saw that everyone else looked as clueless as he did. Never in all his time at Hogwarts had a teacher not been in class. Then, as if it was fate reacting to his thoughts, Jenna Delithon entered the room.
"Hullo, so sorry I'm late. It seems I'm always late, as witnessed last night as well as now." She breathed heavily as she set down her books and turned to face the class. A smile was pasted on her face as she rustled through the bag she was carrying and pulled out a long piece of parchment.
"Here is the class roster. Since I know almost none of your names, I'm going to use this first day as an orientation day and a name learning session for all of us!" She set her bag down on her desk next to her books and sat on the edge of her desk, facing the class.
"First let's take attendance, shall we?" After a long reading of all the names in the class, and finding no one was absent, Professor Delithon gave a start.
"Why, you're completely segregated! Gryffindors on one side of the room and Slytherins on the other! No that won't do at all." Harry's heart sank. None of his classes had assigned seats, and he didn't find the prospect of sitting next to two Slytherins a good one.
"I want everyone to sit between two people that aren't from your house. I have a list of what house you're in right here, so no funny business." With that the class rearranged their seats. Harry was next to two Slytherins he didn't know, but he looked behind him and saw Hermione next to Pansy Parkinson who was next to Ron who was next to Crabbe. In front of him sat Draco Malfoy. It was going to be a fun year.
"Good! Now these are your assigned seats for the whole year. You have to stay in one spot so I can learn your name. Onto the orientation. There wasn't a required textbook for this course because no textbook covers what I'm going to teach you. This year you will get to know the Dark Arts very well, and the consequences of using them. We aren't going to look at Werewolves or Vampires, but at the temptations of everyday and how to keep yourself from using the Dark Arts. This isn't going to be an easy course; I'm going to make it as hard as I possibly can, but I think it will be something you can use in your everyday life. It won't be something you have no need for, like History of Magic. Don't tell Professor Binns I said that. Are there any questions?" Harry looked around. No one seemed to be able to do anything except stare at Professor Delithon. She seemed to notice this as well so she smiled, a thing she seemed to do a lot more than any other teacher did, and pulled a book out from behind her as she stood up and flipped to a page.
"I though we'd do something fun the first day, so I got a captive shadost that our class can experiment with." She held up the book and the class saw a picture of a gray mist against a blue background. "This is a shadost. A shadost is a bit like a boggart, but it actually is a type of ghost." Professor Delithon looked out at her students who were just sitting there. Only Hermione was taking notes. "Does it seem like I'M TELLING YOU THIS FOR MY OWN ENJOYMENT? TAKE NOTES!" She yelled as she slammed the book onto her desk. Everyone hurried to pull out his or her parchment and quill as Professor Delithon continued. "Can anyone tell me the magical creature shadosts resemble the most?" Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Yes, Hermione, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's my name and..."
"Did your parents name you after the character in Shakespeare's play?"
"Yes, they did. How do you know who Shakespeare is? He was a muggle."
"Yes, a muggle. You see, back then, in the Elizabethan age," Professor Delithon said as she sat on the edge of her desk again, placing the book in her lap, "muggle and magic relations were a lot closer. The Minister of Magic practically lived at Buckingham palace. One of the "muggle mysteries" of today is how Shakespeare wrote so much in his short lifetime. They figured that he would have to write nonstop for, I think, fifty years to have written so much. Plus he had to have had time to think of the rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter. They don't take into effect the magic used to help, they just say other people wrote under his name. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes."
"Now can you answer my question?"
"Yes, a shadost resembles a dementor." A gasp went around the room as Hermione muttered "That's what I was trying to do earlier." Seamus Finnigan said rather loudly,
"I don't want to be near whatever you've got."
"No need to worry, it's captive. That means that it can't effect you unless you want it to. You see, when a shadost gets within a certain range of you, you get a glimpse of your worst fear. It seems to you as if you are living it until you get far enough away from the shadost that it gradually dissipates. The closer you are to the shadost, the stronger the feeling of horror is." Behind him, Harry heard Ron mutter rather loudly,
"This is fun?"
"Now," Professor Delithon got up from her desk looking excited, she obviously hadn't heard Ron, and said, "we are all going to write down what we think our worst fear might be. Half of what Defense Against the Dark Arts is is being prepared. If you can expect what the shadost will make you see you'll be more apt to fight it." Everyone wrote down what they thought their worst fear might be on a separate piece of paper. For Harry it was easy. His worst fear was Lord Voldermort killing everyone he loved again. He wrote it down and folded the paper in half so no one could see what he had wrote. He looked up and saw the back of Malfoy's head. He couldn't help but wonder what Malfoy was writing. Since he was practically a Death Eater it couldn't be anything like that, maybe it was Pansy Parkinson. Harry had to smile at that.
Professor Delithon had been walking around the room, looking at what people's worst fears were, but now she stood behind her desk facing the class.
"We can all experience our worst fears at once, because we are all in the vicinity of the shadost." She reached behind her desk and pulled up what looked like a large silver lantern with fog in it.
"Here is a captive shadost!" She said as she heaved the lantern thing onto her desk. "All I have to do is flip this switch and we will all experience our worst fears. I ask us all to remember what we see isn't actually happening. But, just to be safe," suddenly a pair of handcuffs appeared in front of each student," please handcuff yourself to your desk." With a big grin on her face Professor Delithon watched all the students handcuff themselves to their chairs.
"This is insane." Harry once again was the recipient of Ron's muttering as he handcuffed himself down.
"Now don't worry, I have built up an immunity to the shadosts' effects, so I will flip the switch again in five minutes. If any of you appear to be in real mental distress, I'll do it early. Everyone ready?" Everyone nodded and the switch was flipped.
At first Harry didn't feel anything different, but soon the smell of burnt cookies reached his nose. He tried to hold his breathe and not breathe in, but eventually he took in a great gasp of air and then everything gradually went dark. There wasn't anything around him but black. It was only he and the dark, as if nothing else existed. Then, suddenly thousands of balls started hitting him. Harry tried to jerk away but found himself chained to the spot. He started to remember the handcuffs and Professor Delithon saying none of this was real, but the things hitting him still hurt a lot. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore the onslaught stopped. Harry looked around him and saw that the black emptiness was littered with pink fluff balls. Harry stared at them incredulously. His worst fear was nerarfks! Sure he didn't like singing valentines any more than the next guy, but that didn't exactly make nerarfks his worst fear. He was about to try and kick one that lay near his foot when suddenly all the nerarfks mouths opened and arms spread. In unison they chanted in a low voice,
"Wheeeerrrreeeee isssssss Ginnnnnnnnnnny?"
"What?" Harry couldn't stop himself from saying. All the nerarfks weren't for him, they were for Ginny? The nerarfks had started to chant,
"Ginnnny, Ginnnnnnnnnny, Ginnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny!" They drew out the n in Ginny longer each time they chanted it. Harry had never heard anything that annoyed him as much as their chant. He knelt down so that he could cover his ears with his arms, as his hands were otherwise occupied. Then, the nerarfks began to fade away and the classroom began to form. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted his head and breathed in fresh air. Professor Delithon smiled at everyone before performing a spell that freed everyone of his or her handcuffs. Just as she was about to speak a big black dog bounded into the room, teeth bared. After it seemed to take in the room's occupants its growling ceased. Harry simply stared; he'd recognize that dog anywhere. But why was he here, in Hogwarts? Quicker than a flash Professor Delithon reacted.
"Fido! Where have you been? My poor doggie, I've been looking everywhere for you!" She threw her arms around Sirius' neck and proceeded to wail loudly.
"Clas-s dis-ss-mi-ssed, WAHHHH!" Everyone left except Harry, Ron and Hermione, who stayed on the pretense of collecting their stuff. Once all the other students had shoved their way through the door Professor Delithon got up and shut it, pulling the blind closed.
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" She asked with her arms folded in front of her. The dog changed into a man at once, but Harry still couldn't believe Sirius was in front of him. Sirius turned quickly to the three students and said,
"Hello, glad you are all right." Then he turned back to Professor Delithon with an angry look on his face. The angry look quickly turned to one of surprise as he saw the Jenna's horrified look.
"Sirius, look at you. All dirty and nearly starved." Sirius looked down at himself and an ashamed look crossed his face. Professor Delithon must have caught it because she raced over to him and grabbed his shoulders.
"Don't even think it. I'm just angry that all this has happened to you. I don't expect you to... I mean you're..." She trailed off and looked into Sirius' eyes. Harry saw a gentleness there he had never before seen. Professor Delithon had seen the same thing Harry had a second time, for she threw her arms around Sirius' neck and, just like the filth on his body, clung to him. Sirius' arms encircled her waist and held her so tight Harry wondered if she could still breathe. He stood watching until a sharp poke in the back from Hermione beckoned him outside. He followed her out with Ron beside him, he too rubbing his back.
They had only been outside for a few minutes when they started to hear the shouts from within the room. They still stayed outside until curious looks from those passing by forced them in to quiet the two down. Sirius and Jenna hardly seemed to notice the intrusion until Sirius suddenly turned, eyes dancing, towards Harry and said (rather, he yelled,),
"Why don't we just tell him now then? Since you've neglected to for the last, what is it, sixteen years?"
"Don't you dare!"
"Why not? I mean, you dared to marry Gilderoy Lockhart. This is miniscule compared to that."
"WHAT? Oh I get it you're jealous of Gilderoy!" Harry and Ron both snorted in laughter at the last remark.
"That stupid lying git! He doesn't even have a memory anymore!"
"And yet he's still more of a man to me than you ever were!" This was screamed so loudly that Harry was certain in the dungeons Snape had heard it loud and clear.
"How can you say that in front of your godson!" Sirius shouted with a finger pointed at Harry. Professor Delithon's hand flew to her mouth and she looked at Harry in horror. Harry glanced at Sirius' apologetic face and then swung his gaze back towards Jenna Delithon.
"Harry," she said with a sigh, "I'm your godmother."