A/N: Sorry it took me a tad longer to update this time. Heres a nice decent length chapter for you all, with some new content and a few changes. Any content that had been changed has been because it just felt better in the story. Would really appreciate hearing some feed back, be nice to know there are some readers out there and all. Should have more up with in the week. Enjoy :] -C
The sun was filtering through the curtains of the room Sirius Black had slept in as a teen. Even now he couldn't believe he had been waking up in this room again for over a year. He lay in bed, starring at the pattern the filtered light made on the dark wood floorboards. He hadn't been able to actually sleep much that night, he'd tossed back and forth in the familiar bed, starring at the walls and sighing. He couldn't decide why he was so nervous. He knew he was going to be found innocent, the trial was simply a show, it had to be had, but it wasn't necessary. Maybe he was worried about how much the proceedings would bring back unpleasant memories, the years of rotting in Azkaban, years knowing the man who killed his best friends, his family, was walking free, or that he could have saved them if he had of insisted on being Secret Keeper. The prospect of all of this caused Sirius to simply groan and roll over rather than stand and get up. With his head under a pillow, he mumbled, "I should get up. Its a good day... " Yet he laid there, still. Eventually, hearing the strike of the grandfather clock in the hall, he rolled onto his back. After a moment, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. He glanced around, his eyes pausing over the photos hanging on the walls of his teenaged self with James, Remus, and even Lily in a few. With this, he squared his shoulders and let his bare feet touch the ground and stood. With a long stretch, he made his way from his room and down the stairs to the kitchen where Kreacher was humming and making breakfast. Sirius paused, leaning against the door jam to watch him. He wished he could feel as carefree as Kreacher seemed to at this moment. With a sigh, he stepped into the room, and walked over to sit at the table. "Morning, Kreacher," he said quietly.
"Ah! Master Sirius is up. Good, Kreacher worried Master would over sleep. Kreacher made Master's favorite, cinnamon toast and bacon." With that Kreacher laid a platter stacked with cinnamon toast and a plate with a large amount of bacon on it.
The aroma of breakfast raised his spirits some what, enough to make him smile. "Thank you, Kreacher. I actually didn't sleep, I wonder if you could make some coffee? I could use some." Sirius took several pieces of toast and some bacon strips before beginning to tuck in.
"Yes, Master," Kreacher said, and with a snap of his fingers, a steaming cup of coffee appeared before Sirius. He then took a piece of toast himself and sat.
"Kreacher," Sirius said through a mouthful of toast, "when did Dumbledore say he'd be arriving? Have our guests been up yet today?"
"Ah.. Well, I believe he said right about-" Kreacher began and then there was a knock at the door. A single, loud thump. After clearing his throat, Kreacher continued, "now. And not yet, Master Sirius, it's early yet."
Sirius looked up at the doorway and then down at his bed crumpled pajamas, bare feet, and roughly swallowed his mouthful of toast. "Could you let him in please, Kreacher? I'm, uh.. well I should finish my breakfast."
Kreacher smiled and nodded and a moment later, Kreacher reentered with Dumbledore following directly behind him. Sirius had taken another large bite and glanced up, his mouth very full, crumbs in his beard, and waved at Dumbledore. He swallowed again and spoke thickly to his guest. "Morning, Albus. Would you like some cinnamon toast and bacon? Its quite good."
Dumbledore gave him a crinkle-eyed smile and joined him at the table. "Sounds lovely, Sirius. We will need to be going in an hour or so, of course, you know, so we had better eat quickly." He then took a bite of cinnamon toast. "Ah! Kreacher, you have out done yourself," he said with a broad smile.
The two mostly ate in silence after that. Kreacher munched on some toast as he cleaned, humming between bites. Eventually, Sirius stood and announced he was going to go get dressed. After reaching the stairs, Sirius paused, sighed, and went back to the kitchen. "Albus.. what exactly should I wear? Something short of dress robes?.." Sirius asked, fidgeting.
"Haha, Sirius, just dress as you normally would, for, say, work. Don't worry," Dumbledore continued to chuckle at the worry etched on every inch of Sirius's face. Sirius then left and hurried up the stairs.
Thirty minutes later, a dressed Sirius and a well fed Dumbledore stood in the sitting room of the Black manor, ready to leave for the Ministry of Magic. Kreacher said he'd make some lunch and have it ready for all of them by the time Dumbledore and Sirius got back from the hearing. His guests had awoken by this point and wished him luck, Emma even giving Sirius a hug. That helped his nerves a bit. Sirius stepped into the fireplace and threw down a fistful of floo powder and called out "Ministry of Magic" and with a flash of green vanished from the mouth of the fire pit, and felt the sickeningly quick passage through the floo network, like being squeezed through a pipe meant for much smaller items. He then found himself, with a gasp of fresh air, in a fire place in the entry way of the Ministry of Magic. A moment later, Dumbledore too came out of the fire place, looking much more dignified than most of those around him emerging from their perspective fireplaces.
"When are we meeting him again?" Sirius asked Dumbledore, nervously glancing up at a clock hanging near the pair.
"We have time Sirius. We're hear, we just need to get to the Minister's office and down to the court room with him. Ah, Kingsley, good day!" Dumbledore called to a passing wizard. Sirius waved, and glanced around nervously. He hadn't been around so many witches and wizards, in the open for a very long time. He was glad nobody had recognized him or tried to attack him. He had been sure that there would be some kind of uproar, but perhaps the Minister had made his staff aware of the situation, or maybe everyone was simply so busy with damage control that they where not very much aware of their surroundings.
Dumbledore and Sirius made their way to the far end of the atrium to the security desk. The Security Wizard asked them to present their wands for registration. "Here is mine, my name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and my friend here does not have a wand to present you with." Dumbledore handed over his wand after giving his information, the security wizard measured and examined it and quickly handed it back. Dumbledore gave the man a kind smile and began moving toward the elevator, Sirius gave the Security Wizard an awkward smile and rushed after Dumbledore. The wand he had borrowed prior to the Department of Mysteries had indeed broken in all the kerfuffle. He did not like being wandless, but perhaps he'd get his old wand back today. After a quiet elevator ride and a short walk, Sirius found himself outside of a large door. On this door was a plaque that read "Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour". Dumbledore smiled at Sirius and gave the door one loud knock.
A muffled "come in" was heard from within the office. Dumbledore pushed the door open and walked in as if he visited every day, Sirius followed nervously behind. A voice in the back of his mind didn't like this, what if Scrimgeour had just set this up and planned on arresting him again? What if things didn't go well in the court room, even though there was really nothing to debate, but what if he was found guilty again and carted off to Azkaban? Would Dumbledore allow it? Or help him escape? Things he'd thought hundreds of times before, but they kept coming unbidden back into his head. Scrimgeour was looking down at his desk at some paperwork, scribbling out a final line of what ever he was writing during Sirius's silent mental panic, and before he could continue freaking out, Scrimgeour spoke. "Good day, Albus," he nodded at Dumbledore, his eyes pinned on Sirius. "And hello to you, Sirius. Doing well I hope?" he said with an intensely interested stare.
"Ye-" Sirius paused and cleared his throat, "Yes sir. Nice to meet you." He extended a hand, trying to keep it from shaking as he fought to push his previous thoughts from his mind. He wasn't usually they type of man to be scared or timid in anyway, but the thought of being locked back up in that horrible place again sent shivers down his spine.
"Yes, quite," Scrimgeour said, and then turned to address Dumbledore, this time his golden eyes starring straight into his eyes. "We'd best get down to the court room. Afterward we can discuss the other aspects of Sirius's freedom. Let's go."
"We could have met you in the court room, Rufus. It might have saved time," Dumbledore said as they exited the room. Sirius awkwardly walking behind them, feeling a bit like a child trailing after parents.
"Ah, but I wanted to enter together, Albus. And also to let Sirius know that I am one hundred percent on his side." With this, Scrimgeour gave Sirius a smile over his shoulder. The rest of the elevator ride down to the court rooms was silent, the walk down to the correct door Dumbledore and Scrimgeour had a conversation that Sirius couldn't focus on. He was too busy taking in his surroundings. He had begun to feel calm, but that was until they reached a large, black set of double doors. As soon as his eyes reached them, he stopped in his tracks. Flashes of his last "trial" ran behind his eyelids. There must have been an evident look of panic on his normally self-assure face, because Dumbledore gently grabbed his shoulder and stepped in front of him. "Sirius, relax. You've waited for this day for many years. Not only for freedom, but to be cleared of the accusation that you are the cause of the murders of your best friends. Nothing bad is going to happen. Relax, take a breath, and let's get this over with."
Dumbledore's words struck home, and Sirius took a deep breath and smiled. He was not going to start fretting over what could happen again. He'd already spent too much time worrying about that day. With that, Scrimgeour pushed open both doors, making somewhat of a grand entrance into the nearly empty court room. A small, fragile framed mousey witch sat at a small table to keep record of the proceedings and a witch and a wizard sat on either side of the seat that was obviously meant for the Minister himself. The wizard was wearing a set of dark bottle-green robes, upon his slightly lined face sat a scruffled beard, his hair was neat and short in comparison. The witch had strikingly long warm chocolate curls that brushed her waist, and large brown eyes that seemed to sparkle even in the dim light, she wore a light chartreuse set of robes. All three of the people in the room stood at the entrance of Sirius, Dumbledore, and the Minister. They all had pleasant looks on their faces, especially the witch with brown eyes, she wore a large smile on her pink lips. The Minister made his way up to his seat and Sirius sat in the chair in the middle of the room, making sure to smile at each of the people in the room. Dumbledore summoned a chair and sat next to Sirius in a show of support, also because it would have been odd for him to go back and sit in the empty gallery.
"Good morning, good morning!" called Scrimgeour as he took his seat. "Sirius, Albus, this is Hazel Byrne, from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," he gestured to the brown-eyed witch. "This is Edgar Moore, a single member of the Wizengamot, here to assess with me," nodding toward the wizard in bottle-green robes. "And this lovely witch is Eileen Glen, she will be keeping record for us today." a final gesture to the mousey woman sitting at the small table.
Sirius had never heard of any of them, but he smiled and nodded at each introduction, and once Scrimgeour had finished, he voiced a greeting himself. "Good morning," they all had nodded back at him and he felt a bit more relaxed.
"We all know why we have gathered today, and we are all aware of the charges held against Sirius Black. We will hear testimony of the actual events that took place as well as he knows them from Sirius. We will see proof of his innocence with our own eyes and also hear testimony from our own Albus Dumbledore, then we will deliberate and give our verdict. Is that clear for everyone?" There was a unanimous nod, and Scrimgeour continued, "Good then, well without further ado, Sirius, please tell us anything and everything you feel is relevant to proving your innocence." Edgar cleared his throat, hoping to voice that this was a rather broad way to allow someone to give testimony, but Scrimgeour ignored him.
"Oh, um, well," Sirius wasn't expecting being asked to speak quite so quickly. In fact, he hadn't even considered how to word and put together his account of the events that he had been framed for. He took a moment, a deep breath, and then just started to speak. "James and I had been best friends since our Hogwarts years, and once Lily and he started dating, she had become a close friend as well. Once we knew Voldemort was coming after them, we knew we'd have to set up a Fidelius Charm on their home, or at least Professor Dumbledore suggested it, and it sounded like a great plan. It was, of course, very important for them to be safe. They couldn't just go fight the same way anymore, they had little Harry at home. Anyways, right away, James suggested I be Secret Keeper for them, and I, of course, agreed. I knew no one could ever get that information out of me. But then the thought that Voldemort would know I was Secret Keeper came about, and James feared for my safety as well as his families and so he suggested maybe we could use Wormtail- um Peter Pettigrew, because no one would suspect that, and we had no reason to doubt his allegiance to our side of the war. And so the Fidelius was set up and Pettigrew was Secret Keeper. Not long after that, the Potters were... The Potters were murdered," he paused, glancing down, controlling his emotions, and then carried on. "Everyone thought I had been made Secret Keeper, the way we wanted it, but now it appeared that I had given them away. I knew who had really given them away and I went looking for Pettigrew, and when I found him, being the coward he was, he killed all the muggles near us, cut off his ring finger, and transformed into his animagus form, a rat, and ran away. We all had mastered the transfiguration to become animagi in our school years, and none of us were registered so the Ministry had no idea to look for a rat, and no one was listening to me, because I was the horrible wizard who betrayed his friends, killed another friend, and a bunch of muggles.." Sirius stopped talking and looked up. Eileen was still scratching her quill quickly across the parchment, but Hazel, Scrimgeour, and Edgar where starring at him, all of them with a degree of pity and sadness in their eyes.
After a pause, Scrimgeour spoke. "Well, thank you for that testimony. Now, for the visual proof. Albus, if you can please bring the vile up here." He pulled a pensieve from beneath the desk he sat at, placing it on the desk top. Dumbledore rose fluidly and crossed the room with a vile in his hand. "I was able to withdraw this from a Death Eater, it clearly shows Peter Pettigrew, aged, very much alive, and with a metallic hand that replaced his hand with the missing finger. He is speaking with Voldemort." With this, Dumbledore uncorked the vile, poured the silvery substance into the pensieve, and stepped back. Scrimgeour, Hazel, and Edgar leaned forward over the pensieve. A few minutes later they sat back up, Dumbledore withdrew the memory from the pensieve with his wand, re-corking the vile, and walked back to his seat. "Good then," Scrimgeour started. "Well then, Dumbledore, anything you want to add?"
Dumbledore drew a deep breath before he spoke, and looked at Sirius, Sirius smiled, he knew anything Dumbledore said would only make things better. "I was the one to place the Fidelius charm on the Potter home, Pettigrew was indeed the Secret Keeper. That much is true, and undebatable, so is Sirius's innocence if I may say so. I can speak volumes for his character, anyways. I was Head Master when he was a student at Hogwarts, and though I will not say he didn't get into his fair share of mischief, he was a good student and grew into a great man. He fought hard against Voldemort during the war, and since his.. liberation from Azkaban, he has done a great many things for The Order of the Phoenix in forming a resistance against Voldemort now. He was among those fighting the Death Eaters here, at the ministry itself not too long ago," Dumbledore paused, having made his point, but then decided to add something more. "And what he looks forward to the most, in the event that he is found innocent, is being able to freely spend time with his godson, Harry James Potter."
After another semi awkward pause, Scrimgeour spoke again. "Well, I have come to a decision myself, but I would of course like to hear what my colleagues think. Hazel?"
Hazel Byrne took a long look into Sirius's dark eyes, and then turned back to Scrimgeour to speak. "I find that the evidence gives overwhelming proof of innocence, as well does his demeanor. Mr. Black does not give me the impression of being a murderer, nor someone who would turn on friends." She finished with a smile directed at Sirius. He smiled back brightly, thinking to himself "I really like that witch, she's rather pleasant"
"And you, Edgar?" Scrimgeour asked the bristly faced man.
"I remember the original trial, Mr. Black", Edgar spoke directly to Sirius. "I was present in the gallery, watching the proceedings. I will agree that it was quite hastened and not fair to you. However, previous to today, I had never doubted your guilt. Speaking with you in person makes me question your guilt, but does not alone prove your innocence to me. If this memory wasn't made available to us, I would not find you innocent. However, since it is and I can see for myself you could not have murdered Pettigrew, I too believe your innocence. However, if you ever come into questioning for something else suspicious, I will not blink before sentencing you to Azkaban for life." On this note Sirius looked back at Scrimgeour.
"I, too, find Sirius Black undoubtedly innocent. And so, Mr. Black, you are free to go. That will be all." With that Hazel, Eileen, and Edgar stood and left, Sirius shaking each of their hands before they left. Quickly, it was only Scrimgeour, Dumbledore, and himself again, only now Sirius was at ease.
"I'd suggest we just talk matters over here, Dumbledore, but there is a bit of paperwork to be signed in my office. Let's head up quickly and get this all knocked out before lunch!" Scrimgeour said, and then the three of them made their way to his office.
Scrimgeour sat behind his desk with a huff, Sirius in an overstuffed dark leather chair opposite the Minister, and Dumbledore stood glancing about behind a third chair.
"First of all, Mr. Black, I have the rather unfortunate task of informing you your wand was snapped after your imprisonment. I assume you have used others wands here and there as of late, and would of liked to have your own back in your hands, but seeing as the ministry snapped your wand wrongly, we will of course offer to purchase you a new one, from the wand maker of your choice," Scrimgeour said with a sad smile.
Sirius frowned slightly. "Yeah, I assumed it had been snapped, although I'd hoped otherwise. That's not really necessary minister, I can purchase my own."
"I must insist. It's a small portion of the reparations owed to you. If you could sign here, just indicating that you have received the information about your wand," Scrimgeour said, pushing a piece of parchment toward Sirius. He signed, unable to ignore the sad twinge he felt at the idea that he'd never hold his own wand again.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Up next is the discussion of that further reparation you and I spoke of I assume.."
"Yes, of course" Scrimgeour said, looking Sirius in the eye. "As a reparation, I am prepared to help you get a job in what ever field you'd like."
Sirius glanced at Dumbledore, who gave a tiny nod. "That sounds great. Albus had mentioned something like that to me. I was thinking I'd like to teach. Defense Against the Dark Arts, specifically. You see, I was rather good at it in school. I was rather good at all my subjects in school, actually, but I have experience in fighting Dark wizards. And so I spoke to Albus about the position at Hogwarts. He said it is free and that he'd love to have me."
"I would, I almost insist on having him as a teacher, Rufus," Dumbledore said directly after Sirius finished.
"Well... that comes with a great deal more difficulty. The Board of Governors has a say, and the parents might, well given the circumstances..." Scrimgeour trailed off.
"Rufus, you could override the Board, or simply say that you highly recommend Sirius. Its a perfect job, and with the beginning of the school year, you can announce the court proceedings today. That will give you a small amount of time to get things under control here. And sending out a letter from the Ministry to the parents of the students will quell any anxiety about Sirius. Also, you promised to help him get a job in the field of his choosing..." Dumbledore reasoned.
"Yes, well," Scrimgeour began ".. ah, Albus, you drive a hard bargain. Alright, Sirius, or should I say Professor Black, its done. I will speak to the Board later, and get it all set up. Now, before you leave, I just need your signature a few more times."
Sirius smiled and simply signed whatever was placed in front of him. He was free, he had a job, but not only just a job, but the job he wanted. He'd be able to see Harry daily, teach magic, and live in Hogwarts again. Why he had dreaded getting out of bed that morning was beyond him.
Harry lay on his bed, starring at the ceiling. The midday sun pouring in from the space uncovered by the pillow case he had pinned over it. Parchment and old Daily Prophets covered his desk, empty ink bottles he had pulled from his trunk, and quills were mixed among the papers. Socks, books, and various other objects littered his floor. His open trunk was overflowing with dirty clothes he needed to wash. Hedwig's cage needed cleaning and the sheets had almost fallen off of Harry's bed.
He slowly turned his head to the self-made calendar he had hung on the wall to keep track of the day until Dumbledore would come to get him. He sighed "four more days" he thought. The state his room was in bummed him out, but he didn't care enough to simply get up and clean. The happiness he had felt after learning he would be leaving the Dursleys' soon was short lived. Quickly he began dreaming about Sirius's death. He could see it behind his eyelids every time he blinked. It was different than he felt about his parents' absence in his life, he had known Sirius. He had confided in him so often, Sirius had always given him advise, never judged or freaked out. And worse, he had imagined a day he would be able to live with Sirius, or at least near him, something he had never thought he'd have with his parents.
Harry had tried hard for some time to push all these thoughts away, he did not want to feel what he was feeling, or deal with it in anyway, but it was unavoidable. This day he'd been trying to stuff the feelings away again. He knew he'd need to cheer up before he left for Ron's. Although his friend would understand, he'd rather not be in this state while a guest in someone's home. He wasn't having much luck.
To be honest, he hadn't had much luck with anything, including controlling his temper around the Dursleys. However, he had kept what Dumbledore said in the back of his mind at all times, and had decided that avoiding the Dursleys as much as possible was key to his reentry to Hogwarts. Vernon thought much the same thing, but of course, he worded it differently.
One afternoon, Harry had come downstairs simply out of need to escape his room for a bit. Dudley had made a crack about him "moaning about that dead convict", and Harry had turned quickly on his heel, reared his arm back and punched Dudley square in the face before he knew what had hit him. Rather than retaliate Dudley screamed for his father and Vernon had come waddling into the kitchen as fast as his tubby legs could carry him, his large mustache flaring with his quickened intake of breath. Harry turned to face his purple face with a look of disinterest that quickly turned to a sense of fear he felt when he was younger when Vernon opened his mouth and let out a mighty yell. Harry hadn't let on that his courage had melted away, keeping his stance and glaring at Vernon. "Yes?" he said to his walrus of an uncle.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL... HARRY! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! I MAY HAVE TO PUT UP WITH YOU FOR A FEW MONTHS EVERY YEAR BUT THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ATTACK MY SON! YOU ARE GROUNDED! YOUR ROOM OR OUT OF THIS HOUSE! I WILL NOT TOLERATE SEEING YOU! OUT!" Vernon sputtered at Harry, spit flying everywhere.
Harry had glared at the large purple faced man and turned on his heel, yet again, then walked calmly and slowly up the stairs to his tiny room, kicking some clothes out of the doorway upon his entrance. It irritated him that he had left his wand in his room rather than taking it with him as he normally did.
In retrospect he now thought it was probably a good thing he hadn't had it with him. Although the Ministry of Magic didn't have him blacklisted anymore, he didn't want to step on any toes, especially not any that could snap his wand in half.
Suddenly Hedwig gave an irritated squawk, and it was enough to penetrate Harry's thoughts. He sat up on his bed, cross legged, his arms behind him supporting his tilted posture.
"What do you want?" He croaked. At the sound of his voice his hand flew to his throat. "damn... I guess I haven't had any water today.." he thought. Momentarily distracted, he swung his legs over the bed and made his way to the door, suddenly very thirsty. He listened quickly, not hearing any voices upstairs, he made his way from his room quickly into the bathroom. Immediately, he turned the tap on and tilted his head under the flow of water and slurped greedily. After drinking his fill, he turned the water off, put a hand on either side of the sink and looked up into the mirror. His hair was even more untidy than it usually was, standing up everywhere, doing weird twists and turns. His eyes were puffy and slightly bloodshot. The t-shirt he was wearing (that had once been his cousin's) was twisted awkwardly around his torso, the neck close to exposing one of his shoulders. "I should probably take a shower... They won't be up here any time soon... they'll be watching TV" he thought to himself. Just then, something moved in the mirror. His eyes snapped to the left of his reflected head and focused. Dudley was standing there, bruised, puffy nose and all. "Great" Harry thought. "What?" he said, looking into Dudley's reflected eyes.
"I had something to say to you," he said in a gruff voice, looking to the side.
"Yeah? Whats that? Come to insult more of my family for being better people than you'll ever be? Or for doing something they couldn't control, like dying?" Harry shot back, rage in his eyes, still only looking at the reflected Dudley, not wanting to turn.
"No... Look. Will you turn around? Hey!" Dudley said, frustrated and clearly uncomfortable.
Harry slowly turned to face his taller, bulkier cousin. There was no fear in his being, if Dudley was there to beat him, then he would either have to take it or run. "Yes?" he said once facing Dudley head on.
Dudley starred for a second, taking in Harry's rough appearance, and then looked down. "Look, what I said, it wasn't cool. I know that he was.. that you were close to him," he looked up, "and I do have some boundaries now a days. It's not fair to attack someone like that right after someone has died." There was a pause, and a forced change in his voice. "But that doesn't mean I like you. Or your good for nothing parents," he finished, but did not leave.
Harry stood leaning against the sink, trying to take in what his arse of a cousin just said. It was actually.. nice, kind of, as nice as Dudley had ever been. Except for that last part, but that's what Vernon had always taught him to say, so Harry couldn't really blame him there. Finally, Harry spoke. "Yeah.. alright then," he said while looking Dudley straight in the eye, and then he turned back to the mirror again and ended the conversation with, "Now, do you mind? I was about to take a shower, unless you fancy seeing me in my knickers."
Dudley left without a word and shut the bathroom door behind him. Harry was a bit flabbergasted at the exchange he had just shared with his cousin. He decided, after a moment of thought, he'd try to figure out what Dudley was getting at at a better time, and without a moment of pause, he wrenched the oversized t-shirt off and walked to the shower, turning on the hot water. Maybe a shower would help him organize his thoughts.
Ron was blissful. His letter went over well with Hermione, very well to tell the truth, and they had now, somewhat awkwardly, but very happily entered into a relationship. Nothing more racy had happened since that single photograph, and neither of them had made a move toward something like that. They where perfectly happy.
He was laying on his bed, one arm behind his head, the other holding the last letter Hermione had sent in front of his face. He smiled, set it aside, and looked out his window. "I wonder if I'll ever get use to it" he thought to himself. He really didn't care, he had to admit to himself, he was happy. And to top it all off Hermione was coming to the Burrow tomorrow. He grinned and sat up. He was excited to see her, but also nervous. "How different is it gonna be in person, I wonder?" he said out loud to himself, and scratched his head, deep in thought.
"Talking to yourself, are you? Hope insanity isn't genetic, or at least only the males in the family get it," Ginny said, leaning on the door jam of Ron's room. "Don't think too hard either, don't want to over stress your brain before your first N.E.W.T. year, do you?"
Ron jumped at the sound of his sister's voice and stood up quickly, trying to nonchalantly hide Hermione's letter from her view. He had forgotten the door was open. "Ha ha, what'd'ya' want, Ginny?" He said.
The letter had escaped Ginny's view and she stepped into Ron's room. Glancing around. she laughed; his room was quite the mess. "Yeah, I was just wondering something.. Hey, whats that?" she said squinting into the open drawer on Ron's bedside table which held several items. A book of Quidditch plays, a few chocolate frogs he had neglected to eat, a few letters from Harry he had kept, the letters from Hermione this summer, and of course, on top, the photograph of a young witch in skimpy red lingerie.
Ron kicked the drawer shut with his long leg, the back of his neck turning red. "None of your business. Look, Ginny, are you gonna ask me what you came up here for or what? I don't have all day, I need to.. clean up my room."
"I'll say you do." Ginny mumbled, leaning around Ron at the bedside table. She decided her cause was more important than finding out about her brother's dirty laundry. "Yeah, alright, I was only wondering if you'd heard from Harry? How he's doing, you know, with Sirius and all... Can't be easy, can it?"
"Yeah, I told you, Ginny, he's coming here in, what, like four days? Gee, your memory is going," he said to her, still focused on keeping the contents on his drawer secret. The last thing he needed was his mom up here snooping around in his stuff, finding out more than she needed to know.
"I know that, genius, you told everyone at dinner the other week. I meant past that. I don't care about what y'all write about, just, ya' know, is he okay?" she said, her voice softening at the end a bit.
Ron was about to answer quickly again, then he paused. He hadn't heard from Harry.. After he'd gotten Hermione's response to the letter he'd written with Harry's advice, he'd written Harry a quick thank you for the help, reminding him not to say a word that he had told him, and saying he was excited to see him. He'd told Pig to take it to him and then a letter to Hermione. Pig had come back with a response from Hermione and he'd quickly forgotten about Harry. He couldn't believe himself! Forgetting his best mate over a girl, even if the girl was Hermione. "I guess I haven't heard anything.. I've been so preoccupied with.. uh.. you know, getting my O.W.L results I hadn't noticed.." He said.
"Ronald Wesley, you and I both know you don't give a rat's red arse about your O.W.L.s, at least beyond whether or not you passed. What in the world could make you forget about your best mate, and his very dead Godfather? You knew Sirius, too. You can't tell me you haven't felt sad about it? I know I have and I knew him less than you." Her voice shook a bit with her words. In truth, she was sad about Sirius's passing, but right now her concern was Harry and his pain.
"I.. Wow." was all Ron managed, his mood taking a drastic dive. He sat back on his bed. He felt a small crunch of parchment under his behind. He vaguely worried Ginny would say something about what did he just sit on.
"Right," Ginny began, mildly appalled at her brother's lack of response. "Can I borrow Pig then? I'd like to send Harry a letter."
"Yeah, uh, take him," Ron said, with a wave of his hand.
"Pigwidgeon!" Ginny said. Pig chirruped noisily and landed on her shoulder. She left the room without another word.
"Great... I bloody well forgot about my best mate! How thick can I get! He's always had my back, and what'da' I do after Sirius dies? I send him questions about my girl trouble, don't even ask how he's doing!" He raged to himself out loud. He sighed. "Hope he's okay.. Guess I'll see in a few days for myself.." He stood and started picking up things around his room. He really did need to clean.
Indy sat at the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, his wife next to him looking over some potential locations for a wand shop. Kreacher was busy whipping up some lunch for them to share once their host, Sirius, returned from his trial.
The comforts of Grimmauld Place were enjoyable to Indy, but he did miss his tent out in the world, having the ability to live anywhere that suited their work. It was important to be here now, he knew, if Voldemort continued gaining strength, it wouldn't be just England or Europe he sought to control. Whatever part he and Emma could do to stop that from happening, he felt obligated to fill. And Olive, he sighed. She'd be so much safer surrounded by extremely skilled witches and wizards, and Dumbledore. He knew she'd be safer in Hogwarts than in their tent, at least in the long run, but he was going to miss his little girl.
He'd always enjoyed having such a close knit family, and really hoped this time apart wouldn't loosen their bond. "Anything near the school, dear? I know we talked about Diagon Alley, but what about Hogsmeade instead?"
"Hmm... I'll look.." Emma muttered, immersed.
"Think about it, dear. I know Olivander has gone missing, but his shop has been in Diagon Alley for years. I think we should branch out where there are no other wand shops. And the students come into the village now and again. We could see Olive, and get some wand repair business from them I'm sure," pushed Indy, the more he talked, the better the idea sounded to him.
"Yeah, I agree it sounds good. I'll just have to look, love," she said with a pat on his arm.
Before he could continue, Sirius and Dumbledore walked into the kitchen, apparently having just gotten back. "How'd it go? Free on paper now?" Indy said with a smile.
"Sure am! And a professor, to boot! Only thing I didn't make out with was my old wand, sadly," Sirius supplied. Looking almost chipper, even with the news about his wand. All in all Indy supposed it was a fair trade. Freedom, being absolved of a crime against the people he would be less likely to hurt in this world, and a job he was looking forward to? And he happened to know a couple of wandmarkers near by.
"Well, we can help you there! We have a ton upstairs and can always make a custom piece! What'd'ya say? You game?" Indy asked. He loved each wand he'd ever made, and loved seeing them pick their wizard. "what would suit him, hmm.. lets see... a nice oak perhaps? No no... Hawthron, I don't know.. and the core.. what core..." he already began trying to decide.
"Um.. Really? Y'all have stock to sell?" Sirius asked, looking thrown off by the offer, but flattered.
"Every wand we make is for sell, with the exception of a few projects gone astray. And of course, it's the least we could do after you let us stay in your home. It's on the house, no charge," Indy said. "Of course, Sirius, we'd love to have made your next wand," Emma chimed in, smiling up from her papers.
"Very well, I'd be honored. But on one thing I won't waver. The wand will be paid for. By the Ministry. They insisted, and so now I do, too. When can we take a look?" Sirius said, looking giddy.
"Well, whenever you like, but I think Kreacher is serving up lunch now," Indy said, looking over at Dumbledore happily munching on a turkey sandwich.
After being fed, everyone, sans Dumbledore who regrettably had another matter to attend to, gathered in the Black family sitting room with the trunks of wands and Sirius sitting on a stool.
"Hmm.." Indy thought out loud. "Any specific requests?" His hands running over various boxes.
"Um, maybe something different, can I try something with a more unusual core? And also maybe a phoenix wand, like my first. I don't know, whatever suits me," Sirius replied, thinking hard.
With that, Indy selected a Phoenix and cherry wand, a werewolf whisker and willow, a billywing stinger and Hawthorne wand, and the last Sphinx wand he'd crafted to start with. "Alrighty then, lets see. Start with this, the phoenix and cherry, quite swishy."
As soon as he lifted it, Indy knew it wasn't right, but he allowed Sirius to cast a few simple spells with it. "Hmm, no, we can do better," said Indy after it cast a somewhat dim Lumos. "Here, this is the last we made, Sphinx hair core in oak, good for a crafty mind."
"Sphinx, really? That's definitely a new one," Sirius said as he took the wand and gave it a wave. Sadly this wasn't his match either.
"Hmm... Werewolf Whisker and Willow perhaps? Very solid in transfiguration. I'm told you're an accomplished animagus"
"Let's have a go then," Sirius said taking it. Nope, not it again. But this was only three wands in, sometimes it took 20 or 40 before finding the right one. Each wand was different...
"Next then, this is Billywing stinger and Hawthorne, for the prankster at heart. The hawthorne gives a nice boost in Defense Against the Dark Arts as well," Indy said.
"Oh, really? Well, let's see," Sirius picked up the wand, and it immediately glowed, a smile crept upon his lips and he cast a particularly strong Patronus Charm.
"I do believe we've found your wand, Mr. Black. And an excellent match, if I do say so myself," Indy said with a huge grin and mock-bow. "And whom should I make the ticket out to? The Minister of Magic?" he added with a chuckle.
There was nothing like fitting a wand with the proper wizard, he mused.
"You've very lucky, Albus, that I came here when I did," Snape said, looking down at the exhausted figure that was Albus Dumbledore.
"I will agree, Severus. Had I imagine the difficulties I would have destroying the ring, I would have asked for your help from the beginning," Dumbledore said in a quiet voice.
"I don't image you have much more than a year before that begins to spread, and therefore... killing you," Snape said, looking away. "However.. I will do some research, just to be sure what I am correct in my assessment. Why, Albus, did you put it on?"
"Severus, you know, as well as I do, it makes no difference whether or not you can save me. You are going to have to kill me either way," Dumbledore said matter-of-factly, avoiding the question.
Snape, who had walked to the window quickly turned to face the frail Dumbledore. "I will not be the cause of your death, Albus! There will be another way! You're a creative old man, I'm sure if I can't think of another answer, you sure can."
"Severus, I do not think there is another way. You've come to accept so much about life. You know as well as I do how fragile and precious it is. Do you not know that I wouldn't throw it away if I didn't think it necessary?" Dumbledore spoke slowly.
A deep emotion flashed behind Snape's eyes, but quickly it was replaced with rage. "You foolish, hard-headed old man! Can you not see how much you are needed to cause his downfall? With you gone, he'll take over faster than you or I can say 'pureblood mania'. Do you really expect Potter to be able to riddle everything out on his own? And if he does, to be able to fix it?"
"I do believe Harry has the power, and the understanding, to be able to rid our world of Voldemort. I will give him the knowledge and skills to point him in the right direction this year. Severus, it's the way things must be."
"I will not take your life, Albus," Snape said in a hushed voice, looking out of the window at Hogwarts' grounds.
"Very well, Severus, we'll discuss it another time. Now, if you please, I'd fancy a bit of rest. I have to travel in a few days time," Dumbledore said, as he raised from the chair he sat in, careful not to brush his curse-blackened hand against anything.
Snape did not want to 'discuss it another time'. For all he cared, Dumbledore could asked him 20 times every day, and he'd never do what he wanted him to. It was unspeakable. But wanting to let him rest, and wanting to get some himself, as his recent visits with Dumbledore tended to exhaust him, he said his goodbyes. After making sure Dumbledore was safely in his chambers, he made his way to the fireplace to floo home- or to his summer home at least.
Hermione sat somewhat awkwardly next to Ron on his bed. She had arrived a few hours earlier, and after the usual greeting from the Weasleys, and a sinfully large meal, she and Ron had escaped to have a talk. She could tell he was distracted and wondered what could be wrong; things seemed so great in the letters. Perhaps after seeing her in person, he had rethought the whole thing.
"Well... Lovely to finally see you in the flesh," Hermione said, facing the side of Ron's face, as he sat facing straight forward, and was examining the floorboard.
"Yeah..." he said without much enthusiasm.
"Oh no... Something is definitely not right here. Maybe he forgot what I look like in person.. Or with clothes on... Have I gained weight since I took the picture? Or maybe someone else got to him... Luna Lovegood does live just down the road from here... Oh no.." Hermione fretted to herself, looking down at her body, and glancing around the room for signs of another girl's presence . Eventually, she spoke. "Erm.. Ron.. Don't think I'm being clingy or anything but... I kind of thought there would be a bit of a different.. greeting. Maybe a smile.. or kiss.. when we were alone.. Is there... What's wrong?"
With this, Ron looked up. "Huh?" he said before thinking. Then it dawned on him, he was being distant! Hermione had no idea about Harry.. Maybe she'd heard from him! "Oy! Have you heard from Harry?" he blurted out before explaining.
"Harry? Now he's just trying to change the subject!" Hermione thought. "Well, not for a bit. But what does Harry got to do with anything? Look, if you're rethinking.. This," she gestured to the space between them, "then don't just make excuses not to talk about it! Tell me straight away!"
Ron, slightly confused again at the turn her word had taken, gave her a puzzled look. "What are you on about? And what do you mean 'this'?" he mimicked her gesture. "Am I too close or something because I figured you wouldn't mind sitting right next to me consider-" Hermione broke in.
"This! You thick.. I meant us! I was pointing to both of us!" She said, her face turning red.
"Who are you calling thick! You moved your hand between us.. Anyways, what's your problem?" He retorted, getting irritated now.
"My problem? MY PROBLEM? Let's try your problem, Ronald Weasley! I thought we had a.. a relationship. But I get here all excited to see you and all you can do is stare at the floor and grunt! Am I THAT MUCH of a let down in person!" She bellowed at him, now standing.
Finally understanding the situation, Ron stood and put his hands lightly on Hermione's waist. She pushed his hands down, but he replaced them. "Hermione, stop. Look! Hey, listen!" he said when she tried to push him away. "Look, I'm very happy to see you," she shook her head. "Yes, I am," he insisted, "and I've been really looking forward to it, but yesterday something happened. Just calm down and listen, alright!" he said as she tried to push him away again, she stopped moving, crossed her arms and starred at him. "Ginny came into my room, and I was all happy and junk, and thinking about us"- ("he said 'us' " thought Hermione, softening a bit)"- and anyways, Ginny asked me if I'd heard from Harry, and I thought about it, I haven't. I only sent him a reply when he told me he was coming down. He never said anything back. I... I forgot about him, Hermione.. I was distracted with us.. I forgot my best mate, right after his godfather died!" he said, enraged. "How could I do that? Is he okay, Hermione? Please tell me he's okay.." he pulled her close into a hug, his face resting on the top of her head.
She responded, wrapping her arms around his thin frame, her anger and insecurities melting away instantly. Her heart raced at his arms around her, but her mind was on what he said. "I forgot, too.." she mumbled into his chest. After a moment longer, they pulled apart, but remained close. Ron looked down into Hermione's big warm eyes that happened to be filling with tears. He felt terrible, he'd made her upset. His eyes then met her trembling, soft lips. He glanced back at her eyes, and then slowly lowered his face to hers, sliding a hand up to cup the left side of her face. He brushed his lips softly against hers, his heart pounded loudly in his ears. Hermione parted her lips slightly, and the two kissed a bit deeper. After a moment that seemed like forever for the two, they broke apart, and back into a hug.
"He kissed me!," Hermione thought "And it was amazing.."
Again, they eventually pulled apart, but this time they did not kiss, they sat on the bed, facing each other.
"Do you think he's okay, Hermione? I mean.. really? You know how hard he took Cedric's death, and he hardly knew him.. But Sirius? " Ron asked.
After a moment of thought, Hermione answered. "I don't know. I really hope he is. We have to be there for him when he gets here. I got a letter from him a little after you told me when he'd be coming here and I had written him. He said he was looking forward to seeing me and he was glad I'd be here when he got here, so we could all reunite together. It was a little odd, but he didn't mention much else. He didn't respond to what I said in reply, and I guess I never noticed.." There was a pause. Ron said nothing, but he had taken Hermione's hand in his. It felt natural to the both of them. After a moment, Hermione looked into Ron's eyes again. "I don't know if we should tell Harry right away.. Let's see how he is first, you know. Make sure he knows we care. So I guess we shouldn't tell your family either, which is fine. They might bother us anyways. Which makes me think.. what should we do at Hogwarts?"
"Uh.. Well, let's just see how it goes with Harry first. I told him I was telling you I fancied you.. So.. he might guess.. And I figure you'll probably tell Ginny anyways, and she won't tell anyone yet.. But, yeah, let's just see how Harry is when he gets here," Ron finished, hoping Hermione wouldn't ask what else he'd told Harry.
"Yeah, alright. Sounds good. And.. uh.. Sorry I sort of flipped out on you Ron, this is new to me and-" but Ron had cut off her worries with another light kiss.
