Chapter 10

On Hallowe'en, Sirius Black broke into the castle.

The Slytherins had barely reached the common room after the feast before they were called back to the Great Hall. The rest of the houses were there, the Gryffindors talking in scared voices about how the Fat Lady, the portrait that guarded the entrance to their common room, had been slashed to pieces.

They had to sleep in the Great Hall that night. Dumbledore conjured a bunch of squishy purple sleeping bags for them to use and then left the prefects to watch over them while he and the other teachers went to search the castle for Black. Harry settled down with Cid and Tyler and spent half an hour discussing how Black might have got into the castle. It almost amused him to hear how the castle was meant to be almost impenetrable to outsiders, seeing as how he snuck in himself two years ago. But then, Black probably hadn't sold his soul to a demon for extreme amounts of power, and Harry hadn't had to sneak past Dementors to get in. Put like that, it made Black rather more terrifying than he'd seemed up to this point.

When Percy Weasley and Lisa Patterson, the head boy and girl, told them to settle down and put out the candles, Harry lay on his back and stared up at the starry ceiling above. He hadn't worried about Black before because there were only a handful of people who knew Harry was the Boy Who Lived. The scar remained hidden at all times and there probably wasn't anyone who expected the Boy Who Lived to be a scrawny, half-blind, epileptic little boy. They probably thought he was a strong, self-confident young man with a charming smile and skills with a wand that'd awe the common person.

But Sirius Black had spent twelve years in Azkaban and everyone said he was crazy; maybe he didn't care that he didn't know what Harry Potter looked like. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was the right age for a Hogwarts student so if Black was after him, it made sense that he might assume Hogwarts was where he'd find the person who defeated his lord and master. Black couldn't know which house Harry was in either so maybe he started with Gryffindor, which is where a self-confident young man with a charming smile would likely be placed, and planned to try breaking into the other houses next until he found the boy he simply thought was Harry Potter.

Black was all anyone talked about for the next few days. The Gryffindor portrait was replaced by one of a crazy knight called Sir Cadogan. The Gryffindors had nothing but complaints about him; apparently he changed their password often and irregularly and would challenge people to duels. It made Harry glad that Slytherin just had a wall.

McGonagall called Harry into her office one day with a terribly sombre expression on her face. He thought perhaps someone had died, but couldn't think of anyone that could have died that he'd need to know about. All his friends were fine, he'd seen them at lunch not an hour earlier.

"Mr Evans, I didn't want to have to tell you this, but there's no use hiding it any longer. Sirius Black is after you personally."

Harry frowned. "I know that. I mean, I figured he would be, I said that when he broke out."

She shook her head. "It's more than that. We have information that before Black broke out of prison, he was talking in his sleep." She paused then said quietly, " 'He's at Hogwarts.' "

"I don't understand."

"Black knows you're here. After the break in this weekend, it's painfully clear that he's targeting you directly. I want you to take precautions. Don't go anywhere alone, stay in the castle after dark."

"I can look after myself, professor."

"It would make me feel better, Mr Evans. You're not on the Quidditch team and I know you're not in any clubs. I simply ask that you spend your evenings in Slytherin, or the library, instead of roaming the castle."

"Alright," he agreed.

They got a distraction from Black's break-in a week later in the form of the first Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin, as usual. The weather was nasty, pouring rain and heavy winds. Harry didn't envy the players, who he could barely see through the sheets of rain. He stood huddled with the other Slytherins, pretending to shiver whilst Wishing himself warm. He still had to let the rain soak him, but it wasn't so bad when he wasn't also freezing.

He never saw the Dementors. He felt the over-whelming cold sink into his bones, unaffected by his Wish Magic, and then the screaming started. It was louder than it was on the train, and he heard his uncle shouting over the top, and somewhere past that a woman—

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…"

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"

Harry woke up in the hospital wing feeling like he'd been trampled.

"You were," Cid told him. He sat in a chair between Harry's bed and the next one over, in which Tyler lay. "Everyone freaked the fuck out when the Dementors came and they started rushing to get away and you got a bit trampled when you started seizing. He threw up on you," he added, jerking a thumb at Tyler. "Then passed out."

"Sorry," Tyler apologised.

"I wish throwing up and passing out was all I did when they came near me. God, they're horrible."

"You're telling me," Tyler muttered.

"What about the match? Who won?"

"Gryffindor," Cid grumbled, "but Flint and Malfoy are asking for a rematch 'cause of the Dementors. We'll need it—they won by two hundred points—but I don't reckon Dumbledore'll allow it."

Cid stayed until Pomfrey kicked him out. She kept Harry and Tyler overnight and they were the only ones in the Wing for the night. Harry couldn't sleep. He kept remembering what he'd heard when the Dementors came on the pitch, that woman screaming, that voice…

He turned in his bed and peered across the dark ward. "Hey, Tyler, you awake?"

"Yeah."

"When the Dementors come near you, do you… hear things?"

Tyler didn't answer immediately. He stayed silent so long Harry thought he wasn't going to answer or had fallen asleep, but eventually he said in a quiet voice, "I remember my mum dying."

Harry inhaled sharply.

"It was a fire, when I saw six. Her cigarette lighter exploded. I saw the whole thing."

"That's why you can see the Thestrals."

"Yeah. What about you? What do you hear when the Dementors get close?"

He didn't really want to say, but Tyler told his so it was only fair.

"I remember when I was attacked as a kid, and… I can hear my mum dying too."

He was sure that's what the screaming was.

Tyler shifted in his bed, rolling onto his side to look over at him. "I thought your parents died when you were a baby."

"They did and I don't really remember it, but when the Dementors come near I can hear her screaming."

"Shit."

They said nothing else and eventually Harry slept, dreams disturbed by his dying mother.

Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry all weekend, although she let Tyler go on Sunday morning. Harry complained, but as she pointed out, Tyler hadn't had a seizure or been trampled. Hermione and Neville came to visit him, which he appreciated when they talked about the Dementors and Hermione mentioned that several of the teachers shot silvery spells at them during the match, driving them back.

"You could ask one of them to teach you it," she suggested. Harry liked that idea.

"Can't you use your Wish Magic against them?" Neville asked.

"Not really. By the time they get close I can't really think properly to Wish anything, and then I have a seizure and I'm completely useless. Unless I was constantly Wishing for an anti-Dementor shield, but I'm not sure it'd really work."

Harry didn't go to any teachers, but he went to the library after classes on Monday and found books on Dementors. It didn't take long to find the spell Hermione and Neville mentioned: the Patronus Charm. He checked out the book with the most information on it and went to the Room of Requirement to practice. He repeated the incantation under his breath and turned to the centre of the room. For his happy memory he picked his first visit to the Lake District, remembered how content he was to sit on a boat in the middle of the lake with the sun shining down on him and only the wildlife to keep him company.

"Expecto Patronum!"

It wasn't quite enough. He managed to create a silver mist, but it wouldn't form into a corporeal shape. He picked a different memory from the summer—visiting the British Museum and flying up to put Kiwi on top of the T-rex skeleton so he could take a picture—but that didn't work either. He tried again and again, using every memory he had of the summer, but nothing worked. The Patronus refused to fully form.

The Room provided him with a beanbag and he flopped onto it, staring at the ceiling as he thought. Why wouldn't it work? He had the power, the wand motions were simple enough, and he said the incantation perfectly, which meant the problem was his memories. Were they not happy enough? They were the only happy ones he had. There was nothing happy about his childhood with the Dursleys, nor his time on the streets. His secret year at Hogwarts was alright but it didn't generate anything happy, and his first real year he spent half of it unknowingly dying and the other half possessed so there was certainly nothing there to make him happy. This August was the only time he'd done anything fun…

That, he realised, was the problem. The summer was fun, but not happy. He thoroughly enjoyed visiting various places around the country, but it hadn't made him happy. There was always the underlying anger at Snape and a pervasive sense of loneliness that he was never really able to ignore. Kiwi didn't quite make up for not having any parents or friends to keep him company while he was out.

"Demons? Why are you looking at stuff about demons?"

Harry jumped, turning to glare at Tyler. It was nearly the end of November and he was in his dorm, books spread over his bed. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't sneak."

"I'm half-blind. If you creep up on my left, it counts as sneaking. Give me that."

He snatched his notebook back from Tyler, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Demon deals? That's not for any classes, is it?"

"It's just research. I came across them in another book and wanted to know more. You know I'm a bookworm."

"Yeah, but usually it's history."

"This is history. There's a lot of speculation that notable historical figures made their success as the result of demon deals. Nicolas Flamel for one."

"Who?"

Harry gave him an incredulous look. "Nicolas Flamel. The only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Oh, right, the immortality stone," Tyler said and Harry rolled his eyes. "Maybe I should make a demon deal, make myself super-intelligent so I never have to study again."

"That's not funny."

"Who's joking? Not all of us like pouring over books all the time. I swear you should have been in Ravenclaw."

"You'd sell your soul just so you can not study anymore?" Harry snapped, unable to keep the anger out of his voice at how stupid Tyler was being. "You think that's worth dying at twenty-two years old?"

Tyler frowned. "Why would that make me die at twenty-two?"

"Demons don't just buy your soul, they take it to hell. Ten years after you make a deal the hellhounds come and rip you up and tear you apart so you die and the demon can take your soul to hell and torture you for the rest of eternity."

"Shit. I wouldn't sell my soul for that."

The book thumped as Harry closed it and began gathering his stuff up. "Then don't joke about it."

"Jeez, relax. I only came to ask you something."

He had snapped a bit unnecessarily, Harry realised. "Sorry. What is it?"

"You said you were staying here for the holidays, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Pretty much no one else is except that fifth year Bletchley so I wanted to invite you over to mine."

Harry looked up in surprise. "For the whole holiday?"

"Yeah, sure. You want to?"

Harry nodded, but then remembered—"I have a hospital appointment on the twenty-second."

"Marcus can take you. Unless you need your foster parent. But they're Muggles, aren't they? Your appointments are at Saint Mungo's."

"Snape usually takes me," Harry admitted.

"So Marcus probably can, but you should ask about it," Tyler said. "But whatever, we can figure something out. You can still come."

"I'd like that," Harry smiled.

Harry didn't like having to talk to Snape, but McGonagall didn't have the information he needed to know about his healthcare.

"Marcus Fleetwood can take you," Snape told him. "It's just a check-up, you can see Kirith alone. I'll write to let her know beforehand."

He was nervous about going to Tyler's. The only time he'd been to a friend's house before was Hermione's before his first year, and that had only been for one night. What if he offended Tyler or Mr Fleetwood? What if Tyler decided he didn't want him there? What did you even do at a friend's house for three weeks?

But he did want to go, so he kept his fears to himself and on the last day of term he joined the rest of the school in riding the train back to London. Marcus Fleetwood, accompanied by Alex Stone's mother, picked up him, Tyler, and Alex and drove them all to Bath. Tyler lived on a small cul-de-sac of five large houses. Tyler and Marcus lived in one, the Stones opposite, and Muggles in the other three.

Tyler's bedroom was in the attic, which Harry thought was weird until he saw it. His vision of attics tended to be dusty, dark, and cramped, but Tyler's room was just as spacious as any other bedroom, a skylight in the roof providing plenty of light when it was day time. He had a TV sitting on top of a dresser with a video player and a HiFi. He had a lot of posters—the Weird Sisters, Kurt Cobain, various half-dressed men and women—and old comics of Superman were scattered across the floor with copies of The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. A copy of Gilderoy Lockhart's Break With a Banshee was being used to keep the desk level.

Half of one wall was covered with photos—pictures from childhood birthday parties, outings, day-today life, the story of his lifetime splashed across the wall in a mix of motionless and moving pictures. Harry saw himself among them—pictures from the Slytherin common room, the dorms, the Hogwarts grounds—and felt an unexpected burst of affection. He'd never had a friend who would keep pictures of him before.

Harry was given a guest room on the floor below, but he and Tyler spent most of the night watching videos in Tyler's room and Harry ended up falling asleep on his floor. Neither of them were particularly happy to get woken up early the next morning by Alex Stone barging into the room. Judging by Tyler's reaction, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence during the holidays.

"C'mon, we're going to Charlie's house. I have news."

"Tell us later," Tyler groaned, then yelped when Alex pulled him out of his bed. "Alex!"

Alex grinned unapologetically. "Up!"

"Who's Charlie?" Harry asked, getting up from the floor.

"Our friend, a Muggle, she lives next door to me," Alex told him, throwing open Tyler's wardrobe and picking out some clothes to throw at him. Harry left him to bully Tyler into getting up and dressed, and went to the guest room where he'd left his belongings to fetch his own clothes.

Ten minutes later, they were out the house and across the street. They hadn't seen Marcus on their way out and Tyler just left a quick message with his house elf to say where they were going. At Charlie's house, Harry was briefly introduced to Mrs Bennett, a broad woman with lots of curly blonde hair, and dressed primly in a skirt suit. She didn't look very impressed to see them.

"I don't think she likes me," Harry muttered as they climbed the stairs.

Tyler yawned. "Don't worry, she doesn't like anyone."

Charlie was nothing like her mother. Slim, her hair brown and sleek, and dressed in artfully ripped jeans and a black and pink t-shirt. Her room was almost entirely covered with pictures ripped out of magazines and her bed was half-covered with stuffed animals. A doggy bed sat in one corner and a Jack Russell leapt out of it when Harry, Tyler, and Alex entered, yapping excitedly. Alex bent to scratch its ears and Tyler slouched over to an inflatable chair and dropped into it.

"Hey, Charlie. This is Harry, he goes to our school. Harry, Charlie."

"Hi, Harry. Nice to meet you. That's Sammy," she said, waving to the dog, who barked at the sound of his name.

"Hey. Hi, Sammy."

"So what's this news you dragged me out of bed for?" Tyler asked Alex.

Alex looked up from Sammy with a broad grin. "I'm gonna be a brother!"

Charlie squealed. "Your mum's pregnant? That's so cool!"

"How is that cool?" Tyler asked. "Have you seen babies? They're noisy and messy."

"Oh don't be a berk, Tyler. This is great news, Alex! Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Don't know yet. They won't find out until Mum's next check up. I hope it's a girl. I'd love a little sister."

Harry congratulated Alex and the four of them talked until Charlie suggested they go out. They took out Sammy and ended up walking along a river, Alex and Charlie a little ahead of Tyler and Harry, while Sammy charged around snapping at birds and tripping over his own feet.

"That's pretty cool that Alex is going to be a brother," Harry remarked to Tyler, who grunted. "You don't think so?"

"I just don't see what's so great about it. Babies are annoying."

"It won't be a baby forever."

"Yeah, well. What do they need another kid for anyway? They've got Alex."

"That doesn't mean they don't want more."

Tyler just grunted again.

"Are you jealous?"

"No! Why would I be jealous?"

Harry shrugged. "Marcus doesn't have a wife and he's pretty old so he can't have any kids to give you a brother or sister."

"I'm not jealous. I don't want some stupid baby sister screaming all the time. Hey, guys, I'm freezing my arse off, can we head back now?" he called, and Harry just smiled.

His nerves over the holiday soon faded and he had a fun three weeks. They spent a lot of time hanging out with Alex and Charlie; the kids all had standing invitations to one another's houses and often walked in with barely a knock to warn they were coming. They would roam the neighbourhood and walk up by the river or take a bus into town with only a brief yell to their parents to say where they're going, or in Tyler's case just leaving a message with his house elf. Marcus worked odd hours and Harry never actually saw him much.

His appointment with Kirith went well. She sighed over his two close encounters with Dementors, but was otherwise satisfied with things. She said she'd see him again in another six months and, if all was well then, he could drop to just yearly check-ups.

A few days after the new year, the four of them were hanging in out Charlie's tree house, a massive thing built around the oak at the end of her garden. It had been their playhouse since they were five and was a strict No Parents zone. There were old drawings scrawled on the walls, but the teen magazines and rude words overlying old drawings betrayed the owner's increased age.

Charlie and Alex were arguing about football while Tyler and Harry just listened when the trapdoor opened abruptly. Charlie sat up.

"Dad! You're not—Johnny!"

She scrambled up and across the tree house to hug the boy that just climbed into the treehouse. Tall and athletic, with more gel in his hair than Draco Malfoy, he hugged her back and then kissed her.

"What the fuck?"

The two broke apart. Charlie blushed. Tyler was staring at them with a look of absolute horror.

"Uh oh," Alex muttered.

Harry leant towards him and asked in a whisper. "Who's that?"

"Johnny Nevins, he was a year above us in primary school. He used to bully us a lot."

Tyler got to his feet. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

Charlie glared at him, but her cheeks were still red. "He's my boyfriend. Don't be rude."

"Rude? He's a fucking twat!"

Tyler had been spending way too much time around Cid.

"Shut up, Tyler! You don't know him."

"I know he used to pick on us all the time."

Johnny laughed. "You're still sore about that, Ty? It was just a bit of fun."

"Shut up, I'm not talking to you."

"Good," Johnny said, lip curling. "Because I don't associate with dorks."

Tyler looked as if he might hit him. Alex clearly thought so because he grabbed Tyler's arm. "Don't start a fight."

"Yeah, Ty, don't start a fight," Johnny mocked. "I'll only kick your arse."

Tyler reached for the pocket where Harry knew he kept his wand during school, but it wasn't there and he grit his teeth angrily. Johnny smirked and turned away dismissively.

"You shouldn't hang out with these dweebs, babe. We're all going to Keith's, his parents have gone out and Sasha got a crate of beer. You coming?"

"You can't drink," Alex blurted even as Charlie nodded enthusiastically. "You're not old enough."

Johnny laughed. Charlie rolled her eyes.

"It's not gonna kill me to have a few beers. God, you're such a pathetic baby sometimes."

She might as well have slapped him, he looked so hurt. Tyler wrenched his arm free but then took Alex's hand and pulled him over to the trap door. "If you weren't a girl," he said as Alex climbed down, "I'd hit you for that. C'mon, Harry."

"Goodbye, dorks!" Johnny called after them as Harry followed Tyler out the trap door.

"Johnny," Charlie scolded, but without much heat, and then they were out of hearing range. Alex and Tyler were already stalking across the garden. Harry hurried to catch up.

"I can't believe her," Tyler fumed as they left the Bennetts' house. "How could she go out with him? How could she talk to Alex like that? Bitch."

"Tyler, it's fine," Alex said. "I don't care if she thinks I'm a baby. At least I won't become an alcoholic."

"She's supposed to be our friend. God. If I had my wand I would have hexed them both."

"Then you'd get expelled. Look, forget about Charlie. Let's just go back to yours and watched that ninja video you got for Christmas."

"Fine," Tyler grumbled, but he remained in a grumpy mood for the rest of the day.

When they returned to Hogwarts, Harry left Tyler and Alex with the other second years and went to find Hermione and Neville. He'd hardly spent any time with them last term and the train was a good place to hang out.

It took him less than fifteen minutes to figure out they were keeping something from him. Hermione talked too much and Neville wouldn't quite meet his gaze.

"What is it?"

Hermione started. "What's what?"

"What are you not telling me? I know there's something."

"It's nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Then why won't Neville look me in the eye?"

Hermione and Neville exchanged a look. Harry glared at them both.

"We heard something," Hermione admitted hesitantly, "when we were in Hogsmeade the day before term ended."

"Okay. What was it?"

"It was about Sirius Black."

"And?"

Neville stared at his shoes and Hermione looked like she'd rather have all her teeth pulled out without anaesthetic than tell him. Harry felt his irritation grow.

"Well?" he demanded.

They told him.

The windows exploded.

He didn't touch dinner that night. He sat at the Slytherin table, staring at his empty plate, not even touching his knife and fork. He didn't pay attention to the conversations around him. Everything seemed dulled, distant. He didn't notice the concerned looks Cid shot him or Tyler's worried questions.

Sirius Black had betrayed his parents. He was Harry's godfather, he was James' best friend, and he had killed them.

When the meal was over, he stood up with everyone else and walked back to Slytherin on auto-pilot.

"What's wrong with you? Scared the Dementors will get you again?"

He was forced to stop in the middle of the common room when Malfoy planted himself in the way. He looked up at the blond boy, whose smirk faded a little at the utterly blank expression on Harry's face.

"Fuck off, Malfoy."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. Harry's voice was as toneless as his face was expressionless, but Malfoy wasn't smart enough to see it for what it was. "Don't talk to me like that, you little tosser."

"I said FUCK OFF!"

There were shrieks as the fire in the hearth flared suddenly, sending a blast of heat rushing through the room. Malfoy jumped, glanced at it then back at Harry.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Instead of answering, Harry turned around and walked out the common room.

"Hey!" Cid called. "It's almost curfew, where you going?"

He didn't answer.

The library was shut when he reached it, but a Wish had the lock sliding open. He slipped inside, completely invisible, and went straight to the Charms section to pick out the first book he could find on tracking spells.

Three hours later he shut another book and returned it to its shelf. All the tracking spells said the same thing—either it had to be pre-applied, like the pendant McGonagall got from Snape in the summer, or required something personal, like blood or hair. He had no way of finding anything of Black's, but he wasn't about to let the restrictions of wand magic stop him.

This particular idea needed testing first. He took a blank sheet of parchment from Madam Pince's desk and cut out two arrows about the size of his palm. He wrote Hermione's name in the arrow head of one and Black's in the other. He pocketed Black's and held Hermione's on the flat of his hand.

"Point me to Hermione Granger," he ordered it, and it spun to point to his left. He realised the flaw in his plan, thought for a moment, and then said, "Direct me to Hermione Granger."

This time the arrow pointed towards the doors of the library.

It guided him all the way to Gryffindor Tower. Satisfied, Harry pocketed it and took out the arrow with Black's name. Anger bubbled in his chest as he looked at it and the memory of his mother screaming as she died only served to make his decision firmer.

"Direct me to Sirius Black."

He followed it out the castle and across the grounds, barely taking his gaze from the arrow, and only when he felt the prickle of cold across his skin did he realise the terrible decision he made. He froze in mid step, lifting his head to stare at the Dementors floating eerily along the boundaries of the school, then he turned and flew back to the castle, his vengeance momentarily forgotten as he thought only that he needed to get as far away from the soul sucking monsters as possible.

Back inside the Entrance Hall, he looked down at the paper arrow, clenched his fist around it, then vanished it as he walked towards the dungeons. An empty, hollow sort of feeling settled in his stomach and he felt like he was failing his parents by not going after the person responsible for the deaths, but he couldn't get past the Dementors. He wanted vengeance, but not enough to lose his soul over it.

But he promised himself that if he ever had the chance, he'd kill Sirius Black himself.

Harry's anger faded over the following weeks, just because it was exhausting to be that angry all the time, but his hatred didn't. After the summer, he hadn't thought he could hate anyone more than Snape, but even his resentment at that cooled in the face of what he felt towards Black.

He threw himself into his demon research in the meantime, even sneaking into the Restricted Section to have a peek at the books there. He didn't find anything about breaking deals, but he did find some interesting information on binding demons to service. He was almost tempted to do it and send one after Black, but he wanted to face the man himself. He was also wary of interacting with demons again; he couldn't make any more deals, which made him worry what else they could get from him. If there was one thing he learnt from all his research, it was that working with demons inevitably caused trouble for the human.

At the end of January, Hermione got into a duel with Ron Weasley in the middle of the Entrance Hall. Harry pushed through the crowd until he reached Neville and leant in to ask what it was about.

"Crookshanks ate Scabbers," Neville said distractedly, shifting from foot to foot as he watched. "Oh, she's going to get in so much trouble…"

"Who ate what?"

"Crookshanks, Hermione's cat. He ate Ron's rat, Scabbers."

McGonagall came storming in then and broke up the duel, assigning detention to both of them. Hermione stormed off afterwards without coming to speak to Neville and Harry.

"I thought we weren't even allowed rats," Harry said to Neville as the crowd dispersed. "My letter said cat, owl, or toad."

Neville shrugged. "He's had it since first year and apparently his brother Percy had it for five years before that so I guess they got special permission."

"Lucky it didn't get eaten before now. It was probably just a matter of time."

"Maybe," Neville agreed. "I'm going to catch up with Hermione, make sure she's okay. I'll see you later."

Harry nodded and they parted ways.

The Slytherins had their match against Hufflepuff at the beginning of the term and only narrowly defeated them, but at the start of February Gryffindor wiped the pitch against Ravenclaw, almost guaranteeing them the cup. They would have to lose horrifically against Hufflepuff for Slytherin to take it, and the chances of that happening were slimmer than a sheet of parchment.

That night, Sirius Black broke into Gryffindor tower.

When Harry heard about it the next morning, he was furious. He wasn't sure he believed that Ron Weasley had bravely fought Black off at severe risk of his own life, but Black had been in the castle, within his reach, and Harry had missed his chance to get him. He was so angry he couldn't even feel sorry for Neville, who was in trouble for writing down the passwords that Black used to get into the tower. Even when Neville's grandmother sent a screeching howler at breakfast, Harry only felt a thin sliver of pity.

He made another tracking arrow that night. This time it took him in the opposite direction, towards the Forbidden Forest. When he reached the edge, he stopped, wondering if he should carry on or not. He didn't know how far around the school the Dementors were set up, whether they were just at the gates and boundary of the grounds or if they were in the forest as well. It'd make sense, he thought, even if the forest was supposed to be filled with all manner of dangerous creatures that'd get to Black before he reached the school grounds.

He turned away. It was too risky to go in when there could be Dementors, but he did get an idea. He went back to Slytherin and wrote under Black's name: 000 feet.

"Direct me to Sirius Black," he wished. "Show me the distance to Sirius Black."

The arrow spun in his hand, but the number remained at 000. He tried several different phrasings and words, but the numbers wouldn't change and he threw it down in annoyance, then picked it up and burnt it because he didn't need anyone finding it lying around.

The solution to his problem came to Harry at breakfast on the morning of the next Hogsmeade weekend. He upset his pumpkin juice in his rush to get up from the table and run out the Great Hall after Neville and Hermione.

"Guys! Hold up!"

They paused, turning to face him. "You alright?" Hermione asked.

"You guys are going to Hogsmeade, right?"

"No."

Harry's face fell. "What? Why not?"

"I'm not allowed," Neville said morosely. "Since Black broke in…"

"I don't really need anything, so I said I'd stay and keep him company," Hermione added. "Why?"

"I need some Interactive Ink really badly. Please can you go and get me some? I'll give you the money for it and I'll keep Neville company."

"What do you need it so urgently for?"

"Just a project I'm working on. I'll pay you for going if you want."

"I don't mind," Neville said.

"Please, Hermione."

"Alright. I need to go back to Gryffindor for my cloak though."

Harry went back to Slytherin to grab some money from his trunk then met Hermione back in the Entrance Hall. When she was gone—now with a shopping list that included the ink, a quill, and several varieties of sweets—Harry and Neville headed out to take a walk around the lake, chatting and catching up. Neville was worried about Hermione; the strain of the work from taking so many elective classes was finally getting to her. Apparently she spent every evening sat in the common room surrounded by books and snapping sharply at anyone who distracted her.

"I've tried convincing her to drop some classes—she says she doesn't really like Divination and she doesn't need to take Muggle Studies—but you know what she's like. She insists she's fine."

"She probably won't admit she can't handle it until she collapses from overworking or something," Harry said.

"Exactly and I don't want that to happen, but I don't know what to do."

Unfortunately Harry didn't have any suggestions for him either.

Hermione was back within a couple of hours and she found them sitting by the lake still.

"Hermione, you're brilliant and I owe you one. Thank you."

She smiled but it was strained. Her eyes are dark with shadows.

"Hermione, are you alright? Neville says you're getting kind of overwhelmed from all your work."

She tutted. "I'm fine, really. I do have a lot of work but it's nothing I can't handle. Honestly."

Hermione and Neville headed off to Gryffindor and Harry returned to Slytherin. He sat on his bed in the dorm, curtains pulled shut, and made another tracking arrow, this time for Tyler, just to test it. This time when he ordered it to show him the distance, the numbers changed to read 122 feet, and he let out a delighted laugh. He pushed his curtains aside and climbed off the bed, heading out the dorm and through the common room, watching the number drop as he left. The arrow twisted and he turned left down the corridor, rounded a corner, went a small distance—

And then stopped. He'd glanced up to check he wasn't walking into anything and saw Tyler, ten feet down, half standing in an alcove and kissing Toni Kaidkin. Harry gaped at them.

They broke apart. Toni was red in the face, but grinning happily, twirling a single rose between her fingers. Harry couldn't see Tyler's expression, but he heard the other boy speak.

"So, do you want to walk 'round the lake with me?" he asked, pitching his voice lower than normal. Like most of the boys in their year, his voice had broken, but was still prone to pitching high again sometimes and he was clearly trying to avoid that.

Toni giggled and nodded. Tyler took her hand, looking a bit awkward as he did it, then they stepped out of the alcove and started towards Harry, who quickly started moving so it didn't look like he'd been spying. Toni went even more red when she saw him and hurriedly snatched her hand from Tyler's, hiding the rose behind her back. Tyler looked a bit annoyed by this, but just nodded to Harry as they passed.

Harry waited until they'd turned the corner then stopped. He looked at his tracking arrow, watched the numbers steadily rise until they reached triple digits again, then he went back to his dorm. It was empty when he got there and he vanished the arrow and made a new one for Black. The numbers changed and then settled, suggesting Black was stationary, and Harry put it aside to dig out his copy of Hogwarts: A History to find out how large the school grounds were. Afterwards, he added an extra digit and a couple of decimal places, just for added accuracy, and tucked it in his pocket.

The door opened and Cid looked in, casting his gaze over the room but standing in the doorway. "You know where Tyler is?" he asked when he saw only Harry.

"Um…" he said, and then blurted, "I saw him kissing Toni."

Cid's jaw dropped. He stepped into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. "You fucking kidding me?"

Harry shook his head. He wasn't sure it was right to talk about catching your friend kissing someone, but he'd been so startled by it. "I saw them in the corridor. I think they're going out now."

"Fuck! I can't believe he kissed someone before me!"

Harry didn't know what to say to that. Cid came over, throwing himself across Harry's bed. "You're sure it was them?"

Harry nodded. "He gave her a rose, too. They've gone for a walk around the lake."

Cid snorted. "How romantic," he mocked. "But I suppose girls like that sort of thing."

Harry had no idea.

"You're not allowed to get a girlfriend before me."

"I don't want one," Harry told him. "Why not though?"

"Because. If you can get a girlfriend before me then it's just sad. No offence or nothing."

"None… wait, are you saying I'm too ugly for a girlfriend?"

"No," Cid said quickly.

"You are!" Harry punched his shoulder. "Arsehole. I could get a girlfriend if I wanted. I got a Valentine's card last year."

"I'm not saying you're ugly, you're just…"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"You're a nerd," Cid said bluntly. "A history nerd. It's just not cool, okay? I realise I'm not as loved among the woman as I should be, which I will fix just as soon as I figured out what the problem is, but—"

"I think it's the swearing."

Cid blinked. "The fuck?"

"It's vulgar. I mean, I don't care, but I think the girls don't like it so much."

"Tyler swears."

"Not as much as you."

Cid thought about this, frowning heavily, then shook his head. "No, must be something else. I'll figure it out. Anyway, as I was saying you're a nerd and I'm not, so if you get a girlfriend before I do, it makes me look really pathetic. So don't get a girlfriend, okay?"

Somewhat bemused, Harry just nodded. He'd meant what he'd said, so it wasn't like he was putting himself out by agreeing.

He sat back, stroking Tyler's cat Aurora when she came up looking for attention, and half-listened as Cid regaled all the bonuses of having a girlfriend (kissing and boobs mostly, Harry gathered, although he didn't really see the appeal of either). It was nearly lunch when the door opened and Tyler came in. Instantly Cid was up and across the room. Tyler stopped short, eying him warily.

"You're going out with Toni?"

Tyler flicked irritated eyes briefly across to Harry, who shrugged apologetically, then looked back at Cid. "Yeah. It's no big deal."

"You kissed her! That's a big fucking deal."

A smile slowly spread across Tyler's face then. "Yeah," he said, sounding both embarrassed and pleased now.

"What was it like? Did you use tongue?" Cid demanded.

"Not yet."

"So? What was it like?"

Tyler shrugged. "Nice, I guess. Like I said, there was no tongue, so it's not like it's a big thing. Ask me again when I've really snogged her. Let's go to lunch."

Over the next few months, Harry checked his tracking arrow every so often, but Black stayed well away from the castle now, presumably deciding it was too risky to try and break in so soon after his last attempt.

He had to keep it hidden from people so they didn't think he was crazy, and he nearly got caught watching it a couple of times. One such instance happened at the start of the Easter holidays when he was standing in a corner of the Entrance Hall, staring at the numbers as they got gradually smaller. He really hoped Black was going to make another break-in attempt; the moment he was within the school boundaries, Harry would be after him.

"You're never going to believe what Hermione did."

Harry almost jumped out of his skin. He shoved the arrow into his pocket and turned to Neville, breathing hard and glaring. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry!"

"Give me a bloody heart attack," he grumbled, but Neville looked earnestly apologetic so he couldn't hold a grudge. "What did Hermione do?"

"She walked out of Divination. In the middle of class!"

"What? Hermione? Our Hermione?"

Neville grinned. "I know."

"Why?"

"Professor Trelawney's been predicting my death all year—don't worry, McGonagall says she always predicts someone's death—and Hermione's always said Divination was a load of rubbish ever since our first class. She finally got sick of it, walked right out."

"Blimey," Harry said, impressed. "Go Hermione."

For the second years, the holiday meant they were finally able to pick their elective classes for next year. It was easy enough for Harry; he already knew he wanted to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He was interested in Care of Magical Creatures, too, but the upper years had only bad things to say about Hagrid's teaching methods and Harry didn't really want to get mauled by a hippogriff like Malfoy. He didn't need Muggle Studies, and almost everyone said Divination was a pile of rubbish, so he settled for just the two.

The rest of his year mates got more stressed about it. Tyler resorted to Ip Dip Sky Blue and ended up with Divination and Ancient Runes, but decided Ancient Runes would be too much work so picked Care of Magical Creatures instead because Cid was taking it. This decision led to the end of his relationship with Toni, who'd apparently wanted him to take all the same classes as her. Tyler didn't seem too bothered by their split.

Cid wasn't bothered by Hagrid as a teacher—in fact, he was of the opinion that hippogriffs that attacked Malfoy were excellent creatures to study—but wrote to his parents about what else to take. His mother told him to take three subjects and recommended Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, so he settled for just Divination.

"Do you always do what your mother tells you not to?" Harry asked him.

"Yeah, most of the time."

"Why?"

Cid shrugged. "Dad says it's because I take after him and he could never manage to do what she told him to, either. Mum says it's just because I'm difficult."

At the start of the summer term, Remus caught Fred and George Weasley putting Impervius Spells on the third floor toilets, an old but classic trick. The Marauder's Map fell from Fred's pocket as he left the bathroom, with Gryffindor down by ten points, and Remus recognised it immediately, even deactivated. He took it, smiling, and spent a while going over it with a sad nostalgia.

The twins sought him out a few days later and he affected a look of nonchalance as they stood across from him in his office.

"Sir, the other day when you caught us…" Fred trailed off.

"Improving the boys toilets," George offered.

"Right, improving them. I dropped a bit of parchment. Did you notice it by any chance?"

"I did find a piece near that bathroom," Remus said, "but it was old and folded so many times I thought it might fall apart, so I vanished it."

The horrified expressions on the twins' faces were enough to make Remus' cheek muscles hurt with the effort it took to not laugh at them. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the Map, and George slumped with relief while Fred let out a sigh.

"I'm well aware of what this map is, boys, and in all seriousness, you should have handed it in after Sirius Black first broke into the castle," Remus told them, tone severe now he'd had his fun. "I'm astounded that you didn't do so when your own brother was put in danger the last time someone left information lying around the castle. I'm sure you understand I cannot give this back."

They grumbled a bit, but nodded and slunk out the office. Remus hadn't been lying about the danger of them leaving such a thing lying about the castle, but he was also being selfish. Over the next few weeks, he took the Map out regularly and just watched it. He wasn't sure what he was hoping for, wasn't sure if he wanted to see Sirius' name on the old parchment on not. He didn't know what he'd do if he did see it. He hadn't turned on Sirius yet by informing Dumbledore about his Animagus form, but if he saw Sirius' name on the Map, if he knew Sirius was inside the school… he honestly didn't know if he'd go to Dumbledore or hunt down Sirius himself.

The final Quidditch match took place on the first Saturday of the new term and Gryffindor won it by a mile. Oliver Wood actually cried with joy right on the Quidditch pitch. He looked so happy that Harry, at least, didn't have the heart to resent him and his team for taking the cup.

A week later, Harry checked the tracking arrow and the distance marker read 1987.24 feet—within the boundaries of the school

It was a Saturday, just after lunch. Harry was in his dorm but he leapt up, ignoring Cid's look of surprise as he rushed out the dorm, through the common room and into the corridor. He raced up to the Entrance Hall then paused, checking the arrow, before heading out onto the grounds.

He made himself invisible as he left the castle; he wanted to be able to sneak up on Black. But as he followed the arrow towards the Forbidden Forest and the numbers got smaller and smaller, he wondered if it was broken. It was a sunny afternoon and there were plenty of students milling about the grounds. A group of sixth years were playing five-a-side Quidditch on the pitch, and Harry found Tyler kissing Isabelle Walker, one of their Hufflepuff yearmates, behind the stands, but if the arrow was correct then Black was just beyond the edge of the forest, close enough to be seen if someone passed by. Was he using an invisibility cloak? It would make sense.

Giving Tyler and Isabelle a wide birth, he crept into the trees. When he saw the dog, half hidden under a bush as it watched the Quidditch players, he paused but didn't think much of it. It could easily be a stray from Hogsmeade or someone's dog that ran off, but the arrow pointed straight at it. At first he thought something went wrong with the magic, that the arrow was definitely malfunctioning, and then it all clicked into place. Black wasn't using an invisibility cloak, he was an Animagus. It explained why no one could find him and if the Dementors didn't affect animals it would explain how Black escaped Azkaban.

Harry waited until the dog wriggled out from under the bush and turned to head further into the forest, and then pounced. The dog yelped as Harry wrapped his arms around its neck, clinging tightly to hold on as it struggled to get out of his grip.

"I know who you are," Harry said, which made the dog fight harder. "I'm going to kill you for betraying my parents. Be still!"

The dog froze but whimpered, making panicked little noises. Harry let go then spun as he heard a crack of twigs.

"Who's here? C'mon now, yer know students ain't meant ter be in the forest. Out with yer."

Harry made a Wish and the dog turned into a small rubber ball. He grabbed it and kept himself hidden and silent as he crept out the forest before Hagrid came across him.

He didn't make himself visible until he was back at the castle, at which point he stopped in an empty corridor to wonder what the hell he was doing. He had a ball in his pocket that was really a dog who might very well be Sirius Black, mass murderer and escaped convict. It was absurd and a manic giggle escaped him. Before he knew it, he was leant against the wall, bent over and clutching at his stomach as he laughed.

A little while later he wiped tears from his face and tried to ignore the twist in his gut as the humour of situation faded and he realised that he had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He thought for a bit, then went to the Room of Requirement. It provided him with cage in the middle of an otherwise empty room and he put the ball inside it, locked the cage and the room, and then pointed his wand at the ball.

"Finite Incantatem."

The ball turned back into the dog, which turned into a slightly dazed Sirius Black, lying in a heap on the floor, and Harry inhaled sharply because until then he never really believed it.