A/N: Sorry for a little bit of a long wait. Truth is I was just lazy, deal with it. I also changed this from the original, I know that they left early because of the attack on Mr. Weasley, but that doesn't happen in my story. Anyway, here's a new chapter to keep y'all happy.

By the way, I am currently looking for a beta, if you're interested make sure to let me know. Thanks!

It had been two days since students had left for the winter holidays. Harry had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place some time on Monday afternoon, along with Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasley family. The train ride had been an eventful one.

He and his two friends, along with Neville had found themselves a compartment. Soon they had been joined by Luna and Ginny as well. The boys had been talking about Quidditch, while Hermione was discussing the plans for the Defense Club with the two younger
girls. The train began its long journey with a lurch, and they were off. Soon, Hermione got up, and patted Ron on the shoulder. "Come on Ron, we have to go do our rounds," she said, referring to their prefect duties.

"Alright, see you mate!" Ron said waving at the remaining people in the compartment, and heading out behind Hermione.

Harry waved back, and sat back and began talking to Neville once again. Soon afterwards, the two remaining girls excused themselves as well, saying they had to go meet some of their own friends. Harry was thankful for this, because he had remembered his
promise to speak with Neville about the prophecy. Waving goodbye to the girls, he addressed Neville more seriously.

"Hey, Nev, there's actually something quite important I need to speak with you about," he said. It was then Harry realized how much Neville had changed over the years. He had lost nearly all of his baby fat now, and was very mature. He was a good friend,
and Harry felt bad for how he had ignored him these past years.

Neville nodded, and awaited Harry to begin talking. Taking a deep breath and decided he would begin with the prophecy. "So, first of all, what I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone, you understand?" Harry asked, and received a sharp nod.
"Well then, to begin with, there's a reason Voldemorts always come after me, and I feel you have a right to know. Basically, there is a prophecy. It says The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Harry
said, finishing the prophecy.

Neville was quite shocked at the revelations. He had always wondered why the Dark Lord had been after Harry, but this explained it completely. Shaking, he opened his mouth to talk. "But Harry, this basically says, that you are the only one who can stop
him..." he began.

Harry looked into his eyes solemnly. Nodding his head, he started talking again. "Neville, the thing with the prophecy is, there was also one other person the prophecy could have been referring to..."

That was when realization dawned on Neville. His face changed to one of surprise and shock as he understood what Harry was talking about. "Me?"

"Yeah, 'born as the seventh month dies...' you see? The only difference is that Voldemort marked me as his equal," he said, pointing to his scar. Harry noted that Neville didn't even flinch when he had said Voldemort's name. It was safe to say he was
impressed. "I also know what happened to your parents..." Harry said quietly. He saw Neville's eyes harden as he said this.

"Listen, Nev, I'm telling you this because I think you deserve to know. I mean, you've all the more reason to want revenge," Harry started. "Dumbledore is helping me prepare to get rid of the slimy bastard once and for all. I want you to help me do this.
I know I haven't necessarily been that close of a friend to you, but now, if you want to, I would like for you to help me."

Neville face morphed to one of determination, as he spoke very confidently. "Harry, I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help you get rid of that fucker. I'll be with you till the end. I'm not sure if you know, but since ancient times, Longbottoms
have always stuck with Potters, and I am not going to be the one to break this tradition."

Harry smiled. "I appreciate it a lot mate. I'm glad to have you on board. Now there are some things you need to know, let me ask you, do you know what a Horcrux is?" Neville looked at him with a look of disgust and horror. This was enough to give Harry
his answer. "Judging by your facial expression, I'm assuming you do..."

"Yeah, I've read about them in the library at Longbottom Manor. But Harry, that's really dark and disgusting magic. What do you want with it?"

"Dumbledore and I believe that old snake face made several Horcruxes," Harry began, as the color drained from Neville's face. Harry took a deep breath before saying his next sentence. "We believe that on the night Voldemort came to Godrics Hollow to kill
me... he unwittingly made a Horcrux.. in me."

Neville was white as a sheet as the information sunk in. "Is that why you can speak Parseltongue?" he asked shakily. He was quite intelligent, catching on quickly. Harry smirked, and nodded his head.

"Don't worry, we're going to get rid of it during this this holiday." Harry assured the boy.

Neville didn't look all the way convinced, but accepted the excuse... for now.

"So... you and Greengrass?" Neville said with a smirk.

Harry groaned. "Well, yes, I guess so. I mean its not that big of a deal is it?" he said uncomfortably.

"Its only the Gryffindor golden boy, dating the Slytherin Ice Queen, but you're right, not a big deal." Neville teased.

Harry glared at the boy, before his face morphed into a mischievous grin. "So, Neville, you got your eyes set on lady friend of your own?" he questioned. Harry watched on amused, as the boys face went red, and he squirmed in his seat. "Go on Neville,
tell me!"

"I don't k-know what you're... I mean I don't h-have my eyes s-set on..." he tried.

Harry grinned at the boys uncomfortableness. "Oh cut the bullshit Nev! Just tell me who it is"

Neville took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and spoke very fast as he let out all the air he had been holding. "ImightmaybefancyHermione!"

Harry laughed, "Sorry Nev, but couldn't understand what the bloody hell you just said."

"I said... I fancy Hermione!" he exclaimed, as a blush painted his face.

Harry laughter ceased immediately. He looked at Neville in shock. He had definitely not expected that. "Really?"

"Listen, Harry I'm sorry Harry, I know you..." he started, hurriedly.

Harry interrupted him. "What're you doing? Why're you apologizing?" he asked firmly. "You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I think you'd be great for her!"

Neville visibly brightened at this. "You really think so?"

Harry smirked. "Of course, although I would have to warn you, Hermione's is one of my closest friends, and she's stuck with me through a lot of shit, so you better not hurt her, because there will be hell to pay." he said, before smiling.

Neville looked at him, before nodding his head slowly. At that moment, Hermione and Ron entered the compartment, as usual, bickering with each other.

"Honestly Ronald! Did you have to scare that poor boy?"

"Oh come off it 'Mione! It was just an ickle firstie!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry smiled at his friends antics. "Hey guys," he said, as he stood up. "I'm gonna go see Daphne since you guys are here." he started. "I'll be back soon," he promised.

Waving back at them, Harry gave a Neville a quick thumbs up. He walked up the corridor, looking in each compartment, and proceeded to the back, looking for Daphne. He stopped when he saw Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle standing outside a compartment.

"Get the hell out Nott!" he heard, from the unmistakable voice of Daphne.

Daphne sat in her compartment with Tracey and Blaise. She had a book open on her lap, but she wasn't really reading it. Her mind was elsewhere. She was still thinking about the date with Harry. Of course she had told Tracey about it almost immediately
after she had come back.

Tracey had waited for her, and had pulled her into the dormitories to talk about it as soon as she had stepped in the common room. Daphne had told her about everything they had done together, with a dreamy look on her face. It hadn't been long before
Blaise knew as well. They had greatly teased her about it the past few days.

"So... Daphne, how's that book?" Tracey asked, hiding a smirk.

Daphne snapped out of her daze, "Huh? Oh the book? It's pretty good..." she said uncertainly.

Tracey giggled. "How interesting has that page been? You've only been staring at it for 20 minutes straight." she said, bursting into peals of laughter.

Blaise also joined into the laughter, but quickly changed his demeanor. "Leave her be Tracey," he started, surprising Daphne. "She was only daydreaming about Potter," He said, causing the two to break out into laughter one again.

Glaring at the two, Daphne threw her book at Blaise, hitting him on the shoulder. "OW! Geez Daphne! We were just having some fun! You don't have to..." he started, before he was cut short by the compartment door opening.

Theodore Nott, followed by Crabbe, and Goyle stood outside the compartment. "Well look here, its Greengrass, with a filthy half blood! Honestly, wasn't it enough that you sullied yourself with filth like Potter, but you still need to hang around this
one?" He said with a pointed look at Tracey, who looked down, as her cheeks began to fill with color.

Before Daphne could do anything, however, Blaise stood up, with his wand up. "Leave, now Nott," he said, warningly. Immediately, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle brought their wands up. They had been expecting this, and fired off simultaneous stunner at Blaise,
who fired a single stunner himself, which hit Crabbe, before crumpling to ground from the force of three stunners.

Nott smirked, and looked down at Blaises unconscious body. At this point, Daphne had her wand out as well, while Tracey simply stared at Blaise. "Pathetic," Nott commented. "Listen you whore," He said, looking at Daphne, "I'm your betrothed, and you will
treat me with respect, you little bitch, or I will make you!" He raised his wand to her face. "Did you honestly think I would leave things be after what happened..." he started.

Suddenly a voice from outside startled the two of them. Daphne had slowly and discreetly been aiming her wand at Nott's prized jewels, but the voice had shocked both of them, and she had retracted her hand in surprise.

"If I remember Nott, I believe I told you to leave Daphne alone." came the voice she instantly recognized as Harry's. Nott also apparently recognized the voice, as a flicker of fear passed through his eyes.

He turned around quickly, waving his wand blindly. Harry grabbed him by his neck, and shoved him roughly into the wall of the compartment. "Trust me Nott, you even come near her once more, I won't let you off with a warning again." Nott tried to struggle
out of Harry's grasp, but Harry held him in place. "Are we clear?" Harry asked menacingly, tightening his grip around his neck.

Nott quickly nodded, and Harry let go of his neck. Nott scurried out of the compartment. Harry quickly shot a silent tripping jinx at his legs, and the boy tumbled down, and tried to get up again, but failed miserably. Goyle enervated Crabbe, and dragged
the dazed boy after Nott.

Harry laughed out loud at the scene, and was joined by Daphne and Tracey. The three went back into the compartment, and Harry pointed his wand at Blaises unconscious body. "enervate" he spoke, and the dark skinned boy stirred.

"Blimey, my bloody head! Thanks Potter," He said

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. He sat next to Daphne. "Hey," he said, as he pulled her in for a quick kiss, enjoying the feeling.

"Thanks for that, but I had that handled!" she said.

Harry smirked at her, "Of course you did, I just thought you could use a little bit of help" he teased

Harry stayed in their compartment, and got to know Blaise and Tracey better, before he got up and declared he had to leave. They were almost at the platform nine and three quarters, and Harry had promised he would meet his friends again.

"Do you really have to leave?" Daphne said with a fake pout.

Harry laughed, and kissed her soundly. "Yeah, sorry Daph, but I promised my friends I would meet them again. I'll try to meet you on the platform." he said hugging her, and then opening the compartment door. "It was nice talking to you Tracey, and Blaise!"
He called out as he was leaving.

As soon as he left, Daphne mentally prepared herself for the teasing that was inevitably going to happen once she turned around.

"So... he calls you 'Daph'?" Tracey called out behind her, at which Blaise and Tracey howled in laughter. "But you never let us call you 'Daph!" Blaise pouted with a smirk. Fuming, Daphne turned to the two, red in the face, and began yelling at
them to shut up.

Harry got off the Hogwarts Express onto the Platform 9 and 3/4. He was followed closely by Hermione, Ron and Neville. Each lugged their respective trunks behind them, as they walked down the steps, banging their trunk on each one. Soon, the four stood
shoulder to shoulder, scanning the crowd for their families. Neville quickly spotted his grandmother, who looked expectantly at Neville.

"Come on Neville, introduce me to your grandmother," Harry said, motioning to the elderly woman. Neville nodded his head, and the four walked over to her.

"Hello Gran," Neville greeted her.

"Hello Neville." She responded.

Neville gulped. Harry knew that his grandmother gave him a hard time, and from what he knew, she was a stern woman. "These are some of my friends, I'm sure you must have recognized Harry," He said pointing at him. "Harry, this is my Gran."

"Hullo! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Harry said, cheerfully extending his hand. She took it and shook it firmly.

She pursed her lips, and looked over him, from head to toe. Harry gulped, similar to Neville. "Good to meet you Mr. Potter, it finally seems my grandson has made some proper friends." she finally said.

Harry's eyes hardened when she said this. Neville looked down, hanging his head at his grandmothers words. When he finally spoke again, it was quieter than before. "This is Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger," he introduced. The two extended their hands
as well, but other than that, kept silent.

When the meeting was coming to a close, Harry spoke up. "No offense Mrs. Longbottom, but I think you should start giving more credit to Neville," he said, startling both her, and Neville. She looked at him for a good minute, scaring Harry.

Finally, she responded. "Very well.." she said in a stern voice.

Saying their goodbyes, Harry made Neville promise to write to them over the break, and Harry promised to keep him updated about the horcrux. Waving goodbye to the boy, he, Ron, and Hermione made their way to where they were standing before. They looked
around for a few minutes, before they saw Mrs. Weasley's red hair in the crowd. Harry found that the woman who had been like a mother to him had noticed them as well, as a bright smile lit up her face.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" She called out. "Over here!"

The three reached where she was standing and set their trunks down. She gave each of them one of her famous bone crushing hugs. "Harry! You're still much too skinny," she began.

It was then Harry noticed Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise stepping out of the train. The three looked around for a little bit, before Blaise waved goodbye to the two of them, and walked off towards an elegant looking woman, who Harry assumed was his mother.
Soon afterwards, Tracey had also found her mother, and had given Daphne a hug, and left. Daphne stood by herself, looking into the crowd.

Harry looked to Mrs. Weasley, who was still waiting for Ginny, and the twins to leave the train. "Mrs. Weasley, would you mind if I leave for a few minutes? I have to meet someone..." he asked.

"Of course dear!" she responded, absentmindedly.

Harry smiled, and walked over to where Daphne was standing. She saw him approaching, and smiled sweetly at him. "Hey Daph!" he said as he reached her. He pulled her in for a quick kiss.

"Hey Harry," she responded, still smiling. The smile soon became a smirk. "Now be a good boyfriend and help me with my trunk." she said

Harry then noticed she was still holding her trunk. He hurriedly took it from her, apologizing under his breath. She giggled at this.

"Merlin! This is bloody heavy!" He exclaimed. "How did you even get this on and off the train?"

"Oh stop whining Harry!" she teased.

Soon enough Harry saw the two people he recognized to be her parents walking towards them. Her father, Cyrus, wore elegant deep emerald robes. His neatly trimmed mustache lay right above his lip, and his hair was combed to the side, giving him a neat
look, which demanded respect. Harry instinctively stood straighter. Her mother also stood equally proud. Her honey blonde hair, similar to Daphne's, tumbled down her shoulders, and she wore deep blue colored robes. She looked very similar to Daphne,
like Harry had noticed at the hospital wing.

"Hello Daphne," Mr. Greengrass greeted, giving her a small hug.

"Hello father, mother!" she said, excitedly, giving her mother a quick hug as well.

Mr. Greengrass then turned to Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, we meet again." he stated. Harry noted Daphne looked confused, and then realized she did not know of their meeting in the hospital wing.

"Pleasure to meet you once again Mr. Greengrass, please call me Harry," he corrected, and turned to face her mother. "It's lovely to meet you again as well, Mrs. Greengrass," he said, shaking her hand.

With an amused look on his face, Mr. Greengrass spoke once again, "I will call you Harry, only if you call me Cyrus," he said

"And me Penelope," his wife interjected. "We won't have any of that Mr. Mrs. nonsense," she said looking at him with a smile. Harry looked at her with an equally bright smile. Then he turned more serious and turned to Cyrus.

"Mr. Gr.. I mean Cyrus," he corrected, "I need to speak with you, if you will" Harry said.

The older man nodded, and motioned for Harry to follow him. Harry obliged, and went behind him, leaving the girls to talk by themselves. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Astoria join the group.

Harry turned to Cyrus and began to speak. "I wanted to talk to you about our meeting? Daphne told me you would be willing to meet over the contract."

Cyrus's looked at him for a little bit. "Yes, she did owl me about it, and I said I would be. However, Harry I appreciate you trying to do what you're doing, but we've looked over this contract ourselves, and I doubt you'd be able to find a loophole,"
he said with a sigh.

Harry was expecting something like this. "I promised Daphne I would at least try, and I have to. I really do care for your daughter, and I will do anything I can to see this contract dissolved." he said, pointedly.

To this, the man smiled. "Another thing I would like to discuss with you when we meet. I believe you can come over to Greengrass Manor and we can discuss this further. I will ask Daphne to owl you the directions. Now, I fear it is time we must leave,"
he said as he led the way back to the rest of his family.

Harry shook his hand one more time, and said goodbye to Penelope. Astoria followed her parents, after waving to Harry. Daphne hung behind with Harry for a minute. "I'll miss you," she whispered. Although they had only known each other for a short time,
and had only just begun dating, Daphne deeply cared for Harry, and she felt very strong feelings toward him.

"I'll see you soon," Harry reassured her, before planting a soft kiss on her cheek. He watched her turn and follow her parents, before making his way back to the Weasleys.

Mrs. Weasley was watching him, with her hands on her hips, and an angry look about her face. Harry instinctively gulped, and slowly trudged his way back to her, dreading what he knew was to come. "Harry Potter! What were you doing associating with the
Greengrasses?" she demanded once he had gotten close enough.

Harry did not want to have a big confrontation with Mrs. Weasley in front of so many people. She had accepted him as one of her own, and shown him love, and he wasn't going to repay her by being rude. Hopefully she would be accepting of the situation,
but if not, he would help her do so. "Mrs. Weasley, could we maybe not have this discussion here?" he said in a hushed tone, looking at the people around them.

She huffed, but in the end accepted, and led the way, and Harry followed behind her, with Ron. Hermione had seen her parents, and had said goodbye to them. She would be meeting them at Grimmauld place in a few days.

He and Ron talked while they trudged behind the Weasley matriarch, and the rest of the clan, and made their way to number 12 Grimmauld Place, getting ready for a very bust winter holiday.

Harry had had quite the eventful first day of break. Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley had been thoughtful enough not to bombard him with questions immediately after they arrived. Harry had walked in with Ron, and they had all filed through the corridor. Ginny
and the twins had gone up the stairs to their rooms, but Harry continued on. He was looking for his godfather.

"Sirius!" he called out, walking down the corridor, checking in the doors.

He and Ron walked on, followed by Mrs. Weasley. "Sirius!" Harry called once again, to no response. He made his way down the corridor, before reaching the very end, to the closed door to the kitchen. Now Harry was starting to get worried. It wasn't like
Sirius to not be there when he came back from school, he would have expected Sirius to come see him at once. Slowly he opened the door to the kitchen, and heard the whooshing of ropes.

Before he had time to react, a three bucketful of ice cold had splashed down on his from above. Harry immediately knew what happened. "You mangy mutt! I'll get you for this!" he yelled, shaking the water from his arms, spraying Ron and Mrs. Weasley nearby.

Sirius was in the middle of the room, laughing his arse off. His hands were on his knees, and he was struggling to catch his breath. Mrs. Weasley promptly began shrieking at Sirius for making a mess in the kitchen. The whole situationwas basically
chaos. Pretty soon, everyone except Molly was laughing.

Finally, Sirius pulled out his wand, and waved it at Harry, who immediately dried up, and the mess on the floor disappeared. Harry pulled Sirius into a fierce hug. "I missed you Padfoot." he said

"I missed you too, pup," he responded, giving Harry's shoulder a reaffirming squeeze. "Now go get cleaned up, we can catch up over dinner."

Harry nodded, and followed Ron up the stairs. "Blimey mate, you better explain bloody well to mum," Ron said as they climbed. "She'll probably not be upset, she's had it in her head that you and Ginny would end up together, you know?"

"Yeah I figured it would take a little to convince her, but I'm sure it won't matter in the end, your mums always been great to me," Harry explained.

Soon they were back downstairs. Harry had freshened up, and the two had made their way to the dining room, and found everyone already there. Ginny, Fred and George sat at one end of the table, Mr. Weasley sat at the other, across from Sirius. Mrs. Weasley
was still in the kitchen cutting some vegetables. Harry took a seat next to Ron.

"Hello Mr. Weasley! How've you been?" Harry asked

Mr. Weasley beamed at him. "Fantastic actually!"

They talked for a little, and Harry talked to Sirius about the year for a little bit, before another person walked into the dining room.

"Sorry I'm late," Remus Lupin said

"Moony!" Harry said, jumping up to give the older man a hug.

"Hello cub!" Remus said, sitting down next to Sirius. "How've you all been?"

Harry told Remus what he'd been explaining to Sirius before. Soon, Mrs. Weasley sat down at the table as well, and everybody began eating.

"Now, Harry, I waited till now to ask, will you please tell me what you were doing with the Greengrasses at the platform today?" Mrs. Weasley asked

Harry had expected her to bring it up about now, and swallowed his food before responding. Sirius and Remus were also looking at him expectantly. He had of course told Sirius about Daphne, but he was very vague, and never went into much detail.

Taking a deep breath, Harry began speaking. "Well, Mrs. Weasley, I am currently dating Daphne Greengrass..." he started.

At that moment, Harry heard different reactions.

"WHAT?" came the shriek from Mrs. Weasley

On the other hand, Sirius and Remus were roaring with laughter. "Way to go Harry!" Sirius yelled. Then to Remus he said, "Just like James! I tell you!"

The last part made Harry smile.

"If she looks anything like her mother, then I'd say you're one lucky man," Sirius continued with a wink

Harry sighed, "Oh yeah, she's beautiful..." he said with a faraway look in his eye.

His thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Weasley. "Harry! How can you be dating that girl? The Greengrass's are a dark family! For all you know they could be serving you up to You-Know-Who!" She yelled at him

Harry turned to look at her, looking on calmly. On the inside, he was growing angry at the accusations, but kept it inside. "Mrs. Weasley, I trust Daphne with my life. I trust her family as well. Our getting together wasn't necessarily conventional, but
I'm positive it will work out," he stated, referring to the Malfoy incident. He hadn't told anyone about that, and he wasn't planning to.

Mrs. Weasley looked red in the face. "But Harry, I don't think she's right for you," she started, "And what's this about unconventional?" she demanded.

Ron looked stony faced, but spoke up, "Mum, don't..." he tried, but was cut off.

"No. Harry, explain to me what this is about? Why are you with that Slytherin?" She demanded once again.

Harry finally lost his cool. "I rescued her from getting raped by Draco Malfoy!" he snapped, to which everyone gasped, and spoons clattered onto the table. "Is that good enough of an explanation for you? Mrs. Weasley, I had hoped you would be more
accepting of her. After all, you are like a mother to me, and it would have been great to have your approval. I guess I was wrong." he said icily. She looked taken aback, and sat in silence. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've lost my appetite." he said,
getting up, and going up to his room.

He shut the door behind him. He hadn't been too rude, and he really wanted her approval. He decided he would have to time to apologize and convince her tomorrow.

The door opened and Harry turned around to see Ron coming into the room. "Hey mate.." he began

"Listen Ron, I'm sorry for what happened downstairs," Harry began, but was cut off by Ron.

"No, listen, she needed to hear it. She was mostly shocked by that stuff you said about her being like a mother to you." he explained. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't worry about it Harry, she'll come around, just give her some time."

"Thanks Ron," Harry said, truly grateful that he hadn't just made things worse.

The next day was an eventful one as well. Harry had woken up late, and did not wake to Ron's infamous snores. Sirius had given his own room here when they had been there during the summer. It had meant a lot to Harry at the time. He had never truly had
a room all to himself, and the fact that this was all his was not a familiar feeling for him.

After breakfast, he had been approached by Mrs. Weasley. She had entered his room, timidly, and had began speaking to him.

"Harry?" she asked, "I wanted to talk to you if you didn't mind."

Harry nodded and she entered the room. He began speaking first. "Listen, Mrs. Weasley, I wanted to apologize for last night." he started. "I was quite harsh, and you've been nothing but kind to me. I meant what I said about you being like a mother to
me"

She smiled warmly at that statement. "No Harry, I was completely out of line saying some of those things about their family," she said. "For that, I am truly sorry," she continued.

Harry was really glad they had been able to make up after the events of last night. It was true that the Weasley clan were most like family to him. Of course, he wasn't expecting Mrs. Weasley to welcome Daphne with open arms, but he would allow her to
get used to the fact he was dating her.

He had met up with Sirius after that incident. Before leaving Hogwarts, he had shrunken the portrait of his parents and brought it with him. Moony and Sirius deserved to see them, and he was planning on showing them together.

"Hey Padfoot! Where's Moony?" Harry asked when he saw Sirius in the dining room

Sirius smiled and waved at Harry. "He should be wandering around somewhere here."

The two went around the house searching for Remus. It didn't take long to find him, crouched under a cupboard, seemingly inspecting a marking inside it. Sirius put a finger to his lips, indicating Harry to be quiet. The two crept up behind the man, who
was still oblivious to what was going on.

"AAAAH!" They both yelled together

Remus jumped back, hitting his head in the cupboard. Rubbing his head, and glaring at the two, he spoke. "You bloody wankers, You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he growled.

Harry and Sirius simply began laughing. The two laughed, and were soon joined by Moony as well. Soon, the three were laughing together, holding their sides. Finally, after many minutes, they had calmed down.

"What was it you wanted to talk to us about pup?" Sirius asked.

Harry remembered why he had sought them out in the first place. "Oh yeah, I need to show the two of you something." he said, leading the way to his room.

He motioned the two to sit down on his bed. Slowly, he pulled out the shrunken portrait from within his trunk and began speaking as he set things up. "So, I stopped by Gringotts a while ago, and found this in one of the Potter vaults," he explained, as
he hung the miniature portrait on the wall. "Would one of you mind unshrinking this for me?" Harry asked, because he couldn't do magic out of school.

The portrait was still too small, and they couldn't make out what it was. Nodding, Sirius pulled out his wand, and waved it at the portrait on the wall. The two older men watched as the portrait grew, and they're eyes widened as they recognized the two
people on it.

Sirius gasped, and looked from Remus to Harry, and to the portrait again. Remus had a similar reaction. The forms of Lily and James Potter were growing before their eyes on the portrait. Once it was fully grown, Remus reached out and touched the canvas.
"Do they... Do they move?" he asked softly, as tears welled up in his eyes. Sirius looked on with similar tear tracks running down his face.

Harry nodded. "They're just in a stasis, so they don't have to be awake and bored all the time." he explained. He pulled out his wand, and said clearly, "Activate."

Slowly, the figures stirred, and rubbed their eyes. James opened his eyes first, and smiled widely when he saw his two best friends staring back at him. "Padfoot! Moony! Hey!" He yelled, in a cheerful way. Lily had also woken, and was waving at them with
a wide smile.

"J-James? L-Lily? Is it really you?" Sirius asked, warily, as tears began flowing more freely from his eyes. Remus looked on in awe at seeing his long lost friend.

James chuckled. "Technically, we both are portraits, but yeah, it is," he said.

"I-I'm so s-sorry for abandoning Harry," Sirius started hysterically. "If I had been there for him, he wouldn't have had to deal with those horrible muggles he lived with!" he exclaimed.

"Sirius, stop, all is forgiven. You were in Azkaban for shits sake!" Lily stated. "You are not to blame, but leave him alone again, and I definitely will not be happy," she added menacingly.

After many moments of silence, Remus spoke for the first time. "I miss you guys so much... It's unacceptable, I left him with the Dursley's. I should have tried harder, I should have..." he cried as he broke down.

Sirius put a hand on the crying man's shoulder, and Harry did as well. "Remus, stop blaming yourself for everything," James said. "You have been there for him now, and that's what matters."

Remus soon had calmed down. The three spent another hour in the company of the portraits, catching up. Before long, Sirius had stood up, and exclaimed that they should leave, or the others would start wondering where they had gone.

Saying goodbye to his parents, Harry once again placed them under stasis. This wasn't considered using magic outside of school, because technically, he wasn't using any magic to activate the portrait, he was just speaking an activation phrase.

Once the door to his room had closed, Sirius turned to Harry. "Thank you for that Harry," he said, sincerely.

Remus also spoke. "Yes, Thank you indeed," he repeated.

"Of course, You deserved to see them, and I needed to show you guys." Harry said.

"Well, if that's it, then I will take your leave Harry," Remus said, giving the boy a hug.

"Bye Moony," Harry said returning the hug himself. Remus departed down one of the hallways. Sirius and Harry began to walk down the stairs to the kitchen.

"We haven't had much time to talk," Sirius started. "If you wanted, I would like to ask you about your new girlfriend," Sirius stated, with a wink. Harry sighed, and nodded. He began retelling the story, from the beginning, their meeting, and what it
had led to. He retold the story of how he had viciously attacked Malfoy, and how the two had ultimately gotten together. At the end of the story, Sirius was smiling.

"What is it?" Harry asked, getting tired of the smirk on the old dog's face.

Sirius simply laughed again, before beginning to explain himself. "Looks like you've got yourself a keeper, pup," he said. "What do you feel for her though?" he questioned.

Harry thought over the question, before answering. "I can't really describe it, but she's the first thing I think of when I wake up, and the last thing I think of before I go to bed," he tried.

Sirius laughed at this. "Well, you better not muck it up, Potter," he said teasingly. "You've got yourself a great girl, so don't go ruining things,"

Harry nodded, and the two walked down to the kitchen, laughing the whole way there. The two were still laughing when they opened the door, only to see Albus Dumbledore standing there, talking to Mrs. Weasley. As soon as the two walked in, he turned to
them and smiled.

"Ah, Harry, Sirius, glad you are here, we were just about to come find you." Dumbledore said, with his usual grandfather twinkle in his eyes.

Harry smiled, and walked up to his mentor, and gave the old man a hug. "Hello sir! What brings you here?" Harry asked.

The headmaster looked around the room for a second. "Harry, if you wish to go into a separate room to discuss this situation, we may do so," Dumbledore said.

"No, Its fine," Harry said. He looked around the room. It was only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Sirius there. They were people he trusted with his life. "I trust everyone in this room," He said firmly.

Dumbledore nodded. "Well then, If you recall during our initial meeting this year, we discussed the horcruxes." he started. Everyone in the room gasped involuntarily, except for Harry. "Judging from your reactions, you all are familiar with the concept,
so we will not have to waste time with that." he continued. "Harry, as I told you before, I believe you have a horcrux residing within your scar," he said, causing everyone to gasp once again, while Harry just stood, unfazed.

"As I told you before, I have found a way that should rid you of it, at Gringotts, using an ancient goblin ritual." Dumbledore explained. Harry nodded, happy that they would finally be able to get the damn thing out of his head. "This process will be
excruciatingly painful, Harry," Dumbledore warned.

"I understand Professor, but I need to get it out of me," Harry assured the old man.

Dumbledore nodded. "Then I will come by tomorrow around 11:00, and we shall go to Gringotts, and get it out of you once and for all." Harry nodded his thanks. "Now, I do believe that Harry should be able to answer all the questions you undoubtedly have,
so I will take your leave," He said motioning to the others.

"Goodbye Headmaster," Harry said, before turning back to the others.

Mrs. Weasley pulled out a chair for him, and pointed to it, motioning for him to take a seat. Sirius slowly began speaking. "Explain... Now." he demanded.

So Harry told the three of them what he knew about Voldemort and his horcruxes, and how on that fateful night, he had become an unintentional horcrux himself. He told them about his and Dumbledore's plans for the vacation, excluding the part about trying
to get Sirius his freedom. He wanted that part to be a surprise.

By the time they let him leave, and their questions had been answered, Harry was very tired. He went directly up to his room, leaving the adults to try to come to terms with all this new information.

Harry drifted off into an uneasy sleep, and the last conscious thought he had was of how glad he was that the bastards soul piece would be removed from him the next day. They would be one step closer to defeating the bloody wanker, but they were just
getting started.

A/N: Again, sorry it's been a while. A lot of things are going to be happening in the next few chapters. Anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter, and make sure to review.