Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews about a mistake in the last chapter. I have no idea why I kept using "practical" instead of "theoretical", but thanks for catching it for me! It has been fixed since.

Keep up the wonderful reviews!

This chapter is a little shorter than the others have been, but I'm building up for the final chapters. Nearly done with this story. I plan on having three different stories for the time being, but that may change in time. Stick around.

I do not own anything.

"Ready for this?" Hermione asked, smiling at Harry as they arrived at the defense classroom. He smiled back.

"We're his last class to be introduced. So far, everyone but Slythern loves the class. I know Sirius will be a good professor."

They walked into the class and sat down at their usual table. They all looked around, wondering where Sirius could be exactly. The rest of the class quickly filled in.

Finally, the door to the office opened and Sirius strode out, whistling as he did so. He walked past his desk and picked up their textbook.

"I've flipped through this book when I was offered the job. Two minutes later, I wanted to beat my head against the wall. This book is USELESS! Even if you don't believe that Voldemort has returned-which I do-you still need to learn how to defend yourselves! Learning theories means nothing. That's why I am here.

"This is fifth year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. This is your O.W.L. year. I only have a few short months until you take your exams to get you prepared. What I want to do now is take your book, and destroy it. I don't care how you do it, just destroy it. I have your new books."

All the students looked at each other until Harry and Ron opened their books and started ripping out the pages. Sirius looked over at them and smiled, encouraging all of the students to do the same. He collected all of the torn-up book pieces and threw them into the fire.

"And that, my young pupils, would be the end of the Umbridge era."

The class cheered as Sirius returned to the front and started writing on the chalkboard. After a few moments he turned back around.

"Copy these notes down. When you're in battle, I want you to remember this."

He waited until the entire class took the notes. When they were finished, he passed out their books and opened his own copy.

"Open your books to chapter one. For your homework tonight, I want you to read the first two chapters and write twelve inches about the chapters. Not a hard assignment, but one that will surely interest all of you in defense. Today we are going to start with the basics and take all of you back though your four years here. Partner up."

Ron partnered up with Hermione, and Harry partnered up with Neville. Sirius ordered them to stand up then cleared the desks out of the way.

"Just for today, I want all of you to practice Expelliarmus. Very easy, I know. Some of you may be thinking 'why do we have to learn this spell? It's not a very effective spell'. Truth is, this spell can save your life. It may seem useless until it actually does. Plus, this spell may be required during your examination. Go ahead and practice."

He watched as every one of the students practiced the spell. He then walked around and helped the students that were struggling by showing them the stance and how to perform the spell. Ten minutes later, Sirius felt rather proud by what the students were doing.

"That's enough for now!" he called, watching as the students put down their wands. "That was excellent. Defense is not an easy subject. It takes years of hard work and practice. For those of you wanting to become an Auror, the program is three years filled with vigorous tests. Very few actually get into the program. The grades you receive on your exams are more important than ever, especially in the field of defense. They do not take anyone who receives less than an Exceeds Expectations on any one of their examinations. No matter what field you go into, your exams are important. Now, let's practice stupefy."

They worked on the two spells until the bell rang. Ron, Harry and Hermione stayed after to talk.

"That was a great first class, professor," Hermione said.

"Thank you. Wasn't too much or too little for the first day?"

"It's always good to review what we've learned," Harry said.

"It was a great class," Ron said. "With your help, we'll be ready for our exams in no time."

"That's my goal. Harry, while I'm thinking about it, I need to speak to you. Stay put for a moment."

He nodded as Sirius turned and walked up to his office. He waited for a moment until Sirius walked back down, holding several pieces of parchment in his hand.

"These came for me this morning. It's the beginning of the custody documents. You and I need to sign them."

"Me, too?" Harry asked, looking confused. Sirius nodded.

"You, too. Just sign at the places of your name."

Harry nodded and took the quill from Sirius. He then signed his name in all the areas before handing the quill to Sirius, who did the same.

"I know it's way too late," he said, looking up at Harry, "but, better late than never, right?"

Harry nodded.

"It's like my mum always says," Ron said, "Family is family, no matter what."

Hermione smiled. "My mum says that all the time, too."

"My parents chose you, Sirius. They knew you would take care of me, and you have been. It's not just one year that you'll be watching me. It's my whole life."

Sirius nodded, choosing to look at the ground. "We need to get past this war first. Ron, I'm bringing you in on their training. Saturday night, I want all three of you in here."

It was afterhours Friday night when Hermione was doing her rounds. She was up on the seventh floor, heading back to the dormitory when a hand came out and wrapped itself around her waist.

She laughed to herself as she was pulled into the Room of Requirement. A moment later Harry removed the cloak, grinning as he did so.

"Wow," she said, looking around the room.

It was nearly the same setup as the time they were alone at Christmas. The loveseat in front of the fireplace, the bed pushed up against the wall, and the candles floating by themselves in midair.

It was breathtaking.

"I told you that I was going to make Valentine's Day up to you," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss against her neck. She turned around to face him.

"You planned this?"

He nodded. "We don't get a lot of time alone together. On the day that we were supposed to be alone together, I was-well, arrested I guess, and you were attacked by a teacher the next day. Not a very good Valentine's Day. We've been working hard, and we deserve some time to ourselves."

"We do," she agreed, staring deep into his eyes. "How did you know that I would be on the seventh floor?"

"Just a hunch," he said, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"You must have a pretty amazing hunch," she said, removing her school robe. His eyes darkened.

She brought his head down to hers and crashed their lips together. His hands gently rested on her hips, pulling her in closer. Her hands immediately went to the buttons of his shirt and she started to unbutton all of them. As soon as the shirt was off, her hands immediately wandered all over his chest, earning a moan from him.

His lips broke away from hers and he started kissing her jaw down to her neck. He backed her up until she was against the wall, earning a moan of pleasure from her. Her hands roamed around his chest before drifting further south. His hands slipped underneath her shirt and she threw her head back as far as it would go when they rested on her breasts.

"Harry," she breathed out.

Pulling away from her, he put his hands on the both sides of her face and looked into her eyes. Pressing his lips against hers, he gently picked her up and carried her over to the bed.

"Come back to me," Harry whispered, kissing Hermione's shoulder. She smiled, rolling over to see him.

"I'm here," she said, putting her hand on his cheek.

"I've been thinking about everything," he said softly, taking her hand and kissing it. "I can't stop thinking about the prophecy, Hermione. Ever since Voldemort found out, my mind has been going into overdrive to try and figure out how to stop the war. I can't even focus on my schoolwork anymore."

She took a deep breath. "In my heart, I know you will win. You are so much stronger than he is, Harry. I know that it may not see like it now, but, you will triumph. I will stand by your side no matter what happens."

He thought about that for a moment before grinning. "You just quoted the sorting hat."

"I did," she smiled. "And, I'm not the only one. Ron and Sirius and Remus and the Weasleys and the whole order will be there for you. It may be your destiny to face him and defeat him, but, it's our destinies to be there with you."

He nodded, squeezing her hand as he did so. "I don't want anyone to get hurt or even die for me."

"Those are our choices, Harry. Not yours."

"You're staying no matter what I say, aren't you?"

"Now you got it," she winked. He laughed.

"We should probably be getting back," he said, letting out a sigh. She nodded.

"Definitely," she said, sitting up in the bed while clutching the sheet to her body. He sat up, looking down at her as he did so.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" she asked, quite confused.

"This," he said, tugging lightly on the sheet. She looked down, shrugging as she did so.

"I just do, I suppose."

He took his hands and pulled the sheet down, watching as a blush spread through her cheeks.

"You're beautiful," he said, placing his hands on her cheeks. He then pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly as he did so.

"You really think I'm beautiful?"

"You're gorgeous," he replied honestly, dropping his hands to her arms. "I still regret not asking you to the Yule Ball. The moment you came down the stairwell I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stop staring at you. You were so beautiful. I wish I had asked you first, and, maybe, the ball would have been much better."

She smiled at him. "You would have had to come pretty quickly to beat Victor. I swear he asked me the moment we all found out."

"If I did, would you have said yes?"

She thought about it, staring straight at him as he did so. "I think I would have. As friends, of course. Yes, I would have definitely said yes."

He smiled sadly. "I wish I had asked you."

"That night was a disaster for all of us," she laughed. "Ron and I got into a row, and your dates left the two of you."

He dropped his head, clearly embarrassed. "I can't dance. I was never taught. So, when I heard that I would have to dance in front of the entire school, I literally had a panic attack. In all honesty, I really didn't want to dance any more than I would have to."

She looked at him sadly, her eyes watering at Harry's past life. He never talked about his time with the Dursley's before Hogwarts, and she wondered what occurred exactly.

"You shocked all of us that night."

"What about now?"

"I don't care what other people think about you," he said, pushing her hair out of her face. "I think you're beautiful. When you're thinking, you bite your lip. When you have your hair in a ponytail, you always leave a strand out because you know I love tucking it behind your ear. You drive me crazy, Hermione. All of the things you do, I love it."

"I've said this before and I'll say this again," she replied, running her hands across his chest and arms while grinning at him. "Quidditich is doing you a lot of justice."

"So, no giving up on Quidditich?" he asked, flashing her a grin.

"Hell no," she said, bringing his lips down to hers. He smiled against them.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by. The weather was turning warmer, and with the warmer weather came more and more tension.

Especially from Ron and Hermione.

Harry listened to their bickering the whole way down to the Quidditich pitch, growing quite annoyed with them. The twins even turned around and put a silencing charm on them, grinning at Harry as they did so.

"You've got it bad, mate," Fred said.

"The boyfriend, and the best friend? They're going to force you to take sides."

"No, they're not," Harry said, mounting his broom and kicking off. Fred, George and Ron were right behind him.

"We're in line to win the cup," Angelina said, looking between her teammates. "We have to keep practicing, and hope Hufflepuff will beat Slythern this weekend. With half of Slythern's team banned this year, we have a good chance. Harry, the snitch is more important than ever. The faster you can catch that, the faster we win."

Harry nodded.

"Ron," Angelina said, flying over to him, "We need you more than ever. You need to block. Today we will all be helping you."

Ron nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Let's get started."

Hermione sat next to Sirius and Remus and watched as they practiced, smiling softly at Harry.

"Picked up James' talent, didn't he?" Sirius asked.

"Certainly did," Remus said, drifting his eyes around the field. "I remember watching him in his third year. It was incredible."

"He loves Quidditich," Hermione said, glancing her eyes over to Ron, who was working on keeping the quaffles out of the goals. "I always say to him that it's the one thing that makes him happy."

"It's not the only thing that makes him happy," Remus said, turning his head towards Hermione. "I have definitely noticed how happy Harry has been lately."

"And it's not because of Quidditich," Sirius said.

She smiled to herself, turning to look back at the players.

"There's one thing I want the three of you to remember as you come upon your O.W.L.S.," Remus said. "Don't stress out about them. They are hard tests, but, stressing out will not help you. Study hard, be prepared for them and everything will work out."

"Just don't be like me and slack off about it," Sirius said. "Find a balance. If Harry is serious about becoming an Auror-and he'd be a damn good one, at that-he needs to work hard. He can't receive anything less than an 'E'. Have you and Ron thought about what you want to do yet?"

"Not yet. I really have no idea. I'm pretty sure Ron wants to be an Auror with Harry, and I keep encouraging him to work harder or they won't take him."

"Harry will get through to Ron. Don't worry so much about them."

"Hey, Remus," Harry said, flying over to them. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Thought I'd stop by and watch you practice. You remind me so much of your father out there."

"I enjoy the game," he replied, shrugging.

"He did, too. Wasn't a day that went by that I don't remember James having that snitch of his in his hand."

"Harry!" Angelina called. He nodded at them before returning to the field. "Today's practice is going really well. Ron, you're doing a great job blocking. With some more practice, I know you will get there. Let's hope that Hufflepuff will beat Slythern."

They all nodded and went back to practice. About a half-hour later they called it and went to the locker room to clean up. Hermione, Sirius and Remus waited for them to come out.

"The team looks great," Sirius said to Ron and Harry. "Keep that up and you will win the cup."

"You really think so?" Ron asked. They nodded.

"Absolutely. Don't panic, Ron. You're doing great."

"The custody papers came this morning, Harry," Sirius said, pulling parchments out of his robes. "It's finished. You are officially my son."

Harry smiled, taking the papers from Sirius as he did so. "Thank you, Sirius."

"I also added Remus as a second guardian. Law states that he can't adopt you, but since I adopted you, I can add him as a co-guardian. Since you're plenty old enough, I don't think the Ministry had a problem with it."

"That, or they didn't want Sirius charging in there again," Remus grinned. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"They let that happen? I figured with Remus being a-you know-they would prevent that," Hermione said. Sirius shook his head.

"If he was younger, they may have. The fact that you are all teenagers and understand the dangers, probably didn't mind too much. Remus will never be around any of you during the full moon."

Remus nodded.

"I'm sorry you have to go through that, Remus," Harry said.

"Don't be. You all have enough to worry about without worrying about me."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked. Sirius and Remus looked at each other.

"Amelia Bones was found dead yesterday."

"What?" they all asked in shock.

"I have my guesses as to who may have done it, and by whose authority," Sirius said bitterly.

"As much as I hate to agree with you, I agree."

"It was Malfoy, wasn't it?" Ron asked. They nodded.

"Seems that way. Dumbledore told us a few weeks ago that Malfoy ran into his office after hearing what had happened to Draco."

"Voldemort is slowly but surely showing that he has truly returned."

Harry sighed, burying his head into his hands. "I feel like I'm so close yet so far away to finishing this."

"That's what we're here for, Harry. We will help you be prepared."

"Hello, Granger," Malfoy hissed, sliding up behind her. Hermione closed her eyes, wondering what he wanted, exactly.

"Its afterhours, Malfoy. You're not a prefect anymore. Ten points from Slythern for being out of the dorms."

"Because of you, and your little boyfriend," he said, pushing her against the wall. She pushed him back.

"Do you want detention, Malfoy? You just got out of the month-long one!"

"The two of you will pay," he hissed, pushing her against the wall again. "You mark my words, you will pay, mudblood."

"Going to run to your Death Eater father? Will he run to Voldemort?"

Malfoy pushed her against the wall again. Grabbing her wand, she pointed it at him.

"I've broken your nose once before and I will do it again, Malfoy. You have detention with Professor McGonagall whenever she assigns it."

"Is there a problem?" Ron asked, pulling Malfoy away from behind. Malfoy turned on his heel.

"Granger and I were just having a chat, Weasley. No need to get worried."

"If you lay one hand on her Malfoy-"

"You'll do what, Weasley?"

"I will personally make sure you can't run to your Death Eater father!" Ron growled at him.

"Potter got the mudblood, Weasley. How does that make you feel?"

"Malfoy, leave!" Hermione ordered. Grinning at Ron, he turned and started to walk back to the dungeons. Hermione turned to look at Ron, who was steaming.

"What did he mean by that, Ron?" she asked, walking up to him. Ron shook his head, gritting his teeth together.

"You know Malfoy. He always tries to cause conflict-probably between Harry and I. Just let it go."

Hermione nodded, unsure of what to think about that statement. She and Ron quickly stopped by Professor McGonagall's office.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"I assigned Malfoy a detention with you."

"May I ask what for?"

"He nearly attacked her, professor," Ron said. "He had her pinned up against the wall."

Professor McGonagall raised her head in concern. "Are you alright, Miss. Granger?"

"I'm fine."

"I will think about his punishment and discuss it with him in class tomorrow. Retire to bed, both of you."

They nodded and walked out of her office. Right before they reached the tower, Hermione pulled on Ron's arm, holding him back.

"Don't tell Harry about this."

"Hermione-"

"Please, Ron. I don't want Harry going and doing something he'll regret. This is just between us."

Ron nodded, and she let go of his arm. They walked through the portrait hole and saw Harry sitting at one of the tables, clearly focused on his assignments. The common room, other than for him, was mostly empty.

"You're back later than usual," he said, making room on the table. They looked at each other, shrugging as they did so.

"Just lost track of time, I suppose."

"Can you help me with this, Hermione?" Harry asked, showing her his essay. She took it from him and looked over it.

"Talk about the effects of moonstone as your closer, then it should tie it perfectly."

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her as he took the parchment back.

"We have one month until our exams," Ron said. Harry and Hermione let out a deep breath.

"I'll be happy when they're over, because all this homework is exhausting."

"Proud of you for staying up with it."

"Much better than me," Ron said, grinning. "I'm a little behind."

"Ronald!" Hermione said. He shrugged.

"I'll get it all done. No worries."

She shook her head, while Harry grinned at him.

"Better get it done quickly. Our last game will be coming up soon."

"That's true."

"Do you need some help with it?" Hermione asked. Ron shook his head.

"I'll get it done, Hermione."

The day of the final Quidditich game of the season quickly arrived. The day was beautiful with the perfect temperature and plenty of sunshine.

With Hufflepuff's win over Slythern, Gryffindor was set in line to win the Quidditich Cup with a win over Ravenclaw. This made Ron extremely anxious as the game neared.

"You need to relax, mate," Harry said, putting his gloves on. "We got this."

"I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Don't think about the outcome of the game. Think about the quaffle. That's all that should be in your mind. Got it?"

Ron nodded, swallowing as he did so. Harry patted his shoulder.

"Blow this for us, Ron-" George started.

"-And you'll never see the light of day!" Fred finished. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? I finally got him to calm down!"

"We're sorry, honorary brother," they quoted together.

"Gather round," Angelina said. They gathered in a circle. "This is our final game. We have to win this to win the cup. No pressure. Everyone take a deep breath, and let's win this!"

They all nodded, grabbed their brooms and took off towards the stadium. Harry looked around the field and noticed how crowded it was, and he could barely hear Lee Jordan's voice over all of the commotion.

"WELCOME TO THE FINAL QUIDDITICH GAME OF THE SEASON-GRYFFINDOR VS. RAVENCLAW!"

Cheers erupted throughout the stands. The Gryffindor team mounted their brooms and took off to the middle of the field, where they were greeted by the Ravenclaw team.

"I want a nice and fair game, from everyone!" Madam Hooch said, as she hovered between Angelina and the Ravenclaw captain. "Captains, shake hands."

They shook hands. Madam Hooch raised her hand with the quaffle in it, hesitated for a moment, before releasing it, starting the game.

Harry's eyes scanned the field, trying desperately to find the snitch. His eyes drifted over to Cho Chang, who was watching him and the field. Trying to shake her, he moved slightly, scanning the field as he did so.

After ten minutes, with Ravenclaw in the lead by thirty, Harry finally caught wind of the snitch. Zooming past Cho, he followed it, determined not to lose it. Cho came up next to him, just as determined to get the snitch.

"LOOK OUT!"

Harry reached his arm out, his fingertips brushing the snitch when he heard the scream. A second later a bludger hit his side, knocking him off his broom. Clutching his hand, he fell to the ground, thankful that he was extremely close to it to begin with. Madam Hooch zoomed up next to him and he opened his hand, showing her the snitch. She blew her whistle.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE GAME AND THE QUIDDITICH CUP!"

Ron quickly flew down to Harry, helping Madam Hooch help him up off the ground. Harry clutched at his side, coughing up blood as he did so.

"We have to get you to the Hospital Wing, mate."

"I'll be fine."

"You know Hermione will kill us both if I don't take you there. C'mon."

"How is he?" Hermione asked when she finally arrived in the Hospital Wing.

"He'll be fine. Madam Pomfrey says he has a few broken ribs. She's going to heal them up then he can leave."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for bringing him here, but you should have let me bring him here. You missed Gryffindor getting the cup."

"I'd rather be here, to be honest."

"Ready to go," Harry said, emerging from behind the curtain. Hermione walked up and lightly pushed his chest.

"What did I say about giving me a heart attack?!"

"In my defense, I didn't see it."

She stared at him while he grinned back at her. "I'm fine, Hermione. We have a celebration to attend."

"That we do," Ron said, walking up to them. Sirius walked up, looking quite concerned yet proud at the same time.

"Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine. I just had some broken ribs."

"That was quite a catch, Harry. Your father would be so proud."

"Even I have to admit that was an amazing catch, mate. When you fell, we thought you lost the snitch."

"I would have hated myself if I messed the snitch."

Hermione gave him another look, and he grinned again. "I'm fine."

"It could have been so much worse!"

"Ah, Hermione, leave him alone. I say he's earned the party in the common room," Ron said, clapping Harry's back.

"I won't keep you any longer. Go enjoy the party," Sirius said, smiling at them.