A/N- For all the love you show me with every chapter I write, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys are awesome. I'm still having problems responding to reviews so don't think for a second that I've been ignoring you! Again, thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story except for the personal plot twist. The rest has all been done before, there's nothing new under the sun, or so my mama tells me. I've made no money from any of my stories…maybe someday!

Chapter 25

July 17, 1992

Harry wasn't sure how he had forgotten how terrible it was at the Dursleys, but it was clear that he had. Doing all the chores, being fed only enough to keep him alive, being beaten to a pulp almost daily by Dudley and his gang. It made him miss Hogwarts even more than he thought possible.

To his surprise, before the students had left school for the Hogwarts Express, Professor McGonagall had pulled him aside. She had handed him a stack of parchment and several books, telling him that the Headmaster had rethought his decision and decided to assign extra work to Harry after all. He was instructed to finish them at his leisure and send them back, so she could send him more. He had already returned assignments twice now; Hedwig had been thrilled with the work.

He had a feeling that he was just jumpstarting the second-year assignments but that was better than nothing; he wanted to learn, and he wanted to do the best that he could. Voldemort was going to come back, the Headmaster was sure of it, and Harry had a feeling that the wizard wasn't going to just let it go that a child had defeated him. He was going to come after Harry again and he wanted to be as ready as he could be.

Life during the summer holidays was no different than life had been before school at Hogwarts. Sure, his aunt and uncle refused to speak of magic, if he brought up something about Hogwarts they grounded him or backhanded him. Harry had remembered his earlier life lessons quickly after returning.

His family reveled in having their slave return; Dudley ordered him around and when he didn't move fast enough, he would chase after him and pound him. His aunt would assign him a ridiculous number of chores and make him cook every meal. Harry didn't remember going hungry being as difficult as it was now that he had experienced eating his fill every single day. He supposed that he had no choice other than to survive. There were only six more weeks before he returned to school. He would survive.

Nights were the worst, especially when he was all out of assignments to work on. His mind would wander to his friends; he would wonder what Ron was doing with all his brothers and if he was getting his homework finished. He had stayed true to his word about not whinging anymore; Harry could only hope that his words would last into the new school year. Parvati had told him that her parents, herself, and her twin were going to make a trip back to India to see family; she seemed excited and even though Harry was ridiculously jealous, he was happy for her.

It was his darkest secret that he wondered what Hermione Black and Malfoy were up to. He knew that he wasn't supposed to think about her, he had promised himself that he wouldn't, but in the dark of the night, Harry just couldn't help it. Her words from that argument between the two of them haunted him. He couldn't imagine what life would have been like if he had been raised by a family that loved him and wanted what was best for him.

Whenever his mind drifted to her, the next morning he would berate himself for his weakness. If he had been raised by his godfather, he would have been dead. Harry had never told anyone, not even Ron, but he had looked up the outcome of the ICW trial all those years ago. He had discovered that the Headmaster had been correct. Sirius Black had attempted to get custody of him and the court had failed to award it to him. The exact transcript wasn't in the article of the Daily Prophet but the charges and outcomes regarding his custody had been there for the world to see. It was more than enough to solidify that the Headmaster was right regarding Lord Black, even though he felt he was way off base when it came to his daughter.

More than anything, he wanted to just forget about the girl and concentrate elsewhere. Harry still felt guilty for his treatment of her when she had never done anything to him to suggest that she wanted to trick or harm him. However, her cousin had made things more than clear when he told them that they were done listening to him badmouth their family. He supposed that he understood; if he had loved his family he would never stand for someone to speak badly about them.

Harry sighed as he rolled over in bed, trying to shut his mind down so he could sleep. It was going to be a long six weeks.

-O-

Sirius watched his cousin try to formulate a plan of attack against the dummy before him. True to his word, he and Lucius had started teaching the children how to duel as often as they could. They still took lessons with Madam Cambridge four days a week, Draco constantly had plans with his friends playing quidditch and doing who knew what else. Sirius had played host to several overnight stays for Draco's friends. Those were the only nights that he spent away from Hermione.

The animagus couldn't help but worry that his daughter was lonely. She showed no interest in any of the girls that were her age that she went to school with; he wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't interested or if the girls weren't. His daughter was very studious, and he had always known that many of her peers wouldn't understand her ambitions. She still spent a lot of time with Narcissa, shopping, riding, and doing girl things that Sirius didn't ask about. Hermione still spent days reading with Lucius and doing potions experiments with Severus. She wasn't bored by any means, but he worried about her well-being.

Draco had told him when they returned that Hermione hadn't made friends like he had. Sure, all the girls were nice to her and Hermione considered them all friends, but they never hung out outside of study group in the library and meal times. Draco told him that she didn't seem upset about it, had told him that nobody understood her, but Sirius couldn't help but worry. It seemed like all he did these days was worry.

Severus had informed them what had happened when Harry and the Weasley spawn had gone after the Stone; even though Sirius was proud of Hermione, more than he could express, he had been scared to death and livid that the Headmaster had hid a stone that would make the Elixir of Life inside a godforsaken school. It boggled the mind, thinking about what the Headmaster considered appropriate to be around children.

Sirius, Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus had sat down with their children at the beginning of the summer and discussed the events of the school year. Hermione had expressed disbelief at the fact that the Headmaster had never gotten with herself and Draco and tried to figure out how they had known about the Stone in the first place; Severus had volunteered that Harry had told the Headmaster that they had discovered the Cerberus together. Knowing that Hermione was no idiot, he must have assumed that she had made the connection and gone from there. Sirius wasn't so sure that was what had happened, but he decided that he wasn't going to worry about it.

Lucius had started to give Draco a hard time about letting Hermione go through the trap door, but his daughter had stood, hands on hips, and told her uncle that she had made him go to McGonagall. Honestly, it had been funny to watch since Hermione rarely put her uncle in his place. Cissy had stayed silent but hid a smile behind her hand, showing that she greatly enjoyed her niece's show of temper as well.

Their dueling training was going well, as well as could be expected. Draco was already excellent, he employed the spells he knew with ease and almost without thinking; Hermione was different. While she was good, she was an exceptionally strong witch after all, she seemed to hesitate too much. Not that she was scared to throw a spell, that wasn't it at all. She had confided in Sirius that she was never sure which spells to use that would net her the best outcome. In short, she over thought it.

Sirius knew his daughter well and knew that this was going to continue to be a problem for her. Therefore, he and Severus had devised an exercise that helped her in that respect. They threw spells at her and she literally had two seconds to throw a spell in return. She wasn't as quick as Draco, but she was getting there. He had high hopes that by the end of summer, she would be just as far along as her cousin. Sirius still struggled with the fact that she even had to learn dueling outside the classroom; he knew that she would need it eventually but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

The animagus watched as Draco stepped away from the dummy after disarming it. His daughter stepped up to take her turn, determined look on her face. It really rubbed her the wrong way that she wasn't already accomplished at dueling, she was used to being exceptional at everything she did. Lucius never stopped teasing her about it either which just made her scowl at him and give him the silent treatment while she tried even harder.

Severus had come to stay with him over the summer. He had his own manor in Aberdeenshire, the official Prince seat, but he rarely stayed there. The Slytherin told them that since he was the only one that lived there, it was exceedingly lonely, and the elves drove him mad. The children had stayed with him there several times when they were younger but since school had started, they kept their company at Black Moor and Malfoy Manor. Severus also kept the home that he grew up in as a second residence but refused to take the children to Cokeworth with him.

Sirius had never suspected that Severus was wealthy when they were growing up; he had never worn fine clothing and seemed to have second-hand supplies and books for school. It wasn't until after they had become friends that he learned that his mother had been disowned for marrying a muggle. Since his grandparents had nobody to leave their legacy to, they decided that a half-blood heir was better than no heir. His mother had already been dead by that time, at the hands of the muggle she had married when Severus was only eighteen years old. He still didn't act like he was wealthy, in fact, Sirius got the distinct impression that he hated the wealth he had, but he had no right to comment or judge, therefore he kept his thoughts to himself. Hermione had just disarmed her dummy and Sirius clapped for her, causing her to blush prettily.

"Well done, poppet, you're getting better the more you practice." Draco snickered softly at the glare his daughter sent his way. He chuckled softly at her irritation. He was just getting ready to have Draco start again when he heard Lucius calling through the house.

"Sirius? Where are you?" Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that Candy would have told the blond exactly where they were. Therefore, he remained quiet just to further irritate the man. It was only moments later that he burst into the room, said irritation evident in his expression.

"We have a problem, Sirius." The animagus called a halt to his daughter and cousin, dismissing them to go shower. He knew that Draco had plans with Theo and Blaise and Hermione was going to go shopping with Narcissa since the woman thought that she needed to start on her school robes shopping. Sirius had rolled his eyes at his cousin; Cissy never thought that Hermione had enough clothes. He never complained though, he was always terrified that if he did he would have to take her.

Both children disappeared, and Sirius led his friend to his study. They usually spoke in the library but since the children were home, they took their personal business to his study. It wasn't accessible to anyone but the Lord Black unless he gave express permission. Since he had no idea what the problem Lucius spoke of was, it seemed like the best option. Once they were settled in chairs before the fire, Candy appeared and poured them drinks. Lucius downed his and held his tumbler out for a refill, only speaking once it was full once more.

"My wards were breached just a bit ago. I couldn't figure out how or where, I searched the house and grounds thoroughly. The elves did as well and found nothing. After I realized that I wasn't going to find the perpetrator, I decided to make sure that all our valuables were still in their proper place. Everything was where it should be except for one item." He took another healthy drink before Sirius spoke.

"What is missing and why does it have you drinking like this?" Lucius glared at him for a few moments before speaking.

"I couldn't find an old book, a diary to be exact, that the Dark Lord entrusted to me many years ago when I first took the Mark. I'm not sure what it is but it reeks of dark magic, you can't even touch it without it seeping inside you. It feels like it's staining your soul." Sirius' mind was whirring, trying to think of something that he had read in the family library that may have sounded like that. He was sure that there was something in the back of his mind, but his family library was huge, the same size as Hogwarts. It would take him forever to find something that described an item like that unless he specifically remembered which book he had read it in.

"Do you know why Voldemort had you keep it for him and didn't just keep it himself?" Lucius shook his head.

"No, when the Dark Lord tells you to do something, you do it and you don't question him." Sirius nodded.

"How did someone breach your wards?" Lucius raked a hand through his long hair, a rare show of emotion.

"I have no idea. We have ancient wards, they protect against just about everything out there. I have no idea how someone got through them, nobody has in a hundred years." Sirius was worried about the fact that someone had breached his wards; his daughter stayed half her summer there and if Lucius' wards were so easy to get through, his would be the same. The Black family wards were just as ancient. In fact, when he considered his own wards, always fueled by his magic and reinforced by the elves, he remembered adding one ward when he took over, insisting on adding it due to past events in his life. He looked up at his friend sharply.

"Do you have a ward against animaguses that try to cross in their animal form? Black Moor didn't have one when I took over the family and made sure I added one because of my history with Pettigrew." The look of fury on Lucius' face was enough to answer Sirius' question.

"That fucking rat breached my wards and took something that the Dark Lord wanted kept safe always. How did he even know it was there?" Sirius held his hands up, trying to slow his friend's train of thought.

"I'm not sure that it was Pettigrew, he hasn't been seen since that night in Hogsmeade. I'm saying that if you don't have wards specifically for an animagus, it could be any of Voldemort's followers that are an animagus. The Order knew that there were several. As for how, I have no idea." Lucius cursed loudly.

"He would know that I have it and where it was kept if the Dark Lord told him. He instructed me as to where he wanted it kept and it's clear that he is trying to return, Hermione and Draco's jaunt in the Forbidden Forest proves that." Sirius considered his words for several minutes before finally nodding.

"I think that you're right. If that diary somehow brings him back, that means that Harry will be in danger at Hogwarts. As much as I hate to say it, the Headmaster doesn't protect him like he should. If Voldemort were to regain his body and storm the castle, he could kill Harry before he has the skill set to beat him at anything. We need to hire the boy a tutor and convince him to stay out of Hogwarts." Lucius was nodding but looked skeptical.

"I don't see that happening. The children told us that his home life isn't good, that he showed up to school in hand-me-down rags and half-starved. He isn't going to agree to stay there year-round and most muggles don't like magic; it makes them nervous. I fear that his relatives would never let a tutor in the house." Sirius deflated; Lucius was right, of course. Petunia had hated magic when they were small, called Lily a freak and told her that she was an anomaly because she was magical. There was no way in hell that she would welcome magic into her house.

"There has to be something that we can do." Lucius looked thoughtful and Sirius left him to his thoughts. His friend did his best thinking when he was given the time to follow his thoughts in silence. It was several minutes later when he finally spoke.

"How about we send an elf to warn him, tell him to stay out of Hogwarts? Maybe he'll heed the warning and stay home. If he does, we can just send a tutor and let the Headmaster fight the battle. If he still returns to school, the elf can watch over him and try to protect him if need be." Sirius considered his words. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was all they had at the moment.

"Which elf will we use? I'm scared that if anyone catches a glimpse of my elves, they'll be recognized. All the pureblood children have been coming here since they were small. Do you have any that aren't well known?" Lucius nodded.

"Dobby, we'll send Dobby. I'll make sure to tell him to stay out of sight unless it's necessary or unless he can convince Harry to leave school. It will have to work." Sirius nodded and rose when he saw Lucius rise.

"I need to head home and erect an animagus ward. I'll send Dobby to Potter tonight. Surely, it would be better to have him appear at night when it's less likely he'll be spotted by the muggles." Sirius nodded and shook his friend's hand.

"Thank you. I think we should keep this to ourselves; the children don't need to be worrying about this until we know for sure what the diary is or until we figure out if Voldemort has been resurrected." Lucius agreed and started out of the study. Sirius followed him to the floo and bid him a good night; they would be meeting the following evening for dinner with friends.

After Lucius left, Sirius settled in the library and considered this new development. Harry could be in danger and while he wasn't the happiest with Harry at the moment, he still didn't want anything to happen to him. Draco had forced Hermione to tell them what Harry had said to her that night outside the library; it had made his blood boil that his godson had made his daughter cry. However, the pair had also told him that he had apologized after the Leaving Feast and seemed sincere. Sirius supposed that while Harry was being a little git, it couldn't be easy having your mind fucked with on a daily basis.

Hermione had been terrified that he would be disappointed in her for giving up. She couldn't have been further from the truth and he made sure to tell her that he understood her reasons and didn't fault her for them. His daughter had thrown herself into his arms and thanked him, why he still wasn't sure, but he had kissed the top of her head and sent her on her way. He could only hope that the truth came out sooner rather than later, especially if Pettigrew really was the person who had breached the Malfoy wards.

Sirius threw back his drink and stood, intent of finding his daughter and spending some time with her before she went shopping since Draco was going to be with his friends. He missed seeing her all the time and planned to make the most out of the summer holidays with her. He pushed the last hour of conversation out of his mind, trusting Lucius to handle his end without problem.

-O-

Minerva stepped outside onto the porch of her highland home, breathing in the Scottish air deeply, letting it fill her lungs and clear her mind. She usually only stayed at her home for a couple weeks through the summer, choosing to stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the time. This year, however, she felt that she needed some space and time to think.

Albus had refused to let her give Hermione Black and Draco Malfoy advanced work; even though she didn't agree with him telling Harry Potter that he couldn't learn anything advanced, it had at least been consistent. Fair to both parties. Then, he had called her to his office the night of the Leaving Feast and told her that he had decided to go ahead and let her send extra lessons to the boy, so he could complete them at his leisure. While she agreed that he needed the extra tuition, it made her sick that the Headmaster was alright with it as long as it was Harry.

It was true, she hadn't been much better at the beginning of the year; she had disliked Hermione Black on principle, just because of who her father was and his past actions. The detention that had been cancelled still rang in her mind; the girl's words were like a whip lashing at her proverbial back, demanding attention and consideration.

Minerva most assuredly believed that Sirius Black was guilty; there was no way that James Potter would have trusted anyone else with their secret-kept location, they had been best friends since their first year after all. However, she could admit that the girl's words made her nervous. Would the Headmaster try to look in her mind with legilimency? Would he do something highly illegal just to figure out what was going on in her mind when the girl hadn't done anything wrong? Did he ransack her mind and not tell her since he knew that she wasn't skilled in that art?

Minerva hated to think it of her friend but after witnessing his suspect behavior regarding the Slytherin pair after the Philosopher's Stone incident, she started to wonder. As the Headmaster, Albus should have been worried about the safety of all his students and he hadn't cared a whit for Black or Malfoy; that much had been obvious, there was no way to hide that. After witnessing his behavior, Minerva had made the snap decision to return to her family home for the whole of the summer holidays.

The day after returning, Minerva had contacted an old friend of her father's, older than the hills now. She had inquired as to whether he could put her in contact with someone that would teach her occlumency. Though it had taken a few days, he had come through for her. Every day, she took lessons with Bradley Ossenbaum and he was teaching her how to protect her mind.

It had been highly embarrassing; the man had seen all her private moments since she was essentially terrible at the art. He had just laughed at her and told her that everyone was terrible at it at first. He did warn her that since she was a Gryffindor and ruled by her emotions, it would be more difficult to master. While this disheartened her a little, she was just more determined. Bradley told her that while she still had a long way to go, she was doing much better than he had expected. The kicker was that he had finally told her that since she was an animagus, the lessons weren't needed unless she wanted more control over her emotions. Minerva had felt a huge bout of thankfulness before deciding to continue the lessons anyways. It was her hope to have become accomplished enough in the skill to keep the Headmaster out of her mind when they returned to school and also keep her calmer when she was angry. The best part of the lessons was that she could now tell when someone was trying to enter her mind.

Severus had left school as well, leaving only Filius and Pomona in residence with the Headmaster. He usually left for a few weeks but had informed them after the Express carted away the students that he was going to be leaving for the whole of the holidays. It was odd to say the least, but she didn't blame him. He was still young and deserved to be happy. Given the brand on his arm, Minerva wasn't sure if he would find someone that would be so understanding but she knew that he was a good man, despite the image he portrayed to the students.

Severus and Albus thought that they were sly, hiding the fact that the Slytherin wasn't bigoted and hateful. Sure, he was snarky and sarcastic, but he had loved Lily Potter when they were children, everyone knew it. His school persona was an act and she had a feeling that it had to do with Voldemort returning; he had spied during the first war, she imagined that the Headmaster wanted him to spy for the next one too.

Even though she knew that someone needed to gather information from the other side, she wasn't sure that it was best if Severus did it. She didn't think that he would turn on them, but she worried about how he would withstand the legilimency skills of Voldemort. According to Bradley, they were legendary. Minerva shook her head, trying to clear away the thoughts. It did no good to worry about things that she had no control over.

Taking a seat in the chair in the sunshine, she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. After all, Minerva was determined to master occlumency by the time term resumed.

A/N- Another chapter is in the books, folks. Nothing too catastrophic happened, just a little insight as to what summer is like for our characters. There is only one more summer chapter and then it's on to second year! Hope you all enjoyed and big thanks to everyone out there that is reading and reviewing. Y'all rock. Let me know what you think, like or hate it, I appreciate the feedback.

Next chapter, trip to Diagon Alley.

Love,

Alicia