Refer to chapter one for disclaimers and warning.
Thanks so much for all the reviews you all have sent in. I know for a lot of you its the second or third or fourth time so I appreciate the effort.
Kingsley accepted the book and read out the chapter title in his low voice before raising an eyebrow.
"Well that's ominous." Bill said, his eyes flashing with worry. He wasn't a parent yet but as the oldest of seven he was very protective, even more so after hearing some of the stunts that were being pulled while he was away.
Emmeline was looking excited for once. "It sounds interesting. I've never heard of one of the Hogwart's ghosts having a party."
"As our ghosts have been around for such a long time the novelty of celebrating their day of death has worn off. Now they tend to save it for monumental dates." Dumbledore explained.
"Like his fifth hundredth." Harry realized.
"A very special day indeed." Dumbledore smiled at the trio. "Anyone should be honored to attend."
"Yeah well I wish we were a little less honored sometimes." Ron mumbled.
Harry spotted his godfather's concerned look as the book told of the number of colds amongst the students, and feeling slightly bad about the teasing in the last chapter decided to reassure him. "You don't have to worry Sirius. I never get sick."
"Never?" The man asked skeptically. He knew how cold the Scotland rains could be.
"Nope. Not even when I had to spend the night out in the snow when I was five. I've always been healthy."
"Why did you spend the night in the snow?" Neville asked over the loud exclamations coming from most of the adults.
"Er, I didn't finish my chores." Harry mumbled looking uncomfortable. He was regretting bringing up that particular example.
Moly and Emmeline both looked furious but their comments were cut off as Remus spoke up. "Is something keeping Harry from getting sick?" The werewolf asked, suppressing his irritation at the careless mention of abuse.
"I believe it is his magic protecting him." Dumbledore answer contemplatively.
"Perhaps a little more detail would be helpful." Sirius said scathingly, hating the old man for keeping important facts about his godson from him.
"Potter's description of his accidental magic, while quite impressive, were few and far between." Snape mused, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"That doesn't sound right. I was lucky to go a week without something exploding or changing color." Molly remembered with a fond smile.
Remus frowned pensively. "At one Harry was already summoning everything and anything."
Sirius grinned suddenly. "Used to make Lily so mad. She'd take his toy from him and he'd just summon it right back."
Harry rolled his eyes at their laughter. "What does this have to do with me not getting sick?" He asked impatiently.
"Your magic was forced to protect you and there was none left for frequent displays of accidental magic." McGonagall explained, looking disturbed. The only cases she'd ever heard of this happening prior had been in cases of extreme neglect.
"Is that why my injuries always seemed to heal so fast?" Harry asked, not noticing the increased tension his words caused.
"It would seem so." Kingsley answered. With a heavy sigh he turned back to the book, telling them about Harry's thoughts on Ginny's appearance after she had taken pepper up.
"Thanks Harry." She hissed from her position within the circle of the twins arms.
He shrugged giving her a small smile.
"Too bad Pepperup couldn't cure you like it would a cold." Ron grumbled, staring worriedly at his sister.
"You weren't seriously ill were you?" Tonks asked in alarm. She had come to enjoy the small redhead's company over the summer.
"I was more depressed than ill." Came the muffled answer as she was now hiding her face in her brother's side. George was glaring at the pink haired girl, angry at her for dragging out the conversation.
His mood didn't improve as he was reminded of the cold and very wet quidditch practices they'd been forced to have that year.
"I think we should check Godric's Hollow." Sirius muttered. "It sounds like James has been reincarnated."
Remus shook his head. "No James took care of his players." He reminded his friend. "Worked them to death but always made sure they were dry and warm."
McGonagall sighed. "Perhaps I gave Wood the captaincy too early."
"Who else would give a third year such responsibility?" Snape sneered.
Charlie shrugged. "There wasn't really anyone else willing to step up and he showed such passion for the game." He sighed. "Though I did warn him before I left that the safety of his players comes before winning."
Fred snorted. "He seemed to have forgotten that fact." He listened as he and George reported to the rest of the team the speed the Slytherins had on their new brooms.
"Speed isn't everything." Remus reminded them. "Instinct, maneuverability, knowing the plays. That's all very important too."
"A team doesn't consist of one outstanding player or five outstanding brooms." Charlie added. He couldn't help laughing as the Gryffindor ghost went by muttering about half an inch.
"What's he going on about?" Emmeline asked. She hated being confused about anything.
"Nick's life, or death long desire is to join the headless hunt." Bill smirked in amusement.
Her eyes widened. "But he's not….headless." She pointed out unnecessarily.
"Exactly." The redhead laughed. "It wouldn't matter if it was half an inch or a foot. The head is still attached."
"Always so courteous." Molly cooed a moment later when the Harry enquired about Nick. "But you really should get up to your dorm and into dry clothes." Tonks, Remus and Emmeline were nodding in agreement while Sirius and the Weasley boys tried not to laugh out loud.
Harry ducked his head as he leaned against his godfather. He didn't mind the woman's coddling as long as it caused the worried man to smile as wide as he currently was. His own grin widened when the man started laughing.
"How can he be disappointed he didn't make the hunt? He's asked every year for at least four centuries and the answer's always the same." He asked incredulous.
"Some people don't understand the meaning of the word no." Snape drawled looking pointedly at the dog animagus.
"Besides it's not like he has anything else to look forward to." Bill pointed out sensibly. He winced when the ghost went in to describe his near beheading.
"I really didn't want to know details." Emmeline muttered looking squeamish.
"Do you think he was alive the entire time?" Ron asked with his usual lack of tact, causing the older female to whiten even more.
"Ron." Hermione squealed, smacking her friend on the arm.
"How dull do you think that axe was?" Harry asked, smirking at the girl when she huffed.
"Or maybe the person with the axe was just really weak." Neville added with a grin.
Hermione threw up her hands. "If they were that weak they wouldn't have been able to lift and swing the axe forty five times." She was unable to resist answering. If they were going to continue the ridiculous conversation they could at least get the details right.
"Ah come on Harry. You should have argued with him." Fred spoke up a moment later, though he was quieter than normal out of respect for his sister.
"Really Fred grow up." Charlie reproached. "Nick's a nice guy and always willing to help us lions. No need to make his life any worse." He shook his head in disgust causing his brother to look down in shame.
"I didn't, I mean I probably wouldn't have done it." The teen mumbled. "I was just egging Harry on."
"Next time son, you should think before you speak." Arthur suggested softly ending the discussion. He sighed when the ghost recited the part of the letter where he was told he wouldn't have been able to take part in the activities.
"Well they do have a point." He pointed out. "He wouldn't be able to participate and that would just make him feel worse."
Kingsley looked impressed as he looked up from the book after finishing the letter from Podmore. "You have to admire him. That was incredibly polite, especially considering the number of requests he's no doubt gotten over the centuries."
Tonks snorted. "Its probably the first letter, just resent over and over."
Hermione's lips thinned as she nodded. "He doesn't stay that nice." She muttered remembering what was coming up.
The room burst out laughing as Nick twisted his rival's name into Sir Properly Decapitated Podmore. . "Ah that's classic." Sirius cried. "One of his best yet."
"It really is very good." Remus agreed with a grin.
"That's really nice of him." Kingsley interrupted himself again to comment, surprise on his face. "He's completely depressed and he still takes the time to ask about a student. We hardly ever saw the Ravenclaw ghost."
"The Bloody Baron is equally reticent, though he does alert me if Slytherin students are in need of help." Snape admitted. He smirked when Harry asked if the ghost knew where he could get seven new brooms.
"Like Snape said earlier, there's nothing wrong with an alumni sponsoring their old team." Sirius said with a gleam in his eyes. Ron perked up and even Ginny looked interested.
"You're assuming that said head of house would be agreeable in accepting them." McGonagall said with a stern look.
Sirius snorted. "You're a bigger Quidditch nut than I am." He reminded her.
"That does not mean that I want my players believing that brooms are more important than the people riding them, or expecting new brooms just because their rivals have the latest ones." She shot back earning approving looks from the Weasley parents.
Charlie made a face at the sentiment before groaning when Filch's cat showed up and the ghost announced that the caretaker wasn't in a very good mood.
"Be worse soon." Ron mumbled as Ginny moaned and hid her face again.
"So it's going to be starting soon." Arthur asked in a strangled voice. Bill and Charlie exchanged worried glances at the pain they could hear.
"Do I even want to know?" Remus sighed.
"Potions accident?" Moody asked in amusement a moment later at hearing about frog brains plastered to the ceiling.
"Not hardly." Snape drawled. "If something like that had happened in my class they would have been made to clean it themselves, all night if necessary."
"Probably someone wanting to cause trouble with Filch." Bill said eyeing his twin brothers.
"Wasn't us." George protested. He pretended to look offended but was happy his troublemaking reputation was so well known.
"But it does sound awesome." Fred finished with a large grin on his face.
Emmeline frowned when she heard that Filch had been cleaning the mess all morning. "Why is he even there? Hogwarts has more than enough house elves and they actually like cleaning." She pointed out.
"Are you saying he should lose his job simply because he's a squib and can't do the work with Magic?" Dumbledore asked with censorious look.
"No I'm saying his job isn't necessary in the first place and he obviously doesn't like it." She argued back.
"Mr Filch is a very big help to us by taking over some of the detentions we don't have time for." Mcgonagall spoke up. "He is quite happy to be of assistance in that area."
"Only because he gets his rocks off torturing little kids." Charlie muttered.
The headmaster had a displeased look in his face. "Angus has had his job for many years. I will not turn him out at this late stage merely because it may no longer be necessary."
"Oh we wouldn't expect you to.". Sirius said a hard edge to his voice. "His loyalty to you is more important than the children's safety. We know how you think."
"Perhaps Mr. Shacklebolt we can continue." Mcgonagall said quickly before Dumbledore could respond. She could feel him vibrating with anger beside her.
Hermione huffed when Filch began yelling at her friend. "He doesn't need to make such a big deal about it. Really why not just make Harry clean up his mess and be done with it."
"Oh he'll make Harry clean it up." Bill told her. "On his hand and knees with a toothbrush."
"Knowing Harry's luck it'll be much worse." Fred reminded the room.
"But knowing Harry he won't get in trouble at all." George argued back. "He's done it before." They eyed the dark haired teen who was trying his best not to look smug. They groaned when Kingsley read out that their young friend had never been inside Filch's office before.
"I really want to be sad and disappointed about that." Sirius started. He looked conflicted as he put an arm around his godson.
"You're not?" Harry and Remus asked at the same time. The teen was worried about disappointing the older man while Remus was remembering how he and James had made it a goal to earn as many detentions as possible.
"No. I don't want that sadistic git anywhere near my pup." Sirius growled earning shy grin from the boy.
Molly was not as fortunate and she closed her eyes in despair at hearing Fred and George had a drawer to themselves. "That is not something to be proud of."
"Besides, it's not the record. James and I have a drawer each." Sirius announced smugly. .
"Way to encourage the younger generation Pads." Remus admonished, trying to hide his smile as McGonagall hissed in their direction.
"I do my best." The dog animagus laughed.
At the end of the couch Tonks was pouting. "Hmmm Charlie and I have about half a drawer together."
"Not bad, on average with Remus."
"Sirius Black." Molly yelled. "And here I was beginning to think you might be a responsible parent." She wheezed out.
Sirius frowned. "Parenting isn't all about yelling and scolding. You need to teach them to have fun too." He said winking at his godson.
Bill frowned at hearing about the collection of chains in the office. "Sadistic much." He muttered feeling an irrational rush of worry for his siblings.
"I would never allow that to happen." Dumbledore said firmly.
The twins and trio's eyes met. If the toad continued as she was they had no doubt that Filch would get his wish soon.
Tonks was outraged at Filch's mutterings. "He's going to make an example out of Harry." Tonks yelled in protest. "He didn't even have anything to do with any of the frog brain business."
"No doubt he's remembering Mr. Potter's father." McGonagall said dryly. "James would have been only too happy to be involved in all that."
"I'm not my father." Harry mumbled, glaring at the floor and causing Sirius to run a hand through the teen's hair.
"All he has to do is call a house elf and that little bit of mud will be gone in a second." Tonks growled a moment later, even more angry than before. "It's not Harry's fault that it was raining."
"And I'm sure Harry wasn't the only one tracking mud in." Neville pointed out. "There are over three hundred students and it'd been raining for weeks."
"Ah but Harry was the only one foolish to stand in the hallway and wait to be caught." Charlie teased, laughing as the dark haired kid stick his tongue out at him.
Kingsley chuckled at their actions before reading about Harry's apprehension as he waited for his punishment.
"Don't worry pup." Sirius reassured, squeezing his shoulder. "It'll just be a detention and unlike some," he shot a look at the transfiguration professor, "it'll be a reasonable detention."
"It wasn't detention." Harry told him, doing his best to look grave.
Sirius and Remus both gave the teen searching looks while McGonagall frowned trying to remember any punishments given to her lions at that time. Of course the twins accrued so many that the task was difficult. Her eyes widen as she heard about the large bang that rattled the office and distracted Filch.
Kingsley raised his eyebrows. "Well that was opportune."
"Suspicious." Moody grunted. "Timing's too precise." He muttered causing Harry to worry. He didn't want Nick and Peeves to get in trouble. Well Nick anyway, Peeves not so much.
The twins grinned when Filch left the office. "Run Harry, run."
"You do realize who you're talking to right?" Ron reminded them as he shook his head at his best friend.
Sirius dug his fingers into the teen's side causing Harry to squeal in laughter. "We'll be working on that." He promised as he continued 'punishing' his godson.
"I make up for it." Harry gasped out as he twisted away from the strong fingers.
The dog animagus paused in his assault. "Not in a putting your life in danger way?" He asked, his hands hovering threateningly.
Harry quickly shook his head, his eyes bright with laughter as most of the room watched the interaction in amusement. Bill and Charlie shared a glance, happy the usually somber boy was laughing so freely. They both groaned at hearing that he was actually waiting for the caretaker to return.
"You're so honorable." Emmeline sighed, wishing for once that he wasn't.
Hermione gave her friend an exasperated look. "Even I wouldn't wait around for him to come back." She announced.
"Like you would be there in the first place." Ron snorted. Harry laughed with everyone else, keeping one eye on his godfather at all times.
Sirius barked out a laugh while Snape sneered when Harry reached for the envelope on the desk. "Yes so honorable, snooping through other people's things."
"If he didn't want me looking at it he shouldn't have left it out." The teen shrugged with a grin.
"At least you're making good use of your time." Remus pretended to huff. He shook his head at the title of the pamphlet.
"Why would he have that?" Charlie asked in surprise. He seemed to be fighting laughter.
"Foolish man." Moody grunted. "He can't learn magic from a course. It'd be like teaching Tonks to walk without falling over."
"Hey." The pink haired auror yelled. She made a face at her mentor.
"But it's true." Hermione pointed out before covering her mouth with her hand at the look on Tonks face. "Sorry." She squeaked. "I meant the part about not being able to learn magic like that. He doesn't have any."
Kingsley continued reading despite the numerous comments and jokes about the Kiwi school advertisement. He grinned when the boy was almost caught as the caretaker returned mumbling about the damaged vanishing cabinet.
"Vanishing cabinet?" Moody sat up slowly. "Didn't we already hear about a vanishing cabinet earlier in the book?"
"Surely it's just a coincidence?" Kingsley started.
"I don't think anything placed in the book is a coincidence." Remus frowned.
"Perhaps we should search out this cabinet when we get back." Snape decided, a worried look in his dark eyes.
Sirius groaned when Filch noticed the envelope was in the wrong position. "Amateur mistake." His hands twitched toward the teen.
"Wait, just wait." Harry pleaded with a laugh, clutching at Hermione.
"But Harry you do know," Fred grinned in anticipation.
"That's just going to piss Filch off even more." George matched his brother.
"You would think wouldn't you?" Harry retorted with a smug look. Sirius and Remus exchanged proud looks.
"I hate you." Fred said as he stared at the teen in realization.
"How?" George stuttered. "How are you able to do things like this?"
"What'd he do?" Tonks asked in confusion.
"He was Harry." Ron answered with a shake of his head. He was careful to keep his expression bland, not showing his irritation at the praise the twins were bestowing on his friend.
"Well whatever he does, he still can't lie." Bill laughed. He sent a proud look to the boy when Harry was dismissed from the office.
"Well that was unexpected." Arthur blinked in shock.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I don't think Filch has ever let someone out without punishment."
"I repeat I hate you." Fred muttered as he and his brother pouted.
"I'm so proud." Sirius pulled the teen into half hug. "You managed to turn it around so you found out incriminating evidence on the git and did the impossible."
Harry was smiling widely as Remus clapped him on the back. "I should be mad but that was marauder worthy." The older man chuckled. He agreed with the book when it stated the feat was a school record.
"That's true." Sirius mused. "We'll have to put it in the book Moony."
"Book?" Tonks asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The marauder's book of accomplishments." Remus answered with a grin.
"Yes!" Harry crowed. He'd been trying to get into the book since Sirius had first told him about it the year before. His eyes dimmed slightly when the gryffindor ghost admitted his part in the plan. "I can't take all the credit. I had help."
"That is one of the secrets to being a great prankster." Remus told him solemnly before winking. "Always have help."
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. The ghost might have had his heart in the right place but that was still destroying school property and couldn't be permitted. She made a mental reminder to speak to him about it when she returned. She pursed her lips when the ghost mentioned his fifth hundredth death day was upcoming.
"A very important occasion." Dumbledore mused.
"Half a century." Bill said impressed. "Bet it was a hell of a party."
"It was one of the largest ever held at Hogwarts." The headmaster agreed. He chuckled when Harry didn't know whether he should be sad or happy.
"I think five hundred years of death would be a celebration." Remus mused. "You feel sorry for them the first hundred years then you start celebrating." He looked up to find everyone staring at him in amusement. "What?" He asked hunching his shoulders defensively.
"Only you handsome." Tonks chuckled as she patted him in the arm. She looked impressed that Harry and his friends were invited to the party but conflicted that they would miss the Halloween feast.
"If you planned it right you could go to both." Bill suggested causing his youngest brother to make a face.
"We didn't have a choice." He stated. "We had Hermione with us."
"And what does that mean?" She asked in a frosty voice, ignoring the loud sigh Harry gave at their bickering.
"Just that you weren't going to do anything that could make you miss the deathday party." The redhead retorted. "Even if it meant leaving Harry and me starving."
"You hardly starved given the amount of food you had shoved in your mouth at lunch." She snapped back. "And this was a once in a life opportunity. Why would you chance missing it for a feast that happens every year?"
"Enough." Bill called out, a look of impatience on his face. "Give it a break you two before you burst our eardrums." He ignored their indignant looks as he gestured for Kingsley to continue.
He did frowning when the ghost was pleased about the boy who lived coming to his party.
The two oldest Weasley children exchanged disappointed looks while Sirius sighed loudly. "I thought better of Nick than that. Using Harry for his fame."
"It wasn't really like that." The teen protested. "He was just really upset about the hunt."
"Still not right Harry." Charlie told him solemnly.
Fred choked back a laugh when Nick asked Harry to mention how frightening he was to his guests. It really was quite funny but the last thing he wanted at the moment was another lecture. He stole a glance at his twin, relieved to see the other man's shoulders shaking silently.
McGonagall agreed with Hermione's assessment about the lack of living who have gone to such a party. "No, not many people at all. In fact I would say it's been 50 years since one had been held at Hogwarts."
The trio looked at each other, all three thinking that party had most likely been attended by Riddle. Ron shrugged as his younger self questioned the reason ghosts celebrated the day they died.
"I would think for ghosts it would be an opportunity to get together and celebrate with acquaintances, the same as we would do for any reason." Arthur informed his son.
"But for a human to go to a ghost's party it is dead depressing." Ron finished knowingly. He sucked in a breath at the fury on Charlie's face when the next paragraph had the twins feeding a firework to a salamander.
"You did what?" He asked his voice hard and his eyes blazing.
The twins eyed their older brother warily. "Just an experiment. Bit of fun really. Didn't hurt him a bit." They stammered nervously. They gulped when Kingsley read out the results their fun.
Charlie stood up and began slapping his brothers around their heads, only stopping when Ginny called out. He didn't want to accidentally hit his little sister.
"I can't believe you." He bit out. "Mean, no appreciation for other creatures, you're no better than bullies."
Fred and George had slunk down in their seats, their faces red and their ears ringing.
"It was impressive." Harry murmured to his godfather, not wanting to incur the older Weasley's wrath.
"Sounds like it." Sirius whispered back, eyeing the muscled dragon tamer. He listened as his godson regretted not being able to go to the halloween feast with its giant pumpkins and the troupe of dancing skeletons.
"That was just a rumor." Neville informed his friends. "The feast was nothing special, just a normal feast."
"But it was a feast." Ron moaned. He threw a knowing look at Hermione when she pushed Harry into going.
"Just because I remind you of your promises does not mean I was being bossy." She huffed.
"No but you were pressuring me because you really wanted to go and that made you sound a little demanding." He raised his eyebrows when she made to protest.
"That was hard." Ron mumbled. "Having to walk away from the fun."
"And the food." Harry teased him.
"Well I'm sure the food at the party was just as food." Molly fussed.
"Mum, Nick probably invited hundreds of ghosts and just three people that actually eat. Do you think there's going to be food there?" Bill asked.
"Oh there was food." Harry continued to grin.
Ron made a face at his friend. "Really wish there hadn't been." He moaned. He shivered as he was reminded of the freaky blue-black candles.
"Just setting the mood." Fred whispered in a ghostly voice, quieting as Charlie sent a glare his way. The bigger man's temper was slow to turn off.
"Oh dear you're going to freeze." Molly fretted, liking the sound of this party less and less.
"It was stupid of us really not to have cloaks with us." Hermione grumbled. "All those ghosts and in the dungeons no less." She shook her head.
Remus paled as the sound of the music was described and instinctively held his ears. "That would have been torture." He moaned.
Sirius gave his shoulder a shove. "It's not actually happening Moony." He reminded him. He looked impressed at Harry's description of the actual party.
"Wow." Neville said. "That sounds so cool and really horrible at the same time."
Harry shrugged. "That about sums it up."
"It was completely impossible not to walk through any of them though." Ron complained. "There were so many of them and they wouldn't keep still."
All the females in the room groaned at the mention of Moaning Myrtle. "Who's she?" Bill asked raising his eyebrows. Even his mum was wearing an aggravated look.
"One of the most irritating ghosts in the castle." Charlie answered. "Haunts a girls bathroom."
"How do you know her?" Ginny asked with a faint grin though she remained pale.
"My best friend was a girl." He threw a look at Tonks. "Who insisted on talking about girl stuff."
"Hey if I had to listen to you talk about dragons you could at least listen to stuff I needed to talk about." She retorted.
"Why would she haunt a toilet?" Kingsley asked, steering the conversation back to the ghost.
Harry made a face. "She had a good reason and it's not the only place she haunts." He grinned as he looked at all the former prefects in the room. "She's a bit of a perv."
Sirius's eyebrows rose. "How would you know that?" He asked in concern.
"Fourth year, an egg, a mermaid and bubbles." He answered mysteriously causing Hermione to giggle.
His godfather sighed. "I hate riddles." He thought for a minute. "Pun fully intended." He added confusing most of the room but setting his godson off.
Bill made a face when Hermione explained to the boys who the ghost was and the hardship of going to the bathroom with a ghost. "Why would you even try?" Bill asked.
"It was once. Before I knew about her." Hermione answered, blushing.
"Plus it's the closest bathroom to several classes." Ginny pointed out.
"Myrtle is actually quite nice once you get to know her." Luna informed them. "She knows a lot of secrets about the castle." She added causing the trio to look at each other in alarm.
Kingsley couldn't help laughing as he read about the food served at the party.
"That's a waste of good food." Bill said in disgust. He closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose.
"Horrible." Fred whimpered.
"Disgusting." George whined. They were both holding their stomachs and looking green. Ginny patted them consolingly on the back.
"Urgh and you didn't eat before you went did you." Tonks realized.
"Where did they get it?" Kingsley asked. "I really can't see the house elves serving anything like that."
Arthur looked intrigued. "There are lots of rooms in the dungeons that aren't being used. Suppose they're full of food just molding away."
"Nowhere near my room I assure you." Snape said clearly with a disgusted sneer.
"They waste food like that and they can't even taste it?" Charlie looked outraged. "I'm out, no seeing through me."
"If eating is a requirement then two thirds of this room will never be a ghost." Emmeline pointed out in amusement.
"Living five hundred years without eating? No thanks." Neville agreed.
"I don't know." Sirius said quietly. "I might be willing to be a ghost if that's the only way I would be able to watch out for my pup."
"But you can't die." Harry cried in shock, his hand tightening on the older man's arm.
"Don't plan on it." The older man soothed. He gave the teen a quick hug. "But if something does happen I plan on sticking around."
Several adults exchanged concerned glances. If something were to happen to the man Harry would be devastated. Worse now that they had formed such a tight bond.
"Can a ghost ground you?" Ron asked bringing a slight smile to his friend's face, though the teen still clutched at his godfather.
Kingsley continued to read, his voice quieter than normal. He got through half a page before he interrupted himself. "I'm surprised Peeves was invited."
"Since when has that damn poltergeist ever waited for an invitation?" Moody rumbled. "He goes where he wants to, does want he wants to."
"So true." Snape sighed.
"Urgh why does he always have to stir up trouble." Sirius groaned as the poltergeist called for the bathroom ghost.
"Maybe because he's been encouraged so much in the past." McGonagall gave the twins and marauders stern looks.
"Pleading with him won't help." Remus advised. "Just makes him worse if you ask me."
Fred nodded. "Bargaining works so much better." He said quietly, wincing as he drew his older brother's attention.
Neville shook his head when Hermione told Myrtle how nice it was to see her out of the toilet. "That's such an odd sentence." He mused, a grin on his face.
Hermione giggled. "Not one you're likely to hear in the muggle world that's for sure." She winced at how awkward she sounded as she conversed with the ghost.
"Aww come on Hermione, where's the charm?" Sirius teased hoping to get the glum look off his godson's face. He frowned in concern when the kid didn't even appear to have heard the remark.
Bill was quick to notice Harry's continued depression and seeing as how the twins were still too chastised to contribute he began looking for an opportunity to cause a little fun. He found it when Myrtle began listing the names people called her.
"Was that before or after she died?" Bill asked in amusement.
"William, that was rude." Molly scolded, eyeing her oldest.
"Ah come on mum, it was just a simple question." He gave her his best smile.
"Hmm well I certainly hope you don't get a chance to actually ask her that." She grumbled before flashing to the twins. "And don't you two dare."
Sirius scowled when Nick came over to ask if they were having fun. "No they aren't." He said firmly. "They're cold, hungry, and bored." He rubbed his hand down his godson's back. The kid had been too quiet for the last little bit.
Emmeline threw up her hands at Nick's displeasure when the Headless Hunt showed up. "If he's that bitter why invite them?" She asked.
"I believe he's hoping if he shows them how important he is they'll change their mind about allowing him in." Remus explained.
She stared at him in exasperation. "But he's not headless." She pointed out yet again.
"The headless hunt show is pretty awesome to watch." Charlie admitted. "I went to one of their shows a couple years ago."
"Don't let Nick hear you say that." His father warned.
"Well that Podmore could be a little more polite. He is a guest after all." Molly huffed. She continued to listen as the leader of the headless hunt noticed the three students and Harry was pressed into defending his friend.
"Ah come on Harry, that's pretty lame." Neville shocked them by saying. Harry turned his head to glare at his friend but remained silent. Sirius became even more concerned and sent a look at the dark skinned reader, thinking about taking a break so he could talk to Harry.
Kingsley understood the silent communication and lifted the book to show that there was only a couple more pages of the chapter. Sirius pursed his lips but nodded.
"What utter prats." Tonks yelled angrily when the headless hunt interrupted Nick's speech. Everyone grumbled in agreement.
"This was his big day. They didn't have to ruin it like that." Emmeline agreed.
"Perhaps I should talk to Nick." McGonagall frowned. "He really shouldn't subject himself to such ridicule."
"Good." Sirius approved when the kids decided to leave. "Head to the kitchens and let the house elves feed you."
"Or the feast, they might make it back in time." Remus pointed out hopefully, wanting the teen to get something to eat. He moaned when the mysterious voice came back.
Tonks eyes were narrowed in concentration while Ginny had huddled back into the twins arms. Bill and Charlie alternated looking between her and a cringing Boy who lived.
"Either stay where you are or go back to the party." Sirius commanded. Everyone gave him looks of disbelief.
"Do you really think that's going to happen?" Snape drawled.
"Well I had to try." The dog animagus muttered. He growled down at the boy in his arms when Harry led his friends after the voice.
"That's it." He said, digging his fingers back into his godson's side. "You do not go running after something when you don't know what it is. Especially not when it's talking about killing." He said as sternly as he could while grinning as his form of punishment finally brought the kid out of the depression he had fallen into.
"Okay, okay I got it." Harry howled, wiggling in the man's arms.
Sirius paused as Remus tugged gently on the messy hair. "You promise no more chasing after monsters?" He asked.
"Yes." The teen panted. "Umm after this book." He amended with a sheepish look.
"I'm going to hold you to that." Sirius warned as he let the teen up. He was pleased to see his godson wasn't brooding about his death any longer.
Tonks looked alarmed when Hermione and Ron were recited looking as confused as she felt. "You couldn't hear it?"
Hermione shook her head. "No only Harry was able to hear it." She said softly.
"It a bit freaky. I didn't want my best mate to be mental but it wasn't looking good." Ron added.
"Thanks mate." The dark haired teen said dryly as he batted away his godfather's hands. He sent him a reassuring smile when Hermione raised the alarm in the book.
"What?" "What is it?" Bill and Charlie cried. They could hear soft cries coming from where the twins appeared to have their arms wrapped around each other, no sign of the their tiny sister available. They gasped as the writing on the wall announced that the chamber of secrets had been opened.
"It's not a myth?" Emmeline asked in shock, taking the book from her seat mate so she could read the words.
"Unfortunately no." Dumbledore sighed.
Remus and Tonks exchanged glances before they looked at Harry and Sirius. They knew without a doubt the teen was going into the chamber.
Luna looked sad when Mrs. Norris was spotted hanging next to the words. "Poor Filch." She said softly. "He was so sad without her."
"Normally I would say it's a good thing but…" Bill trailed off unsure what to say. He winced as the rest of the students left the feast and came upon the scene.
"Well that's not suspicious." Moody rolled his normal eye while the fake one pinned the dark haired teen. "They'll be blaming you."
"Of course, I'm the wizarding worlds scapegoat."
Snape hissed under his breath when his godson used that foul word again. That child had a lot to answer for when he saw him next.
"Is he threatening them?" Emmeline asked in outrage.
"Why would he unless he knew what was going on." Bill mused. "Does he know who's opening the chamber? Or is he opening it himself?"
"I highly doubt he's the one opening it but I wouldn't put it past him to know who is." Sirius said.
Snape's eyes narrowed even further. Draco had promised him he hadn't known what his father had planned. But he remembered all the other lies Draco had told him.
Kingsley sent a questioning look at Sirius as he closed the book but the dark haired man waved him off. The kid had gotten over his funk and he knew it would embarrass him to drag him out for what would be an emotional talk. It could wait for that evening.
