Sorry for the wait, this chapter gave me quite a bit of trouble, not counting the length of it. This one is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather 'Duke', who left this world for the next on March 27. Duke was a wonderful person, and he will be sorely missed.

Thank you, everyone, who is accepting of Brianna. I really like her so far, and I'm glad that I didn't lose too many subscribers after I introduced her.

This one has a lot of Harry interacting with Sirius. There will be more of Brianna and Lucian as well, but I'm working on bringing in more of Sirius and his thoughts, which I haven't had a chance to reveal yet.


When he woke in the morning, Harry had to mentally run through the events of the day before. It was hard to believe everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Just a few days before that, he'd been working with Sirius to destroy the dratted prophecy, and in the last 24 hours, he'd learned quite a bit about the politics involved in Hogwarts, met a siren and a vampire, and was going on his first date.

He moaned slightly as he got out of bed. He was still really tired, but knew that he needed to get ready for the tournament. He grabbed the dueling robes he'd worn the day before and cast a quick cleaning spell to freshen them, and pulled it on.

He walked into the kitchen, surprised that Sirius wasn't up yet, and started making breakfast. Said man walked in when the food hit the table, and he smiled. "You ready?" he asked, pouring their drinks.

"I think so," Harry answered hesitantly. "Going to be a busy day."

Sirius snorted at the understatement, but didn't say anything. He raised a single brow at Harry's plate, which was very sparse.

Harry caught the look and flushed. "I can never eat well when I'm nervous."

"I'm aware of that," he retorted. "However, I don't think that anyone wants to see you pass out in the middle of a duel because you didn't have enough to eat. So try again."

Harry grumbled about mother hens for a moment before putting some more food on his plate. "How do you think I did during my duel yesterday?" he asked curiously. "You never said anything afterwards, and then there was all the excitement with the Covas family."

Sirius considered as he drained his coffee and stood to get another. "I think you did very well. I could see that you were holding back, but that's not surprising."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. He knew that he had been, but it seemed like Sirius meant something other than what Harry himself was thinking.

Sirius sat back down with his second cup, and thought through his words. "Other than the DA, and the duels between the two of us, you've only been in life or death duels," he said, face hardening at the thought. Then he softened slightly. "To be honest? I was worried that you'd forget for a minute and attack with more force than necessary."

Harry stared at him, partly in anger. "I do have control, you know," he said quietly.

Sirius nodded calmly at him. "I know; that's why I didn't say anything before you went out there. I trust you, Har, I was just worried."

Harry calmed slightly, but still wasn't very happy. He finished his meal, and took the dishes to the sink.

"You want to get there early today?" Sirius asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He wished he'd just kept his mouth shut before.

Harry softened, and smiled at him. He was never one to hold grudges. "Yeah, I don't know what time I'm up," he said quickly.

"Are you sure it's not so that you can see a certain someone before the start?" Sirius teased.

Harry didn't grace that with a response, but stuck his nose in the air as he grabbed the portkey that they would still use until the end of the tournament.

They landed gently in the same spot as the day before, and they were surprised to see how early they were; there were only about a dozen people there already.

Harry looked around quickly, but didn't spot the face he was looking for, and avoided Sirius's knowing smirk.

"Want to see when you're up?" he asked instead.

Harry nodded quickly, and they walked up to the board. Seeing that he was the second up that day, he was about to walk away, until he saw a certain name on the board. "Malfoy's competing?" he demanded, furious.

Sirius looked at him. "Yeah, he had his first one yesterday," he said, brows furrowed. "I thought you watched… oh, wait. He was after you, so you would have still been in the side room. I think you came out right before he went in, so you must have missed him."

Harry couldn't believe it. How could he have missed the all too familiar hair and strut? He looked closer at the board, and saw that Draco was dueling Lucian right after lunch. He would make sure that he stayed and watched that one. He really wanted to get a good look at his nemesis's fighting style when he didn't have backup. "How was his duel?"

Sirius frowned at the dark tone. He wasn't used to hearing Harry sound so angry before. "A bit brutal, but nothing that broke the rules. He must have a good coach, because he really was good."

Harry scowled at that news. He hoped that he would get the chance to duel the blond during the tournament. A musical voice interrupted his thoughts completely.

"Hey, Harry," Brianna said from behind him.

He turned, and felt his anger disappear. "Hey," he said quickly, and looked at her parents. "It's good to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Covas."

"Nice to see you, Harry," Isabella said.

"Want to walk around a bit?" Brianna asked him, gesturing over to her friends, and Harry nodded.

"That sounds nice," he said, and looked at Sirius, who gestured to him to go ahead with a grin.

So Harry found himself talking with Brianna, Thom, Ica, and Lucian for nearly an hour before the tournament started. They talked about everything and nothing. True, it was nothing compared to talking with Ron and Hermione, but it was still nice.

After a while, they realized that the tournament was about to start, so most made their way to their seats, and Harry went to where the next up stood, and started stretching his muscles. He'd realized the day before how he'd been forgetting his physical training a bit, and had just been focusing more on his magical training. It had felt nice, though, to be dodging spells left and right, using his speed and balance in lieu of a shield.

He watched the duel before him carefully. It was clear that they were less experienced that a lot of the others. There was very little movement, as well as little strategy. They just traded spells back and forth, using shields instead of dodging. Harry figured that either the time would run out, or one of them would get tired and let the shield fall.

It turned out to be the latter. A well placed Disarming spell knocked him back, and his wand flew out of his hands. The audience clapped politely, and Harry felt bad for the younger kid; it had been his second lose. He was out of the tournament.

Harry stepped forward, handed over his wand, and looked at his opponent. She looked quite a bit like Hermione: average height, bushy hair, and a very intelligent gaze. Harry figured that she likely knew quite a few more spells than he did, so he would watch out for that, and try not to get hit.

"Begin!"

The witch, Tammy, sent a few well powered spells, and Harry needed to block the last one with his shield, and watched as it rocketed back to her, but she just side stepped it. He wasted no time in casting a handful of Stunners and Disarming spells. He wanted to gauge her skill before he picked it up.

When she cast an Incendio, which he barely dodged it time, and he could smell burnt hair, he realized that he needed to kick it up a notch. He sent a powerful spray of icy water to her, watching as she tried desperately to dodge it before it soaked her. When she started getting wet, she lost patience, and set a gust of wind, changing the direction of the spray of water. Thankfully, the mat allowed no magic to leave it, having Runes stitched all around it, so none of the judges or spectators got soaked.

They were both panting slightly from the exertion of slightly more advanced magic, and Tammy recovered quickly. "Serpensortia!" she cried, and two serpents flew from her wand, and began advancing on Harry.

Harry took a split second to freak out. Not that he was afraid of the snakes – far from it – as he could easily end the duel right then. No, he was unsure if using this particular gift would come with any backlash from people finding out, since he never really told people about it. The next second, he wanted to kick himself, as Skeeter had let the Kneazel out of the bag the year before.

He hurried to conjure a shield, as she was smart, and had hoped to use the snakes to distract him with fear, and take him down. When he felt the Stunner hit his shield, he had to suppress a smirk. Hissing quietly at the two serpents to wrap around her legs, he watched her face turn terrified as she heard him hissing, and her own spell began attacking her. He cast a Disarming spell and a Stunner. As soon as he caught the wand, he hurried to vanish the two snakes, revived her, and handed her the wand.

When she continued to stare up at him in fear, he had to suppress a growl of frustration. "Want a hand up?" he asked, extending his hand.

She ignored the hand and squeaked as she scampered up, keeping her eyes on him.

"Winner is Harry Potter-Black," the witch announced, the sound ringing in the silence of the hall.

A tiny sound grew slightly, and Harry looked up to see Sirius, Brianna, her friends, and her parents clapping for him. A few people joined in, but the majority were just staring at him.

Tammy was still staring at him in fear, and Harry gave her a half hearted smile. "I'm not going to hurt you, you know," he offered, but she just continued staring, in shock.

With a shrug, he left the mat and made his way into the side room so that he could cool off a bit before anyone else could say (or not say) anything.

Neither of the prior duelers had used the room, so it was empty when he got in there, so he grabbed one of the bottles that were kept under a cooling charm, and took a long drink. A wave of anger rose in him, and he picked up one of the towels and chucked it across the room. It didn't fly very far, but it took the edge off his anger. Sitting down at one of the chairs, he gripped his hair, frustrated with himself. Why hadn't he just thought to vanish the damn things instead of speaking to them? He could have done several things other than speak to them!

He heard the gong for the next duel to end, but he hurried out before the duelers went into the side room, and walked through the benches until he found Sirius.

"You alright?" he asked, giving him a guarded smile.

Harry shrugged. "Depends on the backlash," he whispered, then turned to Brianna.

She spoke before he could get a word off. "It's a cool ability," she told him firmly. "Ignore close minded idiots. I do it all the time."

He smiled at her. It was nice to find people other than Ron and Hermione who weren't going to freak out on him because of the Parseltounge. He let himself relax slightly, and decided to enjoy watching the duels.

By the time it was for lunch, Harry was ready to start walking around again. He was learning quite a bit, but it was hard for him to watch duels and not participate in all of them.

He'd nearly forgotten the morning's excitement until they walked into the food court, and everyone in the near vicinity quieted.

"What do you want for lunch today?" Sirius asked, looking around at the food.

"I don't care," Harry mumbled. He looked up when he felt a firm pressure on his arm.

"None of that," Sirius muttered to him. "You have to let it slide off of you, don't let them have power over you, or they'll eat you alive." He thought of all the times people had skirted around him, even months after his trial. There were times when he nearly lost his temper, but that would just be proving them right, that he was Dark and unbalanced. He just had to keep his mask firmly in place, and hope that he had the patience to wear them out.

Harry looked into his eyes, and nodded. He straightened his back, put up his pureblood mask, and looked around. "How about some burgers?"

Sirius nodded, and they went up to order. They found an empty table, and started eating.

"Mind if we join you?" Brianna asked a few minutes later. She was standing with her parents, Lucian, and a man who had to be the teen's father.

"Sure," Sirius waved to the open seats around them. He hid a grin when Brianna snagged the only seat next to Harry.

"Harry, Lord Black, this is my father Stefen," Lucian introduced before sitting down.

Sirius inclined his head. "Nice to meet you, sir," he said before taking a drink.

"Same to you." Stefen seemed to be an aging man, judging by his thinning hair that was mostly grey. He was a bit stooped, and Harry didn't get the same feeling from Stefen that he did Lucian. He mentally filed that information away for later, and continued eating. "So, when are you up again?" Harry asked Brianna, trying to remember.

She smiled at him. "I'm up right after Lucian."

Harry stiffened slightly, remembering that the other teen was facing Malfoy. "You think you're ready?"

Lucian considered. "I think so. Why, do you know the other kid I'm dueling?"

Harry put his food down, and wiped his mouth with the napkin, buying time to answer. He could feel Sirius's gaze on him, and he felt as though this was some kind of test. "His name is Draco Malfoy, and I go to school with him at Hogwarts," he said carefully.

Lucian could see the hesitation, and nodded. "Is he a good dueler?"

"I've never personally dueled with him; at least not just the two of us," Harry hedged. "I have heard that he is a good dueler, and I know that his father likely found good tutors for him."

"Any advice for me?" he asked.

Thinking hard, he mentally went through all the confrontations that he'd had with the ferret over the years. "He might try and taunt you," Harry said, still thinking. "He's often used barbs and comments as a way to get you to stop thinking rationally. As soon as you're suitably distracted, he'll attack."

Sirius relaxed next to him, and Lucian considered the words and nodded. "I've dealt with people like that before; I should be able to handle that. Thanks for the help," he said, before diving into his food himself.

Harry peeked up at Sirius, who just nodded slowly at him while taking a drink. Their meal was mostly done in silence, and Harry was nervous to watch the next duel. It was his first chance to see Malfoy fighting someone fairly, and that was new to him, as the blond usually had Crabbe and Goyle there to back him up.

After the gong sounded, Lucian hurried to excuse himself from the table, thanked everyone for their good wishes, and left. The rest of them finished up and went back to the benches, while Brianna went to stand where she needed to.

Harry and Sirius sat down, making sure they had good seats. Normally, he wouldn't care this much about a duel, but this was more than that. He had never seen Malfoy duel one on one, though Harry had to admit that he nearly always had at least Ron and sometimes Hermione with him when he and Malfoy went at it.

The announcer stepped forward to give the instructions, but Harry had heard them so much that he tuned them out. The two stepped forward, bowed to each other, though Malfoy gave more of a jerk of the head. They turned, walked ten paces away, and then were ordered to begin.

Draco threw the first hex, which Lucian casually sidestepped, and then began sending a constant stream of spells. Harry was in awe at the vampire's casting speed, which was better than anyone's that he had seen before.

Finally, Malfoy was able to start sending a few of his own curses, coming off his defense. They both stopped, panting slightly. Harry could see Draco's sneer as his mouth started moving, though Harry couldn't hear anything that was being said.

Lucian appeared to attempt to ignore the words as they slowly circled each other. Lucian sent a few more jinxes out, but Malfoy only dodged them, continuing to spew some sort of drivel to the other teen.

Harry grimaced, as something the blond said infuriated Lucian, who almost audibly snapped, and he launched into a ferocious attack to a smirking Malfoy. The ferret seemed as though it was exactly how he had meant things to go, which was likely.

"Slow down, Lucian, you're going to let in spells like that," Harry muttered under his breath. "Pace yourself, slow it down."

It happened just as he was expecting: Draco waited until Lucian took a breath, and sent out four perfectly accurate curses, which promptly broke the shield, and Lucian was too tired to dodge. He flew across the mat, and landed unconscious.

"Damn," Sirius cursed under his breath.

"He is pretty good, I have to give him that," Harry muttered back. He watched as Lucian was revived, and stormed off to the side room. Draco, knowing that he really didn't need to gloat, strutted off to the side. Harry was surprised that Lucius wasn't there, but he supposed there was a reason for that. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. He would never forgive Malfoy Sr. Ever.

He wished that he could go and talk to his new friend about the duel, but he didn't want to miss Brianna's duel. His brows rose when he realized that she was dueling Ica. Seemed like the girl must have struck the lottery, for dueling two of the people that she came to the tournament with could not have been planned.

Harry, like the day before, watched Brianna closely. There were pros and cons of dueling someone that you knew, he supposed. For one, you would know their style and how to break through it, but you might also feel bad for beating them, especially since this was Ica's last chance.

The two didn't seem to be concerned about dueling each other, and seemed to fall into some kind of dance, both anticipating the other's moves. His breath caught as he realized that they weren't just dodging; rather, they were rolling, flipping, twirling, and other acrobatic moves with a speed that shocked him. He kept his eyes wide as he tried to take in as much of the duel as he could, having never seen a style like that.

Harry was glad that he hadn't blinked when he saw Brianna time a Tripping Jinx perfectly. It hit Ica just as she regained her footing from an impressive flip to avoid a Stunner. She landed hard on the mat, and didn't get a chance to fire a spell before her wand flew from her hand, landing in Brianna's.

He joined nearly the entire hall clapping for that very impressive duel. Brianna was flushed with exertion and happiness as she helped her friend off the floor and gave her a quick hug, whispering something in her ear.

Harry grinned at Sirius, and waited until people started talking a bit before he got up and made his way to the side room. He regretted that he would miss Thom's duel, who was up next, but he wanted to see the other three really quick.

"Harry," Brianna grinned happily when he walked in the room. She was the only one smiling, though, as both Ica and Lucian were scowling.

"I'm sorry, Jessica," Harry said, deciding that he really didn't have the right to use her nickname yet, since he barely knew her.

"My own fault," she muttered. Then she sighed and turned to Brianna. "I'm sorry, I know I should be glad for you. I just wanted to get further in the tournament than this."

Harry noticed that Lucian was being quiet, and not joining in on their conversation. He decided to let the girls talk, made his way over to the teen. "How you doing?" he asked quietly, making sure to keep his voice even. Merlin knew how much he personally hated pity.

Lucian just shrugged. "Don't even say it," he snarled.

Harry flinched back slightly, confused. "Say what?" he asked, bewildered.

"I told you so," he responded. "You told me that the prick would try and get under my skin, and that's exactly what happened." Harry snorted at that, and Lucian just looked up in surprise. "What's funny?"

"Yeah, I can tell you to keep a level head and not let him get to you, but it would be a bit hypocritical for me to get on your case for that. I've been going to school with him for almost five years, and he still grates on my nerves."

Lucian nodded at that. "Yeah, he seems like the type that likes to antagonize anyone he can."

Harry agreed swiftly, knowing it was true.

"Look, just shrug it off," Harry advised. "Don't let him get to you. You have one more try to stay in the tournament, and then you'll be golden."

They sat in silence for a while, trying not to listen to the two girls who were still whispering in the corner. Lucian was the first to break the silence. "So, you're a Parselmouth, huh?"

Harry stiffened at that. "Yes, I am," he said curtly, hoping the guy would drop it.

"Hey, I'm not going to give you crap for it. You know about me, so I'm going to assume you aren't going to become another Moldywart just because you can talk to snakes. I have to admit, I probably would have frozen if that had been me. I hate snakes," he said, shuddering.

Harry nodded at him. "My best mate is terrified of spiders. Didn't help when we were dragged into an Acromantula nest."

Lucian's eyes widened dramatically. "What?! Where in the five hells did you find an Acromantula nest?"

So Harry gave another watered down version of events leading them to the nest, leaving out the fact that they were only in there to get answers about the Basilisk.

"Wow. You're bat shit crazy; you realize that, right?" he demanded.

Harry barked a laugh at that. "So they tell me."

"Hate to interrupt story time," Brianna drawled from behind Harry, "but we're headed back out to watch the rest of the tournament. You boys going to join us?"

The two got up and followed quickly, and Harry was glad that they were all in good moods now, regardless of the fact that two of them had lost their duels. As soon as the current duel was finished they made their way back to their seats, and Harry went back to sit by Sirius.

The closer the end of the day came, the more nervous Harry became. Sirius could see it, and fluctuated between being understanding and smirking. When the gong signaled the end of the duel, he turned to Harry, speaking low in the chaos of people getting up to leave.

"Be polite and gentlemanly, don't hit on anything too deep, walk her to the Floo to make sure she gets home safely, and pay for the dinner," Sirius rattled off, handing over a few Galleons, knowing that Harry didn't have his money bag on him.

Harry accepted the money with a nod of thanks as he swallowed, wetting his dry throat. "Anything else?" he asked.

Sirius considered quickly, as he saw the Covas family approach. "Ask Marco what time she needs to be home by, and then set an alarm for fifteen minutes before hand, just to make sure," he murmured, and motioned him to stand.

Marco looked sternly at Harry. "Are you still wanting to take Brianna out for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry responded strongly.

"Where are you going to take her?" Isabella asked.

"A small village near my school, Hogsmede, has a very nice place to eat called the Three Broomsticks. As it's a week night, there won't be many students around, but they have good food and service," Harry told her quickly.

"Very well," Marco told him, looking as though it were against his better judgment.

"What time would you like me to make sure she gets home?" he asked, and made a mental note to thank Sirius for that piece of advice as Marco looked impressed at the question.

Marco examined his watch. "It is 6 o'clock now, I would like her home no later than 10:00, as you both have to compete tomorrow."

"Of course, sir. I will make sure she is home in time," he promised.

"Very well," Isabella said, then turned to Sirius. "Would you like to join us for our own dinner? There is a pub near our town that we were thinking of going."

"That sounds great, and I thank you for the invitation," Sirius told her. "Have fun, kiddo."

"See you tonight," Harry told him, and the adults walked off, but not before Marco gave Harry a warning glare before Sirius drew him into a discussion as they made their way to the Floo.

Brianna looked shyly at Harry. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

He smiled nervously. "Yeah, I'm ready. Just waiting on them to go through the Floo, or your father might throw me through, hoping I would end up in Russia, or something."

She giggled slightly at that. "No no, he wouldn't do that. Rio would be a better bet; he knows a lot of the war mages there."

Harry groaned, wondering what he had gotten himself into, but he was reminded when he looked at her, still grinning at his predicament.

He cleared his throat. "Alright, let's head over there."

They walked quickly to the Floo, and Harry reminded her of the name of the pub, and Flooed there first, so that he made sure she wasn't alone at a new place. When she stepped out, he timidly brushed a bit of soot off her shoulder, and watched as she blushed.

"Hello dears," Madam Rosmerta greeted them. "Just the two of you?"

"Yes," Harry responded, and waved Brianna forward when the older woman led them to a corner table that seemed a bit more secluded than the rest. He pulled her chair out for her, wondering if he was overdoing it. He decided that he wasn't when he saw Rosmerta's approving smile.

When they were both seated, she handed them the menus. "Can I get you something to drink?" she offered.

Harry looked at Brianna first, and she considered. "Do you have butterbeer?" she asked nervously.

Rosmerta smiled. "Of course."

"Make that two," Harry chimed in.

She nodded, and left to get the drinks. When she came back, they ordered their meals, and sat back.

It was a slightly awkward silence as they wondered how to start off the conversation. It was funny, as it was a first date for both of them, and neither knew exactly what to do.

"So, your school is close to here?" Brianna asked.

Harry nodded quickly. "Yeah, just a few minutes' walk from here, actually. A few times a year, the third through seventh years are allowed to come as a group. Some elect to stay behind, especially the fifth and seventh years."

"Why them?" she asked, leaning forward.

Harry gave her a confused look, then remembered that she was homeschooled. "Fifth years take their OWLs, and seventh years their NEWTs in lieu of end of year exams. Some of them prefer having the quiet of the castle when everyone else is gone so they can study in peace. Then again, others take advantage of the reprieve"

Her eyes lit up in understanding. "That's right. I'd forgotten that you guys have set times you have to take them. For us, we just go to the Ministry as soon as we think we're ready. You just have to be at least 15 for OWLs and 16 for NEWTs."

"Wait, does that mean you've already taken your OWLs?" Harry asked.

She smiled at him. "Yeah, I took mine almost a year ago."

Harry stilled. "Wait. I hope this isn't a rude question, but how old are you?"

"I'm 16," she told him swiftly, hoping that he wasn't upset that she was older than he was. "Just turned less than a month ago, actually."

"Gotcha," Harry told her. "How bad are they?" He was glad that it was only a year. It would have been a bit awkward (in his mind) if she was a few years older.

She groaned at the memory. "Pretty bad, though I did psych myself out about them. Though, I've already decided to wait one more year before sitting my NEWTs. Thom is the savant among us. He, Brian, and Jess are taking their NEWTs this spring." She considered what else to say. "The worst part is the waiting and cramming before you go in to take them, only the close second would be the waiting for the results. I was terrified that I was going to fail everything and have to retake a year's worth at least."

"I'm sure you did great if what I saw during your duel today was anything to go by," Harry said, remembering what she looked like.

"Yeah, I was just glad that I could drop a few subjects afterwards."

"What classes do you take?"

"Same ones as you do," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, DADA and Dueling, History, and Care of Magical Creatures," she recited, ticking them off on her fingers. "I took the OWL for Muggle Studies, though we don't have a set course in it. We live right next to a Muggle town, so we've grown up around them. After I took the OWLs, I dropped Astronomy, CoMC, and I don't think I'm going to take the History NEWT."

"No Divination for you, then?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course not, I'm not a seer," she said with a raised brow.

He explained about their course for Divination, and the fraud that taught it. She giggled with him at some of his stories about her. He then went on to talk about some of the other teachers, and she outright laughed and felt his pain at Binns. "Yeah, History is bad enough, but to have a boring ghost teach it? I'm amazed anyone passes that subject!"

Harry nodded at her. "Same here. To be honest, I don't even know if there's a NEWT class for it anymore. I can't exactly see anyone else wanting to subject themselves to two more years of it."

Their food arrived, and they dug in. "So, is History your least favorite subject, then?"

Harry considered. "It's either that, Potions up until this year, or DADA, depending on the year."

She raised her brows again at him. "Interesting. Why does DADA depend on the year?"

He explained about the yearly change in teachers, and gave brief descriptions on them (leaving out the Voldemort on the back of Quirrel's head, and Umbridge's quill fetish).

They were still talking about classes when they finished their meal. Harry waved Rosmerta over and smoothly handed over the Galleons to cover their meal, telling her to keep the change for her tip. Brianna smiled at him after that, and they stood.

Harry checked the time, and realized that they still had a while before she was due home. "Would you like a tour of the Village?" he asked, wondering what else they could do for two hours.

She considered. She wasn't sure how smart it was to be going off on her own, away from other people, with a wizard she barely knew. But she threw that thought away. "Yeah, that sounds great."

So Harry led her through the Village, pointing out the various shops along the way, and giving a running commentary of some of the escapades he and his friends had gotten up to.

They had just gotten to the Shrieking Shack, and Harry was about to explain the myth, when he noticed how quiet Brianna had gotten, and that she was biting her lip nervously.

"Did I say something wrong?" Harry asked worriedly, wondering what he had done to garner that reaction.

"This Hermione seems to mean a lot to you," she muttered, looking across the landscape at the dilapidated building.

Harry nearly laughed in relief at realizing what the problem was, but held back, thinking that she wouldn't appreciate being laughed at. "Yeah, she's like a sister to me," he said casually, and almost sagged in relief when she perked up again.

"So, what's that one?" she asked, pointing to the Shack.

Harry told her the tale of how it was the most haunted building in Britain, and she gasped, spinning around to look at it a bit closer. "But that's not the true story," Harry grinned.

She turned back to him. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Well, it's never been haunted. You see, it starts with a young boy who had been bitten by a werewolf," he started the tale, and gave all of it.

"Wow," she breathed. Her eyes were shinning, and Harry wondered if it was because Remus had been able to attend Hogwarts, and she had not. "So, how do you know the real story behind the Shack?"

"Well, the werewolf is my new godfather, the stag was my birth father, and the dog is Sirius," Harry told her with a happy smile.

"What about the rat?" she asked curiously, wondering why he had left it out.

Harry's face turned ugly as he thought of the traitor. He kept his voice as calm as he could though. "The rat was the one that had betrayed my parents and framed Sirius. I caught him last June, and he's now in Azkaban."

She immediately felt bad for bringing up a clearly painful subject. She hesitantly stepped forward and wrapped her hand around his. "I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered.

Harry felt a warmth spread through him at that simple act of intimacy. He chose to relax slightly and, for the moment, forget the pain that a simple decision 15 years ago had brought so many people. For now, he would embrace the idea of leaving the past where it belonged.

They stayed like that for some time, until a soft ring interrupted the quiet. "What was that?" she asked him, looking around.

Harry tried not to groan in disappointment, and took out his wand to cancel the ringing. "It was an alarm charm; I set it to 15 minutes before you have to be home," he explained, as they began walking back to the pub.

"That was smart," she commented, unhappy at the idea that their date was nearly over.

"Sirius suggested it," he admitted. "Guess he didn't want to have to clean up the mess if your father murdered me for not getting you home on time."

"Well, at least he thought ahead," she said with a grin.

They walked back into the pub, and Rosmerta smiled at them again before turning back to her customers. Harry walked her to the Floo and paused. This was the part of the date that he had no idea what to do next.

Everything seemed to run in slow motion, and he seemed hyper aware of everything around him. He could practically count the freckles on her nose. Suddenly, the song slid over him; it wasn't as powerful as when she had cried. No, this was softer, gentle. He still kept his shields up to keep from being overwhelmed.

They leaned forward at the same time, and he was careful as he kissed her on the lips. It was as though an explosion had taken place, and Harry pulled his shields up as high and strong as he could, though also enjoying the feeling. Her lips were much softer than he had thought they would be.

Time seemed to have no feeling for them at that moment, but the spell was broken as they pulled back, both blushing strongly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Harry whispered.

"Definitely," she breathed back. With a genuine smile at him, she grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and stepped through, whispering "Covas House."

Harry watched her leave, and felt a swooping sense of happiness fill him. As though he was on a cloud, he Flooed back home, barely aware of what he was doing.


Sirius was still up, waiting for his son to come home from his first date. At five to ten, he looked up from the book he was failing to read as the Floo flared and said son stepped through.

He couldn't help the grin that grew on his face as he saw the dreamy look. He poured a cup of tea, and gestured to the couch. "Have a seat?"

Harry collapsed onto the couch, and reached out with his hands to grasp the cup. He was still speechless from the events of the day, and took a sip of the tea.

Unable to take the suspense, Sirius broke the silence. "So, how'd it go?"

Harry looked up, only then realizing that Sirius was sitting there. "You didn't have to wait up for me," he said, though the thought only added to his joy. "Is this what a Patronus feels like?" he asked goofily.

Sirius couldn't help the bark of laughter at that. He continued laughing for a moment. "Well, that answers my question, I guess."

Still grinning goofily, Harry started talking. "We went to dinner, then I showed her around the village. She got a little worried when I was talking about Hermione."

Sirius winced. "What happened?"

"I just told her that Hermione is like my sister, and she seemed pleased with that," Harry told him.

"Well, that's good at least," he said. "She get home on time, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I made sure that she was a bit early," he told him. He wasn't sure if he was up to doing some of the homework he'd been giving over break, and decided that he wasn't. Who knew what Snape would do if he started writing about Brianna.

He drained the last of his tea and stood. "I'll see you in the morning," he said, and left the room.

Sirius grinned again as he watched the retreating back, but it was now a bit of a melancholy one. He couldn't help but feel that he had cheated, getting to see this moment. It should have been James as the one teasing Harry, and Lily would have smacked him for teasing while glowing with happiness, thinking of the witch that had her son acting like that.

He blinked back the emotion, and decided that he should get some rest as well. When he got into his room, he put up his usual silencing charms to keep Harry from waking during his nightmares. It wouldn't do to spoil his son's amazing night by witnessing his father dreaming about all his mistakes.


When the two of them arrived at the dueling hall, Brianna and her parents walked over. "Hey there," he whispered to Brianna, who had given him a hug when she saw him. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Covas," he greeted.

"Hello Harry, Sirius," Isabella said with a shining smile. "I heard good things about last night."

Harry blushed. "I'm glad that Brianna had a good time," he said quickly. "Shall we go see when we're up?"

Brianna agreed, wondering how things were going to go for the day, and the five of them went to the large board.

The first half of the day was the final of the duel for those who had lost once, and a break for anyone who had already won twice. After lunch was the start of the semi finals, where they were weaned down to the final eight duelists for the next day. The schedule was incomplete, to account for the winners, and Harry didn't know who he was dueling yet, but his heart nearly stopped when he studied the board. Right before his duel, Brianna was facing off with Malfoy.

Harry exchanged a look with Sirius, who was frowning heavily. This had the potential to be either really good, or really really bad. If he knew Malfoy at all, it would be the latter.

As he and Brianna had already won twice, they decided to sit together and watch. Harry looked around a bit, and realized that Ica wasn't there. "Where's Jessica?" he asked Brianna.

She sighed sadly. "Since she lost twice, she didn't want to come and just watch. Thom also lost yesterday, so he decided to stay home with her. Lucian said he was running a bit late this morning, but I saw that he's the last before lunch, so he has time to get here." When she saw that his worried look hadn't abated since looking at the schedule, she sighed. "I saw who I'm facing. Believe it or not, I'm used to name calling and threats. I won't let him get to me," she promised, holding his hand tightly.

"Just be careful, alright?" he asked quietly. "Don't think it's going to be an easy duel."

"I'll be careful," she repeated. When that didn't do much to improve his attitude, she laughed quietly and put her mouth at his ear. "You're cute when you're worried," she breathed.

Harry let out a breath and grinned, though he wasn't sure if it was from her words or her actions, but regardless, it had the desired effect, and he tried hard to relax and enjoy watching the duels.

Just before the first pair of duelers entered the mat, they saw Lucian and Stefen walk in and hurry to find seats.

Surprisingly, watching the duelers go at it with everything they had helped to relax Harry. This was something he knew, and something that he would likely always know. He barely knew most of them, and so he could be objective in watching them, finding mistakes and strengths, learning what strategies worked and didn't.

Lucian walked on the mat, and faced Justin Yates, who had been the first dueler of the tournament. Lucian seemed to be more than aware that this was his last chance, and threw everything he had into the duel. Harry was awed at the power behind the spells, and the match was over in less than two minutes when Justin caught a Stunner.

Harry hadn't even realized the time, until Sirius nudged him, and he realized that it was already time for lunch. "Let's go, pup," Sirius said.

Harry nodded, and stood. Brianna and her parents were a few yards in front of them, talking about the tournament, he guessed. They had just walked through the doors to go to the food court, when Harry felt that someone was behind him. Putting a hand out to slow Sirius, he turned around, and had to work hard to hide his scowl when he saw Lucius and Draco walk up to them.

"Well, Sirius, hello, and you, Mr. Potter-Black," Malfoy Sr. sneered.

"Lucius," Sirius greeted coldly, then turned to Draco. "Congratulations on how well you are doing so far."

"Thank you, Lord Black," Draco said, mimicking his father's tone. "You're not doing half bad yourself, Potter."

Harry ignored the lack of his second last name, and shrugged casually. "I'm having a good time, and I'm meeting some interesting people."

"Ah yes, I noticed your interactions with the Covas girl," Lucius smirked. "At least she's not attending Hogwarts. I would express my disapproval to have my son associating with something like that."

Sirius gripped Harry's arm almost to the point of bruising to keep him from attacking the man for that comment. "Well, it's not as though you have a… direct say in that anymore. Not since you are no longer one of the governors," Sirius said, clearly choosing his words carefully.

Lucius scowled at Sirius, but it was true. Anything he did in regards to the school had to be done carefully and through bribes and threats. "Well, I won't keep you from your meal any longer," he snapped back. "Good luck on the rest of the tournament, Mr. Potter-Black." He leveled Harry with a malevolent glare.

"And to you, Malfoy," Harry said to Draco, giving them a smile that was very near to a sneer.

When they walked away, Harry rubbed his arm slightly, but glared at their retreating backs. "I'm going to get them one of these days," he muttered angrily, and barely noticed when his scar began to sting.

"I wouldn't blame you," Sirius told him, upset as well. "But not in front of this many people who you don't know. Just refrain yourself from starting anything here"

Harry nodded stiffly, and they went to get food. Once they had trays of pasta, they looked around, and saw Brianna, Marco, Isabella, Lucian, and Stefen at a table together waving them over, so they walked over. Harry chose the seat between Brianna and Lucian, while Sirius sat at the empty head.

"That was a good duel," Harry told Lucian, still trying hard to get control of his anger. "I think it was one of the quickest yet."

Lucian nodded quickly. "Yeah, I didn't want to give Yates the chance to recover from some of the hits, and I knew I needed to end it."

"Do you have plans for dinner?" Brianna asked Harry quietly.

Harry smiled at her. "Actually, why don't we ask if you, me, and Lucian go out tonight? I know a good place that's in Muggle London, but it's really close to where we ate with our parents the other night."

If possible, Brianna smiled even wider. She liked that Harry was also trying to get along with her friends, because they were practically her siblings. "We should probably ask first," she whispered, then raised her voice to normal volumes. "Papa," she started, and waited until Sirius finished a comment, before all of the adults turned to her. "We were wondering if Lucian, Harry and I could go out for dinner tonight? Harry said that he knows another nice place."

Sirius turned to Harry. "Where were you thinking?"

"I thought that Obertelli's Eating House next to the Leaky Cauldron might be nice. I haven't been there in years, but I remember it had really good food."

Sirius looked at Marco. "That is fine with me. What do you think?"

Marco and Stefen looked at each other. "That sounds fine," Stefen said. "Curfew is at 9:30, since finals are tomorrow.

"Same," Sirius and Isabella said at the same time.

The teens groaned good naturedly, but nodded. Harry continued eating as he tried hard to think about the coming duels, and even the coming dinner, but his mind just kept straying to how Malfoy had called Brianna a thing, and his blood boiled. Oh, how he wished he were the one dueling with Malfoy tonight. It would be nice to get rid of some pent up anger at that family.

Lunch finished quickly, and Harry and Lucian excused themselves to check the board to see when they were up next.

As soon as they were out of sight of the rest of the group, Lucian grabbed Harry's arm tightly, and pulled him down a hallway, and finally shoved him hard against a wall. "What are you doing with Brianna?" he demanded, face inches from Harry's.

Harry, having no clue what was going on, felt his face harden. This was not the time for anyone to get on the wrong side of him, especially as his scar gave another odd twinge. He gripped his wand tight, though he really didn't need it. "I like her a lot, and I took her to dinner last night. I would like to continue seeing her, because she is someone that I could see myself with. What I can also see is you, splattered against that wall unless you let. Go. Now." The last two words were said as cold as ice, but didn't seem to faze the vampire at all.

"Let me tell you something, Harry Potter-Black," he sneered the last names. "I don't care who you are, or what you are famous for. If you hurt her, you will wish I had killed you."

Harry realized what this was, and was relieved that it wasn't something else. "I'm not planning on hurting her," Harry told him. "However, if you want the chance to kill me, let me tell you that there is a line of about a dozen Death Eaters and Voldemort himself ahead of you, so just break my arms and toss me to them if you really want me dead."

Lucian looked a bit surprised at his words, and stepped back, nodding. Harry stood up a bit straighter, and smoothed his robes. "Shall we go see the schedule?" Harry asked sardonically, and turned to leave before there was an answer. He understood why Lucian did what he had done, since he would likely do the same for Hermione one day, but he really didn't like it when people got in his personal space like that.

Lucian caught up with him at the board, and they both chuckled darkly. They were facing each other as the last of the day. "Well, that's something," Brianna said from behind them. "Not really sure who to be cheering for."

The boys smiled at her, and Lucian walked back to his father. Knowing that, since it was now the semifinals, there were only a few duels before hers, he gathered her in his arms and held her tightly for a moment. "Please be careful with him. When in doubt, dodge."

She smiled before pulling back. Sure, she trusted him not to be overwhelmed by her song, but she really didn't want to tempt fate. "Relax, Harry, I'll be careful."

He nodded and then went to their seats. There were four more duels that day, then four before lunch the next. After lunch, the four finalists were paired off, and then the final duel of the day. From this point on, if you lost a duel, you were done for the tournament.

Before the duelers started, Harry realized that he was still antsy, so he stood. "I'm going to warm up," he told Sirius quietly.

Sirius nodded understandingly, so Harry walked to the side room. Once in there, he started stretching and warming up his muscles. He took care not to overstretch or wear himself out. This wasn't something he'd been expecting when he got there. He didn't think that he'd be paired off with his date's friend, or that his date would be facing his nemesis.

He stayed in there for the first two duels, then walked out, headed to where he needed to stand as the runner up. He saw Brianna and Draco walk onto the mat, and Harry could vaguely hear Draco already starting with his list of insults and threats. Brianna just smiled brightly at him, seemingly completely unaffected by his words. They bowed, walked away, and Harry's breath stopped when the announcer yelled to begin.

Draco cast several simple spells, and Brianna simply dodged them, and threw up a shield for the last one. When she cast nothing back, he continued, upping his game slightly. His face twisted into a sneer when she still cast nothing back, seeming to spend all of her energy on her shields, so he continued to taunt her, and sent a few more powerful spells.

Finally, when he paused for a moment a drew a breath to say something more, she jumped into action. She fired off two Blasting curses, which Draco barely managed to block. She spun wildly when he shot a fire curse at her, and she countered with a wall of ice. When the fire hit it, the wall shattered, and she banished the sharper pieces towards him, which he melted with a wave of hot air. The look in his eyes could almost have been admiration.

Harry was breathing shallowly, sure that some of his hair must have been white by that point, and he refused to even blink.

Then Draco cast a spell that Harry had never seen before. He muttered something in Latin, and pitch black ropes flew out of his wand and wrapped around one of her ankles.

"Foul!" Sirius roared from his seat, and that terrified Harry, who had no idea what the rope did.

He realized that it must have been some kind of magic binding rope, because Brianna looked up in alarm. However, she simply gathered up the tail of the rope and snarled as she leapt forward. She jumped, twisted, cart wheeled, and flipped to avoid the spells. Her movements, though, were beginning to become a bit ragged, and he realized that her ankle and her hand were both starting to smoke.

Blood was boiling under his skin, and he barely managed to root himself down. He continued to keep his eyes were they were, and didn't move a muscle, though he was shaking uncontrollably.

Brianna landed on her flip less than a foot away from Draco, kicked his wand hand with all her strength, and went to spin back away. However, he grabbed the excess rope to stop her, and send a Bone Shattering Hex to her free leg at point blank range.

She fell with a scream that curdled Harry's blood, and he whipped his wand out as he stalked forward. A set of iron arms wrapped around his torso to hold him back.

"Stay back," Sirius hissed to him. "You go up there now, and they won't be able to attend to her because they'll be too busy charging you with murder. Don't do it, Harry James. You. Stay. Here."

A bit of sense managed to get through the cold fury in his brain, and but he didn't stop struggling. "Going to end him for that," Harry snarled under his breath. His eyes were ablaze as he watched the healers rush up to the mat to look at the damage. One of them turned to Draco and snapped something. He, in turn, looked bored, but waved his wand at the writhing Brianna, and the rope vanished, leaving behind weeping blisters.

Sirius kept his tight grip on Harry, and even grabbed the wand from him. He knew firsthand how bad things could end up if you rushed into revenge. "Sirius, let me go," Harry snarled. His hands were burning with the desire to wrap themselves around Draco's throat.

"Not a chance," Sirius retorted. He wasn't going to let him go until both Malfoys had left the hall.

"I'm not going to do anything to the bastard, I want to see how Brianna is," Harry said, trying to wrench away from the grip.

"I don't care," Sirius said, though he did feel bad. He could see how much Harry cared for Brianna, but he really wasn't going to let go until Draco wasn't in immediate danger of having his neck snapped. Sure, there was nothing he could do at the school other than warn the teachers about this incident, but he just needed to keep an eye on Harry until then.

"Sirius, please, I need to see her," Harry pleaded, seeing the healers levitate Brianna onto the stretcher.

Sirius didn't respond, but kept his arms right where they were. He looked up, and saw Lucius walking towards the exits, which weren't that far from where they were standing.

"The winner is Draco Malfoy, for rendering his opponent unable to continue," the announcer said with a hard glare of warning at the blond.

Draco just smirked, and walked towards his father. He stopped at grinned at Harry. "Might want to keep an eye on your whore next time. Wouldn't want her to get hurt," he whispered, and then strutted out the doors with his father.

Harry was blinded with rage, and ripped himself free from his father. "Can I go and see her now?" he whispered venomously, snatching his wand back.

Before Sirius could answer, the announcer waved him and Lucian forward for their duel. Harry growled low in his throat. He needed to go and see how she was doing. That was it, he was going to end this duel the second he could. Forget showing off any abilities he was trying to hide.

He stalked up to the mat, where Lucian was white with barely suppressed fury, and it seemed directed at Harry, which he could understand. If Harry didn't know Brianna, then Draco might not have been quite as brutal during his duel. Harry's face hardened, though.

"Begin!"

Lucian sent several curses to Harry, who just dodged them without thinking. He was like a man possessed, as he ran, rolled, and jumped. He fired curses as quickly as he could fling them, and Lucian found himself scrambling to keep from being hit.

The vampire managed to hit him with a Silencing charm, and relaxed slightly, thinking the duel was over.

Harry, though, slashed his wand with the lightest cutting charm he could think of. It would barely sting, and only produce a tiny amount of blood. It was his compromise with himself, as it would seem like a very weak attempt at a nonverbal spell, but at the same time, the duel was over. Just to be sure, he cast a Disarming charm; again it was as weak as he could manage. Lucian's wand only made it halfway across the mat and not into Harry's hand, but he ran over and grabbed it.

"Winner is Harry Potter-Black!" the announcer yelled. "It is also a record time in the semifinals, at 2:56." He waved his own wand at Harry, lowering the Silencing charm.

Harry nodded curtly to Lucian, tossed him his wand, then walked off the mat. He passed Sirius without saying a word, and went to the nurses' office, where he heard some of the more serious injuries were treated.

"How is she?" he asked the nurse at the door.

"Who are you talking about?" she asked, checking her clipboard.

"Brianna Covas, just taken in not five minutes ago," he said, and could feel Sirius walk up behind him, but he ignored him.

"Only immediate family allowed in right now," she told him regretfully. "Her parents are in there now. I could pass along a message if you like."

"Tell them to please let us know how she is doing as soon as possible," Sirius said, and steered Harry away from there.

"I'm going to stay and wait here," Harry told him.

Sirius looked at the steely eyes, but shook his head. "No, you are not. You are going to come home, and we are going to talk about this," he said firmly, letting Harry know that he was going to accept nothing else.

Harry scowled at him, but they made their way to the Floo, and Sirius had Harry go through first, before quickly following.

As soon as they were both in the room, he waved to Harry. "Let her rip," he said bracingly.

"I want to see how she's doing!" Harry yelled. "I could have gone up there when she was on the mat, and then I could have waited outside the room! I want to know what is going on and if she's going to be alright!"

Sirius nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. "You want to do nothing to Draco?" he asked mildly.

Harry scoffed. "Are you kidding? I want to kill that bastard! Skin him alive and throw him to the dragons! You saw how little he cared, and what he said at the end!"

"So that means he deserves to die?" Sirius asked, voice still mild, but harder than steel. "Hear this, Harry James. If you had gone onto the platform, you would have attacked him. I know what it is to wish death upon someone. Someone who was responsible for people I loved being hurt. No one stopped me from acting rashly, and you know how well that ended. I'm rather disappointed in you," he said, and went into his room.

Harry collapsed onto the couch, stunned. Never before had he heard those words from Sirius. He found that they hurt far worse than any of his thrashings from Vernon. He wished that he could still be furious with Sirius, but he was suddenly empty. He raised a shaky hand to his scar, which he just realized, was burning strongly, and he wanted to be sick. He could have killed someone tonight. He probably would have if it wasn't for Sirius. He owed the man everything, and all he'd done was yell.

Breathing as deeply as he could, he stood shakily and walked into his room, curling into a ball on his bed.


When Sirius closed the door to his room, his face crumpled. How had things spiraled so out of control in the last hour? Everything was fine until Brianna's duel. After Malfoy had cast the Dark rope – which was originally a Black family spell (used on their sex slaves to keep them from attacking or escaping) so he knew that Narcissa had to be the one to teach him – he knew things were going downhill after that.

He needed help, he knew. Someone who wasn't going to judge him for his harsh words, but be able to remain calm. Knowing exactly who fit that bill, he cautiously went into the hall, and saw that the door to Harry's room was firmly locked. Therefore, he continued on into the empty living room, and tossed a pinch of powder onto the fire. "Remus Lupin's Office, Hogwarts," he muttered as he stuck his head into the flames.

"Sirius?" Remus said, shocked. He had been sitting at his desk grading papers, and been shocked when the Floo had flared. Then he saw Sirius's face. "What happened?"

"It's… complicated. Can you come through?" he asked. After the start of term, Remus had asked Dumbledore to make his Floo available for travel, not just communication. The Headmaster had been resistant at first, but had agreed in the end.

Remus knew that this was important, so he dropped his quill. "Step back," he said simply, grabbing one of his new cloaks to throw over his shoulders.

Sirius did so, and a moment later his best friend appeared on the hearth. "Thanks for coming over, Moony," he said quietly, leading the way to the kitchen, where he started a pot of the calming tea he kept there.

"Sure," Remus said, suddenly a bit wary. "What's going on, Pads? Harry not do well in the tournament? I thought there was one more day."

Sirius nodded as he pulled down the mugs. "Yeah, he's in the semifinals right now. He has another couple duels tomorrow, depending on how he does."

There was silence in the room until the kettle whistled, and they started making their tea. Finally, Remus couldn't take the silence any longer. "Sirius, what's going on?" he demanded again. "Usually if there's something wrong, you blurt it out before I can get a word in."

Sirius looked into the mug, and sighed as he set it down. "I told Harry I was disappointed in him," he said.

Remus' brows shot up at the quiet admission. He whistled at that. "Alright, was not expecting that. How's he doing since then?"

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not sure. I walked out of the room after I said it so that I could calm down, and Harry's in his room. I haven't seen him sense."

"So, what did he do that got such a response from you?" he asked.

"I had to restrain him from attacking Draco Malfoy today at the tournament. When we got back here, he said that he wished Draco were dead. I just… I thought back to myself after Halloween that night. I don't want him to end up like me, Moony. I don't."

Remus was amazed, and knew that there was something he was missing. Whatever Harry's faults, he was well used to Draco's usual attitude, so something must have happened. Either way, he would talk about it with his godson once he was done here. "Sirius. Harry is a good kid, but he's a teenager. He is full of passion and anger right now, and with everything else going on in his world right now, I'm surprised he didn't snap before this," Remus told him. "Both of you need a chance to calm down, and how about you get some food for dinner, since I'm sure that neither of you have eaten yet. I'll go talk to him," Remus said, standing up and grabbing another tea for Harry.

"Sure," Sirius muttered, and went to the cold cupboard, starting to pull out a stew that he'd made the night before, and had barely touched, since he was thinking about Harry on his first date. There was more than enough for the three of them.

Remus scrubbed his face with the heel of his hand. He had been lucky so far on the godfather side of things, as he really hadn't had much to do. Now, though, he had to get to the bottom of this.

With the two mugs of tea, he went to Harry's room and knocked lightly on the door. "Harry, it's Remus. Can I come in?"

There was silence for a few long moments, then the door opened slightly to reveal a disheveled Harry, still in his dueling robes, and his eyes were bright and red rimmed. "Remus? What are you doing here?"

"Sirius called, wanted to talk. Can I come in and talk to you?"

Harry's face fell, and he nodded, waving the man in, and pulled out the two chairs. He sat hard in one of them, keeping his head down. "Go ahead," he said dully, waving to the other chair, ready for more harsh words about his brash actions.

Remus sat in the second chair, and waited.

The silence grew too much for Harry. He kept his head down, but spoke aloud. "Aren't you going to yell at me, too?"

"Well, before I say anything, I'd like to hear what happened," Remus said, shrugging.

"I'm sure Sirius already told you," Harry muttered. "I wanted a fellow student, someone my own age, to die a horrible death; if it weren't for Sirius, I probably would have hurt him, maybe fatally. If it weren't for Sirius, I might be in Azkaban right now." His throat tightened at the last words, and he barely managed to say them aloud.

Remus could tell that no matter what he said or did right then, Harry was beating himself up worse than anyone could. "What did he do?" There was something missing from the story, and he really wanted to know what.

So Harry told him about Brianna, how they met and also their date, then the confrontation with the Malfoys before lunch. He gave a detailed description of Brianna and Draco's duel, and what Draco had said to Harry before they left, while Sirius was still restraining Harry. He told him about the rage that had filled him, until he couldn't take it any more. He bent at the waist, gagging on the bile that had risen, trying to suppress his sobs.

Remus was speechless during the story. He knew of Harry's loyalty to people that he cared about, but clearly this girl had gotten past his barriers quicker than anyone else. Not to mention, Harry could have been a Hufflepuff with his idea of fairness and decency, neither of which were qualities that either Malfoys possessed. When he heard about the spells that harmed her, he, too, was furious. As he saw his godson double over and struggle to breathe, he jumped up, conjured a bucket to put on the ground in front of Harry, and knelt by his chair. He rubbed gentle circles in his back, and murmured quietly to him. "Breathe, Harry," he urged quietly. "It'll pass, just breathe."

Harry spat some of the bile into the bucket, and struggled to focus solely on Remus' voice. After a few minutes, he was able to sit up again, but he rubbed his scar fervently.

"Headache?" Remus asked.

"My scar's been hurting today. Obviously not the most important, but I'll send the headmaster an owl before too long." Harry looked up at Remus for the first time. "Aren't you going to yell at me? Tell me what a monster I am, and how I'm just like Voldemort?" he demanded.

Remus felt as though he'd been slapped, and he gripped Harry's head firmly between his hands. "First of all, you are not a monster, nor are you going to become like Voldemort," he stated, eyes kind but at the same time unyielding. "I remember a certain boy telling me not long ago that I wasn't a monster, and now you get to hear it as well. Also, I'm not going to yell at you for two reasons. One, it doesn't solve anything, it just makes things worse. Second, no matter what I say, nothing will hurt you more than what is already going through your mind. No, I don't think that you should have such a fiery desire to harm Draco, but you did nothing to him. You didn't harm a hair on his pampered, spoiled head. Not to mention the fact that you would have been stopped before you could have harmed Draco; his father, your father, and the judges would have stepped in before anything happened, so there is no way you would be in Azkaban right now. In trouble, yes, and definitely disqualified from the tournament. I do think that you and Sirius need to have a calm discussion about what was said earlier. I'm also worried about your scar being in such pain right now. Before dinner, I'll Floo Albus, as well as give you a pain reliever." They had found a slightly stronger pain potion that helped, though it just took the edge off the pain. Sirius had stocked up on a few of them when he was last at Diagon Alley.

"Will Sirius want to talk to me?" Harry whispered, agonized. He remembered before Christmas, Sirius saying that he would never want to get rid of Harry, but this was pretty bad.

Remus gave him a sad smile. "Of course he'll want to talk to you. I sent him out to get dinner, but he'll be back soon. Now, I'll go firecall Albus to tell him about your scar. How about you take a shower and get changed."

"Sure," Harry muttered, and got up to grab his things.

Remus watched him head into the bathroom, and sighed. He wished that there was a way to get Harry to snap out of it, but he supposed that it would just take time. He walked downstairs, and found Sirius setting the table for three with a large pot of stew, what smelled like fresh bread, and was setting out bowls and spoons for all of them.

"How is he?" Sirius asked without looking up.

"He's taking a shower and getting changed," Remus told him. "His scar's been hurting him, so I'm going to Floo Albus to let him know. Do you have any pain reliever?"

Sirius nodded, and walked to the bathroom to grab a vial. Remus watched him leave, then went to the Floo. "Albus Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts, Cauldron Cakes," he said, rolling his eyes at the Headmaster's passwords.

"Remus?" Albus asked, seemingly startled. "Why didn't you just walk on up from your office?"

"I'm not currently at Hogwarts, Albus. I'm with Harry and Sirius. Harry told me a moment ago that his scar has been hurting him today, and he isn't sure why."

Dumbledore considered. "I can't think of anything that would account for the pain, but I shall talk to Severus and see what I can find out."

"Thanks," Remus said, and waited for a moment to see if there was anything the headmaster would say, then pulled his head out of the fireplace. When he looked up, he saw Harry walk hesitantly into the kitchen. He followed silently, and saw Sirius stiffen slightly when they walked in.

"Have a seat, Harry," Sirius said, then looked at Remus. "Albus have anything interesting to share?"

"Does he ever?" Remus asked with a shrug. "He'll talk to Severus and let us know if it's anything to be worried about."

Sirius nodded, and they all sat down and began serving themselves. Harry looked startled to find the vial of familiar pain reliever next to his plate. Sirius nodded at him. "Remus told me that you had a headache. Drink up."

Harry didn't meet his eyes, but threw it back, not even grimacing at the taste. They continued eating. Actually, when Remus looked between the two, he realized that they were barely eating anything, and just pushing the food around in their bowls.

He set his spoon down with a quiet clang, and the two looked up. "I think this is enough of an awkward silence for now," he said firmly. "Maybe talk first, then we can try eating?"

If anything, Harry's head drooped further down at that statement. "Harry," Sirius said. "Do you want to talk now, or wait until later tonight?"

"Either is fine," Harry mumbled.

Sirius nodded. "Very well." He pushed his bowl away from him with another sigh, and considered his words carefully. "We've been spending an increased amount of time together for nearly a year now," he stated. "Remus was the first that pointed it out, that you've begun acting a lot more like me." He trailed off, wondering where to go from there.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Your laugh, your sense of humor, even some of your mannerisms have changed," he agreed, directing the comment to Harry.

Harry looked up at the men. "Ron mentioned it to me once. I don't think anyone else pays enough attention."

"Well, those are good things for you to adopt. There are a few things that I really, really don't want you to take from me," Sirius said strongly. "My impulsiveness and rashness, and my temper. I don't want you to start emulating me when things are going badly."

"Sirius, I haven't seen you act like that before," Harry said, running his fingers across the grain in the wood table.

"No, you haven't," Sirius said heavily. "That's because I don't want you to see that. I've tried hard to keep you from seeing it." He paused, still struggling to find the words. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, Harry. When I said I was disappointed in you, and then left the room without talking about it wasn't fair."

Harry was confused. "Sirius, if you hadn't stopped me in the hall, I might have hurt Draco. I would've regretted it, but you stopped me before I could do anything. If anyone deserves an apology, it's you! I should have composed myself better."

Remus hid his smile. They were both too stubborn for their own good.

"Harry, the kid seriously hurt someone you care about. I didn't blame you for being upset. Just don't be too quick to deal out death and judgment."

Harry nodded quickly. "Of course. I won't, I promise."

"Well, now that's over with, shall we continue eating?" Remus suggested dryly, and the other two just chuckled slightly.

When the meal was close to being over, the light drew Harry's attention to the scars on his hands. He broached a topic that he'd been meaning to mention, but was worried about the reactions. "So, I've been wondering something lately," he started.

"What about, kiddo?" Sirius asked, starting to gather some of the plates.

"What ever happened about Umbridge?" he asked.

Sirius froze in his movements, and Remus gave him a knowing look. "I told you he was going to ask sooner or later," he reminded his friend.

Sirius groaned as he gave up trying to clear the table, and sat back down. "I forgot how much you like saying 'I told you so,' Moony," Sirius said to him, then turned back to Harry. "She was tried and convicted of illegal possession of a restricted item, illegal use of said item, and assaulting a minor. She's in Azkaban for 10 years, her wand was snapped, and all property and possessions were taken from her. 1,000 Galleons were given to me, as your guardian, in reparations for the treatment you were given by her. When she gets out of Azkaban, she'll have five more years before she can apply for another wand."

Harry was in shock. He couldn't believe everything he had just heard. "When was the trial?" he demanded.

"It was a very hurried trial that the Minister had a little over a week after her arrest. I received an owl, saying that you and I were allowed to attend, though it wasn't required. Remus had to attend, as he was the one who discovered the Quill. You weren't required to be there, because it's actually common for the victim not to appear, especially if they're a minor."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" If he had heard about this a few hours ago, he would have been furious, but he had a much better understanding of his father after the events of the evening.

Sirius sighed again, and chose his words carefully. "The day I received the owl was the day before you were going to come home for Christmas break," Sirius told him. "I had planned on telling you after I picked you up from the station. Then, of course, we found out about Arthur's attack, and the prophecy. After both of those within 12 hours of each other, and the fact that you weren't required to give testimony, as Umbridge had been under Veritaserum for the trial, I chose not to add to your plate." He looked closely at Harry, taking in the thoughtful expression that meant that Harry was considering what he'd heard before he made a decision. "If it was the wrong choice of mine, you have my apologies again, Harry. To be honest, it didn't really cross my mind to tell you, because of what you were going through at the time."

Harry's mind was racing as he took all of that in. First, he turned to Remus. "I'm guessing the Minister tried to cover it up as much as he could, since I never heard anything about it in the Prophet?" he assumed, and Remus nodded.

"Truthfully, news of the trial would have come out only a handful of days before the article about the adoption, so I'll admit that I'm rather glad about it," Remus confessed.

Harry realized the same, and nodded adamantly. The last thing he would have wanted was more attention around that time. He turned to Sirius. "I understand why you didn't tell me about it, because I was freaking out about the prophecy, and learning and training in the Room. If something like this ever happens again, though, could you tell me about it?"

Sirius nodded at him. "You have my word."

That was good enough for Harry, and he stood to help cleaning up. Soon enough, it was time for Remus to head back to the school. After Sirius gave him a quick hug, Harry gave him one as well. "Thanks for everything."

"Of course, kiddo."

No sooner had Remus stepped through the Floo, that it flared again. "Sirius? Harry?" a female voice called. Harry was the closest, and he was immediately worried.

"Mrs. Covas, how is Brianna?" he asked, falling to his knees by the hearth. He felt Sirius rest a hand on his shoulder.

"She's doing much better. The healers have finished with their job, and Brianna might have to use a cane for about a week, but then she'll be alright."

Harry let out a breath of relief. Sirius knew that he wouldn't be able to speak for a moment, and looked at the flames. "We have some dinner left; it's not much, just a stew. Would you like us to bring it over? I'm sure that you don't want to worry about cooking after everything today," Sirius offered.

Isabella looked relieved at the offer. "That sounds wonderful, and I thank you for the suggestion. Feel free to step on through," she told them.

Sirius sent Harry on ahead while he grabbed the pot and some more bread. Harry stepped through, and smiled at the cozy living room. It was much smaller than Sirius's, but it was very homey.

"Harry, I'm glad you could come over," Marco said, eyes much warmer than before.

"Thank you for letting me," Harry said with sincerity. "Where is she?"

Marco smiled. "She's in her room, resting. It's down the hall, last door on the right."

"I'll leave the door open?" Harry asked more than stated, and received an appreciative nod. Without wasting another minute, he walked down the hall, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard Brianna call.

He stepped through the door, and saw her sitting on her bed. One ankle was tightly wrapped, as was the other leg, and her hand. She was still very pale and had lines of stress on her forehead that he knew firsthand meant that she was in pain. He walked over to her and sat in the empty chair by the bed.

"How are you?" he breathed.

She smiled, and reached out with her hand and grasped his. "I'm better. I'll be able to have another pain reliever in about an hour or so. How are you doing?" she asked seriously.

Harry looked at her, incredulous. "You were the one who was injured, and you're asking how I am?"

She gave him a small smile. "Well, Lucian already sent me an owl telling me about your duel. I have to say, he sounds a bit put out that he lost so quickly, especially when he was furious as well. What I had also meant was that I know how much you dislike Malfoy, so I can imagine what you must have been thinking." She wasn't going to tell Harry about Lucian's opinion that Harry might be too dangerous to date. She was going to talk to Lucian about his worries later.

Harry chuckled darkly. "Yeah, he'll be smart to stay out of my way for the rest of the term. I've never taken lightly to anyone I care about getting hurt."

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you," she said, looking intently at him.


Sirius stepped through, and Isabella immediately grabbed the pot from him. "Let me take that for you," she said swiftly, and took it to their kitchen table.

"Thank you for offering," Marco told him, getting glasses out. "Neither of us were really wanting to leave to pick up food."

"And we didn't really have the energy to cook," Isabella said.

Sirius waved them off. "My son has been injured before, so I completely understand where you are coming from," he assured them.

"Have a seat, please. Can I get you some tea or coffee?"

"I'll take a coffee," Sirius said, smiling at the offer. "I take it Harry is already with Brianna?"

"Of course. Poor kid looked like he was about to cry," Isabella said, handing him his mug.

"What did the healers say? Will she make a full recovery?"

"She will," Marco stated, ladling stew for himself and his wife. "The Hex did a lot of damage to the surrounding muscles, nerves, and arteries, not to mention the fact that it completely obliterated both her tibia and fibula. The internal bleeding was the biggest concern at first, and now it's the nerves. The bones, muscles, and arteries are safe now, which is good."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sirius told them. "If there's anything you need, just let me know."

"Thank you."

There was silence for a time while the exhausted parents ate their meal, and Sirius nursed his coffee. Finally, Marco was the one to break the silence. "There is an issue that I think we do need to discuss."

Sirius set down the mug, and gave the man his full attention. "What is that?"

"Well, it does appear that Brianna and Harry are growing much closer much faster than I had anticipated. When Harry goes back to school, what are we going to do then?"

Sirius considered. "Thankfully, summer is not that far off. I know that he has two more Hogsmede weekends this term, so if you are amenable, she can visit the village with him." He continued to think. "When I attended there, a friend of mine and I created a set of two way mirrors to communicate, which Harry and I have been using. I can see if I remember how to make them, and create another two, and give one to Brianna." Or maybe spell Harry's to work for both Sirius's and Brianna's? Maybe he could adjust the existing Runes? He would think on it.

Marco and Isabella exchanged glances, and then nodded. "Those both seem to be appropriate solutions to the problem. Will the … young man who harmed her today be there as well, at the village?" Marco demanded.

Sirius inclined his head. "Yes, all third through seventh years are allowed to visit the village. However, he and Harry do not interact, and Harry has a large group of friends that he would be with. Also, teachers also go there to make sure that duels don't occur."

That seemed to appease the parents, and they nodded. There were still reservations, but it seemed to be safe enough. "Now, one more thing," Isabella said, and waited until she had Sirius's attention. "He is Harry Potter, and from what I've gathered over the years, he seems to attract trouble. Is there any chance that we would be targeted in order to get to him, or to you?"

Sirius bit back a groan. He had known this question would eventually come, but he still didn't have a satisfactory answer. "There is a chance," he admitted. "Voldemort feels that he cannot win unless Harry is dead, so he and his followers have tried hard to find him and end him." He raised his brows when they simply continued to watch him and wait. "I, along with his godfather who is now a professor at the school, have been working hard with him, teaching him things that he might now. He has also been taking lessons in Healing from the school nurse." Feeling he had dodged the question for as long as he could, he sighed. "Yes, there is a chance he might try and attack your family in either revenge, or to try and draw Harry out. I understand if you no longer want Brianna to associate with my son because of this." Just saying those words hurt far more than he thought they would. He had seen Harry interact with this girl in a far different way than he had seen before, and couldn't imagine having to tell Harry that he could no longer see her.

Thankfully, Marco shook his head. "No, I don't believe that we are quite at that point just yet," he told Sirius, and Isabella nodded. "However, it is a concern, as you can understand. My question for you, is how powerful do you believe Voldemort is already?"


While they continued their serious discussion, Harry was trying to lighten the mood slightly with Brianna, knowing firsthand how important it was to keep her mind off the pain.

"So, when we were talking about school and classes, you said that you took DADA and Dueling. I've never heard of a dueling class before."

"Really?" she asked, surprised. "I wouldn't have guessed; you're really good for not having any formal training."

He shrugged. "Who teaches you guys?"

"Madame Baudin. She used to teach at Beauxbatons as their DADA teacher, but she left a few years before, and moved to our town. Papa spoke with her when Thom, Ica, Brian, and Marian didn't want to go to Hogwarts after they got their letters, and she agreed to tutor us in some of the subjects."

Harry smiled. It was clear that Brianna and her friends enjoyed the homeschooling that they were receiving. "What subjects does she teach you?"

"Most of them, actually. She teaches DADA, Dueling, Transfiguration, History, and Runes. Thom's father teaches Charms, Arithmancy, and Astronomy, and my mum teaches Herbology, CoMC, and Potions. Stefen will help us learn some Dark Arts if it comes up in DADA, and Papa will go through Wizarding Culture a few times a month."

It was impossible for Harry to feel sorry for the girl for not being able to attend Hogwarts. It seemed as though she had everything she needed right there. He even told her so.

She smiled sadly. "Yeah, we have quite a lot here that I'm sure not everyone else gets. I just wish that I could see the castle, and meet so many of the other students. It sounds like such a magical place."

"It can be," Harry told her. "Although, until recently, it was more of a hassle than you'd think. House rivalry was always a problem until earlier this year, and there always seems to be some big problem at the end of the year."

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Marco leaned in. "Harry, I'm sorry, but Brianna needs to have her potions and get some rest."

"Of course," Harry said quickly, and stood. He still wanted to stay on the man's better side. "Er, are you guys going to come tomorrow, or should I just let you know the results tomorrow night?"

Brianna looked at her father, who smiled. "If the healers say that she is allowed to move around, we'll be there."

Harry thanked him profusely, and squeezed Brianna's hand tightly before letting go. "I hope you feel better," he murmured.

She smiled at him, and he walked out of the room, seeing Sirius waiting for him at the Floo. "Ready, kiddo?" he asked softly, and Harry nodded at him. They thanked the Covas' again for letting them come over, and went back home.

When they walked into the living room, Sirius surprised Harry by pulling him into a hug, and held him tightly.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered, wondering what was going on.

"I know it's been a long day for you, and I'm sorry for how things kind of exploded between us earlier. All I could think of was how you sounded exactly like I did that Halloween before I went after that rat, the thought of you risking yourself like that…"

Harry stopped him by grabbing him back tightly to stop the rambling. "Sirius, you have to forgive yourself for what you did that night. You were an Auror, one of the best, from what I've heard. Yeah, you were reckless about it, but you were trying to do what you did for a living: apprehend a criminal. I never blamed you, and I'm pretty sure that my parents wouldn't either. I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, and I'm glad that you were able to stop me."

Sirius sighed as they let go of each other, and ruffled his son's hair. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

Harry flushed slightly at the compliment, but needed to lighten the mood just a bit. "Of course I am. How could that come as a surprise to you?"

Sirius snorted at the comment. "Whatever you need to believe," he said. "Get some sleep, pup. I daresay tomorrow is going to be exciting."

Harry nodded at him, and made his way to his room, still thinking about the day, which was far longer than he would have thought. He really hoped that he had gotten through to Sirius about going after Peter, but he assumed that it would take more than that to completely convince him. He mentally groaned; why did his father have to be so bloody stubborn?


Yeah, this one was the longest I've posted yet, and I hope it flowed alright, but I couldn't find a better place to end it.

A few notes on this chapter. Yes, Harry exploded when Brianna was hurt, and they've only been on one date and known each other for three days. However, he and Ron rescued Hermione when they'd barely talked before, Harry rescued Ginny when they had never had a real conversation, and Harry mastered a NEWT level charm at 13 to save his godfather whom he'd known was innocent for almost no time at all. I think it's part of his 'saving people thing', and not really out of character for him.

I've had a lot of people commenting on how Sirius seems perfectly fine after his time in Azkaban, and truthfully, he's also putting on a mask around Harry, wanting to be the shoulder for Harry to lean on. I hope this chapter helped in realizing that no, he is not fully recovered, but still struggling with everything. Plus, he and Harry never really had much of an argument before, so I thought I would hit two birds with one stone, while still making it realistic.

As far as Umbridge, there really was no decent place to put a trial for her, and I do believe that Fudge would have been embarrassed by it, so he would have tried to cover it up as best he could. For anyone who thinks that not having Harry attend seems strange, I'll chalk that up to Wizarding customs that haven't changed over the centuries. Honestly, with Veritaserum, there wasn't much need for Harry to be there, especially considering what was going on for him during that time with Arthur and the Prophecy.