"I fail to see why you've called me here, Headmaster," Snape said stiffly. "The man is your captive, after all-"

"And my captive, as you call him-" Dumbledore said calmly, looking from Snape, to Sirius, who felt silly sitting in his hospital bed, but was too tired to move. He was better than he had been last night, when Kreacher first brought him in, but he still felt horrendous, and the Healers were in to check on him every hour. Still, his outlook had improved considerably since Dumbledore had arrived with news that Harry was awake and well enough to play card games. "-has caused considerable damage to both of you; yours was personal, Severus-" He glanced at Snape's leg, and so did Sirius. "-while Sirius, it was your godson who bore the brunt of Quirrell's attention. Were Harry older, I'd take his opinions into consideration, but given that he isn't yet twelve, and you are his guardian, I thought it was appropriate to consult you in his place."

"Leave him to the Dark Lord," Snape drawled, folding his arms over his chest. "He'll be dead within the month."

"If you're prepared to have him die," Sirius said, propping himself up with some difficulty, "then at least do it actively; hand him over to the Ministry." Snape shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. "That's what I thought."

"I don't see you advocating that choice either," Snape snapped. Sirius could have snapped at him, but was both too tired, and too… well, surprised. The first time he'd awoken in the hospital was to find a doe patronus, standing by his bedside. It had told him about Morton being Snape's attacker… in Snape's voice. Now, either Snape had been very clever at concealing his feelings for James, or, Snape's obsession with Lily during their school days had roots in something far deeper.

"I wouldn't wish the dementors on anyone," Sirius said quietly. Snape glanced at him, and then away, but he didn't look as angry as he had just before. "Azkaban, I'd be happy with, but after what he's done, he'd be Kissed on the spot." Snape, Sirius wasn't entirely surprised to see, didn't look too bothered by the idea. "Still, the alternatives are keeping him in your pocket for the rest of his life, Dumbledore, or letting him go, and neither of those seems… right."

"And so you have reached my dilemma," Dumbledore said, steepling his hands. "It seems kinder to kill him, than to leave him imprisoned… and if we free him, we cannot – despite what he says – trust that he will not simply return to Voldemort's side-"

"He wouldn't, if values his own life," Snape said. "The Dark Lord loathes failure, and Quirrell failed him, and the Dark Lord failed to kill Quirrell. He would not take kindly to that fact that Quirrell has survived."

"Surely he knows?" Sirius asked.

"Harry, Remus, Nymphadora, Alastor, Minerva and the three of us are the only ones that know, and none of us are awfully likely to share that news-"

"Perhaps not with the Dark Lord, but what about with the Ministry?" Snape asked. "If the Ministry hears-"

"The Ministry will not hear," Dumbledore said.

"But how can you be certain-"

"Because I trust the people I have confided in," Dumbledore told him, somewhat sternly. "The Ministry will hear exactly as much as I, or the Aurors involved-" He nodded to Sirius. "-decide to share, and no more." He clasped his hands together. "That does, of course, give us some freedom with how we choose to handle the situation."

"Well, if we're sure that he won't go running back to Voldemort," Sirius said slowly, "and the Ministry isn't an option that results in anything but the Kiss, or Voldemort finding him, then obviously we're all that's left."

"We?" Snape asked, looking wary.

"I also came to that conclusion," Dumbledore sighed. "And I must confess myself relieved that that is the case; perhaps now, you will not find my suggested solution so outlandish."

"Let's hear it," Sirius said, grimacing as he shifted to get comfortable.

"I take it," Dumbledore said heavily, "that the pair of you are familiar with the concept of Unbreakable Vows?"

"Will you, Quirinus, swear from this moment until the day of your death, to never knowingly say or do anything to aid Lord Voldemort or any of his Death Eaters?"

"I will," Quirinus said, without hesitation. Fire slithered out of Severus' wand and onto his hand. Aiding Voldemort had had potential, but Quirinus was a Ravenclaw; he wasn't too loyal to Voldemort to refuse Dumbledore's terms, wasn't stubborn enough to want to spite Dumbledore, and wasn't cunning enough to try to find a loophole. He was smart. They'd given him choices, and Quirinus was smart enough to see this was the best deal he was going to get; anything else would end up with him dead or in prison, and Quirinus respected Dumbledore far more than he respected the Ministry.

"Will you, Quirinus, swear from this moment until the day of your death, to never knowingly say or do anything to physically or mentally hurt someone that is not aligned with Lord Voldemort?"

"I will," Quirinus said, again, without hesitation. Severus' expression flickered – was that surprise, perhaps? – as fiery ropes slid out of his wand and wound themselves around Quirinus' and Dumbledore's hand. Black shifted on the bed, as alive as Dumbledore had said he would be.

"And will you, Quirinus, swear from this moment until the day of your death, to do what you can within reason, to help and protect those that Lord Voldemort or his followers seek to harm?"

"I will," Quirinus replied, bored. "Will you, Dumbledore, swear not to turn me over to either Voldemort or the Ministry either directly or indirectly, as long as I do adhere to your conditions?"

"I will," Dumbledore replied slowly, frowning; usually, only one person made the conditions in Vows, but Quirinus wasn't about to swear his freedom away without ensuring his own protection beforehand.

The last strand of fire slithered out, flared, and then all four strands were gone. Dumbledore released Quirinus, watching him closely.

"May I have that?" He gestured to the piece of parchment in Severus' hands, upon which, the conditions of the Vow were written. Judging by the number of scribbles, it had taken them some time to formulate the terms. Severus glanced at Dumbledore, who tapped the parchment with his wand, duplicating it. Quirinus received one, while the other was tucked safely into Dumbledore's robes.

"Now, Quirinus-" Dumbledore said. "If you would-"

"I won't be doing anything," Quirinus said. "I've agreed to your conditions, and as long as I don't break them, I should be free to do as I please. I never swore to serve you, after all." Dumbledore frowned at him.

"And where do you intend to go?" Severus asked stiffly, clearly torn between wanting to put as much space between them as possible, and wanting Quirinus close, where he could keep an eye on him. A light Legillimency probe brushed Quirinus' defences, which he strengthened with a mere thought. Severus scowled.

"Wherever I want," Quirinus said. "I'll let you know where you can find me, once I've settled. Discretion is key though, as you must understand; I wouldn't want to draw attention to myself, now would I?"

"I expect to have heard from you within the week," Dumbledore said.

"I'll contact you when I'm safe," Quirinus corrected. "Now, if I could borrow your wand to change my appearance so that I can leave…" Dumbledore hesitated. "Come now, Dumbledore; if I walk out looking like Christopher Morton, I'll be discovered for sure, and you just swore-" Snape's expression could have curdled milk, but Dumbledore's was inscrutable. He didn't – regrettably – give Quirinus his wand. It seemed he didn't trust him that much yet. But he did rap Quirinus on the head – Quirinus went shooting up to an adult's height - and conjured him a mirror.

Once Quirinus deemed his appearance acceptable, he bid Severus and Dumbledore goodbye and ignored Black (who'd fallen asleep) and strode out into the corridor.

His hand still burned with the faint reminder of his Vow, but Quirinus was free.

Harry dodged a fourth year's trolley – Hedwig squawked in her cage, and then clicked her beak at the girl – glanced over his shoulder to see that he still had Ron with him, and then the pair of them made their way over to a pillar, where several red heads were visible together. Percy was very obviously not talking to the twins, nor had he for several weeks. They'd lost points for leaving the common room (despite getting trapped in the floor and not actually making it very far) the night that Harry and the others went after Morton. Neville had won points (apparently, he'd stood up to them), but despite that, the twins had done enough damage to knock Gryffindor into last place for the House Cup.

"Ron!" Ginny went speeding past Harry – Hedwig squawked for the second time – and went to greet her brother, while Mrs Weasley fussed over Percy, and Mr Weasley talked animatedly with the twins.

"Geroff!" Ron muttered, trying to shrug Ginny off.

"Oh, that's nice," she said, frowning at him. "I thought you said you missed me-"

"I did, but I'm back now, so it-"

"Hi, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, leaving them to it.

"Hello, Harry dear," she said. "Finished up all right?"

"Yeah, fine," Harry said.

"Ow!" Ron exclaimed from behind him, and then Ginny marched past Harry and went to stand with the twins. Ron approached his mother, scowling at his sister. Mrs Weasley swept him up in a hug, and examined his hand, which was now well and truly healed, to Ron's disappointment. He'd hoped that he'd be able to use his injury as an excuse to not be able to write, and that he wouldn't have to do his exams.

"Is Sirius coming for you, Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"He's meeting us at the Ministry, because he's not supposed to Apparate yet," Harry said. "Moony should be here soon, though."

"Well, we'll wait until he is," Mrs Weasley said, smiling kindly at him. Moony arrived not long after, looking tired; the full moon had been a few nights ago, and he'd had to do it alone, since Padfoot was still in bed on the Healers' orders, and Moony had refused to let Harry go with him. "All right, you lot," Mr Weasley said, ushering the other Weasleys into motion. "We'd best be off, or I might get one of those expedition notices."

"Expiation, Arthur," Moony said, but Mr Weasley didn't seem to hear him. With cheery goodbyes, and a promise from Ron that Harry could visit over summer, they were gone. "Hermione's left?" Moony asked. "And Draco?"

"Hermione had her cousin's birthday dinner to get to, so she disappeared pretty much as soon as we got off."

"And Draco?" Moony asked.

"With his family," Harry said. "Hydrus came to get him before the train even stopped."

"I see," Moony said, looking troubled. "Well, maybe they'll let him visit." Harry doubted it, and could smell Moony did too. "Here, give me that, and then we can go." Moony took Harry's trunk, cast a shrinking spell and tucked it into his pocket, where Harry could only assume his own trunk was. Harry let Hedwig out of her cage with instructions to go home, and then Moony cast his spell again and put the cage in with the trunks. Then, Moony offered Harry his arm, and pulled him into Apparition.

"Tonks, Nymphadora," Scrimgeour called, and Tonks stood up so quickly that she tripped. Harry laughed with the others, and Tonks' hair flashed a bright, embarrassed pink before she made her way up onto the podium to shake hands with Scrimgeour, and receive a certificate and a pair of formal Auror's robes. "Any words, Alastor?" Scrimgeour asked Moody, who looked as grim as ever. Tonks glanced at him, looking nervous; Finch had sobbed her way through congratulations for her trainees, and Robards had made a very moving speech about Marlene graduating, despite all the challenges she'd faced, and Padfoot had helped Hemsley recount funny anacdotes about Brown.

"I'm very proud," Moody said gruffly. Tonks hurried forward to hug him, and Moody patted her clumsily on the back, and then ushered her back to her seat so that the next graduate could come up. Harry distinctly heard him mutter, "Constant vigilance." The celebration that followed was cheerful and very noisy, and Harry finally had a chance to make his way over to Padfoot, who'd had to stand with the Aurors during the presentations.

"I'll leave you two," Marlene said, smiling at Harry, and went to talk to someone else. Padfoot pulled Harry into a hug, and the pair of them found seats.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked him.

"Fine," Padfoot said. "I just can't stand up for very long; honestly, what were they thinking, keeping me in bed for so long?"

"Probably that you needed time to get better," Harry said.

"They could have taken me for walks, at the very least," Padfoot grumbled. Harry grinned. "So, who won the House Cup?"

"Slytherin," Harry said.

"Ah well," Padfoot said. "Next year, eh?"

"As long as he can keep himself and his friends out of trouble," Moony said, approaching them with a grin. He collapsed into a chair with a grateful sigh.

"It's not a matter of keeping out of trouble," Padfoot said, "it's a matter of not getting caught." He reached back to grab a drink off of the floating refreshments tray.

"There's a fair chance that any trouble caused at Hogwarts is them," Moony said, "or the twins." He chuckled. "If anything goes wrong, I think poor McGonagall might just dock points from Gryffindor on principle."

"Teachers," Padfoot said, rolling his eyes at Harry, who laughed. "How'd exams finish up, kiddo?"

"Fine," Harry said. "Transfiguration was easy, and so was Defence-"

"There's a rumour going around that Harry got one hundred and six percent in Defence," Moony said, with a very straight face.

"Oh, really?" Padfoot asked, with the same expression. "Any truth to it?"

"Can't be sure," Moony replied seriously. "That Defence teacher of his is a bit unreliable-"

"Misses a lesson or two every month," Harry said, grinning.

"And then he missed almost a week," Moony said, clicking his tongue, "because apparently, he was running around the Ministry, sticking his nose into Auror business, trying to find a lost dog."

"The gall," Padfoot said, gasping, and then chuckled. "Ah, well. Hopefully next year he'll have settled a bit." A wicked grin crept over his face, accompanied by a very playful scent. "Speaking of settling down… where's Dora got to?" Moony, for whatever reason, flushed a bright pink colour, and hissed something at Padfoot that even Harry's ears couldn't pick up. Harry glanced between Padfoot and Moony, puzzled.

"What-"

"It's nothing, Harry, really," Moony said firmly, glowering at Padfoot all the while. "But Dora, since you asked, Sirius, is speaking with Mad-Eye and one of Mad-Eye's old friends."

"I see," Padfoot said, not looking discouraged in the slightest. Harry hoped he'd say more about whatever it was that had antagonised Moony, but he only said, "So what's the plan for summer? Quidditch? See some of your friends?" Padfoot frowned. "Speaking of friends, I half expected you'd have Draco with you."

Narcissa glanced over the top of her book and out the library window. A small smile touched her lips as Hydrus flew past, his face alight, and Lucius – also on a broomstick - threw something for him to catch. The pair of them had plans to get Hydrus onto the Slytherin team next term, and Narcissa expected preparations for that would consume the majority of the holidays. They were going broom shopping at some point, or so she'd been told.

Her eyes landed on the two figures on the ground. One was Dobby, with a basket of gardening tools hanging on his scrawny forearm, and the other was Draco, following him from rosebush to rosebush, looking more than a little lost. She couldn't help but remember that he'd looked comfortable in the hospital when he was speaking with the Weasley girl – a blood traitor – and yet here, in his own home he looked nervous and kept to himself.

"I am sorry, Draco," she whispered, absently playing with the corners of the pages of her book. She'd won in a way; Draco was making his own choices and his own friends, and when he was with them, he was happy… But she couldn't help but think she'd lost. While she'd wanted him to be free to pick a side – either Potter's or the Dark Lord's – she hadn't expected him to make it so soon, or so obviously. She hadn't banked on the fact that in sculpting him to be independent enough to choose things for himself, would mean losing him.

She'd thought such a choice was years away, and then Draco had gone off to help Potter try to stop the Dark Lord. That was something there would be words about. She'd be a hypocrite if she told him of for such a choice – bus she couldn't risk praising him either – but she certainly needed to ensure Draco could be subtle. She'd taken these measures wit Draco to ensure he was happy, but also that he would survive. Choosing a side so obviously and so early was dangerous for him, but even more dangerous for Narcissa, and the rest of the family.

But how to explain that to him, without being too forceful? Draco was, if the past few years were any indication, easily influenced. She could change everything, with a few gentle words. She knew she could, and she was tempted to. She wanted him to be happy, but she didn't want to lose him, and she was, even now; she only had to look at him to see how uncomfortable he was in his own home. Surely Narcissa wasn't a bad person for wanting to keep her son close?

No, she thought, but any more meddling is risky. I made Draco a Gryffindor, and now he's embraced that. I don't have to like it, but I have to respect it, at least… even if I lose him.

She knew the signs; she'd watched the Blacks struggle with Sirius. Narcissa and Lucius weren't quite as forceful as Walburga and Orion had been, but then, Hydrus wasn't as accepting of his brother as Regulus had been.

I will lose him, she thought, and was a little surprised that no tears followed that revelation. Perhaps not for a while, but one day… She glanced out the window again. At least I have him for at least one more summer.

THE END

Hi everyone!

That's the end of Initiate, I'm afraid!

I will be continuing it in a yet-to-be-named-sequel, but not until November 30th; I have exams coming up, and they need to be my priority for the next little while. Sorry! Hopefully you all understand though. :)

I'd like to thank you all for sticking with this story for so long, and also thank you all for your lovely reviews; I know I haven't been very good at answering them lately (it takes a long time, and I figure you'd all rather I spent that time writing), but that doesn't mean they are any less appreciated, and anyone of you that are writers will know just how motivational reviews can be. So thank you for that! :D

Until November 30th,

MarauderLover7.