Planning the Future

"Are you sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" Draco asked, elbowing his friend in the rib.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, ferret. I think I can handle the broom I rode for three-and-a-half years just fine."

Dragon barked, wagging his tail.

"No!" Hermione pointed her finger at the animagus. "I'm still angry with you."

Earlier that day, a suspiciously broom-shaped package had dropped down onto the table during breakfast. With classes, Harry had had to take the package with him everywhere, and many used the time they should have spent focusing on the teacher on speculating what it could be.

Dragon barked once more before turning back into Sirius.

"Come on, 'Mione," the man said, crossing his arms. "Harry deserves that broom, and you know it."

"He had a perfectly good one."

"But it wasn't one I got him."

Hermione threw her hands in the air. "Harry, your godfather is impossible."

"How am I impossible?" Sirius asked, brow quirked. "I exist. I think you mean to say I'm improbable."

"Erg!"

"Padfoot," Harry came over to the man and sat down, "stop messing with 'Mione. I want my godfather in one piece at the end of the year."

Draco smirked. "Yeah, you should see what she can do to you if you make her angry."

"Like rearrange your face?"

"Boys," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Come on. Let's go down to dinner." She grabbed each one by the shoulder and pushed them ahead of her.

"So," a voice asked behind them once they got to the first floor, "is it true? Did the great Harry Potter get a Firebolt?"

Harry turned-against Hermione's wishes-to find Zabini and Finnegan standing there, arms crossed and scowls maring their faces.

"Reckon so," Harry said, mimicking them, "seeing as how I now have it securely hidden in the Gryffindor boys' dorm."

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Finnegan asked, eyes glittering. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute-"

"What? In case he gets too close to a dementor?" Draco sneered, standing in front of his friend.

"How did you-?"

"You have to be more original than that, Snake."

Harry moved in front of the blond. "It's a pity they can't attach a hand on your broom." The boy's eyes sparkled evilly. "Maybe you could actually catch the snitch."

Hermione groaned and pulled the two boys away before an all-out brawl could ensue. Draco's mouth fell and his eyes glistened.

"I thought what we had was special."

"Draco," Hermione said, sitting him down before rubbing her face, "get over yourself. I'm sure he'd still say that to you if you had been the one to insult his honor and flying abilities."

"But...but that makes it not special."

Harry rolled his eyes. "What did I do to get a prim peacock as my best friend?"

The next day, the team suited up and arrived at the pitch by eleven.

"Alright team, you know what to do," Wood said, clapping his hands.

"Yes," Harry said, frowning. "Get the snitch at all costs. Get as many points as possible. We lose, we're out of the running." He sent the captain a thumbs-up. "Heard you loud and clear the first hundred times you said it."

Draco snickered. "Come on, Harry. Do your job and leave the complaining to the twins. They're naturals."

Madame Hooch called Wood and Davies forward. They shook hands and the game was on.

The teams were evenly matched. Harry spent most of his time looking for the snitch (though, he did sneak a few glances toward the beautiful blond raven wearing a lion head. Didn't she know she was supposed to be supporting her own team?).

"Oh!" Cho cried out, distracting the boy-who-lived. For a second, he thought she might be using it as a tactic, but that idea flew out the window when he saw four gigantic black-robed figures just to the side of the pitch.

He rolled his eyes. Was he idiotic last time around? How could he ever think those were dementors? He shrugged. Might as well show them all what they didn't know they'd come to see.

"Expecto Patronum," he hissed, not even watching the multiple bucks run out of his wand. He had a snitch to catch.

By the time the patroni had dissipated, Harry had the snitch in hand.

"And Gryffindor wins!" Jordan called out, the whole team swarming the poor third-year.

"You idiots!" a voice yelled out, causing all in the vicinity to swivel toward the Slytherin section. Professor Snape descended on four boys, all incredibly winded and pale. "Do you know what might have happened if Potter hadn't taken to casting a patronus?"

"He'd fall and break something?" Goyle asked, smiling expectantly.

Professor Snape took a deep breath. "Detention, all of you." He rubbed his face. "And ten points each from Slytherin."

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Students began whispering amongst each other.

"Did you hear that?" one Ravenclaw girl asked.

"Snape took points from his own house," a Hufflepuff said to his Gryffindor friend.

"I hate to do it," Professor Snape said to his students, "but I can't condone attempted murder." He glared at Harry. "Even if we are talking about the celebrity boy-who-lived."

Harry grimaced, but let it be. The professor had a part to play. The fact he'd taken points from his own house had to be counterbalanced by his insistence it was for his role as spy. The boy shrugged. He had other things to worry about than Professor Snape's faux ill-will.

Apparently, so did Hermione.

"Harry, we have a ton of revision to do. We can't just laze around doing what we like," the girl said the next day, scolding an idle Harry. She had insisted on their studying, but he had plopped down on his bed and started petting Dragon instead.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hermione Granger, we are at the top of all our classes, not to mention you and I already aced all our classes last time." He rubbed his face. "With all the studying Harry has already done so far, he should do fine on our exams. Calm down and go pet your monster."

Hermione glared, crossing her arms.

"He is not a monster." She turned to her cat, voice softening. "Isn't that right Crookshanks?"

"Mental, that," the blond said, shaking his head.

"I wasn't only talking about school, you know," the girl said, picking up her cat and petting it. "We really need to get a certain someone on the same page for the upcoming Shrieking Shack adventure," she motioned her head toward the blond pup, "so that nothing goes wrong."

Harry, Draco, and Dragon sighed.

"Let's get going then." Harry held up his wrist. "Harry to Luna. Come in Luna."

"Why do we need Luna?" Draco asked, brow furrowed.

Hermione groaned. "Harry, we do not need to bring Luna into this." She rubbed her eyes. "I know you have a crush on her, but she doesn't need to be involved with the Shrieking Shack. It's dangerous and she'll just get in the way."

"I'm not saying we drag her along with us that night," Harry said, pacing back and forth in front of the come-and-go room. "However, she's not a Ravenclaw for no reason. She's a master strategist."

"If not a little barmy," Draco said under his breath.

Harry shrugged. "What's wrong with her helping plan?"

Hermione huffed. "Fine. Invite her." She crossed her arms. "She's not coming that night, though."

"Who's not coming where?" Luna asked, walking around the corner smiling. As she came over to the trio, she squatted down and greeted Dragon. "Hello."

"Hermione says you don't need to come with us to the Shrieking Shack," Draco said, opening the now-visible door.

"We're coordinating our attack so Pettigrew doesn't escape this time," Harry said, motioning toward the room. "Wanna come in and join us?"

"But not for the actual night," Hermione interjected. "That is the hill I'll die on."

Harry rolled his eyes.

Luna smiled. "Of course, Harry." She shrugged. "I'm not doing anything now and my dorm mates have decided to ignore me again." Her brow furrowed. "So, why not?"

Hermione sighed, face falling. "I'm sorry your dorm mates are ignoring you again." She placed an arm around the Ravenclaw's shoulders. "Don't worry about them. We think you're cool."

They entered and sat down on the plush sectional. Dragon barked and turned into Sirius.

"So, what happens that night that we need to plan?" Draco asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Well, first we went down to Hagrid's hut to support him and Buckbeak." Hermione smiled coyly. "You, of course know what happens right before that, don't you?"

The blond grimaced, rubbing his nose. "Yeah, you've got one heck of a right hook there, Granger."

Sirius doubled over laughing. "You got punched by a girl?" He snorted. "You got punched by Hermione, of all people?" His eyes widened and he turned to her. "No offence, of course."

Hermione smiled. "None taken." Her brow furrowed. "Anyway, we had tea at Hagrid's, and then Scabbers turned up. Hagrid caught him just in time for us to see the headmaster coming down the hill with Fudge. We hurried out when the minister got there, but Scabbers bit Ron's hand and escaped. We chased after him until you got there, Sirius." The man nodded in comprehension. "Ron caught the rat but then you grabbed Ron's leg with your teeth and drug him to the Shrieking Shack. Harry and I, after fighting the Whomping Willow, followed you down."

The girl nodded to her friend, who smiled and continued from there.

"When we got there, you started talking about killing something." Harry smiled sheepishly. "We all thought you meant me, but Remus showed up. He hugged you and said how they couldn't kill anyone until I understood." He rubbed the back of his head. "At that point, we all thought the two of you had gone barmy and we were going to have to take you down together. Then, Professor Snape showed up. He waved his wand around, yelling about how he'd wanted to do this for a long time. I disarmed him but it turned out 'Mione and Ron had the same idea. With the three of us, the spell hit him hard; he was thrown back and knocked out."

"You convinced us you were innocent, Sirius," Hermione said, taking over for her friend. "You turned Scabbers back into Pettigrew, and we all realized what happened. We agreed to go back with you and straighten everything out." She smirked. "We convinced you to bring back Professor Snape. I can't remember in the end who levitated him."

"He got a few nasty bumps and scrapes along the way," Harry said with a smile. "You invited me to live with you once we got out of the tunnel. I was so excited." His smile fell. "But then Moony came out. He'd forgotten to take his wolfsbane and he transformed into a werewolf."

"Peter escaped while we focused on the ensuing chaos," Hermione explained, squirming. "Professor Snape jumped in front of Remus to protect us while you transformed into Padfoot. Harry ran after you just in time for the both of you to be attacked by dementors." She scrunched her nose. "And then Dumbledore made Harry and I relive the night again to save everyone."

Draco and Sirius sat back in their seats stunned.

Harry's brow wrinkled. "My favorite part is that the only one we truly saved was Buckbeak."

Hermione shrugged. "You live. You learn."

"We are not reliving that night again just to save a hippogriff," Harry said, arms crossed. "That is the hill I will die on."

"But Harry…."

"Anyway," the boy-who-lived shook his head, "that sums it up."

Silence filled the air. Draco and Sirius both stared off into the distance. Hermione twiddled her thumbs. Luna started trying to braid Harry's hair.

"Wait a minute," Draco said, brow knitting together. "How did you relive the night again?" He tilted his head, eyes widening in horror. "You have a time turner!" He jumped out of his seat, beginning to pace. "That explains why you can take all those classes and relive a night over again. Merlin! Am I that stupid now that I'm a Gryffindor?"

"Hey!" All the Gryffindors yelled at once.

"That's beside the point," Hermione said, waving the blond off. "We're here to make a plan that ends in Sirius's freedom, not his eventual demise."

"How do you propose we do that?" Luna asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"First," Hermione scooted further into the couch, "we need to decide who will cast 'Expelliarmus' at Professor Snape."

"Why?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms. "Just let the man get what's coming to him."

Hermione scowled, opening her mouth to respond.

"I should probably knock out Sev," Draco said, interrupting the two before a fight could break out. "He can't hate me. I'm his godson."

Harry's mouth dropped. "Not fair. I wanna knock out Professor Snape."

"No, I should knock him out." The blond smiled. "Besides, I called dibs."

"I did it last time. This is my adventure. I think I deserve to knock Snape out."

"No, I do."

"No, I do."

"No, me."

"No, me."

"The point is not to knock Professor Snape out," Hermione said, jumping in-between the two boys.

The blond's eyes dropped. He sighed.

"Yeah, that would make for an awkward family reunion." The ex-Slytherin straightened, folding his hands much like his father would. "'Draco, do tell us about the time you knocked out your godfather again.'" He scrunched his nose. "Yeah, that's not happening."

"That settles it," Harry said, pointing to himself. "I'll knock out Professor Snape."

"Again-Harry-the point is to not knock out our potions professor," Hermione said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"But 'Mione…"

"Harry, Professor Snape will be the only adult that night that isn't going to turn into a werewolf."

Harry glared. "Sirius is an adult!" Draco, Hermione and even Luna cocked a brow at him. His lips twitched before he broke out in peals of laughter. "Yeah, I can't even keep a straight face with that one."

"I am an adult," Sirius said, scowling.

"Would an adult shirk his responsibilities to his godson to go after a rat?" Hermione asked, arms crossed.

"Well, that was…"

"Would an adult charm a ball of yarn to follow Professor McGonagall around?" Harry asked, brow furrowed.

"You gotta admit, that was funny."

"And would an adult charm all the cauldrons in the potions room to sing 'What is Love' every time someone put them over the fire?" Draco asked, grimacing. "That was the most annoying potions class ever."

"Hey," Sirius glared, "I think it was a very adult choice. I could have charmed them to sing 'Baby Got Back' or 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."

Hermione sighed. "This is what I get for trying to culture two pureblood wizards in the ways of the muggle world."

"Doesn't matter," Draco said, scowling. "You promised not to prank my godfather."

"It wasn't a prank on him." The animagus scrunched his nose. "I believe that was payback on the third year Slytherins for teasing Harry after that nasty fall from his broom during the quidditch match."

"This is all very much beside the point," Luna said, finishing the french braid in Harry's hair with a flourish. She turned to the man. "What Hermione was trying to say is that Professor Snape is the only adult there that night who can attest to your innocence." She smiled, patting the animagus on the shoulder. "You can't testify on your own behalf without a high likelihood of being kissed on sight, and werewolves cannot testify based off the lingering myth that they are inherently untrustworthy."

Sirius sighed. "Fine. You're not wrong." He turned to Hermione. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well," Harry said, head tilted, "we need to get everyone to the Shrieking Shack. I doubt Draco is going to let you pull him by the leg, so…."

"We will need you to chase Pettigrew into the Shrieking Shack," Hermione said resolutely. She paused, nose scrunching. "Without killing him."

"You and Moony," Sirius threw his hands in the air, "always taking the fun out of things."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes. He glanced down at his watch.

"Whoa! It's almost curfew."

"Time flies when you're plotting demise," Luna said, smiling.

Sirius grimaced. "Should we be concerned with the fact that rhythms?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We should be more concerned with the fact that Harry's worried about getting caught after curfew." She pointedly stared at the boy. "Like that's ever stopped him before."

"Okay, okay," Draco said, helping Hermione to her feet while Harry did the same for Luna. "No need to get our wands in a twist. We should head back to the dorms and get a good night sleep. We have less than a week until we need to catch a traitorous rat, and I don't want to be sleep-deprived if we must face a deranged werewolf, too."

They left the come-and-go room, Harry grabbing Luna's hand.

"My lady, do you need an escort back to your tower?"

"Sure, Harry," the Ravenclaw said, smiling.

"We can come with," Hermione said, heading toward the pair..

"No 'Mione," Draco grabbed her arm, "let the love birds finish off their date in piece."

The Gryffindor girl huffed. "Fine, we'll take Dragon with us."

"Here," Harry said, handing them his invisibility cloak. "If I have the advantage of the marauder's map, it's only fair you get the cloak."

"See you in the common room, Harry," Hermione said, taking the cloak before grabbing her Dragons by their collars and walking back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Mister Potter, taking a stroll in the moonlight, are we?" a smooth silky voice came from behind him. Harry grimaced. He'd just seen Luna back to her dorm. Why was this necessary? He turned around and shoved a disbanded Marauders Map back in his pocket.

"No, I… sleep walk."

"Oh really?" Professor Snape quirked a brow. "Accio parchment." He examined the old Parchment and pointed his wand at it. "Show me your secrets."

Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.

Harry leaned over the man's shoulder, stifling a laugh. The man's brow furrowed. He pointed his wand once again.

Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.

The man glared, turning to the young boy. Prongs' progeny cowered. They both looked back at the blank map.

Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.

"I didn't even do anything that time," the man said through gritted teeth. Harry shrugged.

Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slime ball.

The dark man stared at his student. "What is the meaning of this, Mr. Potter?"

"Do you want the short version or the long one?"

"Hello Severus, Harry," a voice called out, interrupting Harry's poor attempt at a cover-up. "What is going on?"

"Remus!" Harry cried, relief flooding his face. Maybe the man could come up with a better excuse than he had.

Snape huffed. "It appears-Mr. Moony-that someone has come across a dark artifact." He showed the man the blank parchment, which currently told the potions professor that he looked better upside-down.

Remus's eyes widened, his mouth dropping slightly.

"And what would you like me to do with this?" Remus asked, shaking his head.

"Well-as it obviously looks like a dark object, and the dark arts are your area of expertise-I thought you should take a look."

Harry nibbled his lower lip. Was Snape mocking Remus? His brow knitted together. It was only fair, really. The man knew enough to know Remus and his friends were those currently mocking him on an otherwise blank parchment.

"It looks like a silly joke product if you ask me," the DADA professor said, taking the parchment and giving it a quick once-over. "Probably one of Zonko's, yeah?" He glanced over at Harry, brow quirked. "I don't think there is anything dark about it."

"Are you sure?" the potions professor asked, reaching out to take it back.

"But," the werewolf batted the other man's hand away, "as you said, it is my area of expertise. I'll look into it further." He turned to the boy. "Harry can you come with me?"

The boy nodded, turning to Snape. "Goodnight, Professor."

When Remus and Harry stopped walking, they were in front of the DADA professor's living quarters. The man opened the door, motioning for his protege to go in front of him. He sat the Marauders Map on a table and took a deep breath.

"I don't know how you got a hold of this Harry," the man started, shaking his head, "because I know for a fact Filch confiscated it years ago. I'm not even going to ask." He glanced up at the boy, eyes sparkling. "What in the world did you think you were doing? Do you know what could have happened if this got in the hands of Sirius Black?" The werewolf waved the parchment in the air. "It would be a map leading right to you. The makers of this would have found it extremely entertaining to lead you out of this school."

Green eyes glared at the man. "You mean, my dad?"

"How did you…?"

"I'm not an idiot. Prongslet? Sounds a lot like Prongs to me."

Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Yes, he would have found it quite amusing. Now…"

"And you?" Harry's breath quickened. "I never told you it was a map, so that suggests you knew about it."

"Yes," the man averted his eyes, "I would have enjoyed as well, when I was younger." He clenched his jaw. "But that does not matter. You should not have put yourself in danger by carrying this around with you. Especially not at night."

"How was I supposed to know that Sirius Black would be able to get in the map?" Harry asked, voice rising. "It's not like I knew the two of you were bosom buddies."

"Well, you got into it somehow..."

"Because I was told what the incantation was. It probably took the twins months to figure it out, and then the map probably told them after it found out they were prankster." His eyes flared. "Which one was he? Moony? Padfoot? Wormtail? Where the heck did you pull those names from, anyway?" He crossed his arms. "And what right do you have to take that away from me?"

"Excuse me, young man?" Remus straightened, his eyes blazing themselves. "What right do I have? I am your professor…"

"I know for a fact my dad would want me to have it. It's my birthright."

"Birthright?" the man scoffed. "Do you forget? I am one of the map's creators. It's more mine than yours."

Harry sneered. "Now you admit it willingly: only when you want to confiscate it from me."

"This is not a matter of owner's rights." Remus rubbed his face. "This is a dangerous thing, Harry. It's my right-not only as your professor, but as your pseudo-godfather-to take it to keep you safe."

Harry shook his head, his face full of disgust. "If you're my pseudo-godfather, where were you all this time?"

The man's face fell. "Harry…"

"No! You don't get to come in here and claim you're protecting me when for the past eleven years I've been protecting myself."

"Har…"

"No! It's my turn to talk and your turn to listen." Harry's voice shook. "I spent eleven years thinking no one cared about me. Thinking that the only people who ever tried to care for me were my two friends. Then, you show up out of nowhere and take claim of your right as my 'pseudo-godfather'." The boy pointed a finger at the man. "You don't get to pick-and-choose when you're my authority figure. Either you are or you are not."

"What do you want me to say, Harry?" The man threw his arms in the air. "You know why I wasn't around. I told you: Dumbledore told me…"

"And you listened to Dumbledore." Harry glared. "That's your problem. You trusted Dumbledore." He shook his head. "You know what, I don't care. Take the map. But don't act like you are any more righteous by doing so."

With that, the boy turned and stomped off, slamming the door behind him. He headed toward the tower, only pausing right before he came to the Fat Lady.

"I know you're there," he said, not looking back.

The sound of satin rubbing against cloth filled the air as a cloak slid off the two Gryffindors and animagus. The dog came up and licked the boy's hands.

Draco stared at him, brow quirked. "I think I'm rubbing off on you too much. Really? Your birthright?"

Harry smirked. "How long were you two there for?"

"Dragon got concerned and sniffed his way to you." Hermione shrugged. "We decided to follow. I think we were there for the whole thing." She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Where did that come from?"

The ex-Slytherin scrunched his nose. "That wasn't very like you."

"I… don't have a clue." Harry sighed. "I guess I didn't like his taking the map. Last time he really was in the wrong." He crossed his arms. "I mean he knew exactly how Sirius was getting in and he didn't tell anyone, and then he has the audacity to put me at fault?"

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, rubbing his back.

"I guess it all came pouring out." The boy-who-lived shrugged. "I thought I had my anger under control this time, but I don't."

"That much is obvious," his blond friend said, punching his shoulder lightly.

"Come on," Harry said, motioning toward the portrait hole. "We shouldn't be standing around. We need to get back to Gryffindor."

Hermione nodded, patting his shoulder before opening the door and letting Dragon through, following after. Harry sighed, heading toward the hole himself.

"Harry, wait!" Draco called out.

The boy turned, brow quirked. "Yes, Dragon?"

"You forgot your cloak." The blond handed it to his friend. "After you losing the map, I didn't want you to forget your only remaining birthright."

Harry glared at the ex-Slytherin as the blond snickered, running to avoid a slap upside the head. The boy-who-lived shook his head. Whatever did he do to deserve friends like this?

(pages 258, 287-289, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)