As somebody reminded me the other day, I do not own anything, apart from Alex, Kura and the baby. But yeah, this chapter features a lot of direct quotes from the book. I've tried my best to change around some of them, but honestly, I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. Enjoy

Sirius left the office in a panic, a grin on his face. He told Remus to bring him and Kura to St Mungo's in a couple of hours and then he left, practically throwing himself out of the door in his haste. Remus took Kura for a wander around the grounds, leaving Harry with the headmaster. The old man smiled lightly and gestured towards the armchairs by the fire. Harry sat down nervously, not quite sure what to expect.

The headmaster wisely didn't mention the baby. While Harry had stopped being jealous a long time ago, and was actually quite excited, it was probably wise not to push it. Instead, his eyes twinkled down at Harry as he said, "Harry, I want to thank you. Only true loyalty to me would have called Fawkes to you"

Fawkes fluttered down onto Dumbledore's knee, clearly looking for attention. The headmaster obliged as Harry smiled awkwardly. "So, you met the young man that was Tom Riddle. I imagine he most curious about you…"

Harry grimaced. "You could say that" He could still see Riddle in front of him, Harry's wand in a pale hand. He shuddered. "Professor, Riddle said that we were alike. He said there were strange likenesses…"

Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully "Did he, now? And what do you think, Harry?"

Harry's voice was stronger and louder than he meant it to be. ""I'm nothing like him! I mean, I'm a Gryffindor, I'm…" He trailed off, doubts from the sorting beginning to resurface. He'd completely forgotten Sirius' words from last year. "Professor, the sorting hat told me I'd have done well in Slytherin. I can even speak Parseltongue"

Dumbledore looked at him quite calmly. "Harry, you can speak Parseltongue, because Lord Voldemort can speak Parseltongue. There seems to be a connection between the two of you that I cannot quite fathom. Unless I'm mistaken, he transferred some of his powers to you the night he gave you that scar"

Harry stared at him, absolutely flabbergasted. "Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?"

"Not something he intended, I'm sure"

Harry looked at the headmaster sadly. "So I should be in Slytherin"

"And yet, the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. While I cannot deny that you possess many qualities that Salazar Slytherin himself prized – determination, resourcefulness, his own rare gift of Parseltongue, and a certain disregard for rules" His eyes twinkled as he smiled at Harry. "You also possess Gryffindor's favoured traits in buckets, and the hat chose to put you there. You know why that is. Think"

"It only put me in Gryffindor, because I asked not to go in Slytherin…Just like Sirius"

Dumbledore beamed at him. "Exactly Harry. Knowing your godfather as you do, would you not agree that he is a Gryffindor through and through?"

"Well, of course!"

"It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. You chose to be in Gryffindor, which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. If you want proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest you look more closely at this."

He gestured towards the sword that Harry had stabbed the basilisk with. He turned it over, watching as the rubies created patterns on the wall. And then he saw the name. Godric Gryffindor

Dumbledore moved back over to the desk. "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry. Now, I suggest you go to the feast. I'll ask Remus and your rather sweet sister if they'd like to come, as they're already here" Harry smiled as Dumbledore said sister. He really did think of her that way. "I shall write to Azkaban – we need our gamekeeper back"

Harry nodded and moved towards the door. It swung before he got there, with great force.

A furious Lucius Malfoy was stood in the doorway. Harry looked at the house elf that was trying to polish his shoes. It was Dobby. The elf that had visited him in the summer, and in the hospital wing after he and Sirius had made up. The same elf that had blocked the barrier at platform 93/4, and had set the rogue bludger on him. He looked utterly wretched.

"Ah, good evening Lucius" Dumbledore said cheerily. Only Harry noticed the slight chill behind his twinkling blue eyes.

He strode into the room. "So, you have come back. All 12 governors suspended you, but you still saw fit to return" He said coldly, barely managing to control the fury in his voice.

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. "Well, you see, Lucius, the other eleven governors contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. They'd heard that Arthur Weasleys daughter had been killed and wanted me back here at once. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job after all. Very strange tales they told me, too… Several of them seemed to think that you had threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend me in the first place."

Harry felt slightly awkward as Mr. Malfoy stepped forward menacingly, his grey eyes glaring furiously at the headmaster. "So — have you stopped the attacks yet? Have you caught the culprit?"

Dumbledore glanced at Harry. "We have"

If Mr. Malfoy was shocked, he didn't show it. He spoke sharply, "Well? Who is it?"

Dumbledore suddenly turned serious again. "The same person as last time, Lucius. But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary."

He showed him the small black book and watched him closely. Harry saw Dobby out of the corner of his eye. The elf pointed at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hit himself on the head with a tiny fist.

"I see"

Dumbledore spoke in a level voice, maintaining eye contact with the elder Malfoy. "A clever plan, because if Harry here and his friend Ron hadn't discovered this book, why — Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will…" Mr. Malfoy glanced at Harry and then back to Dumbledore, his face showing no emotion at all. "And imagine, what might have happened then… The Weasleys are one of our most prominent pureblood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and — killing Muggle-borns… Very fortunate the diary was discovered, and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise…"

"How very fortunate"

"One wonders how Miss Weasley came across the diary in the first place, why, Mr. Black seemed to think she was given it"

It all fell into place then. Harry nodded at Dobby as Mr. Malfoy said, "Given it? Who would give a foolish, little girl that?"

"You would" Mr. Malfoy turned to stare incredulously at Harry. "You did. That day in Flourish and Blotts. You picked up her transfiguration book and slipped it inside, didn't you?"

Mr. Malfoy went, if possible, more pale. "Why don't you prove it?"

Dumbledore winked at Harry. "Oh, no one will be able to do that. Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you…"

OoOoOo

"Mr. Malfoy!" Harry called as he raced after the blonde man, Dobby's squeals of pain echoing through the corridor. It made him all the more determined. "I've got something for you"

He handed him Tom Riddle's diary. But it wasn't just the diary. As he'd ran from Dumbledore's office he'd pulled one of his socks free. He'd made sure to pick the slimiest and bloodiest one. Mr. Malfoy tore the sock from the diary and threw it to the side. He looked up at Harry maliciously and furiously. "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter. They were meddlesome fools, too."

He turned around and stalked away. "Come, Dobby. I said, come."

But Dobby didn't move. He was holding Harry's sock in his hands, and he was looking at it almost reverently. When he spoke, it was in a voice of pure astonishment. "Master has given Dobby a sock. Master threw it, and Dobby caught it. Dobby is free!"

Mr. Malfoy stared at the elf, completely frozen in shock. Then he threw himself at Harry, hissing, "You've lost me my servant"

Dobby stepped in front of him before Mr. Malfoy could reach him. "You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

There was a bang and Mr. Malfoy was sent crashing down the corridor. He climbed to his feet, righted his cloak and turned to Harry, his face contorted in fury. He drew his wand, but Dobby was there once again. He raised a single finger. "You shall go now. You shall not touch Harry Potter"

Mr. Malfoy shot the both of them an incensed glare, and spun on his foot, his cloak flying dramatically. He stalked away, muttering furiously under his breath. As soon as he had gone, Dobby turned around to face Harry.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!"

Harry grinned at him. "Least I could do, Dobby. Just promise never to try and save my life again."

Dobby's brown face suddenly split into a sheepish grin.

OoOoOo

Harry couldn't help it. He grinned. The feast had been brilliant. Everybody but the professors had been in their pyjamas and it had gone on all night. Which was why he was exhausted now. He, Remus and Kura were sat in a small waiting room at St Mungo's. Kura had fallen asleep next to him and he wasn't doing much better.

"I'm bored. Why did we have to leave the feast if we were just going to come here and wait?" Harry asked. He was well aware that it had been a whine, but he didn't particularly care.

Remus smiled tiredly. "We left the feast because people were starting to fall asleep in their pudding. And I thought if you stayed any longer, your ego might grow to such proportions that it wouldn't fit through the door"

Harry snorted. "That is so not true"

"Harry, you were praised by nearly every person on the staff – and most of the students. You and Ron practically won the house cup yourselves. All for something that, personally, I think was rather stupid"

"You think me saving Ginny was stupid?"

"I didn't say that. The stupid part was going down there – with no real help, even when you knew what was down there, and how dangerous it was. You had the mirror, why didn't you tell Sirius or I? Or McGonagall?"

Harry looked down at his shoes. It seemed so obvious now. "I didn't think of that. We went to tell Lockhart – we thought that he was going down there. And then, things just…sort of happened"

Remus took a deep breath. "I understand Harry. I just want you to understand how stupid and reckless what you did was. It is not a good trait to have"

"Sorry" Harry muttered. He hadn't felt the slightest bit sorry for what he'd done, but Remus had a way of making you feel guilty about anything. It wasn't fair, Harry mused. Between him and Sirius, he often felt like the worst person in the world. He was sure that was not their intent, but he still felt like it.

Remus smiled and put his arm around Harry's shoulders. "I love you kiddo, even if you are stupidly reckless"

Harry grinned. Remus always seemed to know what he needed, much like Sirius. He was so lucky to have been raised by them. He rest his head contently on Remus' shoulder, muttering, "I love you too"

Harry didn't realise he'd fallen asleep until Remus poked him gently awake. Sirius was stood in front of them, a broad grin on his face. He gently woke Kura up. "It's a boy. You have a little brother. Do you want to come and see him?"

Kura nodded enthusiastically and jumped off her seat. Harry remained seated, watching Sirius pick Kura up calmly. He looked at Harry. "That means you too"

Harry shook his head. "It should just be family first. I'll wait out here with Remus"

Sirius frowned and knelt down before him. Kura was oddly quiet in his arms, just staring at him with her big, grey eyes. "Harry, you are my family. You are all my family"

Harry smiled and let Remus pull him to his feet. He followed after Sirius, feeling strangely nervous. A tiny, new person was waiting. Someone who he'd watch grow. Someone he'd love. It was with a strange feeling of nerves and excitement that Harry entered the room.

Alex was lay in the bed, looking exhausted, but overjoyed. She smiled at Harry and patted the bed next to her. Harry nervously sat where he was told, smiling slightly as Sirius placed Kura in his lap. He didn't need Sirius to say anything as he handed Harry the small blue bundle, who obediently lowered it so Kura could see.

"Meet Matthew Sirius Black"

Harry peeked over the rim of the blue blanket. A small, red, scrunched up face filled his vision. Harry didn't think he'd ever seen anything so beautiful before. He was perfect. Thin wisps of chocolate brown hair covered his head. He opened his mouth and yawned. Kura giggled.

"He's got no teeth Daddy"

Sirius smiled. "Those will come later – when he's older"

Harry couldn't take his eyes of the baby in front of him. He couldn't understand how he'd ever hated this tiny, innocent person. He looked up at Sirius, who grinned. "He's beautiful". The baby shifted in the blanket, sticking just one arm out. Harry knew what to do. He put his fingers close to the baby's and gently stroked his palm. He clenched his entire hand around Harry's little finger. Harry felt tears prick at his eyes. He smiled at the baby. "Welcome to the world Matthew Sirius"

AN: So, sorry for the wait. Year two is now over. Woo! I hope you guys have enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought of it?

Now, I don't know when the first chapter of year three will be up, but hopefully, I'll have finished some of my work this week, so it shouldn't be too long. I plan on writing loads over Easter so I can keep up, so my schedule shouldn't be too screwed up too much.

Please leave a review?