Author's Note: Big thank you to those of you who read and reviewed my belated Valentine's Day James/Lily one-shot! I'm quickly becoming addicted to writing one-shots, and it's great to have your support.

We will get to the Department of Mysteries next week, but I haven't written any 'alone-time' for my main characters for a while, so I thought I'd put some in here. There's been so much Harry/Ron/Hermione going on that it's been easy to forget that I'm writing a Sirius/OC story. I also wanted to move Remus/Tonks along just a bit, so everyone gets a moment here. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thanks, Worthfull1

P.S. I own nothing, anything recognizable belongs to the lovely Ms. Rowling. This includes any dialogue that may have been in the books. I'm trying very hard not to quote verbatim, but it may occasionally happen. I DO NOT OWN ANY CANON CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS OR DIALOGUE.

Chapter 35: Exams And Visions

"So, basically it's a free-for-all up there," said Sirius, trying to make sense of the chaos at the school that Tonks had just reported.

After Dumbledore's departure for parts unknown, Kingsley and Mad-Eye had taken over day-to-day operations for the Order, and had sent the pink-haired Auror to Hogsmeade on several occasions over the last few weeks to 'asses the situation'. Morphing herself into an old crone (one of her favorite disguises), she'd wander around the village for a while and then have a nice, long conversation with Madam Rosemerta, who'd give her all sorts of information. After that, she'd go up to the Hog's Head to visit Aberforth, thinking that he may have some news from Dumbledore. He never did, but during her last visit, he did say that he'd heard a rumour about trolls moving through the highlands, and that was not good. Trolls were difficult at the best of times, and these were not the best of times.

When she'd finished her last 'assessment', Tonks headed back to headquarters to make her report and had given Remus quite a start. She hadn't gotten around to morphing herself back into Tonks before she'd walked into the kitchen and Remus had drawn his wand on her before catching her scent and realizing who she was. Tonks did her best not to laugh as she watched his nose twitch slightly, then his face relax as he recognized her. "Wotcher, Remus!" she said, changing back with a grin. He'd smiled at her and his ears turned red, relieved that she hadn't seemed disgusted at him recognizing her by scent.

"I don't like it either, Sirius," said Kingsley, "but right now there's not much we can do. Until we can figure out a way to overthrow Umbridge, the best we can do is be vigilant and constantly at the ready."

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody barked, making everyone jump.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Mad-Eye!" Sirius shouted back, already jumpy after Tonks' report. Molly glared at him for his outburst and he rolled his eyes.

"Well, I think that wraps things up for tonight. Oh, Remus, would you mind taking guard duty with Tonks next week?" Kingsley asked. They'd been taking the shift in pairs since Arthur's attack and, even though Remus wasn't a Ministry employee, he'd been helping out as well. Remus couldn't get into the Ministry after hours by himself, but as long as he was with a Ministry employee he could remain undetected.

Remus nodded. "Sure, Kingsley," he answered, not noticing the very pleased look on Tonks' face or the knowing grins that Sirius and Jeannie sent her way.

"Excellent," Kingsley said. "Now, I think we're done here. Goodnight everyone," he said, as the Order members began to go their separate ways.

"You two sticking around?" Sirius asked Jeannie and Tonks when they didn't get up to leave.

"Yeah, thought we might," Tonks said as they moved down the table to sit next to their Marauders.

Sirius nodded. "Winky?" he called. The elf appeared instantly at his side. "Jeannie and Tonks are staying. Would you make sure there is enough for four, please?"

"Yes sir!" Winky nodded. "Will Mister Fred and Mister George be joining you as well?" she asked.

"I don't believe so," Sirius said, looking up quickly to make sure Molly and Arthur had left. It was now the middle of June, and had been nearly two months since the boys had pulled their stunt with Umbridge and left school, and even though they had officially moved in to their shop in Diagon Alley and confessed to their mother, things were still a bit strained. Molly had, as expected, thrown an enormous fit - screaming about the shame the boys had brought upon the family and how she was certain nothing good would come of it.

Then she'd found out that Sirius had let the boys stay at Grimmauld while they got their things sorted out. Sirius and Molly hadn't had a fight like that since the previous summer, when Sirius insisted on seeing Harry to King's Cross. Even though Fred and George swore up and down that they didn't really give Sirius a choice in the matter, Molly still accused him of enabling their childish behaviour. Sirius stood and took the abuse, like he'd known he'd have to eventually, but when she stated that he'd betrayed her by keeping her in the dark about her own children, he'd had enough, and that's when the real fun began.

Sirius was, understandably, very touchy about being called a traitor, and was not going to take that from anyone - including Molly Weasley. Yes, she had fed everyone over the previous summer and yes, she had taken over most of the cleaning of the house to make it habitable and yes, Sirius was really quiet fond of the matriarch, but that didn't change the fact that she was a meddler and had no problem doing all she could to put a stop to things she didn't like - whether or not she was in the right. The two ended up having a spectacular row, with many regrettable things said, and it had ended with Sirius having to comfort Molly like he'd done over Christmas when Arthur and Jeannie were injured. Molly was afraid, more than anything, and Sirius understood that. They'd parted on good terms, but neither wanted to push the issue.

All the paperwork had been signed and a fair amount of Sirius' gold had changed hands, and the twins had opened officially on the first of June. It had been a lot of work, but Fred and George had shown everyone just how serious they were by working from dawn to dusk to get everything ready. They hadn't asked for any help, but Jeannie and Remus had popped by once or twice to lend a hand and, when they decided the boys were working too hard, they'd brought them back to Grimmauld for supper before insisting that they go to bed.

The work paid off, though, and Fred and George opened Weasley's Wizard Wheezes: Purveyors Of Aides To Magical Mischief Makers on June first, so as to get a good head start before the end of school. They wanted to know what they were doing before the students started coming in. Things had gone so well over the first couple of weeks that the boys were talking about hiring an assistant. Several people had applied, and they were starting interviews the next week.

"The shop still going well?" Sirius asked the table at large, since he was the only one who hadn't been by.

"Oh, yes," Remus answered, finishing his pork chop. "They're raking in the galleons."

"Cant' wait to see it," Sirius said longingly, pushing away his plate and reaching for his glass of wine.

"I'll take some pictures for you next time I'm over there," Tonks said, grinning at her cousin. Sirius made a face at her.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Jeannie said. "The store's ridiculous, Sirius - you've got to see it."

An hour later and Jeannie was ready to head to bed. With Sirius, that is. She leaned back in her chair and placed her foot on his thigh under the table. He looked at her and smirked. She raised an eyebrow at him and moved her foot a little higher. Sirius narrowed his eyes at her as she ran her foot over his crotch. His smile was dark and full of promise as he reached down and covered her foot with his hand, forcing her to increase the pressure. Jeannie bit her lip as she felt him harden.

"Would you like us to leave or are you going to take this upstairs?" Remus asked mildly, causing Jeannie to jump slightly. He was grateful when Sirius stood, held his hand out to Jeannie - who took it, and they left the kitchen without another word. Remus ran a hand over his face. "I swear sometimes I think I could live in the middle of a bordello and see less sex," he said, not realizing he'd voiced this out loud until Tonks dissolved into giggles.

"Hey, at least they're getting some!" she said, still laughing. "You and I have to suffer alone. Well - I'm assuming you don't have a girlfriend."

Remus flushed slightly. "No, of course I don't," he said.

"Why 'of course'?" Tonks asked.

Remus blinked at her. "Girlfriends are few and far between when one is a werewolf," he explained, trying to sound factual rather than self-pitying. "But why are you - ah - 'suffering alone'?"

"Well, the war has rather put a damper on certain activities," Tonks answered, and Remus nodded. "But, you know, I'm actually fairly picky."

"Oh, well - I didn't mean to imply that you weren't," Remus said quickly. He didn't want her thinking that he considered her easy or slutty. "What I meant was that you're young and attractive. There must be several interested parties."

"There are," she said. "Until they get me alone. Then they want someone else."

Remus frowned. "I don't understand. If they want someone else, why pursue you?"

Tonks snorted. "Because I can be anyone," she said, as if it were obvious. "You feel like blonde tonight, I can be blonde," she said, changing her hair accordingly. "You want ginger, I can be ginger." Another change. "You want these bigger - " she stopped and pushed her chest out to demonstrate.

"I - I get it," Remus stuttered, raising his hand to stop her. "Have men really asked you to change yourself when you're... er - ?" He raised his eyebrows in question.

"When we're naked?" she asked bluntly. "Yeah, and the last one got a nasty case of warts for it, too."

"Good!" Remus said instantly. He couldn't think of anything more humiliating that what she was describing. "You absolutely should have hexed him! That's ridiculous!"

"Hey, I agree, but when everyone knows you're a metamorphmagus, there are bound to be people like that," Tonks said. "I'll bet there are a few women out there who would want you because you're a werewolf."

Remus flushed and grimaced. He had, in fact run across a woman like that when he'd been much younger, and even though he'd enjoyed her 'company' very much during the three days leading up to the full moon, he'd been disgusted with himself and with her once he was reasonable again and no longer driven by his most basest instincts. Tonks understood his facial expression.

"Exactly," she said. "I admit, with my second boyfriend I gave in to that a couple of times, but I hated it and it made the sex terrible. Would you believe he actually had the stones to complain one time after sex that I hadn't been able to hold the form I'd taken. Honestly! I'd finally gotten an orgasm out of it and he was unhappy that I couldn't concentrate enough to keep an unnatural form!" Tonks shook her head. "Sorry," she added, noticing how red Remus had turned during her outburst.

"No, that's alright," he said, smiling despite his flush. "I did share a dorm with a teenaged Sirius Black, after all. This sort of talk really shouldn't bother me."

Tonks shrugged. "Anyway, I cried the rest of the night and broke up with him the next day. I've been really picky about my partners ever since."

"Good," Remus said. "You're intelligent, capable and attractive, Tonks. You shouldn't have to settle for bastards."

She smiled softly at him. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" Remus asked, cocking his head.

"For being you," she said. Tonks got up and walked around the table, wrapped one arm around his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Startled, Remus turned wide eyes on her, and she thought about apologizing and moving away, but something in his look stopped her. He looked shocked, yes, but he also looked... hungry? Shy, certainly, but also... needy? Wanting? She watched as his gaze flickered from her eyes to her mouth and back again. The corner of her mouth twitched as she made her decision. Leaning in again, she didn't bother aiming for his cheek, but brushed her lips softly against his, feeling his moustache tickle her.

Pulling back, she watched his eyes flutter open. She felt dizzy and she knew it had nothing to do with the wine she'd drunk. She'd only had one glass, after all. Not nearly enough to blame the dizziness on the alcohol. Looking into his eyes, she almost drowned in the blue pools. His breath was hot and quick against her face and Tonks knew she needed to get out of there before she did something really stupid.

"Goodnight," she whispered, standing and walking out of the kitchen, leaving a very confused and aroused werewolf in her wake.

Upstairs, things were much hotter. Sirius had practically dragged Jeannie up the stairs and once they were in his bedroom, he slammed her against the door. Pulling his wand out, he cast the usual charms and divested them of clothing, then tossed his wand to the side and slid his hands under Jeannie's arse, lifting her. She instinctually wrapped her legs around him, moaning as his cock immediately came into contact with her cunt.

Grinding against each other, Sirius took her mouth, plundering the hot depths as he lined himself up. Thrusting hard, he sheathed himself in one move and she squealed at the intrusion. Resting her head against the door, Jeannie let Sirius set the pace. Quick and hard, that's the mood he was in. He slammed into her repeatedly, grunting with each thrust and when he felt himself getting close, he reached between them to work her clit. Within moments, she seized up, clawing at his back and clamping down on his cock. Two more thrusts and he joined her, his moans echoing hers as he came.

Panting, Sirius gathered Jeannie up, turned around and made his way to the bed, pulling out and depositing her on his sheets. He ran a hand through his hair, then climbed in beside her, covering them both before wrapping an arm around her and kissing her temple.

"Goodnight, Sirius," Jeannie panted.

"'Night, baby," Sirius answered, his eyes fluttering closed, completely and blissfully unaware of what was happening at Hogwarts at that very moment.

"What on earth?" Minerva said to herself, looking out of her office window. Gazing out towards Hagrid's hut, the elderly witch could see several figures making their way across the Hogwarts grounds, heading in the direction of the groundskeeper's domicile. Setting aside the essays she was grading, Minerva swept out of her office and made her way out of the castle.

Not getting there in time to intercept the intruders, she heard the raised voices, recognized the squat witch in front as their Headmistress and watched as Hagrid literally threw two of them away from his hut. That's when the wands came out. Several red stunning spells were shot in Hagrid's direction, but his giant blood was able to repel them. With a shout, Minerva ran to his rescue, only to find herself on the receiving end of four stunners. Dropping to the ground, she never heard the shouts of outrage floating down from the Astronomy Tower where the fifth year students were taking their Astronomy O.W.L.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she watched the red jets of light hit Professor McGonagall squarely in the chest. Beside her, Harry and Ron were in similar states of shock, and let out shouts as their professor fell.

"Can you see who's down there?" Harry asked her.

Hermione shook her head. "No, but I'll bet you anything that Umbridge is behind it."

Ron snorted. "Of course she is - she's probably leading the charge," he said, disgusted.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "They're doing this now because she doesn't want Hagrid getting the attention Trelawney had. Remember that?"

Hermione and Ron both nodded. Umbridge had decided, after 'reviewing' all the professors, that Dumbledore was incapable of hiring competent staff, so yet another Educational Decree had come down from on high, and the Hogwarts High Inquisitor had taken it upon herself to expel the Divination Professor. Trelawney's things had been forcibly packed, and she was escorted out into the courtyard, making quite a scene until Dumbledore came to her rescue. He'd conceded that Umbridge now had the authority to fire his teachers, but he insisted that she did not have the authority to force them off the premises.

By now, classes had ended for the day, and the entire school had gathered to watch the spectacle. Umbridge was forced to let Trelawney stay, but she made it clear that she would change that as soon as she could. McGonagall had rushed to Trelawney's side, wrapped her arms around the harmless fraud, and escorted her back into the castle, floating the trunks behind them.

"Ten minutes!" said Professor Sinistra, reminding them that they were in the middle of an exam. By now, though, every student was watching the scene below them and clearly couldn't care less about Astronomy. "Everyone back to your parchments," she said, as what appeared to be Madam Pomfrey came running out of the castle to fetch McGonagall.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks and hurriedly finished their O.W.L. They knew they couldn't do anything to help and making an issue of it would probably just cause trouble for them. If there was anything Harry needed less of, it was trouble. Once the exam was over, they rushed back to Gryffindor Tower and plastered themselves to the window, but the excitement was over for the night. Madam Pomfrey had, presumably, gotten McGonagall to the Hospital Wing, and they knew Hagrid had gotten away because they'd watched him disappear past the gates.

By the time Harry made his way to his History of Magic O.W.L. the next afternoon with Ron and Hermione, he was exhausted. They'd stayed up most of the night talking about McGonagall and Umbridge, and revising for the next day's exams, and when they finally had gone to bed, he'd tossed and turned, failing to get any real rest. Yawning once again, Harry took his seat. His exam was already on the desk in front of him, so he took out his quill and began.

'The Goblin Rebellion of 1612 was fought primarily in Hogsmeade... '

Harry felt his eyes threatening to shut involuntarily as he tried to remember the cause of the rebellion. Probably something to do with goblin's rights, he thought. Yeah, that sounded good. He got through about two-thirds of his exam before his weariness and the heat of the day finally overtook him. Harry's quill slowly slipped through his fingers, and he laid his head on his arms without even realizing it.

He recognized this room. This was the room that was beyond the door he dreamed constantly about. Row after row of shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, and on those shelves was nothing but glass orbs which appeared to be filled with smoke. The room was dark, and Harry instinctively knew he was in the Ministy and deep underground. Marble tile lined the floor and the walls and the few lamps gave the room an eerie, menacing look.

Harry turned around at the sound of a whimper. A figure lay on the floor, somehow familiar, but not close enough for Harry to recognize him. As Harry floated towards the figure he realized that he was once again seeing things from Voldemort's point of view. He recognized the arm held out in front of him, the grey robe, the cruel-looking wand and the bony fingers wrapped tightly around it.

"You're going to get it for me," Voldemort hissed, floating closer to the figure on the floor.

"Nooo," the figure whispered. Harry tried to look closer, but he was seeing things through Voldemort's eyes, so he still didn't know who the figure was. He looked so familiar, though. Harry could see black, wavy hair, a medium build, expensive but outdated robes... He knew this man!

"Oh, yes. You will get it for me," Voldemort promised as the figure shook his head again.

"I'll die first," the man swore.

Voldemort seemed to find this very funny. He laughed, his voice high and cruel. "Yes, you will die," he said easily. "But first you will get the prophecy."

"No," the man said once again.

"Crucio!" Voldemort said, flicking his wand. The man screamed and writhed, flipping onto his back and Harry finally had an unobstructed view of his face. Panic took over and he screamed inside his head, the shock being enough to pull him from the vision.

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was in the middle of the Great hall where they'd been taking their History of Magic exam. Ron and Hermione were kneeling beside him, looking worried. He could feel tear tracks on his face, but he didn't care at this moment. Meeting Hermione's eyes, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Sirius!" he breathed.

Author's Note: Uh-oh! See you guys next week ;)

Thanks, Worthfull1