Harry Potter and the Autumn Swan

by Lord Akiyama

a Harry Potter fan fiction story


Chapter Fifty


Sirius Black entered the slightly packed Three Broomsticks. The Hogsmeade trips were the most highly anticipated both for the students and for the residents. For the students because they could spend at least a full day without having to worry about their students. For the residents because it means an increase of business from usual. He managed his away around the crowded seats and tables until he got to the stairs. At the bottom were Alastor Moody and Nymphadora Tonks. Alastor looked the same as ever, suspicious and alert. Nymphadora looked exhausted. At the top of the stairs, Sirius would find a room where he would meet his friend Remus Lupin. Trying to at least talk to him was the primary objective of his being here in the first place.

Moody and Tonks both gave him nods, letting him know that he could go up the stairs to meet with Remus. With a sigh, Sirius ascended the stairs. The conversation he was about to have with his friend was going to be an interesting one to be sure. It would be both familiar and different. Familiar in that it would be dealing with Lupin's continued feeling of self-loathing. Different in that he had to figure out how he could possibly get him to deal with the dangerous role of being a spy.

Sirius knew exactly which door to find his friend behind. It was the only one that was closed. All the other doors at the top of the stairs were open in varying degrees. Remus would clearly be the only one to lock it tight if it meant shutting himself out from the rest of the world. With another sigh, Sirius walked over to the door and knocked on it twice. He waited a minute before he added a light kick. Signifying to Remus as to who it was that was calling. It was another minute he heard all of the locks and bolts turning before the door opened ever so slightly.

Remus Lupin looked absolutely dreadful. He was on the verge of turning pale white. His eyes were drooped and his clothes ragged. His hair was so frizzy that it was literally trying to stretched out in every possible direction. His face unshaven, adding to the already horrendous appearance. And this was on top of the smell of someone who had not taken a bath for weeks.

"I take it you heard," Remus managed to utter. A tone that was close to being similar to that of Sirius himself.

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't," Sirius responded in his deep, raspy voice.

"So you're the one going to attempt to shake me out of this depression I'm in," Remus commented.

"I got you taking, haven't I?" Sirius noted with a slight chuckle. "Hell of a start, if you ask me."

"It's downhill from here, I'm afraid," Remus stated.

He then stepped back and opened the door slightly enough so that Sirius could walk in. Once both men were in the room, Remus closed the door and shuffled his way over to the nearest chair. Sirius looked around for the next available chair to sit in. Once both were sitting down, they merely stared at one another for several moments.

"Moody and Tonks did fill me in on all the details, you know," Sirius said.

"Then you know how difficult it's going to be to lighten the mood," Remus said.

"Yeah well, I knew that long before coming in," Sirius said in a manner that sounded as though it was meant to be a retort. "Like I knew you being a spy would have been a horrible idea from day one. One would think that your history in the Order would be a telling sign that you wouldn't be getting any where with Greyback."

"Look who's being the braniac now," Remus said sarcastically.

"Believe me, I'm enjoying it as much as you are," Sirius responded. "He takes a piece of your flesh, rips out poor Emmeline's throat right before your eyes, and what do you get for your troubles? No information to pass along. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the son of a bitch is toying with you."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Remus noted.

"You're very welcome, Remus," Sirius said. "But wait, there's more. Since Greyback has a piece of your flesh, he's now able to pick up your scent whenever he wants and hit your location faster than you can say, 'Pop goes the weasel.' He's toying with you, he's got your scent. One would think that when given the word, he'll strike to see if you'd accidentally reveal any key locations of the Order for the Death Eaters to rain down upon. To sum it all up, you're pretty badly screwed here, man. And there's not a damned thing you can do about it."

"You sure are doing a marvelous job lifting my spirits, Sirius," Remus stated.

"I haven't even gotten to the best part yet," Sirius said.

"Which is?" Remus asked.

"You counter the psychological advantage he has on you," Sirius replied.

Remus looked at his friend. Squinting his eyes, wondering if the other had finally descended into madness like one generally does in a place like Azkaban. "And I'm supposed to do this how?" he questioned.

"Well, the first thing you really need to do is grow a spine," Sirius answered bluntly.

"Gee, thanks," Remus muttered.

"I mean it, Remus," Sirius stated. "It was bad enough dealing with your self-loathing when you were just bloody concerned about the fact that you're a werewolf in the first place. Now you're scared out of your mind about how much worse it has gotten upon realizing how poorly thought out you being a spy within Greyback's pack was."

"Is there supposed to be a point to all this?" Remus asked. Ever since the two became friends, it was generally Remus who would be the one to try to reason with Sirius, who in turn just wanted him to get to the point so the conversation would end as quickly as possible. Neither one had ever imagined they would ever be in a position where the roles were reversed.

"It's time you actually stood up for yourself," Sirius began to explain, leaning forward so that he could speak directly. "It's time for you to put your foot down and just unleash all of that vent up frustration into a bloody rage."

"So that's how I grow a spine?" Remus questioned with a raised brow. "Let loose in a blaze of glory."

"That's to cap it off," Sirius pointed out. "You're getting ahead of me here. If there's one good thing I ever learned from my evil family, it's that you can always turn one's advantage against them."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"Remember the story I told you guys about how I managed to get my mother to relent and hook me up with that collection of Beatles albums when I was fifteen?" Sirius responded.

"Remember it?" Remus replied. "Sirius, the fact that you and your mother engaged in a yelling match that lasted for three days over a bunch of records continues to baffle my mind to this day."

"It's the clincher that matters, though," Sirius explained. "For all her talk about blood purity, she had a soft spot for a rare few Muggles. A fact she would never admit to any one outside of her own black heart. And I managed to discover that which was absolutely forbidden, thereby blackmailing her into getting me those records."

Remus rubbed his unshaven chin, thinking about what his friend was telling him for a moment. It sounded like a good idea. However, it sounded too good of an idea. Under the circumstances, he would be so lucky if it ever were so easy. "There's one problem to all of this, Sirius," he said. "We have nothing to blackmail Greyback with."

"Yeah we do," Sirius responded. "Draco Malfoy."

This caught Remus' full attention. "Do you and Harry really believe that Draco has become a Death Eater?" he asked sternly.

"At the very least, he's working for them," Sirius answered. "Moody himself will admit that there's something suspicious about Malfoy managing to threaten Borgin into doing something, whatever that may be. We can add that, through yours truly, that he's been making frequent visits to the Room of Requirement. Too frequent for it to be anything school related."

Remus hung his head slightly and scratched the back of it with his right hand. "Still not enough to say for sure he's up to something Death Eater related," he noted.

"Maybe," Sirius said. "But it's worth a shot to make mention, one day, that I am now an educator at Hogwarts and that I would be able to pull the kind of strings that would prevent Draco from proceeding forward with whatever it is they're making him do."

"Suppose it doesn't work," Remus said.

"Believe me, Remus," Sirius responded. "If I want to, I can make it so that Draco Malfoy would be serving supervised detention for the rest of the school year and no one would be able to realize I was responsible."

"I meant blackmailing Greyback," Remus stated. "It's not going to work."

"It probably won't," Sirius said with a shrug. "At the very least it will get the ball rolling into you finding out some information we can use against them. As well as get you to grow a damned spine."

Remus sighed and looked back up at Sirius. He cursed his luck for having been placed into this position. Of having to rely on his friend to toughen him up under possibly the worst possible scenario he could ever be in. He could only imagine how hard it was for Sirius to be doing so. "Your words have filled me with great joy, Sirius," he said.

"That's what I'm here for, Remus," Sirius chuckled.


A few hours later, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger exited the Three Broomsticks. Neither were aware of Sirius Black, nor the others from the Order of the Phoenix within the building. They were concerned with other matters. Among them included Ron's attitude upon spotting his sister Ginny in a corner cuddled up with Dean Thomas. While Harry and Hermione understood that Ron was simply acting like an older brother wanting to make sure his little sister was safe, they also knew he was sounding more overprotective than he probably should be.

They were also concerned with Harry's attempt to get to know Professor Horace Slughorn. An assignment given to him by Professor Albus Dumbledore, though he honestly did not know why. As a result, the three found themselves engaged in a conversation with the Potions Professor. To say the talk they had with him was different would barely scratch the surface. Even Hermione, who generally had no problem having long discussions with any one of her professors, was left perplexed over what she thought of their new Potions Professor. Sensing the day not getting any better and not really sure what else there was to do around Hogsmeade, the three decided to make their way back to the castle moments after Professor Slughorn departed their company.

They had just left the building when Ron pulled Harry back so that they would be merely a few steps behind Hermione. "Harry," he whispered. Obviously wanting to say something to his friend that he did not want Hermione to hear.

"What?" Harry asked. Sensing that the conversation was to be private, he kept his voice at the same level as that of Ron.

"Did you hear what she was saying back at the pub about me and her snogging?" Ron questioned rather nervously.

Harry raised a brow for a moment. It did not take him long to think back to where this line of question was coming from. During the moment when Ron appeared to obviously object to seeing his sister dating, Hermione made an interesting comment that caused both herself and Ron to blush rather slightly. Something Harry managed to catch while the others looked away quickly enough not to notice the other doing the same. Just another sign to him that it seemed past due for his two best friends to hook up. He felt they should have done it at the very least a year ago.

"As if," Harry merely responded, shaking his head. His intent was to come off as being sarcastic. Either he did a rather poor job at doing that or it simply flew by Ron's head as the other simply sighed nervously and said nothing more.

Hermione slowed her step so that they was now walking between the two boys. She gave out a sigh, one that sounded rather pleasant, and threw her arms over both of their shoulders. They weren't sure, but Harry and Ron felt that it was possible she drank just a little too much butterbeer earlier. But she was in a seemingly positive mood, so they merely went along with her. Until something apparently pushed up against Harry's free side, which in turn slightly pushed the others toward the opposite direction. All three came to an immediate stop and looked over to see what the deal was.

"Fear not, my love," Cho Chang proclaimed in a low voice that was also mocking that of a heroic tone. She wrapped her arms tightly around Harry's and began to gently tug him away from his friends. "I have come just in the nick of time to free you from the clutches of your captors."

One look at his girlfriend made him smile. She was clad in her very long, heavy Black Watch tartan skirt, midnight blue wool jacket, red scarf around her neck, and tam o'shanter slanted slightly to her left. Not to mention the smile on her face was simply enchanting. He looked over at his friends and shrugged while willingly allowing Cho to pull him away from them.

"My hero," he managed to say with a light chuckle. Harry wanted to laugh seeing the rather goofy looks on the faces of Ron and Hermione, watching all this happen before them. He managed to wave before he was dragged away from their view, after which he turned and walked along with Cho.

"You didn't think you could just wander on back to the castle without spending some time in Hogsmeade with your girlfriend, now did you Mr. Potter?" Cho teased as she led him through the snow covered streets.

"I was afraid that would have been the case," Harry replied, playing along with her willingly. "But now that you've come to rescue me, I don't have to worry about having wasted a Hogsmeade trip without having been with you."

Cho continued to lead Harry through the snow covered streets, turning a corner here and there until reaching what was apparently their destination. A small pond of water, the top layer obviously frozen into ice by the weather. Curiously, the pond above which a bridge students use to cross over to return to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade and vice versa. The very same bridge he was heading towards with Ron and Hermione before Cho pulled him away from them.

"You know, there was an easier way we could have gotten here other than having to cut through the whole of the village," Harry noted with a curious brow raised. He stated this while cracking a half smile on his face for no apparent reason other than being in the presence of his girlfriend.

"True enough," Cho said with a light giggle. "But then we would have had a curious Ron and Hermione following us and ruining our much needed and well deserved private together."

She then walked over to where a log was conveniently laying at the edge of the pong. She bent down and reached inside the log, pulling out a black duffel bag that she placed upon the ground before shifting herself into a sitting position on the log. She looked over at Harry and smiled at him, patting a spot on the log to her right. The obvious sign that she want him to sit next to her. Which he obliged to without hesitation.

"Have you ever skated before?" she asked.

"Not really, no," Harry answered, relaxing a little as he watched her open the duffel bag and reach inside. "I take it that's what we're going to be doing today."

"I'm not that much of a skater, I admit," Cho said as she began removing her boots and placing skates upon her feet. "But I find it a nice substitute to flying when it's snowing like this."

"But the snow's falling rather lightly," Harry pointed out. "One could still manage to fly through these conditions."

"True," Cho said, now removing Harry's boots and placing skates upon his feet. "But then I've always wanted to do something nice and romantic with you in the snow. And skating sounded like a good idea to me."

"Even though I've never skated before," Harry noted.

"Which I'm actually happy about," Cho responded, standing up and lightly positioning herself in front of him. "The way I see it, it's as good of an excuse as any for you to hold me throughout."

"Are you sure you're fine with us tumbling down onto the ground with one of us on top of the other every time?" Harry asked, giving out a light chuckle the emphasize his words being a joke.

"Then how about we look at it as my continuing to help you learn to dance," Cho suggested with a smile, extending her hands out just enough so that Harry could reach them.

Harry smiled some more before taking Cho's hands and allowing her to pull him onto his feet. They took a few steps onto the ice and within seconds they were lightly gliding upon the frozen surface. Harry did nothing to move at first, letting himself be moved in the direction his skates and Cho led him. Cho then slowly placed herself behind Harry, wrapping her around his waist, and began shifting his movements so that it would come off looking like he could skate.

"It's all about balance," Cho said. "Being able to know when to adjust your weight and where to position them. In a way, it's almost like flying. But instead of relying on a broom, you're relying on being able to maintain your physical self."

Harry simply nodded in response. For a short while, Cho held onto her embrace of him as he got used to how exactly to skate. It was not long before she slowly began to loosen her grip. Soon, she had released her hold all together and let Harry try to skate on his own. He managed to stay up for a minute before losing balance and then nearly face planting himself onto the ice. Both started to laugh at how the end result came to be.

"That went well," Harry noted with a chuckle as he slowly turned himself over so that he would be in a sitting position on the ice.

"Few get it right the first time," Cho said through her own giggle. She skated lightly around Harry before stopping right in front of him. "I'm no different. You just have to get up and try and try again."

"As long as you're the one helping me try and try again," Harry stated with a smile. He stretched his hands out to her and she gladly took them, pulling him up to his feet.

For the next several moments, they continued to attempt to get Harry to be able to skate on his own. Within a couple of minutes, he would find himself tumbling onto the ground in some comedic fashion. It was not long before they both decided to ditch the idea of him skating on his own completely.

"If I didn't know any better, Mr. Potter, I would say that you were purposefully flopping about," Cho teased as she held him from behind to keep his balance as they skated upon the ice.

"Oh really," Harry responded, playing along with a chuckle. "What makes you say that, Miss Chang?"

"It seems pretty obvious, don't you think?" Cho pointed out with a slight giggle. "Whenever you are skating by yourself, you find yourself falling flat on your face withing a matter of minutes. Yet whenever I am physically hold you up for support, you manage to maintain your balance."

"Perhaps it speaks more towards your ability to keep someone on their feet when they are skating," Harry responded, still chuckling along. "I still haven't the faintest idea of how to keep my balance."

"Is that so," Cho noted. Her lips curled into a smirk. "Well then, perhaps I need a little convincing." Without any sort of warning, she pushed Harry off so that he would skate on his own.

The second he felt his weight being forced forward, Harry yelped. Granted he knew that this was all fun and games, he knew very well that he was still a terrible skater. He turned as quickly as he could and reached out to grab Cho's hands. Not realizing that doing so wasn't exactly going to help keep his balance. Upon taking her hands, he pulled with all his might so that he could shift his weight back to her. What happened instead was that he pulled Cho toward him, causing her weight to be shifted upon him. She let out a light scream as they held onto one another and tried swaying themselves about in an effort to reclaim their balance. Seconds later, they crashed into the snow. Laughing along the way.

"Okay, you've convinced me," Cho proclaimed as she continued to laugh.

"Guess you needed a push, huh?" Harry suggested.

Seconds later, he found himself on the receiving end of a handful of snow to his face from her. So he returned the gesture in kind. And for a short time, the two were splattering snow upon themselves as they laughed about in merriment. It all slowly came to a stop when the two relaxed and laid themselves down on the ground. Harry was just barely hovering over Cho as the two gazed into each other's eyes. Lost in their own world, where nothing else mattered.

"Thank you," Harry said in a breathless tone, breaking the silence that was about them for just a moment's time.

"For not being able to teach you how to skate on your own?" Cho responded with a curious brow raised and a light giggle.

"Actually, yes," Harry said with a chuckle.

"That's not necessarily something someone would normally thank another for," Cho pointed out, her giggling turning into laughter.

"But then very little about me has been normal," Harry noted. Upon hearing those words, Cho had a very good idea what he was about to say next. Leaving her to listen with a smile on her face. "And for you to do with me these things that are otherwise normal for everyone else, I don't have to think about all that I have or will have to deal with. More importantly, I'm able to enjoy myself. Enjoy my life. And I get to enjoy it with you. So thank you, Cho."

Cho slowly brought her right hand up to his face, gently brushing her thumb against his cheek while her other fingers played with the hair hanging over his ear. "Your welcome, Harry," she said breathlessly.

The two gazed into one another's eyes for a moment more before slowly inching their heads close to one another until their lips touched for a kiss.

Whenever the subject of kissing came up for either from their respective circle of friends, each found themselves faced with different sets of questions. And yet they were similar in that they would always be pushing to reveal just how far the couple went. For Cho, she would be asked about how passionate and heated each one were. Almost as though they wanted to hear her eventually talk of more sensual forms she could have possibly engaged in. For Harry, he would simply be asked directly about how often he snogged and if any tongue was involved. It was only a matter of time before they would question him point blank about his braving to take the relationship on a more physical level.

Regardless of all the questioning and the talk, both Harry and Cho managed to remain fairly quiet about their relationship. They felt no need to divulge any information they were not willing to speak aloud, being more than perfectly content with keeping the enjoyment to themselves. Their friends probably would not understand any way. Like they probably would not understand how something as normal as attempting to ice skate would be so majestic.

Harry rolled to left so that he could lie on the snow along with Cho. They continued to kiss, each time as slowly and as gently as before. Taking their time to salivate every touch of their lips.

A dream-like calm that was suddenly destroyed by a nightmarish storm brought upon by a violent scream.

Harry and Cho immediately pulled their heads back from one another, their eyes shot wide open as they looked around to see in which direction the screaming came from. Moments later, their attention was fixed upon the bridge as they saw something that at first seemed unbelievable.

A body, seemingly female, rising to the air swiftly and gracefully. Her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie. Her hair whipped around her by a sudden fierce wind. Harry leaned as close as he could from his position, squinting his eyes in the hopes of getting a better look at the figure to see if he could recognize her. He was able to within seconds. It was Katie Bell, a fellow member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Yet it almost did not look like her at the same time. Not when her face was quite empty of expression.

Then, several feet above the snow-covered surface of the stone bridge, Katie let out a terrible scream. One that echoed anguish. It lasted only a moment. As the screaming died, she dropped with a thud onto the bridge.

Instinctively, Harry got to his feet. He pulled Cho up with him as they rushed over to the log where their boots were. As they quickly removed the skates off their feet and then placed their boots on, Harry looked up to see that there were others on the bridge. Three bodies, to be exact. He could not recognize one of them, but the other two he could see very well in-spite of where he was positioned from the bridge as well as the howling wind that had suddenly blown.

"Ron, Hermione!" Harry cried, immediately standing up as soon as he had his boots on.

His friends managed to hear him as they began looking around before finally catching sight of him and Cho. "Harry!" Hermione called back as she and Ron ran toward them as far as the bridge would let them.

"What happened?" Cho cried out in question as she stood up.

"I dunno!" Ron answered with a slight shrug. The tone of his voice letting them know of the panic he was feeling after having witnessed what happened to Katie. "One minute she was talking to Leanne and then the next..."

"Stay there!" Harry called out. "We'll get help!"

Without any further hesitation, he grabbed Cho by the wrist and began dashing away from the pond. She made no attempt to even question his decision to bring her and ran along with him. Given where they were located, they would have to go back into Hogsmeade in order to even get onto the bridge aside from going across the pond and heading toward the school. There was a greater chance of running into someone in Hogsmeade than searching the school grounds.

They had just reached the end of the bridge when they ran into someone who could surely help. Even after Harry had collided with this person who at first glance seemed to be an enormous bear on its hind legs.

"Hagrid!" Harry cried out in a pant while Cho helped disentangle him from the hedgerow into which he had fallen.

"Harry!" Hagrid responded. Even with sleet trapped in his eyebrows and beard, there was no mistaking his face upon closer inspection. And who else would wear such a great, shaggy beaverskin coat. "Jus' bin visitin' Grawp. He's comin' on so well yeh wouldn'-"

"Hagrid, someone's hurt back there on the bridge!" Harry immediately stated. "Or cursed, or something..."

"Wha?" Hagrid managed to utter with a curious brow raised. He bent down lower to hear what they were trying to say over the wind that was start to rage more aggressively.

"Someone's been cursed!" Cho proclaimed.

"Cursed?" Hagrid repeated in shock. "Who's bin cursed? Not Ron? Hermione?"

"No, it's not them," Harry clarified. "It's Katie Bell. Come on, this way!"

Harry and Cho led Hagrid across the bridge as quickly as they could. It took them no time to find the little group of people edging closer to Katie, who was twitching and writhing on the ground.

"Don't get any closer!" Hagrid stated upon seeing Katie's body on the ground. "Get back, all of you!" Everyone who was standing and conscious did as they were told while the big man made his way over to Katie. He stared at her for a second, then without a word, bent down and scooped her into his arms.

"It was when that package tore," a whimpering voice said. Most of the group looked over to see that the speaker was Leanne, who was being comforted by Hermione and was probably questioned by her too with regards to what happened. "I warned her... I warned her not to touch it..."

The others looked down upon the ground. Lying in the snow was a sodden brown-paper package, which had split open to reveal a greenish glitter. Ron bent down, his hand outstretched towards it.

"Don't touch it!" Hagrid declared, causing the red-headed Weasley to jump back flinching. "Do not touch that, except by the wrappin's. Do you understand?"

While Ron did not dare to get any closer after the warning, Harry saw something that caught his interest. He crouched down and examined what appeared to be an ornate opal necklace, poking out of the paper.

"I've seen that before," Harry stated, staring at the object in question. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago."


Sirius Black walked up to the wooden door and paused. He remained frozen for a moment before taking a deep breath and then knocked. It was not long before the door opened in-ward, revealing the occupant to be Severus Snape. Snape took one look at Sirius, snorted, and then turned to walk away, giving Sirius the room to enter.

"I suspect you're here to lecture me some more about my treatment towards your precious godson regarding his concerns with what happened with Katie Bell today," Snape muttered as he made his way over to his desk and began flipping through numerous pieces of parchment.

"Not really," Sirius said, closing the door behind him. "Though now that you mention it, I'm feeling just as concerned with how close that necklace was to reaching its intended target."

"And what would you have us do, Sirius?" Snape asked in a demanding tone. "Hm? Have every student searched and every corner examined? This school has gone through a year's worth of paranoia already, I highly doubt Dumbledore would approve of us inciting another. Even if he was, allegedly, the intended recipient of that package."

"Since when did you start sounding like McGonagall?" Sirius asked.

"You really are a piece of work, do you know that Sirius?" Snape proclaimed. "You just have to throw in some kind of witty comment or ridicules joke into every conversation, regardless of the seriousness of the subject."

"All I said was that I was just as concerned as Harry," Sirius noted with a shrug. "I didn't say a thing about wanting to amp up security as a result of what happened, or rather what could have happened today. It wasn't even why I was here."

Snape glared at Sirius for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "You continue to prove my dissatisfaction with Dumbledore over his bring you into the school as a teacher," he muttered. He took a deep breath and then spoke again. "So what did you really want to speak with me about?"

"Well, Mr. Double-Agent," Sirius began to reply. He ignored the glare Snape continued to send his way over the name calling. "Would I be correct in suspecting that since you're pretty in deep with the Death Eaters that you're present whenever they have some kind of special assembly of their top ranking officials?"

"For the last time, Sirius, divulging information from those meetings to the Order would potential hamper what Dumbledore has planned," Snape stated.

"You could have just said yes, you know," Sirius said. "That way you don't come off like an even bigger idiot when I get to the point of my wanting to speak with you."

"Which is?" Snape asked, becoming rather annoyed at how this conversation was going.

"Fenrir Greyback," Sirius replied. "Does he attend the meetings?"

"Well obviously, if these special assemblies I supposedly go to apparently contain the top ranking officials within the Death Eaters," Snape answered, now his turn to act a little sarcastic.

"Has the mutt opened his mouth regarding Remus?" Sirius questioned further.

Snape looked at Sirius for a moment, as if to wonder if he had heard him correctly. Letting the question sink in, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor groaned and slowly placed his hand over his eyes in disbelief. "Tell me Remus did not infiltrate Greyback's pack," he uttered.

"Blame Moody," Sirius said. "The old man formed himself a little black ops groups within the Order and then came up with the brilliant idea that Remus could perhaps learn a thing or two about Death Eater activity from the werewolves."

"Some great plan that turned out to be," Snape muttered. "To answer you question, Greyback has indeed been making remarks about Remus. Just not by name. Mentioned the marvelous time he's having toying with the would-be spook."

"He gloated about killing Vance?" Sirius asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Snape replied with a sigh. "He feels certain that he'll break Remus into revealing information on the Order in no time."

"Thought as much," Sirius noted. "Any way, long story short, Tonks called on me to figure out how to best remedy the situation. Given the horrible predicament Remus is in, the best I could come up with was for him to try to blackmail the mutt into giving him Death Eater information."

"What could Remus possibly have that would be of a threat to Fenrir?" Snape asked.

"Me," Sirius replied. "Specifically me being able to prevent Draco from doing whatever it is he's supposed to do now that I'm a professor here."

"Are you out of your mind?" Snape nearly yelled in disbelief.

"You have a better idea of how to salvage the situation without getting Remus killed as well as exposing the Order and whatever plan Dumbledore has in store, which I have been told depends squarely upon you I might add, then I'm all ears," Sirius proclaimed.

Snape offered no immediate response at first. He merely ran his hands through his hair from the front and lightly tugged at though as though he was on the verge of pulling them out from the root. "Let me see if I understand the logic in all of this," he started to say. "Moody started up a black ops group within the Order. One that obviously he didn't want Dumbledore to know about at first. Then he gets the bright idea of sending Remus to infiltrate Greyback's pack in an effort to retrieve Death Eater information from a chief lieutenant within the group. Only it backfired badly and now Remus is in a no win situation with his life and the safety of the Order and all of wizarding kind at risk. And the one possible solution that could be thought up is to blackmail Greyback into giving information under threat of you getting on Malfoy's case?"

"I hardly expect it to work myself, but we're low on options," Sirius responded. "Harry's belief that Malfoy is doing something for the Death Eaters is unproven, sure. But then this whole thing with the necklace happens. Being Harry's loving godfather, it's not hard to imagine that I would take his word and look upon Draco with suspicion. If Malfoy is indeed doing something for the Death Eaters, whether or not by force, than my disrupting his operations would certainly be something for them to be concerned about."

Snape thought about what Sirius said for a moment and then sighed. "It's a long shot," he said. "The history you and I have is helpful in that it would not make them think twice about my ability to stop you from getting involved."

"If nothing else, you could just tell them Dumbledore gave me some authority if they ask any further," Sirius added.

"No one having the slightest idea what the hell you're teaching here would help in that regard," Snape noted in agreement. "You've got the rest of the teaching staff curious as to why you're here."

"So I've been told," Sirius said.

Snape took another deep breath as he thought about the situation some more. "You do realize this is placing Malfoy under an even greater deal of pressure, right?" he asked. "If he is allegedly tasked with doing something that relates to Dumbledore, like supposedly trying to give him a necklace that curses whomever touches it."

"Could even Dumbledore come up with a better solution without sacrificing even more than what we've already had to this mess Moody drummed up?" Sirius retorted.

Snape took one last deep breath and stared at Sirius for a moment. He then rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in defeat. "I suppose you don't want Dumbledore informed about all of this," he muttered.

"On the contrary," Sirius said as he made his way towards the door. "Tonks and I are pretty pissed at Moody for even letting things come to this. By all means, tell Dumbledore if you want. At the very least, we hope it will make Mad Eye think twice about doing something like this ever again."

"I hope this doesn't give you any ideas about being a tattletale regarding Dumbledore's own secret plan," Snape stated rather loudly just as Sirius opened the door. "Most especially to Harry."

"Trust me, Severus," Sirius began to answer as he stepped through the doorway. "My lips are sealed." He made one more glance at Snape before closing the door.


Cho Chang understood that her boyfriend Harry Potter did not attend the Slug Club meetings primarily because his friend Ron Weasley would feel left out. Professor Horace Slughorn had invited Harry as well as Hermione Granger to be part of the club. Even Ron's sister Ginny got invited after an impressive display of her knowledge in magic. But Ron was not invited to join, so Harry decided to figure ways to skip out on attending any of the meetings for his friend's sake.

A meeting was scheduled a few days before a big Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. As before, Cho did not expect Harry to show up. So it seemed quite natural for her to be surprised when she arrived at the door of the Potions Professor's to find Harry waiting along with Hermione. She was taken aback when Harry suddenly fell onto her for an embrace as though he had not seen her in years.

"Harry?" she managed to utter breathlessly. She then return the embrace with a slight giggle while still feeling perplexed. "Harry, I love you and I very much appreciate this loving gesture. But may I ask why?"

"You have no idea," Harry managed to answer with a sigh, giving no sign of letting go of her. "This week has been a nightmare."

"He's not kidding," Hermione said, sighing in agreement. "Between having to find a replacement Chaser for the Quidditch match coming up and Ron and Ginny unraveling, everyone in Gryffindor is losing their minds."

"So I've heard," Cho noted.

It was no secret within the halls of Hogwarts that since Katie Bell was at St. Mungo's recovering from the curse she was under, the Gryffindor Quidditch team needed to find someone to replace her as a Chaser and pronto. Dean Thomas eventually filled the void, but it only brought about a brand new headache for everyone in Gryffindor to suffer. A complete meltdown of Ron Weasley.

From what Cho understood, Ron was a mixture of nerves playing Quidditch despite his heroics from the previous year. His confidence remained low and he was constantly worried about costing the team any shot at victory. Then there was the matter of his being the overprotective big brother to his sister Ginny, who was dating Dean. It was normal for an older brother to look out for the well being of his little sister with regards to her going out with someone, but the subject apparently struck a nerve with the Weasley siblings. To the point that it would rouse out of them arguments so heated that chances were good that they would come to blows.

"Harry decided to tag along when it was very apparent that leaving Ron alone would be best for everyone," Hermione responded. "Even after I warned him of what went on whenever the club meets."

"I don't care," Harry stated, still maintaining his embrace upon Cho. "If I'm ever going to regain my sanity after this week, it's because I'm with you, Cho. No matter the circumstances."

"That's very sweet of you, Harry," Cho said affectionately. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

What neither Cho nor Hermione ever really admitted to Harry about the Slug Club meetings were how uncomfortable they were. Cho noted that it was even more uncomfortable than the initial meeting on the Hogwarts Express. Not in the sense that it felt like something bad or sinister was taking place. Rather, it was the feeling that they found themselves in a world that was strange and bizarre. An oddity that they could not quite figure out.

The meetings were more of a fancy dinner. Everyone would dress up in nice clothing, nothing casual, though no need for anything too formal. Professor Slughorn catered to the students some of the finest in high quality and luxurious cuisines any of them had ever seen. But then, just as the students were dining, the Potions Professor would begin engaging in conversation with everyone in the room.

It was the conversations that made the meetings feel very uncomfortable. They never could figure out the true meaning behind the way Professor Slughorn engaged in his conversations. Sure, they understood the exact purpose of the meetings and the role the club would supposedly play in their lives as members. And the line of questioning from the conversations seemed pretty straight forward. What concerned them the most was the manner the questions were asked. Specifically, how their answers would be beneficial to him and the club.

"I understand your Uncle Liam attended last year's Quidditch House Cup, Miss Chang," Professor Slughorn said in the midst of a conversation he began with Cho. "It was a very long time since he last attended a game at Hogwarts. I suspect there was a great occasion for it?"

"You could say that, Professor," Cho answered, choosing her words carefully after eating a spoonful of her dessert. "He wanted to attend when Ravenclaw last won the House Cup a few years back, but circumstances arose that prevented him from coming. He made it a point not to miss out then next time we had a chance to play for it and pulled through."

"I suspect you had butterflies throughout," Slughorn said, pressing the conversation a little further. "You playing the very position he did."

"I was nervous playing in front of my uncle, yes," Cho responded after clearing her throat momentarily. She managed to steal at glance at Harry, who sat to her left, sure that no one took noticed and smiled. "Among other things."

Seemingly satisfied with the way the conversation, Professor Slughorn smiled and let out a light chuckle. He then moved on to the next student to speak to. "What about you, Miss Granger?" he asked, turning to Hermione, who sat to Harry's left. "What does your family do in the Muggle world?"

Hermione was very hesitant to say anything at first. Both Harry and Cho knew that trying to explain anything of the Muggle world to practically anyone in the Wizarding world unfamiliar with the subject would be perplexed. And no matter how smart she was, Hermione was surely going to have trouble having to explain her family's profession.

"My parents are dentists," Hermione finally managed to say after a deep breath. "They tend to people's teeth."

"Fascinating," Professor Slughorn uttered. They couldn't tell, but Harry, Cho, and Hermione believed he certainly looked intrigued by the answer. "And is that considered a dangerous profession?"

"No," Hermione replied, trying not to laugh at the notion of dentistry ever being such. "Although one boy, Robbie Fenwick, did bite my father once. He needed ten stitches."

If not for Professor Slughorn seemingly taking an honest interest in the subject, Harry and Cho were very sure that Hermione would have tried to bury herself in embarrassment. It was such a ridicules story to make mention of. Hermione was also lucky in that seconds later the door opened. All looked up to see that it was Ginny Weasley, who was arriving late.

"Ah, Miss Weasley!" Professor Slughorn cheered. "Come in, come in!"

Ginny sheepishly nodded and made her way over to the table to join the others. She dressed proper for the meeting, but it was quite apparent to Harry, Cho, and Hermione that there was something different. In particular, it looked as though her eyes did not brighten like they used to.

"Look at her eyes," Hermione whispered to Harry and Cho. "The've been fighting again, her and Dean."

The mention of Ginny and Dean fighting caught both Harry and Cho by surprised. Harry and Hermione had eventually told Cho about how Ron and Ginny had been going after each other's throats over the past week, largely due to Ron's disapproval of Ginny dating Dean and Ginny responding by mocking her brother's lack of a love life. Yet Cho could see that even Harry was not aware that things were not going well for Ginny and Dean. For all he knew, their relationship was fine.

"Sorry," Ginny managed to utter after taking a seat next to Melinda Bobbin. "I'm not usually late."

"No matter," Professor Slughorn stated, retaining his jolly mood. "You're just in time for dessert." He then noticed that there was not a whole lot of dessert left on the table. "That is, if Bobbin's left you any." He gave a stern look at Melinda, who lowered her head in shame.

"Miss Weasley can have my bowl if she wishes," a voice spoke. All looked over to see it was Blaise Zabini, one of the few Slytherin students at the table. He pushed his bowl out far enough from himself for Ginny to take. "I never was one with an appetite for dessert."

Seeing this act of apparent gesture certain caught the interest of some of the students. In particular Harry, Cho, and Hermione. Cho could see that Harry had his green eyes sternly fixed upon the Slytherin boy, perhaps wondering if there was something devious behind his offering his dessert to Ginny. He saw no reason to trust any of them. There was nothing happening to suggest that he should feel any different than being suspicious of Blaise's actions.

"Oh, that is most sorrowful, Mr. Zabini," Professor Slughorn noted to Blaise. But then he turned his attention back onto Ginny. "And yet such an act of charity is most welcome now that Miss Weasley is able to properly dine with us."

Sheepishly and with a great deal of reluctance, Ginny took the bowl and placed it proper in front of her. "Thank you," she managed to utter with a slight look over to Blaise before looking back at her dessert. The one she did not dining upon immediately.

"Oh, please do eat, Miss Weasley," Professor Slughorn said in a kind tone. "It's a wonderful recipe from Andrea McManus. I'm sure you are all familiar with Miss McManus, who is the proprietor of the caramel covered pork roasts youngsters are so fond of these days. This dessert we are feasting, she created right here in this very room. A marvelous story, let me tell you."

As Professor Slughorn continued on with his story about the origin of the dessert, Cho watched as Ginny finally managed to slowly pick up a spoon and eat small portions. Cho then looked over to Hermione, who also was watching Ginny and felt as depressed about what she was seeing. Harry darted his green eyes between Ginny and Blaise. No doubt he was still suspicious of the Slytherin, though also having concern about his friend.

The meeting finally ended and soon everyone was leaving the Potions Professor's office. After going through the door, Cho noticed that Harry was still in the office. He appeared to be admiring something. She thought about going back in to either join him or retrieve him until she found herself being pulled back by someone.

"Hey, Cho," Hermione said once the girls came face to face. "Can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Um, sure?" Cho managed to utter with a confused look on her face.

Hermione grabbed her wrist and moved swiftly through the halls until coming upon a deserted corridor. Once there, Hermione let go and began pacing about in front of Cho. Cho was still in a perplexed state, having no clue as to what the other girl was doing.

"I was, um..." Hermione started to say before suddenly stopping herself. She waited a moment before taking a deep breath and then speaking again. Only she was speaking at a very rapid pace. "How did you and Harry start off as a couple? I mean, I know that Harry mustered up the courage to ask you to the Yule Ball and you accepted and all. What I'm trying to ask is... when did you two really start going out and how did it come about?"

Cho made no immediate response except to blink a couple times. She needed to spend a good moment trying to digest every word Hermione had said to her and then try to make sense of it all. Once she managed to figure it out, she was still left in a state of some confusion.

"We made it official just after the Triwizard Tournament had ended," Cho began to say. She spoke slowly at first when she noticed that Hermione was still pacing about. Then she continued to speak at a more regular speed. "I made the decision to give it a try, knowing what I was getting myself into given that something seems to always happen to him every year. Went to the hospital wing to visit him, see if he was still interested in me, and we've obviously been together ever since."

"So in a technical sense you started the relationship?" Hermione questioned further, still speaking in a hurried manner.

"If you want to say that, sure," Cho answered. "Hermione, if you don't mind me asking, what does knowing how my relationship with Harry started have to do with anything?"

"Well, I was just, um..." Hermione started to say and then stopped herself again. Taking another quick deep breath before trying to speak once more. "I just wanted to get some kinda idea, you know. Familiarize myself with... a way in which relationships start. Good ones. I figured since you and Harry seem to have the perfect relationship going, I'd get an idea or two from you."

"Not perfect in the slightest, but okay," Cho managed to whisper aside. She was not sure if she wanted Hermione to hear what she said or not, but it ended up not mattering. Because Hermione stopped pacing and looked at her in a bit of surprise.

"Not perfect?" Hermione repeated in a questioning tone. "You guys having problems?"

"Had," Cho replied in correction. Now she was quite concerned about exactly what kind of conversation she was having with Hermione. "I made a hissy fit over something completely stupid to be hysterical over and we managed to work it out."

"I see," Hermione said. She exhaled and returned to her previous state of pacing and speaking in a hurried voice. "Good. Good to hear. Well, still, I guess you guys don't have the perfect relationship, but it's good enough."

"Hermione, seriously," Cho finally stated, almost in a pleading tone. "You wanted to speak with me about something, but I haven't slightest idea what you are babbling on about. Would it be too much for you to explain why."

Hermione stopped pacing and stared at Cho for a moment. She then gave out a heavy sigh before speaking. In an obviously nervous manner while using carefully chosen words. "There's someone I want to go out with," she finally said. "But I don't know what would be the best way to get the relationship started."

"What do you mean?" Cho asked, seeking further clarification.

"I still haven't decided which would be better," Hermione replied. "Wait for him to ask me out or if I should ask him out myself."

"What's wrong with just asking him out yourself?" Cho questioned, now having a better grasp of what the conversation was about.

Hermione Granger was an exceptionally brilliant girl, a Gryffindor student who quite frankly would have been better suited academically in Ravenclaw. But, as Cho noticed from being in Ravenclaw, being highly educated did not always mean knew everything. The ways of romance was no exception.

"That's just the thing," Hermione began to answer, fidgeting as she spoke. "I'm not quite sure if I should just ask him out myself or wait. I mean, I don't want to feel like I'm trying to push someone into a relationship with if he doesn't want it. And yet I have a feeling that he might like me the same way I do him."

"Hermione, there really isn't a right way or a wrong way to start a relationship," Cho stated. "Just because I may have been the one to start the relationship I have with Harry, doesn't necessarily mean that was the way to go. It just happened to be the way our relationship started. You could spend forever trying to figure out how to start a relationship and never get the proper answer. But if you really want to have it, if you strongly believe in wanting to be in a relationship with this person, I would say that you should just ask him out as soon as possible and not waste another minute waiting for him to be the one to start it."

Hermione took a moment to take in everything Cho said, tapping her fingers together as she did so. It was some time before she took a deep breath and looked back up at the Ravenclaw girl. "Maybe you're right," she managed to say, nervousness still in her voice. "It's just, I've never been so uncertain about anything ever."

"Hermione, listen," Cho said, placing a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder. "Don't put so much worry into all of this. Get some sleep tonight and let your heart guide. Okay? There's nothing much else any one can tell you on how to best start a relationship with someone."

"I guess so," Hermione sighed, slumping her shoulders. "You're right about getting sleep, though. I better get to bed before I pass out from stress. Thanks, Cho."

"You're welcome, Hermione," Cho responded, watching the other girl wave and leave. After taking a moment for a deep breath, she stepped out from the corridor and looked to head straight to be herself. She had made only a few steps when she saw a familiar figure in sight. One who called out to her immediately.

"Cho!" Harry nearly cried. He walked briskly walked over to her and once again fell onto her into an embrace. Letting out a sigh of relief along the way. "I'm so glad I caught you before you went to bed."

"Which is what I'm eventually going to have to do, Harry," Cho noted, though the tone in her voice made it clear that she was happy to be with him at this moment. "There are still classes to be have tomorrow."

"I know," Harry muttered. "Just lemme spend an hour with you like this, please? I have no desire to head back to Gryffindor tower right now."

"You do realize Filch roams this halls at night, right?" Cho pointed out with a slight giggle.

"I don't care about bloody Filch," Harry stated. "Besides, I brought the cloak."

"How suggestive that sounds," Cho joked. His chuckling meant he got it.

"I just wanna hug you the entire hour, that's all," Harry said. "Perhaps kiss you a few times, but I really wanna be held by you right now."

In this moment of being embraced by Harry, Cho began to ponder a little of the conversation she just had with Hermione. The notion that she had, what had been previously been perceived as, the perfect relationship with Harry. In the small amount of time it took for her to ponder it, she realized that, while it was far from being the perfect relationship, it may just be the perfect relationship for her. That she could never imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone other than Harry. To dare love someone else.

While their one argument was a squabble over something that ridicules her to have any right to throw a hissy fit over, it was also the little things that made their relationship as loving and beautiful as it had been. Something as simple as trying to learn how to skate, for example. She could not imagine an experience with someone different that could possibly be any better.

Cho let out a loving sigh and smiled. "That works for me," she said breathlessly. She kissed him gently on the cheek before he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and placed over both of their bodies.


Fenrir Greyback could blend into the night shadows with ease. He did not need any spells or cloaks to be able to conceal himself in dark places without letting anyone on to his presence. It was one of the traits to being a werewolf that delighted him. Making it easy for him to tail someone like Remus Lupin in Hogsmeade without him getting wise. Even if Lupin was himself a werewolf.

Greyback watched from a distance as Lupin finally managed to stumble his way into the Three Broomsticks long after the establishment had been closed to the public for the night. Leaving little doubt that the building was being set up for meetings between him and his Muggle-loving friends.

Another trait to being a werewolf that Greyback took delight in was the heightening of his senses. From his blue eyes being able to see from farthest of distances and being able to register even the smallest of details to his hearing being able to pick up the buzzing of a fly from miles away. He would be able to know any and every thing that was happening in all corners of Hogsmeade.

Then there was the trait that he took great pleasure in above many others. Having taken a piece of Lupin's flesh, he would be able to pinpoint his location anywhere in the world. And when he was within distances of his heightened senses, he can focus specifically on Lupin's being and be able to register everything that the other was experience. Almost as though he were in the man's shoes himself. A deliciously useful trait to have for reconnaissance.

Greyback's task was to collect as much as he could regarding the threat Lupin made to him nights before. The pup had the bold audacity to blackmail him into giving up information on Death Eater activity. If not, his friend Sirius Black would surely run interference with whatever Draco Malfoy was supposed to be doing at Hogwarts. And since the Dark Lord made known that Draco completing his task was of the highest priority, they could not run the risk of calling Lupin's bluff. Still, Greyback was sent to know for sure if Lupin was merely making an empty threat or not.

"Never pictured you for being someone to be late, Remus," Greyback heard a raspy voice say to Lupin. After a moment to concentrate, he was make out who the speaker was. Sitting at a chair with his feet propped up upon a table was none other than the dear cousin of Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius Black.

"And I never pictured you for being someone to be on time, Sirius," Lupin retorted. Fenrir watched as he took off his coat and sat himself at the same table as Sirius. He could also make out that there were two other bodies with them. Taking another moment to concentrate, he recognized them as Alastor Moody and Nymphadora Tonks.

"So did the mutt take the threat seriously?" Moody asked, stern and to the point. Greyback composed himself from reacting to the insult that was obviously made of him.

"For now," Lupin answered. He pulled out a handful of notes from his pocket and tossed them over to the old man. "Though I wonder how long we can manage to keep this up. Oh, and you might want to touch those notes carefully. Greyback likes to spit on things he has a great dislike for. Giving up secrets being one of them."

"Does he now," Moody managed to say as he picked up the notes carefully and started inspecting them with his magical eye.

"Just lemme know when he starts barking and I'll run interference on Draco," Sirius stated.

"Does this mean that Harry may indeed be onto something about Draco?" Tonks asked. There was a tone in her voice that Greyback had trouble figuring out. A mixture of relief, concern, and something else that he could not quite put his finger on.

"Still can't say for sure," Sirius replied with a shrug. "But them reacting to the threat this way only strengthens his suspicions that he may at least be doing something for them."

"There's still the issue of lack of proof, though," Lupin pointed out. "Everything so far has been nothing more than circumstantial. Even the information Greyback surrendered doesn't necessarily give us any more clues as to what they want him to do if he has been tasked by them."

"Still, this information will at least balance the war on an even playing field," Moody noted as he was going over what Lupin had given him. "These are some key spots they're looking to strike. Even if they pull back because of our little threat, driving them off from attacking at all is a victory in our favor."

"Just remember to pass that along to Dumbledore right away since you're in the doghouse, Alastor," Tonks said, she herself trying to speak in a stern tone.

"I know, I know," Moody grumbled. Greyback watched as the old man took a swig of his flask and grumbled some more.

"Keeping on his case about his punishment, I see," Lupin said, managing to let out a slight chuckle.

"Oh, you have no idea how much pleasure this is giving her," Sirius stated. "To be able to boss around Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody. There isn't a whole lot that can make her any happier."

"I'm sure she can think of one," Lupin muttered quietly to himself. Greyback was able to sense there was something to the tone that intrigued him.

"Laugh it up, you two," Moody muttered. "We've got more pressing business to discuss."

"What more is there to talk about right now, Alastor?" Tonks asked curiously. "Can't it be saved until morning. It's already past one right now."

"Not this one, I'm afraid," Moody responded, taking another swig of his flask.

"Alright, I'll bite," Sirius said with a sigh. "What's important enough that needs to be addressed right now?"

"Greyback's watching us as we speak," Moody answered.

Greyback took a deep breath and maintained his cool. He knew that the old man was a crafty pest and it would not surprise him in the least that he would figure that he would be around to spy on them. Fortunately, there was nothing to make him believe that even Alastor Moody would be able to pinpoint his exact position.

"I get the feeling I shouldn't be surprised," Sirius noted, shifting slightly in his chair. The others at the table also appear to not be as surprised, though Greyback could tell that they were feeling uncomfortable at the notion that he was watching them.

"Given that he can hone in on me any time he wants, you shouldn't be," Lupin added with a groan, rubbing the point of his nose between his eyes.

"What I wanna know is how you can be sure he's watching us, Alastor," Tonks stated. "I know that eye of yours can see though everything, including that thick skull of yours. But I highly doubt someone like Greyback would be nearby when he has the traits to track us from miles away."

"And you would be correct in that regard, Nymphadora," Moody responded. He then waved the notes Lupin had handed him for the others to look at specifically. "Only these have provided me with the opportunity to work on a little something I've been trying to crack over the last year and a half since getting out of the goddamned box Barty Jr. stuffed me in."

It was hearing the last sentence that Greyback began to grow concerned. Alastor Moody was a powerful wizard who was more willing that others to think like the opposition and use similar tactics to work to his advantage. If anyone besides Dumbledore was a legitimate threat to any and all members of the Death Eaters, it would be this old man.

"I assume this will be helpful for us," Sirius said.

"Absolutely," Moody stated. "As Remus here made mention, Greyback likes to spit on things he doesn't like. Works for me because his spit contains his DNA. When combined with a unique spell, it will enhance the abilities of my eye in locating one specific target." He then turned and looked in a fixed position. "Which means, Fenrir, that I am now able to do what you can do to Remus. No matter where you are in the world, I will be able to pinpoint your exact position."

Greyback growled and snarled with rage. He was absolutely furious. If what Moody said was true, then one of his favorite traits of being a werewolf was now being used against him by some old wizard. He slowly pulled out his wand, gripping it tight in anticipation.

"You know where he is now?" Tonks asked. There was a mixture of awe and surprise in her voice, the exact same kind of feeling that Sirius and Remus had.

"The mutt is standing on the far end of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop," Moody replied in a rather confident voice.

Now Greyback was outraged. The old man was not bluffing. He had the ability to track him if he wanted. Letting out a vicious howl, he waved his wand upward, setting the roof of Scrivenshaft's on fire. He then immediately took off, knowing that the authority would be on top of him in minutes if he did not move. He swiftly dashed into the forest and kept on running.

It was sometime before he slowed his speed down until coming upon a full stop. Running on all fours like he did, he could easily create a great deal of distance from anyone attempting to chase after him. Even other werewolves would have trouble keeping up with him. He took a moment to catch his breath before turning and looking back at his view of Hogsmeade.

This new development certainly changed the game. Fenrir Greyback knew that he could no longer attend major meetings with the other chief lieutenants of the Death Eaters. Not when Alastor Moody could pinpoint his location whenever he wanted to. A trait that was to his advantage previously, to use upon Remus Lupin. Now he could not be trusted with to partake in major Death Eater activity. Not now at least.

Greyback growled some more in frustration. Someone was going to pay for this. Someone was going to die for this. He did not care who. With snort, he turned and ventured deeper into the forest. On the hunt for anyone or anything to kill. He wanted to spill blood and he was going to make it happen tonight.


It was several moments, long after they had put out the fire that had been set on the roof of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop before it could cause any major damage, that Alastor Moody let out a heavy sigh and took a swig of his flask. Satisfied, he began to limp his way back to the Three Broomsticks with Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black following close behind.

"Glad he flinched first," Moody muttered as he went along.

"Come again?" Sirius asked, having picked up what the old man had said. "You saying you were really bluffing?"

"No," Moody answered immediately. Then he paused for a second. "And yes. The spell does work, though tonight was the first time I ever really had the chance to see if it could. But it also proved my main concern about my being able to use it at all."

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked curiously.

"It takes a sample of the intended target's DNA to make the whole damned thing usable," Moody began to explain as he passed through the door and into the Three Broomsticks. "However, the strength of the spell is largely dependent on the strength of the DNA sample. Because I'm working with his spit, I can only maintain my fix upon his exact position for approximately three hours at best."

"Depending upon where he is, that's barely enough time to pre-plan anything against him," Lupin noted as he and the others took their seats back at the table they were previously at.

"Exactly," Moody said. "A stronger sample, like say a piece of his flesh, would increase the amount of time I would have to keep my lock on his location."

"I bet you're banking on his running off in frustration far enough so that he didn't use his heightened hearing of his to have heard that bit of information just now," Sirius stated.

"My three hours aren't up yet," Moody pointed out with a chuckle. "Believe me, he's far enough away that he wouldn't be able to hear even Remus hiccup."

"So what does this do for us now?" Lupin asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Hopefully this will make Greyback paranoid enough to avoid doing things for a long while," Moody began to reply. "Not with the knowledge that I'm watching him. So I doubt he will be taking part in any major Death Eater meetings anytime soon. Chances are he's also going to be cutting down on werewolf meetings, knowing that I'm watching your back. Thereby making it safe enough for you to get out of the undercover gig, Remus."

"Thank goodness!" Tonks cried rather suddenly. She then wrapped herself around Lupin's nearest arm and embraced with all of her might.

Remus was taken aback by this, leaving him to blush slightly as Tonks then rested her head on his shoulder. He looked over to see Sirius crack a smirk, though nothing really more. Remus decided to do nothing and let Tonks continue to her display of affection for him.

"As I was saying," Moody said, who merely rolled his eyes to the whole scene. "It does somewhat take us back to square one. Although now we have the opportunity to monitor Greyback's movements. I can't obviously watch him all the time, but I will certainly keep an eye on where he's going."

"Well, that's certainly better than nothing," Sirius noted. "I gotta ask, though. You've been trying to crack that spell for a year and a half and only now managed to make it work?"

"Takes more than just merely speaking a command and waving a wand, Sirius," Moody replied. "This is one of those spells that actually requires you to exert all of your strength and will. Not to mention you gotta clear your head of all thought and emotion. Hardly the easiest thing to do when your trying to do so much, lemme tell you."

"I'll just take your word for it," Sirius said with a shrug.

"In any event, we better get going," Moody proclaimed as he got to his feet. "With all that has just happened now, that obviously means we have new things to map out. Nymphadora has to head back to Ministry duty and I believe Remus would like to finally take a much needed, week-long nap to relieve the stress of the last few weeks."

The old man walked over and pulled Tonks off of Remus, causing her to yelp slightly until she realized what was happening. With a sigh, she let out a smile and waved at Remus before literally being pushed out of the Three Broomsticks by Moody. Taking a deep breath, Remus relaxed in his chair. Then he looked over to see that Sirius was staring at him in a curious manner.

"What?" Remus asked.

"Haven't I told you to grow a spine?" Sirius questioned in response.

Remus groaned and rolled his eyes. "I did exactly what you told me," he answered in defense. "I walked up to the mutt, stood my ground, and boldly told him where to stick it if he didn't like being blackmailed."

"Just because you didn't back down from Greyback and will no longer have to go undercover doesn't mean you should revert back to your old routine of self-loathing and doubt," Sirius stated. "Keep the momentum going and live a little, for crying out loud."

"Exactly what are you talking about, Sirius?" Remus asked. When the response he get was to merely be stared at by Sirius, that was when he figured out the answer to his question. Over which he groaned and placed a hand over his forehead. "You really want me to go out with Tonks, don't you."

"James and I had been trying to get you to go out with a girl for decades," Sirius pointed out. "Even Lily helped us out. Now you have a chance to hook up with someone who actually cares for you and couldn't give a damn about your lycanthropy. And before you bring it up, to hell with the age difference." Almost for no reason, he then gave his friend a shove in the arm. "Ask. Her. Out."

It was Lupin's turn to stare back at his friend. Only Sirius was not flinching. What was so ridicules about the whole thing was that Sirius wanted him to continue holding his ground, and yet he was pressuring him at the same time. After a long moment of silence, Remus sighed, threw his arms up, and got to his feet. "If you insist," he managed to mutter. "I'll... look to see when she's not busy with Ministry and Order duties."

"I hear Christmas is around the corner," Sirius noted with a chuckle.

"Perhaps you should get back to Hogwarts before lack of sleep affects your duties as an educator," Remus suggested.

"Fortunately, I don't have to teach anything in the morning," Sirius retorted gleefully. Then he yawned and outstretched his arms. "But then I'm not a fan of the whole lack of sleep thing... Merlin's beard, you just stood your ground and made me do something I previously didn't want to do. Glad to see you haven't stopped growing a spine just yet, Moony."

"Very funny, Padfoot," Remus responded, shaking his head before heading out the door.


Cho Chang considered it a matter of luck that she woke up when she did. After she took a moment to get her barrings straight and take in her surroundings, she was quite shocked to find that she was not in her bed at Ravenclaw tower. Instead, she was still in the arms of a slumbering Harry Potter, underneath his Invisibility Cloak, and propped up against a wall in the corridor just across from the stairs leading into Ravenclaw tower. At least they were both fully clothed, so that was one less thing to worry about.

Peeking over the cloak, she could see that it was still dark. But she was very sure that it was quite late at night. Or rather, really early in the morning. How early she was not sure, leaving her concerned with how long they had been asleep and how long they had until every other student in the school started to stir themselves awake. She also began to wonder just how much longer before someone like Argus Filch, the caretaker, would pass by to spot them still out and about after hours.

Cho took a second to take a look at as much of Harry as she could with the minimal amount of light present. Seeing him asleep with his arms loosely around her. He seemed peaceful, yet the look on his face told another story. One of pain and sorrow looking to find comfort, the need to be be relieved of the horrors that have been experienced and have yet to come. Embracing her as if doing so would provide him the relief he sought. Seeing him like this, she wondered just how possible it was for Harry to ever find peace when he suffered as much as he did.

Planting a kiss upon his cheek, began the quiet process of waking him up. Which generally involved gently shaking him until he finally began to stir. Then he opened his green eyes, taking a moment to regain his senses, and then looked straight at her. A small smile forming on his lips, as if to tell her this was something he would not mind wanting to waking up in the mornings to see.

"Good morning, Cho," Harry said softly and quietly.

"Good morning to you too, Harry," Cho whispered in return. "But the morning won't remain this good if we stay here any longer."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously. He was clearly oblivious to the present predicament they were in.

"Well, consider that we were merely supposed to be waiting another hour before returning to our beds after the Slug Club meeting," Cho began to answer, running a hand gently through his untidy hair. "Only to find ourselves falling asleep underneath your Invisibility Cloak just outside the stairs leading to Ravenclaw tower. And it is only a matter of time before we are either caught by Mr. Filch still in the hallways after hours or the dawn will awaken everyone else in the castle, to which we will end up having to endure an unnerving barrage of gossip about just what we were doing in each other's arms."

"I see," Harry managed to say in response. One of the few times Cho could remember seeing him maintain some sense of composure when faced with the possibility of unwanted attention coming his way. "I guess that's the kind of trouble we would like to avoid as much as possible."

"And you would guess correctly," Cho teased, tapping a finger on his nose. She then began trying to lift Harry up even though she did not fully have the strength to really do it. "Come, Mr. Potter. On your feet."

"If you say so, Miss Chang," Harry said with a chuckle. Slowly he began to push himself to his feet, bring Cho up with him as he went. He maintained his embrace, then pulled her in to tighten it for a brief moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "I love you."

Cho could not help but exhale a loving sigh. "I love you, too," she whispered.

Standing slightly on her tip toe, she inched up to kiss him on the lips. It lasted only a moment, but they savored every second to let it last longer in their minds and in their hearts. They then looked into one another's eyes for one last moment before they finally loosened their embrace, allowing her to pull back and return to Ravenclaw tower.

Cho slipped out of the Invisibility Cloak, looked about to see if there was any one coming, and then made her way toward Ravenclaw tower. Just before turning the corner up the stairs, she turned back to take one last look at Harry, even though he was still underneath the Invisibility Cloak. She was quite sure that he would not take off for Gryffindor tower until she was no longer within his sight.

A smiled formed on her lips as she waved. Feeling satisfied that he saw the wave and was perhaps even waving back, she ascended the stairs.


It's been a long time, hasn't it. The unfortunate matter was that the last several months have been very trying in my personal life, taking care of my grandfather who has since passed away in February. If you wish to send a PM with your condolences, you may. The pacing of my updates will continue to vary, I'm afraid, as I am now taking care of my grandmother.

Onto the story. As promised, since this was Chapter Fifty, it meant the obligatory double-sized chapter. But the main issue was that I was having trouble figuring out the next word and the next scene I wanted to use. For whatever reason, I kept jump way to far ahead in my mind to focus myself on the present chapter at hand. You could call it a case of writer's block if you want to, but I think I'm putting too much thought into how to end the story as opposed to how to progress towards it. So I apologize ahead if it seems like the whole chapter went to a whole lot of places and left you confused. Maybe it won't be as troubling once I get started on the next chapter, you tell me.

Oh, and yes, I was having trouble trying to get through this Error Type 2 problem that's been apparently going on for a lot of popular fandom stories for some time. Fortunately, I looked up in the tech forum a method of bypassing that allowed me to update. So Hallelujah, people!

Keep reading, keep spreading the word, and please, please, please send in those reviews. The more, the merrier.

Harry Potter and all the characters, locations, and world created and copyright © JK Rowling. This story was created out of pure fun and enjoyment, so please don't sue or place an Imperius Curse on me.