AN: *Fanfare* And we continue with the story! Yay! I adore Sirius so much, he's my fave character by far! Enjoy this chapter and I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for your kind reviews! I will heat things up soon so don't worry. :) Keep reviewing because I love hearing your thoughts!

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. – Buddha

Sirius and Harry continued practising until Snape walked over to them. "Pathetic, Potter," said Snape, after a while. "Here...let me show you..."

He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively; all thought of non-verbal spells forgotten, he yelled, "Protego!" His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several people gasped, including Hermione. Behind Snape, however, Ron, Dean, and Seamus grinned appreciatively. Sirius chuckled loudly, earning a glare from Snape.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter... not even the Chosen One."

"That was brilliant, Harry!" chortled Ron, once they were safely on their way to break a short while later.

"You really shouldn't have said it," said Hermione, frowning at Ron. "What made you?"

"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" fumed Harry. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defense? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff-"

"Well," said Hermione, "I thought he sounded a bit like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts...well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?"

Harry was so disarmed that she had thought his words as well worth memorizing as The Standard Book of Spells that he did not argue. Sirius, however, shot Hermione a side long glance. "You do know that Snivelly has been up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts since he was eleven, don't you? I've been on the receiving end of his spells...The Dark Arts are seductive, once you start playing with them you get sucked deeper and deeper until, before you know it, there's no way back. Trust me, Hermione, Snape wasn't faking that tone."

"But Dumbledore trusts him, I-..."

"Harry! Hey, Harry!"

A voice cut Hermione off mid sentence, Harry looked around; Jack Sloper, one of the Beaters on last year's Gryffindor Quidditch team, was hurrying toward him holding a roll of parchment.

"For you," panted Sloper. "Listen, I heard you're the new Captain. When're you holding trials?"

"I'm not sure yet," said Harry, thinking privately that Sloper would be very lucky to get back on the team. "I'll let you know."

"Oh, right. I was hoping it'd be this weekend-"

But Harry was not listening; he had just recognized the thin, slanting writing on the parchment. Leaving Sloper in mid-sentence, he hurried away with Ron, Hermione and Sirius, unrolling the parchment as he went.

Dear Harry,
I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at eight p.m. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops.
"He enjoys Acid Pops?" said Ron, who had read the message over Harry's shoulder and was looking perplexed.

"It's the password to get past the gargoyle outside his study," said Harry in a low voice. "Ha! Snape's not going to be pleased... I won't be able to do his detention!"

Break was spent trying to discover what Dumbledore had in store for Harry, Hermione was certain that he would be taught advanced Jinxes and Hexes while Ron decided Dumbledore would be teaching him spells the Death Eaters wouldn't know, his theory was soon put down by Hermione who insisted that was illegal. Harry turned to Sirius, who was being unusually quiet. "What do you reckon?" Harry had long ago confessed everything to Sirius, Hermione hadn't liked that he had told him, but Harry had felt the need to...he couldn't keep such a huge secret from the boy who had once been both Godfather and friend and was now somehow more.

Sirius considered carefully for a while. "I think, knowing Dumbledore, that he will probably be giving you vital information..." He said slowly. "He's the kind of bloke who would prize information over attack and even defence...He's probably going to arm you with knowledge..."

"Seems about right." Ron said. "Always reckoned he was mental...brilliant and all, but still mental."

"Knowledge is power." Sirius muttered softly, seeming to speak to himself as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Strength, magical or physical, can't be much help unless you have the knowledge to use it properly...in any duel you have to think, even if you only have a split second to do it in."

"You talk as if you've been in a duel? Like...a real one." Ron gazed at Sirius who shrugged, pushing hair from his eyes.

"Of course I have...several times. My father trained me, as Heir to the Black name and fortunes it was my duty..." He spat the word, his face twisting as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "To learn to duel, in case I ever had to defend the honour of my house."

When break time was over Hermione went off to her Arithmancy class while Sirius, Ron and Harry returned to the common room during their free period. They worked on Snape's extremely difficult essay. Harry sat in a chair by the fireplace, he was frowning irritably down at his essay until movement caught his eye, he looked up and saw Sirius lying on his front with quill in hand. He was writing rapidly, his eyes narrowed slightly as his feet swayed in the air and he poked his tongue through his teeth with concentration. Harry tipped his head to the side slightly, fascinated by the way the light shone on Sirius' hair which was falling across one shoulder to spread across the parchment, Sirius spent a moment re-reading what he had written and tapping his quill against his lower lip then he seemed to become aware that someone was watching him. He lifted his head and his eyes met Harry's who felt a sudden, almost violent shiver down his spine before he lowered his head back to his own homework.

Sirius smiled slowly watching that adorable blush spread across Harry's face before he stood and moved closer. "You having trouble?" He asked softly, crouching by his side and gazing up at Harry through his fringe.

"Er...yeah...it's difficult..." Harry muttered, unable to look into Sirius' piercing gaze.

"Need help?"

"Y-yeah I guess...thanks..."

Sirius flashed him a white smile before dragging Harry's parchment towards himself and screwing up his face. "You're handwriting's bloody awful!" He exclaimed.

"If you're just going to insult my handwriting I'll have that back..." Harry replied irritably, as he reached for it, Sirius pulled it away, smirking mischievously. Harry's eyes widened and before he knew it he was falling out of his chair and falling on top of the other boy. Sirius was laughing softly.

"I was joking Prongslet...I would have given it back, but then again I kind of like this position..." He lay on his back, eyes like molten sickles and that tiny smirk playing across his lips. Harry felt the air rush from his lungs as he was suddenly confronted by memories of soft lips and hot breath. He flushed brightly as Sirius lifted his head until their lips just touched, before he could give in to the urge to kiss him they heard a cough. Harry went crimson and jumped off of Sirius, before he could turn his attention to the cougher he caught an odd look as it flashed across Sirius' handsome face...could it have been anger? But, before he could consider it, it was gone and he put it down to his imagination.

"We have potions now..." Hermione said, she was stood by the chair Harry had fallen out of and was eyeing him warily. "We shouldn't be late..."

"Even if we were, Old Sluggy wouldn't put us in detention for it..." Sirius said.

Hermione gave him a small frown, Harry raised an eyebrow curiously. Ron was busy packing his homework away and grumbling furiously to himself to notice the tense atmosphere, but Hermione simply sighed softly and turned away.

Potions went unexpectedly well, Harry and Sirius both shared a table and Sirius turned out to be a more than competent potion-maker. By the end of the lesson Slughorn was beaming at the pair of them, while Hermione looked a little upset that, for once, Harry had outshone her. Sirius seemed to simply shrug off the praise, Harry had always had the impression that Sirius was arrogant as a youth, but watching him he realised it wasn't arrogance, but more that he simply knew his strengths.

That evening Harry went to see Dumbledore for the first of his special lessons, leaving Hermione, Ron and Sirius beside the Common Room fire. They sat in silence for a while, until suddenly Sirius stood, Hermione looked enquiringly up at him. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"For a walk." Sirius replied in a light voice, but his voice was strained. "I'll be back to hear all about Harry's lesson." He gave the pair a lazy salute and made his way to the portrait hole.

Once out he walked the corridors, he felt odd, his head swam slightly and he stumbled into a wall with a soft grunt of pain...and then it was on him, his head split open and he went temporarily blind as he collapsed to his knees with a soft gasp. He had one hand on the rough stone wall, his fingers curled inwards into a fist as he closed his eyes and breathed heavily through the agony. He opened his eyes and found himself stood once again in the common room...yet it wasn't quite how it had been when he had left it mere minutes before. The sky outside was dark and he could hear the wind howling outside, the fire roared in the hearth and he could see three figures sitting beside it, he heard them speaking and his eyes fixed upon one. James. He tried to call out but it seemed they couldn't hear him. James was sitting, slumped in one of the squashy armchairs, glaring into the flames.

"We can't do anything, James...I'm sure he's fine." Peter muttered from his place on the floor.

James moved his furious stare to Peter. "And how do you know, Worm?" He snapped.

"James, it's not Peter's fault." Remus said softly. "Dumbledore knows what happened, he will bring him back."

"But I feel so useless!" James said, lowering his head. Sirius moved forward carefully, he realised he wasn't even disturbing the rubbish that scattered the floor. "Merlin, Remus...I miss him."

"We all do." Remus replied, looking at James sadly.

"It's my fault! All my fault...If I'd only read the damned instructions properly...It said that it would send them into the future...not make them see...how could I have been so stupid?" he shoved long fingers into his hair and bent over his knees. "What if he...what if he's gone forever, Moons?"

"He won't be." Remus assured him gently, he put his hand on James' shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sure he'll come back to us, he's Padfoot, remember? He can find his way back from anywhere."

James! James...I'm here...I-I'm right here...Sirius wanted to call out, to touch him, to pull him into a tight embrace...but when his fingers brushed James' hair he felt nothing.

"What would happen if he does end up stuck in the future?" Peter asked, gazing at his two friends with those watery eyes. Sirius suddenly wanted to hit him, to put his fist through those crooked teeth and hear him squeal as he broke his jaw, he growled silently in his throat, his teeth bared in a furious, dog-like snarl.

"That isn't something we're contemplating, Peter." Remus said, his tone as always calm and collected.

"But you should be..." Peter continued blithely, seemingly unaware of how tense James' shoulder's were. "I mean, anything can happen can't it? What if he's stuck in a future where the Dark Lord has won and he's been murdered? Or what if he's trapped somewhere and can't escape...? We might not get him back."

"Peter..." Remus said in warning, but James had straightened.

"No, Remus, he's right...Sirius could be in trouble...he could be dead...anything could have happened." He spoke slowly, his voice heavy with some emotion he wasn't showing on his thin face.

"See...?" Peter smiled a little but quailed when Remus shot him a glare.

James stood abruptly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He turned on his friends. "Use the spell on me." He said firmly.

Remus' brown eyes widened. "No! That's idiocy, even coming from you!"

"Remus, if he is in danger, I can't just stand by...I-I can't stand not knowing! Please..."

Remus bit down on his lower lip. "I could send you anywhere...you could go too far or not far enough...there's too many what if's..."

"You know, for once I agree with Remus." Peter said quietly. "You could be killed."

James' hazel eyes narrowed and Sirius felt his heart skip a beat. "Shut up! He's our friend and I know for a fact that he would willingly walk through fire for any of us...if I don't do the same for him, how would I ever face him again?"

Peter's face darkened and he stared mulishly at the carpet. "You're only saying that because you're sleeping with him..." He muttered darkly.

James stiffened, his eyes going wide. "H-How...?"

"Oh come on James, do you think I'm that stupid? The way you two are around each other, it's not the same way you are around me or Remus...and sometimes you even forget to put up the silencing charms at night!"

"Peter...stop..." Remus began but fell silent at the look James gave him.

"So, you worked it out...well done. So what if I'm sleeping with him, Pete? What's it matter to you who I shag?"

"I-It..." Peter had gone red at James' unabashed confession. Sirius had never wanted to kiss James more than he did in that moment, but he was invisible, a wraith with no substance...yet he almost found himself thinking that if it meant he could stay at James' side he wouldn't mind being invisible...even if it meant never touching that hair, never looking into those eyes, never hearing that voice whisper his name in the darkness of early morning...he could live simply knowing James was near...simply protecting him from the shadows... "It doesn't...but I thought Lily..."

"I am in love with Lily Evans." James' declaration seemed to hang heavily in the air, a choking, cloying blanket that sank into Sirius' lungs and almost stopped his heart. "What Sirius and I have is nothing more than fucking around, we get bored and we do stuff...there's nothing else to it."

Peter frowned, plucking absently at a hole in the rug. "I still don't see why you have go chasing after him...He's annoying...he's horrible to me..."

Remus frowned slightly. "Sirius is horrible to everyone, peter. I wouldn't take it so personally."

"He's not horrible to you or James..."

"Well..." Remus seemed unable to come up with an answer to that.

"Sirius is my best friend! He's the brother I never had! You know this, Pete...why are you so against me going?"

"Because..." Peter looked up at James, blue eyes narrowed. "Because I don't like him." He said firmly.

"What?" James' eyes widened in incredulity. "But that's-..."

Sirius never did get to find out what it was, he felt an awful wrench in his head, he bent over with a silent cry of pain and when he next opened his eyes he was gazing up at the stone ceiling of the third floor corridor. After a second to get his bearings he let out a small sigh and covered his face with his hands, his whisper was soft but audible; "James..."

When Harry returned he found Hermione and Ron waiting for him by the fire, he looked around and saw no sign of Sirius. "Where's..." But before he could ask the portrait hole opened and he saw Sirus coming through it, he had his head down but when he lifted it a small smile curled his lips.

"Hey Prongslet, how'd it go?" He asked as he slumped down into a seat.

Harry explained about Bob Ogden's memory, he described it in great detail. "Then, when we got out the penseive, Dumbledore said; 'Marvolo, his son, Morfin, and his daughter, Merope, were the last of the Gaunts, a very ancient Wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins. Lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born. He, as you saw, was left in squalor and poverty, with a very nasty temper, a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride, and a couple of family heirlooms that he treasured just as much as his son, and rather more than his daughter.'"

"Sounds familiar." Sirius' dark mutter made everyone jump, they had almost forgotten he was sat there, he was so low in his chair that the top of his head couldn't be seen over the back. "Gaunt..." He frowned into the fire. "I don't think I remember them...but Peverell rings a bell. I'm certain I've heard it before..." He chewed absently on a torn nail as he went back to the days when his mother would sit him before the giant tapestry in Grimmauld Place and force him to recount each family member, then he would have to tell her the names of each notable family. Suddenly he sat up, silver eyes glittering in the fire light. "Peverell! They were the first pureblood Wizarding family to become extinct in the male line, a medieval family...so there is a possibility that their bloodline survives but it would be through the female line so the name would have long ago died out." He paused. "I don't remember who they're related to though...I can't remember..." He shrugged slightly. "Apart from the Gaunts, obviously...and probably Slytherin too."

"But what would Dumbledore want with their ring?" Harry muttered, remembering the golden ring and the cracked black stone that had sat on one of the many tables in Dumbledore's office.

"No idea." Sirius said with a small shake of his head. Harry had noticed an odd change in him, he seemed withdrawn somewhat, his mood dour and dark even now there was something strange in the way he was watching Harry, the glint in his eyes was all at once hungry and sad...he ignored the shiver that ran down his spine and tried to concentrate on Hermione's voice as she began discussing Dumbledore's first lesson in Voldemort's history.