Author's Note: We are all just going to ignore that I spelled Twenty-one wrong on the last chapter. Enjoy!

A few days before going back to Hogwarts, AJ walked down to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich for lunch. Already there was Hope and Micheal Breez, Teddy's best friend from Hogwarts and her training partner in the Auror department. Hope was helping Micheal study for the exams as his performance was allowing him to test early.

"Can we go over that again," Michael asked, a clear tone of panic in his voice, as AJ walked around them to the counter.

"You've recited it perfectly the last three times," said Hope.

"Just once more," he asked again.

"Fine," Hope conceded, "We can do it as much as you like, I've got nothing to do tonight anyways."

"I thought you have date with Noah," said AJ. Following their first date at the beginning of the summer, Hope and Noah had gone on several other dates, eventually agreeing to be a couple at the beginning of August.

"Oh, I broke up with him last night," said Hope.

"That was fast," said AJ.

"Okay so we agree that this was a short relationship," asked Hope. AJ nodded before she continued, "too quick for an 'I love you' to be said, correct?"

"He told you that he loved you," asked AJ. "Already?"

"Yes! The topics of marriage and children were also brought up, which was way too fast for me, so I ended it before it got too serious," explained Hope. "He was an okay enough guy, but he went too fast for me."

"Honestly, it's almost like me going to London and picking a random bloke off the street and telling you two to have children," laughed Michael. "Can I ask why he was only okay enough?"

"He was hinting that he wanted me to stop taking my-" She looked over to AJ, remembering that he was with them, "cover your ears!"

"Normally I would argue that I'm not a child, but I don't particularly want to hear this either," said AJ, grabbing the sandwich that he made and walking back upstairs to his room. He placed the sandwich on the table beside his bed before turning on the TV and the gaming console that faced his bed. During the summer, the other boys who lived in the neighborhood had been talking about, and playing, video games together, so AJ's parents bought him a gaming console for him to join in with them. He ate the sandwich slowly while playing games until he heard his bedroom door creak open. He turned to see Sirius in the doorway.

"Can I play with you?"

"No," said AJ before turning his attention back to his game.

"But why," Sirius whined.

"It's too violent," sated AJ, still focusing his attention to the screen.

"It doesn't look it," argued Sirius.

"Well I'm not going to start shooting people if you're in the room," explained AJ.

"Just let me play," Sirius begged, "I'm almost ten, I'm old enough."

"And I'm almost fifteen," said AJ. "It's my game anyway, so if I say no, it's no."

"But mum and dad bought it for you."

"So?"

Sirius said nothing before closing the door, his feet slamming loudly against the floor as he ran downstairs to, presumably, get their parents. He returned with their dad in tow a few minutes later, "see! He won't let me play with him."

"It's too violent," AJ explained.

"No it's not!"

"I'm going to agree with AJ on this one, Siri," said Remus calmly.

"It's not fair," whined Sirius, "why am I always left out of everything they do?"

"You're too young to do a lot of the stuff they do," Remus told him.

"It's not fair!"

"Cry about it," said AJ, still not looking over to them.

"Thanks AJ, but I got it," said Remus. "Come on Sirius, we'll do something downstairs."

The door clicked as they left the room, leaving AJ to his solitude once again. He had wondered a lot this summer about when exactly Sirius had become such an annoying pest.

XXXXXXXXX

"Not going to lie to you, this feels slightly underwhelming," said Tonks as she and AJ wove their way through the platform, which was being covered by steam from the big, scarlet engine on the tracks.

"Why's that?"

"Well for the past few years we've had to drag all of you to the platform, but it's just you and I this year," explained Tonks. "You ready for your first year by yourself?"

AJ shrugged, "I guess. I'm not really by myself though, am I? Dad's still there."

"He is," said Tonks as the train's whistle blew. AJ bent down to hug her," please don't get any taller, you're already almost taller than your brother."

"I've always been taller than Sirius," joked AJ.

"Wise ass," said Tonks with an eye-roll. She smiled, "I'll see you at Christmas."

"Bye mum," said AJ as he walked closer to the train and climbed aboard. He picked a random compartment and sat down, waiting for his friends to come and find him. The first person to walk into his compartment was Oliver, who had began to lose his babyface, making him look slightly older, and more attractive, than he had last year.

"Hi AJ."

"Hey," said AJ, "how was your summer?"

"Alright," he replied, "yours?

'Fine," said AJ, "nothing really special."

"Cool cool,' said Oliver. "Remember last year when you said you could tutor me in transfiguration?"

"Yeah."

"Can I take you up on that offer? Since Hope graduated and I'm still going to need help..."

"Sure," said AJ, "fair warning, I'm nowhere near as good as Hope is, believe it or not, she's always been rather good at transfiguration."

"Well the shapeshifting gave that away, mate. We'll setup a day then?"

"Just tell me when."

"Thanks! I told Isabella that I'd meet her in her compartment, so I'll see you at school."

AJ stared out the window, watching the hills and plains file by until he finally heard someone walk into the compartment. He turned to see Ellie, "we've been looking for you, we have a compartment a bit down that way. Follow me."

He stood up and followed her down the corridor, "I almost didn't recognize you since you grew your hair out."

Normally AJ would cut his hair after school finished and before he left again, but he had decided to leave it. Now, his wavy hair reached passed his ears.

AJ shrugged, "just wanted to try something new."

"I didn't say it was bad," Ellie assured him. "I actually quite like it."

They reached the compartment where James and Fred were sitting on one side while Nolan sat opposite of them. AJ sat down next to Nolan, and Ellie sat on the other side of him. The compartment seemed to be much more crammed as each boy had seemed to have grown at least half a foot since June, even Ellie was significantly taller now.

"Where's Roxanne at, Fred," asked Ellie.

Fred huffed, "hell if I know, she barely talked to me all summer."

"Why," asked Nolan.

"She started dating that fifth year Slytherin, Evan Hark, and has wanted to sneak him in the house to snog while out parents have been at the shop."

"Does he live close to you guys," asked AJ.

"Floo Network genius," said Fred.

"I got that, but I wanted to know if he lived close to you is all," said AJ.

"Well, he doesn't," said Fred annoyed.

"Wow, what's your guys' deal," asked Ellie.

"Nothing," said Fred, "just been a bit hard having my sister go from one of my best friends to barely speaking to me. All of it being because of a boy."

"I get that," said AJ, "Sirius and I were always pretty close, but for the past month or so he's always getting on my nerves. He's constantly following me around, which was fine, but now we both like different things. He's still into little kid things and tries to get me to play with him, but I have no interest in it. Worse it when he tries to touch my things when he's too young for them."

"Albus does the same thing," said James with an eye-roll. "He's always taking my clothes and laptop without asking, it really pisses me off."

"I had to hide my video games in my closet, so Sirius wouldn't use them while I was gone," said AJ.

"Ugh," groaned James, "at least I can make sure Albus doesn't use any of my things since he's at school with me."

"Trust me, I have Ted and Hope keeping an eye on him," said AJ.

"They agreed to do that," asked Nolan.

"We've all been on the receiving end of it at one point or another, so they understand how annoying it is," said AJ.

"My younger sisters are getting to the age where they like makeup and nice clothes, so they've also been in my things," complained Ellie.

"Do you think they'll come here," asked Fred.

"They've been displaying signs of magical abilities, which we now recognize as that and not just some coincidences," said Ellie. "We'll know for sure before seventh year."

"Well besides being pestered by your younger siblings, or older in Fred's case, what else is new," asked Nolan.

Later that evening, AJ and his friends entered the Gryffindor common room to be immediately met with Davis. He sat on the couch but did not speak to them, he did, however, throw a disgusted look towards AJ.

"Can we help you, Davis," asked James in mock politeness.

"Not at all, Potter, just making sure your pet here didn't pounce. You should really cage that thing, you know, he could attack at any mo-"

"Levicorpus," announced AJ as he drew his wand from his cloak. He had not learned this spell in class yet, he only read it in Hope's old textbook. It, however, had the desired effect as Davis was suspended upside down in the air. The common room erupted into laughter, AJ bounced him up and down a few times before turning to James and Fred.

"What should I do with him, you think?"

"I think you should put him down," came a stern voice from the entrance. In his panic, AJ lost focus, causing Davis to fall to the ground with a loud thud. He turned to see the angry face of his father, turning redder by the second, "my office, now."

AJ nodded before following his father out of the common room and down the hall to his quarters, which normally remained unused aside from full moons. He walked into the room before sitting on the couch against a wall, Remus took a seat on the coffee table across from AJ. He stared daggers into AJ, the silence becoming unbearable.

"I supposed I should congratulate you on setting a new record," said Remus.

"Record," asked AJ.

"Quickest detention ever received by a student," explained Remus. "You beat James and Sirius by twelve hours, though I suppose you are neck-and-neck with Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron."

"When is it then," asked AJ.

"Every Friday for the next three weeks in my office," said Remus. "One hundred points will also be deducted from Gryffindor, try not to lose anymore, I would really like a shot at the house cup this year."

AJ nodded before being dismissed and taking the walk of shame back to his dormitory.

XXXXXXXXX

AJ packed up his bag after transfiguration, where they had reviewed Vera Verto again. Elroy approached his table after class had concluded, "I'm very surprised with your performance, Lupin. I thought you would be back to regular incompetence since your personal professor is gone. The incompetence also seems to run in your family, so I'm beyond shocked at you to be completely honest."

"Does the incompetence stretch to my mother as well, professor," AJ asked in mock politeness.

Elroy scowled, "fifteen points from Gryffindor. Now, get out."

He walked down the corridor to his dad's now empty classroom, where he and Oliver had agreed to meet for their first tutoring session of the term. Oliver trotted in a few minutes later, already holding his textbook in his arms.

"Hey AJ," said Oliver cheerfully, yet he seemed to be nervous about something.

"Hi," said AJ, "ready to start?"

"Actually," began Oliver, "I wanted to ask you something first."

"Go ahead."

"Do you want to be my boyfriend," he asked quickly.

"What?"

"Do you want to be my boyfriend," he asked again, slower this time.

"I-uh." Oliver was sweet, and AJ could not help but notice how much more attractive he looked compared to the previous year. AJ sat there for a while not speaking, only thinking. What was the worst that could happen, really? "O-okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

After their lesson, AJ made his way outside and towards the lake where his friends were studying. Ellie looked up as he got closer and waved him over, "hey! How did-"

"I'm gay," he announced.

"What," asked Ellie.

"I'm gay," AJ repeated, "and if any of you have a problem with it-"

"Why would we have a problem with it," asked James. "I've had a hunch for a while now if I'm being entirely honest- which I am."

"How," asked AJ.

"We would all talk about our crushes and you would never join in," said James. "After a little while, I realized it wasn't because you had you head up your ass."

"Oh," said AJ, "you guys really don't mind?"

"Why would we," asked Stephanie. She laughed, "it would be a bit hypocritical of me to judge you for liking men, seeing as I like them too."

"Cool," said AJ, sitting down with them, "and I'm dating Oliver."

"Isabella's friend," asked Stephanie. AJ confirmed with a nod, "awe- he's a nice boy."

"Yeah," said AJ, "yeah he is."

"Do your parents and siblings know," asked Fred.

"They've known for years, since the summer before second year actually," said AJ. He scanned the group, finally laying eyes on Nolan, who looked hurt. At first, AJ was confused, but then he realized that he was upset about his relationship and not his coming out. He shrugged it off, it would be fine, he saw Nolan more of friend than a crush now anyways. Everything would be just fine.

"I'm going inside, I have a question for Professor Malfoy," said Nolan before leaving quickly. AJ took it back, everything was not going to be fine.

Hope you enjoyed! Updates should be more often now, since I finished school!