-Moving into fourth year AU! Surprises coming, feel free to leave reviews!-

The next morning came too early for Harry, who had been up all night thinking about the events of the cup and how strange Barty Crouch and his house elf had behaved. He walked downstairs to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes to see his godfather slaving over the stove.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Harry asked, chuckling at the sight of his godfather cooking the muggle way.

He turned and smiled brightly at Harry. "What? I can't cook my favorite godson his favorite meal before I spoil him senseless in Diagon Alley?"

Remus smirked at him from his seat across from Harry before giving Harry a warm smile as well.

"You don't have to go to all this trouble for me you know, I should make the pancakes for you. You guys do too much for me." Harry said, returning Remus's smile and then turning back to face Sirius.

"Nonsense, Harry. Who else do I have to cook food and buy tons of presents for? Why would you deny your old godfather that privilege?" He shot puppy dog eyes at Harry, who chuckled and shrugged. "Well old man, if you insist."

"Watch the cheek," Sirius said with a bark-like laugh, swatting at Harry before finishing up the last of the pancakes. They all sat down and had an enjoyable breakfast together before departing for Diagon Alley.

Upon their arrival in the Leaky Caldron, Harry made to walk towards the exit to the street. "I'm going to search for Ron and Hermione!" He called, only to be stopped with a strong hand on his shoulder. "Wait for me, Harry, I'll go with you." Sirius said gently, looking back for Remus, who had stopped to greet an acquaintance in the pub.

"Oh, erm, alright then." Harry said, slightly confused at Sirius's strange behavior from the morning.

The three crossed through the brick passageway onto the bustling street of Diagon Alley and searched for the clan of redheads. They found the group in front of Flourish and Blotts getting their used books for the year.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, running up to hug him with Ron at her heels. "Did you see the supply list? We need dresses and dress robes for this year! I wonder what for?"

Harry shrugged but smiled at them. The three began browsing around the shop, looking at the different books and laughing at the third years trying to buy the Monster Book of Monsters without being bitten. "Leave it to Hagrid to list a book that could bite your finger off," Ron mumbled as the large group left the bookshop.

"Come on everyone, let's head to Madam Malkin's for your dress robes!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, walking towards the far end of the street.

When they entered the shop, Ginny and Hermione immediately began picking out dresses to try on, but Mrs. Weasley stopped them. "Ginny dear, the formal outfits are for fourth years only. If there's an exception when you get to school, I'll send you something, but for now let's just browse for the boys."

Ginny ignored her mother and continued to ogle over the new, gorgeous dress gowns Hermione was holding.

"Here, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, bringing an emerald green robe over to him after exhausting her attempts to pull Ginny away from the sparkly dresses. "This will go beautifully with your eyes. Try it on, go on."

Sirius snickered and nudged Harry towards the dressing rooms. "That's right kid, let's see it." Harry shot him a look but went into the dressing room, Ron following him into the next room over. Harry stepped out looking like a seventh year rather than a fourth year due to the well-fitted, gorgeous robes. Ron, however, stepped out in a pink-colored, lace robe, feeling mortified. "Mum, I think this was meant for Ginny?"

"No, no dear. Those are your robes. They're, well, they're used robes of course… But I'm sure we can do something to fix it. I think you just look dashing." Molly said, walking up to straighten the lace.

Ginny snickered at Ron, but stopped with a look from her father. "Well… Harry, your robes look great on you."

"Er-thanks Ginny." Harry mumbled, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks. Sirius snickered at him again before smiling and walking over. "We'll get these, go take them off so we can get out of here… you know, before I die of boredom."

"Hmm, well you know, I was thinking I'd like to try a few different colors… maybe red, blue, burgundy, indigo, purple... might even try the lace, Ron does look rather dashing..." Harry said jokingly, before ducking from a swat from his godfather and walking back in the dressing room to remove the robes.

After a few more minutes of bickering between Ron and his mother, the group left Madam Malkin's to go to lunch at the Leaky Caldron, in which Harry and his friends enjoyed a large helping of turkey meat, an assortment of vegetables, and refreshing pumpkin juice. At the end of the meal, Harry, Hermione, and Ron wanted to go find dessert somewhere on Diagon Alley. "Sirius, can we go grab ice cream? We'll be right back."

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasley said, in a very uncharacteristically harsh tone.

Taken aback, Harry turned to his godfather. "Why?"

"Can I explain it to you at home? I'll get you some treacle tart or something before we leave, but I'd rather you stay near me too." Sirius whispered to him with a shrug.

Harry was confused, embarrassed, and a little angry at not being trusted enough to walk down the street a block, especially considering Sirius would have not listened to authority at the age of fourteen; nonetheless, he nodded and sat back down in his seat out of respect for his godfather's wishes. Sirius smiled at him, and prepared to start up a new round of discussion, when Ron spoke up. "Why not mum? We've been walking alone around Diagon Alley since we were eight."

Harry looked up at his friend, surprised. Ron was not normally one to question his mother; she was very talented at striking fear in her own children.

Mrs. Weasley glared at him for questioning her, but then sighed. "It's complicated, Ron. There's been some…" She looked at Harry fondly, but fleetingly, as if she knew something about him that he didn't. "... incidences this summer in which we feel that we need to be more careful."

"What? Incidences with me?" Harry looked up at Sirius, confused and a little betrayed at being kept in the dark.

"No, no, no, Harry, it's okay." Mrs. Weasley said, rushing over to his side of the table. "It's not… it's got nothing to do with you dear, okay? Just trust that the responsible adults-" she shot Sirius a look as she said this,"-know what's best for your safety okay?"

Harry didn't respond but instead looked down at his plate, still confused and slightly hurt at being treated like the child he knew he wasn't. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and Harry looked up at him. Remus was looking at him too, and Harry knew he would find out the problem soon enough, his guardians wouldn't keep him in the dark because they didn't think he was a child - they knew better.


"Harry, your scar hurting is concerning," Remus began as they sat down in the study at the Marauder's Mansion. "Sirius, Dumbledore, and I… well, we have reason to believe Voldemort and his followers are a little too active for comfort right now. Especially with your dreams and what happened at the World Cup yesterday. We also have reason to believe that they're going to come after you, so that's why we need you to be careful. We don't have any facts yet, but please trust us on this."

Harry thought about his words and nodded. It wasn't exactly news, he had expected something similar after the attacks. "I'll be careful, but I would like to be able to leave the house without being suffocated." He tried to say it jokingly, but it fell flat. Regardless, Sirius and Remus smiled at him and nodded. "I think flying around here and going to the Burrow is okay for now, we just need to be careful in public places. Diagon Alley doesn't matter too much anymore, you leave for school tomorrow." Sirius said the last part almost bitterly.

"Can I-can I still go to Hogsmeade? I didn't really get to go last year and enjoy myself because of the Dursley's and well… you know, everyone thought I had a mass murderer following me." Harry said, smirking.

Sirius and Remus smiled and nodded. "Hogsmeade will be safe with all the professors around, but make sure you don't go without Ron or Hermione." Sirius said. "I'm sure Remus will keep an eye on you."

Harry smiled at them, then realized what their conversation meant. "I guess I better go pack for tomorrow…"

Sirius took on solemn features. "I guess you better."

Harry nodded and went to walk upstairs; he wasn't ready to leave the first place he had ever called home and definitely wasn't ready to say goodbye to his godfather. He was happy that Remus had kept his teaching position for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but hated the idea of Sirius being alone at home for the entire term.

When Harry was out of earshot, Remus turned to Sirius. "You're a scary good actor, Padfoot."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Remus," Sirius said with a smirk. "Now if you'll be so kind to cook dinner, I'm going to floo Dumbledore. Supposedly has some important things he needs to tell me."


"Doesn't look like you have packed very much." Sirius said, leaning against the door frame and smirking at his godson, who was currently lying on his bed reading a quidditch magazine.

Harry sat up and grinned sheepishly. "I… I guess I don't want to… you know, don't want to leave. This has been one of the best summers of my life and I don't want it to end and to… well…"

Sirius crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't want you to leave anymore than you do, this has been one of the best summers of my life too. But this is going to be a great year… I can't tell you the details yet, but you'll see what I mean. Not to mention, it's almost your O.W.L. year, and I can't have you dropping out of school this early."

Harry nodded. "But… what about you?"

"What about me?" Sirius said, giving him a sad, knowing smile.

"What will you do while we're gone? I hate to think-"

"Harry," Sirius said, cutting him off. "I'll be fine. I've found a job, which I think will be good for me. I'll spend all my free time sending you owls and howlers, as well, so I'd venture to say I'll be pretty busy myself."

Harry chuckled but still looked sad. "I'm going to miss you though. I mean, having Remus as a teacher again will be great, he's the best defense teacher we have had, but still. He's not my…"

"What?" Sirius questioned after Harry trailed off.

"It's just… Remus is great, really. He's very knowledgeable and helpful, but he's not my… well, I don't consider him to be like a… like a dad." Harry mumbled, heat rising to his cheeks.

Sirius threw an arm over Harry's shoulders and pulled him closer. Hearing Harry say that meant so much to him, but he couldn't help feeling a little bit of guilt that he was being called that instead of James. "I know, I'm going to miss you a lot too Harry. How about this, I'll give you something before you leave tomorrow okay? It's a way to always talk to me, even when we're far apart. Although I daresay you won't need it this year once you get to Hogwarts."

Harry looked confused and Sirius chuckled and squeezed his shoulder. "Why don't I help you pack kid? Dinner will be cold if we don't hurry and get this done."

The two finished putting Harry's school belongings in his trunk, including his invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map, the knife Sirius had given him for his birthday, and the photo album of his parents and their friends that Hagrid had given him. They went downstairs to where Remus had cooked a delicious stew. The three sat at the table together, laughing and talking about different things. Finally, when it was almost time for everyone to go to bed and prepare for tomorrow, Sirius spoke up. "Here you go, Harry. This is the thing that I mentioned earlier. Just say my name and I'll be there to talk to you. Also, here's a little something from Remus and I as a back-to-school present."

Harry looked fleetingly at the two-way mirror Sirius had given him, then opened the small box to find a dark leather wand holster engraved with a unique crest on the front. Harry looked up and smiled at them. "What's this crest mean?"

"Ah, that's the Potter Family Crest. I was afraid you wouldn't know what it was, but I figured it would be nice for you to own something with it on there. We expect you to keep your wand in there and the holster on you at all times though, no more mishaps like what happened at the Quidditch World Cup." Sirius said with a smile.

Harry nodded and hugged both of them before heading upstairs to get ready for the day ahead.


The next morning came very early, and Sirius, Harry and Remus flooed to London to walk to Kings Cross Station. On the way to the station, Sirius would occasionally change into his animagus form and chase squirrels for Harry's amusement; however, there was still a sadness hanging over them both as they approached what Harry thought to be his hardest goodbye.

Finally, they arrived at Platform 9 ¾, and the three ran through the barrier onto the platform. Remus took Harry's luggage to move it onto the train. "I'll be sitting with the teachers if you need me Harry."

Harry nodded, then turned to his godfather. "See you I guess." Harry mumbled.

Sirius leaned down and gave the boy a bear hug. "Be good, kid. Don't worry about me. Trust me, I'm sure you'll hear from me very soon." Harry nodded against his godfather's shoulder before leaving his embrace to meet Ron and Hermione on the train.

Once on board, the three found a compartment and Harry went to look out the window. "That's odd," he mumbled, scanning the crowd.

"What?" Hermione questioned, looking out the window as well.

"It's… it's nothing, I was just going to wave to Sirius. You know, the way most kids do with their parents… but he's not there anymore. I didn't expect him to leave so quickly." Harry mumbled, looking down at his lap.

"Don't worry, mate, I'm sure Sirius will send you an owl within the hour." Ron said, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, Percy says something crazy is going to be happening at Hogwarts this year. The ministry is sponsoring it… what do you think it will be?"

"You know, Sirius hinted at that last night. I'm not sure, but if Percy thinks it's crazy, it's probably not that exciting. He's a bit of a buzzkill." Harry said, smiling at Ron who was scowling.

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm glad he finally graduated, now I don't have to be reminded everyday of my git of a brother." Ron mumbled.

"Oh, Ron, don't say that. If the ministry is going to be at Hogwarts, I hope they don't send that god awful Barty Crouch. I still can't believe how horribly he treated Winky at the Cup!" Hermione exclaimed, petting Crookshanks who sat in her lap.

"More about the house elves! Honestly, that's all I've heard since the Cup." Ron said dramatically, rolling his eyes.

"It's true, Ron, he was terrible. What do you think Harry?" Hermione said, turning to him and clearly expecting him to agree with her opinions on elfish welfare.

"Er-" Harry mumbled, before he was cut off by the trolley witch. "Excuse me dear, I believe someone has sent you the lot of this candy." She said, turning to Harry.

"Someone sent me all of this? Why? I have money, I'll pay for it." Harry said, confused.

"No, no, they insisted." She said with a smile, placing the candy in the compartment. "They wanted me to wish you a great start of term and that they expect you to share it with your friends."

Once she left, the three dug into the food. "Blimey!" Ron exclaimed, shoving chocolate frogs in his mouth. "Someone must like you a lot to send you all of this Harry!"

Harry smiled to himself as he tried a Berty's Every Flavor Bean. "I wish I knew who it was."

"Oh, Harry, it's obvious!" Hermione said with a smile. "It was Sirius!"

"What? How?" Harry asked, confused.

"Well, that explains why he wasn't on the platform where you could see him, right? He was probably at the end of the train buying the candy. Maybe he was trying to buy you all the sweets he missed out on buying the past twelve years? Besides, who else would wish you a good start of term unless they weren't going to be there for your start of term?" Hermione said, shaking her head as if it were obvious.

Harry smiled bigger at her words, thankful to have finally been given a parent figure, and the best one he could have asked for, at that.