A few hours later, the train came to a screeching halt at the Hogsmeade station. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took what was left of their candy and walked out onto the platform to board the carriages.

"Firs' years over here!" Hagrid yelled in the distance, waving to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they passed. The three waved back, then maneuvered their way through the pathway to get onto a carriage.

"Have you two heard about Bertha Jorkins and Professor Flitwick?" Hermione said, peering over the students heads at the teacher's carriage.

"Who's Bertha Jorkins?" Harry asked, looking in the same direction Hermione was as the next carriage rolled up.

"She's that ministry witch, right? I heard dad talking about her at the Cup, she's gone missing." Ron said, climbing onto the carriage.

"Right, and Flitwick has supposedly gone missing as well, he disappeared right after she did." Hermione said, joining Ron on the left side of the carriage while Harry took the right.

"Who will teach charms then?" Harry asked, scanning the crowd for the signs of a new teacher.

"No clue," Ron mumbled, looking around as the carriage started to move. "Better be someone good, though. Don't need a repeat of that bloke Lockhart."

"Or Quirrel," Harry mumbled in agreement.

The carriage rumbled on towards the castle, and soon the three were seated in the great hall preparing for the teachers to arrive, along with the first years for their sorting. By this point, most of the students had heard of Flitwick's departure and were trying to guess who would be teaching them this term. The Ravenclaws, Harry noted, appeared most distressed, since Flitwick was also their head of house.

"Leave it to them to be upset that they don't have anyone in charge of them," Ron said, looking bewildered at a second year Ravenclaw who was crying upon hearing the news.

"Oh, but Ron it's awful. It's one thing for a professor to retire, yet another entirely when they go missing." Hermione said, looking compassionately at the table to their right.

Soon the gossip ceased and teachers began to take their places at the head table. Harry began to name them in his head to try and spot out a new face: Snape, Trelawney, Hagrid, Sprout, Lupin, Sirius, Sinistra- wait, Sirius?

Harry craned his neck for a better look, as if to confirm that it was in fact, his godfather sitting at the head table. "Guys!"

"We know," Ron said, looking ecstatic but also equally as bewildered as Harry. "I thought you said-"

"He didn't tell me! He made me believe… oh Merlin, I'm going to kill him," Harry said with a laugh, feeling much more light-hearted now that his godfather was near to him again. Sirius made eye-contact with him and smirked as if to say, "I told you so." Harry beamed back at him before turning his attention to McGonagall as the Sorting Ceremony began.

The sorting began in a normal fashion, until McGonagall reached the name "Ivory, Michelle." Before the girl had the chance to put the hat on, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, and one of the strangest looking men Harry had ever seen walked in. The man had long, sandy-blonde hair, and a fake eye that twirled around menacingly. He also was missing a leg, and had a peg leg made of wood in its place. The students cowered as he passed, but Harry and Hermione looked at him curiously. "Wonder what he's teaching, then?" Harry whispered.

"I dunno," Ron mumbled, "but I'm pretty sure that's Mad-Eye Moody. Dad says he was once brilliant. Dad left home this morning to do something for him, though he didn't go into specifics. He told me that the ministry forced Moody to retire though, so I reckon that's why he's here."

Once Moody reached a seat at the head table, the sorting continued normally. Finally, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Greetings students, and welcome back to yet another year at Hogwarts. I have some big news before we can begin, so please pay close attention, as I do not wish to deprive you of food for too long. I will begin by introducing you to two of our new professors. The first will be Professor Alastor Moody, who will be assisting Professor Lupin with Defense classes this year, being that neither can make every single class period." Dumbledore cast a knowing look in Harry's direction, and Harry assumed he was talking about Remus's lycanthropy. "Our second professor will be filling in for Professor Flitwick this year, being as he is not able to commit to teaching for the upcoming terms. I introduce you to Professor Sirius Black, who I trust will be a fantastic charms teacher."

The hall immediately filled with applause and chatter. Harry assumed most had read about Sirius's wrongful incarceration by the ministry, but some probably still had prejudices against him. Regardless, Harry clapped the loudest for his godfather, excited to be able to spend more time with him.

"Now that formalities have been met, I have one last announcement. This year, Hogwarts will hold the Triwizard Tournament. This is a chance for students at Hogwarts to meet students from other magical schools. We will host Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Academy this year for the tournament, and one of you will be chosen as the Hogwarts Champion to compete for gold and glory. Now, due to previous experiences with the tournament, the ministry is requiring an age limit for competitors. Students must be of age-" this statement was met with defiance from all years, "to compete. No exceptions. The Goblet of Fire will ensure that you are of age when you place your name into it to compete. I will announce more as the time comes closer, but for now, let's tuck in!" Dumbledore said as food magically appeared in front of everyone.

The feast was one of the best Harry had ever experienced, and the food tasted better than he remembered. He watched Sirius closely, who seemed to be politely listening to Professor Trelawny talk about something. Harry chuckled, thinking about the load of garbage that would be coming out of her mouth and almost felt sympathetic towards his godfather. Before he knew it, though, the feast was over and students were returning to their common rooms. He stood up to follow Ron and Hermione out, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to see Remus and Sirius smiling down at him. "Come with us, Harry," Remus said, leading the way.

"I can't believe you!" Harry said, turning to his godfather. "You made me think this whole time that I wouldn't see you until Christmas."

Sirius smirked and wrapped an arm around his godson's shoulder. "I know, but what would have been the fun in me telling you? Your face was priceless when you noticed me up there. I told Remus to take a picture but he didn't think it would be professional."

"You sent all that candy didn't you?" Harry asked, still dumbfounded.

Sirius barked a laugh in response. "Yep, Moony's idea. Thought it would appear to be a going away present and hey, I couldn't have you spending your own galleons on something as simple as sweets, could I? I hope you didn't eat all that by yourself though, I don't want to be the reason your keep your dorm mates up all night from a sugar high."

Remus chuckled from in front of them, and led them towards the Defense corridor. "These are my sleeping quarters if you ever need anyone, Harry. I'm sure Sirius will show you his next. We just wanted you to know where you can find us if we aren't in our offices. You're welcome to drop by anytime, although, for me at least, the office might be a better place to go." Remus said, patting him on the shoulder as he turned to walk inside his quarters.

Harry and Sirius bid him goodnight and continued on towards the corridor near the charms classroom. When they reached the painting into Sirius's quarters, Sirius showed Harry inside and sat down on a couch in the living room.

"Wow," Harry mumbled, looking through the small flat. "I didn't realize teacher's got all of this. A kitchen, living room, and bedroom? Pretty nice."

Sirius chuckled, "I actually managed to get a second bedroom, considering I have a child here. That one's yours over there, but I expect you'll want to spend most of your time in your dorm."

Harry nodded, then walked over to the couch to sit beside his godfather. "I didn't know you were good at charms?"

"Yeah, I'd say that was one of my strong suits while I was here. Helped me through auror training in the ministry before I was convicted." Sirius said with a shrug.

"So… what's going on with Flitwick then?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Sirius sighed. "Harry, if I knew, I'd tell you. I trust you have heard about Bertha Jorkins disappearance?" Harry nodded and Sirius continued. "Well, she was a girl close to my age at Hogwarts. Didn't have a lot of talent, but definitely enjoyed gossip. She worked in the same ministry department as Ludo Bagman, Arthur said you met him at the Cup, correct?" Harry nodded again. "Right. Well, she has gone missing in Albania and there are rumors that she came into contact with Voldemort. We aren't exactly sure of course, but that's more of a reason for me to be weary for your sake. Anyway, the ministry hasn't done much to search for her, so Albus sent someone after her instead. He chose Professor Flitwick, and Flitwick obliged."

"But he hasn't returned?" Harry asked, looking up at his godfather.

"No, he hasn't, and Dumbledore is concerned that he might not return. That's why I'm here. I don't need the money, but Dumbledore needed a teacher, a confidant, and someone to keep an eye on you." Sirius said with a wink.

Harry smiled, but then another thought crossed his mind. "Why did he send Flitwick? Actually, why did Dumbledore get involved in the first place?"

"I honestly can't tell you his true intentions because he hasn't really told me. I can only guess here, and I'm thinking he sent Flitwick because Flitwick is a brave, clever man, as well as a man of many talents. He's part goblin as well, so that heritage could help him in certain scenarios. Flitwick did his part to fight Voldemort in the past, so I suppose Dumbledore thought him the best for the job. That being said, Flitwick wasn't one of the main people that fought with Dumbledore in the last war. I'll tell you more about that someday, but I have a feeling Dumbledore was trying to allocate his people accordingly, and didn't want to send someone on a potentially fatal mission that he might need in the future." Sirius said, a slight frown playing across his lips.

"That's kind of bad isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Harry, I don't really know. All I know is Flitwick agreed to do it for everyone's best interest and therefore Dumbledore can't really be blamed for it. As to why Dumbledore got involved, I can only speculate again. I think the ministry is being stubborn and they don't want to admit that things are starting to look… worrisome. They don't want to admit Bertha Jorkins went missing in the last place Voldemort was spotted because that would mean that we have something very scary on our hands, and peace hasn't quite been restored the way they thought it was thirteen years ago. You can see why that would put strain on the ministry, right?"

"Yeah, but-" Harry said, cut off immediately by Sirius.

"Yes, it's wrong, but that's sadly the way politics go. Dumbledore, on the other hand, believes that we do have reason to worry, and was hoping by sending Flitwick to search for her, he would receive answers to some of his questions about Voldemort's whereabouts and what's currently going on. Clearly, that has not gone the way he hoped. I'm not sure where he will go for his next course of action, but I trust him so we will just have to see what happens I suppose." Sirius slung his arm over his godson's shoulder and pulled him close to him. "Now, if I'm correct, you have a big day tomorrow. Double charms bright and early in the morning. Knowing the professor, he won't take kindly to you being late, so you should go back to your common room."

"Great, now I gotta call you Professor, don't I?" Harry mumbled, pushing his godfather off of him.

"Only in the classroom," Sirius said, pulling Harry into a half-nelson and pinning him against the couch. "Any other time you can call me 'The World's Greatest Godfather.'"

"Oh please," Harry said, struggling against the arms binding him to the couch. "More like 'World's Biggest Oaf." He yelped when Sirius began to tickle his sides from behind him and was soon begging for mercy.

"You gotta say the words, kid. Resistance is futile, puppy, haven't you learned anything this summer? Or will I need to embarrass you in class tomorrow to teach you that lesson?" Sirius said jokingly, not letting up on tickling his godson.

"Okay, okay-" Harry tried to breathe out, but was still giggling too hard to form words. "You're… you're the World's G-Greatest Godfather."

Sirius stopped tickling and climbed off his godson. Once Harry was breathing normally again, he reached to push Sirius, but Sirius was too quick. He grabbed both of Harry's arms and pulled him into a hug. "Got something else to say?" He asked with a bark like laugh as Harry struggled against the embrace. Accepting defeat, Harry slumped into the hug and felt his godfather kiss the top of his head before nudging him up off the couch. "Here, I'll walk you to the common room so you aren't stopped by anyone."

The two walked in comfortable silence back to the Gryffindor Common Room before reaching the painting of the Fat Lady. "Ahh, back again, are you Black? I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to my painting last year."

"I apologize, ma'am, but it was necessary. Turning in that rat granted me my freedom and my godson," Sirius said with a fond smile at Harry. He then patted Harry on the shoulder and the two said their goodnights before retiring to their quarters to sleep.