Chapter Seven

Harry awoke in a rather good mood on Saturday. Today he was going to Hogsmeade the normal way for the first time. He got dressed quickly, and hurried down to the Common Room. People were already convened there and were in the paramount ecstatic frame of mind as well.

"Hey Harry, what took you so long? We've been up for at least an hour!" Hermione greeted him, and then motioned to Ron and Ginny. Ginny no longer was in hiding, and she felt quite bad about the Invisibility Cloak situation.

"Harry, look, I'm real sorry. I didn't mean to take it, honestly! Do you forgive me?" Ginny was looking at him with her eyes up in waiting and her smile was jovial.

"Yeah, just don't take any of my stuff anymore, you got it?" He said, and then playfully nudged her.

Ron quirked a brow towards Hermione, who in exchange, smiled back. Dean and Seamus were, yet again, in the corner discussing things and Colin was discussing things with his other friends, stealing glances at Ginny. It seemed she had quite a few admirers this year.

Prof. McGonagall entered the Common Room to greet the students and took them all outside. They walked to Hogsmeade and Harry entered it, feeling the emotions of being in there without trying to conceal him.

He first walked into Zonko's and bought all sorts of prank jokes and so on. After a while of walking around and examining the shops, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all went to The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

Hagrid was in there and waved his gigantic arm for them to come over to him. Ron and Harry sat on one side of the table, leaving Hermione to sit next to the bulk of Hagrid. She looked at them with narrow eyes and then tried to sit next to Hagrid. His incredible immensity left her only 5 inches to sit down. This was probably for his humongous furry coat, which took up at least one-fourth his size.

"Err..Hagrid? Would you mind taking off your coat, it's quite..small over here." Hermione tried to ask him politely, but it came out with a bit of rudeness in her tone. She smiled at him quickly, in which he returned, pulled off his coat, and threw it at Ron and Harry.

"Agh! What is in this thing?" Ron yelled, drawing the attention of all the people visiting the Three Broomsticks. He blushed vigorously, and then slouched down a little in his seat. Harry was laughing uncontrollably, Hermione was giggling, and Hagrid was actually coughing, which sounded like laughing, until he spit up a piece of what he was eating.

"Eww! Hagrid that's gross!" Hermione squealed, for the food had landed in her butterbeer. She didn't take a swallow of it for the rest of the time there.

Harry wasn't paying attention to them, he was looking out the window at a big black dog near the window. Hermione looked to the dog, and gasped, and then her and Harry ran out there. Ron was too tired to move, and Hagrid thought it was just a lost animal.

"Harry! Is that..?" Hermione questioned, and Harry nodded his head and then grabbed the collar of the dog, which was actually Sirius Black, his Godfather.

They walked to a secluded area where nobody really was, behind a haystack, and began talking.

"Harry! Would you let go of me that hurt!" Sirius said, after he had returned to his human form. He was wearing a goldish-brown robe like the hay, so he looked camouflaged. Hermione couldn't help but stare at him. He was changed from what he looked like before. His usual skeleton figure was gone, and replaced with a muscular man who was not quite old. His eyes shone with a light that they had never seen before, a jolly dancing light, and he was smiling. He grew about 3 inches, so he was taller. He was smiling at them, and it made Hermione feel as if she was drinking a whole pitcher of butterbeer.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione. I ventured up here for a visit, it got quite boring in...Well where I was." Sirius didn't want to confirm his location, incase someone was listening.

"Where..Where's Buckbeak?" Hermione managed to mutter, being rather shy to talking to Sirius than the last time, for he looked quite..stunning.

"Buckbeak? Oh, he's over by the tree. Probably grazing in the grass, like muggle animals do." He was smiling fervently, as if he was indeed very exultant to be seeing someone.

"Harry, I must tell you something. This may, and probably will, come as a shock to you. I doubt Dumbledore never really would have told you. Please, Harry, do not be mad at me for hiding this from you for the 15 years you have been born." Sirius was serious now, his smile now in a straight line across his face.

"What is it, Sirius? It can't be very bad!" Harry smiled, trying to raise the manner of the situation. Sirius was looking a bit uncomfortable, looking down at the ground, but he looked up to Harry and stared him straight in the face.

"Harry, I have a son." At this news, Harry nearly fell back and tripped over a haystack, and Hermione almost fell over too, until Sirius caught her, in which made her blush.

"He's going to Hogwarts this year, and you might have seen him already, he signed up for the summer program too." Sirius was still talking, propping up Hermione, who was acting as if she was still in a fainting-mood, thinking-Maybe if I act like I might still faint, he'll still hold me! Of course she knew this was wrong, so she stood up and thanked him for catching her.

"Sirius, stay here for a while will you? We got to go act like we're doing something, if we're missing for too long it will look suspicious!" Harry motioned for Hermione to follow him, in which she reluctantly did.

"Sure, Harry, Hermione. See you two later." He transformed back into his animagi form, and walked around the haystacks.

Harry caught sight of Cho and Alexander, but they weren't in jovial mood. They seemed as if they were fighting!

"Alex, why would you say that? Crabbe told me what you said! Don't lie to me!" Cho was angry with him, and by the looks on Alex and Crabbe's faces, Crabbe had lied to Cho about something Alex did not say, in order to get Cho to break up with Alex, and go with Crabbe. Evil stunt, Hermione thought.

"I..Cho! I didn't say that! He's lying! You'd believe him over me?" This is the first time they had really listened to Alex's voice, and it too left Hermione's heart a-flutter. Today is the most romantic day, I daresay! Hermione thought.

"Yes, I've known him longer! I just met you only 3 weeks ago, Alex!" At this, Cho walked into the Three Broomsticks, the door slamming behind her. Crabbe followed, and slammed the door too. Alex stood there, his smile no longer, and sat down on a haystack. ( Haystacks are all around Hogsmeade, making it look like a muggle farm to passersby. )

Ron and Hagrid emerged from the Three Broomsticks, and walked towards the exit of Hogsmeade, Ron calling behind him "Harry, Hermione! Hagrid is going to teach me how to defend myself when Malfoy comes around, I'll see you later!" And off he went.

Harry and Hermione walked to Alex, deciding to make friends while they had a chance. He was covering his face with his hands, and was in a state of disaster.

"Having problems?" Hermione asked, making him jump and then look up at her. He smiled at her, and then looked to Harry.

"I daresay, are you the Harry Potter? Nice to meet you, indeed." He didn't gape at Harry's scar, or ask him anything of the sort. He simply noted who he was, and then returned to a natural conversation.

"Do you know Cho Chang? She seems angry with me, and I do believe she trusts that Crabbe fellow more than me." He said in a depressed voice, and sighed.

"Yes, we know her. Crabbe is a horrible person, in Slytherin, and used to be friends with Malfoy.." Harry said, also sitting down in a depressed mood. Hermione shrugged and decided to sit next to Alex on his left side, and acted as if she was depressed too. Harry and Alex both looked at her with the same grins on their faces, and all three laughed.

"What house are you in, Alex?" Hermione asked, a bit curious, and hoping they weren't making friends with a Slytherin.

"Why, I'm in Gryffindor! I suppose, aren't you both in Gryffindor? And your friend Ron?" Harry and Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"How did you know about Ron? He's not too popular, I believe." Hermione was making great conversation with him!

"Oh, my father told me about him. His family is poor, correct? Great wizarding families are never perfect, I always say."

"So, you are in fact in Gryffindor? I hadn't seen you there. Or perhaps you're like Ginny and hiding behind an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked, adding a friendly chuckle.

"Oh, I've been there. Always come in late, I do. Are you both also 5th years?" They all seemed to get along in such a good way, that when Ron returned, he was surprised.

"Oh, hello Ron! This is Alex, he's a 5th year in Gryffindor too!" Hermione introduced him, and Ron eyed Harry, knowing that Alexander was formally with Cho, Harry's first love.

"Glad to meet you, indeed, Ron!" Alex shook hands vigorously, and then jumped to the subject of Quidditch.

"So, are you all on the Quidditch Team? I hear Gryffindor won the cup 2 years ago!" He asked, looking to them all.

"Well, I'm the Seeker, Hermione isn't on the team, and Ron is the new Keeper." Harry explained, and suddenly realized something.

"Oh no! Hermione, come quick!" Harry led her off to an area near the tree, with left Ron and Alex to get better acquainted.

"What?" Hermione asked, rather sad that she had to leave the great conversation they were having.

"Hermione! Remember before, when you acted like you dropped your books, and then we together acted like we were flirting? He'll believe we were together!" Harry said, in one major big breath.

"Oh no! Harry, we must have a fake fight! Not that we would if we really were together, but just so he doesn't feel uncomfortable or anything.." Hermione said, and they both decided to do it some other time than now.

They realized Sirius, as a dog, was motioning over to them. They walked over, and he quickly turned back into a human.

"You two should realize something.." He began, but Alex starting walking over, and Sirius ran away while in the formation of becoming a dog.

"Hermione, I must know your last name! If only to know my new friends' first names would be quite unbearable to me!" He said, looking to her.

"What? Oh! I'm Hermione Granger! What is your last name, Alex?" Hermione said, and began giggling not noticing she had introduced herself correctly at the beginning.

"Why, my last name happens to be Black. Alexander Black, nice to meet you!" Alex said, and finally with this information, Harry had a sharp intake of breath and Hermione fell back, only again to be caught by another Black.

(A/N: This is my favorite chapter so far! ITS THE BESTEST! ^.^!! Tell ME HOW IT IS!! Hilo Brandon xD )