Disclaimer: Not mine, J. K.'s, except what you don't recognize. Some things people may say are lines from the Mummy Returns, Stephen Sommers has the rights to them, not I. If anyone has came up with Sirius's present before, then I give the rights to them. The quote Remus says belongs to Yogi Berra. All I really own is half a plate of mac, and cheese, so it's not worth trying to sue me, unless you have a craving for mac and cheese.

On a side note, I would like to allow a moment of silence for what happen at the World Trade Center, Tuesday. *silence* Thank you, I hope you, and your families are safe, and I like to express my condolences to anyone who lost a friend or family member in this tragedy.

Chapter 14: The End of It, All

Harry's head swam, did they really say what he thought they had? Was Sirius really free? This was a dream come true.

"Sirius, do you agree with this?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yes," Sirius said quietly, not truly believing what was really happening himself.

"Also," Mr. Weasley continued, "in light of this new information we must formally announce that You-Know-Who has indeed risen again."

Harry would have loved to have had a camera to capture the look of terror on Fudge's face, he wasn't going to enjoy telling the whole wizarding world that Lord Voldemort had finally returned.

"Case dismissed!" several Ministry members hurried over to talk to Sirius.

"Guard," Christi said to a man standing in the shadows, "Would you mind handcuffing Pettigrew?"

"No, guv'or," an Azkaban official quickly went to work magically handcuffing Pettigrew, who was in a state of shock.

Once regaining his senses, Pettigrew's sharp little eyes focused on the two people responsible for his arrest, Harry Potter and Sirius Black. The little brat was talking to Black very fast, and Black was nodding, and laughing like there was nothing else was wrong with the world.

What those two don't know, Pettigrew thought as official began leading him away.

As a last testament to his sanity, for he knew that he was going to lose his mind very soon, he could never be as strong as Black, he couldn't last, and he could never transform in Azkaban, they would put spells so he couldn't, that was for sure. But for now Pettigrew wanted to give Black, and his beloved godson something to think about. "BLACK!"

Sirius, and Harry turned to face Pettigrew, supreme hatred shown on both their faces.

Pettigrew's mouth curved into something between a glazed smile, and a sneer when he saw Black had a protective hand on Potter's shoulder. "I wouldn't get to attached to Potter if I was you Black, it could be hazardous to your health."

Sirius glared defiantly, and simply pulled Harry closer.

"If that is your decision then," Pettigrew nodded, and then cried, "you will feel the wrath of Lord Voldemort, Sirius Black, worse then any other!"

Harry wiggled out of Sirius's death grip, and stood in front of his godfather shielding him from Pettigrew.

"Put a silencing spell on that piece of filth," Christi snapped at the Azkaban official.

"Yes, guv'or," the official obliged by immediately casting the spell on Pettigrew.

"Ignore him," Sirius said softly, putting his hands on Harry's shoulders. "He's lying, nothing's going to happen to me. Let's get up to the hospital wing, and get fixed up, okay?"

Harry didn't reply, he was still glaring at Pettigrew.

Pettigrew smiled maliciously back at Harry before he was pushed out of the room, and out of Harry's life, forever.

"Harry, come on," Sirius nudged Harry in the direction of another door leading up to the main floor of the castle. "We still have the wrath of Poppy Pomfrey to deal with."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh no! Not you two again!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, seeing her most frequent visitors enter the hospital wing.

"Did you miss us?" Sirius asked, collapsing on the nearest bed.

Pomfrey glowered at Sirius and pointed to a bed next to Sirius's, "Potter, lie down there, and don't move, I'll be right back."

Harry, gladly, plopped down onto the soft mattress. "How's it feel to be free?"

"Wonderful, I owe you so much," Sirius turned to face his godson, grinning ear to ear.

"You don't owe me anything, I owe you."

"How?"

"You saved my life for starters," Harry reminded him, "dealt with more disgusting things then I care to mention, and you're my godfather."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You saved my life too, not to mention my soul once."

"That's very nice, Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey shuffled in holding the oddest assortment of gadgets Harry had ever seen. "According to Dumbledore you two have been through a lot of unsanitary places. A river of rats, is that true, Black?"

"We did charms to protect ourselves from getting infected," Sirius explained.

"Really, if I was charging you, I could happily retire to Florida by now," Madam Pomfrey shook her head, absentmindedly."Which one of you will be the bigger man, here?"

"Harry, you're much braver then I'll ever be so . . ."

"Me? You're the adult!"

"He has a point Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey twirled her wand between two fingers.

Sirius shrugged, and went into a separate room to be check out, Madam Pomfrey joined him after telling Harry to stay put once again.

Harry heard her gasp several times at some of Sirius's injuries, and him protesting that they were only scratches. "Are you sure you haven't damaged your brain?"

"Quite," Sirius said cheekily.

"I'd slap you if you weren't already injured."

Harry shook his head, Sirius could charm anyone into anything.

Sirius strutted out of the adjoining room, a bandage wrapped around his upper right arm, but still grinning ear to ear. "You're turn, bud. Beware her wand, it stings."

Harry giggled, as Madam Pomfrey stuck her head into the main room,"I just can't wait to see what has happened to you, Potter, lost another few bones again, no doubt."

"Again?"

"I'll tell you later, Sirius," Harry said, quickly heading into the other room, before Sirius could interrogate him.

Madam Pomfrey was less then pleased at the newest set of cuts, and scraps Harry had acquired, muttering things like, "Potter, I swear!" or "Never in all my born days!" Harry yelped when she prodded his jaw. "Potter, how can you talk with this?"

Harry shrugged, "It didn't hurt that much before, but it aches when you touch it."

"It's a fair break, you shouldn't have been able to talk without experiencing a good bit of pain," Madam Pomfrey tapped his jaw line with her wand, the bone snapped back into place almost as if it had never been broken at all. "I'm going to rub something on that, it's going to burn, though." She rubbed some yellowish cream where the break had been that looked and smelt very much like Vaseline.

"Ouch," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"I said it would burn, now go join your godfather, and help him plot your next scheme to be injured again," Madam Pomfrey waved him out.

"Thanks," Harry gave her a lopsided-grin, before leaving.

Sirius greeted him with raised eyebrows, "What happened to your jaw?"

"It's just a scratch," Harry said imitating Sirius's self-confident voice. "Where'd Remus go, anyway?"

"Dumbledore wanted me for a minute," Remus said, coming into the hospital wing.

"Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey shot Remus a cold questioning look. "I'm to be examining you next, I'm guessing."

"Er . . .yes," Remus said timidly.

"Fine, wait for me in that room, I'll be in as soon as I finish with these two," she gestured to Harry and Sirius.

"Okay," Remus went into the room.

"Now," Madam Pomfrey began, "I want both of you to drink this sleeping potion, and be nicely in dreamland by the time I am done with Lupin, understand?"

They nodded.

Satisfied, Madam Pomfrey placed two goblets on the night table in-between the two beds, left to tend to Remus.

Sirius got up from his bed, and sat down next to Harry, "Happy Birthday, by the way."

"Thank you," Harry said faintly, his jaw still hurt a little.

"I got you something," he held up a box wrapped in silvery paper, "I had left it here, at Hogwarts, because I didn't know if I was going to be seeing you before your birthday, so . . .but I don't know if you'll like it . . ."

"You being freed is the best present in the world," Harry cut him off, "I still get to live with you, right?"

"No, Harry, I'm sending you back to the Dursleys since they're such fine, upstanding citizens," Sirius's eyes sparkled with silent laughter at the look of complete horror on Harry's face. "Joking, joking! Of course you can, I want you to, I'd love to have you."

Harry's face lit up with joy.

"As I was saying before," Sirius said, changing the subject. "I did get you something, but it's horribly sentimental, I guess I was having an Everyone-Says-I-Love-You day."

Harry carefully took the box from Sirius, and started opening it.

"If you don't like it, I understand--"

"It's beautiful!" awe filled Harry's voice as he held a silver ball a little bigger then a softball, bright as a Patronus, that glittered in all the colors of the moonlight.

Sirius's face lit up, "It's an E-Ball, it can simulate emotions."

"How's it work?"

"It's really simple, you just think about a feeling, or emotion like . . .what do you think of when you cast a Patronus?"

"Flying," Harry said simply.

"Focus on that feeling, and sweep a finger down the surface of the ball, and if all goes as it's suppose to the mist inside will change color, each color represents an emotion."

Harry closed his eyes, and imagined that wonderful feeling that he felt whenever he dived on the Firebolt, did a daring move, or was in hot pursuit of the golden Snitch. He swept one finger down the smooth, circular surface of the ball. When he reopened his eyes the ball had turned dark blue.

"Now, whenever you want to experience that emotion just touch the ball thinking of that color, and you will feel that emotion."

Dark blue, Harry thought as he touched the now silver ball, and a before he knew what was happening he felt like he was really in the air, soaring amongst the clouds on his Firebolt. "Wow!"

"You like it?" Sirius asked, hopefully.

"I love it, it's wonderful! Thank you!"

"No need to thank me," Sirius ran a hand through his hair nervously, and looked away because his face had turned a brilliant shade of red.

Harry carefully placed the ball on the night stand that was between the two beds, and threw his arms around Sirius's neck. He felt Sirius put his arms around his waist, and pull him close.

"Do you think what Wormtail said was the truth?" Harry breathed as he buried his face into his godfather's chest, fear evident in his voice.

Sirius shook his head, "I don't know, that rat can act, but sometimes the lines blur for even the best actor, he or she sometimes can't tell the difference between the play and reality. He could have been just be trying to scare us, or he could have been giving us a warning, I don't know." He rested his chin on Harry's soft unruly black hair, and tightened his grip around him, not wanting to let go, worried that of he did he'd lose him again, maybe forever.

Harry snuggled closer, he didn't want to be let go, the same fear was running through his mind, but as long as those arms stayed around him he felt, for perhaps the first time in his life, truly safe.

"I don't hear any snoring in there!"

Startled, Harry jumped, but didn't break away.

"Whoops," Sirius reluctantly let go of Harry. "I guess we better take that potion now, before she goes loco on us."

"Yeah," Harry said as Sirius scrambled back onto his own bed, "pleasant dreams." He downed the potion in one gulp, took his glasses off, and brushed the E-ball with one finger. It turned a warm orange, the color of firelight. Harry curled up under the covers, and relaxed back on the pillows and fell asleep.

The wind whipped around Harry, blowing his hair back, a sudden strong gust knocked him off his feet, and into utter blackness.

The world seemed to spin below him, a never-ending swirling vortex that was threatening to suck him down into the unknown, oblivion itself. A loud crash, and a blast of air sent him spiraling head-over-heels away from the vortex, and onto a dusty cobblestone floor.

Dazed and dizzy, Harry wobbled to his feet, and took in his surroundings dirt, dust, and neon green cobwebs hung from the ceiling. Something caught his eye, thousands of shards of glittering emeralds, and diamonds.

An abrupt gust of wind picked up the shards up in a cyclone-like fashion, and plucked Harry up also as if he no weighed more then a shard himself.

Through dense forests, across scorching deserts, over storm-tossed seas, and into bustling towns and cities Harry, and the shards were blown. Long ago he had realized some kind of magic was at work here, but what? Through an owlery window he was blown, down through a castle he was blown. Twisting through corridors, shooting down stairways, through secret passageways. Down, down, down!

FLOP!

Harry was flung, unceremoniously, to the ground. A mold of dust blew up around him, covering his hair, clothes and glasses. He was in some sort of underground tunnel, the walls, and floor were covered in grime that felt rough against Harry's soft skin, the only thing in the tunnel besides himself was a stone torch holder with an ancient torch with intricate cravings resting in it. Above his head the shards still floated in a cyclone like formation. Into the torch they blew, a gigantic green flame rose up, lighting the dark, musty tunnel, illuminating a message craved into the stone tunnel's far wall.

Here I hang, welded to the wall

Waiting for the chosen one to my call.

My power once dormant, and weak

Is now strong enough to make the entire earth quake.

Thy true enemy will fail,

If thy will hail my call.

Only one whose heart is brave and true will manage wield me,

the Guardian of Gryffindor is you!

Half a second later the flamed was snuffed out, and Harry was violently flung into the endless darkness once again.

"NO!" Harry screamed, jerking out of his sleep, and sitting straight up in bed, soaked in sweat and panting.

"What in heavens' name?" Madam Pomfrey brought her head up sharply from the a letter she had been writing.

Harry's heart was still pounding when he replied, "Nothing, where's Sirius?" The dream was leaving his memory faster than water pouring out of knocked over glass.

"Down in the Hall, he went to go get breakfast for you and himself," she shook her head, "amazing how he knew that you were going to wake up now."

Harry gave her a surprised look, "What?"

"I told him that it was pointless, you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't think you would wake up for hours, and he just said 'give him a few minutes, he'll be up,' odd isn't it?"

"I know I'm odd, no need to shout it for the world to hear," said an eerie voice from the doorway. Sirius Black was casually leaning against the door-frame, holding a breakfast tray in his left hand, his bangs falling in his eyes. "I've been odd since you caught me up at 3 A. M. reading Tolkien, and my only excuse was that I like to read."

Madam Pomfrey clutched her heart, "Don't do that, Black! You're going to give me a heart attack with that sneaking up thing of yours' one of these days. On a side note, I have nothing against you reading, but you were only thirteen at the time."

Sirius quirked a small smile, and layed the tray down on the night stand, "Good morning, Har."

"'Morning Sir, what's up?" By now it felt like to Harry that his memory had been completely wiped of the dream, and had no recollection of it. "And how long did we sleep?"

"You finally, and it was 'round five PM when we took the potion so we just slept through the night," he said, busying himself with the tray. Madam Pomfrey left to finish writing her letter in the other room. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

Sirius whispered something in Harry's ear, that brought a huge grin to the teenager's face. "Do you think?"

"Nah," Sirius twirled a wand made of dark wood that Harry had never seen before between his fingers. "Oh, yes, your wand, thanks for letting me borrow it." He handed Harry's wand back to him.

Harry ran his fingers over the familiar stick, "You got yours' back?"

"Yes, they move amazingly fast when they wrongfully imprison someone, 14 inches, dogwood, dragon heartstring."

"I ought of known, dogwood."

Sirius swatted at him, playfully, missing of course.

"Good morning, guys!" Remus said cheerfully walking into the hospital wing.

"Morning," they said in unison. The three of them chatted for a few minutes, when a scream, and a loud bang went off.

"POTTER! BLACK! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

Simultaneously, Harry and Sirius burst out laughing like maniacs.

Remus, confused, stuck his head into the adjoining room. Fireworks were whizzing everywhere, filling the normally plain white room with an array of color.

"Where are they?!" Madam Pomfrey screeched, dodging the fireworks that had been place under her chair. "When I get my hands on them!!!!"

Remus pulled his head away, and turned to Harry and Sirius, who by now were clutching their stomachs from laughing. He willingly joined in, managing to gasp, "It's deja vu, all over again."

None of them ever noticed that a white cat with glowing green eyes was watching them through a window. He flicked his tail, holding back his own laughter as the nurse started to tell them off. The boy had his mother's blood, though his outward appearance greatly resembled his father's. He had her power. It still layed dormant, but soon he would realize it. This was only the beginning for one day he would fulfill a great prophecy. Yes, one day.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ta da! It's finally done! *sobs* So how was it? Would anyone like a sequel? Feel free to ask.

Sirius: It's really over?

Whisperer: Yep!

Sirius: I have to leave now?

Whisperer: Who said anything about you leaving? *winks*

Sirius: On to the thank yous: Thank you to all those who ever read, or reviewed this story, you are what kept Wisp going. ::hugs::

Both: Bye . . . for now.