The common room was already beginning to empty as Harry entered the portrait

Chapter Six – The First Week

The common room was already beginning to empty as Harry entered the portrait. For many people it had been a very nerve racking trip, dealing with what appeared to be an aggravated Slytherin House. Harry couldn't help but feel that this was largely due to the Dark Lord's rise. They obviously felt that the power had once again shifted in their direction and Harry realized just why Dumbledore didn't want him in classes. Being the main enemy of the Dark Lord would also mean being the main enemy of his followers.

Harry caught up with a few people that he missed talking to on the train and was about to head up to bed when he caught a couple of eyes staring at him. It was that boy from the train station, he was in the common room. This must mean that he was sorted into Gryffindor, but usually only Slytherin's looked at him like that. He tried to push the kid out of his mind, it was late and he would be spending the next week in the library studying for his upcoming tests.

He finally made it to the room and upon entering immediately recognized the sound of Neville's snoring. Dean and Seamus were also already in bed and appeared to be sleeping, but Ron was wide-awake.

"Where did you go?"

"Had to talk with McGonagall, we can talk about it at breakfast."

"Okay, if it can wait then I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Harry still had something to do before he went to bed. He immediately went to his trunk and brought out his Foe-Glass. Hanging it up on the wall, shadows began to fill the frame. In fact, there were so many shadows that Harry was a little startled.

"I guess they really do have it in for me. If the time every comes though I'll be prepared."

Harry also brought out his Phoenix egg and the little Fleur. Harry was about to take off his glasses before going to bed but something caught his eye. Was it his imagination or was the little Fleur crying? He would have to ask her what this was all about tomorrow. He was finally home, and he did mean home. Hopefully, he would see Sirius soon and all would well in his life.

By the time Harry woke up in the morning the sun had already risen. He scrambled for his glasses so he could look at the time. "Damn!" Breakfast would be over in a few minutes and he was really hungry, he realized that he hadn't had anything to eat since the train yesterday. Why did he forget to ask McGonagall for food last night?

He quickly threw on his robes and made his way down to the Great Hall. Most people had already left and were heading to their first class. Looking up the Gryffindor table he quickly spotted Ron's flaming red hair. He ran over and sat down next to him. He made a mad grab for sausages and toast.

"Where have you been, I was about to come up and get you."

"Over slept, what's our first class?"

"Herbology, same as usual."

"Is this the same schedule as last year?"

"Yeah, first Herbology, then Care of Magical Creatures, and then double Divination."

"Ron, about the Divination. I think we should drop it."

"What else are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure about what I'm going to do but I think you should go into Muggle Studies with Hermione."

"How come you're not going to do it?"

"I don't think it would help me much and I'm not going to have much time with Quidditch and my private studies."

Hermione nearly choked on her toast. "What private studies?"

Harry then explained all that he and McGonagall discussed rather quickly. Just as he was finishing his story it was time to head out to the greenhouses. In all the confusion with sleeping in he completely forgot about Fleur. Oh well, he was sure he would see her sooner or later.

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving the Great Hall Charlie Weasley grabbed Harry by the arm. "Harry, I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure Charlie, what do you need?"

"Could you bring the Phoenix egg down with you to class?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. Is it okay if I'm a little late?"

"I'll be introducing myself to the class at the beginning so that should be fine."

"See you later Charlie."

"Thanks Harry, see you later."

The trio finally arrived at the greenhouse and Harry saw that many of the Hufflepuffs had black eyes and bruises. They must have been the main targets of the Slytherins on the train. Even though they didn't look that well physically Harry could also tell that they weren't all together mentally. The loss of their House Champion still seemed to be affecting them.

During the class Professor Sprout used the Hufflepuffs injuries as a teaching aid. The class time was spent finding the right herbs for healing bruises and lacerations. By the end of class the students all appeared to be in perfect health. Harry hoped that the entire year wouldn't be spent finding the right healing plants, what was with the Slytherins?

After the class ended Ron and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's hut for the next class while Harry quickly made his way up to the stairs of Hogwarts. He had made it up to the main door when recognized a laugh that made him wince, Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were making their way down to class.

"Well if it isn't the great hero Harry Potter. I've been told that you're the new Quidditch captain for Gryffindor. Guess what? You're not the only new captain. Crabbe and Goyle will be helping me tear you apart this year, get used to feeling pain because it'll be the only thing you feel for the rest of the year. Give him a sample boys."

Crabbe and Goyle began to advance on Harry but luckily they didn't get very far.

"What's going on here?"

If it had been any other voice Harry would have been ecstatic. Unfortunately for Harry the voice belonged to Snape.

"I was just telling Potter here about my being appointed captain."

"Well, you've told him now get to class." Malfoy and the others looked a little confused but dismissed it and went down Hagrid's shack. Harry turned towards the school but was stopped.

"I believe your class is that way Mr. Potter."

"I'm getting something for Professor Weasley."

"Professor Weasley? I never thought I would see the day when a Weasley would be looked up to."

"Can I go please?"

"In a second, so you fancy yourself a potions expert Mr. Potter?"

"I don't fancy myself an expert in anything."

"And you never will be an expert in anything. I don't care what Dumbledore says, there is no way you are passing my test. See you on Monday." Snape swished his cloak and turned back into the castle. Harry waited for a second until he was sure Snape was gone.

He was now really late for class and he didn't even have the egg. He hoped Charlie would be fine entertaining the class while he got the egg. He rushed up to the tower as quickly as he could and grabbed the egg. Harry liked the feeling of the egg in his hands, it gave off a small amount of heat and seemed to give the feeling of warmth that butterbear gave. It was now ten minutes into class and Harry knew that no introduction would take this long.

By the time Harry got down to the cabin it was really late, but things appeared to be going well with the class. Standing in front of the class was Charlie and Professor Dumbledore. Harry was a little confused about why Dumbledore was there at first but then he saw that on a pole between them was perched Fawkes. So, that's why he wanted the egg.

"Ah good, our egg has arrived."

Harry felt a little embarrassed showing up so late to class and now he had to go in front of everyone.

"Harry, I was wondering if you would be able to help with a demonstration?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I need you to call to Fawkes."

"Why?"

"Trust me, just do it." Harry was a little confused but he did as he was told. Fawkes immediately came over and landed on Harry's shoulder.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now nothing, you did what I wanted you do."

"All I did was call Fawkes over, what's so special about that?"

"I'll show you, Mr. Malfoy could you join Harry up here."

Malfoy reluctantly got up and walked to the front of the class. "Okay, you do the same thing that Harry just did."

"Get over here bird!" Fawkes did not budge.

"I said get over here!" Once again Fawkes did not move.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, you can sit down."

"Stupid bird." Malfoy was heard muttering under his breath.

"What Harry and Mr. Malfoy just demonstrated was the intelligence of the Phoenix. The Phoenix will only come to those people that it trusts and will ignore those that it believes to be untrustworthy. Harry, is this your fist time seeing Fawkes?"

"No, I've met him a few times before."

"You see class? This is why a Phoenix is a class four magical creature. They trust very few people and are nearly impossible to domesticate." He then turned his attention from the class to Professor Dumbledore. "Thank you Headmaster and thank you Fawkes."

"Your welcome Mr. Weasley and good luck with your year." He and Fawkes then returned to the school.

"Now that we have met a full grown Phoenix I thought I would show you what its egg looks like. We are very fortunate to have an egg with us this year at Hogwarts and I thought that you would benefit from viewing it." He brought up the egg in his hand and showed the class. "Now, can anyone tell me why a Phoenix egg is sometimes confused with a dragon's egg?"

Hermione's hand immediately shot up in the air. "Yes Hermione?"

"The Phoenix egg has very similar markings to that of the Chinese Fireball Dragon. Both of these creatures are found in Asia and the eggs can easily be confused."

"Very good Hermione, five points to Gryffindor. Now, can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Chinese Fireball's egg and a Phoenix egg?

This time two hands shot up in the air, the first hand belonged to Hermione but the other hand surprisingly belonged to Malfoy. Not wanting to play favorites, Charlie called on Malfoy.

"Any idiot could see that they wouldn't be the same size."

"Very eloquently put Mr. Malfoy. But you're right. Five points to Slytherin." Charlie then began to discuss all about the Phoenix and their properties. The time flew by and soon it was time for lunch.

When the trio got up to the Great Hall Harry engorged himself as he had very little food at breakfast. He then began to look around the table and saw that kid from the common room. Since he missed the sorting ceremony he had no idea who he was but Ron and Hermione would know.

"Hey, who's that kid down there?"

"Which one?"

"Sandy hair, long crooked nose, and whenever he looks at me it seems as if his eyes were shooting daggers."

"Oh, you missed the ceremony. It's Godric something, I don't remember his last name."

"That's Dumbledore's grandson?"

"Woah, he's related to Dumbledore?"

"I told you that Dumbledore's grandson Godric was coming this year didn't I?"

"I think you neglected to mention it."

"Sorry, but if he's Dumbledore's grandson then why does he look like he wants to kill me?"

"Don't know, I'm guessing you haven't met him though."

"No, I've only seen him from a distance. Next time I see him I'll ask him. I'm not seeing Gabrielle at the table, where was she sorted?"

"Ravenclaw."

"I guessed she would be. At least it's not Slytherin."

"Good point, am I the only one that's noticed their attitude lately?"

"No, let me tell you what happened when I went up to get the egg." Harry then told them about everything Malfoy said and then how Snape had broke them up.

"Why would Snape prevent a beating of you?"

"No idea, I figured with the whole Sirius incident at the end of last year he would be even more irritable towards me."

"Yeah. Harry, where do you suppose I should go if I want to drop Divination?"

"I can tell you that." Hermione finally broke into the conversation. "Go tell McGonagall that you want to take Muggle Studies with me."

"When is the class?"

"This afternoon, doesn't it work nicely?"

"Yeah, so what are you going to do Harry?"

"I'm gonna head to the library. I have to pass three tests next week and basically the last four years haven't nearly prepared me for them. Where should I start Hermione?"

"It's always a good idea to start with the basics. There's an area in the library that has all the books used by students year by year. I say start with year one and work your way up."

"But I remember everything from what I've studied. Why should I go back and start all over again?"

"Simple, in case you missed anything. I saw your and Ron's version of studying. You probably missed a ton of important stuff. Get your ass up to the library and get cracking."

"Yes Sir!"

"Ma'am!" Hermione laughed and so did Ron and Harry.

"Sorry, ma'am." Harry finished eating his lunch and was heading out to the library when he looked up at the head table. Most days teachers weren't there because they were preparing for their classes but usually on the first day they made it a point of being there. However, Fleur seemed to be missing. Harry wondered if anything was wrong with her but decided that if there was anything wrong she would contact him.

The next few days flew by for Harry. Almost every waking hour that he didn't spend in class was spent in the library. "So, this is what it's like to be Hermione."

He was learning more than he ever could have imagined. If he would get bored with a subject he would simply switch topics. If it was really boring then he would find a fun book to study. One of his favorite books was written by a wizard proclaiming himself to be the "fastest wand in the world." The book was all about wizard dueling. It dealt with initial spells based on enemy skill level, the most used curses and countercurses, and even the art of the quick draw. As much as he didn't like it he knew that this book would probably be very useful over the next few years.

By Thursday he had gone through all of the books used by students in their seven years at Hogwarts. Harry had a feeling that this would be sufficient for Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration but not for Potions. He knew Snape would try and trick him with something that was really obscure. He decided that the best course of action would be to prepare for Snape's test all of Friday. Friday, there was something about Friday that he was forgetting about. Oh well, if it was important then he would remember.

Thursday was now over and he was really happy about tomorrow. Although he would be reading about potions and ingredients all day, he would not be doing it in the company of Snape or the Slytherins. He put his books away and headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Upon entering the room he Saw Godric. He was sitting in a chair by the fire reading the first year's transfiguration book. Harry decided to break the ice.

"Hello, my name is Harry."

"I know who you are."

"Do you have some kind of a problem with me?"

"Yeah, a very big problem." He slammed his book shut and ran up to his room.

Fred and George witnessed what happened and walked over to Harry. "What's up with you and the Mitby kid?"

"Mitby? So that's his last name."

"Yeah, so what's up with the two of you."

"To be honest, I don't have a clue. I don't know if I'll ever get a straight answer out of him. Have you seen him hanging out with anyone?"

"Yeah, Miss Delacour's sister."

"He's hanging out with Gabrielle?"

"I thought you were friends with those girls, haven't you been talking with them?"

"Been busy studying for tests."

"What tests? It's the first week and Snape's the only one who does that kind of thing."

"Never mind about that, how are sales?"

"Non existent, we aren't selling around here."

Harry realized that he hadn't smelt or heard any of Fred or George's products in a long time. "Why not?"

"We've decided to try and contact Zonko's for resale of our products. We may eventually open a shop of our own but we need more capital."

"Well, best of luck. I'm off to rest my eyes for a while."

"G'night Harry."

"Oh, before I go. Practice starts Saturday."

"Why so early in the year? Games don't start till November."

"I know, but we have a new Keeper this year and I want to see how he does."

"You already know how Ron flies."

"Yeah, but I've never actually seen him play a game of Quidditch."

"Be careful Harry, you may turn out to be worse than Wood."

"Don't worry, it's only going to a light practice. I have studying that I have to do."

"Fine, see you later."

"Later fellas."

Harry raced upstairs and hoped it wasn't too late. After his talk with the twins he realized that he had been neglecting his new friends. He had no idea how Fleur's year was going so far and he wanted to know.

"Fleur, are you there?"

"Fleur, are you there?"

"Hi Harry, I'm not here right now but just leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Hey Fleur, I just wanted to see how your classes were going. I haven't seen you around and I was just worried that weren't feeling well. Let me know how you're doing. Bye."

Fleur had heard Harry's call but didn't want to pick up. She had been staying in the Ravenclaw's tower and had been hearing Cho talk about Harry all week. She knew that they had a date to see each other on Friday and was feeling very hurt. She thought she could get over him but found that it was very difficult. Every reason she gave to why it wasn't it a good idea to date him didn't seem to make any sense and it was driving her mad. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to keep avoiding Harry but for now it was her only idea for handling the situation. Maybe it would be easier over time but for now it would have to do.

Friday morning came and Harry found that he actually got up on time. Amazed that he actually was up early put him in a good mood for his day of Potion's study. He dressed and walked downstairs with Ron and Hermione. They were talking about the Quidditch practice when the owl post came in for the day. Harry was surprised to see that he had received to letters.

Opening the first letter he recognized Sirius' handwriting.

Hello Harry,

I'm back and in the bunker. You haven't lost the key have you? Don't ever send owls here as it will look suspicious. If you need to contact me then send it to box 12 in the Hogsmeade Owl Post. I have a friend checking it for me so don't worry about me picking them up. Hope everything is going well, hope to see you soon.

Love,

Padfoot

Harry was ecstatic. He was about to run up to have Hedwig deliver his answer when he remembered the other letter. He opened it up and saw that it was from Cho.

Hey Harry,

I hope you haven't forgot about tonight. Let's meet at the front gate, I have special permission to pick up some supplies for Hogsmeade. Shall we say seven? I'll see you there.

Cho

"Crap, I forgot about Cho!" Ron heard this and turned around.

"What about Cho?"

"I have a date with her tonight."

"You have a date and you didn't tell me?"

"Hey, I forgot."

"How could you forget that you have a date with your crush?"

"I guess I've been reading too much lately. Anyway, I gotta go up and send off a message with Hedwig. What do you guys have going on Saturday?"

"Well, thanks to you I have practice. Other than that I don't think we have plans, do we Pookie?"

"Will you stop calling me that?"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Ron then turned his attention back to Harry, who was bending over laughing. "What's going on Saturday?"

He bent down close to them. "Sirius is here and I have the key to go see him."

"Key?"

"Trust me, just meet me after practice at Hagrid's cabin. I think we can trust Charlie with a little secret don't you?"

"Yeah, we can trust Charlie. Percy is the only one in the family that took after mum."

"Great, well have fun with Potions." He laughed and ran out of the Great Hall. He quickly scribbled a letter for Hedwig to deliver and rushed down to the library. He had a full day of looking at books about rare magical ingredients. He had a feeling Snape would be trying to through him for a loop and would include something so rare that nobody has seen it in a hundred years.

After a couple of hours he remembered the glasses and key. He searched around the shelves until he found a book dealing with the correcting of body ailments. There were chapters on balding, liver spots, gum disease, and vision impairment. He read for a little bit and then felt that he was adequately prepared to perform the spell.

He didn't want to perform the spell just yet though. His new glasses were up in his trunk and he didn't want people to see him without any glasses on. It was about time for lunch anyway so he decided he would just grab some lunch and then head up to perform the spell.

He quickly ate and headed up to his room. He was hoping that there wouldn't be anyone around so he could work his magic in peace. His hopes were thwarted when he entered the common room and found Ron and Hermione making out.

"I said you guys could show some affection in front of me, not this much."

"Harry!" They said in unison.

"Can't you guys find a more private place than the common room?"

"We thought everyone would be at lunch, what are you doing up here?"

"I'm gonna correct my vision. I need to do it to use Lupin's gift."

"Well, don't let us stop you. Go on, get outta here."

"Damn, I was hoping you would ask me to join in?"

"What?!"

"Just kidding. You two should really find another place to do this though."

"We'll take that into consideration, now give us some privacy."

"Be careful, I'm probably not the only to person to ever come back from lunch early."

Harry raced up the stairs and burst out laughing. Who would have thought that his friends were such hornballs? He opened his trunk and took out his glasses. They didn't appear to be all that different from his old ones except for the lack of tape. Not wanting to be interrupted he put a locking charm on the door.

"Hopefully I won't end up blind. Well, only one way to find out"

Reparo Oculus

His vision went blurry, what had gone wrong? He was starting to freak out when he realized that he was still wearing his old glasses. Taking them off the world once again became clear. He put on the new glasses and decided to see just how well they worked. Moody's eye seemed to be able to see though solid objects and Harry wanted to test just how well they worked. He stared down towards the direction of the common room to see what Ron and Hermione were up to.

"Going at it again, they really need to find someplace better to do that."

Harry then searched through the trunk and found where he had placed the key for the bunker. Not wanting to misplace it he conjured up a metal chain to put around his neck. He then put the key on the chain. The key would be invisible so it would just look like a necklace to anyone looking at it.

Harry didn't want his reading to be interrupted any longer so he chanced the common room again. Making sure to make as much noise as possible when going back down he found that Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch trying to look innocent.

"Good, you heard me."

"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione said trying to sound innocent.

"I saw that you two had gone back at it."

"How did you see?"

"The glasses you fool, did you forget?"

"They can see through walls?"

"Just call me Superman."

"Who's Superman?" Ron asked.

"Well, I would appreciate it if you would never look at me again Harry. I would never be able to tell if you were looking through my clothes."

"Hey, thanks for the idea Hermione."

"Don't even think about it." Ron seemed to think Harry was serious.

"I would never do it Ron, don't worry. Come on, it's Hermione."

"So what if it is me? I have plenty to look at."

"Well, if you insist." At that moment Ron tackled Harry.

Ron looked furious. "I'm kidding Ron, but you can use them if you want." Harry then passed the glasses to Ron.

"Let's give these babies a whirl." He then looked Hermione up and down. "Not bad Hermione."

"Ron! We've only been going out a couple months. You are not supposed to see me naked."

"I'm kidding, I can't see a thing. There must be a block on it to prevent looking through people's clothes."

"There better be, well I have to grab my books. Be back down in a minute."

"Okay, bye Hermione."

"Is there really a block on them Ron?"

"No, and I must say that I'm a very lucky guy. Oh, if you ever look at Hermione when using those I'll kill you."

"Very well, I'll put a spell to prevent looking at her. Don't deprive me of anyone else though."

"For now that'll be fine but when Ginny comes back the same goes for her."

"Agreed, makes you wonder about Moody though doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Sssh, she's coming back."

Ron and Hermione joined Harry down in the library. Hermione was determined for Harry to pass his tests. She also agreed with him that Snape would be the most difficult test and he should focus on it the most. She began to pull out books that she thought would be helpful for his test and even a few for the other three tests. When he got to the Defense Against the Dark Arts book his thoughts once again trailed back to Fleur.

"Hey guys, how was Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Good, Professor Figg and Fleur did really well."

"Did Fleur seem well to you?"

"Yeah, maybe a bit nervous but that is to be expected. Why?"

"I just haven't talked with her since the train and was wondering if she was fine."

"It's the first week and she has a lot going on. I'm sure she's fine." Answered Ron

"Yeah, she's just probably busy Harry." Added Hermione.

"You're probably right. Hey, do you think I'll need to know anything from the restricted section?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend that right now. You can probably wait on doing that till the weekend."

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Wow, 6:30."

"Damn, I gotta go. Thanks for the help guys. What are you going to do tonight?"

"We'll probably just go for a walk and visit Charlie."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later."

Harry rushed up to his room. He wanted to check to see if Fleur had called when he was out. There was no message from her when he got there. Was she avoiding him? Maybe Cho would know more about her since they were in the same area.

Harry made it down to the front entrance a little before seven and saw that Cho was waiting for him. He couldn't help but stare at her and then it happened without warning. His constant staring at her had activated his glasses and her clothes began to melt away. Harry couldn't deny that she had a great body, she must work out. He shook his head and the clothes came back into his vision.

"You look great Cho."

"Thanks Harry, ready to go?"

"Yeah, so what are you picking up?"

"I'm getting something for our Quidditch team. Professor Flitwick has approved this visit to Hogsmeade so I can shop for a new broomstick. I really don't care if I get a new one though, I kept up with you just fine before."

"You wish, I was flying circles." He wasn't sure if she would take this as a joke or him being cocky.

"If that's the way you chose to remember it then by all means live a fantasy."

"Hey, who won?"

"I don't deny that you won, you were just lucky."

"Lucky? Now you're hitting below the belt. I am a very good Seeker."

"And I'm not?"

"You're a good Seeker too."

"Good, I just wanted to hear you say it. We're here."

"The Three Broomsticks?"

"Where else are we going to eat?"

They had a good meal and Harry had a great time getting to know Fleur. Harry was surprised to find out that Cho had been named the Ravenclaw's captain.

"I'm Gryffindor's captain, you're Ravenclaw's captain, and Malfoy is Slytherin's captain. Have any idea who Hufflepuff's captain is?"

"Yeah, we have some classes with Hufflepuff. It's a fifth year guy named Justin Finch-Fletchley, know him?"

"Yeah, we have Herbology together. I can't believe he didn't tell me about it."

"The Hufflepuffs have been a bit somber since Cedric passed." Harry saw a tear start in her eye.

"I'm sorry about what happened Cho, if I could have done anything more to help him I would have."

"Oh Harry, you did so much for him already. If it weren't for you then his parents wouldn't have had the body for the funeral."

"How close were you and Cedric?"

"We had been dating for a while and I did love him, but he's gone now." She was trying desperately to not cry but Harry could tell it was a losing battle.

"Should I change the subject?"

"Would you please. Tell me about your childhood."

Harry then told her all about growing up with the Dursley's and about the day he found out he was a wizard. Then he told select stories about his time at Hogwarts, not wanting to say anything that would get him in trouble. She was amazed at all that had happened to him and discovered just what kind of person he was. She never realized just what he had to go through at the end of the tournament. She knew that he had to be a special wizard to have lived this long.

"So Harry, mind if I ask you a strange question?"

"Shoot."

"Do you feel like you're blessed or you're cursed?"

"I've thought about that a lot. In many ways I'm happy to be here but at times I wonder if my being here is more hurtful than helpful. Cedric is a perfect example of that, if it weren't for me then he would still be alive."

"But if it weren't for you then the Dark Lord would have found the Sorcerer's Stone your first year. It was just unfortunate what happened to Cedric."

"I guess you're right, so to tell you I don't really know if I'm blessed or cursed. Now can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you want to go out with me?"

"I knew you would ask that eventually. I kind of have an idea but I'm not even fully sure. I guess I started noticing you more when I started playing for Ravenclaw. I remember the way you used to smile at me and would then turn red. I thought it was very cute. I didn't know if you would ever do anything about it and then the year ended. I had given up on you ever asking me out but then the Yule Ball happened. By then Cedric and I were already going out and I felt really bad when you asked me out. I think I would have probably said yes if it weren't for Cedric. Then the whole business at the end of the year changed everything. I was devastated when he died but it didn't really set in till I went to visit his parents."

"They tried to comfort me but I ended up comforting them more. Sure, I loved Cedric but we had only been going out for a short while. I realized that I had to move on I immediately thought of you. I knew that you liked me and truth be told I liked you too. You have many similar qualities to Cedric and many more that are unique to you. You are one of the strongest individuals I have ever met and I knew that I had to get to know you better."

"Wow, that's a hell of an explanation. Don't get me wrong though, I really am glad you asked me out. I probably would have never approached with what happened to Cedric."

"We have to move on, if we continue to live in the past then we will never get to experience the future. I just had to realize that Cedric would approve of you as a person. He used to talk about you when we were together. He told me about how you helped him with the first task."

"You knew?"

"Hey, we were going out. Do you think couples keep secrets from each other?"

"Remind me to never divulge secrets to Ron."

"Who's Ron seeing?"

"Hermione Granger, know her?"

"Of course I know her, we're both prefects."

"Prefect, Quidditch captain, and gorgeous to boot. Is there anything bad about you that you're hiding?"

"Maybe if we get a little more physical you'll find out."

"It's always the quiet ones."

Harry and Cho left the Three Broomsticks and headed over to look at broomsticks before the shop closed. They got there so late that they barely had time to look around before getting the boot. It was mixed blessing as it was getting dark out and their curfew was coming up.

The couple walked through the castle until they had to go their separate ways. Cho gave Harry a peck on the cheek and thanked him for a lovely evening and then ran towards where Harry assumed the Ravenclaw Tower was located. He thought about it more and realized that he didn't really know all that much about Ravenclaw. The only times Ravenclaw students and Gryffindor students were ever together was for meals and Quidditch games.

Harry ran up to his own tower and was greeted by two smiling faces just as he entered the portrait hole. Ron and Hermione were eager to see how his evening went.

"How was the date Harry?"

'Would let me get in the common room before you start interrogating me Ron?"

"Fine, but you're not going upstairs before you tell us what happened."

Harry then told Ron and Hermione all about his and Cho's evening together. They were both a little startled about Cho's reasons for wanting to go out with him. Hermione made some mental notes about what Harry told them and decided to observe the couple every chance she had.

"Ron, we better get to bed."

"What for?"

"Practice tomorrow, did you forget?"

"Err, yeah."

"Well, now you're reminded so get your ass upstairs."

"Jawohl!"

"German?"

"Yeah, Fred and George know how to say 'Yes sir' in a bunch of different languages. It's their way of irritating mum."

"Goodnight Pookie."

"Don't you start now Harry."

"What, I thought that's what we're supposed to be calling you."

"It is not what you're supposed to be calling."

"Yeah, it's what I'm supposed to be calling her." Added Ron.

"Shut up Ron!"

"What's the matter?" Asked Ron.

"Nothing Angel Tits."

"Angel Tits? What the hell is that?"

"Well, if you keep calling me Pookie then I'm going to call you Angel Tits."

"Don't ever call me Angel Tits, I give in."

"I don't know, I think it kind of fits you."

Harry was on the ground laughing at this point and Ron and Hermione's shock so were Fred and George. Both Ron and Hermione looked really embarrassed and ran upstairs before the verbal berating could start. Harry reminded the twins and the Chasers about practice in the morning and then headed off to bed himself.

Ron woke up to Harry's shaking the next morning.

"What time is it?"

"Seven, so get up and get ready. I'll see you down at breakfast."

"Is it too late to turn down the position?"

"Yes, so get ready and get downstairs."

Harry made his way down to Great Hall to get some food before heading out to the Quidditch field. He didn't like the fact that when he got down there he was the first from his team to arrive. Eventually, everyone finally arrived and Harry made the announcement that it would just be a short practice to see how everyone was playing. They hadn't had a game in over a year and they had a new Keeper to worry about. Harry was also very worried with his own play because it had been so long.

Much to his relief everyone seemed to be in rare form. The teams flying ability hadn't deteriorated over the break and Harry was happy to know that it wouldn't be as bad of a time as he thought. After everyone had warmed up he decided to bring everyone in for an update.

"Great flying guys. Today's practice is mainly for Ron but we'll also be needing your help girls."

"Sure Harry, anything for Ron." All of the girls ran over and started to hug Ron.

"Hey! I'm spoken for!"

"We know, and that's why this is much fun. You can thank Fred and George for the idea."

"Okay, enough playing around. Ron go up and get ready to block, Angelina take this Quaffle and give him some practice." Harry handed her the Quaffle from his birthday present.

Try as she might, it was nearly impossible for Angelina to get the Quaffle past Ron. He was zooming in front of the goalposts so fast that she could barely see him. The speed from the Firebolt was made even more effective by the fact he was so big. Harry was pleased for the moment but decided to mix things up.

"Okay, enough one on one. Katie you and Angelina see if you can do any better as a team."

This proved a little more difficult for Ron because of the added difficulty of not knowing who would be shooting. Angelina and Katie were passing the Quaffle very fast between each other and would shoot at moments when Ron didn't think it would be possible to score. Harry was worried at first but after a while he started to get the hang of it. He was soon blocking almost every shot and Harry was very pleased.

"Okay, come on back. That's enough for today." Said Harry.

"You don't need me?" Asked Alicia.

"We have plenty of time and I don't want to work on a three on one right now. That rarely happens and I don't think it's critical for Ron to know right away."

Ron, Angelina, and Katie all landed. "How did I do?" Asked Ron.

"You did great Ron, Wood would have been proud." Answered Katie and Angelina.

"At least we know the great Weasley tradition will live on past the end of the year." Fred and George then ran over to Ron and threw their arms around him in a joking way. "Our little baby is all grow'd up."

"Get off me, will you two grow up?"

"Hopefully not, that would be too boring." Answered George.

"Seriously, you did great Ron." Added Fred.

"Great practice everyone, I'll let you know when the next one will be."

The majority of the team went back up towards the castle but Ron and Harry stayed back. Hermione had been watching the practice and ran up to Ron and Harry. The threw her arms around her boyfriend.

"You did great Ron."

"Thanks, so where are we going Harry?"

"Well, to Hagrid's hut first so we can put on the invisibility cloak. Charlie will be cool with us having an invisibility cloak won't he?"

"He'll be fine with it, let's get going."

The three quickly made their way down to the new residency of the Care of Magical Creatures professor. They knocked on the door and heard to booming bark of Fang.

"Hold on! Down Fang!" Charlie opened up the door. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

"Can we come in?"

"Sure, welcome to my humble abode."

Fang jumped up on Harry and began to lick his face. "So, how come you're saying down here Charlie?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you would have visited with these two then you would have found out that I'm taking care of Fang while I'm here. Dumbledore did it over the summer but thought it would be best that I was down here for some reason or another. I told him that Fang could stay up in the castle with me but he thought it best for me just to stay here."

"Sorry about not visiting, been busy studying."

"That's what Ron said."

"About why Dumbledore is having you stay down here. That may be because he thought you would be able to keep our secret."

"What secret?"

"Sirius Black is here."

"What?!"

"Relax, he's on our side."

"Kidding, mum told me about him from the end of last year. She didn't give me the whole story though."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione then told him about what happened during their third year and how that Sirius was innocent.

"So, he's your godfather. Okay, if he's here then why aren't you with him right now."

"He's in an invisible bunker here on the grounds and I'm one of the people with a key. We need you here so we can put on the invisibility cloak in private. Dumbledore didn't want us disappearing into nothingness in case somebody say us."

"You have an invisibility cloak? I'm really impressed Harry."

"It was my father's, but we really should be going."

The three of them said goodbye to Charlie and then disappeared underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. "Thanks Charlie."

They made their way across the grounds towards where Dumbledore said the bunker was located. Harry was very glad that he had performed the spell the day before, because it would have probably been hard to find the place. As it was he could see that the bunker was located near the edge of the Forbidden Forest in an area not frequented by many people. It didn't look like anything special to the naked eye, the grass was even dead so people wouldn't even want to picnic there.

Harry took the key out of his pocket and put it in the lock. He opened the door and found that there was a small room with another door on the other side.

"What's this all about?" Harry asked.

"Probably don't want a doorway to another room appearing out of nowhere. Kind of like an airlock I think." Guessed Hermione.

"Makes sense, close the first door." Ron closed the door and then everyone took off the cloak. They then went up to the next door and found that it was unlocked.

"Sirius?" Harry asked.

"In here, there are special monitors around the place so I knew you were coming." Sirius then came out from the next room. Harry ran up and threw his arms around him.

"Like my bachelor pad?"

"It's great, so how long are you staying."

"Until my name is cleared, this way I can still be close to you without anyone knowing it." He then looked up to Ron and Hermione. "How are you two doing?"

"We're good. Hope you don't mind but my brother knows about you and this place."

"Actually, that's how Dumbledore and I planned on doing it."

"Where have you been Sirius?" Harry asked.

"I've been rallying the troops, dark times are ahead."

"Is that why you're here?"

"Partly, but I'm also here for your moral support. This is going to be a very difficult year for you Harry."

"More so than the past?"

"Most likely, but try not to think about it. Tell me how your summer was and about the start of term."

Harry then told Sirius everything that had been happening since the last time they were together. Most of what Harry talked about Sirius already seemed to know. Dumbledore had probably been keeping in contact with him and had been telling him about Harry.

"Well, it has been nice seeing you but from the sound of it you should be up in the library instead of down here with me."

"But, I thought you would want to spend time with me."

"I do, but we have the rest of our lives together and the tests are on Monday."

"You're starting to sound like Hermione."

"I'm right behind you Harry!"

"Woops!" Harry laughed.

"Get up to the castle and I don't want you back down here unless your tests are over. I want to hear how they went."

"Fine, but I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it Harry, you just have to deal with it."

The trio put the cloak back over them and left the invisible bunker. It was now nearly dinnertime and the three of them hadn't had a bite to eat since early in the morning. Harry knew that he would have a long evening of studying ahead of him but all he could think about was going back down to talk with Sirius about his women problem. One of his best friends wasn't talking with him and his old crush seemed to want to date him. Too much going on during the first week, what was the rest of the year going to be like?