So Far So Good

"Well, it's about bloody time."

Remus blinked in shock. "What?"

"I was wondering what was keeping you." Sirius answered before kissing Remus again.

The werewolf didn't respond at first to the kiss. Then he slowly pressed himself closer to his friend. He pulled away when the need for air became a life or death matter. "Sirius, I…" he began.

Sirius took his hand and kissed it. "Lily told me."

Remus' mouth opened and he stared wide-eyed at Sirius. "She what?"

"The night before graduation when I told her that my plan hadn't worked."

"Your plan?"

"When I brought Justine to our dorm room, I wanted you to see us. I wanted to make you jealous. I was in love with you." Sirius looked into Remus' hazel eyes. "I didn't know how to tell you, and I bloody messed it up. Lily told me to keep me from doing something even worse to you.";

Remus smiled, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was too afraid that she was wrong."

"When was Lily ever wrong?"

"Never."

Remus sighed, "Why then…"

Sirius frowned and let go of Remus' hand. "I… told Jamie that I didn't trust you. I had my reasons."

"If this is going to go any further, Sirius, I need to know why."

"I didn't want that freak of nature going after you. If I separated from you and forced Jamie to do the same, Vol… he wouldn't hurt you. I was trying to save you, and I messed that up, too. Just like I did with Jamie and Lil."

Remus reached out and cupped Sirius' cheek in his hand. His hazel eyes stared into the bright blue orbs in front of him. "What you did was wrong." He could feel the confidence leak out his frie… his lover. "Why you did it was right. And I love you for that. You've never been one to think before you act, and that is one of the things I love about you. But…"

"I bloody fucked it up."

Remus wiped a few errant tears away from Sirius' eyes with his thumb. "Yes, you did. Now, we have the rest of our lives to make it right." He let his hand drop from Sirius cheek and slowly propel the man forward. When he was inches from Remus' face, he captured Sirius' lips in a deep kiss. His tongue lightly skimmed over Sirius' bottom lip, begging entrance to the man's mouth.

Sirius leaned into the kiss and opened his mouth slowly to let Remus plunder his mouth. He mumbled into the kiss. "I love you, Moony."

******

"I still don't understand what we're supposed to do." Ginny frowned into her breakfast.

"Snape doesn't know either." Harry answered before sitting down next to his girlfriend. He greeted her with a kiss. "He's still angry with Dumbledore."

"How can you tell?" Ron asked.

Hermione answered, "It's either that or he's not getting any."

Harry choked on his juice. He stared at his bookworm friend in shock. "What the hell! You have to warn me when you do that!"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her eggs. "There's no law that says I have to."

Ron glanced at his younger sister. "Any what?"

Harry leaned towards Ginny and whispered in her ear. She turned a bright red and gasped in surprise. She frowned at Hermione. "Really! I would think that the very thought of such a problem would cause you to lose your breakfast."

"Why should it?" Hermione looked Ginny in the eye. "It's not like I'm the one who's holding out on him."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Hermione!"

"What in the bloody hell is going on?" Ron was getting louder.

"Your girlfriend is a pervert." Harry answered.

Ron glared at Hermione. "Do I want to know?"

"No."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The couple turned back to their breakfast. They continued in complete silence before finally glaring at each other and stalking out of the common room hand in hand. Ginny watched them leave and sighed. "They really need therapy."

"I know."

"So, back to the original topic…" Ginny began.

"Well, I've been thinking of going to the library with Justin later tonight. He has an idea." Harry leaned back in his chair and wrapped his fingers loosely in Ginny's red hair.

"And I've got that lovely detention with Snape."

"Don't worry. He won't be too tough on you." He tugged lightly on Ginny's hair. "He's not that awful, you know."

Ginny smiled at Harry. "Have we made peace with the greasy git?"

"Not just yet. But I think we're making headway." He stood up, wrapped his arms around Ginny, and hugged her tightly while she sat quietly in her chair. "I think loosing my mum hurt him."

"He'll be okay one day, Harry."

"I know." Harry let his gaze travel up to the Head Table where Professor Ariel Sinistra and Professor Severus Snape were silently eating. "One day."

******

Justin rubbed his eyes wearily. "Forget I ever mentioned this bloody library. If I ever see it again, it will be too damn soon."

Harry smiled and closed his book quietly. "Don't let Pince hear you say that. She'll make you stay and shelve after curfew."

"Ugh." Justin moaned in disgust. "Can't I just go to bed now?"

"Not until we at least have something to tell Ginny and Professor Snape. We're supposed to be doing something."

"Sleeping?"

"No." Harry frowned, "Spells or potions or charms or something. We can't just sit here."

Justin blinked, "Did you ever think that we're not supposed to take an active role in this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Harry, what if we're simply supposed to be players in the game, but not actual captains? Do you get me?"

Harry sighed, "You mean that we each have a role in the war. Like I defeated Voldemort once before. And Professor Sna…" he stopped himself.

Justin continued. "I know about Professor Snape, Harry." The Hufflepuff leaned closer to the Boy Who Lived and whispered, "He's a spy."

"So what about you and Ginny?"

"Maybe we have to find our positions. But we're ahead of Voldemort. He knows about you, but he doesn't know about the professor, Ginny, or me." Justin snapped his fingers in triumph. "We should bait him. See if he knows what we're supposed to do."

"Bait him with what? A year ago, he still wanted me to resurrect himself. And we can't give him Snape without compromising our means of defense." Harry grimaced. "That leaves you or Ginny. And excuse me for saying so, but I don't vote for Ginny. Personal reasons."

"Fine. We use me then. We publicize that Dumbledore has found another Heir. Then we wait. Some protection would be needed to create a believable illusion. The protection would fight back just enough to allay any doubts that Voldemort may harbor. If we get lucky, he'll know what's going to happen."

Harry shook his head, "No. What if he doesn't know? He'd have you, Justin. Dumbledore's got an edge simply because he has all four of us. If we lose you, what if we can't stop him?"

"But what if by my capture, we learn how to defeat him?"

"This is a bad idea."

"Let's bring it before Ginny and the professor. It should be put to a vote."

Harry stared at the boy sitting in front of him. "Justin, I…"

"You won't let it be Ginny. It has to be me."

"Let's go find them. Ginny was serving detention in the dungeons with Snape. They should still be down there." He gathered the small stack of books he had been reading into a pile. "And let's drop these off with Mione. She'll have oodles of fun reading them for us."

Justin blushed, "She might get angry."

"Mione? Never at me. Always at Ron." Harry snickered as he led Justin out of the library. "It's a sick pattern with them."

******

Rose gazed around the King's Cross platform. She hadn't owled back to Remus in the hope that she could sneak around London for a few days. She needed to know what she was walking into. The crowds around her parted as if she were one of the brick columns holding up the ceiling.

One man swept past her and bumped her slightly. He spun around and started to apologize. "I'm terribly sor…" the man stared at her for a moment before sneering at her and continuing on his way.

She rolled her eyes and began walking toward platform 9 ¾. It was always like this. People would be polite and friendly until they found out that she was Rose Black. Then they'd run screaming in the other direction. "Stupid bastard," she whispered as she passed through the barrier that would allow her to board the Hogwarts Express.

Contrary to popular (student) belief, the Express ran constantly between Hogwarts and King's Cross. It's passengers were often teachers or staff that needed to attend to Muggle business for some reason. It also brought the occasion Muggle parent to Hogwarts if they were called by Dumbledore. Rose pulled her cart behind her and quickly found a porter.

"Where can I place my bags?"

The porter smiled weakly, "Here ma'am." He showed her to an empty compartment and quickly left her standing in the midst of her many bags.

"Gee, thanks so much!" Rose yelled after the terrified porter. She groaned in frustration as she sat down. "You'd think after fifteen years they'd stop thinking that all the Blacks are evil."

A low voice responded from the doorway. "You are. Evil that is."

Rose looked up and noticed Argus Filch standing in the doorway. "Don't you have a life yet, Argus? Leave me be."

"What do we have here? Rose Black? Sister to that murderer."

Rose shot up out of her seat and shoved her wand in Filch's face. "Just because you could never catch my brother performing his silly pranks doesn't mean he's a murderer! You're a bitter man, Argus Filch! Leave this car now!"

The caretaker sneered at the petite woman and stalked out of the car. Rose saw him leave the train and go through the barrier into Muggle London. She frowned and sat back down as the Express began moving. She hummed to herself as the train started the four hour-long journey to Hogwarts.

******

Harry snickered as he looked at the dog in front of him. "You look like the cat who caught the canary. What did you do?"

The black dog simply looked at him innocently.

"Professor Lupin's talking to Dumbledore. It must have been something bad, Snuffles."

The dog continued to stare at him.

Snape growled from farther down the hallway, "What is THAT THING doing here?"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned to address his professor. "I don't know. He won't tell me."

"It's a dog, Potter."

"I know. He could follow me down the hallway to any empty classroom, but he keeps ignoring me."

Severus' face got even more pale as the dog came to stand next to him. He glared down at the disgusting beast. "Can't you remove your godfather? He's polluting the hallways. The smell alone…" he didn't finish his remark because a loud shriek came from the opposite end of the hallway. He looked up sharply to see a robed figure pushing her way past several of the teachers.

Harry noticed Professor Flitwick, Professor Vector, and Professor Sinistra chasing a figure down toward the Headmaster's office. Sinistra was the first one to speak up. "We found her in the Great Hall, Severus."

Severus looked into the woman's eyes and frowned. He waved his hand in dismissal. "I'll make sure that Albus handles this." He waited for the other teachers to leave before addressing the black-haired woman. "What are you doing here?"

A growl from his side forced him to remember to be a little more polite.

Rose glanced down at the dog before glaring at her brother's worst enemy. "What do you want, Snape? Can't find an innocent Gryffindor to torment? That must be why Argus was such a bastard earlier. Albus forbid you to torture the students. Poor Snape."

"You didn't answer my question."

Harry watched the exchange with a small amount of curiosity.

Rose shot back at the Slytherin teacher, "I was asked to come here by Albus. So I'm here. Not like it's any of your business."

"Everything that goes on in this school is my business, Black!"

Harry grabbed hold of Snuffles' collar just before he lunged at Snape. He pulled the dog back roughly as Severus watched him. "Sorry. He's a little feisty today."

Rose looked at the boy and cringed. He looked so much like her brother's friend. She stared back at Snape and tried to step past him. "I don't have time for this, Snape. I have an appointment with the Headmaster." She had a feeling that Snape was making this too easy but couldn't figure out why.

She had almost reached the door when Snape called out to her.

"Lupin's in there."

Harry saw the woman flinch before turning. "I don't care."

"I'm sure."

"You're just a jealous fool."

Harry felt Snuffles pull closer to the action. He didn't know why his godfather was so eager to jump Snape all of a sudden, but he knew he didn't want to hang around for it. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's go!" He tugged hard on the collar, but Sirius wouldn't budge.

Rose gasped and stared at the dog. "Sirius?"

Snape sighed in disgust and quickly left the corridor. As he turned the corner into another hallway, he yelled, "We'll talk later, Potter!"

Harry snickered and let go of Sirius' collar. He looked at the woman who now was petting Sirius carefully. "You know Sirius then?"

"Of course. You must be Harry Potter."

He nodded and blushed slightly. "Yes."

"Good." She playfully shoved Sirius away from her. "How about we go into the office? I'm sure Remus could use a good scare."

Harry smiled slyly. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I think Sirius did something. He looks too innocent to be normal."

Rose watched her brother settle back on his haunches. She thought for a moment. "What did you do?"

Sirius simply let his eyes follow her movements.

"You know I'll find out from Remus and Albus."

Harry shrugged in defeat as Sirius transformed back to his human state.

Sirius Black had been free from Askaban for almost three years now, but he still was gaunt and pale. His hair looked better and wasn't as stringy. Secretly, Harry had always thought that he looked too much like his mortal enemy, Severus Snape, after escaping. Now Sirius seemed healthier if not at peace.

"Rose." Sirius stood up and hugged his sister tightly.

"Why didn't Remus tell me where you were?"

"I asked him not to. I didn't want you to give me away if you were angry with me."

Rose bit her lip. "I would never have done that." She let Sirius take her hands in his. "I knew you couldn't have done it. You adored them too much, Siri."

The former convict nodded sadly. He motioned for Harry to come forward. "Harry, this is Rose Black."

Harry smiled and nodded toward the door. "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar." Rose replied as she opened the door.

A voice came from inside the office. "Who's a liar?"

Albus smiled as Sirius, Rose, and Harry came into his office. "Welcome home, Rose."

Rose smiled at her former Headmaster and nodded at Remus. "It's good to be back, Albus." She shrugged off her cloak and laid it on an empty chair. "I just ran into your watchdog outside."

Remus looked at Sirius in confusion. "Watchdog?"

Harry sat down in front of the fire and answered, "Professor Snape."

"Oh." Remus nodded. He noticed the anger in Sirius' eyes. "What did he do?"

Rose waved the werewolf off. "It's not important. If I let him bother me, I'd be Sirius. And who in the bloody hell would want that?"

Sirius chuckled and let Remus lead him to the sole couch in the office. "I don't think Moony would have a problem with that." He winked at his lover. "Would you?"

Rose watched as Remus blushed wildly. "Finally."

The former professor blanched when he heard her. "You knew?"

"About you? Absolutely." She smiled. "Hurt him and you die… Black."

Sirius simply nodded. "So what's going on?"

Albus stood up and began to circle the office. "We were discussing the merits of Divination, Sirius. Remus, please continue."

Hazel eyes twinkled, "As I was saying, I've read the prophecy completely. I can see both sides of the argument. Without a clear definition of what the Heirs are expected to do, I cannot condone any action at this time."

Harry frowned, "What do you mean?"

Albus nodded grimly. "Remus feels as Severus does. He's not entirely comfortable with sending you three children into this fight."

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. He spun in his chair to face Remus. "What makes this any different than what he did to my parents? I was a baby! Remus, don't do this! Severus is wrong this time. We just don't know what to do yet!"

Remus nodded, "I understand where you and Albus are coming from, Harry. I see the similarities. That's why I can't believe that this is the only way."

Sirius interrupted. "What are you two talking about?"

His lover turned to look him in the eye. "Do you know why James went under the Fidelius Charm?"

"He said that Voldemort was after him and that he wouldn't leave Lily and Harry." Sirius answered quickly.

Remus took Sirius' hands in his. "Tom Riddle found out that there was a prophecy about the Founders' Heirs who would defeat him. The Ministry made the mistake of trusting too many people, and Tom found out about James, Godric Gryffindor's Heir.

"That's why Tom killed him, Sirius. James was a threat to him. It's why he wanted to kill Harry that night. If…" Remus bit his lip. "If Lily hadn't gotten in his way, he would have let her live. He wants to destroy the Heirs before they can stop him."

Sirius looked at Harry and felt his heart break. The boy was crying openly. He looked defeated. "Harry?"

The Boy Who Lived looked up and tried to ignore the anger he felt at Remus. "Justin, Ginny, Severus, and I are the Heirs, Sirius. He doesn't want us to do anything. And it appears neither does Remus."

"That's not what I said, Harry."

Albus interrupted and patted Remus' shoulder lightly. "Harry is undoubtedly very upset right now, Remus. Let him be. He doesn't mean it."

"Yes, I do!" Harry jumped up from his seat. "Look at what Voldemort took from you! From the both of you! And now, you want to let him run wild! Do you want to know what he will do? He'll kill every last Muggle and Muggle-born he can get his hands on! Doesn't that bother you? Well, bugger that!" Harry pushed past Sirius who had stood up to stop him. "I won't wait around for him to come knocking on Ron's door demanding Hermione's head! Bugger you all!"

The door slammed at the top of the stairs as Rose observed the three men in front of her. All three looked shocked. "So…" she smiled. "He has Lily's temper."

******

Hermione groaned in frustration. She was sick of being the good little bookworm. Harry and Justin had dropped off some books for her to read yesterday while they went off to figure out some plan to give to Professor Snape and Ginny.

"Getting bored?"

She smiled up at the person towering over her. "Ron."

Ron grinned, "Hey."

Hermione pulled her legs up and let Ron sit down next to her on the couch. "You look like the cat who ate the canary."

"Let's not talk about that damn cat of yours."

"It was a joke, Ron."

He blushed, "Oh. Sorry."

"What's wrong? You seem a little distracted." Hermione set aside the book she hadn't been reading and leaned against Ron.

"Ginny hasn't seen Harry all day."

"So? He's probably at the pitch."

"He's not. She told Professor Snape that she couldn't find him. Snape got Professor Lupin. They went off to look for him." Ron frowned. "Professor Lupin said that he was mad."

"That Remus was mad?" Hermione was now thoroughly confused.

"No. Harry was."

"About what?"

"Professor Lupin said something to Harry." Ron shrugged. "He looked really worried."

"Harry doesn't get mad too often, Ron."

"But when he does…"

Hermione nodded in understanding. "I know, Ron. I know. It gets really bad."

Ron put his arms around his girlfriend. "I'm worried."

"Don't be." Hermione cuddled closer to Ron. "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably hiding in the castle."

******

"Harry!" Remus sighed as he walked down the third floor hallway. He looked ahead to find Severus shaking his head.

"He isn't down this stairwell." Severus was starting to worry. The only other place that Potter could have gone was the Forbidden Forest.

"Gods, what have I done?" Remus rubbed his eyes and walked toward Severus.

"You did nothing wrong, Lupin." Severus led the way down the far stairs to the Great Hall. "You were doing what James and Lily would have done. You were protecting him. We both were."

"He's not angry with you!" Remus' tone was sad.

Severus nodded. "Because he doesn't know what to think anymore about me. I used to be the blasted teacher that hated him. Now, he sees what Lily did. That I'm more than what I appear to be. He's confused."

"Why can't this be easy?"

"He's a teenager. Was it easy for us?" Severus smiled weakly.

Remus shook his head. "Sure it was. See the werewolf… kill the werewolf."

"See the Death Eater… kill the Death Eater."

"You two are pathetic." Sirius changed as the two men hit the second floor landing where he and Albus were waiting. His long black hair was pulled back by a thong into a style similar to Severus'. He knew that it made him look even more like the Slytherin. "Can we just end the pity party and find my godson?"

Albus smiled at the looks that crossed the two men's faces. "Sirius is right."

Remus nodded, "He has to be in the forest."

"He's not anywhere in the castle." Severus agreed. "What about that map?"

Sirius shook his head. "I already talked to Ron. He won't tell me where it is."

"You're going to let him get away with that?" Severus was shocked.

"Harry probably took it with him. And even if he didn't, Ron could be trying to show Harry that we care enough to look the old fashioned way." Remus answered. "Don't be angry with him. It won't help."

Sirius nodded and then changed into Padfoot.

"Let's go." Severus looked at the Headmaster. "Give us three hours. If we're not back with him, send two more teachers."

Albus responded, "Ariel and Megan."

Severus nodded and followed Remus and Padfoot down the stairs and out the main doors to the castle. He trusted few people. They included Ariel Sinistra and Megan Caldwell, the Astronomy professor and her aide.

******

Harry shivered as he shifted against the tree. Even for the time of year, it was still cold at night. He bit his lip as he stared at the map. Three dots entered the forest together and then split up along different paths. The dot labeled Padfoot was heading toward the creek while the Remus Lupin dot was traveling toward the Centaur settlement.

Severus Snape's dot stood still for a moment before moving toward the part of the forest that Hagrid frequented. It would only be a matter of time before one of the three would find him. In fact, one of them would probably stumble upon Firenze. That Centaur would most likely direct them straight to Harry.

He didn't want to talk to Sirius and he sure as hell didn't want to talk to Remus. He would only say more things that would hurt them. If he hurt one, he would hurt the other. But maybe he could make Snape see what he was talking about.

"And maybe pigs will fly." He muttered to himself. He knew that he was acting childish. But how could Remus think that it was too dangerous? It didn't seem to matter that Harry had already faced down Voldemort twice and lived. Shouldn't that monster pay for all the lives he had ruined during both of his attempts to take over the Wizarding World?

Harry looked down at the map again and noticed that Snape's dot had vanished. He tapped his wand against the map. "Find Severus Snape." The map cycled through the whole castle and forest but didn't find him.

"I know a few spells myself, Potter."

Harry shrugged, "Cool."

Severus sat down next to Harry against the tree. "Isn't it?"

"He's angry. They both are."

"No. They're worried." Severus continued, "For all intents and purposes, they are the closest thing you have to parents. They worry. It's their job."

"I didn't ask for that." Harry argued.

"You didn't have to."

"I've done this before. I've survived him. I can do it again."

Severus sighed and looked at the boy. "We don't know how you did it. Albus thinks he knows. And I have my own suspicions. But that doesn't mean we know how you survived when James and Lily didn't." He took a breath. "And even you, Potter, didn't think you were going to survive what he did to you in fourth year."

Harry hung his head and started shaking. "I just don't think that everyone else should always decide what's best for me."

"You're a child, Potter. As much as you hate to admit that."

"But that doesn't mean that I can't make my own decisions."

"I agree. It means that you have some say in what happens in your life. It means that you have to trust that Lupin and Black do know what is best for you. It means that you work together to make the decisions that matter."

Harry nodded, "You're right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right." He chuckled.

"You're different."

"Than what?"

"Than what I always thought you were." Harry bit his lip and looked up at his professor. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You did."

"Another one."

"Proceed, Potter."

Harry picked at his robe hem. "When you told me about my mother, you said that she stopped being friends with you because you became a Death Eater." He paused and looked at the hem as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered. "You said you loved her. Why did you do it?"

Severus thought for a moment. "I didn't have anyone like James or Lily. Even like Lupin or Black. My father was… what I used to be. Cold… thoughtless… he forced me to put this…" Severus motioned to his arm, "thing on my arm. He and three other men held me down. I bit him, but it didn't stop them."

Harry stared up at his teacher.

"After I lost your mother, I thought that it didn't matter what I appeared to be. No one would care one way or another. So I became the thing that my father had been. Things could be much worse, Potter."

"I'm sorry."

"Tell that to Lupin. Not me."

Harry nodded and stood up. "Are you coming?"

"No."

"But the forest…"

"I'm more terrifying than anything in this forest from what I hear."

Harry laughed as he made his way back out of the forest toward the castle grounds. He took one look at the map before heading toward Sirius and Remus. As he got closer, he could hear them.

Remus groaned, "What do we do now?"

"Wait for Snape to get back." Sirius held Remus' hands tightly in his own. "Harry's smart. He won't go too far into the forest."

"You were right."

Remus spun around and found a very dirty Harry Potter standing behind him. "Harry?"

"I'm sorry I lost my temper."

Sirius smiled as his lover rushed over to make sure Harry wasn't hurt. "You should be."

Remus chided him, "He feels bad enough as it is, Sirius. Leave him be."

Harry smiled up at Remus. "I know you're just trying to make sure I'm safe. But sometimes, I have to help decide what makes me safe. Deal?"

"Deal." Remus nodded and hugged his friend's son. "Ron's worried. Let's go back to the castle. I'm sure he hasn't been able to sleep."

Sirius followed the two as Padfoot. He was glad that Harry and Remus had made their peace. He had agreed with Remus at first, especially after Harry's outburst. But now… maybe Harry had just shown them that he had to be helpless sometimes in order for them to take care of him.

Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Did Severus find you?"

"Yeah. He's coming later." Harry let himself be led back to the castle. "He needed some time to himself, I think."



NOTE: I must apologize for the 'immature' Harry we see in this chapter. I wanted everyone to remember that Harry is still a teenager. Teens are allowed to have their moments. So, I hope you can all forgive me.

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