"Do you have everything?" asked Molly.
"Yes, Mom," said Ron a little bit annoyed. "You've been asking that for hours now."
"You might still have forgotten something," retorted Molly sharply.
"But I haven't!"
"Oh, cut it, you two," said Arthur bracingly, which earned him a furious look from his wife and a grateful one from Ron. "I'm confident that no one has forgotten anything. And even if they have, where's the problem? We can always send Errol to take it to them."
"You know, Arthur," said Molly, changing the subject, "I've been thinking about Errol. Don't you think it's time he deserved to retire? We could buy a new owl at Diagon Alley or in Hogsmeade, if you like."
"That's a very good idea, Molly," said Arthur. "We could go to Hogsmeade when the kids have their weekend there... meet them there, have a butterbeer at the 'Three Broomsticks' and then buy a new owl. How would you like that?" He asked Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny.
"Sounds good," said Ginny, grinning. "I've already feared you two would use old Errol until he got a heart attack and fell off the sky."
"Nah, we couldn't risk that," said Molly. "Old Errol deserves a rest."
"Then it's settled," said Arthur, beaming. "Alright, kids, are you ready?"
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny nodded.
"Then off we go." Arthur grabbed two trunks at random and left the house. He had been successful in organizing two cars from the Ministry, which would take them to the station. When the others followed, Arthur had already stored the trunks in the cars and went back to get some more.
Fred, George and Bill stood lined up beside the first car. Remus and Sirius had left two days before, but Sirius had promised Harry that they wouldn't be gone longer than a week.
"Have a nice year," said Fred.
"And try not to get into trouble with Filch," added George.
"Be nice," said Fred.
"Work hard," said George.
"And..."
Fred was interrupted by Bill's outburst of laughter. He turned to his brother, pretending to be annoyed.
"I wasn't kidding," he said.
"No way," said George, who was giggling himself.
"Cut it," said Bill when he could speak again. "You'd deserve an award for your acting skills."
Fred and George beamed at him.
"Nah, seriously, I hope you'll be fine," said Bill to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione. "I'll try to visit you."
"That would be cool," said Ginny.
Bill gave everyone a short hug and then went back to the house. Fred and George shook Harry's and Ron's hands, hugged Ginny and gave Hermione something between a hug and a slap on the back.
"We'll keep you up to date," said George with a conspiratorial smile.
Harry grinned back.
"Okay, are you ready?" Arthur clapped his hands. "Then into the cars!"
xxx
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny waved their hands until Molly and Arthur were out of sight. They had at once found an empty compartment on the train.
They had just settled down and packed out the cards for a few rounds of Exploding Snap, when the compartment door opened and Neville entered.
"Hi," he said. He cast Harry a quick glance as if to check that he was okay, then indicated a nearly empty seat beside Ron. "Can I join you?"
"Sure," said Ron hastily and stuffed the things he had put on the seat back into his trunk. "How are you?"
"Fine," said Neville and sat down. "And you?"
"Couldn't be any better," said Ron and grinned. "How were your holidays?"
Neville shrugged. "Well, nothing important happened. My grandma was very nice, though. Apparently Dumbledore told her that my results at school were quite good last year - despite Potions and Umbridge's class."
"I wish I could have given you a mark as well," said Harry and laughed. "But your OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't bad, was it?"
"Not at all," said Neville grinning. "And that's all thanks to you, Harry. Are we continuing DA this year?"
Hermione laughed. "Unless Umbridge returns, I don't think there is any more need to do it," she said. "I really hope that the DADA classes go back to normal this year."
"Who'll be teaching the subject, anyway?" asked Neville.
The others fell silent. They hadn't thought of that.
"No idea," said Ginny finally, shrugging. "But I wouldn't care even if it was Snape. As long as that Umbridge woman doesn't return."
Harry agreed.
They all fell silent, and when Harry looked at Neville, he found that he was staring at him.
"What's wrong, Neville?" He asked.
Neville jumped. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said, blushing. "I was just wondering... you look so happy, but haven't you lost a friend?"
"Oh, you mean Sirius," Harry said. "Well, yes, you're right, Neville, I lost him. But he has returned."
"He has what?" Neville's eyes widened. "How?"
Harry told him what he remembered of the story, and when he had ended, Neville could not close his mouth again.
"But that's a miracle," he said.
"Well, yes, maybe."
Harry wanted to say more, but right at that moment, someone knocked on the door. Half expecting to see Malfoy, Harry looked up, but in walked Luna Lovegood. Well, thought Harry, Malfoy probably wouldn't have knocked.
"Hello, Luna," he said.
"Hello," said Luna in her normal out-of-this-world voice."Congratulations, Harry. I already heard about it."
"How?" asked Hermione, frowning. "The Daily Prophet hasn't been informed yet."
"But the Quibbler has," answered Luna. "Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to first write about it in such a magazine, so that the wizarding community wouldn't be too shocked."
Hermione looked confused, as if she tried to figure out if Luna was kidding or not. Harry grinned.
"Sit down with us, Luna," said he and indicated the last unoccupied seat beside Neville. Luna nodded and sat down.
"Er... how were your holidays?" asked Ron.
Luna turned her hazy eyes on him. "Fine, thank you, Ronald," she said. "You see, my dad had an immense success with the magazine. Ever since he published the interview with Harry, he has sold three times as many issues than before. And now with the article about the return of Sirius Black, he might as well double the sales. It comes out the day after tomorrow."
"Do you happen to already have a copy with you?" asked Harry.
"Sure," said Luna and reached in her bag. She took out the latest issue of the Quibbler, which had a large picture of Sirius on the front. The headline said, "Sirius Black Returned From The Dead: The Whole Story, Complete And Uncut".
"Did your dad do an interview with Sirius?" asked Hermione.
"Not exactly," said Luna. "But Dumbledore told him about it."
Harry was just about to start reading when the door opened again and Malfoy stuck his nose in.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" He said. "Potter and the rest of the pathetic gang."
"Hi Draco," said Harry cheerfully. "How are things? Have you already visited your dad at Azkaban? I hope he's made himself comfortable there - now that he no longer has Fudge on his side, he might have to stay there for some, let's say, thirty years?"
Anger flashed across Malfoy's face. "I'm gonna pay you back for that one," he hissed. "You and your loser friends. But well," he smiled maliciously, "there's already one less in your gang, isn't there, Potter? Your coward godfather Sirius Black... I heard that Bellatrix Lestrange finished him off in no time... I bet you were crying your eyes out, Potter, weren't you? Wished you still had a daddy to run to..." Malfoy grimaced, mimicking a crying baby. "Oooh, Daddy, oooh... that baaaad woman has killed Uncle Sirius... oooh..."
"Shut your mouth," said Harry, remaining unimpressed, and turned to the article again. "I'm trying to read something, if you haven't noticed that already."
Malfoy looked startled. The vicious grin on his face suddenly hung slightly askew. He had not expected Harry to remain so cool when he was, as he thought, twisting a knife in a fresh wound.
"Trying to be brave, Potter, aren't you?" he drawled. "Trying to forget your beeeh-loved godfather - are you gonna put up a shrine for him? With an inscription on a fake tombstone? How about, 'Here lies Sirius, who was too stupid to recognize a Stunning Spell' - or does that exceed your horizon?"
Harry put down the Quibbler and got up. Malfoy grinned, but when Harry came closer and closer and still remained absolutely cool, his grin slowly faded. Harry could practically see how Malfoy struggled not to retreat.
"Listen, Malfoy," Harry said, and the friendly smile did not fade from his face, "two things. One: I must disappoint you, for your lovely aunt once removed on your mother's side, Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn't as successful as she thought. Sirius Black is alive and well, as I'm sure you'll learn the day after tomorrow - the latest - when you read the new issue of the Quibbler. Two..." Harry paused, closed his eyes for a moment and seized his wand. "Two: If you ever call Sirius a coward again, I'll take you to a very special place where your little friends can't help you, and there you'll serve as a special kind of dartboard, if you know what that is. If you don't, I'll explain it to you: It means I'll tie you up to the wall and then use you as a target for every curse, jinx or hex I've ever heard of. Your own mother wouldn't recognize you afterwards. Did you understand me?"
Malfoy's jaw had dropped at Harry's first words, and he made a monumental effort not to draw back.
"What do you mean, Sirius Black is back?" he asked, sounding uneasy. "He's dead. My dad was there. He saw him die."
"You said it yourself," said Harry. "If Sirius had died, I'd be crying like a little child right now. Do you see me crying, Malfoy?"
Malfoy sneered.
"As a matter of fact, I went and brought him back," Harry added casually. "But that's not the point here. Will you now be so kind as to turn on your heel and leave this compartment? I'm sure my fellow travelers agree with me - we desperately need some fresh air in here."
"You can't talk to me like that, I'm a prefect!" Malfoy straightened. "I can give you detention!"
Hermione rose from her seat. "I'm a prefect, too," she said. "And even if you don't like the thought, Malfoy, I can give you detention just as easily."
"Shut it, mudblood," hissed Malfoy.
"Are you deaf?" asked Ron from behind. "Harry told you something. Leave. This. Compartment. Now."
Malfoy leaned against the door. "And what if I don't?" He asked. "What are you gonna do then, resurrect Potter's dad from the dead?"
"You filthy..."
"Cut it, Ron," said Hermione sharply and held Ron back. "Harry's managing that alone."
"If you don't," said Harry just as calmly, although a hot wave of rage was growing in him, "I'll find another way of getting rid of you. I just wanted to give you a fair chance first." He drew his wand. "Are you getting out of here, Malfoy, or do you want me to send Prongs?"
Malfoy looked confused. "Prongs? Who the hell is Prongs?"
"Do you wanna find out?" asked Harry politely.
"You're a bluff," said Malfoy, but he retreated slowly. "You're not sending anyone. And I bet that your silly godfather is as dead as ever. You're just trying to..."
Something in Harry exploded. Hearing another insult from Malfoy was more than he could bear. He lifted his wand. Ne need to concentrate on a happy memory; ever since Sirius's return Harry had had a constant feeling of happiness in him that never faded. He just memorized it and pointed his wand at Malfoy. "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver stag broke out of his wand and hit Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes bulged; he gave a tiny little shriek that made the others scream with laughter, then he flew back a good ten feet down the aisle, landed with a hard thud on his butt on the ground and kept sitting there.
Harry closed the door again, laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes. His patronus bowed and then faded away.
"That was brilliant, mate," said Ron, who clasped his side. "Have you seen his face?"
"He couldn't believe it," gasped Ginny. "Oh my God, that was so awesome, Harry! I'll remember that for the rest of my life!"
"So will I," said Neville, whose round face was beaming. "I just hope that he won't give you detention, Harry."
"Nah, he'll be way too embarrassed," said Hermione. "I bet you my badge that he won't even tell Crabbe and Goyle what just happened."
"You must be really certain," said Ron, grinning. "If you even risk your badge..."
"Shut it, Ron."
xxx
Hagrid waved to them over the heads of the first-year students he was assembling together.
"Talk to ye later, Harry," he roared.
Harry made the OK sign and continued his way to the coaches with the others. When they had reached them, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stopped dead.
"What's wrong?" asked Harry.
Hermione pointed at the Thestrals. "I can see them," she whispered.
"Me, too." Ron approached the Thestral that was standing nearest and reached out a hand to stroke it. The Thestral looked at Ron with his beautiful, dark eyes and stood still.
"But why can we see them now?" asked Ginny. "I mean, we haven't actually seen death... not really."
"Don't ask me," said Harry. "Maybe that one Death Eater that fell into this time-changing aquarium, or whatever it was, died. Or we've been misinformed about what really happened to Sirius."
"I don't care," said Ginny and stepped forwards to join Ron.
Hermione looked horrified. "Did I really ride on the back of one of these?" she said. "They look so..."
"Eerie?" suggested Harry, grinning.
Hermione nodded. "Creepy."
"But they are wonderful," assured Harry. "I mean, they're not very comfortable to ride on, but they're true and reliable and kind..."
"Might well be," said Hermione and shivered. "But I won't ever mount one of these again."
"Pray that you won't have to, then," said Harry, shrugging. He also patted the Thestral on the neck and then entered the coach. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna followed.
When they had arrived at the Great Hall, they sat down at the Gryffindor table as fast as possible. Since Sirius's return hadn't been announced yet, the students still thought that Harry must be grieving, and Harry tried to hide from all the sympathetic glances the others were casting him.
"They'll soon know better," said someone.
Harry turned around and saw Remus standing behind him, grinning.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"You'll see," said Remus. "They might pay their condolences to you now, but wait until Dumbledore's there."
Something was dawning on Harry. "Is Sirius here?" He asked eagerly. Then he grinned. "You might as well answer, Remus. It's been impossible to separate you two, and Sirius wanted to come here, anyway. And then Dumbledore cannot but tell the story when he's here, can he?"
"Eight out of ten points, Mr Potter," said Remus and winked. "See you after dinner."
And he was gone.
"What did he mean?" asked Ron.
"We'll see in a few minutes' time," said Hermione and watched the door. "We'll just have to endure the Sorting Ceremony."
She had barely finished speaking when McGonagall entered the hall, followed by a flock of nervous-looking first-years. She then went to fetch the Sorting Hat and started calling the names of the students. It went quite fast, and after "Zhang, Jie!" had been made a Ravenclaw, McGonagall stored the hat away and Dumbledore rose from his chair.
"Welcome back at Hogwarts," he said. "To those who are new I'd like to extend a hearty welcome. The prefects of your houses will tell you everything you need to know, and you can always ask your teachers as well."
Snape, who was sitting at Dumbledore's left side, sneered.
"As you might already have guessed, Professor Umbridge will not return this term," continued Dumbledore. He wanted to go on, but was interrupted by a gigantic wave of applause that lasted for a few minutes. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "Very well then," he said cheerfully, "you don't seem to be too sad about this. And so I would like to introduce you to your new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. You'll probably be very surprised, as he's been considered to be dead, but let me assure you that he's neither a ghost nor any other kind of a living dead - he's alive and well. Please welcome Professor Black!"
Harry's jaw dropped as he saw Sirius emerge between McGonagall and Hagrid. He looked at Ron and Hermione, who did not look less surprised.
For a moment, there was silence in the hall.
Sirius did not seem to mind the confusion he'd caused. He grinned at Harry, and that broke Harry's paralysis. He, Ron, Hermione and Ginny simultaneously started to applaud, and a moment later, Neville and Luna at the Ravenclaw table joined in. The other students, whose heads had all been turned either to Sirius or to Harry, seemed to pull themselves together as well. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs also started to applaud, and a moment later, the Ravenclaws. The Slytherins kept silent, but Harry hadn't expected anything else. Moreover, he could see Malfoy's face, staring at Sirius as if he'd seen a ghost, his mouth wide open. The applause grew louder and louder, and when Harry looked around, he found that Ron, Hermione and Ginny had climbed the benches and were just about to seize Harry's arms to pull him up as well. Harry shook his head, climbed the bench himself and did his best to make the applause deafening. His heart was jumping with joy. Sirius was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! This promised to be a wonderful year. With Sirius around, he could face everyone - Snape, Malfoy and all the other Slytherins. And Sirius's classes would certainly be more interesting than all the others before - or at least as interesting as those of Remus and Moody.
The applause seemed to last forever, until Dumbledore finally stood up again and stepped forward.
"I think Professor Black knows now that you are all glad he's here," he said and winked in Harry's direction. "We hope that his classes will, er, involve a little more practical training than Professor Umbridge's."
Another wave of applause.
"And now we won't keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy your meals!"
xxx
After the meal, Harry and the others jumped to their feet and dashed through the hall to the teacher's table. Sirius, who also had already finished eating, laughed and rose from his chair as he saw them approaching.
"Now that's a real surprise," said Hermione, who reached him first. "So this was Dumbledore's little idea when you said you wanted to stay at Hogwarts as well!"
"Indeed, it was," said Sirius. "And I thought, 'Why not?' I have a lot of experience, after all. Remus came with me. He'll probably help me a little with the curriculum and that sort of stuff. And maybe he'll come along to a few classes as well, assisting me..."
"You wish, Sirius," said Remus. "Do you really think it's my greatest wish to be the target for the spells you teach them?"
Sirius grinned. "When I think it over now... well, I might prefer Peeves as a target."
"Oh, this year will be wonderful," said Ginny and beamed at Sirius. "Are you staying for the next year as well?"
"I don't know yet," said Sirius in amusement. "Maybe you'll all tell me to go to hell by the end of this term."
"You don't want us to answer, do you, Sirius?" asked Ron with a malicious grin that could compete with Malfoy's.
"There's only one problem," said Hermione and grinned. "I mean, you'll be our teacher now."
"Where's the problem with that?" asked Harry.
"Well, it's not too common to be on first-name terms with a teacher," said Hermione. "I'm actually not quite sure if it isn't even forbidden. So what do you say now, Professor Black?"
Sirius laughed. "I guess there's a loophole for that rule, Hermione," he said. "It would indeed be very strange if you all started calling me Professor Black."
"I'll set up Educational Decree number twenty-nine," said Dumbledore, who had heard the last few sentences. His eyes sparkled. "I'll officially allow students to remain on first-name terms with their teachers in special situations - for example, if the teacher is the student's godfather...," he winked at Harry, "or if he's somehow related to the student's parents...," another wink at Ron and Ginny, "or if the student once saved his life...," a wink at Hermione, "...or even twice." Another wink at Harry.
"I'm very much relieved," said Sirius.
"So are we," added Hermione. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."
"You're welcome," said Dumbledore and smiled. Then he returned to his chair and continued eating.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny returned to the Gryffindor table, for Ron and Hermione had to lead the first-years to the common room.
Harry walked with Ginny and Neville behind them and enjoyed the feeling that was running through him. He really felt compensated for the three weeks of grief. Now Sirius was back to life and, what was almost even better, he would stay at Hogwarts for at least a year. Harry would celebrate Christmas with him, and Sirius would always be around if he needed him.
Life could be so beautiful!
The End
