Hey everyone, sorry about not updating, but the truth of the matter was that I was sick, and then my computer was not cooperating, so these chapters are a little late, but the next update will be next Monday. I guess that's just a little less time to wait, even if this was more. Once again, I apologize.
Annoying A/N and thank yous at the end of chapter 28, because you've waited long enough already.
DISCLAIMER: I am still not JK Rowling, though right now I wish I was anyone who was healthy. Le sigh.
Part Twenty-Seven: Draco versus Buckbeak
Arriving by portkey, Harry, Draco, Sirius, and Lupin arrived in the small two-story home in Godric's Hollow.
"I'm going to take my trunk upstairs," said Harry. Sirius nodded in acknowledgment.
"Fine. Show Draco to one of the guest rooms."
"Can't he just stay in my room? We'll set up the cot."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow giving Harry a look that made Lupin turn away, laughing. "Harry, if you had a girlfriend, do you think I'd let you sleep in the same room?"
"Well, no. . ."
"So why should a boyfriend be any different?"
Draco grinned. "It's not a problem, Harry. I wouldn't trust us, either. Stop arguing and just lead the way."
Looking like he had just been seriously offended, Harry scoffed at them and grabbed his trunk, heading for the staircase. Draco cast both Sirius and Lupin and amused smirk before heading off after Harry, his trunk dragging behind him. They made their way through the hall and up the stairs where Harry kicked open the second door on the left.
"You can stay in here. I was going to pick this room for my bedroom but I decided to pick the other one. It was tough choice."
Walking past him, Draco pushed his trunk in the corner, considered himself settled in, and left for the hallway again. Harry turned around to see Draco waiting for him and so he followed, turning back towards the stairs and heading into the door next to Draco. He began to unpack as Draco sat down on his bed, watching him pulling out his robes and hanging them up in the closet.
"So this is where you live," said Draco. "Nice place."
"Yeah. I moved in at the beginning of last summer once Sirius's name was finally cleared. The trial went a little into the summer, but I got to leave the Dursleys' two weeks into the summer holiday."
"You really hated those muggles, didn't you?"
"Well, you know, they took me in and everything so I guess I'm lucky I didn't get sent to an orphanage or anything. They didn't beat me or starve me, either, so I suppose things could have been worse, but they weren't pleasant, either. For the first ten years of my life, I lived in a cupboard under the stairs."
"Are you serious? A cupboard?"
"Yeah. Dudley got everything and I just got shoved aside. They really didn't like me much, but that's okay because I don't really like them, either. When I used to go back there for the summer holidays, they'd lock my school things in the cupboard and I had to steal my books out so I could do my homework late at night under the covers."
"I thought you slept there. In the cupboard, I mean."
"I did until my Hogwarts letters started coming. Once they saw that my letter was addressed to my cupboard, they moved me into Dudley's second bedroom."
Draco snorted. "How kind of them."
"I know. Needless to say I jumped at the chance when I could finally come live with Sirius."
"So he really isn't the one who betrayed your parents? It was Peter Pettigrew?"
"Yes. Sirius's was my dad's best friend and so he's my godfather. I found out in third year when he escaped from Azkaban. There was this big incident under the Whomping Willow."
"Under the Whomping Willow?" said Draco, cocking an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"You see, under the Whomping Willow is a passageway into Hogsmeade. Into the Shrieking Shack, to be more specific. Sirius was after Wormtail, not me."
"And Pettigrew was Ron's rat, right? I think I remember reading about that in the Daily Prophet."
"Right. Sirius dragged Wormtail and Ron under the Whomping Willow and into the Shrieking Shack. Hermione and I went after them because we couldn't just let Ron there. The next thing we know Lupin and Snape have both showed up. We thought Lupin was helping Sirius break into the castle but then he explained everything and we found out Sirius was innocent. Of course, by that time, we had already knocked Snape out."
"You knocked Snape out?" asked Draco, wide-eyed. "What did you do?"
"Ron, Hermione, and I disarmed him. He hit the wall rather hard on the way down. The point is, Wormtail was forced to transform back into himself and I asked them not to kill him."
"Are you mad?"
"No, I just didn't think they should become murderers on account of Wormtail."
"Fair enough. It sounds just Gryffindor enough to be true. Continue."
"I already knew Sirius was my godfather but he offered that I could come live with him once his name was cleared. We had Wormtail right there but then Lupin transformed and he didn't have his Wolfsbane potion. Wormtail got away and Sirius was taken into the school to be given the Dementor's Kiss." Harry grew silent at this, looking over Draco, who had gone pale. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. My father - er - told me about that."
"You don't have to pretend to be okay."
"I know. I'm fine. Really. You don't have to be careful not to mention the Dementor's Kiss. I know what killed my father. No one is careful around you when they bring up the killing curse."
"But still. . ."
"It's fine. Keep going. I remember hearing about Sirius getting away again. Do you know how he did it?"
Harry bit his lip. "Yes," he said, carefully. "I promise to tell you how he got away tomorrow. It's part of the Buckbeak story and I'm not up to telling you that tonight."
"You're actually going to tell me what happened to that hippogriff?"
"Er - yes. In a manner of speaking. I'm glad I got to come live here. Sirius is like a father to me. Sometimes I do think of him as my father. I feel closer to my dad with Sirius since they were best friends. It's almost like having a piece of my dad."
"Sirius and your father were friends at Hogwarts. I suppose that means Professor Lupin was a friend of theirs as well."
"Yes, they were. Ever since I came to live here, Lupin has been visiting a lot. He keeps insisting that I call him Remus and I was doing a good job of it until I found out he was teaching at Hogwarts again this year. That happened and I just started to regress back to calling him Lupin. I've dropped the 'professor' at his request. I'm glad he's around. I can't imagine what things must be like for him now. It took him twelve years with Sirius in Azkaban until he learned he was innocent."
"You're wondering how things are for Lupin? Sirius was the one in Azkaban. I don't even want to imagine what it must be like in there." Draco paused and pulled Harry down on the bed next to him. "My father was supposed to go there."
"Are you okay? Are you really? I know you've been depressed lately."
"I'm down right now, but I'll be okay. It's a comfort just to know you're here for me."
"I am. Always."
Harry leaned forward to press his lips against the soft, slightly-chapped flesh of Draco's. His tongue snaked forward, seeking entrance, and Draco's lips parted ever so slightly to give him access. Stroking the length of Draco's tongue with his own, Harry let his fingers slide through Draco's hair to cup his head, pulling him in to deepen the kiss. Maneuvering their bodies, Harry shifted to straddle Draco's hips. Draco leaned back, pressing himself back into the bed and allowing his head to fall back as Harry made his way down to start a soft suction on his collar bone.
"Gods," breathed Draco, shifting his hips to put their bodies in perfect alignment.
"Excuse me," said a deep, male voice, and Harry fell off the bed in his attempt to climb off of Draco. Sirius was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and looking between them like he had a rather large headache.
"Er - hi, Sirius," Harry squeaked out. "Was there something you wanted?"
"I came up here to tell you that Remus made dinner. I know it's late but I thought you might want to eat before you go to bed. However, I see that you've already found your dinner."
Draco looked away from them, blushing the most furious shade of scarlet his pale skin would allow.
"Very funny, Sirius," said Harry, not looking at all amused.
"I can't help I walked in on the feast. Next time put a charm on your door, or here's a better idea. How about you refrain from any sort of sexual action under my roof at all? Allow me to believe that you're still pure and virginal. I don't care how far from the truth it is."
"What happens if I need to talk to someone about sex? That's a parent's job, you know. You're almost my parent, and since mine are gone, that responsibility falls to you."
"You can talk to Remus about sex."
"Gods, Sirius, I'm seventeen."
"Fine. If you want to talk about sex, you can talk to me. Hearing about it is one thing, seeing it is another. Don't let me catch you with your tongue in Draco's mouth again."
"Can we please stop talking about this?" Draco wailed through his hands, which were now covering his face. "I am not an exhibitionist and despite how not virginal I am, I don't like talking about my sex life in front of complete strangers."
"Then you shouldn't have kissed me," said Harry. "Think before you act." Draco glared at him through his parted fingers.
"Sorry, Draco," said Sirius. "I don't mean to embarrass you. Believe me, I want to talk about your sex life as much as you do. It was Harry who brought up the parental figure's role in their child's sex life. If you're going to be bitter with someone, I suggest you be bitter with him."
"Thanks, Sirius," said Harry.
"Just covering my own arse and getting on good terms with your boyfriend. I'm going downstairs to eat now and have Remus remind me why I love you."
"We'll be down."
Sirius rolled his eyes and nodded before leaving.
"That was so embarrassing, Harry," said Draco, grabbing on of the pillows from the bed and pelting Harry in the head with it, knocking his glasses askew. "Did you really find it necessary to keep on talking about it? Couldn't you just leave it alone where it was?"
"You really aren't an exhibitionist?" was all Harry could ask. It earned him another smack across the head with the pillow. "I'm sorry, Draco. I just don't think there's any reason to get embarrassed over Sirius catching us snogging. I mean, perhaps if we were shagging I could see you getting flustered, but we were completely in tact. He's right lucky he didn't come in five minutes later. I was about to undress you."
The pillow dropped from Draco's hands as his jaw fell open, his eyes bugging. "You were?"
"Malfoy," teased Harry, "I never thought of you being the submissive one."
"I never thought of you as being the dominant one."
"Fair enough. You don't seem the type to be sentimental about sex."
"I'm not the type. Just with you. Besides, it's my business. I don't want everyone to know about who I shag and when I do it. If I wanted that, the whole school would have known about me and Blaise last year."
"I tell Ron everything. Then I tell Seamus. Neville typically doesn't want to hear about my latest conquest or fantasy, whatever it is on any given day. Now that I think about it, Ron typically doesn't want to hear about it, either, but he's my best friend and it's his job to listen."
"Now I know how you got your reputation."
"I'm not that bad," said Harry, laughing. "Don't tell me that you actually think I'm serious. I do tell Ron everything but he's the only one. I'm not the Hogwarts playboy. Everyone thinks that's you. Talk about a reputation. You think mine's bad, you should hear yours."
"I've heard mine and half of it isn't true. Did you know that last year Cho Chang said I shagged her?"
"You shagged Cho?" said Harry, not sure who he was jealous of.
"No. Weren't you listening? I said that Cho said we shagged. I didn't actually do it. Pansy told me all the gossip about me that was going around. Some sixth year Ravenclaw," he started with malice, but then paused. "Er - that would put her in our year now, wouldn't it?" Harry suppressed his laughs as he nodded. "I wonder who that was. I wish I could remember."
"What did she say?"
"She said my dick was like a thumb!" Harry burst out into laughter and soon tears were freely flowing down his face. Draco, however, didn't look the least bit amused. "It isn't funny, Harry! I never even slept with the Ravenclaw girls in our year. There was one ahead of us but she graduated and I was with Blaise last year. I wasn't doing anyone but him."
"She said you dick was like a thumb!" exclaimed Harry though his tears, and he rolled over onto his side, still laughing.
"Harry! It isn't funny! She also told a vast majority of the female population that I act like I'm bored in bed! Most of the girls, even ones I did shag, agreed with her! But not Cho. You know what Cho said? Harry, stop laughing. This is serious."
"I'm sorry," said Harry, sitting back up and trying to regain composure. "What did Cho say?"
"Cho said that the only reason I acted bored was because they probably weren't good enough because I was an animal with her." This seemed to be too much for Harry and he was back on the floor, laughing so hard that he was wheezing for air. "I hope you suffocate on your laughter," said Draco, scowling. "It isn't funny. I've never shagged Cho. In fact, I never even fancied Cho. Girls don't even turn me on. Harry, stop laughing."
"I'm sorry, Draco," said Harry, trying not to laugh but every time his eyes would connect with Draco's, the snickers would come over him again until he was crying.
"Fine, Harry. You be that way. I'm going to eat dinner and see if I ever tell you about the things that distress me again. All you do is laugh at me." Standing up, Draco grabbed the pillow and beat Harry over the head with it again before heading for the door.
"Wait!" Harry called after him, trying to breathe as he got to his feet and ran out of his room to catch up with Draco. They walked into the kitchen together to see Sirius and Lupin sitting at the table, laughing. "Hey."
"What took you so long?" asked Lupin, a knowing grin on his face. So Sirius had told him what he had seen. Bugger.
"Harry was laughing at my humiliation," mumbled Draco, vaguely as he sat down to eat.
"I'm sorry, Draco, but that's really funny. A thumb." This caused Harry to break out into another fit of laughter. From across the table, Sirius and Lupin exchanged confused looks, both arching their eyebrows and looking at Harry as if he had gone mad. Once he had gotten under some control, Harry asked, "So what were you two laughing about?"
"We were talking about when we were in school," explained Lupin.
"I love stories from when you were in school. They have the best stories about humiliating Snape," Harry told Draco.
"Because we do know how you love getting your kicks out of other people's misery," said Draco as his eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be nicer about Snape now that you're friends with his daughter and your best friend is in love with her?"
"Love?" asked Sirius. "Ron is in love with Kailah?"
"How did you know Ron was in love with Kali? He didn't even tell her yet," said Harry.
"Oh please," said Draco. "It's so obvious. A blind man could see it."
"I have to agree with Draco," said Lupin. "You should see them, Sirius. It's the strangest thing. Even stranger than watching Drusilla with Severus was. And you should see Severus when he catches sight of them together. It's the funniest thing you could ever imagine seeing. He has this internal battle that plays out in his eyes over whether he wants to be happy that she picked Ron or miserable that she picked a Weasley."
Sirius snorted a laugh at this. "Kind of the way he used to look when he was with Drusilla and one of us would do something he'd normally mock? Like he wasn't sure whether he should insult us and keep up his reputation of hating us or pretend not to notice because he didn't want to upset Drusilla?"
"Exactly like that!"
"Having Snape fall in love with Drusilla was more perfect that we could have ever planned, you know. We couldn't have ever come up with anything that worked better than that to get him to stop being such a nosy git."
"If only we could have found something to get you to behave yourself."
"I behaved myself."
"You did not. You sang that little bunny Sevi song more times than Drusilla did just because you knew he couldn't do anything about it."
"Little bunny Sevi song?" asked both Draco and Harry.
"What in Merlin's name is the little bunny Sevi song?" asked Harry.
"It's this song Drusilla made up when she was dating Snape. She usually called him Sev but one day she jokingly called him Sevi. For the record, he doesn't like to be called Sevi," explained Sirius.
"He doesn't even like to be called Sev anymore," said Lupin. "Then again, it was what Dru and Lucius called him and look at what happened to the both of them." Draco dropped his eyes to the table top.
"Your tact is getting as bad as his," said Harry, motioning to Sirius. Lupin's eyes glazed over and then what he had just said finally sank in.
"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean it like that."
"It's okay. Really. Please don't apologize every time you mention my father or what happened to him. It only makes it harder to cope."
"Okay."
"Could you explain about this little bunny Sevi song now?" said Harry.
"Oh, yeah," said Sirius. "Anyway, Dru thought it was really funny that Snape freaked out so much when she called him Sevi. One night a few days after it happened, we were all in your mum's rooms - she was Head Girl - and Lily had this little stuffed bunny. It was a tiny thing and Dru picked it up and named it Sevi. We all laughed and the next thing we knew, Dru was making up this song about her bunny Sevi. Eventually, she started singing it to Snape. Now that I think about it, we should go sing it to him, Remus."
"I think not," replied Lupin.
"Do you think Kailah knows it?"
"She lived with Serena for sixteen years. Of course she knows it."
"You have a point."
"Snape's sister, Serena?" asked Harry. Both Lupin and Sirius nodded.
"Serena was friends with Melinda Figg a sixth year Gryffindor. You know the lady who lives on Privet Drive and watched you whenever those Dursleys went away?" Harry nodded. "That was her daughter. Melinda was cousins with Elizabeth Fielding, who was in our year."
Not knowing what else to say and failing for any more intelligent words, Harry nodded and said, "Okay."
"Elizabeth was friends with Dru and Lily. Serena, thus, was friends with Dru and Lily. It was easy to forget Serena and Snape were brother and sister because she was so nice, except for when she was torturing him. That was what typically reminded you. They had sibling rivalry like no other."
"You know what," said Lupin, looking at his watch, "it's getting late and Draco looks like he's going to die if he doesn't get some sleep soon."
Draco yawned, nodding thankfully, and he left for bed.
~*~
The next day, Draco and Harry both woke up late and it was already afternoon when they each crawled out of bed. It was Draco who woke up first and he headed downstairs after brushing his hair, teeth, and dressing for the day ahead. Sirius was sitting at the kitchen table with Lupin when Draco walked in and he was halfway through his lunch when Harry arrived, still in his pajamas and looking like it was going to be a cranky day, even if it was Christmas Eve.
Once Harry had dressed, he came down into the living room to find Draco discussing his return to class with Lupin. He sighed, walked over to them, and plopped himself down behind Draco. Resting his hands on Draco's shoulder blades, Harry started to massage the muscles there and he dropped his chin to Draco's shoulder.
"Draco," he interrupted, "it's Christmas Eve. That means we're on holiday. Leave Professor Lupin alone and come with me."
"Where are we going?" asked Draco.
"I'm going to - er - tell you what happened to Buckbeak."
Lupin started to cough, a sound that Harry suspected was hiding a laugh.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Come on," he said, grabbing Draco's hand and pulling him. Lupin stood with him. "And where are you going?"
"I'm coming to watch. Let me get Sirius."
"No one is watching," said Harry, hoping he sounded stern, but he suspected he didn't as all he wanted to do was laugh as well. Grabbing Draco's hand, Harry led him to the back of the house and outside. They rounded the corner and there tethered in the back yard was a large, grey hippogriff. Draco tensed beside Harry. "Bow," he instructed, "and don't blink."
Draco didn't have a problem with keeping eye contact. He wasn't about to take his eyes off that hippogriff for a second as he clamped onto to Harry's hand and trusted he knew what he was doing. They both bowed low and after a few moments, Buckbeak bent his scaly legs and sank into a bow of his own. Dropping Draco's hand, Harry walked forth to pet his feathery neck. Buckbeak's fierce, orange eyes were focused on Draco.
"Yeah, I remember you," said Draco. "What's he doing here?"
"First of all, Draco, don't insult him. Had you been listening to Hagrid the first day of class, you wouldn't have been attacked. If you want to make it through this encounter with Buckbeak, I suggest you apologize."
"You want me to apologize to a hippogriff."
"Yes."
Draco swallowed hard as he tentatively approached Buckbeak. His eyes fell to Buckbeak's talons as he stroked the hippogriff's feathers. "Buckbeak," he said, swallowing, "I'm sorry I called you ugly. I didn't mean it. You're a wonderful, beautiful hippogriff and there is no excuse for my stupidity."
"That was very touching, Draco," said Harry.
"Will you tell me why he's here, now?"
"Don't you dare tell anyone about this, okay? I'm trusting you. Besides, Dumbledore already knows." Draco nodded. "Sirius escaped from Hogwarts on Buckbeak."
"How?"
"We - er - used Hermione's time turner."
"Hermione had a time turner?" Harry nodded. "You used Hermione's time turner. How?"
"You see, I told you last night that the story was interwoven. When we came out from under the Whomping Willow and Lupin transformed, Pettigrew got away and the dementors were coming for us. I had learned the patronus that year -"
"I remember," said Draco. "You used it on me."
Harry bit his lip, trying not to laugh. "Right. So anyway, when I woke up in the hospital wing, we found out that Fudge and Snape were going to get the dementors. No one believed Sirius, Lupin, Hermione, or I when we said that Sirius was innocent. Dumbledore suggested we use the time turner to go back and save Sirius. When we went back, we untied Buckbeak, hid in the forest, and waited until Sirius was in the castle so we could send him away on Buckbeak. Hermione kept yelling at me because I wanted to interfere and change time."
"You can't do that, Harry."
"I know. Hermione kept telling me that. She also kept reminding me that we couldn't be seen by ourselves."
"That could end badly."
"I did see myself though. It's kind of creepy to think I saved myself, but I did. I saw myself do the patronus that saved us from the dementors."
"Where was Ron in all this?"
"His leg was busted."
"Poor guy. Missing all the fun to be stuck with the Pomfrey bitch." Draco sighed. "I relate."
Not wanting to chance this too long, Harry soon led Draco back inside and away from Buckbeak. When they came in, Lupin and Sirius hurried into the living room, insisting that they hadn't been watching Draco's encounter. For the next few hours, Harry and Draco alternated between playing wizards chess and Exploding Snap. It was after dinner now and they were all sitting around the living room telling stories, most of them about Harry and Draco's school year thus far.
"I can't believe Ron Weasley is dating Kailah Strauser," said Sirius, shaking his head. "Come to think of it, I can't even believe that's Kailah Strauser. The last time I saw her she was so small I could hold her with one hand."
"I know. Then again, we barely got to see her. Dru made it about six hours after Kali was born," said Lupin. "Eight months later, Snape sent her to Serena."
"I still can't believe he did that. I didn't think he'd be able to part with his little girl like that. Now she's gone and started to date Ron Weasley. I bet Snape loves that. Stupid Slytherin git. No offense, Draco."
"Er -" said Draco.
"He's not a Slytherin anymore," said Lupin.
"What?" said Sirius.
"He was resorted," explained Harry.
Sirius seemed to brighten at this. "Really? Where did you go?"
"Ravenclaw," he answered.
"That's amazing. Remus, why didn't you tell me? Gods, now I feel like Draco is one of my own and I have to take him under my wing." Lupin laughed. "I'm serious."
"I know you're serious, Sirius," said Lupin, laughing at his own bad joke.
"I can't remember why I'm friends with you. Anyway, Draco, welcome to the elite. It's so nice to have you. You're in good company. Trust me."
"In whose company?" said Lupin. "You and someone who's been dead for over three centuries? Good company, indeed."
"What are you talking about?" asked Draco.
"I was resorted," said Sirius. "I don't know why they even keep Slytherins at that school anymore. All the resortings have something to do with Slytherins."
"Were you really resorted?" said Harry at the same time realization seemed to dawn on Draco and he said, "I think I remember hearing something about that."
"Sure I was resorted," said Sirius. Lupin nodded in agreement. "You know, Remus, you could have mentioned I'm not the only one living who was resorted. You know how lonely I feel being a multi-house member."
"I've very sorry, Sirius," said Lupin, rolling his eyes.
"You heard something about this?" said Harry. Draco nodded.
"I heard something about this and so did you. Dumbledore said it was the second resorting this century at my resorting. When I asked him about it, he said that the last one was twenty - er - twenty-some. . ."
"Twenty-six," said Sirius. "It was twenty-six years ago."
"How did that happen?" asked Harry.
"I was a Slytherin," said Sirius, looking disgusted with himself. "In fact, Draco, we could probably relate a lot to each other. My mother died when I was very young. She was a Gryffindor and my father was a Slytherin. My father worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. A rather large figure in the ministry, if you will. He didn't have much time for me and when I went to Hogwarts, it was the first time he showed any real interest in me."
"I hear that," said Draco, averting his eyes.
"Then you understand why I was put in Slytherin."
"I understand any act meant to please your father."
"Right. Since my father was a Slytherin, I knew a lot of the Slytherins already because they were the children of my father's friends. Snape was one of them."
"I remember when you and Severus were actually friends," said Lupin, stretching. "We never saw what was coming."
Sirius gave a short laugh. "Neither did I. Snape and I were friends from before Hogwarts and he introduced me to Avery, Rosier, Lestrange, and your father, Draco. We were friends the first year. Enemies with James and Remus. Your grandfather, Harry, was even higher than my father in the ministry. He was on the Council of Magical Law and expected to become the next Minister of Magic. The Potters were well-known and we didn't take to James particularly well."
"That's only because you expected him to be like Daniel," said Lupin.
"Daniel?" asked Harry.
"James's brother," explained Lupin. "He was one of the most self-righteous, arrogant morons I've ever met. Both a prefect and Head Boy and he loved it even more than Percy Weasley did. Daniel never had time for anything or anyone but himself."
"What happened to him?"
"Died in the same attack on the ministry that killed your grandfather. Daniel didn't think Voldemort would kill someone as important as he was."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Anyway, when I went home for the summer holiday, my father wasn't terribly impressed that I was in Slytherin."
"It was expected," said Draco. Caught off-guard, Sirius paused and then nodded. "I know. There was nothing to be impressed about because that's all that could have happened. Nothing less would have been accepted."
"I told you we could relate." Draco nodded. "The point is, when I got back to Hogwarts for the second year, I didn't want to fit in with them so badly anymore. Originally, I had asked to be in Slytherin, but I didn't want to be there anymore. I went to Dumbledore, told him about my situation, and I was resorted into Gryffindor. Everyone from Slytherin was furious with me, especially Snape because we had been friends before coming to school. Then, just as they seemed to be warming up to me again, Lucius's father died. Lestrange kept going on about how I had betrayed them and I was largely ignored for the rest of the year. I didn't have friends in Slytherin anymore, and the Gryffindors didn't trust me. We had been enemies."
"Just because you were a Slytherin doesn't mean you're automatically untrustworthy," said Draco. "We aren't all a bunch of bastards. We take care of those close to us."
"I know," said Sirius. "I was there. A few bad wizards ruined the whole house."
"It's sad, but true."
"What happened?" asked Harry, interrupting.
"Drusilla befriended him, and then I befriended Sirius," said Lupin. "James didn't trust him. Peter," at this, Lupin grimaced, "followed James's lead. Most of the Gryffindors didn't think he belonged in our house, and I knew what it was like to feel like you don't belong. Eventually, I convinced James that Sirius wasn't completely bad, but it wasn't until the summer that they actually became friends."
"I told Remus about why I had wanted to get resorted. James and I were on reasonable terms, but we were nowhere near being friends. Remus has a big mouth, and he told James why I didn't want to go home over the summer holiday. We weren't friends, but James invited me to go back with him. James was always like that. He didn't care if you were his best friend or his worst enemy, if he could see even a glimmer of redeeming quality, he was there to help. James didn't like to see anyone suffer. That's just the way he was."
"Must be a Potter quality," said Draco, sneaking a look at Harry, who blushed.
"I see a lot of James in Harry," said Sirius, sadly. "We came back to Hogwarts for the third year as best friends. That only infuriated my old friends from Slytherin more and they wanted nothing to do with me."
"Is that why you and Snape hate each other so much?" asked Harry. Sirius shrugged and nodded. "If you were once friends, why did you try and kill him?"
"I didn't try to kill him," said Sirius, exasperated. Lupin snorted in disbelief. "I didn't! He was nosing around where he wasn't welcomed. He kept saying that I betrayed my friends in a time of need. All he wanted to do was to find out what we were up to so he could get us expelled. I told him that you could get into a passage under the Whomping Willow that led into Hogsmeade and I told him how to do it. He's the one who actually did it. No one told him to. He shouldn't have trusted me, anyway."
"You were once friends, Sirius," said Lupin, sternly. "That's why he trusted you. I don't care if both of you were suffering from bruised egos, that was wrong to do. You knew he would do it and you knew I'd be down there. I could have killed him. If you wanted to be petty and immature -"
"And let hurt feelings dictate your life then that's fine. Just don't use me when trying to kill other people," said Sirius in his best interpretation of Lupin. The other man was not amused.
"It isn't funny, Sirius. I could have killed him. Do you understand how much that hurt me? That you tried to use me?"
Sirius sighed. "I've apologized for this, Remus. I was blinded by rage. I was hoping you had forgiven me by now."
"I have forgiven you. The point is that I don't think it was funny in the least."
"I can't believe you were resorted," said Harry.
"I can't believe James Potter's son is dating Lucius Malfoy's," said Sirius.
"I can't believe Severus Snape is spending Christmas with the Weasleys," said Lupin, chuckling.
"What?" asked Sirius. "Snape is spending Christmas with the Weasleys?"
"Yes, he is."
"I'd pay to see that."
"That's what I said," said Harry. "I am very tired after the day I had today and I am going to bed. I want to be able to wake up bright and early in the morning for Christmas presents."
"That sounds good. I suggest we all turn in."
Blowing out the candles, Sirius, Lupin, Draco, and Harry all headed upstairs for bed. There was four hours until Christmas and counting.
For those who want to know about my Little Bunny Sevi song:
There is one. I wrote it. It won't be featured in this story. I'm sorry. It will be featured in the prequel that I've talked about, however, because Drusilla has to write it sometime, doesn't she? Yes, yes. So once this is over, if you read the prequel, you will be eventually graced with the Little Bunny Sevi song. So there.
Sorry the Buckbeak scene wasn't as good as it could have been. I am only a mere mortal writer. On to Chapter 28.
