August 31st came before the trio expected it. They were all sitting in Harry's bedroom, which he had enchanted to have a small freestanding fireplace with three comfortable red armchairs surrounding it. Using the Lazy Susan spell that Ron had created, a tray of marshmallows and melted Honeydukes' chocolate moved to Harry, Ron, or Hermione whenever they called it.
"Guys…" Harry said during a lull in the conversation, "I have an idea. You know how I can talk to people telepathically? Well…Dumbledore never said that they had to be alive…so maybe…maybe I can talk to Sirius."
"Harry, that's really risky," burst Hermione immediately. "If you go beyond your limit, the spell could kill you. You should ask Dumbledore first."
"No. I don't want him to know that I miss Sirius. He…he told me last year that he loves me. I don't want to appear weak for him."
"When'd he tell you this?" Ron asked.
"After that night at the Ministry."
"I wish I knew what that prophecy was. Too bad it got dropped…" Hermione trailed off.
"I…I know what it said. Dumbledore had a copy of it in his Pensive."
"In his Pensive? Wouldn't he have to be there for him to have a memory of it?"
"Yeah. He was. It was Trelawney that said it to him. It happened seventeen years ago, when he was going to tell her to bug off when she came looking for a job. Huh…" he said, on a tangent, "now that I think about it, she's said one to me, too. The third year exam, after I made up some mumbo-jumbo about seeing into the crystal ball…she said that Voldemort would rise again, worse than ever…anyway. The one that got dropped said that…in the end…either I'll kill Voldemort or he'll kill me. There's no other way.
"At this point, I'm not really afraid of dying for trying this spell. If I know that I'm not going to die until I battle Voldemort, I'm going to try to talk to Sirius."
"Harry…why didn't you tell us before? We would have…I don't know, talked to you or something. Tried to sort it out. We'd have helped you prepare more than we have been. But still, Harry, you're not sure that you'll die when you fight Voldemort. In fact, I know that you won't die. There's no way that Ron and I will let you die," Hermione said.
"Still…if you know that you'll at least live 'til you fight V…Vol…You-Know-Who," Ron said, and Hermione scoffed, "If you know you'll live that long, then there isn't harm in trying to talk to Sirius, is there?"
"No, there isn't," said Harry.
"Alright. But you have to try it while Ron and I are with you. When do you want to try?"
"Tomorrow night. If I succeed, then I'll be able to talk to him before term starts. If I fail, at least I'll get out of my first classes," he said with a grin. Hermione walked off; amazed that Harry could use such a great opportunity to talk to his godfather as an excuse for getting out of class. Ron went to bed shortly afterward, and Harry lay awake all night, thinking about what might happen…
Harry woke up early the next morning and, once again, made breakfast. This is cheap! he thought, I'm making Hermione read a book on cooking. He finished breakfast and walked out into the living room, where Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet and Ron was dozing on the couch. They acted as normally as possible, but Harry could tell that neither of them were truly content about what was going to happen today. 'Hey.' He directed this thought at Hermione. She nearly jumped out of her skin.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER, HOW DARE YOU! YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS TOO EARLY IN THE MORNING TO BE DOING ANYTHING OF THAT SORT!!!" At this point, Ron gave her a funny look, and she blushed. Ron grabbed his wand from the notch in his staff and tried to levitate his plate of kippers to his abdomen. He failed miserably, and he quickly grabbed his staff to save the plate. "Damn," he said, "guess Dumbledore was right."
"Has he ever not been?" asked Hermione. She ate her pancakes and Harry drenched his in butter and syrup. They finished eating, and Ron and Hermione did the dishes in repayment for Harry cooking. Harry took a shower and got dressed. He walked out of his bedroom, staff in hand, to find Ron and Hermione playing chess again.
"HARRY, GO AWAY!" yelled Ron. "I don't want you cheating for her!"
"Fine, I see how it is!" said Harry, mock angrily. He walked into the training area and sat down to meditate. He was going to need all his strength to do what he was planning on doing tonight, and he wanted to make sure it worked.
Half an hour later, Hermione walked into the training center and sat next to Harry. "Dumbledore came. He said that the students would be arriving around seven o'clock. The Sorting is supposed to start at 8, and the feast is afterward. We're to be excused to our dorms after some remarks from Dumbledore, but we have to make sure that we direct the first-years to Gryffindor Tower. The password is Antebellum Serum…" she stopped talking and looked at Harry. "Harry, are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Just nervous, I guess. I really don't want to fail," he said, his voice quivering. "I miss him, Hermione. He was the only real family that I've ever had." Then, Hermione witnessed something she thought she never would. Harry Potter cried. He bawled into her shoulder, and Hermione did the only thing she could think of. She let him sit there, crying into he, getting rid of all he had been thinking about all summer.
They sat there for nearly ten minutes, Hermione cradling Harry in her arms like a baby, and Harry not feeling ashamed at all. When his tears stopped, Hermione propped Harry up. "You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah…thanks… Honestly, that's all I've been thinking about all summer. If I would have been a little faster, a little stronger, a little better, I could have saved him. I COULD have, Hermione!"
"Harry, Sirius died the way he wanted to. He was fighting evil. Hell," she said. Harry looked a bit taken aback, "You can't expect Ron's swearing to not influence me. Anyway – he wasn't just fighting evil. He was fighting Bellatrix! He was fighting against what his family stood for. And after he died, he would want to continue fighting. He's a hero, Harry."
"Yeah…you're right…thanks. We'd better get back, or else Ron'll think we're snogging or something."
They stood up and walked into the living room. Harry and Hermione grabbed books off the shelves and plopped onto the red suede couches. Ron appeared about five minutes later, rubbing his hair with a towel. "Harry, what's wrong? You look like you've been talking to the dead," he joked.
"No, Ron, that's after the feast, remember?" Harry put the book on a small table and walked back to the training center, saying "Ron, come here. I wanna swordfight."
Ron followed, as did a reluctant Hermione. Harry grabbed his staff and the Gryffindor sword and walked through the mahogany door to the training area.
(/)
Many bumps and bruises later, the three emerged from the indoor field and walked into the kitchen. Hermione opened the refrigerator and extracted a bottle of soda. Harry and Ron each grabbed one, too, and they all walked out of their dormitory and to the grounds. After a long walk around the lake, they returned to the front doors to find that Peeves was causing a ruckus. Professor McGonagall was standing beneath him, shouting. "Professor," Ron said, "do you mind if I try?"
"I doubt anyone can control that blasted poltergeist, but I don't see the harm in it."
Ron stepped forward, staff in hand. He held it up high, saying "Lamina abigere!" Before Peeves knew what had happened, he was thrown against the wall, then up the grand staircase.
"Mister Weasley…that was amazing!" said Professor McGonagall. "Where did you learn that spell? It's one of the most useful charms I've ever seen."
"Thank you," Ron said, "I made it. That was a practice for the one I'm planning on making. The next level of it will be to throw Harry across the room so he'll stop hitting me in the hand with that blasted sword of his."
"You three had better go shower. No offense, but you all smell like squid, and the rest of the students will be here in about an hour. I suggest you lie low until the feast."
Two hours later, they sat down next to their fellow Gryffindors. They had decided that would be a good idea for Hermione to make their staves invisible, so as to not arouse suspicion. Professor McGonagall walked to the center of the room and placed down a three-legged stool with the Sorting Hat on top. The tear near the bottom opened up, and the hat sung,
My song for you is shot this year,
But always remember what you will hear.
Stand together, stand strong,
Together, you can fight the wrong.
I divide you now, though I know,
That this is not right, no way to go.
If you were joined
As one together,
You could stand
Through any weather.
Tumultuous applause broke out through the hall as the hat sank back on to the stool. "Robert Anderson!" called Professor McGonagall. The Sorting had begun.
"Gryffindor!" yelled the hat.
"Benjamin Barrinter,"
"Ravenclaw!" The hat continued until finally Sam Zabini was placed into Slytherin. The stool was removed, along with the hat.
Dumbledore said, as in years previous, "There is a time for speeches…but this is not it!" Immediately, plates of pork, beef, and chicken appeared on the tables. Harry grabbed a spoon and helped himself to a heap of mashed potatoes and gravy. A first-year next to Hermione asked her about the school, while Harry stared into space, thinking about what he'd be doing in two hours' time.
As the last of the puddings was disappearing from the plates, Dumbledore stood up. "As you all know," he said, "the Ministry of Magic has announced that Lord Voldemort once again plagues the earth with his torment and torture. I can assure you, however, that you are safe for however long you stay at this school, and, for third years and above, your trips to Hogsmeade.
"You will also notice," he continued, "that some of your colleagues do not possess ordinary wands anymore, but staves. This is because they are, truly, one of the great hopes left in the battle against the Dark Lord. For those of you who are jealous and wish to hurt these three, be warned. I assure you, they can look after themselves. And on that note, I believe that it is time for bed. Goodnight."
There was a great noise as dozens of benches were pushed out and the entire populous of Hogwarts evacuated the Great Hall. "I thought he'd mention us," Hermione said, "but I didn't think he'd do it that directly."
"I'm not surprised," Ron said, "I liked the last comment, though. That should keep those damned Slytherins off. An Heir wishes to enter!" said Ron to the gargoyle.
They stepped into their dormitory, and Harry sat on the floor. "I'm going to do it now," he said.
Ron and Hermione sat next to Harry. Ron grasped is staff tightly, ready to heal Harry if need be. "Here I go," Harry said. "Telepthus Sirius!"