They landed with a thud in the entrance hall to Number 12, Grimmuald Place. Harry expected a loud shouting of "FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS!" and the like, but there was none. Seeing Harry's confused look, Remus said, "We couldn't get the wretched thing off the wall, so we just took the wall down." Harry merely nodded. For a few, blissful hours, he had forgotten the aching pains that had been burning inside him since the death of his Godfather, Sirius. The house didn't help either, because this had once been Sirius's house. It was true that Sirius hated it, but it still reminded Harry of him. Muttering something about a nap, he wandered off to see Buckbeak. Ron and Hermionie, looking worried, followed.

"Harry?" Hermionie timidly said, as she and Ron found Harry in Sirius's mother's bedroom, patting Buckbeak absently. Harry merely grunted a response, in too much emotional pain to make a civilized reply. Hermionie and Ron sat down beside him.

Nervously, Ron spoke. "Look, mate. We're here for you. You can yell, scream, do whatever you want. Let it out. It really helps." He didn't look to thrilled about the prospect of Harry ranting at them, but he made the offer just the same. This meant a great deal to Harry.

"No, I am not going to yell. But letting out my feelings sounds really good right now." He took a deep breath before continuing. When he did, it was barely above a whisper in which he spoke. "I've been having a lot of emotions since Sirius died. I am feeling hurt, anger, sadness, and guilt-"

He was interupted by Ron. "Guilt? But why?"

Harry took a breath. He would have thought it obvious. "Because. If I had studied Occlumecy, then Voldemort woudn't have been able to show me Sirius being tortured. If I hadn't been such an idiot, I would have used the 2-way mirror. If it wern't for me, Sirius wouldn't have come after me. If it wern't for me, Sirius wouldn't be..." He let his voice trail off.

During all of this, Ron and Hermione had look thoroughly shocked. It had never occured to them that Harry blamed himself. It was Hermione who broke the silence. Quietly, she said, "Harry? Look, it's not your fault. Sirius would have found a way to get out anyway, and besides, it's Kreacher's fault. If he hadn't lied to you..." She, too, trailed off.

Harry just stared at her. She was right, it wouldn't do to dwell on the past. Still, the loss of Sirius stung him.

They were snapped out of their musings by Mrs. Weasley, who had called them to dinner. "Harry, how are yo-" she broke off when she saw the look on the teenagers' faces. 'Oh my, poor Harry. I may not have gotten on well with Sirius, but I put up with him, for Harry's sake,' she thought to herself. She was snapped out of her musings by none other than Severus Snape, who had apprently arrived for the meeting of the Order.

Severus's lip curled. Molly was feeling grief over Sirius's death. Just another stupid thing he'd have to hide from Voldemort. He then, in an uncharatristic show of sympathy, awkardly tried to confort her, while his eyes dared the teens to say a word about it.

Sobbing, Molly loaded the 4 teens' (including Ginny) arms with food, and sent them to their rooms so the meeting could start. Holding Harry back a moment, she said, "Harry, I know you are feeling very lost and betrayed, but please, for my sake, and yours for that matter, try your hardest to concentrate on your schoolwork this year. Please?" She looked at Harry with pity, an expression Harry hadn't seen there before, and couldn't identify. "Now run along, Harry. The meeting needs to begin." Harry followed the others out of the kitchen. Up in the boys' bedroom, Harry was obviously steeling himself to do something, but before he could, Fred and George apparated into the room, holding Extendable Ears. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Harry smiled. Yes, these would be put to good use. Harry was particularly upset with Dumbledore about the prophecy the previous year, which was what he was about to tell the others about. Instead, however, he took an extendable and put it in his ear. What he hurd made all eyes in the room turn on him:

It was Dumbledore's voice. He was apprently quoting the prophecy.Neither can live while the other survives...
He was cut off by Molly. Albus, please tell me that dosen't refer to who I think it does
Dumbledore sighed. Yes, Molly, it means Harry. Which is why I've decided to allow he, Ron, and Hermionie into this portion of the Order meeting. There was a scraping of a chair, and Fred and George quickly grabbed the extendables and apparated out. Immedately after, there was a knock on the door. Dumbledore's voice floated through. "Harry, Ron, Hermionie? Would you be so kind as to join us?" Harry opened the door, shocked. He saw a twinkle in the old man's eyes indicating he knew the earlier conversation had been overheard, but chose not to comment.

Down in the meeting, there was a rather large crowd: Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the 4 eldest Weasleys, "Mad-Eye" Moody, Tonks, and many others Harry didn't recgonize. They all looked at Harry wiith mixed expressions- shock, pity, sadness, and the one that shocked Harry most of all, regret. It was Dumbledore who looked at him like this, but before he could say anything or study it closer, he notced Snape's face. The Potions Master's face was one which surprised Harry to no end: Severus was looking at him as if he were merely a friend. Not a student, not the son of his childhood enemy, and not a hated Gryffindor. As a friend, who pitied the boy. Harry and the others gaped, but before they could say anything, Dumbledore began to speak.
"Harry, have you told your friends about the prophecy yet?" he gently inquired. At the other's confused looks, he shook his head.
"No sir, I was about to when you came to get us," replied Harry. "However, before you say what you want to, may I please be the one to tell them?" Albus merely nodded. Harry turned to his friends, who were looking at him rather confused. He then, in a tired voice, repeated the prophecy that Sybil Trelawaney made to Professor Dumbledore that got her hired in the first place.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives

As he finished, he looked at his friends. Hermionie was sobbing silently into Molly Weasley's robes, while Ron looked slightly confused. Seeing his friend's look, he said, "It means that either Voldemort-" he ignored the flinch from Ron- "will kill me, or I will kill him before this is all over," he said sadly. Ron looked dumbstruck, then his eyes, too, began to water. Harry continued, "That could have refered to two wizards, you know." The others looked at him, all of them execpt Dumbledore, hoping beyond hope that the prophecy referred to the other person and not Harry. But they looked downcast as Harry sadly shook his head. "It could have been Neville, but you forget part of the prophecy: And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal." As he said this, he lifted his fringe bangs to reveal his trademark scar. Everyone looked at him sadly once again, and Harry thought he heard a faint whimper, though he quickly dismissed it from his thoughts.

Dumbledore quickly took over. "Now, I know this is hard on all of us, Harry most of all. However, we must go on. As you all know, Voldemort was after this last June in the Department of Mysteries." At the mention of the mention of the past June, Harry felt a horrible sickness coming on as he thought of the wretched veil, but he quickly fought it down as Dumbledore continued. "This means he does not know of the full contents. Now, I am going to need all of you-" he looked around at everyone, Ron, Hermione, and Snape in particlular- "to keep an eye out for Harry. Death Eaters will be trying to attack him and he may well come after the school. Three of us will be at the school this next term, five if you count Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, but we will need all of you to patroll during Hogsmeade visits. And Harry, no nighttime adventures," Dumbledore leaned down and whispered to the teens, "at least, not without at least one friend." Then he winked, straightened up, and dismissed the teens to their rooms.

Going up the stairs, Harry was talking with Ron and Hermionie when he thought heard a very soft, muffled footstep. However, when he turned there was no one there. Shrugging, he continued after the others. In their rooms, Hermionie approached the subject that was on all of their minds. "Dumbledore said that there would be three of them at Hogwarts. Thats Snape, Dumbledore himself, but who else?" Harry kept quiet. He had his hopes, but he squished them because he know it was impossible. Remus Lupin would not teach at Hogwarts because he was a wereworlf and didn't want to hurt any students. Harry understood, but he still wished the last of his father's circle of friends would be close to him. Hermionie read his expression. "Harry, we all hope it's Lupin, but we know it's not likely." Harry looked sheepish.
"I know but I can dream...can't I?" He sighed, "I"m going to bed. G'Night, guys." Hermione left to the room she shared with Ginny, and the boys changed into their pajamas and went to bed. Just before Harry drifted off to sleep, he thought he saw a dark shadow move, but before he could investigate, he fell into a deep but troubled sleep.

Sirius, dueling Bellatrix Lestrange...
...Sirius, being hit by a stunner...
...Sirius, falling backwards through the veil...
...Harry, screaming for Sirius to return...
...Lupin, telling Harry he was gone...
...Blackness. Sirius's face, saying to Harry, "It's all your fault I'm dead! I don't care what Granger and Weasley say, its YOUR FAULT! YOURS AND YOURS ONLY!"...

Harry woke with a start. He was soaked with sweat, and tears ran down his face. Ron was beside him, looking scared. Behind Ron, Harry saw Remus, Hermionie, and Molly Weasley, all looking very worried. "Mate? You ok?" Ron asked. "You were screaming Sirius's name and thrashing like a lunatic..." he trailed off as he say Harry's face. "Look, like I said earlier, if you wanna talk, 'Mionie and I are here."
Harry nodded mutely, what he really wanted was to talk to Remus. Remus had been best friends with Harry's father as well as Sirius, and was now the closest thing Harry had to family. The love he felt for Remus didn't come close to what he felt for Sirius, but it was the best he had and he intended to grasp it and hold it as if it were a lifeline. Seeing Harry's eyes shoot to the last remaining true Marauder, Molly ushered the others out and left Remus and Harry alone.
"Professor Lupin," Harry began before being cut off.
"Harry, it's been 2 1/2 years since I was your professor. Please, please call me Remus," he said with a smile.
"Ok...Remus. I just wanted to tell you that, now that Sirius is gone, you are the closest thing I have to family. You were the first of my father's friends that I ever met, and you mean alot to me. You have always meant alot to me, and I just wanted to say that I don't care what you are, werewolf, vampire, hag, I don't GIVE A DAMN! Because you are the closest thing to family I have now and I don't want to lose you too. So I'm going to tell you this now: I love you like a father, and as far as I'm concerned, you are my father, monthly transformations and all. You've always been there for me..." Harry choked and started to sob. Remus looked a bit taken aback at this show of emotion from the normally stoic young man, but he conforted Harry all the same.
"It's ok, Harry. I know you miss Sirius, I miss him too. Its ok to be sad. But he wouldn't want you to blame yourself, like you were yesterday afternoon. It isn't your fault, it's Bellatrix Lestrange's."
"I know that, Remus, but my subconcious dosen't. I've been having dreams, Sirius is blaming me in them and I can't help but listen... I'm going to sleep, can we talk some more in the morning?" Remus nodded sadly, and made a decision. As Harry drifted to sleep, Remus left the room and spoke quietly to another man who was waiting outside.
"He's blaming himself, we really shouldn't wait until his birthday to tell him, it would only get worse and I can't bear to see him like that."
The man nodded, and replied, "I'll tell him in the morning. I heard all of it Remus, and I don't like him being like that either." With that, he went into Harry's room very quietly, and shut the door.

Meanwhile, in Harry's room, right before he drifted off to sleep (in fact, he was so close to sleep he was sure he dreamed it) he saw a large, Grim-like black dog sleeping on the foot of his bead.

Oooh, Cliffie. And yes, that means what you think it means ;) I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! If you don't get it, don't worry. I am working on the next chapter as soon as this one hits the net, so it shouldn't be long :)

I'd like to apologize for the delay, I have been busy READING fanfiction and totally forgot about my own! I'm try to update regularly now!