Chapter 17

Progress

Heather realized with a start that she had been staring at the clock, and shifted her gaze back to the book she was attempting to read. The words on the page held no meaning for her, and reading the same line several times over did not help the fact that it did not make sense. Without realizing it, she looked out the window, hoping to see a dark shape move down the sidewalk, just outside the light that the street lamp cast. Nights like this were always long.

It wasn't that she was normally quite this paranoid. Usually Sirius was off doing things that required a relatively low amount of risk, and often she was with him. But nights like tonight, everything was unknown and nobody would be friendly towards him. So she would sit in the tiny family room and wait.

Despite the fact that they'd moved several times throughout this year, every place they'd been had the feeling of home, even if they were only there a few days. The feeling, she supposed, resulted from the fact that she was living with the person she loved. Even if they did have to hide, and they were on a mission, she wouldn't trade the privilege of waking in Sirius' arms for anything.

Once again, she focused back on the page in front of her, but gave up on attempting to read it. The chair was soft, and had long grown accustom to her weight. Sirius had been out without her almost every night since they'd moved here. She didn't resent being left behind. She knew her strengths, and in turn, her weaknesses. She didn't have the ability to sneak around like Sirius did. But she had more knowledge then Sirius could ever hope to acquire. So together, they made an amazing team.

The sound of Sirius' paws scratching at the door were like salvation. She flew from her chair to the door and threw it open. She closed it quickly behind him, breathing out the word that completed the locking spell. Nobody could get in, see in, or hear them without breaking the spell first.

Sirius became human immediately. He spent as little time as possible in his dog form anymore. On the few occasions when he'd opened up about his time in Azkaban, he'd explained that the more time he'd spent as a dog there, the less human he became. And that once he escaped, and spent more time as a human, he slowly came to realize how close he'd come to losing his humanity instead of his mind like most did in Azkaban.

There was a grin on his face, and a light shining in his eyes that nearly erased the dull, jaded look that twelve years in hell gave him. She lived for the moments when his eyes looked like they had when they were young. It didn't happen often. Sometimes just before they fell asleep, while he held her, she would look in his eyes and see them untainted.

"What is it?" she asked, knowing it would have to be drastic to make him as happy as he was now.

"We've found him. I know where he is. I've found Peter."

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Spring brought rain, which put a dampening on Harry's sword practices, quite literally. Ginny was still pretty sure he was using it, but they didn't go out to the clearing during their free time anymore. They were sitting in the common room, which was pretty empty because the only Gryffindors not in class right now were all the forth years and Harry.

Harry was sitting on the end of a couch in front of the fire, while Ginny laid out beside him, pillowing her head on his thigh. She was reading an assignment for Advanced Transfiguration, occasionally shooting a question at Harry if she didn't fully understand something.

She was taking almost as many Advanced classes as Hermione and Harry were. The only way she had time right now was that nobody had ever decided who was going to teach the dueling class, so it had never happened. She also hadn't been asked to take Advanced Curses. Although she wanted to learn everything she could in order to help Harry, she didn't particularly want to take that class, based on the way Harry and Draco always looked when they finished it.

Harry had a hand threaded into her hair, and that made it rather difficult to concentrate on the book she was supposed to be reading. It had been a week since Harry had given her her first kiss, and since then, it seemed to be all they did.

It wasn't a bad thing, it was just that now that she was allowed to kiss him, she wanted to, often. He seemed to share that desire, though he was a bit more cautious about who was watching. If Ron, or one of the twins ever saw them kiss, Harry would probably die on the spot. Though Ginny figured that was probably the opposite of the approach she would take. They would see it eventually, why try to hide it?

"Whatcha thinking about?" Harry asked.

She didn't ask how he knew she wasn't reading; she hadn't turned a page in ages. "Kissing you," she answered honestly, with a grin. She looked up at him, despite the fact that he was upside down.

He grinned back at her, and bent over, kissing her quickly but softly. "Do you homework," he scolded, running his hand through her hair.

(A/N: This fluff scene brought to you by the Sal Fan Club. See bottom for information on joining.)

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The spring sun was particularly harsh this weekend, but it was better then the rain. Harry had already stripped off his team robes in favor of flying in just a pair of pants. No matter how healed his back was he couldn't stand wearing anything over it when he was not and sweating.

All of them felt the pressure of the coming season, and were training harder then ever. Tony had gotten rid of all his girlfriends and now spent all his girlfriends and now spent all his free time hitting bludger after bludger. Tiffany started ever practice with an hour of punching her bag. Tiffany started every practice with an hour of punching her bag. The muscles on her arms were beginning to grow in size. Between the two of them Harry was pretty confident. Tiffany had the ability to hit the bludger farther then Harry had ever seen before. Tony beat her in accuracy, even if he couldn't hit as far.

The triplets were playing harder then Harry had ever seen before. The quaffle was hardly visible as it flew between them. Harry was hovering beside Chuck, who was waiting for the triplets to finish practicing so they could try scoring on him.

"Yer gonna be the only professional Seeker I know with glasses," Chuck said to Harry while he was waiting for the snitch to come out of hiding. "They'll be usin' that against ya."

Harry was delayed from replying when he caught a glimmer of gold on the other side of the field. He took off like a shot, swinging around and between the triplets and grabbed the thing before it even had a chance to attempt to evade him. He waited until it had stopped struggling, then let the little ball go. It hovered by him for a moment, as if it couldn't believe its freedom, then promptly disappeared.

Harry flew back towards Chuck. "Do you think I should do something about it?" he asked, nervous. He hadn't even considered his sight.

Chuck laughed harshly. "I think yer all right, kid."

The triplets were ready to throw at Chuck, so Harry moved off. They were brutal on Chuck, harder then Harry had ever seen them before. Chuck didn't seem to mind though, and his grim determination kept almost as many shots as they took from getting through.

When the sun started to set they finally decided to call it quits.

The atmosphere in the locker room was decidedly better then it had been after their last practice. The triplets joked and teased Lad about Marie. Tiffany was giving Tony a hard time as usual, while Chuck laughed at the pair of them.

Harry was glad to have another chance to spend the night at the triplets. Because as Easter break approached, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay with them. He couldn't take the chance that the school might be attacked while he was away.

Tiffany accepted Brad's invitation to come eat dinner with them. And as Tony didn't have anybody to run off an see, he agreed to tag along too.

They arrived at the house in a succession of several pops. Natalie was thrilled to see Harry, Tiffany, and Tony, and after greeting them she flew back into the kitchen. The house was quiet. Neither Abby nor Liam were around, and Harry noticed the absence even if nobody commented on it.

They crowded into the family room, not wanting to get into Natalie's way in the kitchen. The chatter was mostly centered around Lad again. Everybody wanted to meet Marie, as it seemed she and Lad were getting rather serious, but the youngest triplet continuously refused.

A car horn beeped outside, and Brad jumped from his chair. He went to the door and held it open. A moment later Abby walked in, falling into Brad's waiting arms for a kiss.

"How was your first day at work?" Brad asked as soon as they parted.

"It was wonderful," Abby said, removing her cloak. She'd changed the color of her hair again. It was now a dark blue, which made a nice contrast to her light blue eyes. "I'll tell you all about it in a minute. Let me catch my breath."

Natalie came in at that time, telling them that dinner was ready. They all moved to sit around the table in the kitchen.

"Did you drive to work?" Harry asked. Sometimes Abby was interesting in the way she mixed Muggle habit with magic.

"Oh, yes I did. It's just a few minutes down the road. I have a feeling most days I'll be carrying too much to apparate, so I'll be driving from now on."

"You liked it then?" Brad asked anxiously. "You're going to take it?"

Abby's eyes lit up, their shocking blue becoming even more piercing. "You couldn't drag me away. Granted, it's smaller then what I'm used to. But that's almost an improvement. We have less animals, but the ones we have get better and more attention."

"So how long is it going to take before we end up owning half of them?" Lad asked.

Abby made a face at him. "It's not like that, Lad. We're not raising pets. We care for animals that can't go back into the wild, or prepare them to go back into the wild. I won't be bringing anything home with me."

"This house could use a furry creature," Chad observed with a small smile.

"Just have Tony move in with you," Tiffany suggested.

"We need no such thing," Natalie said, sitting down with them. "You boys aren't here all day like I am."

"Well, congratulations Abby. We're all very happy for you," Chad said.

Abby turned an interesting shade and couldn't quite look Chad in the eyes. "Thanks, a lot."

An awkward silence fell over the table, which Harry didn't quite understand. Conversation started again slowly, with several different topic changes.

After such a hard practice, nobody was up to a late night. Abby and Brad had disappeared right after dinner, and were followed soon by Lad, who for once was not going out to see Marie. Chad, always the gentleman, stayed up to see Tony and Tiffany out.

Harry was wrapping up in his blanket on his couch, smiling contently. It didn't matter how many nights he spent here, it always felt amazing. A bit back, Sally had explained to him why being with the Catapults made him feel so amazing. Because when he was here, he was just Harry. He was not Harry Potter; he didn't have any special powers that fate had bestowed him. And all his friends here saw him as Harry; a Quidditch player with a sharp eye and a talent for dives. Not as Harry Potter; defeater of Voldemort and the Boy who lived.

Rather then go straight to bed, Chad took a seat on the couch he normally shared with Liam. "Did you have fun today, Harry?" he asked.

Harry gave him a tired but pleased smile. "Are you kidding? I always have fun with you guys."

"It's good to know we're entertaining then," Chad retorted, sporting a mischievous grin.

Harry laughed, resting his head on a pillow. He knew he wouldn't be up too much longer. "Are you waiting for Liam?" he asked.

Chad shut his mouth on whatever it was he was about to say, and for a moment didn't respond. He was silent just long enough for Harry to wonder what he'd done wrong. "No, I'm not." His voice was quiet. Not angry, and not quite sad, but quiet.

"Is he working?" Harry asked, covering a yawn with his hand. When Chad looked away somehow Harry knew he'd just asked the wrong question.

"No, he's not," Chad answered. "You're hardly keeping your eyes open. I shouldn't be distracting you like this. Good night Harry."

"Good night Chad!" Harry called, mentally berating himself. He'd slowly picked up on the fact that Liam wasn't here anymore, but he'd wanted to know for sure. Now it seemed like he'd only made it worse.

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Harry walked out of Advanced Curses with feet that felt like lead. He was always paired with Malfoy during class, and the twit never held back a bit. If Harry didn't know that Malfoy was working for their side, he would swear the blonde was trying to kill him. Not that he would be able to anyway.

The common room was noisier then he would have liked, but the comfort of the chairs and his friends was too good to pass by. He eased himself down into a chair. He was so exhausted anymore. Quidditch with the Catapults ever other weekend, with the Gryffindors ever off weekend, and all his extra classes, were starting to wear him down.

Hermione and Ron didn't look too much better. Both had dark circles under their eyes nearly half the time. They were both working hard to study for their O.W.L.s. Ron had been frightened into gear by horror stories from his older brothers, and was adamant on making up for lost time.

Nobody had much to say, they were all relaxing and trying to gather the energy it would take to get down to dinner. Ginny leaned over so she was resting against him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

The window beside them was open to the cool air of spring. Which is why when an own suddenly landed silently on the arm of Harry's couch, it gave him a bit of a start. It cocked its head to the side and hooted at him, holding out its left leg. He untied the piece of paper, wondering if the one on the owl's right leg was for him too. Obviously not, as the moment he finished the owl took off back out the window, just as silently as it had arrived.

He ripped the letter open eagerly, figuring that it had to be from Sirius and the other one was for Remus. His eyes scanned the page quickly, all the color draining from his face.

"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I, he-" shaking his head, he handed the letter to Ron, who quietly read it aloud.

"We've found out where he is and we're going in to get him. You don't have to be worried about an attack anymore."

Ginny's eyes widened. "That's wonderful!" She grabbed Harry's hand in hers. "Oh, Harry, I hope he get him."

Harry smiled. "Me too. Is it weird that I almost feel cheated though?"

Ginny laughed at him, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "On anybody but you that would be weird."

Ron leaned forward and gave him a smack on the shoulder. "You may get out of this year in one piece yet, man."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "Please don't jinx it," he said, but smiled all the same.

Ginny leaned against him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Hermione stood up, motioning for Ron to follow. He jumped from his seat. Hermione used that trick often. She'd just ask him to follow her, not actually telling him where they were going. He'd always go, because there was always a chance she wanted to be alone with him. But more often then not, she just made him study.

Now that Ron was gone, Harry shifted and pulled Ginny closer. She snuggled into his arm. Smiling, he knew he'd be content to spend hours like this. He played with a lock of her hair and stared at the wall, thoughtful.

As the time started to pass, Harry began to get more and more tense. Ginny could feel it in his entire body. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Don't you think it's weird we haven't heard from Sirius again yet?"

Ginny looked up at him with widened eyes. "Already?"

"Well, it can't take that long, can it? Just to go in and get him?"

Ginny shook her head. "He wrote you that to tell you he found him. It didn't say he was going in to get him tonight, just before Easter. He won't go charging right in there, Heather won't let him. They'll plan it out together. It could take days."

The tension fled from Harry as he relaxed. "You're right, I'm worrying over nothing."

She leaned forward and kissed him quickly, surprising him. She didn't normally initiate anything like that, especially not where so many people could see. But nobody was paying them any attention, so before she could pull away he kissed her again. She blushed cutely.

Maybe, for once, everything would work out right.

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Easter break was only a few days away. It had been three days since Sirius had wrote them, and Ginny continuously told him there was no reason to be worried yet. Hermione and Ron were looking forward to break as a chance to get a lot of studying in. Harry was the same, because he did have O.W.L.s in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Potions. He expected Snape's O.W.L. to be brutal.

The mail came that morning at breakfast, Ginny receiving the usual letter from her parents. She nodded to say they were still okay, though nobody was really worried about it anymore. "God, it's hard to believe that Lynn will be having another baby in two months."

"I can't believe her body can take that," Hermione said.

Ginny giggled. "Well, I don't exactly think it was intentional. At least, not so soon. She'll probably be born just a few days before we leave."

"What do you mean she?" Fred asked from his seat on the other side of Hermione. "This one's a boy."

"We need a boy badly," George agreed.

Harry's interest had shifted from their conversation to the other side of Ron. It only took a moment before the rest of them noticed too.

Dean was sitting next to Ron, and Seamus was beside him. Samantha had somehow managed to get herself into the seat beside Seamus. He was trying to ignore her, but she was persistently tugging on his arm while talking to him. The whole thing had been really amusing at first, even Seamus had thought so. At first his avoiding her was all just an act he put up for laughs. But the joke had died, and now it wasn't an act.

Seamus pushed his food away and laid his head on the table, covering his head with his arms as a futile attempt at protection. He leaned away from her, in turn into Dean.

"Seamus?" she asked. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

He shuddered at the pet name. If Harry hadn't known better, he'd actually think his friend was crying. It was hard to believe that Samantha hadn't taken the hint yet. But she never did. And Seamus had never flat out rejected her. Harry didn't think he had it in him. And though Seamus seemed resigned to an eternity of her, Dean looked ready to snap, and that was something none of them had ever seen before. Dean was normally very mellow and calm.

She leaned closer and placed a hand on his back. He shrunk into himself at the touch, leaning even more towards his best friend.

That did it for Dean. "Would you please stop?" he said in a deathly whisper that was heard all down the table and everybody fell silent.

Samantha looked up at him. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Stop it. Leave him alone. He's already taken, and he's not interested." His words came out slowly, as if he was just barely keeping himself from shouting. Seamus uncovered his head and looked up at his best friend.

"Dean?" he asked.

"I can't let you do this anymore," Dean said, ignoring Seamus and focusing solely on Samantha.

She pierced him with a glare that could have killed. She got out of her seat and ignored the way Seamus sagged with relief back onto the table. She'd yet to break eye contact with Dean.

"You can have him. Fag," she said while turning on her heal.

In an eye blink Seamus was after her, but Dean caught him around the shoulders before he could lunge. "Let it go, it's over now," Dean said, his normal calm exterior restored. But Seamus' spit fire had been lit.

"You can't let her call you that! Let me go, I'll kill her!"

"I said it's over now." He pushed Seamus down into his seat. "If one name calling is all it takes to make her go the hell away, it's a sacrifice I'll willingly make.

"She sleeps in Ginny's dorm," Ron offered. "Maybe she can strangle her in her sleep."

Seamus' eyes lit up. "Oh, would you?"

"No," she said shortly. "Dean's right, it's over now."

Seamus looked over at his best friend. "Thanks, Dean. I owe you."

Dean gave Seamus a pat on the shoulder. "My motives were entirely selfish."

Ginny looked thoughtful. "You know, she's going to pick somebody else to focus on now. And I think I know who."

"Who do you think?" Hermione asked.

Ginny grinned. "I'll bet you she goes after Draco next. But if she does, she's going to be biting off more then she can chew."

"I hope he fries her," Seamus said under his breath. Dean chuckled at him.

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That evening, Harry was staring thoughtfully into the fire, stroking Sally's back. Ron and Hermione were playing chess, and Ginny was sewing. Harry was supposed to be reading, but his thoughts had captured him.

"You're not worrying about Sparky, are you Harry?" Ginny asked.

"What? No. I was just thinking, do you think what Dean said about Seamus being taken already is true?"

"Wouldn't we know about it?" Ron said, taking one of Hermione's knights.

"I would bet money that he is. Dean too. Think about it Harry. They sleep in the same room with you. I doubt anybody in that room is single."

"That's what I was thinking about," Harry said slowly. "Neville?"

"He's still with that girl from Hufflepuff. They're pretty cute together too." Harry was quiet. "You're not going all guilt trip on me again, are you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm not. I was just thinking. How long do you think I have to be around a person for it to affect them?"

Ginny shrugged. "Probably depends on how important they are to you. Like Heather. You hardly see her, but she's important to you. It's important that she's with the person she loves. So I'd bet it affects her strongly. Whereas all the people that live in this house that you don't know aren't affected because they're not personally important to you."

Harry thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

He shook his head. "It's not important. It was just on my mind," he answered, avoiding the question. Sally gave him a look and he knew he'd been caught. But he could tell Sally later.

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The fifth year boy's dorm was quiet. Dean, Seamus, Ron, and Harry all sat on the floor beside Neville's bed. Nobody wanted to talk because they were afraid to break his concentration.

Neville stared at the seedling in the pot he held. Sweat beads were starting to form on his forehead. His hands gripped the pot like a vise, knuckles turning white.

The others sitting at his feet could feel the power pulsating from him, and it made the tension in the air thick. Their eyes were glued on the plant also, watching it and hoping to see it change even the slightest bit.

Another tense moment, and Neville's shoulders suddenly sagged. "I can't."

They all stood up, moving to comfort their friend. "We're sure you'll get it eventually, Neville."

Neville sat the pot down carefully. "I wish I was as confident as you guys are. I'm not so sure I will. This might be as good as I get."

Harry sat down on Neville's bed. "Maybe I can help," he said slowly.

Neville looked up. "How?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, I have a gift too. It's different, but," he struggled a moment for words. "These gifts we have, are in addition to our magical ability. They really have nothing to do with how much magic we have, right? Our amount of power has no baring on the extent of our gift, and vise versa, right?"

Neville nodded. "That's what I read, and what they thought back when it was common. And they've pretty much proven it. Squibs sometimes had the gifts, and this one author said he suspected even Muggles sometimes got them, they just didn't recognize it."

Harry nodded. "When you were sprouting, you had to try really hard. Are you trying even harder now?"

"Well, yes," Neville said. "This is supposed to be more difficult."

"But I don't think you're using the right effort, or putting effort into the wrong thing, or, something," Harry said, wishing he was more articulate. "I could feel the power coming off of you. That shouldn't happen. This gift doesn't involve your power at all. It think you're trying to use your magic to help it grow, which does nothing but leaves you tired because you're pushing all your power at it and then it had nothing to do. When I speak in Parseltongue, it's as easy as breathing. But that only used to happen when I was looking at a snake. I mean, I used it without realizing it. But when I tried to learn how to use it without Sally in front of me, it took practice. I had to exercise that gift, and, it's not the same as your magic, Neville." He looked around, to see if he was making any sense to any of them. Ron, Seamus and Dean's faces looked blank, but at least Neville looked thoughtful.

"Keep going, Harry, you've got a better idea about how all this works then even the books do."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. Sometimes he'd explain to Hermione or Professor McGonagall things about where the power was located inside of him. They never understood what he was talking about. The only one who knew what he meant was Heather.

"They aren't in the same place. You're magical power is inside you. It comes from somewhere else, like, another dimension or something. But it's fed inside of you. But your gift, it's, well, mental. Sort of." Harry's eyes narrowed when he tried to think back to the time Sally had taken his gift away and what it had felt like. "It's like, it lives in your chest somewhere. But, your brain uses it. You've got to, well, think at it, not throw power at it. And I think you were doing that before. But now that you think this will be more difficult, you're trying too hard."

Seamus threw his hands up in the air. "I'm not getting a word of it. You're crazy, Potter."

"No, wait, I think he's right," Neville said, reaching out and grabbing the pot again. "It's like, using a mental power instead of a magical one. And I've been using the wrong one, and that makes it ineffective."

He held the pot loosely, and rolled his shoulders once before focusing on it. This time, only his face showed the strain, rather then his body. His eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted, his gaze glued to the pot.

Harry waited, with held breath, watching the little plant. Slowly, so very slowly that it was hard to see at first, it began to get a little taller. He wanted to jump up and congratulate Neville, but he remained silent, not wanting to break his concentration.

A moment later, Neville's eyes shut. "I know where it is," he said under his breath. "I know what it looks like now. I need it to look like this," he said, his head jerking slightly on the last word.

Harry had to close a hand over his mouth as the plant shot up an inch.

Neville's face relaxed, and his eyes opened. "It worked," he said, amazed.

"You did it!" Ron cried.

Neville turned back to Harry. "What you said was right, but that's not all. I've got to show it what I'm trying to do to it. I can't watch it. If I watch it, it hurts, because I'm concentrating so hard on what it looks like now, and then if it grows a little, it changes, and I have to change that mental picture and start over, again and again."

"Well you figured it out, Neville, congratulations."

He looked thoughtfully at the plant in his hand. "I've got to learn to do that slower though. It shouldn't have, jumped like that. It should be a steady constant growth. That much the books did say."

"Oh, come on, you losers. Stop discussing the technique and the reasoning and stuff."

"It's too much for Seamus' brain to handle."

"Shut it Dean. Times like these don't call for all that smart stuff. This is a time for a party!" He grabbed Neville and pulled him off the bed.

Laughing, the rest followed the pair down to the common room.

A/N: Alright, so I've got like, three more chapters. To hopefully finish as soon as possible. Arg, this entire year is enough to drive me CRAZY.

Draco: You? What about me? I don't get any screen time.

Me: Yeah, well, I'm working on it. So, here's the deal. PLEASE JOIN THE SAL FAN CLUB! If you are a user of Livejournal, or even if you're not currently you can become one. Once you are a user, all you have to do is leave a comment in the community that you would like to become a member, and I will send you an invite. Or, if you know how, you can ask to become a member. By becoming a member, you will have posting access to the community, which means you call all write entries about the story.

ff.n strips links, so i will tell you the website in pieces. it will be "www." followed by "livejournal." followed by "com" followed by "/community" followed by "/salfanclub/" with an underscore between sal, fan, and club. Hopefully that got you there, if not, you can go to my user info and click on where it says "homepage"