Chapter 25

Harry woke up when he heard Ron coming up the steps, yelling his name. It had been impossible for him to go to sleep for hours the previous night, so he wasn't up as early as usual.

He sat up in his bed, grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and looked around the room finding it deserted. His friend burst in, panting and gasping for air, his face as red as his hair.

"Harry... put some... clothes on. Can't believe...they kept that... from you" Ron called, falling down on his bed. Harry had no idea what got his friend in such a state, he rose from his bed and started to dress.

"Quick mate, Sirius is here!"

When he heard his godfather's name, he spun around just half dressed. "WHAT?" he yelled and finished dressing in high-speed. Harry was confused; what was his godfather doing here? In pleasant anticipation, Harry ran down the steps and into the common room, where Kelsey, Kayla and Hermione were already waiting.

It was breakfast time already and except of a couple of first-years' the common room was deserted, but Harry didn't feel like eating. "Where's Snuffles?" Harry called, looking at his friends expectantly.

"He's in the Shrieking Shack" Hermione whispered in his ear "He arrived here yesterday evening".

Ron was just walking down the spiral staircase, when Harry stormed out of the common room, his friends close behind him. When they reached the grounds and walked towards the Whomping Willow, his godfather was Harry's only concern. He would find out why they haven't told him last night later, right now he just wanted to see Sirius; hear what he had been doing since their last encounter and feel the presence of the man, who was the closest person to a father he had ever know.

Hermione watched his friend rushing past Hagrid's cabin, not paying any attention to the gamekeeper, who was waving at them. They arrived at the tree, when Harry was looking for a branch, long enough to touch the knot. When the branches of the Whomping Willow stopped whipping furiously, they all climbed in the hole at the trunk and followed the passage to the Shrieking Shack.

For Kayla and Kelsey it was a strange experience, when they followed Harry, Ron and Hermione through the dark and dusty corridor. Kayla watched Harry open the door to what seemed to be a bedroom. She recognized the wizard she had met in Hagrid's cabin, sitting on a bed, covered with filthy, ragged sheets and blankets.

The rest of the room looked like it had been deserted for decades and the shattered remains of the furniture were scattered everywhere. Harry ran over to his godfather and pulled him in a tight embrace. Sirius pulled himself out of Harry's fierce hug and looked at his godson with a bright smile on his face.

Kayla realized astonished how young the wizards' face suddenly looked. The haunted expression in his eyes had vanished and they were now beaming with pride and happiness. While Hermione and Ron walked over to greet Sirius, the twins stayed back uncertain what to do.

"How are you Sirius? Where have you been? Are you hungry?" Harry poured out.

"I was on a mission for Dumbledore during summer. When Albus re-established the Order after the incidents in June I offered him the Blacks' family mansion as headquarter and this is where I spend most of my time now." the wizard sighed. "And I assume the young man who's lurking in the shadows over there is your long lost cousin." he changed the subject.

Harry smiled when Kelsey hesitantly walked towards them, Kayla close behind. "I'm Kelsey Warren, sir" the handsome Gryffindor said firmly stretching out his hand.

"No need to be so formal. I'm Sirius, Harry's godfather, as you might know already and you are Nicole's son this makes you family. Your mother and I were close friends at school, but I still can't understand why she chose your father over me" Sirius stated mockingly. Kayla beamed at the wizard and sat next to him on the bed. "Now are you going to tell me what you need dried vampire blood for?"

Kayla explained quickly how Malfoy injured Kelsey and that they were planning to take revenge with the Mutogenero potion and to add a little twist, they wanted to alter the potion to make sure that Malfoy wasn't only going to be a girl for a month but also forced to act nice and caring.

She felt bad telling her cousin and his godfather a straight lie but she had just their best interest at heart. Sirius fell back on the bed laughing so hard he got hiccups.

"I'd love to see that. Please make sure you take pictures" The wizards' laughter was so infectious that after a few seconds everybody was laughing and it took them several minutes to gain their composure again.

"Then I'm really glad to be able to help you out here." Sirius grinned, taking a little black box out of his pocket.

"And what is this?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I made a little trip to my grandfather's study", Sirius smirked knowingly. "It's well hidden in my family mansion and I haven't been there for over 20 years. When I received your owl Harry, I was quite afraid, that Old Tom is messing with your mind and is giving you ideas. In spite of my doubts I searched my grandfather's stock of black magic supplies and found what I was looking for. My grandfather was not a deatheater and he didn't support him in any way. He had his own and his family interests at heart, but in his view the end justifies the means and that included black magic.

I was his favourite grandchild, despite of my disapproving attitude when it comes to the Dark Arts, and so I was the only one he showed the secret passageway to his study. My grandfather always had a very good knowledge of human nature; this is why he never trusted Voldemort. Fortunately he didn't trust his own family either, otherwise Narcissa or Bellatrix would have plundered everything right on the day he died ".

Sirius opened the box and everybody crowded together to get a good look at the substance inside. Kayla recognized a grey powder that seemed to be alive in a strange way. The grey content moved inside the box like a miniature ocean, waves appeared and disappeared although Sirius was holding the box perfectly still.

"What is that?" Ron gasped and tried to touch the strange powder.

"NO" Sirius shouted and slapped Ron's outstretched hand. "If you want to keep your finger, you shouldn't touch it with your bare hands. This stuff penetrates your skin and whatever part of your body touched it will die off" Ron pulled his hand back instantly.

"This sounds dangerous" Hermione whispered staring at the box.

"Then what is that Sirius?" Harry called nervously.

"Dried vampire blood... I thought you guessed that already" the wizard answered. The students' faces lit up.

"Bloody brilliant" Ron said in awe. "Your grandfather's stock doesn't include moonbell root...by chance?" Kayla questioned.

"Sorry my dear" Sirius sighed. "You couldn't find out another way to get it?"

"Zara, another friend, asked Snape about it and he told her, that moonbell root was growing in the forbidden forest, but it was impossible for him to get it although he tried it several times. And now, with the dragons guarding the grounds, we can't even get close to the forest." Harry explained disappointed.

"Snape....ha..... What's he good for anyway" Sirius growled. He closed the box and handed it to Harry, who put it safely in the inside pocket of his robes. All of a sudden, Sirius seemed deeply concerned.

"No matter how much I would love to see Malfoy as a girl... don't you think you are going a little bit too far?" he asked cautiously. "All these ingredients are so dangerous and I don't know if this is all worth the effort."

Kayla was shocked. What if Sirius was talking Harry out of this? Her insides were squirming and she felt like she had just swallowed a bucket of earthworms alive. A look at Hermione showed her that her friend must have similar feelings.

"Well Sirius, I thought you above all, would encourage us to go on with our plan....you as a true marauder." Harry stated firmly. Kayla had to suppress a deep sigh of relief and Hermione sank on the bed next to her. "It seems that you almost have everything together and I want to be the last one to spoil the fun, but I just thought you could have found a less ...extravagant...way to take revenge."

Hermione's mind was racing. What if he finds out that you don't need any of these ingredients for a Mutogenero Potion? We can't tell him about it. It's just too dangerous and cruel if the potion doesn't work. She decided to end this conversation now.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry now. We've already missed breakfast and it's time for lunch now."

"I think Hermione is right" Kayla agreed. "Ok ...I feel kind of hungry too. We can grab some lunch for you and come back later. What do you think Sirius?" Harry asked. Sirius smiled at his godson and nodded. He had an idea forming in his head and tonight would be the best chance to carry it out.

They left the Shrieking Shack and walked back the dark tunnel that ended under the Whomping Willow. Harry climbed out of the hole first, looking around cautiously in case somebody would be close enough to watch him. After he had made sure that nobody was around the rest of them emerged and they ran back to the castle. Harry pressed his hand on his pocket, were he had safely stored the box Sirius had given him. He had the distinct feeling his godfather was up to something. The remark that he was not acting like a real marauder might push him to doing something rash. Harry bit his lip and scolded himself for not being more careful.

They reached the castle just in time to join their fellow Gryffindors for lunch. Ron grinned widely when he looked at all the food the house-elves had provided. They sat down on helped themselves to pork chops, potatoes, peas and a lot of other delectabilities.

When they were stuffed Kelsey and Hermione managed to put some food in their pockets, while Kayla grabbed a dessert. Ron hid a jug of pumpkin juice under his robes as they left the table.

Sirius was more than happy about all the delicious food he received when they returned to his hideout. While he tucked in he listened to Harry and his friends' stories about what had happened in the school so far and how they had turned Malfoy in a fluffy bunny.

Sirius choked on a potato when Kayla repeated how Snape tested the Allage potion on Malfoy. "He's acting extremely strange lately" she stated. "I would have never, not in my wildest dreams, expected that Snivellus would do something against one of his fellow deatheaters" Sirius laughed.

"Snape isn't a deatheater anymore. He's working for Dumbledore now" Hermione scolded.

Sirius stopped eating and faced Hermione "Once a Deatheater always a deatheater" he said darkly. Harry noticed that he didn't like this particular subject at all so he asked quickly "Have you heard anything new about Remus?"

Sirius face lit up instantly "We were on a mission for Dumbledore together over summer and after that he spent a little while with me at headquarters. As far as I'm informed he's now on another mission, negotiation with possible allies"

Then Harry explained his two cousins everything about the marauders and Sirius recounted a few of the pranks they had pulled while they were students at Hogwarts. Kelsey was cautious not to let slip that he already knew some of the stories Sirius was telling.

During the innumerable hours he had spent with James, the wizard had told him a lot about his friends and school time. The teenager knew more about James' life than Harry and maybe even Sirius. Harry's father had told him about his marriage with Lily, his career as an auror and how he was appointed Minister for Magic, the youngest one ever. How Dumbledore had informed him that Voldemort was after his family and how one of his best friends betrayed them. And how he finally lost everything he cherished, his family. Harry had to live with the Dursleys and he could only visit him disguised as Crookshanks, while his wife was unconscious and closer to death than to life. He lost his work and his friends and was forced to live a life in hiding since more than 14 years.

Everyone could see how Sirius enjoyed the company. Being stuck in the house for weeks with nobody to talk to but the house-elves and, maybe now and then, a member of the Order, who stopped by to report or for a meeting. They all talk until late afternoon but then finally had to leave.

"How long are you staying?" Harry asked anxiously when he wrapped his cloak around him.

"If everything works out I wanted to stay until November 1st. There are some things I need to discuss with Dumbledore." Sirius replied. Harry sighed with relief. His godfather would be here for another week; this meant a lot more time to talk.