Author note: Woohoo! School is over for the year! Until February 2nd, I'm free! It's a good feeling, I must admit. In celebration, here's a new chapter, and there is one in Deceptions as well. Enjoy!

Shines A Light

Chapter Eleven: Farewell

December came, and with it came snow. There was a festive air in Hogwarts as everyone started looking forward to the Christmas holidays. In the halls, suits of armour sang Christmas carols, holly hung in the air and icicles formed on the banisters.

Harry and his friends would be returning to Grimmauld Place, along with Tatsu and Neko for the first week, before Harry and his 'family' moved back to Privet Drive for a week of peace and quiet before school started again for all of them. Harry was looking forward to what would have been one of his few Christmas holidays not spent in Hogwarts castle.

The lessons were getting harder, and no one was looking forward to the week before the holidays were due to begin, because almost the entire school had tests then, or at least assignments.

Hermione was still not telling Ron to do his homework, but the youngest Weasley brother still hadn't completely caught on. He still usually left things to the last minute, or forgot about them altogether, and spent more time practicing Quidditch than anything else.

Hermione seemed to have despaired of Ron making anything of his school career, and was refusing to speak to him about homework, to see how long it took him to look after himself when it came to schoolwork. Harry wasn't sure telling Hermione to leave off was such a good idea after all … but oh well.

Harry was still keeping up with his class work, as well as joining Tatsu and Neko in their quarters for private lessons in martial arts and the Katana. Harry had decided not to join in Tatsu and Neko's afternoon classes altogether until his back recovered, because it would be too easy to have an accident. His manoeuvrability was increasing, and some of his old skill gradually returning, which he was happy about.

He was really looking forward to Christmas, because Lily had written that she would coming over in the last week of the holidays to Privet Drive and would therefore be able to spend time with him for a little while. He had not had all that much time miss Lily, who he had come to count on just as much as Hermione as a friend, but whenever he thought of her, he missed her presence.

Gabrielle had been in contact with him also, but not so often. She had her own life to lead, and had never been as close as Lily had to Harry and his friends. Harry greatly looked forward to meeting her again.

The tests in the last week passed easily enough for Harry and Hermione, though Ron, who had ignored their approach until the very last minute, spent most of the day before the tests frantically trying to study, and after the tests spent almost three hours complaining about how hard they had been.

Finally, Hermione exploaded at him, "Ron, if you'd actually bothered to study for those tests you would have gotten brilliant scores! They weren't hard if you studied and payed attention in class, like Harry and I did!"

"Harry, didn't you find the tests hard?" Ron asked, turning to Harry, who hadn't actually said how he'd felt about the tests.

"No, not really," Harry admitted, hating that he had to be involved in yet another argument between his friends. "I've been doing more studying than I used to, since I can't play Quidditch any more."

Ron fell silent for a moment, then looked at Hermione, "Well, you could have reminded me!" he said irritably.

"Remind you!" Hermione almost shrieked, "Am I your nurse maid? You hated it when I made you do your homework before, so I left off, like you wanted me too. You can take care of your own schooling from now on, Ronald Weasley! It's your own fault if you can't take innitiative and study properly!"

Ron stared at her with a somewhat bewildered expression on his face. "But, I'm Quidditch captain, I have a responsibility to my team – I have to do the best I can to make sure that we win the cup!"

Hermione scowled, "Harry's the Head Boy, Ron, and he's still managed to keep on top of his duties, which include patrolling halls, organising and attending fortnightly, if not weekly, Prefect meetings, he keeps in touch with the students of the school and the teachers, and runs DA still! He still manages to find time to study, as have all Quidditch captains before school. Wood didn't fail the NEWTs, any more than Angelina did, because they were careful to divide their time!"

Ron mouthed silently at Hermione for a moment, then got up and stalked away in a huff.

Harry sighed, "Maybe he'll get that he has to take care of it himself now," he remarked.

"Hopefully," Hermione said, "I hate to see him failing like this … but you're right, he's way too dependant on me to keep him organised. It's not healthy."

Harry nodded, "Well, I'm going upstairs to finish off packing. We do have to go home tomorrow, and I'll need to make sure everythings ready to go, since something will undoubtedly come up in the morning."

"I'd better do the same, I guess," Hermione agreed, and they parted ways. When Harry looked down from the tower window, he saw a single red-garbed figure flying around on the Quidditch pitch far below. It seemed that Ron had found solace in flying for the moment. Harry hoped that his friend would get over his huff soon, and organise himself better.

Finishing off packing, Harry went to bed early, hoping to meet up with Sirius in his dreams.

"Sirius?"Harry enquired as he looked around a fantastical landscape of towering forests and crystaline colours.

"Harry, there you are," Sirius was there suddenly, smiling at Harry, but there was a note of sadness in his voice as he watched Harry approach him. "I've been waiting for you."

Harry looked up into Sirius's face, reading the emotions there in some confusion, "Sirius … something's wrong, isn't it?" he asked.

Suddenly a bench appeared, and Sirius sat, gesturing Harry to sit with him. Harry sat – something bad was about to happen and he knew it. "Harry … you remember I told you last year, in your time, that the time I would be allowed to visit you was limited?" Sirius asked.

Harry's heart stopped beating and his breath froze in his throat, "It's time?" he asked, his voice squeaking painfully.

"It is," Sirius replied painfully. "I'm sorry, Harry, that I have to leave you, but we were granted more time than either of us could have ever hoped for after I died. It was nice, getting to know you as I never could in my life, but time was limited, and I'm hoping that you enjoyed our time just as much as I did."

Harry sighed, "I have enjoyed it more than you could ever imagine," he replied, "But now I'm going to have to lose you all over again."

Sirius rested a hand on Harry's shoulder, "I know it's going to be hard Harry. But think of it this way – at least this time it's not going to be so sudden, like it was when I died. We both knew this was coming, we've known it for some time now. We have a chance to properly say goodbye. You have Tatsu now - and Neko as well. You've grown up, Harry, and I know you're going to be alright without me."

"I know I am too, but that won't stop me from missing you," Harry told his godfather. "And it had to be now, didn't it? It's the start of the Christmas holidays, and this could be the last time I see you! It's not fair."

"Life is not fair, Harry, and Death even less so. You know that as well as I do – you've been there. We will meet up again in the Realms of the Dead, one day, and though I'll miss you, I'll hope that day will not come too soon."

Harry nodded slightly, "We will meet again," he agreed, "And I think I must say I feel the same. Our ways part here, probably for the better part of a century … and in that century, I'm sure I'll find plenty of other people to love, but I doubt any of them will stop me missing you."

Sirius hugged his godson gently, "That's a very nice thing to say," he told Harry softly, "And I really hope that the people you find will make good replacements for me in your life. I've only ever wanted the best for you, and though it took my death to achieve it, I don't regret it, not any more."

Harry smiled. "You know, you're leaving me only a week before the anniversary of Dumbledore leaving me," he remarked.

Sirius ruffled his hair. "What do you want to do tonight?" he asked, "This is no time to be dwelling on the past, Harry! We have tonight to celebrate to our hearts content, and then hopefully longer than a century of waiting until we meet again.

When Harry woke the next morning, his cheeks were wet with tears, and he left the Gryffindor dormitory with Grypis almost as soon as he woke up. He needed to escape from humanity for awhile, needed to be alone to come to terms with losing Sirius once again.

He and Grypis took off from the rooftops and spiralled over the Forbidden Forest for over an hour before landing and headed back into the castle. Grypis had spent much of their flight consoling Harry, and by the time they landed, Harry was feeling a whole lot better about the affair.

At breakfast, several first years came to him to ask him about helping them solve a problem they were having with their friends. Harry was one of the people who the younger students were supposed to come to if they needed help, and many of them felt more comfortable about asking Harry questions than they did the teachers.

Harry helped those two out, and went to McGonagall's office with Hermione to meet up with the Headmistress. Her nephew, Michael, was there when they arrived, but seemed to be just leaving. He nodded to Harry and Hermione on his way out of the office, "Both of you did very well at your Transfiguration exam," he told them, but was gone before they could ask how well they'd done.

"Well, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, I must say I've been very impressed with your work over this first term of the year," McGonagall said, once Harry and Hermione had taken seats in front of her. "Now, one of the things that you will need to start devoting time to is organising the seventh year farewell party."

Harry blinked, "What?" he asked.

"When the seventh year students leave the school, they are presented with their scores for the NEWT exams, as well as other awards that they might have earned through the year," McGonagall explained, "At this time, the students usually have an event of some kind. It's often a ball and a feast for the seventh year students alone. Exactly what goes on is left up to the Head Students and those Prefects that they chose to help them."

"What do we need to do?" Hermione enquired eagerly.

"That will be up to you," McGonagall said, "Talk to the Prefects, and the other students, decide what they all want and see how they feel about everything. Should you require anything, the teachers will give you help, should you ask them for it."

Harry and Hermione nodded, Harry resignedly, Hermione eagerly, before they were dismissed. Harry sighed slightly as they headed back for the Gryffindor tower. His life was just getting more and more hectic, or so it seemed to him.

Harry went straight up to the boys' dormitory and changed into Muggle clothes, thinking that he probably wouldn't have all that much time to change on the train, because undoubtedly he would be spending a lot of his time talking to students from DA, the Prefects, and saying goodbye to his friends.

Using his Portkey ring, Harry travelled with his things downstairs to Tatsu and Neko's office. He hadn't told anyone what his ring actually did, though several students had commented that it was a very nice ring and had asked where he'd gotten it. Clearly they all wanted one of their own – Harry had been forced to tell them that it had been a special commision and he wasn't sure exactly where it had come from. He had a feeling, however, that when he returned to school after Christmas he would find that several students had found similar rings to show off.

"Hey there Harry," Tatsu smiled at him when the man noticed Harry in the room.

"Hey Tatsu," Harry grinned back, "Do you want to take my stuff with you to Grimmauld Place?" he asked, "It'll be easier than coming to pick me up and take it with you then, won't it?"

"Yes, probably," Tatsu agreed, "We can do that for you. It's a pity that you need to be on the train, but there's a Prefect meeting, and I'm sure your friends will be looking for you."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Yup, that's about right," he muttered, "Are you going to come and pick me up from the station, or am I going to use the ring to get home?"

"You'll be coming back with Molly and Arthur," Tatsu informed him, "It's easier to just send you all home in the one ride, really."

Harry nodded. "Right then," he replied, "Well, I'd better go and catch the train before it leaves, I'll see you tonight."

He hugged Tatsu and Neko breifly before heading downstairs and joining Ron and Hermione waiting in the entrance hall for the Thestral-driven carriages to arrive and bear them away. Ron and Hermione were still acting huffy around one another, although they were still talking, which was a happy thing, as far as Harry was concerned.

"Where's your trunk?" Hermione enquired, a little surprised.

"Tatsu and Neko are taking it back with them," Harry replied, "That way we'll have more room in the care when we get a lift back to Grimmauld Place."

"Oh, so you're making sure that he's organised," Ron muttered rebelliously.

Hermione rolled her eyes and didn't respond. Harry sighed slightly – why did it always have to be this way? It got so annoying sometimes. "There are the carriages," he said, pointing out the doors. To his relief, Ron and Hermione forgot that they were angry with one another and grabbed their trunks, heading for the doors along with the general throng of students.

Neville and Ginny joined them as they all crowded into a carriage. "We'll be picked up by your parents," Harry told Ginny, who nodded, "I know, I just got an owl from mum, like, ten minutes ago," she assured him.

Harry nodded, and they passed the rest of the journey to the station in a fairly companionable silence. The train was waiting for them when they arrived, and Harry and Hermione parted ways with Ron and headed for the Prefect compartments, while Ron headed off to find the Quidditch team and encourage them to train over the two week break, since the second match would be taking place in February.

Harry and Hermione explained what was going on at the end of the year with the seventh year prefects, and requested that they all try to brainstorm ideas over the holidays as to what they might be able to do for it, before they broke up the meeting and went to give their friends holiday greetings.

Sorry this chapter took awhile to get out … and sorry there are no thanks, but I'm exhausted. I'm sure I'll recover soon enough now that I'm free of school, although do have work two days a week … anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review so I know what you think.