Disclaimer for the rest of the story: I am not making any profit from this story. 0, ZIP, NADA. Got it? Okay, well on to chapter three.

Grief

Harry felt sick to his stomach. Why did this have to happen now? Was he not aloud to be happy? Minutes ago he had been oblivious to the grief he felt over the summer, but now it seemed like he'd been thrown into a pool of ice water. He was drowning in it. Sirius wouldn't have died if it wasn't for him, no matter what anybody else said. He shouldn't have this will in his hands; it just wasn't right.

"I don't deserve anything," he said as he lay face down on the bed in the room he shared with Ron. The envelope contained two pieces of paper: one was an out of date will, this one written sometime before his admittance to Azkaban and the other was signed the summer before fifth year. Mrs. Weasley let him take it to his room, and told the rest of them they would see it when he was ready. Sirius had a lot more possessions than Harry had expected. He read the introductory message with a heavy heart.

"If you are reading this than I have passed away, plain and simple (I was always very straightforward), but please don't worry. I've had a hard life and I'm just happy the last thing I saw wasn't the inside of a jail cell. I had the chance to meet my godchild and clear my name with the people who I truly care about. I assure I'm freer than I could have ever been when I was alive. My only wish is that you won't waste time grieving, but merely remember the good times we had. Live your lives, but always know that as you do I'll always be there, only hidden in the shadows. At the very least, I lived longer than the average dog!

Love, Sirius Oliver Black (A/N: See comment at end of chapter)

To the Weasley family: I leave you half the contents of my second vault at Gringott's, number 197 (the other half will be split between Moony and Mad-Eye and Tonks). Also, Fred George, I want you to have the box of "pranks" hidden in a large box in the vault. It has a couple of things James and I developed. Good luck with your shop, by the way. Ginny, I would like you to have the closet full of dresses that used to be my mother's and cousin's. They are very beautiful, as are you, unlike their former owners. The location of these dresses is in the house mentioned later on. Ron, your 'gift' as you might say was rather difficult, but I have finally decided to leave you my old watch. I know it may not seem like much, but between you and me it can tell you the location of anyone that you have programmed into it. It is somewhat like a cross between the Marauder's map and your mother's clock. James and I used it to know exactly where to be so that we'd 'accidentally' run into our crushes and know where our girlfriends were at all times (actually that was more James than me. He was very protective when it came to Lily). Maybe you can use it to keep and eye on Ginny now that she's dating. It was a pleasure to meet all of you, even for a short time, and believe me when I say that you all have a place in my heart."

As Harry read on he began to really appreciate all the thought Sirius had put into his will. Everything that was handed down was personalized, and no one was forgotten. After skimming over Hermione's gift (the entire contents of the huge library in the house he kept mentioning) he saw his own name written.

"Harry, I want you to know that I couldn't be more proud of you, you have endured more than most people will in a lifetime. I only wish I was as strong as you. You always have to remember never to give up even when it seems all is lost, and never ever avoid telling someone how you feel, because you never know if you'll live to tell them the next day. I just needed you to know that. Harry, I have decided to leave you your grandparent's house. Now allow me to explain. When your grandparent's died (peacefully, less than a year apart) your father and I put our money together and re-bought the house. We had spent most of our life there, and we just couldn't leave all the memories. When neither of is could take care of it anymore (for obvious reasons), Dumbledore took responsibility. Now I want you to have it. A lot of your father's things are there (pictures, notebooks, and a pensieve). It's a beautiful home and a nice place to start your life on your own, but only after you graduate. It will remain under Dumbledore's care until then."

Harry could scarcely breathe. Sirius cared about him enough to give him the home he grew up in. His father's home. If only Sirius knew the cause of his fate as he wrote this will. If he had Harry would not be included, and that is what he thought he deserved.

As he watched the large oak trees blow in the wind outside with teary eyes someone knocked on the door. "Hello Harry. How's it going?" Ginny asked as she sat at the foot of the bed. How did she always know when he wanted to be alone?

"Ron, that's extremely annoying. I'm trying to finish my arithmacy homework," Hermione said as she flipped the pages of a large book over her legs. In fact, almost her entire bed was littered with reference books.

"I wonder what's taking Ginny so long. She went up to check on Harry ten minutes ago," he wondered as he stopped spinning in her desk chair which caused the annoying squeaking to cease.

Hermione got up and squeezed between her bed and a bookshelf. It was a small room considering all the shelves that she had. "Ron, you should really stay out of her business. One day it's going to make her mad, and you know how she gets."

Ron started pacing; anything to do with Ginny just stressed him out. "Maybe I should owl Mum and tell her that her little baby girl is with someone in their bedroom!" Hermione shook her head in disgust. Was she speaking a different language? 'One day', she thought hopefully, 'A bright light will appear out of no where and he'll understand everything I've ever told him about the female brain.'

She whipped around to face him, and found that she could count every freckle on his face. Her hands flew up to stop herself from falling into him, and they landed on his chest. Her chocolate brown eyes looked up at him in shock. Ron could feel how hard her heart was thumping. Hermione could feel his breath against her neck.

"You…you really should narrow some of these bookshelves," he whispered trying to keep his voice steady, but she wasn't listening. She was too consumed in how close he was. "There's barely any room to walk." He was right: they were stuck between her bed and a shelf. They were inches away. They were close enough to….to kiss?

"Hermione, could you help me unload the dishwasher?" her mother called, causing her to jump and pull her hands away.

Her trance was broken and she closed her eyes in….frustration? Disappointment? Ron was in sure. "Okay Mom," and without a word she crawled over her bed, leaving Ron looking very shocked.

"I'm in major trouble."

"Ginny, just leave me alone! You don't understand how hard this is!" Harry shouted, aggravated.

She got up, her face pink. "No you don't understand. Not to be insensitive, but you just can't seem to see that Ron and Hermione knew Sirius as long as you did! They have to swallow all their grief and anguish just to help you! I just came here to check on you, so don't get mad at me." Her face returned to its 'normal' color and she returned to her seat at the foot of his bed. "I'm sorry. It's just that you you've spent enough time alone, hiding yourself from the world. I know you're strong, but no one can handle that." Her hand rested on his.

"But it wasn't yours or Ron or Hermione's fault that he's dead. It's mine and I have to live with that," he said slowly opening himself to her.

"Harry, either way you would have felt guilty: if you hadn't gone after him when he was in trouble or if you went after him when he wasn't. You can't blame yourself for trying to save someone's life."

Harry gave her a weak smile. Although he would never say it aloud he appreciated when she knocked some sense into him. She told it to him straight, not avoiding subjects and talking to him like he was a time-bomb about to explode. "Sorry for shouting at you when you came in. I'm known for lashing out at the wrong people."

"No problem. I'm used to it. You wouldn't believe how many heart-to-hearts I've had to give my brothers" She glanced at the open letter. "So, what's it say?" she asked.

They sat there for ten minutes reading the letter and occasionally smiling or wiping tears from their eyes. 'She was right' Harry thought as they prepared to go downstairs 'things are much easier when you're not alone.'

A/N: Okay, about Sirius's middle name…I couldn't resist. It was a joke just calling my name. If you don't know what I'm talking about then I won't tell you. Anyway, a lot more happens, emotionally and romantically wise, then the other chapters. Did I portray how Harry and Ginny react to each other accurately? I hope you enjoyed and please review!