A/N: It never ceases to amaze me how smart the readers are—quite a few of you caught the nod to Harry's dream from OOTP. House points awarded at the end of the chapter along with the FAQs as usual.

Chapter Thirty-One: Tidings

Harry came round very slowly—to absolute chaos.

Someone was shaking him, speaking in a desperate voice. "Harry, wake up!"

"I could kill you all over again, Sirius Black, for giving him a shock like that! Don't you ever stop to think that—"

Arms were wrapped around him, so comforting and familiar. "Molly, you can shout at me later; help me get him on the sofa!"

"Here, let me help." Harry was jostled about, then his head was resting on a pillow, his body sinking into sofa cushions. He wanted to protest; he wanted the arms back.

"My God…Molly, what—what's happened to him? He looks as if he's lost five stone!"

"What did Albus tell you?"

"Only that it's been six months…Merlin's beard, that part hasn't sunk in yet. And Harry thought I was dead?"

"Yes, which is why you should have waited and given us a chance to tell him gently—"

"Fine, Molly, fine, I concede the point!"

"Sirius, Molly, hush. He's waking."

Those arguing voices reminded him of something…something that couldn't be real…funny, but everybody else was acting like it was…alertness and memory hit Harry in a rush; he jerked upright and lurched off the sofa. "Sirius!"

The impossibly familiar figure lunged forward, and Harry crash-landed in his arms.

His arms were solid. Solid and real.

Real.

He's real.

"Harry, it's all right! Easy!" Sirius knelt with Harry on the floor and rested a hand on his cheek, looking anguished. Harry began to shake. "I'm so sorry, Harry, I'm such a fool, I wasn't thinking—"

"SIRIUS!" Pounding feet heralded the arrival of Ron and Hermione at a dead run, with Ron skidding to a stop in the doorway and Hermione colliding with him from behind. "Oh…my God…is it…is it…really…"

Sirius half-turned to wave at them with one hand. "Yes, yes, it is me. Dumbledore vouched for it so I wouldn't get myself hexed." He looked back at Harry's face and cringed at the wild-eyed way Harry was staring at him. "It's me," he repeated softly and pulled Harry into a hug. "Harry, it's all right, it's really me."

Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather's neck, clinging to him as tight as he could. He'd never let Sirius go again, never let him out of his sight, never…

"I…I thought…"

"I know," Sirius muttered gruffly into his hair. "I know what you thought, and…well, you're partly right. When everyone's calmed down a bit, I'll explain."

It was too much. Harry couldn't understand what was happening, all he knew was that he was kneeling on the parlor floor with the Weasleys all surrounding him and Sirius—SIRIUS!—right there. Alive.

And Remus who-knew-where. It was too much to absorb. Still shaking, Harry kept his face lowered so none of them would see how close he was to flying apart.

There was a loud sniffle and muffled sobbing. Sirius glanced over his shoulder, and Harry looked too, to see Hermione with both hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. "Sorry!" she squeaked, smiling and gulping down sobs. "We—just—really—missed—you!"

Sirius released Harry with one arm to hold out a hand to her. "It's all right, Hermione. I suppose I've traumatized everyone."

Then someone else was crying, one of the boys from the sound of it. Sirius exclaimed, "Ron!" Harry was only mildly startled to see that it was in fact Ron, as Sirius, now looking baffled, tried to console Harry's best friends. "Take it easy, you lot, it's all right, no need to—Ginny, George, don't—"

Now Ginny and the twins were at it, and Sirius was growing alarmed to find himself at the center of a crowd of sobbing teenagers. "Really, everyone, calm down, everything's—Molly? Help?"

Mrs. Weasley was tugging at various sleeves and urging them all to calm down and not crowd Harry and Sirius, yes, yes, that everyone had been through a great deal tonight, no need to get upset, and Sirius turned to Harry with a sheepish grin.

"Blimey, I didn't know I was so appreciated!"

Harry burst into tears.

That had the effect of stopping everyone else crying, but it threw Sirius into a complete panic. He pulled Harry into a frantic embrace, stricken by his godson's helpless sobbing, and rubbed Harry's back and babbled, "Harry! Harry, no, don't—please, it's all right, Harry, please, please don't cry! Harry…"

Harry couldn't stop. It was too much. Everything that had happened in the past six months—he could still bloody see Sirius falling behind that veil!—was running through his mind again and again, and Sirius here, now, right in front of him—he couldn't begin to calm down. He buried his face in his godfather's shoulder and sobbed like a baby.

Someone else was behind him, with a hand on his back. "Just let him go, Sirius, it's all right." It was Mrs. Weasley. "He needs a good cry, I think. He'll be fine, just let him get it out."

So Sirius just hugged him and whispered again and again, "Harry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so ruddy stupid, you wouldn't be going through this. I'm sorry for everything."

Harry desperately wanted to tell Sirius it was all right. He didn't want Sirius to feel guilty—he'd died, for heaven's sake!—or upset because Harry was upset, he wanted to explain he was just rattled over everything that had happened, and not knowing where Remus was—only that would upset Sirus even more.

From behind him, he heard Hermione asking, "How exactly did this happen? I mean…I wasn't there when Sirius…er…"

"Oh, I was dead all right—at least so Dumbledore informs me," said Sirius, and that finally surprised Harry enough to stop his hysterics. He looked up and blinked, his face still soaked, and Sirius smiled wanly at him. "Come on, let's get off the floor."

Harry shakily let Sirius help him to his feet. Ginny was wiping her eyes. "Sorry about all that, Sirius, it's just…it's been so awful!"

"So I gather, though you'll have to fill me in," said Sirius, giving Harry an appraising frown. "I didn't stay at Hogwarts for longer than a visit to the hospital wing; I couldn't wait."

"Remus is missing!"

The anguished words burst out before Harry could stifle them, and his godfather, if possible, went whiter than before. "What?" he breathed. With wide eyes, he looked past Harry at the others. "Molly?"

Gently, Mrs. Weasley said, "The mission to rescue you had some trouble. Several people were separated from their groups and haven't made it back yet. But Alastor and Minerva say it's likely some of them will make it back."

Emotions flashed across Sirius's face for several moments, then he looked at Harry and visibly pulled himself together. "Well…then it's too soon to panic. We'll wait for him together."

Mrs. Weasley said briskly, "Sirius, you look dreadful. Didn't they see to you when you got back to Hogwarts?"

Sirius shrugged. "I let Madam Pomfrey patch up the worst of it, but…"

Harry's heart lurched, followed closely by his stomach, as everything fell into place in his mind: the Fortress, the fever dreams, the nightmares…not nightmares…visions. Hands grabbed him as he swayed on his feet. Sick with horror, he looked hard at Sirius for the first time and took in his appearance, as gaunt as after Azkaban, and all the recently-treated injuries. "Oh my g…they weren't…just dreams…" he gasped, nausea rising in his throat. "I thought…nightmares…"

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, and quickly sat him down on the sofa. "Harry, calm down—look at me! Look at me, I'm fine!" He held Harry upright by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes. Harry clenched his jaw shut until the waves of nausea receded, trying hard not to get hysterical again. He felt like the littlest thing would send him stark, raving mad. Sirius watched him solemnly, "Dumbledore told me you had visions of the Fortress."

"He knew, and he didn't tell me," Harry muttered, feeling inklings of the same old resentment.

Sirius rubbed his shoulders. "Listen, I don't pretend to agree with Dumbledore on everything, but I'm glad he didn't tell you. There was nothing you yourself could have done except worry if you'd known your dreams were real."

Harry pressed his forehead into the cushions. "They were torturing you!"

"I survived," Sirius told him. "Believe me, when all's said and done, it wasn't as bad as Azkaban." Harry groaned, and Sirius sighed and pulled him back into his arms. "All right, wrong thing to say. But it's true."

"Tell me what happened," Harry muttered into his shoulder. "I was sure I'd seen you…as Snuffles…in the Fortress. I have to know, what was dreams and what wasn't."

Sirius sat back against the cushions and pulled a face. "Well…from what I saw after Bellatrix dragged me up there, you were hurt, and she did a spell to trigger Remus's transformation. I missed whatever Snape did to reverse it, but once I got away from her, I came straight to you." He sighed and regarded Harry. "You looked like hell. Remus and Snape didn't believe it was me—can't really blame them, I suppose—but they let me lead them out."

"How did you get separated?" asked Ginny softly, sitting on the floor beside the sofa.

"It was the only way," Sirius said firmly, looking at Harry, not her. "They had an unbreakable collar around my neck; I was stuck in Animagus form. Remus and Snape had to get you out of there; I stayed to buy them time."

Harry scooted closer to him, relishing the feel of his godfather's arm around his shoulders. "I…can't believe…Sirius." He just couldn't seem to care what anyone thought, he held on as tight as he could. A sniffle came from Ron and Hermione's direction. "I don't understand," he said. "Everyone said you were dead."

"Er…well…"

Ron and Hermione had perked up. "How did that happen?" Hermione asked again. "Everyone said they saw you…er…fall…"

Sirius laughed, "Oh, I did kick the bucket, as a matter of fact." Harry sat back in confusion, and Sirius shrugged. "Although if you're looking for any great insight into The Other Side, can't help you there. I don't remember anything—only a very rude awakening with Bellatrix, Wormtail, and Voldemort standing over me. The smirks of doom," he muttered, shaking his head. Seeing Harry's face, he smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't fret yourself, Harry. It's over. It wasn't pleasant, but it's over."

Harry forced a smile. "I missed you."

"So I gathered," Sirius said sheepishly. "Though Remus promised me he'd look after you if anything ever happened to me."

"He did!" Ron said. "He's teaching Defense again. He looked after all of us."

"There," said Sirius, nodding as he watched Harry's face closely. "He'll be along, then. If he didn't know whether I'd made it back in one piece, he'd never leave you."

"Sirius…" said Mrs. Weasley, but Sirius kept his eyes on Harry's.

"He'll be back. I know it."

There was such conviction in his voice that Harry couldn't help but believe him.

Clearing her throat, Mrs. Weasley said, "In any case, every one of you needs to get some rest. Upstairs now, all of you."

In spite of her urging, Harry went slowly up the stairs, glancing over his shoulder every few steps at Sirius, who had stopped to talk to Mr. Weasley. "Come on, mate," said Ron. "He's right, Remus'll be back. Dad said they may have just had to apparate to London instead of Hogwarts."

Harry swallowed thickly and nodded. "I know. I just…" he smiled weakly at Ron. "I'm afraid if I go to sleep it'll all turn out to be a dream."

Still sniffling, Hermione hugged Harry fiercely—and pinched him on the arm, making him yelp. "There, see? It's not a dream!" she laughed, wiping her eyes. "Things are going to get better now, Harry, I'm sure of it!"

"If Remus gets back," Harry murmured, still hesitating.

Ron slapped his back. "I'll bet we have news tomorrow. Everyone's probably exhausted and getting patched up by Madam Pomfrey right now."

Reluctantly, Harry let them draw him upstairs. But it was hard to go to sleep, and he sat up in bed and listened when he heard Sirius go past the room, talking to Mr. Weasley. It wasn't until he saw Ron watching him that he forced himself to close his eyes. He didn't expect to be able to sleep at all, but he must have been more tired than he realized.

That night, the same nightmare he'd been having for six months came back with a vengeance. The red light of Bellatrix Lestrange's curse hit Sirius right in the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

Harry released Neville, though he was unsure of what he was doing. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch…

And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as if in a high wind then fell back into place…

"He's gone..."

"Sirius! Sirius! NOOOO!"

"Harry! Harry, wake up!"

"No, Sirius, no, please, NO!" Harry thrashed against the arms restraining him. "NO!" He lurched upright, only to have his head crack against someone's chin. The arms let go, and someone hit the floor with a thud.

"Ow! Of all the bloody—sodding—"

The pain in his head was what finally distracted Harry from the dream, and he doubled over, rubbing his eyes. "What—where's—"

"Harry!" It was Hermione, shaking him violently. "It's okay, you just had a nightmare!"

"I—what—" Harry pulled away from her, trying to figure out what had happened. "Sirius…"

Other people had burst into the room, and someone was shoving through them. Harry gasped aloud at the sight of Sirius, hastily fastening a dressing gown over some borrowed pajamas as he ran toward Harry. "I'm here!" Hermione moved aside so he could sit on the bed and put an arm around Harry. "All right now, Harry?"

So it hadn't been a dream, what he remembered before the nightmare. It had really happened, and Sirius was here and alive.It was a minute before Harry trusted his voice. "Yeah," he muttered, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't be, Harry, it's not your fault," said Hermione.

"Speak for yourself," groaned a voice from the floor. "Bloody broke my jaw!"

Harry saw Ron still sitting there, rubbing his chin and looking mock-annoyed, and had to smile. "You ought to know by now not to get too close when I go nutters."

Rubbing Harry's shoulders, Sirius said, "Ron, would you mind swapping rooms tonight? I'll stick close in case there's any other nightmares."

Ron shook his head, "No problem. Just watch out for his right hook."

"Sorry, Ron," Harry muttered.

Ron cuffed him playfully and collected his pillow before shuffling out the door. Sirius crossed the room and sat casually on the other bed. "There. Now the monsters will stay away." Harry groaned, and he smiled. "All right, I won't tease you." He tilted his head and looked at Harry in a searching way. "Do you want to tell me what I've missed?"

Harry pulled the tangled bedclothes back over his legs and sighed. "It's a long story." Avoiding Sirius's eyes, he asked, "What'd Dumbledore tell you?"

"Not much. And I wasn't really listening." Sirius shrugged sheepishly, "I was rather set on getting to you as soon as possible."

"How did they rescue you?" Harry asked, stalling.

"Who knows?" Sirius chuckled. "Bella and her minions had left me alone for a bit—I, er, didn't have much sense of time. Next thing I knew, Dumbledore was strolling up to me and breaking the collar off." He shook his head. "Then he walked me through a wall and portkeyed us back to Hogwarts. How he does that, I'll never know."

Harry grinned. "It's just like when he strolled into the Forbidden Forest to rescue Umbridge from the Centaurs…" his heart lurched. He hated thinking about that because it reminded him of those first awful days after the Department of Mysteries when Sirius was dead…except that Sirius was here, here!

And at the moment, Sirius was watching him with anxious eyes. "Harry, what happened to you?"

Resting his chin on his knees, Harry studied the wall and muttered, "You died, that's what happened!" He saw Sirius wince out of the corner of his eye, and looked up hastily, "I mean—I'm sorry, I'm not…it's just…Hermione was right," he sighed, flopping back on the pillows. "We really missed you. It was hard."

The other bed creaked as Sirius got up to come sit beside him. He patted Harry's arm. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I wish you hadn't had to go through that."

Harry sat up quickly, then hesitated. He wanted to hug Sirius again, as if to make sure he was really there and this wasn't another dream, but he wasn't quite sure how. How did you ask someone to hug them? Apparently, Sirius got the message, because he cautiously tugged Harry toward him, then pulled him into his arms. They sat that way for a long time, Sirius gently rubbing Harry's back.

In a ridiculously shaky voice, Harry asked, "You're really okay?"

Sirius let out a ragged laugh and muttered, "Yeah, I'm okay. Really." He held Harry up at arm's length and mused, "I'm not so sure about you."

Harry hastily wiped his face on the back of his hand. "I'm okay."

"Your dad was a better liar than you, but I could still catch him." Harry cringed, and Sirius sighed. "Honestly, Harry, you look dreadful. Can't you tell me what's happened?"

With a shrug, Harry told him, "A lot's happened. I…I've been sick a few times."

"Sick?"

Harry nodded. "Voldemort found a way to get at me from a distance for awhile, it…got bad until Dumbledore and the teachers figured out how to stop it. I guess I'm still getting over it."

Sirius shook his head. "Still getting over it, you look as if you might fall down the stairs—what?" Harry had flinched sharply. "What is it?" Sirius exclaimed in alarm as Harry pulled away, trying to hide his face. "Harry, please, talk to me!"

It took a few moments for Harry to get his breathing under control. He couldn't look up as he murmured, "I have…I have to tell you something. Something that happened…yesterday, actually. It's…about Kreacher."

He dared a glance at Sirius; his godfather's face had fallen, hardened, even. In a quiet, controlled voice that reminded Harry of Remus, Sirius said, "What happened? Did Kreacher hurt you?"

"No!" Harry burst out, guilt burning up inside him. "No, you've got it backwards. Kreacher—I—Kreacher fell—it was my fault—I didn't mean to—"

Sirius caught his hands. "Harry, slow down. Kreacher was hurt?"

Miserably, he shook his head. "No," he choked out. "He's dead." Sirius went very still, and Harry buried his face in his hands. "I killed him. I'm sorry, I killed him. I didn't mean to, I swear, I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, Harry," Sirius pulled him back into his arms. "I believe you, it's all right. What happened?"

Pressing his face into Sirius's shoulder made it difficult to talk, but it felt good. "Wandless magic. I've been having…surges of it lately, whenever I get really angry. Kreacher started…he had a go at you, and Remus, when we found out Remus was missing. I was in the hall upstairs and…there was this wind, it's happened before…but it threw him…he fell…" he couldn't go on.

Sirius was rubbing his back gently. "But it was an accident?" Harry nodded miserably. "Well. We'll have to work on getting those…surges under control, but, Harry, you didn't murder him."

"I wanted to hurt him," Harry murmured. "I was so mad…"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't feel badly about it. Not that I had any love lost for Kreacher, but the last time I manhandled him, I wound up getting myself killed," Sirius remarked, pulling a face. Harry flinched again, and he sighed. "We'll also have to work on getting your sense of humor back."

Harry choked out, "Dunno if I've got one anymore."

"We'll get you through this. I can tell that's not all that's happened, but you'll make it. We'll get you through," Sirius said. "You're forgiven, Harry. It was an accident. I forgive you."

Harry closed his eyes, feeling tired and drained. "I still can't believe you're here. I missed you so much," he mumbled into Sirius's robe.

"I missed you. I nearly went mad wondering if you had made it out of the Fortress." Sirius said softly. He was rubbing Harry's back again, and Harry was starting to feel more comfortable. Very comfortable, actually. Sirius didn't say anything else, and Harry was feeling too drowsy to make the effort. Besides, he'd just be repeating the same thing over and over.

Don't ever leave me again don't ever leave me again, please please never leave me again!

He was more than half-asleep when he felt Sirius easing him back onto the pillow and pulling the blankets over him, and made a groggy protest. The next thing he knew, there was a soft rustle, and a cold nose nudged his hand gently before a warm weight settled at the foot of the bed. He supposed he should tell Sirius he didn't have to do that, that Sirius should be comfortable in his own bed and that he didn't need a watchdog…but that warm presence near his feet and the bleary sight of the bear-like dog curled up with him felt like a barrier against the nightmares, and Harry just couldn't bring himself to refuse it.

The nightmares did stay away for the rest of that night, although even Sirius's presence was not enough to push away the growing sense of dread as the next day came and went with no word of Lupin. Sirius didn't press for more details of the events of the past six months, though Harry did give him a very bare rundown. However, Sirius found out the awkward way just how much Harry had left out two days before Christmas, when news of Remus finally came.

Even Harry hadn't quite realized how much things had changed.

They were in the kitchen cleaning up (all tactfully avoiding mentioning Kreacher) when Professor Snape strode into the kitchen. Sirius dropped an empty bottle of butterbeer, the room went silent, and Harry froze where he was…between them. Snape was wearing that all-too-familiar sneer. "Hello to you too, Black."

"Well, well, Snape," retorted Sirius, stepping around Harry. "Happy Christmas to you. Now what do you want?"

"As much as I loathe to do so, I bear tidings of comfort and joy," Snape drawled, then looked coldly at Harry. Harry gulped. "Your precious werewolf is alive. He is in St. Mungo's and will be released in a few days."

Harry's knees went weak, and Mrs. Weasley stepped over to steady him. "Thank heavens. And thank you for telling us, Severus."

"Madam," said Snape curtly, and turned toward the door.

Harry was just starting to breathe again when Sirius remarked, "Try to contain your disappointment."

"Oh, believe me, Black, the disappointment that you did not have the courtesy to remain deceased renders the werewolf's survival a mere annoyance."

"Professor!" Harry protested, but Snape wasn't finished.

"For that matter, even the Dark Lord's rising again pales in comparison to your being inflicted on the world a second time."

"Sirius, Severus, please!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, glancing at Harry. Harry's mouth was open, but nothing came out. He couldn't believe he was seeing them both at each other's throats as if the last six months had never happened. Why were they still being like this? Hadn't it done enough damage last time? Which one would die this time?

Everyone's wide-eyed gazes were focused on the two men, except for Ron, who was closely watching Harry.

Sirius shot back, "Well, seeing you is certainly enough to make me regret coming back. Too bad your 'Dark Lord' couldn't be considerate enough to do away with you before I arrived."

Snape's lip curled with malice, and he snarled, "At least now I may still look forward to seeing you receive the Dementor's kiss."

Sirius responded with a snarl of his own and started toward Snape.

"BLOODY HELL, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ron leapt to his feet. Everyone jumped. "Just shut up, both of you!" he shouted.

Snape's head jerked toward Ron, his black eyes flashing dangerously. "You forget yourself, Mr. Weasley."

"I haven't bloody forgotten anything! It's you who's bloody forgotten every bloody thing that's happened in the past six months!" Ron yelled. Snape stared; Ron's face was almost as white as his own. "Bloody get over yourself, you greasy git, and stop acting like a dementor! There's enough of those running loose as it is! And YOU!" Ron spun around and pointed at Sirius, who took a reflexive step back. "For your information, Snape saved…Harry's…life—twice! And bloody near got himself killed both times!"

Harry reached toward him. "Ron, don't—"

"Shut up, Harry!" Ron snapped, without taking his eyes off Sirius and Snape, then he barreled on at Sirius, "Not to mention that he bloody went with Remus and the others to bring your arse out of the Fortress!" Then he swung back toward Snape. "And Remus has been fighting beside you and risking his life—he's let this stupid grudge die, and you know it! But then he comes back," Ron pointed at Sirius, "and you're back to smirking and calling Remus 'werewolf!' Bloody hell, what is it going to take? We're all bloody sick of this, and I'm NOT going to stand here and let you put Harry through it again!"

Silence fell. The only sound in the kitchen was Ron's labored breathing.

It was Percy who finally broke it, standing well out of the way against the kitchen counter. "Ron…I say!"

Then Fred and George sprang from their seats at the table and burst into wild applause. Harry felt someone squeeze his arm, and found Hermione standing next to him, one hand to her throat, tears in her eyes, and a rapt expression on her face as she gazed at Ron.

Snape was also gazing at Ron with a carefully neutral expression. Harry held his breath; he'd never imagined Ron capable of going off on Snape like that, and now couldn't imagine how Snape would react. When Snape finally spoke, he said the last words Harry expected to hear.

"My apologies, Mr. Weasley."

It took several moments for the words to sink in, but then everyone slowly turned toward Sirius. Sirius was staring at Snape with a troubled look on his face. "You saved Harry?"

Harry spoke up hesitantly. "It's true. Voldemort had me twice, and Professor Snape came after me both times." What color was left in Sirius's face drained away. "He blew his cover with the Death Eaters the first time, and went into the Fortress of Shadows anyway. You saw the shape I was in. Even when we got to the mountain, I'd have died that night if he hadn't been there. Now he's probably the only person Voldemort wants dead as much as me."

Sirius was open-mouthed, but Snape's face had gone from carefully neutral to distinctly smug. As Sirius turned mutely toward him, the Potions Master drawled, "You heard him, Black."

"He also did help in the mission to save you, Sirius," said Mrs. Weasley softly.

Snape seemed almost to swell with smugness. Harry sighed inwardly. But Sirius said very quietly, "I don't care about me," and walked slowly toward Snape, his eyes lowered. "Snape…what you may or may not have done for me is immaterial. But for what you did for my godson I am at a loss to express my feelings."

Then Snape was jolted out of his preening as Sirius grabbed him by the front of his robes and planted a big, smacking kiss right on his face. Shrieks of laughter rang out as Snape, growling and sputtering in outrage, wrenched away and flew from the room. Harry's godfather rocked back on his heels, laughing and vigorously wiping his mouth, as Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Oh, Sirius Black, will you NEVER grow up?"

That simply made Sirius and the others laugh harder as she rounded on Ron, "And YOU, Ronald Weasley, your language—"

Still laughing, the twins surged forward, each grabbing Ron by an arm and propelling him between them out of the room. Through the door, their voices floated, "Our Ickle Ronniekins, we are so proud of you!"

Hermione burst out laughing, and Harry sat down heavily in the nearest chair.

"I suppose it was too much to hope that those two would declare a real truce," remarked Ron later that evening.

"I don't know, Ron, you got more out of them than I expected," said Ginny, as they sat in the parlor around the chessboard.

Harry moved his rook, only to watch it get demolished by one of Ron's knights. "At least Snape didn't hex Sirius."

"True, though that may just be because he was too revolted," laughed one of the twins. They were helping Hermione put candles on the Christmas tree. She smacked George's hand away when he tried to light them.

"You're not supposed to light them until Christmas!"

"As you wish, m'lady," said Fred. George rolled his eyes.

Harry glanced at the doorway. Sirius was off talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the Grangers, he knew that, but for some reason he felt uneasy when Sirius was out of his sight for long. Well, it had only been about twenty minutes, but still…

"Your move, mate."

Harry blinked down at the board and moved a bishop. Ron's queen took it. Checkmate.

"What time is it?" Harry asked absently.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Fifteen minutes later than the last time you asked me that."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little distract—"

"This is RIDICULOUS!" Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed down the hall. Everyone looked up.

"Now what's she on about?" exclaimed Ginny.

Then they heard Sirius. "Will you listen to reason?"

Harry jumped to his feet in alarm. Was it Snape again? But then another voice rang out. "I will decide what's best for my daughter."

"Oh lord, it's my father again!" Hermione growled in outrage and stomped out the door.

Ron followed. "Don't tell me he's trying to take her away again."

"What?" Harry exclaimed. Ginny and the twins grimaced.

"Just let them sort it out, Harry," said George hastily. "This has been going on all year."

But Harry was already heading after his friends. Ginny and the twins caught up with him in the hallway, and they followed the raised voices to find the rest of the Weasleys and Sirius arguing heatedly with the Grangers at the foot of the stairs.

"For heaven's sake, we have this conversation every three days!" Hermione was saying.

"It's too great a risk to take her from here," Sirius insisted.

Mr. Granger retorted, "It's a bigger risk to keep her on the front lines of your wizard war!"

"If you run, they'll follow you." said Bill.

"Hermione's a Muggleborn witch; she'll always be a part of this," added Mr. Weasley.

Mr. Granger drew himself up. "She's not if I say she isn't."

"You cannot change what I am, Dad!" Hermione said.

"They have no right to involve you in this conflict!" Mr. Granger snapped.

"I was born to be involved in it. You can't protect me!"

"I'm your father!"

"If you take her out of here, you're condemning your daughter to death," Sirius warned him. "There's no place in the Muggle world they won't find her."

"But if she's away from Harry Potter, why will they bother looking for her?"

"They know who I am, Dad. They'll never stop looking for me."

Mr. Granger looked hard at Hermione. "I'm not so sure that you're any safer from him," he pointed at Harry, "than from them!" Harry winced.

He was unprepared for how violently Hermione responded. "Don't you DARE talk about Harry like that!" she roared, her eyes blazing as she went almost purple in the face.

"Hermione Jane Granger, don't use that tone with your father!" Mrs. Granger shouted.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Granger threw up his hands. "But the boy's out of control!" Sirius was white as a ghost, and his jaw was clenched, his eyes blazing. The twins each had a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I've seen what he's capable of, and I don't want my daughter mixed up with this!"

Hermione folded her arms across her chest, with her wand tight in her fingers. In a tone of absolute conviction, she said, "I'm not leaving."

Everyone fell silent.

Mr. Granger glared at her. "You will leave this behind if I say you will, young lady."

Squaring her shoulders, Hermione met his eyes. "No, sir. I won't."

Mr. Granger looked appealingly at his wife. "We're just trying to keep you safe," she whispered.

Softening a little, Hermione said, "You can't."

Mr. Granger stared at his daughter for a long moment. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he turned and walked away, followed by his wife.

Sirius stepped forward and put an arm around Hermione. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them and saw Harry's face. "If you try to apologize, I'll hex you," she said calmly. She walked over, kissed him lightly on the cheek, then turned and went up the stairs.

Ron went with her. Patting Harry's arm or hugging him as they went, the Weasleys trickled out, until Harry was standing alone at the foot of the stairs with Sirius.

"He's right," Harry said, looking at the spot where Kreacher had fallen. "I've got to get myself under control, or they'll never be out of danger."

Sirius nodded. "We'll help you."

To be continued...

Coming Next Weekend: At last, a reprieve from all the tension and angst! Our heroes finally get into the holiday spirit and Remus arrives in time for Christmas in Chapter Thirty-Two: Comfort and Joy!

PLEASE don't forget to review!