Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers     

Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters and places you recognise! They are all a product of JK Rowling's brilliant mind and imagination. I do own the plot, Rhianna Lupin (Yes! You'll get to meet her this chapter) and… er…

A/N (PLEASE READ!): Hi everyone! So, this is it- after an endless time of waiting (on your part) and getting through the tedious bits of this chapter (on my part), here it is, the new chapter!!! Yay!!! Well, I hope you are still reading this after HP and the Order of the Phoenix has come out…

You might find that this chapter is slightly different from the others. First of all, I have revised the whole story- I am much more satisfied with the result now- so you might want to re-read it. Harry is more in-character than before, I think, and I took care of the over-sentimental bits.

Second, the Harry in my story will never be as- volatile- and irresponsible as the one in the real book five, but I did try to make him act a little more like him. One of the main purposes of this chapter is to show that, even though Harry comes into his powers and is (or will be) the most powerful wizard ever, he is still a fifteen-year-old teenager- and fifteen-year-old teenagers make mistakes. Harry is not perfect, and he will never be; he is, first and foremost, a boy- and boys will be boys, right? ^_^

So, you will see Harry getting into trouble with Sirius this chapter, and probably another few times over the course of this story. Don't worry- it's not permanent! I'm a big fan of happy, mushy endings.

With that said, have fun reading the new chapter!

Thank you all for your faithful patience-

Felinity ^_^

And now, on with the story!

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Chapter 12:

Birthday Mayhem

(This chapter is dedicated to Michael, who is my new beta reader and did a wonderful job! Thanks, Mike!)

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He was cold. In fact, he was freezing. Why did it have to be so bloody cold outside? Harry shivered as he pulled his robes more tightly about himself. Why did he have to be so stupid? Chasing after a squirrel- how could he have lost control so completely?

His teeth were chattering. The sound and sensation annoyed Harry. It was the end of July! It shouldn't have been that cold- yet it was. And he, Harry Potter, was stuck outside in a forest alone at night with nothing to defend himself other than his fists. And they, he knew from experience, wouldn't do a lot of good against creatures such as Acromantula.

The stupidity of leaving behind his wand and then running into a dangerous forest at night… Harry hit his head against the tree he was leaning against in frustration. Sharp splinters of magical bark and wood tumbled to the ground, cutting painfully into his neck for revenge.

Harry cursed under his breath and sighed. The sky was clear and speckled with thousands of tiny stars. The moon was shining brightly. Harry felt a brief surge of relief as he realised that it wasn't a full moon- at least there were no werewolves lurking in the forest.

With a tingle of apprehension, Harry again remembered that his birthday was fast approaching. Judging by the position of the moon and absolute darkness of the sky, Harry guessed that it couldn't be long until midnight… not long until he turned fifteen, and whatever came with it.

Not for the first time, Harry wished that the prophecy hadn't been so very vague. He knew now what the part with the clearing was about- he was definitely in a clearing, lost, and also feeling quite alone at the moment- but he still wondered about his powers. What would it feel like to be more powerful? Would there even be a difference? Would it hurt?

Harry felt a pang of loneliness at his last thought. Why couldn't he have been with Sirius now? Or with Minerva or Remus, Dumbledore, Snape, anyone? Everything had to better than being alone… being on his own.

He wondered if the others at the castle were worried about him. Had they even noticed his absence? Probably, he reasoned. He had, after all, been gone for a few hours. The solution to his problem suddenly hit Harry. His mind link. His connection with the other Order members!

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the connection somewhere in the back of his conscious mind.

'Sirius? Remus? Minerva?'

There was no answer. Harry tried again.

'Sirius? – Professor Dumbledore? Professor Snape?'

Only silence met his calls. Harry had to fight off his growing panic. If there had been an attack by Voldemort, he would have known. His scar would have alerted him. One of them would have told him! If not via mind link, then by owl.

Still, it grew harder and harder to stay calm. Harry curled up a little more. His silvery little clouds of breath were barely visible in the moonlight. Just why was it so cold?

After a while- it could have been a few minutes, but it felt like hours to Harry- he grew uneasy. Something was happening, he could sense it. A barely discernable shift in the air, a breath of something, a glimmer so powerful that it should not have come from this world…

Harry's unease grew as the uncomfortable sensation of being watched intensified tenfold. He pressed his back against the tree trunk behind him, wishing for the umpteenth time that night he had his wand. His right hand clenched around a small stone next to him on the ground- hardly a suitable weapon, yet it made Harry feel a little less helpless.

There was something in front of him. A bodiless shape, a formless being, but it was there nonetheless- for one panicked moment, Harry thought that the demon had followed him into the forest- but it wasn't possible, was it? The demon was bound to Hogwarts- it had said so- Dumbledore had said so…

Chills ran down Harry's spine as the swirl of something slowly solidified in front of him. Harry raised his badly shaking arm and threw the stone at the being in front of him with full force, but the stone went right through it.

The thing emitted a deep chuckle.

Harry tensed, his every muscle preparing to jump up, run, bolt, everything to get away…

"Relax," said the deep voice, sounding weary with age and powerful with timeless youth at the same time. "I am not here to hurt you."

"Oh no?" Harry asked, his voice tight with suspicion. "Who are you, then?"

The shape in front of him finally formed itself into that of a wizard. He was old, the oldest person Harry had ever seen. Dumbledore would have looked like a child next to him. His hair was long and grey, brushing the ground behind him. His beard was almost as long, coming to just below the wizard's knees.

He was wearing a white, old-fashioned wizarding robe and leaning heavily on to a beautiful staff made of dark wood.

But for all the signs of the wizard's enormous age, his dark blue eyes were looking at Harry with a sharpness and clarity Harry had only ever seen in Dumbledore's eyes. Those eyes made Harry feel as though the man in front of him could see every one of his deepest, darkest secrets. He averted his eyes hastily.

"Does it really matter who I am?" the man asked in that same brittle, powerful voice.

Harry raised his eyes again, meeting those of the stranger. They didn't look malicious, Harry noted with some relief, but rather calming and slightly amused.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yes. It matters to me."

The man raised his head a little higher, his eyes narrowing slightly, though not in a bad way.

"You would not believe me," said the man.

"Try me," said Harry.

The stranger chuckled again, a sound that reminded Harry of mouldered stone and roaring waterfalls. He sat down slowly beside Harry, taking a long time as though even such a simple task required a huge amount of effort. Harry supposed it made sense, seeing how old the man was. He scooted a little away from the stranger in distrust.

"Relax," said the man again, sounding a little impatient for the first time. "I am the Keeper of Power."

Harry stared.

"I knew you would not believe me," said the man with a sigh. "You probably haven't even heard of me, have you, boy?"

Harry shook his head silently.

"I thought so," said the man with a wheezy laugh, "it is better this way… you humans need not know of my presence… in fact, it is better that you do not…"

Harry finally found his voice again.

"Wh-Who are you?" he whispered, overwhelmed by the sensation of weariness and pure power the man was positively radiating.

The Keeper of Power laughed again. The strange, wheezy sound sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"Ah, Harry Potter," the old wizard whispered, "I am the Keeper of Magic… I overlook the ancient pools of magic in the Beyond. I see to it that the right number of people receives the gift of wizardry and witchcraft every year… and that it is taken back from those who pass beyond the veil and have no use for it anymore…" The man waved his hand impatiently.

"It is nothing one as young as you should concern yourself with… just an old man's meddling… but every once in a while, I get to play a small role in the course of fate and the balance of power…" The stranger frowned.

"I am neither light nor dark, understand that, Harry Potter… yet even I, the most neutral of all institutions… tend to play favourites…"

The Keeper wheezed another laugh.

"For every power there must be an opposite, Harry Potter… for every darkness there must be a light. And sometimes- I must decide who will bear the burden of fate and the responsibility of power… I must decide who will have the ultimate gift to victory… and sometimes, Harry Potter, I make mistakes… yes, even I… Tom Riddle was never intended to be so dark… he was to be a bright boy, an asset to the light side. Alas, another got to him first… and so it was my task to create another force that would exterminate this darkness… until another came along… and like this it shall be until the end of all things… yet as I said, this is nothing one as young as you should concern yourself with…"

The Keeper took a few wheezy breaths, as though talking so much had exhausted him. Harry hardly dared to breathe for fear of interrupting the old man.

"Tonight, young Harry Potter… you must receive the burden of your powers…"

The old man stopped talking. Harry waited for a few minutes, but he didn't say any more, just stared pensively up at the sky above him.

"Um… yes?" Harry finally said.

The man turned to look at him and chuckled.

"You wonder what is going to happen, Harry Potter, to give you these powers… when, of course, you already have them."

Harry blinked incredulously.

"I do? But- I don't feel any different!"

The Keeper gave another of his wheezy laughs.

"Foolish child," he rasped fondly, "Of course you would not notice the difference! These powers have been inside you all the time… locked away in one of the deepest, darkest corners of your mind… only accessible to you in situations of dire and desperate need… you can use them now…"

"Really?" said Harry with a frown. "So, what can I do?"

"Try to levitate that pebble over there," the Keeper said, pointing his staff in the direction of the small stone Harry had thrown at him.

"I don't have my wand," Harry admitted ashamedly.

"You… do not necessarily need one," said the Keeper. "Try it, boy…"

Harry frowned and raised his hand obediently.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said, pointing his hand in the direction of the pebble and doing the 'swish and flick'-motion Professor Flitwick had taught them in his first year.

The pebble gave a tiny shudder and floated slowly upwards until it hovered about ten inches from the ground.

"Very good," the Keeper whispered, "Now, boy, let it go… you do not want to tire yourself out too quickly… wandless magic is very strenuous in the beginning… which brings me to another point…" 

Harry ended the spell and lowered his hand, feeling slightly exhausted. With some astonishment, he noticed that beads of sweat had formed on his face and wiped them away.

"You will need to train, boy," whispered the old wizard, and Harry got the impression that his outline was growing fainter again. "Even if you do possess these powers now, they are largely untamed and variegated… it will require some effort on your part to discover and control them all… I am sure that your teachers will be glad to assist you in your training… and now it is time for me to go…"

"Wait!" Harry called. "Where are you going? You can't leave me out here like this…"

The Keeper of Power chuckled.

"Never fret, my boy," he said, though his voice was starting to sound distant, "You will find one of your new powers most helpful… look to the stars, Harry Potter… Good luck…"

And then he was gone.

Harry couldn't help it- he felt annoyed. Here he was, supposedly the most powerful wizard of all times, lost, almost completely defenceless and freezing to death, in the middle of a forest; not to mention that it was after midnight!

Wasn't he supposed to feel powerful? Harry remembered some of the superhero-comics Dudley had left in his second bedroom. Somehow, he couldn't remember a scene where any of them were stuck in such a predicament without a real chance of escape!

Harry sighed as reality dawned on him. Despite his new powers, despite his destiny, he was still Harry Potter, a fifteen-year-old boy like any other. Or almost.

What had the Keeper of Power said? Look to the stars…

Harry looked up. The sky looked almost exactly like it had a few minutes before- the moon had progressed a little more on its journey across the night sky, the constellations had moved a little with it. Harry could make out and identify quite a few of them; after all, he had had Astronomy lessons for the past four years.

Maybe he could use the constellations for orientation? Harry knew that to return to Hogwarts, he had to go north, as the Forbidden Forest lay south of the castle. After a few frustrating minutes of trying to remember where it was, Harry found the North Star.

And to his great surprise, Harry found himself able to navigate with help of the stars. He hesitated for a few minutes. Should he really try to find his way back to the castle on his own, and in the middle of the night? Did he dare? Maybe it would be wiser to simply remain in his place and wait for the others to find him- then again, who knew when they would? The Forbidden Forest was gigantic; the search could take days…

His mind made up, Harry stepped away from the tree and brushed away the dirt on his clothes. Taking one last deep breath, Harry left the brightly lit clearing behind him and started into the forest.

It was eerily silent at night. Apart from the occasional hoot of an owl and some rustling in the underbrush, Harry could hear nothing. The silence unnerved him and almost made him wish for something to happen… a howl in the distance… Harry shuddered as he thanked his luck once again that it wasn't a full moon.

Sometimes, sharp cracks and snaps of breaking branches and the sound of leaves being crushed made Harry whirl around in panic, his arm raised before him defensively like a wand, but it always turned out to be a rat, mouse, or once even a unicorn.

It was hard to say who was more startled, the unicorn or Harry. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, and then the unicorn reared, whirled around on its hind legs, and dashed away into the trees. It vanished from sight almost immediately.

After that particular encounter, Harry felt a little more confident. No unicorn would linger in the area if there were any imminent danger!

"Oh, bloody hell," Harry mumbled a few minutes later. The treetops above his head had become denser and darker, and suddenly, the sky was blocked from Harry's view. Harry looked around in the darkness and felt blind. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

Cursing under his breath a little more, Harry stumbled on, trying to keep going in a straight line. Unfortunately, the forest apparently didn't care where Harry's straight line went- Harry kept running headfirst into trees, stumbling over tree roots protruding from the ground, bumping his head painfully on low boughs, catching his sleeves on thorns and ripping his clothes (and skin) in the process of freeing them and being snapped in the face by flexible branches.

If only he had his wand, Harry thought morosely as he nursed a growing bump on the back of his head. Only a little light. Nothing fancy, mind you, he couldn't afford to alert the ministry- just a simple 'Lumos'-spell. Something as easy and harmless that any first year could pull it off. But Harry didn't have his wand, and as such…

„…don't necessarily need one…"

Harry contemplated hitting himself in the forehead, but that wasn't necessary; one of the branches in front of him had done the job. Rubbing the swelling bruise with a grimace, Harry lifted his hand.

"Lumos."

It took longer than with his wand, which reacted instantly to Harry's commands, but soon, a small, flickering ball of light blossomed in Harry's palm. Smiling to himself and feeling as triumphant as though he had just managed to produce a corporeal Patronus on his first ever try, Harry continued on his way.

It went a lot smoother now that he could actually see where he was going. Not five minutes later, the forest lightened a bit again. Harry glanced up and saw, to his great relief, that small bits of night sky were again visible through the treetops. As soon as he spotted the North Star, Harry checked his position.

He hadn't drifted too much off course to his great satisfaction, only a little more to the west… 

Harry had no idea how long he had walked, but as the sky slowly started to become lighter, the trees were getting sparser as well and Harry quickened his pace in anticipation. Sure enough, there, in the distance, Harry could make out the shimmering lake. Hagrid's hut was not too far off, neither were the greenhouses; and then Harry could even see the castle itself.

It looked dangerous and mysterious in the semi-darkness. Harry paused for a moment, admiring its thousands of little and big towers and battlements… Harry secretly thought that Hogwarts, like the Burrow, was one of those buildings that could not have existed without magic, as it defied all laws of gravitation Harry had ever heard of.

'Sirius? Are you there?' Harry called through his mind link.

'Phrrr… fivemoreminutesmum…'

Harry snorted. Apparently, Sirius was just fine.

'SIRIUS BLACK!!!'

'Wha… I swear, Pr'fessor Flitwick, I don't know where those dung bombs came from! It must have been… HARRY?'

'You'll have to tell me the whole story sometime, Sirius,' Harry remarked dryly.

'Merlin, Harry, are you all right? Are you hurt? Where are you? Don't move, I'm coming to get you! Harry, are you ok? Where are you, Harry? Are you at Hogwarts? Don't enter the castle alone! Are you at the Burrow? Did you-"

'Shut up, Sirius,' Harry thought loudly. 'I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I'm on Hogwarts grounds, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I'm going to walk to the castle now, and no, I'm not going to enter. Will you come to the entrance hall?'

'Of course, Harry, give me a minute… and remember, don't enter the castle unless I am with you!'

'I know, Sirius.'

Harry felt tired as the tension and adrenaline that had kept him going for the past few hours finally began to seep from him. He trudged up to the castle slowly and tiredly, knowing that it would take Sirius a few minutes to reach Hogwarts's front doors.

On his way through the dewy grass, Harry disturbed the sleep of a hornet. The insect buzzed angrily and aggressively around Harry. He pointed his hand at it half-heartedly.

"Stupefy."

The hornet gave one last indignant buzz and fell to the ground, Stunned.

Harry shook his head as he walked a safe distance away from it before casting 'Enervate'. This new power unnerved him, even though it did come in handy. And since he hadn't been swamped by ministry owls saying that he was expelled, he assumed that the ministry could not detect this kind of magic.

He felt drained, though. He really needed to work on that! Voldemort wouldn't be defeated if Harry cast Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, and Stupefy and then collapsed from exhaustion.

As he passed the last greenhouse, Harry wondered what else he could do. The Keeper had been very close-mouthed. What if he didn't discover all of his powers? What if he missed only one, crucial thing to defeating Voldemort?

Anxiety and dread churned in Harry's stomach before he forcefully shoved these thoughts aside. The final battle wasn't too near, Harry knew that instinctively. He would have time, loads of time to train, to prepare… for the last confrontation between the dark and the light side, the last battle of good and evil.

Harry knew that Voldemort wasn't the first dark wizard, and that he wouldn't be the last. But his, Harry's, role in fate ended there. He was the one destined and prophesised to defeat Voldemort- after that, a hopefully long period of freedom and peace would follow, allowing Harry and the whole wizarding community to live a life of relative ease.

Harry dared not imagine what would happen if he failed, if the prophecy was fake. The light side would continue fighting without him, he knew that- Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix would never give up, not even because of his death.

But at the same time, Harry was uncomfortably aware of the hopes and expectations many light wizards placed in him. His death itself wouldn't lose the war- but it would destroy moral on the light side, and subsequently mean the end of the war in Voldemort's favour.

He couldn't let that happen. No, he would train. He would slave long and hard, until he was sure that each and every one of his powers was discovered and under his full control. He would enter the final battle well-prepared, and Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him.

The thought of his nemesis made Harry smile grimly in satisfaction. Word of his new powers must not reach Voldemort's ears. He would have to train in secret- maybe even hold back in classes. It wouldn't do for Malfoy junior to get suspicious and inform his father of Harry's sudden increase in academic success. Lucius Malfoy might inform Voldemort, and then Voldemort would know that the second part of the prophecy had been fulfilled.

Harry would keep Voldemort unaware. He would make him think that the prophecy was just as fake as the woman who had predicted it. He would play average Harry Potter in classes… and in the end, when it came to defeating his enemy, the element of surprise would be his, and it would be the key to Voldemort's destruction.

Harry nodded to himself, the grim smile still playing on his lips. He had sped up inadvertently and reached the front doors much more quickly than he had expected. Sirius was not there yet, though Harry could sense his presence approaching hastily. He was two landings above the entrance hall, when the staircase changed on him. Harry sighed. Sirius was now on the seventh floor. It would take him a while to get downstairs.

Harry startled as he realised that he could actually sense Sirius's presence. Probing with his mind a bit, Harry found that he could also identify the other occupants of the castle. Professor Snape was in his Potions lab, brewing a simple minor healing potion for Madam Pomfrey's stores. Professor Dumbledore and his godmother were sitting in the library, worrying about and waiting for him. Remus was pacing in his room. Filch was making one of his nightly rounds. The other professors were all in their own rooms, and, judging by their slightly blurred auras, fast asleep.

Harry sat down on the front steps heavily as he realized what was happening to him. He could sense other people's presences, their auras. He could sense where they were, how they were, and what they were doing. Harry wondered how far his senses could be extended and concentrated on Hogsmeade. The houses nearest to Hogwarts were no problem, but then things got hazier. He could no longer identify people clearly, only those he knew personally stood out.

Madam Rosmerta was just going to bed after a long night of serving drinks in the 'Three Broomsticks'. The owner of Zonko's joke shop was sleeping peacefully in his bed, while his ten-year-old twin sons used one of their father's newly invented products to dye all of his clothes, including his pyjamas, rainbow-coloured.

Harry snickered to himself.

Sirius was approaching now, and Harry got up, facing the doors expectantly. Not five seconds later, the doors were thrown open so hastily that they banged loudly against the wall, screeching and yelling angrily in protest.

"Harry!"

And before Harry even had a chance to answer, his godfather swept him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh Merlin, Harry, are you ok? We were so worried…and your wand! What were you thinking, Harry? Going out alone at night without your wand! You could have been hurt! You could have been seriously hurt! Circe, Harry, you idiot, you could have been killed!"

All the time, Sirius tightened his hold on Harry, who was running low on oxygen.

"Si-ri-us!" he managed to choke out, squirming desperately. "Gerroff me!"

Sirius released him, turned away slightly and passed a shaky hand over his eyes.

"I'm sorry… Harry, just don't scare me like that… when you didn't come back in and we found your wand on the table… and you weren't on the Marauders' map… and the Order mind link wasn't working… for a moment, we thought… you… that you'd…"

Sirius broke off, breathing heavily. Harry felt tremendously guilty.

"Listen, Sirius, I'm sorry," he pleaded. "I never meant to worry you! I was just going to go for a short walk, and then I transformed into a wolf, and then I saw two squirrels, and one of them was running away, and I just- I lost control completely, Sirius, there was nothing I could do! I forgot that I was human and I just chased after the squirrel for hours, and then it got dark, and I realised that I had no idea where I was, and I-"

"Breathe, Harry," Sirius said with a pained smile, "It's ok."

Harry sighed in relief.

"But-" Sirius continued, and Harry's stomach plummeted again, "-you're grounded."

"What?" yelped Harry. "Grounded? You can't do this! I'm not a five-year-old, Sirius, you can't ground me!"

"I can and I will, Harry." Sirius said firmly. "What you did tonight was foolish, irresponsible and downright suicidal. You left your wand in the castle. You went outside without telling anyone-" Harry bristled at that- "- and you took an unnecessary risk transforming into your Animagus form when you have had virtually no training! Damn it, Harry! Don't you ever think? Why do you think Animagus transformations are so dangerous? It's not just the process of transforming that can go horribly wrong; it's also the danger of losing control over your animal! I thought you understood that, Harry! I expected better of you!"

Harry hung his head, feeling thoroughly chastised and cowed. He had never seen Sirius become so angry and stern. He realized that he had really messed up this time.

Sirius closed his eyes as he saw the look on his godson's face.

"Come, Harry," he said quietly, his voice icy with barely restrained anger. "I don't trust myself to talk to you right now. I will walk you to your room and then I expect you to sleep. No protest! I will notify Albus, Remus and Minerva of your arrival. They are worried out of their minds."

Harry followed his godfather back to his room in dejected, or in Sirius's case stony silence. He changed into his pyjamas quickly and slipped under the covers of his bed, all under the furious glare of his godfather. He felt like crying. Sirius wordlessly handed him his sleeping potion and Harry gulped it down without meeting his eyes. He fell asleep immediately.

~*~

Harry woke up feeling miserable. For a few, disoriented moments he didn't understand why, and then the memories crashed back down with frightening intensity. Sirius, his beloved godfather, was absolutely furious with him- so furious that he hadn't even wanted to look at, much less talk to Harry that night. He was grounded, too.

'Bloody wonderful,' Harry thought bitterly, 'and all that on my birthday.'

Harry had actually looked forward to his birthday that year- it would be the first birthday he could remember without the Dursleys. He was surrounded by people who cared about him… especially Sirius.

And now he had gone and messed it all up. Sirius hated him, and he hadn't even seen Minerva, Remus and Dumbledore yet… Harry felt sick as he imagined the look of disappointment that would surely shine in Dumbledore's eyes, replacing that annoying but reassuring twinkle.

He felt even worse when he thought of Remus. He wouldn't yell, probably, unlike Sirius… but he, like Professor Dumbledore, would be so terribly disappointed… and Minerva… Harry didn't quite know her well enough to predict what her reaction would be, but he envisioned endless detentions, detraction of house points and a long, furious lecture that would leave him feeling even more terrible, if that was possible.

Harry groaned unconsciously.

"Harry."

Harry opened his eyes painfully slowly and turned to the source of the voice, filled with dread. It was Snape, and he was looking at Harry with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"Are you going to yell at me, too?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

Snape smiled slightly.

"No. I am sure that you will hear enough yelling today."

Another jolt of dread shot through Harry's stomach.

"Why are you here, then?" Harry asked.

One of Snape's eyebrows rose.

"Why, Harry, to keep you company."

"Company?" Harry said warily.

"Yes." Snape sneered slightly. "Your- godfather- has decided that since you are grounded, nobody should talk to you for a few hours to let you think about what you have done, a course of which Albus and Minerva approved."

"You did not," Harry observed.

"No," said Snape. "I find that leaving a child to think about the possible repercussions of his or her mistakes for too long, especially when said repercussions involve punishment dealt out by loved ones, will only allow the aforementioned child to work him- or herself into quite a state – which, depending on the severity of the mistake and the character of the child, can border on emotional abuse. A concept which many parents and guardians cannot seem to grasp."

"That's a harsh way of putting it," Harry said quietly.

"But it is accurate," said Snape. "Especially in your case."

Immediately, Harry's misery came rushing back to him.

"Sirius hates me!" Harry groaned.

Snape made a strange sound at the back of his throat.

"See what I was talking about, Harry? I assure you that Black does not hate you."

"Yes he does!" Harry said desperately and dejectedly. "He was so angry last night! He yelled at me and then he refused to talk to me any more. Said that he didn't trust himself, and he sent me to bed without another word. He was so disappointed!"

"He is angry and disappointed, Harry, yes," Snape said, in a voice that was uncharacteristically kind for him. "But he does not hate you. Black yelled at you last night because you worried him, Harry. Black spent the better part of last night thinking that you were dead He was positively hysterical, wanted to go out and look for you in the dark immediately. The headmaster had to Stun him eventually to keep him from doing something foolish. I hate to say it, Harry, but Black's actions were justified. I am actually surprised that he managed to control himself as much as he obviously did."

Harry hung his head again.

"So you think this is right? That I deserve my punishment?"

Snape produced another one of those sounds.

"I already told you what I thought of the no-talking-rule, Harry," he said firmly. "But I do think that you deserve to be grounded. What you did was careless. No wizard should ever go anywhere without his wand, especially you, Harry. You are the Boy-Who-Lived. You have many enemies. Such carelessness could get you killed."

Harry sighed.

"Rest now," Snape said, getting up from his chair and putting one hand on Harry's shoulder. "Read a book or do your homework. You cannot leave your room until Black, Lupin, Minerva and Albus have talked to you. I will send a house-elf up here soon with your breakfast. Don't worry too much, Harry. They will rant and rave and make you feel terribly guilty for what you have done, but none of them will actually think any less of you and they are all very relieved that you have come home safely. They will also want to know what happened in the forest last night… I think I will come and listen to that part, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not," Harry said quickly. He would be grateful for Snape's company… it looked like his Potions Professor was the only person he cared about who would not be terribly disappointed in him that day.

"Relax," Snape said, apparently having read some of Harry's thoughts. "They won't be too harsh, Harry. It's your birthday after all."

Snape drew a small parcel from his robes and handed it to Harry. It felt somewhat warm in Harry's hands.

"Happy birthday, Harry. Good luck."

"Thanks," Harry said softly, just before the portrait fell shut behind his professor. Harry looked at the parcel when it suddenly turned a pleasantly cool temperature.

Curiously, Harry peeled off the blue wrapping paper and pulled out a small pendant. It was a relatively flat, oval, completely clear stone with a strange kind of mist swirling inside of it. Crystal of some sort, Harry realised. There was a hole drilled into one end of the stone with a simple black leather strap threaded through it.

Harry picked up the note that had come with the parcel curiously and read.

Harry,

Happy Birthday. This is no ordinary pendant. It has special powers, and I want you to wear it at all times, Harry, even when you are swimming. Never take it off. There are several strong protection charms placed on it, as well as a tracking spell. If you are ever taken from the Hogwarts grounds against your will, the spell will activate and lead the bearer of your pendant's counterpart- that is to say, me- to your location. When we are in close proximity, the pendant can also be used to communicate. Just grip it tightly with both hands and think hard of what you want to say to me. My pendant will tingle, and as soon as I touch it, I will hear whatever message you transmitted to me. It will work the other way around, too, of course. However, as I said, we will need to be in close proximity- so both on the Hogwarts grounds- for this to work. The pendant has other powers, too. If a person bearing the Dark Mark is near you, the pendant will heat up- so it will probably have been very warm when I handed it to you. When the pendant turns red, it means that the person near you cares about you. When it turns blue, the person has bad intentions and you should stay away from him/her. Should the pendant ever turn black and begin to pulse, I want you to return to Hogwarts as quickly as possible, because it will mean that you are in acute, life-threatening danger.

One more thing, Harry- this pendant can never be taken off by anyone other than you or myself.

The pendant has another few features, Harry- for example, it turns yellow whenever its counterpart is approaching- but I will leave you to figure the rest out on your own.

Have a nice day.

Professor S. Snape

Harry smiled as he lowered the letter. It was a thoughtful gift, not something he would have expected from Professor Snape, considering that they had spent the past four years hating each other passionately.

He lifted the pendant carefully and looked at it against the light. It sparkled beautifully in the sun. Harry's smile widened as he tied the leather strap securely around his neck and hid the pendant beneath his shirt.

It only then occurred to Harry that he was alone in the room. Panic overwhelmed him for a second. What if the demon came and attacked him again? Who would help him? Were Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and Minerva so angry with him that they had decided to leave him to the demon's clutches?

Harry grasped the pendant tightly and closed his eyes.

*Professor Snape, what about the demon? I'm alone!* Harry thought furiously. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then the pendant tingled pleasantly. Harry touched it carefully, and Snape's voice rang through his head.

*Don't worry, Harry. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall have found a solution to your problem, at least as long as you are in your room. This demon is too solid to pass through walls; it has to use doors like humans. Your portrait has been heavily warded with protection charms- it won't be able to pass through there, Harry. As long as you stay in your room, you can be alone safely. The same thing has been done to Gryffindor Tower and all of your classrooms, as well as the Professors' offices, the Great Hall and the Hospital Wing. The demon can only confront you now in the hallways, in abandoned classrooms and in rooms such as the Trophy Room- you are not to go in there, Harry, and never alone. Do you understand?*

*Yes, Professor,* Harry sent back, feeling a little cowed and relieved at the same time. *And… thank you very much for the pendant. It's great.*

This time, the answer arrived almost immediately.

*You are welcome.*

Harry smiled slightly and, feeling better, released the pendant. The mist inside it was clear and floated around peacefully, reminding Harry a little of white clouds in a clear sky.

His smile faded a little as he remembered his current predicament. Twinges of unease again settled in Harry's stomach. The pendant warmed slightly. Harry was startled. Were Deatheaters nearby? But the warmth was not uncomfortable and didn't feel threatening at all. In fact, Harry felt comforted and rather peaceful.

There must be a slight Cheering Charm on the pendant, Harry realised. He shook his head. His Potions professor was full of surprises.

Glancing at the clock, Harry realised that it was only ten o'clock in the morning. 

He sighed as he pulled out his schoolbooks, some parchment, ink and a quill and started on his Charms homework. Honestly, doing homework on his birthday! Harry was disgusted.

~*~

Harry was so caught up in his work that he almost missed the change in his pendant. Pulling it out curiously, he noticed that the swirling mist had turned red. Harry checked Professor Snape's letter quickly. Someone who cared about him was nearby.

Harry's stomach lurched uncomfortably as he realised what that meant. He checked the clock on his wall. It was almost noon. Sirius, it seemed, had decided that Harry's time was up and was approaching to talk to him, probably together with Harry's godmother, the headmaster and Remus.

Harry put away his homework and prepared himself mentally for a thorough dressing down. No sooner than he had put his quill back on to his desk, the portrait hole swung open and the aforementioned four people climbed into his room.

Harry swallowed at the identical, stony looks on their faces. He was really in for it.

Dumbledore took out his wand and for one panicked, wild moment Harry thought that he was going to hex him. But the headmaster merely flicked it four times, making four comfortable-looking squashy red chairs appear in mid-air. They revolved slowly for a moment, then clattered down noisily.

The four of them each chose a seat and sat down, never losing that- expression- on their faces.

There was a minute of uncomfortable silence, in which Harry fidgeted nervously with his hands and avoided the gazes of the four most important adults in his life.

Finally, it was Dumbledore who broke the silence.

"Harry." he said.

Harry stilled his hands and kept his gaze on his bedcovers.

"Harry," the headmaster said again, sounding just the slightest bit impatient and commanding. Harry raised his head unwillingly and met Dumbledore's scrutinising, piercing, light-blue eyes.

Harry found that he could not look away, as if hypnotised by Dumbledore's steady gaze. For a second, he thought that he felt something probing at his mind and shook his head unconsciously, pushing against the force. Dumbledore leaned forward and the pressure in Harry's mind increased.

Harry gripped his head and mentally lashed out at the invisible force with all his might, the way he would throw off an Imperius Curse.

Dumbledore sat back and the pressure vanished. Harry found that he was breathing harder than usual and turned to look questioningly and suspiciously at the old wizard.

The headmaster was wearing a small, unreadable smile.

"Curious," he remarked casually.

"Headmaster?" came Sirius's voice from the left.

Harry jumped involuntarily. He had forgotten that there were more people in the room other than the headmaster and himself, three people in fact, who were looking back and forth between Dumbledore and himself with puzzled frowns.

"It seems," Dumbledore said calmly, "That Harry here is now able to ward off Legilimency attacks."

"What?" Harry asked, though he wasn't the only one.

"Legilimency," Dumbledore continued, speaking mainly to Harry, "Is the ability to invade and extract thoughts and memories from another's mind, mostly used to find out your enemies' weak points. Muggles might refer to it as mind-reading, though there is more to it than that, naturally. It requires an enormous amount of mental power and concentration to break into another person's mind, as minds tend to be heavily protected… just as it takes an enormous amount of effort and concentration to keep a Legilimens out of one's mind. The ability to ward of a Legilimens's attack is called Occlumency, which is the art of defending and hiding one's thoughts, emotions and memories. Skilled Occlumenses can even manipulate and make up new memories, thus feeding their opponent wrong information. It is a highly useful skill, Harry, and one you will be able to use well… especially against Voldemort, who is an extremely proficient Legilimens."  

"Oh," said Harry. "Um- wow…"

Dumbledore smiled a little more, though he sobered rather quickly and regarded Harry with that strangely stony expression again that seemed so out of place on his usually kind face.

"Now, Harry," Sirius interrupted coolly, making Harry cringe. "Would you mind explaining to us what possessed you to commit the utter stupidity of leaving the castle alone, without telling us where you were going or taking your wand, transforming into your unregistered and not fully controlled Animagus form without supervision and running into the Forbidden Forest at night?"

Harry cringed again. Somehow, Sirius made it all sound worse.

"I forgot," he mumbled.

"Forgot what?" his godmother interjected icily. Her lips were pressed so tightly together that they were almost invisible, and her glasses were flashing angrily.

"I forgot to take my wand!" Harry clarified, feeling embarrassed. "The clothes I was wearing didn't have any big pockets, so I had to keep it in my sleeve, so it was constantly falling out or poking me somehow, so I just put it on the table. I never meant to leave it there, but then Hermione called me because she and her parents were leaving, and I went to see them off, and then I was outside and I just wanted to take a short walk… and then-" Harry broke off.

"Then what?" Remus asked quietly. His steady, unreadable gaze reminded Harry of Dumbledore's similar expression.

"I remembered the prophecy," Harry admitted quietly. "I had almost forgotten, y'know, with Sirius's trial and all, and I was wondering what was going to happen, and I felt so dreadful…

And then I shifted into my Animagus form because animals are simpler and I did feel better… and then I saw those two squirrels that were fighting over a nut, and then one of them ran away into the direction of the forest and I- I lost it. I ran after it and I almost caught it, too, but it climbed on to a tree and from there it hopped to the next one, and I followed it on the ground for hours…

"And then I suddenly realised that it was dark and I had no idea where I was, or where I had come from, and that I didn't have my wand! So I figured that I would stay in the forest that night and sat down in a clearing to wait…"

Harry stopped and looked at the four people in front of him who were looking at him with various degrees of fury (Sirius and Minerva) and understanding (Remus and Dumbledore).

He took another deep breath, focusing mainly on Sirius now who was apparently still not convinced.

"Listen, I'm sorry..... I know it was stupid, I shouldn't have left my wand at the castle and I'm really sorry, but its ok, it's alright..... I'm ok. I'm not hurt or anything, it's fine. It was supposed to be that way. The prophecy said so! It's not like anything happened-"

But this time, he had apparently pushed Sirius too far. The Animagus jumped up so quickly that his chair toppled over and towered over Harry.

"NOTHING HAPPENED?" he roared, "YOU THINK THAT NOTHING HAPPENED? WE WERE WORRIED OUT OF OUR MINDS, YOU FOOLISH CHILD, AND YOU ACT LIKE EVERYTHING IS FINE!? SNEAKING INTO THE FOREST AT NIGHT, WITHOUT YOUR WAND! I OUGHT TO-"

But now, Harry was getting angry as well.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled, interrupting his godfather before he could say anything he would regret later. Sirius looked thunderstruck.

"Don't you think I know that?" Harry said at a more civilised volume. "Do you think I enjoyed being lost in a dangerous forest in the dark without anything to defend myself with? It was bloody cold out there! I tried to contact you through our mind link, and I didn't get a response! I didn't know whether Voldemort had attacked somewhere and you were all dead! I didn't even know what time it was! I was lost in a bloody forest, Sirius, damnit! And all the time I knew that midnight was coming closer and I had no idea what was going to happen to me! Do you think I liked all that, Sirius?"

Harry was trembling with silent fury and admittedly a little fear. Sirius's behaviour reminded him all too much of Uncle Vernon.

"Besides," Harry said coldly, "you are one to talk. I'm not the one who spent all my school days deliberately breaking school rules just for the fun of it and I'm not the one who kept prancing around in the Forbidden Forest every full moon night with my friends! How dare you lecture me on something like this, Sirius! You're such a hypocrite!"

The look in Sirius's eyes was frightening and Harry wished that he had just kept his big mouth shut. Sirius's eyes looked wild and murderously angry, he was clenching and unclenching his left fist while his right hand gripped his wand tightly, all the while bent slightly over Harry's bed and looking like he was itching to physically attack or curse him- or both.

"Now, Sirius," Remus said nervously, "Calm down. Harry didn't mean it that way, did you, Harry? He was just… we all say things we don't mean when we are angry, you know that, Padfoot, don't you…"

With what looked like an immense amount of self-control, Sirius pocketed his wand, turned around and left the room without another word. Harry opened his mouth as if to say something to him, but the portrait slammed shut before he found the right words.

The sound rang like a gunshot in Harry's ears as he sank back on his bed bonelessly. He felt shaky and numb. He and Sirius had just had their first fight. He and Sirius had just had their first fight… the words repeated themselves over and over in Harry's head.

"Harry…" Remus had got up and sat on the bed next to Harry. "Sirius will come around… he was just a bit worried about you, Harry…"

With a choked cry, Harry launched himself at his werewolf friend and burrowed his face in his robes. He was shaking and didn't even know why.

"Harry," Remus said again, rubbing Harry's back soothingly, "Sirius will come around. He has always had a quick temper; I daresay that he is already feeling sorry for yelling at you."

Harry pulled away and nodded quickly. He gripped his pendant tightly and mentally called Snape. He arrived not half a minute later and Harry gathered that he had been close-by.

"Are you done yelling at the boy, then?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Minerva said, glancing warily at Harry. "No. Maybe. Harry was going to tell us what happened at midnight, weren't you, Harry?"

Harry nodded quickly and shoved all other thoughts away. He explained everything about the Keeper of Power and what he had- or hadn't- told Harry.

"So, the powers you already know you possess are…? Remus asked.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore.


"Occlumency, apparently," the latter said, "Star-Navigation, which is actually a common skill among centaurs, Empathy- which is the ability to sense people's auras and subsequently feelings- and Wandless Magic. Impressive, and probably only a small part of what you can do. I daresay that you will also find that your spells have increased in strength, Harry. The powers we blocked from you when you were a baby are fully accessible to you."

Harry sighed. To think that he had always wanted to be just a normal boy…

"There is something else we must discuss," said the headmaster firmly.

Harry looked up again

"Your punishment."

Harry groaned and closed his eyes.

"I know you regret what happened, Harry, but what you did was, as you undoubtedly know, careless. And as much as I would like to take that burden from you, you are Harry Potter, and you cannot afford such carelessness like any other teenager could. You are too important, Harry, both to the people who love you and to the wizarding world. Such behaviour cannot go unpunished."

Harry was screaming inside with the unfairness of it all.

"You will be grounded, as Sirius, as your guardian, has already decided. You will spend today in your room, though you will be allowed to come down to the Great Hall tonight to receive your presents and have your birthday dinner. I hear that the house-elves are preparing all your favourite foods, courtesy of Dobby, I believe. Tomorrow you will stay in your room the whole time doing your homework and hopefully thinking about what you have done. A house-elf will be sent up to bring you food. The day after tomorrow, Sunday, you will stay in your room until Quidditch practice and return here immediately after that- I believe that will be enough punishment.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I know you feel that your punishment is not fair, and in a way it is not; but you are the Boy-Who-Lived and I must impress upon you the seriousness of what you have done. You could have been killed, Harry. Please accept this."

Harry nodded bitterly.

Sometimes he really hated his life.

~*~

About two hours later, Harry had calmed down enough to finish his Charms essay. It was not up to his usual standards and he knew it, but at the moment he couldn't quite bring himself to care. He could redo it later, after all. 

What had promised to be a wonderful day, his birthday, was turning out to be more miserable than any birthday he had ever spent at the Dursleys'. At least Harry didn't care when they locked him in and ignored him- with Sirius it hurt.

Harry glanced down at his pendant when he heard a reluctant, hesitant knock on his portrait hole. The pendant was red with little bits of black swirling through it. Harry frowned. Snape's letter hadn't said anything about this colour combination.

"Come in," Harry called cautiously, gripping his wand tightly.

The portrait swung aside, and for one terrible moment Harry thought that nobody was going to enter, that the demon had found a way to breach Dumbledore's wards. A second later, though, a foot appeared through the hole and the rest of Sirius soon followed.

Harry and his godfather stared at each other in wary silence for a minute.

Then, Harry felt obliged to break the ice.

"Sirius-" he said just as Sirius said "Harry-"

They broke off and Harry grinned a little.

"You go first," he said.

Sirius nodded awkwardly and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed cautiously.

"Harry," he said quietly, "I'm really not great at doing this, but I- I wanted to apologise. You're right; I had no right to shout at you. You've never broken a rule deliberately like we did- and last night was an accident. But I… I was just so worried about you, Harry… I couldn't bear to lose you like Lily and James… you understand that Harry, don't you?"

Harry's heart clenched at the haunted look in Sirius's eyes.

"I let them down, I failed them, Harry… and I don't want to fail you. When I thought you had died, I wanted to die too… and then you showed up again and you were fine and you acted as though nothing had happened when I was worried out of my mind… I lost it Harry, and I'm so sorry- I was just so angry… Harry, say something before I make an even bigger fool of myself, please!"

Harry gave a choked laugh.

"It's ok, Sirius… I understand, I think. I'm just glad you don't hate me."

Sirius paled a few shades and grabbed Harry's shoulders, holding him at arm's length.

"Hate you? Merlin, Harry… did you really think that? I could never hate you- you could join Voldemort and I still wouldn't be able to hate you! I will get mad at you sometimes and yell and punish you, but I will never hate you, kid. God, Harry, I love you… you know that, don't you?"

Sirius's eyes searched Harry's anxiously.

Harry was still feeling strangely choked up. He was squirming in embarrassment feeling very warm inside at the same time.

Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug, and Harry hugged back awkwardly.

"You know that, Harry, don't you?" Sirius repeated with more urgency.

"'Course," Harry mumbled into his chest, even as he could feel himself blushing. "Love you too," he added shyly.

Harry was glad when Sirius released him.

"So," he said in an overly-bright voice that he hoped would cover his embarrassment, "Does that mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

Sirius smiled and shook his head.

"Sorry, Harry, what you did was still careless. The punishment stands."

"Ah, damn," said Harry with a sigh- but somehow the prospect of the next few days didn't seem quite as bleak anymore.

Harry redid his Charms assignment after Sirius had left the room and was quite sure that he had never written a better essay before.

~*~

Several hours later- Harry guessed that it had to be about five o'clock, though he was too lazy to check- there was another knock on the portrait. Harry glanced at his pendant reflexively. It was swirling in rainbow colours. He had to talk to Snape, Harry realised. There were just too many combinations that Harry knew nothing about.

There was another knock.

Harry grabbed his wand again and called, "Come in!"

The portrait swung open and a person Harry had never seen before stepped through. It was a girl; she looked to be about Harry's age. Harry thought that if the girl had stood next to Hermione, the two of them would have been within an inch of the same height- though that was where the similarities ended.

This girl's hair was curly, not frizzy like Hermione's and dark blonde- while her eyes were very dark, so that they seemed almost black. They glittered with the same warmth that shone in Hagrid's eyes, and Harry immediately liked her.

"Hello," said the girl, releasing the portrait and stepping a little closer to the bed. "You must be Harry."

She smiled a little hesitantly and Harry got up quickly. The smile reminded him of someone, as did the girl's nose and her eyebrows…

Harry cast around a little in his head. Dumbledore? No. Sirius? No. Snape? Definitely not… Remus?

Harry scrutinised the girl's face closely and imagined Remus in his mind. Yes, he could see the resemblance. It was in the cheekbones, too. And Harry realised that this had to be-

"Rhianna Lupin?"

The girl nodded and held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, as Harry shook her hand. "I've heard a lot about you, you know? Especially last year, when Dad returned from teaching here at Hogwarts. Wouldn't shut up the whole time until I had to return to the LSM- that's my school."

Harry grinned a little awkwardly.

"Yeah, well- your Dad's a really great teacher, you know? He was the best Defence against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had. He even taught me how to produce a Patronus!"

The girl- Rhianna- smiled proudly. Harry noticed that her eyes lit up at the mention of her father.

"Yeah, Dad's great, isn't he? He taught me some magic when I was little- not much, though. He said he didn't want me to become bored at school."

There was a short, awkward silence as both of them cast around for something to say.

"So, um-" said Rhianna, "Dad told me you got into a bit of trouble with your godfather?"

Harry grimaced and invited her to sit on the bed next to him.

"Yeah," he said. "Um- I'm grounded till Sunday."

Rhianna winced sympathetically.

"Ah, bad luck," she sighed ruefully, "You won't be able to attend my birthday dinner. I'll be stuck with all of the old people."

Harry was surprised, to say the least.

"Your birthday dinner? It's your birthday, too?"

"Yes, today," said Rhianna, looking confused. "Why? When's yours?"

"Mine's today, too," admitted Harry. "Remus didn't mention this…"

"No, he didn't tell me either."

There was another short silence, though this time it was not an uncomfortable one.

"How did you manage to get grounded on your birthday? That seems a little harsh," said Rhianna finally, wearing a small frown.

Harry snorted.

"I know. It's all right, though. I really messed up, and besides, I am allowed to attend my- our- birthday dinner and get my presents tonight."

"Oh, good," said Rhianna, suddenly looking a lot happier. Harry guessed that she had meant it when she had said that she didn't want to be stuck with the 'old people'. For a moment, Harry wondered why- after all, he had been in this situation for two weeks and it hadn't done him any harm- but then he remembered that Rhianna couldn't possibly know all of the professors. It had to be awkward, dining with your Dad and a bunch of other people who you didn't know but who were destined to become your teachers in a month's time. Harry's musings were cut short by a startled, yet delighted exclamation of Rhianna's.

"Oh, you've got a Firebolt! Would you like to come outside and fly?"

Harry sighed and glanced longingly at his beloved broomstick.

"I can't, remember?" Harry said dully. "I'm grounded for the weekend…"

Rhianna immediately looked contrite.

"I'm sorry, Harry! That was my big mouth again- I always forget to think before I say things. Mum says it's a miracle I haven't gotten into serious trouble yet for that! It's this stupid acting-before-thinking habit- Dad says I'll be in Gryffindor for sure."

Harry grinned a little.

"It's fine. Haven't you been sorted yet?"

"Not yet, no... I'll be sorted tomorrow. Just after breakfast. I hope I won't be in Slytherin."

"You?" Harry asked incredulously. "Why? You don't seem like Slytherin material to me."

Rhianna gave him a small, doubtful smile.

"Harry, do you know what 'LSM' stands for?"

"Um," Harry ventured carefully, "…no?"

Rhianna gave a short, quiet laugh and nodded, seemingly to herself.

"The 'LSM' is an abbreviation for 'Lycanthropes` School of Magic'."

She stopped and watched Harry's reaction expectantly. Not that there was a big one, because Harry merely smiled.

"So you are a werewolf like Remus."

Rhianna looked shocked. She was staring at Harry with eyes so wide that Harry was momentarily afraid that they would pop out of their sockets.

"Yes... No… I mean, not quite."

At Harry's confused look she added anxiously,  "Yes. I-I'm a werewolf."

"And that's why you're worried that the Sorting Hat will place you in Slytherin? Just because you're a werewolf?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Well yes," said Rhianna, looking a little embarrassed. "Slytherin is said to be the house of many dark wizards and witches. And werewolves are considered dark creatures by most people and the ministry."

"Your Dad was in Gryffindor, though," Harry pointed out. "I don't think the Sorting Hat cares if you're a werewolf or not. It's all about your character and decisions."

Rhianna smiled uncertainly.

"I hope so. You don't seem to mind my being a werewolf much, either. Aren't you afraid that I'll eat you or something?"

"No, I'm not," Harry smiled amiably. "I know Remus, and he hasn't eaten me yet. Will you keep this a secret from the other students? Most of the smart ones will figure it out, you know."

It was Rhianna's turn to grimace.

"I know. I won't tell anyone that I am a werewolf, but should they ask, I won't lie."

She looked anxious again.

"I just hope they won't hold it against me."

"I wouldn't worry too much," said Harry, "Your Dad's really popular. Most of them will be really happy that he's come back, werewolf or not. And since you're his daughter… well, I think you'll be fine. Now, if you were Snape's daughter I would be worried…"

"Oh, yes, Snape," said Rhianna, grinning a little. "I met him this morning. He seemed to really… well…"

"Hate you?" Harry suggested with a grin.

"Well, yes," admitted Rhianna, not looking or sounding particularly upset.

"Don't worry," said Harry. "That's Snape for you. He hates almost anyone who's not in Slytherin. And he was enemies with your father and mine. He only got over his hatred of me this summer. I'm sure he'll get used to you, too."

Rhianna grinned.

"Oh, I'm not worried. I've been hearing stories about Snape all my life. And I'm afraid I pissed him off a little this morning."

Even though Harry found himself liking the surly Potions Mater more and more as the holiday progressed, he couldn't prevent an eager, mischievous grin from forming on his face.

"What did you do?"

"I swear it was an accident!" Rhianna said quickly, "But- well… blue is my favourite colour, you know? Back at the LSM, our rooms were always painted in our favourite colours. My friends got sick of me moaning on and on about how the walls here at Hogwarts would not be blue, and how I wouldn't be able to survive without that colour… so they got me a really big pot of blue wizarding paint as a joke gift. It will glow in the dark and not come off without the antidote being administered, and even then it will take a few days…

"A few hours ago, I arrived at the Hogwarts gates with the Knight Bus, and Snape was waiting for me because all the other teachers- including my Dad- were busy. To tell the truth, I've always been a little clumsy, so when I exited the Bus I tripped on the stairs and lost control of my trunk… it landed right at Snape's feet and crashed open, and then the pot of blue paint went flying and hit a nearby rock… and, well, Snape got covered from head to toe in blue paint."

Harry roared with laughter. Rhianna seemed to be fighting a grin herself.

"I tried to apologise to him, really, but then he sneered at me… and…and even his teeth were blue!"

They laughed hysterically for a few minutes. The image of a fuming, blue-coloured Snape was too much for Harry.

"What-what did you do?" Harry gasped out finally.

Rhianna was taking deep breaths herself.

"I managed to apologise to him eventually, though I really don't think he accepted it. I'm afraid I started laughing every time I looked at him. Well, I told him the correct antidote for the paint before he could hex me, and he stormed off to brew it."

She grinned mischievously. "Won't do him much good. The antidote takes at least two days to brew and another two days until the colour starts to fade. I didn't tell him that, though. I didn't fancy ending up as werewolf-steak on my first day here."

Harry grinned and they lapsed into comfortable silence a bit more.

"So," said Harry finally, "There is a school for werewolves?"

Rhianna's eyes seemed to light up again.

"The LSM, yes. My Mum is headmistress there. It's a really brilliant school- a castle, like Hogwarts, only much lighter. Not as magical, though, I think; and definitely not as old. It's more modern- there are more teachers as well. Oh, and the students aren't sorted into different houses, and we all had our own rooms."

"Sounds cool," said Harry sincerely. "So why did you come here, then?"

 "Well, I kind of always wanted to go to Hogwarts," admitted Rhianna a little sheepishly. "Mum's school is great and all, but I've been hearing stories about Hogwarts from Dad since… forever. It drove Mum mad. She said he was corrupting me."

Rhianna grinned mischievously, and Harry found himself smiling back.

"Why didn't you come to Hogwarts in the first place, then?"

"I wasn't allowed," said Rhianna, and her eyes darkened a little. "I'm a born werewolf. I needed to learn control first. Four years is the minimum every born werewolf has to spend at Mum's school before they are allowed to visit normal wizarding schools like Hogwarts or Beauxbatons."

Harry was confused. What did Rhianna mean, a 'born werewolf'? Was there a difference between 'born' and 'bitten' werewolves?

"You don't know the difference?" Rhianna asked, and Harry realised that he must have spoken aloud.

"Well, no," he admitted sheepishly. "Is there a big one?"

Rhianna smiled wryly. "Gigantic," she said. "Bitten werewolves are not affected by their lycanthropy at all unless it is full moon and they are forced to transform. Oh, and their senses might be a little enhanced, especially close to the full moon. Their bodies are strained quite a bit by the monthly transformations, which is why they appear to age more quickly than other people, even though their life expectancy does not diminish any."

She paused for a little while, playing with one of the lianas dangling down from the canopy of Harry's bed absentmindedly.

"Born werewolves are different," she said quietly. "For us, lycanthropy is a part of our personality. The wolf is not really separate from the human. The transitions are… blurred, if you want to put it that way. The wolf is really more like an Animagus form than anything else to us. We can transform into it at will… and the transformations are not even painful. But we are also very dangerous. We transform into werewolves- real, vicious werewolves- when you push us too much… there is no controlling us. There is no taming us.

"The Wolfsbane only helps with the transformations at the full moon… yes, we do still have to go through those, and they are painful… but the potion allows us to keep our minds like any bitten werewolf. When we transform voluntarily, we keep our human minds- like I said, the wolf is like an Animagus form. But when we transform out of Rage, we become vicious, untameable monsters. Nothing would stop us…

"Did you know that Aurors are allowed to use Unforgivable Curses on born werewolves in a Rage?"

Harry could feel his eyes widen in horror.

"Oh, don't look so shocked," said Rhianna. "It's the only way. A werewolf in Rage will only stop and transform back if the subject of its Rage is killed or removed from the vicinity permanently. This is the main reason why all born werewolves must go to my Mum's school, myself included.

"We learn to control ourselves, our emotions. Feelings like anger and rage must never be allowed to get out of hand, because they will mean death- either for us or for the idiot who provoked us. And even in the latter case, it would mean the dementor's kiss for us."

Harry shuddered.

"Bloody hell," he whispered, eyeing Rhianna warily. "Er- should I be afraid?"

Rhianna grinned again.

"Don't worry. I'm very good at controlling myself. I would never have been allowed to leave the LSM otherwise."

Harry nodded and glanced at the clock.

"It's already half past six. We should probably get downstairs for dinner now."

"Oh, presents!" said Rhianna and jumped up, all of the previous gloominess forgotten. "Let's hurry! You do know the way, don't you, Harry? I don't think I'd ever find it again; Hogwarts is so big! One of the house elves led me here. Dooby or Dobby, I think. Do you know him?"

~*~

They talked without a break on their way to the great hall. Harry found it astonishingly easy to talk to Rhianna, who, much like Hermione and Ron, was the perfect listener and also knew many hilarious stories about her old school. To Harry, Rhianna seemed like an odd mix of the Weasley twins and her father, which Harry would not have thought possible. It had to be the Marauder genes, Harry thought with a wry grin.

They had reached the great hall in no time and opened the big doors- only to stop short in the doorway. The staff table had been festively decorated with colourful platters and dishes; there were streamers everywhere; cheerful music filled the room, seemingly coming out of nowhere; the Hufflepuff house table had been shrunk a little and was covered in what seemed to be hundreds of presents for both Rhianna and Harry; and there was a big banner floating through the great hall flashing 'Happy 15th Birthday, Harry & Rhianna!' in bright, colourful lettering. Every few seconds, the banner would whistle the appropriate tune shrilly and change colours or release a bout of streamers or sometimes a colourful puff of glitter and smoke.

Only then did Harry realise that they were not alone in the room; in fact, they were being watched by the whole staff of Hogwarts (including a disgruntled, blue-coloured Professor Snape) with no small bit of amusement (well, except for Snape, Harry realised, biting his lip to keep from laughing. He didn't look amused in the least).

A seemingly endless amount of congratulations later, Harry and Rhianna sat down at the table with the Professors. Both received a huge piece of birthday cake and tucked in happily.

"Dad," said Rhianna, who was sitting next to Harry and across from her father. "Why didn't you tell us that Harry and my birthday are the same day?"

Harry, whose mouth was full of cake, nodded along. Remus just grinned at the two of them.

"I wanted to be able to see your reactions when you found out. And it never really came up."

"Which one of us is older?" Rhianna asked curiously.

"Neither," Remus smiled. "Both of you were born at the exact same time, at four minutes past two in the morning on July 31st, 1980. It was a running joke with the Marauders that you must have done it on purpose- because you, Rhianna, were born two weeks late, and you, Harry, two weeks early. Such cute little babies you were, too."

Harry and Rhianna threw each other a mortified glance.

"Yeah," Sirius said with a grin, having listened to their conversation. "One day when we were walking in the park, an old lady tried to kidnap you, Harry, because you were 'such an adorable, sweet little angel, and his eyes! As green as fresh leaves on a beautiful summer's day!'" 

Harry blushed and tried to sink lower into his chair.

"Yes," Remus chimed in again, a devilish glint in his eyes. "And remember that one time when we went to the muggle swimming pool? We lost Rhianna for a few minutes, but then there seemed to be some kind of commotion on the other side of the pool. There were three muggle women who had found her, we had great trouble getting them to let you go. They were insisting on trying to adopt you. In the end we resorted to magic and Obliviated them."

It was Rhianna's time to blush and sink lower in her chair.

"Oh!" said Minerva delightedly. "I remember once, when I was babysitting Harry, there was this young couple and they saw Harry and said-"

"Minerva, could I have another piece of cake, please?" Harry interrupted loudly. Rhianna threw him a grateful look, while Minerva mercifully shut up and Sirius and Remus burst out laughing.

However, the 'let's-tease-Harry-and-Rhianna-session' was over.

Not much later, the staff crowded around the two birthday children and the table with presents, and spent the next hour watching the two happy teens opening present after present from friends and family.

Harry got some pasties and self-made biscuits from Mrs. Weasley; a book on the history of the Chudley Cannons from Ron (it was titled 'Let's Cross Our Fingers And Hope For The Best', which, Harry knew, was the Chudley Cannons' motto); a package of their new inventions from the Weasley twins together with a letter saying thank-you for the generous donation and that they had been able to open a little Joke Shop at 93, Diagon Alley; Hogwarts: A History from Hermione (accompanied by a note threatening Harry to read the book or else); his own set of Quidditch balls from Sirius; So There's A Dark Lord After You: Everything You Need To Know from Remus (along with a letter from Dumbledore saying that Harry's training would start the following Monday, which excited Harry); Transfiguration And Its Uses In Battle from Minerva and his very own Pensieve from the rest of the staff.

Harry was a little overwhelmed and didn't know how to thank everyone, but they waved him off with kind smiles. After the present-opening, which had made both Rhianna and Harry very happy, they all sat down at the staff table again and had a wonderful dinner which included all Harry and Rhianna's favourite foods.

After dinner, they stayed seated and just talked and laughed for hours. At one point of the evening, Professor Dumbledore pulled Harry aside.

"Harry, my boy," he said solemnly, though the twinkle in his eyes never dimmed, "First of all, happy birthday. I wanted to give you a present as well, but I can't be seen playing favourites, as I'm sure you understand." He winked at Harry and pulled a small, neatly wrapped package from one of the countless pockets of his robes.

Harry took it cautiously and opened it. Inside, there was a beautiful little figurine of a phoenix, looking so lifelike that Harry almost expected it to fly away any moment. The details of the little phoenix were so fine that Harry could see every single feather on its wings and every single scale on its feet. Harry thought that the figurine looked extraordinarily like Fawkes, only its eyes were different- for while Fawkes's eyes were black like most birds', this little phoenix's eyes were a bright green, like Harry's. The figurine was fastened to a thin, silver chain with an exquisite clasp that looked like two crossed phoenix feathers. Harry couldn't believe that the headmaster would give him something so beautiful and expensive.

"This-" he stuttered, "I- I can't- this is too- this is just- wow…"

The headmaster chuckled.

"I am glad that you like my gift, Harry," he said gently, "It is not an entirely inconsequential one, I'm afraid."

Harry looked at the wise man questioningly.

"This little phoenix, Harry, might save your life one day," Dumbledore explained. "It is a portkey and will activate as soon as you touch it and say 'Safe Haven', then it will immediately take you to the Hogwarts Infirmary. However, as it can only be used once, I must ask that you only use it when there is no other way out, only in an extreme emergency. Do you understand, Harry?"

Harry nodded, still speechless after the wonderful gift.

"Now," the Headmaster continued, "I understand that Severus has already given you another pendant this morning, correct?"

Harry nodded and pulled it out of his shirt. Dumbledore examined it closely over the rim of his glasses for a few moments.

"Yes…" he mumbled finally, "Powerful magic… it will do. Could you take the pendant off for me, please, Harry?"

Harry did so and handed it to the headmaster, silently wondering what he was going to do. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and tapped the pendant, making it become a little wider. Then, with another tap of his wand, the leather string disintegrated into nothingness. Harry watched a little anxiously as Dumbledore put both Professor Snape's pendant and the phoenix figurine in the palm of his hand and began to weave complicated patterns around them with his wand, muttering an indistinct stream of Latin under his breath. Slowly, Harry could see where the headmaster was going with this, as the figurine and the pendant merged until the beautiful phoenix was completely encased in the clear stone, which was now fastened to the silver chain. Harry gasped as he saw the end result; it was even more beautiful than the two pendants had been before.

Dumbledore did a few more tests and finally nodded, satisfied, and clasped the charm around Harry's neck.

"You can still use Professor Snape's pendant as you did before," he assured Harry, "and to activate the portkey, you must now touch the stone. Yes, this should work out splendidly."

Harry smiled at the finished charm. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

The headmaster nodded with a kind smile.

"You are most welcome, dear boy. And now, why don't you run and enjoy your birthday party? It's not everyday that a young man turns fifteen, eh?"

With another wink and his usual congenial smile, the headmaster walked away and started a conversation about plants with Professor Sprout. Harry shook his head. Albus Dumbledore was a strange man, but Harry couldn't imagine life without him.

~*~

A few hours later, it was close to midnight and the professors decided that it was time for everyone to head to bed. Harry and Rhianna wanted to protest, but as they kept yawning in the middle of their complaints, none of the adults took them seriously.

"To bed with you," Minerva said sternly and herded the two of them out of the hall. "The house elves will take your presents up to your rooms. Go on now, chop-chop."

Sirius and Remus led the two stumbling teens to their rooms. At Merlin's portrait, Harry sleepily said goodnight to Rhianna and Remus and followed Sirius into his room.

He brushed his teeth quickly and changed into his pyjamas, then he crawled into his bed.

Sirius smiled at him.

"Goodnight then, Harry," he said, bending down and placing a small kiss on Harry's forehead, which made Harry blush again. "Your parents would be very proud of you. So am I."

Harry smiled almost shyly. "Really? You think so?"

"I know so," Sirius corrected with a small smile. "Sleep well."

And he left Harry's room quietly. Only then did Harry notice that the second bed in his room had been removed. He smiled to himself. They trusted him enough that he wouldn't do anything stupid, like running off into the forest without his wand, again.

A few minutes later, when Harry had almost drifted off, there was a quiet knock on his portrait.

"Come in," Harry called softly, wondering who would be visiting him at such a late hour.

The portrait swung open and Remus climbed through the hole.

"Hey," he said softly, sitting down on Harry's bed. "Sorry to keep you awake, but there is something that I must do." He pulled a letter out of one of his pockets. "This letter, Harry, was Owled to me by your Mum, only minutes before she died. I mentioned it in the trial, remember?"

Harry nodded, his eyes glued to the letter and his throat feeling strangely dry.

"I was supposed to give it to you when you turned fifteen, Harry, so… here it is."

Remus handed the letter to Harry hesitantly. On the front, it said in neat letters that reminded Harry very much of Hermione's handwriting:

To my beloved son, Harry

Harry gulped. This was a letter from his mother. This was a letter from his mother to him, Harry, written almost fourteen years before, written mere minutes before she had been ruthlessly murdered. These were his mother's last words to him, to her son, to Harry… there was a big lump forming in Harry's throat.

"Do you want me to leave?" Remus asked quietly.

Harry's head snapped up quickly- he had forgotten about Remus's presence in the room. He nodded quickly, dropping his eyes back to the precious parchment.

Remus gave him a kind, sad smile and ruffled his hair.

"Goodnight, Harry," he said softly and stood to leave the room. As he had reached the portrait, Harry managed to dislodge the lump in his throat a little.

"Remus…!" he called after him, and his friend turned back. "Thanks," Harry said softly.

Remus just smiled and nodded, then he left.

After hearing the soft thud of the portrait closing, Harry turned his attention, yet again, back to his mother's letter. He turned it over. The letter was sealed with red wax. Harry leaned closer to see the design.

There were two beautifully carved, crossed staffs, the left one had a small shield depicting a lion leaning against it, and the right one a quill with a small inkwell.

Above the staffs there was a beautiful little phoenix and a banner with what seemed to be some kind of motto- Harry had to take off his glasses to decipher it- Lux Exsurgit. Harry had to take Latin classes in primary school, so he managed to translate the motto- Lux Exsurgit, Light Arises.

Harry smiled slightly and opened the letter carefully, trying not to damage the beautiful seal too much. He pulled out apiece of parchment and unfolded it reverently. And then, he saw it… a whole piece of parchment filled with the neat script, to him, Harry.

Harry stared at it for a few minutes, almost not wanting to read it, because then even his mother's last words would be gone… Harry took a deep breath, smoothed out the perfectly smooth parchment carefully and began to read.

'My dearest Son,

Oh Harry, how I wish you didn't have to read this… because it will mean that both James and I are gone and cannot watch over you any longer, my poor little boy. I gave this letter to Remus in the hope that it was really just a precaution, that you would never have to read it, that I, or James, would be able to tell you all of this ourselves in due time…

Alas, it was not to be. I am sorry, Harry, my little baby boy, that we had to leave you. I hope that you have led a good life even without us. Has Sirius been taking good care of you? If he hasn't, hex him for me, will you, Harry?

Well, Happy Birthday, I suppose. You're fifteen now and all grown up- as I am watching you sleep as I am writing this, I can hardly believe it. I want you to know that I am proud of you, Harry, no matter what you decide to do later in your life.

I have so many questions now, Harry… are you happy? Who are your friends? Which house are you in? Are you playing Quidditch, like James? Do you like to study? Sorry, that was a stupid question… you're so much like James, I know you don't. Oh, Harry, I wish I had been able to watch you grow up…

…but let me tell you the point of this letter. Last night, I had a dream, a vision… a premonition, if you believe in them. I know that true Seers are very rare, and I am not saying that I am one… but I do get flashes of the future sometimes, as do most witches and wizards with our eye colour. I suspect that you have the gift too, my beloved son, since your eyes are just like mine. If you do, you should be experiencing your first visions soon.

As I am sure you have been told by now, Harry, you are the heir of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Merlin. And since you are reading this letter, it must mean that you have come into your powers.

But I am sidetracking, excuse me. There is just too much I want to say to you, knowing that you will never even remember us… yes, Harry, I foresaw our deaths. These visions are not always accurate, as human minds are not always predictable. But something tells me that this particular premonition will come true… that this is no nightmare, no hoax.

Harry, my beloved baby, we have made a terrible mistake. I assume that Albus has told you about the Prophecy by now? If not, show him the letter and ask him about it… tell him I said to tell you.

Since we knew that you were in danger, we decided to perform the Fidelius Charm. This is very complex magic, Harry, too complex to explain in a letter… let me just tell you that it is one of the most powerful Protection Charms in existence. One person acts as the Secret Keeper for those who want to go into hiding… unless that person reveals the secret, the people can't be found or touched.

James and I originally wanted Sirius to be our Secret Keeper, but Sirius didn't like the plan… he thought that it was too obvious, everybody knew about James and his friendship. So we switched Secret Keepers at the last possible minute, Harry… we never even told Dumbledore. Or Remus.

I feel that this mistake will be our downfall, my son. Peter Pettigrew is now our Secret Keeper, yet I find myself not trusting the rat. Peter has always been a coward, and he accepted just a little too easily, too quickly. He has been acting strangely all year, yet James doesn't want to listen… he refuses to see what I'm afraid I know for sure now, that Peter is a spy for Voldemort.

James suspects Remus, since he thinks that Peter is simply too much of a coward to change sides. I know he is wrong. Remus, bless him, would never betray us to the dark side, despite his being a werewolf. Never judge a book by its cover, Harry. Remus is one of the kindest people you will ever meet… you do know him, don't you? Yes, of course you do, or you wouldn't be reading this letter.

Last night, I had a dream in which Peter betrayed us to Voldemort. He came to Godric's Hollow on the evening of the 31st of October, which is today, in exactly one hour's time. I tried to talk to James about this, but he wouldn't listen. James does not believe in Divination and he refuses to imagine that Peter could betrayed us.

Maybe I am wrong; Son… maybe James and I will live through the night. But I doubt it strongly. I am so sorry that we will have to leave you… I hope that you will be well cared for in Sirius's home. He may be a little careless sometimes, but I trust him with my- and your- life.

Harry, there are more things that you must know. As you have reached your fifteenth birthday, you have come into your powers. You must train, Harry, and quickly. You, my beloved Son, are the only one who can defeat Voldemort. It is your destiny.

The most important skills that you should train are wandless magic and elemental magic. Ask Albus or Remus, they will be able to tell you what that is. You should also practice your Occlumency… Voldemort is a very strong Legilimens, Harry, and there is no saying what could happen if he managed to break into your mind.

Chose your friends carefully. I see dark times ahead of you, times of hardship and battle. Oh, my poor little boy, how I wish I could be there for you… and yet, it is not to be.

Train, Harry. Learn as much as you can. Voldemort is a formidable enemy, I should know, I have faced him three times. You must hone your skills as quickly as possible. Ask Albus for training, he will help you, if he hasn't already.

You also shouldn't be alarmed when you start going through rapid changes- both physically and emotionally. They are part of your power enhancement and may appear randomly.

Be safe, my poor baby… I wish I could take this burden from you, I wish this didn't have to happen to you, and most of all I wish that I could be there for you.

Only seventeen minutes left now…

Never fear, my boy. I will never truly leave you, and I will be watching over you no matter where I am. I love you, Harry, and so does James.

Never forget that.

With all my love,

Your Mum,

Lily Evans-Potter'

Harry lowered the letter and stared out of the dark window. Seventeen minutes. Seventeen minutes before Voldemort had attacked, before…

Harry placed the letter gently on his bedside table and lay back, snuggling under the covers. Those two words seemed to echo in his mind ominously. 'Seventeen minutes… seventeen minutes… seventeen minutes…'

Harry wiped his eyes with his sleeve, feeling very lost and alone.

There was a soft knock on his portrait.

"Yes?" Harry asked hoarsely.

The portrait swung open slowly, and Remus stepped through hesitantly.

"Sorry about disturbing you again," he said with an uncertain smile. "I just wanted to make sure that you were all right."

Harry smiled a little and patted the bed next to him. Remus released the portrait and sat down, glancing briefly at the letter on Harry's bedside table.

"Go on," Harry said softly. "I don't mind. Read it."

"Are you sure Harry?" Remus asked seriously. "This is very private, the only letter she ever wrote to you…"

Harry waved his hand impatiently.

"Read," he said decisively. "You kept the letter for me for almost fourteen years. You have a right to know what it says."

Without further protest, Remus took the letter and read it quickly. Harry watched as different emotions flitted across his face: sorrow, amusement, anger, embarrassment, horror, and finally grief.

"Thank you, Harry," Remus said quietly and put the letter back. "This was very personal. Just… thank you:"

"She sounded… nice." Harry's voice broke a little, and Remus smiled faintly.

"Oh, she was," he mumbled, seemingly to himself. "She definitely was one of the nicest people I have ever met… and you are so much like her. Strong, stubborn, brave, sweet… she would have been proud of you, Harry. James, too."

"Even when I run off into the Forbidden Forest without my wand?"

Remus laughed and punched Harry gently in the arm.

"Even then. And now you should really go to sleep, it is past one o'clock in the morning- I hope you've enjoyed your birthday, despite everything."

Harry smiled tiredly and yawned.

"Def-definitely," he grinned, "It was the best birthday ever. Despite everything."

Remus smiled and stood up to take his leave. He got as far as the portrait hole before Harry's voice caused him to turn around again.

"Remus?" Harry asked with his best innocent expression. "Am I still grounded?"

Remus laughed, conjured up a pillow and threw it at Harry.

"Go to sleep."

And that's exactly what Harry did. 

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A/N: Tada!!! Another chapter… and it's a long one.

I've got a few important news: If you ever want to know how much of a new chapter I've already written or which story I am currently writing on, look at my profile- I will keep it updated.

Also, I've decided to start one of those countless Yahoo!Groups… You can find the link in my profile. I will notify you whenever I update either one of my stories and you can discuss them with me if you want.

And now, please review!!!!!

Thanks to all those people who reviewed the last chapter! (As review answers are no longer permitted due to the new dialogue/message board regulation, I won't be answering reviews anymore in the end of chapters. Sorry, everyone! If you have questions or want to discuss my stories with me, please email me or join my Yahoo!Group. You will find both in my profile.)

Until next time!

Felinity ^_^