Nutty Al: Thanks for reviewing. I agree that my Order meeting was weak, but the way I look at it, Harry is just starting to get used to the idea of trying to control the situation so he isn't sure how much to push…..yet. Also I'm just trying to get things set up for later, so I'm just now starting to rush through the summer.

Once again, I don't own anything but the plot and some of the new characters that are coming up. The rest belongs to the wonderful mind of JK Rowling.

Everyone, please read and review.

Chapter 6 – All Good Things

The next few days flew by in a blur. Harry and his friends were beginning to work furiously at the hand-to-hand combat and really starting to get good at it. They had decided to practice every day so that they could begin to build up their endurance and stamina. They also wanted to get as good as possible as fast as possible. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had also asked Harry to start trying to teach them how to clear their minds and organize their thoughts since Harry had told them about his conversation with Professor Smith after the Order meeting. They all thought that anything that could help them get better was a good thing. Harry's training on building mental barriers was coming along quickly as well. Professor Smith had decided to start spending a little time each meeting trying to break into Harry's mind to test how well Harry's barriers were. Both pupil and teacher were very pleased with how Harry was progressing.

"Harry, I think that by the start of term that your mind could possibly be locked up tight enough to hold out anybody." The look on Professor Smith's face was one of absolute sincerity. "I have never seen anyone pick this up so quickly. In fact, you seem to be able to pick up every thing I teach you very quickly. I really am impressed."

Harry was extremely pleased by this. "Thank you, Professor. I have to say that you make things easy to understand though. If all my teachers were as good as you I would never fail at anything."

Professor Smith shook his head at this comment. "Harry, I don't really do things any differently than the rest of your teachers, well except perhaps Professor Snape. Your success has everything to do with your ability to organize your mind. Your friends seem to be picking up the hand-to-hand quite quickly as well. You and your friends should all be very proud of how well you're doing."

Harry nodded in agreement. "We have a very good reason to learn. The idea of having a very powerful dark wizard out to get you has a way of increasing your ability and desire to learn quickly."

"It is just a shame that we can't work on your dueling and spellwork, I would really like to see where you're at. I suppose that will just have to wait until September though. I want you to know that I have every intention of pushing you to your limits once we are at school. I want Voldemort to know that you are no longer a little boy who is simply reacting, but a young man who is making a stand for what is right."

Harry found this teacher to be very inspiring. "Professor, can I ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"I've noticed that you are willing to say Voldemort and hear it without wincing, does this mean that you aren't scared of him?"

"A very valid question Harry. No, I would have to say that I am not afraid of him. He is just another dark wizard in my book. He may be powerful, but he is also arrogant. That makes him fallible and beatable. Does that mean that I think I could go toe-to-toe with him alone and win? No, but I do feel that I could hold my own, and maybe even weaken him until help arrived."

Harry pondered his teacher for a moment before asking, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Harry, I once heard a saying: 'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.' I have a well-organized mind. As long as I am killed in the fight against the dark, I am content to go peacefully on to the next great adventure. If my death brings more life for the side that I fight for, I will go on proudly. Any true warrior feels that way." The professor paused for a moment and continued, "Harry, I believe in you and would willingly lay down my life to help you achieve your goal. I can feel the power radiating off of you. It is there, under the surface, just waiting for you to tap into it. I have no doubt that the prophecy was truly meant for you, and when the time comes, you will have everything it takes to fulfill it."

Harry was taken aback by this comment. He hadn't known this man even a month and yet there was already a feeling of confidence in him coming from this man. "I'm glad that you feel so strongly about my ability, sir, but I don't think I am ready just yet."

The Professor chuckled then said, "I didn't say you were ready. I said you have the power. You simply need to tap into it. Then you will almost be ready."

"Almost? What do you mean, almost?"

The professor smiled, "You still have to learn more about dueling before you will be ready. Power alone cannot win this fight. Remember, Voldemort has many years of experience on his side. You have youthful energy and quickness on your side, but inexperience is your downfall. We will be working on that a lot once we get to school."

They finished their conversation and Professor Smith headed off for the night. Harry was soon joined by his friends, in the drawing room. They had gotten into the habit of gathering together after Harry's training sessions to relax and play some games. They liked the opportunity to wind down at the end of the day, and Harry liked the idea of being able to spend time just being Harry. Even though this had started out to be one of the worst summers he had ever had, it had ended up turning into one of the best.

The next day was also a busy one, and the professor worked his students very hard that night. He had decided to begin pushing them to exhaustion to see how far they could go. The end result was four very tired teens who didn't feel like doing anything but sleep.

Harry found himself alone in his room. It was still very dark and he was unsure what time it was. He also noticed that it was unusually quiet in the house. He sat up and slowly stood noticing that there was an uneasy feeling in the air. Something didn't feel right. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table and made his way out of the room. Once in the hallway, he noticed the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Yes, something felt very wrong about this. The house was never this quiet, there was usually someone up and about at all times.

Harry made his way over to the bathroom to see if Ron had gone there only to find it was empty. He made his way over to Hermione and Ginny's room and was distraught to find it empty as well. Harry's heart rate quickened as he started to feel even more worried. Where were his friends? Where was everybody?

As he stood in the hall asking himself these questions, he thought he finally heard something. A noise, though it was a very soft noise, came from downstairs. Harry raised his wand, gripping it tightly, and went toward the noise. He moved down the stairs with surprising stealth until he came to rest on the bottom landing. He scanned the ground floor listening for even the slightest sound. After a moment, he heard it again. It was clearly the sound of a voice, a male voice, and it was coming from the kitchen. Harry's heart was now beating so hard that he was sure he would be heard. He was uncertain who or what was on the other side of that door, but he needed to know. He had to know why the house seemed to be empty and what happened to all of his friends.

He slowly moved to the door preparing for the worst. When he couldn't hold his curiosity anymore, he decided to act. He was going to have surprise on his side, he threw open the door any charged into the room ready to hex anything that moved. What he saw caused him to stop dead in his tracks and nearly faint.

"Hello Harry. It's good to see you again."

Harry was stunned to silence. Of all the people that he would see in this room, this man was the last one he would have expected. Sitting on the far side of the table with a grin from ear to ear was Sirius Black.

"How?" It was all Harry could do just to get this out. "How? You're dead. I saw you fall through the veil."

"Yes Harry, you're right, I am dead."

"If you're dead, then how are you here? Are you a ghost then?"

"No Harry, I'm not a ghost. You aren't even awake right now. You're dreaming. This was the only way I could visit you."

Harry's heart was in his throat, now. Seeing his godfather face to face was quite overwhelming. The tears began to flow fast and freely. "Sirius I'm so sorry. I should have known it wasn't true. I was so stupid."

"STOP! It was not your fault. You were fooled into believing something and you did what you felt was right." Sirius stood up and walked over to Harry. "I don't hold you responsible for anything. It was more my fault than yours anyway. If I hadn't been so arrogant to taunt my cousin, the tables might have been turned. I am very proud of how well you and your friends handled yourselves. You were outnumbered, but you all kept your heads about you, and held your own until we arrived." As he finished speaking, he pulled Harry into a hug.

Harry continued to cry onto his godfathers shoulder making no attempt to control his emotions what so ever. After what seemed like an eternity, his tears began to subside and he stood back from Sirius. "So, Sirius, what are you doing in my dreams? Are you just here to say hi?"

Sirius looked at his godson, "I am actually here to talk to you about some things. I have also been watching you for some time and am really impressed with your progress. You are coming into your power quite nicely, and I'm sure that you will be ready for what lies ahead of you. I see Albus finally filled you in on the prophecy. It's about time that old codger finally did something right. I was trying to get him to fill you in on that all year telling him that you needed to know, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Harry just stood nodding in agreement for a moment. As he did, a thought hit him, "Sirius! If you can come back in my dreams, does that mean that other people can too?"

Sirius saw the hopeful look in Harry's eyes. He could see the person, or should he say people, that Harry was hoping to be able to see. He slowly shook his head, "No Harry, because of how I died and the fact that you saw it is the only reason that I can. Your parents would like nothing more than to come talk to you and are very jealous that I can, but they are happy nonetheless that at least I can pass along information for them."

"Your father wanted me to tell you that he expects you to uphold the marauder traditions of pranking and becoming an animagus, and I have to totally agree with prongs on that. That is why those books were left for you, and do try to get some others to join you since it is easier to do that if you're not alone." This caused both of them to smile and let out some small laughs.

"Your mother wanted me to tell you to give the jewelry to someone very special. She also wants you to follow your heart. She can see how much you seem to like a certain red head and wants you to know that she approves of your choice." Sirius was smiling a very large smile at this while Harry could feel himself blush. Did he really feel that strongly for Ginny? So strongly that his parents could see it?

As Harry sat there pondering things, he had a realization, "You said you had been watching me for a while. Why didn't you try to contact me earlier?"

Sirius smiled a knowing smile and replied, "I wondered when you would pick up on that. I felt I had to wait until you would be able to accept that it is in fact me, and not old snake face trying to manipulate you. I realized that if I had made myself known to you any earlier you probably would have thought it a trick, but since your ability to shut him out has improved so well, I knew the time was right."

Harry could understand that but was now somewhat worried, could this be a trick from Voldemort? "What did you want my friends and me to refer to you as in public?"

Sirius laughed, "Snuffles. I was actually surprised that you didn't try that earlier."

"Well you sort of surprised me at first, I thought that I had woken up and the house was empty. It was a frightening experience not knowing what to expect around every corner. I was worried that headquarters had been found out and all of my friends had been taken. Did you have to scare me like that?"

"Sorry Harry, I wasn't sure how to make my presence known to you. I figured that showing myself in a familiar surrounding would be helpful. I also wanted to let you find me instead of the other way around; I thought it might be easier on you." Sirius thought for a few minutes more and kept going, "Harry I know that Moony gave you some information about my estate, there are a few things that you should know about that. First, there are four properties that you are now in possession of; there is a book up in my room that details where these properties are and how to find them. Now the contents of my vaults are quite considerable since I was the heir of the Black family estate not only do you get what was mine but my parent's stuff as well. Combine that with what you will be able to access when you turn 17 of your parent's family vault and I believe that you will be without a doubt the richest wizard in the world."

"What do you mean my parent's family vault? I thought that my vault was all my parents left me."

Sirius laughed, "That was just a trust account for you to use to get through school. The contents of your family vault make that look like spare change. Besides there is more than just money in that vault. There are also some family heirlooms being held there. You come from a very wealthy family, Harry. In fact, the Potters and Blacks were two of the oldest and wealthiest families in the wizarding world, if you combine them into one, that is a very substantial sum. The fact is Harry, you could probably never work, and your great-great-great grandchildren would still have no financial trouble."

Harry stood there in shock. He was already awestruck by how much money he knew he had, and now he found out that was just the tip of the iceberg. Harry thought for a few moments, "Sirius, once I have access to your vaults would you mind if I gave some to the Weasleys? They have been the family that I never got to have and I would like to repay some of their kindness."

"That is very considerate of you Harry, and I have no problem with that. However, if I know Molly and Arthur as well as I think I do, I don't think they will be too eager to accept. They're very proud people and don't respond well to charity on their behalf. You may have to do a lot of convincing to get them to take anything from you."

"I think you're right, but I have to try. I don't really want the money for myself; I'd rather have you still." Both of them stood in silence for a few minutes just contemplating what had transpired.

Sirius broke the silence, "Harry, I need to tell you that this year you are going to be doing a lot of growing in power and ability. I can't tell you much more about that except that it will all become clear in time. You can trust Professor Smith with anything, he is a good man and will be honest with you about the things you need to know and help you in any way he can. I can't tell you why but understand that he is more trustworthy than anyone in the Order." Sirius paused to let this sink in, "You are a powerful wizard Harry, never forget that. Now it is time for you to start to wake up, since your friends will be waking soon."

Harry was momentarily reeling from this last bit of information from Sirius, "Sirius, will I be able to talk to you some more?"

"I'm sorry Harry, but this will be my only contact with you. It is not good for you to dwell in the past. Just know that I don't hold any ill will toward you and tell Remus that we all love him dearly as we do you. Be good Harry, and oh by the way, Happy Birthday."

As Sirius said those last words everything faded to black and Harry woke up to hearing Ron's familiar snores. Harry had tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks, "Goodbye Padfoot, I'll never forget you."

Harry sat in silent tears for a few minutes remembering his visit fondly. He would do as he was told and not dwell in the past, no matter how much he wanted to. He took a few more minutes to compose himself before the comprehension of what his godfather said to him came to him fully. "Today is my birthday!"

Harry was astonished that he hadn't realized that on his own. As much as his birthday had gone unnoticed over the course of his life, he at least usually remembered it on his own. The more Harry thought about it though, he realized that his time had been so filled with distractions that it made sense that he had lost track of the days.

Well this had been a good start to the day, he had had a chance to speak with the man that he missed the most over the course of the last month. It was bittersweet in that it was the only chance he would have to visit with him, but he had been given a chance to close the wounds that he had placed on himself about his role in Sirius' death.

Harry finally decided it was time to get up and start the day. After his normal morning bathroom routine, he returned to his room to find Ron waking up. "Oi Ron, wake up I can smell breakfast is almost ready."

Ron shot Harry a look, "Hey, food isn't all I think about you know." After a few seconds he continued, "But I am hungry, let's go."

Harry laughed at his friend. Someday Ron would just accept that his first thought was always about food. He even knew that the person that Ron ended up marrying would win him over through his stomach. They made their way downstairs, into the kitchen, for breakfast. They were the first, other than Mrs. Weasley, to arrive in the kitchen and were greeted as usual by her. Soon, the kitchen began to fill with the inhabitants of the house and a very enjoyable meal was underway. As the meal was wrapping up, Professor Dumbledore entered the room causing everyone in the room to wonder what was up.

"Good morning everyone. I have just stopped by to drop off a few things that I thought some of you might find of interest." As he said this, the Headmaster pulled some envelopes out of his pockets. "I believe that you in particular Ms. Granger have been awaiting this for some time."

At this pronouncement, Hermione's eyes became wide as saucers and her hands began to shake. "Are those our OWLS?"

"Yes, they are. I took the liberty of delivering them myself, seeing as how no owl other than Hedwig or Pig would be able to find this house." He handed each letter to its recipient and waited. "I am quite sure they won't bite," he said with a smile, the trademark twinkle in his eyes.

Everyone in the room was now looking at the three teens in anticipation. "Well come on dears, open them up and let us see how you did," said Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley nodded in agreement along with Ginny, Tonks, and Remus who was looking more haggard than usual.

With much trepidation, all three of them slowly opened their letters. Hermione's face was alight with pleasure. "I got ten OWLS! I got O's in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy. I only managed an E in Astronomy and History of Magic, but considering what happened during those tests, that's quite good." Hermione proceeded to receive congratulations from everyone and looked over to Ron and Harry in anticipation.

Ron was smiling, "I got seven, and two of them were O's. DADA and Care of Magical Creatures. I got E's in Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology, and A's in Potions and Astronomy. Excellent! No more Snape! I got D's in Divination and History of Magic, not much of a surprise there." Everyone proceeded to give Ron congratulations as well as a bone-crushing hug from his mum.

Now all eyes were turned to Harry, who was staring at his letter with an open mouth. "I got an O in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions." The stunned silence in the room was profound. "I got E's in Transfiguration and Herbology, and an A in Astronomy. I failed Divination and History of Magic." Ginny who had been sitting beside him, leaned over to see his letter herself. She gave him a happy smile and patted him on the back.

Hermione reached out for the parchment and took it from him. She studied it closely and said, "Well done Harry, seven OWLS." Ron interjected, "Well you still have a chance to be an Auror even if it means more Snape. Sorry Mate." This caused Harry to break into a smile and laugh a bit. "Well at least neither of us has to keep taking classes with Trelawney." This last comment caused a laugh by everyone in the room.

Professor Dumbledore stood watching the scene for a few minutes before interrupting again. "Well done all of you, now if you will just take the time to look at the other letter that each of you received. You will find that you have until this weekend to let us know what classes you intend to take this coming year so that we can set the schedules for the year." The Headmaster paused and then continued, "I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going now. I'll return this weekend to pickup your replies. Good day, oh and Harry, Happy Birthday."

Everyone was now wishing Harry a Happy Birthday, which reminded him about his conversation with Sirius. Harry was quiet for a few moments contemplating whether to talk about his conversation with Sirius or not. Harry saw Remus getting up to leave when he decided to act.

"Remus, can I have a word with you alone."

Harry's friends gave him suspicious looks, which he returned with looks of 'I'll tell you later'. Remus was also looking questioningly at Harry, "Sure Harry."

They headed in the direction of the drawing room when Harry stopped them and said,"How about we talk in your room or better yet Sirius' old room?"

Remus stopped and began to give Harry very appraising looks, "What are you on about Harry? What is it you want to talk about?"

"Please Remus, I need to talk to you, and I would really like to do it in Sirius' room."

Remus continued to look at Harry suspiciously but agreed. They made their way up to Sirius' room, pausing at the door, "Harry, I feel the need to warn you that Sirius was the last person to actually be in this room. No one has touched anything in here since then."

"It's OK Remus, I think it's time that we started taking care of his belongings."

They both nodded at each other, then taking deep breaths they opened the door and walked in. The room was very dark and depressing; it was obvious that this room was left in a hurry. A four-poster bed sat against one sidewall with the covers still looking like they had just been slept in. Against the far wall there sat a large desk with various objects spread out on it all covered in a thin layer of dust. There was a doorway leading to a large walk-in closet on the other side of the room from the bed. In a corner, there were a couple of armchairs flanking a small sitting table.

"How come the room hasn't been cleaned?"

"Harry, I told you that no one has been in here since Sirius left."

"I know, but why hasn't Kreacher at least come in to tidy up?"

"Well, Harry, that would be because Kreacher died. He refused to be passed on to you so he chose to join his ancestors on the wall. However, we decided that it would be more appropriate to remove all of the elf heads."

"Harry, what is it you need to talk to me about, and why is it so important to do it now and here? You do realize that last night was the full moon and I could use some more rest to recuperate don't you?"

"I'm sorry Remus, I forgot about that. I've had so much going on lately that I've completely lost track of the days." Harry paused wondering if he should really go on. "Remus could you put a silencing charm on the door and an imperturbable as well, I'm not sure that I'm ready to tell the others yet."

Remus was really confused now; he knew that this must be something very important to Harry for him to go to these lengths. He did as he was asked and they both sat down in the armchairs.

"Remus, I had a dream last night. Sirius was here in the house and he spoke with me."

Of all of the things that Remus was expecting to hear, this was not one of them. He began to get a little concerned, "Are you certain it wasn't something else?"

Sensing what Remus was about to ask, Harry cut him off, "No I'm sure it wasn't Voldemort. It was Sirius, I even asked him a question to verify it was him." Harry proceeded to tell Remus all about the dream. He got the typical responses and looks at the various points in the story where new and improbable information was revealed. Once Harry finished his story, they both pondered what had happened.

Remus looked at Harry with a slight smile, "I do have to agree with old Padfoot about the reaction of the Weasleys. I am quite sure they will fight you tooth and nail about the money. They are a proud family and aren't very wild about accepting charity."

"Yeah, I know, but I have to try anyway. I have more than I'll ever need and they deserve it for all they have done for each other and for me." Harry sat for a second looking around the room, "Where do you think the book Sirius was talking about is? He did say it is in here somewhere."

Remus got up and moved over to the desk, "If I know Padfoot as well as I think I do, it's got to be in one of the drawers in this desk."

They proceeded to look over the desk and go through the drawers. As Harry opened the top right hand drawer, he saw something that made him freeze. Remus noticed the sudden stillness of the young man and tried to find out what was wrong. He looked in the drawer to see what Harry was looking at only to see a small hand mirror. He looked back at Harry to see tears starting to form in his eyes. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"S-S-Sirius' mirror," Harry stuttered, "He gave me the other mirror last Christmas. They are both enchanted so we could communicate with each other. He gave it to me wrapped up just as we were about to leave and I vowed that I would not open it because I didn't want to chance putting him in danger. I didn't find it again until I was packing my trunk to return to Privet Drive. Once I found it again I realized that there had been a way to contact Sirius all along. If I had just opened the present, I would have been able to contact him and he would still be alive." The floodgates of Harry's tears were open again.

Remus was fighting back tears now as well, "Now Harry, I thought we were past blaming ourselves for what happened. You did what you thought you had to to protect Sirius, and he told you himself that he held nothing against you."

"I know," Harry sniffled, "I just wish that I had opened the present now. I could have prevented this. I know I don't have any control over other people's actions but I could have done things differently. Knowing that still doesn't stop me from hurting."

"I know, Harry, I know." Remus held Harry for a few more minutes then said, "Now let's see if we can find that book."

They slowly continued the task of searching through the desk, opening a drawer, and sifting through the contents before moving on to the next drawer. Every now and then they would come across something that would make Remus remember something funny about one of the Marauders or their pranks, and they would share a laugh. They finally found the book in the last drawer in the desk. It was a somewhat old looking book with a worn binding and slightly yellowing pages.

"Well Harry, I do believe this is what you are looking for." Remus handed the book to Harry.

Harry opened the book to find not only the details about the properties but a very detailed account of all of the Black assets. The total value of the contents of all of the Black family vaults came to approximately 500 million galleons. Harry's jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment. He could only imagine what his own family vault had to offer. If it was anywhere near this much he wouldn't have the first clue what to do with it. The list of properties was quite impressive as well. They were all unplotable and very well hidden with various charms. There was of course Number Twelve Grimmauld Place in London. There was also an estate near the coast in a forest just east of York called Black Manor. The third property was a castle in the Scottish highlands just outside of Inverness with the very imaginative name of Black Castle. Finally, there was another castle in Scotland northwest of Stirling. Harry was dumbfounded, now not only was he rich beyond all imagination, but he had two unplotable castles to go with it.

"Remus, I need to get these places put under the Fidelius charm as soon as possible, I don't want any of Voldemort's followers to be able to find them. Do you know how to do that?"

Remus was staring blankly at Harry, "What places Harry? From what I see, the pages of that book are blank. Are you telling me that there is actually something written on those pages?"

Harry was puzzled by this, "What, you mean you can't see what's written here. This gives a detailed description of the entire Black estate. It describes the total value of the contents of the Black family vaults and descriptions of the four Black family properties. I apparently own two castles in Scotland now."

At this Remus' chin hit the floor, "Two castles? I knew the Black family was well off but if they had two castles they might as well have been royalty. I've never heard of a wizard family having two castles before. As far as I know, the Malfoy family doesn't even have one castle."

Remus took another look at the book, "You know Harry; I believe your book is protected by the Heir charm, meaning that only the true heir of a family can read that book. It also means that the book acts like the Fidelius charm. The information can only be seen by the heir, in this case you, until you willingly divulge the information to another person, meaning that the properties are under the fidelius in a way. It should also be able to add the holdings of the Potter estate once you have reached the age of 17. Then once you have an heir to pass it on to it would allow them to read it as well."

Harry and Remus stood in silence for a few minutes, once again pondering a wondrous amount of information. This was turning out to be a very eventful birthday and it was barely getting started.