Chapter 6

"Come on, get up!" Sirius yelled to a stubborn Harry, who refused to get up that morning. Partly that, and also because Harry had himself believing that it was just a dream and not Sirius. After all, it was usually either him or Remus waking Sirius up, not the other way around.

"Get up," Sirius tried again, this time transforming into the dog and jumping up on Harry's bed, giving Harry's face several licks before Harry reluctantly sat up.

"What're you doing up so early?" Harry muttered, yawning. "It's not like you."

"I know," Sirius, who transformed back into a human, said brightly. "We have to go to Hogwarts, though. You know that, we do it every year. Have to set up for classes!"

Harry groaned and sat up. Sirius continued on, as an afterthought. "Of course, you can always stay with Moony and go on the Hogwarts Express, but, that'd mean you'd leave me …"

Sirius turned away and tried to look dejected at the thought.

Harry laughed, flipping the covers off him. "I'll come. I always do."

Sirius brightened, jumping off the bed. "Excellent. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're dressed."

Harry gave Sirius a look. "I hope you're not cooking, Siri."

"Nope. Allyson is."

Harry's hand, which was reaching out to take a shirt off a hanger, froze. He slowly turned around to face Sirius, who stood in the doorway looking happy. As if Harry hadn't heard correctly, he said, "What?"

"She knows we were leaving today," Sirius replied. "She decided to come over early before we left."

"Does she know why we're leaving?"

Sirius frowned. "No. Why?"

Harry said nothing, just sighed, and proceeded to change his clothes.

-

When Harry stepped into the kitchen, he saw Remus sitting across from Allyson looking exhausted. He seemed to jump up in relief when he noticed Harry.

"Harry!" he said almost desperately, practically jumping up from the chair he was sitting in. "Please come talk to Allyson and I before you leave."

Harry smiled at the woman politely. "Hello."

Without a 'hello' back, Allyson said, "So where is it exactly that you and Siri are leaving so long for?"

"School," Harry said quickly, sitting beside Remus.

"For that long?

"It's a different kind of school," Harry replied.

"Obviously," Allyson muttered under her breath sarcastically. She pouted when Sirius came into the room with a plate of bacon and pancakes. "I'm not going to see you for that long? That's torture!"

"That's life," Sirius said with a grin, pecking her lips. "Sorry, babe. I work there. You'll survive, won't you? It'd be a pity if you didn't."

Allyson giggled. "Silly. Just as long as you write."

"Of course," Sirius leaned down to peck her lips once more.

"Do you mind if I skip breakfast?" Harry asked, pushing his chair back to stand up. "I'm not hungry. I should start packing a few things, too."

Remus watched as Harry left, then looked up into the confused face of Sirius.

"I have to go talk to him about the Roast Chicken," Remus said, then he left too.

Allyson frowned, looking up at Sirius. "Roast Chicken?"

-

"I don't think Allyson's evil, or a Death Eater," Remus said quietly as he entered Harry's room, startling the boy. "She seems more like a teenager than an adult, though." Remus smiled, trying to brighten the mood. "But then, so does Sirius. Maybe it's a match made in Heaven."

"I can't stand her," Harry said, a frown on his face.

"I wouldn't want to be in the same room with her for longer than ten minutes," Remus admitted.

Harry, who sat on his bed looking at the floor, looked up at Remus with a smile. "I'm glad that you don't think I'm jealous anymore."

Remus studied Harry before saying, "I think you are jealous. A bit."

"The Roast Chicken excuse is getting old," Sirius said, opening the door and stepping into the room. He didn't look happy. "What is going on with you two? Every time Allyson's over you two always make an excuse to leave."

"I just wanted to make sure Harry was OK," Remus said defensively. "It's not like him to skip breakfast."

Sirius looked at Harry. "Are you OK?"

Harry nodded quietly, standing up. "I'm fine. Just not hungry. Let's go to Hogwarts now, all right?"

"Yeah, sure. But first let's say good-bye to Allyson before we leave, 'kay?"

Harry forced a smile onto his face. "Yeah. Of course." He looked up at Remus and gave him an appreciative grin. "Bye, Moony."

"I'll see you for the Christmas Holidays," Remus promised, enveloping the boy in a one-armed hug.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. He glanced out the door, then looked up at Remus. "We should give Sirius some time to say good-bye to Allyson, right?"

Remus nodded, letting Harry go. "Right."

——

That night, Harry sat up in the bed Sirius had conjured for Harry to sleep in until Hogwarts started back up. It was right beside Sirius's small bed, and Sirius was presently in the bathroom. Harry was trying to absorb what Sirius had just said, but it seemed hard to. After all, his guardian had just suggested that he might tell Allyson that he was a Wizard.

"Harry?" Sirius said cautiously when Harry didn't reply. He stepped out of the bathroom and bent down, prodding Harry gently with his finger. Finally, Harry looked up.

"What? Y—you're going to tell Allyson?" His words were laced with shock. He didn't realize that Sirius and Allyson were that … serious. "I didn't know you and Allyson were that serious," he admitted, voicing his thoughts.

"I don't know if I'm actually going to do it or not," Sirius replied, walking over to his own bed to lay down. He moved over in the bed so he was near Harry. "But she did tell me to write to her, and what will she think if I owl her? She's only a Muggle, and … I think we are pretty serious."

Harry tried to scrounge up some words to say. Something along the lines of, "I'm really happy for you! You deserve to be happy, Padfoot, and I think Allyson is willing to give you that happiness." But he just wasn't able to push the words out of his mouth.

"Y—you're going to tell her that you're a Wizard because she'll be curious if you send her a letter with an owl?" Harry, after a long period of silence, finally said. "That's all? You're not going to tell her because you really like her and want to be honest? That's your only reason?"

Sirius frowned, leaning against the backboard of the bed. "No, Harry. I do like her and I do want to be honest with her. Plus—plus I do think we are … y'know. It's been a while, and I like her a lot … and I think she likes me too …"

"Of course she likes you!" Harry said, restraining himself from adding, Just not me or Remus. It was apparent that she did like Sirius, just not so much him or Remus. "But it hasn't been that long, Sirius. A few weeks … right?"

Harry looked at Sirius, his eyes searching Sirius's face. Did Sirius date Allyson longer than what Harry had expected? He hoped not.

"A week," Sirius admitted, looking down at Harry. He could tell that Sirius wasn't lying. "Somewhere around there. I don't keep track, but I think that our relationship has been going pretty good. I also think that she's ready to know."

Harry pressed his lips together to keep from saying anything else.

"Are you OK?" Sirius asked after he surveyed his godson. Harry threw a forced smile together.

"Of course. I'm just speechless," Harry replied, looking into Sirius's eyes. "It's always been you, Remus and I. Now, it could possibly change. A lot to take in there."

"Harry—" Sirius started hesitantly. "You do like Allyson, don't you? Because lately, I get a different impression from you and Remus. You know all I want for you is to be happy, but if you don't think you are with Allyson around …"

Harry swallowed. Was Sirius saying that if he didn't like Allyson, that Sirius would … dump her? This was a chance that Harry had wanted, but now, why was he considering lying to Sirius?

Because he wanted his godfather to be happy, of course. If Sirius did dump Allyson, then he'd mope around all the time. He'd be sad, and Harry didn't want that to happen.

"All I want is for you to be happy," Harry replied honestly. "And if you like Allyson that much … then go for it. It doesn't matter what I think."

"Of course it matters," Sirius laughed. "You're my godson. It matters."

If Harry was honest about what he thought about Allyson, it would probably only stir up another argument.

"Goodnight, Sirius," Harry said, laying his head down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Sirius slowly did the same.

——

In the morning, Harry pushed last nights conversation into the back of his mind as he got up to eat breakfast down in the Great Hall.

"Sleep well?" Sirius asked when Harry came into the kitchen. He was already up and drinking something (coffee, probably) in a goblet.

"Yep," Harry replied. "What are you doing today?"

"Well, get the stuff we'll be working on in DADA for starters. Then—" Sirius glanced at Harry over the rim of his goblet. "—I'll write to Allyson."

Harry stiffened as Sirius stood up. "So you're serious about it?"

Sirius grinned. "I'm always serious. Let's go to the Great Hall now. OK?"

Harry let a half-hearted grin grace his lips. "Sure."

Sirius pushed in his chair. He draped an arm around Harry's shoulders as they left the quarters, and immediately started up a conversation.

"So what will you do while I set up for September first? Write love notes to your girlfriend?" he teased his godson as they walked through the corridor.

Color crept into Harry's cheeks. "Actually I was going to write Remus a letter. I'd hardly call Remus a girl, let alone a girlfriend."

"Oh," Sirius said casually. "What are you writing to him about?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly? I dunno. Probably that we got to Hogwarts safely or something."

"Of course we got to Hogwarts safely," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.

That wasn't really what Harry was going to write to Remus about, but Sirius didn't have to know that. He hated lying to Sirius most of all, but in this case, it was necessary.

——

After breakfast, Harry went back to Sirius's quarters and gathered a quill, ink and piece of parchment together. Then he started to write.

Remus,

I had a talk with Sirius last night. He said that he was planning on telling Allyson that he's a Wizard, or rather, 'suggesting' it. I didn't think that they were that serious—did you? Write back.

- Harry

Harry quickly skimmed the brief letter, and when he was satisfied with it, went to get Hedwig so she could deliver the letter to Remus.

He patiently waited on the sofa, his thoughts drifting to what the future might be like with Allyson around (he didn't like it), until his owl returned with Remus's response.

Dear Harry,

Sirius 'suggested' that he was going to tell Allyson about being a Wizard? I didn't think that he would, not for a while anyway. They've been seeing each other—what?—a week now? I didn't think he'd tell her this soon. Why the revelation?

And how, exactly, did you react to the news?

Love,
Remus

Harry glanced quickly through the letter. He frowned at the last part. Did Remus really think that Harry would have a temper over it? He did feel surprised about what Sirius had said, but nothing that he would be really angry about.

Harry sighed and set the letter aside. Maybe, after a bit of quiet thinking, he'd write back. At that moment, all he wanted to do was just think about how Allyson would ruin their lives, and how he had to find a way to get rid of her.

He should have told Sirius how he felt about the woman the night before.

——

A/N: REVIEW, and Happy Easter!