Chapter 7

Harry sat in the Great Hall between his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The Sorting had just finished, and they were now eating their supper. Still deep in thought, mostly about the happenings of the summer that had went by, he didn't take notice of Ron saying his names over multiple times.

"Harry, mate, you OK?" Ron said, sounding more concerned than angry or annoyed.

Harry looked up at Ron and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Hermione spoke up from his right. "Did something happen over the summer that's bothering you? You've been so quiet, Harry."

Harry nodded. "Well … something has happened, but it's really not that bad," he explained. "Sirius has a girlfriend."

Hermione smiled. "That's wonderful, Harry!" Then she looked at Ron. "We should congratulate Sirius after."

Ron agreed, biting into a Chicken leg. "So what's the matter? I would've thought that you'd be happy that Sirius has a girlfriend."

"I am," Harry said quickly. "I am happy for him."

"So what's wrong?" Hermione asked. "Do you feel jealous that he has a girlfriend? Maybe because he might spend a bit more time with her than you? After all, Harry, it's always been you, Remus and Sirius, hasn't it?"

Harry frowned at Hermione. "I'm not jealous. Every time I'm around her I feel like she's always up to something."

"Is she a Muggle?" Ron questioned after swallowing the food in his mouth. "Or is she a witch? Because if she is a witch, and you think that she's up to something, then she may be a—"

"It's come to mind," Harry replied honestly. "But I think she's a Muggle. She gives no signs of being magical."

"Still," Hermione said. "Do you think that she could be a witch? Maybe even a—" She dropped her voice low. "A Death Eater?"

Harry looked Hermione before giving his shoulders a small shrug. "I don't know."

"Well, does Sirius know what you think about her?" Hermione asked after a while, forgetting that she still had a plate full of food in front of her. "Or did you not tell him?"

"I did," Harry responded. "But it ended up with me moving out of the house for a bit, then moving back in. So, in other words, it didn't go well when I told him."

"Oh." Hermione stayed quiet. Then, "Maybe you should try telling him again, if you really think that something's wrong with Sirius's girlfriend."

"It's fine," Harry reassured the girl. "Really. I might actually grow to like her." Of course, that was a complete lie, but anything to drop the subject.

"All right," Hermione said. There was a bit more silence as Harry and Ron continued to eat, then, as Hermione bit her lip to keep from asking the next question that she wanted to ask Harry, she found that she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"What does Remus think about her?"

Harry gave Hermione a look, but answered anyway. "I—why?"

"Because," Hermione said. "If he thinks the same thing as you do, then maybe you two should confront Sirius about it. I'm sure if he knows that both of you sense that something's wrong with his girlfriend, then he'll reconsider his relationship."

"He's happy," Harry said slowly. "He's been really happy ever since they started dating. I don't want to ruin his happiness. Plus, things have been … going well with them."

"I'm glad to see how much you care about Sirius's feelings," Hermione responded gently. "But if you don't like her, then he does have a right to know. You could end up living with somebody you don't like for the rest of your life."

"He does know," Harry said, beginning to grow tired with the questions from Hermione. "Or did. Listen—can we just drop this? Sirius's happy, that's all that matters right now. If he decides that he really likes Allyson … then fine. I'm happy too."

Hermione kept her mouth closed and silently turned back to her food.

Harry glanced up at the staff table, and when he caught his godfathers' eye, gave the man a small smile. Yeah, he could tell Sirius was happy. He just didn't want to be the one to ruin his happiness, but Harry felt that may have to be an option.

——

Classes were just as tedious and tiring as Harry remembered them to be, and found, for some reason, that he wasn't paying much attention in Sirius's classes like he used to. He tried to think of the reasons why during Sirius's class, and came up with nothing.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at Sirius, who stood in the front of the class, looking at Harry with raised eyebrows. He could feel the rest of the classes' eyes on him, and tried not to look around at them, but keep focused on Sirius.

"Yes, Professor Black?" Harry said in, thankfully, a somewhat calm voice.

Sirius regarded Harry for a moment longer before saying, "See me after class," and resuming talking to the rest of the class. Pushing the rest of his thoughts aside, Harry decided to pay attention to what was left of the of Sirius's DADA class.

——

Harry lagged behind as the rest of the class stepped out of the classroom. He stepped up to Sirius's desk, waiting for the Professor to, instead of looking at him so, talk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Nothing was said from Sirius for a while, until he spoke in a calm, soft voice. "I did. I wanted to know what was the matter with you."

"What was the matter with me?" Harry repeated, looking confused. "Nothing's wrong. Why?"

"You're acting different, Harry. First of all, you're not paying attention in class. Second of all, you're acting odd with me."

"I was paying attention in class," Harry argued, though he knew that that was a lie. "And I'm certainly not acting odd towards you. What are you on about, Sirius?"

Sirius gave Harry an incredulous look. "I can't believe it. M—my own godson, that I've raised since he was seven years old, lied straight to my face."

Harry looked away, but then after a few seconds, forced himself to look back at Sirius.

"I'm not lying. Well … maybe I was about not paying attention, but I'm not acting odd or distant or whatever you think around you."

Again, Sirius stayed quiet, and looked at Harry as if patiently waiting for Harry to be honest, but when Harry made no attempt to, Sirius sighed.

"Go, you'll be late for class."

Harry made his way towards the door, glancing back at Sirius when he was standing by the doorframe, and then continued down to his next class.

——

At lunch, while piling mounds of food onto his plate, Ron glanced at Harry and asked, "What did Sirius want?"

"Oh," Harry said slowly. "He just wanted to talk."

"About why you weren't paying attention in class?" Hermione guessed. She had a matter-of-fact look on her face.

Harry glanced at Hermione with a frown. "Yeah."

"Why weren't you paying attention in class?" asked Hermione. "You've always loved Sirius's classes."

"I do," Harry replied. "But it was just one time, it's not really that big a deal."

Harry turned back to his food, stuffing a spoonful of potatoes in his mouth, hoping that Hermione wouldn't continue with her questions. While thinking of why he was acting the way he was towards Sirius, he was relieved that Hermione didn't continue with the query.

——

A/N: This was a difficult chapter to write, and I know that it shows a bit (just like my other story, lol). But I try my best. Sorry for the wait, and review please!