Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. Harry Potter™ is the sole intellectual property of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and various others who all aren't connected to me in any way. No money is being made with this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.


§ ¤ § Chapter Three: The Greatest Man § ¤ §

"What was it you said Saturday? 'Beat you later'?" Harry asked smugly, looking down at KayKay. She was breathing heavily and her hair was in her face. She swept it away with her hand and stared back at him. He recognized the ever-present glimmer of annoyance and anger in her eyes.

Then, she did something odd. She swallowed, and it was as if an eraser had swept over her features, leaving behind an innocent, yet defeated countenance.

"Well, you sure showed me Harry," she said, wide-eyed. "It was a bit presumptuous to think I'd beat you at everything. You're just too . . . stupid!"

She lifted her leg and slammed it behind Harry's knees, making them buckle as he, surprised, fell backwards, landing hard on the ground. This, time, it was KayKay standing above, looking smug.

" 'Constant vigilance', Potter!" she said, not for the first time. "What'll you do if Voldemort suddenly begins acting as timid and harmless as a fluffy bunny?"

"Don't be stupid," he spat, pushing himself up.

"No, that job is reserved for you, isn't it? Sorry, my mistake." KayKay smirked.

"Why don't you just—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Remus interrupted Harry mid-threat. "I'd say you two have this area of defense down pretty well. Wonderful progress for two weeks. Really. Now, why don't we call it quits for today, and tomorrow we'll start something a bit less . . . combative."

"What else is there? Oh! Jousting?" KayKay asked excitedly.

"What kind of a stupid question is that? Jousting, honestly . . ."

"Well at least I'm a bit creative unlike some people." KayKay snapped.

"Oh, ouch." Harry flinched sarcastically. "You know, you really—"

"You two, calm down!" Remus exclaimed, pushing them apart (they'd been practically face-to-face) and standing between them. "Would the two of you at least act like you're nearly adults?

"Harry," Remus turned to face him, "for someone who'll be seventeen in less than twenty-four hours, you should learn to act like it. It's ridiculous to argue about a simple joke someone made.

"And KayKay," he turned to her, "you are seventeen. You should know better than to argue with people who can hardly defend themselves."

"Hey wait a min—"

"Stop." Remus said, holding up a hand to silence Harry. "Harry, go back home. KayKay, I'd like you to go to your room. Honestly!"

Harry and KayKay threw exchanged one more glare before turning away from each other and going to do as Remus had ordered. Harry was almost to his yard when he heard the telltale crack of someone apparating. He looked back and saw the person he wanted least to see during his summer holiday.

Doesn't he EVER get hot in those black robes? Harry wondered, watching his Potions teacher speaking with Remus. He was hot even in his cotton pants and tunic that he wore when practicing hand-to-hand combat, what would it be like in heavy black robes.

Who knows, maybe he hibernates most of the summer. Harry shrugged, about to go into his house, when he saw Snape pull a bottle out of his robes and hand it to Remus before turning away and disapparating with an equally loud crack.

Wait, is tonight a full moon? I wonder how KayKay will deal with that.

Thinking of KayKay just made him mad again, and he didn't even know why. Their arguments were so stupid, less mature than an argument that seven-year-olds would have. So why couldn't they stand being around one another without at least one petty dispute?

Harry shook his head and opened his front door, welcoming the cooler air inside the house.

I wonder how she and I ever got along in the first place. Harry thought, climbing the stairs to his bedroom. I mean, if we can't even stand each-other's presence for five minutes—

His thoughts were shattered by a delighted scream from next door that made him walk over and look out of his window. KayKay was in her bedroom (or rather, on the porch) and she was holding something in her hands and jumping up and down happily. What was going on?

Then someone else came into view. Oh. Matt. KayKay must have received her glorified CD. When she wasn't throwing insults at Harry, she was obsessing about getting it.

Well, goody for her, Harry thought. Nice that she can date someone who can get her "the very best", her "heart's desire". Some people are just so . . . aurgh.

Harry flopped onto his bed.

"Men."

Then, realizing how his muttered statement sounded, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. It wasn't even half over, and the day could already be classified as a bad one.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

He was flying. He was flying so high up in the air . . . It made him feel dizzy and exhilarated . . .

(Rather odd, seeing how he was dreaming)

Then, suddenly, his broomstick disappeared and he was riding a giant owl that flew into the woods and dropped him off next to a giant tree that had a door in its side.

Harry looked around curiously, but neither saw nor heard anyone or anything. Shrugging, Harry knocked on the door, and the sound echoed distantly. He pressed his ear close and could hear faint murmuring. It sounded almost foreign.

"Uncrem youshur you dunwanme staywiyu?"

"Weeben thruis, yukant staywi me."

"Yutaken poshin rymu ee?"

As Harry reached to turn the knob, he was surprised to see that the knob wasn't there—neither was the tree, for that matter.

Harry felt the dream sliding away to be replaced by the darkness of a light, groggy sleep. As it dwindled, Harry thought he heard the slight groan of a door and the sound of footsteps . . . but it was so slight, and so irrelevant in his sleepy mind that he ignored it and tried to go back to the dream.

Hearing voices, doors, and footsteps are quite easy to ignore when you're rather sleepy and they're rather quiet.

However, someone jumping on your bed, whether you're sleeping or not, is unbelievably difficult to sleep through. It is even more difficult if that person is shouting "GET UP, GET UP, GET UP YOU FAT SLEEPYHEAD!" at the top of their lungs as they bounce.

And if the person doing the jumping and shouting is KayKay, it's impossible.

Harry groaned and threw his pillow at her as hard as he could manage (which, him being still half-asleep, was not very hard at all.) This proved to only make it harder to sleep, because KayKay began to use the pillow to hit him as she kept jumping.

"Get up! Get up! Get up before I punch you . . . come on Mini-Man, bring it on! Yah! Hah! Hai-ya!" KayKay did some kicks as she was jumping up and down on the bed, the last of which quite accidentally connected with Harry's head as he sat up.

"Oh my gosh!" KayKay gasped, hopping immediately off the bed and rushing up to the head of the bed, "are you okay?"

"Never do that again." He muttered, taking his pillow and hitting her squarely in the face with it as he rubbed his head.

"I'll take that to say, 'Yes KayKay, I'm fine, no thanks to you, you dork.' " she replied sarcastically, throwing the pillow back at him.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Harry said, wiping the sleep out of his eyes as he got up. He was still in his practice pants, but the long-sleeved shirt had been discarded due to the summery heat. Thus, it came as no shock when KayKay laughed and ordered him to, "Put some clothes on, you idiot!"

However, it was a bit surprising to Harry when he saw KayKay blushing lightly as she slipped out of the room to give him some privacy.

Then again, maybe he was just imagining it.

Harry yawned and crossed to his dresser for some clothes, stopping on the way to open the window and allow a nice breeze in. The sun was just setting, so it was starting to cool down, and some fresh air sounded quite appealing.

Changing quickly into jeans and a plain white tee shirt, Harry ruffled his hair (he found that combing it had about the same effect on his appearance), and headed downstairs. When he reached the kitchen, KayKay was sitting at the counter, staring off into space and dunking a chocolate-chip cookie into a tall glass of milk.

"So first you come into my room, then you wake me up, then you kick me, and then you eat my food? Wow, the respect I get from you is positively overwhelming." Harry drawled.

"Oh, shut up you big baby," KayKay replied, throwing a cookie at him. "You haven't acted in any way worth respecting for the past three months."

Harry couldn't come up with a good response, so he changed the subject.

"So, full moon tonight, eh?" He asked as he got himself a glass and grabbed the milk.

"Gee Sherlock, figure that one out all by yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You nervous?"

KayKay looked at him in what he recognized as surprise—maybe because he'd actually asked a civil question that had no hidden or implied insults for the first time all summer.

"Why should I be? I mean, he has the Wolfsbane Potion . . ." KayKay said as Harry sat down and began to eat his cookies as well. " . . . Sirius is making sure he's locked into his safety room . . ."

"Safety room?" Harry interrupted.

"Yeah . . . this room in the house that's just plain empty. All it has is a bed in the corner and a heavy bolt on the outside to keep it closed. I suppose it was really for before the potion, but for some reason he still locks himself in every full moon . . ."

She may have claimed to not be worried, but she certainly wasn't calm, either.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's been doing this his whole life, I'm sure he knows how to handle it." Harry said reassuringly, as much for his benefit as her own. That room sounded creepy . . . and Remus was his friend. Harry certainly didn't want anything to go wrong either.

"Thanks." KayKay looked at him and actually smiled. It wasn't a smirk . . . it was a smile.

So she REALLY must be worried, if we're getting along . . . Harry thought to himself.

"Well, either way, he wants me to stay here for the night." KayKay sighed, and looked at the empty plate that was sitting on the counter.

"We ran out of cookies." She said, quite unnecessarily. She stood up. "Want to help me make more?"

"You have got to be kidding." Harry said. No way was he going to start baking.

"Okay then, more for me!" KayKay smiled smugly and began to pull things out of the refrigerator. Harry sighed and stood up to begin pulling out bowls.

"Well, when you put it that way . . ."

"I knew that would get you to help. Where do you keep the flour?" KayKay asked, setting the butter on the counter and closing the refrigerator.

"As if I know? A man's place is not in the kitchen." Harry snorted, opening a drawer and pulling out a whisk.

"I don't see how that's relevant, since there isn't a man here." KayKay said, the casual statement carrying an insult.

"Well, you're a girl—aren't you guys programmed to know your way around a kitchen?" he replied.

"That isn't relevant either, Potter." KayKay said calmly, opening and closing cupboards, sometimes stopping to take something out.

"Are you saying you're not a girl?" He couldn't help it. The temptation had been just too much.

"Are you saying you're stupid? What kind of a question is that?" she pulled out one last container and set it on the counter. "Besides, that insults your preferences more than it does mine."

Harry stopped a moment to sort out her statement, then wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Definitely not."

"Not what? Not a girl, or not not a girl?" she asked with a grin, grabbing the sugar bowl and a measuring cup.

"I . . . don't know. You lost me somewhere."

"Hardly surprising." KayKay commented dryly, not looking up from her measuring. However, there was a slight smirk on her face that informed him that the insult was both contemplated and deliberate. So, when KayKay requested that he pass the flour as she mixed the other ingredients, he did the most logical thing.

He took a handful and threw it at her.

For a few moments there was absolute silence and stillness, save for the cloud of white dust slowly settling into her hairs, clothes, and the counter. She'd stopped stirring and stood frozen, face still looking downwards towards the bowl, left hand still reaching for the proper measuring cup, and most of all—mouth not screaming.

However, the realization soon sunk in and the statement Harry had been expecting sprung forth.

"Potter, I'm going to KILL you!"

Utter pandemonium broke out immediately. Harry was off like bullet to find more ammunition in the cupboards, as KayKay had already grabbed the original container and was throwing fistfuls of it at Harry.

"Hah!" he yelled, finding the bag of flour and immediately putting it to use.

"I swear," KayKay said, ducking behind the counter as Harry threw more at her, "you just can't be around food without starting something, can you?"

He stuck his tongue out at her and ended up with a mouthful of the disgusting, dry, baking condiment. His immediate reaction of grabbing the milk and drinking straight from the carton sent KayKay into peals of laughter, which in turn caused him to turn to the sink, grab the spray nozzle, and turn the water on.

KayKay's giggles turned immediately into a shriek before she rushed forward and began to wrestle it away from him, which made him start laughing. Evidently giving up, she grabbed the flour again and started throwing it at him. This time, it stuck to his clothes and glasses even more stubbornly, since he was splattered with water from the struggle.

Harry responded by turning the water cold and spraying it at her yet again. She ducked immediately behind the counter, laughing wildly as she took some more flour and ran to the other side of the kitchen. What happened next went so fast, KayKay and Harry barely even had time to blink.

Harry aimed the spray nozzle and KayKay threw the flour at the exact same time, but neither them hit their target. The victim was someone who'd just entered the kitchen and was now standing in shock, just as KayKay had upon first getting hit.

KayKay gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth, much like Harry. He suspected that she too was trying not to laugh, if her shaking body was any indication.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed. "I—"

"We—"

"We didn't mean to—"

"Harry started it!"

"KayKay finished it!"

"I'm innocent!"

"Like that would ever happen . . ." Harry muttered.

"Shhh!" KayKay scolded. She and Harry looked back to Sirius, who was still staring at them. Slowly, he wiped off his face and crossed to the counter, surveying the damage. Harry worried that they were in trouble.

That is, he worried until Sirius grabbed some flour himself and threw it at both of them.

"I see you two have been baking" he laughed as they grabbed towels and began cleaning up—starting with themselves. "It looks like it did when I tried to make pancakes!"

"Yes, and we all remember what a disaster that was!" Harry laughed, trying to clean his glasses but managing only to smudge them further.

"Sorry Sirius . . . I'm sure Harry didn't mean to make this big of a mess." KayKay said, looking around the kitchen.

It was true; everything was either soaked or dusted with flour—most areas sported both messy substances.

"Me, what about you? Don't act like this was all my fault!" Harry exclaimed.

"Well, wasn't it? I distinctly remember asking you pass the flour, not turn me into a homemade ghost!"

"Maybe, but you were the one who—"

"Oh, shut up, Potter!" KayKay snapped.

"You!"

"You!"

"You infinity!" Harry said smugly. KayKay stuck her tongue out at him and threw her towel directly at his face.

"Can't you two do anything without fighting?" Sirius sighed. "Honestly, why can't you flirt like ordinary people?"

Harry and KayKay looked at each other in horror before shouting "SIRIUS!"

"What?!" Sirius asked innocently.

"You know perfectly bloody well what!" Harry shouted.

"How can you even suggest—"

"There's a reason we don't date, you know—"

"If I liked him would I do this?" KayKay grabbed the front of Harry's tee shirt and pulled back her arm as if to punch him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sirius shouted, jumping between them before she could even start to do so. "Violence is not the answer—"

"Of course not!" KayKay said. Sirius relaxed for a moment until she continued, "It's the question. The answer is yes!"

"Never mind, never mind . . . KayKay, you continue your cooking, Harry, you can clean up."

"Why should I clean it all up?" Harry exclaimed angrily. "She's the one who retaliated!"

"Because if you don't, KayKay won't share her cookies. Is that reason enough?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded. "Good. Now, can I trust the two of you not to beat each other into a bloody pulp?"

"Fine." Harry muttered.

"Fine." KayKay sighed as if she was missing out on a great deal of fun, then began brushing flour off of the counter with her hand to clear a space.

"Hey—"

"Oh, shut up you baby, you'll have to sweep anyhow." She muttered, pulling out a new carton of milk and searching for a clean cup. They both worked in silence for what seemed to Harry like ages—KayKay was already adding the chocolate chips when he felt he had to say something to break the tension.

"You weren't . . . you weren't really going to punch me, were you?"

KayKay looked up in surprise, before the corner of her mouth curled into a grin and she went back to her bowl of cookie dough.

"Of course I was. Did you still want me to?"

Harry laughed. "I'll pass, thanks."

KayKay snorted, shook her head with an amused sigh, and crossed the kitchen to get some cookie sheets out of the cupboard.

"I wouldn't really have punched you. It's just what Sirius said . . . doesn't that get annoying? Honestly . . . it's so weird that he keeps suggesting that there's anything still between us." She laughed. "Isn't that just crazy?"

"Oh . . . yeah, crazy." Harry said with a halfhearted laugh. "But . . . well, you know Sirius."

KayKay nodded, but he just went back to cleaning and the rest of the evening was spent in relative silence. When it came time to go to bed, both teenagers ate quite a few cookies then went to bed, Harry in his bedroom, and KayKay in the guestroom.

The next day would be his birthday.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

KayKay moaned and turned over in her sleep. A familiar memory was playing out in her head again . . .

"You don't know how to BE part of a relationship!"

"Stop being so stupid!"

"This is a waste of my time."

He was there . . . looking out at the lake with her in the moonlight. The trees were swaying but there was no breeze. She was shivering but it was not cold.

"I swear by every star in the sky that Forever WILL come. Even if I need to search the whole world after we've gone different ways, I WON'T lose you. Not now. Not ever."

And there he was again, looking at her with malice, tearing up his Forever promise . . . destroying her trust, shoving her feelings into the ground, walking away . . .

"I think we should stop seeing each other."

"What are you going to do? Run away? Go dashing to your WONDERFUL Head Boy, Brian, for comfort? Oh wait, my mistake, I forgot—he's DEAD."

"You know what? I was wrong before. I hate you because you're bratty, provocative, and sarcastic!"

KayKay rolled over again to her other side.

"Stop . . ." she murmured in her sleep, "No . . . shut up . . . stop saying that . . ."

Then his face, looking directly at her.

"I hate you."

"I HATE you."

"I think we should stop seeing each other—"

"Shut up!" KayKay screamed, sitting straight up in bed and gasping for air. She fell back against the pillows, rubbing her face as she tried to shake away the feelings her dream had left behind.

"It's okay . . . he's not really a jerk . . . well yes, he actually is . . . but it wasn't real, it was just a memory . . ." she muttered, opening her eyes again slowly to allow them to adjust.

Yes . . . a memory . . . because every single thing I dreamt really happened at some point . . .

Yawning, KayKay got out of bed and crossed to the window, pushing it open lightly and settling in at the window seat.

The rising sun accentuated the beauty of this tower room . . . the floor was made of wood but a comfortable rug was sprawled out upon it. There was a desk, a few tables, and a comfortable bed with a carved wooden headboard. It seemed every bit like the hidden room of a fairytale princess.

Not that KayKay was very fond of corsets and male heroes.

As the sun warmed her face and the breeze ruffled through her hair, KayKay's poor after-dream mood slowly ebbed away to be replaced by a feeling of contentedness. The day was already lovely, Remus was through with his transformation, and she was awake early enough to properly annoy the birthday boy.

Smirking at the thought, KayKay sprang up and quickly left her seat at the window to get dressed and ready. Since it didn't take too horribly long, it was barely any later that she was descending the spiral staircase and opening he trapdoor that connected her to the rest of the house. From there it wasn't even remotely difficult to find Harry's bedroom and slip in without disturbing him.

She smiled again to herself as she neared the bed. This was going to be fun.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

Harry's dream, like KayKay's, was familiar. Unlike KayKay, it was familiar because he'd had the dream before. In fact, the last time he'd had it was exactly one year prior.

But, since he was dreaming, he was not to know that.

He was sitting at the counter in the kitchen downstairs, reading the Daily Prophet. Across the room, a light breeze was blowing through the open window, making the curtains sway and the copper pots clank together harmoniously.

At the sink, a tall, slender woman stood, looking out of the window. Every now and then, Harry would look up from the paper at her and smile, even though her back was to him.

It all left him with a sense of peace, of tranquility.

A young child then came on the scene, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist in a small hug and looking up at her with a happy grin, making Harry feel even more pleased. The little girl suddenly gave a shriek of laughter as the woman scooped her up in her arms and twirled, skirts swirling, hair flying, and face smiling proudly as she slowed and turned to Harry, opening her mouth to say something.

It was at this point last year that Harry had woken up. However, this time Sirius wasn't around to disturb him, so he was able to hear was she said and better, able to respond when he saw her face clearly for the first time.

"Hello, Harry."

"I know you . . . "

The woman nodded once, smiling brightly.

"Yes, you do."

"But you're . . ."

"The same person that was in your dream last year." She said, correcting him before he could even speak.

"But you . . . you look so much like—"

"My daughter?" she laughed, and the sound was like the giggle of a pure, cleansing brook. "You are the first who has ever said that. Not even her uncle has seemed to notice. She would be pleased to hear it."

Harry felt confused and enlightened all at the same time.

"Of course, I'm not sure that even she knows. After all, we've both changed . . . in one way or another. I'd love to be able to tell her myself . . . but that doesn't seem very modest, does it? Well, either way, it would not work. I can only hope now that somebody else will tell her."

She looked fondly at the little girl who was playing invisible hopscotch, using her own imagination for the squares.

"You daughter . . ." Harry murmured, almost to himself.

"Yes, my daughter." She smiled again, then walked over and took the hand of the young girl, leading her out from behind the counter into Harry's full view.

She bent down near the girl and spoke to her. "Sunshine, I'd like you to meet Harry Potter."

The little girl smiled gallantly, holding out a small hand to shake Harry's. As he held out his hand, the woman stood up and continued.

"Harry, I'd like you to meet my daughter. Kayleigh."

If ever there were an award for double takes, Harry would've had it. The look he gave the woman was positively dumbstruck.

"So that means that you're . . ."

"Jenna," the woman offered, "Kayleigh—or as you call her, KayKay's—mother."

Harry sat in silence a few moments before asking, "Why are you here?"

"Kayleigh, go out and play in the yard, okay? Just for a bit." Jenna said to the young KayKay, keeping her eyes on Harry as she shooed the girl out. She waited until they heard the door click shut before answering Harry's question.

"Harry, do you remember what was happening the last time you had this dream?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, try to remember when you wake up."

Her vision seemed to change right then, she seemed to be looking at something outside of the four walls of the kitchen. She smiled slightly, then shook her head as if suddenly waking up. She looked back at Harry, her face serious once more.

"Not now, but soon, she's going to need help. You'll need to—"

"WAKE UP!" a voice yelled in his ear, effectively shattering any remains of the dream. Harry sat up immediately with a shout of surprise. He turned to his left and glared at his unwanted "alarm clock", and she smiled innocently.

Now, Harry had a number of things he was going to say—questions, insults, exclamations—but the thing that popped out instead was, "You look like your mum."

This not only was the last thing he'd planned to say, but also seemed to be the last thing KayKay had expected to hear. "What?"

"Nothing, I—I—" Harry stammered before regaining his train of thought, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yes, it's 8:03. Do you have any idea what day it is, Harry?" she mocked.

"My birthday, and I would have rather slept in, thank you very much!" he snapped. "I didn't order a wake-up call from Annoying People Incorporated!"

"Well, excuse me! I'll keep that in mind next time I want to wish you a happy birthday—which is more than you did for me, I might add." KayKay said, getting to her feet.

"Hey, while you're up, would you mind shutting the door?" Harry asked. KayKay rolled her eyes and marched over to the doorway, starting to close it.

"No, no, I mean would you mind closing it from the other side?"

KayKay glared at him. "It would be my pleasure, Potter!" she snapped, slamming the door as she stomped out. "I hope you get a broomstick and fall off of it!" Her voice was muffled behind the door.

"Yeah, well with any luck I'll land on you!" he yelled, jumping up and standing on the other side of the door and speaking through it.

"Oh, shut up, Potter!"

"Hey, you started it!"

"Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them. So if you'll just wrap this up, I can be on my way!"

Harry growled in frustration and wretched the door open to see KayKay standing there, arms crossed, leaning casually against the doorframe.

"You, know, you'd think that by now, you would grow up at least a little. But then again, we're talking about you here . . ." Harry trailed off, confused by KayKay's expression. She was looking from his face, down to his legs, then back to his face, smirking with an air of superiority.

Harry, his curiosity captured, glanced down then jumped back into his room and slammed the door, swearing under his breath as KayKay burst into laughter on the other side.

"So, Potter, do you plan on walking around Hogwarts in boxer shorts, or is that just a tool of torture that you reserve for me?" she asked between peals of laughter.

"Shut up!" Harry growled as he pulled a pair of jeans out of his dresser. "At least I wasn't staring!"

There was a moment's silence from outside, then to door banged open just as Harry was buttoning his jeans.

"Excuse me, but I thought you just said 'At least I wasn't staring'."

Her expression was the very essence of indignation, almost bordering on fury if one wanted to push her that far.

Harry decided he did.

"Yeah, you heard right" he said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his bare chest to mimic KayKay's stance.

"Ah, I see." She said, in that soft but deadly way. She made a movement as if to leave, then quite abruptly turned back and shoved him hard in the chest with her right hand, making him stumble backwards into the dresser.

"Hey, watch—"

"I was watching, Potter, have no doubt about that." KayKay said, stepping right up into his face. "I could've punched you, but decided not to give you a black eye since it's your birthday. But trust me; next time, I will."

She turned sharply, her long brown hair whipping Harry in the face as she stomped out of the room.

Harry rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the corner of the dresser and went back to finding a shirt to wear.

"Women" he muttered, rubbing it once more before yanking his tee shirt on.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

"Are you certain you don't wish to join us, KayKay?" Sirius asked once more. "It'll be fun—action, excitement, camping under the stars . . . and after all, I don't believe you've seen a professional Quidditch game before."

"If you can call the Chudley Cannons professional . . .no, I'll just stay home." KayKay laughed, then leaned closer, looking over her shoulder to make sure Remus wasn't there.

"Besides, I think Remus's transformation last night was especially hard on him. He's definitely not up to it, and I don't want to leave him here alone" she said, more softly than she'd spoken for most of the conversation.

Harry felt a slight pang of worry for Remus, but dismissed it without much thought. Remus always sprung back from his transformations, and KayKay was probably being paranoid since this was the first one she'd seen him go through.

"But really, go!" she said in a normal tone again. "And hey—have a Pronto Pup for me!"

"A what?" Sirius and Harry asked at the same time.

"Never mind." KayKay sighed, shaking her head. "But have fun! Oh, and—Happy Birthday, Harry." Her last statement carried no emotion, like she really could care less.

Sirius sighed theatrically. "You're missing out on one of the most enjoyable pastimes ever, you know . . ."

"Aw, I have plenty of life left for seeing Quidditch games. I'll just wait for the World Cup. Or for next week's game." She shrugged, "Whichever is most convenient."

"Suit yourself." Sirius replied. "Come on, Harry. We'll want to get good seats for the game!"

Harry nodded in agreement, and they both turned to leave.

"Bye guys!" KayKay called after them. Harry looked up at the half-gone sun with a grin. So far—well, excluding his rather unpleasant wake-up call—his birthday had been enjoyable. Hopefully that pleasure would last through the afternoon and into the evening at the game.

Of course, it being Quidditch, Harry was sure it would.

Harry and Sirius used their fireplace to Floo to the arena being used for the game. It obviously wasn't as crowded as the Quidditch Cup, but still, it was a good thing they'd arrived early for good seats. As the areas around Harry and Sirius filled up, Harry thought of what a shame it was that Ron wasn't with them. He would've enjoyed seeing his favorite team play.

Then the thought occurred to Harry: why hadn't Sirius invited Ron when KayKay declined?

Harry glanced at Sirius suspiciously out of the corner of his eye, but his godfather was quite innocently playing with a rubber band.

"WELCOME TO THE QUIDDITCH FACEOFF BETWEEN THE CHUDLEY CANNONS AND THE SALEM SHOOTERS!"

Sirius jumped in surprise, accidentally letting go of the rubber band. It went shooting forwards and connected with a rather old and cranky looking witch three rows in front of them. Sirius ducked to avoid being seen, so the woman's icy glare landed instead on a little boy to the right of Sirius.

Harry waited, amused, for Sirius to come up. However, when all the players had been announced and Sirius still hadn't surfaced, Harry decided to have pity on him.

"Sirius . . . Sirius, get up, the game is about to start!"

And indeed, before Sirius had even brushed his hair out of his eyes, the whistle was being blown and the balls released.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

"I still can't believe you turned down a professional Quidditch game!"

"Oh honestly, Remus, it was the Chudley Cannons. Hardly a real game. Besides, it wouldn't have been any fun without you too!"

(Of course, what KayKay was really thinking was, It wouldn't have been any fun with Harry around.)

"Oh, you could've had plenty of fun without this old man!" Remus laughed, sitting at the table as KayKay brought the dinner plates over.

"Old? Hardly." KayKay laughed, but inside she worried. Remus was really not looking well . . .

"Well, I feel old, anyway." He said as KayKay sat down with her spaghetti. She rolled her eyes and twirled some pasta around her fork.

"It's just because of the full moon. You'll spring back in no time." KayKay reassured him. She took the first bite, then noted the empty table and said with a full mouth, "Oh dang, I forgot the milk."

She stood up and went over to the icebox.

"I suppose you're right. I just need a good night's sleep." As if to prove his point, Remus yawned, stretching slowly before going back to his dinner. KayKay smiled as she grabbed a couple of glasses and sat back down.

"Of course I'm right. I'm me." She smiled as she poured milk into both glasses and passed one to Remus. "Anyhow, if you're going to bed early, then so am I. I didn't sleep all that well last night." Remus raised an eyebrow as if urging her to go on, so she said simply, "Bad dream."

"Ah. Well then, we'll both be old and sleepy together!" Remus said, raising a glass. KayKay smiled and raised hers as well.

"Cheers!"

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

"AND HE'S GOING FOR IT . . . HE'S GOING FOR IT . . . YES! THE CHUDLEY CANNONS WIN, 240 TO 190!"

"Yes!" Harry cheered, jumping out of his seat and punching the air, "Yes!"

"I never thought I'd see the day that the Chudley Cannons would win a game!" Sirius yelled above the cheers of the spectators. "Must be their new Seeker, Cory Dylan!"

"Yeah!" Harry agreed. It had been an exciting game, with Wronski Feints, bloody noses, and all that good stuff. Not to mention it was a long one . . . well, compared to Hogwarts games, anyhow. It was one of those close games that kept you at the edge of your seat the whole time. But now . . .

"Over." Sirius said in Harry's ear, not quite as loudly since people were beginning to get up and leave, though there was still plenty of ruckus. "The sun is almost set and we still need to make camp."

Harry nodded, standing up with Sirius to leave.

"Wow, did you see that awesome Chaser coordination for the American team? Boy, I sure with Ron had seen that. He could've used it for the House Team this year!"

Harry was aware that he was babbling like a school child but didn't care. Quidditch would always be exciting.

Always.

"So, where are we camping?" Harry asked Sirius.

"Oh, just this old place your dad and I used to camp out at sometimes during the summer. We'd pack some stuff for overnight, head out on our broomsticks, and spend the whole night doing stupid stuff and talking about—" Sirius stopped suddenly, looking uncomfortable, "um . . . about Quidditch! Yeah . . ."

"Oh, like I'll fall for that one." Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes as they walked. The sun had set and crickets began chirping.

"What?" Sirius asked, batting his eyes in a horrible attempt to look innocent. "Would your father and I ever say or do anything inappropriate?"

Harry looked at him in silence for a while before saying quite bluntly, "Yes." He and Sirius both laughed.

"Really, you give us much less credit than we deserve!" Sirius protested. "Really, just because we were the best pranksters Hogwarts will ever see . . . and the most handsome as well . . . not to mention the best Quidditch players . . . with every girl dangling at our fingertips . . . it doesn't mean that . . ." he hesitated, looking puzzled, " . . . that . . . what was I saying, Harry?"

"That you and my dad never said or did anything inappropriate." He smirked.

"Oh . . . well then . . . um . . . oh look!" he said quickly pointing at the sky, "the North Star!"

Harry glanced up briefly at the canopy of trees, then looked back at Sirius with a "do-you-really-expect-me-to-buy-that?" look.

"Sirius, that's a leaf. They're all leaves. You can't see any stars from here!"

"Oh, really? Huh. Funny," he said, sounding genuinely puzzled. He shook his head, smiled, then looked again at Harry.

"So, how is life with the lovely Miss KayKay? I do believe I heard some shouting this morning that was not directed at me for my adventure with the waffle iron . . ."

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

KayKay let Casey into the back yard, then went back to the dishes in the sink. She was almost done, which meant it wouldn't be long before she could collapse into bed (well, "bed" being her hammock on the enclosed front porch). She began humming to herself idly, daydreaming (or not so much "dreaming" as thinking her own confused thoughts) as she rinsed off one of the dinner plates.

Why on earth did Sirius constantly insist that there was something between her and Harry? To her, there quite obviously wasn't anything. Really, how could somebody get all out frustration and anger confused with flirting?

Unless Harry . . .

KayKay threw the towel down on the counter. That was it! Harry must have—

She became suddenly aware of a scratching at the back door and walked over to let her dog back in. It wasn't until she was back at the sink and drying dishes again that she returned to her thoughts.

Harry must have said something to Sirius . . . even if it was discreet or casual . . . about thinking she still had feelings for him! Sirius jumped to conclusions quickly enough to assume that when they were at each other's throats it was actually means of flirting . . .

I'll kill him! KayKay thought angrily, tossing the dry silverware into a drawer. How dare he! I'll KILL him next time I see him!

Of course, had she known better, she'd have realized that the next time she saw him she'd be capable of no such thing.

However, for the time being, it left her with some sort of grim satisfaction. Yawning, she put away the rest of the dishes, then beckoned Casey to follow her as she went to her porch bedroom. Casey promptly curled up on her doggie pillow on the floor, and KayKay cracked the windows open a few inches before lying down in her hammock.

The clock read 10: 47. Remus had already gone to bed, and KayKay barely had time to hit the light switch before she too was fast asleep. Luckily, her dreams were far more pleasurable than those she'd had the night before.

She was standing backstage in the western outfit she'd worn back at the recording studio with Matt, but was hurrying around asking everyone, "Where's my hat? Where's my hat? You don't get it, I can't go out there without my hat!"

Then someone was behind her, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Here, wear mine."

She turned around and took the cowboy hat from their hands. "Thanks, Matt."

"No problem," he smiled. "After all, that's what I'm here for." He kissed her on the forehead, then pulled something off of his hand and took a necklace chain out of his pocket.

"Here, for luck," he said, holding up the chain with a ring slipped on it. "That is, if you want it. If you'll have me."

Then it seemed ridiculous that the ring would've been on Matt's finger at all, because it was obviously too small and delicate—a beautiful gold band with a brilliant diamond—but when she tried to take it off of the necklace and put it on her own finger, she couldn't.

There was another ring stuck there that she'd gotten rid of months ago, and she was tugging and tugging but couldn't get it off, then she looked up again at Matt for help but he wasn't there any more. She was alone on a stage with a giant audience, so she looked down at the guitar in her hands but there were seven strings . . . and she couldn't figure out how to play it . . . . The people watching tried to explain, but their voices sounded like the adults on old Charlie Brown videos.

Harry was in the front row, shouting, "Come on, anybody can play a seven string! If you don't figure it out now, I'll come to Hogwarts in my boxers!" (which, for some reason, scared the living daylights out of her).

There was a creak of footsteps on wood, which KayKay only assumed would be someone coming onstage to assist her, and she turned quickly—

Before KayKay could see who it was, she was suddenly fully awake. This struck her as odd, because she was normally a horribly deep sleeper and it was only a bit past midnight by her clock.

But then she heard it again—the creak of a footstep, too heavy and secretive to be Remus's . . . but she wasn't dreaming this time—it was real.

Oh, probably just Harry or Sirius playing a joke. she thought, not fully believing herself. Then she realized, But they're at a Quidditch game!

She sat up abruptly, her heart beating horribly fast. She tried to calm herself, certain the intruder would hear the loud pounding inside her chest, but then she heard another footstep . . . and another . . . and another . . . all coming closer, all unfamiliar in rhythm.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

"Really, I swear that she takes pleasure out of making me annoyed." Harry said as he pounded another tent stake into the ground.

"Speaking of annoying people, you figure you'll be able to stand another year with Snape?" Sirius asked, holding out another stake.

Harry thought a moment as he took it from Sirius and moved to the back of the tent to secure it. "Well, I actually think this year won't be as bad as the others. I mean, there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel now, you know? I'll be able to concentrate on it being the last year with him, and I think that'll keep me from doing anything too rash."

Sirius nodded, though his face looked a bit skeptical. He probably couldn't imagine anything with Snape being tolerable.

"Then, do you think you'll be able to stand a year with KayKay the way you two are at each other's throats?"

Harry's head snapped up to look at Sirius, but he was looking down at his own side of the tent. Harry had half-expected him to be sporting some sort of grin like he normally did when talking about Harry and KayKay's feuds, but looked completely serious this time.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "I come out of every year against Malfoy alright, why should KayKay be any different?" At this, Sirius looked up at him.

"Well, first of all, KayKay is in your House, on your Quidditch team, and in every one of your classes. Second of all, you're not able to laugh it off when she gets you angry because she isn't all about threats and insults like Malfoy is. And third, she's a real person, not a piece of pureblooded scum. It'll feel different being set against her. It already does, I can tell."

Harry glanced at Sirius, then looked away.

"It's just because she's a girl. Dealing with her isn't like dealing with Malfoy or any other piece of Slytherin rubbish. The basic 'Insult-and-Retaliate' thing doesn't work the same way."

"And yet you try to make it work."

Harry glared at Sirius, something he didn't do very often at all.

"Listen, the reason we fight is because I can't stand her and she can't stand me! We're not fighting because one of us likes the other one! We're fighting because you and Remus keep forcing us to be around each other!" he yelled.

"We don't 'force you to be around each other'," Sirius said calmly. "You want to become Aurors, we're only trying to help you get a feel for—"

"A feel for what? For wanting to kill your partner instead of Voldemort?" Harry asked angrily.

"No, a feel for having to cooperate with your partner despite your differences!" Sirius answered. "And so far, I'd have to say you're failing miserably."

"That's because I hate her and she hates me! End of story!" he snapped. "No hidden meanings to it, no disguised feelings, nothing!"

"Oh," Sirius said, still calm, "oh, I see. So it was your Fifth and Sixth Year when you had disguised feelings. So you didn't really like each other, you just pretended. Yes, it all makes sense now . . ."

"People change, Sirius! Someone could be your best friend then turn around and stab you in the back. You know that."

Sirius looked at him for a long moment, then looked back to the final stake and gave it a few more pounds.

"Yes, I know." Sirius said quietly, a bit of the same haunted look he carried from Azkaban returning to his face. He stood.

"Sorry I mentioned it. Here, let's get a fire started, I'm starving."

Harry nodded, handing Sirius the matches. As his godfather struck one and lit the pile of logs and sticks (with some encouragement from his wand), he commented in such a way that he could almost be talking to himself, "But the question is, who stabbed whom?"

"What?" Harry asked, not wanting to know what Sirius said as much as wanting to know what Sirius meant.

"Nothing." Sirius said. He looked up at the starry sky. "I wonder how she'll hold out, though."

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

Her heartbeat pounding in her ears, KayKay breathed slowly and slid her legs to the side so her feet were dangling inches from the floor. Taking another breath, she touched them down softly and rose.

The floorboard creaked under her weight, and she could've sworn her heart froze. The intruder's steps paused for a moment, then resumed, quicker now and much closer than she'd thought.

Knowing she'd been heard, KayKay nearly flew across the room to her dresser, yanking the top drawer out in a wild search for her wand.

It wasn't there. KayKay could feel herself losing any sense of calm she'd retained as she looked around wildly. It had to be here somewhere, but she had no idea where, and time was certainly running out.

There—she saw it—over on the bookshelf. She lunged for it . . .

. . . But her fingers grasped air as someone caught her by the wrist and yanked her back, clapping a gloved hand over her mouth.

Casey had woken up. The young dog was somehow able to sense her mistress's distress, because rather than bounding up and jumping around, (as was her common response when KayKay was practicing self-defense with Harry) she crouched, growling.

"Stupefy!" the intruder hissed, sending a jet of red light at the dog and making her fall mid-bark.

He was a wizard. To KayKay, this made things ten times worse (although, she didn't know what she'd been expecting anyhow, living in an all-wizard neighborhood—a muggle cat burglar?). She began to struggle against her captor's grip, searching her mind in vain for some sort of move she'd practiced to get out of a situation like this, but it didn't come.

Harry always WAS better at self-defense, anyway. So what would he do right now? she struggled a bit more before full panic set in. I don't know! I don't know what to do! We always argued too much for me to notice how he got away, I'd just respond by trying something else . . .

Then the wizard was pulling her back, nearly dragging her out of the room as she kicked out and tried to get loose. Her arms were pinned to her sides making it impossible to grab at anything.

"It's so nice to see you again, I must say," a voice hissed in her ear. "Of course, the Dark Lord will be even more pleased, I'm certain."

She knew that voice.

She knew that voice!

"Lucius." She spat angrily (but of course, from behind the glove it sounded more like "Loof-ee-uf").

"Ah, I'm so touched that you remember me. Unfortunately, I wasn't given the distinct honor of finishing you off." He gave a rather theatrical sigh, "No, that rests with the Dark Lord."

A cold chill swept through KayKay, and as if an unexpected force from within assisted her, she stomped on Malfoy's booted toes with the heel of her bare foot and elbowed him in the stomach, dividing his attention enough to wriggle free.

She knew she'd never make it to her room in time to get her wand without Malfoy shooting a curse at her and rendering her unable to defend herself at all. So KayKay instead grabbed a heavy book from the living room table to protect herself until she found something more substantial.

By this time, Malfoy (who she now saw was wearing the customary Death Eater uniform of hooded robes and a mask) was again erect, and raising his wand.

KayKay raised the book she was holding just as he shot out the curse ("Stupefy!") and the novel Jinxes for the Jinxed took the full force of the attack, crumbling to ashes between her fingers.

She couldn't see Lucius's face, but she was certain that behind the mask, he wore a smirk. She didn't dare turn her back on him, so she instead stumbled backwards, fingers trailing along the furniture in search of something else to guard herself with.

She found a few more books (which, obviously didn't last long as he blasted each one away), but now she was trapped, her back against the fireplace and her hands groping for anything—maybe a fire poker to hit him in the head with—that she could defend herself with. (God, did she hate feeling so weak!)

She couldn't go . . . she'd never survive against Voldemort if she was wandless and friendless . . . it was amazing enough that she'd survived so far.

And she didn't expect help . . . Harry and Sirius were away, Casey was lying on the porch, stupefied, and Remus was one of the deepest sleepers ever—besides, she didn't want to wake him and put him in danger.

If I'd only gone along to the Quidditch game! she thought, cursing herself. None of this would be happening . . .

She felt all along the hearth for something that she could protect herself with—but there was nothing, not a fire poker, nor a book, nor even a blanket. All she felt was the rough brick and the pounding of blind fear as Malfoy laughed coldly and raised his wand.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

"So, if you weren't going to be an Auror, what would you have wanted to do out of Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, spearing another marshmallow with his stick and holding it over the fire.

"Dunno." Harry said with a shrug. "Quidditch, I guess."

Sirius looked thoughtful. "An Auror or a Quidditch star. You certainly don't have low standards. Those are two of the most challenging fields, as far as getting into them." He moved the marshmallow stick over a brighter flame. "Of course, if you're anything like me, you could take both on with one arm tied behind your back—augh!"

His marshmallow had just caught fire—he yanked it out of the flames and began blowing on it desperately before giving up and throwing it to the ground where he stomped it out.

Harry was laughing hard enough to split his sides by now. "Oh yeah, Sirius, you're definitely capable!"

"Oh, shut it." Sirius said, giving Harry a playful shove. "I meant to do that . . ." He studied the dilapidated marshmallow.

"Really." Harry commented sarcastically. "Do they taste better fried to a crisp and dipped in dirt?"

"But of course!"

"Okay then, eat it."

"What?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry.

"You say you like it better this way—prove it" he said with a grin.

"Ummm . . . oh, no! Oops!" Sirius said, shaking the stick to make the marshmallow fall in the fire.

It stuck to the stick.

"I mean . . . oops!" he shook the stick harder, but it still stuck fast. Looking frustrated, he gave the stick one final shake and the marshmallow flew back over his head and into a tree.

"Aw, what a shame, guess I can't show you how good it is." Sirius said, smiling. Harry looked at him, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised.

"I'm sure that you'd love for me to believe that that was innocent and unintentional." Harry commented dryly.

"Yes, that would be nice." Sirius nodded. Harry rolled his eyes but still laughed. He tilted his head back and looked at the night sky, just in time to see a shooting star mark its path.

I wish . . . Harry thought, closing his eyes, I wish that . . . that . . .

But no wish came. He was at a complete loss, because it was horribly rare for someone to begin to make a wish only to find that they have nothing to wish for.

But then, quite suddenly, he got a shiver up his spine and a strange pang of nervousness.

But what reason did he have to feel nervous? Then, he realized that not only did he not have a reason to feel nervous, but he didn't. The sensation was gone as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him to wonder if he'd simply imagined it.

He looked back down at his surroundings, surprised to see Sirius looking at him curiously. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, "yeah, I'm fine. Just—you know, shivers up the spine."

"You know, they say that when that happens, someone is thinking about you." Sirius said with a grin.

"Well, who's They?"

"I dunno . . . They are the ones who are always saying things that we use in situations like this."

"Huh. They must have a big mouth."

Sirius looked thoughtful. "Well, yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it. I suppose They have to talk a lot—"

"And They must get annoying." Harry added, looking up again at the sky.

"Well . . . yeah, I guess, what with all of those clichés and all . . ."

There was a long silence before Harry stated quite matter-of-factly, "They must be KayKay Determan."

There was a snort from Sirius, and Harry looked down at him

"What? Don't you agree with me?" Harry grinned.

"Well . . . not exactly," Sirius said, "but since it's you're birthday I'll say that I do. Hey—make a wish and blow out the marshmallow."

Sirius held up another flaming marshmallow about a foot from Harry's face, and he again found the request difficult to accommodate.

Oh, great. Well . . . uh . . . I wish that someday KayKay has a big bowl of cheesy pasta fall on HER head. Yeah, that'll do. Oh, and I wish that I'm around to see it.

He blew out the small flame, and Sirius smiled and ate the burnt marshmallow.

"Here," Sirius offered, "I'll be They for you—a-hem—This is your birthday song, it isn't very long, HEY!" Sirius sang quickly, clapping with the beat.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, that's exactly like something she'd do."

"And wasn't I just charming?" Sirius asked, batting his eyes.

"Let me think . . . no." Harry said, wiping the silly smile off of Sirius's face.

"Fine." He pouted, "I can tell when I'm not loved!"

I should've wished for him to stop talking about KayKay Harry thought, rolling his eyes.

"Speaking of love, prying eyes are simply dying to know—"

"Sirius, I told you already—"

"This isn't about KayKay! As I was going to say, prying eyes noticed that there's no love lost between you and Matt Siempre. What are your feelings regarding him?"

Harry snorted. "And by 'prying eyes', I take it that you mean you" Harry commented before answering the question. "Well, I don't have feelings for him, obviously . . ."

"Obviously," Sirius agreed, "I meant, do you hate him, do you ignore him, what?"

"Well, he certainly isn't my friend." Harry replied darkly. "Still, he helped KayKay out during the trial last fall, so I suppose he can't be all bad . . . I mean, if he helps people out, that is" Harry added quickly, not quite sounding convinced.

"And how about the country music he's always spouting?"

Harry gave Sirius a weird look and shrugged. "I don't know . . . I generally don't listen to music, do I?"

Sirius didn't say anything, just nodded, and they both looked up at the sky. Thankfully, no more shooting stars were sighted and Harry didn't have to fumble through his thoughts for a wish.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

KayKay only had a moment to look fearfully upon Malfoy's wand.

"Get away from her!" a voice ordered angrily. KayKay and Malfoy both looked at the same time to see Remus at the foot of the stairs, his steady arms holding his wand straight towards Malfoy's heart.

He simply laughed. "Very well, you want me to finish you off before taking her? It would be my pleasure, Werewolf."

"No!" KayKay cried, starting forward. "Remus, don't—"

"You're staying right there." Lucius ordered, holding out his wand in front of KayKay's chest to stop her. "This won't take long."

KayKay watched as Lucius strode across the room with lazy, arrogant strides.

Okay, if he thinks I'm about to listen to him, then he's even stupider than I thought. KayKay looked around the room hastily. I don't want to leave Remus alone to get my wand, but what is there in here that could possibly help?

"Expelliarmus!" Remus shouted, making Malfoy's wand pull away from his hand; however, he seemed to be prepared for something such as this and managed to keep a hold of his wand.

"KayKay!" Remus said, making her look to him quickly, "I want you to go to Harry's house and Floo wherever you—"

"I'm sorry, I don't believe that I can allow you to do that." Lucius interrupted. "Colloportus!" He aimed his wand at the door, making it lock with an ominous click.

He looked back at Remus. "Thank you for reminding me to do that. You see, I would have forgotten otherwise . . . Crucio!"

The curse was so sudden, KayKay was sure she wouldn't have been able to react in time—but Remus had been an Auror, which was probably why the curse flew harmlessly over his head and knocked over a cabinet as ducked and rolled out of the way.

Remus was breathing more heavily than was comforting to KayKay, but he seemed fine as he shot another curse towards Malfoy.

"Stupefy!" Remus shouted, sending the jet of red light towards Malfoy. However, it was easily deflected as he cast a shielding charm, and Remus had to jump aside to avoid being hit with his own jinx.

This spell also hit the now fallen cabinet, making a door fall open and causing its contents to spill out with a clatter. It wasn't until Remus moved out of the way to shoot another curse at Malfoy that KayKay saw what they were.

The swords from practice! KayKay was, for some reason, surprised. Wait, that one is familiar—why do we have Godric Gryffindor's sword in our house?

She ran over to investigate, thinking that even if it wasn't Gryffindor's sword, it would be a good idea to be armed in some shape or form.

She knelt by the debris, moving a sword on top aside to get a better look—it was Gryffindor's sword! But—last she'd heard, it was in Dumbledore's office—

"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy shouted, making KayKay look up quickly. She was just in time to see Remus's wand fly out of his hand as his body flew backwards. He hit the wall, his head banging into the lintel, then he fell in heap to the floor with a groan.

KayKay was to her feet so fast that she wasn't even sure how she'd gotten there, her heart frozen in her chest.

He wasn't moving . . .

Why wasn't he moving?!

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

Harry breathed in the fresh forest air and gave a contented sigh. If someone had asked him just over a year ago what he'd do on his seventeenth birthday, he never would have guessed that it would be going to a Quidditch game and then camping out with Sirius.

"So, Harry, how is Gryffindor looking for the Quidditch Cup this year?" Sirius asked.

He and Harry were sprawled out on soft sleeping bags right on the forest floor so they could see the stars, and Harry looked over at Sirius for a moment.

"Well, it's hard to say since we haven't even begun school yet—and since Megan will be gone this year, we'll have to shuffle positions around a bit."

"Oh that's right, KayKay took the position of one of the girls who got attacked last year, didn't she?"

"Yeah, and now that everyone is back to normal . . . Ron won't want to kick either off of the team, but I'm not sure if we'll have a very good team if one of them doesn't play their primary position."

"I'm sure it'll all work out—and if it doesn't, you can always help give KayKay private practice lessons . . ."

"Sirius . . ." Harry warned, gritting his teeth.

" . . . I mean after all, we all know that you still like her, don't—"

"SIRIUS!"

"Okay, okay, only joking! Jeez, lighten up! Okay then, Harry! What's your favorite color?"

Harry looked over at him in surprise. "What kind of a question is that?"

"No kind," Sirius said nonchalantly. "It's just that when I looked for your birthday present, it occurred to me that I didn't know what your favorite color is."

"Oh." Harry said, still slightly taken aback. "Well, I like red. Red and blue."

"Not green?"

"What is it with people associating me with green? Honestly just because of my eyes . . ." he shook his head, then added, "But green is alright too. It's not like I don't like it . . ."

"What's your favorite food?" Sirius asked, changing the subject quite abruptly—again.

"What is this, Twenty Questions?" Harry laughed. "What's up with this?"

"Well, I was thinking that I'd make your favorite meal tomorrow as a late birthday dinner, but if you're going to be that way—"

"No Sirius, it's okay—and I like mashed potatoes, steak, Butterbeer, and chocolate cake." Harry said with a grin. "But there's only one problem . . ."

"What's that?" Sirius asked. Harry looked over at him.

"You can't cook."

Sirius was silent for a long moment before saying excitedly, "Then I'll just invite KayKay and Remus over, and they can make it!" Harry snorted, but Sirius continued, "No, really! They're both good cooks—I'm sure that KayKay makes heavenly cake . . . and you'd get the added bonus of having an excuse to spend time around her when she has to be nice!"

"Sirius!" Harry growled, "Can't you just drop it?"

"Okay, okay, change of subject . . . ummm . . . hey, what teachers do you think date each other at Hogwarts?"

"What?"

"You mean you've never wondered that?" Sirius asked, sounding shocked. "Harry, Harry, Harry."

"Well . . . I dunno . . . I just sorta' figured that teachers slept in coffins all summer or something."

"Well, Snape, maybe. But who do you think?" (He was grinning like a schoolboy, Harry noticed upon looking over at him.)

"Well, Professor Sprout and Professor Sinistra get along well enough, I suppose . . ."

"The Herbology teacher and the Astronomy teacher? Probably complete opposites—but then again opposites attract—but do you know who I think?"

"Who?"

"Professor Dumbledore and Snape."

"What?! Sirius, that's disgusting!" Harry exclaimed.

"But not impossible." Sirius argued.

"I don't even want to know what goes on inside that head of yours!" Harry said, getting up and dragging his sleeping bag into the tent.

"So are you going to admit yet that you fancy KayKay?" Sirius called after him.

"I DON'T LIKE HER!" Harry shouted, yanking the zipper shut and flopping down on his sleeping bag. He hadn't felt tired, but now in the silence (silence, that was, except for the crickets) he fell asleep quickly.

Dumbledore was chasing Snape on a broom and calling, "Sevvy! Sevvy, come back!"

(Sick, positively sick.)

But then it changed quickly, not going through the smooth transition that dreams normally followed.

He was yelling and swinging something back and forth at a shadowy figure standing before him. There was little light, but from what Harry could guess he was in some sort of house.

He could make hardly anything out, not even his own jumbled words, but he could tell the shadowy figure was leaving, and he chased after it . . .

It vanished suddenly and Harry was pitched forward and dropped into a dark, dreamless sleep.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

Malfoy was laughing. The wicked, cruel sound was flooding KayKay's ears, grating against her soul, and it snapped her out of her stupor.

"Nooo!" she screamed, swinging the sword blindly with both hands gripping the hilt. "No!"

Her wild swing caught Malfoy unawares and gashed his arm as he tried to lean out of the way. He howled, clutching he wound.

Through the darkness, KayKay saw the sword dancing, silver light reflected on the bloody blade. She swung it again, forcing Malfoy back.

"You cut me." He hissed. "You filthy mudblood wench, you cut me!" He raised his wand, but KayKay knocked it away with the sword, nearly removing some of his fingers in the process.

"Get out of my house!" she screamed. "Get out before I cut your heart as well!"

He stared at her, frozen, and KayKay slashed the sword again.

"Get out!" she ordered a third time. To her slight shock, he took one more look at her and fled, making the front door bang on its hinges in his rush. She chased after him to the doorway, watching as he ran to the street and disapparated.

She stood there, staring at the spot he'd disappeared from and gasping for air as she tried to sort out what had happened. If it were all a dream, she would certainly have appreciated waking up at that moment.

The blood Malfoy had lost made a trail down the steps and along the sidewalk, making a small puddle at the end where he'd paused to disapparate. She wiped her clammy face, not sure what to think or do at this point.

A cough from within the house brought her to her senses. She turned and rushed inside to where Remus was just sitting up.

"Oh, thank God!" KayKay sighed in one breath, rushing to his side. "Oh Remus, I was so worried!"

He smiled weakly at her as he sat up slowly.

"Always knew you had it in you" he said hoarsely. "You're going to make a brilliant Auror."

She had a moment of hope that this had just been an Auror training practice, but she knew better and shook the idea away.

"Shhh," she urged, grabbing a pillow from the couch, "just lie down and get some sleep. I'll go contact Dumbledore—"

"No," he said, touching KayKay's ankle to stop her. "Just stay. We'll get him in the morning."

KayKay froze, then lowered herself to her knees on the floor next to him and held his hand.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I'd feel better if we got help—"

"It's not the first time I've been slammed into a wall. I'm sure it won't be the last, either." He laughed but it turned into a violent cough. When he drew his hand away from his mouth, there were speckles of blood on it.

"Remus!" KayKay gasped, "Remus, you're bleeding!" she looked around nervously, then grabbed Remus's wand and said "Accio water1"

A glass came soaring out of the kitchen, spilling drops of water as it came.

"Here . . . here, drink this," she said, handing it to him. He took a small sip, then fall back against the pillow with a sigh.

There they sat in silence, KayKay holding Remus's hand tightly as he lay on the floor, his chest rising and falling as he took shaky breaths.

The moon slipped behind a cloud, and the room was shrouded in darkness. Remus's eyes began to close, then opened again.

"Kayleigh . . ." he started, squeezing her hand. "Kayleigh, I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault, you couldn't have known that he—"

"Kayleigh." He interrupted gently. "I'm so sorry—I'm leaving you alone."

She blinked, then began to shake her head silently. No. This couldn't happen. It couldn't! He was fine, just a bit worn out from his transformation and the fight.

"No . . . no, Remus, you're fine! You'll be okay! You just need some rest, that's all . . ."

He shook his head once, so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable. "My time—it's too early—I'm so sorry."

KayKay clapped a hand to her mouth. "No . . . no, please—don't die, Remus, please don't die—I love you. Oh God, don't die!"

"Smart," He whispered, "Brave. Beautiful. My little Kayleigh."

"No . . ." KayKay pleaded softly. His last words were almost a sigh of air and nothing more.

"Keep loving life, Kayleigh."

His hand slipped from hers and fell to the floor with a small thud that all but froze time.

KayKay closed her eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning. Dead? But he couldn't be dead—Her uncle, her guardian, her friend! Who took her in as her own, who laughed with her, who dried her tears and listened to her worries. Who told the best stories about Hogwarts, who knew how to duel, and who taught KayKay how to fight . . .

Dead.

"NO!" she screamed in rage and pounded her fist against the floor. "NO, NO, NO!"

She stood, taking the sword still set against her hand and she flung it across the room. It wedged itself into the door, quivering, and KayKay kicked it down, sending it clattering onto the front steps.

"NO! NO, YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM!" She shouted up to the sky. "NO!"

The moon slipped innocently out from behind a cloud, bathing the yard with its silvery glow. KayKay looked up at it and hated it.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" she screamed, "YOU ALREADY TOOK HIS FREEDOM, WASN'T IT ENOUGH?"

The moon simply stared back at her, unblinking, uncaring. She turned back into the house and kicked aside a chair and knocked over the table, making a vase fall to the wooden floor and shatter.

Sweeping aside some of the shards with her foot, KayKay fell again to her knees at Remus's side.

Dead.

The moon falling in through the window cast its crisp light across his face and onto KayKay's knees. She wiped an escaped tear from her eye and sniffed.

The first tear gave way to a second, and then to a third. She spent the night by the side of the greatest man she'd ever truly known, bathed in the nearly full moon's cruel light and dreading the morning.

§ ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ § ¤ §

The greatest man I never knew
Lived just down the hall.
And everyday we said hello,
But never touched at all.
He was in his paper,
I was in my room,
How was I to know he thought I hung the moon?

The greatest man I never knew
Came home late every night.
He never had too much to say,
Too much was on his mind.
I never really knew him,
Oh and now it seems so sad,
Everything he gave to us took all he had.

Then the days turned into years,
And the memories to black and white.
He grew cold like an old winter wind
Blowing across my life.

The greatest words I never heard
I guess I'll never hear.
The man I thought would never die
He's been dead almost a year.
He was good in business,
But there was business left to do.
He never said he loved me.
Guess he thought I knew.


This is the hardest chapter I've ever had to write, most especially the last section. As I speak (or type, rather) even now, I'm on the verge of tears. J.K. Rowling talks about how she's cried during certain parts of Order of the Phoenix that she wrote, but J.K. Rowling has it easy. She doesn't have to face her readers as they read it, and she's getting millions off of it anyhow. I'm just spending my own time out of my love for writing and any one of my readers could try to kill me via internet.

But I always tell you guys, everything I type has a purpose, and oftentimes what I type is hard to do. Maybe that's what makes a good writer—I don't know, I can't evaluate my own self to figure out if I really am one.

But I want everyone to know, what just happened isn't me using my evil writing powers—it's something I've known I'd have to do since I began Harry Potter and the Heir of Voldemort, and it's something I've tried to stall. So—well, that's all I have to say on that subject.

A big thank you goes out to Reba for this song that also makes me cry every time I hear it on the radio, and to Joeyperson: thanks for your reviews! It always brightens my day when I open my mailbox and see a review alert, and you did TWO! (And also, "spifftastic" has to be the coolest word I've heard all summer . . . rock on.)

Oh, and thank you to anyone who doesn't try to kill me after this chapter.