Two hours later Ron was still enthusing over Malfoy's humiliation.

He had been even more impressed when Hermione told him, with very little more than mild fury, that I had been Harry's doing in the first place. Harry noted the awed look Ron held him in for the rest of the evening.

Hermione noticed it too. Bugger!

"Harry, can I borrow your communication bowl please? I have to talk to Si-someone."

Silently he nodded and she shot over to their dorm to do it quickly.

Ever so carefully she sat in front of the fire with the great silver bowl in her lap.

"Sirius Black." She said rather loudly and clearly into it. Curling white smoke erupted from it and the face of Sirius appeared in front of her.

"Hermione! Hello darling! What can I do for you?"

"You're lucky you're in Grimauld Place because I think I might hit you!"

"What have I done this time?"

"Tell me something, do you feel you've got James back now that Harry is living with you?"

Sirius laughed. Actually it wasn't a laugh it was his unique barking laugh.

"I've been expecting something like this. From you especially. Sooner than I expected though. Over the summer Harry lived with Remus and myself. We told him stories about his father and the Marauders. We even taught him several things."

"Like how to be an animagus?"

"He's shown you?"

"Yes! He threatened Malfoy in that shape! I was as surprised as anyone in that hall. He is registered as an animagus, right?"

"Oh yes. We were both registered over the holiday. They were angry at me, of course, for not registering myself when I was at school, but Harry smoothed it all over."

"You still haven't answered my fundamental question!"

"Oh yes. Well Harry seemed to like our stories very much and I noticed that he's become more and more like his father. I'm quite proud of him."

"Well you shouldn't be! He's become a bully! He floated Malfoy round the dining hall at dinner tonight!"

"He didn't! The old Aunt Marge trick. We used it on Snivellous a couple of times, what fun we had!"

"You're setting a bad example to him! No, strike that, a terrible example for him!"

"What's so wrong about him having fun? Look, Mione, since he has been born he's had that awful Voldy creature hanging over him and the fate of the whole wizarding world on his poor shoulders. When he defeated, Voldy doesn't even deserve a gender or even a species, IT a cloud had lifted. He was free, at last. For once in his life he could relax without worrying that that disgusting, manipulative, creep, thing would come and kill him. Can you even begin to imagine how he felt? Everybody put so much pressure on him that he was barely strong enough to defeat that thing. But he did. He did that for us and now he wants to have fun. Just let him. He knows what he's doing. Trust me, any prank situation he finds himself in, he will be in complete control of it."

They continued to chat about Harry until the portrait hole opened and Harry entered with Ron and Ginny in tow. Ginny was still staring at Harry as though he was some kind of deity.

"Talked to who you wanted, Hermione?" Harry said, not noticing that Sirius was still there.

"Hello son."

"Sirius! That was who you're talking to? Why?"

"We were talking about you…"

"BYE Sirius!" Hermione closed down the link quickly to prevent him saying anything she didn't want the others to know.

There was something not quite right with Harry. Hermione couldn't think what it was.

Then she realised that he looked odd because he had the hood up on his robes.

What are you hiding Harry? She thought as they draped themselves over various chairs and sofas.

She remained standing and wandered around the room and placed the bowl on a table behind Harry.

Subtly her hand inched tentatively forward and she gently grasped the top of the hood before yanking it down.

There was a momentary pause and then Harry yelled.

Hermione sank onto the floor holding her sides. She was laughing so much it hurt.

Harry's hair was not black anymore.

It was baby pink! With a green and silver streak down the middle!

"Malfoy?"

"Malfoy."