Percy and Padfoot

Dean woke early again, just after dawn, and decided to walk out in the grounds again. The cuts on the back of his hand still burned and he needed to clear his head. He passed Cas asleep on the sofa on his way out, but judging by the shadows under his eyes, he hadn't been asleep long, so Dean crept through the common room.

It was a crisp morning, just the way Dean liked it, but just as stepped onto the grass, Sherlock and John barged past him, each of them soaking wet.

'What-'

'John, wait!'

Dean turned and saw Sam sprinting towards him. 'What happened?' Dean asked.

Sam stopped to catch his breath. 'I wanted to see if John had water visions and, well, they fell in the lake. Actually, John fell in and Sherlock jumped in to get him.'

'Sounds like an interesting morning already,' Dean laughed.

'Sherlock didn't seem too happy about it,' Sam grimaced. 'I'd better go see if they're okay. See you later.'

Dean walked a lap of the lake, getting his fill of fresh air for the day. He knew that he and Cas would be spending most of their time in the library, so he wanted to have at least a glimpse of nature before they were shut up between the dusty shelves. When he was finished with his walk, he grabbed some toast from the Great Hall and climbed back up the stairs to collect his books. He opened his mouth when he reached the Fat Lady, but the portrait opened and Cas stumbled out. He too pushed past Dean and hurried down the stairs.

'Hey!' Dean called. 'Where are you going?' But Cas ignored him, so Dean followed him as best he could. He ran down several flights of stairs, but Cas disappeared through a corridor, leaving Dean spinning around, trying to figure out where he went. 'Damn it,' he muttered, then ran back up to Gryffindor Tower. He bumped into Harry, who was also on his way out with a letter in his hand. 'Harry, can I use the map?'

'Yeah, go ahead,' Harry shrugged.

'Thanks.' Dean went up to the dormitory and snatched the Marauder's Map from Harry's bedside table.

'It would be lovely if you could get your brother to tone it down a little,' John said from his bed. 'What are you doing?'

'Looking for Cas. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' He waited impatiently for the map to reveal itself, then raked it for Cas's name, which he found racing across the grounds. 'Where's he going?' He watched Cas run down a passageway and off the edge of the map.

'What's he doing in the Shrieking Shack?' John frowned, peering over Dean's shoulder.

'Is that what that is?'

'Yeah, look, that's where the Whomping Willow would be.'

'I'm gonna go find out. Mischief managed.' The map faded and Dean left it on Harry's bed.

Dean ran all the way back down the stairs, jumping them two at a time, and made his way over to the Whomping Willow. 'Immobulus!' he cried before the tree could take a swipe at him, and dove into the hole at the base of the trunk.

He had to stoop a lot more than he had before, but as he struggled through the passage, he saw a bright white light emanating from the end of it. It was so bright his eyes watered, and by the time he reached the opening, he had to close his eyes.

'Hello?' he called, shading his eyes from the brilliantly shining light. 'Cas, are you in here? What's going on?' Then something slammed into him with a huge force, throwing him into the wall. His arm scraped painfully against the wood and he cracked the back of his head. He fell to the floor, groaning and rubbing his head.

'Dean!' Cas gasped, and the light faded. 'Are you all right?'

Dean groaned again, dazed and dazzled as he tried to sit up.

'Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry.' Cas cupped his face with cool hands to examine him.

Dean rubbed his eyes and Cas's face swam into view. 'What the hell was that?' he asked, sitting up to look at Cas's guilty expression. 'Was that you?'

Cas nodded, kneeling in front of him. 'I'm sorry. You frightened me.'

'So you do have a power!'

Cas looked taken aback. 'I suppose so,' he mumbled.

'Have you always had it? What exactly is it?' Dean said eagerly.

Cas bit his lip. 'It's in my blood, but no, I didn't always have it.'

'What does that mean?'

Cas looked away. 'I'm not - I'm not human, Dean. Not really.'

Dean nodded. 'Then what are you?'

'I…'

Dean shuffled closer. 'You can tell me.'

Cas held his head in his hands. 'There were creatures that lived in the mountains a long time ago. No one remembers their true name, but they inspired the modern idea of.. of angels.'

Dean's eyes grew wide. 'Are you kidding me? That is so cool!'

Cas shook his head, looking ashamed. 'You don't understand. I'm a monster - I'm a thing.'

'What are you talking about? You're not a monster, not even close.'

'You don't know that.'

'Sure I do. I know you.'

Cas sighed bitterly. 'You don't know anything.'

Dean winced but his curiosity got the better of him. 'What happened to these not angels?'

'Wiped out by the giants. My family is descended from the clan that lived in the Alps, on my mother's side. All gone now, though. It's only through people like me that we know they existed at all.'

'So, are all your family like you?' Dean's brow furrowed at the thought of Lucy having such power.

'Just me,' Cas said in disgust.

'How come?'

'It's dormant until something happens to trigger it. That's what Dumbledore says, anyway.'

'What happened to you?'

Cas rubbed his arm. 'Gabriel was badly hurt,' he mumbled. 'I didn't know what to do, I didn't have my wand, and it just… happened.'

'When?'

'Last year, just before we came back to school.'

Dean watched Cas holding his arm and slowly rocking back and forth. His face was still pinched and scared. 'You've kept this a secret this whole time?'

Cas nodded. 'I don't want anyone to know. I don't want to hurt anyone.'

'So why are you telling me now? You could have said anything when I walked in here.'

Cas looked up at him. 'I need your help,' Cas admitted. 'Gabriel is supposed to help me, and I can't-' A sob cut him off and the air shimmered as Cas glowed in front of him. Cas put a hand over his mouth. 'I can't make it stop.'

'Why do you have to make it stop?'

'It's too strong. I'll hurt someone. Look what I did to you already.'

'This is nothing,' Dean said hastily.

Cas shivered, straining to contain his magic. 'I'm supposed to come here when it's too much, to let it out safely. But it's just getting stronger.'

'Okay, so what do I do? How do I help?'

Cas shuddered. 'Close your eyes and - and hold my hand?'

'You got it.' Dean took Cas's hand and closed his eyes, just as asked, and waited. The light seared his eyes, even though they were closed, and Cas's grip on his hand was iron. Something in the room cracked and something else flew into the wall, and Cas just squeezed Dean's hand ever tighter. The room rumbled, then everything subsided. The light faded again and Cas dropped Dean's hand. It throbbed from how tightly Cas had been holding it.

Dean opened his eyes again just as Cas slumped against the wall. He'd turned a pale shade of green and was trembling. Dean took a moment to look around. The Shrieking Shack now looked a lot different than it had the night they confronted Sirius. The walls and doors had all been repaired, and everything had been cleaned and painted. It now had furniture and potted plants, though the windows were blacked out. It was a much needed improvement, despite the fresh cracks in the walls, and the plant that had smashed on the floor.

'Gabriel thought it might make me feel better if it looked nice in here,' Cas explained.

'Does it?'

'Sometimes.' Cas licked his dry lips and drew out his wand. 'Reparo.' The plant wobbled feebly, but made no further move to repair itself, and Cas sighed.

'I got it,' said Dean. 'Reparo.' The plant flew together, good as new, and the cracks in the walls sealed themselves again. 'Does it make you feel like this all the time?'

Cas nodded. 'It's hard to keep it under control.'

'Are you sure you're not an Obscurial?' Dean said, laughing nervously.

'Gabriel was worried,' Cas mumbled, his head lolling, 'but Dumbledore assures me I'm too old to develop an Obscurus. And as long as I keep releasing the magic like this I'll be all right.' Cas slid down the wall, falling to the ground and closing his eyes. 'I'm tired,' he whispered.

'Okay, but don't you wanna rest on that bed over there? Probably more comfortable.'

Cas nodded and weakly pushed himself up.

Dean helped him the rest of the way and sat next to the bed. 'Telekinesis, huh? That's pretty cool, but what's with the glowing?'

Cas rolled onto his back with an arm over his face. 'It's a defence mechanism. The - the creatures used it to blind their enemies and gain the advantage. But it stopped working on the giants when their eyesight diminished. It happens when I get scared. Which is a lot.'

'Did Dumbledore tell you all this?'

'And Gabriel. Mother used to tell him the stories…'

'Ha, I get the angel jokes now.'

Cas smiled at that. 'I wish they were as funny as they used to be.'

'What other cool stuff can you do?' Dean said, encouraged by Cas's smile.

'What do you mean?'

'You can alter spells, right? And you can chuck me across the room. What else can you do?'

Cas looked him up and down and sighed. 'Give me your arm,' he mumbled, holding out his hand.

Dean put his arm in Cas's hand and watched in awe as he glowed again. The scrape on his arm healed completely, the bump on his head disappeared, and the throbbing in his hand faded away. 'That's amazing!' Dean exclaimed, examining his now smooth skin. 'You don't need a wand to heal?'

'No.'

'That's incredible, Cas.'

'No it isn't. I prefer my wand,' Cas scowled.

'And you still can't heal this?' said Dean, holding out the hand that still had I must not tell lies etched on it.

'It was made by a cursed object,' Cas repeated. 'Does it still hurt? I can get you some Murtlap essence.'

Dean shook his head and was quiet for a moment. 'What would happen if you stopped trying to control it so much?'

Cas's lip trembled. 'I don't know,' he said. 'Something bad.'

'How do you know pushing it away isn't making it worse?'

'It's too big a risk not to.' Cas pushed himself up and took a deep breath. 'We should go. We have studying to do.' But Dean held out a hand and stopped him.

'Where do you think you're going?'

'The library?' Cas said, confused.

'Nope, you're staying right here. You're too sick to go back up to the castle.'

Cas rolled his eyes. 'I'm fine. I've been dealing with this a long time.'

'Hey, you asked for my help and you're gonna get it. You stay here and rest, and I'll go get our stuff. We'll study here.'

'But-'

'It'll be good. We can talk at a normal volume here without Madam Pince tearing us a new one. I'll be right back.'

Cas grudgingly lay back down and watched Dean leave.

Dean's mind raced as he made his way through the grounds. He'd tried to prepare himself for it, after all, Sherlock had correctly guessed that Cas had something other than wizard in him, but Dean was still reeling. 'Angels,' he muttered. 'Freaking angels.' He grabbed both his and Cas's bags and stopped off at the kitchens.

'Hey, guys,' he said warmly to the House-elves. 'Me and a friend are planning a long day of studying, so we won't have time to come get lunch. I don't suppose you could-' He didn't even finish his sentence before the elves were packing bags of food for him. 'You guys are the best,' he grinned, levitating the bags.

He had to freeze the Whomping Willow again by the time he got back, and it was a struggle squeezing everything through the passage. Cas was waiting for him, sitting quietly on the bed with a cup of water. He seemed calmer already.

'Where would you like to start today?' Cas asked, unpacking his books.

'Divination,' said Dean, yanking out his dream diary. 'Get it out of the way.'

Cas nodded. 'Why did you take Divination?'

'Easy grade,' Dean shrugged.

'Then why not just take Muggle Studies?'

'Sure, Muggle Studies would have been a cinch, but I wouldn't get that added bonus of making fun of Trelawney,' Dean laughed. 'Besides, I'm actually kinda good at it.'

'Oh?'

'No need to be so surprised, I had to be good at something.'

'I'm not surprised. You're good at a lot of things.'

Dean rubbed the back of his neck. 'These dream diaries are worthless though. My dreams are never about the future.'

'What are they about?'

Dean glanced up at him. He didn't want to talk about it, but Cas had already shown him such trust that day, it was only fair to return the gesture. 'I, uh, mostly dream about stuff that happened when I was a kid. My dad's an Auror, you know, so he used to take Sam and me around with him when he was chasing something. Mostly magical creatures that MACUSA didn't want to deal with. But there were Demons and werewolves and stuff too.'

'That sounds dangerous,' Cas frowned.

'Yeah, it was. Me and Sam got hurt a couple times, so Dad sent us here.'

'You must have been scared.'

'Still am sometimes,' Dean admitted. 'So yeah, that's what my dreams are about. I was just thinking of pulling a Harry and Ron, and just writing a bunch of crap in this thing.'

'Sounds reasonable,' Cas said with a small smile.

Dean wrote slowly, but for the first time felt no pressure to speed up as Cas watched him patiently.

'You really are full of mysteries,' Dean commented, squinting at his parchment. 'Is that it now? You don't have a long lost evil twin I need to worry about, do you?' Dean laughed at his own joke.

'My twin was stillborn,' Cas said flatly.

'Oh. Oh jeez, Cas, I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. I didn't know him.'

Dean shook his head. 'How do you deal with all this stuff?'

'Badly,' Cas frowned, clenching his shaking hands.

'Don't you at least feel a little better getting it out?'

'Not really. I didn't want you to think differently of me.'

'I don't,' Dean reassured. 'I do think it's really freaking cool, but you're still the same old Cas. It doesn't bother me.'

'Thank you, Dean.'

'And our friends would probably be fine with it. They all still hang out with Hagrid.'

Cas's head snapped up. 'You can't tell anyone.'

'I won't, but I think you should.'

'No, I can't. No one can know.' Cas wrapped his arms around himself. 'If Umbridge finds out, I don't know what she would do to me.'

'Do you think she'd hurt you?'

Cas nodded.

'She wouldn't do that.'

'She hurt you,' Cas pointed out. 'She hates part-humans.'

Dean thought about her anti-werewolf laws and the scars on his back itched. 'Okay. You don't have to tell anyone,' he relented.

Cas exhaled and went back to his books. 'If we can finish your History of Magic essay today, we should work on - on Potions tomorrow.'

'Sweet,' Dean grinned.

They only paused briefly for lunch, in which Cas ate a solitary apple, and then spent most of the afternoon on their essays. Cas made Dean stop when he felt the air grow chill.

'The sun's going down,' he said, putting their books away.

Dean nodded, rubbing his tired eyes.

They climbed out from under the Whomping Willow together and Cas stopped to breathe the fresh air in the dimming light.

'Would you like to see me fly?' Cas asked, catching sight of the Quidditch pitch.

'Sure.'

Cas grabbed a Quaffle and Summoned his broom once they were in the stadium. He lifted off the ground and rose gracefully into the air.

Dean watched him soar overheard, spinning through the sky like it was nothing. He looped around and threw the Quaffle through one of the goal hoops, then raced around to catch it on the other side. It was like watching an intricate dance, and it was the most confident and comfortable Dean had ever seen Cas. He had complete control of the broom, but the way he moved made it look as though he didn't need it at all. He leapt to his feet, lightly landing on the broom, and surfed it once around the stadium, never once wobbling or losing his balance. When he was finished, he held the broom upright, balancing one foot on the stirrup and floated back down to Dean.

'You're good at that,' Dean said, cheeks warming.

'Thank you,' Cas smiled. 'Would you like to try?'

'Oh, no way. Nope,' Dean said, backing away.

'If you're going to make me confront my fears, it's only fair you do the same.'

Dean groaned. 'Fine,' he grumbled. He took the broom from Cas and reluctantly mounted it. He lifted off with a lurch and a surprised grunt, and hovered a few inches off the ground. 'Okay, that's not so bad.'

Cas sat sideways on the broom behind him, and encouraged the broom higher.

Dean inhaled sharply and gripped the handle.

'It's all right, I've got you,' Cas said, one hand on Dean's back. 'Why don't you try steering?'

Dean nodded. 'Okay, how do I do that?' he said breathlessly, his heart thumping against his ribcage.

'With your knees. Be gentle, it's very intuitive. Try taking us towards the goal posts.'

Dean tried to nudge the broom, but it careened sideways, then stopped abruptly, and Dean yelped.

'Don't panic,' Cas said gently. 'I have control of the broom. Try again.'

Dean swallowed and nudged the broom again. This time it tilted and zoomed towards the goal posts. Dean slowed to a stop before the middle one.

'Well done, Dean.'

'That was great. Can we go down now?'

'Of course. Push the handle down with your hands.' Cas wrapped one arm around Dean's waist, flustering him so badly his hand slipped, and the broom dove sharply. Cas pushed down on the tail and levelled them out, slowing them down before they hit the ground.

Dean dismounted and stumbled away. He doubled over, hands on his shaking knees. 'Whew, that was high,' he puffed. 'Kinda lame you had to do it for me, though.'

'It's not lame,' Cas said, putting the Quaffle away and Banishing the broom back to his dormitory. 'I think it's endearing.'

Dean nearly tripped over again.

'We should go back to the castle,' Cas said, not appearing to notice. 'I'm quite tired.'

'Where are you staying tonight?'

'The hospital wing. I want to organise the supply cabinet before I go to sleep.'

'Sounds… fun. Where did you learn to fly like that anyway?' Dean asked as they walked away from the stadium.

'I didn't. It's mostly instinct, I suppose.'

'Wow. You just keep getting cooler.'

'I don't know if "cool" is the word I'd use to describe myself,' Cas chuckled.

Dean sniggered. 'So, this flying instinct… did the creatures fly?'

'Hush, Dean,' Cas hissed, looking around nervously. 'Yes they did. They had wings.'

'But you don't, I take it? Not hiding anything under your robes, are you?'

Cas rubbed his arm. 'No, I don't have wings. Please stop talking about it now.'

'Sorry,' said Dean, climbing up the steps to the Entrance Hall. 'Meet you for breakfast tomorrow?'

Cas nodded distractedly and wandered off to the hospital wing.

Dean made his way up to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was almost empty, except for John, Sherlock and Hermione.

'Is Cas coming?' Hermione asked. 'I was going to teach him to knit.'

'Nah,' said Dean, throwing himself down in front of the fire. 'He had some super important organising to do in the hospital wing.'

'Did you find out anything?' Sherlock asked in interest.

Dean avoided his eyes. 'I did,' he said evasively.

'What did he say?'

'I can't tell you.'

Sherlock groaned dramatically.

'He's not sick or anything,' Dean said hastily. 'But he doesn't want me to tell anyone.'

John nodded, but Sherlock flopped back in his seat looking stormy.

'Sorry, man,' Dean laughed. 'He'll tell you when he's ready. Probably.'

Dean slept fitfully that night, taking a long time to fall asleep at all, and waking at a sharp cry from John in the early hours of the morning. He heard Sherlock shushing him quietly, and John muttering about a snake.

'It was Nagini, I'm sure it was.'

'But what would she be doing in the Ministry? How would she even get in?'

'I don't know, I thought it was your job to work it out,' John grumbled. 'Should we tell Dumbledore?'

'Tell him what? That you saw a pink snake that may or may not have been Nagini, but you can't tell because it was pink?'

'You're being bloody useless, do you know that?'

'Guys, can you take your tiff somewhere else?' said Dean. 'Some of us are trying to sleep.'

'Sorry,' John muttered.

Dean turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but his mind was awake and racing again. How much did he really know about Cas, if he could keep such a secret? No wonder Cas was so terrified all the time, he must have seen the reaction Hagrid got when his parentage had been revealed. Dean was glad that Cas finally trusted him enough to share this part of himself, but the more Dean thought about, the more he knew Cas still had more to hide. His work wasn't done yet.

Dean hauled his cauldron downstairs with him, and Cas waited while he ate a bacon sandwich for breakfast. When Dean was finished eating, they left the Great Hall, and Cas turned towards the dungeons, but stopped when he noticed Dean going the opposite way.

'Where are you going?' Cas asked, confused.

'Outside, come on,' Dean smiled, slowing slightly so Cas could catch up.

Dean chose a spot nearby Hagrid's hut and used his wand to clear a patch of grass away. He set up the cauldron and had Cas sit in front of it.

'Why are we out here?' Cas asked.

'The dungeons make me nervous,' Dean said, and Cas raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. 'I thought it might be nice to practice out in the air.'

'If you say so,' Cas said, warily watching him set a fire under the cauldron. 'How should we start?'

'We'll start with… What's your favourite potion to make?'

Cas shrugged, and Dean nudged him.

'Come on, man, I know you've got a favourite,' Dean smirked.

Cas gave him a small smile. 'I like the Pepperup Potion.'

'Oh yeah, your one makes people's ears steam,' Dean grinned. 'Is it supposed to do that?'

'It was an accident at first, but now I find it quite amusing.'

Dean laughed loudly. 'I knew it! All right, let's do that first.'

'But I already know how to make it.'

'I know you do, but you're so smart you could make any potion you want. We just have to get you more comfortable with the actual making part. We'll do the ones you like first and get a good base to work from.'

'That sounds reasonable,' Cas said and he got to work.

Dean watched him closely. He had no trouble at all grinding up the Bicorn horn, but he was careful with the Mandrake root, chopping it slowly. He hesitated with everything he put in the cauldron, waiting just a fraction of a second too long each time. Not much of a problem with a simple potion like this, but it would make all the difference in the potions they would have to brew for their OWL.

Once Cas was finished, Dean had him brew up a Cure for Boils. This time he chatted amiably with Cas, distracting him from his fear.

'Now that is one perfect Cure for Boils,' Dean grinned, bottling some of it up. 'That's going right to Madam Pomfrey.'

Cas smiled weakly.

'Okay, how are you doing? You think you can do another one?'

'I think so.'

Dean dug through the bag of ingredients he'd brought out. 'Looks like we can do… Common Poisons Antidote. I've got a nice Bezoar you can crush up.'

Cas bit his lip but nodded and got to work as soon as Dean cleared the cauldron. His hands started shaking while he was grinding the Bezoar into powder, and he shuffled away from the cauldron when he had to increase the heat. He waved his wand over it and sat back to wait for it to brew.

'You're doing great,' Dean said, watching Cas's discomfort. 'Can you finish this one, or do you wanna stop?'

'I can do it,' Cas said, taking some deep breaths.

'How are you about yesterday?' Dean asked while they waited. 'I'm betting it was pretty tough for you.'

'I don't want to talk about it,' Cas said stiffly. 'I don't like it.'

'There's gotta be something you like about it.'

Cas thought about it, looking around to make sure no one was listening. 'I- I like that I can use it to help you.'

'Me? In what way?'

'The spells I use to help you read. Sherlock created them, but I can alter them and refine them for you.'

'Well, that's sweet of you,' Dean grinned.

Cas finished the potion and lay back on the grass. 'Do you really think I can do this?'

'For sure!' Dean said enthusiastically. 'How many times do you want me to tell you how smart you are?'

Cas smiled at him. 'We should write our Potions essays this afternoon.'

'Awesome,' said Dean, with only a hint of sarcasm.

They took a break for lunch, then trudged to the library to write their essays. Dean did his best to tackle it while Cas wrote his, but only managed a quarter of it by the time Cas had finished his.

'Don't be frustrated,' Cas said. 'You're already improving, just take it at your own pace.'

But Dean stalled a couple of hours in. He couldn't focus on the words anymore.

'Let's take a break. We'll finish after dinner,' said Cas.

'Only if you have a real dinner, you didn't eat anything at lunch,' Dean said, rolling his parchment up miserably.

'I'm sure I can manage that,' Cas said, though looking slightly surprised that Dean noticed what he did and didn't eat.

Harry and Ron sat nearby at dinner looking bored and tired, having left almost all of their homework for the weekend. They drew out their meal as much as possible before trudging back up to the common room.

Dean had long since finished his dinner, while Cas had barely touched his, slowly eating small mouthfuls. 'Is that all you're gonna eat, mashed potatoes?'

'There are peas here too,' Cas said defensively.

Dean leaned closer to him and lowered his voice. 'Is this part of your - thing? Do you not need to eat?'

Cas dropped his fork and shoved his bowl away. 'Dean, please,' he hissed. 'Not now. Let's go and finish your essay.' He walked away from the table and Dean scrambled to follow him.

'I know you have questions,' Cas whispered as they approached the library, 'but I really don't want to talk about it.'

'I'm sorry, I got carried away.'

'It's all right. And I do need to eat, I just don't have much of an appetite.'

Dean nodded and found them a table deep in the library, so they wouldn't be disturbed. He got back to work on his essay, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't focus on it any longer.

'I think that's enough, Dean,' Cas said eventually.

'Hold on, it's not finished.'

Cas gently pulled the parchment away from him. 'I'll finish it for you.'

'Really?' Dean said, looking up at him, eyes fuzzy.

'You've been working hard, but you can't force it. We'll bring it upstairs and I'll finish it there.'

Dean sighed deeply and stretched. 'You're the best.'

'Hardly,' Cas muttered, rolling up Dean's essay.

Harry and Ron were still working when they came back up, but Hermione now seemed to be helping, and Cas settled at the table with them. Dean sat on the sofa with Sherlock and John, who both appeared to be sleeping soundly for once. Dean too allowed himself to doze off for a few minutes, to the sound of scratching quills. Hermione and Ron's voices eventually brought him round again.

'Hermione, you're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met. If I'm ever rude to you again-'

'-I'll know you're back to normal,' said Hermione. 'Harry, yours is okay except for this bit at the end, I think you misheard Professor Sinistra, Europa's covered in ice, not mice - Harry?'

Dean opened his eyes enough to see Harry slide off his chair onto the floor and stare at the fire.

'Er - Harry, why are you down there?' Ron said uncertainly.

'Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire.'

Dean sat up.

'Sirius's head?' said Hermione. 'You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too- Sirius!'

She gasped, gazing at the fire, Ron dropped his quill, and the commotion woke John and Sherlock. There in the middle of the dancing flames sat Sirius's head, long dark hair falling around his grinning face.

'I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else,' Sirius said. 'I've been checking every hour.'

'You've been popping into the fire every hour?' said Harry, half laughing.

'Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear.'

'But what if you'd been seen?' Hermione said anxiously.

'Well, I think a girl - first-year, by the look of her - might've got a glimpse of me earlier, but don't worry, I was gone the moment she looked back at me.'

'But, Sirius, this is taking an awful risk-'

'This was the only way I could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to code - and codes are breakable.'

'You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!' Hermione said accusingly.

'I forgot,' said Harry.

'Bump into Cho, did you?' John smirked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Harry blushed. 'Don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?'

'No, it was very good,' Sirius smiled. 'Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed - your scar.'

'What about -?' Ron began, but Hermione interrupted him.

'We'll tell you afterwards. Go on, Sirius.'

'Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think it's anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?'

'Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion,' said Harry. 'So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention.'

'Now he's back, it's bound to hurt more often.'

'So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me?'

'I doubt it,' said Sirius. 'I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater-'

'She's foul enough to be one,' Harry said darkly.

'Yeah, no kidding,' Dean added.

'Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters,' Sirius said wryly. 'I know she's a nasty piece of work - you should hear Remus talk about her since she drafted that anti-werewolf legislation. It makes it almost impossible for him to get a job.'

Dean scowled.

'What's she got against werewolves?' Hermione said angrily.

'Scared of them, I expect. She loathes part-humans.'

Cas twitched and stared at the rug on the floor.

'She campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople with toerags like Kreacher on the loose.'

Ron laughed but Hermione looked upset.

'Sirius!' she said reproachfully. 'Honestly, if you made a bit more of an effort with Kreacher-'

'So, what're Umbridge's lessons like?' Sirius interrupted. 'Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?'

'No,' said Harry, ignoring Hermione's affronted look at being cut off. 'She's not letting us use magic at all!'

'All we do is read the stupid textbook!' said Ron.

'Ah, well, that figures,' said Sirius. 'Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat.'

'Trained in combat!' Harry said incredulously.

'Ha, too late,' Dean snorted.

'What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?'

'That's exactly what he thinks you're doing,' said Sirius, 'or rather, that's what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing - forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic.'

Sherlock laughed loudly.

'That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff Luna Lovegood comes out with,' said Ron.

'So, we're being prevented from learning Defence Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?' said Hermione, looking furious.

'Yep,' said Sirius. 'Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more and more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day.'

'The poor man doesn't even realise that it's Mycroft he should be worried about,' Sherlock laughed.

'It's only a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped up charges.'

'D'you know if there's going to be anything about Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet tomorrow?' Harry asked. 'Percy reckons there will be-'

'I don't know,' said Sirius, 'I haven't seen anyone from the Order all weekend, they're all busy.'

'I can't see what it says, but it feels like bad news,' John said, squinting into the distance. 'Something to look forward to.'

'Have you heard anything about Hagrid?' Harry asked.

'Ah… well, he was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him. But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you lot get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine.'

'But if he was supposed to be back by now…' said Hermione in a small, anxious voice.

'Madame Maxime was with him, we've been in touch with her and she says they got separated on the journey home - but there's he's hurt or - well, nothing to suggest he's not perfectly okay.'

John rubbed his temples. 'I think he's… In France? Maybe? He's too far away for me to see.'

'Well that's something at least. Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid, it'll just draw attention to the fact that he's not back. Hagrid's tough, he'll be okay.' When this didn't cheer them up, he changed tact. 'When's your next Hogsmeade weekend, anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn't we? I thought I could-'

'NO!' Harry and Hermione said together.

'Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform. If you come up here and Malfoy recognises you again-'

'All right, all right, I've got the point,' said Sirius. He looked most displeased. 'Just an idea, thought you might like to get together.'

'I would, I just don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!'

'You're less like your father than I thought,' Sirius said, a definite coolness in his voice. 'The risk would have been what made it fun for James.'

'Sirius-'

'Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs. I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?'

There was a pop and Sirius's head disappeared.

Harry shoved his homework away and stormed off to bed, quickly followed by Ron. Hermione sighed and shrugged, then set about hiding her elf hats around the room.

Cas rolled up Dean's essay and got to his feet. 'Here.'

Dean took the roll of parchment. 'Thanks. I really appreciate it. Are you staying here?'

Cas shook his head. 'Our dormitory will be quiet. Goodnight.'

'Yeah, see you tomorrow,' Dean said, then watched Cas exit through the portrait hole.

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Morgan Tara Befan, Guest, ConstantineHolmes and Guest.

Sorry for the long wait, I've just been taking some time off, but hopefully won't be as long until the next one! Oh, and we've officially passed the half way point! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you again next time!