I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC.

Hello guys, Badger here. What is this? Chapter 40? I am surprised that the story has gone on for this long. I was expecting people to grow sick and tired of the same story being updated with nothing new, but you guys seem to be enjoying it. If you do want to see something new, let me know and I will have two different stories updated when possible. I have a few other story ideas.

Anyway, this chapter, I'm afraid, is mainly filler, with a little bit of setting up for future chapters and story plots. For me, this is the official end of the Prisoner of Azkaban era. That is all for now, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 40

A bird leaves the nest

Weak. That was the best word to describe how he was feeling. Though it was a small improvement, to how he was before, it wasn't ideal. This body was small and frail. He needed a new one. A body that would be superior in every way. He just needed time to plan. It was a good thing he had a follower with him. A new follower who is loyal to his cause. He didn't know how they found him, but had proven themselves useful so far. Of course, they only helped him, as they had a mission of their own. He didn't mind as long as they kept true to his cause. Only time will tell.

Harry hissed a little, as he felt his scar prickling slightly, as if it was burning. He rubbed it slightly, where the prickling then disappeared. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but he passed it off as nothing for now. He knew it happened once before, but that was a couple of years ago. It was probably just a headache. It was now the end of the school year and they had just finished their end of year exams and tests, so it was the logical explanation. Now, the whole of Wizarding Britain knew about Sirius' innocence, after The Daily Prophet released an article, explaining everything that went on in the article. Something which irritated Malfoy. According to James, Malfoy's mother is a Black by birth, meaning she would be in line for the Black fortune, if anything happened to Sirius. It turned out, that Sirius had actually named Harry the heir to the Black fortune, as he didn't want the Malfoys getting it, seeing as Lucius was a Death Eater to Voldemort. This was something Malfoy enjoyed to vocalise his annoyance about, constantly telling Harry he had 'stolen' his titleship of Lord Black, until Nott would stop him. Self-entitled ponce.

Over the last few months, Harry and Sirius had been sending letters to one another, chatting about whatever came to mind, with Sirius telling stories of his parents. After Sirius had seen a mind healer, he had then spent time, clearing out and fixing up 12 Grimmauld Place, the home he grew up in. apparently the place was full of dark and unnatural objects and possessions, that Sirius didn't want Harry coming into contact with, so until the place was cleansed, Harry would spend the first night or two back with the Albrights. Not that he minded at all. The Albrights were nice people. Tomorrow was the final day, so most of the student population were packing up their things, so they were ready to leave. The teachers thought it would be nice for the students to have a few days to do what they wished until they had to leave. As his stuff was already packed the night before, Harry decided to talk to Lupin for a bit. They had spent some time together over the last couple of months, and Harry enjoyed his company. He entered Lupins office, to see the man with his back turned, packing up some suitcases.

"Hello Harry" Lupin said

"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked

Lupin turned, a smile on his face, where Harry could see a map on the desk. Realisation came to Harry, when he saw it was Lupins map.

"I saw you coming" Lupin said "Every Marauder had a map remember?"

Harry smiled softly, before it fell, as he looked at all the suitcases and possessions.

"Where are you going?" He asked "I thought the Professors lived in Hogwarts"

"They do" Lupin replied, leaning back on his desk, arms crossed "But I am no longer a Professor"

"Have you been sacked?" Harry asked, concerned "Did someone find out about…you know?"

"No" Lupin said "I resigned…I used to look up to Dumbledore, as he was a hero in the eyes of the Wizarding World and he allowed me to learn at Hogwarts, despite my problem…however, after everything regarding you and Sirius, I cant look at the man without my temper rising…I thought it would be safer to resign before I went full wolf on the man…powerful the man may be, but even age catches up to people like him and I could probably kill him, with the strength a Werewolf has"

"Probably best" Harry nodded "Where will you go?"

"With Sirius of course" Lupin smiled "He has already provided a room for me…don't worry Harry, I'm not leaving anytime soon"

Harry smiled back, before they continued to speak about nothing in particular, whilst Lupin continued packing up his things. After a while, Harry left and headed back towards the Slytherin Common Room. No doubt James will be asleep again, after reading through some of his spell books.

Dumbledore paced in his office. Something he had been doing a lot of recently. The entire trial of Sirius and Pettigrew the only thing on his mind. Whilst he was glad the Sirius didn't betray the Potters, it still caused problems. Sirius was not happy that he had been left in Azkaban for twelve years. He had been quite vocal about it too, when he went to Grimmauld Place the other day. He tried to explain that he did everything he could to get him a trial, but it fell on deaf ears. Sirius' anger only increased, when Dumbledore asked to be the secret keeper. Sirius, using a few colorful words, told the aged Headmaster, that he wasn't going to go through a repeat of what happened with the Potters, before kicking him out. As he paced, he thought back to what Lupin told him.

"You didn't try hard enough!"

He had to agree with Lupin on this. The man was correct. He should have tried harder. Though what could he do now? He could only hope that they could move on from this. Only time will tell.

It had been a day after Harry and James returned from Hogwarts and Harry felt like something was looming over them. Something was coming, he could feel it. He wasn't sure what it was. Abigail had called for the two of them to come down to the café, where Sirius was waiting for them. Harry wasted no time, in hugging the man, who returned the gesture.

"Glad to see you pup" Sirius smiled

"Glad to see you as well" Harry replied "What are you doing here?"

"I have come for you, Grimmauld Place has been cleansed, meaning you can now move in" Sirius smiled, before turning to James "You too James, if you wish"

James' eyes widened slightly, opening his mouth, before closing it again. He looked confused, as if he wanted to say something, but seemed hesitant to respond. That is until Abigail rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You can go if you want to" She smiled "Don't stay here because you feel like you have to…you are a good lad and I am glad that I had the chance to help raise you, but every bird needs to leave the nest at some point…just come round for a visit every now and then"

What followed as a sad goodbye between James and the woman who had been his mother figure for 12 years. After agreeing to move in with Sirius, James had called for Jinx to pack up all their things and take them to 12 Grimmauld Place. Before they left, James gave Abigail one last hug, where Sirius apparated him and Harry away. After the world stopped spinning, Harry saw they were standing on a street pavement, in front of a large building.

"Welcome to Grimmauld Place" Sirius said, as they entered through the door "It wasn't the nicest of places when I was growing up, but I have made sure everything dark or corrupt was removed and destroyed…now I don't have to worry about either of you touching something cursed…Kreacher!"

A small, older, House-Elf popped in front of them.

"Blood traitor called for Kreacher?" He asked in a raspy voice

"Yes" Sirius replied, in a slightly harsh tone "Take Harry and James to their room…I gave you a room to share, I thought you wouldn't mind"

"I don't mind at all" Harry replied, with James agreeing

Sirius smiled, before the two were lead by Kreacher, up the nearby stairs. The corridors held a cold feeling about it, with the dark wooden aesthetic, but they paid no attention to it. For now, they could just enjoy the holidays before the next school year started.

There we go, Chapter 40. What did you think. I am sorry it was a short chapter and if you thought this chapter was rushed. I was very tired when writing this chapter and I couldn't think of ways to fill out a couple of chapters before the Quidditch World Cup, which will be in the next chapter. I hope you don't mind.

The small paragraph at the start was a late add in. Do you know who it is yet? I don't have to spell it out do I? Anyway, that isn't the important thing in that paragraph. Who is the follower he is referring to? It can't be anyone we know, because they are 'new' and they have their own personal mission...what? Give me ideas as to who you think it could be.

Writing this chapter was a little bit difficult, because I needed to think of a reason for Lupin to resign, seeing as no one let slip that he is a werewolf and we all know what happens with Goblet of Fire. It took some time, but I think I came up with a believable reason. I also had a small moment added in involving Malfoy and Nott. You may have noticed the two haven't been present much. In all honesty, they aren't that important to the plot as of now. They will pop up from time to time, until there are plot points involving them. That is how I handle characters in this story. I think through the possible plot points either in Canon or of my own making and determine how important characters I add to the story will be, which will determine how often they appear in the story. You may have also noticed that, despite their ever growing friend group, Harry and James are the main focus, with the others appearing from time to time. It is a similar situation with Malfoy and Nott. One of the main themes of this story is the friendship between Harry and James. Whilst they will have other friends, the story mainly focuses on them. I hope that explains everything.

Then we come up to, what I believe to be a sweet moment: James saying goodbye to Abigail. I don't know why, probably bias for what I wrote, but I thought it was a nice moment. James is an independent character, meaning he can take care of himself, so he doesn't really need parental figures looking out for him. What about you? Did you like it, or did you believe it was too soon?

That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed, and I will see you in the next one. Goblet of Fire is when things will change. We will see changes in character development, long running rivalry between enemies, as well as seeing love in the air for some characters.

Until then...

Badger out!