Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine

AN: Chapter 5! Not really much to say about this chapter, just read for yourselves and see!

Answers to some of the reviews:

Elvlen-princess9744: you will know soon enough if Sirius is going to Hogwarts with Harry. I am not sure what u mean about Harry having a backbone or not... of course he does! But the problem here is that Harry is having a reunion with someone he thought dead, so he might be a little bit unstable and emotional right now... but he will return to his usual self soon!

elanastar : Well, truth to be told, I am not yet quite sure how he is going to turn back to his human self,... but your review surely did give me some thought.... But even if(?) he gets to return to his human form, it won't happen anytime soon...

HoshiHikari4ever: what Sirius/padfoot is doing is very similar to typing. He was pointing out to characters written on a paper and Harry would note them down. This is just so that they can communicate

krenya-alenak: you don't have to be sorry. I am not so sure if I want to find another person to edit my fanfic right now... thanks for offering, anyway...

emikae : yes, the ending was quite significant. Just wait and see

Huge thanks to all who reviewed! The reviews are keeping me going.

Chapter 5 Objectives

Harry glanced at Uncle Vernon behind fringes of unruly dark hair. Uncle Vernon had slumped back into his chair, his hand patting his satisfied belly and his expression relaxed. Another glance at the other direction, Harry saw that Aunt Petunia was watching Dudley, who was digging into his plate with haste as if someone was going to snatch his plate away from him, with an indulgent smile on her horse-like face. She was in a good mood. Harry looked down at his almost empty soup bowl and the barely touched plate of steaming stew. He might as well try his luck. Harry made up his mind and put down his spoon. It was now or never.

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry put on his most inconspicuous and polite expression. All the Dursley turned to look at him, but Harry's heart leapt in joy because the atmosphere of contentment and laziness after a meal still hung.

"What's it, boy?" Asked Uncle Vernon absent-mindedly, his eyes turned to the television screen for the evening news. Aunt Petunia and Dudley had also lost their interest in him and resumed their original activities.

"May I take the food up to my bedroom? I will come back down to wash the dishes," Harry blurted without pause.

Just as Harry had hoped, Uncle Vernon grunted a response without really registering what Harry had said. Harry picked up the plate of stew and sprinted upstairs before any of them realize what he was doing and question him.

Harry hopped down on his bed, which gave an audible sound of protest at being so rudely treated. Harry watched with his elbows on his knees and his face supported by his hands as Sirius, in his dog form, savored the plate of stew Harry had brought up. His heart was filled with guilt as he noticed how bony Sirius's dog body was and how visible were the ribs that seemed to threaten to protrude out of his skin. But then Harry remembered his own body was just as deprived of fats as Padfoot's did. He gave a silent praise to whatever deities out there that Dudley's diet had ended a long time ago and they were quite generous about the amount of food they now gave Harry. Harry mused that this unexpected generosity might have something to do with the threat the Dursleys had received back at the train station.

After the tearful reunion last night, both Sirius and Harry had been exhausted. They had agreed they had done enough "talking" and rest should be in place. Sirius had just curled up on the floor besides Harry's bed for less than ten seconds before falling into an entrenched sleep. Harry, on the other hand, lay in his bed for hours before sleep overcome his consciousness. Harry had been too excited. Harry couldn't restrain himself from rousing from the bed just to check if Sirius was still sleeping beside his bed every other minute. Eventually he drifted off, but he only woke till well after noon next day.

Harry had expected to be bombarded with questions about Sirius when he went downstairs to see if he could sneak food for the still slumbering Sirius.

"What was it that you brought in last night?" Aunt Petunia, who was absorbed in her favourite magazine that provided excellent topics for gossip, had asked. Harry had been surprised at her indifference – normally the sight of a large and filthy black dog inside her spotless house would have given Aunt Petunia heart attack. Perhaps the Dursleys hadn't seen clearly when Harry and Sirius got back inside the house the night before. Harry had given vague answer like "It was an owl" and quickly excused himself.

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A bark snapped Harry out of his thought. Harry realized Sirius had already finished his dinner and was fixing him with an expectant gaze. Harry got off the bed and sat next to Sirius on the floor. Sirius crouched and crawled at something under Harry's bed, and then pulled out the parchment they had used last night to communicate. Sirius gave Harry an eager look and wagged his tail.

Harry took out his quill and blank parchment. He had got a number of questions unanswered and was quite keen to have them answered. But Sirius beat him to it. Harry watched with rapt attention as Sirius's paw flew across the letters.

"How has your summer been? " He asked.

"'Dreadful' and 'empty 'can pretty much sum it up. What do you expect I could have been with you gone? Don't remind me of that period ever again! "

Sirius offered Harry his paw as a gesture of peace. Harry signed and took his paw in his hand. It felt warm and gentle despite its appearance. Sirius withdrew his paw and moved it towards the parchment.

"Tell me about what drove you onto the street that night." He indicated with his paw.

"I -" the feeling of guilt at blowing up at Remus's face was still flesh in Harry's mind. "I had a row with Remus." As Harry had guessed, Sirius was giving him an incredulous look. "Well, Remus came here to check on me. He attempted to make me listen to reason, but I was frustrated by your, well, absence, so I blew up at his face. "

"And? Remus surely hadn't lost his temper with you? " Sirius asked with what Harry thought looked suspiciously like an interested glint in his pale blue eyes.

"Not really, I suppose not . . ."

"You should really be thankful that you hadn't. Anyway, go on."

"I was consumed by anger and I didn't want to stay in the house, so I ran away. Remus had tried to stop me, but you see, I was very angry, so . . . Anyway, I got onto the street and wandered for a while. Then I felt your presence. Before I knew what was happening, three Death Eaters cornered me. The rest you surely know. "

Sirius had been pacing the room for a while when Harry stopped. Sirius tilted his head to peer at the night sky before pacing back to where the parchment lay.

"You surely are aware of the seriousness of this incident? Death Eaters appeared so close to this house. "

"I know. Remus told me Professor Dumbledore had been worried about this also. But the fact that they still haven't moved me out of this house surely meant the Order doesn't think that I am in immediate danger, right? " Harry studied Sirius's expression after he finished. It was even harder than usual to discern what was on Sirius's mind now that he was stuck as a dog. Harry could just get a glimpse at the hurricane of thoughts beneath Sirius's eyes as Sirius glanced at Harry for a moment before he concentrated his gaze on the parchment. Harry picked his quill and took note again.

"You may not be in immediate danger. But it was most strange that you were attacked by three Death Eaters. If Voldemort had meant to kill you, he would have sent a troop here instead of three. Unless he knew he had no means of breaking through the protection set up by Dumbledore around this house. The three Death Eaters might be spying and reporting to Voldemort about what's happening here. Or they might not have been sent by Voldemort at all. No matter what, they got lucky – you unexpectedly and foolishly - " Harry flinched at Sirius's choice of words, but he couldn't deny he was foolish by running out, "-got out of the house and out of protection, so they decided to try their luck. " Sirius fixed Harry with a stern gaze as Harry read his words.

"What was you thinking when you ran away? You were not trying to kill yourself, were you? "

Harry could imagine the accusing tone Sirius could have been using. He couldn't meet Sirius's eyes. He could by no means admit to Sirius that he was indeed trying to end his life by running down the street. "I was not. I was just . . . angry." His hands fidgeted and twisted in his laps. Sirius nudged Harry's arm gently with his head so as to get his attention back.

"Has last year's experience taught you nothing, Harry? Had the consequence of acting on your impulse and anger taught you nothing? I knew how it felt to be a frustrated teenager. I had been one, and I had not truly grown out of it, if truth to be told. Last year had been filled with frustration and anger for you and me, but not only we were suffering. Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Remus, and even Dumbledore, had a tough year too."

Sirius had his paw placed soothingly at Harry's arm as Harry read over his words. Then Sirius continued. "You, and not to mention I, should really learn to control the anger. A war is coming, no matter you want it or not, and we should better be prepared emotionally and physically. There is no guarantee that our side will win in the end. Even if we do, we will not come out unscratched. But what we have got to do is to try everything in our power to fight it. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded gravely and attempted a weak smile to Sirius. Harry was reminded of the prophecy and the unwanted destiny that was imposed upon his shoulders even before he had been born. But he was overcome by a calmness that he hadn't experienced ever since Dumbledore told him the prophecy. Perhaps this was what acceptance felt like.

"We will be prepared this time, Harry. We should not allow ourselves to be caught off guard again."

"How? What will we do from now on? Are we going to tell anyone about you?"

"You are asking the right questions. This is very important, you know. Anyway, no one besides you should know that I am still alive. Not Ron, not Hermione, not Remus, not even Dumbledore. "

"That's why you ran away that night when Remus came? Why?"

"I would be a great advantage to you now that everyone including Voldemort thinks I'm dead and out of the picture. Although I cannot use magic in my animagus form, I can still give any offending Death Eaters a good bite. Also I can be a source of information to you no one else is aware of."

Not to mention that everyone will think I am still grieving over your "death" and underestimate me, added Harry to himself. "But we can surely tell Ron, Hermione, Remus and Dumbledore this. Even if we don't tell them they are bound to find out sooner or later. "

"Come on, Harry, the fewer people know about my survival, the better it will be for us and for them. They might not willingly betray you, but there are ways of extracting information from a person's mind. Do you want to place your friends in danger by telling them about me? And there is no telling whether the persons around you are what they seem to be – even if they are your best friends."

Harry had never thought it possible that Ron or Hermione would betray him. He knew those two were no Wormtail, but he guessed Sirius was right in not telling them. They were in enough danger by merely being his friends already. But Harry got a feeling that Sirius was revenging Dumbledore not letting him out the previous year by plotting schemes behind his back. Harry knew he would want to.

"I understand my presence will not forever be kept a secret, but I intend to keep it secret for as long as we can. For one thing, I will not stay in the same room with Albus Dumbledore or Alastor Moody. "

"Wait," Harry grasped Sirius's paw before Sirius could start again. "What about the three Death Eaters? They have seen you and they knew about your animagus form! They surely would have told Voldemort about you being alive by now! "

Strangely, Sirius waved his paw in a dismissive fashion before turning it to the parchment. "Let's just hope that those three are stray Death Eaters and they had not acted upon Voldemort's order. They are not my major concerns now. What we have to do is to get you and myself to 12 Grimmauld Place as soon as we can. "

Harry was puzzled. Harry didn't understand why Sirius had just waved off his question, but he knew Sirius must have his own reasons. But going to Grimmauld Place? Was he trying to expose himself? Sirius started responding before Harry voiced his question.

"What do you think I have done last year? Eat, drink and sleep? I did something a little more constructive than that. I have read more books last year than I have read the rest of my life. You will be amazed by the sort of information you can dig up from the dusty volumes in the Black family library. I have done a little research on methods of concealment in the library so that I might convince Dumbledore to let me out, but I never got the chance. Also there are other stuff that I have looked up which may be useful, including Occlumency. I am sure you agree that you will have to work extra hard this year on Occlumency?"

"I know I must stop Voldemort from using me again, but sometimes I do get useful information through our connection . . ."

"I know, Harry. That's why you have to master Occlumency. Wait till you see my notes on Occlumency, okay? All we have got to do is to get to the Headquarter, and I will be able to retrieve them. "

"How do we get into the Headquarter without anyone noticing a large black dog at my heel then?"

"Have you learnt the disillusion charm?"

Harry shook his head.

"Then the invisibility cloak will suffice for the moment being."

"But there are bound to be enchantments and spells inside the Headquarter to detect such thing!"

"Of course there are. Harry, who knows about the enchantments and spells in Grimmauld Place better than I do?" Sirius looked up at Harry expectantly.

"No one."

"Exactly. My father and my ancestors set up most of the defensive and detection spells there. I helped when the Order set up their own defensive spells. I know what I am doing. The defense mechanism there will detect my presence, but it will not raise alarm because I am a member of the Order. We only have to make sure that Moody or Dumbledore isn't at the Headquarter during our visit. "

Harry looked up at the clock. It was past midnight. "What do we do after we got you - your notes?" Harry tried in vain to stifle his yawn.

"What we do the first thing tomorrow is to contact Remus to arrange a visit to Headquarter. What we do now is to get you on the bed. You need your rest."

Harry was too tired to argue. He washed up and bid goodnight to Sirius, then switched off the bedside lamp and the room was immersed in darkness. From the rhythmic breathing, Harry knew Sirius was fast asleep. Harry, on the other hand, stayed awake for long because his head was still jammed with information. After staring at the ceiling idly for more than an hour, his eyelids finally began to drop.

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Harry got a familiar sensation of being pulled at the navel by a hook. Colours and lights rotated in a whirlwind around him, and a wave of nausea washed over Harry. The sensation brought up memories Harry would rather forgot. Harry looked down, and saw that both his hands were glued to something spherical – the gold head of a statue of wizard Harry had seen before . . .

Harry's feet collided with the ground with a solid thud. Harry watched the head he had been holding fell to the ground and rolled away until it was stopped by a piece of rectangular stone protruding from the soil. It was an age-old tombstone. With a sense of utmost forbiddance, Harry looked up.

Harry was standing in the middle of a graveyard. An eerie and uneven light fell from the half-full moon in the sky as layers of clouds drifted across and occasionally obscured it from sight. Only the faint silhouettes of rows upon rows of tombstones covered with flaccid moss and ferns were visible in the faint light. The area was bereft of sound of bugs or owls. Even rustle of leaves from the nearby ominous wood was absent. The air hung heavily around Harry and the silence was almost to the suffocating point. Even it was a summer night, there was a coldness so profound that Harry was frozen to the bone. Harry's shaky legs inched towards the tombstone where the head of the statue lay. Engraved upon the corroded stone, were the words "Tom Marvolo Riddle".

A piercing human scream broke Harry out of his trance. Harry's spine shook as a familiar high-pitched laughter mingled with the anguish-filled scream. The scream and the blood-curdling laughter stopped. Harry whipped his body around.

There lying on the ground was a man with long black hair and his robe so ragged and bloodied that it barely hung on the man's thin frame. Looming right over him was a tall man with his back facing Harry. His robe was so long that the hem spread over a long way from his feet. The tall man turned, and white-hot pain erupted in Harry's scar. But Harry was oblivious to his blinding pain or the Dark Lord watching him as the man lying on the ground groaned and tried to support his bloodied body up with shaky arms. The face caught moonlight and the features of Sirius Black were visible to Harry.

Harry longed to scream. Oh, how he wanted to run and push Voldemort aside so that he could reach Sirius! He had to save Sirius this time! But his feet were glued to the ground.

"Harry. How nice to meet you here again." Voldemort was already standing in front of Harry and was towering over his short body. His body blocked Harry's sight of Sirius. Harry wanted to stretch his neck so that he could look around Voldemort, but he couldn't move the slightest bit.

"Get out of my way!" Harry screamed in frustration. Ignoring the blinding pain in his forehead, he glared at Voldemort straight in the eyes.

"No one has ever dared to look at me in such an indecorous way." Voldemort spat. He raised his white bony hand and slapped Harry's face with a force so great that Harry was thrown to the ground.

"I made a mistake by trying to kill you fifteen years ago. I will make no other." Harry was oblivious to the drawling and bitter tone above him. He was oblivious to the stinging pain in his slapped chin. All he was aware was the sight of his godfather that was just visible from his position on the ground.

"Harry, tell me what's so special about you. If you want your godfather back, tell me what kind of extraordinary power you possess."

Harry wanted to reach out for his godfather. He wanted to yell Sirius's name so that his eyes could just turn to him, his godson. But his gaze was mercilessly torn away from his godfather. Harry could feel Voldemort's death grip on his jaw and Voldemort's blood red eyes all of a sudden filled Harry's vision.

"Get – out – of – my – way!" Harry hissed, his teeth gritted so hard together that they were cracking.

"You want your godfather back, don't you? I can help you."

"I won't buy your pitiful lie!"

"No one but me is willing to bring him back. You cannot achieve this by yourself and Dumbledore will not help you."

"You are lying!"

"Harry, have you not seen it? The muggle-loving fool is only using you. He wouldn't tell you about the prophecy when it would have saved your godfather; he only pretends to care about you. He only wants your power. "

"I don't believe you."

"It was Dumbledore who pushed your godfather to death, Harry."

"Just get out of my way." Harry moaned. Voldemort was trying to fool him into believing lies. He must be, because Dumbledore cared about Harry's well being, not his power. But did he?

"Harry, tell me your power. I will fulfill your dream. I will grant you and your godfather a new life." Voldemort's lips curled in triumph.

Harry didn't want to think. He just wanted to get to his godfather. He only wanted Sirius back.

"Just say 'yes', Harry. Tell me. "

Something about all these was not quite right. Distantly Harry heard a bark. A thought sparked – Sirius had not been gone from him. He had conquered death just to reunite with Harry. How could he have forgotten!

"NO! YOU ARE LYING!" Harry screamed. Pain flared up in his scar.

"No?" The anger in Voldemort's voice was blatant. He released his death grip on Harry's jaw and stood up.

Green light flooded Harry's vision. When he could see again, Harry was face to face with Sirius's vacant blue eyes.

"NOOOOO!"

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Harry's eyes shoot open. At the same time, his body jerked violently and he struggled to sit up. However, there was a restraining and choking weight on his chest. Harry could only feel his shoulders being pinned onto the bed by iron grips. Harry tried in vain to throw the suffocating weight off his chest.

"Get off me!" Harry managed to squeeze the words out amid pained gasps of breath and the buzzing and dizzying sound in his skull. He kept swinging his fists at the offending furry object on top of him and threw his weight against the restraining force. Harry's head was blazing with agony from his scar and all he wanted was to gain invaluable oxygen into his collapsing lung and his failing brain.

Something cool and wet licked his forehead and his cheek. Harry stopped struggling, his dilated and unfocused eyes finding focus. With another soothing lick and a gentle bark, the dog atop of Harry stepped aside. Harry panted and brought up his hands to wipe the cool sweat off his forehead. The moment his eyelids were closed out of exhaustion, flashes of green filled his vision. Harry gasped and snapped his eyes open, his heart racing once again. Harry fumbled on the tangle of bed sheet as if trying to find something, and then something hairy nudged his ribs with a light brush. Harry hurriedly threw his hands around Sirius's neck.

Harry only released his godfather after his heartbeat had resumed its original rhythm. His mind was cleared up a bit, and he felt the urge to talk nonstop again. "Sirius," Harry put his hand behind Sirius ear to assure himself that his godfather was really there sitting with him. "I was at the graveyard. It was Voldemort. He . . . he got you again. I thought you were dead, I didn't remember you weren't. He ordered me to tell him my power. He said he would," a lump rose in his throat, "bring you back if I tell him. He said Dumbledore wouldn't have helped me. I didn't believe him. I didn't . . . "

Sirius studied Harry with his head inclined. He sat straight up and licked Harry's left chin with its cool tongue. Only then was Harry aware that it had been stinging madly. With unsteady footing, Harry hopped off his bed and inched towards his wardrobe with Sirius trotting close behind him. His hand held in mid air for a moment before grabbing the wardrobe door, swinging it open and looking into the mirror that was hung on its back. Harry tilted his head so that his left chin caught the faint moonlight through the window. A red and ugly mark with the unmistakable shape of a hand stood lividly out of Harry's pale and smooth face. Harry threw himself down onto the floor with his fists clenched at his side. He hit the floor again and again with his fists. He just wanted to screw up his face and cry himself silly. But he could not allow himself to act like a child. He was furious at himself – he had once again fallen under the manipulation of Voldemort. He had not try to fight back; he was close to giving in to Voldemort back there. Why couldn't he be stronger?

Sirius had sat still as a statue besides Harry until his raging emotion subdued. He licked at the mark on Harry's face as Harry attempted to get himself together. He trotted away and trotted back with the parchment in his mouth. Harry felt guilty. He didn't want to fail anyone, least of all Sirius, again. Under the concerned gaze of Sirius, Harry stood up and switched on his bedside lamp. He snatched a pen and a notebook from his table and sat down besides Sirius.

"Harry, don't you dare to blame yourself about this. It is my promise that I will help you get through this. Together we will find a way to master Occlumency. "

Harry nodded with difficulty at Sirius's words.

"And don't you ever believe even one word from Voldemort. The things he said about Dumbledore were rubbish. The old headmaster is fallible, no matter how much we all want him to be a saint. Ask yourself this: for all Dumbledore has done for you, do you think that he did it purely out of his lust for power? Do you believe for a second that Dumbledore wants more power than he has now?"

Harry shook his head. There could be no other answers. Harry felt that he was seeing clearly for the first time after the nightmare. The room seemed less gloomy. Harry and Sirius sat in silence, each deep in his own thought. Sirius pointed to the parchment again.

"Harry, I want to tell you something. When I was falling through the veil and between the pathway between life and death, I saw James. "

Harry stared at Sirius with his eyes wide open.

"Just when I was closest to the other side, I saw him standing there, his body luminous against the bottomless black portal behind him, his eyes wide and his mouth open and shut again and again. I couldn't hear a thing from him, but I knew he was telling me off. He wanted me to come back to you. He had his right hand clenched in a fist and held it close to his heart. The gesture represented 'go home' among us. Harry, I think I know what James really mean now. You should go home. "

Harry stared at the notebook on his hand and strained his eyes to read the words over again. He was not sure if he had understood correctly. Was Sirius joking? Harry looked up and his gaze locked with the luminous blue eyes of Sirius.

"I should go home?"

Sirius nodded and moved his large paw swiftly across the parchment one last time.

"It's about time you pay a visit to Godric's Hollow."

What do you think about this chapter? Want to know what happen next? Give me some motivation. Review!