Chapter 28

Disclaimer: Harry Potter etc still belongs to JK Rowling, plot still belongs to me.

Author's Note: I have no idea where this fic is going. Hmm, let's see.

(Takes out wand from pocket)

Point me!

(Frowns)

You're pointing to 'Ginny Weasley turns out to be a master criminal', you stupid thing!

(Berates wand)

Sorry folks, my wand's always been a little unpredictable. It's maple and Demiguise hair; it's rather unusual. It's also prone to disappearing for several minutes at a time, which can be quite irritating, but that's beside the point.

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As soon as he had said those last five words, Sirius's eyes went blank and his head fell forwards. The effect on the spectators was quite profound. Lupin had turned the colour of an over-ripe cherry. Fudge seemed to be oblivious to what had just happened. Snape looked shell-shocked. As they all sat and stood in utter silence, Ron whispered loudly: "Hermione, please pinch me." Hermione, who was wearing a smug smile, gladly did so.

"Ow!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well, you told me to do it," she said.

At that moment, Sirius returned to the conscious world, looking concerned. He looked around the room. "Crap, what did I just say?"

There was silence. No one even breathed. "What did I say? Someone tell me, please…"

Lupin cleared his throat. "Um, something you told me a few days ago…"

Sirius turned an unusual shade of greenish white. "Oh, God, no…"

"I think the time has come to remedy the situation," Dumbledore said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him; they had all forgotten he was even there. He took out his wand. Before anyone had time to protest, he performed Memory Charms on both Fudge and Snape. Their eyes quickly turned to looks of dreamy unawareness. "Severus, Cornelius, you may leave now," Dumbledore said in the tone one would use when talking to a small child.

The two of them exited, leaving Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Lupin in the office.

"I only erased that last part from their memories," Dumbledore explained. "You are still cleared, Sirius; I simply thought that what came after was a little invasive of your privacy. As for these three, I decided that I would leave that to your own discretion."

Sirius looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. He sighed. "They'd work it out in the end anyway, so it's OK." He looked over at Lupin, whose face was beginning to turn back to its normal colour. "Sorry about that, Remus."

"It's alright," Lupin replied, his voice sounding a little faint. "You're right, nothing escapes these three."

An awkward silence followed. "So, are you ready to return to society?" Dumbledore asked Sirius at last.

Sirius smiled. "I suppose so. It's a lot to cope with at once. I think I'll have to ingratiate myself back into normal society before I start revealing anything else to the general public." He turned to the three Gryffindors. "You won't tell anyone about me and Remus, will you?"

Harry blushed. Sirius noticed this. "Oh Lord, Harry, who have you told?"

Hermione turned to stare at Harry too. "Yeah, Harry, who?"

Harry blushed even deeper. He took a deep breath. "Draco," he mumbled.

If Sirius had raised his eyebrows any further at this point, they would have left his head. "Draco Malfoy?"

Harry blushed redder still. "Yes."

"Why?"asked Sirius in a 'pinch me' tone.

"Um, long story…"

"Tell me, Harry."

"Not here…"

Dumbledore stood up. "Remus, I think it is time we took a walk…" He and Lupin left the room.

"Now can you tell me?" Sirius asked Harry. Harry swallowed hard and nodded.

"Um, it started this summer. I kept thinking about Malfoy. Then there was this one night, a few weeks ago. I was feeling really upset about something, so I went to… this room I know."

"The Room of Requirement?" Sirius queried.

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

Sirius grinned. "Um, I think you're forgetting who made that map of yours…"

"Anyway, I went to the room, and I found Malfoy in there. He was crying. We got talking, and he said he'd been thinking about me too. Then it kind of went from there. Long story short, we're… together now."

"Shit!" Sirius swore under his breath. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." He fell silent for a moment. "Good for you. Does anyone else know yet?"

"These two," Harry gestured to Ron and Hermione. "And you. That's it. Dumbledore knows I'm in love with someone as that's what's weakening He Who Must Not Be Named, but not who." He shuddered. "Merlin knows what he'd say if he did know who it was."

Sirius started to laugh. Harry gave him a quizzical look. "Harry, Dumbledore's just accepted me and Remus without batting an eyelid. You and Draco, what makes you think it'd be any different?"

"The fact we're in different houses? Meant to be enemies? The fact his father's a Death Eater?"

"Harry, haven't I taught you that the sins of the fathers should not be visited on their children? Look at my family!"

Harry pictured the portrait he had seen of Sirius's mother. "I'd rather not."

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Author's Note: Rather short. And I still don't know where this is going. I'll try that spell again.

(Looks around)

Damn, my wand's disappeared again! Flaming Demiguises!

P.S. Oops, if I was looking for the opportune moment… that was it. I forgot to mention that Draco is actually Sirius's second cousin. Point about family more than proved, methinks.

A/N2: Gods, my old notes sound so stupid now... Thanks for the interest, and extra thanks to those who review! (Glaring at everyone else) Review and make me happy!