Picking Up After Themselves

The sun was sinking towards the horizon as Harry rested in the back seat of Phipps' limousine, stretching his arms across the seat back.

Lex was curled under his right arm, Hermione under his left, clearly irritated that someone else got to him first.

Sirius sat across from them, apparently bantering about the story of his wrongful imprisonment without even a trial, while Dr. Grant and Tim listened closely, seated at his opposite.

Upon mentioning Pettigrew leaving only a finger behind, Harry missed Hermione wrinkling her nose in disgust and Lex merely wiping hers upon her wrist.

"I already forgave Dumbledore," Harry commented. "But I can't see how he'd let that happen. Especially not when he goes on and on about second chances."

"And there are some ethics we've already debated," Grant muttered. "But I accepted Hammond's offer to fund my dig for three more years, all in exchange for my own life."

"If I believed in luck, I'd have thought it saved you all last night," Hermione interjected. "But I don't, and I know Harry doesn't either… don't you?"

She shot an expectant glance at him until she was distracted by Tim snickering.

"Oh yeah, speak for yourself," he retorted.

"Excuse me?" Hermione requested with her usual attitude.

"Harry told us about you," Lex replied with the same tinges. "But some people are lucky they have something better than top grades."

Hermione felt miffed, mainly because Harry was peering out the window, watching the limousine roll down the street, back to the hotel.

They passed the stalls where Harry bought his new, properly fitted clothes, but at the end of the block, he came upon something else that looked appealing;

A small white shopfront with a wooden sign painted teal blue, reading Souvenir Necklaces in yellow orange, with a shark fin painted above the letter 'I'.

As the limousine finally pulled up to the hotel, Harry felt his right shoulder being shaken, knowing only one person had done so to him in the last three days.

"What?" He queried.

"Never mind," Hermione huffed.

She swung the back door open, brushing past a shocked Phipps awaiting to hold it. Harry shook his head as he opened the other door, motioning for Sirius, Dr. Grant, and Tim to climb out to the street.

He then climbed out, awaiting by the door as Lex clambered after him, unwittingly reaching out her hand for him to take.

After removing his red duffel from the boot, he retrieved an olive green canvas rucksack stitched with paisley patterns in navy blue, magenta, and ochre.

He needn't guess who it belonged to, as Lex smilingly grabbed it from him, although he'd forgotten what her tank top looked, even after Dumbledore took the mud off.

He watched Grant retrieve his canvas rucksack, handing Tim a pear-shaped cotton one in teal with a tan suede bottom and a label reading Jansport.

Before following Lex onto the pavement, Harry felt a heavier arm drop across his shoulder.

"Doing a little chasing there, Harry?" Sirius teased.

"We haven't even gotten a room yet," Harry retorted.

"How would you feel about sharing a hotel room with your godfather, as well?" Sirius suggested.

"As long as it's temporary," Harry laughed.

They followed Dr. Grant and the Murphy children up the front steps where Phipps and Fobbs awaited. They were each handed another envelope before being ushered inside, where Dr. Sattler, Hammond, and Dr. Malcolm was waiting on the crutches Dumbledore had left for him.

Paul and Jane were waiting at the other end of the room, having seized their daughter by the collar.

Phipps and Fobbs led them back through the hotel, to the same three rooms they'd checked into the other day, one left without its original occupants.

Harry removed his key, numbered 7, from its envelope, while the Grangers opened the door to Room 5. Across from them, Grant and Sattler entered Room 4 while Hammond opened for Malcolm the door to Room 6.

Harry slid the key into the hole, pushing the door open to find an extra cot on wheels, wedged between the double beds. He pondered the reason for having it, until he recalled that Lex and Tim weren't given a room key.

Behind him, he made out some soft whispering, finding Lex leaning into her grandfather's ear. Once Hammond pulled his head away, he placed hands upon his grandchildren's shoulders, eyeing Harry with the same despair as earlier.

"I hope you don't mind the extra one, Harry," Hammond queried. "But if it's all the same to me, the three of you seem to have gotten on rather well."

Lex and Tim waved back at Harry, presenting the same smiles they had arriving on the island.

But Harry tensed up when Hammond called him by his first name; he may not have held any grudges, but Hammond never went to that extent.

It was the other man in black, who waited with Harry, and was getting on with him

much quicker.

"Oi!" Sirius cried, frowning. "Where's my bed? I've been waiting…"

Before Sirius could finish, a slightly pink Harry pushed him into the room, where his bottom hit the corner of the left bed. His sigh of relief elicited another chuckle from the bearded man in the hallway.

"I'll be ordering room service for us all," Hammond continued. "It'll be Casado, rice, and beans, same as two nights ago. And you'll want to change into something more comfortable."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, cautiously.

"Don't thank me yet," Hammond insisted. "I'd like to speak with your godfather about a few other things. Then, you can thank me."

"I'd maybe give a few minutes, Mr. Hammond?" Harry suggested, stammering a bit.

"Fine, fine," Hammond resolved. "You four take your time and relax, tell your godfather I'll be in Room 9.

"I will try to…" Harry muttered through his teeth.

"And one more thing, Harry…" Hammond concluded, hopefully. "Please, call me John."

Harry shrugged before slipping into the room with Lex and Tim, who offered their grandfather one last wave before closing the door.

Lex and Tim threw their rucksacks at the foot of their cot, but squirmed against each other's backs when they tried the small bed together.

Meanwhile, Sirius had thrown out his arms and flopped upon the left bed, moaning with ease as his head hit the pillow.

"Look at me, dropping in on a nice comfortable bed!" he exhaled. "I haven't done this in twelve years!"

"You better get used to it," Harry laughed. "I reckon you haven't used a proper loo in awhile either?"

"I have, thank you very much!" Sirius insisted. "Do I expect to find one in a place like this?"

Harry pushed the door at his left open, motioning inside with an extended thumb. Sirius got up, poking his head in to discover the same bathroom Harry left yesterday. It was nothing compared to the ones at Hogwarts, but it was pleasantly cleaner than Azkaban.

"Take my advice," He suggested. "Enjoy the hot water running down your neck after getting stuck in the cold and damp."

"I plan to," Harry replied, dryly.

While Sirius entered the bathroom, Harry threw his duffel atop the right bed. He leaned over the edge, where Lex and Tim were unzipping their rucksacks.

Tim pulled out a folded camo pair of cotton sweats and limped into a wardrobe at the other end of the room. Once he was hidden, Lex ducked over the front of their bed, pulling her rucksack and a pillow with her.

Harry wasn't thinking about it, but he leaned off the bed front, until he rolled off the edge, into the gap opposite the curtains. He wasn't stuck, but it would have been awkward if he hadn't gotten out.

He climbed back onto the bed as Lex re-emerged, wearing an oversized purple t shirt with white ringers and a number 9 stitched to the center. Her hair was no longer braided and neatly fell over her shoulders.

Still unsure why, Harry sat back on the edge as Lex noticed his staring. But their gazing was interrupted by the sound of running water being turned off. It was followed by what sounded like a hair dryer blowing at top speed.

The wardrobe door opened as Tim stepped out in his camo pajamas, limping back towards the bed.

"What'd I miss?" He requested.

The bathroom door swung back open as Sirius emerged from the steam. His hair lay flat to his shoulders and he wore a set of skin-tight black pajamas with white pinstripes, which drew in more than a few laughs from the children.

"Look at me," he boasted. "If only mummy dearest could see me now."

"Nice duds," Harry sputtered. "Where'd you get them?"

"I switched them up with this," Sirius explained. "Come and have a look, oh godson of mine!"

Sirius pulled his wand from his sleeve, waving it under Harry's nose, who saw it was thin and black, carved with silver targets and golden swirls.

"Isn't she a beauty?" he howled. "I picked her up from Ollivander's Hogsmeade shop before we took off for this place."

"What happened to your last wand?" Harry asked.

"Well you know how those Ministry scum are," Sirius grumbled. "A one-way ticket to Azkaban leaves you with a snapped wand and a cutoff from the rest of the world."

"Yeah, not fairest bunch in the world, are they?" Harry murmured. "I found that out last year."

"Enough about me, though," Sirius dismissed. "What about yours?"

Harry unzipped his duffel, and removed the wand box, carefully opening it and unwrapping the wand which connected him to Voldemort so terribly. Sirius, however, looked much more impressed than Harry was expecting.

"An eleven inch Holly," Sirius observed. "Your mum would be proud; only someone as volatile as her could handle a wand like this."

"You haven't seen Aunt Petunia," Harry dismissed. "Once, she tried to cut all my hair off, but it grew right back."

"I'll bet she really freaked then," Sirius snickered.

"You have no idea…" Harry murmured.

Harry had no idea what to say next, as the current mood seemed to knock a few things out of his mind.

"Are you showered, Mr. Black?" Lex interrupted.

"What does it look like?" Sirius joked, casually waving himself about.

"Good, 'cause Grandpa wants to talk to you," Lex concluded.

"So I've heard," Sirius noted, raising an eyebrow. "What about?"

"I don't know," Lex replied. "He's in the last room, why don't you go ask him?"

"Don't mind if I do," Sirius agreed, shrugging.

Sirius re-sheathed his wand stalked out the door like a stray dog searching for prey. But a relieved and slightly embarrassed Harry double took to make sure he was out of sight.

He grabbed his duffel and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He sifted through the bag, until he remembered that he hadn't bought any pajamas yesterday. It never seemed to occur to him, so he fished out the three new t-shirts he had left.

Harry laid them on the counter before kicking off his shoes and rolling his socks into a ball. He removed his collared shirt and let his shorts down before scanning each shirt back and forth.

Harry darted his eyes mainly between the red Fender shirt and the black guitar pattern shirt.

He packed them back into the duffel, liking them both too much. Only the green surfboard shirt was left, but he'd stopped to consider what he was doing;

He held the shirt up to himself, which was much smaller than what Lex wore, and would leave his underwear uncovered.

"Well, if she can do it…" he murmured.

Harry pulled off his white T-shirt and balled it up with his socks before pulling on the green one. He dragged his feet out of his shorts, picking them up with his collared shirt, ready to ball them up as well.

But he felt a couple of curved lumps in his hand and recalled the raptor teeth in his shirt pocket. He took them out and slowly wrapped them in a long string of toilet paper he'd snatched from a roll.

Harry finally dropped all his dirty clothes into a plastic hotel bag from a nearby towel rack, stuffing it into the duffel. He picked his shoes up and opened the bathroom door, as Lex and Tim leaned up from their bed, no doubt staring at his red plaid underwear.

Tim was snickering and pointing at him, but Lex shot her brother a dirty look and grabbed Harry's arm, seating themselves on the edge of his bed.

"Thanks…" Harry exhaled. "For saving my life."

"Well, you saved mine three times." Lex reminded him.

"Right," Harry realized.

He opened his wand box again, gently wedging the wrapped teeth between the waste papers in it. Lex would have recognized them had the wrapped bundle been tooth shaped, as opposed to an anonymous blob.

"What's that?" She asked.

"A surprise for later," Harry replied.

He hid the box back in his duffel, squeezing it closed before Lex could get a closer look. Harry hadn't seen Lex this curious before, so he decided to change the subject.

"You didn't have to offer us your place this summer," He insisted. "I mean, I gave you a real fright telling you I'm a wizard."

"Is that worse than getting locked in a cupboard with no meals?" Lex asked.

"I guess not," Harry sighed.

"By the way, what happed to your hands?" Lex queried.

Harry flipped his hands over, only to find the blisters on his palms slightly more faded than hours ago.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Harry murmured, stretching himself upon the bed.

"No wonder you wanted to get away from it all," Lex commented, rolling up to his side.

"What about coming back?" Harry reminded her. "I've seen how my friends' parents can be, what about yours?"

"It's just our mom," Lex clarified, slightly lowering her head. "Our parents are getting divorced. That's why Grandpa brought us to the island."

"Oh," Harry realized. "I'm sorry."

"You're lucky," Lex reminded him. "You never had to listen to them fighting all the time,"

"As opposed to remembering them?" Harry countered. "My parents died when I was a baby. If you haven't noticed, Dumbledore doesn't always tell everybody everything… unlike my godfather."

"Do you think he can put all that in my Grandpa's mouth?" Lex queried.

"I'd wait till he kissed your mum, full on snogging, that'd be a real stretch," Harry suggested.

Their sweet nothing-filled chat was interrupted by a nasty imitation of gagging. Tim was hovering over them, sticking his tongue out, before a knock came upon the bedroom door.

"Knock, knock," Sirius teased, sticking his head in. "Pardon my interruptions, but there's someone in the house looking for a Mr. Harry Potter?"

He swung the door open further, to reveal Professor Dumbledore also standing in the doorway, still dressed in his Muggle clothing;

"Professor Dumbledore, you're back!" Harry exclaimed.

"Please forgive my lateness," Dumbledore pleaded as he entered the room. "But during my absence, I made a brief return to Britain, in order that I collect some needed assistance."

He stepped aside to reveal a woman in a knee-length, white collared dress with long sleeves, wearing a white cloth bag over her shoulder. Looking up, Harry noticed the face of a blue eyed, middle aged woman with graying blonde hair, wearing a white nurse's cap.

"Madam Pomfrey?" He stammered.

"I'm afraid so, Potter," she replied.

"So, do you know her too?" Lex requested.

"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "She's the matron at school."

"You're a lot luckier than usual, you know, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey interjected. "Never once in my career have I been called to tend to a student during the summer."

"As you can see, she's real good to me," Harry whispered to Lex.

"I heard that, Potter," Pomfrey barked. "Now, I haven't got all evening, so let's finish what we've started, shall we?"

Pomfrey pulled a sleek, faded brown wand from her sleeve, waving Sirius and Dumbledore back into the room. Sirius seated himself back on his bed, while Dumbledore took the chair at a desk just opposite.

Right as she was to wave the wand, there came a high-pitched throat clearing off to her left.

Standing in the doorway were Grant, Sattler, and Hammond, all wrapped in fuzzy, white hotel bathrobes, Sattler with a towel on her head. The three of them werre shifting gazes between her, Sirius, and Dumbledore with varying expressions.

"Do you mind if we watched you?" Grant asked with a hint of sternness.

"Not at all," Pomfrey replied after a pause.

Harry noticed Pomfrey had a tiny shudder when she noticed the the intense pierce of Grant's blue eyes. He also noticed she'd placed her foot back when Sattler held Grant, eyeing the scene with her nervous mother look again.

As for Mr. Hammond, his face was no longer pink and was expectantly narrowing his his eyes at Dumbledore.

"Go on," he softly requested. "The both of you popped in here for a reason, now let's see it…"

Pomfrey nodded, shooing a still curious Lex off the bed, aiming her wand at Harry's center.

Corpus Radiatus," she commanded.

Lex rolled onto the center bed, past a ducking Tim as the wand released a stream of red, orange, and violet light. Harry felt himself completely absorbed by an intensely rising feeling of warmth, but could only see the glow emanating from his sides.

His forearms had turned a dark green, which he raised to find a pair of white skeletal hands at the center. Flowing around them were red and white spots with lines in varying colors, wedged between what looked like tiny hams squishing together.

All were covered with slight spots of yellow-orange, more of which occurred on Harry's left.

"What's happening?" Harry requested.

"A patented medical charm," Pomfrey explained. "It allows healers to pinpoint calamities they would never determine from the outside."

While Lex looked as though she was about to turn sick, Harry and Tim marveled at his insides. But it was all too brief as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand again, cancelling the spell.

"Enjoying that, were we?" she speculated. "As long as we're not making a fuss. It seems your arms have taken a slight internal burn, somehow. I'll have to treat them immediately."

"If you're still here…" Lex pleaded. "Could you maybe help my brother?"

"You'd be surprised what he got hit with," Harry added gently.

Unfortunately, Tim's eyes widened about as much as they had from watching the T-Rex eat a gallimimus. He was ready to slide off the bed and make a run for it, but Lex pinned him down by the wrists.

Harry turned on his side, reaching to help her, until he felt something draw him onto his back, sinking him into the mattress. He tried pulling himself out head first, but the force against him was just too great. Since he was lying flat, he saw Madam Pomfrey drawing her wand at him again.

"You will stay where you are," Pomfrey finalized. "I was summoned here for a reason, although I never imagined it would come to assisting a Muggle."

She gently swatted Lex's hands away and, with a wave of her wand, planted a quivering Tim into his mattress. His shaking all but completely stopped when he found he couldn't move either.

"So… how… does… it all… feel?!" he gritted through his teeth.

"Like lying out in the hot sun…" Harry gritted back.

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand again, showing all that amounted to Tim's insides, finding all his spots of yellow orange were planted into his left leg. She noticed Tim was closing his eyes and mouth rather tightly and promptly canceled the spell, releasing a marathon of gasps from him.

"Don't make such a fuss," Pomfrey advised. "This next treatment won't hurt a thing."

She opened her bag to retrieve three small, plastic sacks and three long, corked phials, each containing a thick, pearl coloured liquid. But the most interesting things she pulled out were a pair of tall racks with curled hooks.

Lex clambered off as Madam Pomfrey parked each rack beside each bed. But all three children concentrated on three long tubes Pomfrey removed, each with a thin needle attached to the end.

"How'd you do that?" Tim gasped.

"With the help of an undetectable extension charm," Pomfrey explained. "Very handy when packing for a long trip. I've removed what you muggles call an Intra-venous, is it not? This one will involve the use of Phoenix tears to give Mr. Potter and your brother a quick patch up. Although I can hardly begin to imagine what hasn't damaged Potter already."

She emptied each phial's contents into each sack, ringing two on Harry's rack and the last one on Tim's, before pushing each tube through a hole at the ends.

Pomfrey then poked her wand into both of Harry's forearms, who slightly winced as he felt a couple of intensely cold spots before Pomfrey pushed a needle through both. She repeated the same process on Tim's leg, who presented her with all the same reactions.

As for Lex, she developed another look of horror and tugged at Pomfrey's arm, who simply pulled away.

"That should take about twenty minutes, so I'll be back by then to remove those things from your system," she promised. "You both ought to be completely healed by tomorrow morning, so I'd stay resting."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey," Harry moaned.

"Yeah, thanks," Tim added.

Lex leaned over the beds again, trying to take Harry and Tim by the hand each, but this time, Pomfrey pulled her away.

Since Harry couldn't upturn his head, he rolled his eyes, watching Pomfrey make her way back to the door. She brushed past Sirius, who presented his godson with a mock look of envy as Dumbledore patted his arm.

"A pity you didn't have to taste that," Sirius mumbled.

"No need," Harry croaked. "They're phoenix tears, remember?"

But in the doorway, Harry noticed that Hammond, Grant, and Sattler were all looking somewhat queasy themselves.

"Don't mind us," Grant muttered. "An intravenous can't take that long, can it? I mean, it's not like it takes anything besides blood, right?"

Had he not been a wizard, Harry would have mistaken the phoenix tears for some type of cheap medicinal syrup.

Pomfrey sent him another knowing glance as she slipped through the trio, narrowly missing a distinguishable bushy brown missile bursting into the doorway, colliding with his bed, knocking Lex over a little bit.

"Was that Madam Pomfrey I saw?" Hermione queried.

"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "Here to lock me up in bed, as per usual.

"She has left to provide your Dr. Malcolm with the same attentive care, Miss Granger," Dumbledore explained, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I must inform him of her arrival and I suggest you join me. It seems you have known him longer than I have."

Dumbledore flipped his forearms out towards the beds, waving them upward.

Harry no longer felt himself sucked in, and was merely lying upon the surface of the mattress. When he could upturn his head again, he was ready to roll on his side, but he felt something jerk out from underneath him.

The same thing rapidly and snugly covered him up from the chest down, underneath his armpits. When he saw that the tubes connected to his arms were undisturbed, he found it was the duvet covering him.

Harry leaned up, expecting Dumbledore to have his hands balled into fists, but instead found Sirius aiming his wand at the bed coverings.

Sirius presented him with a fatherly smile he'd only seen once that summer, while Dumbledore offered him one more of the grandfatherly type. Hermione gave him a friendly wave, gesturing to the intravenous setup before Dumbledore led her out.

"I'll see you later, Harry," she promised.

As Dumbledore and Hermione exited, Hammond and Sattler followed, taking their destination as a sign. Grant presented Harry with a salute before closing the door, to which he chuckled before laying his head back on the pillow.

"Well then," the voice of Sirius decided. "If that's all over, I think I'll take a little kip now, myself."

Harry turned his head to watch Sirius crash on his bed again, but when it shifted back, he saw Lex hanging above, pulling his glasses off.

"You too," she suggested.

"What about you?" Harry asked.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Lex replied. "It's just for twenty minutes, right?"

Once Lex placed his glasses on the bedside table, Harry closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him, as he'd done in Hogwarts' infirmary. Though not the first time he'd rested comfortably, Harry was more at ease than he'd been over the last three days. Yet when he finally opened his eyes again, he found Madam Pomfrey hovering back over his bed.

"We've been following the matron's orders, I see," Pomfrey commented.

Harry didn't wince as she gently removed the needles from his arms and Tim's leg before vanishing the empty sacks and returning the racks to her bag.

"Let there be much less heartache come September," she suggested. "I definitely expect that much."

"With my luck, there will be," Harry murmured.

"And one more thing," Pomfrey concluded. "This will help some of you with those cuts and abrasions I've been told so much of…"

She pulled from her bag a cuboid shaped bottle filled with a soft, cerulean bluish liquid. Corking the mouth was a small dropper and covering the front was a label reading, Murtlap Essence.

"Simply squeeze a little of this on, rub it in, and by all means, banish this bottle from any more prying eyes," Pomfrey ordered, handing the bottle to Harry.

She placed the bottle on the night stand and tossed Harry his glasses before leaving the room. Once the door clicked closed, Harry placed his glasses back on and leaned himself up to see if anyone else was awake, until another knock came upon the door.

"Room service!" Called a sultry, Spanish-accented voice from the other side.

This must have gotten Sirius up, if not the knocking, as he went to open the door on a trolley carrying four silver dome trays. It were pushed into the corner of the room by another waitress, slightly chubbier in the hips and rounder in the face with curly dark brown hair.

She giggled at Harry, uncovering the trays to reveal four more plates of rice and beans, except for one without Casado.

There was no guessing which plate was for whom, as Lex had arisen and seized the meatless plate for herself.

She sat next to Harry, who missed the waitress flipping her hair, but noticed she offered Sirius a cute wave. Even as she exited the room, Sirius eyed her shaking hips down to her feet.

"Ever been curious before, Sirius?" Harry teased.

Sirius shushed him, while Lex slid off the bed to shake her brother awake. But the bounce already seemed to jerk Tim out of his sleeping position. He leaned up with his hair back in complete disarray, letting out a yawn before scooping a mountain of beans into his mouth.

Sirius was about to tuck into his meal until the door clicked open before there was even a knock.

Into the room shuffled Hammond, in a sleek, white dressing robe and a pair of fuzzy white slippers. He was pushing another trolley carrying his own dinner plate, a place setting, some drinking glasses, and a metal pitcher.

"I see you've all made yourselves quite at home," Hammond noted.

He poured some iced water from the pitcher into each of the glasses, offering Harry the first one. Harry accepted the drink, only taking a small sip, since he could tell Hammond was trying to remain cordial with him.

"All through with that 'special treatment' I see, then?" Hammond observed. "Nothing else from that matron of yours?"

"No," Harry replied, hesitantly.

"Good," Hammond resolved. "Before she came, I'd spoken with your headmaster and your godfather. Both of you are coming to stay with us for the rest of the summer."

Lex's face lit up as she threw her arms around Harry's shoulders. Tim's face was equally ecstatic as he threw his duvet off to join them. But Sirius was faster, sliding off his bed to pin Tim back down.

Yet Harry froze for a brief second as Tim grinned at him like a madman and Sirius presented him with a cute wave of his own.

"But what about your mum?" Harry asked Lex. "Didn't you say…"

"You didn't think a divorce took only a weekend, did you?" Lex interjected.

"You know, this is the time of year when my plans involve keeping my grandchildren entertained at my mansion…" Hammond added.

"Does that include war orphans or ex-would-be killers?" Harry muttered into Lex's ear.

"If a man can get through to his daughter, it seems best to never speak of certain things again, don't you agree?" Hammond continued.

Harry could hardly argue with that, reassuring Hammond with stunned silence.

"And sorry, what was that last thing?" Hammond requested.

Harry glanced at Sirius, who had been leaning in his direction that whole time. Yet Sirius simply shrugged without even so much as a cheeky grin. Perhaps he hadn't told Mr. Hammond what he'd told Harry yet.

But before anyone else could answer, there was a sliding sound, almost like paper. Over by the door, a roll of parchment tied with twine lay near the crack at the bottom. It was too large to fit into the crack, yet it appeared completely unsquashed and unbent.

"I take it that isn't another one of your headmaster's tricks, is it?" Hammond suggested to Harry.

"Let me see," Harry offered.

But he was pushed back into lying position by Sirius, who went to pick up the parchment. He untied and unrolled it, but ended up covering his face with the whole thing.

"Yes it is, unfortunately," he replied.

The note read,

To whomever it may concern, whether they use magic or not,

Most of you realize I have not fulfilled my end of the promise I made this afternoon.

It seemed our patients, both younger and older, were quite enervated this evening along with the lot of you. Thus, it stands to reason that I should save it for the morning, after you have all rested and picked up after yourselves.

I have obtained your flight information from Mr. Hammond and plan to close this all off in the morning before you leave. I suggest we all meet in Mr. Potter's bedroom, where breakfast may be brought to us.

I wish you all a pleasant slumber,

Signed,

Albus Perceval Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

"I'd also be complaining he uses too many names," Sirius huffed, rolling the note back up.

"So, we're waiting until morning for the rest…" Harry slowly concluded.

He let out a tiny sigh in relief, as only part of his secret had come out already.

"Until then, there is something appetizing we've all been waiting on," Hammond interrupted, turning to the children one last time. "If you'll all be fine, I take it Dr. Malcolm wouldn't like to dine alone?"

"No," Harry and the Murphy children replied, shaking their heads.

Hammond grabbed his dinner plate and shuffled out of the room, offering Harry a nod before closing the door.

Harry nodded back before returning to his meal, savoring the taste to block out thoughts of tomorrow morning. After all, if he could change a subject once, he could do it again. He decided he'd continue conversing with Lex, Tim, and Sirius until they'd finished eating and brushing their teeth.

Once they'd all climbed into bed and shut out the light, Harry's thoughts were occupied by other plans he had for the next morning…