Author's Notes: Well… here it is gang… the final chapter of The Greengrass Problem. The Rotten Writer here and I have been on some weird writing frenzy. What, the last four or five chapters each a week or less apart? I don't know what's gotten into me but I like it.

This year gave me some troubles, I'll be honest. But in the end I think there was some significant character and relationship growth and I'm pretty happy with it overall. I'm asking now, guys, should I continue posting here or should I expand and start a new story beginning with Fourth year? This thing's gotten rather… big… so starting anew might be a good idea. Lemme know what you think.

Disclaimer: I only own my original plot and original characters.

Here it is, enjoy Chapter 42 of Soul Scars!

Soul Scars Part Three

The Greengrass Problem

By,

Rtnwriter

Harry clawed his way back to consciousness, slowly, fitfully. It seemed to him that a great deal of time had passed, but he really couldn't be certain, and, when his eyes finally opened, he groaned aloud when he immediately recognized the ceiling of the Hospital Wing above him.

A voice from somewhere nearby neatly intruded on his attempt to remember exactly how it was he'd ended up under Madam Pomfrey's care, again.

"Good morning, Mister Potter," it said, and Harry groaned again, closing his eyes.

"I will admit," he rasped, "to the inescapable truth that it is, in fact, morning. 'Good', however, has yet to be determined."

As the voice chuckled quietly, he frowned, and opened his eyes again.

"Wait… is it actually morning?"

"Indeed it is, Mister Potter. Breakfast has just passed, but if you are hungry I am quite certain that Madam Pomfrey will see to it that you are properly fed and watered."

Fed and watered. He'd only ever heard Dumbledore say something like that.

Harry's eyes widened and he sat up, abruptly. Whatever he was going to say, however, fell to the wayside as a nausea inducing pain developed in his head and he groaned, slowly laying back down.

"That, was not a good idea. Someone please remind me not to do that again."

"I shall endeavour to remember to do so."

Once the pain and urge to vomit receded, Harry opened his eyes again and turned his head. There, in the bed to his right, lay the Headmaster, calmly regarding him with his twinkling blue eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, and the old wizard smiled.

"I believe that is, perhaps, too generalized a question for me to properly answer. Are you asking what happened that landed you, once again, under the care of Madam Pomfrey? Or are you wondering why I have joined you as a patient in her charge?"

Harry blinked, considering that carefully.

"Both?" he finally decided.

"Ah, well, as to your first question, what do you remember?"

"Everything," was his prompt response. "The Dementors, Sirius, Wormtail. I remember it all up to my patronus, then nothing."

"Quite fortuitous, then, as it saves us a bit of explanation. The patronus that you summoned was exceedingly powerful. So much so, in fact, that it drained you to a point of exceedingly dangerous magical exhaustion. Apparently your heart stopped, twice, before Madam Pomfrey was able to stabilize you."

Harry's mouth dropped open, but he said nothing in his surprise.

"As for myself… well, I am an old man. When the Dementors physically attacked us, I fear I suffered a broken hip. Normally I would have been as good as new by the next day, however, I have an unfortunate allergy to one of the ingredients present in Skele-gro. As such I am forced to deal with somewhat slower methods of healing. Not as gradual as muggle healing, but still, slower than I would prefer."

"How long have I been out?"

"A little less than two weeks, Mister Potter."

Harry glanced up as Madam Pomfrey's voice reached him and the woman herself came into view, wand already in hand as she walked briskly to his bed.

"Do you have an alert on my bed, or something?" he asked, only partially joking. "You always seem to know just when to pop up."

Her lips turned up into a small smirk. "Trade secret, I am afraid. I could tell you, but then I would likely have to kill you, and I would much rather avoid that after all the trouble I have gone to to keep you alive since you started here."

"Well, we can't have that," he muttered, watching as her wand began its very familiar dance through her usual diagnostic spells.

"Quite," she muttered, absently, as she observed the results of her spells. "Well, you appear to be in excellent health, Mister Potter. Though I would wager you'll still be feeling weak for a few more days to come. Also, your magic has almost completely recovered, but is still a touch low, for you. I would like you to exercise caution in using any magic over the next few days and I'll be keeping you, at least until tomorrow, just to be certain."

This brightened Harry's mood considerably. "That's great," he said, smiling broadly at the mothering mediwitch who returned his smile with a small one of her own, patting one of his hands, gently.

"Yes, it is. You know, Mister Potter, it wouldn't be a hardship if you decided to skip the next adventure to come your way. While I've grown quite fond of you, and your ladies, I don't like seeing you in this bed as often as I have."

"I really don't do it on purpose," he told her. "I was told to get used to strange things happening around me, as it's likely to go on for my whole life. Not really a lot I can do about it."

Her quiet hum was noncommittal, and after patting his hand again, she turned her attention to the Headmaster. "And you, Headmaster, are ready to go as soon as you dress. Excellent timing, considering the circumstances." She tucked her wand away and started back toward her office. "I shall have an elf bring you something for breakfast, Mister Potter," she called back, just before moving out of range.

"What was that about timing, Sir?"

"Yes, excellent timing appears to be in great supply today. You waking as you did is quite a boon for us as tomorrow is the date of Mister Black's trial in front of the Wizengamot."

If he'd felt up to it Harry would have jumped for joy at that proclamation. As it was he pushed himself up to a sitting position, smiling broadly the whole way.

"Where is he, anyway? And the girls? Was anyone else hurt?"

"Everyone that was present that night is in fine health, save for Wormtail. I am not certain if you noticed in the commotion but he lost his life. Madam Bones hit his leg with a Reductor while he was attempting to escape and one of the Dementors administered their Kiss, drawing out his soul. He bled to death quite quickly after that, unfortunately."

Harry wasn't sure he agreed that it was unfortunate, but held his tongue as the Headmaster put up some privacy screens around his bed with a flick of his wand. A few minutes later, the screens moved away, showing the Headmaster standing beside his bed, if a bit gingerly, in a set of bright fuschia robes.

"As to your young ladies and friends, presently they are in class, I'm sure they will be by to visit before too long."

"And Sirius?"

"He has been spending a great deal of time with Professor Lupin. As we discussed previously, as soon as I was able, I let drop about Sanctuary and Mister Black requested it, so he has been staying here at the castle, with Auror's Kingsley and Tonks keeping a watch on him."

He held up a hand in a stopping gesture when Harry made to protest.

"No, I do not believe him to be a danger, however until he is exonerated through his trial I could not just let him wander the castle unsupervised. The Ministry and the students parents would have had my head on a platter and, just between us, I rather much prefer my head be kept where it is currently located."

Tucking his wand into his robes the Headmaster gave Harry a considering look.

"Your presence has been requested at the trial, Mister Potter," he said. "So, as I said, excellent timing, indeed, that you woke when you did."

"What am I supposed to do at a trial?"

"You have been requested as a witness into the events that happened the other night, and to testify for Sirius as to his recent actions. Such as when he defended you during your class, or helping to save yourself and Miss Lovegood from Pettigrew in the forest. Speaking of that, I would be curious to know how it is that you and Miss Lovegood found yourself outside the castle grounds."

Harry quickly explained how he'd been out walking, just trying to puzzle over some things that were on his mind, and that he'd ended up in the forest due to his own inattention to his surroundings. When he explained how he'd found Luna, and what she'd been doing, the aged wizard nodded.

"Yes, that does match up with what Miss Lovegood said. I have already spoken to Hagrid about letting our younger students assist him in such a manner. He really should have taken more care, either to accompany her, or to make sure she kept to daylight hours if she was going to feed the thestrals."

"Sir? It's likely to be a media frenzy at a trial like this, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Indeed it is, Mister Potter. Both yourself and Mister Black are quite well known and this entire incident throws light on a dark time in our Nation's recent past. There is a great deal of interest."

"Why can't I submit a pensieve memory? As much as I want to help Sirius… I'm not certain I really want to be stuck in the spotlight again."

Dumbledore sighed. "Alas, it is unfortunate, but necessary, that Pensieve memories are not admissible in court."

"What?" Harry blurted out, startled. "Why not?"

"Memories cannot be guaranteed as one hundred percent accurate. Not in all aspects."

"Why not?" he asked again, even more confused. A memory was a memory, taken exactly as it was, what was wrong about that.

"Let me ask you a question. Say you are walking the corridor next week. You turn a corner and you see young Mister Malfoy physically assaulting someone, perhaps one of your bond mates?"

Harry glared at the old man. "He wouldn't do much ever again-"

"This is merely a hypothetical situation, Mister Potter, please hold your temper."

The words were spoken in curt, clipped tones with a hint of admonishment in them and Harry took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Sir," he muttered.

"Perfectly understandable, but please try to control that. Anyway, as I was saying. You see Mister Malfoy attacking… someone, let us say. He escapes you and you later go to inform someone and turn over your memory of the event in question to the authorities. Based on that memory, Mister Malfoy is arrested and thrown in prison after questioning and a trial where your memory is the key piece of evidence in the crime."

"I'm not seeing the problem here."

"Do you not see any way that your memory could be false? That what you saw wasn't actually what happened?"

Harry considered that. What he saw wasn't what actually happened? He turned the question over and over in his mind, attempting to approach it from different angles when the proverbial light bulb went off over his head and he let out a groan of frustration.

"Have you seen the problem, then, Mister Potter?"

"I think so. Even if it's clearly Malfoy that I saw, with no way it could have been someone else. With magic that doesn't actually mean anything. It could have been someone polyjuiced to look like Malfoy, or glamoured in the same manner. There could have been perception altering charms cast on the area to make me see only what the caster wanted me to see. There's any number of ways someone could do that and frame Malfoy completely, making it look like an extremely clear-cut case."

"Just as Mister Pettigrew did when he framed Mister Black for his death. Something you yourself uncovered. I would have thought that after that stellar performance, you might have put a little more thought into these kinds of things."

Harry flushed, slightly ashamed of himself for not seeing the obvious and shrugged. "I'll certainly be keeping it in mind from now on," he muttered and Dumbledore nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer.

"Well," the aged wizard finally said, clapping his hands together once. "I have a great deal of work that I must attend to, so I shall bid you a good day, and I will see you tomorrow morning. I will come by immediately after breakfast to collect you and bring you and Mister Black to the Ministry myself."

With that, he turned and made his way from the Wing. A moment later a quiet pop echoed around Harry's bed and he turned his attention to the heavily laden breakfast tray that had just appeared on his bedside table, reminding him that he was extremely hungry. Putting aside everything else, he set about fulfilling the one goal currently within his reach. He would eat his fill, then wait for someone to come see him so he could find out what else had been going on while he was asleep.

#####

"I don't think I should go in there."

"But he's awake. We've been waiting for almost two weeks for him to wake up."

"I know but… the last thing I did was confuse the hell out of him, again."

Daphne let out a frustrated sigh and turned more fully toward Hermione, placing a hand on each of the other girl's shoulders and looking her directly in the eye.

"Hermione, this is behavior unbecoming of a Gryffindor. What is going on with you?"

Hermione squirmed uncomfortably as Susan watched on. "I kissed him. And I told him that we loved him. He's had so much trouble just with the two of you kissing him then I go and drop the 'L' word on him on top of that… I'm worried he's going to panic and pull away from us, more." By the time she finished her voice had become very small and she almost appeared to be hunching in on herself, as if trying to disappear.

"We'll figure it out if he does. I'm nervous, too, love. But this is Harry. You weren't lying to him. We do love him, and we've been worried about him, so we're going in there to check on that idiot, before he does something else to try and scare more years off of my lifespan, okay?"

Still nervous, Hermione nodded and Susan pulled open the door so they could enter the Hospital Wing.

"NO!"

Instantly, they were blasted by a loud voice echoing from inside and they rushed into the room, worried something was wrong.

"'So much for the Beast of Slytherin'?" Sirius roared, half falling out of his chair where he was sitting next to Harry's bed. The boy in question had a huge smile on his face, watching his godfather laughing himself stupid.

"I'm not kidding! It probably wasn't my smartest move, really. I mean, I was bleeding all over the place, I had basilisk venom running through my veins. I swear, I was probably a hair's breadth from snuffing it, but that stupid echo of Riddle just pissed me the hell off. He'd tried to hurt Daphne, and he petrified Hermione, and Susan was a wreck. I was mad, and I wanted to rub his nose in it a little."

Next to Sirius, Remus reached over and thumped the man on the shoulder with a closed fist.

"Get it together, Padfoot, and let the Cub finish the story," he admonished his friend, despite the wide grin he was wearing. "What happened after that?" Remus asked.

"Well, like I said, I'm pretty sure I was dying. Riddle was gloating, going on about how deadly the venom was and I'd fallen over onto the ground by then, my legs just wouldn't hold me up. So, I crawled over to where Luna was lying, with that stupid diary next to her. I used the fang that I'd yanked out of my arm and I stabbed the thing. Ink came pouring out of it, and Riddle and the diary both started shrieking up a storm. I remember there was this loud bang, like an explosion, and the last thing I can remember was seeing Daphne's eyes just before I blacked out."

"Jeez, Pup. Your dad, Remus, and I… we got into all kinds of trouble when we were here. Pretty sure we're personally responsible for at least half of old McGonagall's grey hairs, but we never got into anything like the kind of scrapes you've gotten yourself into. And that's only in your first two years!"

Sirius' eyes were shining, pride filling his voice, but even Harry could detect a slight hint of disapproval.

"Do you go looking for trouble? Really?"

"Why does everyone think that?" Harry demanded. "Seriously, it's not like I try to get into this stuff, it just happens. And you should feel lucky it does, Sirius, otherwise you might still be hiding out in the forest scrounging for food."

Sirius raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm damn proud of you, and grateful, don't ever think I'm not, just… dammit kid, you know your mum and dad would kick my arse up one side of the afterlife and down the other if you went and got yourself killed before you've lived a long full life."

"That's what he's got us for," Susan cut in as they approached the bed. "We've been doing our best to keep him alive since first year."

At the sight of the three of them Harry's face lit up with joy, the light in his eyes growing brighter for a moment before both it, and his expression fell a bit as nervous anxiety flowed across their bond.

"The ladies of the hour!"

Suddenly, all three girls found themselves being crushed as Sirius bounded over and pulled them into an exuberant hug, lifting them clear off the ground in his excitement.

"Padfoot! Put them down, right now!"

"Awww…" Sirius whined. "But Moonyyyyyy…"

"Now, Padfoot. Or do I need to conjure a rolled up newspaper?"

"You've turned into a right stick in the mud, you know that, right, Moony?" Sirius groused, but nevertheless, he carefully set the three, now flushed and disheveled girls, gently back on their feet.

"It's nice… to officially meet you… Mister Black," Hermione gasped out as she and the other girls collected themselves.

Sirius made a scoffing 'pssh' sort of noise.

"None of this Mister Black tripe. I hear that and I think Old Tabby is about to give me detention. It's Sirius to the three of you, or Padfoot. From how I hear it told the pup wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you ladies, and I wouldn't be either without that dome you summoned up the other night."

"If Professor McGonagall hears you calling her 'Old Tabby' you know that the fact that you are no longer a student won't be enough to save you from detention," Remus observed.

"Oi! Go swot something if you're just going to step all over my fun, Moons."

"You're supposed to be going to trial tomorrow, Padfoot. You can't do that if Filch has you strung up by your ankles somewhere."

"Yeah, yeah. All right, Moony, I get it. I'll be a good doggie," Sirius grumbled good naturedly as he returned to his seat.

A flick of Remus' wand brought three more chairs marching their way across the floor to line up on the left side of Harry's bed and the girls sat after each gave Harry a hug and a kiss on his cheek. His ready acceptance of the affectionate gesture did much to calm their worries and they quickly settled in.

"So," Remus started. "I believe proper introductions are in order. Sirius Black, may I introduce to you Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, and Lady Daphne Greengrass."

"Umm…. if it's been nearly two weeks, why haven't you all met before now?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two groups on either side of his bed with a confused expression on his face.

"Honestly, I've been sticking around Remus' quarters for the most part," Sirius admitted. "Dumbledore told the school I was on the premises, and that I wasn't a danger but I didn't want to send everyone into a panic by walking around too much. At least not until the Mot clears me."

"Padfoot, that's exactly what you wanted to do, but McGonagall threatened to neuter you if you actually did it."

"Spoil sport," Sirius grumbled, sticking his tongue out at Remus, who artfully ignored his friend's immaturity.

After pulling his tongue back into his mouth, Sirius eyed Daphne for a moment. "Lady Greengrass?" he asked, and she turned more to face him.

"Yes, Mister Black?"

"You wouldn't be related to Cyril Greengrass, would you?"

Daphne blinked. "Yes, actually. He's my father," she explained. "Did you know him? I don't believe that he ever mentioned you."

"We met a few times, he graduated Hogwarts before I even started, think he was about ten years older than me, or so. I'm sorry for your loss, though, not to speak ill of the dead, I never really liked him, much."

"Oh, he's not dead, and no apology is necessary, he's a horrid person."

It was Sirius' turn to blink and his eyes darted to the platinum Head of House ring on her finger. "I must confess to some confusion, then. If he's alive, how are you the Head of you House, at your age?"

Daphne grinned. "That would be Harry's fault."

"Hey, I had help!"

"But it was your plan."

"Well... yeah, I guess."

"Wait, wait, wait," Sirius cut in, holding both hands up in a stopping gesture. "There's a story here, I can smell it. How did Harry see to it that you became Head of House at… thirteen? Fourteen?"

"My fourteenth birthday will be in a month."

"So thirteen. How did Harry engineer you becoming Head of House at thirteen if your father is still alive? Explain, please."

Harry cringed as the girls gleefully launched into the story, only leaving out any mention of their bond and the bluff involved in the plan. They felt it would probably take too long to explain all of it, so stuck only to the plan as it had appeared on the surface.

By the time they'd finished, Sirius was looking at Harry with something akin to awe, and Harry was squirming uncomfortably under the attention.

"Pup, I never thought I'd say this to anyone and not mean it as an insult, but that was positively Slytherin of you."

"I'm just glad it worked," Harry muttered.

They chatted for a few minutes more before the girls needed to leave to get to their next class and Remus as well to teach his afternoon class. Hermione left Harry his book bag, along with the assignments and class notes that he'd missed during his stay and they each hugged him and kissed him again on their way out of the Wing with Remus following behind.

Sirius watched as Harry's eyes followed the girls all the way out of the large double doors, a thoughtful expression on his face that slowly turned into a mischievous smirk.

"So those are 'your girls' as Luna called them?" Sirius asked in a deceptively casual tone of voice.

Harry flushed slightly, but nodded. "Yeah, that's them. We all met on the first day of school back in first year. Hermione and Susan I met on the platform, and Daphne during the sorting."

"So… which one?" Sirius asked, causing Harry to stare at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Which one of those lovely young ladies have you got your eye on, Pup? Come on, don't leave an old dog in suspense."

Confusion evaporated in an instant, turning rapidly into embarrassment as Harry's face flushed a brilliant red and he groaned, pulling his sheet up over his head.

"It's not like that," he moaned from under the sheet and Sirius laughed, tugging the item from his godson's grasp.

"What is it like, then?" he asked, grinning widely.

"It's… they're…" Harry groaned again and rubbed a hand over his face. "It's complicated, Padfoot, really it is," he muttered, looking considerably more morose than Sirius thought he should.

"Well, why don't you try explaining it to me? I may not be as clever as Moony, but I'm certainly not dumb."

Harry frowned, staring at the sheet pooled in his lap. Idly his hands tugged at the sleeves of his hospital pajama top.

Finally he let out a deep sigh. "We have a Soul Bond.

It was Sirius' turn to blink, completely flummoxed for a moment, before his eyes narrowed and he said, "start at the beginning."

So, Harry explained what he knew, starting with how he met each of the girls, what the Sorting Hat explained during their sorting, and each progression of the bond to date.

"... so, Hermione said she loved me, that they loved me, but I'm not sure what to do. I mean… I don't know the first thing, really, about love or any of that," Harry finished, looking rather distressed after his explanation.

Sirius sat in silent contemplation for a time, pushing aside the dinner tray that had appeared part way through Harry's lengthy recitation.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, Pup. Three girls after you? Your dad'd be right proud of you. Though I think your mum might have boxed your ears."

"Sirius! That's not helping! What am I supposed to do?" Harry pleaded, desperately.

"Who says that you have to do anything?"

"Huh?" Harry stared blankly at his godfather after that unexpected response.

"I mean it. Look, you've got three pretty girls that have expressed an interest in you, right? That's the general break down that I'm getting here."

"Yeah, but-"

"And you don't think any of them are unattractive, do you?"

"No, not at all. They're all beautiful, but-"

"Then I think you're thinking too hard about this. You're a teenager, Pup. Be a little adventurous, get closer to them if you want, snog them senseless, if the mood strikes, just don't hurt them."

"I can't do that!" Harry snapped.

"Okay, don't snog them senseless." Sirius sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in an eerily similar gesture to Harry's own action earlier. "Look. I'm not good at this honest advice thing, okay? I'm trying here, so give me a little leeway. Try thinking about it this way. You said the girls have always been affectionate, right? That's progressed to frequent hugs and kisses on your cheek, not counting the three liplocks they laid on you?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, why don't you just try that? Don't worry overmuch about things, just try giving them back a bit of what they've been giving you."

Harry frowned, considering that.

"Doesn't it seem… I don't know, kind of sleazy to do that with three different girls?"

"Why would it? You're bonded."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Sirius leaned back in his seat, eyeing Harry carefully. He couldn't wrap his head around this kid. When he'd been thirteen he would've been disturbingly thrilled to be in Harry's shoes. Something wasn't right here, and he couldn't quite put his mental finger on what it was.

"Just… try not to overthink things, okay, Pup? Obviously these girls are interested, and they're not fighting or upset about it. They obviously all know about each other, so it's not anything deceitful or underhanded for you to just take a little time to see where things might go. Obviously, I wouldn't recommend trying to go too far, but from what I can tell, they're giving you some pretty clear signals that they're open to advancing your friendship a bit. Don't push, but give a little more than you have been and just see where it takes you."

Harry frowned as he thought that over for several minutes while Sirius returned to his previously discarded dinner, letting the teen think in peace.

"Sirius?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, Pup?"

"Could you help me with something?"

"Anything you need, Harry."

Harry smiled and leaned forward and the two spent some time with their heads together, talking in hushed tones until Kingsley and Tonks arrived to escort Sirius back to Remus' quarters. That night, when Harry fell asleep, it was with much less confusion swirling about through his mind.

#####

Harry really wasn't sure if the squirming sensation in his gut was a result of nerves, or excitement. Either way, he really didn't care for it much and he let out an impatient sigh as he smoothed down his House Potter robes and looked around the room.

That morning, immediately after eating breakfast, Dumbledore had arrived in the Hospital wing with a small parade following behind him. Sirius, with Kingsley and Tonks, followed by Hermione, Daphne, Susan, Neville, Luna, and Blaise. Luna, as soon as she caught sight of him, had broken rank and run across the Wing, practically throwing herself into his arms. Unlike Hermione, or Susan, there hadn't been much frantic speaking. She'd just whispered 'thank you', repeatedly, as she clung to him, tears spilling down her cheeks.

The panicked look on his face had most of those present smiling, though most had the courtesy to restrain themselves from laughing. 'Most' did not include Sirius, who had burst out into his strange barking laughter at the look Harry'd given the rest of the room as he'd tried to awkwardly comfort the girl in his arms.

Eventually, everything was settled and Harry was left behind some privacy screens to change into his robes. Belting his sword on last, the entire group had made their way through the Floo and directly into Amelia's office at the Ministry in order to avoid the chaos that would be the Ministry Atrium. According to Amelia, the press had been camped out for two days already, waiting to catch sight of the infamous Sirius Black and the Boy-Who-Lived. Even the fascination of getting to see where his guardian worked did little to keep Harry from worrying about what was coming and he found himself alternating between pacing and staring at the nearby clock on the wall, urging the minute hands to move faster so they could hurry up and get this over with already.

"Harry, please sit down," Hermione practically begged after the twenty minute mark passed of him pacing around the office. "I understand you're anxious but you're driving the rest of us spare with the pacing." She reached out and patted the thin cushion on the chair next to where she was sitting. "Please. Just come sit, try to relax a little."

Flushing slightly in embarrassment, Harry said nothing but moved over and dropped gracelessly into the seat. The Sword of Gryffindor rattled loudly against the chairs wooden legs and he winced, carefully adjusting the weapon so that the hilt wasn't digging into his ribs anymore.

"Much better," Hermione said, reaching over to gently squeeze his hand. "Sirius has a solid case in his favor, this is all going to work out just fine."

"I really hope so," he muttered, attempting a smile that didn't quite get off the ground.

The rest of their group was sitting around the office in hastily conjured chairs. Tonks and Kingsley were deep in conversation with Amelia by her desk while Sirius and the Headmaster both sat, rather calmly, near the door. Dumbledore had his usual serene grandfatherly persona out in full while Sirius almost looked bored with the wait. Of all of them, Harry would have expected him to be the most nervous, but if he was, he was hiding it well.

Neville, Luna, and Blaise were against the back wall, talking quietly while Daphne, Hermione, and Susan sat near Harry, as they so often did.

Leaning toward the bushy haired witch on his right Harry murmured quietly, "when we get back to the school, I need to talk to the three of you."

She gave him a curious look, but smiled softly and nodded, holding her immediate desire to pepper him with questions.

"We'll be there," was all she said.

"All right, gang, listen up."

They looked over as Amelia's voice filled the office and all conversation stopped as everyone's attention focused on the formidable witch. "We're going to head down to the courtroom. Shack and Tonks will be going to the defendants chamber with Sirius, and the rest of you will be escorted to witness chambers. You will all be separated at that time, since witnesses aren't allowed to wait together and you'll each be called in when needed to give your testimony and once you're done with your turn on the witness stand you'll be allowed to go to the witness section of the viewers gallery to watch the rest of the proceedings. I don't know what order you'll be called in exactly, but Harry, you'll be last."

He nodded, noticing several of the others nodding along as well and a minute later they were making their way out of the office and heading for the lifts at the end of the hall. They passed through the Auror Bullpen along the way and Harry couldn't help but be fascinated by what he saw. Aurors and Cadets moved back and forth from desk to desk discussing any possible number of things. Some looked a little ragged around the edges with torn or singed robes as they dictated information to auto-quills. When they reached the lifts, the doors opened and two Aurors came in with a short, disheveled man held between them, his hands bound by thick manacles.

"I didn' do nuffink," he was saying, loudly, as they half dragged the man off the lifts.

"Fletcher," Amelia said in a cool voice and the man immediately ceased struggling and looked up, watery brown eyes peering at her.

"Well… iffn it idn't Madam Bones 'erself," he said. "You wanna tell yer boys 'ere to let me go?"

"Mundungus Fletcher if Aurors Blake and Graham have you in here, then I'm reasonably certain you deserve to be here. Get him to a holding cell and make sure your reports are filed promptly."

"Yes Ma'am," one of the two Aurors said and they started dragging the man away again, protesting the entire way in a loud, reedy voice.

Parchment memos folded into paper airplanes flew over head and a half a dozen of them followed the group onto the lift as it began to descend beneath the Ministry. At nearly every floor, the lift would stop and the doors would open, letting some of the memos fly out while others came in, floating above their heads. A few times someone was waiting to get on, but with one look at the large group already filling the lift, they decided to wait for the next one and the doors would close again so they could continue.

Eventually, they finally reached the lowest level and they all filed out of the lift to find seven robed Aurors waiting for them.

"Ladies, if you'll go with Aurors Hill, Lambert, Castle, and Jones, Blaise and Neville, you're with Aurors Dawlish and Pierce." Amelia paused as they each left with the Auror assigned to them, the girls giving Harry a quick hug on their way by and Amelia turned to face him fully, pulling something red from her pocket. "Put this on, before you go into the courtroom," she told him, pressing the object into his hand and he nodded. Shacklebolt and Tonks had already left with Sirius so he stuffed the item into his pocket and turned to the auror still waiting.

"Auror Scrimgeour," he greeted the man, recognizing him from the year before. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's Head Auror, Lord Potter, but no matter," Rufus corrected, reaching out to accept the hand Harry offered in a firm shake. "You're rather a high profile young man, so I decided to assign myself to your protection during this occasion."

"Protection? Am I in danger in the Ministry?"

"I don't believe so, but it's standard operating procedure. All witnesses have an Auror keeping them where they're supposed to be, and to keep them safe. Even in the muggle courts there is such a thing as witness tampering, intimidation, and so on. With magic that can just be easier to do so we've found keeping an Auror on hand helps things run a little smoother. It doesn't fix all the problems, but it helps."

Harry nodded, his nerves ratcheting up a bit as he started following the leonine looking Auror through the halls. Reaching a simple door, Scrimgeour pulled it opened and waved Harry inside. The room beyond was simple, but not uncomfortable. It resembled a waiting room one might find in a doctor's office with several small chairs, a low table piled with magazines and back issues of the Daily Prophet for reading, but not much else. The door closed behind him and Scrimgeour stood in front of it, his hands clasped behind his back.

"It'll be a while before you're called in," he said as Harry sank into one of the chairs. "All of your friends are going to be testifying first and that'll take some time. If you need anything to drink or the loo, just ask, and you might want to see what Amelia handed you now before it gets closer," he advised and Harry nodded, absently, pulling the item from his pocket to finally take a look at it.

He wasn't sure if he was surprised or not to find his Order of Merlin medal in his hand. The deep crimson ribbon shone in the subdued lighting and glinted off of the platinum medallion itself. With a snort, he placed the ribbon over his head and adjusted it so that it hung correctly. For a moment he wondered if he should have brought the medallions awarded to him by the goblins but then decided that as a wizarding court, something from the goblins wouldn't have had nearly the impact as the Order of Merlin, so he pushed those thoughts from his mind and settled in for a nerve wracking wait.

It was more than two hours before someone knocked at the door at Scrimgeour's back. He opened the door a couple of inches, his wand in hand behind the oak panel, and exchanged a few quiet words with whoever was on the other side as Harry looked on, curiously.

A minute later the door was closed and the Head Auror turned back to Harry.

"Lord Potter, they'll be calling you in about five minutes. If you'll follow me I'll show you to where you're going to enter."

Feeling tongue tied Harry just nodded and stood to follow the man out of the room, barely noticing their surroundings until the narrow, dim corridor abruptly changed into a large open room with bright lights that nearly blinded him as he entered and he instinctively lifted one hand to shade his eyes until they adjusted.

When he could finally see clearly again he was shocked at the scene before him. The doors he'd been lead through came out into a large room, easily a hundred feet high and around the walls were several elevated tiers of seats, all of which seemed to be completely filled. Flash bulbs were going off with a strobe like effect as several photographers in the first row of seating to his right started snapping pictures madly when he stepped out into the open floor, purple, blue, green, and yellow smoke drifting up toward the ceiling from the magical cameras as a chattering murmur of voices swelled from the assembled audience.

Harry fidgeted nervously for a moment with the sleeves of his robes before a sudden calming wave of emotion swept through him and his eyes darted unerringly toward three figures in the viewing gallery directly ahead. Three levels up, Hermione, Daphne, and Susan were standing in front of their seats, holding hands, and directing their feelings toward him. He smiled, unable to stop himself, and pushed a sensation of gratitude toward them, thankful for the push he'd needed to get his feet properly under him.

With that, and a quick apologetic feeling, he brought up his Occlumency, and his features hardened, going from nervous apprehensive school boy, to the calm, in control, Lord Potter that some people were starting to recognize, and more would notice before the day was over. At a word from Scrimgeour, Harry marched his way confidently across the large room, pausing only long enough to offer Sirius a smile and a nod where he sat in the defendants chair, chains loosely wrapped around him. With his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Harry stepped up into the dark, wood paneled, witness box and took his seat.

"Testimony of Lord Harry James Potter in the matter of the Ministry vs. Sirius Black," a court scribe called out as Harry sat and he glanced curiously at the man for a moment before turning his attention back to the room at large. Directly across from him, at the top of the tiers of seats, Harry could see Dumbledore in a set of plum robes that matched those of the other members of the Wizengamot, his long hair and beard making him easily identifiable, even at a distance. One level below the Chief Warlock, Fudges lime green bowler hat clashed horribly with his own robes and next to him a shock of bright pink had Harry's eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Lord Potter."

Harry turned his head, noting with some surprise that a cloaked Unspeakable had approached him, unnoticed, as he'd studied the audience in front of him. "My name is Sable, I work directly for Director Croaker of the Department of Mysteries and I am here to explain to you how this will all work."

Harry nodded, but said nothing, keeping a tight grip on his Occlumency.

"If you'll look at the edge of railing in front of you you'll notice several runes carved into the wood, when charged, these runes-"

"Sonorous," Harry interrupted, peering curiously at the dark cuts carved into the railing. "I'm guessing so the witness doesn't have to shout to be heard. A binding rune attached to… is that a release? Hmmm... Oh I get it, the witness stands and holds the railing and their hands are stuck to it until released by a third party, I'm assuming that's for potential hostile witnesses, or maybe the defendants themselves in criminal trials? What else..."

As Harry was studying the runes, quietly muttering to himself, he didn't notice Sable subtly charge the sonorous rune until suddenly everyone in the large chamber could clearly hear him.

"Looks like a transparency rune combined with an area effect color scheme and something riding the edge of emotion and… intent? Oh… it can tell if the witness is emotional or attempting to dissemble during their testimony." He glanced up at the Unspeakable. "I'm assuming you guys didn't have these after Voldemort was defeated the first time?"

The sudden screams that rang out through the room had Harry leaping out of his seat, his heart similarly leaping in his chest, and with a flick of his wrist his wand blank shot into his hand as his eyes darted around, looking for any kind of threat. Reaching out, Sable calmly plucked the wand from his hand.

"I apologize, Lord Potter, but everything is all right. there's no danger here. While you were studying the runes I charged the sonorous so that everyone could hear you. The screams, I believe, were the result of you saying the Dark Lord's name. And you are right, these stands are a recent addition. Not quite as good as veritaserurm, and they can be fooled, if one knows how, but they're still useful."

Harry scowled at them and held his hand out for his wand, which was returned to him and with another flick of his wrist it shot back up his sleeve and into his holster. "It's a bloody stupid thing for people to be screaming about. A made up name from a mad man isn't anything to be afraid of, all that does is give him more power when people stop using their damn heads and let themselves be scared by a stupid word," he grumbled under his breath, yet everyone still heard him, clear as day.

"If we can continue?" Fudge's voice boomed out, glaring just slightly at the young Lord on the witness stand. "And Lord Potter, whatever you believe, people do still fear that name and we would ask you not to use it in these chambers, if for no other reason than so that we might keep the panic and noise to a minimum."

Harry gritted his teeth but nodded in the man's direction. "Of course, Minister," he managed to say in a calm tone that showed nothing of how much the slippery politician irritated him. Harry couldn't make out any expression, but he had the distinct impression that Sable was amused by his response.

"If Lord Potter's curiosity has been satisfied, shall we proceed?" Dumbledore ask, his eyes twinkling madly as he looked down at Harry from his seat.

"I wouldn't say satisfied, but I can hold off until another time," Harry responded, causing another wave of muttering to sweep through the audience. Some seemed amused, others insulted by his impertinence. Harry didn't really care.

Dumbledore look down at a sheet of parchment he held and quickly read aloud, "witness is Lord Harry James Potter. Interrogators in this case are Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Senior Undersecretary Madam Dolores Umbridge, and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Madam Amelia Bones. Madam Bones, you may begin."

"Thank you, Chief Warlock. Unspeakable Sable, would you please perform the checks that the witness stand is operating as it is intended to?"

"Of course, Madam Bones." The Unspeakable turned to Harry. "I believe we can assume the Sonorous rune cluster is operating as it is intended to," they muttered and a wave of chuckles swept through the viewers. "I am going to ask you a few questions, Lord Potter, please answer them as directed."

"Of course."

"What is your full name, for the record?"

Harry hesitated a moment. "Do you need just my name or titles as well?"

"Name and titles, if you please."

"I am Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Friend to the Goblin Nation and Blooded Warrior," he said, ignoring the startled gasps that arose, his eyes fixed on the cloaked figure in front of him.

"Very good, Lord Potter. Now, could you tell us your name again, however this time I would like for you to lie."

"My name is Lord Neville Longbottom, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Friend to the Goblin Nation."

A red haze appeared around Harry that flickered a few times before vanishing and he could tell that the Unspeakable seemed a touch confused.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked.

"It isn't supposed to do that. If you lied, the red haze should be solid for three seconds before disappearing."

"What if part of what I said was true?" Harry asked and the hood around the Unspeakables head tilted as the head beneath was cocked slightly to one side.

"In what manner?"

"Well, I am obviously not Lord Longbottom, but he and I are both named Friends to the Nation, so in that I was telling the truth."

"That might be. Do it again, however leave out the Friend statement, if you please."

"My name is Lord Neville Longbottom, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom."

This time the red haze appeared and hung, solid, in the air around him for a few seconds before it faded."

"Thank you, Lord Potter, that issue will have to be addressed in the future." Sable turned back to the Wizengamot. "The witness stand appears to be working precisely as intended, Madam Bones."

"Thank you, Unspeakable Sable. Lord Potter, I believe that a great deal of information has come to light in the last several months, and you started it all off, could you please explain to the court how this happened?"

"In regards to what, specifically, Madam Bones? The potential innocence of Sirius Black? The illegal incarceration of Sirius Black? Or the fact that Peter Pettigrew faked his death and framed Mister Black for the crime?"

As more mutterings burst out Amelia gave him a small smirk. "Let's start with your belief in Mister Black's innocence."

"Well, I didn't know for certain that he was innocent. There was enough missing information that I couldn't say that for sure, but there was more than enough for me to doubt his guilt. In the summer before my second year at Hogwarts, I recovered a chest, left to me by my mother Lily Potter, that was in the possession of my Aunt Petunia. In that chest I discovered a series of journals, written by my mum that covered her seven years at school, as well as several letters penned by both her and my father, James Potter. In those letters, it was said that they had asked Sirius to be my Godfather, but there was no mention on if they actually went through the Godfather Oaths."

"There is no record of a Godfather Ritual being performed, young man," Umbridge cut in, a smug expression on her broad face.

Harry arched a brow in her direction. "And?" he drawled out in a bored tone.

A flash of anger flitted across her face. "It is required that such rituals are registered with the Ministry. If no register exists, no ritual was performed."

"That is not true, Madam Umbridge, and you, once again, show your ignorance of the Ministries own laws and procedures. Nowhere is it stated that they are required to be registered. It is simply a fact that most people do. Now, back in the middle of a war, being targeted by the leader of the opposition, would you want to advertise who was the next intended person to care for your child? No, I wouldn't either. I imagine that my parents decided not to register with the Ministry in order to protect both myself and my Godfather, who was already also a target of You-Know-Who's. That is if they performed the Oaths. At the time that I came across this information that was unclear.

"So, I brought the information that I had to Madam Bones' attention, in the hopes that she might be able to look into it for me and get some answers. My entire life I have never known exactly what happened the night my parents were murdered and the official story seemed to contradict something written in my parents own hands. I wanted the truth."

"I think everyone can agree that would be enough to at least cast doubt on the official story," Amelia said. "Let's move onto the legality of Mister Black's incarceration. There was an article published in the Quibbler that stated such, can you please tell us how you came to this information?"

"Gladly, Madam Bones. The day before Halloween I noticed that Sirius Black was on the grounds at Hogwarts by use of a family heirloom that had come into my possession. I contacted you, Madam Bones, that night by owl and the next evening when you arrived with Aurors Shacklebolt and Tonks to discuss the matter he was again spotted heading toward the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

"During the discussion preceding that, it was brought up that there was some possible doubt that Black was actually guilty of the crimes he was accused of committing. The Headmaster later went to the Ministry Records Department to get a copy of the interrogation and trial of Sirius Black so I could see what he said about the night my parents were murdered by Riddle-"

"Excuse me, Lord Potter," Augusta Longbottom called, standing from her seat as Harry stopped talking and all eyes turned toward her. "Who is Riddle?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle is the birth name of the man who came to be called by the general public as You-Know-Who. Personally, I hate his stupid invented moniker, and the ridiculous, hyphenated appellations given to him by the media are just… well… ridiculous. I figure I will just use his muggle father's name to refer to him. Just makes things easier, don't you think?"

There was silence for several long moments before absolute chaos erupted throughout the courtroom. Visitors were shouting down at him, the many reporters lining the first level were shouting questions, the members of the Wizengamot were also shouting, some in doubt, others in rage.

Dumbledore was twinkling at him again while Fudge had gone pale, Umbridge looked like her red face would glow in the dark and Amelia was just smiling at him, her own eyes showing her amusement with the whole thing.

Finally, Dumbledore set off several cannon blasts from his wand, calling for silence.

"Lord Potter how do you know this to be true?" he asked.

"He told Lady Greengrass, personally, in the Chamber of Secrets during our second year."

"You-Know-Who is dead!" Fudge bellowed over the second round of yelling.

Harry chose not to argue. "Well, to be fair, it was something of a memory of Riddle that told her that. I can show you, if you like?"

"We are straying off topic," Fudge protested. "Lord Potter, I must insist that you only answer the questions asked."

Harry gave his best innocent expression as he looked up at the Minister. "But Minister, " he said, "the Dowager Longbottom did ask."

Harry glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye to find his godfather biting his bottom lip and his face slowly turning purple as he struggled not to burst out laughing.

"Be that as it may, please, let us stick to the topic at hand," Fudge growled.

Harry shrugged and turned his attention back to Amelia, waiting patiently for a question.

"You were saying that the Headmaster was requesting a copy of records?" she prompted him.

"Right. Anyway, he requested the records only to find that there were no records of either an interrogation or a trial." He looked pointedly at Madam Umbridge. "Unlike Godparent rituals, any trial that takes place in any courtroom is automatically recorded and filed without any human interaction needed. The lack of records in this case is definitive proof that no trial ever took place."

Umbridge was moving past red and into a shade of purple as she fought to hold her tongue.

"And how does this relate to the illegal incarceration of Mister Black, as you claim?"

"As stated in the Quibbler article, Ministry law only allows a suspect to be held for a maximum of thirty days without charges being filed. If no charges are filed in that time the suspect must be set free. No charges were ever filed against Sirius Black, therefore, from thirty days after his initial arrest he has been held, illegally, by the Ministry. This amounts to kidnapping, illegal detainment, and violation of the legal rights of the last living member of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. This was done by the previous administration, so please, don't think that I am blaming the current members of the DMLE or Minister Fudge for this situation. In fact, I'm pleased that the Minister has seen to it to grant this trial, both so I can get some of the answers I've wanted for nearly my entire life, and so that Mister Black has the chance to clear his name, if he is, in fact, innocent of what he was accused."

A new flurry of flashes went off from the press line and auto-quills whipped madly back and forth across parchment as more murmurs began in the audience. The interruption was brief, however, and Amelia nodded, moving onto her next point.

"As I understand it, you determined that Peter Pettigrew faked his death, how did you come to this conclusion?"

Quickly, Harry went over the points he'd brought up when he was making his argument in the Room of Requirement, including the disappearance of Ron Weasley's rat and how similar that situation looked to the day that Pettigrew supposedly died as nearly every member of the audience and those sitting on the Wizengamot hung on his every word.

When he finished, Amelia turned to address the Mot, herself.

"Next we will be discussing an event that took place on the night of February 3rd of this year. I would like to state now, that I personally witnessed Peter Pettigrew transforming from and into his rat animagus form and that I removed his left leg with a Reductor curse while he was attempting to escape. Pettigrew was then kissed by a Dementor that was part of a large swarm that was in the middle of attacking myself, the Chief Warlock, Senior Auror Shacklebolt, Auror Junior Grade Tonks, Mister Blaise Zabini, Misses Granger, Lovegood, and Bones, Lord Longbottom, Lady Greengrass, Sirius Black, and Lord Potter, on the grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She turned her attention back to Harry, ignoring the noise from the crowd that her statement had stirred up.

"Can you please recount for us the events that took place that evening, starting with why you were inside the Forbidden Forest that night, Lord Potter?"

Harry winced and nervously stroked the scar behind his jaw with one finger.

"Uh… yeah, that wasn't exactly my brightest move ever," he muttered, then mentally cursed when the viewers laughed. He'd briefly forgotten about the Sonorous cluster on the witness stand. "Well, my friends and I have been working on the Patronus Charm for some time. With the Dementors that were stationed around the school, and the fact that I tend to react fairly poorly to their presence, I felt that I needed to learn a method to defend myself from them, so our Defense Professor this year was helping us to work on it."

"That is an extremely advanced charm," Umbridge pointed out in her grating, girlish voice. "Do you expect us to believe that a third year student was able to cast it?"

"Well, that's exactly why I was out on the grounds that day. I was having some trouble with the charm and I was rather frustrated by the whole thing. We were told that the Dementors had been called back to Azkaban so I took some time to walk around, get some fresh air, and try to clear my head. While I was walking I became… distracted, I guess, both by my difficulties with the charm and with some…" his eyes darted toward where the girls were seated for a moment before he looked back toward Amelia, "personal thoughts," he finished.

"What kind of 'personal thoughts'?" Umbridge asked.

"Thoughts of a personal nature that have no bearing on this trial, Madam Umbridge," Harry growled, angrily.

"Please, continue, Lord Potter," Amelia cut in before Umbridge could respond.

"Anyway, I was so distracted as I was walking, that I honestly didn't notice myself heading into the forest. I wasn't paying any attention at all to my surroundings and just kind of let my feet carry me while my mind was a million miles away. Eventually, I tripped headlong over a tree root and that's when I realized where I was and that I had no idea where the castle was. Lacking much else in the way of options, I started walking, and eventually I came across Miss Lovegood in the process of feeding some of the thestrals that Hagrid, the Grounds Keeper, takes care of. Apparently she helps feed them rather frequently and offered to help me get back to the school, since she knew where we were and, more importantly, how to get back.

"Just as we were starting back to the school, we were stopped by Peter Pettigrew."

"How did you know who he was?" Amelia asked.

"Christmas, my first year at school, Hagrid sent me a gift, a photo album filled with pictures taken during my parents school years at Hogwarts. Since James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew were the best of friends through school, you can imagine there were numerous pictures that included him. He was different after so many years, yes, but he was still easily recognizable. He threatened Luna and I and at one point I tried to attack him but he hit me with a banishing charm. I was lying on the ground and just before he could curse me a huge black dog came running up and slammed into Pettigrew."

"A dog?"

"Sirius Black in his Animagus form. The two of them fought for a little while and eventually, between, Luna, Sirius, and myself, we managed to stun him and started floating him back up to the school." He went on to explain the rest of the event, carefully editing certain, more personal, bits of information, such as Hermione kissing him, and the feelings the girls sent to him through their bond, but he was careful not to say anything that was untrue. When he got to the point of casting his patronus the toad cut in again.

"You have already admitted that you were unable to do the Patronus Charm, little boy," she simpered, glaring furiously at him. "I do not think lying now is in your best interests."

Harry glared at her for a moment. "I think Luna was right the last time we met, Madame Umbridge. You really must be stupid, or otherwise mentally deficient." He ignored the tittering laughter that spread through the crowd, and Umbridge's furious spluttering. "I am sitting in a witness stand that informs when the witness, in this case me, tells a lie. You're a beautiful woman," he added the last and the air around him turned red again, once more spreading laughter through the crowd. "I cast a Patronus Charm on the night in question that fought off and dispersed, perhaps, a hundred Dementors." The air cleared as the red haze vanished and his green eyes gleamed brightly as he stared the toad down.

"Could you show us your Patronus?" someone called from the Wizengamot seating and Harry hesitated. He couldn't cast the charm through his blank, if he tried the thing would burn to a crisp, but he couldn't show off his wandless ability either…

Harry looked toward the girls as an idea occurred to him that might work, silently asking their consent. All three regarded him for a moment before nodding in perfect unison.

"If the court will allow, I think I can," he said. "I wouldn't want to draw my wand again in this crowd without permission to do so."

"You have permission, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "I can say that I witnessed the Patronus in question with my own eyes, but if it allays suspicions let us be on with it."

He flicked his wrist, catching the wand blank as it shot into his hand and held it loosely for a moment, adjusting his grip as he stood and closed his eyes as he lowered his Occlumency shields. The moment he did, the same feelings rushed across the bond from the girls, even more powerful than before, but he was better able to filter and categorize the different qualities in the emotions.

He could feel the difference between the love Hermione had for her parents and the love Daphne felt for her mother or her little sister, Astoria. He could feel the love Susan had for her Aunt. And above all of those, the most overpowering sensation of the care and love they felt for him and for each other and, unbeknownst to him, tears began rolling down his cheeks from his closed eyes.

A stillness settled over the room as his robes fluttered slightly and his hair shifted in an impossible breeze for a moment before his eyes slowly opened, glowing brightly, a soft smile turning up his lips. The air around him felt heavy and those nearest to where he stood could feel the weight of his magic pressing down on them like a physical force. His arm came up as he angled his body, just slightly, so that he wasn't pointing his wand blank directly at the seated Wizengamot members and quietly intoned, "Expecto Patronum."

The silver light that burst forth was nowhere near as bright as it had been that night on the grounds and the three figures, while solid, seemed just a little less so than before. Their feet landed on the stone floor in utter silence and they split apart, moving to different parts of the room, heads swinging from side to side in search of an enemy and between them stretched the golden chain, more a misty line in the air, that connected their three hearts together.

After ten seconds they returned to stand in front of Harry and he dropped his arm, smiled and thanked them again before they slowly faded from existence.

The silence stretched on while Harry wiped away the tears he'd suddenly noticed and then he cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Satisfied?" he asked.

"That was not a patronus," Umbridge tried to argue. "The Patronus guardian is always an animal, never a person, much less three at once. I don't know what you did, boy but-"

"I am Lord Harry James Potter, Madam Umbridge!" Harry suddenly bellowed, startling more than half the room as his already amplified voice abruptly boomed out across the vast space. "Not a little boy! You have already been warned once to be careful of how you speak, and you choose to ignore my warnings. As the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House I have the right to challenge you for slights against myself or my House. I don't want to, but I can and I will if you continue to behave in this manner."

"Why you insolent little-"

"Dolores Umbridge shut up!" Fudge suddenly roared, rounding on the startled woman, his face flushing angrily as he crushed his bowler hat in his hands without noticing. "We all heard the incantation, yes, the Patronus guardian hasn't been noted before as a human figure but that does not mean that it is impossible. Other than that gold chain between them and the number that is a textbook perfect Patronus that any Auror would be proud to be able to cast. Be silent or I will have you removed from these chambers."

Harry blinked, his mouth dropping open in astonishment, and before he could stop himself he muttered, "way to go, Fudge," in open astonishment. He flushed brilliantly when the viewers burst into laughter and cursed inside his head, glaring at the Sonorous rune cluster that glowed dimly, as if mocking him, somehow.

"Thank you, Lord Potter, though I think it might be best if we keep to formality, given our current setting."

Harry bowed slightly, well aware this was his mistake. "Of course, Minister, I apologize I was… surprised."

Calmer, Fudge simply waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "Think nothing of it, Lord Potter. Please, Madame Bones if we could continue?"

"Right. Lord Potter, so you cast your patronus, and then what happened?"

"Well, honestly I don't know. That's about when I blacked out and I only actually woke up yesterday morning. Madam Pomfrey just released me from the hospital wing this morning, luckily in time for me to attend this trial. But that's all the information I presently have."

"All right. Can you think of anything else to offer, any other information in regards to Sirius Black's actions over the last few months?"

Harry thought about that for a few seconds before he visibly brightened. "Oh, yes, there was one other event that I can think of. On the 2nd of October, my friend Lord Longbottom, discovered Black during the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. He, Black, I mean, was in his Animagus form, so Neville had no idea that he wasn't just a stray dog. A friendly, if very intelligent, stray dog. During the next weeks Care of Magical Creatures lesson, we were studying Hippogriffs, and Draco Malfoy got himself nearly mauled by one of them. I used a summoning charm on his robes to pull him out of the way and he immediately accused me of attacking him. We exchanged a few words and then I did something rather stupid. I turned my back on him. I heard him cast an Incendio, and I turned just in time to catch the spell on my right arm instead of getting hit in the face with it.

"The reason I bring this up is that, during the lesson, Black was sitting on the steps to Hagrid's hut in his canine form, perfectly calmly, he even appeared amused. He'd not moved during the entire class. But when Mister Malfoy attacked me, it was less than three seconds before Black was biting his wand arm in an apparent attempt to defend me."

A smattering of conversation moved through the Wizengamot and Amelia nodded, offering him a small smile.

"Thank you, Lord Potter. You may retire to the witness gallery at this time. Head Auror Scrimgeour will escort you."

Harry stepped down from the witness stand and followed the Head Auror up to sit in between Hermione and Susan. Both girls immediately grabbed one of his hands and gave it a comforting squeeze, smiling broadly even as he felt another hand from Susan's side of him grasp his shoulder. Turning his head he was able to make out Daphne's arm stretched across Susan's shoulders so she could reach him.

"You were fantastic, Harry," Hermione muttered.

"Yeah, though I think you've made a new enemy with Umbridge. She was glaring daggers at you the whole time you were walking up here."

"Yeah, probably not my best move ever, but she annoyed me. Something about her really creeps me out, too."

Someone behind them shushed them and they fell silent, watching the rest of the proceedings.

"Sirius Black," Dumbledore called, rising to his feet as he addressed the restrained wizard. "You have given testimony under the effects of Veritaserum as to the events that took place on the night of October 31st, 1981, as well as November 3rd, 1981. With corroborating testimony into more recent events I believe that there is more than enough material for us to call for a vote."

He drew his wand from his sleeve and lifted it into the air.

"Members of the Wizengamot, for a vote of innocent, light the tip of your wand with a green light. For a guilty vote, light your wand with a red light. To abstain, simply do not light your wand any color. Cast your vote now."

In less than five seconds it was overwhelmingly clear that the vote was in favor of innocent, and Harry had to stop himself from leaping from his seat in his excitement.

"With a vote of 42 for innocent, 3 for guilty and 5 abstentions, this body votes that Sirius Black has been found innocent of all charges brought against him."

Dumbledore had to pause as the cheering from the audience would have drowned out any attempt for him to speak. He let it go on for some time, smiling softly all the while.

"Furthermore," he said, once he could make himself heard. "The charge of being an unregistered animagus is considered time served, and the fine will be waived if you make sure to register with the proper department within the next week. From here, you will be escorted to St. Mungo's Hospital for a medical evaluation, your time in Azkaban has likely had a deleterious effect on your health and your medical costs will be covered by the Ministry. Last, but not least, for every year that you were unjustly and illegally incarcerated due to the actions of the previous Minister of Magic, you are going to be awarded 100,000 galleons for a total of 1,200,000 galleons. These funds will be deposited directly into your Gringotts account and you have the sincere apologies of this body for everything that you have suffered."

#####

Harry had assumed that the trial would take up the lion's share of their time away from school. He had assumed wrong. After the verdict was handed down, he and his friends had been practically swarmed by reporters. They'd gotten who knew how many photos when he'd run up and thrown his arms around his Godfather, nearly knocking the man to the ground.

Then the questions started. Of course, more than one asked about what he'd said regarding Voldemort having a muggle father and Daphne had been forced to recount the story of her conversation with the shade of Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. While she'd been doing that, Harry had written the words, TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE in the air using his wand blank and then set them shifting back and forth every ten seconds between the name and the phrase I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

There had been more than a few pictures taken of that, as well, and he could only imagine it would appear in more than one newspaper the next day.

Eventually, they managed to get through the crowd of reporters when they were surrounded by a wall of Aurors, each of them yelling for the crowd to back up as they were led through the Ministry, to the lifts, and back up to Amelia's office, where Harry and Sirius both collapsed into a pair of chairs near the door, more than ready for the day to be over.

After another hour spent in discussion, Sirius bid his goodbyes and was sent off to the hospital with an Auror guard to help keep the press at bay while Harry and the rest of them returned to the school.

"Well, it has been quite a day, and I do believe that dinner will be served in the not too distant future. Have a pleasant evening, all of you."

He was smiling broadly, as he spoke, but it was a clear dismissal, so the rest of them made their way out of the office and down the spiral stairs. Luna hugged them all, even Blaise, who seemed more than a little surprised by the attack on his person and she skipped away, humming quietly to herself as the rest of them just stared after her in their usual bemusement.

"Well, I'm heading for dinner. I can't tell the rest of you how hungry I am. It's been a hell of a day," Blaise muttered and Neville fell into step with him, waving to the four bonded as he struck up a conversation with their Slytherin friend.

Harry found himself struck with a case of nerves again, realizing he was standing alone with his girls and he turned to find them looking expectantly at him so he cleared his throat, nervously, and stroked the scar behind his jaw without thinking.

"Ummm… could you… could the three of you meet me in the Room?" he asked. "I just… I have something I need to take care of, really quick, and I'll be right there."

"Okay, Harry. We'll see about getting something sent up for us to eat instead of having to go down to the Great Hall for dinner, how's that?"

"Thank you, Hermione. That would be perfect," he agreed and with a quick hug and a kiss from each girl, they separated and started toward the Room of Requirement, leaving Harry standing in the hall with his heart beating wildly in his chest and suddenly clammy hands that he couldn't make sit still for the life of him.

"Oh, Merlin, what the hell am I doing?" he muttered and started walking quickly, just shy of running, through the castle toward the Defense office.

Reaching the door, he knocked, almost frantically, until it was pulled open by a clearly amused Remus Lupin.

"Bee in your bonnet, Mister Potter?" he asked in an all too innocent tone of voice and Harry's glowing eyes narrowed at him.

"Please, Moony. Please don't tease me. This is really, really not the time to tease me."

"Padfoot would disagree, but I'm not nearly that mean, Harry. So, you need them?" he asked and Harry nodded rapidly. Reaching into his pocket, Remus pulled out a small box and handed it over. "It's shrunk down," he explained at the look on Harry's face. "A simple Finite will return it to normal size and I'm fairly sure you know how to take it from there."

Harry fingered the box in his hand, turning it slowly over and over.

"Is this the right thing to do?" he asked. "I mean… I don't know what I'm doing here, Moony, really I don't."

"Harry." Remus reached out and grasped him by both shoulders, warm brown eyes meeting glowing emerald green. "Take a breath, and stop panicking. Those girls feel something for you. Whether they're right, and it's love or not doesn't really matter. At the very minimum they care about you a great deal. You've all been through a lot together, and experienced a lot together. Unless you're a horrid arse-hat to them, I'm fairly certain you won't do anything to upset them, not anything intentional and that couldn't be fixed.

"Just be honest and clear with them and I'm pretty sure everything will work out in the end, okay?"

Harry took several deep breaths, listening carefully to his parents old friend, and nodded along as the man spoke. "Okay. Yeah, okay I can do that. Honest and clear, I can do that."

"Good man. Now get out of here. I need to head down to the Great Hall if I want to get anything to eat tonight."

With a final, encouraging pat on his shoulder, Remus closed the door to his office and walked away, hands in his pockets and whistling quietly to himself as he went, leaving Harry standing alone outside the office door, box clutched firmly in his hands.

Turning, Harry quickly made his way up to the Room, his legs practically shaking as he walked but he forced his feet forward until he stood outside an ornate wooden door with a brass handle that gleamed in the torchlight. Taking one last breath, he stuffed the box into his pocket, reached out, and turned the handle.

Inside, the Room had been configured into a comfortable dining room with a table just big enough for the four of them and a simple, quiet atmosphere that did a great deal to calm his nerves. The girls were already seated, eating lightly and discussing the trial as he entered and they each flashed him a smile but didn't stop eating or talking as he entered. They had each removed their robes, leaving them in casual skirts and long sleeved blouses, their feet bare on the plush carpet beneath them.

Immediately, Harry removed his Order of Merlin and stuffed it in his other pocket as he quickly shrugged off his heavy House Robes and hung them from a coat rack standing near the door. He pulled out his chair and sat, resting his elbows on the table for a moment before he came to a decision and unbuttoned the cuffs of his black dress shirt and started rolling back his sleeves to his elbows.

It wasn't until he'd finished that he noticed the girls had gone silent and he looked up to see them smiling broadly at him as he rested his bare forearms on the table in front of him. Reaching over, Hermione grasped his hand tightly for a moment before they returned to their meal and Harry served himself some of the mouth watering shepherds pie, digging in as the girls talked. When he had something to contribute to the meandering discussion, he did so. When he didn't, he simply ate in silence and watched as the girls interacted.

Susan and Daphne were openly more affectionate with each other than Hermione was with them. Frequent brushes of a hand across arm or shoulder occured and more than once Susan reached out to brush a few strands of Daphne's hair aside, tucking it gently behind her ear. The same could be said for Hermione, but she was noticeably less frequent in her affections, though when she did, each action seemed to radiate a sense of care and love that struck him deeply.

He wanted to be a part of that. To have what they had and feel what they so obviously felt.

Can I, though? He wondered as they rapidly neared the end of their meal and dessert appeared on the table.

"Harry?"

He looked up at the sound of Susan's voice to find the three of them looking, almost expectantly at him. Blinking in surprise, he noted that, sometime during his musings, dessert had disappeared, leaving the table clear and they were waiting to learn why it was he'd asked to speak to them.

"Oh, sorry… my mind kind of wandered off with me there," he muttered, fighting back an embarrassed flush.

"That's fine," Hermione said, smiling gently. "Now that you're back with us, though, what was it you wanted to discuss?"

"I… I needed to talk to you," he stuttered. "Ummm… can we… let's get up, for a moment."

Exchanging a look, the girls stood and at Harry's need, the Room shifted around them, their cozy dining room disappearing only to be replaced with the miniature version of their Common Room in Gryffindor Tower. "Please," he said, gesturing to the recreation of their sofa, "ummm… have a seat."

The girls sat as Harry moved over to his robes and pulled the box from his pocket. Moving back to stand in front of the fire he pulled the low table aside, leaving a clear space between the sofa and the fireplace and set the box on the table before he straightened and turned his attention back to the three curious gazes that followed his every motion.

Nervously, one finger stroked the scar behind his jaw and he started pacing in front of the fire.

"I need… I need you three to understand. I…" He blew out a loud sigh and stopped, his head tilting back to look up at the ceiling for a moment before he turned fully to face them, his arms crossed over his chest, the scars on his forearm gleaming slightly in the light of the fire until he moved to stand with his back towards it.

"Hermione, you said you loved me." He said, a statement rather than a question, but she still nodded.

"Yes, Harry, I do. It's taken me a while to understand it, but I know it, now."

He nodded, frowning slightly and turned his attention to Susan.

"She said that you loved me, too."

"I do, Harry. I've known since you… since you died back in first year. I was so scared when they told us that, it just hit me. It took me a little while longer to understand what it was I felt, but once I finally did it was all just so clear that I was amazed I didn't see it sooner."

He turned to Daphne, one brow raised questioningly, but he said nothing and she nodded, her icy blue eyes locked firmly on his.

"I love you, too," she whispered. "It's… it's not quite the same for me, there are… different obstacles for me to overcome, but I do love you. It's been growing for some time now, the closer we've gotten and the more our bond has grown the greater my feelings for all of you have grown."

"So you all think you love me just because of the bond?"

"No," Hermione disagreed, shaking her head sharply. "No, Harry. that's what I worried about for months, now. I fought against it. I doubted myself and what I felt and it took me a while to realize that the bond may have allowed us to fall in love with you, and each other, but it didn't make us do it."

His frown deepened and he uncrossed his arms, stuffing his hands roughly into the pockets of his slacks. Dressed all in black from his dragon hide boots to his slacks and his shirt with the top two buttons undone they could just see a couple of the scars on his chest and those across his forearms. In a single word, he looked dangerous. A dark warrior, a fighter. And he looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You all know there's a prophecy involving me and Voldemort," he pointed out. "Dumbledore still hasn't told us the wording, but we can guess what it probably says. In the end, it's most likely going to come down to me and him. One of us is going to have to die."

Tears brimming in their eyes, they nodded.

"And I've already killed," he continued. "A troll, Quirrel, the basilisk. You really think you can love someone like that?"

Hermione reached out and grasped the nearest hand of the girls on either side of her, squeezing tightly even as they squeezed back.

"We can, Harry," she choked out. "Killing is a terrible thing, but sometimes you don't have any choice. You're a good person, we know that. We're not ever afraid of you. You've got some heavy burdens, and all we want is to help you carry them."

He fell silent again, glowing green eyes studying each of them carefully as they pushed their feelings across the bond toward him, attempting without words to show him just what he meant to them.

Turning, he walked slowly over to the table and waved his right hand over the box. Silently it expanded to easily four times its previous size and he lifted the lid, pulling three, smaller boxes out of it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was indisposed and I missed Valentine's Day this year. Since Pomfrey had me trapped in the Hospital Wing yesterday, I got Sirius to talk to Remus and got a little help picking up some gifts I'd arranged but hadn't been able to finish up."

"You don't need to get us anything, Harry."

He turned his head, looking at them out of the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe not. But I wanted to, and it's kind of important right now, to me." He reached into the box and pulled out three cloth wrapped bundles, handing one to each girl.

Silence reigned as they carefully unwrapped the cloth to unveil two perfectly crafted crystal roses, one white and one red, their green stems intimately entwined with each other.

"A red and a white rose symbolizes unity, remember?" he asked, referring to the roses he'd sent them the previous year and the girls nodded, not even bothering to wipe away the few tears that fell. "For us, for the four of us, I think that means more now than it ever has. This bond… we're a team, the four of us. You three… you pooled your power, somehow, to summon that dome. And my patronus… obviously you're so much a part of me that you protect me even from the deepest darkness. I can't properly tell you how grateful I am to you for that."

He pulled three more, smaller boxes from the one on the table and pushed it aside, setting them down next to each other before he picked up one of them and looked inside.

"I don't understand love," he said, looking up at them again. "I don't," he insisted, cutting them off as they made to protest. "I've never felt love before the other night. No one's ever shown me anything like it. Susan, first year, after the sorting when we talked by the fire and you hugged me? That was the first time I can ever remember anyone hugging me. Ever. My Aunt and my Uncle… they didn't just beat me. They didn't just whip me, cut me, and burn me. They made sure to tell me how horrible I was. How I was a freak that nobody wanted. They didn't want me. They didn't love me. And no one else would, either.

"I get it. In here," he tapped his temple. "I understand that they were lying to me. I understand that it's possible for someone to care for me and t-to actually love me. But, understanding and believing are two entirely different things."

He took a deep breath and moved back in front of the fire.

"Since I don't want to seem like I'm playing favorites, or something. I think I'm just going to do this in the order that we met, for right now, if that's okay?"

Wordlessly they nodded, waiting, breathless, for whatever was in those boxes.

"Hermione, can you come here, please?" he asked, his voice quavering slightly and she nodded again, handing her crystal roses to Susan to hold for her as she stood and moved over in front of him.

"I don't know how Remus got these away from you guys, but I'm glad he did," Harry said, his lips quirking up into a small grin as he pulled Hermione's charm bracelet from inside the box and tossed the empty carton onto the table. It was the first gift he'd ever given to them. A bracelet of braided white gold with a single charm dangling from it.

For Hermione, that first charm had been a tiny book. For Christmas, and their birthdays, he'd added a charm to each one, even going back to buy them one for the first birthdays that they'd missed in their first year. Now Hermione had the book, a small cauldron, a cat, an otter, a tiny slice of pumpkin pie, her favorite dessert, and a witch's hat.

She lifted her arm and he carefully clasped the bracelet around her wrist, but when she went to lower it he caught her hand and held it, rubbing his thumb across the scars on her palm that he couldn't see beneath her ever present glamour. He held up his free hand, his fingers curled into a loose fist, and slowly opened his hand, showing a new charm lying in the center of his palm.

It was a heart. A heart framed in white gold and cut from a ruby. The deep red of the stone shone in the light of the fire and she couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise at the simple elegance and beauty of it.

"I don't know love," he repeated himself. "But I'm willing to try to learn. I honestly don't know what's going on here, how you three think this is supposed to work or what you want… but I'm willing to try. I wish I could promise more. I wish I could say more. But right now, I just don't know, for sure. This," he held up the ruby heart. "This is my promise to try. To try to learn, to try to understand whatever it is you three think you can teach me. If that's enough for you, for now, just say it. If it's not, I won't be upset, because I'll still always be here for all three of you. That will never change as long as I'm still alive."

Words failed Hermione Granger entirely and all she could do was nod, smiling tremulously at him and he grinned in response as he carefully attached the charm to her wrist. Once it was on, he kept hold of her hand, still, and reached up to tuck a lock of curly brown hair behind her left ear. His fingers tangled in her curls, he pulled her closer and gently pressed his lips to hers. Her muscles seemed to melt, her body sagging against him and he steadied her, dropping her hand to wrap that arm around her waist for the few seconds the kiss lasted.

When he pulled back, the light in his eyes gleamed brightly and he could have sworn an answering glow burned somewhere in the depths of her cinnamon irises.

"Thank you," she whispered. "We understood that you're not quite ready, not where we are, really. We were trying not to push you, but, at the same time, we wanted you to know how we felt. I didn't want to throw that at you the other night, I know you've been confused but-"

He cut her off, quickly pressing another kiss against her lips and then grinned at her when he pulled back.

"Well… I think I might have found a new way to get your attention when you start rambling," he muttered and she mock scowled at him, an effect that was completely ruined by the bright smile she couldn't suppress even if she'd wanted to. Quickly, she pulled him into a tight hug for a moment before she pulled away and moved back to the sofa, collecting her roses, along with Susan's, so the redhead could stand and move over to Harry.

Her bracelet had the broomstick from their first Christmas together along with an owl, a skull, a wand, and a rune meaning loyalty. Wordlessly, she held out her right hand and he wrapped it around her wrist, carefully locking the clasp before he held up the ruby heart that went with hers.

"Absolutely," she said, before he could say anything and he chuckled quietly.

"I promise I'll try, Susan," he told her as he attached the heart with the rest of her charms. "It's the most I can do but I mean it as sincerely as I possibly can."

"Just kiss me, already," she muttered and pulled him forward to meet her.

When they broke apart, Harry looked just the slightest bit dazed and took a few seconds to gather himself before he hugged her. She returned to her seat next to Hermione with a broad grin on her face and a slight bounce in her step that had Daphne and Hermione both laughing.

"Daphne?"

The blond handed her roses to Hermione and stood, moving over to stand in front of Harry, looking up into his glowing gaze, so much like the night she first kissed him.

"I had a question for you, first," he said and she nodded for him to continue. "When you kissed me on New Year's Eve, you said that you were afraid you wouldn't like it, and afraid that you would. What did you mean?"

Daphne sighed. She'd hoped to have avoided that question and had already repeatedly kicked herself for letting that slip, but her nerves had gotten away from her. She couldn't not tell him now, or worse, lie. So she took a breath and told the truth.

"I've always considered myself a lesbian, or a witch's witch, for the wizarding world term," she said in as calm a voice as she could and Harry immediately looked confused.

"I don't understand."

"Our bond has let us get so close that I fell in love with you. But I was confused. I didn't think I was interested in men, but I was in love with you. I decided I needed to kiss you, to see what I thought of it, how I felt about it."

"And? How did you feel about it?"

"I enjoyed it, a lot," she whispered, her cheeks glowing red. "Far more than I expected to. I may not find other males attractive, but I do find you attractive. This is something Hermione and I have both considered over the last few months, in our own ways. She wasn't much interested in girls, but she fell in love with us, anyway. We both had to come to our own conclusions on what we felt and what we wanted and we both decided we wanted us."

"You're sure?" he asked and she nodded emphatically.

"Absolutely, Harry. I've never been more sure of anything."

He studied her for a moment longer before he nodded and lifted her right hand to attach the bracelet to her wrist then the heart went on and he pulled her close to him.

She'd already heard what he said to Hermione and to Susan, and she didn't want to wait for him to repeat the same thing. Just as he started to open his mouth to speak, her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled him down, hungrily bringing his mouth to hers. She was determined to wipe away any doubts he might have had, any worries that she might not actually want him as she claimed.

Hermione and Susan later informed her that they were reasonably certain she managed to wipe away any coherent thought he might have been capable of as her tongue gently traced his mouth before she'd pulled, breathlessly, away.

After Daphne returned to her seat, and Harry had managed to re-engage his brain enough to pull his usual chair over to sit with them, they talked for a while longer. Nothing else deep or emotional. Just simple, light conversation. Something they were quite good at.

When they returned to the Common Room, just before curfew, Harry stopped the girls at the base of the stairs.

"So… what happens now?" he asked and they exchanged another look before turning back to him.

"Sirius is free," Hermione said.

"The Dementors are gone," offered Susan.

"You kept your promise and saved me from my father," said Daphne. "And Pettigrew has paid for his crimes."

Leaning forward, Hermione pressed a light peck of a kiss against his lips.

"Now, we have nothing to concern ourselves with but school, homework, our friends, and each other."

"Looks like we finally got it, Harry," Susan said as Hermione moved back so the redhead could lean in to kiss him goodnight.

Daphne moved in and pulled him down toward her and, just before their lips met, she murmured, "we're going to have a quiet rest of the school year."

So Ends Part Three of

Soul Scars: The Greengrass Problem

Next:

Part Four

Soul Scars:

Allegria