Author's Note:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the parts of chapter twelve from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (though I did tweak it a bit to fit my storyline) it does belong to the amazing JKR. I just had to put in the part with the phoenix because I absolutely love it.

Reviews and Comments: To teachergirl: I'm sorry you feel reading this story is a complete waste of your time. Stop reading it then. To Guest: Thank you! I think Sirius and Zee are quite perfect for each other myself. Yes, Hufflepuff witches think Harry is cute lol. Thank you.

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT:

The One Where Harry is Homesick

Harry stepped into Dumbledore's office.

"Professor Dumbledore will be with you in a moment, Harry."

"Auntie Minnie, I would never hurt anyone! It's not me."

She reached out and cupped his cheek. "I know that you would never hurt anyone, Harry. Professor Dumbledore just wants to talk to you. Wait here, all right?"

He nodded and he watched her go, but his stomach clenched uncomfortably as looked around the office, trying not to stop himself from repeatedly worrying about how he was about to be expelled.

His eyes fell on the school Sorting Hat and he found himself moving towards it. Maybe the hat had been wrong. Maybe he had been put into the wrong house. The thought made him almost ill as he touched the hat, plopping it onto his head before he could think about it.

"Bee in your bonnet, Harry Potter?" A voice whispered in his ear.

"Sorry to bother you," Harry murmured. "I've just been wondering…"

When the hat only responded that it stood by what it had said before, Harry's stomach plummeted and he pulled the hat off of his head. He didn't belong in Slytherin; he couldn't, he insisted.

The hat was wrong.

The squawking noise made him jump in alarm and he turned to see the ugliest bird that he had ever seen perched in a cage next to Dumbledore's desk. It looked ill and was making gagging noises, Harry thought that it looked rather close to death and thought it would just be his luck if Dumbledore's bird chose this exact moment to die when the bird suddenly burst into flames. The flaming fireball burst and the ashes tumbled to the bottom of the cage just as the office door opened and Dumbledore strolled in.

"Professor!" Harry gasped, his eyes desperate and in shock. "Your bird — I couldn't do anything — he just caught fire!"

To Harry's astonishment, Dumbledore smiled. "About time, too," he said. "He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on." He chuckled at the stunned look on Harry's face. "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him…"

Harry looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes. It was quite as ugly as the old one. A phoenix, he thought, relief coursing through him. That made sense. He should have known better but given how his day was going…

"It's a shame that you had to see him on a Burning Day," Dumbledore continued, seating himself behind his desk. "He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, Harry had forgotten what he was there for, but it all came back to him as Dumbledore settled himself in the high chair behind the desk and fixed Harry with his penetrating, light blue stare.

Before Dumbledore could speak another word, however, the door of the office flew open with an almighty bang and Hagrid burst in, a wild look in his eyes, his balaclava perched on top of his shaggy black head and the dead rooster still swinging from his hand.

"It wasn' 'Arry, Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid said, urgently.

" — Hagrid —"

" — I was talkin' ter him seconds before tha' kid was found, he never 'ad time, Sir!"

Dumbledore tried to say something again, but Hagrid went ranting on, waving the rooster around in his agitation, sending feathers everywhere.

" — I know 'Arry never —"

" — Hagrid!" Dumbledore said loudly. "I do not think that Harry attacked those people."

"Oh," Hagrid said simply, the rooster falling limply at his side. "Right. I'll wait outside then, 'Eadmaster." And he stomped out looking embarrassed.

"You don't think it was me, Professor?" Harry repeated hopefully as Dumbledore brushed rooster feathers off his desk.

"No, Harry, I don't," Dumbledore said, though his face was somber again. "But I still want to talk to you."

Harry waited nervously while Dumbledore considered him, the tips of his long fingers together.

"I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything that you'd like to tell me," he said gently. "Anything at all."

Harry didn't know what to say.

The last time that he had spoken to Dumbledore had been with Mrs Norris and before that the Headmaster had said he would be expelled if he broke anymore school rules. He thought about the potion that they still needed to get ingredients for, thought about how everyone thought he was the one attacking the students, about how he had the ability to talk to snakes and he had never known it. What could he tell him?

"No, Sir. There's nothing."

Dumbledore only nodded. "All right, Harry. You may go."

But as Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower he wondered why Dumbledore had even wanted to see him in the first place if he had already known that Harry hadn't hurt anyone.

Did he know that Harry was keeping secrets? The thought made him feel a bit uneasy.

His stomach jolted when he turned a corner and saw Draco Malfoy strutting his way, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott with him.

Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "No cronies today?"

Blaise snickered. "They do seem rather minion-like, don't they? Of course, can't string two intelligent words between them."

"Not true," Theo said. "That's mostly Crabbe."

Draco ignored his friends. "Another Muggleborn down… getting scared?"

"Why should I be scared? I'm not Muggleborn. I see you've learned some manners though, about time."

"Why because I didn't say Mudbloods?" Draco sneered.

Harry simply shrugged. "We all bleed red." He looked at Blaise and Theodore with interest. "Don't you agree?"

"Theo doesn't like that kind of language, do you, Theo?" Blaise asked his friend and watched as Theo nodded.

"No, I don't. That's a smart sentiment, Potter, we do all bleed red."

"My godfather told me those words. And besides, it's not just Muggleborns being attacked, is it? Nearly Headless Nick was petrified! Whatever this thing is, it attacked a ghost."

Blaise paled a bit at that. "That is strange. What can attack a ghost? They're already dead."

Draco crossed his arms in front of him. "You still owe me a favour, Potter."

"Yes, I do, and if you ever decide to collect on it, let me know. I don't have time for your meaningless taunts. I'm late for Transfiguration."

He turned and hurried off, ignoring the three Slytherins, but he couldn't help but think about what they had told him. Muggleborns not Mudbloods, ghosts being attacked, and Blaise and Theo actually seemed, well — nice.

But they were still Slytherins and he was pretty sure that meant that they were up to something, he just didn't know what.

~ ASC ~

The next few days went by slow for Harry. He had almost called Sirius half a dozen times just to talk, but he didn't know what he wanted to say or how to tell him what he was feeling. But for the first time in years, Harry wanted to just be wrapped up in his father's arms and told that everything would be okay like a small child and he found himself trying his hardest not to cry in frustration.

The whole school seemed to be against him.

People who had always been nice to him were now whispering behind his back and most of them weren't even making an effort to hide it from him. The evil glares, the rude remarks… everyone thought that he was guilty and it goaded at him. What had he done to these students to make them think that he was truly guilty of this heinous crime?

Lockhart was no help. He kept pulling Harry aside and telling him fame was a fickle thing and that sometimes being famous meant making sacrifices; that he was in the limelight now so people were looking to him for answers. He even had the gaul to tell Harry that he needed to stop turning up at the scenes of the crime or people would really start to think he did it. When Harry had tried to explain it wasn't his fault that he kept finding the bodies, Lockhart had ignored him and only given him more cliches on being a celebrity.

It was getting so bad that Harry started getting up early to eat breakfast before the other students just so that he didn't have to feel them staring at him. On his third morning of doing this however, he overheard the Fat Friar tell Peeves that he was only making himself look more suspicious by trying to avoid the other students altogether.

For the first time since he had come to Hogwarts, Harry wanted to leave.

He found himself counting down the days until the Christmas holidays. He wanted nothing more than to be at home with Sirius and Remus and just to not feel like he was being judged by everyone around him.

He knew that it was getting bad when his nightmares returned.

Harry couldn't remember the last time that he had truly had a bad dream about his life before Sirius. But he woke up three nights in a row, drenched in icy sweat with the roar of Uncle Vernon's voice in his ears telling him what a freak he was.

The third night, Neville pulled back his bed curtains and slid into his bed.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, leaning back against the poster at the end of the bed.

Harry shrugged in response. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Neville only smiled at him. "I was already awake so when I heard you tossing and turning, I thought I'd come over." When Harry didn't respond, Neville only nodded at him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

Neville shrugged. "Whatever you want. Your dream. About the chamber. About how everyone is blaming you."

"What do you want me to say, Nev?"

"It can't be easy is all, the whole school thinking it's you."

"That's the understatement of the century."

"Oi!" Seamus said, opening Harry's bed curtains. "Some of us need beauty sleep, mate."

Harry smirked at him. "You better sleep for a decade then."

Seamus snorted at him, moving to sit next to Neville. "You aren't in here plotting your next victim, are you? 'Cause if we get to choose, I think that annoying little twat Ernie could use a good scare."

Harry snorted. "You caught me. I'm telling Neville all of my evil plans."

Dean yawned as he slipped past the curtains and sat next to Harry. "Can you all stop talking so loud?"

Ron moved in behind Dean, lying down across the middle of the bed. "Are we having a secret meeting?"

Harry grinned at them. "I didn't mean to wake you all up. I just had a bad dream is all."

Ron nodded, grinning at his friend. "I thought Seamus said you were plotting to set the monster after Ernie?"

Seamus snorted. "Or maybe that Cornfoot bloke, he's always staring at me and it's starting to creep me out."

Dean grinned. "Couldn't be because he caught you wanking off in the loo the other day, could it?"

Seamus blushed. "Maybe." At Harry's raised eyebrow, he sighed. "Look, it just happened the other day after lunch, I thought I was alone, but then Stephen came in and I forgot to close the stall door all the way and well, we made eye contact as I… you know, and well it was rather awkward."

"I'll say," Dean supplied with a grin. "No wonder he's creeped out."

Ron goggled at him. "Mate, that's just… wrong."

"Sometimes you can't help it, you know!" Seamus protested as he blushed. "I couldn't very well go to class pitching a tent, could I?"

Neville giggled. "No." He scratched his chin and turned to Harry. "Harry, you all right?"

Harry smiled at his friends. None of them believed that he was attacking the students and he suddenly felt loads better knowing that. They were his friends and they knew he was innocent.

"Yeah, I… thanks, for believing me."

Dean grinned at him. "The Heir of Slytherin can't possibly be a Gryffindor, Harry, let's be real!"

Harry grinned. "It could be, we can't just assume the Slytherins because of the name, but I just wish that we knew who was behind it all."

"Have you talked to Sirius or Remus about it?" Ron asked, yawning and stealing Harry's pillow to snuggle into it.

"No… I don't want to worry them. They don't even know about the other attack yet. Uncle Sirius is trying to get information from the Hogwarts Governors on when the chamber was originally opened before."

"He'd want to know what's going on," Neville told him. "Especially with the whole school thinking you're guilty."

Harry shrugged. "I know. I'll tell them both, just… not yet."

Seamus grinned and leaned back against the headboard. "Well, in the meantime, let's play 'Would You Rather' since we're all up."

Dean groaned. "Seam, can't you pick another game? For once?"

Seamus grinned and slapped his hands together. "Dean, would you rather be caught wanking off by a teacher or your mother?"

Dean paled. "A teacher. My mum would kill me."

Ron grinned. "Agreed."

Dean turned to Harry. "Harry, would you rather go to bed or continue to play Seam's stupid game?"

Harry grinned at Seamus. "Play the game."

Dean only groaned in response.

Harry smiled at Neville. "Nev, would you rather face the unknown monster from the chamber in a dark alley or Snape?"

Neville laughed. "The monster."

Seamus chuckled. "Probably much safer, let's be real."

Neville grinned and looked at Ron. "Ron, would you rather be friends with Malfoy or Snape?"

Ron grimaced. "Neither, but I suppose I'd choose Malfoy only because I wouldn't be worried he'd poison me all of the time. Seamus, would you rather snog Lavender or Sophie?"

Seamus smiled. "I think Lavender, but Sophie's really pretty too, so either one would be fine." He grinned at them. "I mean, when I get the chance, right? I've never, er, kissed a witch before."

"Me neither," Harry said as everyone else nodded in agreement.

Seamus looked relieved by this. "Good."

Dean grinned at him. "Hey, do we still have that stash of candy from Halloween or did Weasley eat it all?"

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed, "I resent that." He stood up and headed to the window near Harry's bed, opening the seat there. "And there's still tons of candy in here."

"Toss it over then," Dean said with a smile. "Might as well make the most of the night."

As his friends all made themselves comfortable on his bed, Harry only grinned.

Not everyone was against him and that truly made all of the difference.

~ ASC ~

Remus couldn't quite explain his relationship with Nymphadora.

They spent most nights together. Sometimes at her flat, sometimes at his cottage. She was a snuggler and Remus could hardly move without her wrapped comfortably around him. He wanted to be annoyed with it, but the feel of her there, wrapped around him, her skin against his, and the sound of her heart beating in time with his, calmed him. His blood hummed and his skin tingled whenever she was near him.

She did case paperwork and studied for her A2 test which she would be taking at the end of January and Remus worked on crossword puzzles or read books while their fingers brushed or arms touched, both of them needing the contact with the other. Remus cooked for them, attempted to teach her, but it usually just involved a big mess, and had them laughing. Chocolate brownies were her speciality and one of the only things she was good at making in the kitchen. Remus almost swallowed his tongue when she unbuttoned her shirt, dipped her finger in the fresh chocolate batter she'd made and brushed it across her breasts.

His tongue was on her almost instantly, desperately licking the chocolate off and tasting her beneath it. They made love and they snogged and every time he touched her, he found it harder and harder not to bite down, to break the skin, and to mark her as his.

He wrote to Adrian again, telling him that he was with his mate, but didn't know how to broach the subject of making her his. Adrian had responded a few days later with one simple question: What does she want to do to you?

Remus wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that. But he did know that when he went with her to her office Christmas Party and Hugh Arnett put his hand on her hip when he asked her to dance, he wanted to rip the man apart limb by limb. His rage must have shown because Tonks placed a hand on his chest, her other hand on his hip and she leaned into him and he immediately calmed down.

"I think I like it when you're jealous," she said with a smile, kissing him quickly.

Remus scoffed at her. "I'm not jealous."

She merely raised her eyebrow in amusement. "No? I think you growled."

Remus glared at her. "I didn't like it when he touched you."

"Why is that?" She let out a little squeal when he tugged her up against him.

"Because you're mine." He kissed her hard, bruising almost. "You — are — mine."

Tonks framed his face in her hands. "I am yours." Then she kissed him softly and slowly and when she pulled away, she smiled up at him. "And you are mine, Remus Lupin, and don't you forget it."

They had danced together most of the night; the feel of her in his arms made him feel content, made him calm. He could feel her heart beating, almost hear the blood pumping through her veins and each little sigh of contentment she made only increased his desire to claim her fully.

But he couldn't do that.

He couldn't claim her without telling her and he wasn't brave enough to tell her, not yet. He was too afraid that she would turn him away; too afraid to see the disgust in her eyes. He needed more time.

Tonks smiled, her chin on his chest as she tilted her head up to look at him. "Knut for your thoughts?"

He smiled and gently brushed a curl away from her face. Her hair was curled, longer than usual, and pinned up around her face to match the fancy black dress she was wearing for the party. She looked beyond stunning.

"I'm just thinking about how much I like being with you."

She smiled and kissed his chin. "I feel very much the same. You make me incredibly happy, Remus."

It was her that made him happy.

He couldn't stop smiling. He felt lighter and for the first time in his thirty-two years, he was actually considering a future. His mate was here before him. Beautiful and smart and willing and the thought of having her by his side was more than he ever could have imagined.

He kissed her again, love for her swelling within him and he whispered that it was time to go home. They went back to her flat and he made slow love to her in her bed, holding her close as her body trembled and quaked in the aftermath.

And when the dream came over him, he knew it was too late to stop it.

It hurt. God, it hurt. Some nights it seemed like the wolf wanted to rip him apart, tear his muscles and wear them like a second skin. His bones broke and his heart rate sped up. As the snout formed, his sense of smell increased and he caught that familiar coppery tang. He wanted blood.

And she was there, waving at him, beckoning him forward.

She smelt familiar like wildflowers and honey with a hint of bubblegum, but the blood was pulsing louder in his ears. When she reached a hand out, her eyes alight in laughter, he pounced.

When he ripped out her jugular, that sweet taste of blood gushing into his mouth before she could even scream made the wolf sigh in satisfaction and the man scream in horror.

His eyes flew open, his heart pounding in fear.

He tried to even out his breathing as Tonks shifted from where her head was resting on his chest. She slid her hand up his abs and lifted her head to kiss his cheek, taking his hand in hers and placing it over her heart.

"My heart is racing as fast as yours. I can feel your fear," she whispered in wonder. She seemed to catch herself because she sat up. "It was just a dream, Remus." She kissed him and he felt comforted.

"I — er… I'm going to head home. I'm not very tired and I…"

Tonks merely covered her lips with his. "Why do you always try to run off after you have a bad dream? There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed, I just don't want to keep you awake."

Tonks snuggled closer, nestling her head in the crook of his shoulder. "You won't. I want you to stay, I want to take your mind off of whatever terrible dreams you keep having. You can tell me about them, you know, it will help."

Remus shook his head. Tell her about them? Oh yeah, I've been having a dream where I hunt you down and rip open your neck with my teeth. By the way, I'm a werewolf… yeah, right, he thought.

"No, I um… don't remember."

She smiled against him, kissing the spot over his heart as her fingers gently played with the springy blond curls on his chest. "Uh-huh, liar."

"I'm not… I just don't want to talk about it."

Tonks nodded, her fingers continuing to play with his curly chest hairs. "That's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's bad enough that you mysteriously disappear a few nights a month as it is."

Remus swallowed. "I told you, there are things that I have to take care of…"

"Uh-huh," she said again, kissing his chin. "I'm not going to pry, not yet anyway. But at the moment, Remus Lupin, you are definitely not leaving this bed."

"Oh, I'm not, eh?" he asked with a small smile as his heart rate finally slowed back to normal.

"Nope," she said. "I'm sure there's something we could do to help you go back to sleep."

Remus ran his fingers through her hair. The last thing he wanted to do was touch her that way after a dream like that. The fear of hurting was still much too close to the surface. "Tell me about some of the trouble that you got up to when you were at school."

She smiled against his chest. "That could take hours."

"Perfect then," he said with a smile as he kissed the top of her head.

Tonks stretched her legs out, tossing one over his legs as she moved closer. "Well, let's start with I did to Filch. Did I ever tell you that in my first year I kept changing my appearance to look like McGonagall and lecture Filch on proper respect towards the students?"

Remus chuckled, entwining his leg with hers. "No, I don't believe you did."

And as she spoke, he listened and fell more and more in love with her, with every word, and it terrified him to his very core. When she learned the truth about him and she inevitably realized that he was a monster, he knew that it would break him, and for the first time in his life — he was terrified for the man.

Now that he knew what having her was like, he knew without a doubt that life without her would be unthinkable.

She held his heart and soul and she had no idea the power she had over him. He listened to her speak, a small smile on his face and he sighed in contentment. He was complete with her and he knew that her heart beat in time with his and it made him feel whole.

But his blood hummed with his desire to claim her; to bite down on her skin and mark her, but he ignored the urge.

It wasn't time.

Not yet.

And tomorrow was the night before the full moon.

He had other things to concern himself with.

~ ASC ~

The next night, Harry hurried down into the dungeons, glancing at his watch to check the time, worried that he would be too late. He literally ran into Snape's office, almost colliding with the doorframe as he snuck through, and Snape merely raised one greasy eyebrow at him.

"Potter, how unfortunate to see you here."

Harry decided to ignore him. "Did Uncle Remus come by for his potion yet?"

"No."

Harry nodded, pleased. "Good. I need to talk to him."

Snape carefully poured the smoking potion from the travel cauldron into a goblet. "So, you can talk to snakes."

It wasn't a question and it made Harry's heart race, but he gave a shrug. "Yes, I can."

"But still the headmaster is foolish enough to leave you in the school. The evidence is overwhelmingly against you, Potter."

Harry glared at him. "I haven't attacked anyone and you know it! Why would I attack Muggleborns and cats and ghosts? It doesn't make any sense."

"To get attention? Lockhart keeps telling the staff how much of an attention seeker you are, looking to further your celebrity status in any way you can. The duelling club only proved how much you look up to the man."

Anger flared through Harry. "I — am — not — seeking — attention! That git is barmy!"

Snape actually smirked at that as the fireplace behind him lit up green and Remus stepped out, dusting off his robes.

"Harry," he said in surprise.

Harry beamed at him. "Uncle Rem! I wanted to see you."

Remus nodded, smiling warmly. "I don't have very much time, I'm afraid."

"I know," Harry said, glaring at Snape. "I just need a few minutes."

"Of course. Severus, perhaps we could borrow your office for a few moments?"

Snape's eyes flashed dangerously. "No."

Remus smiled kindly and nodded. "Of course. Lead the way, Harry."

Harry turned to head out of Snape's office and led Remus into the empty classroom next door. As soon as the door closed behind them, Harry hugged Remus tightly.

Remus' arms came around him with a soft smile, bending down to rest his chin on the top of his son's head. "Hey, you okay, little Prongs?"

Harry smiled at the nickname, pulling away to meet Remus' eyes. "I just… missed you."

Remus smiled and hugged him a second time. "I miss you too. I imagine school is pretty tough this year with the scare of the Chamber of Secrets going around."

"And I've been thinking about… Peter."

Remus nodded, meeting Harry's clear green eyes. "Me too."

"Why was he following Uncle Padfoot?"

Remus shrugged and sighed. "That's a very good question. I don't have the answer. Let's hope that at the trial we learn that."

"When is the trial?"

"With the holiday coming up, Kingsley said everything will most likely not be figured out until January. The Aurors are interrogating him and trying to learn where he has been and what he has been doing for the last decade. He's being held in the dungeons of the Ministry of Magic until a trial date will be set."

Harry nodded.

Remus cupped his chin. "Harry, he's well protected by the Aurors and the Dementors and he's not going to hurt you."

"He could have hurt Uncle Padfoot."

Remus sighed as he realized what Harry was afraid of. "He didn't and I don't think that he would have. Peter… he always was a bit of a coward, brave when he wanted to be, but in direct situations, especially in ones where his own life was involved, he valued his own life first. He would never put himself in a situation where he would fight Sirius one on one because he would lose, and he knows it."

"Then why was he following him?"

"I honestly don't know. Thinking back to that boy that I knew, my first thought was that he was trying to apologize but… I have no idea."

Harry nodded, moving away from Remus and sat on top of one of the desks. "I want to go to the trial."

"When we know more about when it will be, you, Uncle Sirius, and I will talk about it," Remus told him watching him for a moment. "Harry, is there something else on your mind?"

Harry shrugged. "It's just… everyone thinks that I'm the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. They all blame me and… Snape says that I should be expelled."

"Hey, you are not going to be expelled. Sirius and I would never let that happen. We know that you didn't do this, Harry." He walked over, bending down to kiss his forehead. "I thought Snape had stopped giving you such a hard time?"

Harry shrugged. "Depends on his mood. My potions have been too good for him to criticize, but at least once a week, I get a zero because he 'accidentally' drops my work. And last week he took points away because I was breathing too loudly."

Remus frowned at that. "Well, that's definitely going to stop. Has Lockhart improved at all?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I think he got worse. That book you gave me has helped a lot though."

"Good." Remus glanced at his watch. "I'm sorry, little Prongs, I have to get going."

Harry nodded. "I know. Don't forget to take the potion."

Remus grinned at him. "I won't. I had a hard enough time getting myself here tonight."

"Why?"

"Nymphadora."

Harry frowned. "You still didn't tell her?"

"Don't give me that look," Remus said, his eyes on Harry.

Harry snorted. "I'm not giving you any look. I just don't understand why you think she's going to care. She loves you, Uncle Moony."

Those words made Remus' heart clench. Neither of them had said the words to each other yet. "She's going to care, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she's going to be pissed off that you never told her."

Remus sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you about this. I'm not ready to tell her yet. Now, I have to go. Please try to stay out of trouble. I'll see you in two weeks for Christmas. I love you."

Harry watched his father hurry out of the classroom and he sighed. Talking to him really hadn't made him feel any better, but his heart felt lighter just the same.