Author's Note:

A few important aspects I wanted to add here.

Also, just so you understand my thought process, Defence Against the Dark Arts is an optional course in sixth and seventh year, depending on what students are taking in terms of their career goals in life, therefore one class per year rather than two (in case you were wondering where I got the number twelve from): Two first year classes, two second year classes, two third year classes, two fourth year classes, two fifth year classes, one sixth year class, and one seventh year class. Hope this helps!

Some people have said that this story is being dragged out and I suppose it is, but I like the pace that I'm going at. If it doesn't interest you, that's fine, don't read anymore, but I will write at my own pace and take however long I want to take with however many chapters I want to write whether it stops in fifty (it won't lol) or at three hundred (it might at this rate). I am encompassing a lot of information and this story is just as much Sirius' and Remus' as it is Harry's. Thanks.

Reviews and Comments: To coloredwords: Thank you! I thought Sirius would be really pleased to know that Fred and George discovered their map! Thank you for saying Lockhart being a sexual predator makes sense, I definitely always thought so. Thank you for re-reading my Beginning Series and yes, it will be Breanie on Ao3 as well. To E-Dett: Happy that my Lockhart twist caught you by surprise! Got to keep you on your toes! To alix33: Thank you! I'm glad that Maggie Cumberland's testimony and Lockhart's arrest made you want to do a victory dance lol. To WarMunger98: Lockhart is truly disgusting, yes. Thank you. Will Harry see a certain redhead roaming the corridors at night and investigate? Well, we shall have to see. To Millie072: Thank you for saying adding sexual predator to Lockhart is not much of a stretch, I quite agree. I love Ginny's pickled toad poem and don't think it's weird at all, but adorable. Yes, Remus has slid into his professor role early.

To love reading20613: I can't believe it's been one hundred chapters either. Thank you! To Steelcode: Thank you! To Shamelessnweird: Thank you for saying my story is "fuckin freakin awesome!" I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I do love writing Remus and Tonks and showing McGonagall being maternal towards Sirius. I'm glad you enjoyed the Peter twist as well. Thanks! To Iamnotwhoiam: I'm sorry that you feel I am just dragging out this story, I do not. You are not obligated to read it. To Claire Fraser: Thank you! I liked the memory of Lily finding the map as well. Yes, Sirius will have a reaction to Lockhart's new accusations and to the valentine. To Xenia_Moon: Four days of non-stop reading, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

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 ONE HUNDRED AND ONE:

The One Where Tonks Is Under the Desk

Harry was still having nightmares.

Not every night, but frequently enough that it was starting to take a toll on him,

He sat in Remus' Hogwarts suite, legs outstretched across the sofa as his father stood over him.

"How much are you hiding from Sirius, Harry?" Remus asked, sternly, placing a hand on Harry's forehead.

Harry smiled at him. "I'm not sick, Uncle Moony. And I'm not hiding anything from Uncle Sirius." At Remus' look he grinned sheepishly. "I'm just not sleeping that well, which he already knows, as he makes me use the mirror and wake him up every time I have a bad dream."

Remus lifted Harry's legs, sitting next to him on the sofa. "About the trial?"

Harry shrugged. "Sometimes."

Remus sighed. "I don't think that Sirius and I should have let you come with us. It was much too violent and much too graphic for a twelve-year-old to witness."

"No!" Harry insisted, sitting up. "It wasn't! I'm glad that I know!"

Remus smiled at him. "Our brave boy," he said, patting Harry's leg. "Harry, there's nothing wrong with being too young for things. In all honesty, you want to stay as young and innocent as you can. You've… well, you've had a rough time of it, but I think that Sirius and I helped to give you the childhood you deserved."

"You did," Harry told him, moving to hug him tightly. "And the nightmares aren't that bad, Uncle Rem. I've only woken up screaming one time and it was that first night with you and Uncle Padfoot, when I was at home. I'm really okay, I swear — don't worry about me."

"That's my job, little Prongs," Remus said with a smile. "Now, I want you to do something for me."

Harry nodded, watching Remus closely. "What's that?"

Remus reached over the coffee table and pulled out a worn brown leather notebook tied with a string and handed it over. "It's a diary."

Harry must have had a look of disgust on his face because Remus laughed.

"Journal, if it sounds less horrific to you," he said with a grin. "I want you to start writing in this every night before you go to bed. I'm not going to read it unless you would like me too, this is for yourself. It's charmed so that anyone who opens it will only see notes from my class."

"Why?"

Remus smiled at him as Harry reluctantly accepted the notebook. "Journaling is a very healthy way to help you clear your head, Harry. It can help you clarify your thoughts and feelings; help you to better understand yourself and those around you. It can help to reduce stress in your life because you might write when you're angry or sad or happy and sharing those thoughts on paper will make you feel better. It can help you problem solve — because sometimes those thoughts are too much in your head and by looking at them in writing, it becomes clear. It can even help you resolve disagreements with others. But most importantly, I want you to talk about your nightmares. I think the more that you write about them, about what you dream, and about what you see in those dreams, the less intense and scary you will find them to be — and maybe you won't even have them as often. Not just the bad dreams either, write down anything that you dream of. It's a healing and a coping mechanism for your mind as well as your heart."

"Just keep writing everything down?"

Remus nodded. "I think that it will be good for you. Record your day and your adventures and anything that you feel like you need to talk about, but don't know how to tell others yet or if you even want to tell anyone about it at all. Will you do this for me? For yourself?"

Harry stared down at the journal. He had just been thinking the other day that the reason Ginny probably kept a diary was because it probably felt cathartic to write everything down and he knew that Remus was right, it probably would make him feel better.

"Yes, I will."

Remus smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. "Good. And you know that I'm always around if you need to talk about anything. I'm extra close by now."

"I know," he said with a smile. "Plus you have this wicked new place to hang out in and the house elves bring snacks, specifically chocolate."

Remus smirked at him. "Don't think I don't know exactly how much chocolate I have, little Prongs. Stay away from my stash."

Harry simply grinned. "I don't know what you're implying."

Remus chuckled as Tonks came out of the fireplace, dusting her Auror uniform off and greeting them both with a bright smile as a knock sounded on the door at the same time.

"Yes, you do," Remus said with a grin, standing up and opening the door, smiling at Ron and Hermione. "Hello, Ron, Hermione. Harry was just leaving. Oh, by the way, little Prongs, I heard that someone sent you a singing Valentine the other day?"

Harry blushed scarlet. "Where did you hear that?"

Remus chuckled as Tonks plopped down on the chesterfield next to Harry and hugged him. "A few students in my class mentioned how Harry Potter tried to outrun the singing cupid and got tackled in the dungeons before said Valentine was delivered. What did it say?"

Harry blushed a deeper shade of red. "I don't remember."

Hermione smirked at him, grinning at Ron. "I do! It went: His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad. His hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish he was mine, he's truly divine, the hero who conquered the Dark Lord."

"Hermione!" Harry groaned as his friend laughed.

"Oh, Harry, don't be embarrassed, it was sweet!" Hermione insisted, grinning at him in jest.

Remus was grinning from ear to ear. "Who sent it to you?"

"Ginny," he mumbled so quietly that Remus only blinked at him.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Ron smirked. "My sister. No idea why she'd want to send one to Harry, nor one so cheesy."

"Ginny? Hmm, that's very interesting."

Harry stared at his father, the back of his neck still flushing lobster red. "Why is that interesting?"

"Someone has a little fancy," Tonks said with a smile. "That's adorable."

Remus simply grinned at his son. "Wait until Sirius hears that you got a singing Valentine."

Harry simply groaned in response.

Remus laughed. "I won't say anything to him, don't worry. He's a like a dog with a bone when he hears things like that. Now scram, go do some homework or hang out with your friends."

Harry stretched as he stood up and said goodbye to Remus and Tonks.

Yeah, having Uncle Moony at Hogwarts was definitely the best thing ever. Even when he teased him about singing Valentines.

~ ASC ~

A full week after Lockhart had been dragged away from the Great Hall in handcuffs, the Daily Prophet wrote a story about him. The article was all anyone could talk about for days. Harry didn't get to see it until almost lunch time when Hannah Abbott passed it to him in Herbology class.

He leaned close to Hermione, Ron, and Neville as he read the article aloud to his friends before class started.

GILDEROY LOCKHART: DERANGED AND DANGEROUS?

Valentine's Day was not quite the day of love that is usually enjoyed by the handsome five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, Gilderoy Lockhart. The thirty-one-year-old-famous-author, well known for his adventures and amazing feats as detailed in his published works including: Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Holidays with Hags, Travels with Trolls, Voyages with Vampires, Wandering with Werewolves, Year with the Yeti, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests and of course his best-selling autobiography titled Magical Me.

Lockhart, who has been working as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since the first of September, was arrested on the 14th of February for the following charges: Fraud, performing the memory charm on unsuspecting witches, wizards, and Muggles, for taking credit for other people's work, and for implementing false memories in over a dozen witches and wizards.

The Auror Department didn't have much to say on the arrest except to confirm that everything that Lockhart claimed to do in his books was in fact a lie and had actually been accomplished by other witches and wizards around the world.

"Lockhart interviewed witches and wizards on their accomplishments and then used a memory charm to make them forget achieving them and then claimed the credit for himself," Auror Tonks stated after arresting Lockhart at Hogwarts. "He altered the memories of entire villages and towns to claim the fame for himself. He will be tried for his crimes. In the meantime, we're still investigating the evidence before a trial date can be set."

Fans of Lockhart are shocked and claim that it must be a mistake.

"Gilderoy is such a sweet and handsome boy," Glinda (last name asked to be omitted) claims. "I think that they've made a mistake somewhere."

When asked how Professor Albus Dumbledore feels knowing that he hired this man as a teacher, he didn't have anything to add. He merely stated that a new teacher had been found for the subject.

But the story gets worse.

Lockhart's crimes were not just about the memories and taking credit for other people's works. As a professor at Hogwarts, he also took advantage of his position. Seven students ages varying between thirteen to seventeen have come forward and claimed that they were sexually molested by their professor. Lockhart's lawyers refuse to comment on this. Three of the seven students were young, unnamed males, who claim that he forced them to perform oral sex on him while in detention, claiming it was punishment for their behaviour. Two young girls have claimed rape and two young girls have also claimed it was consensual — but being minors, Lockhart is still guilty of child molestation and rape.

His fans are in an uproar and claim that the crimes have been fabricated by the Ministry of Magic, who are jealous of his success. Others are wondering how much is true. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is being investigated and the students spoken to about Lockhart's character and to find out if there are any other students who have been too afraid or too embarrassed to come forward.

Lockhart is being held under house arrest by the Auror Department while the investigation is under way. A trial date is tentatively set for mid April pending the status of the investigation.

But this reporter can say with absolute certainty, things don't look good for Gilderoy Lockhart.

"So, it's true then?" Neville asked when Harry finished reading. "He was doing stuff with his students?"

Harry shrugged. It certainly seemed like it was and he did remember that third year boy who had been in Lockhart's office when he had dropped off the package. He wondered if Lockhart had been doing something to him. Forced oral, the article claimed, and he shuddered at the image.

Hermione was shaking her head. "You're supposed to be able to trust your teachers."

Ron put his arm around her. "You can, Hermione, but we always knew he was a crackpot."

"He really was a terrible teacher, but I never imagined… he could… I just thought he was a bad teacher."

"And then some," Neville said with a small smile. "Remember our first class? I ended up hanging from the chandelier!"

They all laughed as Professor Sprout called the class to attention. It seemed like Lockhart definitely had a lot to answer for.

~ ASC ~

After Defence Against the Dark Arts class that day, Remus asked Harry to stay behind for a moment claiming that he would write a note for McGonagall, explaining his lateness. Once all of his classmates had abandoned the room, Remus told Harry to follow him into his office.

Harry was surprised to find his godfather pacing back and forth there.

"Uncle Sirius," he said in surprise, closing the office door behind him.

Sirius immediately rushed forward and crushed Harry into his arms.

"Uncle — Siri — can't — breathe," Harry said as his godfather loosened his grip. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Sirius cradled Harry's face in his hands so tightly his lips puckered like a fish as he kissed his son's forehead. "Harry, I love you!"

Harry finally managed to disentangle himself from Sirius' grasp. "I know that, you nutter! What's going on? Have you gone mad? Why are you acting all wonky?" He gasped when Remus grabbed him tightly from behind and held him in a bone-crushing hug. "Uncle Rem, not you too!"

Remus kissed the top of Harry's head before he let go. "We love you."

"I know that," Harry said in annoyance. "Have you both gone mad, then?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair. "No, we haven't gone mad. Harry, I saw the article this morning in the paper about Lockhart. He never… I mean… did he ever… touch you?"

Harry eyes widened in surprise. "No!"

Sirius' hands rested on his son's shoulders as Remus came up next to him again. "If he ever did anything inappropriate towards you, at all, you would tell me, right?"

Harry stared at them. "No. He never touched me, I swear."

Remus let out a long breath of relief and kissed Harry's forehead. "We both read the article and we thought that with the increase in your nightmares lately and… oh thank Merlin."

Sirius nodded and hugged Harry close to him again. "I thought that if he had you would have told me but — fuck, I panicked, I'm sorry."

Harry smiled at them gratefully. "It's okay. It's nice that you worried." He scratched his nose as he spoke. "He was always trying to get me alone, telling me to go to him for advice on Quidditch and about my homework and on being famous, but I avoided him because he was a git, and I definitely didn't want advice from anyone that barmy. I was only ever alone with him once and he made me answer his fan mail and it was the first time I heard the voice, remember?"

Sirius nodded. "I remember. He seemed to have taken a liking to you though and well that made me worry and I overthought everything."

"He never touched me, Uncle Siri, I swear. But…" he quickly told them about that Ravenclaw student he had seen serving detention with him. "Do you think he was… doing stuff to him?"

Remus and Sirius exchanged worried glances. "I don't know, Harry, it's possible. Do you know who the boy was?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but Lockhart called him Damien."

Remus nodded. "I'll talk to Flitwick then and we'll make sure someone speaks to Damien. Merlin, this is a nightmare! How could no one have realized that this was going on? This is more than incompetence — this is criminal and disgusting."

Sirius hugged Harry again. "Go on, get to class. I'm sorry that we worried you. We just… we needed to make sure."

Harry smiled at them. "I know and… I would have told you.

Sirius smiled. "Good. Get to class. We'll talk later."

Harry closed the office door behind him as he left and Sirius and Remus looked at each other in relief. Thank Merlin Harry was all right, but there were still two hundred and seventy-nine other students at Hogwarts and each one would have to be spoken to.

The teachers and Aurors had a lot of work ahead of them.

~ ASC ~

Harry spent the next few weeks doing his best to research the mysterious Tom Riddle. The talk about Lockhart had mostly died down, though two other students had come forward. He knew from Remus that the school was doing their best to keep the names unknown, but the charges were piling up against Lockhart.

Harry decided that the best way to avoid hearing so much about the man was to do the research on Riddle that he had been putting off.

He had asked Madam Pince for help in going through old Hogwarts students records and she had directed him to the card catalogue. He hadn't asked Hermione for help yet. He still wasn't sure why he felt like he had to figure out who this mysterious boy was on his own, but he was determined to learn all he could about him. There was just something about him that bothered him and if he was honest with himself, he didn't like that Ginny wrote to him. He didn't like that she went to this mysterious diary pen-pal friend for advice and he wanted to make sure that he was a good person for her to trust.

He searched for three solid hours, having only made it to the late 1950s before he decided to give it a break. He took his glasses off and pressed his hands to his eyes.

"Harry, I'm going to start calling you Hermione," Ron said as he slid into the seat across from him.

Harry smirked at him as he put his glasses back on. "I don't think that I've reached her level yet."

Ron merely raised an eyebrow at the mountains of books on the table. "Are you sure?" He picked up one from the top of the stack that Harry hadn't reached yet. "You've been hiding out in here for days now. Hogwarts records circa 1945-1950? Why are you looking these up?"

"I heard this name and it's been bothering me. I want to find out who this boy was."

"What's the name?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle. I think he was student here."

"He was. He won an award for a special service to the school," Ron said simply.

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. "How in the bleeding hell do you know that?"

"What? I can't know stuff sometimes?" Ron asked. At Harry's pointed look, he shrugged. "Well, you'd remember it, too, if you'd cleaned his trophy as many times as I did. I kept vomiting slugs all over it and had to start over. Filch took a sick pride in it, too, I just know it, the git."

"What was the award for?" Harry demanded, his grin widening.

Ron shrugged. "No idea. It just said special service to the school and had his name and June 1943."

Harry's mouth dropped open and he shoved all of the books into his book bag, throwing it over his shoulder. "1943? Are you sure, Ron?"

"Er, yeah — hey, where are you going?" Ron scurried after his friend, grabbing his arm before he got to the hall. "What's going on?"

"I need to see that award," Harry told him.

Ron just nodded and the two of them hurried to the trophy room. Ron brought Harry over to the display and pointed to the trophy where Riddle's name was written. "See? It doesn't say what the award is for."

Harry nodded, turning in excitement to his friend now. "Ron, remember Uncle Sirius told me that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before, in 1943? What if Riddle's award was because he 'stopped' the attacks?"

Ron's brow furrowed. "But you said that Hagrid was accused and there's no way that Hagrid opened the Chamber. He would never hurt anyone."

"Accused yes, but… I think that we need to talk to Hagrid. I think that we need to hear his side of the story. He does have a reputation for trying to befriend rather monstrous creatures after all."

Ron snorted. "Oh, do you mean Norbert and Fluffy? Yeah, the thought occurred to me too. But who is this Riddle bloke that you're so focused on? Where did you hear his name?"

Harry hesitated. Ginny had told him about the diary in confidence and he wasn't sure if she wanted him to tell her brother. "I just heard it somewhere."

Ron stared at him. "Liar."

"I can't tell you, Ron, not yet. It's not really my secret to tell. We need to talk to Hagrid though."

Ron watched his friend for a moment and then he nodded. He knew that Harry would tell him eventually so he wasn't worried as he watched his friend hesitate. He would never ask his friend to betray a secret.

"Agreed. But it's almost curfew already so it'll have to wait until tomorrow unless you want to sneak down under the cloak?"

Harry sighed. "No, it can wait. Come on; you can help me return all of these books back. We'll see him tomorrow."

"Figures there'd be a catch."

Harry simply grinned at him.

~ ASC ~

But they didn't have time to see Hagrid the next day.

The increase in their school work kept them confined to the library, the study hall, and the common room. Not to mention that Wood had increased Quidditch practice to four nights a week. Harry was studying extra hard, much to Hermione's happiness, but he was determined to do well in all of his classes as he had the promise of learning how to drive the motorbike in his sights, when he got home.

He said as much to Neville who had laughed and grinned at him.

He had also kept his promise to Remus and was journaling. At first, not quite every night, but now he had gotten into the habit of sitting up in his bed late into the night and scribbling away on the pages. He had to admit, it was rather nice to write everything down and he did feel like a weight had been lifted from his chest as he wrote about everything from his past to his present to his worries and his concerns and about the details of his nightmares. He felt lighter and to his surprise, it did seem to help the nightmares.

Instead of waking Sirius up after having a bad dream, he would catch his breath and pull out the journal. After writing everything down, he would read it over and it didn't seem so scary then; didn't seem as daunting nor as life-threatening, as it had in his head. And he found that he could then lie back down and go back to sleep without any problems.

The nightmares were also coming less frequently, but still more than he wanted to admit to having. He kept the journal under his pillow and it felt good to have it under there; like his thoughts were protected.

The school year continued to be hectic and crazy not to mention that Quidditch was still number one on Harry's priority list. The Quidditch game against Ravenclaw was a win for Gryffindor putting them at the top. If they won the next match against Hufflepuff they would only have to beat either Ravenclaw or Slytherin for the Cup. Wood was feeling very anxious about the possibility of it.

As Harry was settling into the busy homework schedule, Remus was getting used to being a teacher to so many students. He had twelve classes over the course of five days and he found it completely amazing. He loved teaching. He truly loved it and watching as each student struggled to grasp the concept, or learned it immediately, was an amazing feeling to him. He took the time and patience to make sure that every student was learning what they needed too.

His fifth and seventh years were the most challenging, worried about their OWLs and NEWTs and how Lockhart's lack of teaching was going to affect their grade. Remus was implementing a review system for them and had even started a study group on Wednesdays and Thursdays to go over anything that they were concerned about for their upcoming Ministry exams.

He had his own private teaching suite with access from his office through a password guarded portrait. He had a decent sized bedroom, a bathroom, a sitting room, and a tiny kitchen nook in case he didn't want to eat down in the Great Hall. It was perfect for him and he immediately felt at home there. He had given Harry the password to his new flat so that his son knew how to find him if he needed anything. And for the moon cycle, he would return to his own cottage, where Sirius would sit with him in his Animagus form, as per usual, after he took the potion from Snape.

It was turning out to work splendidly for him.

For the first time in longer than he could even remember, he felt like he was living the life that he had always wanted. He was doing something that he loved. He had friends and family who loved him. And most of all, he had a mate.

He couldn't imagine loving anyone the way that Nymphadora made him feel.

It was the end of March and he was in his office marking papers from his fourth years, when she came in through the Floo, smiling at him.

"Wotcher," she said as he held up a finger to finish reading the sentence he was on.

He knew that if he stopped now he wouldn't make it through the rest of the essay. But when he looked up, he was alone in his office, and he frowned. He looked back at the fireplace, but it was empty. He stood up, pushing his chair back from his desk and walking to the open door to peek out, but he didn't see her anywhere.

He always left his office door open so that students knew he could be approached if they needed anything. The rule was when the door was closed, do not disturb, but he left it open until eight every night.

Remus shrugged at being alone. Knowing Tonks, she had probably gone off to grab something while he was busy marking. She had been stopping by almost daily to see him; teasing him about his teaching and spending her nights riding him or wrapped around him in his new flat. When she was early like this, she sometimes wandered off to talk to McGonagall or sometimes to con some food from the kitchen elves so that he could finish up his marking. He always appreciated how she gave him the time and space to get his work done.

She'd be back.

He moved his chair back to the desk and sat down just as there was a knock on his open office door.

"Come in!"

McGonagall stepped inside, a bright smile on her face. "Hi, Remus, how are you doing tonight?"

"Good," he said, smiling warmly at her. "Doing your regular check in, Minerva?"

McGonagall chuckled, leaning against the doorframe of his office. "I like to stop in and see how you're doing and how the teaching is going, that's all. I know that you're in your element here and I love your open door policy."

Remus smiled as a familiar touch on his leg had him freezing. "What can I do for you, Minerva?" He could feel the back of his neck heating up as his zipper slid down and soft hands freed him from his jeans.

She wouldn't, he thought, not with McGonagall standing right there in the doorway.

"I just wanted to check in and see how you were fairing now that you're almost two months in. I know that you have your work cut out for you this year, especially with the students being so far behind in their studies due to the incompetence of our last teacher, and with everything else that's been going on as well."

Remus nodded and bit his bottom lip as his girlfriend's hands tugged him free of his boxers so that he could feel her hot breath on him and her hand slid along his length slowly and torturously.

"Er, yes, it is, but I think that I've got a fairly good system going. I'm trying not to give too much homework just yet, but I have stressed that the workload will be getting bigger due to the amount of material we still have to cover."

McGonagall smiled. "I like the idea of the Wednesday and Thursday night tutoring sessions for your OWL and NEWT students. They definitely seem to appreciate it. I've been hearing nothing but great things about it."

Her hand was wrapped around his base now and her tongue was trailing over him as he tried not to make a sound, his growing erection too pleased with the attention it was getting to care that McGonagall was standing in the doorway talking to him while his desk blocked what was happening from her view. The little minx was going to pay for this, he thought.

"Yes, well, I thought that they deserved the extra treatment. I remember how stressful those two years can be and on top of everything they haven't learned this year — I thought they'd appreciate the help."

"Agreed," McGonagall said. "If you are looking for any more books, I found a few of the old defence textbooks in the back of the staffroom. I left them on the table for you there to browse when you get the chance. I know that you didn't want to assign new textbooks mid-semester."

"Th-thanks," he stuttered as his tip was engulfed in her mouth. "I'll make sure to check those out as soon as I-I can."

McGonagall's eyebrow rose slowly. "You're looking a bit flushed, Remus. Are you feeling all right this evening?"

He nodded, biting his bottom lip hard as her mouth worked him over, her nimble fingers kneading his sack and tickling the base of him, slipping beneath his balls to tease him.

"I'm fine, just a little warm in here with the fire. I might put it out."

"You do that," she said, eyeing him carefully.

Her fingertip slid into him and he jolted. "I will."

McGonagall gave him another worried look. "How are you and Sirius doing with Peter being sent to Azkaban? Sirius says that he's okay when we have tea on Sundays, but I know how he likes to keep things hidden. It's been almost two months since everything was wrapped up and I still find it hard to believe myself that he was the one to actually betray the Potters."

Remus nodded, trying not to gasp aloud as she began to suck harder, her soft lips licking and sucking half of him into her mouth as her hand continued to pump his base. He could feel her eyes on him and he refused to look down. If he made eye contact with her right now he was going to orgasm and he wasn't going to come with McGonagall standing right there.

He absolutely wouldn't, he thought desperately.

"We're all right. We're both relieved that it's all over," he said a little breathlessly as she slid her mouth over to tease his sack, sucking and kneading and kissing before taking his cock into her mouth again, her tongue flattening over the head.

"I worry about the both of you. With everything he did… even being in Azkaban has got to be hard on the both of you. He was your friend at one time. I know you boys thought of each other like brothers. And to see what he went through without your knowledge and now knowing that he's suffering in Azkaban with the Dementors, I know you have a bleeding heart, Remus."

Remus nodded, his balls tightening. Don't come, he thought desperately, don't come, don't come, don't come…

"We-we-we did, yes. But people ch-ch-change… he ch-changed. I-I think justice was s-s-served."

Her mouth and hands were working him harder now as her tongue teased that place just under his head as her nails gently grazed his sack and he could feel the tightening in his balls. He was so close it almost hurt and then she was sucking him again and he let out a tiny gasp as his head hit the back of her throat.

McGonagall nodded, her eyes sad. "Yes, people do. Anyway, I'll let you get back to marking those papers. If you need help with anything, Remus, please don't hesitate to ask. You know my door is always open."

He nodded, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood as Tonks began to suck him faster and deeper and he couldn't stop it: He came, gripping the edges of his desk desperately.

"I-I know. Th-th-thanks."

"Are you sure you are all right, Remus?" McGonagall asked, halfway out the door. "You really are very flushed. Maybe you should stop downstairs and see Poppy; get a little pick me up potion of some kind."

Remus nodded as the orgasm tore through him. "N-n-never b-b-better," he said breathlessly.

McGonagall nodded. "All right, I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."

The door closed behind her with a click and he groaned aloud as the last of his orgasm was milked from his body and Tonks' mouth released him with a soft moan before she began to lick him clean.

Remus simply stared down at her. "You couldn't have waited until Minerva was gone? McGonagall was standing right there, you minx!"

Tonks simply grinned at him and she licked her lips. "No, that only made it more fun, my naughty professor." She slid her hands up his thighs and slid up into his lap, straddling him. "I've always wanted to do that." At his raised eyebrow, she smiled and sucked on his neck. "Go down on a professor in his office, under his desk… so naughty."

"And who was the lucky professor you fantasized about, Dora?"

Tonks grinned at him, pulling her jumper over her head. "Well, Professor Lupin, if it helps I used to think about slipping under that desk in the sunroom of Black Cottage. I wondered if you would have stopped me once my hand was wrapped around your cock."

As the image was far too appealing, Remus chose not to answer.

Tonks smiled, reaching back to unclasp her bra. "Mark those papers later," she told him, her lips trailing across his jaw to his ear. "Lock the door and fuck me on the desk now."

"Well, with an offer like that, how can I refuse?"

Tonks simply grinned at him and then lost herself in his touch.

Yeah, she really liked that he was a professor.

Her professor; her mate; her lover.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.