Author's Note:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the pieces from chapter eighteen of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that are incorporated and interwoven here, those belong to the lovely JKR.

There were important parts that needed to be brought up again as you will see by what I have planned in the next few chapters. I have been writing like a fiend and am already almost finished Harry's third year. I hope you enjoy the twists and turns I have coming up!

Reviews and Comments: To darkenedink: Thank you! To Steelcode: Thank you! To jedikitty92: Thank you! Cliffhangers are sometimes necessary. To WarMunger98: Yes, poor Ginny. As to the sticky white substance… it definitely is. Harry is affectionate, but he's definitely only thinking about Ginny as his best friend. Thank you for sticking up for the love of Hinny. To Lost: Sorry, Draco will be out of character in this story. He'll still be an asshole, but maybe not as evil. To LoverOfRedheads: But I did leave you hanging there LOL. Harry and Ginny are friends and they will not be anything more for quite some time yet. To Shamelessnweird: Thank you! To coloredwords: You're right, he is a hero whether he wants to admit it or not. Thank you! I thought making it a full moon would explain Harry running forward. Yes, I thought having Draco admit what the monster is would be an interesting twist.

To TwillitSaber: Thank you for liking "Din", I thought it was perfect! And yes, I was thinking of the Legend of Zelda goddess a little (memory from my childhood LOL). The goddess of fire, earth, and power with red hair. It makes the nickname more special in my mind. To Matt9917: Thank you! To ginnyweasley777: Thank you! I agree, the films did sometimes give Ron some great lines despite taking away some of his best ones as well. To love reading20613: Thank you! To teachergirl: I'm sorry that you feel Ginny is nothing more than stupid little girl and Harry should ignore her because she has brothers. I don't think she's clingy and immature, but I am telling you now, her role is going to become much bigger. If you don't like Ginny or her character, this story is not for you. To ManyGrey: Ginny is only eleven, but yes, some terrible things have happened to her as you will soon find out. To E-Dett: Thank you for sticking up for the love of Hinny along with WarMunger98, I appreciate the support. She's eleven and I love her character and am a Hinny shipper so if someone isn't enjoying that ship or a story about her, I really don't know why they would bother to read it in the first place. 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 ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR:

The One Where Sirius Is Sent Home Without An Explanation

Harry and Ron flew out of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny wrapped in Harry's arms. They were holding onto the tail of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, as he flew them up through the huge tunnel where they landed on the bathroom floor. The two of them were covered in dirt and blood and Ron was covered in dirt. The last thing thatHarry had expected to find was Neville, McGonagall, and Dumbledore standing in the middle of the bathroom arguing.

"I didn't exactly let them go, Professor!" Neville exclaimed. "The sink moved, a door opened — and they just jumped!"

McGonagall let out of a huff of annoyance. "Stupid, brave boys! I've got my broomstick, Mr Longbottom. I think that the best thing to do is to fly down there and try to find them. I'm not letting them get hurt down there, not now that we know where the entrance is. How did Potter open it?"

"Professor, I don't think —"

"— No, Longbottom, I will not let those boys wander around down there where they could be hurt! How did Potter open the door? You said that it was by the sink?"

Neville sighed. "He spoke in Parseltongue, Professor."

McGonagall paled. "And when they jumped down there —?"

"The door closed itself."

"Mr Longbottom, you did right by coming to seek out Professor McGonagall and myself. Minerva, without the ability to speak Parseltongue, I don't know how we can open the door."

McGonagall let out a huff of annoyance. "We can get inside by removing the entire bloody sink!"

"But Professor —"

She pushed her sleeves up, turning to flourish her wand furiously "No, Mr Longbottom! They are MY students, from MY house, and I will not let them die down there for their stupid bravery. Harry is my —"

" — Here," Harry said, coughing as he let go of Fawkes and fell to his knees, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets once more closing behind them.

Ginny moaned, her arms wrapping tighter around his neck. "Ow," she said quietly.

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him, as Ron fell to his knees next to his friend and his sister.

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, his arms reaching for her. His blue eyes flashed in relief when she turned from Harry, throwing her arms around her brother and clinging to him tightly. "Ginny, where are you hurt?"

Ginny merely buried her face in Ron's shoulder, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Dinny," he cooed gently, using his childhood nickname for her, his hands rubbing up and down her back. "It's okay, I'm here, I've got you."

"Harry, you have a sword!" Neville exclaimed, reaching to touch the bloody weapon in his friend's hand along with the school Sorting Hat. "Is that the Sorting Hat? What the hell happened? How did you get a sword? Why do you have the Sorting Hat? Is that Dumbledore's phoenix?"

"Harry, what happened? Are you all right?" McGonagall insisted, kneeling in front of him, her hand on his chin as she turned Harry's face to and fro to check for any signs of damage.

"I'm fine," Harry said, "It's not my blood. But Ginny needs to see Madam Pomfrey."

Dumbledore was tapping his wand on the sink that had just closed the door behind Harry, Ginny and Ron. "Fascinating."

McGonagall nodded, standing up, her eyes on Ginny, who was wrapped tightly in her big brother's arms. "Come on, Miss Weasley, let's go up to the hospital wing."

Ron scooped Ginny right up into his arms as if she weighed nothing, holding her tightly as they followed McGonagall out of the girl's bathroom and down to the hospital wing where Mr and Mrs Weasley were arguing with Madam Pomfrey, demanding to see their daughter immediately.

Mrs Weasley was crying and Mr Weasley touched her arm when he saw Ron carrying his sister down the hall. He ran towards his children, lifting Ginny into his own arms and crushing his daughter against his chest. He took one look at Ron's face covered in dirt and Harry whose robes were covered in dirt and blood and he paled considerably.

He kissed his daughter's forehead. "I've got you, baby girl. Daddy's got you."

"GINNY!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, leaning towards her husband to kiss her daughter before turning to Ron and Harry. "You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?"

"I think that we'd all like to know that," Professor McGonagall said weakly, still a bit in shock over the sudden appearance of the three Gryffindor students. She gestured to Neville as she spoke, "Mr Longbottom informed Professor Dumbledore and myself that you two simply opened the door and jumped?"

Neville nodded and gave Harry and Ron a helpless shrug as Mr Weasley carried his daughter into the hospital wing as if she was made of precious glass. He carefully placed her on the bed and gently brushed her hair from her face, frowning at the crusty substance there.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Mr Weasley asked her tenderly.

Ginny only nodded, her eyes on Harry who walked into the hospital wing and laid the Sorting Hat, the ruby-encrusted sword, and what remained of Riddle's diary on the bed next to the one that Ginny was lying on. He took a seat on the bed next to the sword, not saying a word as McGonagall sat next to him and Dumbledore took a seat in the visitor's chair near the bed.

It was only once everyone had settled around him that he started to tell them everything.

For nearly a quarter of an hour he spoke into the rapt silence: He told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how he realized that it was a Basilisk that he was hearing and with help from Draco that it was in the pipes; how he and Ron had followed the spiders into the Forbidden Forest, that Aragog had told them where the last victim of the Basilisk had died; how he had guessed that Moaning Myrtle had been that victim, and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets must be in her bathroom…

"Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted him as he paused, "So, you found out where the entrance was — breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add — but how on earth did you all get out of there alive, Harry?"

So Harry, his voice now growing hoarse from all this talking, told them about Fawkes' timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving him the sword. But then he faltered. He had so far avoided mentioning Riddle's diary — or Ginny. She was cradled between her parents, her head resting against her mum's shoulder and tears were still coursing silently down her cheeks. What if they expelled her? Harry thought in a panic. Riddle's diary didn't work anymore… how could they prove that it had been he who'd made her do it all?

Instinctively, Harry looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly. "What interests me most," Dumbledore said gently. "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Miss Weasley, when my sources tell me that he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania?"

"W-what's that?" Mr Weasley said in a stunned voice. "You Know Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not… Ginny hasn't been… has she?"

"It was this diary," Harry said quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen…"

Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt, soggy, and bloody pages. "Brilliant. Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He turned around to the Weasleys who were looking utterly bewildered. "Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself fifty years ago here at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving school… travelled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous and magical transformations that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable by anyone who had known him. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome teen who was once Head Boy here."

"But, Ginny," Mrs Weasley said carefully. "What's our Ginny got to do with — with — him?"

"His d-d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back to me all year —"

"Ginny!" Mr Weasley exclaimed, absolutely flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything! What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain? Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that — it was clearly full of Dark Magic!"

"I d-didn't know," Ginny sobbed. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it! He was… I thought he was… nice at first… like a friend! He made me believe that he was my friend!"

"Miss Weasley needs to rest up and let Madam Pomfrey take care of her," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser witches and wizards than she, have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. Bed rest, some dreamless sleep potion, and maybe a large mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up."

Mr Weasley kissed his daughter's cheek, holding her close in his arms. "That sounds like a good plan. Thank you, Albus."

Dumbledore nodded. "Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, why don't we let Miss Weasley rest up.

"My office is just around the corner, Albus," McGonagall said, urging the boys to stand up with her.

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you, Minerva. We still have a few more things to discuss. Mr Longbottom, please go on up to your dormitory. You are dismissed."

Neville nodded, looking a bit put out at having to leave. He smiled reassuringly at Harry and Ron and took off towards Gryffindor Tower.

Harry and Ron shuffled their feet as they followed Dumbledore and McGonagall to her office. Once inside, Harry put the sword, the school Sorting Hat, and the diary down on the desk before he and Ron shifted uncomfortably as McGonagall stepped in behind them.

"You know, Minerva," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go down and alert the kitchens?"

"Right," McGonagall said crisply, moving to the door. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter and Weasley, shall I?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said.

She left them alone in the Headmaster's office and Harry and Ron gazed at Dumbledore uncertainly. What exactly had McGonagall meant 'to deal with them'? Surely, they weren't going to be punished for saving Ginny?

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment. "I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules."

Harry and Ron both looked at him in horror.

Dumbledore smiled. "Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words. You will both receive Special Awards for Services to the School and — let me see — yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."

Ron went pink and he and Harry grinned widely.

Dumbledore nodded at them. "Mr Weasley, why don't you head down to the hospital wing and check on your sister. I'd like a moment with Harry."

Ron nodded at Harry, glancing back curiously at both of them before he closed the door behind them.

"Sit down, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly and Harry sat, feeling incredibly nervous. "First of all, Harry, I want to thank you," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you." He stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. "And so you met Tom Riddle, I imagine he was most interested in you…"

Harry nodded and the next words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Professor Dumbledore… Riddle said that I'm like him. Strange likenesses, he said…"

"Did he, now?" Dumbledore said thoughtfully looking at Harry from under his thick silver eyebrows. "And what do you think, Harry?"

"I don't think that I'm like him!" Harry exclaimed a little louder than he had intended too. "I mean, I'm — I'm in Gryffindor, I'm… Professor, the Sorting Hat told me I'd — I'd have done well in Slytherin. And everyone thought that I was Slytherin's Heir for a while because I can speak Parseltongue."

"You can speak Parseltongue, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly, "Because Lord Voldemort — who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin — can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm very much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night that he gave you that scar. Not something that he intended to do, I'm sure…"

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry said, thunderstruck by that statement.

"Yes."

"So, I should be in Slytherin," Harry said, looking desperately into Dumbledore's face. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me and it —"

" — Put you in Gryffindor," Dumbledore said calmly. "Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue — resourcefulness — determination — a certain disregard for the rules," he added, his moustache quivering again. "Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."

"It only put me in Gryffindor because I asked not to go in Slytherin," Harry told him in a defeated voice.

"Exactly," Dumbledore said, beaming at him. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry sat motionless in his chair, stunned. "If you want proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest that you look more closely at this."

Dumbledore reached across McGonagall's desk, picked up the blood-stained silver sword and handed it to Harry. Dully, Harry turned it over, the rubies blazing in the firelight. And then he saw the name engraved just below the hilt: Godric Gryffindor.

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry," Dumbledore said simply.

The fireplace came to life just then and Sirius spun out of it, spotting Harry, and quickly engulfing him in his embrace and kissing the top of his head.

"Harry! Are you all right? Minnie just sent me a Patronus and I… what the hell happened? Is this blood? Are you hurt?" he demanded, his hands running over Harry's arms and back trying to find the source of the injury.

"No, I'm fine, Uncle Siri — it's not my blood."

Sirius paled a little at that and tugged Harry back into his arms for a bone-crushing hug, his gaze moving to Dumbledore. "What happened?"

"I'm sure that Harry will fill you in, Sirius, but there's no need to worry. Harry was a hero tonight and will be receiving a Special Award for Services to the School. Now, Harry, why don't you go get yourself cleaned up. I hope to see you in the Great Hall for our celebratory feast," Dumbledore said as he pulled out a quill and a bottle of ink. "I need to write to Azkaban, we need our gamekeeper back."

Harry led Sirius to the door, but when he reached for the handle, the door burst open so violently it bounced back off of the wall. Lucius Malfoy stood there and his face was furious. Cowering between his legs and heavily wrapped in bandages was Dobby.

"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed in surprise as Malfoy gave him a cold look.

"Good evening, Lucius," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"How dare you return to this school without the Board's approval, Dumbledore?" he demanded.

"The Board never wanted him gone, Lucius," Sirius said angrily, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You insisting he stay on for endless board meetings in an attempt to vote him out, was a waste of everyone's time. He needed to be here at the school, where he could protect his students."

Malfoy glared at Sirius before turning back to Dumbledore. "So — have you stopped the attacks yet?" he sneered. "Have you caught the culprit?"

"We have," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Well?" Malfoy said, sharply. "Who is it?"

"The same person as last time, Lucius," Dumbledore replied. "But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary."

He held up the small black book with the large hole through the centre, watching Mr Malfoy closely. Harry however, was watching Dobby.

The elf was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Harry, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr Malfoy, and then hitting himself on the head with his fist.

"I see…" Mr Malfoy said, slowly.

"A clever plan, even from Albania," Dumbledore said in a level voice, still staring Mr Malfoy straight in the eye. "Because if Harry here —" Malfoy shot Harry a swift, sharp look, "— and his friend Ron hadn't discovered this book, why — Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove that she hadn't acted of her own free will… And imagine what might have happened then… the Weasleys are one of our most prominent pureblood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and — killing Muggleborns… very fortunate that the diary was discovered and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise… "

"Very fortunate," Malfoy said, stiffly.

Dobby continued behind his back to point to the diary, then to Mr Malfoy, then to punch himself in the head, and suddenly it all made sense. Harry remembered standing in the bookstore talking to the Malfoys, the way Mr Malfoy had picked up Ginny's books and he turned to stare at him.

"Don't you want to know how Ginny got a hold of that diary, Mr Malfoy?" Harry demanded.

Sirius looked at Harry in surprise.

Lucius spun around and glared at him. "How should I know how that stupid little girl got a hold of it?"

"Because you gave it to her," Harry said. "In Flourish and Blotts. You picked up her old Transfiguration book and slipped the diary inside of it, didn't you?"

Malfoy's hands clenched and unclenched. "Prove it," he hissed.

"Oh, no one will be able to do that," Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry. "Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley for one, will make sure they are traced back to you."

"Dobby, COME!" Malfoy exclaimed, shooting daggers at Dumbledore with his eyes.

He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through the open door. Harry could hear Dobby squealing in pain as he was kicked down the corridor.

"How can he treat him like that? How is it allowed?" Harry demanded, his eyes desperately hoping that Sirius would do something about it.

Sirius sighed. "He owns him, Harry, for better or for worse — Dobby is his property. Unless he frees him, the elf must do whatever his master insists on. I know that it's awful, but there's nothing that we can do unless Malfoy gives Dobby clothes."

Harry stared at Sirius for a moment and then he turned to look at Dumbledore, his eyes on the diary. "Can I have that?"

Dumbledore's eyes went to the diary and he gave Harry a bewildered look. "Whatever for?"

Harry didn't wait for an answer, he grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office and down the corridor, not even waiting for Sirius to catch up. He could hear Dobby squealing ahead of him and he kicked off his shoe, tugging his slimy, filthy, wet sock off and stuffing the small diary into it and then with a burst of speed hurried after Malfoy. He caught up with them at the top of the staircase.

"Mr Malfoy," he gasped, skidding to a halt. "I've got something for you!"

And he forced the smelly disgusting sock into Malfoy's hand.

"What the —?" Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, tossing it behind him and then looked furiously at the ruined book. "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Potter. They were meddlesome fools too, and trust me, the Black family name isn't going to protect you," he said, shoving the diary back into Harry's hands. "Come, Dobby!"

But the elf was staring at the item in his hand. "Master has given Dobby a sock. Master gave it to Dobby… Dobby is free."

Malfoy stood frozen as Sirius caught up with them and he glared at Harry. "You've lost me my servant, boy!" he declared, lunging towards Harry.

Sirius' wand was in his hand, but Dobby threw himself in front of Harry. "You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

There was a loud bang and Malfoy was thrown backward, crashing down the stairs three at a time and landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below.

Sirius busted into laughter, biting his lip as he watched Malfoy climb to his feet, his face livid. "Bested by an elf, Lucy. My, my, how the mighty have fallen. Maybe you should stop listening to Daddy's advice and think for yourself for once."

Lucius glared at Sirius and with a last look of loathing at Harry, turned, and stormed off.

Sirius grinned and slapped Harry on the back. "That was priceless! I'm so glad that I was here to witness that momentous occasion of Malfoy being put in his place by his own former house elf!" he exclaimed, a big smile on his face before his eyes narrowed at his son. "Now, what the hell did I miss, Mr Hero?"

Harry blushed at that statement, but Dobby spoke before he could answer.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" the elf said shrilly. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!" His big toothy grin made him look even uglier. "Whatever can I do to thank you, Sir!"

Sirius draped an arm around Harry's shoulders smiling. "What do you think, Harry? What would you like Dobby to do in terms of thanks?"

Harry smiled at the elf. "Promise to never try to save my life again."

Dobby simply beamed at him. He hugged Harry tightly around the middle and then hugged Sirius before he disappeared, a wide toothy grin still on his ugly face.

Sirius turned to Harry again, his eyes worried.

"So? Are you going to tell me what the hell happened? If this isn't your blood, it belongs to someone? Dumbledore said that you were a hero and are receiving a Special Award for Services to the School? What does Ginny have to do with anything? That's her diary, I take it?"

Harry sighed. The thought of going over the whole story again made his head hurt.

"Harry, good!" McGonagall exclaimed as she hurried up the stairs towards them. "Why don't you go on upstairs and change out of those dirty clothes and then wake up your friends? We're going to be having a wonderful midnight feast. Go on! You can talk to your father later."

Harry beamed at her, hugged Sirius and hurried off.

"Harry!" Sirius called out.

Harry just smirked at him and kept moving as he called back, "I'll fill you in later!"

Sirius sighed as he watched his godson disappear out of sight before he turned to McGonagall. "He looks all right. Your message had me worried."

"Not as serious as last year, which is a good thing, and he is fine. Not a scratch on him. The blood on his clothes is from Miss Weasley and the Basilisk."

"Basilisk — did you just say — what the bloody hell happened?"

McGonagall chuckled and linked her arm through Sirius'. "He fought the dragon and rescued the damsel." She kissed his cheek. "Go home. He's fine. He can tell you all about his adventures when he comes home for the summer. I have a house to wake up so that we can celebrate the Chamber of Secrets horror being over and done with and Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, and Professor Snape are finishing up the potion now with the Mandrakes ready to wake up those who were petrified. We have a lot to celebrate tonight."

Sirius simply shook his head. "He has to decide to be a bloody hero on the night of the full moon; can't wait until Remus is here, oh no."

She chuckled. "Home, Sirius. I'm sure that Remus needs you tonight."

Sirius nodded, glancing out at the full moon still high in the sky. "Yeah, yeah he does. I just…"

"He's fine. I promise. I will take care of him. Go home."

Sirius nodded and kissed her cheek. "I'm going."

McGonagall watched him go with a smile on her face. She couldn't blame him for being concerned, but Harry had proven himself to be quite a hero and she agreed with Dumbledore, it was time to celebrate the happy news of the horror of the Chamber of Secrets being over.

The feast turned out to be the best one that Harry had ever been too.

First off, it happened at one in the morning which was kind of fantastic all on its own.

Second, Dumbledore announced that the culprit who had opened the Chamber of Secrets had been caught and defeated making the school safe once more.

Third, that Ginny, who had been taken down into the Chamber was recuperating in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey was administering the potion to wake the other victims now that the Mandrakes were ready.

Fourth, Harry and Ron were both awarded Special Awards for Services to the School and given two hundred points each, securing Gryffindor a win for the House Cup for the second year in a row. And Neville received fifty points for the role he played in guard duty and in telling McGonagall and Dumbledore where his friends had run off too.

And lastly, just before dawn, Hermione came into the Great Hall, hugging Harry and Ron tightly and telling them how proud she was of them for solving the mystery and soon after Hagrid returned, thanking them for officially clearing his name.

It had been one of the best nights of Harry's life.

Remus arrived in time for breakfast where the celebrations were still going strong and when Dumbledore announced that as a special treat, all regular exams were cancelled (this didn't include OWLs and NEWTs as they were Ministry run tests), the whole school cheered. Hermione hadn't found the final announcement very exciting.

By the time he made it up to his dormitory close to lunch time, he was exhausted and he fell face first into his bed and was asleep before his head even found the pillow.

And for the first time in a long time, he slept dreamlessly.

~ ASC ~

Sirius walked into Black Cottage the next morning, rubbing his tired eyes. He had been up all night with Remus who had been on the final leg of the full moon, which meant he was extra restless, more so since Sirius had to leave only three hours after Remus had transformed due to the Patronus from McGonagall. Her Patronus had said: Harry has gone down into the Chamber of Secrets and rescued Ginny Weasley. You should come. All is in good order.

Sirius hadn't known what to make of that, but he knew that he had to leave his friend to go to Harry.

He stumbled up the stairs yawning loudly and made his way into his bedroom, dropping his clothes where they fell as he walked to the bathroom. He turned the shower on hot and stood under the spray for a long moment, just basking in the hot water as it sprayed his face. He lazily washed his hair and had just moved onto his body when the glass door to the shower opened and a naked Zee stepped inside with him.

He smiled at the sight of her and tugged her close for a long kiss as the hot water beat down upon them.

"Good morning," he said, kissing her again. "To what do I owe this surprise?"

"I came by to chat and heard your shower running."

"Tempted by my body, were you?" he asked with a smirk.

Zee's gaze drifted down over his wet chest to the dark hair that surrounded his semi-hard cock and down his muscled legs. "Well, it is a rather lovely view."

He grinned and let his own eyes slide over her generous curves, cupping a full breast in his hand and watching it spill over the side of it. He bent his head to lick the nipple, his hand sliding around her waist and covering the tattoo on the side of her right ribcage outlining the green and gold tribal elephant, and trailing up her spine to tap the dragon. The black niffler was enchanted to move around her body and at the moment, it was sleeping on the back of her neck.

His tongue played with her nipple, his teeth grazing her aerola as her head tilted back and she held his head in place with a soft sigh and her hand slid down to wrap around him. She stroked the length of him, once, twice and then she was pinned against the wall, grinning smartly at him as he lifted her, and slipped into her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and she held onto him for support.

Twenty minutes later she was making him a cup of tea in the kitchen as he came down the stairs. She handed him the cup with a smile. "I don't know about you, but that was exactly the wake up I needed."

Sirius grinned back at her. "I can agree with that statement." He accepted the cup of tea and then kissed her softly. "And you made me tea. Have I mentioned how great you are?"

Zee smiled at him and poured herself a cup of tea. "I don't think you said so today; please do go on."

Sirius took a sip of his tea and placed it on the counter, caging her against the counter with his arms and body. "Your sexy and gorgeous, always agreeable to morning sex, and you make a mean cup of tea. I love you."

Zee grinned, standing on her toes to kiss his lips. "I love you and it is because I love you, that I wanted to stop by and chat this morning."

Sirius reached his tea and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You didn't just stop by for shower sex then?"

"No," she said pointedly. "My parents are only in town for another week and someone has conveniently been busy or otherwise occupied for almost an entire month."

Sirius grinned at her. "I have no idea what you're implying. I have been busy trying to write an educational program and to calm the Board of Governors over the whole Chamber of Secrets incident. Not to mention I've been dealing with Lucius Malfoy, who wanted to have himself a pissing contest over removing Dumbledore from Hogwarts, but that is finally done and over with."

"Oh?"

He nodded, sipping his tea again. "I don't know all of the details yet as Minnie claimed I could find out later, but Harry helped figure it out and saved Ginny and anyway the Chamber has been found and dealt with and all is good there. Minnie says that I have to wait to hear the story from Harry when he comes home from school, but that won't be happening."

"So, you're free every night this week then?" she prompted.

Sirius hesitated. "Well, Wednesday I have my weekly board meeting but I suppose otherwise… are you sure that you want me to do this?"

Zee smiled at him. "Are you saying that you're too scared to meet my parents?"

"If I said yes would you consider me less of a man?"

She chuckled and leaned in to nip at his bottom lip. "Completely emasculated."

He sighed dramatically. "I don't do parents."

Zee nipped at his lips again. "I think it's time for you to make an exception. This week. For my parents. My father is starting to claim that I'm making you up."

Sirius chuckled. "All right, all right, I'll do it — but only because you've been begging, and it's very annoying."

She laughed and kissed him quickly. "Eee! Thank you!"

He tugged her up against him and kissed her roughly, his stubble scratching her chin. "I want some kind of reward for this," he insisted, his lips moving down her throat.

Zee let out a tiny shriek as her eyes found the clock on the wall. "Ah! I'm going to late!" She kissed him quickly on the lips and pushed away from him. "We'll talk later. Love you, bye!"

And she hurried out of the kitchen leaving him staring after her in surprise and incredibly nervous at the prospect of meeting her parents. He was so not ready for that, he thought as he took a sip of his tea.

Nope, definitely not ready at all.

He glanced up at the clock and wondered if Harry would be sleeping. He tugged the mirror from his pocket with a shrug. He didn't care. He needed to talk to his son.