Author's Note:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As noted before, I have my own ideas of how I believe Deamus came to be so give me my time to work it out. Thanks.

Reviews and Comments: To Pineapple-berry: Thank you! I love knowing you love this so much! To Matt9917: Hinny is still a while off. Thank you. To supersandman86: Exactly. Harry has lots of women in his life, but no one who is there constantly and yes, he might start thinking that Sirius should marry her. Yes, Umbridge is definitely a pot calling the kettle black and Sirius will be going up against her at some point. Harry wanting to learn how to be an Animagus shows his powerful side but also similarities with his dads. He wants to be one so he can sit with Remus. Thank you! To Wolf's scream: Zee definitely showed up at the right time and was there exactly when Harry needed her. Yes, they did as Zee explained that they celebrated early to correlate with her holiday. Thank you! To Guest: Writing moody teenage Harry is fun sometimes! He's so unreasonable. Harry did need Zee and he loved having her there for him. I love Remus completely trusting Tonks. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you!

To storp930: Thank you! I definitely think Zee is great and should stay around. Lady Godiva definitely felt the need to protect Harry when her witch ordered. Thank you! To geekymom: Welcome back! Thank you! To love reading20613: Thank you very much! I'm glad you thought that chapter was so sweet! To Steelcode: Harry and Zee are cute together and yes, Zee is an outstanding woman! Thank you! To alix33: Zee is definitely clever enough to have figured out Remus was a werewolf. Thank you! To Guest: Thanks I think. I do know the important of quality over quantity and that's why this story is and will continue to be so long as I don't want to rush things. To Lauraf68: Thank you! I'm glad you loved that the wolf recognized Tonks and that Zee came over to spend time with Harry and that Harry has come to realize that Zee adds love to his life, too. All important things.

To Ana: Thank you for saying this chapter was so beautiful! I loved having Remus be completely calm and trusting Tonks immediately. It was a beautiful bonding day for Zee and Harry! He needed her! As to Sirius and Zee getting married, well those two are stubborn. Thank you! To Obscure-Reference-Girl: Thank you for loving Harry and Zee bonding. He does need a main mother figure in his life. I love Remus and Tonks so thank you!

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

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 TWENTY-FOUR:

The One Where They Skive Off Class Because Harry Talks

Harry grinned at Hermione when she ran into his arms on the train at the end of the Christmas holidays, hugging him tightly. "Hi, Hermione, how was your holiday?"

She kissed his cheek and sat next to him on the bench, a big smile on her face. "Wonderful! It was rather nice to be home and to catch up. How was your holiday?"

"Good."

Hermione merely raised an eyebrow. "Good?"

Harry shrugged at her. "I spent some more time with just Zee."

Hermione beamed at him. "And? Is she still amazingly nice?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "She's good for him, like really good for him. The way he smiles when she walks into a room… he just lights up when she's around and I love that she does that for him. And well…" he blushed a bit as he spoke. "I had a bad dream and she was there when I woke up and she just held me and it was like I had a… never mind, it's stupid."

Hermione stared at him, a small smile on her face. "Like you had a mum."

He nodded, the back of his neck flushing. "Stupid, right? I'm thirteen years old and I've never had… but… she was there when I had a bad dream, and we all ate breakfast together, and it felt like we were a family in a different way that Uncle Siri and I are and… I don't know."

"Do you think that he's going to marry her?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. He hasn't said anything about it not since the summer before last and he was very much on the no train back then, but things have changed between them. He… he leans on her and with Pettigrew escaping and still no word on it, she comforts him."

Hermione smiled. "Dad leans on Mum too and it's the nicest thing. I mean, Dad is the strongest man that I know, he was always there to scare away the monsters under my bed or to hold me close when I did some terrible accidental magic that caused something to happen that he couldn't quite explain and he was always my hero. But after first year, when they heard about what we did to try to save the Philosopher's Stone, I remember waking up one night after having a dream about the chessboard and Ron lying there and… I went downstairs for a drink of water and Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, Mum in his lap and he was crying in her arms. I remember just standing there in the doorway dumbstruck. I had never seen my father cry before. And then I heard him tell my mum that he had thought Hogwarts was going to be good for me, but after what had happened it didn't seem safe and he was so scared for me and Mum was just holding him, running her fingers through his hair and telling him that it was all going to be all right. It was the first time I realized how much they lean on each other."

"I think Sirius needs Zee and… I think I do too," he told her honestly. "She's great."

Hermione beamed at him. "That's wonderful!"

"Uncle Siri, Uncle Rem, Tonks, and Zee also gave me a Firebolt for Christmas! It's amazing and I can't wait to see Oliver's face when I show it to him."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That broomstick that you and Ron spent hours staring at in Diagon Alley?"

"It's so much more than just a broomstick, Hermione, it's… a way of life."

She smirked at him. "Right. I'm sure."

He grinned. "I also decided that I'm going to become an Animagus."

Her eyes widened in surprise at his revelation. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I've been thinking about it for a while now and by my age my dad had already taken the potion and already learned how to become a stag so… I want to do it. I spent a good portion of my holiday reading up on it."

"Wow, good for you, Harry! Professor McGonagall said that it's very difficult."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe, but it's something that I want to do. Anyway, what did you get for Christmas?"

Hermione blushed a bit and then she grinned, biting her bottom lip. "I… I got a piano for Christmas."

Harry's eyes widened. "I didn't know you played!"

"I don't," she said with a grin. "But I've always wanted to learn and Mum and Dad bought me a piano so that I can. It's so beautiful! I had two lessons over Christmas and it's killing me not to keep learning right away!"

"Uncle Rem plays," he told her. "And there's a piano in the orchestra room. I'm sure that if you asked him, he'd help you."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Harry shrugged. "He doesn't really play that much anymore, but he did when I was little and when he was at school here. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind teaching you."

"Harry, there's something about Professor Lupin that I've been meaning to ask you," she began slowly as Ron and Ginny stepped into the train compartment.

"Harry, did you really get a Firebolt for Christmas?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes gleaming in excitement.

Harry nodded, grinning back. "I really did and it flies like a dream! The balance is amazing and it can go up to two hundred and forty kilometres in ten seconds."

"Wow!" Ron said, his eyes widening. "Can I give it a go?"

"Yeah!" Harry said with a grin. "I swear, Ron, it obeys my every thought and every move! It makes so smooth of a transition that you don't even feel it; it's honed and incredibly precise and it's bloody brilliant!"

Ginny was grinning. "I knew that you would you get a Firebolt!"

He shrugged, his eyes twinkling in delight. "When each team got the Nimbus 2001s for us to fly, I figured that was more than good enough, but this… Uncle Siri said that I deserve it. He said that I'm a great Quidditch player and that I should have a broom that utilizes my talents to the best of my abilities. Mostly, I think it's fucking brilliant!"

"Harry!" Hermione said, staring at him in surprise.

He shrugged. "Sorry, Hermione."

Ron smirked at her. "She gets so bent out of shape over a simple word."

"Well, I don't think it's appropriate language, Ron!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Harry can swear if he wants to, Hermione, it's not going to end the world."

"That's hardly the point, Ron!"

Ginny smirked at Harry and they both chuckled. "A Firebolt is pretty amazing, Harry. Wood is going to lose his mind when he finds out."

Harry grinned. "I'm surprised that he hasn't come to find me yet. I wrote him a letter to tell him. How was your Christmas?"

"Great," Ron said, glaring at Hermione. "Bill and Charlie both came home so Mum was ecstatic."

Ginny smiled and curled her legs up under her. "It was so nice to have both of them home for Christmas. And Charlie had tons of photos of some of the new dragons they got on the reserve including Hagrid's old Ridgeback."

"Yeah, turns out it was a girl the whole time so Charlie changed her name to Norberta. He said that he writes to Hagrid every few months with an update on her and he sends some photos," Ron told them.

Harry smiled as he listened to his friends talk about their holiday. As happy as he was to be returning to school, he found himself a little sad too. He had really loved being home for the holidays. Spending time with Sirius was always enjoyable and this year with Zee too, it had felt like the three of them were a family. He had never really thought about what would happen if Sirius ever decided to seriously bring a woman into their home as it had never happened before. He remembered how childish that he had acted after first year when he had first learned about Zee and how the two of them had been horrified at the thought of marriage and children, but he was starting to wonder if they still felt that way.

Would they get married?

Would they have a baby?

Not to mention that Remus and Tonks were moving in together in his house in Wales. He was moving out of Hogwarts, but would still be around Monday to Friday if Harry needed him and Harry felt a bit childish to think that his first thought was how depressing the school was going to be without knowing his father was close by. But he knew how much the Dementors affected him. It would be good for him to move back into his own cottage and he really loved the idea of Tonks moving in there with him. They took care of each other.

Plus he would be starting his Patronus lessons with Remus this week. He had read all of the texts and theories that his uncle had provided over Christmas, but he was anxious to learn the charm itself, which meant extra lessons with his uncle. He was still going to see him on a regular basis. It just felt different already.

Any little thing he could do to help get through the anxiety he felt; to help him feel stronger. Neither can live while the other survives, he thought and shuddered before he caught himself. He had been trying not to think about it, but it was always there in the back of his mind, the prophecy. His destiny.

Ginny was staring at him when he caught himself daydreaming and she offered him a small smile as Ron and Hermione were arguing about something. "You okay, Harry?"

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, I'm fine; just thinking about things is all."

Ginny watched him for a moment as if she didn't quite believe it, but then the door to the compartment opened and Oliver stood there, his eyes wide.

"Harry, are you serious? Did you actually get… a real Firebolt?" The last three words had come out in a strangled whisper.

Harry grinned and put his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his seat, smirking at his captain. "A real Firebolt. There's no way that we're losing that Cup this year, Oliver."

Oliver jumped in excitement. "Brilliant! I can't wait to tell the rest of the team!"

He ran off and Ginny giggled. "He's going to be talking of nothing else for weeks. What did McGonagall say when she found out?"

Harry grinned. "Pretty much the same as Oliver."

Ginny laughed. "Do you think maybe that I could go for a ride on it?"

"Definitely."

~ ASC ~

"How was everyone's Christmas?" Seamus asked that night after dinner, settling himself against the post of his bed.

Neville shrugged as he stretched his legs out next to Seamus. "Mine was pretty good. I didn't get a Firebolt kind of Christmas, but I have no complaints."

Ron smirked from where he sat on the end of Seamus' bed. "Nev, you wouldn't know what to do if you got a Firebolt."

"True," Neville said with a laugh. "Dean, how was your Christmas?"

Dean grinned widely as he took a seat in the middle of the bed when Harry sat next to Ron. "It was pretty great."

"Sounded better than great to me," Seamus said with a smirk.

Harry glanced between the two of them curiously. Dean was glaring at Seamus who was merely smirking. "What happened?"

Seamus licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows at his friend. "Dean got his first blow job for Christmas."

Ron's eyes widened. "Actually? From who?"

"This girl in my neighbourhood who I kind of fooled around with this summer," he said quickly with a grin.

"How was it?" Seamus asked.

"Fantastic," Dean said, his eyes on Ron's. "Like way better than you can possibly imagine."

"Wow," Ron breathed.

"What did it feel like?" Harry asked, honestly. The thought of a girl on her knees, her mouth wrapped around him had him hardening.

"I can't even describe it," Dean told them. "It was just… hot and amazing and when… he-she swallowed, I… it was just wow."

Seamus leaned back a bit and grinned widely. "I'm going to see if I can get Lavender to give me one. She let me touch her tits, you know."

Neville flushed bright red. "That's great for you, mate, honestly, but like, what are you going to do, just ask her to suck you off?"

Seamus shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

Ron snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's not going to go over well."

"Never know until you ask, Ron. Besides, the worst case is she says no and then I'm no different than I am now, am I?"

Ron nodded, contemplating Seamus' words. "Fair point."

They talked a bit more about their holidays before each boy headed back to their own beds to turn in for the night. Dean waited until he heard the familiar snores of his roommates before he moved into Seamus' bed, kneeling next to his friend, tugging the curtains closed, and poking his friend hard in the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Seamus exclaimed.

Dean glared at him and muttered a silencing charm around the bed. "You actually just blurted out to our dorm mates that I got a blow job for Christmas!"

Seamus grinned. "Well, you did."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but it wasn't…"

Seamus smiled and sat up, leaning in a bit as he licked his lips. "You loved it."

"Of course, I loved it! It was incredible! I just think that —" he hissed slightly when his friend's cold hand slipped under his pyjama bottoms and rubbed him. "I think you should stop sharing my sexual history with others and worry about your girlfriend."

"I will worry about my girlfriend when we talk tomorrow, but tonight, I'd rather talk about you." He was massaging him harder now and Dean's head fell back slightly. "Like you should tell me more about this present that you received from this made up mystery girl — what part did you like the best?"

Dean moaned when Seamus tugged his pyjama pants right down and used his other hand to rub the underside of his shaft.

"Of course I made up a girl! What did you want me to say, Seam? That I woke up Christmas morning with your mouth wrapped around my cock?"

Seamus licked his lips and leaned forward, kissing the dark tip, his tongue pushing along his foreskin and sliding along the slit. "Mmm," he said, his breath hot against his tip. "What part did you like the best, Dean?"

"All of it," he breathed as Seamus' mouth got busy.

"Good," he said, his tongue pushing. "Because you tasted amazing."

Then he wrapped his mouth around his tip and Dean's fingers fisted in his hair.

"Seam… I didn't come here for… oh my Godric," he murmured as Seamus' mouth got busy. "Oh… Godric."

Seamus held his hip with one hand as his other hand worked at gently tugging on him, a finger slipping along him in a teasing fashion while his tongue stroked him.

Dean only held on, looking down in amazement as he watched Seamus' soft lips slide back and forth over him; side to side and gliding across his long shaft. He gagged a bit, shifted and took him deeper and Dean lost it, his fingers tightening in Seamus' hair as he came, pumping his hips furiously into his friend's mouth.

Seamus smiled, licking his lips when he pulled away. He wiped his chin and grinned at him. "I think I'm getting good at that."

Dean only snorted and pulled up his pants. "Don't get cocky." He sat down next to his friend and sighed. "Why?"

"Why what?"

Dean only turned to look at him. "Seam… you can tell me anything, you know."

Seamus simply smiled at him. "I know that you have no interest in going down on me and I'm okay with that. I just want to help you out."

"Why?"

"Because I'm randy and my girlfriend hasn't given me the chance yet."

Dean only nodded, his eyes on his friend. "I'm going to ask out Parvati tomorrow."

"She'll say yes, she likes you," Seamus assured him with a smile.

"I hope so because you know how long it's taken me to work up the courage to do it," Dean smiled back. "But Seam?"

"Hmm?"

"This can't happen anymore. This… whatever this is that we're doing, it can't happen anymore."

Seamus only stared at him. "You don't want me to use my mouth on you again? You said that it was the best Christmas present you ever received."

Dean felt himself hardening again as he remembered waking up on Christmas morning to Seamus' mouth wrapped around him. "Use your mouth on Lavender. You have a talented one."

Seamus smirked as his friend opened his bed curtains to leave. "By the sounds you make, I thought I might."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Goodnight, Seam."

"Night."

Seamus closed his curtains around him, his hand sliding down to grip himself firmly. He did want to use his mouth on Lavender and he wanted her to touch him too, but when he started to pump himself, it wasn't his girlfriend that he was thinking of and he couldn't quite decide what he thought about that.

~ ASC ~

Ron watched Harry stare listlessly out the bedroom window in their dormitory for at least the tenth time that week and he sighed. He thought that going home for Christmas would have helped his friend with whatever this was, but he seemed to be withdrawing back into himself all over again and Ron didn't think the thoughts that the Dementors stirred up were strictly to blame. He had mentioned it to Bill briefly over Christmas and Bill had smiled at him.

"Harry has a lot going on, Ron; give him some time."

"How much time?"

Bill had only smiled. "You're his friend, Ron; when you think that he's had enough time to brood about it, you push."

Ron watched him for a moment. He was pretty sure that Harry had had more than enough time. He moved over to sit on the window ledge next to his friend. "You ever going to share it, mate?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, turning to Ron in surprise.

"Are you ever going to tell me about it?"

"Tell you what?" Harry asked, moving off the ledge and heading over to his four poster to grab the jumper that he had thrown there. He tugged it over his head, adjusting his tie and suspenders beneath the jumper.

Ron sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Whatever it is that you've been holding in for weeks. I thought maybe it was an aftermath thing from the Chamber of Secrets at first, but Ginny's been doing great and you… you seem to have taken two huge steps back. I thought maybe when you went home and saw Sirius it would help but…"

Harry shrugged and pulled his robes on as he watched Seamus and Dean hurry out of the dormitory for breakfast. Neville was still putting on his socks.

"I don't know what you're on about, mate, I'm perfectly fine."

Ron snorted. "If you're perfectly fine, I'll eat a Hippogriff."

"Hope you're hungry then."

"Harry!"

Harry spun around to glare at his friend. "I'm fine, Ron!"

Neville moved to block Harry's path when he attempted to storm out of the dormitory. "The fact that you just blew up on Ron like an absolute git only further proves his point. You are not bloody fine. What's going on with you, Harry?" When Harry didn't answer, Neville scowled. "We're your friends, you can tell us anything."

"We're going to miss breakfast," Harry said stubbornly, attempting to move past Neville.

Ron merely raised an eyebrow. "What's going on, Harry? We're not leaving until you talk to us."

Harry sighed. "Look, I just have a lot on my mind. I'm fine. Now will you two move and let me out?"

"And as your friends we want to help you, so stop lying to us and telling us that you're fine when we can see that you're bloody-well not," Ron insisted stubbornly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not moving until you tell us how we can help."

"Well, you can't!" he exploded. It had been bubbling under the surface for weeks and now confronted by his friends, he couldn't keep it in any more. "No one can! It's me! It's my destiny! I'm the one that has to stop him!"

"What the bleeding hell are you talking about?" Ron demanded, grabbing his friend's arm. "What is your destiny?"

Harry stared into his friend's blue eyes for a long moment and when he finally spoke, it came out in a whisper. "I have to kill him."

Neville nodded at Ron and hurried out of the dorm as Ron led Harry over to his bed and sat down. Harry dragged his hands over his face, tugging his glasses off and throwing them on the bed next to him before sliding down to sit on the floor. Ron didn't say anything; he just sat next to him on the floor quietly, his hand on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Neville returned with Hermione and she closed the dormitory door behind her, sitting on the other side of Harry and linking her arm through is.

"Talk to us, Harry. Please."

Neville sat across from him, reaching out to touch his friend's ankle as if just wanting to provide contact as well as comfort.

Harry let out a slow breath and put his glasses back on. "We have to go to Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"We'll skive," Ron said stubbornly. "Fucking talk to us, Harry."

"Ronald!" Hermione lectured, smacking his arm.

"I don't want to worry you," Harry said.

Neville snorted. "That's complete crap; we're your friends."

"And we're already worried, Harry!" Hermione added, her eyes on his. "Please talk to us; let us help."

Harry smiled gratefully at them.

Ron squeezed his shoulder lightly. "You said that you have to kill somebody, Harry. What did you mean?"

Harry nodded, his eyes wide. "After… after we went back to the Chamber of Secrets, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus asked to talk to me."

Hermione rubbed his arm gently. "They wanted to make sure that you were all right after going back there?"

"Partly," he said quietly. "They wanted to talk to me in more detail about the diary." He let out a slow breath. "I… I didn't always live with Uncle Sirius. When my parents were killed, Uncle Sirius went after Peter to kill him for betraying my parents, but well, he escaped and Uncle Sirius got blamed for his death and went to prison. Dumbledore left me with my mum's sister and her husband. They're Muggles. I… I never really talk about it, but my life with them was… Uncle Siri rescued me when he got out and it was great. When I was six he decided to go back to his family home and he didn't want to go; he said that it was full of bad memories, but he was the only real Black left and he had to organize his estate. He took me with him. I don't remember much about that day except that the house was dark and scary and I remember sitting on his shoulders and he was holding me tightly as we walked through the house. We found this locket and… the moment Uncle Siri touched it, I was terrified."

"From a locket?" Hermione interrupted, her eyes on his.

Harry nodded, swallowing. "You could feel this darkness coming from it. I know now that it was full of dark magic, but when I was six, all I felt was scared, and it brought back all of these bad memories and... memories of my parents dying… it was like when the Dementors are near me, but it hurt my scar… and I kind of thought that it was a dream, you know? But then... one day last year when I was talking to Ginny, I touched the diary, and my scar hurt again."

"What does that mean, Harry?" Neville asked quietly.

He shook his head. "I don't really know. Not for sure. I'm the only person to have a cursed scar like this. But… the darkness, they're Horcruxes. Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus told me that they're working with Dumbledore and others to try to find them and destroy them to prevent Voldemort from coming back."

"Coming back?" Neville whispered.

Harry shrugged. "I destroyed one Horcrux, the diary, but Dumbledore thinks that he might have made seven and as long as there's a Horcrux out there, Voldemort can never truly die. And... there was a prophecy that was made before I was born… about a child born at the end of July who would have the power to defeat Voldemort because neither can live while the other survives."

His friends were quiet. He pulled his glasses off to rub his face again.

"The prophecy might not have been about me, but it stated that Voldemort would mark his enemy and when he came after me and he killed my parents and gave me this scar... it became about me and him. So I have to murder him in the end or he's going to murder me," he finished, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Hermione hugged him close, her head resting on his shoulder. "Harry, this doesn't… I mean…"

"I know," he said quietly, putting his arm around her as well. "I feel like I've always known on some level that it would come down to me and him. I've faced him three times and I'm still standing... but I don't know how. I'm not strong enough to defeat him! He's the darkest and most powerful wizard to ever have lived! He's killed hundreds of people! I'm just... I'm just me!"

Ron rubbed his shoulder as he nodded solemnly. "It's not just you."

Harry's eyes flew to his friend's face. "Don't be daft!"

"Do you really think that any of us are going to stand around and do nothing if he comes after you, Harry? Like Sirius told you, he doesn't have a body. He's nowhere close to coming back. It's not going to be today or tomorrow or even next month. You have time to prepare. When he comes back, it's not going to be some big instant battle to the death between the two of you — it will be a war."

"Ron, that's not..."

Neville rolled his eyes. "It could have been me, Harry! I won't stand around either. And Sirius has a team working on the Horcrux part of it. You are not alone."

"And you'll never be alone," Hermione said with a soft smile. "I followed you into a trap door guarded by a three-headed-dog without hesitation when I was twelve. Ron was willing to sacrifice himself so that you could try to stop Voldemort from getting the Philosopher's Stone. Neville willingly let you and Ron jump down a huge underground tunnel to find Ginny with every intention of going after you if the teachers hadn't come. If you think that any of us are going to stand idly by when you need us, you better think again. We're here for you — always."

Harry stared at them, his eyes wide. "But it has to be me."

"That doesn't mean that you have to be alone, mate," Ron insisted. "You keeping all of this locked up inside is stupid. It's what friends are for, Harry, to lean on. So you know, lean."

Harry smiled gratefully at them. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you right away. I should have. It was just... it was a lot to take in. And… I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want you to feel bad or to pity me in some way either. I don't know what I thought really."

Neville smiled at him, his hand still on his ankle. "You forgot that we make our own choices, mate. And you're our friend."

Harry let out a slow breath. "Uncle Sirius says that their team is going to deal with the Horcruxes and that my job is to stay out of it. Uncle Remus is going to teach me how to defeat the Dementors. He said that's a start and to leave Operation FUVP to them."

"What's Operation FUVP?" Hermione asked

Harry grinned widely. "Operation Fuck Up Voldemort's Plans."

"Brilliant," Ron said with a grin as Hermione pursed her lips at the name. "Now, I think it's time you backtrack a bit here, mate. What's a Horcrux?"

Harry sighed and started from the beginning and as he spoke, he felt lighter.

~ ASC ~

"Minerva, what's the password for the Gryffindor common room?" Remus asked as he rushed into her classroom after his first class that morning.

McGonagall looked up in surprise. "Why?"

"Harry didn't come to class and neither did Ron, Hermione, or Neville. I need to... I need to see if they're there."

McGonagall nodded, her eyes alight with concern. "It's 'hocus-pocus.'"

Remus thanked her and hurried towards the stairs. As far as he knew, Harry had never skipped class before and the thought of his son hurt or sick made him run faster. He yelled out the password and hurried through the empty common room and up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. When he got to the door that said third years, he took a turn. Harry was in the same dorm that he had shared for seven years with James and Sirius. He hadn't expected that. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door and froze.

Harry was sitting on the floor of his dorm with Hermione's arms wrapped around him; Ron had a hand on his other shoulder, and Neville was holding his leg. The image brought about a sudden flash of deja vu: His friends holding him in a similar fashion while he spoke to them about being a werewolf, supporting him. His heartbeat slowed and he let out a slow breath of relief.

"Harry, even if this prophecy is true and you do have to kill him, we're going to be there, right next to you, every step of the way." Ron insisted.

Remus smiled, a sense of intrusion washing over him and he carefully closed the dormitory door so as not to disturb them. Harry had finally caved and told his friends. He was relieved and happy that he had friends strong enough to stand with him. Thirteen was indeed young, but had his friends not also been thirteen years old when they had stood by him; willing to undergo the dangerous and difficult task of becoming an Animagus just to help him during the nights of the full moon?

He made his way down the stairs with a smile. Harry did have good friends and he couldn't be prouder to watch him lean on them. To be the friend that they leaned on and know they had each other's backs. He smiled and headed back to his office.

It was a really good thing.

~ ASC ~

After speaking to his friends, Harry felt better. He felt less stressed out and a little more sure of himself even though he still felt like the prophecy was hanging over him. When the owl arrived at dinner for him that night, he smiled as he read his father's writing asking him to come to his office after dinner. He told his friends that he would meet them in the common room and made his way down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office.

Remus smiled at him when he stepped into the room. "Why hello my missing student?"

Harry flushed. "Er, yeah sorry I missed class today. Was it something important?"

"Everything I teach is important, Harry," Remus told him with a smile.

Harry grinned. "Right, sorry. It won't happen again."

Remus nodded, his eyes on his son. "Have a seat, little Prongs." Once he was seated, he took a seat behind his own desk and crossed his arms in front of him. "You all right? It's not like you to skive off any classes?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Remember what I said about tattooing that on your forehead?"

He smirked and leaned forward a bit. "I really am fine, Uncle Moony. I wasn't, I mean... I didn't mean to skive, but… Ron cornered me and demanded that I talk and well... I told him. I told my friends about the prophecy and the Horcruxes."

Remus smiled. "Good. We told you to share it with them if you felt the need too."

"I didn't want to burden them with it."

"Harry, being able to lean on your friends is one of the best parts about having friends. How do you think I survived seven years of school as a werewolf? The weight is not only yours to bear."

He smiled. "They want to help."

He nodded. "I get that. Right now, there's nothing for any of you to do, but when there is, I promise that Sirius and I will let you know."

Harry nodded. "Okay. Are you giving me detention for skipping class?"

Remus smiled. "Considering the circumstances, no, but I expect you to still hand in today's homework to me by next class and the same goes for your friends."

He grinned. "We can do that. Thanks, Uncle Moony."

"You're welcome. Now go on; if you're late for Quidditch practice, Wood will have an aneurysm."

Harry smirked and jumped to his feet. "You're not wrong."

~ ASC ~

Colin elbowed Ginny lightly and she jolted turning to glare at him. "I'm sorry! I am listening I swear!"

Colin smirked. He had been watching his friend for the last five minutes while she stared off in the direction of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who were running around the pitch on the orders of their captain. "Were you? Because it sure looked like you were watching Harry."

Ginny flushed. "I wasn't."

"You said that you didn't like him that way anymore."

"I don't," she said, determined to not look over and stare at where Harry was running past them on the stands of the Quidditch pitch.

"Uh-huh. Well, wipe that drool off the side of your chin then."

She flushed, touching her chin. "I am not drooling!"

Colin smirked at her. "It's okay to like him, you know."

She shook her head, resting her chin on her hand. "No, it's not. He's one of my best friends and I love him so much and the last thing I want to do is to scare him off because I think that he has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. He's my friend and I never want to lose that friendship because I have a stupid little crush that doesn't even mean anything."

"Well, 'his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad.'"

Ginny shoved him playfully. "And I also really can't write poetry."

Colin chuckled. "He's a good looking bloke, Ginny, you can admire that and still be his friend. He's getting tall too, but he still looks short next to your brother."

"Ron is going to be a giant like Bill. But Harry is getting tall and the way he lets his hair fall so it sticks up everywhere, even when he tries to brush it — it's just adorable."

"You're drooling again."

Ginny sighed. "Please stop me before I embarrass myself! And I am not drooling, you prat!" She tucked her long hair behind her ear. "And besides, I am not even remotely his type. He fancies Cho Chang."

"Who?"

"The Ravenclaw Seeker? She's all willowy and tall and so pretty with her dark hair and small, perky tits. I'm basically the complete opposite, pale and freckly with my stupid red hair."

Colin elbowed her lightly. "You're pretty, too, with hair like fire, not stupid and red — and you're short, and definitely not willowy."

She screwed her face up in annoyance. "He's my friend and nothing more. Now, let's stop watching them practice and get back to work."

He grinned at her. "I will admit, it's definitely not a hardship to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team run."

Ginny flushed red. "We're not here to watch the Quidditch team! We are here to talk about our Defence Against the Dark Arts essay."

Colin rolled his eyes. "And why are we doing that outside in January in the Quidditch stands again? I am freezing my buns off!"

Ginny laughed and quickly performed a warming charm on him. "You said that the library was stuffy and wanted to work outside!"

"Oh, right, I did say that," he said, sighing in relief as the warming charm went through him.

"And then you said that the courtyard had too many people and you were too distracted so you said let's go sit in the Quidditch stands."

"Okay, okay, I did this to myself, I got it, no need to rub it in as I freeze my buns off."

Ginny grinned at him. "Flitwick did teach us the warming charm last year and…" she trailed off, flushing. "I mean..."

Colin scooted closer and wrapped an arm across her shoulders. "You have to stop feeling guilty, Ginny. I never blamed you for a second. And as you know, McGonagall was great. She came by the house and organized a special tutoring session with me twice a week all summer to catch up with all of the work that I missed. I did learn the warming spell, I just, er, forgot to use it. Magic is still new to me, you know? Us Muggleborns just freeze our buns off until someone reminds us that we know how to do magic."

She grinned and kissed his cheek, hugging him tightly. "Colin, you're my very best friend, do you know that?"

He smiled and kissed her cheek in turn. "Well, I certainly hope so because I consider you mine."

They both looked up as Harry stopped in front of them, panting from his run up, down and across the Quidditch stands, his brand new Firebolt slung across his shoulders. He waved a little as he caught his breath and then headed off again as Wood yelled something out about slackers.

Ginny shook her head and laughed. "To be honest, I just want to see that new broom in action. It's gorgeous! And it's supposed to be the best broom in the world!"

"I'll take your word for it, my knowledge of brooms involves sweeping."

"Colin, you need to learn more about Quidditch," she said with a laugh, turning to watch her brothers who were glaring menacingly at Wood as they ran around the pitch. "Sometimes I like to just watch my brothers plot Oliver's demise when he makes them run like this too."

Colin grinned. "Those two are rather devious, aren't they?"

Ginny stood up and smirked at him. "Sometimes they get their ideas from me."

"No wonder they're so scary!"

She smirked. "Come on; let's go finish up in the study hall where it's warm."

"Ginny, I'd love too, but don't you have to go meet Na'eemah at seven?"

"Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

And she ran down the stands leaving Colin laughing as he hurried after her.