Author's Note:

You were supposed to get this update yesterday, but I was delayed, so I apologize.

Reviews and Comments: To Hinny FTW: Things are working out quite nicely until Umbridge's law throws Remus under the bus made me laugh out loud! Yes, there will be some nails in the road I suppose. Thank you for saying my writing style is amazing and so are the chapter lengths. You expect another 75 chapters before Hinny goodness comes to play… we shall see. Yes, Harry did beat Cedric LOL and you think him dating early will kickstart Ron and Hermione a bit earlier? Interesting. We'll see! To BillBrink: Thanks for liking Harry's date with Cho, despite me not being fond of her, I thought he deserved a good first date experience. To Ana: Thanks for saying despite not liking Cho, their date was adorable. I wanted him to have a nice first date. Seamus is definitely jealous, he just doesn't know it. Thank you! It will be interesting to see how the Horcrux bits play put. As to a little Sirius and Zee running around… we'll see! I love that your obsessed with ASC — thank you!

To scrappy8: Thank you! To alix33: Zee definitely wrote him back! I agree, Cho calling Harry's drink boring was uncalled for! To .1: Thank you! I can't wait for him to kiss Ginny either! To cha-chris: Thank you! To ladyinwaiting2005: Aww, thank you for saying I'm your favourite! To Steelcode: Sirius not in the know was a wise choice on Harry's part LOL. Thank you! To Obscure-Reference-Girl: Thank you! I agree with you, some things should only happen with Ginny, so don't worry! To nesciamema: Ha, Ginny will definitely have a boyfriend that will make Harry jealous! Thank you! To WarMunger98: Thank you! I don't want Cho to be likeable LOL! But I did need to give Harry a good first date. Yes, Cho is definitely one of those girls that wants everyone to like what they like. Thanks for finding the bit with Xander interesting. You thought I was going to reintroduce Veronica? Interesting. We haven't seen the last of Roni yet, but no, not yet. Thank you!

To Guardian of the Inheritance: Thank you very much for saying ASC is fantastic! To MMMARGEAU: Ha, Sirius definitely has way more game, being raised by Sirius LOL. Thank you! To coloredwords: Ha, Harry is turning into a ladies man? Well, not yet LOL. He definitely might be a low-key Seamus and Dean shipper though. Thanks! To Wolf's scream: Very well said. There is a difference between knowing a subject well and being willing and able to teach it. Sirius is definitely not discreet with things such as that. Zee is a definite positive influence on Harry and Sirius. Ginny is always there to set Harry straight! Thank you! To Claire Fraser: So glad to see you've caught up again! Yes, Harry did stand in a Sirius pose waiting for Cho, he is learning! Yes, you might be detecting a jealous Seamus. Thank you! To RedheadLover: I hate Harry/Cho as well, so I promise it won't be long. Thank you for eagerly awaiting more!

Thank you to my Beta - SilverStarwolfe!

My posting schedule: Every Tuesday or Wednesday (usually the latter) and sometimes on the weekends.

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-SEVEN:

The One Where Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore Fuck Up

Remus smiled at McGonagall when she knocked on his open office door one evening in the middle of February. "Minerva, hello," he said, gesturing for her to come inside. "This is a pleasant surprise."

McGonagall smiled back at him as she took a seat across from his desk. "I've been mulling over some ideas for that duelling class."

"Oh?" Remus asked, his eyebrow rising. "It's been a while now and to be honest, I wasn't sure you were serious about it?"

"I am completely serious," McGonagall told him. "Especially with what we're all working on in terms of the Op, I think making sure that the students are able to defend themselves, if necessary, is a great idea. The problem that Albus had mentioned about doing so is finding a competent teacher to fulfill that role. Now, obviously Filius is the ideal choice. He was a champion duellist in his time, but he has become quite busy teaching extra curricular activities, which is good, but we need someone excellent. I was thinking of getting some guests to come in and teach."

Remus' eyebrow rose. "Some guests?"

She nodded. "I thought that you and I could run the main sessions, Remus, especially since as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, you have the experience. Then, I was hoping that we could get someone new in to teach the students every week so that all of the responsibility does not fall upon yourself. Sirius for example or even Tonks and some other Aurors maybe who might be interested, not to mention us professors. But we have to organize how we'd teach the students. By year? By skill level? I'm not sure yet."

"And you're thinking, just duelling?"

She shook her head, crossing her legs in front of her. "Actually, I was thinking about an obstacle course. I really loved setting up that course for hiding the stone two years ago. It was fun and creative and I think that it would be marvellous to do a similar thing down in the Chamber of Secrets especially since the space is there to be utilized, and if we could use it, reform it to represent something good rather than something tragic and terrifying. It would be good for the school. Not to mention that I think it would be a wonderful challenge for the students to run through an obstacle course at the end of the year. And the obstacle course midterms you provided for your classes were wonderful; all of the students were talking about how it was their favourite practical."

"You definitely have the space for it," Remus mused, liking the idea immensely. "I do think students learn the best that way, as they have to think about how to best get out of the situation they find themselves in, using the knowledge they've learned, instead of just regurgitating knowledge back at the professor. I'm going to do the final exam the same way. Would you divvy it up per year?"

McGonagall nodded. "Yes. I was thinking third years and above. If a third year masters their course, they could move onto the fourth year level and so on. Like the stone, I will use the help and expertise of a few different professors to build the obstacle courses. In the meantime, we can teach charms and defensive spells in the duelling room. Once they have mastered their respective teachings, they can try the obstacle course set up for them in the Chamber, which should be ready by the end of the school year — if I can organize everything."

"That sounds rather brilliant, actually," Remus told her with a grin. "I bet we can definitely get some guests in here to teach some new spells to whomever is interested. Even if we don't manage the constant guests, I'm in. But instead of strictly by year, may I suggest divisions by skill level? Depending on how many students sign up for the club, we could divide then by beginner, intermediate, and advanced?"

McGonagall beamed at him. "That sounds much smarter and depending on how many students, two of each group or maybe third and fourth years can be lumped together and then fifth through seventh?"

"That sounds like a smart game plan."

She smiled. "You can help me brainstorm the first few lessons. In the meantime, I will post a sign up sheet in each common room in the next week or so."

Remus smiled back at her. "Sounds great. I'd be pleased to help with this. What did you have in mind, Minerva?"

McGonagall smiled brightly and opened the folder she had brought with her. "Quite a lot actually — so listen up."

He only grinned and made himself comfortable. It sounded like a grand idea to him and he couldn't wait to hear all about her plans.

~ ASC ~

Neville grinned at Harry when he slid into the chair next to him in the library. With as much time as his friend had been spending snogging his new girlfriend, Neville felt like he had barely seen him.

"Hi, Harry."

Harry grinned at him, piling his books up on the table. "Hey, Nev, how's it going?"

Neville shrugged, dropping his quill. "Homework."

Harry nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"How's Cho?"

He grinned. "Okay."

"Only okay?"

He shrugged. "We mostly just snog."

"I noticed," he said, making his friend grin sheepishly.

Harry smiled. "I like her. It's fun to kiss her and to touch her, but she doesn't seem to want to spend any time with any of my friends, which is kind of annoying."

"Well, it makes sense that she wants to spend time with you, doesn't it?"

"I guess," he said, looking thoughtful. "Anyway, I was hoping to find you anyway. I decided over Christmas break that I really want to become an Animagus like Uncle Sirius and like my dad."

"Wow, really? That's brilliant, Harry!"

He grinned. "I think it will be and I've been reading all about it for the last few weeks now, but before I can actually do it, I have to chew a Mandrake leaf. I was hoping that you could charm Professor Sprout into giving you one for me?"

Neville smirked, scratching his forehead. "Charm Professor Sprout?"

"What? She loves you," Harry said with a grin. "I just need one and I have to keep it in my mouth for an entire month, which I think is going to be interesting."

"What about when you have to eat and stuff?"

"Still have to keep it there," Harry told him. "Uncle Siri says that it tastes disgusting and it's the hardest part of learning how."

Neville smiled. "I can definitely get a Mandrake leaf for you. It's wicked that you're going to learn. It would be kind of awesome to be able to turn into an animal whenever you wanted. Do you think that you'll be a stag like your dad?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. It would be really amazing to be able to fly, but I don't know if I'd want to be a bird or anything either. I'll have to see. As soon as I get the Mandrake leaf I can start."

"How are you going to snog Cho with a Mandrake leaf in your mouth?"

Harry frowned at his friend. "Er… I didn't think about that actually. I'm sure that I can figure it out."

Neville chuckled. "Well, you have some time to figure it out. Sprout has Mandrakes in greenhouse five, but they won't be matured enough until at least the beginning of March, which means that the leaves aren't viable until then. The moment they are, I will let you know."

"Great, thanks, Nev."

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think maybe I could learn how to become an Animagus, too? It's supposed to be something only really powerful witches and wizards can learn?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, anyone can learn it, Nev. It sounds to me like it's about patience and determination just as much as power. It would be brilliant if you learned with me! I'll lend you the book Uncle Siri gave me and when the leaves are ready we can talk about it."

Neville beamed at him. "Brilliant!"

~ ASC ~

The next afternoon, Sirius and Remus stared at the locket that Dumbledore had brought to Grimmauld Place, their eyes locked on the ornate S. Sirius could feel the darkness creeping out of it, feel it in his own soul, and he did his best to shut the memories away before his eyes met Dumbledore's.

"I do think it's high past time, Albus. I think at this point, we've done everything that we can."

Dumbledore nodded, handing Sirius the Sword of Gryffindor that he had brought with him from his office where it still resided since Harry had pulled it from the Sorting Hat last year. "I do as well. We have studied it as best as we can and I know that we would all feel safer knowing that another one has been destroyed. It is unfortunate that such a prized historical artefact will be wrecked, and I know that we were both hoping we could do something along those lines, for Harry's sake as well."

Sirius nodded. "I may have something in the works for Harry. I'm still working on it, but in the meantime, yes, I think it is time to get rid of this." He accepted the sword and nodded at Remus, who picked up the locket, putting it on the floor of the kitchen. "Kreacher!"

The elf appeared with a loud cracking sound, his large eyes on Sirius. Sirius still didn't particularly like the elf, but he respected the love that the house elf had for his little brother. It was part of the reason why he wanted Kreacher to know that he had kept his word; that he would destroy the locket where Kreacher couldn't.

Sirius nodded at the locket. "This is for Regulus."

Kreacher's eyes widened as Sirius put the tip of the sword in the centre of the locket and pushed. The locket seemed to pulse, but instead of shattering, blowing apart and or being destroyed in any way, it only shrieked a loud howl and the four of them were thrown back against the walls with such force that the house rattled.

Remus had flown through the open kitchen door and landed on the stairs and he placed a hand over the small of his back, dreading the bruising that would surely be across his tailbone in a few hours, as he stepped back into the kitchen.

"Why didn't that work?"

Sirius pulled his hand away from the back of his head and saw blood, wincing slightly. "You said that the Basilisk venom would still be in the sword and would therefore work against the Horcrux?"

Dumbledore accepted Remus' hand as he helped him to his feet. He had a cut over his eyebrow which was bleeding quite profusely from where he had gone face first into the mantle of the fireplace.

"Remus was correct. That is strong enough to destroy it."

"It hisses at us!" Kreacher cried out, his hands over his bat-like ears. "It hisses its displeasure, Sir!"

Sirius stared at his house elf for a moment before he turned to look at Dumbledore and Remus. "Well, fuck."

Remus picked up the locket, slamming it on the table. "After everything we saw down in the Chamber of Secrets, we should have known that he would have added that as a safeguard!"

Dumbledore was a bit shaky on his feet as he moved to sit in the chair. "The Parseltongue Charm, of course. One needs to open it before the Horcrux can be destroyed and one can only do that by speaking to it in Parseltongue."

Remus moved in front of Dumbledore, moving to look at the cut on the older man's head and summoning a towel over to stop the bleeding. "Stay with us there, Albus, head wounds bleed quite profusely as I'm sure Sirius can remember from when Harry fell out of the treehouse and he had a minor panic attack."

Sirius flipped him off in response, making him chuckle.

Dumbledore nodded, grateful to Remus who carefully controlled the bleeding before he healed the tiny cut above his eyebrow. "Thank you, Remus."

Remus moved to Sirius now. "Turn around and let me see that head."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's superficial." At Remus' look, he sighed, and plopped himself down onto the bench at the table. He felt Remus' fingers in his hair, looking for the source of the bleeding and winced as the healing charm sealed it over. "You bleeding?"

Remus shook his head. "No, just bruised."

Kreacher seemed all right as well so they turned their attention back to the locket on the table.

"So, all that worrying about how we were going to handle things and not let Harry do this, was all for naught," Sirius said stubbornly as he stared at the Horcrux. "And in the end, we still need him to fucking open it for us."

"There is a charm we can try," Dumbledore said carefully. "If we were to conjure a snake, maybe the snake could unknowingly open the locket for us?"

Remus contemplated that for a moment and tugged out his wand. "Wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Serpentsortia!"

A long, thin black snake erupted from his wand in front of the locket. The snake hissed angrily and the locket pulsed. The snake's head turned to look at it as if the locket had spoken and moved closer. The locket pulsed again and a green smoke echo struck from the locket hitting the snake directly. The reptile's black scales erupted in green flames and the snake hissed violently as it was burnt alive in seconds, leaving nothing but a pile of steaming ash on the kitchen table.

Sirius swore. "Well then, that worked like shit."

Remus dragged his fingers through his hair and bit his bottom lip. "Unless either of you have any other bright ideas, I think that we need to get Harry to open it for us before we can use the sword to actually destroy it."

Sirius only nodded. "Unfortunately, I think you're right."

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I can arrange for him to come home for one weekend to do this. But let's hope we're not going to need his assistance in destroying all of them."

"I think we might be safe, Albus, depending on what he has chosen for his safe box," Remus said slowly. "This is a locket which needs to be opened, hence the Parseltongue Charm, but the diary for instance, any one of us could have stabbed it through with a Basilisk fang. That did not require any knowledge of Parseltongue to do so."

Sirius nodded. "Well, except getting through the Chamber of Secrets, that required some Parseltongue, but I agree with that. All right, we'll arrange to get Harry here. In the meantime, I think it's high time that I go recruit Mad-Eye."

Dumbledore chuckled. "He's still a bit of his old paranoid self, Sirius, so do watch out when you approach him."

"He still living in that house in Portnahaven?"

"Yes, close to the Scottish coast and I think retirement might have made him even more crotchety than he was before," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I'd be happy to write to him myself first."

Sirius shook his head as he thought about the old Auror. Mad-Eye Moody had trained he and James almost religiously while they worked in the Order of the Phoenix during the first war. He had wanted them both to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, specifically thought that they would excel at being Hit Wizards, claiming that they were intelligent, sneaky, and mischievous while at the same time clever and fast with a wand. James and Sirius had both been too eager to help in the fight against Voldemort, putting it off as a future endeavour and concentrating on their work in the Order. But they had listened to him, and they had learned so much from the old Auror.

He had never blamed Moody for his stint in Azkaban either. Moody's reputation was well-known for his ability to catch dark witches and wizards, but once he arrested them, he didn't bother with them from there on out. His fate had been in the hands of the DMLE and Crouch while Moody had been back out in the field.

"No, Albus, I got this. I'll go interrupt his retirement one day this week."

Remus chuckled as he glanced up at the clock in the kitchen. "Should be interesting to say the least. Albus, have Poppy check you over when you return to Hogwarts just to be safe. You took a hard hit to the head."

Dumbledore nodded, smiling at him. "I'm fine, but I promise to do so. I shall see you tomorrow, Remus."

He said goodbye and hurried out the front door of Grimmauld Place.

Sirius only stared at his friend, grabbing the locket and leading Remus out of the kitchen and into his grandfather's old study, locking the locket in the vault there. "I'll mirror-call Harry tonight and tell him about the locket."

Remus nodded. "I'd wait until after curfew so that he's up in bed."

Sirius' eyebrow rose. "Oh? Why is that?"

"You know why," Remus said with a grin. "Our boy has been spending a lot of time with his lips glued to a certain Asian beauty as of late."

Sirius chuckled. "I think I should meet her, officially."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I think not. Besides, she's not going to last much longer."

"Why? Did something happen between them? What do you know?"

Remus shook his head, smirking at the firing of questions his friend was shooting at him. "I don't know anything, Siri, just a feeling I have. Miss Chang is a lovely girl. She's bright and intelligent, but there's no real spark between them. I'd say outside of initial attraction, I think our boy is merely enjoying the experience more than Miss Chang herself and I definitely got the impression that Cho rather likes the fact that she's dating Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, more than Harry himself."

Sirius frowned. "If she hurts him —"

"Sirius, let him experience his first heartbreak. We've all been there. And I think he'll figure it out on his own. He's a smart young man. We have to let him make his own choices," Remus said. "He's only been dating her for a little over a month as it is."

He nodded. "I know. And Harry has been rather close-mouthed on the two of them. I know he told me that they snogged, but he won't tell me any other details."

"Can you blame him?"

He grinned. "No, but I can still be as nosy as possible."

Remus grinned at his friend. "Oh, that I'm well aware of. So, let's make the next meeting for Saturday night again, the nineteenth? That gives you plenty of time to go talk to Moody and invite him to come along and maybe that Saturday we can make it more than just a meeting."

"As in?"

"As in, let's have Harry attend."

Sirius made to protest, but then he nodded. "No, you're right. Me not wanting him there is purely an overprotective father move. We can have him open the locket and we can destroy it there, before we even really get started on everything. That way he can also see that we mean business. I'll send a message out to Bill as well, you'll tell Minnie?" At Remus' nod, he sighed. "I just wish that we had more information on where Wormtail and Bella are or what the fuck Malfoy is up to."

"You still think Malfoy's information about Croatia was bullshit?"

Sirius hesitated. "It's not that I think it was bullshit, it's that I don't a hundred percent trust Lucius Malfoy. He's not innately evil like Abraxas is, and I know that. He's still madly in love with his wife and he clearly cares a great deal for his son. His family means the world to him, but he did take the Dark Mark once upon a time and become one of Voldemort's lackeys."

"Narcissa claims that it was forced upon him."

"It very well could have been, I'm not saying otherwise, but Lucius Malfoy always was a pureblood idealist prick, and I very much doubt that there wasn't some part of Voldemort that he idolized; that he respected. I don't for one second believe he was a completely an innocent bystander in the war."

"He hasn't claimed otherwise," Remus said quietly. "But he was younger then, had a lot less to lose than he does now."

Sirius nodded, his eyes on his friend. "True. I don't know, I think Cissa is a bit blind in her love for him. And I don't know what to make of Draco. Harry says that he's a huge prat at school — which to me screams Lucius, but Draco also apparently snooped around his grandfather's study over the Christmas holidays — and Lucius lost his shit. He's not telling Draco anything about what his father might be up too, and I find that just as interesting."

"I still can't believe that you threatened to kill him."

Sirius merely shrugged. "If he hurts Harry, Moony, I won't even fucking hesitate."

Remus stared into his friends intense grey eyes. He knew without a doubt how serious his friend was and he knew in his heart that he wouldn't even try to stop him and he didn't know how that made him feel.

"I know it, Padfoot, and you know that I'll be right there with you."

Sirius nodded. "I'd expect nothing else from you, Moony." He draped an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Now, why don't you tell me why Tonks was going on about the difference between Pacific Blue and Cerulean Blue to Zee when I left?"

Remus snorted. "We're repainting the cottage before we officially move in. It desperately needs it, and we agreed that blue is a nice colour for our bedroom. But Dora is unsure on the shade. She wants something bright and cheerful, but deep and meaningful. I told her that I would be happy with whatever she chose and she only gave me this look, as if that wasn't the right answer."

He laughed. "She still won't officially move in, eh?"

"She basically lives at Hogwarts with me already," he said stubbornly. "But no, not officially until we have everything repainted. The house is outdated and it needs an upgrade, I admit. She says she wants it to be ours." He blushed at the last word. "I want her to be happy living there. I know it's not a grand house or anything and I told her that we could find someplace else if she wanted, but she insisted my cottage was where we both needed to be. I just want her with me. I need her with me."

Sirius nodded, his eyes on his friend. "I've been meaning to ask, that night of the full moon, when you approached her the way you did, and the way your eyes locked on her breast… you marked her there?"

Remus nodded. "I did. On the underside where only I can see it, but over her heart."

"The wolf needed to see the mark that night and she knew that."

He shrugged. "The wolf wants and needs her much the same way I do and that scares me."

"Maybe it does, but you slept in her arms. In twenty years, Rem, I've never seen you sleep so peacefully during the moon; hell, I've never seen you sleep more than a few minutes during the full moon. Not once."

Remus nodded, his eyes on his friend. "If I even scratch her as the wolf, she could be marked for life. She promised to let me go down there alone from now on. The thought of hurting her, it destroys me, Padfoot."

"I don't honestly know if you could, Moony. I mean she is your mate and like you said the wolf wants and needs her the same way that you do and I think that the wolf knows who she is and of her importance and I think in all honesty, even if you didn't take the potion, I think she would be able to calm you. I'm not saying test it out because we both know how stupid that would be, but I think that you would keep her safe above all else." Sirius told him.

Remus dragged his fingers through his hair and then gently pat it down again. "Maybe, I don't know. She's my world, Siri, and right now I will gladly give her everything she wants, even redecorating to her heart's content."

He chuckled. "Is she making you re-do the entire place?"

Remus shook his head. "No, not at all. We're just re-painting and making it ours; maybe some new furniture. My one chair is falling apart and has been magically fixed too many times. The sofa is still great and she has some nice chairs at her flat she's going to bring over, stuff like that. We were talking about updating the bathroom and you know I've been wanting to redo my kitchen for ages, but we're still discussing all of that. We are going shopping for a new bed tomorrow which should be fun. The bed I have is the same one that I've had since I was Harry's age, it's time for a new one."

"I'll say," Sirius said on a laugh. "As for Harry's room?"

"It's Harry's room," Remus said simply. "That's not going to change."

Sirius smiled. "Not even when Baby Lupin makes an appearance?"

Remus paled. "Don't even joke about that, Siri!"

Sirius grinned. "Just saying, she's moving in, and things are getting heated… marriage would be next, no?"

"If anyone should be thinking about marriage it's you, Padfoot, and are you there yet?" At Sirius' pale face, he smirked. "Exactly, now sod off."

Sirius only smirked at his friend. "Tell Tonks I like cerulean!"

Remus only gave him a rude hand gesture as he made his way out of the kitchen and Sirius laughed as his friend left him alone in Grimmauld Place. He had to admit, seeing his best friend so enthralled and happy made him incredibly happy. He was glad that the two of them were moving in with each other.

He was just glad to see Remus so happy. He wished James and Lily were around to see it too.

~ ASC ~

Hermione rolled her eyes when she saw Cho grab Harry's hand and tug him off to presumably snog somewhere. She was trying to be a good friend in the sense that Harry had a girlfriend now and things had changed so she should adjust to them, but at the same time, Cho was driving her mad. According to Ron, Harry said that all they did was snog and Cho certainly wasn't making any effort to get to know any of Harry's friends; though Hermione did see Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's best friend, sitting with them in the library, which had made her frown.

It had been over five weeks and she still had barely spoken to Harry's new girlfriend. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She looked up when someone plopped down next to her at the table in the library and she managed a small smile for Ginny. "Hi, Ginny."

Ginny smiled brightly at her. "Hi, Hermione. You all right?"

Hermione merely shrugged, gesturing over to where Cho and Harry were disappearing through the library doors. "Been better."

Ginny watched them for a moment before she turned to look at Hermione. "She's definitely not the girl I imagined him liking. But she seems to make him happy and… we can't begrudge him that, can we?"

"You're an amazing friend, Ginny. I know that you still fancy him a bit so, for you to be so calm on the fact that he's snogging someone else, bully for you."

Ginny smiled at her. "When you know someone doesn't have any interest in snogging you back, it does help the interest fade a little. He's my friend, one of my best friends, and I just want him to be happy."

Hermione smiled back. "Yeah, I do too. Especially with everything that's… I know he told you."

"He did. And yes, I am absolutely terrified for him," she said, her eyes wide. "Which is why if he wants to go snog Cho Chang, let him."

She chuckled and attempted to push back her bushy brown curls. "I suppose you're right. So, what brings you to my corner of the library?"

Ginny leaned in closer to Hermione, blushing a bit. "I actually need a bit of help." At Hermione's bewildered look, she blushed darker. "I'm having trouble making this charm work properly and I need it to work like yesterday which is why I think I'm struggling with it. My frustration is getting in the way."

"What charm?"

Ginny's face was still red as her voice dropped down to a whisper. "Enlarging Charm. My tits are now too big for my bras and I can't… I mean, I don't have the money to buy new ones right now."

Hermione chuckled and let her gaze drop down to her friend's chest. "Wish I had that problem."

Ginny smirked at her. "Will you help me?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Let's go up to your dorm and we'll see if we can make them fit you properly."

Ginny nodded, her face still flushing. "Thanks Hermione, you're a lifesaver! I didn't want to go to Madam Pomfrey or Professor McGonagall."

Hermione only smiled at her friend. She definitely agreed with her friend on that and besides, it was what girlfriends were for.

~ ASC ~

Harry had barely made curfew as he hurried up the stairs to his dorm. He had spent the last two hours snogging Cho quite intensely in one of the alcoves in the Astronomy Tower. He had slid his hands under her shirt too, finding her small round breasts in her bra and the feel of them in his hands had only made him harder. He had unintentionally ground against her and she had gasped in surprise.

"Sorry," he muttered, grinning when her hands slid under his jumper and moved over his back and chest in response.

Cho only kissed him deeper, rubbing up against him, and leaving him panting. He was so hard he thought he was going to self combust if she kept it up. She obviously realized what she was doing because she smirked at him.

"Someone's getting too excited."

He flushed at that.

She grinned. "Goodnight, Harry."

She left him alone in the alcove and he stood there panting, wondering if he dared before he voted against it. He moved one floor down before locking himself in a broom cupboard and shoving his hand down the front of his robes to grip himself firmly. The feel of his release had him banging his head against the wall.

Kissing her was both bliss and torture, he thought. He enjoyed snogging her. He liked touching her under her shirt, loved her hands on his skin, but if he was honest with himself, the fact that it was Cho that he was snogging, really didn't matter to him. In fact, it could be anybody, and he didn't think he'd care. That made him feel kind of bad and he wondered why he felt that way.

He cleaned himself up and checked his watch. He only had five minutes to make it back to Gryffindor Tower so he booked it. Seamus was grinning at him when he came inside the dorm.

"Cutting it close, Potter. Was someone doing something naughty?"

Harry merely made a rude hand gesture.

Seamus grinned and moved to sit on Harry's bed. The showers were going in the bath, which was nothing new, Harry had definitely noticed that he wasn't the only one of his dorm mates to be spending an inordinate amount of time in the shower lately.

"So, since I have you alone, tell me — how far you've gotten with Chang?"

Harry blushed and tugged his shirt off as he pulled his pyjamas from his trunk. "I… that seems wrong."

Seamus snorted at him. "Please, you literally saw me giving Dean a hand job in September. Have you seen her tits yet?"

Harry blushed and shook his head. "No, but she let me touch them, under her shirt that is."

Seamus grinned. "Nice!"

Harry grabbed his toiletries thinking a shower sounded pretty good himself. "She is nice, but I don't know… I don't know if I really like her that much. We don't really talk or do anything other than snog."

"And that's bad because…?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, shouldn't I want to do things other than snog her, like take her out on dates and stuff?"

Seamus contemplated this for a moment. "Maybe. Lavender and I did break up because all we did was snog." He grinned cheekily. "But she let me see her tits without her shirt and she used her hands… she was good with her hands."

Harry flushed again. "I didn't really need to know that, Seam," he said as Seamus grinned at him. "I'm sorry you two broke up though."

He shrugged. "No big deal. We just didn't work out, but I think we're still friends, at least I hope we are. She broke up with me… two hours ago actually."

Harry put his hand on Seamus' shoulder. "Sorry, mate."

He smiled and jumped up to his feet. "It's fine. I'm good. You should take some time to think about the Cho thing, maybe you do have a point."

Harry only nodded, and headed to the bathroom. "Yeah, maybe."

Dean came out of the bathroom just as Harry stepped towards it. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his dark skin glistening from the moisture and Seamus jumped to his feet at the sight of him.

"Dean! How's Parvati?"

Dean merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine. Why?"

"Lavender broke up with him," Harry supplied, moving away from the bathroom door so that Dean could step into the dormitory.

Dean glanced sympathetically back at his friend. "Aw shit, Seam, I'm sorry," he said as Harry closed the bathroom door behind him.

Seamus shrugged and sat on Dean's bed. "Guess it wasn't meant to be."

Dean sat next to him. "I know you liked her, Seam. So if you're sad, that's okay."

He nodded. "I'm not as sad as I should be and that makes me more sad." He shifted a bit, slipping his hand across Dean's towel, rubbing gently. "You could help cheer me up." His hand slid underneath and gripped the growing erection there and Dean's head fell back.

"Seam, Ron or Neville could come in at any moment!" he hissed, pushing his friend's hand away. "And I'm with Parvati now! I know you're sad about Lavender and I'm sorry about that, but that was… we were… getting experience for girls and now I have a girl and…"

Seamus nodded, smiling at his friend. "Nah, I get it. You don't need me to get you off anymore."

"Seamus, that's not fair," Dean whispered.

Seamus only smiled at him and stood up. "But it's true. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Dean."

Dean simply watched his friend climb into his four poster and close the curtains around him and he sighed. He knew his friend was more sad about Lavender than he wanted to admit, he just needed to find a way to help him deal with it. Or if it wasn't that, then he wanted to figure out what it was that was truly bothering his friend.

~ ASC ~

Harry had just finished his own shower and made his way into his dorm, a towel wrapped around his waist. He yawned as he reached for his pyjamas, tugging on the pjs beneath the towel and then pulling his shirt on, just as the mirror on his bedside table vibrated.

He pulled a comb quickly through his hair and put his glasses back on before he sat down on his bed, mirror in hand. He put a finger to his lips at the sight of Sirius and quickly placed a silencing charm around his bed.

"Sorry, hi, my roommates are asleep."

"You just get out of the shower?" Sirius asked, noting the wet hair.

"Yeah, got in a bit late."

Sirius only smirked at him. "Bit late, eh? Someone's lips keeping you busy?"

Harry flushed. "Er —"

Sirius chuckled. "I'm just teasing you, Prongslet. How is the lovely Miss Chang? Will I get to meet her soon?"

Harry shrugged and adjusted his pillows so that he could sit up and chat. "No. You'll scare her away."

"I most certainly would not!" Sirius exclaimed, his eyes full of dramatic shock. At his son's look, he smirked. "Well, possibly, but I'll have you know, if she was the girl you were meant to end up with, there's nothing that could scare her off."

He smiled at that. "I suppose that's true. Uncle Siri?" When Sirius merely raised an eyebrow in response, he sighed. "I mean we've been snogging a lot, like a lot a lot, but I don't know if…"

"What, Harry? You can tell me anything."

He sighed and dragged his fingers through his wet hair in such a similar way to James that Sirius had to blink. "I like snogging her. It's nice and she obviously likes snogging me but… we don't really talk much or do much of anything really and… I don't know if I really like her all that much. That sounds terrible when I say it aloud."

Sirius grinned at him. "It does, but if it's true, then it's true, Prongslet. You can't change the way you feel. Do you remember how I told you that there's really been no one in my life before Zee? Almost all of the girls I was with I enjoyed snogging and doing other stuff with, but I didn't really like them all that much either and I wasn't looking for anything from them outside of that. You're young and you're experiencing things for the first time and if it doesn't feel right, Harry, then maybe you should think about what you'd like to do about that."

Harry's face flushed under his father's stare. "I think I want to break it off with her."

He smiled. "Damn, Moony always knows."

"What?"

"Moony just said to me the other day that he didn't think that you and Cho were going anywhere and probably weren't going to last much longer and here you are telling me just that. He always knew when Jamie or Peter or even me or your Mum were ready to ditch our prospective snogging partners, too."

He grinned. "Really? How does he know?"

Sirius shrugged. "No idea. I blame the wolf. He must just inherently know. Pheromones or something."

"Maybe… Uncle Siri, what do you think I should do though, about — about Cho?"

"If you think you want to break it off then it's what you should do. You have to be happy, Harry."

Harry let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Okay. Er… how exactly do you tell a girl that?"

Sirius chuckled and scratched his stubbled chin. "It's not easy, mate, that's for sure. But you have to make sure you do it right. Not doing what I did with Zee is a good start, as it was stupid and the worst possible way to break up with someone. You just have to sit her down and tell her that you like her, but that you don't really like her that way anymore, and you think that you should break up. She might cry; she might yell at you, but you have to be strong, Prongslet. You can still try to be friends, but she might not want that. But above all, be nice. No matter what, her feelings are going to be hurt, so be as gentle as you can."

He nodded solemnly, taking in every word his father was saying. "All right."

Sirius smiled. "You'll be fine, Harry. Let me know how it goes, okay?"

"I will," he said, letting out a nervous laugh. "Hey, what did you call me for anyway?"

Sirius sighed, letting out a long slow breath before he spoke. "We um… we need your help with something. Remus and I agreed that since we're asking you to come help us that maybe you should attend our meeting tomorrow night."

Harry's eyes widened. "For FUVP?"

"Yes."

"Really?" he asked, sitting up, his eyes still wide in shock and then he frowned. "You need me to speak Parseltongue. That's the only reason you're asking me!"

Sirius frowned. "In all honesty — yes. Harry, it's not that we don't want you to know, because I promised to keep you informed, it's just that we would like to take care of this and not have you be worried about it."

When Harry didn't respond, Sirius sighed.

"Prongslet, we threw a lot of stuff at you a while back and you know what's coming now; what could come to pass. Right now, knowing that there's something that I can do to help make that easier on you, or to even make it so that you don't have to do that… do you really expect me to just sit on my hands?"

"No," Harry muttered, his eyes meeting Sirius' in the mirror. "No, I get it. I just… you said that I would be learning stuff and so far I've only learned the Patronus and the few spells that you and Uncle Remus have given me to learn which is really brilliant, but I thought I was going to learn other spells and well… more stuff."

"You are, Prongslet. I promise. Sometimes you have to learn the basic spells before you can master the bigger ones. These things take time. Some of that we're going to talk about at the meeting tomorrow. Auntie Minnie has a new proposal to introduce. So listen, Zee and I are heading to Scotland tomorrow to see about recruiting an old Auror to help us out in FUVP. You can use Auntie Minnie's Floo to get to Uncle Moony's cottage tomorrow just after tea time. We'll meet you at headquarters, all right?"

He nodded. "You just need me to speak?"

Sirius grinned. "To start, and then Prongslet — we're going to destroy that locket."

Harry couldn't help but grin back.