Author's Note:

Because people asked — I love facial hair on a guy, I think it is so sexy personally, but if you can't fully grow it yet and it's only patches on your neck — you gotta shave it off until it grows in properly lol. Animagus forms, well you do have to wait and maybe we guessed right, maybe we didn't.

Reviews and Comments: To Steelcode: Thank you! Harry learning to shave was so sweet! Finding out their animals should be fun! To Ana: Aww, I love that you're hyperventilating! It is more fun when they surprise each other with their animals. I'm excited for them all to change! Thank you! I loved having Sirius teach Harry how to shave! Peter is locked inside of Number Twelve in a room he cannot escape from. Don't worry. Zee is so motherly and as to staying with Sirius, we'll see. Thank you! To purplevictory: Thank you! I'm glad your impatience was cured by the questioning Peter and the storm. Thank you for saying that Sirius teaching Harry to shave was not only a good bonding moment but shows that their relationship has been mended and they are back on track. Thank you for saying you "like that I used a light moment such as that and used it to help my transitions (Zee commented on it, as did McGonagall)." Thank you! I love that you're addicted to my story, please never stop! To Paola1991: Thank you! Hermione's parents are still working on the grounding punishment LOL. Molly doesn't know, no, and as to Neville's gran and Luna's dad, they are definitely more chill than Molly. But Sirius was concerned about Hermione because her parents are Muggles, the others are not. Thank you.

To Millie072: Thank you. I'm sorry you think parts of the story have sagged. Sometimes we need some fluff to tie us over to the next bit. You think Harry is a wolf or something feline? Interesting. To Yoshi1911: Thank you! I love knowing me posting a chapter makes you drop everything. I really appreciate that! Thank you! Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk about history or ASC. To Moony The Sheep: Holy guacamole made me laugh LOL. Thank you for saying I balance the dark and the light well. Hmm, you think both Kreacher and Peter will betray Sirius? Interesting. Zee moving into Black Cottage? I don't think Sirius is ready yet. Thank you for saying my scene with Peter being interrogated was brilliant. To speedsONEandONLY: Thank you! I wanted Hermione's parents to set up some ground rules for communicating. Hermione's mum may not know just yet LOL. Peter is definitely not as innocent as he plays himself off to be. You think Harry is going to be a wolf or a giant jungle cat? Interesting. Thank you!

To kateplay: I am sorry you've been in the hospital, hope you are doing better! Thanks for still reading ASC. Has Peter actually had a change of heart? We'll have to see just what/if roll he will play. Thank you! To trekkifulron: This is true, it is not easy to become an Animagus. Thank you. To Wolf's scream: Thank you. Yes, I think Kreacher is going to enjoy taking care of Peter lol. To NoelleLove13: Thank you ver much! I'm glad I manage to always keep you riveted. Thanks for saying I am one of your favourite authors! You're too kind! To scrappy8: Thank you! To coloredwords: Thank you! I agree, the surprise of the animals is more fun! Voldemort definitely does not have boundaries LOL. Thank you! To midnitewanderer: I'm only a little evil LOL. I do think the anticipation makes it worthwhile. Harry definitely thinks of Zee as his um. You think Sirius and Zee should get married? We'll see. Thank you! To AntiCreator: Thank you! Hermione being grounded is pretty ideal for her. Time to focus on her animal. Thank you. To Bookworm17: That would be pretty cool if Harry could turn into a dog, a stag, and a wolf like his Patronus. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! Hinny is coming, but not yet.

To alix33: Thank you! Ha, Mrs Weasley definitely only said yes because Harry asked. You hate Peter more than Voldemort? Wow. Thank you! To HinnyMe: Zee is his mum! And he knows it! Just kill Peter? That's fair LOL. Thank you for finding the shaving scene adorable! To Guest: You think Harry's form is a dog? Interesting. Thank you. To CF: You'll have to wait on the animals! I love that you're excited! Zee is the best, I agree. Thanks for liking Hermione's parents dealing with the Time Turner issue. Thank you! To Guest: I do think Hermione deserves to be punished by her parents for her disobedience. Grounding seems fair. Sirius did forbid Kreacher from speaking with Peter so yes, that means Peter cannot convince Kreacher to do something. Hopefully. Thank you! To Wild-bill-13: Thank you for saying ASC is awesome and that I've "done a great job of including enough of the everyday life of growing up and the relationships of family." That was my plan. Thank you!

To Saz J: Thank you! I'm glad that it was one of your favourite chapters. Of course I didn't reveal the animals, I know you're not surprised! Thank you! To Sparhawk537: Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: I'm not a meanie LOL. I am building up the anticipation. Thank you! I am honoured that you sometimes love ASC more than the books. To RedheadLover: Hinny is still a bit aways I'm afraid. Thank you! To Bosma18: Thank you very much! Frank and Alice Longbottom will not be cured in this story. I did that in my Beginning Series and won't be taking the same path. To HpF2: Thank you! And I know height doesn't work like that for all boys, but I am using my brothers as reference who I swear grew like weeks between the ages of 12-15. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks for saying I have a talent for suspense.

Thank you to Wolf's scream for this little golden nugget — loved the phrase from the review eons ago back in chapter 134 so much that I had to find a way to add it in :)

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

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

As always, 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 for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT:

The One Where Harry Can't Change His Arm Back

After Hermione left, the five of them settled comfortably around the treehouse. Harry pulled out fizzy drinks and fruit punch and Ron grabbed a bag of crisps from the shelf as they stretched out.

"So, now that we've drank the potion and have an idea of what our animals are, even though none of us have figured out how to change yet — what's next?"

Harry grinned. "We practice, Ron. Uncle Sirius says that we have to meditate and try to become one with our animals."

Ron looked skeptical at this. "Meditation? Really?"

Harry shrugged. "If we want to transform, then yes. It's all about concentration and focus."

Ron sighed as he grabbed a handful of crisps. "Guess that makes sense. While we try to figure that out, want to finish telling us about the Deathly Hallows?"

Harry nodded, looking thoughtfully at his friends. "Mostly it's just a really cool story. At first when I heard it, I was worried that Voldemort would try to collect the Hallows which would make him the Master of Death, which sounds really ominous, but that's not the case at all. In fact, Dumbledore doesn't even think that he knows of their existence, which is definitely good news. Also, I know where all of the Hallows are."

"So, what are they?" Ginny asked, tugging one of the pillows out from behind her and cuddling it with her on her lap.

Luna moved to hop into the hammock next to Ginny and Harry stretched out on the air mattress on the floor, reaching for a handful of crisps from one of the bags that Ron had opened.

"You remember that Beedle story about the three brothers?"

Neville scratched his chin and nodded. "Yeah, that's a great one about how Death gives each brother a gift. I remember that Sirius even read it to us once, right after my grandad died."

Harry nodded. "Well, I guess it's real."

Ron's eyes widened. "Death gave three brothers real gifts?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, I don't know if Death actually provided them, but the magical items themselves are definitely real."

He filled them in on the story of the three Peverell brothers and how each one carried a Hallow down the family lines. When he got to the part about the cloak, Ron's eyes widened.

"You possess a Hallow?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I do. It makes the most sense that it's the original cloak as an invisibility cloak rarely lasts more than a decade or two and Uncle Siri says that he knows this cloak at least belonged to my grandfather, who he was totally old already when he gave it my dad."

"Wicked," Neville said with a grin.

Ginny tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "And the Resurrection Stone in the ring was a Horcrux?"

"Yeah," Harry told her, going on to explain how Sirius had destroyed it with the Sword of Gryffindor.

"And Dumbledore really has the Elder Wand?" Ron asked.

"Yup, he won it off of his duel with Grindelwald in 1945."

"Wicked," Ron said.

"Anyway, long story short, three Horcruxes down and Uncle Sirius and I are doing a full examination of the Black vaults on Wednesday afternoon so, if the cup is one, we'll find it. Then it's just about discovering the last two. Moody thinks that it has to be something that belongs to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw or both to keep to the theme. The problem with that is that the only two items that Gryffindor was known to have left behind were the sword and the Sorting Hat and neither one of those are available to be Horcruxes obviously. And no one really knows of anything that could have belonged to Ravenclaw."

"Well, there's the diadem," Luna said.

Ginny turned to look at her friend in surprise. "The lost diadem? Luna, no one has seen that in years, centuries even!"

Luna shrugged. "But you've stated that He Who Must Not Be Named found these objects of the founders that no one really knew existed. It makes sense that if he had heard about her diadem, he would try to find it."

Harry, who was lying on his back, head propped up on a pillow as he ate crisps, sat up. "How long has it been missing exactly?"

"Centuries," Ginny said. "That's why it's known as the lost diadem."

Luna nodded. "True. It was said that whoever wore the diadem would be enhanced with wisdom."

"And what is a diadem exactly?" Ron asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"A tiara," Ginny supplied, looking at her brother. "Rowena Ravenclaw's statue wears it. It has a blue oval sapphire in the centre where it would rest just above one's forehead. Luna, I thought that you said that it was one of the mysteries of Ravenclaw House, that it went missing sometime before Ravenclaw died, and that it hasn't been seen since?"

Luna nodded. "Well, yes, it has been missing since the time of the founders, but it could be a possibility!"

Harry frowned. "I appreciate the sentiment, Luna, but as it is quite lost, maybe it's not exactly what we're looking for."

"I'll ask Helena when we go back to school. She's quite nice and she might know of something else that belonged to Ravenclaw."

"Who's Helena?" Ron asked, looking bewildered.

"Lady Ravenclaw's daughter, of course."

Neville stared at Luna in confusion. "Isn't she, you know, dead?"

Luna only smiled kindly at him. "Of course, but should that deter one from speaking with her?"

Ginny shrugged and they all laughed.

Luna smiled. "She's the Grey Lady, Neville, you know, the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower. She's quite nice if you take the time to get to know her."

Harry lay back down and reached for some more crisps. "You do that, Luna, and let me know if you find anything else out. Uncle Siri and I will concentrate on Hufflepuff's Cup since we know that one is most definitely a Horcrux. And Luna, I don't think that I have to say it, but this is a secret, okay? You can't tell anyone outside of this room other than Hermione anything that I told you today."

"Your secrets are safe with me, Harry. Thank you for including me. If I do talk to Helena I will let you know."

"Thanks, Luna," Harry said with a smile. "For now, I think that we should just focus on becoming our Animagus forms."

Neville reached for another fizzy drink and yawned. "I can't wait until we figure out our animals. Now that I know that I'm not going to be a sloth, I can't wait to transform!"

Ron grinned. "You thought that you were going to be a sloth?"

Neville shrugged. "Nah, I just hoped I wouldn't."

Harry laughed. "I like the idea of keeping it a secret. I hope I've figured mine out by the time that Uncle Rem gets released from Azkaban. I want to be able to show him and maybe even spend the full moon with him in my animal form."

"That will still take a while, Harry," Ginny told him. "Remember you told us that it still took over a year for your dad and Sirius to be fully transformed enough to hang out with him. It's a slow process."

Harry nodded. "I know. I just want the basics for when he gets out and to surprise him. He doesn't even know that I'm learning." He took a drink of his own fizzy drink before turning to look at Neville. "How's your Gran been, Nev? I mean, is she upset about what happened?"

Neville shrugged. "A bit, yeah. She said that I was foolish, but incredibly brave and that she's proud of me. But she also made me promise not to scare her like that again. She was really proud of Sirius, too. She said that he's quite the sight to behold in the Wizengamot and that he has a presence that reminds her of his grandfather. She was telling me that Arcturus Black had the same charisma and political savvy that Sirius holds in the assembly, but she claims that Sirius is more of a 'disruptive influence.' She says having him there is pure gold."

"He seems to like it," Harry admitted. "And I know that I was cross with him originally for getting Uncle Remus to go to Azkaban, but I know now that if he hadn't done anything, he could be spending years in there; if they had even managed to stop his execution at all. He likes it and he's good at it. He put a hold on Umbridge's bill anyway, but he says that she still hasn't brought it up again either."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ginny asked.

Harry shook his head. "Yes, and no. She still needs it to be officially voted on before it can be passed or tossed, but if she hasn't presented it forward, it's kind of just floating out there in the atmosphere. Plus, the Minister of Magic said that she was going to be investigated due to what happened with Uncle Remus, but I don't know… it sounds like she's going to get away with it because she was doing her job just, you know, wrong."

Ginny helped herself to some of the crisps and passed the bag over to Luna. "Maybe she's waiting for when you guys are in Georgia. I mean, maybe she'll try to present it when Sirius isn't there to fight it?"

Harry frowned at that. "It would be smart of her, but Uncle Siri doesn't plan on missing the session. He said that he's going to set up an international portkey to come back for it. I don't think that he wants to risk the chance of that happening either."

"Smart man," Ron said. "You're going to Georgia for sure then?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I am. Zee told me that we're leaving in July. We'll be gone for three weeks."

"Will you be back in time for the World Cup?"

"Yeah, we'll be back a few days before Ginny's birthday. Are you going?"

"I wish," Ron said under his breath. "You?"

"I'm hoping," Harry told him. "Uncle Siri hasn't said anything about it since his initial thought on trying to get tickets."

They spoke some more about their summer plans. Luna turned on the record player at some point and sometime after midnight, the five of them had moved into their respective beds and gone to sleep.

~ ASC ~

It was after midnight when Sirius returned from Number Twelve. He smiled when he found Zee curled up in the armchair in the living room, Lady Godiva stretched out beneath her feet. She was sleeping, a book open in her lap and he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

She made a soft sleepy sound and opened her eyes. "Sirius?"

Sirius moved into the chair, shifting her so that she was half on his lap, half in the chair and he wrapped his arms around her. "Hey," he said, kissing her softly.

Zee snuggled into his arms. "How'd it go?"

"I don't know. As well as can be expected I guess. He's locked down at headquarters for now."

"Do you think that he knows more?"

"I honestly have no idea," he admitted. "What he told us… he might just know who more of the Death Eaters are. He might not know anything else. But what he did tell us was extremely disturbing."

Zee nodded, turning her head to nuzzle his neck. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

He shook his head and kissed her lips. "Not even a little bit," he admitted. "How were the kids?"

"Fine. They drank their potion and they all saw an animal which is very good news. I took Hermione home after that. Her mother wasn't too pleased that her father let her come over; apparently she's grounded and Mrs Granger did not agree with her husband that this was academic enough for her to get out of being grounded. I hope that she's not in too much trouble. Anyway, they've all decided not to share their forms with anyone and to surprise each other. I left them to their own devices outside."

Sirius nodded, glancing out the window at the darkened treehouse. "They had enough beds and everything?"

"Yes. Ginny and Luna were sleeping on the air mattress, Ron and Neville in the bunk beds, and Harry in the hammock. I said goodnight to them around ten and they were all talking and listening to records."

Sirius nodded. "Good, good."

Zee was quiet for a moment. "How bad was it?"

He let out a slow breath. "Bad. Let's just say that we know what happened to Novak's wife and it's not pleasant."

"She's dead then? The Auror's pregnant wife?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, she's not, but trust me, she wishes she was."

Zee paled a little at that. "You're right, I don't want to know."

He kissed her forehead. "What we do know is that Voldemort is now in the body of a child and that he needs constant care until he gets a ritual together to give him back his body. Pettigrew said that it won't be for months yet, if not close to a year, as there are a lot of important key ingredients needed and that Voldemort has to do things in preparation for it as well. He claims that the only thing he does know is that one of the ingredients was supposed to be flesh of the servant and that he was to willingly sacrifice part of himself to help give Voldemort back a body. I almost lost it when he said that," he admitted.

"I think that he does know more than he's saying," Zee agreed. "It's a good choice to keep him imprisoned at least for now. You can always give him over to the Aurors when you feel the time is right."

"True. Kreacher has agreed to keep an eye on him, which is good. Once we settled him in, we tried to talk to him again, made him go over everything that's happened since he escaped Azkaban. Most we knew and it sounds like they didn't really trust him that much either and they kept him imprisoned until they needed him." He kissed her again. "Come up to bed with me."

"Sirius," she said with a smile. "You have five teenagers outside in the treehouse."

"Uh-huh."

"My own bed is probably the better choice."

Sirius' grip tightened on her and she laughed. "Stay with me."

She smiled against his chest. "Me sleeping in your bed is not going to happen tonight."

Sirius summoned the blanket over from the sofa and wrapped it around both of them. "Stay here."

Zee kissed him softly, a soft smile on her face. "All right, we'll stay right here."

He smiled as she snuggled into him and he closed his eyes. This was exactly what he needed.

~ ASC ~

Harry woke up suddenly a few hours later, unsure as to what had woken him. He blinked around the room. Ron and Neville each were in a bunk, snoring loudly. Ginny and Luna were on the air mattress under the big pile of blankets on the other side of the room. He reached for his glasses from the floor, trying not to fall out of the hammock as he stood up and stretched. He snuck outside quietly, moving up to where the deck of the ship was and sat next to the pirate's wheel, his legs dangling over the side as Marauder moved to lie next to him, his head resting on Harry's knee.

It had cooled down a bit after the storm and he shivered in the night, looking up at the stars as he scratched Marauder behind the ears. He wondered what Remus was thinking about and if he could see the stars from his cell, but the thought made him sad. It was only a few minutes later when he heard movement and he turned to see Ginny coming over. She was wrapped in a big blanket as she sat next to him.

Harry opened her blanket and shifted under it as they both leaned back on their elbows to look up at the stars, feet dangling over the edge of the treehouse and Marauder sprawled out next to them. The feel of her lying next to him was comforting and it made him feel safe.

They lay there, quietly, for the longest time in comfortable silence until Harry finally spoke.

"Uncle Siri told me everything yesterday. About his childhood and how his parents treated him. It was just… awful."

"He trusts you," Ginny said.

"He gave me a Pensieve for my birthday. It was an early gift. And a chest full of memories, almost a hundred of them."

"Memories?"

"Of my parents, mostly. We watched a few. My dad was singing to me in one and another one he was embarrassing himself trying to ask out my mum. He wrote really terrible poetry and everything. And I mean bad poetry, Gin; not something sweet like that my mum's eyes were as green as a fresh pickled toad."

Ginny elbowed him. "Prat."

He smirked at her, turning on his side to look at her. The trickle of moonlight made her skin glow in the night. He admired the sprinkle of freckles over her nose as he spoke. "No really, seeing them so young and carefree like that; knowing how much it took to get them together and then for them to just be killed… watching the memories just made my heart burst, but also made me really sad."

Ginny rolled on her side to face him, pulling the blanket with her around her shoulder. A bit of wind tossed her hair into her face and Harry reached out automatically to tuck it back behind her ear for her. He liked how soft it was. She always made him feel better, he thought.

"You're allowed to feel both, Harry," she said, softly. "They're your parents and you never were given the chance to know them. It makes sense that watching memories of them would be painful for you."

"I don't want it to be," he admitted.

She smiled. "You can't help how you feel."

He only nodded, her brown eyes twinkling at him. "What are you going to do this summer?

"I don't know yet," she said. "Do some night flying when Mum is asleep, as she still thinks that flying is not suitable for a young lady."

Harry rolled his eyes. "How do you think she's going to react when she finds out what a good flyer her daughter is?"

Ginny shrugged. "Hopefully that won't be for a while yet as I enjoy my nighttime flying. Um… I usually help Mum do some cooking and canning at the beginning of the summer plus we have new soaps and lotions and shampoos to make. Charlie will be coming to stay for a bit, he wrote to me and said that he's in England now, but that he's spending time with Tonks. It sounds like she's a little lost at the moment."

"She is," Harry told her. "She was completely devastated by Remus being imprisoned and she was suspended from work for two weeks so, she's been a little aimless on top of it. I'm going to make sure that I spend some time with her soon. I think that she could use the distraction."

Ginny nodded. "I'm glad that Charlie came to stay with her then, it sounds like she needs a friend. I think I convinced Theo to come stay at The Burrow for a bit, or at least to stop by before he goes to the Malfoys'. He told me that he would take lots of pictures of Italy to share with me."

Harry frowned. "Ginny, Theo's a nice enough bloke, but I don't think that you should be spending so much time with him."

"Why?"

"Well… he's a Slytherin for one."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That doesn't automatically make him bad."

"No, but he… you just shouldn't hang out with him is all. You should spend more time with Luna."

"I plan too," Ginny told him. "And Colin. But I also want to see Theo. I like him. He's fun and he makes me laugh. Plus we're in the Insomniacs Club together."

Harry grinned at the mentioning of their little club. He had found that amusing. He tucked her hair behind her ear again. "But he's not good for you. He's friends with Malfoy and I know that he seems nice, but… I don't know if we can really trust him and I don't think that it's a good idea for you to be alone with him. If you keep spending time with him in the middle of the night, people are going to talk."

"Because he's a boy?"

"Exactly!"

"I'm alone with you right now in the middle of the night," she pointed out.

"That's different," Harry protested.

"How?" she asked. "We're in our sleep clothes and lying together under a blanket. Theo and I just talk. It's not different."

"It is!" he said, his voice rising a little before he lowered it again. "We're just talking and I think he likes you as more than a friend."

Ginny laughed, it bubbling up inside of her so quickly that it surprised him. "No, no, he doesn't."

Harry frowned. "What? You think that I'm wrong? He's a bloke, Gin, and you… I mean, you're, you know… a girl and if you spend time with him late at night like that he's going to… expect things."

Ginny giggled and rolled onto her back. "Harry, trust me, Theo's not like that."

"I think I know what I'm talking about, Ginny."

Ginny shook her head, her eyes twinkling in delight. "No, you really don't. Boys and girls can hang out sometimes. He's hardly going to ravish me."

"He could," Harry protested.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Harry, but I already have six older brothers and I don't need another one. If I want to snog a bloke, I will."

"I just don't want him to take advantage of you is all."

"And that's really sweet of you, Harry," she told him with a smile. "But if Theo was going to take advantage of anyone it would be you, not me."

Harry frowned. "What?"

"He thinks that you have a great arse."

Harry blushed, looking more confused than ever. "What?"

"Theo's gay, Harry. I thought you knew."

Harry stared at her for a minute. "No, I — that's why he was asking me about Cornfoot!"

Ginny giggled. "He snogged him ages ago! He said that he was decent snog, but he couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to be with boys or girls so Theo dumped him. He was hoping to meet someone at Mrs Zabini's party."

Harry stared at her. "Theo — likes — blokes?"

"Yes. So, he's hardly going to take advantage of me."

"Well, I…" Harry trailed off, at a loss for words, and Ginny smiled at him.

"I think it's sweet that you were worried though," she said kindly before she nudged him. "But I can snog whoever I want, so butt out!"

Harry frowned at that. "I didn't mean — well — wait, snog who?"

Ginny simply smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She sat up, stretching her arms up over her head, her long red hair tumbling over her shoulders and down her back. "I'm going back to bed. Are you okay out here?"

Harry nodded, looking out at the trees. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ginny?" She turned to look at him and he sighed. "Thanks."

She smiled at him. "Anytime."

She dropped the blanket down over her legs and he gave her a grateful smile as he watched her red hair disappear below into the treehouse, he frowned again. Theo was gay? Ginny was snogging blokes? He wasn't sure when his world had suddenly flipped topsy turvy, but apparently everything was changing and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about this new development.

And who were these blokes that Ginny was snogging? He really didn't like the sound of that. He would have to keep a closer eye on her when they went back to Hogwarts.

He put his arms behind his head, staring up at the stars and instead thought about his animal, the dark black and silver-white fur, the hints of chestnut scattered throughout the body. He tried to imagine what it would feel like, to be the animal, to feel himself changing into that form and when he felt a tingling sensation on his forearm, he bolted upright. His left arm had sprouted dark fur, soft to the touch.

He concentrated harder, trying to make the fur spread and felt it on his neck. He grinned widely, excitement radiating through him, but no matter how hard he focused, nothing else happened. After almost forty minutes, he was starting to get incredibly frustrated. He hadn't managed to do anything else nor could he get rid of the fur that he had managed. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost four in the morning, but he made his way down from the treehouse and into the house.

He stopped when he entered the living room and saw his godfather asleep in the big armchair with Zee cuddled in his lap, both of them buried under a large blanket. He was glad that she had stayed with him, he thought. He tiptoed over, nodding at Lady Godiva who looked up at the sight of him.

"Uncle Siri," he whispered, not wanting to wake up Zee.

Sirius' head nuzzled further into Zee's hair.

"Uncle Siri!" he said a bit louder.

Sirius jolted and opened his eyes, looking around. He caught sight of Harry and nodded sleepily. "Prongslet?"

"I need you. Come upstairs."

Sirius nodded, shifting a sleeping Zee into the chair and covering her in the blanket. She let out a soft sigh and snuggled into the warmth of the cushions, but didn't wake up as Sirius followed Harry upstairs.

Harry closed his bedroom door behind Sirius and turned on the light, holding out his left arm. "I'm stuck."

Sirius rubbed his tired eyes and yawned. "You're what now?"

Harry shook his arm in front of his father and Sirius' eyes widened.

"You have fur! You did it!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't! I can't get past this and I can't get rid of the fur!"

Sirius chuckled at the frustration in Harry's voice and took his son's arm, leading him over to his bed to sit down. He took a seat next to him, holding Harry's wrists in his hands. "This is unbelievable progress, Harry! It took me a week to even get fur and you just drank the potion last night!" He touched the soft fur with a smile. "Will you tell me what your animal is?"

Harry shook his head. "I want it to be a surprise."

Sirius smiled. "All right, I suppose that's fair." He looked into his eyes as he spoke. "You have to get rid of it yourself. The fur is part of you, part of the animal that you are. It's not about turning into an animal, it's about changing into the animal that is part of you. You are both man and animal. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded. "I've been trying for almost an hour, Uncle Siri, and I can't get the fur to spread any further or to disappear."

Sirius touched Harry's chin, tilting it up to look at the line of fur around his godson's neck. "You did well though for a bit of fur on your first try. When I sprouted fur the first time, it took me four hours to change back. I know that it's frustrating, but you can do this. Focus on what you want your arms to look like. Think of your own skin; the soft dark hairs that are there, the scars, the shape, the freckles, think of your own arms. I want you to focus on them. I know you've already done that, but I want you to do it again. Don't think about the fur, don't think about changing into an animal, I want you to think of your skin. Picture it in your mind."

Harry let out a slow breath, closing his eyes. He did as Sirius asked, thinking of his skin. "It's not working!"

"Harry, just listen to me and try it. Be calm and focus."

He sighed and closed his eyes again, trying to focus on his father's words as he let out a long slow breath. He pictured his arm, the small triangular-shaped scar near his elbow from the Bludger almost two years ago; the two freckles near the scar; the soft arm hair that lightly adorned his skin and finally he felt the familiar tingling sensation and the fur disappeared from his arm and his neck simultaneously causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

Sirius was grinning at him when he opened his eyes. "Told you."

"I made fur!" he exclaimed, grinning widely.

"I saw that. I'm incredibly impressed, Harry. With that progress you might change into your animal a lot sooner than expected. And you are definitely too hairy to have been a stag."

Harry grinned. "I'm not telling."

Sirius draped an arm over his shoulders. "Okay, I'll be surprised. Good job, Harry, I'm so proud of you! Everyone saw their animal?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We all decided not to share until we can see it for ourselves."

"That's a great idea," Sirius told him. "I don't remember if I told you, but once you do master the animal, you are going to appear as a baby animal."

Harry looked confused. "A baby animal?"

"Yeah," Sirius told him. "It surprised us, too. Prongs was the first one to transform and we were all pretty surprised when a little fawn fell out of his bed one day. I was a little puppy and Pete a baby rat. With each practiced transformation, we grew into our animals. Like I said, it takes a lot of work."

Harry nodded, yawning. "I'm willing to put in the work."

Sirius kissed the top of his head. "Good man." He stifled his own yawn. "Come on; let's get back to our beds. I, for one, could use a few more hours of shut eye."

"Why are you and Zee sleeping in the armchair?"

Sirius smiled at him. "She was too embarrassed to stay over with all of your friends here; thought it was unseemly. I convinced her to stay with me in the chair."

Harry smiled at that. "I like having her here."

"Me too," he admitted, grinning. "Now go on, back to the treehouse and get some sleep. Don't leave your friends out there all alone."

Harry grinned and jumped up. "Goodnight, Uncle Sirius, and thanks."

Sirius smiled back. "You're welcome."

He watched Harry hurry out of the bedroom and stifled another yawn. Barely twelve hours after drinking the potion and Harry had already contracted fur, yeah he was pretty damn impressed, he thought. He used the master bath before he headed back downstairs, carefully inserting himself back into the armchair and pulling Zee back into his arms and his lap. She murmured in her sleep, but didn't wake up, and he nuzzled his face into her neck and her hair, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla comforting him and he was asleep in minutes, the panther sleeping at their feet.

~ ASC ~

After his friends left the next morning, all of them jealous over the fact that Harry had managed to sprout fur, Sirius filled him in on his talk with Peter. He spoke only of the upcoming ritual that Voldemort was trying to perform, deciding to leave the gorier aspects out of the story. He explained how Kreacher was keeping his eye on Peter at Number Twelve and that he would be staying there for the foreseeable future.

Zee had already left for work and Sirius spent the rest of the morning working with Harry on his Animagus transformation. To Harry's delight, he managed to get fur on both of his arms and part of his chest. After lunch, Sirius told him that he wanted to work on the 1929 Motosacoche M414. He had finally finished the Adler and Ducati to his liking and was itching to get started on another bike. Harry left him to his own devices and told him that he was going to Remus' cottage to see Tonks.

Harry used the Floo to get there, stepping out into the living room, surprised to see the changes. The former gold room had been painted an off-white and the dark oak of the wooden ceiling accenting Remus' warm brown leather sofa. The old sofa had been made to look new with bright throw pillows in white, pink, and blue. The honeyed hardwood floor had a large white berber area carpet that covered most of the living room floor and under the coffee table was a bright pink fluffy rug that punched the colour into the room. The one wall was covered in dark brown picture frames showcasing photos of Remus and his parents, the Marauders, Remus and Harry, Tonks, Ted, and Andy, and of Remus and Tonks. Sheer white lace curtains covered the large front window.

The circular coffee table in the centre of the rug had a white marble top, framed in dark brown and glass with a few of Remus' favourite books scattered across the bottom. The big wooden shelf was against another wall, full of books, with a new big white suede armchair with bright pink and bright blue pillows. The old television and VCR sat on a dark brown table across from the couch.

He found Charle in the kitchen, which had been newly painted in a soft white. The olive green backsplash with the stainless steel appliances looked great with the olive green cabinets and the honeyed brown hardwood that was in every room of the house except the bathroom. The kitchen had been completely remodelled and Harry almost didn't recognize it. Charlie was putting away green dishes in the cupboard when Harry walked in.

"Hi, Charlie, the place looks great."

Charlie turned to smile at him. "Hey, Harry. I have to agree. The colours they chose really work. Tonks is in the bedroom."

Harry nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "How is she?"

Charlie made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Unpacking and settling in is helping. I let her take me shopping yesterday, which was absolute torture. Do you have any idea how many different kinds of china there are? Five hours, Harry, five! In the end, she chose this simple, but tasteful green stoneware dinner set."

Harry grinned. "Sounds fun."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Not. But it kept her occupied and it kept her busy, which has been my goal." He nodded towards the kitchen table. "She also picked out that green and white striped table liner. That bowl belonged to Remus' mother, I guess."

"Yeah, it did," Harry said, eyeing the white and oddly shaped bowl with green vines painted around the edges. "I think she made it. This table was hers, too."

"It matches the kitchen well. Everything was painted and done, but the bathroom renovation was finally finished on Friday. Tonks is just finishing up the final touches on their bedroom. She finally finished getting the bedding and then she just has to finish settling in. But the place is done."

"I'm glad. Uncle Rem was really looking forward to living with her."

Charlie nodded towards the bedroom. "She's in there."

Harry left Charlie in the kitchen and turned to head to the master bedroom at the back of the house. He walked into the room, smiling at the two white walls and the two bright teal walls, the large king-sized four poster sleigh bed that now sat in the middle of the room resting against one teal wall, the big window on the right side. A teal and silver duvet covered the bed with white, teal, silver, and black throw pillows. A black faux fur blanket draped diagonally over the end of the bed. The silver bed curtains were tied back with a teal and black knotted rope. Two tall dressers, one on either side of the room. The honeyed hardwood was covered in one large white area rug with silver stripes.

A large ornate mirror with a black frame covered part of one white wall with small framed art photos in black and white of a forest taken in each season. Harry recognized the trees as belonging to the Welsh forest behind Remus' cottage. There was a picture of Remus and Tonks from Christmas of last year framed on the nightstand.

"Tonks, it looks amazing in here! You did a great job."

She smiled at him from where she was folding her clothes and carefully inserting them into the dresser and hanging them in the wardrobe. "It does, doesn't it? I wanted bright colours."

"They look great. Uncle Rem is barely going to recognize the place. This room alone looks way better than it did. I like the bed."

She smiled. "Yes, he will. It's just some new paint and a new bed. The wardrobes are new too, but Rem and I took those photos on the wall; the leather couch out there isn't new, nor is the bookshelf. I bought the frames for all of his photos as he never hangs them. The kitchen was completely remodelled, but that was what he insisted on. You know I don't cook so I could care less, but he wanted all state of the art stainless steel appliances. We chose the green to match that bowl his mum made in her pottery class. Sorry, I'm rambling."

"I like the pink rug in the living room," Harry told her. "It's totally you and you're not rambling."

She chuckled. "I had it in my flat and I was going to throw it away, but the pink pillows looked so good on the sofa, I thought that I would just lay it out on the white carpet beneath the coffee table and see and it just popped; made the room so much brighter. Have you seen the bathroom yet? Other than the kitchen, it's the most changed."

Harry shook his head as he followed her into the bathroom.

"We made it bigger as you can see, just took out that wall of wasted space at the end of the hall and made it into the bathroom. The shower has six shower heads, two on each wall and its absolutely heavenly when you shower. One of the blokes at work was talking about it and I thought how great it would be for Remus to have that, especially after a full moon, how good the water would feel on his aching body. He doesn't know about this, it's… well, I just had it done on Friday."

Harry smiled at her. "He's going to love it."

She smiled back and scratched her nose. "We kept the big clawfoot tub just moved it over here and as you can see, the black marble tile gives a nice touch to the navy backsplash. The white adds a little brightness."

"It looks really good, Tonks."

She took his arm and tugged him into the smaller bedroom where a double bed was, a dresser, a nightstand and the walls covered in Quidditch posters. "I repainted in here last week. I kept the same grey tones, I just wanted to spruce it up a bit. Just because I'm moving in here doesn't mean anything, Harry. This will always be your room and you can come over and stay whenever you want."

"What about when you make me a godfather?"

She blushed, "That is not going to be happening any time soon so, you just shush — this is your room."

He kissed her cheek. "Can I stay in my room tonight?"

Tonks only raised her eyebrow. "Why? I don't need a babysitter, Harry."

He shrugged, grinning at her. "I was thinking more along the lines of a movie night?"

Tonks smiled at him. "Are you checking up on me, Harry Potter?"

Harry grinned. "Me? I would never. What do you say?"

Tonks smiled brightly at him. "That sounds perfect — on one condition."

Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I want to watch movies with lots of explosions and action. I want nothing that will make me cry and nothing that's too happy, got it?"

"Like I'd choose anything else," he said, making her laugh.

Tonks beamed at him. "And you'll cook?"

Harry only rolled his eyes. "Do you think that I'm going to let you try to cook in that brand new kitchen?"

"Okay listen here, smart-arse, this is my house now, too!"

"Exactly and I'm sure that Uncle Rem would like it to still be standing when he comes home."

Tonks simply shot up two fingers and he laughed.

End Author's Note:

I wanted to make the cottage a nice mix of Tonks and Remus. I hope I established that. Hope you enjoyed this one :D

Thanks for reading and please review!