A Second Chance

by Breanie

Part 2 Kismet Trilogy: What if Sirius didn't spend twelve years in prison but was given a trial after 4 years? Follow the story of Sirius Black as he learns what it means to be a father/brother/guardian & the story of Harry Potter, a young boy with a loving home who learns about the Marauders from the two men who should have raised him. Slow-burn Hinny. M for sex & violence.

189. The One Where Everyone Breaks Out of Azk

Author's Note:

I would like to start off this chapter on a rather serious note.

This has nothing to do with ASC.

Josh, this is for you and for your friends and family who are suffering a loss:

If there is anyone out there who may be having suicidal thoughts or knows of someone who is having those thoughts or thinks that they may know someone who could potentially be having suicidal thoughts — please reach out. Reach out to them; let them know that they are not alone. Be there for them in any way that they may need; guide them towards help whether through self-help books, medical professionals, counsellors, teachers, religious leaders, friends, family, anonymous help-lines, etc, anything that will help you or your friend or your family member. Losing someone you love to suicide is one of the most heartbreaking experiences one can ever have and knowing that someone out there could have maybe prevented it, makes it even harder. It is not your fault that you feel this way! You are not blame! Do not be ashamed! Please get help! Reach out! Talk to someone! And please remember:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

YOU ARE LOVED!

YOU ARE CARED ABOUT!

And NOTHING and NO ONE should EVER make you feel like your life is not worth living!

Thank you! That is all.

Back to ASC.

In reference to my last chapter, they are teenage boys, who let's face it, say things to try to impress their friends, do and say stupid stuff because they don't know better, and because they were drinking. As to the bit on wolves, I guess I made it up, I don't really know, it might be a combination of all of the werewolf-related stuff I've read in my life. More will be explained later on, I just wanted to emphasize the difference between the wolves in my world and in my opinion.

Reviews and Comments: To LifeonEarth: Yup, Neville was definitely like I'm tired of this, let's see what happens lol. Happy to make you laugh in public! Thank you! To iKingAnomalyII: That's fair that you want to kill Dean LOL. You don't think you'd survive Dean going out with Ginny? You will, I assure you, if it happens. Thanks for loving Remus as a teacher for enjoying my Sirius and Zee interactions. Crown Royal? You love Canadian whisky? That's my hometown drink! Thank you! To coloredwords: Happy to make you laugh so hard! Yes, Neville is a sly, sly boy. Nope, Sirius isn't proposing during sex lol. Thank you! As to Sirius taking Zee's name, it's true, I have an idea with that for later. Thank you! To alix33: I apologize for the confusion with the Jenkins name drop, I made a character name change and missed that one with my edits. McGonagall was in fact talking about the two half-fae girls, Tara Brady and Ciara Casey (not Jenkins). I did go in and edit that out. There are 6 new students who came in through the new Ministry guidelines on British Magical Citizens: 3 wolves, Maximus O'Ryan, Jack Wolf, and Sari Danson; 1 vampire, Mila St James, and 2 half-faes, Tara Brady and Ciara Casey. Again, I apologize for the confusion. Thanks!

To Moony The Sheep: I love that I can make you blush, laugh, scream, and sit on the edge of your char in one chapter. I'm glad the bloke talk brought images in your head lol. Yes, for Harry, he definitely wants Ginny. I love Criminal Minds so I'm super honoured you got that vibe from my writing! Thank you! To xeunobre: I can assure you, not much longer lol. Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: You will have to wait and see what Umbridge does. As to Dean, no you can't kill him. Yes, Dean is overcompensating a bit on the whole girls thing, but please trust me, I do have some plans for his character. Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: It's true, Umbridge's reports will be interesting. Yes, Hinny will be earlier than in the books so I don't think you should complain. A lesbian Slytherin could help Theo, this is true, but I have another plan for Theo's story and he won't be taking a fake girlfriend. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! To Hasti: Wow, thanks for reading ASC for nearly 8 months! It does make sense for Harry to start smoking due to his stress levels, and yes, Sirius did smoke cigarettes as a teen, mostly as a rebellious thing for his parents, but no, Harry will not take up smoking mostly because I think it's an awful smelly habit and a huge turn off. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! Yes, none of the girls have big breasts outside of Zee and Lavender. I like to use the fruit example to explain size for them. Ginny is between an orange and a grapefruit. Luna is an orange. Hermione is a grapefruit (just slightly bigger than Ginny). Zee is a cantaloupe (as is Lavender) and Tonks is between a plum and a lemon. Thank you!

To Menna Taha: Yes, some Hinny was in the chapter! Thanks for loving Sirius and Zee, they are thinking about marriage lol. Yes, there will be more Auror sections. I am enjoying writing them. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the Auror action, there will be some more of that I think in the future and I do love Criminal Minds, CSI, and Bones, so maybe that influenced my writing. It's not fair to Mandy, but Harry will get there. Thank you! Thanks for the second review and sorry for the long wait on updating! To scrappy8: Thank you! To purplevictory: Yes, Umbridge is there and I find it funny that you despise her but are still so excited for her presence lol. In terms of the drinking, most of us did it when we were kids. I'm not having them binge drink or get alcohol poisoning or anything of the sort, just teens drinking, getting a buzz for the first time, and learning the fun and horribleness of drinking at the same time, as seen in this chapter. I know, Mandy lol. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! I think Harry is a bit more mature here. He was given the chance to be a kid, but Sirius and Remus also made sure he wasn't kept in the dark, which allowed him to grow up a little faster about a lot of things. I love writing different POVs, but I'm glad you think Harry's is your favourite! Thank you! To Monaliza73: Thank you! I don't plan on Ginny or Hermione being raped (again). Thank you!

To geekymom: Thank you! To TheRealTonks: I love knowing people are curious about my Hinny plans, it means I've kept people on their toes! Dean did make Ginny laugh and Harry noticed, but I don't think Harry and Ginny are further apart than ever before. I have plans, trust me. Thank you! To x-shadow-x-kisses-x: Thank you! In terms of the "jinx" on the DADA position, Remus almost lost his job at the end of third year when he was almost executed by the Ministry and Umbitch, I think the petition to bring him back and all of the moving parts that included Lockhart leaving early and Remus starting a term before he did in canon and then returning for fourth year, ended the so called "jinx" at least in my story it did. Thank you! To midnitewanderer: LMAO, no Dean and Ginny? I don't want you to get a headache… just trust me! Thank you! To Saz J: Yup, I'm a Jameson girl! Thanks for loving my Ron and Neville, they both definitely know Harry likes Ginny and are supporting them being together but Harry is too oblivious to get the point lol. Sirius and Zee did get a bit steamy, but definitely not ready for marriage, even if they did finally talk about it. Thank you! To wolf's scream: Yes, Charity is in Australia and won't be returning to die at Voldemort's hands. I think inclusion is what's most important so I wanted McGonagall to emphasize that. Harry did find it a bit awkward to have Mandy next to him when he was blatantly staring at Ginny lol. Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, I think a lot of people had thoughts on Umbitch's speech. You're one of the few who are happy things are going well with Mandy lol, but yes, I know you can't wait for Hinny! Thank you!

To AntiCreator: Thanks for the recommendation of "Rise of the Wizards by Teufel1987," I might just do that. Budweiser is terrible beer lol, but to each their own! I do enjoy American bourbon though, but I'm a fan of Four Roses. Harry is doing what normal people his age should be doing and I love showing that camaraderie and friendship between him and his dorm mates. Thank you! To hellishrose: Thanks for getting up to date and for saying I'm amazing and dedicated! You're too kind! Yes, Ron did give his initial hints of a blessing to Harry! Not that Harry really took note of it lol. But yes, Sirius and Zee are possibly thinking about marriage! Thank you so much! To Guest: Thank you, I will update when I usually do. To Atrayee: Thank you! Wow, you read all of it in five days, impressive! Hinny is coming, I promise! Thanks! To Blue Luver5000: Thank you! To Phreak91: Thank you. I think kissing other people is good for Harry and Ginny, even if you disagree. But they will be together soon! Thank you! To Guest: Thank you, I will update when I usually do. To HPfan12: Thanks for finding the Dean stuff interesting and yes, he definitely was overcompensating with his guy talk and hasn't really come to terms with his sexuality yet. We'll see more of him soon. As to Dean using her, you must wait and see what I have planned. As to how Dean was talking about her, boys talk a lot like that to each other when they are young. Thank you!

To RedheadLover: Aww, I'm sorry that every time I post a chapter without Hinny goodness, a part of you dies. It's coming, soon, I promise! As to how many more chapters until Hinny happens, more than 5, less than 12. To TimeShifter: Jenkins was a typo which I fixed, it was Casey. This is year 5 not year 6 and I am sticking to canon a little yes, but mostly in the fact that Umbridge is there. She will not have power like she did in OotP and as to the Dementors, the Ministry didn't know what to do with them. There was no where they knew to send them to keep the world safe so they pulled the control a little from the prison until they figured that out. Unfortunately, Voldemort got there first. I have plans and things are different from canon. If you are enjoying the story please trust me. Thanks. To Jmcglynn522: Thanks for understanding me here: "I'm disagreeing with everyone worrying about Ginny and Dean. Ginny isn't a weak, damsel in distress! She's not going to date someone and be pressured into sex... remember the Bat-Bogeys from the penis last time? If Ginny decides to sleep with Dean (which I really hope she doesn't), then it'll only be because SHE wants to […] I'm not as worried about that Twatnugget in Pink being at Hogwarts as before. She lacks the level of power that she held before. Can she start shit? Yes! Can she get away with taking over the school without anyone stopping her? No! Be scared for those poor new kids that the prejudiced toad is going to terrorize as much as possible!" — Yes to all of the above, thank you for understanding where I am going with this story. Thank you!

To pottermum: Yes, Harry is thinking more and more about Ginny! Thank you! To Laedari: Mandy is a great girl and no, she won't be as bad as the Ron and Lavender breakup lol. Yes, more crazies free to roam the world! Thank you! To hills: Thanks for summing up the Sirius and Zee marriage talk nicely "Bunch of punks with a match made in heaven!" LOL. Yes, they are and yes, they are both rather commitment phobic.

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on 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 EIGHTY-NINE:

The One Where Everyone Breaks Out of Azkaban

Lucius stepped into Malfoy Manor, his limbs aching. He had barely stepped over the threshold when Narcissa came running towards him, throwing herself into his arms. He stumbled slightly, but he held her tight, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Oh, Lu!"

He didn't speak, he simply held her close.

"You've seen her. Now stop snivelling and get upstairs and change. I want you back down here in fifteen minutes so that we can discuss our next move," Abraxas demanded, storming past Lucius and into the parlour and opening the liquor cabinet to pour himself a drink.

Lucius pulled away from his wife and nodded, but he held her hand in his and led her away with him.

"Fifteen minutes, Lucius!"

Lucius ignored his father as he carefully moved up the stairs. Narcissa closed their bedroom door behind them and threw herself into his arms again.

"Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Just prison aches and pains."

"Where are you going?"

He shook his head. "The whole Ministry is on a man-hunt attempting to find the escaped prisoners. We both know that I can't stay here. I give it thirty minutes tops before Aurors show up demanding you to tell them where I am."

Narcissa nodded, moving to help him undress before she turned on the shower. He washed quickly and was just buttoning his shirt when Abraxas stormed into the bedroom.

"Let's go."

Lucius nodded and grabbed his wand. His had been one of the lucky ones that had yet to be destroyed and he was thankful as he was quite attached to it. He bent his head and kissed his wife softly. "I'll be in touch."

Narcissa watched him storm off with her father-in-law and she clutched a hand to her uneasy stomach. It was starting. She watched them leave the Manor before she hurried into the parlour and dug out a piece of parchment and some ink. She dipped her quill and quickly wrote the message before she rolled it up and headed to the kitchens and called for Binky. The tidy little elf smiled brightly at her.

"How may I be of service, Mistress?"

Narcissa handed her the rolled up and sealed parchment. "Bring this to Andromeda. Stay only if she wishes to respond otherwise come right back to me."

Binky nodded, accepting the roll and Disapparating with a loud pop.

Narcissa placed a hand over her uneasy stomach again. She had to come up with a plan and the hardest part was that no one else was there to help her with it.

~ ASC ~

The lovely voice in her ear made her sigh in contentment. It was deep and rumbling and tugged at her sleepy consciousness.

"Dromeda?" The voice murmured near her ear again. "Love, wake up."

Andromeda blinked owlishly and burrowed herself closer into her husband's naked chest. "Still dark."

He chuckled and lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "There's a house elf here to see you, love, from your sister."

Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly, noticing the tiny elf standing near their bed. "Binky?"

Binky smiled brightly and took a step forward. "I is sorry to disturb you, mistress, but I is coming with news from my Mistress."

She handed the parchment over as Ted reached for his wand and flicked their bedside lamp on. Andromeda carefully unrolled the parchment, opening it so that Ted could read it as well.

Azkaban has been broken into and all of the prisoners have been set free, including Lucius. He and Brax stopped by for a change of clothes only and are taking off to a safe location.

They won't tell me where.

The Dark Lord is setting his plan in motion and as the Ministry scrambles to deal with the breakout, he will strike. Tell them to watch the Ministry; not all are who they say.

Andromeda read it twice more before she incinerated the note with her wand and her eyes met Ted's. She turned to look at the elf and nodded. "Thank you, Binky. Please tell your Mistress that I received her note."

Binky nodded and Disapparated with a loud crack.

Andromeda turned back to Ted, her hand reaching out to lie over his heart, her fingers twirling in his curly chest hair. "How many people are kept in Azkaban?"

"Over a hundred at last count," Ted said quietly. "The Aurors must already be on it. Watch the Ministry… does that mean that she believes there are spies there?"

"She must," Andromeda said quietly. "I'll tell Sirius and Zee in the morning so that they can keep an eye out for anything suspicious. They are both working so diligently on that new project to try to stop He Who Must Not Be Named."

Ted bent his head and kissed her bare shoulder, tugging the strap of her nightie that had fallen off her shoulder back into place. "Are you worried about Narcissa?"

Andromeda hesitated. "She can handle herself better than anyone, I know that, but… she is playing a dangerous game, love. If anyone finds out that she is helping us like this… who knows what will happen to her?"

"Lucius loves her."

"That doesn't mean that he will be able to save her," Andromeda said quietly.

Ted dropped a kiss to the top of her head and held her close. "We have to trust that she knows what she's doing."

Andromeda snuggled into her husband's embrace, resting her cheek against the warmth of his chest, her hands clinging to the base of his spine. "How come even after almost twenty-five years with you, I still feel so safe in your arms?"

Ted smiled against her hair, his hand gently gliding up and down her back. "I love you a little more every day, Andromeda, and I promise that I will always make you feel safe. Always."

She smiled against her husband, holding him tightly. She wished the world had their very own personal Edward Tonks to keep them safe, but he was hers, and she wasn't letting him go for anything.

~ ASC ~

When Harry went down to the Great Hall the next morning, the entire school was buzzing. Due to his intake of Seamus' so called 'mother's milk,' his head was pounding, and he had spent a good portion of his evening heaving into the toilet bowl. Since Ron and Neville had both been right there with him, he didn't feel too guilty. Seamus had snored loudly from his spot on the floor next to Dean's bed and Dean had been on his bed, one hand stuck to his face and his mouth open as he slept this morning like the dead.

Harry planned on never drinking again, he thought. His stomach churned slightly, but the smell of bacon made his mouth water. He sat down to a late breakfast as it was almost ten and had just eaten his first slice of bacon when Hermione shoved the newspaper in front of his face.

"Read this!"

His eyes fell on the image of the prison, half the building blown to shreds and ruins and his eyes widened.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN PRISON LAST NIGHT PUTS ENTIRE POPULATION AT RISK!

"Fuck!"

Hermione nodded, not even bothering to scold him for his language. "Precisely. Looks like he's thrown the first stone."

"More like thrown the first mountain," Ron murmured, leaning over Hermione to read the article. "How many people were imprisoned there?"

"It says one hundred and seven," Hermione said quietly. "Thirty-five of them were imprisoned specifically for being followers of Voldemort."

"Fuck!" Ron said, wincing when Hermione elbowed him in the gut. "Ow! You didn't hit Harry when he swore!"

Hermione chose not to answer him. "This means that the Ministry needs to not only re-capture the ones that they had already imprisoned, but find the ones who are behind this breakout."

"Not to mention find another prison," Ron said. "They destroyed half of the castle! With the Dementors abandoning their post, they will need somewhere else to store them safely or bringing them in isn't going to do anything."

Harry frowned as he ate his bacon. "War is coming."

Hermione looked up from the paper and shook her head. "Harry, it's already here."

~ ASC ~

Sirius walked into the Ministry that Saturday afternoon and saw that despite it being the weekend, most of the Ministry was in an uproar about the breakout. People seemed to be moving at high speeds, with no real destination in mind as if they had no idea what to do. He made his way straight for the conference room in the Office of the Minister of Magic and took a seat, tapping his fingers on the table.

Bones looked up when he started tapping and let out a slow sigh. "Well, I guess he made his move."

Sirius snorted. "We knew that it was coming, Amelia. We talked about how important it was to make sure that we had more than just the Dementors standing by and we did."

"And four of them were killed."

"It's a war, Madam Minister, and I am sorry to say, but it means that we're going to lose people."

She nodded, her eyes sad. "Where are we with your War Council plans?"

"Not far. As you know, our first table discussion was scheduled for this Tuesday. I have a few ideas that I've spoken about with Dumbledore, but as to an official plan, we have nothing outside of what the Auror Squads have been doing."

She let out a slow breath as Kingsley stepped inside the room. "Shacklebolt, what have you got to report."

"Every family who was or will possibly be affected by one of the escaped prisoners has been made aware of the security breach. I also spoke to MacGregor at the MIA and he's going to spare some of his Aurors to help us with the search. We are on the alert, but it seems like he's stashed everyone away somewhere where they don't plan to be found. We need to find out what his plans are. We need a spy inside."

"We have one," Sirius told him. "But we also need our spy to stay alive."

Kingsley nodded. "Agreed."

Bones stared between the two of them. "Everyone should be arriving from the CBC within the next hour. Lord Black, I want you to get started on your War Council ideas, the meeting has been pushed up to this afternoon. We need to make a plan for this and we need to make a plan now."

Sirius nodded. "Agreed. I need to talk to Dumbledore first, but I promise that we will have something for you by the end of the day."

She nodded, turning her attention back to the board full of the floating portraits of the faces and names of the escaped convicts that covered almost every surface of the room. "Anything is better than what I have before me now."

Sirius stood up, nodding at Kingsley and sneaking a last look back at Bones. Her shoulders were tense and he knew that she was trying hard to figure out how to put a stop to Voldemort's next move. The problem was that they had no idea what his next move was going to be.

~ ASC ~

After breakfast, Harry headed back upstairs to his dorm to shower and change. He had already showered that morning, but he still felt rather grungy and disgusting from his obvious hangover. Dean and Seamus were both still out cold and he only shook his head at his friends before he made his way down into the common room. He spotted Angelina on the sofa and he immediately made a beeline for her.

"Angelina, perfect!" he exclaimed, plopping into the seat next to her.

Angelina smiled at him when he sat down. "Hi, Harry. Did you hear about Azkaban? How scary is that?"

He nodded. "Incredibly. Definitely not how I wanted to start my morning."

She nodded solemnly. "I agree. I'm glad that we're at school and away from the brunt of it, which makes me feel callus."

"No, it doesn't. It makes you sound normal," he told her with a smile.

Angelina smiled warmly. "I suppose it does."

Harry smiled at her, shifting in his spot to give her his full attention. "Listen, if you have a moment, I wanted to talk to you about Quidditch."

She smiled at him. "For the record, Harry, McGonagall asked me if I wanted to be captain this year and I did consider it. But it's my NEWTs this year and honestly, as much as I would love getting the chance to be Quidditch Captain, I think that you would do a much better job of it."

Harry grinned brightly at her. "Well, thanks. It was a surprise. I for sure thought that it was going to be you. I was hoping, if you are willing that is, that you might be interested in helping me co-captain a bit. It's just that you were on the team with Wood longer than I was, and I'd love to have someone around to bump advice off of?"

Angelina grinned widely. "I'd love that, Harry! Thanks."

"Good," he said, grinning back. "I want to get tryouts started no later than the third week of school. We have to find a new Keeper and I know replacing Wood is going to be difficult, so we have to find the right fit."

She nodded and bit her lip. "Plus we need another Chaser."

Harry's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean? You, Alicia, and Katie are like the Chaser Dream Team."

Angelina chuckled. "True, but Alicia has decided to resign from the team this year."

"WHAT?" Harry spluttered in surprise.

"I know," Angelina said sadly. "I had pretty much the same reaction. But it's her last year as well and she wants to study abroad in America after school, studying the eccentricities of numerology. Professor Vector is taking on her and one other student to work on a huge project and it's going to be taking up a lot of her time. She did promise to help us find a replacement though."

Harry frowned slightly. "Well, I guess that's more than fair. But dammit, she's a great Chaser! Finding anyone as good as her is going to be disappointing."

Angelina nodded. "I agree. As for Keepers, there's a sixth year who is pretty good. His name is McLaggen, and he could be a shoe in after Oliver."

"Maybe… my friend Ron would be a good choice as well," Harry admitted.

"Weasleys do have good Quidditch blood so that is something to keep in mind."

Harry nodded. "We'll set up tryouts. One Chaser and one Keeper."

"Sounds like a plan. I look forward to seeing what you come up with, Harry."

He smiled at her and stood up. "Me too. I'll let you know when the tryouts will be."

He made his way out of the common room and almost bumped into Neville.

"Hi, Harry," Neville said brightly. "I was just thinking of heading down to Hagrid's, want to come?"

"That sounds great," Harry told him. "I haven't seen him since Uncle Rem's wedding."

The two of them walked companionably down to Hagrid's hut and were disappointed when he wasn't there. Neville nodded his head towards the edge of the forest and transformed into his badger. Harry grinned and changed into his Tamaskan, barking in glee as he chased the badger around the edge of the forest, dancing in and out of the trees.

The badger made a churring sound, gesturing with his head and Harry grinned when he saw his girlfriend walking towards them with Susan and Hannah. He made a beeline for her and licked her face as she giggled and then he changed back into himself and kissed her softly.

"Hi."

Mandy smiled at him. "Hi, I thought that was you, but I wasn't sure. I've never actually seen you in your Animagus form before." Her eyes fell on the badger in curiosity. "And the badger?"

Neville changed back into himself and Hannah's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh!"

"What are you two doing out here?" Mandy asked.

"We were hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't home," Harry said. "You?"

"We were going to take a walk around the lake," Mandy told them. "Want to join us?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, you get some quality time in with your girlfriends. After dinner, your time is mine."

Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled. "Oh, it is, is it?"

Harry bent his head to kiss her earlobe. "I'm going to snog you senseless."

She blushed when he pulled away and grinned back at him. "See you later."

Neville smirked at his friend as Hannah turned to look at them again before whispering something to Mandy. "Did you decide what you're doing for your seventh month anniversary yet?"

He shook his head as he watched her walk away before turning his attention back to Neville. "No."

Neville stared at him and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You know, it's not really fair to her that you want someone else."

Harry glared at him. "Mandy is my girlfriend, Neville. You don't know what you're talking about!"

Neville simply transformed back into his badger and hurried off towards the edge of the forest. Harry sighed and changed into his dog to follow his friend. She was his girlfriend and he cared about her and right now he had to figure out a plan for their anniversary.

But first he had to figure out the plan for the Quidditch tryouts, especially if he now had to find a Chaser and a Keeper.

The anniversary date could wait.

~ ASC ~

Sirius looked up when Dumbledore stepped into Number Twelve with McGonagall that afternoon. He had sent word for them to meet him here as soon as possible, but he was still glad to see that they had gotten away fairly quickly.

"Sirius, how's Amelia dealing with the breakout?" Dumbledore asked, taking a seat at the long kitchen table.

Kreacher immediately began to serve tea and biscuits and Sirius thanked him before speaking.

"As well as can be expected. She wants to see some results on this War Council thing and since we hadn't even decided on our first table discussion until Tuesday, we don't have much."

McGonagall nodded, helping herself to a shortbread biscuit. "We spent the summer making the alliances — which granted was just as important, but we didn't find the time to plan for the attacks."

"Any word on the giants? Hagrid didn't say much at the wedding?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't think that any of them are coming, Sirius. Voldemort got to them first and unfortunately, they have a penchant towards violence and mayhem, all of which we're not going to allow them to do. They've sided with him. Maxime and Hagrid did what they could; they provided gifts and provided our ideas for peace, but the Gurg is only interested in what Voldemort has to say — not us."

Sirius swore under his breath. "I knew that we weren't going to bring everyone over to our side, but losing the giants fucking sucks bollocks! They're very powerful beings."

"And if he uses them like he did the last time, they will crush homes and villages," McGonagall said sadly. "As I said before, we didn't plan a way to stop these attacks, we were too busy trying to find allies."

Sirius bit into a cinnamon biscuit. "Which we had hoped to have more time to do. Lucius and Abraxas Malfoy have left the country and are in a safe-house. I am assuming that any other followers of Voldemort are heading to the same few locations. Most of them have been suffering in Azkaban for years and they will need a bit of time to replenish their strength before Voldemort can make his next move. But, I got word that there are definite spies within the Ministry of Magic."

Dumbledore tapped his long fingers on the table before he spoke. "We have to assume as much. He had spies the last time and with Bagman turning out to be working for Voldemort last year, we have to be cautious."

"Which is what I want with this council," Sirius declared. "Having a Ministry ordered War Council is exactly what we need. It gives us access to resources and to soldiers when we need them, but it also leaves us vulnerable to spies."

"You want the Order to be a secret coalition," McGonagall said quietly. "The backup."

Sirius nodded. "Exactly. I don't want to take chances with this. We have our allies and we have our resources and our soldiers, but we don't have a guarantee that we can trust them all. We need diligence and we need to make sure that we are taking precautions to make sure that no one is Imperiused or under the guise of Polyjuice Potion. I want to set up codes between our core group to make sure that we are always keeping each other safe. Number Twelve is the best meeting place. I have charms melded into the house that stops anyone from entering who wishes harm on anyone inside, but having codes is still a good add on."

"I agree," Dumbledore said. "Get everyone together as soon as you can and establish codes amongst each other. In the meantime, you and I will work with the War Council to establish a plan. We have a lot of work to do."

Sirius let out a slow sigh. It was more than a lot of work, he thought and the hard part was that he had no idea how to prevent anything from happening. They needed Snape to get more information and he was hoping that Narcissa might be able to give them some more as well. Depending on spies was not the wisest choice of action, but at the moment, it was all they had.

~ ASC ~

Theo turned at the sound of someone calling his name as he moved down the dark side staircase and into the dungeons. He needed to clear his head after reading about the breakout. He felt guilty for not informing Potter or anyone about the upcoming breakout, but also relieved that no one was paying him any attention.

Meeting the Dark Lord had been more of a terrifying experience than he had wanted to admit. The feel of his power, of his capabilities was both awe-inspiring and terrifying in ways that he couldn't put into words. He had thought that he had mastered keeping his mind closed, but after spending a moment with the Dark Lord he felt like a child without a wand. Now he had freed all those who deserved to be locked away, those who followed him, and those mad enough to choose to follow him since he had freed them. It wasn't a comforting thought and he couldn't seem to shut his brain down.

He'd spent the last two hours walking aimlessly around the lake before he realized that he'd missed curfew altogether and started to make his way back to the castle and down into the dungeons. He frowned at the sight of the tall, stocky Hufflepuff prefect walking towards him as he made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Macmillan," he said tersely, looking up at the tall stocky teen.

Ernie nodded at him. "Out of bounds, aren't you, Nott? Curfew started fifteen minutes ago."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Are you actually going to give me detention for it? Classes haven't even started yet and I'm around the corner from my common room."

"Five points from Slytherin for your cheek."

Theo stared at him. "You always were a self righteous prick."

Ernie merely took a step closer to him. "You can have a chance at earning those points back if you ask nicely."

Theo only stared at him. "For five measly points? Knowing you, you'd probably insist that I squeal on some of my Slytherin mates. I'm not a canary, Macmillian, and I'm not going to sing."

Ernie scoffed at this. "Please. I already gave detention to Crabbe this evening, I hardly need your help."

He raised an eyebrow. "I see power has already corrupted you and it's only day two. What do you want?"

Ernie licked his lips. "Rumour around the castle is that you have a mouth made by the gods."

Theo smirked and took a step towards him, coming out of the shadows. "Let me get this straight, Macmillan. You, a Hogwarts prefect, are offering me the chance to earn Slytherin back the points that you took away from me for being out past curfew by getting on my knees and sucking you off? How scandalous!"

Ernie flushed. "I just thought that you'd want the chance to help your house!"

"No, you want to get off, you dirty bugger!"

"I'll take another five points off for disrespecting a prefect!"

Theo smirked. "Now, that's just blackmail!" He stared at Ernie. "I'd consider it…" he said slowly watching Ernie's eyes widen. "But my mouth is worth at least fifty points minimum... and if you want to come well… another fifty."

"That's preposterous!"

"And what you're asking isn't?" Theo demanded. "I may like to fool around, Macmillan, but I'm not a bloody whore for hire!"

Ernie suddenly reached forward and grabbed him by his robes, pulling him into the empty classroom on the left and closing the door, leaving the room in total darkness as he shoved Theo to the ground in the process.

"What the actual fuck, Macmillan?" Theo exclaimed, pulling his wand from his thigh holster in genuine surprise. The last thing that he had expected from the Hufflepuff was to be tossed about.

Ernie knocked his wand from his hands, the sound of it clinking on the ground seemingly echoing in the dark silent room before he locked the door and silenced it. "I am a prefect, Nott, and you must do what I say!"

Theo stood up, eyes glaring at him. "You're a self-righteous prick and I'm leaving!"

Ernie's fist plowed forward and Theo blanched at the pain to his lip and was surprised to taste blood. Ernie grabbed a fistful of his hair and shoved him to his knees. Theo attempted to dislodge himself, but Ernie's fingers pulled so hard on his hair that his eyes watered. Then Ernie undid his trousers with one hand and pulled out his erection, rubbing it slowly.

"Blow me."

Theo stared at him. "No!" He made to stand again, but Ernie's grip tightened on his hair. "Let me up, you arse!"

Ernie simply yanked his head back and shoved his cock up against the side of Theo's face, the tip slapping his cheek. "This is what you like, isn't it, Theo? Aren't you a giant cock-sucking whore?"

Theo's eyes were glaring daggers at him, but when Ernie yanked his head back further by the roots, he opened his mouth. Ernie gave him a triumphant look and shoved his prick inside, hard and rough. Theo gagged before he caught himself. He sucked for only a second before he used his teeth, biting down hard enough to make Ernie roar.

Ernie's fist connected with his head and Theo fell to the ground, his vision blurring.

"You fucking bit me!"

"You fucking shoved your cock at me!" Theo exclaimed, attempting to stand despite his throbbing head.

Ernie murmured 'incarcerous' and Theo's hands tied behind his back before he grabbed him by the hair again, shoving him back down to his knees. "Blow me. If you bite me again, I will make you regret it."

Theo struggled in his grip and Ernie cupped his chin hard enough to bruise.

"Open your mouth like a good little whore!"

Theo had never thought that it was possible that he would hate anyone more than he hated his father, but as he stared at the bobbing angry red cock before him, he knew that Ernie Macmillan was in close second. He took a slow breath and then he took the prefect's penis into his mouth. He used his tongue, wincing when Ernie tugged harder at his hair, almost pulling it out by the roots. He licked the shaft to help lubricate it and then he hollowed his cheeks and sucked him hard.

The prefect groaned in delight, hips arching, and his other hand grabbed Theo's hair tightly as he shagged his throat. Theo gagged, but the teen made no notice of it. His eyes watered and Ernie let out a strangled gasp before finishing down his throat, Theo was left with no other choice but to swallow.

Ernie sighed in contentment as his cock popped out of the Slytherin's mouth happily. "So, the rumours are true. Of course, I think a bit more practice never hurt anyone."

Theo snorted, blinking back tears. "If you think that this is ever going to happen a second time, think again! You'll be expelled for this, arsehole!"

Ernie smirked. "No, I won't be. Because you're not going to tell anyone."

Theo stared at him, his eyes full of hatred. "You don't know me! You can't just force yourself on someone!"

The prefect grinned as he zipped himself back up. "I didn't force myself on just anyone, Nott, but the son of a notorious Death Eater. I am a well behaved, hard working prefect who maintains excellent grades... hard choice on who'd they'd believe."

"They would believe me."

"Would they?" Ernie asked, smirking at him. "Bet your father would believe that his son is a cocksucker. He'd disown you. I know the likes of Thaddeus Nott, my father has told me all about him and you, Theodore, the only son set to inherit riches beyond his wildest dreams, the only heir to the Nott fortune, the future Marquess of Norfolk — you will lose everything the moment that your father discovers that you sucked a prick."

Theo paled.

After everything that he had done at the end of the summer to make sure his father didn't find that out, this was the last thing that he wanted. Narcissa had warned him that he had to keep his nose clean; to maybe even get a pretend girlfriend because until he turned seventeen, Ernie was right, Thaddeus could make his life hell.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why are you working so hard to ruin my reputation? I just need to make it a year and I inherit everything; my father won't have any say in who I spend my time with."

Ernie smirked. "Good. That's a whole year of practice for you then."

"You're lying."

Ernie simply licked his lips. "Tomorrow night, eight thirty, broom closet on the third floor. I expect you on your knees and waiting for me, to beg for my cock like the little whore you are... and this time, you're going to show me exactly how good you are, no little quick suck to get me off. Show me why blokes say that mouth is a gift of the gods." He pulled his robes closed, adjusted his prefect's badge and dropped Theo's wand on the floor. "Oh, and Nott? If you tell anyone, I will ruin you and make you the poor little rich boy no more. Don't even think of using magic against me either because I will make you will regret it."

Theo only glared harder as Ernie left the classroom, whistling as he walked. Theo fought back tears as he desperately tried to untie his still bound hands.

If his father heard wind of this, he would lose everything. Thaddeus Nott would take his name off every account; he wouldn't be left a single Knut to his name... not to mention what his father would do to him if he found out that his only son was a homosexual… what he would allow the Dark Lord to do to him…

He touched his fat lip, wincing at the pain of it. He'd play by the prefect's rules for now, but the moment he had an out, he was going to curse that tiny little prick right off his body. He managed to break himself free and stood up, using a quick concealing charm on himself to hide his injuries before he made his way back to Slytherin House.

No one could find out what had happened.

No one.

~ ASC ~

Sirius thanked Kreacher as he stepped into the kitchen of Number Twelve the next afternoon. The elf was truly a godsend. He had set the table with Dobby's help, filling it with drinks and snacks for the large group that would be arriving within the next half an hour. He sighed when Zee's arms encircled his waist and she rested her face against the centre of his back.

"It's going to be fine, Siri. We have to start somewhere."

He nodded, running his hands along the arms that held him. "I know, but starting from the bottom isn't where I want to be."

"Most people don't get to start at the top, Sirius," she said quietly. "You have to work your way up."

"I know. But right now, I wish that we could take the easy way out."

He moved to the blackboard and began to write.

Zee watched him for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"I want to establish where we have everyone and where they may or may not be useful. This will be the members wall."

She nodded and immediately started at the other end, adding to the list. When they were finished, she kissed his cheek. "Let's arrange it a bit by location."

She waved her wand and the names shifted and guided around the room until it was organized alphabetically in a list format.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC:

Sirius Black ➾ Wizengamot, Hogwarts Board of Governors, War Council
Dedalus Diggle ➾ Accidental Magic Reversal Squad
Elphias Doge ➾ Special Advisor to the Wizengamot, Hogwarts Board of Governors
Albus Dumbledore ➾ Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump ICW, War Council, CBC, (also part of Hogwarts, Headmaster of Hogwarts)
Hestia Jones ➾ Department of Intoxicating Substances
Tonks Lupin ➾ A3 in Auror Department
Sturgis Podmore ➾ Department of Mysteries, Level One
Kingsley Shacklebolt ➾ Head Auror, CBC
Ted Tonks ➾ Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Objects
Emmeline Vance ➾ Head of Hit Wizards Division
Arthur Weasley ➾ Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office
Zee Zacarias ➾ Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, CBC

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY:

Albus Dumbledore ➾ Headmaster (also part of Ministry of Magic)
Filius Flitwick ➾ Charms
Rubeus Hagrid ➾ Care of Magical Creatures
Remus Lupin ➾ Defence Against the Dark Arts, Werewolf packs
Minerva McGonagall ➾ Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House, Transfiguration
Severus Snape ➾ Potions, Death Eaters

GRINGOTTS WIZARD BANK:

Fleur Delacour ➾ curse breaker in training
Bill Weasley ➾ curse breaker

OTHER:

Aberforth Dumbledore ➾ pub owner
Mundungus Fletcher ➾ professional thief
Alastor Moody ➾ retired Auror
Andromeda Tonks ➾ housewife, spy contacts, communication coordinator of Order
Molly Weasley ➾ housewife, communication coordinator of Order

OUT OF COUNTRY:

Alexander Papakonstantinou ➾ neuro-healer (Greece)
Althea Papakonstantinou ➾ paediahealer (Greece)
Charlie Weasley ➾ dragonologist (Romania)
Misha Zacarias ➾ Head Auror of Russian KGB (Moscow)
Sorcha Zacarias ➾ journalist (Scotland and Moscow)

"There," Zee said with a smile. "Are we forgetting anyone?"

Sirius scanned the list carefully and shook his head. "I don't think so." He took a seat at the head of the table his eyes on the blackboard. "I'm going to put Molly and Andy both in as the Communication Coordinators. They will be in charge of who is on a mission and who is free; making sure that we are recording check points and length of time. I want to keep everyone as safe as possible."

Zee put her wand in her leg holster and then plopped into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm glad that we brought Mama and Papa in, but… I worry."

He kissed her softly. "I worry about you every bloody day. I don't know what I would do if anything… you're being extra careful, right?"

Zee smiled and gently stroked her finger down his cheek. "Always. Worrying about each other is a given, but we need to try to take care of everyone here as much as ourselves."

Sirius nodded. "That's part of the reason why I want Andy and Molly to coordinate everything. They have the most free time at the moment and both of them are fierce mama bears which is exactly what I think we need to help keep us in line. Plus with Andy potentially keeping us informed through Cissa — she is another spy link."

Zee bit her bottom lip. "Spies are good, but I am worried a little bit about those boys. Draco, Theo, and Blaise… we both saw them after the World Cup and now… how deep are they going to be into this?"

Sirius kissed her forehead. "Deeper than we'd like, I'd imagine. I have to hope that their age will help keep them out of it as much as possible, but they are not our responsibility, babe. Andy gave them the option of a safe house and I would hope that if something goes amiss, they will use it. Until then… let's hope that they are three more sets of eyes and ears who will communicate with Harry to help us."

Zee nodded and Sirius held her close for a long moment as Remus came into the kitchen with Tonks. It was only a moment later before everyone began to arrive. Zee moved into the chair next to Sirius and thanked Kreacher as he began to pour everyone drinks. The elf even presented Moody with his special bottle of unopened single malt Scotch. Moody's scarred lip stretched into a smile as he thanked the elf before he served himself.

Once everyone was settled around the kitchen table, Sirius let out a slow breath and began.

"I'd just like to thank everyone for coming, that's a great start to this meeting. Unfortunately, Dumbledore couldn't attend the meeting today as he is working with the Minister so, I will be speaking for him." He cleared his throat as he looked around the room. "Most of you know each other. Some of you are new to the Order and others were with me the first time around. Lord Voldemort is back and the world has gone to shit. Prisoners have escaped Azkaban and we have no idea what his next move will be."

A tiny witch with dark hair raised her hand. "Sirius, what is the Ministry hoping to do to counteract You Know Who?"

Sirius let out a slow sigh. "Something called the Phoenix Initiative, which if you remember, Tia, we started attempting to do back in the first war. This time we have a minister willing to listen and this time we are building a war council to try to assist. But just like last time, we know that there are spies within the Ministry of Magic."

Arthur frowned at that. "But you don't know who."

Sirius shook his head. "No. But this time around, we are more aware of a few things." He pointed his wand at the blank blackboard on the opposite kitchen wall from where he and Zee had recorded the names. The skull and serpent symbol of the Dark Mark appeared there. "Every Death Eater bears this symbol on their left forearm. My cousin Bellatrix Lestrange has the mark on her right. Why it is on her right as opposed to her left, I am not sure, but they all bear this mark. We are going to implement an increased security check for all Ministry personnel upon entering and leaving the building each and every day. It will include checking for the mark. However, as we are all well aware, there are many ways to hide it and to conceal it. The important part is doing our best to keep everyone in the Ministry of Magic safe."

"How in depth will the security check be?" Arthur asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Bones is working on that with the Aurors and the Security Division. Unfortunately, we cannot make it as in depth as we would like due to civil liberties and freedoms, but we will try to be as cautious as possible. This is why I have called a meeting today. The Order will be the secret eyes and ears that we might not be able to possess in the Ministry. We are going to work our hardest to get a good War Council up and running, but we are also going to be working in the background, underground, and on the sidelines."

Moody leaned back in his chair. "Smart. Constant vigilance."

"Precisely," Sirius said with a smile. "Now, before I get into my ideas, I just want to do a quick introduction around the room so that we are all aware of who is present and what potential roles we have in the Order or what help we could be."

Moody rolled his eyes. "No goddamn roll call, Black! You have us all listed on the wall up there already." He pointed his wand around the table as he spoke. "Black, Zacarias, Jones, Diggle, Fletcher, Bill Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Lupin, Auror Tonks — sorry — Auror Lupin, Shacklebolt, Ted Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, McGonagall, Flitwick, Doge, Abe, Delacour, Hagrid, Podmore, and Vance. Everyone clear?"

Sirius smirked. "Thanks, Mad-Eye. We have a few people who couldn't be here today as well. Charlie Weasley, who is working from Romania. Xander and Althea Papakonstantinou, who are working from Greece. As well as Severus Snape and Dumbledore along with the Russian Auror Misha Zacarias, and his wife Sorcha who will be working both here and from Russia."

Moody nodded. "Make small talk amongst yourselves later to get better introductions and yada yada. Tell us what your plan is, Black."

Sirius leaned back in his seat at the head of the table. "Well, first thing is about keeping constant vigilance, which means that we have to set up security features for ourselves. This house is very well guarded and charmed and as you saw, can only be accessed by getting the information from the Secret Keeper. But for our own safety, I want everyone to increase the security on their own homes and to have codes with every person in this room. For example, Remus and I know everything about each other and would instantly know if one of us was lying. But Tia, I haven't seen you in over fifteen years, is your favourite song still 'Honky Tonk Woman' by the Rolling Stones?"

Hestia chuckled, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. "Definitely. I like that idea, Sirius. Something that only we would know about each other, an inside joke even that could help us decipher if any of us have been compromised."

"Now obviously not all of us are here today and some of our members will continue to work out of the country, but we will have our own security features for them," Sirius explained.

Moody nodded. "Well done. Now, when it comes to finding out the spies within the Ministry, what do you have in mind?"

Zee squeezed Sirius' hand in hers as she spoke. "Amongst our number we have a pretty diverse group of people. As you can see, Sirius and I organized our group by location. Bill and Fleur work at Gringotts, which I hope means that they can help us earn some potential assistance from the goblins?"

Fleur shook her head. "Zey do not trust us. Zey say zat zis war is not their problème."

Bill nodded. "But they aren't willing to help You Know Who either so, that's something."

"But it gives the two of you another aspect to be cautious about. The Ministry isn't the only avenue that Voldemort may be looking to infiltrate," Zee explained. "As you can see, the Ministry of Magic is another location and the one where most of us will be working from. I work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures so, I will do what I can from that department. Kingsley, Ted, Tonks — you three all have access to different levels of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Arthur, you are the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office which puts you in contact with all sorts of different departments around the Ministry, not to mention Muggle officials. Jones, Sirius says that you work with the Department of Intoxicating Substances, that's another potential place where we need to be on the lookout. Diggle, I understand that you work for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad?"

The short man nodded excitedly. "Oh, yes, and I can tell you, not all of it is kids, oh no!"

Sirius chuckled. "I can imagine, Ded. Dung is our unsavoury friend as he has a tendency towards pick pocketing and spends his time skulking in Knockturn Alley. Sturgis, you work on level one of the Department of Mysteries, I know that doesn't mean much in terms of your clearance, but keep an eye on what you can. Em, I know that you run your own division under the Hit Wizards now and I need your mad skills to help us organize here. Andy, Molly, you two have the hardest job as neither of you work in the Ministry. I want you to take to the streets, Diagon Alley, and other magical villages and towns and just keep your ears to the ground. Elphias, I am looking to you to help me in the Wizengamot as Special Advisor, your voice matters. Fil, Minnie, Rem, Hagrid, you are all at Hogwarts. I hate to say it. I hate even suggesting it, but keep an eye on your students. Many of their family members may be or may be connected to Death Eaters. They could be in danger as much as be dangerous themselves."

Zee nodded. "Charlie Weasley is doing what he can from the dragon reserve in Romania as are Xander and Thea from Greece. My father is forming a special unit of Aurors in the Russian Ministry to be available to the War Council when needed and he will keep his eyes open in Russia. We all have a part to play in this and not everyone is going to be aware of what everyone else is doing. I think that we can all agree that it's for our own safety as much as each other's."

Sirius smiled at her before he continued. "Right now we are looking to gain information. The more information we have, the better equipped we will be to make plans. Anyone you investigate, keep a report on them and check in. Molly, Andy, being that the two of you are the most organized and have the most free time for the moment, I would like to make you the communication centre of the Order. I want everyone in this room to make sure that they are checking in and out with the two of you over any potential missions. Keep track of where they are supposed to be and with who and for how long. You two are the go between. It doesn't matter which one of you is spoken to, but anyone that any one of us considers suspicious must be on our radar."

"And what do you expect an old retired Auror to do, Black?" Moody demanded.

"Be vigilant, Mad-Eye. Go and visit your old stomping grounds. Do some training with the Aurors and set them straight. Guest speak to the students in the Defence Club at Hogwarts. Be seen and be heard. I think that you can do the rest."

Moody nodded. "I still say you would have been a hell of an Auror, Black."

Emmeline Vance smiled. "He would have been a great Hit Wizard as well."

"There's something else," Remus said, clearly his throat. "Everyone in this room needs to be aware that sixteen years ago, Sybil Trelawney made a prophecy about Voldemort. Voldemort only heard part of it and he is determined to hear the full thing now that he is restored. It hints that Harry Potter will ultimately be the one to defeat him that he is in fact, the Chosen One, as the Daily Prophet has dubbed him."

There were some gasps around the room and Remus held up his hands.

"I like to think that it won't happen, but I also can't ignore the fact that our son has survived against him four times now, most recently in June. Voldemort can't ignore that either and he is searching for answers. Anything that you may potentially know about prophecies or what that could mean, please think on it and let us know."

Sturgis Podmore cleared his throat. "I know that prophecies are fickle and cannot always be taken literally. Depending on how events play out, fate doesn't necessarily insist that the prophecy needs to come true."

Zee nodded. "We agree with that, but Voldemort may not agree. The prophecy stated that he would choose his equal and that's the part that he didn't hear. By choosing to go after Harry as a baby, he set his path. But we are all going to fight his dictatorship and his attempt at bringing war to our country. Harry is fifteen and not a soldier in this war until he is forced to be and I don't plan on letting that happen."

"None of us do," Remus said sternly. "Molly, Andy, any objections to being the ones running the communication aspect of the Order?"

Molly shook her head, speaking for the first time. "No, actually I'm honoured and I think that twenty-five years of herding seven children where I needed them to go has given me the experience for it. I think Andromeda and I will make a good team."

Andromeda smiled at her. "I agree." She clapped her hands together. "Now let's get to work."

~ ASC ~

Bill took Fleur's arm in his as they left Number Twelve and headed towards the London Underground at Angel Station. The Order meeting had taken a little longer than he had expected, but given what they needed to discuss he wasn't that surprised. Sirius had mentioned to him in passing that he would be calling another meeting of FUVP within the coming weeks once things had calmed down at the Ministry. He wanted to give everyone the full details on the Horcrux extraction and he said that he had news on the others.

Bill knew that at the moment, dealing with the Order and the Ministry of Magic were Sirius' first priorities, and he understood the reasons for it. But he could see that Sirius was just as anxious to form FUVP back into action as well.

"Did you still want to grab some dinner and discuss the new project tonight?"

Fleur smiled warmly at him. "Oui. I caught up on some reading of ze history we found in Anguilla ze ozzer day and I might have come up with a new plan to open ze cursed box we found in ze ship."

Bill grinned. "Great. I can't wait to hear your idea. I want to talk to you about the new project the goblins are trusting us with as well. We'll be heading down into the London Catacombs. Have you ever been?"

She shook her head. "Non, but I was in ze ones in Paris. Zey are very terrible, I theenk."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure going down there isn't going to be a walk in the park. It's definitely going to involve some cleanup as well. We'll talk more over dinner. How does Italian sound?"

Fleur moved closer to him as more people climbed onto the train. "It sounds très bon."

Bill's breath hitched slightly as her body pressed into his and her pheromones assaulted him. He saw the man's eyes change behind her and he immediately wrapped his arms around her in a possessive fashion that surprised him.

"Miss, may I —"

"— No," Bill growled. "Run along."

The man's eyes met his and he seemed to come out of his trance.

Bill looked down at Fleur, who's blue eyes were staring up at him. "Sorry, I don't like seeing men throw themselves at you like you're up for auction."

"You never do."

"I never do what?"

"Zrow yourself at me like ze ozzers."

Bill's eyebrow rose. "We work together. I respect you too much to allow myself to act like an imbecile."

Fleur stood on her toes, her lips brushing his cheek. "You theenk I cannot tell ze difference?"

The feel of her lips on his cheek made his whole body tremble in response. He moved his arms away.

"Fleur…"

"I know zat you find me attractive, n'est pas?"

"Of course I find you — you're beautiful! That's not the… we work together."

Fleur smiled seductively. "And zis makes you not want to kiss me?"

Bill stared at her, his fingers twitching at her waist. "No."

Fleur moved away from him, her eyes flashing in hurt before she masked it. "Je suis désolé, my mistake."

Bill swore under his breath. Being around her was harder than he wanted to admit. She was incredibly beautiful, that was a given. She smelt like heaven and when she laughed, her eyes danced and her lips parted in the sweetest way. She was smart and creative and her willingness to learn intrigued him. She picked up on things fast and as much as he didn't want to admit it, was one of the best new recruits he'd ever had.

The fact that being around her made him as hard as rock was another situation all together.

They stepped off the train and Fleur started moving across the platform. He grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her back into his arms. Her lips parted in surprise and her eyes widened as he simply bent his head to hers.

The moment his lips touched hers, he knew that it had been a mistake. Now that he had kissed her, he knew that no one else was ever going to make him feel like this; no one else would ever come close. He tugged her closer, his hands moving into her hair, deepening the kiss and when she moaned against him, it was enough to pull him out of his trance.

Her cheeks were flushed and her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes.

"If you think that I don't think about doing that a few thousand times a day along with a few naughtier things then you're stupid."

Fleur's eyes flashed in anger. "'Ow dare you call me stupid!" Her fists hit him angrily on the arm.

"I didn't mean — fuck!" He dragged his hand over his face. "I think that you're far from stupid, Fleur. You're one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. One of the bravest as well and the sexiest. I just meant… of course, I'm attracted to you. You're bloody gorgeous! I love the way that your eyes dance when you laugh. I like watching your little booty dance when you bypass the puzzle piece when we're exploring. I like spending time with you and I spend most of my time with you trying to convince myself of all of the reasons why I can't touch you. You have men throwing themselves at you all the time, even some women. I don't want you to think that what I'm saying is because of your Veela thing — because it's not."

Fleur stepped towards him, her eyes softening. "I can tell ze difference, Bill. I want you to touch me."

Bill's breath hitched. "You do?"

She nodded. "I want you to kiss me again."

He did. Long and deeply until someone whistled at them and he broke away, smiling at her. "Will you go out with me, Fleur?"

She smiled. "Oui, but if you call me stupid again, I will make you wish you hadn't, oui?"

Bill grinned widely. The fact that he just found her threat as incredibly sexy as the rest of her made him question his own sanity. "Oui."

But he couldn't wait to find out what came next.

~ ASC ~

Zee's eyes were on her boyfriend as the last of the Order members left them alone in Number Twelve. She was leaning back against the kitchen counter where she had cleaned up the last of the glasses before she turned to look over at him.

"So, should I be worried that half of the Order is full of your old girlfriends?" Zee asked, her hands gripping the counter behind her.

"What?" Sirius asked, looking up from the Evening Prophet that Kreacher had just brought him.

Zee grinned at him. "Old girlfriends. Yours. Keep up."

He grinned sheepishly. "My old girlfriends?"

"Sirius," she exasperated.

He chuckled and stood up to move towards the counter where she was standing and boxed her in. "I love you."

She smiled up at him. "That's not really an answer, Mr Black."

Sirius leaned in to nip at her lips. "They were a long, long time ago, love. You wouldn't be jealous now, would you?"

Zee scoffed at this. "Hardly. I just happened to notice that many of the very attractive women you recruited for the Order are exes of yours."

"They were part of the Order before and they were hardly girlfriends. It's not like I really dated them."

"I don't think that makes it better," she said with a laugh.

Sirius chuckled at her, leaning in to bury his nose in the wild curls on the top of her head. "You are jealous."

"I'm not," she insisted, attempting to escape his grasp.

He ignored her protests and covered her body with his. "You are."

Zee sighed as she stubbornly looked up at him. "Okay, fine, maybe I admit I am a little teensy bit jealous. I mean, Thea is wonderful and I love that you stayed such good friends with her. She's very kind and not to mention stunning, but I can't help but think sometimes that you used to shag her!"

"I did. Many, many times over. In fact, we had great sex."

Zee's eyebrow rose. "Oh really?"

"But nothing and no one compares to being with you. They are history, Zahira; ancient history." He nipped at the end of her nose and kissed her cheek. "As to Em and I… we used to snog when we were in third and fourth year and some of fifth year. She was the girl that I learned how to perform oral on. And in fifth year, she told me that she was attracted to girls and not blokes. She helped me perfect my magic mouth that you love so much."

Zee merely raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so fine, she's a lesbian but —"

"— And Tia," he continued, ignoring her tone. "Tia, well, we shagged each other senseless for most of seventh year. Then she wanted to experiment a little and we had a lovely threesome with Marly and well… Tia and I ended after that and I went for Marly."

"That's cold."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but we weren't together, not really. We were just shagging. I dated McKinnon for the rest of seventh year. So, technically, they were shags and nothing more, not even girlfriends."

"So, I should feel special then?"

"Very," he said with a grin. "I never took any of them on dates. Except for Thea, we had two."

Zee gave him a pointed look.

"What? We've gone out. Haven't we?"

"I don't need you to take me out," she said, kissing him softly. "I love you the way you are."

Sirius frowned as he looked down at her. "We've gone on dates."

Zee grinned at him. "We must have." At his look of concern, she smiled. "We have done a lot of wonderful things together, Siri. Motorcycle rides; our trip to Greece; our trip to Georgia; our movie nights and late night chats… You are wonderful."

He was still frowning as he looked at her. "But like a moment where I take you out somewhere and I pay… that's happened, right?"

Zee stood on her toes and kissed him. "Maybe one day it will."

"Zee, are you saying that I haven't ever taken you out on a real date, in almost five bloody years? Never?"

She smiled up at him, sliding her arms around his waist and down to cup his bum. "Babe, it's not really our style, is it?"

Sirius slid his hands up to brush the sides of her breasts. "I owe you a date."

Zee stood on her toes to kiss him. "How about you take me home and show me that magical mouth of yours?"

Sirius' slow smile made desire swirl in her gut as his hand reached out to cup her chin. "I love you more and more every day, woman, you know that, don't you?"

"I know and I love you, too, even when I'm seething in irrational jealousy."

He grinned and kissed her softly. "I'm yours. Completely."

Zee slapped his bum. "Completely. Now come on, let's go home. It's your turn for dinner."

Sirius bent his head to kiss her deeply. "Then we're going on a date. Grab your purse."

Zee laughed. "Sirius, I'm hardly dressed to go out anywhere special. I don't need you to take me out on a date."

He nipped at her lips. "I know you don't need it, Zee, but you fucking deserve it. Let's go."

And she laughed when he twined his fingers with hers and tugged her out into the streets of London, a grin on his face.

She was positive that she had never loved him more.

~ ASC ~

Seamus woke up quickly, lying in the dark of his four poster and wondering what had woken him up. He turned and smiled at the sight of Will's curly mop of brown hair snuggled into his pillow. They had spent the entire Sunday evening lying in bed and chatting; catching up on what they hadn't had time to catch up on in their brief summer visits. Will had told him that he had something that he wanted to talk to him about. But then Will's hands had crept into his trousers and well, they had soon been occupied with other pleasant things.

He watched his boyfriend sleep, a soft smile on his face as he wondered what it was that Will had wanted to talk to him about. He gently pressed a kiss to Will's palm, which was open near his head, and Will shifted, burying his hand under his chest.

He grinned and sat up, gently nudging the sheet down. His boyfriend was lying on his stomach, gloriously naked. His lean muscles making Seamus lick his lips as he reached down to fondle between his legs. Will made a small groaning sound and Seamus bent his head to lick him from behind, twirling his tongue along Will's shaft and balls.

Will's cock twitched to life and Seamus moved his mouth over it, sucking his boyfriend's balls into his mouth, achingly slow, until Will groaned his name and attempted to roll over. Seamus held him in place, his fingers gently stroking along his bum.

"Seam," he groaned.

Seamus smiled against him, sucking harder on his sac as Will trembled beneath him and then he let go, allowing his boyfriend to roll over and grin up at him. "You fell asleep in my bed."

"Well, you wore me out after our chat," Will said, tugging Seamus close for a long kiss. He rolled him over so that he was on top and planted soft kisses down Seamus' throat and moved lower and lower until Seamus' breath caught. "Mmm," he murmured, sliding his tongue along Seamus' shaft. "Didn't I mention something about being great at giving head?"

Seamus curled his fingers into his boyfriend's head of curls. "So you keep teasing."

Will grinned and slid his lips along his shaft, taking all of him into his mouth as he hollowed his cheeks and sucked. Seamus' arched his hips desperately.

"Fuuccckkk!"

Will grinned, popping him out slowly to lick and tease. "Do you want to come in my mouth, Seam?"

Seamus shook his head, tugging Will up to kiss him. "I want to ride you."

Will smirked. "First day of classes tomorrow, I'd like to be able to walk."

Seamus grinned and slapped his bum. "I'll think about it."

Will smiled and wrapped his arms around Seamus, kissing him deeply. They held each other and kissed for the longest time and then Will turned his head to nip at his ear. "I want to ride you."

Seamus shook his head, rolling his boyfriend so that he was back under him. "No," he said, pinning Will's hands above his head. "Your arse belongs to me, Will Matthews."

"And no one gets to ride yours, is that it?" Will asked, squirming under Seamus' hot tongue as it trailed down his ribs.

"That's right," Seamus told him, his mouth opening to take Will's cock. He sucked him long and hard as he squirmed beneath him and then he kissed his way back up Will's chest. "I bet you're not even tight anymore. I bet your arse is just waiting for me, hot and ready…" he murmured, sliding his finger into Will's mouth.

Will sucked the finger, lingering over it and lubricating it with his mouth before Seamus popped it from his lips and slid it into him. Will jerked slightly at the intrusion and sighed. "Merlin, just like that…"

Seamus smiled as he worked his finger in and out of him, his lips moving back to Will's cock. "I am going to ride you so hard that you are going to come by my third thrust."

Will gasped as Seamus continued to rock his finger in and out of him and then the finger was gone. Seamus muttered a lubrication charm and then he was pushing Will's knees up, fingers stroking his lover's balls before his thick cock slid into Will in one motion that him gasping. Seamus' eyes were closed above him and Will reached out to stroke his cheek. It was the only sign that Seamus needed and he began to move.

Seamus reached down to pump Will's cock in his hand, holding it tightly and just like he told him it would, on his third thrust, Will cried out, spurting between them as Seamus continued to thrust in and out of him. "I'm close," he gasped. "I'm so close!"

Will slid his hands down over his boyfriend's bum, squeezing the cheeks and then he slid one hand down between his legs and glided his fingernails gently along Seamus' balls. Seamus gasped and exploded, his head falling back as he rode out his climax, his hands clinging to Will's knees desperately before he collapsed against him.

"So good," he murmured. "You're so good."

Will smiled and ran his hands up and down his boyfriend's back. "You're so good. I love it riding you, you know that."

Seamus smiled and kissed him softly. "It's not that I don't trust you, Will, I do… I…"

"You don't want to be the bottom," Will said with a smile. "That's all right."

"You're not upset?"

"At you? Never," he said, kissing his cheek. "It just means that I get to ride your mouth that much more often."

Seamus grinned. "Yeah, you can definitely do that." He kissed him again. "Hey, you said that you wanted to tell me something, but then you started using your hands and well, distractions ensued."

Will smiled and slid his hands down to hold his boyfriend's thick limp cock. "Can't help it. This is easily distracting."

"We were talking about it the other night," he murmured against Will's ear.

"About your cock?"

Seamus nodded. "I said that I had a beautiful cock as Neville apparently walked in on me sucking your balls on the train, but we were too busy to notice."

Will's cheeks flushed. "Too bad he hadn't been five minutes later, he would have caught you shagging me senseless."

He grinned. "I said something jokingly that everyone should suck balls at least once and Dean made a joke that he'd be willing to let someone suck his balls."

Will frowned at that. "Did you ever?"

"Did I ever what?"

"When you used to fool around with Dean, did you ever suck his balls?"

Seamus shook his head. "Not like with you. I didn't really know what I was doing, you know. I needed a good teacher."

Will smiled. "Seam?"

"Hmm?"

"You do have a beautiful cock."

Seamus smiled. "You keep distracting me. What did you want to talk about?"

Will glanced over at the clock that was flashing three in the morning and he sighed, kissing Seamus' cheek. "It can keep. I have to get back to Ravenclaw Tower."

Seamus yawned, rolling over in his bed. "See you at breakfast?"

Will carefully got dressed and then bent his head to kiss him softly. "Definitely."

Seamus watched him sneak out of his dorm and he ran his hands through his messy hair wondering what it was that his boyfriend was cleverly avoiding telling him.

~ ASC ~

By the time Monday came around, Harry found himself rather anxious to get started on his classes. With the first of September falling on a Friday this year, they had the weekend to catch up with friends and settle back into life at Hogwarts before starting up classes, but with the prison breakout it seemed like everyone was quite on edge. He just wanted to get back to some normalcy that classes would provide.

He smiled at McGonagall when she handed him his schedule and he quickly opened the envelope with his name on it to check it out. With the new class that was starting and on top of his electives, he was taking eleven courses this year.

Mr Potter,

With your two continued elective courses of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, you are at 11 courses for your fifth year. If you wish to drop one of your electives please speak with me. If you would like to take another elective, that is also an option. Twelve credits are the max allowed for the school year.

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Head of Gryffindor House

Deputy Headmistress

"How's yours looking, Harry? Are you going to drop anything?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. I like my electives and it's not too bad. I have a free period on both Mondays and Wednesdays."

Ron grinned. "Excellent. I want to drop Divination, but Mum says that I have to keep it and write my OWL."

Harry snorted. "Sucks to be you, mate." He glanced down at his schedule with a grin. "It looks like Monday mornings are starting off with Double History of Magic."

Ron's smile widened. "Excellent. I could use the extra lie in."

Hermione gave him a dirty look. "It's not made for you to have a lie in, Ron!"

"Oi, and like you pay attention when he drones on!"

"Afterwards, Harry and I have Arithmancy," Hermione continued on as if Ron hadn't spoken. "I assume that means you and Neville will be heading to Divination."

"Along with Dean and I as well," Seamus said in annoyance. "Why did we take that class again?"

"But we have that new class this afternoon," Hermione said in interest. "Look, they've split it into two so the first half is with Carthaginian and then the second with Babbling. I can't wait to see what the language options are! Oooh, I bet learning something like Mermish would be amazing!"

"Dumbledore speaks Mermish," Harry told her. "And so does Zee."

Hermione beamed at him. "My French has gotten much better, but something exotic like Mermish would be quite the skill to have."

"Look on the bright side," Ron said, popping a fried potato in his mouth. "At least today there are no Slytherins."

Harry looked over his timetable again and grinned. "We've just got them for Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Wednesdays is the night class this year. Oi, Angelina!"

She looked up from her breakfast six people over and smiled at him. "Harry?"

"Any of you lot have Astronomy still?"

"Just me," Katie Bell said from across the way. "It's on Monday nights."

Harry nodded. "Next Thursday, six o'clock I want everyone on the pitch. Pass it along?" Angelina and Katie both nodded and he turned back to his friends. "Did I tell you that Alicia has decided to leave the team this year? Now, I not only have to find a Keeper, but a new Chaser as well! I'm hoping to get tryouts next Saturday or at least the one after so that we can get lots of practice in before the first match in November."

"Did I hear you say that you need a Chaser, Harry?" Colin asked, his eyes wide in excitement.

Harry grimaced slightly. The thought of Colin Creevey potentially wanting to play Quidditch with him made him nervous. The bloke was too jittery and the thought of him on a broomstick actually made his eye twitch.

"Er, yeah. You thinking of maybe trying out?"

Colin shook his head with a laugh. "Oh no! Me and broomsticks don't mix, but I know someone who is."

Harry watched him hurry off, shaking his head and feeling a little relieved that Colin wasn't looking to try out for the team. "Well, should we head off to History of Magic then?"

Ron tugged his bag up from under the table. "Harry, do you really think that I've got a shot at being Keeper?"

"Can't see why not," Harry told him honestly. "You just have to be more confident. You have to do your best when I call the tryout. Angelina was telling me about this sixth year named McLaggen who apparently is really good."

Ron frowned and nodded. "Right."

"I'm sure you'll be much better, Ron," Hermione said with a smile. "You always do well when you play at the Burrow."

Ron nodded a they headed up the stairs to the first floor. "Yeah, I'll have to get some practice in then. Do you think tomorrow night we could go out after dinner?"

"Sure," Harry said as they headed around the corner towards the History of Magic classroom.

He would be more than willing to help Ron get better. As much as he wanted his friend to be on the team, he just wanted to find a good Keeper and a good Chaser. Gryffindor had to win the Cup this year and he was determined to help lead them to a victory year.

~ ASC ~

Ginny had just taken her seat in Transfiguration when Colin came running around her desk, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Colin, where's the fire?"

His grin widened. "You'll never believe what I just heard Harry say!"

Ginny's eyebrow rose as Colin moved into the desk next to her. "What's that?"

"Alicia Spinnet doesn't want to play Quidditch this year. She's helping with the tryouts and offered to help him train to find her replacement Chaser for Gryffindor."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Harry is looking for a Chaser?"

Colin nodded. "It's your chance, Ginny! You've been saying for two years that you wish you could play on the school team and now you have the chance to try out for the position you actually want!"

She grinned widely and bit her bottom lip. "Colin, at lunch today we have to go see Madam Hooch about finding me a broom. I have to get one that I'm comfortable on."

He nodded eagerly. "I'm in."

Her fingers were already tapping impatiently on the desk as McGonagall came in, but her mind was already on the possibility. She had almost stopped daring to dream that she would get the chance to play Quidditch. Learning to surf this summer had been the most incredible thing and it had only reminded her how much she truly loved to fly. The night of her birthday she had taken Fred's broom out to fly around the orchard, the wind zipping through her hair. Sometimes she liked to imagine that she could become good enough to play for Gwenog Jones and the Holyhead Harpies, but she knew that was just a fantasy.

But Harry was looking for a Chaser.

She bit her lip as she grinned. She couldn't wait to surprise the hell out of her brothers with her skill. It would show them for refusing to let her play with them all these years, she thought.

As McGonagall began to talk about the overview for the year, Ginny's foot was tapping impatiently as she tried to remember what broomsticks were available. She was pretty sure that the flying class had been given Cleansweep 7s and if she did make it on the team she would be able to fly on a Nimbus 2001.

Just the thought of it made her grin wider.

This was going to be a great year.