Author's Note:
Thank you to everyone who left me such positive reviews about me needing this time for myself. I feel refreshed and ready to go after three weeks. It was much needed and a wonderful reprieve for me to get my creative juices flowing once again. The Hinny Discord was very helpful to me as well so, thank you for that.
To LifeonEarth (and anyone else interested) here is a chapter by chapter guideline of Remus/Tonks and Sirius/Zee and Harry/Ginny — this has also been posted on my tumblr.
Remus/Tonks (Remadora):
CHAPTERS: 17; 19; 20; 21; 40; 55; 57; 58; 59; 60; 61; 62; 65; 70; 72; 73; 74; 75; 77; 70; 81; 83; 84; 86; 88; 90; 91; 93; 95; 101; 107; 110; 121; 123; 125; 130; 132; 137; 139; 140; 142; 143; 146; 150; 153; 157; 161; 167; 176; 179; 180; 181; 182; 183; 185; 186; 194; 200;
Sirius/Zee (Zeerius):
CHAPTERS: 65; 66; 68; 70; 71; 73; 74; 75; 76; 77; 78; 85; 86; 87; 92; 93; 98; 99; 104; 105; 110; 111; 112; 115; 120; 121; 123; 128; 130; 131; 132; 134; 135; 136; 138; 139; 140; 143; 144; 148; 149; 152; 153; 155; 157; 158; 159; 162; 163; 165; 166; 167; 168; 169; 172; 173; 175; 176; 180; 183; 188; 189; 191; 194; 195; 196; 197; 198; 199;
Harry/Ginny (Hinny):
CHAPTERS: 19; 22; 23; 26; 32; 45; 46; 55; 60; 76; 78; 79; 81; 85; 93; 99; 100; 102; 103; 104; 105; 108; 110; 112; 113; 114; 119; 124; 125; 129; 135; 137; 140; 143; 148; 149; 151; 153; 155; 159; 160; 162; 164; 165; 166; 167; 170; 171; 172; 173; 174; 175; 179; 180; 182; 183; 184; 185; 186; 187; 188; 189; 190; 191; 193; 194; 195; 196; 197; 198; 199; 200;
Reviews and Comments: To Matt9917: Thank you very much! To BioHazard82: Thank you! To LifeonEarth: Yes, fanfiction is a free gift and I appreciate your appreciation for what I do. 200 chapters is an amazing feat and I have surprised myself in writing this much. Thank you for re-reading ASC, I love that people want to do that. I'm glad you like the new teacher, I think she's interesting. Ginny is definitely not going to be happy when she finds out who is hurting Theo. I love adorable lovestruck Hinny, they deserve some happy. I want Hinny to be adorable and I agree that we just didn't get the opportunity to see them in this love-struck stage. Thank you! To pinkphoenix1985: Ernie is definitely in for a world of hurt when people find out what he's been doing. Thanks for loving Theo and Ginny's friendship! Theo is one of my favourite characters to write and I have so many plans for him! We'll be seeing a lot more of him! Thank you! To purplevictory: Thank you! I appreciate your kind words. To D'n'A000: Thank you very much! To scrappy8: Thank you! To HPSTAN: Thank you very much! I'm honoured that you'd want to reread!
To smallwjl: Thank you for saying this story is too good to leave! To Queen Raja: Thank you! And don't worry, I will return soon! To Wolf's scream: I do think Sirius' meeting with Flitwick went well. I like showing Harry enjoying class. After having Remus as his teacher for so long, he's grown to enjoy learning. Theo has lacked some parental guidance in his life. Thank you! To MinervaMcGee: Thank you very much! To wheezing-reader: I do hope my "true fans" as you say, will still be reading this story to the end (however long that may be). Thank you! To FluffyGirl623: Thank you! I do think Theo should tell someone, but right now he's afraid to lean on his friends because of what Ernie might do. Fear makes us to do stupid things sometimes. Thank you! Thanks for the second review and I'm honoured that other stories aren't satisfying enough at the moment because you're stuck in my world — what an amazing thing to hear! Thank you! To Carys924: Thank you! I can never decide which genre is my favourite so I try to write a little bit of everything. I love that you're trying to get others to read my work, thank you for that! To speedsONEandONLY: Ha, the eunuch must die, but no, it will not be solved in this chapter. Thank you! To supersandman86: Interesting theories about Finn, we'll see how many of you guessed right (eventually). Thank you! To xOdie: Thank you, I do think I deserve a break. I appreciate the support. To criertuckyahoocom: You did catch up in time for a break. I'm glad your heart is aching for Theo, he deserves all of the love and support. And nope, Zee's not expecting. Thank you!
To geekymom: Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Thank you! Yes, Ernie is a fucking asshole. To Guest: Thank you! To alix33: Thank you! To HinnyMe: You think Ginny and Draco should murder Ernie? Interesting thoughts. I'm glad you love Theo so much though! As I said, he has a lot of story coming in the future. Thank you! To CF: Thanks for loving my Hinny fluff and thinking the Ministry and Azkaban stuff is cool. I'm always pleased when people like the research I did. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! To Ginnyweasleylover2004: Thank you! To HGRfan35: That sounds fascinating and totally makes sense! As to your ideas about Finn being a prince charming, well, you will have to wait and see! Thank you! To jalicd: Thank you very much! To Blue Luver5000: Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Theo is lucky to have such good friends. Thank you! To manviagarwal1110: Yes, four weeks. Thank you for your patience. To TheNoodleMaster14: Thank you for saying this is one of the best Harry Potter fan fictions. To maisa potter: Wow! Thanks for spending a week binging my story. I love that you loved the slow burn Hinny. Thank you! To KhaleesiGinny: Thank you for catching up and saying you love the Ministry of Magic and justice system. I do love writing some Remadora smut, so I'm glad you would read it every day. You think Ernie should get his cock cut off Game of Thrones style? It does seem fair. As to Theo's attacker not being a Slytherin, yes, Ginny will not be happy when she finds out how wrong she was. Thank you!
To saz J: I'm glad you're excited for Finn to be properly introduced. Yes, Macmillan deserves a lot of pain. Malfoy is a dick, but he does care for Theo a great deal. Thanks for loving my steamy Remadora scenes. Thank you! To coloredwords: Thank you very much. Yes, they've found out about Theo, some what. Thank you! To Steelcode: Carthaginian is making a positive experience for the students and yes, Hermione does have an interest but in the same way that Zee does. Sirius is trying to get rid of Umbitch. Remus and Tonks are totally perfect for each other. Thank you! To Laura: Thank you very much! To Denver-Ava: Thank you for saying you love my story! I appreciate the review. To Guest: You're welcome and thank you! To Meggie0205: Thank you! I am also happy that Harry and Ginny are finally together! I love writing them as a couple. To Noghanimus: Thank you! To krbuchler: Thank you! To xeunobre: No, sorry, Zee is not pregnant at this time. Thanks for enjoying my OCs. Macmillan will definitely be punished for what he's done, I can promise that. Thank you! To J Jamie Dupane: Thank you so much for such a full and beautiful review that outlines all of the big moments in my chapter. I love the detail in which you review in a summary like fashion. It's glorious to read and makes me smile so much! It's reviews like this that make me want to keep sharing my writing with the world. Thank you! To archgirl: Thank you for saying I've added so much dimension to the characters. I do try my best there. To Elora Donovan: Thank you for saying this story is magnificent. To SiriusStan: Thanks for re-reading! To Emeralds and Rubies: Ha, the slow burn to end all slow burns lol. Thank you very much! To Guest: Thank you!
To xXQueenofDragonsXx: Thanks for being here! To pottermum: Thank you! And yeah, a few people left reviews saying well you're a few days late in posting guess you've abandoned this, so I will abandon it as well. I thought wow, okay. But whatever, I can't please everyone. I'm glad you liked the history stuff, I thought it would be fun to write and to help better explain. Ernie will be soonish but other things need to happen first. Thanks for understanding about the break. To AS: I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me review, it's what makes fanfic authors smile. Thank you! To BookLover17: Thank you! I'mg glad you enjoyed the magical government lesson and the continued development with Theo. As I said, Theo has a lot of story coming in the future. Thank you! To flowermage: Thank you very much! And I can promise you all three of those things will be happening! To MrToddWilkins: Excellent advice! Don't worry, I have plans for Ernie. Thank you! To theroseylane: Thank you for calling this story "a wonderful piece of literature." Thank you! To Julie: Thank you very much for reading! I'm very glad you're enjoying it! To Niamh Hickey: Thank you from Ireland, how awesome! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! To SuperBossy: I do think that Theo should tell his friends but right now he doesn't feel that is an option so he's not sharing it. To K: Thank you for saying I'm a beautiful genius. I'm honoured you think it's such a pleasure to read! To LadyPhoenix: Thank you very much! I'm glad I took a break as well! To Kmi_Kmi: Aww, thanks!
For those silent readers who never leave reviews, but read diligently every week — THANK YOU! You're just as precious to me as those who leave thoughts (but you are always welcomed and encouraged to leave your own).
My posting schedule: Once a week.
Thanks to Dusk for her wonderful editing skills and putting up with my annoying self!
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 TWO HUNDRED AND ONE:
The One With the Frying Pan
When they left Number Twelve that afternoon, Sirius was furious. He was doing his best not to show his anger, but he was more than just pissed off. When Molly had listed Zee's name as being on guard duty for the next week, his stomach had plummeted. He'd spoken before he meant to.
"No, she's bloody-well not!"
Molly had looked up in surprise. "Zee told me that she was able to do guard duty on Tuesday and Wednesday next. Did you not, dear?"
Zee nodded. "I did, Molly. Yes, thank you."
Sirius had glared at her. "She's not doing guard duty, Molly! Take her name off the roster! I'll do her nights!"
"Ignore Sirius, Molly. I make my own decisions, not him."
He had been fuming ever since. He hadn't spoken another word to her as the meeting ended and they headed back to Black Cottage. Sirius slammed the door shut behind them, tucking his shoes away before he stormed into the kitchen to get himself a drink.
"Oh, is that your plan then?" Zee asked from behind him. "Come home and have a drink instead of telling me why you acted like such an arse back there?"
He turned to glare at her, the bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. "I acted like an arse? Well, you do whatever the fuck you want without asking me for permission first. Why can't I do what I want?"
Zee's eyes narrowed from the doorway. "Ask your permission? You did not just say those words to me."
Sirius shrugged, putting the bottle down without opening it. "Maybe I did! You're mine, aren't you? You live under my roof! You are my girlfriend!"
Zee glared at him and marched into the kitchen. "Well, then as your girlfriend, let me cook you dinner since that's all I'm good for obviously — to live and serve under Lord Black. With your permission, of course."
"Fuck!" Sirius declared, picking up the Firewhiskey again only to slam the bottle back down on the counter as Zee began to search for pots and pans. "Zahira —"
"— Don't you, Zahira me!" she replied angrily, a frying pan in her hand. "How dare you speak to me like that? How dare you imply that I don't know what I'm talking about in front of the Order today! I'm hardly helpless! I am a powerful witch who is a high ranking agent in the DRCMC, and you're acting like I'm some stupid incompetent child who doesn't know how to care for herself!"
Sirius felt angry again as he stared back at her. "How dare you tell Molly that you're up for two bloody days of guard duty next week without telling me first! At the moment, you are incompetent!"
"You've been doing duty twice a week since we started it!" Zee yelled at him, her eyes flashing in anger. "So you can do it, but I'm incompetent?"
"Yes! No! I mean — I'm capable of it!" he yelled back.
Zee's eyes narrowed. "And I'm not? Just because you have a penis doesn't make you better than me! I'm just as capable of going out on missions for the Order, and I don't need you to pull the Penis Card and claim otherwise!"
"I'm not saying that you're not capable or incompetent!" Sirius exclaimed. "Don't put words in my mouth! This has nothing to do with my damn penis! You're still bloody healing! You haven't even gone back to work yet!"
"I go back next week. If I can work, I can do guard duty!"
"Zahira, I don't want you doing this until you're better," he stressed. "Your first week back to work is going to be rough. Give yourself at least until the second week before you add more! If it was me, you'd insist on the same! You'd tell me that I was trying to do too much!"
Zee glared at him before her eyes softened a little. "Fine. I'll push it back to cover some time during the holiday. By then, I'll have been back to work for over two weeks and perfectly capable of handling guard duty with a partner for a few hours! Is that all right, oh, Lord Black, Sir?" she asked, batting her lashes.
"No!" he retorted. "You will not be capable by then! You're not doing this bloody Order guard without me there! I won't have it! Not in your condition! And don't start with that Lord Black shit — you know that's not what I'm saying!"
She glared at him. "You're not the boss of me, Sirius Black. I will not sit back and let you treat me like some bloody damsel in distress who can't find her own bloody shadow if she's left alone in the dark for too long, simply because I don't have a cock!"
"I never said that you were a bloody damsel!" he shouted back. "I said that you're not healed enough, and that I won't have it! This has nothing to do with the fact that you're a woman, Zee! You're not going and that's that! I don't want you leaving this bloody house, period!"
"You're being unreasonable!" Zee insisted. "I don't take orders from you, Sirius! You can't tell me what I can and cannot do!"
"Yes, I can!" he exploded, his eyes flashing in rage. "And you're not bloody-well going! I'm writing to Molly to take your name off the roster! You will not be going and that's that! End of discussion!"
The clink of the frying pan against the side of his head made Sirius stumble backward in pain.
"Bloody buggering fuck!"
"You don't tell me what to do!" Zee yelled. "I am part of the Order just the same as you, and if I'm needed for a simple task like guard duty, I am going to be there! And you won't stop me, you bloody great prat!"
Sirius clutched his head as it throbbed painfully, a little blood dripping through his fingers. His angry eyes met hers, but when he spoke his voice was as cold as ice. "I have a meeting."
"Your meeting isn't for another three hours," she pointed out, bitterly.
Sirius only stared at her before he turned and stormed out of the cottage.
Zee collapsed to the kitchen floor with tears in her eyes when the front door slammed shut. Lady Godiva hesitantly nuzzled her shoulder, but Zee could only put her arms around the panther and sob.
~ ASC ~
Harry knocked on the doorframe of McGonagall's office door after lunch that Saturday. He grinned when Nyx lifted her head, stretching her long frame before rising to greet him. He scratched the large cat behind the ears, his eyes on McGonagall.
"You wanted to see me, Auntie Minnie?"
McGonagall nodded and urged him to have a seat. "Yes, come in, Harry. I know that you are heading out to Quidditch practice, but I just need a moment. Did Miss Granger mention guest speaking in my class?"
"She mentioned it in passing, yeah," Harry told her. "Something about now that we're all registered, you wanting us to show our Animagus forms to your third years?"
McGonagall tapped her fingernails on the desk as she spoke. "I would. I want you to answer any questions truthfully about the process, about what it's like to be your animal, and any other concerns that they may have. I have my third years on Mondays just before lunch, but that would mean that you have to miss one session of Professor Vector's class."
"That's all right, Auntie Minnie. I'd be glad to help."
She beamed at him. "Wonderful! How about the last Monday before you head home for the winter holiday? I'd like to have all six of you there at once. Do you know which class Miss Lovegood has on Wednesdays before lunch?"
Harry smiled. "She's in Potions with Ginny."
"Excellent. I will organize it then and let you know that week."
"Sounds good," he said, tapping his hands on the lid of her biscuit tin. "What kind have you got in here?"
McGonagall's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Chocolate chip oatmeal, go ahead."
He grinned and helped himself to two before sneaking two more. "For Ginny."
"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes.
Harry looked down when Nyx nuzzled into his hand. "Auntie Minnie, can I take Nyx for the afternoon? I thought that she might like to run with me during Quidditch practice."
McGonagall looked at her pet in surprise before she nodded. "I think that she would like a good run. Go ahead. Just send her back once you get back into the castle. She'll find me." She stared at the tiger for a moment. "And don't bother Mrs Norris."
Nyx almost looked like she was chuckling as she followed Harry from the office.
Harry turned to grin at the tiger. "None of us likes that mangy old cat, either."
Nyx rubbed her head against his hip as Harry gently scratched the top. He hurried up to Gryffindor Tower to get his broom. When they arrived, Nyx made herself comfortable on his bed as Seamus came out of the bathroom.
"Whoa, tiger," he said, eyes wide.
"She's good," Harry told him. "I asked McGonagall if she could come to practice with me. I think that she'd like to have a good run."
Seamus continued to stare at her in awe, so Harry gestured him over.
"Nyx, this is Seamus. He's a friend. Go on, Seam, pet her."
Seamus took a step forward, his eyes hesitant, as he brushed his hand over her soft fur. "Wow. You're kind of brilliant, Nyx."
Harry grinned. "She's basically a big kitty, but she can be dangerous, too. If anyone tries to hurt McGonagall, for example, she'll kill them in a second."
Seamus nodded. "I always wanted a cat. I mean, Nyx is gorgeous, but I'd be happy with a regular cat, or maybe a Kneazle. But it just never worked out. Maybe when I move out and get my own place."
Harry grabbed his bag of Quidditch gear and took off his kit to change into his practice clothes. "Maybe one day you will." He pulled up his sweat pants and glanced at his friend. "You doing okay? I know that Will is leaving in three weeks."
"I think so," Seamus admitted. "I'm sad and I know that I'm going to miss him, but… I'm okay with it. I think that I always knew on some level that we weren't going to be together forever and… I'm going to write to him, stay friends, you know?"
"Good," Harry told him honestly. "You know that there's someone out there for you."
Seamus smiled. "Unlike you, Harry, the one I want isn't in the cards for me."
Harry stared at him for a moment as he picked up his broom. "Never say never, Seamus. Sometimes, I think that Dean wants more from you than just friendship."
Seamus blanched. "All he does is talk about girls' assets and how much he wants to shag them!"
"Exactly," Harry said, his eyes on his friend. "Seems like overkill, mate. Come on, Nyx."
The tiger shook her long magnificent tail before she jumped off the bed to follow Harry, leaving Seamus staring after them lost in his own thoughts.
Harry was halfway down from Gryffindor Tower when he saw Draco emerge from the library stairwell. He called out to him, but Draco merely raised an eyebrow and waited for Harry to approach him.
Nyx prowled next to Harry, her yellow eyes on Malfoy as if she was sizing him up. Harry placed a hand on her head as Malfoy smirked.
"Need a guard tiger now? What, McGonagall giving you special privileges?"
Nyx growled, and Draco jolted slightly, making Harry grin.
"No, I offered to take her out for a run with me, and McGonagall was happy to allow it. I actually wanted to talk to you about the other day."
Draco crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What about it? If it's about your girlfriend sneaking into my house, I don't want to hear it. I dragged her pretty little arse out of there."
"Not about Ginny being there, no. She wanted to see Theo — and it sounds like with good reason."
"Theo says that he fell down the stairs, and he has no reason to lie," Draco said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have better things to do with my time than to talk to you."
"Better things, like maybe sticking close to your friend," Harry said hotly. "Ginny said something about Crabbe and Goyle not being fond of Theo. Maybe if you and Zabini stopped letting him wander around alone, you might have actually seen what happened. Gryffindors take care of their friends. Just a thought."
He gestured to Nyx and she turned to follow him, but he could feel Malfoy's glare on his back as he headed downstairs. He just hoped that Draco took his advice. It sounded like Theo needed some protection, and Malfoy and Zabini were perfect for the job.
~ ASC ~
Having Nyx at Quidditch practice was more entertaining than Harry had anticipated. She ran around the pitch at high speed with the players, passing each of them three or four times before she followed Harry up and down the stands. Her tail danced in the wind as the players flew past it, her eyes on their broomsticks, until she finally stretched out on the grass of the pitch.
Harry thought that the practice went great and told his team as much as they headed to the changing rooms.
Ron towel-dried his hair as he leaned against his locker, his eyes on Harry. "I felt a little more motivated in practice today having that big arse tiger chase me," he admitted.
Harry laughed. "She only chased you because you yelped and ran!"
Ron grinned. "And my life flashed before my eyes when she tackled me to the ground!"
"And what was that life, Ron? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got shagged, cup of tea — ow!" he yelped when Ron punched him in the shoulder.
"Prat."
Harry grinned at him. "She wasn't going to hurt you." McGonagall had Nyx well trained, but her hunting instincts still kicked in when she was provoked. "She thought you were playing."
Ron pulled his jumper over his head as he spoke. "I'd love to see someone attack McGonagall when Nyx is nearby."
Harry nodded. "That's one of the reasons why we gave her to McGonagall. She'll keep her safe."
"Can we sic her on Umbitch?" Ron suggested, tugging his boxers on as he finished drying off.
Harry grinned, pulling his own boxer briefs up. "I bet if we got Nyx to roar at Umbitch, she'd shit herself."
Ron's smile widened. "Dare you."
Harry tossed his towel over the bench as he reached for his deodorant. "Don't tempt me. Did you hear if she sat in on any other classes since McGonagall's?"
Ron shook his head. "Nah, I heard that she's been hanging out in the staff room and making detailed notes, whatever that means. I wonder who her next target will be?"
Harry frowned as he finished getting dressed and pulled a comb through his hair (with no real hope). "I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm going to meet Ginny, see you after."
Ron nodded absently, reaching for his own deodorant. "Will we see you after?"
Harry grinned. "Maybe, depends on Ginny."
Ron rolled his eyes. "As long as I don't have to watch you snog her, mate."
Harry grabbed his stuff, hurrying out onto the pitch to wait for Ginny, his broomstick over his shoulder. Nyx was still lounging on the grass, but she stretched and prowled over to him before resting her chin on his knee when he sat down.
"You're such a good girl, Nyx. You take such good care of Auntie Minnie."
Nyx's eyes closed in blissful happiness as Harry rubbed her behind the ears, her flowing red tail swaying behind her. Practice had run almost two hours and it was still only two thirty, meaning that Harry still had the whole afternoon to spend with his girlfriend. He looked up when the air sent a whiff of her shampoo his way. He felt his face light up as he watched her move towards him, coming to sit next to him in the stands. It had been exactly one month since he'd kissed her on the field in front of the whole school, and he still couldn't believe that they were together. She was everything that he hadn't realized he needed; everything he wanted on every level, and Merlin, when he kissed her, he felt things that he couldn't put into words.
Harry's eyes took in her freshly washed and dried hair that tumbled down her shoulders and back, the dark brown tights and warm boots she wore under her thick green jumper and cloak. Harry's hand continued to stroke the tiger as he leaned in and kissed the tip of Ginny's nose. She grinned in surprise.
"What was that for?" Ginny asked.
He smiled. "You look amazing."
Ginny blushed. "I didn't even do anything."
"You don't have to," he told her, reaching out to take her hand in his. He squeezed her fingers before moving them to the top of Nyx's head. He heard Ginny draw in a sharp breath. "Nyx, this is Ginny. She's wonderful and you'll love her."
Ginny made a soft sigh as her fingers delved into the tiger's soft fur. "She's incredible. I'm always in awe of how well she listens to McGonagall. The other day in class, Smith was interrupting — and being his typical arse self — and Nyx just prowled over to his desk and licked her lips. Smith went ghost white. It was rather entertaining until McGonagall called her back up to the front."
"She's had her since she was a kitten so she's trained her well," Harry explained. "Uncle Sirius wanted Auntie Minnie to have some form of protection, and Nyx will definitely protect her. Ron thinks that I should urge her to roar at Umbitch and watch the toad shit herself in fear."
A loud laugh erupted from Ginny, making him grin wider.
"Oh Merlin, I'd pay to see that!" She scratched the tiger behind the ears, smiling at her boyfriend. "I think that I need to work on my loop and throw, it was a little shallow."
He nodded. "I agree, but you fixed it by the third throw."
She rolled her shoulders. "I can't afford to make a mistake like that in the next match."
"It was only practice, Ginny," he said. "And you corrected yourself. Angelina needs to move around you more as well, she was too far away when you made an effort to pass. The three of you will get in sync, but it's going to take some time. We've only had one game."
"Ron could use some more practice," Ginny told him. "When he misses one, it's like he loses hope, and suddenly, his talent vanishes. You have to say something to him, Harry."
He nodded. "I don't know what to say about it. Whenever I bring up his confidence, he shuts down. I told him that he was better than McLaggen who, according to Angelina, was supposed to be some Quidditch superstar."
Ginny bit her bottom lip. "Well, his tryout was rather strange, wasn't it?"
"I thought so," Harry admitted before he looked over at her suspiciously. "Hang on, what do you know about it?"
She shrugged, her eyes twinkling. "Whatever do you mean?"
He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. "Tell me."
She trembled slightly, her lips still brushing against his as she spoke. "Hermione may have accidentally hit McLaggen with a Confundus Charm during tryouts."
Harry's mouth dropped open before he laughed, moving away to lean back against the Quidditch stands. "I knew it! I knew something weird was going on! He literally flew the opposite way! It was like he completely forgot what he was doing! It was so strange and so out of character with the way that he had been playing up to that point. Why did she do it?"
"She wanted to help Ron," Ginny told him. "She said that he went above and beyond this summer with helping her deal with her grief. Did you know that he even used her mirror communicator to tell her parents about Viktor so that they would be ready for her? He really wanted the position and Hermione knew that."
"Yeah, he did and he deserves to be Keeper. He just needs to pull his head out of his arse and admit that he's a good Quidditch player," Harry said. "But then again, if he's as confident as you, it might be too much for the team to handle."
Ginny elbowed him and he chuckled.
"Honestly, Gin, watching you out there… how the bloody hell did you get so good? I knew that you could fly. You've always been incredible on a broom. Remember when I used to let you fly at my house when we were kids, and you were the first one I let try out my Firebolt when I got it."
She grinned mischievously. "I told you — I snuck into the broom shed and stole their brooms."
"And?" Harry prompted.
"And," she continued. "I tossed around the Quaffle, throwing it and diving after it, aiming for the goals by the orchard. It was hard by myself, but it made me more determined. I'd throw the Quaffle and fly after it to catch it, then attempt to score. It was fun, and whenever I dropped it, well, I'd curse myself and try again. I wanted to be perfect."
Harry kissed her fingers. "Whatever you did, you were brilliant — and by far the best Chaser who tried out. Angelina and Katie have been raving about you, and it takes a lot to impress them. Plus, the look of shock on Gred and Forge's faces almost made it worth it."
Ginny grinned. "Almost as good as when you kissed me in front of the whole school."
"I'd like to kiss you again right now," he said, his eyes on hers.
Ginny moved closer to him, brushing her lips over his cheek. "Want to go up to our tower room and snog?"
The back of his neck heated and he grinned. "Absolutely."
He stood up, extending his hand for her. "Go on, Nyx; back to Auntie Minnie."
Nyx purred, stretching her long legs, before she sauntered off.
Harry's fingers entwined with Ginny's as they headed back to the castle. "I keep thinking that we should tell the others about the room, but then I think about how I get you all to myself — and that stops me every time."
Ginny smiled up at him. "I keep thinking the same thing."
He glanced over at her, the sunlight reflecting on the red of her hair. "It's Hogsmeade next Saturday. I want to take you on a proper date."
"Oh, you do, eh?" she asked, her eyes twinkling at him. "Snogging isn't good enough for you?"
He grinned and kissed their joined fingers. "Snogging you is bloody brilliant, and you know it. But I want to take you somewhere nice."
"Being with you is enough, Harry," Ginny told him. "I don't need anything fancy."
Harry's heart soared at her words. "For me too, Ginny. I just… I want to give you more. There's this great little Italian restaurant that Uncle Siri told me about. My dad used to bring my mum there and I want to take you."
"In Hogsmeade?" Her brow rising as she looked at him skeptically. "Where?"
He grinned. "Best kept secret. Will you let me take you out, proper-like?"
Ginny's lips curved as she nodded. "Yes, I'd like that."
His heart soared as they headed up the stairs to the tower room before whispering the password and slipping inside. Ginny dropped her Quidditch bag on the floor and moved to curl up on the couch, and patted the seat next to her. Harry tossed his bag down, broomstick next to it, before joining her.
His hand moved up to cup her neck, brushing her hair out of her face. "I could spend my whole life kissing you."
Ginny's eyes twinkled in delight as her gaze fell upon his lips. "I could say the same. Is it supposed to be like this?"
"Wanting to kiss you all the time?"
She nodded.
"I don't know," he told her. "I wanted to kiss other girls before, Ginny. You know that. But I've never… I never felt the need to kiss them like I do you. I need to kiss you; to touch you. I want to kiss you and to touch you all the time. I need and want it as much as I need to breathe."
His lips were a breath away from hers now.
"I'm not stopping you," she whispered. "I want to be kissing and touching you all of the time, too. Kiss me, Harry."
His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and then tickled hers. She let out a soft sigh before his lips brushed hers featherlight and soft… once, twice, three times, before she took it upon herself to press her mouth back to his. The contact made Harry groan, his hand on her neck and the other on the small of her back, playing with the ends of her silky tresses.
Their lips met in soft gentle caresses and open-mouth kisses, savouring the taste of each other. She smelled floral and soft, and her lips tasted a bit like peppermint as he nipped at the corners of her mouth. He sucked on her bottom lip as her breath hitched.
"What?"
Ginny's eyes met his, turning on the sofa to give herself better access. "You're so good at this," she murmured.
"Kissing you?" he murmured back, his lips on her jawline. "It's not hard when it's all I want to do." His lips met hers softly. "Kissing you is better than treacle tart."
She chuckled against his mouth. "High praise coming from Harry Potter."
He nipped at her lips. "You're amazing at this," he said, brushing his lips against hers, before trailing them down her jawline again. "Let's just stay up here forever."
Ginny's hands slid up his arms to his shoulders and into his hair. "Kiss me."
Harry's mouth met hers again, harder this time, deeper, and when her tongue met his, he sighed. The hand in her hair slid down her back, resting just over her bum while the other sat over her abdomen.
Harry's thumb gently stroked her navel, and even through her jumper it sent shivers through her as she moved closer to him, desperate for his touch.
They kissed over and over, mouths meeting, tongues dancing as the sun set and the room around them darkened. Neither of them noticed. Soon Ginny was climbing into his lap, her lips trailing over his jaw. He groaned against her, shifting her slightly so that she couldn't feel how hard he was.
He tugged away, breathless, his eyes on hers in the growing darkness. He grabbed his wand, flicking light into the room, and Ginny's hot mouth moved down his neck. Her hands were resting on his abdomen and her fingers brushed against his shirt. Harry's cock twitched the lower her hand moved. He urged himself to be calm. When Ginny shifted again, he shifted with her, keeping his erection away.
Ginny pulled back, licking her lips. "When did it get dark?" She picked up his wrist to check his watch as he kissed below her ear. "Harry, we've been up here for almost three hours!"
His tongue stroked her earlobe before he sucked it into his mouth. Ginny moaned softly. "Have we?" She moved and her leg brushed against his erection.
Harry watched her eyes widen. "Sorry," he said, shifting again in embarrassment. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable.
Ginny's eyes met his. "That's… new."
He kissed her neck. "No, trust me — it's really not."
Ginny's brow arched as she linked her hands behind his neck. "It's not?"
Harry groaned as she began kissing under his ear. "Fuck, you know it's not."
Ginny's breath hitched. "I heard that they just happen sometimes… that it's just a bloke feeling hot and bothered. So, I might have nothing to do with it at all."
He kissed her softly. "Trust me, you are entirely to do with it. All I do is look at you. I'm sorry, I've been trying to keep it away."
Ginny nodded, blushing, but her gaze fell to his lap. She shifted back, her eyes on the bulge that shifted down his left thigh and she swallowed nervously, impressed and surprised by the size of it. "Erm, does it hurt?"
"No, it's more… tightly confined," he said, surprised at how easy that was to admit.
Ginny's eyes stayed on it, and she gasped when it visibly twitched and throbbed, making her skin flush. She snuck a look at him from under her lashes, her mouth parted slightly.
"Stop," Harry groaned, kissing her ear. The feel of her eyes on his cock only made him harder. "You'll just make it worse."
Ginny grinned and then she carefully placed her hand over the bulge, touching him through the denim. Harry practically jumped off the couch, gripping her arms to steady her as she slid off of him.
"Ginny!"
She giggled. "It felt hard."
"I am bloody hard!" he exclaimed.
Ginny reached for his hand. "You don't have to hide it from me, Harry."
Harry let her guide him back down to the couch. "I'm not hiding it, I… okay. I guess maybe I am hiding it."
She reached over to brush her fingertips over the denim again. His cock twitched and she trailed her fingertips over the bulge, tracing the outline of his long shaft in curiosity. "Does this feel okay?"
"Brilliant," he whispered, not daring to breathe. If she didn't stop what she was doing, he was terribly afraid he'd go off like a cannon. He gripped her hand in his, stopping her motions, and brought her hand to his lips. "Ginny…"
Her eyes were blazing as she looked at him, nodding. "I'm — I'm not ready for that."
He kissed her fingers again, a small smile on his lips. "Neither am I."
Ginny blushed and kissed him again. "Don't hide it from me, Harry, I… I rather like knowing that I can make you feel that way."
His smile deepened. "Just looking at you makes me feel that way. And Merlin, kissing you… you have to give me some breathing room when you're, well, you."
Ginny kissed his cheek. "Maybe we should head down to dinner then? Stop all of these distractions."
Harry captured her lips in his again until she moaned against his mouth. "I just need a few minutes."
She grinned sheepishly, looking at him from under her lashes. "Just picture Snape naked."
Harry blanched and she watched in amazement as all signs of his erection disappeared.
"And that did it," he said making her laugh.
Ginny hooked her arm through his as they stood up. "After dinner, we can come back up here and snog some more."
"I think that you're going to be the death of me — and as someone who has already died, this is definitely the way I'd rather go." He laughed when she elbowed him in the gut. "Ha, ow!"
"There will be no more dying!"
He pushed her back against the wall by the exit to kiss her again, sighing when her hands slid up his back. "Absolutely, I promise."
She arched into him as his hands continued to slide up and down her back. "Can we use Dobby for food?"
Harry's mouth met hers again, grinning in between kisses. "Best idea I've heard all day."
Twenty minutes later, Dobby had happily presented them with fish and chips. They ate contentedly, sitting across from each other at the coffee table on the floor.
"This was a much better idea," Harry told her, adding lemon to his halibut.
Ginny beamed at him. "I have a few." She leaned back against the couch as she bit into a chip. "Tell me a secret."
His eyebrow rose as he reached for his glass of water. "You know them all."
Ginny tilted her head to look at him. "No, we all have secrets, Harry, and I don't mean a big secret. A little one, like something that you don't even know is a secret."
Harry frowned at that. He wasn't sure what she meant. She must have noticed his confusion because she reached across the table to brush her fingers over his knuckles.
"My little secret (that's not really a secret) is that sometimes when I'm flying, I imagine that I'm playing for Gwenog Jones and the Holyhead Harpies. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"No," Harry told her in surprise. "That's not ridiculous at all. She'd be lucky to have you."
Ginny shrugged. "Maybe." She shifted so that she was sitting next to him and sighed when he put an arm around her.
Harry's fingers found their way into her hair, gently threading through the silk tresses. When she didn't protest, he continued his ministrations, loving the feel of that magnificent mane in his hands.
"I think that I want a tattoo."
Ginny sat up, her eyes widening. "Yeah?"
He nodded, his fingers still playing with the ends of her hair. "Yeah. I was thinking about asking Uncle Sirius about it over Christmas. He was fifteen when he got his first tattoo."
"What would you get?"
He shrugged. "I… I kind of want to get a memoriam for my parents. Is that morbid?"
"No," she told him. "Not at all, unless you make it so."
"I just want to get something that represents them and well, I suppose their birth and death dates. I just don't know where yet. But I was thinking, my mum could maybe be a lily, you know, because she… "
"Because her name was Lily," she finished with a smile. "That would be beautiful, Harry."
"And my dad, his Animagus form was a stag… "
Ginny grinned. "I think that it sounds kind of wonderful. A really touching tribute. You could even ask Dean to design it for you, I'm sure that he'd like that."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, maybe. I've been thinking about it. I don't know where I'd get it though."
Ginny curled back into his arms. "On your back, maybe?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, I think that I'd want to see it, but I don't want it to be visible to the whole world all the time, either. It's not something that I want right away, but in the future maybe."
Ginny's fingers lifted the hem of his shirt, her fingers sliding beneath the material and over his firm abdomen. She pressed her palm over his ribs. "Like here?"
His breath hitched, and he nodded.
Ginny smirked at him, her hand sliding back out from under his shirt in slow torture before he bent his head to kiss her instead. "Mmm," she said against his lips. "We're supposed to be eating."
Harry held a chip up to her to let her take a bite before he kissed her again. "Kiss now, eat later."
And she laughed when his mouth found hers again — and somehow, she didn't protest.
Not once.
~ ASC ~
Sirius grinned at the sight of Fred and George stepping into Remus' office that evening. His talk with Flitwick and Hagrid the week before had taken longer than expected, so he'd been forced to reschedule his meeting with the Weasley twins. He'd spent the entire afternoon drinking in The Hog's Head as Aberforth listened to him rant about Zee. He'd had to take a sobering potion before he made his way to the castle to talk to the Weasleys. He needed to take his mind off his argument with Zee before he went mad thinking about it, but he was still so angry.
She had taken it all wrong.
It wasn't that he thought that she was incapable or incompetent. He knew how powerful and strong she was. She was incredible and he would trust her with his life in a heartbeat. It was just that she was still healing, and he didn't want her to jump in too soon before she was ready. Obviously, he knew that she could do Order missions and its not that guard duty was strenuous — but it could be. He just wanted her to be safe and to be at her full potential so that she would stay safe. He hardly thought that was unreasonable. Nor did it warrant a fucking frying pan to the head, he thought, absently rubbing the small cut that Aberforth had cleaned up for him.
He shook the thoughts from his head and focused on the twins. He urged them to have a seat and to close the door behind them before he flicked his wand to add a privacy and silencing charm.
Fred raised an eyebrow. "I feel like we're about to be interrogated. I can swear — with almost certainty — that we didn't do it."
Sirius smirked. "That won't hold up in court."
George chuckled. "We were interested when you told us that you had a task for us, but then you didn't get back to us."
"Yes, and I apologize for that. It took me a little longer than I planned, and the Ministry has been keeping me quite busy as of late. Harry's been keeping me informed on Umbitch."
Fred snickered. "She's something else, that's for sure. She's been causing a bit of a ruckus around the classes and she takes ridiculous amounts of points off. Harry lost thirty points for being a few minutes past curfew, and Lee lost forty for being too loud in the corridor. But mostly she's been keeping to herself."
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I still don't trust her. How are your inventions coming along?"
"Really great, actually," Fred said brightly. "We've invented sweets to get you out of class or work if you wanted. We're calling them Skiving Snackboxes."
George grinned and reached into his bag to pull them out. "We have Nosebleed Nougats, which give you a nosebleed, and then when you eat the other half here, it miraculously stops and you can go do what you'd like. Or Puking Pastilles, which is the same concept."
"Genius," Sirius said, examining them carefully. "What else have you got?"
They explained what they'd been working on and how they were planning to sell their products under the radar of the professors.
"We want to get our names out there," Fred explained. "And we've come up with a name."
"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," they both exclaimed.
"Shortened of course to WWW Products," George clarified.
"We'll supply jokes, candies, daydreams, and we even have some fireworks."
"And we have Headless Hats!"
George pulled one from the bag and plopped it onto Fred's head, within seconds, his entire head vanished. "Voila!"
Sirius grinned widely. "That's genius!"
"And it works for a long while," Fred said, his head reappearing as he pulled the hat off.
"There's a building in Diagon Alley that we think would be perfect," George told him. "We were planning on heading there next Saturday afternoon to talk to the owner. He seems interested in us renting the space."
Sirius grinned. "Excellent. You two are going to do well, I can promise you that. Did you tell Minerva that you plan to leave Hogsmeade next weekend?"
Fred nodded. "We just told her that we had an appointment in Diagon Alley. She told us that we have three hours, but since we're of age, she can't really stop us from going."
"True. But I still think that you should tell her that you're leaving the village, just to be safe. Your products are partly what I wanted to speak to you about."
George raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"You said that you are going to start selling them?"
"Well, we started a little to some of the Gryffindors, and they are definitely interested in more."
Sirius nodded, tapping his fingers on Remus' desk. "Anything that you can slip to Umbitch?"
George's smile was slow. "Maybe. What were you thinking?"
Sirius shrugged. "Well, I would never tell you to do something to someone of authority in the school, but if you happened to see her, and she happened to accidentally stumble across one of your products in a bad way, well, it would be a terrible coincidence, wouldn't it?"
Fred grinned widely. "A little Puking Pastille in her pudding?"
"Or a Creepy Crawlie in her workstation?"
"The Nose-biting Teacup?"
"Ton-Tongue Toffee?"
Sirius smirked at them. They were incredibly intelligent (and rather ingenious), and he found every new invention more incredible than the next. "For starters."
"We'll see what we can do," George promised. "She's taking over one of the offices on the fifth floor since Professor Raffigan has taken over Binns' office."
"How is she doing?"
"We like her," Fred said honestly. "She makes the subject somewhat bearable and she doesn't talk in a tone that would put dogs to sleep. So it's a plus."
"Good," Sirius said. "I'm glad to hear that something good is coming out of it. As for Umbitch, make her office feel at home as well."
Fred and George gave him identical smirks. "Our pleasure."
He wished them luck location hunting, and asked to be kept in the loop. They were finishing school in a few months, and he knew with absolute certainty that they would be business owners before that happened. They were smart young men and he knew that they were talented enough to warrant building the business from the ground up. They were already halfway there. He knew that Zee would get a kick out of their plans — but then he frowned.
She wasn't going to want to hear about their plans. Not after how he'd left things that afternoon. He headed into Remus' suite to use the Floo, and he nodded at his friend who was sitting on the sofa marking papers.
"Doesn't it suck that you have homework to do?"
Remus smiled down at the parchment. "Yes, and no. It shows me how my students are learning, which makes it rather rewarding. How was your conversation with Fred and George?"
"Good. They are really coming together on this joke shop. They have a location in mind to rent and are checking it out on Saturday."
Remus only raised an eyebrow. "Good for them. And?"
"What do you mean, 'and?'"
Remus chuckled. "I know you, Padfoot. You put a bird in their ear over something."
Sirius grinned. "Moony, I have no idea what you are referring to. I only asked about their products."
Remus shook his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know anyway. How's Zee?"
"She's doing better," Sirius told him as he drummed his fingers anxiously on his leg. "She's been two days off the potions now and she's feeling stronger. She's getting anxious to go back to work."
"How much longer is she off?"
"Another week," Sirius said rather bitterly. "Then she'll only be back for a short bit before she's off for the holiday. She was supposed to be on guard duty next week, but I made Molly and Andy take her off the list."
"Bet she didn't like that," Remus said. "She seemed pretty decisive at the meeting this morning."
Sirius snorted and pointed to the small cut above his eyebrow. "She clipped me with a bloody frying pan! Said that I was being overprotective and unreasonable!"
"Were you?"
Sirius stared at his friend, running his hand over his chest. Every time he thought about the moment he'd learned of her attack, his heart stopped.
"Maybe a little," he conceded. "But she's not ready to go back to work, and until she does, I'm not going to let her do guard duty for the Order. I mean, it's boring and nothing is happening — but it could. And if she's not healed enough… no. I won't have her hurting herself all over again!"
Remus nodded in understanding. "I get it, Padfoot, and she does too. But for your own sake, you better put her back on the roster right after the holiday."
"She's going to be back on during the holiday," he said bitterly. "After all, she'll have been back to work by then and perfectly capable of handling guard duty with a partner for a few hours."
"Sounds like the two of you really had it out," Remus replied.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You'd think that I was telling her to stop working entirely or something! I know that she's perfectly capable. I know that she's strong enough to handle herself — but is it too much to ask for her to be healed first?"
"Would it be too much to ask if you were the one who needed to heal?"
Sirius swore. "I hate you, Moony."
Remus smiled. "I know how concerned you are about her, but you said so yourself. She's doing better. She goes back to work next week. I know that you worry about her and that she has a dangerous job, but so does Nymphadora. We have to trust them."
Sirius nodded. He knew that his friend was right. And he did trust Zee. Her job and her passion for it were part of the reason that he fell in love with her. She was a strong, intelligent, and vibrant woman who was more than capable of kicking arse — and it was a huge part of what he loved about her. She didn't hold back. With anything. She gave her whole heart and soul into everything she did.
He said goodbye to Remus and took the Floo to The Hog's Head and Apparated to London. He bought a bottle of Zee's favourite red wine and a mixed bouquet of pink roses, Oriental lilies, limonium, and purple monte casino before he made his way home.
When Sirius stepped into Black Cottage a little while later, Zee wasn't in sight. His heart stopped for a moment at the thought that she'd left — but then he saw the light coming from the French doors of the sunroom. He made his way over and found her reading in one of the armchairs.
The sun had set and the garden was dark through the windows, as he bent his head to kiss her cheek.
"I'm sorry that I overreacted. I'm a bloody arse and a bloody wanker. You should have hexed me as well as flung the pan at me."
Zee turned to look over at him, her eyes softening at the bouquet. "You brought me flowers?"
He moved around the chair to kneel in front of her. He rested the bouquet and the bottle of wine in her lap.
"And a bottle of cab sauv. I'm here to grovel as much as you need. Baby, I'm so sorry. I know that you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. I love that about you. I wasn't trying to pull the — what did you call it…?"
"Penis Card," Zee told him. "Please continue."
He snorted, sliding his hands up her thighs to rest on her waist as his eyes met hers. "I wasn't trying to pull the Penis Card. You are an amazing witch who I trust with my life. I overreacted and I knew it when I started talking, but I do want you to be fully healed before you go back into the field — and to me, that includes Order stuff. On the night you return, what if something happens? What if you aren't fully healed, unable to defend yourself or to protect your partner? I love you. I'm not sorry that I want to keep you safe."
Zee reached out, gently brushing her hand through Sirius' hair. "I overreacted too. I get it, Sirius. I'm just going stir crazy here. I'm not used to having so much time on my hands, and I guess when I thought that you were trying to limit what I can do even more, I panicked. I talked to Andy after you left and we pushed back my guard duty until the second week of January. That gives me almost three weeks of work under my belt on top of the holiday. Time to rebuild my strength before I move into Order tasks as well."
Sirius sighed and buried his face in her lap. "Thank Merlin."
She smiled as she lifted his head and then frowned as her thumb brushed over the cut over his eyebrow. "I'm sorry that I hit you with a frying pan."
"It's all right. I was an arse and deserved it," he said, taking in her red-rimmed eyes. "Fuck. I made you cry… I'm sorry, I'm so bloody sorry."
Zee bent her head down to kiss his forehead tenderly. "They were mostly angry tears. I love you, Sirius. I know that you're worried and scared for me after what happened and if it had been you who was attacked, you're right — I would be thinking the same thing. The flowers are beautiful, thank you." She placed the flowers and wine on the table next to her before leaning forward to kiss him. "Will you stop treating me like I'm made of glass now? I'm not breakable."
Sirius nodded, turning his head to kiss the fingers that were on his cheek. "I know, but I am when it comes to you."
Zee's eyes softened. "Sirius, I'm not going anywhere. I love you, even when you're being a bloody wanker."
His fingers kneaded her waist, and then his thumbs hooked into the top of her black tights. He slowly inched them down, his eyes on hers.
Zee only stared at him, lifting her bum as he slipped them down her legs before his eyes met hers again. He licked his lips and then he leaned in and kissed her through her lace knickers.
Zee's hands clutched his hair as he kissed her through the lace, his mouth suckling through the fabric and teasing her until he finally used his thumb to swipe it aside. His tongue found her instead. She gasped, her hips arching as he worked her over, her eyes closing in ecstasy until her breathing became ragged and short. She panted his name as the orgasm tore through her, making her toes curl from where they dangled over the arms of the chair. His head turned to kiss her right thigh, before he turned to kiss the other leg, his lips gliding tenderly down her scar until he reached her toes.
Then he stood up and tugged her to her feet to kiss her again.
She sighed into him, tasting herself on his lips.
"Find a vase for your flowers. I'll get dinner started and we can open the wine," he said, kissing her again. "And then I'm going to have you again for dessert." Her eyes darkened in desire and Sirius grinned. "And Zahira? I'm not planning on going anywhere either, not without you. I need you too goddamn much."
He left her standing there in her lace knickers, her jumper bunched around her waist from his hands, and he made his way into the kitchen with a skip in his step.
They were going to be just fine, he thought.
~ ASC ~
After two full days of rest, Theo finally ventured out of the Slytherin dormitory in search of some freedom. He didn't make it very far before his eyes met the gaze of his Head of House who was standing outside of his office door, his arms crossed in front of him.
"Feeling better, Mr Nott?"
Theo nodded. "Much better, thank you, Sir."
Snape stared at him for a moment before gesturing for him to follow him inside. "I wrote a character statement for you as promised. However, I am now wondering if I will be forced to amend it."
Theo's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean?"
"You were physically attacked, Mr Nott. That much is obvious — yet you not only refuse to acknowledge that it happened, but won't tell anyone who your attacker was," Snape said quietly. "I'm tempted to pry it from your mind myself, but I've restrained myself."
Theo swallowed. "Professor, I appreciate your concern, but as you can see I'm fine —"
"— Mr Nott," Snape said coldly. "When a student from my own house is attacked, I need to be made entirely aware of it. What if this same student has hurt someone else? Who attacked you, and why?"
Theo looked down at his hands. "I didn't see. It was fast and… I didn't see them. Then I was embarrassed about it and… I should have defended myself better."
Snape was quiet before he handed over a sealed envelope. "You are still lying to me, Mr Nott, but if there is one thing that I have come to expect from you, it's that you know what your choices are."
Theo's eyes met his. "This letter is part of me handling it, Sir. Thank you."
Snape nodded. "Come to me when you can, Theo. No one who attacks a student in this school will go unpunished."
Theo smiled gratefully before he made a quick exit, the envelope clutched tightly in his hand. He knew that Snape had just given him nonverbal approval to deal with Macmillan as he saw fit, and he was grateful for it. Now he needed a few more references for his lawyer. He just had to figure out who to ask.
His opportunity arrived that day in Transfiguration.
Theo stayed back after class ended, taking his time cleaning up his things. McGonagall was his favourite teacher in the school, so the fact that she'd asked him to stay behind made him slightly nervous. He had gotten an O on her last two assignments, so he wasn't sure what she could possibly want.
Blaise nudged him lightly. "Let's go. We're going to be late for Herbology."
"One minute, McGonagall asked me to stay behind."
Blaise raised an eyebrow but nodded, saying something to Draco.
"We'll be in the hall."
"You don't have to wait," he said automatically.
Draco only stared at him. "We'll be in the hall."
Ever since he had come out of the hospital wing, the two of them had stuck to him like glue. He appreciated the sentiment more than they knew, as it had meant that over a week had passed since he'd had to deal with Macmillan. But he also didn't want to alert them that something was wrong. As his friends headed into the hall, he approached the front of the classroom.
"Er, Professor, you wanted to see me?"
McGonagall finished wiping the blackboard before she turned to him. "Yes, Mr Nott, I did."
Theo swallowed. "Is something wrong?"
McGonagall gave him a rare smile. "Of course not. Your work in this class has been nothing short of exemplary. You're one of my top students — which is why I wanted to check in on you."
"Oh, I'm fine. Stairs are tricky, you know," he said, a small laugh escaping him.
She nodded, her eyes on his. "They sometimes can be, yes. They are meant to help bring us up or lend us a hand in getting down, but sometimes even the best of us stumble over a step or two."
"I suppose," he said, thinking that sounded rather cryptic.
"But there are always people around us to catch us when we fall."
Theo kept his eyes perfectly blank. "I appreciate that, Professor."
McGonagall sighed. "If you decide that you need to come clean about who hurt you, Mr Nott, there are many people in this school who would stand up for you, myself included. I hope you know that."
Theo felt shame wash over him as he nodded, letting the lie slip out again. "I do, Professor. But I'm okay and like I said, I just fell down the stairs. It was more embarrassing than anything."
McGonagall pursed her lips. "All right. I won't pester you about it again. But I would like to ask for your help on an extra curricular project. It would go towards your final mark."
Theo raised an eyebrow. He had never considered himself an extra curricular sort of person. "What would it be?"
"I have two first year Slytherins who are struggling in my class, and I thought that you might be interested in doing some tutoring. It would be twice a week, here in my classroom. I would give you thirty house points every session, and it will count as extra curricular work for you."
He thought about it for a minute, surprised and pleased that she would ask him. "I think that I'd like that, Professor, but can I ask for something in return?"
McGonagall glanced at him curiously. "You can certainly ask."
Theo swallowed. "I... I need a character reference for my lawyer. I'm trying to claim my inheritance and title now with my father being a fugitive, and I need statements claiming my character is responsible enough to take on the title a full calendar year before I turn seventeen. Professor Snape has already provided me with one, but I was hoping that you might also assist me?"
McGonagall smiled warmly. "I would be honoured to write a character reference for you. I'll have it for you by tomorrow."
Theo nodded, feeling lighter at the thought. "Thank you."
"In regards to the tutoring, when you pick up the reference letter tomorrow we'll work out a schedule."
"Thank you, Professor."
McGonagall nodded. "Now hurry along or you'll be late for class."
He grabbed his bag and hurried out into the hall where Draco and Blaise were waiting for him. "You didn't have to wait, but thanks."
Blaise put an arm around Theo's shoulders and very noisily and obnoxiously kissed his cheek until Theo pushed him away. "We have to keep an eye on you somehow. Now come on; let's go to class."
He grinned, feeling lighter. He had another reference letter coming. His friends were watching out for him. It wouldn't be too much longer now, he thought. It was all coming together.
~ ASC ~
Harry found himself daydreaming in study hall the next afternoon. He was supposed to be working on his Potions assignment, but he found himself examining the Marauder's Map instead. He absently watched the little dots move around the map, eyes drifting around the different levels of the castle.
He needed to find a place somewhere in the castle where Voldemort could have hidden the diadem. The problem was that he couldn't figure out where. His first thought was somewhere in the dungeons. Tom Riddle had been a Slytherin after all, but Harry couldn't see him hiding it somewhere as obvious as the Slytherin dorms or the Slytherin common room. The other thing that was bothering him was that the Horcrux he had hidden with the locket had been enclosed in a very elaborate security system. The only thing that Harry could imagine as a security system of equal measure was the Basilisk, and obviously that wasn't a problem anymore.
He scratched the stubble on his neck, absently thinking that he needed to shave, as he examined the Chamber of Secrets on the map. If the diadem was down there, they definitely hadn't seen it. He tried to remember what had been inside the treasure chest full of snakes, but he didn't remember seeing a tiara of any kind. It had mostly been coins if he remembered correctly. Dumbledore had access to the belongings, though. He could ask him.
Neville nudged him and he looked up. "That's certainly not Potions."
Harry grinned. "I can't focus right now. Nev, the diadem has to be somewhere. I know it's already been searched, but what about the Chamber of Secrets?"
Neville took a minute to connect to what Harry was talking about, but then he nodded. "You want to search it again? It could be worth a second look."
"I just think that I'd feel better if we search it again. It's enormous down there. There's not only the private office and the chamber itself, but all of the passageways leading to it. Ideally the pipes run through most of the whole school, and we couldn't have checked everything. Right?"
Neville looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ginny's brother did find that little cubby in one of the passageways. There could be more."
"Exactly. I want to check, Nev. Uncle Sirius said that we need to explore the castle and try to figure out where it could be."
Neville grinned. "So, are we heading down there tonight?"
Harry grinned back at him. "Yeah, let's do it." He turned to Ron, who was snoring from the table next to him, his head on his Potions textbook. He elbowed him awake.
"Ow — what? I wasn't sleeping," Ron muttered, wiping his chin as if checking for drool.
"Right, you were totally awake," Harry said in amusement. "Where are Nev and I heading?"
Ron stared at him. "Okay, so I closed my eyes for two seconds. What did I miss?"
"We're going to head down to the Chamber of Secrets," Neville whispered. "Harry thinks the diadem might be down there."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you already search it though?"
"Well, yeah, but at the time we didn't know we were looking for this, and we didn't explore all of the tunnels. Just the main ones leading into the throne room."
Ron nodded, looking pensive. "That's true. And what about the chest of jewels and stuff?"
"I don't know. I was going to try to ask Uncle Rem about it and see what else they found. I mean, at the time, we didn't know that we needed to find a tiara. It was so full of dark magic spells that if there was any form of warning, we wouldn't have noticed," Harry said, starting to feel a little excited now.
He reflected on that pull he'd always felt when he was near a Horcrux, the sense of evil that he knew Sirius likewise felt as well when one was nearby. Dark magical artefacts could have obscured that effect. That trunk had been full of tons of stuff.
Ron stretched his arms over his head and stifled a yawn. "You want to go tonight?"
Harry nodded. "After dinner? We can head down there. I mean technically, it's not off limits anymore."
"Well, Professors Lupin and McGonagall don't let us down there until the end of the year," Neville said.
Harry shrugged. "But it shouldn't be in use unless they choose tonight to work on the new course."
Ron nodded, standing up. "All right. I'll go drag Hermione from the library and fill her in."
"Great," Harry said, his eyes on the Marauder's Map looking for his girlfriend's dot and seeing it leaving Care of Magical Creatures class with Luna. "I'll go let Ginny and Luna know."
Neville smiled. "I feel like the six of us haven't done anything in forever."
Harry frowned as he thought about his friend's words. "I think you're right. We need to amend that."
Neville stood up as well, grabbing his own books. "I'll come with you to the library, Ron. I have two books to return. Meet by the entrance to the chamber after dinner?"
"Sounds great," Harry told him, waving his friends off.
He grabbed his own belongings and headed out and down the stairs to meet the girls. They were chatting and laughing at something with Colin in the courtyard. Colin waved goodbye and headed towards the castle and Harry nodded at him as he hurried by. Luna waved at Harry as he headed towards them.
"Hello, Harry. You look very excited."
He grinned. "I guess I might be."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to share?" she asked, slipping her arm through his.
He grinned at her, looping his other arm through Luna's. "Nev, Ron, and I were talking and we think that we want to head down to the Chamber tonight and do some searching. Are you two up for a little adventure?"
Luna's eyes widened. "I am!"
Ginny smiled at her friend. "Luna has been missing us all hanging out as of late."
Harry nodded. "I'm sorry, Luna, Neville just made me realize that we haven't all hung out, the six of us, in a long time. Between Quidditch and Defence Club and keeping up on homework and —"
"— Snogging me," Ginny said cheekily.
"Yes, that's the most important one," he admitted, making Luna laugh. "But, yeah, I guess it's just been busy and we all seem to be going our separate ways in the summer these days."
"I know. Daddy and I like to go on adventures and excursions when we can," Luna told him. "But I like having friends too."
Harry kissed her cheek, making her beam. "Well, tonight is the six of us then. Are you in?"
"Well, I did rather like the first excursion into the Chamber," Luna told him. "Do you think the diadem is down there?"
"I don't know," Harry told her honestly. "Thinking about it now, it seems like it would be too obvious of a spot, especially considering the diary connection, but I think not looking would be a mistake as well. I want to talk to Uncle Remus first and see what they did with everything they pulled out of those chests. I know some of them were Hogwarts artefacts, but the diadem wasn't one of them. Zee spoke to a Hogwarts historian about it, and she would have known if they found the diadem. Actually, the historian was Professor Raffigan, and she's well informed about all of the history, myths, and legends about the school. But still, it could be hidden somewhere else down there."
Ginny looked pensive. "Bill and Zee did find the necklace box in a protected area in one of the main tunnels, and Remus and Tonks came across the hidden eggs — so it is possible. But we mapped out the chamber. Between the three of us, we would have seen something, right?"
Harry shrugged. "We did the main chamber and main tunnels that led in and out, but it's connected through the aqueducts. Pipes run under most of the castle and possibly even beneath some of the grounds. It might not be directly in the Chamber."
"That's true," Ginny said. "I think you're right. Even if it's not there, it's worth a look."
"I've been examining the map, trying to think of places where he would have felt safe to hide it, but there's nowhere that I feel would be completely safe for him. I mean, unless he was bold enough to hide it within Slytherin House."
Ginny frowned at that, shaking her head. "No, I don't think he would be. Tom was very meticulous in everything that he did. He knew exactly what he wanted and he wouldn't leave something that important lying around where hundreds of students would have daily access to it. He wouldn't be able to be sure it would be safe. No, if it's here in the castle, he hid it somewhere where he thought only he knew about. Plus, I've been inside Slytherin House, and it's too much like the Gryffindor common room: Open spaces, lots of seating, and places to hang out. I doubt the dorms would be an option either."
Harry nodded. He agreed with that assessment, but it was nice to know that Ginny felt the same. "All right, well. Knowing that's out of the way, we do know a few other places that would be out of bounds as well. We can start a list and cross them off as we go. We need to find it as soon as we can as it will be one less obstacle for us to concern ourselves with."
Luna nodded, tucking her wand behind her ear. "And the snake?"
Harry shook his head. "There's no way that we'll be able to get it. It's always by his side, and I think that until he attacks somewhere or someplace, we're going to be stuck waiting. And like Uncle Sirius said, if we kill his snake before we get the other one, he might suspect what we're doing."
Ginny let out a slow sigh. "I think that the list is a good idea. We can start looking, but we should go talk to Remus first."
Luna slipped her arm out from Harry's. "I'm going to put my bag in my dorm. I'll meet you after dinner?"
"By the entrance to the chamber, Luna," Harry told her.
Luna beamed at them before she skipped off, her book bag over her shoulder.
Ginny turned, hooking her free arm around Harry's waist and tilting her head up to look at him, a soft smile on her face. "Hi."
The evening sun danced along her hair, her freckles seeming to darken in the setting light. He was positive that he had never seen anything more beautiful. Harry bent his head to kiss her, lingering over her lips just long enough to elicit a soft moan before he pulled away.
"Hi."
Ginny bit her lip as she looked up at him. "Should we go talk to Remus before dinner then?"
Harry bent his head and kissed her once more. "Yes, otherwise he's going to head home on us."
Ginny kept her arm entwined with his as they headed through the courtyard and into the castle. Harry led the way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and found his father putting assignments into his briefcase.
Remus smiled warmly at them. "Hello, Harry, Ginny. What can I do for you two?"
Ginny took a seat on one of the desks as Harry stood next to her. "We had questions about the stuff we removed from the Chamber of Secrets three years ago."
Remus raised an eyebrow in surprise, stopping what he was doing to lean back against his desk. "Well, that's hardly what I was expecting."
Harry stared at him. "We found all sorts of stuff down there, right? You said that it was mostly history and family stuff of Slytherin himself, but of Hogwarts too, right?"
Remus nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "A bit, yes. Most of it was old scrolls and ancient texts pertaining to Dark Magic that we decided was better off destroyed. It would not do anyone any good to get their hands on those kinds of spells. There was a manifesto of some kind written by Slytherin. It looked private, maybe nothing he ever planned to share, but it was written as a manifesto. It was full of gold, as you know — ancient coins both Roman and Greek as well as Galleons. There were some jewels, rubies, and sapphires in jewellery that we donated to the History Department and then the outline of the necklace that Bill and Zee found, which we never recovered."
Ginny sighed. "We were hoping maybe there had been a tiara in there."
Remus looked surprised. "No, but a good deduction. We never did come across a tiara." He stared at the two of them for a moment. "Were you thinking that it might be in the Chamber of Secrets, then?"
Harry shrugged. "I thought that it might be possible. The aqueducts go under most of the grounds and well, we didn't cover the entire area. We just focused on where the chamber was, the throne room and the main entrance."
"True," Remus said, nodding in agreement. "It would be a good place to start looking. I can tell you that Minerva and I searched Slytherin's study pretty thoroughly before we started building the defence courses down there, but we didn't examine the throne room other than the cursory look after removing the corpse of the Basilisk. As to the necklace box that Bill and Zee discovered, we managed to determine an outline of the necklace which Zee presented to Professor Raffigan at the time. We knew that it was a lost piece that would be worth billions if found today, but we ruled it out as being a Horcrux."
Ginny smiled at him. "We were just wondering, if maybe we had accidentally stumbled upon it and didn't realize it."
Remus nodded. "It's a good deduction, like I said. Are you two thinking of trying to explore the castle a bit to attempt to find it?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "We've done the brief looking, and now we need to look harder and seriously contemplate where he might have stashed it."
"Sounds like a plan. Do you need anything else from me?"
Harry shook his head. "No, we just wanted to know about the jewels."
Remus smiled and turned to finish putting the assignments into his briefcase. "All right. Well, I am off for the night, but if you need me, you know how to get a hold of me. Let me know of your progress."
Harry nodded as they said goodbye and Ginny took his hand in hers. "Well, what do you think?" he asked.
She kissed Harry softly. "I think that we should still go exploring. Bring your cloak and your map, and we'll see what we can find down there."
He grinned. "My cloak is hardly going to cover all six of us, Ginny."
Ginny's eyes twinkled up at him. "Who said that it needed to cover all six of us?"
Harry watched the sway of her hips as she turned and headed out of the classroom and he couldn't resist tilting his head to get a better view, his tongue between his lips. An adventure with Ginny was exactly what he needed.
End Author's Notes:
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the sassy remark from Harry to Ron, that belongs to the Buffy verse, season six, episode one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just love it so much and it slipped out when I was writing LOL.
Thank you for reading and please review.