Here's your chapter. I really enjoyed writing this. Hope you guys will enjoy reading it. Don't forget to R&R!

Sirius flexed his arm and was satisfied when the pain was negligible. Madam Pomfrey had healed it almost completely and now all that remained were two fang shaped imprints on his arm. Harry was still asleep from the effects of the potions. He strolled over to the boy's bed and brushed the hair away from Harry's eyes. The slash that Voldemort had made on Harry's cheek had been reduced to a faint scar. Tracing the faint white line with his finger, he recalled the rage that he had felt when Tom Riddle had hurt Harry. Anger. That was one of the main emotions in Sirius' mind at present. There was anger at Voldemort for harming Harry, anger at his son for recklessly rushing into danger and lastly, anger directed towards himself for not getting to his pup sooner.

Poppy told him that it would take another half an hour or so for Harry to wake up so he went back to his quarters, took a nice hot shower and pulled on a fresh set of robes. He felt much better already. When he came outside, there was a letter waiting for him on his nightstand. He opened it and read through the contents. It was a letter from Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Auror department. It was an invitation, more of a request actually, to rejoin as an Auror. Sirius knew what his answer would be this time.

Well, one more issue to discuss with Dumbledore. Sirius tucked the letter into his pocket and went back to the hospital wing. Harry should've woken up by now.

Harry was currently sitting on the bed, feeling alright. He brushed his fingers against his cheek where Voldemort had cut it and felt only a small cut. His elbow had been bandaged where he'd banged it against the rock.

He was fine on the outside. On the inside, it was a whole different story. To say that he wasn't looking forward to the conversation between him and Sirius would be understating things. He had absolutely no explanation for what he and done. The only good part of his adventure was that everyone had been relatively unhurt.

There was a knock against the doorframe and Harry looked up to see Sirius standing there. Harry braced himself for his dad to come inside and start yelling. He expected nothing short of a very vocal telling off. "Ron and Ginny are fine." Of all the things he'd expected his father to say, this wasn't one of them. "Poppy said you can leave in an hour or so. We need to go and talk to Dumbledore after that. He retrieved this for you." Sirius placed Harry's wand on the table beside the bed. The room was silent for a few minutes.

"I shall admit, I didn't expect this from you." Harry almost sighed with relief when Sirius said that. Finally. The distant way in which his father was talking to him was unnerving. "I'm so–"

"I'm not quite finished yet Harry. I've only just started. So please, listen." Gulping, Harry nodded. "First of all, I want to tell you that I'm proud of what you did to save Ginny. The same cannot be said regarding the way you went about it. You didn't tell me about the diary. I got that from Voldemort. Voldemort of all people! Imagine Voldemort telling me things that are supposed to come from you. How many times have we discussed this Harry James? You're not to keep things from me. I've never done that to you, neither have I ever lied to you. Yet you do it. Repeatedly."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Harry whispered. He was pretty sure that they weren't even halfway through and he felt horrible already. The sharpness in his father's voice was something he rarely heard but never wanted to hear again.

"Are you? I really don't think so. I've lost count of the number of times I've told you to stay out of danger. We've been over this a lot and yet young man, here we are, having this discussion. Again. What do I have to do to make you understand that what you did– what you always do, is not okay!"

Sirius wasn't yelling but looking at the sadness in his eyes, Harry was sure that it would've been better if his father yelled at him.

"What you did today, was definitely by far, the most foolish thing you've ever done. You lied to me about the basilisk. You knew and yet you did not bother telling me about it. I told the Professors that you would tell me if you knew anything. I feel like such an idiot right now." Sirius shook his head and let out a humourless laugh. "I want to know why, why in the world did you not tell me. Did you think I wouldn't believe you? That I would not listen? There has to be a reason for it. Why Harry?"

Harry had no just answer for that question. "I thought I'd tell you everything once we had discovered it all." That was all he could say. "And yet you didn't." Sirius shook his head and sighed. "This is not done Harry, it's just not done. I thought you trusted me."

"I do, Dad. I really do." Harry tried to reassure his dad. He trusted Sirius, more than anybody else. He didn't know whatever had made him lie to Sirius about the basilisk. He truly was sorry.

"You didn't tell me about the diary, you lied about the snake and you rushed away. Anything else I need to know?" Looking at his bedcovers, Harry shook his head. He had known that he'd be in trouble after his foray but that didn't make it hurt any less. "Look at me please. I caught you and Ron outside the door but by the time I could come out, the two of you were gone. That's when I knew something was horribly wrong. Why would you not come to me? I would've helped you save Ginny. You heard me outside didn't you? So that means you fully well knew that I was planning to save her. Yet again, you did not tell me anything. Why?"

"I wasn't thinking, Dad." Harry whispered. Wrong thing to say.

"That's exactly what you always do! You never think!" Sirius snapped, losing his patience. "You didn't think about how badly you and Ron could've been hurt when you both jumped into the Chamber. You didn't think that it was all just a trap and that you fell right into it. And you most certainly did not think about what would have happened to me if you hadn't come back."

The last sentence really drove the message home. He'd been so stupid. How could he not have thought about how his Dad would've felt if he had died. A mere dream of Sirius' death had shaken Harry to the very core. He could only imagine how his father must've felt, knowing that he was in grave danger.

"You didn't think about any of these, did you, young man?" Harry winced at the tone of Sirius' voice. It didn't matter whether he was twelve or one hundred and twenty years old. That tone would always have the same effect on him. "No, sir." He mumbled, lowering his gaze. He'd promised Sirius he'd stop risking his life and he had done just the opposite.

"I know it's a little too late for this but I want you tell me everything. Every single thing about how all this started. The last time I asked you, you only spoke about the voices. I'd approached you, repeatedly, inquiring if there was anything else but you denied it. Now, you are going to tell me nothing but the complete truth. You're in enough trouble already, so I suggest you don't lie anymore."

Harry did as he was told. He spoke about how it all began: From Dobby's visit. He didn't leave out a single detail this time.

"I see. We need to go and meet Dumbledore later and explain the events to him as well. Your school year ends in three days. They've decided to close early this year because of everything that's happened." Sirius continued. He moved forward and sat down on the bed, facing him. In spite of his anger at Harry, he leaned forward and kissed the boy's forehead, thankful that he was safe. "You have absolutely no idea how worried I was when I found out what you and Ron had done. You're my son, Harry James. I can't lose you."

It was too much for Harry. He lunged and threw his arms around his father's neck. "I'm sorry, Dad! I'm really, really sorry. Don't be mad at me. You're right, I shouldn't have gone off like that." He felt himself shaking against Sirius. He'd messed up horribly this time. His dad's arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly. "Promise me that you'll never do something like this again. If anything ever happens, the first thing you will do is come straight to me. I want to know if something is bothering you. You need to understand that you're not alone. You're going to stop lying to me, for good. Stop keeping things from me. I need to know that I can trust you, Harry. Asking for help doesn't make you weak. Promise me that you won't lie to me ever again."

Sirius pulled back and looked Harry in the eye. There was a certain hardness in the stormy grey orbs that revealed the seriousness of this particular request. Harry nodded sincerely. The look in his dad's eyes scared him. "I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Sirius' expression softened. "Now, you know I can't simply let all this slide. There will be consequences."

Harry wanted to point out that Sirius could let it slide but thought it would be an unwise comment. Besides, he deserved it. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take your broom away for a while. Once we get home, you're grounded for the next two weeks. I'm sure I can find some work to keep you busy."

Harry stared at his dad, horrified. He had no doubt that 'work' meant cleaning around the place. He knew that Black Manor was huge and there would be several rooms that required cleaning. "But Dad, summer's only just about to begin. It'll be no fun at all. You can't ground me during summer!" He surprised even himself. He'd never argued like this before.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his son. He marvelled at how quickly Harry went from looking like a scolded puppy to a put out adolescent. "Can't I? This is to ensure that you don't even think of trying something like this ever again. You are grounded. That's final. And it's a punishment. It's not supposed to be fun."

Harry's shoulders sagged but he nodded nonetheless. He knew that once his father's mind was made up, there was no changing it. "Alright." "There's a good lad." Sirius ruffled his hair before conjuring a set of robes for Harry. "Put them on. We need to go and see Dumbledore in a bit. I'll be outside. Poppy needs to give me some potions. Before we go to his office, let's go to my quarters. I'm sure you remember what I told you would happen if you lied."

Harry accepted the robes from his dad who then moved towards the door. "Dad, I really am sorry."

Sirius stopped at the door and turned to look at Harry. "I know Pup, I know. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook. You're still grounded and you're still going to get your mouth scourgified."

With a groan, Harry threw his head back against the pillows. Sirius was just too smart.

Harry decided that soap tasted absolutely disgusting. They'd gone back to Sirius' chambers where his mouth had been washed out for a whole minute. It had been absolutely horrible. Although it had only been a minute, Harry had felt it would never end. By the time his one minute was up, he was nearly in tears. He'd apologised again, half sobbing. His dad had forgiven and comforted him of course and the slate had been wiped clean. The one thing he had definitely learned from his little adventure was to never lie to his father. Nothing good ever came from it.

Currently, they were on their way to Dumbledore's office. "Now remember, the whole story. No omissions and certainly no more lies." Sirius prompted as the Gargoyle sprang aside to grant them way. "I know, dad." Harry replied.

Sirius was upset with Dumbledore, to say the least. What sort of headmaster left his school unprotected in the face of such danger? The door was open so they walked inside.

"Ah Harry, Sirius, please do come in. I've been waiting for you." He smiled genially at the duo. Harry offered a smile in return but Sirius only nodded curtly. They seated themselves on the opposite side of the desk. "Sirius, first of all, I must thank you profusely for what you did. I owe great thanks to you as well, Harry. What both of you'll did was nothing short of an exemplary display of courage. Not many would have had it in them to do what you did. As for the sword of Gryffindor, only a true Gryffindor could have pulled it out. That's what you are, both of you. It's in a safe place now."

Beside him, Sirius saw Harry's face and ears turn a deep shade of red at the praise. He inwardly smiled at his boy. "What's shocking is how an innocent young girl was pulled into this." The old man remarked with a sigh.

"Don't underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it." Sirius quipped and it couldn't have been more true. "Wise words indeed. I'll keep that in mind. Now, if you would be so kind as to enlighten me with the details, Harry."

For the second time that day, Harry launched into the entire explanation. Dumbledore listened carefully, nodding every now and then. "Harry, when you destroyed this diary, you destroyed Voldemort's very presence in the diary thereby weakening him considerably. He's in an extremely weak state now and won't be able to do anything for quite a long time. But I must ask, how did Miss Weasley find the diary in the first place? It is highly unlikely that such a dark object would get into the hands of an innocent girl unless someone deliberately did it."

Both Sirius as well as Dumbledore looked at Harry expectantly but he was at a loss. Suddenly the office door was thrown open and Lucius Malfoy strode in with a house elf shuffling behind him. Malfoy stiffened when he saw Sirius sitting in one of the stuffed chairs, recalling their last meeting. Harry gasped when he saw the elf. It was the same one that and appeared in his bedroom all those months ago. "Dobby? What are you doing here?"

Malfoy looked first at his elf them at Harry and back. "I'll deal with you later." The creature whimpered, clutching at its pillowcase. "Dumbledore, I see you're back." The old man smiled serenely at Malfoy. "Indeed I am, Lucius. The board of Governors never wanted me gone. They said it was you who brought up the idea."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at the blonde. Of course he'd try something like this. Some people never learn. The Slytherin sniffed haughtily and glared at the headmaster. "Master Malfoy sir, look, your diary!" the house elf—Dobby— suddenly exclaimed, pointed at the old journal on the desk. "Quiet!" He snapped, striking the house elf across the face with his cane.

Sirius felt a wave of disgust in him at the way the other man treated his house elves. But then another thought struck him. "Dobby, what did you mean by Malfoy's diary?" He asked, turning to the house elf.

"The elf is lying. It knows nothing." The blonde hurriedly interjected. "Shut up Malfoy. I'm talking to your house elf, not you. Don't speak unless spoken to. Now, Dobby, what did you mean?" He heard Harry stifle a laugh at the way Malfoy turned red.

Dobby nervously looked at Sirius and then at his master. There was anger in his eyes, warning the house elf to remain silent otherwise the results would be bad. But then, a certain determination replaced the fear in those large eyes. "Sirius Black sir, Master Malfoy asked Dobby to put the diary on Miss Weasley's bed. Dobby felt horrible sir but he had to obey his master's wishes sir."

"Very well. Thank you Dobby, you've been immensely helpful." Sirius replied. He then stood and drew himself up to his full, impressive height. He had an inch or two over the other man. He'd always had a strong suspicion that despite whatever Malfoy had said about the Dark side, he still belonged there. "So you're the one behind all this? You were the one that gave Ginny the diary, albeit indirectly. I now know where your loyalties lie. I had warned you, Malfoy."

"The elf doesn't know what it is saying." He repeated but the beads of perspiration on his forehead spoke otherwise. "House elves don't lie Malfoy. You and I both know that."

The anger flared in Lucius' eyes but it was clearly fake. A defensive move to draw their attention away from the current topic. "You place a house elf's words above my own? How dare you question my honour, Black."

Sirius merely smirked in response. "That's Lord Black to you, Malfoy. Its high time you learnt to respect your superiors. And no, I'm not questioning your honour. I'm just denying its existence."

Malfoy's normally white face turned red at that. A taste of his own medicine. He was so used to belittling people. For once, he was on the receiving end.

"I told you to stay away. You didn't listen. I've had it it with you, Malfoy. Clearly, just warnings aren't enough. You can walk out now, I won't stop you. I have a little surprise for you. It'll be delivered to your door in a few days. In the mean time, I suggest you enjoy yourself. It won't last, I assure you." Without another glance at Malfoy, Sirius returned to his seat.

"What do you mean surprise?" The man's voice sounded shaky and lacked conviction. "I'd be ruining it if I told you about it. All in good time. Run along now."

Malfoy stood still for a few seconds before coming to his senses. He tried to regain his composure and prodded the house elf in the back with his cane. "Come, Dobby."

"That answers your question Albus." said Sirius, turning to Dumbledore. "It does, Sirius. It does. Once again, I thank the both of you for what you did for this school, in my absence. I can see that you are upset with me for leaving in the hour of need, Sirius and rightly so. It wasn't my intention to do so. But, as you just heard Mr. Malfoy, I was compelled to leave. I needed to clear the matter of my removal immediately. It had to be done in secret and for that, I apologise." Sirius nodded his acceptance with a small smile. "I suppose I was too harsh."

Harry had been silent all the while. His mind still reeling from the cruelty that Dobby had to suffer. Nobody deserved that kind of treatment, not even house elves. Sirius treated his house elf properly and made sure that Harry did so as well.

In a way, he owed Dobby. The house elf had tried to save his life —even though it hadn't gone as planned. His intentions towards Harry had been good. He needed to free Dobby from Malfoy's viciousness. With a start, he realised that he'd been staring at the diary and an idea popped into his head. "Professor, would you mind if I borrow this?" He asked, pointing at the diary. "Of course not my boy. It's of no use now."

"Thank you, sir." He pocketed the item and headed towards the door. "Harry, where are you going now?" Sirius asked, confused. "I'll be back, Dad. Just give me two minutes."

And with that, Harry was gone.

"Albus, I need to talk to you about something. A letter arrived today. From Rufus Scrimgeour."

The moment Harry was outside the office, he pulled off his tie and shoved it in between the pages of the diary. He ran down the stairs and the corridor, trying to find Malfoy and Dobby. When he finally caught up with them, he called out. "Mr. Malfoy, wait! You forgot this."

The man turned around to glare at Harry. "It's not mine." He asserted but Harry shook his head. "Oh but it is. Here you go." He held out the diary and as expected, Malfoy snatched the diary from Harry and thrust it into Dobby's chest. "Come." He snapped at his house elf but Dobby didn't follow.

When Malfoy noticed this, he whipped around and glowered at the elf. "Did you not hear me you useless imbecile! I said–" he stopped abruptly when he saw what Dobby was holding. The creature stared at the tie with awe. "Master has presented Dobby with clothes. Dobby is a free elf."

"Where did you–" he then noticed that Harry didn't have his tie on. "You did this." He spat. "I didn't do anything Mr. Malfoy. You freed your house elf. You're free now, Dobby." Harry turned to smile at him.

Malfoy knew better than to attack Harry. With one last look of pure loathing at Harry, he turned swiftly and walked away. Dobby looked at Harry with nothing short of fascination. "Harry Potter has freed Dobby. Thank you, Harry Potter."

"You deserved to be freed Dobby. They weren't treating you well." Harry replied. "So where will you go now?" He asked. "Dobby does not know sir. Dobby wants to work but he also wants something else."

"What do you want?" Harry asked, his own curiosity peaked. The elf beckoned Harry to lean down and whispered. "Payment." Then he looked around like he had said something offensive. But Harry didn't think it was so bad. That's when another idea came to him. "Dobby, how would you like to come and work at my house? I promise no one will hurt you there. You'll get paid as well. I'll ask Dad if it's alright with him."

If it were possible, Dobby's eyes became even wider. "You is very kind Harry Potter. Dobby will come." The boy grinned widely. "Great. I'll talk to Dad, come on."

They found Sirius in one of the corridors that Harry had just used to get to Malfoy. "Dad! Can Dobby come and work for us? He's a free elf now. I asked if he wanted to come and he said yes. Can he come? Pleease?" Harry pleaded, giving Sirius the best puppy eyes that he could muster. "He's free? But I thought h–"

"He used to work for Malfoy. But then I..." he narrated the entire incident to his father. Sirius laughed when he heard the end. "You clever little scamp!"

"Can he come? I'll pay him from my own allowance." Harry promised. Sirius pretended to think before nodding. "Alright. He can come. Don't worry about paying him. I'll take care of that. You'll have your hands full with other matters." With an exaggerated cry, Harry buried his face against Sirius' chest. The man asked Dobby to apparate to Black Manor where he'd find their house elf Becky.

"Now come on, let's get to the Great Hall. Lunch time."

The next day, Hermione and the other victims were healed. Ron's leg was back to normal and it all turned out fine. The Weasleys were notified that their daughter was perfectly alright. Mrs. Weasley had thanked Sirius and Harry profusely for saving her daughter's life before turning her ire at her youngest son for his recklessness.

Exams were cancelled because of everything that had happened and everyone was promoted with an average grade. Gryffindor had won the house cup with a whooping nine hundred and thirty six points. "This year was exciting wasn't it?" Hermione commented as they sat in their compartment, taking the train back to King Cross station. "It was. But that doesn't mean I'm happy with it. My mum and dad were furious."

"Same here, I'm grounded for two weeks." Harry grumbled. "Two? That's it? Merlin mate, Professor Black is bloody brilliant! I'm grounded for an entire month!"

"That's too bad. Its really sad you know. He's not coming back next year to teach. He told me yesterday." Harry truly did feel disappointed. His dad wasn't going to be around next year at school. Sirius would be rejoining as a Senior Auror.

"That is sad. He was my favourite professor. But, both of you earned the grounding. You two boys should know better than to recklessly run off like that." Hermione pointed out although the smile completely gave her away.

The train pulled up at platform 9 & 3/4 after about an hour and they got off. "Harry, Ron, both of you must write to me. Do you holiday homework on time." She told them. "Yes ma'am." Both of them replied in unison, grinning. "Oh stop it you two." She pulled her two best friends into a hug. "I've to go now. My mum and dad are here. Don't forget to write. Bye!" And after that she left.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Sirius get off the train from the professor's compartment and smiled. The man noticed him and beckoned him over. Like last year, he was going home. Except this year, he wasn't afraid. He was eager to go home.

No lessons, nasty Professors or detentions. Just him and his father along with several visits from his friends. He said goodbye to Ron as well after promising to visit. "So Pup, are you ready to leave?"

"Absolutely." Harry decided that this summer was going to be totally brilliant. After the first two weeks had passed, of course. Until then, it was going to be pure torture.

Good luck, Harry.