Disclaimer: Do Not own...

Thank you for the reviews and constructive criticism, it was appreciated. Hope you like the chapter Honey Bun!

Anything in italics is either Harry's thoughts or a flash back.

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Dumbledore clapped his hands together, delighted by the new guest. "Why Sirius, how kind of you to join us."

Sirius Black smirked, amused. "It's good to see you too."

Harry was the first to recover. "S-Sirius! What are you doing here?"

"What a silly question to ask Harry, isn't it obvious?" He waved a dismissive hand in the young boy's direction, as if the answer was clear as day. "I'm your second bodyguard."

Draco was the next to recover. "What?!"

"Are you deaf or something boy?" Sirius' voice was still light but there was a darker undertone to it that immediately alerted Harry.

"I hear just fine!" Draco snarled, suddenly becoming very vicious looking and possessive.

'What's wrong with them?' Harry thought, considering whether or not to intervene but quickly having to take action when both wizards started walking toward each other.

Standing Harry made his way toward Sirius, grabbing his shoulder he gave him a critical look.

"Can I talk to you in private?" All joking and playing was put aside, Harry wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Sirius threw a glance to Dumbledore who gave a curt nod. "Of course."

..........

"What do you want to talk about?" Sirius asked, his face giving away obvious curiosity. The halls of Hogwarts were still vacant and uncharacteristically quiet as the two faced each other.

Harry's voice was eerily calm compared to the massive freak-out fest that was currently happening in his head. A thousand curious questions were bubbling near the surface of his throat but only one made it out. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you Harry," Sirius sighed, obviously exasperated with having to repeat himself. "I'm here to protect you."

..........

"You're leaving?" Ron whispered over Harry's shoulder. It was already into the late hours of the night and the rest of their roommates were wrapped in colorful dreams.

Harry smiled, turning to face his best friend in the candle lit room. "I am. Sorry it's so sudden." The solemn remorse in his voice was enough to make Ron frown.

"Don't be!" he snapped loudly, but quickly relented after Harry shushed him. "You don't ever get to spend time with Sirius as it is, so I'm happy you're getting a chance to bond." Ron coughed discreetly before adding. "Even if the circumstances are horribly odd…"

Harry sighed. "Yeah…" he agreed.

There was a lapse of silence between the two, with only the sounds of deep breathing and the rustle of clothes being folded. While Harry busied himself with packing Ron couldn't help but stare at him, watching as his hands fiddled with zippers and stuffing pockets.

Ron sighed, shifting his gaze to his own restless fingers he gulped silently. If he ever hoped to try and say something now was the time.

"Harry."

"Hmm?"

"Why is Malfoy going with you?" Harry stiffened immediately and even in the soft candlelight Ron could see the other boy's eyes widen dramatically.

"Ah, um… who told you that?"

"Hermione."

'Hermione!' Harry's frantic mind reeled. 'How could she?!' he thought, specifically remembering the day the wavy haired young girl confronted him about Draco no later than a day after they had gotten together.

"I do hope you're staying safe Harry."

"Huh?" Half way down the hall Hermione had pulled Harry to the side, an amused look playing on her face.

"Sex Harry, your using condoms right?" She looked over Harry's shoulder to make sure no one else was listening to her speak. "I know about you and Draco."

"Sex?! What?!" It took all Harry had not to scream at the girl, but Hermione seemed oddly unfazed by the boy in front of her.

"Don't look so shocked." She looked thoughtful before adding, "If you're wondering no, I didn't tell Ron and I don't plan to. It's for you to do on your own terms."

"Ron?!"

"Well, got to get to class. See you later Harry."

And just like that Hermione Granger turned and left for her next class.

"So much for my own terms…" he muttered to himself quietly, retreating from his memory and back to the situation at hand.

"When were you planning to tell me?" Ron's voice raised an octave, his distress becoming obvious.

"T-tell you what?" Harry wasn't the best actor but he liked to pride himself with the fact that he could smoothly dish out a white lie when he needed to. So why was he suddenly so tongue-tied? Maybe, subconsciously, Harry truly resented having to tell untruths to his best friend whom he knew for a long time now.

'I almost never kept things from Ron… until now.'

Ron was clearly un-amused by Harry's denial. "How long had you and… Malfoy been going at it?"

"Going at it?" Harry echoed, slight irritation in his voice. "Ron we're in a relationship, not beating each other to bloody puddles."

Ron flinched at the mention of the word 'relationship' and Harry could feel the atmosphere of the room become awkward with his friend's growing apprehension.

Harry sighed. "Oh Ron…" He didn't remember being feeling this tense since that time he walked in on Remus trying to pull Sirius' pants off… but that was far from the point. "It's not as if I wasn't going to tell you, I just couldn't find the right moment to. I'm sorry." he apologized lamely.

Another lapse of silence enveloped them and, to keep from feeling awkward, Harry went back to finishing the rest of his packing, leaving Ron to own thoughts.

"I'm sorry."

"E-excuse me?"

"I'm sorry!" Ron tried to keep his voice from shaking but failed miserably. Harry looked in awe as the other boy's face turned ten different shades of red.

'He's like a bottomless box of crayons, never runs out of colors.' Harry joked to himself but quickly stopped once he noticed the glimmer of dampness on his friend's cheeks. 'Is Ron crying? Over me?!' He felt his dinner jump back into his throat like a regurgitating snake.

"I didn't mean to pry." Ron started, not quite meeting Harry's eyes but settling for staring at his feet. "What you do in your personal life is no business of mine." he sniffed, shifting his weight to his right leg. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Ron…" Soft padded feet silently closed the distance between the two as Harry embraced his best friend. "Of all the things to say… I could never get mad at you." he jokingly added, "Intentionally."

"So you're not mad?"

"No…"

Ron didn't respond, choosing to bury his face into the crook of Harry's necked, relaxing at the sensation of the boy's vibrating chest as he laughed.

"Oi, you two," a sleepy voice echoed from across the dark room, the candle long burnt out. "go to another room for that stuff."

..........

"Is that all your bringing?"

Standing in front of the entrance to Hogwarts Harry hesitated, suddenly feeling horribly under-packed. "He said we were only staying a week…"

The young wizard couldn't help but gawk at the three large suitcases floating delicately next to Draco. "What is all that stuff?"

"My clothes." The blonde gave him a critical look. "And… some other stuff." Draco had muttered the last part and Harry had barely caught it, but he definitely caught it.

'Other things, huh? As discreet as ever Draco…'

"Are you both ready?" Sirius' voice echoed behind them and both boys turned to face him.

"Yeah, we're ready; let's get on with it already." Draco sighed, leaning back against his levitating luggage.

So quick, that Harry hardly had time to register, Sirius whipped his wand out, muttering the spell so fast that Harry couldn't decipher the words.

Draco's suitcases came crashing to the ground and a disgruntled blonde was left on the floor rubbing his bottom. "What the hell?!"

"No magic unless absolutely necessary!" Sirius barked, very much soundly like a military drill instructor. "The dark wizards will try to tracking us through our magic. Don't you dare take that wand out unless it's life or death!"

"Then how am I supposed to carry all this?" Draco's hands motioned comically to his ridiculously large bags.

Sirius' eyes narrowed and Harry watched helplessly as the two wizards stared each other down. "Strap them to your back mule." Looking over to Harry, Sirius grinned mischievously. "And, while you're at it, carry Harry's bag as well."

"The hell!"

"Stop your griping boy." Pulling Harry's bag from his arms Sirius chucked it to Draco, who was nearly bludgeoned in the head. "It's your duty as a bodyguard to make even the most high-strung situations flow easily and without fault!"

"Fuck you!"

"Watch your tongue boy before I zap it off!"

Harry sighed, feeling very much like a bystander on the sidelines witnessing a tragic accident. 'This is definitely going to be an experience…'

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Because Sirius is a hypocrite who punishes young wizards for using magic by using it himself... I just realized how angsty that scene between Ron and Harry was... please review.