Resolutions

By Neurotica

Forty

For two days, Sirius busied himself with work so that he wouldn't have to face his family, nor the prospects of what would be happening less than twelve hours from that very minute. Every time his mind strayed farther than the report he was reading, or the map he was pouring over, he spent a few minutes gazing elsewhere until one of his Aurors interrupted him. Only one thing had made his spirits rise slightly, and that was Tonks' return to the Ministry late Monday afternoon. She'd spent all weekend under the very watchful eye of several Healers at St. Mungo's, her father included, and had made a mostly full recovery. The only lasting side effect Sirius noticed was the slight limp his cousin now had, and the horrible wince she made every time she sat or stood. Due to his over-protectiveness, Sirius had set his cousin to desk duty until he was satisfied that she was better. She'd glared at him, but didn't seem any more annoyed about the new task she'd been given.

"Sirius, you've had an owl from Dumbledore," Tonks said, coming into his office slower than she would have a week ago. "Actually, I'm almost certain it was Fawkes who delivered it—nearly set my desk on fire when it appeared..."

Sirius reluctantly gave her a small smile. "Let's see it, then." He took the scroll from her. "Close the door, have a seat..."

While she did as he asked, he tapped the scroll with his wand, releasing the seal. Unrolling it, he began to read, finding he wasn't as surprised to read the words on the parchment as he thought he would. "Right," he said, letting the scroll roll back up again. "Tonks, I've changed my mind about this afternoon—you and I are making a trip down to the holding cells."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Dumbledore thinks it's time for Percy Weasley to be reunited with his family," he said simply.

The eyebrow rose even higher. "The Ministry approved this?"

"Bones has, and since she's the Minister, she's the only one who matters," Sirius said. "Come on, the sooner we get him out of the Ministry, the sooner Molly can bawl all over him, and the sooner I can get back to worrying about other things."

"What a heart you've got, Sirius Black," Tonks said derisively.

Sirius only shrugged. "You know I love the Weasleys, Nymphy, but Percy isn't one of my favorite people. Far from it actually," he said as they walked out of Auror Headquarters. "Now I think about it, d'you reckon Charlie would want to know about all this, so he can be there for Molly, I mean?"

Tonks looked wary. "I don't think any of the Weasley children should know about this right before seeing Percy. Tell them, then let them hit something, then let them see Percy again."

Sirius nodded silently, and continued to lead Tonks down the corridor to the holding cells. Once there, he ignored the other captives' jeers and demands for release, and walked to the end of the room. He cleared his throat loudly, startling Percy from where he faced the wall. "Time to go, Percy," he said, keeping his face indifferent.

Percy stared at him for long moments, and finally got up, shuffling towards to the cell door as Sirius opened it. Without any word of explanation Sirius grabbed Percy's arm and led him back to the interrogation room where Tonks waited with an Invisibility Cloak. Percy nodded stiffly at her as he wrapped himself in the cloak. Sirius kept him from closing the cloak. "This is your last warning, Percy," he said very quietly so that Percy had to strain his ears. "If you betray us again, if you betray your family again, I will not hesitate to take you out and make sure you don't come back. Is that understood?"

The redhead nodded, reaching up to push his glasses back up his nose. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

"Wait a second," Tonks said, moving forward before Percy could be covered in the cloak. "He needs a haircut, don't you think, Sirius?"

Sirius looked at her in exasperation.

"Do you really want Molly seeing him like this once he's free?"

The Head Auror stepped back, rolling his eyes, and leaned against the wall. "Hurry up, Tonks, I've got other things to do."

Tonks smiled, took out her wand, and moved forward. She pushed Percy down into a chair before moving behind him. Sirius had to admit, after the first three or four swipes Tonks made with her wand at Percy's hair, she wasn't half bad at that. By the time she'd finished, Percy looked almost like he had before his arrest, save his too-thin body, but Sirius had a feeling Molly wouldn't let that last longer than she had to.

"Are we done?" Sirius asked. Tonks nodded. "Thank you... Up you get, Percy. You look very handsome; your mother will be pleased. Percy, cloak. Tonks, wand away. We're going to Apparate—Percy, take my arm." He felt a cold hand grasp his arm tightly. Hoping this wasn't a mistake, he concentrated on the dingy streets of Grimmauld Place, and moments later, cold wind hit his face and he looked around at the snow-covered lawns.

They walked forward slowly, Percy still holding Sirius' arm—Sirius noticed he was shaking a bit. The Head Auror raised his wand and tapped the front door—it swung open and they entered the house.

"It seems you've done some remodeling, Sirius," Percy said stiffly and quietly.

Sirius cracked a small smile, but it faded almost immediately as he heard something shatter in the basement. Glancing at Tonks, all three of them moved quickly to the staircase and took the stairs, Sirius taking them two at a time while trying to keep his balance. There, they found Remus, Emmeline, and Molly staring wide-eyed at each other. The source of the shatter seemed to come from a goblet Molly had been cleaning.

"I can't believe it," Remus was whispering in a stunned whisper. "After all this... They just give up..."

"What's happened?" Sirius asked, his heart pounding.

No one seemed to have noticed the presence of the two Aurors until that moment. Percy was still hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. Wordlessly, Remus held out a piece of parchment with a look that begged Sirius to tell him it wasn't true. Nothing frightened Sirius more than to see his best friend nearing a breakdown. Mechanically, Sirius took it and held it so both he and Tonks could read it. It was in Dumbledore's handwriting.

'It is with deep regret that I inform you, in light of the recent events at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school governors have decided to temporarily shut Hogwarts down. On Wednesday, 22 February, all students will be taken to Hogsmeade train station along with their belongings. Parents are asked to arrive at Platform 9 ¾ at half past eight that evening to receive their children. Security will be tightened...'

Sirius couldn't read anymore. Glancing over, it seemed Tonks had stopped reading long before that. He stared at his friends. "This is a bloody joke, right?" he asked them automatically. They ignored him.

"How can they do this?" Molly asked, her eyes full of tears. "Do they really believe the children will be safer at home than at Hogwarts?"

"Well," Sirius said heavily. "There have been three deaths there now—Slughorn, Sinistra, McGonagall—and the attack on Hermione... What else can they do? I can't imagine many parents feel safe with their kids there, even with Dumbledore as Headmaster. We know better; our kids can take on anything..."

There was a tiny clearing of a throat, barely audible, beside Sirius that drew him back to the reason he'd come to Number Twelve in the first place.

"Er," he began hesitantly. "I also received a letter from Dumbledore today—he must have found out about the school afterwards... Anyway, Molly, you should sit."

Sirius regretted saying it like this immediately. Molly went ghostly pale and her eyes widened. Sirius rushed over to be sure she didn't fall over and helped her into a chair, all the while saying, "No, it's not what you think... Your children are okay... Though this does concern one of them." Remus snapped his head from Sirius to about a foot from where Tonks stood, as though expecting to see something there.

Quickly, Sirius explained the discussions between himself, Percy, and Dumbledore concerning Percy's release from the Auror holding cells, ending with the letter he'd received from Dumbledore only an hour or so ago. Molly remained silent, as though if she'd opened her mouth, all her hope would be lost.

"Okay," Sirius said to the blank spot where he last knew Percy to be standing.

Everything that happened next occurred within a two second span: Percy took off the Cloak, Molly squealed and rushed at him, knocking Tonks out of the way, while seemingly trying to squeeze all the life out of her third eldest son. Remus still hadn't looked away from Sirius, and Emmeline seemed oblivious to everything, choosing to stare instead into the fire.

"What?" Sirius asked in a low voice, sitting beside his best friend.

Remus only shrugged and turned back to the scroll announcing the closing of Hogwarts. "We'll have to arrange it so the Weasleys have their own level again—I don't imagine Molly will want to go back to the Burrow in the near future. And we'll have four teenagers here indefinitely, so the rooms will need to be cleaned..."

Sirius was certain Remus was saying all this just for the sake of talking. The werewolf was now looking over at Emmeline, like he'd just realized she was in the room. Sighing, Sirius stood and made his way back over to Tonks who was staring at a spot on the floor looking pensive. "Take the rest of the night off," he said quietly. "Go break the news to Charlie about Percy, get some rest... Make sure you're back here in the morning—I'd like us all to go out to Hogwarts together."

Tonks nodded, glanced around at everyone else again, smiled a little at the look on Percy's face as Molly cried on him, and left.

The next morning, while the students readied themselves for Professor McGonagall's funeral—Harry still shuddered at the thought—there was only one thing being discussed: the closing of Hogwarts. An extremely grave Dumbledore had made the announcement at breakfast that morning. The silence that followed was horrible. It was as though a hundred dementors had filled the Great Hall. Through his shock, however, Harry glanced at the staff table and wondered whether they'd been let in on the news beforehand. Judging by the way Sprout's fork had fallen to her plate and Hagrid had let out a sound that resembled a combination growl and disbelieving moan, he didn't think so. Even Snape seemed shocked at the news; he'd stared at Dumbledore with a look that would have been comical under any other circumstances, and muttered wordlessly to himself for long minutes afterwards.

Nobody could believe it. The students left the Great Hall, looking around at the castle like they were all first years who had only just entered its doors for the first time. It was surreal, almost dreamlike, the way everyone looked at each other, hoping it wasn't really true.

Harry half-expected Hermione to complain about how near they'd been to finishing their Hogwarts career, but she'd been stunned into silence, just as the rest of them had been. The House of Gryffindor entered their tower in grave, heavy silence. Girls and boys split off wordlessly and headed up to their dormitories for what they knew might be the final time.

Up in his dorm room, Harry pulled his black dress robes over his head and turned to the mirror, finding his complexion paler than usual. He mindlessly attempted to flatten his hair to no avail.

"Doesn't seem right, does it?" Seamus' voice said quietly. Harry started and turned to his dorm mate. "I mean, after all the mad stuff that's happened round here in the last seven years, and they only now decide to shut us down."

"It's almost like they've given up hope," Ron said hollowly, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at his feet. "Like what the Prophet was saying about Dumbledore a few years ago, that he's senile and losing his touch."

"It's not true," Neville said firmly through slightly red eyes. "Dumbledore's as strong as he ever was. Anyone who sees him ought to know that."

Dean sighed as he pulled on his boots. "But that's the thing, isn't it? None of them see Dumbledore everyday like we do. All they see is the bad stuff that happens around here." He shrugged. "What can we do?"

Harry didn't say anything, not even the one thing that had been on his mind since breakfast: closing down Hogwarts was like surrendering to Voldemort. The last truly safe place in the wizarding world was gone, and now Voldemort was probably feeling invincible. Of course, everyone was right, Harry knew deep down. After everything that had happened at Hogwarts, who could expect parents to keep their children enrolled there, or the school governors to allow anything worse to happen?

He thought back to his first ever visit to Hogwarts, back when he was five and was just learning about the magical world from his new guardians. He remembered how huge the castle had looked back then, how incredible it was. He'd wanted to see everything there was to see, know all its secrets. A feeling had overcome him then that he hadn't recognized at that young age, but he now realized it to be power, strength, and belonging.

Now it's over... he thought miserably. Somewhere deep down, he expected that once Voldemort was gone, they could return to Hogwarts, but that thought dissolved at the thought of when that might be. Harry had always envisioned himself defeating Voldemort on Hogwarts grounds, maybe by the lake. It was the only place Harry could think of where he might have enough strength to defeat the Dark Lord.

"Harry," said a quiet voice Harry eventually recognized as Ginny. He looked up at her, only now realizing he'd moved to his bed. He hadn't noticed when his dorm mates had left, only that they weren't in the room any longer. "We're supposed to meet down in the common room, Naomi's waiting for us."

Nodding numbly, Harry stood and followed his fiancée out of the dormitory and down the staircase where he indeed found every Gryffindor there. Naomi was standing at the portrait hole. She tried to smile at Harry, but it came out as a painful sort of grimace. "Now that everybody's here," Naomi said quietly, "I'm to lead you to the grounds. Please stick with your housemates until the end of the ceremony, then we're to proceed to the Great Hall. Prefects from fifth year, please stand with the first years... Sixth year prefects, the second years; seventh years, the third and fourth years; and Harry and Hermione, I'd like you up front with me, please."

Harry met Hermione halfway to Naomi and glanced at her, finding her face mostly hidden in her bushy hair. Naomi gave the common room one last glance, looking as though she too was about to cry, but at the last moment, she turned and led the way out of the portrait hole. Harry and Hermione walked on either side of Naomi as they led the Gryffindors down the corridors and steps. Harry wanted to speak with her—he hadn't had a chance all weekend—but couldn't find any words to express what he wanted to say.

"I know you want to, Harry, but you can't sit with Sirius and Remus—Dumbledore's asked that all the students stay together," Naomi said very quietly so only he could hear. "But you can see them afterwards; they'll be in the Great Hall."

Harry nodded silently as they reached the entrance hall where they nearly collided with Snape and the Slytherins. Far from sneering at Harry, the potions master nodded curtly at Naomi and stopped his students, allowing the Gryffindors to pass first. Raising an eyebrow at this behavior, Harry glanced at Naomi who obviously didn't see anything strange with Snape's actions.

"Gryffindor is to be seated up front," Naomi said out of the corner of her mouth as they stepped into the cold, sunny day. "Since it was Minerva's house, and everything." For the first time since Harry had heard her speak, Naomi's voice cracked.

Harry reached out a hand and took Naomi's, briefly squeezing it. She looked at him and smiled slightly. Thanks, she mouthed. When they caught a glimpse of the grounds, Hermione gasped. Hundreds of white chairs had been placed in the grass, all facing the lake. There was an aisle separating the chairs with a red carpet. Most of the chairs were empty, save the second row. Harry immediately recognized the fiery red hair of the Weasleys, and beside them Sirius, Emmeline, and Remus. As strong as the inclination to go to his guardians was at that very moment, to have them comfort him, he continued to lead the rest of the Gryffindors to the front.

Feeling eyes on him as the students seated themselves, Harry turned and found Remus watching him. Harry raised his hand feebly in a wave and Remus nodded back with another lame attempt at a smile before turning his attention on Alex. Harry realized with a jolt that the twins and Mira were there as well, and wondered why. Then he remembered there was no one to take care of them—Molly was on Sirius' other side. Harry sat down at the end of the row, Naomi going to sit with Sirius between him and Remus, taking Mira from her husband.

There was a buzz of conversation and Harry turned in his chair to find people were filing into the grounds and taking seats. A lot of the people Harry had seen before on his trips to the Ministry with Sirius were there. They were heads of departments, various witches and wizards from different departments, and of course, the Minister of Magic herself. A hand took hold of Harry's and squeezed. He looked over and found Ginny, who'd also taken hold of her brother's hand, while he held Hermione close to him.

Something shined in Harry's eyes, nearly blinding him. He looked up and saw a shining deep crimson-colored casket had appeared. Looking around, he realized it hadn't been there all along—others were staring at it as well. Dumbledore walked down the aisle past the students with a grace Harry had scarcely seen from anyone let alone from someone his age. Dumbledore stood beside the casket, looking around somberly at all the attendees. And the ceremony began. For the most part, it seemed like a bunch of people who hardly knew McGonagall at all were invited to speak. Harry tried to pay attention, but after the fifth person got up and said what a lovely person McGonagall was, he started to ignore them. Finally, and to his enormous surprise, Sirius stood from his seat, taking Mira from Naomi and walked up front. Harry watched closely as his godfather looked from the casket to the sea of people in front of him.

"I was supposed to come up here like everyone before me and talk about Minerva McGonagall's kind nature," Sirius began slowly, adjusting his daughter. "But after listening to everyone else's kind words, I don't think that's what you all actually expect from me. Anyone who went to school with me or saw me interact with Professor McGonagall at any time can tell you that she was tough. My friends and I did our best to cause trouble in school, and better than fifty-percent of the time, McGonagall caught us." Sirius smiled a little. "Our usual punishments were detention or points from each of us. But we could always tell, deep down, McGonagall loved our little pranks.

"I'm certain you all know my history, and there isn't any real need to get into it, so I'll skip all that. Regardless of what I've been through, there were always a few people who stood by me. My family, of course, Albus Dumbledore—and Minerva McGonagall. She was one of the first people I saw after my release from Azkaban." He glanced over at Remus who seemed to know exactly where he was going with this story—he was grinning through red eyes. "When she first saw me, her reaction was the same as all of yours—shock, horror... But then she did something that was rather out of character for her—she gave me a hug, like a mother gives her son. The only other two people who witnessed this never would have told any of you this, had she been around—the look on her face afterwards promised certain pain if it was blabbed."

Sirius sighed heavily and looked down at Mira. "There is a reason for what I'm telling you. Anyone who was taught by Minerva McGonagall knows how great a teacher she was. She was fiercely protective of her students, loyal to Hogwarts, and of course, its Headmaster." Sirius paused and inclined his head respectively to Dumbledore. "And I'm certain you've all waited for the day that your children would go to Hogwarts, and wait in that cold, stone tunnel that first night with Hagrid, and have the door opened by this stern witch whose eyes told you she wasn't someone to cross. I wanted my daughter to be taught by the best. And Minerva McGonagall was the best. Unfortunately, I will not get my wish. The students sitting before me were the last she would ever share her knowledge with, and I find it quite unfair that future Hogwarts students will not get that privilege."

Harry frowned slightly at the sudden anger that filled his godfather's eyes. "I notice there are several school governors here today. I know I am not alone when I say how horribly wrong I think it was for you to decide to close Hogwarts. I also know that if Minerva were here today, she would have fought your decision. She knew how safe students are here. Yes, some very unfortunate things have happened here in the past, but parents weren't pulling their students out of classes then. We're all in danger, and I know you're all very aware of that. But your children would have been safe.

"I, like many of you, will arrive at King's Cross Station tomorrow evening to pick my godson, while you are all picking up your children. But while you're waiting for the train to arrive at Platform 9 ¾, ask yourselves how you would have felt, had you still been in school and this was happening. Then on your trip home, ask your children how they feel about leaving school nearly four months early. There is a class of seventh years sitting here who won't get the chance to sit their N.E.W.T.s. I'm certain you school governors have plans for this, but how fair is it for those seventh years to not get the chances we had? I don't think any of you realize how important it is for our children to feel normal in these times. How normal are they going to feel when you get them home tomorrow night and you don't let them out of your homes? Look, I'm not here to tell you how to do your jobs; I'm just a concerned parent speaking to other parents about our children's futures. And I think you should have considered how our kids felt before making your decision." Sirius gave them all a bitter smile. "Too late for that, I suppose."

Harry, like everyone else there, sat in stunned silence as Sirius walked back to the second row and resumed his seat. While he watched, unsure if it was smart of Sirius to have made the speech when he had, Remus patted Sirius on the back and muttered something that sounded like, "I couldn't have said it better myself." Mutters in the back broke out and Harry was certain it was among the school governors his godfather had just been lecturing. Harry hadn't felt prouder of Sirius than he did right then, and he was positive that when Dumbledore stood, he winked at Sirius.

Two other wizards stood with Dumbledore on either side of McGonagall's casket, and after a very complicated incantation that they muttered in unison, the casket disappeared with a pop, signaling the end of the ceremony.

"I can't believe you actually said that!" Naomi breathed to her husband as they walked back to the castle, grinning. "What made you do it?"

"You were brilliant," Emmeline said, grinning proudly. "No one else had the gall to say that."

Sirius only shrugged.

"Minerva would have been quite proud," said a quiet voice behind them. They stopped and turned to face Dumbledore smiling at them. "That was quite a speech, Sirius."

"Thank you, sir," Sirius muttered. He didn't seem nearly as pleased with the speech as the rest of them.

Remus sighed and fell back with Dumbledore as Sirius sped up his pace. "He's still in shock," Remus explained to Dumbledore in a whisper.

"As are we all," Dumbledore replied. "But I must say, I do not know many who could lecture several members of the Ministry and the school governors without any repercussions. I did not lie when I said Minerva would have been proud of him."

Remus smiled a little. "I know. I'm proud of him as well. So how are you fairing with all this?" he asked as they continued to the school.

"Oh, I am managing," Dumbledore replied.

Remus looked at him skeptically. "I don't know how you do it, sir," he said in awe. "To lose your Deputy Headmistress and close friend, then your school."

Dumbledore sighed. "It is a very sad day for our world, Remus," he said quietly, gazing around the grounds. "I always told you that Hogwarts was one of the things that kept our hopes high. Now the governors have taken that from us, I wonder how we will succeed in this war."

"Don't say that, Albus," Remus said. "You know as well as I do we will succeed—"

"Do you indeed know that, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, looking at him over his half-moon spectacles. "Do you know that for certain?"

Remus looked at him defiantly. "Yes, sir, I do."

Dumbledore smiled. "Then I have taught you well," he said with an incline of his head. "Come, the house-elves have requested to serve a feast of Minerva's favorite foods, and she had impeccable taste."

Remus chuckled and followed him in the school. When they entered the Great Hall, Remus found his family gathered at the end of the Gryffindor table with the Weasleys and Hermione. He ruffled Harry's hair a little and sat between him and Emmeline.

"Is anyone really hungry?" Ron asked, looking around at the food with a look of disgust on his face.

Nobody answered, but nobody touched their food, either.

"Remus," Harry said quietly, leaning over to his guardian. "When we're done here, do you think I could have a word with you and Sirius? It's important."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Harry. Is everything all right?"

Harry shook his head but said no more, turning back to Ginny instead.

Looking around the Great Hall, Remus was shocked to find how empty it was. He assumed a lot of parents had already taken their children home. Molly had expressed her desire to bring Ron and Ginny home before the school train left Hogsmeade tomorrow, but Remus, Sirius, and Emmeline had talked her out of it. Harry refused to leave before he absolutely had to, and they knew Ron and Ginny would be quite upset if they were forced to leave as well.

He'd had no idea what Sirius had planned for his eulogy. He'd supposed Sirius would talk about McGonagall busting the Marauders throughout their seven years, but there hadn't been any hint that he was going to stray the way he had. Sirius had been right, of course, in everything he'd said. The Hogwarts students did need to feel normal. From what Remus had seen when he'd visited the school in the past, none of the students felt unsafe within the castle walls. It was the same with them as it had been when Remus and his friends were in school—students still threw dungbombs at Mrs. Norris every chance they got, tried to skive off classes when they hadn't done their homework, caused food fights right under the teachers' noses, then got cleaning duty in the Great Hall as detention.

"I feel a little sick, I'm going for some fresh air," Sirius said when the desserts appeared.

He got up silently and left the hall. Remus glanced at Harry, nodded his head towards the door, and the two of them followed the Auror out onto the grounds towards the Whomping Willow. For a moment, it looked like Sirius was going to freeze the branches and head into the tunnel, but he instead stopped short of the branches that tried to attack him and dropped to the grass. Harry and Remus sat on either side of him.

None of them said anything for a long time, but stared at the fighting branches.

"This is such rubbish," Sirius said angrily, throwing a rock at the branches. They all ducked as a particularly thick branch swatted it back at them. "How could they close the school now? What do they think that's going to accomplish?"

"Hundreds of underage wizards sitting around for Death Eaters as targets," Harry suggested quietly. Sirius threw a look at him. "I don't think that! I'm just trying to think like an old senile school governor."

"You'll be able to take your N.E.W.T.s," Remus said to Harry. "They're being held at the Ministry instead—apparently they think that's safer."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but remained quiet.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Remus asked Harry. "What's bothering you?"

Harry hesitated and looked around them, checking to see if anyone was wondering around and listening. "Well, I was going to tell Dumbledore, but I didn't have a chance with everything going on..." Seeing he had his guardians' attention, Harry explained the vision he'd had the night McGonagall had been murdered. Naturally, they were very curious when Harry mentioned the spy Voldemort said he'd just recruited.

"You're sure he said it's someone in the Order?" Remus asked sharply.

Harry nodded. "Positive." Remus and Sirius exchanged dark, significant looks.

"Well, this will be something Dumbledore will want to here about, I'm certain," Remus said quietly, feeling unnerved. He decided to change the subject; Sirius' face was turning white in anger. "Do you have your things packed, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said grudgingly. "We didn't even get to finish the Quidditch season. How happy could that have made McGonagall?"

Sirius cracked a reluctant smile. "She would have loved to see you lot smash Slytherin one last time, wouldn't she? Even if it would be just to gloat in old Snivelly's face." He sighed and glanced at his watch. "We should get you back to the castle, kid, they'll be sending a search party any minute now. God forbid the Boy-Who-Lived sneaks away for a few minutes."

"You're telling me," Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes as he and his guardians clambered to their feet and set off towards the castle.

The next night, a Ministry car pulled up in Grimmauld Place and the door opened. Sirius stepped out, looking around the darkened neighborhood while he held open the door for the four miserable Gryffindors that exited the car. Remus got out last and walked to the back of the car. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione waited for them to unload the trunks, Hedwig, and Crookshanks and made their way up the front walkway as Number Twelve materialized in front of them. With a wave to the driver, Sirius watched the Ministry car speed off, then followed the rest to the door.

"You lot take your things upstairs, wash up, and come to the kitchen," Remus said when they entered the house. "Molly's making dinner."

"Right," Harry said flatly, leading the way up the stairs, past the empty space that had once held the portrait of Sirius' mother.

Sirius shrugged at Remus before making his way down the stairs into the very tense kitchen. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George had arrived before Sirius and Remus had gone to pick up the kids, and were still glaring daggers at Percy.

"How'd it go?" Emmeline asked when she spotted the two wizards.

They sat down in the empty chairs before answering. "Security was tighter than ever, naturally," Sirius said. "Seemed the entire Ministry was there. Only reason Remus and I got out of it was because we had to pick up Harry and the other kids."

"So," Fred said, still glaring at Percy. "Has anyone told Ron and Ginny about..." He nodded his head at his older brother, who was helping Molly with dinner.

"Er," Sirius said, looking at Remus. Remus shook his head, wide-eyed.

"This'll be fun," George said darkly.

"Dammit," Sirius said, dropping his head to the table. "I knew we forgot something..."

"It'll be fine," Remus said bracingly. "Bill, Charlie, I'll need your help holding Ron back."

Reluctantly, the two eldest Weasley boys agreed, and when they heard footsteps moving to the kitchen, they and Remus stood around the door, waiting to grab Ron when he dove for Percy. They wouldn't be disappointed.

Harry was the first down the stairs, and he stopped dead when he saw who was standing beside Molly. "Harry, what's the hold up, I'm starving." Ron moved around Harry. "Hey, Mum, Fred, George, Percy..." He went to the table and started to sit before his eyes narrowed and he slowly turned back around. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?" he bellowed. Remus and Bill held him back as he showed signs for wanting to go after Percy.

Charlie shrugged at the twins and took his seat again. "They've got control of it," he said dismissively.

"RONALD!" Molly shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Same thing I want to do," Fred muttered under his breath.

Finally, order had been restored as much as possible, everyone was settled, though Ginny had a look of utter disgust on her face. But that could have been from the maggots Fred conjured to crawl out of Percy's mashed potatoes.

"Welcome back, Perce," George said coldly after dinner before he and Fred retreated upstairs to get away from Molly's shouts.

Later that night, mostly to get away from Ron and Ginny's understandably bad moods, and because Hermione was still determined to study for N.E.W.T.s, Harry wandered through the halls of Number Twelve, looking for either one of his guardians. He finally succeeded in the library, where he found Remus relaxing in front of the fire with a book, apparently talking and laughing with himself. Upon further investigation, Harry found Remus was talking to the portrait of Harry's grandfather that had been rescued from Godric's Hollow by Dumbledore.

"Am I interrupting?" Harry asked.

"Harry, my boy!" Harold Potter called cheerily. "I wondered when you'd come by and see me again."

Harry grinned and sat beside Remus. "I would've made my way through here at some point."

"He looks more and more like James every time I see him," Harold said fondly to Remus.

Remus smiled. "Now you know how Sirius and I feel," he said, winking at Harry. "Mr. Potter and I were just discussing a prank your father and godfather decided to pull on your grandmother one summer when we were staying at their place."

"Rose never did get that stain off the wall," Harold recalled. "She covered it with a picture in the end."

"How are Ron and Ginny doing?" Remus asked quietly after an hour of talking to Harold, who had fallen asleep in the chair he was in.

Harry shrugged. "Ron's still trying to sneak out of the room to go beat Percy's head in," he said casually.

"Sirius had to put up a charm around Percy's room to keep Fred and George from attacking him during the night," Remus said, shaking his head. "I only hope this doesn't last too long. There is enough stress without everyone within the house fighting with one another."

Harry nodded in agreement, watching Remus closely. There'd been something he'd wanted to ask Remus when he'd explained his vision, but wasn't sure whether he should have brought it up in front of Sirius. "Remus," he said hesitantly. "There was another part of my vision that I didn't tell you and Sirius about." Remus looked away from his book curiously. "Voldemort was talking about the full moon and about how you... fought the other werewolves..."

Harry was starting to get used to seeing Remus' face blank when he was put on the spot, but Harry wished Remus would crack a smile and tell him Voldemort was lying.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to hear it from Voldemort rather than me," Remus said quietly. "You're old enough now that it would be an insult to your intelligence to not tell you the truth. Yes, I did fight the other werewolves last week, and I won."

"How?" Harry asked, impressed. Remus laughed at the look on his face. "You did it all on your own?"

"No, of course not," Remus said. "The female werewolves, ah, assisted me..."

Harry nodded slowly. "So are they all gone?"

"The males are," Remus said. "A good number of the females were killed during the battle, and the rest were taken to St. Mungo's. It wasn't the result I wanted, but in the end, there was no avoiding any of the deaths, unfortunately."

"And did you..." Harry couldn't finish the sentence, but the look on Remus' face told him he'd understood that the boy wondered if Remus had killed any of them himself.

"Yes," he said stiffly.

Harry nodded and quickly changed the subject. "D'you reckon Hogwarts will open again?"

"I'm certain it will," Remus said, his normal tone returning. "Regardless of how angry the closing has made us all, the security at the castle has been a concern for some time. Professor Dumbledore has no idea why none of the protections have remained in place, and it's worried him."

"But that only means Hogwarts is as safe as anywhere else, doesn't it?" Harry asked. "Maybe safer, with all the witches and wizards inside."

Remus smiled. "You forget, though, that most of the students in Hogwarts are children. Parents fear for their safety more than their own most of the time, and they prefer having their sons and daughters near them at all times. Even Molly considered bringing you lot home sooner than you did." Remus considered Harry for a moment. "Could I ask you something, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Of course..."

"Please don't mention what I'm about to ask you to Sirius—he's stressed enough as it is..." Remus sighed, hesitating. "Do you think yourself ready for a battle with Voldemort?"

Harry felt his eyes widen. He hadn't expected Remus to ask that question, he hadn't even thought it himself for months, but he somehow knew the answer. "Yes, I am," he said.

Remus nodded and looked away. "I thought you'd say that... Listen, you should get some rest. I doubt you've gotten much over the last few days, and Molly's planned on making sure you four are ready for your examinations, one way or another."

After a few moments, Harry got up, muttered good night, and left Remus in the library, making his way towards his own bedroom one landing below.

Naomi was finishing up her work at Hogwarts for that term, packing her things, grading papers, and just having a look around. She and the other professors were reluctant to leave the castle, unsure when they would see it again. But all Naomi had thought about was whether this would be how her teaching career was ended. Everyone knew about the curse on the Defense teaching position, though many thought it to be broken after the five years Remus and Mad-Eye were able to complete between the two of them. During her time as a Hogwarts student, there'd even been a rumor that the curse had been brought on by Lord Voldemort himself. Naomi didn't know if there was any real truth to that or not, but she wouldn't put it past the Dark Lord. Out of old habit, her right hand rubbed her bare left forearm as she finished packing away photos of Sirius and Mira, Remus, Emmeline, Harry, the twins, and all of them together.

After shrinking her last box, Naomi sighed, pulled on her cloak, and started to leave her office. Having already packed everything in her classroom and private quarters, she could finally head back to Number Twelve, have a hot cup of tea, and sit with her husband and daughter. Luckily, she wouldn't be completely out of a job; Molly had recruited her to help Harry, Hermione, and Ron for their N.E.W.T.s, and Ginny for her end-of-the-year exams. Then in June, she was to help with the exams at the Ministry.

Just not the same, she thought, remembering what Sirius said about Hogwarts' current students having a right to sit their exams just as past students had: in the Hogwarts Great Hall. But at least the seventh years will be able to get jobs in the fall once they've been declared qualified.

She walked down the dark corridors and reached the entrance hall where the other teachers were leaving, saying good bye to Dumbledore as they went.

"Remember, you are all welcome here at any time," the Headmaster said, accepting a tearful hug from Sprout, and adding, "There, there, Pomona, you will be back soon enough."

Naomi reached him and smiled. "I suppose everyone is a bit emotional this week," she said quietly.

"And very rightly so," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Naomi, I wonder if I could have a word with you. I will not hold you back long, I'd just like to run an idea by you."

Slightly bemused, Naomi nodded and followed Dumbledore down the corridor a ways and watched him look around the empty school sadly. Naomi had expected Peeves to be in the entranceway, waiting to say his own goodbyes to the professors, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Naturally, I will see you sooner than I will some of the other professors," Dumbledore began quietly. "But I wish to discuss this with you now, rather than at Number Twelve, where I am certain we will be interrupted and overheard from one of the house's many occupants. I would like you to return once Hogwarts reopens, Naomi. You've been quite successful in your position, almost as much so as Remus Lupin and Alastor Moody, only one of whom having previous teaching experience. When you return, we shall, of course, be lacking a head of Gryffindor House, which will need to be filled as quickly as possible. I would like you to consider accepting the position, in addition to your teaching duties."

Naomi's jaw dropped. "Me? You want me to head Gryffindor?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said. "I do not wish to give the position to the new Transfiguration professor I will also need to hire, and you fit the required qualifications."

"Meaning I was in Gryffindor when I was in school."

"Well, yes, along with your high interest in Gryffindor Quidditch, I think you will fit in with the other heads of house nicely. Will you accept?"

Naomi didn't need to think much on that. "Of course, sir, I'd be honored."

Dumbledore beamed. "Wonderful," he said. "Of course, I would need to ask you not to mention this to anyone until next term."

"Not a problem, Albus," she said quietly, grinning to herself. "I... Thank you..."

"Don't mention it," Dumbledore said briskly. "Now, I'm certain your family is awaiting your return, so I shall keep you no longer. As I said before, I will see you soon." He winked and Naomi smiled back. "Take care of yourself, Naomi."

"And you as well, Albus." With another smile, she turned from the headmaster and made her way out onto the grounds, trying not to think about when the next time she would see the castle would be.