Chapter 18: Resolution

Harry levitated Sirius' body to Dumbledore's office, still holding onto his godfather's hand as he did so. Adrienne kept by his side every step of the way, allowing her steps to fall neatly in line with his. Harry pretended not to notice. When they had pushed back the heavy door, Harry laid Sirius down on the floor and sat by his side.

Dumbledore entered the office from the back door and was surprised to find Harry and Adrienne. He didn't notice Sirius' body immediately.

"Mr. Potter. Ms. Harper," he said pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"

Harry didn't think it was strange that Dumbledore hadn't foreseen this chain of events. Under other circumstances, the thought would have occurred to him, but he could only dwell on one thing at this moment. He recounted to Dumbledore the events that had just passed. His voice never wavered from a monotone. When Harry reached the part about Sirius without emotion, the old mentor's eyes widened. He suddenly noticed the body on the floor at Harry's feet.

"You say Pettigrew took the bullet… pardon the expression—for Sirius?"

"Yes," said Harry, slightly irritated. He wanted to stop discussing the subject in its entirety and he couldn't understand why Dumbledore was being so insensitive as to pester him with these questions that made him relive it all again.

"Excuse me, Harry. Adrienne," Dumbledore added. "I need to take Sirius to the hospital wing immediately."

At this point, Harry lost his patience. "What do you mean?" he screamed. "He's already dead!"

"Harry, I realize you are traumatized, and this is the second time you have had to go through this. But please trust me when I say I need to take Sirius to the hospital wing now," Dumbledore said calmly. He waved his wand and Sirius rose into the air beside him. Harry could only stare.

After Dumbledore left the room, only Harry and Adrienne remained, sucking the life out of the oxygen around them. Adrienne cast darting glances to the boy at her side, but Harry only directed his angry glare to the floor. She wanted conversation; she needed to repair this damage and redeem herself. Consequently, out of necessity, she broke the silence.

"Harry, I—"

"Don't talk to me. Don't you say a word to me. Ever. Again," he growled.

"Harry, please… don't you ever wonder—"

"What it would be like if I had never met you?!" Harry roared. "Yes! Sirius would be alive. And I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble! Or all the pain or emotion or—" he cut himself off.

"No, I meant do you know—"

"Shut up!" said Harry viciously. "I don't wonder anything. I can't afford to! It hurts too much, damn it. I had Sirius ripped from me once and now you've done it again! You heartless monster. I don't ever want to see your face again. Leave me alone."

Though Harry didn't see it through his rage, Adrienne blinked away tears. One escaped.

"How did Sirius know where you were?" she whispered, her voice raspy. She stood up and left the office without making a sound.

Harry stroked the fingers of his unconscious godfather absentmindedly as he sat on the side of his bed. It had been two days since their return. In those two days, Harry had grieved while he studied for his N.E.W.T.S, grieved because he didn't fully believe what Dumbledore had said. To Harry, Sirius was gone. Again. Dumbledore's voice echoed in his ears.

"Sirius isn't dead, Harry," the aged man had said calmly.

Harry had only stared blankly back at him.

"Pettigrew died for him. True, Mr. Wormtail owed his life to you, but in a strange case of events here, he repaid his debt. Wouldn't you agree?"

Harry had said nothing.

"When Sirius received the spell, he took it for you," Dumbledore had continued. "Or so Miss Harper tells me. So you see, Harry, it is complicated. Sirius died to give you protection, but he was already protected himself."

Harry had tried to follow the vague and complex explanation. He doubted much, and wasn't sure if he could ever trust anyone or anything again.

"Now, it is true that Pettigrew didn't love Sirius as Sirius loved you, and that is why Sirius is… the way he is. But a debt repaid means a significant amount, Harry. Sirius isn't dead. He is in the hospital wing. I swear to you, he will remain under my care until this is resolved." Harry wondered if Dumbledore had ever made a grave promise such as this.

At this point, Harry snorted derisively. He hadn't meant for it to be more than mental, but apparently it had snuck out of his mouth.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head but continued anyway. "Sirius didn't love me. Oh, sure, before the accident we were closer than close. You know what," he added, a slightly angry interjection, "it wasn't an accident. Lestrange meant to hit him."

"But she also meant to kill him, and she did not. So it was an accident. Go on, Harry. You were saying…?"

"He doesn't love me now. Not the new Sirius. To him, I'm just a kid. A kid he doesn't know." Bitterness had seeped into Harry's voice.

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I will not argue with you because I cannot change your mind. All I will say is that Sirius loves you. He came to save you."

Harry still didn't believe, but at that moment he remembered what Adrienne had said earlier.

"How did Sirius know where you were?" her voice rang in his ears.

Now reflecting, the thought occurred to Harry again. How had Sirius known where to find him? Harry hadn't left a note and no one had seen them leave. The hospital wing had been empty, and even if it hadn't, no one knew where the Portkey led. No one knew where Harry was; that was the beauty of Voldemort's plan, Harry realized with a nauseating feeling in his stomach. No one had known… except Adrienne, who took him.

While half of him boiled in anger at this thought, the other half tried to examine this idea. Harry found it difficult to process without the anger seeping in and destroying his thought processes.

He wheeled the nearest hospital bed close to Sirius and fell asleep in it, still holding onto his godfather's finger like a needy child.

N.E.W.T.s were over. Harry had studied as hard as he possibly could for the last week, but with Sirius looming over his thoughts like a dark cloud, it was difficult. He had given up on trying and decided if he didn't know by now, he was never going to. As he sat at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, he only hoped it had paid off. Now his N.E.W.T.s were the only thing he could think about. He wished this feeling had occurred to him sooner. His head buzzed with regret and anxiety.

Dumbledore stood up at the front of the hall and clapped his hands together. "Welcome, everyone, the ending of yet another year. Tomorrow the seventh years will graduate, and Hogwarts will be closed for another summer. A few announcements: Mr. Filch would like you all to know that you have forced him and Mrs. Norris to retire. I'm sure he thanks you for all the memories he has from this castle. And there is one more announcement…"

Harry suspected next Dumbledore would announce the capture of the Dark Lord. He waited patiently.

"It has come to my attention to tell you about something you have the right to know, as does the rest of the Wizarding world. It concerns the man you know as the convict Sirius Black."

Harry dropped his fork and there was a sharp intake of breath from the audience.

"You have all thought of him as Voldemort's—" the audience gasped again—"right-hand man and a murderer. This is not true. Sirius Black is innocent, and he is alive. He lost his memory two years ago, but is here with us today, a free man. Black was also in a coma because of a recent ordeal he was put through, but—" Dumbledore looked right at Harry when he said this, and when he smiled his eyes twinkled, "but… he is awake now. Let's all have a moment of silence out of respect for Sirius Black."

Harry jumped up and his plate crashed to the floor as he did. The entire Great Hall turned to stare at him. Harry hardly felt the sea of eyes on him as he turned and ran for the large double doors. Hermione got up, neatly laid her napkin beside her plate and followed him. Ron decided to stay. He was hungry.

Harry rushed into the hospital wing, but it was empty. He didn't notice Hermione was following him, so naturally he did not notice when her footsteps ceased behind him. He turned and ran to the Room of Requirement, where he found Sirius and Hermione.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione greeted him. "I just wanted to talk to Sirius for a moment and welcome him back… I'll just leave you two alone." She smiled at Sirius and left, closing the door behind her.

Harry was silent, as was Sirius. Neither knew how to start the conversation.

"Welcome back, Sirius," Harry said.

"Thanks." There was another silence. "You know, I…" Sirius lost his initiative and trailed off.

"Thank you for coming." Harry stopped. "I know that sounds wrong, but I mean it. You saved my life. And I was all alone, and then you came and I…" Harry began to trail off as well as tears pricked his eyes.

Sirius understood immediately and approached his godson. He wrapped his arms around the teenage boy. "It's okay," he soothed as Harry cried for the first time in a very long time.

"I thought you were dead again," Harry wailed. "I thought I was going to die. It was all so hopeless." He began to dry his tears, embarrassed at having cried in Sirius' arms. "Sirius, how did you know where to find me?"

"How do you think?" Sirius asked. He said no more on the subject. "Is Adrienne… here?"

"Back at Hogwarts, you mean?" Harry asked. "Yes. Oh, Sirius!" He began to relay all of the events that had taken place while Sirius was unconscious, including the defeat of Voldemort and Harry's plan to ultimately defeat him. At the end of his narration, Harry asked, "Sirius? Can I… live with you? I mean here, of course, but also after I graduate."

He was not surprised when the answer was a resounding yes.

Harry had graduated approximately an hour ago, as had Hermione, Ron, and Adrienne. He told his friends he would be packing in his room, but this was only half true. He sat on his bed, his suitcase next to him containing only a book and a robe. He didn't have the heart to pack, or to leave. He would never come back to Hogwarts as a student. He wanted to go flying around the grounds for the last time, to eat in the Great Hall, to relive seven years of memories he knew he could never experience again. A sadness came over him—a dull, solemn sadness.

There was a knock at the door. Sirius opened it from the other side. "Harry?" he asked. "I thought I'd find you here. Is everything okay?"

Harry nodded.

"I just wanted to tell you… well, I don't get sentimental often, as you probably know," Sirius continued. "But you seem so downtrodden lately, even though you're supposed to be happy. I'm alive, Harry, and you're going to live with me. You've graduated, finished your N.E.W.T.s and you have your two best friends. Doesn't this make you happy?"

Harry nodded, but Sirius could see right through the façade.

"Harry, you probably won't believe this, but I've been watching you lately. I mean really noticing your behavior and your tendencies. Do you know why I watch you so closely, Harry? Don't you know why I came to save you… again, I'm told?"

Harry shook his head. He didn't dare hope about what was to come.

"Harry, you're my godson. I was best friends with your parents and I was obligated to bond with and take care of you. Before the accident, I spent time with you and I sent you birthday presents when I could and we were close, Harry. But I knew you before you were born. Who could have known how we would have felt if we didn't have some prior connection?

"But now we do know, Harry. That's the beauty of it. I had to get to know you all over again, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. This year has been the best year of my life, and I'm not saying that because I can't remember anything else. I love you, Harry."

Harry had known this was coming, and at the same time he had not dared hope that Sirius was going to choose the action that he did. "I… love you, too, Sirius," he croaked. "You know that."

"Okay, enough of the sentimental scene," Sirius said, shaking his head. Harry let out a laugh so full of joy he never knew he possessed. This was the Sirius he knew, the old Sirius that had resurfaced again. "There's someone here to see you, Harry. I mean besides me."

"Who?" Harry asked curiously, expecting Ron or Hermione. When the door opened again, it revealed Adrienne. "No," Harry said, edging away from the open door. "No! Get out! You're not welcome here."

"Yes, she is," Sirius said calmly. "I let her in."

"You what?" Harry turned incredulously to Sirius. "She got you almost killed again! She almost got me killed and she's been playing me this whole time! She turned me in to Voldemort! And you just let her in?!"

"Harry, she has something she wants to say to you," Sirius said.

"Well, I don't want to hear it. Get out," he snapped at Adrienne.

"Harry, please," she pleaded. "Hear me out. Just once. I have to tell you this. I promise if you listen I'll never bother you again. I just need you to know."

Defeated, Harry relented with a grunt. Adrienne took a step forward and Sirius exited, closing the door behind him.

"What do you want?" Harry asked gruffly.

"Harry, please hear me out. I know you must hate me and I know you probably won't listen to me. If I were you, I wouldn't listen to me either. But please, Harry, I need to tell you.

"I was sent here by my… him for the purpose of befriending you, gaining your trust, and then bringing you to him. You know that. And I didn't know you at the time, nor did I have a choice. I couldn't say no to him; where would that get me? So I came. Fath—he put me under the Imperius Curse and controlled me. It was like he was in my body, looking out through my eyes, every time I was with you."

Harry winced at this part, but Adrienne was too absorbed in her narration to notice. She continued, "But I started to break away from him. It's easier with the distance and the freedom of being so far away… and I started to really get to know you. Please, Harry, you have to believe me when I said I meant every word. I really care about you, and I did then too."

Harry snorted.

"I mean it. And it wasn't a picnic for me, either, Harry, because the whole time I felt myself f—I mean, liking you, I knew that I had to do what I had to do in the end, and I didn't want to."

"You didn't have to, Adrienne!" Harry said. "You had a choice; you always have a choice! And you didn't seem so sorry or remorseful when we were in my parents' house, did you? Smug is more like it. Smug and evil."

Adrienne's hurt face exposed her true feelings. "I… that was after. I couldn't fathom betraying you or turning you in, Harry. I just couldn't. I think I know why and how you got those notes that I don't remember sending. See…" she licked her lips, trying to find the words. "I think… well, I've had a lot of time to think about this, and I think that… every morning, for my entire life, from one-thirty to two o'clock a.m., I was free. He let me free while he took care of other business. This way, see, he had complete control over me. By allowing me some freedom, I couldn't run away. So as I started… caring about you, it became harder and harder for him to take over my body. Right before I relinquished my body every morning, I go into a kind of… fit. I don't really remember what happens; I'm practically unconscious. And I sent you those notes in that phase when I'm… the most myself. I don't know if I explained it correctly, but that's the best I can do. I tried to save you, but it was hard. I know those hints weren't enough, Harry, and if I could do this all over again I would have come straight out and told you. But it's okay; we didn't lose, Harry, We won."

Harry was silent for a few moments while he mulled over her confessions. "You really didn't mean to?"

"Damn it, Harry; it was killing me! I couldn't turn you in; I just couldn't, not after what we'd been through and what you'd done for me. But I couldn't defy him either, Harry. You have to understand. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell you what to do; I just meant… please. I really do care about you and now that I'm free from him… I just thought that, well, maybe we could be… friends," she choked the word out, "again."

"Why did Voldemort send me those notes? Or was it you?"

"It was my hand," Adrienne replied. "But I have no memory of it. He sent them. I've been trying to figure out why myself, but I don't know. I can only suppose that it was to throw you off; to make you uneasy when you faced him."

"I think being there with the girl who betrayed me would have done that enough." Harry's voice cut like a razor blade. Adrienne didn't reply, only bit her lip—she agreed with him.

Harry didn't say anything for a few full minutes. He asked softly, "How did Sirius know where to find me, Addy?" His voice stumbled over every word.

She raised her eyes to meet his. He didn't recoil. She didn't withdraw, either. "I told him. I found him before we left, before I… took you, and I told him everything."

"So you could tell him everything, but you couldn't let me in on the little plan, could you?" Harry knew his venomous response was uncalled for, but he didn't care.

"I'm sorry! I wish I had told you, but I can never be sure when it comes to… him. Harry," she said in a voice that could only be beginning another story, "there's something else I have to tell you. You might not like it, but it's the truth." Harry waited patiently for what he supposed would be another hurtful and wound-creating admission. "That night, two years ago, when Sirius was… almost killed, h—Voldemort brought Sirius back to… your parents' house." She gulped, trying to swallow the painful lump in her throat. "He wanted me to kill him, but I couldn't, and Sirius escaped. But before that… I had talked to Sirius when my… Voldemort and the Death Eaters weren't around. I mean, really talked to him. He didn't know me then, and I guess he didn't have reason to suspect me. On top of that, I think I reminded him of… my mother. Now that I know that, it might be why he talked to me. Anyway, I talked to him like I had never spoken in my life. He comforted me, Harry, and he was like a father and a friend. Really. I'm sorry it hurts you to hear that, but I'm close to Sirius, too. After that, we spent time together for a few days until he escaped. I love Sirius, too, Harry, and I want him to recover." Her eyes were brimming with tears. She wiped them away hastily and tried to laugh lightly. "Did you know you're the only person who's ever made me cry since I was three? I was punished for crying, so I never cried after that… until I met you."

Harry didn't appreciate that she was trying to turn things on him and make him sound like the villain. He didn't expect what came next. "Thank you, Harry," she said. "For everything. Even if you don't forgive me, I just want you to know… I do love you, Harry, and that won't ever change. Sirius is like a father to me. I just… I'll leave you alone now. I can see what you think of me, and I don't blame you. I want you to see this, though." She handed him a drawing book that looked sickeningly familiar to Harry. "I don't care if I get it back or not. As far as I'm concerned… well, I just want you to see it."

She looked up at him through teary eyes. "Goodbye, Harry." She turned around.

"Bye," Harry said gruffly. He opened the book to a sketch of himself. She had captured him so well, he thought distantly. Every jut of his face, every shadow and line and crevice was in this sketch. It was like looking in a mirror. But, he noticed as he took a closer look, it was darker. Not in color, but in mood. His stature, his expression—they were all sinister, brooding and dark. He turned the page and it shocked him—it was himself again, looking back at him, but this sketch sharply contrasted with the previous one. It was optimistic and lighthearted—and then he realized where he was sitting in the drawing. He was in Hogsmeade, with the outline of the café behind him, and this must have been from their date. This must have been how Adrienne saw him that night. She had captured two sides of him that he now knew he had. She couldn't portray them both in one sketch, and she shouldn't be able to. He was a human; this drawing was not. But now he knew.

He flipped through the rest of the sketchbook rapidly, finding mostly landscape drawings—the lake, the castle. He stumbled upon one of Sirius. Now he knew.

He bolted out of his room and out of the Room of Requirement. Adrienne was walking slowly down the hall ahead of him. "Adrienne!" he called out. She turned around, surprised. When he grinned at her, she smiled back. They met halfway.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen," Harry said. "But I'm listening now."

"Let's not apologize anymore," Adrienne pleaded. Harry agreed.

"Friends?" he asked.

"Friends." She hesitated, and then hugged him. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered into his hair.

When they pulled apart, she asked, "Do you want to go flying or something?"

He almost accepted, but then he remembered something. "Some other time," he promised. "I just remembered something I have to do." Adrienne nodded understandingly, and he turned around and ran back to his and Sirius' apartment. He couldn't get there fast enough.

"Wanna go flying?" Harry asked breathlessly. Sirius smiled and nodded.

As they flew above the Hogwarts grounds through the warming summer air, Harry remembered his wish to relive his memories and hold onto them. With the wind whipping through his hair and Sirius whooping behind him, reminding Harry of the boys they both were, he realized something. Maybe it wasn't all about helping Sirius recover his memories.

Maybe it was about making new ones.

A/N: DONE! And I wrote this whole chapter in one day—the day before school starts. That's right. So I did get the story finished before school started and I'm very proud of myself. I hope you don't think it's too bad an ending… I decided not to kill Adrienne off. J

Oh, and this is my last story. Now that it's over… you won't be reading any more of me until (perhaps) my book is published.

Reviews, please.

IamSiriusgrl—Thanks for your constant support. A little more feedback, please, since this is the last installment?