Chapter 7

Harry got to his feet and walked towards the door in a daze. His legs moved forwards automatically but his brain felt disengaged, he was still trying to process what had just happened. He was expelled…he was never going back to Hogwarts. It seemed like some sort of nightmare, but he knew he wasn't going to wake up from it. Stepping out of the door, Harry almost collided with Arthur who was standing right outside looking anxious.

"Harry! What happened?" He asked fretfully. Harry tried to answer but he couldn't seem to talk. The look on his face seemed to say it all, however.

"Oh no…they didn't…" Arthur breathed, a pained expression on his face. Just then, the courtroom door banged open and the Wizengamot filed past them, followed by Umbridge, Bones, Percy, and finally the Minister himself with a smug smile on his face. That confirmed Arthur's theory for him and he hesitantly put an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Look, let's get you back to Grimmauld Place shall we. It…it's going to be okay," he said awkwardly. Harry nodded numbly and followed him towards the stairs. He was on autopilot all the way home, occasionally nodding or shaking his head in response to Arthur's worried questions, but mostly just staring out of the window. He finally started to wake up a bit when he saw Number Twelve up ahead, and he steeled himself for the fact that everyone's pity was going to make him feel a hell of a lot worse.

They walked through the door and into the kitchen where they knew everyone would be waiting for the verdict. Harry clenched his fists reflexively, feeling tense. Walking into the room he saw every face suddenly turn and look questioningly at him. Arthur opened his mouth to tell them the news but Harry beat him to it, suddenly finding his voice again.

"Expelled." He said bluntly, his voice sounding hoarse from how dry his throat had become. He sat down in a chair and looked at the floor, not wanting to see everyone's shocked faces staring back at him. He couldn't block out the sound of everyone's gasps of surprise, however.

He heard mutters of astonishment and anger rippling around the table, and he thought he could hear the muffled sobs of Hermione. His heart sank even further as the realisation set in that he was going to be apart from his friends for the rest of the year, that they'd be learning new magic, playing Quidditch, and having fun without him. Maybe they'd grow closer without him there, forget about him altogether. These unwanted thoughts ran around his brain, despite how ridiculous they sounded. Deep in his thoughts as he was, it surprised him when he felt an arm around his shoulders and heard a whispered voice in his ear.

"Come on Harry, let's get you away from everyone for a moment," he heard the comforting voice of Sirius in his ear and a firm hand pulling him out of the kitchen. Harry didn't resist, he looked up at Sirius and saw that he was looking at him with a concerned expression. If only to stop Sirius looking so sad, Harry summoned up a small smile. He looked around and realised that Sirius had brought him upstairs to Harry's bedroom, no doubt because he wanted him to feel comfortable and at least somewhat at home.

The two of them sat down on the bed and Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders. Feeling comforted by the familiar presence of his godfather, Harry cuddled closer to him, putting his own arm around Sirius' waist and resting his head on his chest. For a while they just stayed there, Harry listening to the soothing rhythm of Sirius' heart, and Sirius gently stroking his hand through Harry's hair.

"Do you want to talk about it, Harry?" Sirius whispered after a while. Harry started, he had almost starting dozing off in Sirius' arms. He stayed silent for a moment, trying to work out how to put his feelings into words, but after a while he gave up and just starting talking.

"I just feel so…shocked. I mean, I pretty much knew this was going to happen but it's taking a while to get used to it. I'm never going back to Hogwarts…" his voice broke during that sentence and he took a moment to compose himself. "It's a strange feeling, knowing that I'm never going to be back in that castle again," he said wistfully.

Sirius looked down at him and their eyes met, emerald green meeting silvery grey. The intensity of Sirius' stare dazed him, and he blushed as his stomach have a little flip that he felt was not an entirely appropriate feeling to have when gazing into his godfather's eyes. He was suddenly aware of their close proximity and the fact that he was essentially snuggling with Sirius, and he blushed even more. He pulled himself out of the hug, answering Sirius's questioning look with a hasty excuse.

"Er, I need to talk to Ron and Hermione about…you know, everything. Thanks for staying with me," He said awkwardly, not meeting his godfather's eyes. Sirius' expression cleared and he gave Harry a quick smile.

"Hey, no worries Harry, I understand." He loped out of the door past Harry and headed upstairs, presumably to his own bedroom or to visit Buckbeak in his mother's old room.

Harry walked slowly down the stairs towards the kitchen where he knew Ron and Hermione must still be sitting with everyone else. He sighed as he realised he now had yet another confusing aspect of his life to work out. What on earth was he doing, having these feelings for his godfather? It seemed that literally everything in his life that had the potential to be complicated was taking the opportunity to be complicated. Harry decided that for now he'd have to put this confusing new revelation to the back of his mind because he had more important things to worry about.

Harry poked his head into the kitchen and saw everyone sitting around the table having an uneasy and stilted conversation. They all looked anxious and upset, and Hermione had clearly been crying. He cleared his throat quietly and when everyone turned to look at him, he beckoned his two best friends from the room and walked back upstairs to his bedroom. They followed without a second thought.

Harry plonked onto his bed and looked at Ron and Hermione, silently inviting them to talk. Hermione took one look at him and flung her arms around him, beginning to sob into his shoulder. Harry sighed and awkwardly hugged her back, gently prising her off when she didn't show any sign of letting go. She looked at him, distraught, and then hid her face behind a handkerchief. Assuming that she wouldn't be capable of speech for a while, Harry turned to Ron instead, who gave Harry a bemused and thoroughly disgruntled look.

"Mate…who'd have thought they'd actually do it…" Ron said quietly, sitting down on Harry's bed and absentmindedly patting Hermione on the shoulder. She emerged from the handkerchief and wiped her streaming eyes on it, sniffing and hiccupping as she tried to compose herself.

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered.

"H-Harry," Hermione whispered. "They can't do this, they can't, Hogwarts won't feel right without you there!"

It pained Harry to see how upset Hermione was about him not coming back. He knew Ron was probably upset too, but he understood that it was a lot more difficult for him to show his emotions on the outside. Nevertheless, Ron did look distinctly more subdued than normal.

"I guess we'll just have to get used to it," Harry said speculatively. "Although I don't know who you're going to find to play seeker now," he managed a faint grin at Ron who laughed lightly and then looked genuinely depressed.

"Oh god, we're going to lose the Quidditch Cup aren't we?" Ron moaned, hiding his head in his hands. At this point, Hermione finally managed to speak properly, due to her extreme indignation.

"Ron! How can you talk about Quidditch at a time like this?" She asked, scandalised. Harry met Ron's eyes and grinned, they had an unspoken agreement that Hermione just didn't understand how important Quidditch really was.

Thinking about it, Harry suddenly realised that no matter where he stayed this year he wasn't going to be allowed to go outside and fly anywhere, and he immediately sobered up again. It seemed that Fudge had just managed to take away everything he cared about. Hogwarts, his friends, flying. Okay, almost everything. He still had Sirius. This thought made him smile, then blush, and he cursed his stupid hormones.

Luckily at that moment two official looking owls appeared at the window to distract them all. Harry let them in, and they landed next to Ron and Hermione. Immediately recognising the Hogwarts crest on them, Harry realised they must be the usual book lists for the year. Harry sighed, realising that he would never be getting another letter from Hogwarts himself. He looked to Ron and Hermione, only half interested in what books they were going to need this year, but he was jolted out of his self-pity when he noticed that they both had identical looks of shock on their faces.

"What?" He asked.

Wordlessly, Ron held up something small in his hand for Harry to see. He craned closer, and gasped as he saw the small red and gold badge in Ron's hand. Quickly glancing at Hermione he saw that she was holding something reverently in her hand too.

"Prefect…" Ron whispered, astounded. "Prefect? Me?" He looked dumbfounded, and gave Harry the badge to inspect. Harry turned it over in his hand, looking at the tiny lion that was engraved onto the red and gold background.

"Looks legit to me! Well done, mate," Harry grinned at him. With all the drama of the Ministry hearing he'd forgotten that Prefects were going to be chosen this year. If he was going to pick anyone to be Prefect, he knew perfectly well that it would be Hermione. He couldn't help a small traitorous part of his brain wondering whether he would have got Ron's badge if he hadn't been expelled, but he quashed that thought as soon as it surfaced. It was bad enough that he wasn't going to see Ron all summer, he didn't want to taint their friendship further by being bitter.

"Why don't we go downstairs and show everyone? I bet your mum will be over the moon," Harry grinned at Ron. They agreed and followed Harry downstairs to the kitchen. Harry suddenly felt much better about everything now that he had something occupying his mind, even though he was still subconsciously thinking about the fact that Ron and Hermione were soon going to be leaving him to be Prefects together at Hogwarts.

As predicted, Molly was thrilled with the news. She shrieked loudly when Ron told her, and threw her arms around him, bursting into tears. He awkwardly patted her on the back and tried to ignore Fred and George's scornful taunting. It didn't help matters when Molly called him 'Ronniekins' and went into raptures about how proud she was. Ron went bright red and desperately tried to run away to the amusement of his brothers. The atmosphere in the house had livened up since the news, and everyone was chatting happily to each other when the sound of the door slamming shut suddenly made everyone hush. Footsteps came towards the kitchen, and Dumbledore walked wearily down the steps into the room. For a moment, no one spoke.

"Harry," Dumbledore said in a tired voice. "I'm so sorry. Cornelius Fudge changed the time of your hearing and deliberately didn't inform me so that they could proceed with the trial without any doubt over the outcome…" He watched Harry closely, scrutinising him with those piercing blue eyes from behind his half-moon spectacles. Harry wasn't sure what to say, wasn't sure he could trust himself to say anything without shouting abuse at the old man.

"Right." Harry said stiffly, looking at the ground, the walls, anywhere but Dumbledore because he couldn't stand the pitying look that was on his face right now. Dumbledore walked towards him and took a seat at the kitchen table, waving away the offer of tea from a dithering Molly Weasley.

"Now, Harry, as I'm sure you've guessed by now, I need to speak to you about where you'll be living from now on. I of course believe that you will be safest at Privet Drive due to the blood wards, so if you don't mind packing your trunk this evening then we can be off as soon as possible."

Dumbledore looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for Harry to bound upstairs and just pack his belongings as if it was the simplest thing in the world. He looked around and saw that he wasn't the only one that was unaffected by Dumbledore's attempted charm. Sirius' eyes were narrowed, Arthur and Remus both looked disconcerted and Molly was hovering worriedly in the background.

"Professor, I'd really rather I stayed here." Harry spoke clearly and looked directly at the headmaster, knowing that it was immeasurably important that he managed to win this argument and he wasn't going to do it by looking weak. Dumbledore looked appraisingly at him.

"Harry, be sensible now. I know you want to stay with Sirius but I'm just thinking of what's best for you," Dumbledore said gently. He was obviously trying his best to manipulate him but it wasn't going to work.

"If it's so dangerous here that I have to go back to the Dursleys to be properly safe, then how come I've been living here?" Harry asked defiantly.

"I don't deny that it's safe here, Harry, but I still think you'd be better off—"

"I disagree, professor." Harry spoke bluntly now, feeling his temper beginning to rise. "This house has had copious amounts of protective charms put on it by Sirius' family, not to mention the protections cast by the rest of the Order, and the fact that it's under the Fidelius charm so that no one but you can tell anyone where it is. Please tell me how it can be unsafe to live here? If I'm perfectly honest I'd feel much more exposed having to take the journey back to Privet Drive."

Harry was fighting to keep his voice from rising. He glanced at Sirius who smirked at him, clearly thinking that Harry was gaining ground in the argument. Dumbledore looked distinctly put out, but he recovered quickly enough, although the twinkle in his eye was now absent.

"Speaking as someone who has your best interests at heart—" Dumbledore began, but he was cut off mid-sentence by an irate Sirius.

"No offense, Dumbledore, but I think I have slightly more say in this situation than you do. I'm Harry's godfather, and I would very much prefer if it he were to live with me rather than with a pack of abusive muggles!" Sirius almost growled at Dumbledore, and Harry was glad that someone was sticking up for him. Dumbledore at least had the decency to look slightly guilty.

"I know Harry hasn't had the best of times living with the Dursleys, but the enchantments placed upon that house are very strong and it's the best place for him to be." Dumbledore spoke quietly.

"Professor, if I might say something," Harry chimed in. He didn't appreciate being spoken about in the third person when he was sitting right there.

"Go ahead, dear boy," Dumbledore spoke kindly enough but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Surely, now that I've been expelled, Voldemort will already know that I'm not going back to Hogwarts. He'll assume that I've been sent back to Privet Drive to stay with the Dursleys, and as far as I know he doesn't even know this place exists. So if it's my safety that's the most important factor here then I think it would make a lot more sense to let Voldemort assume I'm with the Dursleys while I really stay here."

This sounded perfectly logical to Harry, he was secretly very thrilled that he'd managed to think of such an argument to put forward, and he didn't see how Dumbledore could possibly argue his way out of this one. An appreciative murmur ran around the table as other people weighed up what he had said and realised that it made a lot of sense.

"Harry has a very valid point, Albus," Remus said quietly. Until now he had been watching the discussion unfold with a pensive expression on his face, but now it seemed he was siding firmly with Harry and Sirius. "It would be the last thing Voldemort would expect."

Sirius chose this moment to get up and come round to Harry's side of the table so he could stand next to Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. It showed a united front against Dumbledore, and Harry felt a surge of affection for his godfather. Everyone looked at Dumbledore expectantly, and eventually he sighed and spoke.

"Well, it appears that I'm outnumbered. Very well Harry, you may stay here with Sirius for the time being. I daresay you're right about Voldemort, at any rate. On that note, I suppose I should take my leave. Good evening to you all." With a nod of the head, Dumbledore turned on his heel and strode from the room, and they all heard the door slam behind him a moment later. They looked at each other, surprised that for once Dumbledore hadn't got his own way. Harry secretly thought that it served the old man right.

Sirius grinned and picked Harry up bodily, swinging him round in a massive bear hug before setting him back on the ground with a bark-like laugh. Harry playfully shoved him backwards, letting out a laugh of his own. He may be expelled from Hogwarts, but he had finally got what he had always wanted – he was actually, officially going to be living with Sirius. This filled him with a feeling of immense joy and satisfaction, and he was completely caught off guard when a sharp pain suddenly shot through his scar and his stomach churned.

"Ouch!" Harry yelled involuntarily, grabbing his head in pain. He hadn't felt a pain like that in his scar in a long time, not one this intense anyway. He looked up to see Sirius looking at him in panic.

"What is it Harry, what hurts? Is it your scar?" He asked quickly, gently running a hand over the scar on Harry's forehead. His touch soothed Harry's pain, and sent a tingle running through him that made his stomach flip excitedly again. This was getting out of hand, he thought desperately.

"It's fine, it was nothing," Harry reassured him. "It happens all the time now." Sirius didn't look very convinced, but he let it go for now. Harry had other things to worry about anyway, like the fact that despite how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about the particular shade of his godfather's eyes and the way his dark fringe flopped over his forehead, nearly brushing the tips of his eyelashes. I am totally screwed, Harry thought desperately to himself.

Phew, there's another chapter for you already! hope you enjoyed it, please drop me a review :) x