Chapter nine - 'You're looking awfully chirpy!'
"You're looking awfully chirpy." Sirius asked seeing Tonks come into the room and sit down to do her shoe laces up properly.
"Remus is finally taking me out on a date.' She explained switching legs.
'Do you know where he's going to take me?" She asked excitedly sitting down next to Sirius and holding her mirror to check the pink eye shadow was ok.
"No and you look lovely. I really like the curly hair, it suits you."
"Ya think, you don't think it looks too girly girl? I mean, I don't want him to look at my hair and think I'm a total bimbo or anything." She asked standing up and turning around for Sirius to see.
"Trust me, I'm a man and he won't be looking at your hair." Sirius explained taking in the full sight of his cousin as she stood up.
She had little plain black trainers on, extremely tight jeans which showed off how perky she could make her bottom look, a tight weird sisters t-shirt on that when Sirius looked carefully he knew her breasts had clearly taken a slightly larger shape than normal for the occasion.
Over that she had a simple blue cardigan and on top of that her long black coat that hung down to her knees. In a word, it was random but she still seemed to pull it off with her curly shoulder length hair, pink eye shadow and pink lips.
"You don't think it's too casual for a first date do you. He said too look casual and well he's been dead secretive about where we're going. Well actually he ran away before I could ask." She explained but Sirius merely smiled and hugged her.
"Trust me you look just fine for where you're going and you should like it, he's been pestering me since I found you to at it on the living room floor."
"Oiy, we were not at it on the floor and don't give me that look he isn't like you, he won't just drag me out to the middle of the woods and try and jump my bones like you'd do!" She hit him hard as she could on the arm but he merely laughed it off as soon as Lupin came into the room, wearing his cleanest trousers and tidiest shirt over what he had personally dyed from a graying t-shirt to a black one but hadn't got the sleeves right. He was so glad it was chilly where they were going so he could rap up his new jumper and his old brown coat over the top and Tonks would never know.
"Erm, shall we go then.' He asked seeing how beautiful Tonks looked but was so stunned he forgot to mention it until Sirius kicked him in the shins when he made to leave the room.
'You're looking lovely Tonks." He finally said and moved forward to let her place a gentle kiss on the cheek and take his arm.
"Behave you and I want him back by eleven otherwise little Moony gets grumpy in the morning." Sirius teased as he followed them to the door and bolted it after they'd left.
"Now where did I leave those most charming magazines Harry gave me?" Sirius muttered rubbing his unshaven chin and with a giddy smile ran off to sit in the bath for a bit.
"So where are you taking me then?" Tonks asked as they stepped out into the cold night of Grimmauld place. Lupin held out his arm for her to take like a gentle man.
"Follow me if you will and then you'll find out won't you." Lupin grinned cheekily leading the way.
"You're back late!" Sirius called from the living room as Lupin tiptoed into the house and carefully closed the front door behind him.
"Have you been sat up all night waiting to check what time I got home?" Lupin asked hotly swaying a bit as he walked into the room and plopped down on the empty chair with a quick grin.
"Your pissed, Remus!" Sirius decided with a mad grin, putting aside his book and looking over at his friends red cheeks.
"No I'm not! Don't you have anything better to do than sit about annoying me?" He asked offended.
"Well I was talking to Harry but he's gone to bed now and I couldn't sleep so yep! I have nothing better to do than annoy you. Where's Tonksie anyway?" He asked noticing the lack of clumsy noises in the house.
"I took her back to her mum's so she could sober up before work tomorrow." Lupin explained grinning his head off and burping loudly.
"What a way to give her mum a first impression dropping her little girl off pissed? And it's today she's got work Remus, you any idea what time it is?" Sirius asked finding it highly amusing to see his friend drunk for the first time in years.
"Err, half eleven, ish?" He wondered but knew that it must be later than that by now, Tonks had dragged him to an all night bar.
"It's half four in the bloody morning Remus where did you two go anyway?" He asked flatly.
"Err, well I took her too the big lake near where I used to live and we just went for a nice long walk. And despite it being right near where I first got bit as a kid, it's actually really rather pretty at night." He explained dumbly and slowly trying his best to cover how poor he was at drinking.
"And then?" Sirius asked purposefully with raised eyebrows.
"Then we stopped to have a sort of picnic."
"And then?" Sirius pushed on.
"She took me to a bar and we had a few drinks, that was all!" He added defensively trying not to catch Sirius's piercing glare.
"Ah, so what sort of bar was this? You lived near enough in a muggle area and there pubs shut before midnight, what have you been doing for four hours that makes you end up with grass in your hair and stains on your trousers?" He asked seeing the mud all over Remus's knees.
"She took me to an all night bar near where she lives and it sort of had a rough reputation. I spilt someone's drink and they took offence and we sort of had to run for it. We were hiding behind a tree and I slipped on my bad knee." Lupin explained in a fake casual voice.
"Are, you sure you didn't just get drunk and tried to fumble around like a randy school boy in the bushes?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow to see Lupin's sudden slightly terrified look, as something sort of like that had happened but they'd both been to drunk to do anything more than make out like a couple of randy teenagers in a bush just like Sirius said.
"No I fell, I told you!" He added far too defensively going red in the face.
"Oh really, well I guess you aren't exactly well known for your seducing women capabilities. So I shouldn't worry, but Andromeda is gonna go nuts when she finds Tonks trying to sneak in the house at the crack of dawn totally wasted. And you've got lipstick on your neck Remus ya know!" Sirius grinned sitting back in his chair to rest his eyes.
"Yeah well, I was down the street by the time she got in the kitchen and even I heard she fall over the kitchen table or something." Lupin grinned as Sirius let out a barking laugh.
"I can imagine the look on her face even now.' He laughed.
'Tonks is gonna be in a right load of trouble, it's ok for you, you don't have to go to work but I know Andromeda, she'll be banging around before seven cooking bacon and will make Tonks go to work no matter how ill she feels just to be spiteful." Sirius laughed as Lupin finally saw a chance to go off to bed.
The following morning at about half nine when Sirius knew Lupin was fast to sleep sleeping off his hangover, Sirius got up and decided he wanted a full English breakfast and after cooking the greasiest, fattiest food he could think of, he opened Lupin's door snuck into his room to wafted the smell over Lupin's nose until his face started to turn an odd shade of green.
"Bugger off Padfoot!" He bellowed opening his eyes to see Sirius silently laughing his head off as he munched his breakfast down.
"What's the matter, feel sick do we this morning?' He asked shrilly. Lupin laid very still for a moment then quickly got up and staggered as fast as he could to his bathroom leaned his head over the toilet and started to through up.
'Are ickle Remus is feeling ill today is he?" Sirius teased then laughing with his doggy bark left Remus to it and headed back to his own room satisfied with his work.
"You're a little late today Tonks?" Podmore teased as Tonks walked into the locker room at work, half an hour late and pulling her work robes over the top of her tired crumpled clothes.
"I had a rough night ok." She snapped quietly.
"I can see that, what happened?" He continued almost playfully despite the deep voice and server work robes.
"Had a few problems with some muggles that's all and unfortunately severing charms aren't considered proper procedure whether you can see what's missing or not!" She explained rubbing her eyes and changing into her boots.
"No Tonks, chopping a blokes nuts off is hardly considered correct conduct. Here, I picked up your orders for the day and punched you in so you didn't get another tardy." He explained passing Tonks a sealed black envelope and checking the contents of his bag.
"Thanks, it really isn't my fault this time, but I'll tell you about it later, it's time to go do whatever shit assignment I've got today." She ripped open her letter to read what it said but immediately her face dropped.
"Oh that's all I need, I've got to go to the farm and help out with the probates again." She sighed as Podmore laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Enjoy, I'll see you later at the Manky pub." He laughed heading out the room.
The Manky pub was code for another order meeting and unfortunately Molly and McGonagall didn't approve of Sirius serving drinks at the meetings, however good he was at conjuring beer.
"Haven't seen you in a while Tonksie have you been avoiding me?" Sirius teased after yet another meeting, as she climbed the stairs to use a spare room too tired to head on home.
"What if I have and don't call me Tonksie I'm supposed to be and Aura?"
"Oh I'm sorry Nymphadora I should use your proper name it's only polite." Sirius continued following her up as Tonks flinched at her name.
"Remus was a bit on the pissed side of things when he finally rolled in after your date, did it go ok?" Sirius asked in a little less of a childish voice.
"Yes actually, we had a lovely time! He took me out to dinner." Tonks replied pulling open the door and entering the room immediately pulling her robes off. Sirius lent lazily on the side of the door frame and looked away as Tonks started pulling her shoes off.
"That's funny I got the impression you went for a fumble in the woods and then to an all night bar and then back for a bit more of a fumble in the bushes on the way home.' Sirius continued teasing but Tonks face turned bright red.
'What did your mother say when you broke into your old room to try and sober up before work?"
"He told you that?" She asked slightly outraged.
"No, he's a perfect gentleman Remus, he never kisses and tells but to be honest he's dreadful at keeping secrets like that when he's pissed and he never really does a lot of kissing to be able to tell."
"You're really rotten you know sometimes." Tonks snapped as Sirius grinned in the candle light.
"Yeah well, he's used to it and after puking for a few hours the following morning he seemed to be back to his old nitwit self."
"Remus is not a Nitwit." She snapped back defensively pulling her bra off and changing into a night t-shirt she kept in the drawer.
"Oh calling him Remus now are we Nymphadora! Or do we whisper Wolfie in his ear with all the other sweet nothings."
"Shove off you. You were quick enough to complain about the thought of us even kissing in the house and now you're edging for details." She snapped hitting Sirius with a cushion.
"I'm quiet confident in Moony's, shall we say glacial qualities, however drunk you get him!" He laughed in his barking way as Tonks finally shoved him out the room and slammed the door tight shut on him.
"Stop winding her up Sirius, I know your board not having Harry around but you don't have to take it out on her, she's had a rough day." Remus called from his door having opened it to catch a sight of Tonks getting changed.
"I can't help it, she's annoying little sis and just asking to be teased and you should be in bed you look absolutely dreadful." Sirius replied coming over to Remus and shoving him quickly back in his room and on the bed.
"Just don't wind her up too much, her mother was furious when she through up all over the kitchen and gave her a right chiding." Remus explained quietly pulling a jumper on.
"I bet she did. I've still got the burn mark on my arse when I did the same thing." Sirius explained darkly rubbing his left buttock looking for the bit that seemed to be missing.
"Why don't you go and make another one of those cakes or something for Moody? Or kick Kresher for a bit, something to keep you busy for a while. Maybe try knitting or something?" Remus asked rolling over to be more comfortable on his bed.
"I suppose, tomorrow I might start cleaning that room out for Harry. Christmas seems so far away and I don't even know if he'll be aloud to come. That Molly seems determined to drag him off to hers and he's too nice for his own good and she's got Ron to help lure him." Sirius sighed pulling out a hip flask and taking a sip of what Lupin knew perfectly well wasn't water.
"You don't know that. Dumbledore seemed pleased with how you were looking after Harry. Your not quiet the stupid mardy idiot you were last year are you." Remus explained as Sirius whacked him with a cushion and left to go to his own room.
Harry started off quiet well for him at Hogwarts this year, what with his new secret meetings with Ginny every now and then. The instant popularity he gained from been made Quidditch captain, the fact that most the wizarding world and Hogwarts believed his story, which as many commented, he never faltered on anything and some even sent him letters applauding him. Even if it had always been opened and re-sealed by someone else at least once by the time it got any where near him.
On the first day he received just as he expected, many whispers from other students about him, but Harry managed to ignore it nearly every meal by thinking about Ginny and grinning at himself. On his first day however, Harry found a rather good piece of information, as Snape was no longer teaching Potions but Defense Against the Dark Arts so he and Ron actually qualified with there mere Exceeds Expectations to take Potions with the new old teacher. It seems Dumbledore could only manage to get hold of Snape this year to teach the subject making it much easier to bring another ex-retired teacher in to teach Potions. So far he seemed a bit dry and dull with the occasional bias nature to his own old house Ravenclaw but other then that Harry couldn't see anything wrong with him.
"I bet you already guessed that some how Harry, or you wouldn't have bothered buying the sodding text book over the summer."
"I had no idea Ron, honestly!" Harry whispered back as they sat down to there first lesson.
"Well I flatly refuse to believe your turning into someone like Hermione who actually chooses to read that far around his subjects for fun!" He whispered back, but the truth was, he did, even if he didn't dare admit it to anybody, least of all Hermione who beamed at him whenever she heard Ron mention it.
The first few weeks though were hard on all the sixth years and there new work load. Harry had it worse than his friends as his desire to please Dumbledore by working hard for his lessons, were quickly beginning to take a toll on him.
After a particularly long evening in the library with Hermione which was now open for an hour longer after Hermione's petition was signed by several students who believed in cramming for lessons or just wanted an extra hour to spy on Harry. She was trying to convince Harry to take it a little easy and possibly even ask Dumbledore to lighten his load more.
Harry's reply had been quiet flatly.
"No, he asked me to work hard and that's what I'm doing!"
"Well I just don't want you burning out too soon that's all."
Ron however also agreed with this, that Harry was already working too hard but firmly believed that as Harry was now doing much better than he used to in lessons, that Hermione was just worried Harry might beat her again at something.
He delighted in reminding her that the only thing she didn't get top grades in was Harry's best subject. Hermione however, merely waited for Harry to be out of ear shot and snapped back that, if she spent half her time being chased by death eaters, she'd have more practice and anybody that can survive the killing curse before he was potty trained is hardly an unfair comparison.
Harry only found this out on one his irregular trips to an empty classroom or corridor with Ginny. She delighted in spending time with him and often just wanted to talk about his day or the latest amusing bit of gossip. For once she finally understood and allowed Harry to express his inappropriate 'dammed' humour, that up until now, only Neville had laughed at when he heard Harry mutter it slightly sarcastically to himself when he got changed in the dormitories.
Harry really loved spending time with her and wished more than anything to be able to show it more openly but every time he suggested it, Ginny said flatly no and made Harry enjoy keeping it there dirty little secret instead.
Several weeks into the school year Sirius had finally really got going on Harry's room and spent hours at night when no body was around attacking it and despite the odd comment he knew Lupin was making behind his back to Tonks, he chose to do a lot of the cleaning the muggle way, rather than flicking his wand lazily to clean something.
"I just get lonely and it keeps me busy, besides the only exercise I get is walking down stairs to open the dam door and kicking Kresher, who keeps hiding from me!" Sirius explained one afternoon when Lupin had returned from a rather boring but painfully necessary order job that had kept him out the house and busy for quiet a few days.
"I guess, you are getting podgy again around the middle Sirius!" Lupin teased supping at his tea and turning the paper over again to read the next page.
"Shut up you!" Sirius snapped back feeling his stomach to see if it really was getting at all podgy. Then deciding it was just full after dinner turned back to Lupin in a better mood.
"Is there anything interesting in that today or just more the same?" He asked seeing Lupin's eyes crease behind his reading glasses as he looked at something. He'd finally given in and allowed Sirius to get him some to wear when he read, even if Lupin had decided to safely hide them from any one else.
"More anti werewolf stuff, some crap about yet more of your crazy relatives and how you're still a bit of a ring leader and the odd comment about your raging lunacy. A bit of rubbish about Harry, that is really a lame attempt to dis-credit him and Dumbledore and right next to it on the very next page how to distinguish between a rampaging werewolf and a rampaging normal wolf." Lupin sighed finally turning to the last page and chucking it over at the coffee table in disgust.
"Have they really managed to cram all that in there?" Sirius asked picking it up and turning to the front page.
"If you look carefully enough, I mean, why are they being so difficult, first thing Dumbledore did when Harry and his friends got caught in the ministry was explain everything that had happened and gave Fudge some very clear advice, of what was best to be done, but no, the twat had to turn it in to a right political affair?"
Lupin snapped, it was nearing a full moon again and he was getting particularly grouchy again, but Sirius merely allowed it all to bounce off his oddly thick grubby skin as usual.
"I know, and this Scrimgeour's definitely on the trigger happy side of things, I've never even heard of half the blue language Moody uses to describe him."
"Well Moody is a firm believer in drag him in kicking and screaming to make him suffer rather than killing him quick and painless." Lupin sighed still wound up like a tight bed spring.
"Why's he going out his way to get to Harry I don't know, after all that crap Harry took last year for being a nutter and now he wants to hear what he's got to say?" Sirius sulked enjoying his chance to be moody with Moony for a change.
"He wants to turn Harry into a poster boy for the ministry, to try and reassure the public but Dumbledore doesn't want politics getting in the way of Harry's development. That's why he's giving him extra lesson's I think, he knows the minute Harry leaves Hogwarts, Dumbledore isn't going to be able to protect him in the same way and he wants Harry to be as well prepared as possible."
"I know and I'm glad, it's a horrible big world out there and you know as well as I do it's only going to be worse for Harry." Sirius half sulked about one of his worse fears for Harry, what would happen to him after he leaves school? He hated having Harry away from him all the time when he wanted to try and get to understand him better but the thought of what would happen to him out in the world was usually just a bit too much to bear even thinking about.
"Yeah well, you know the minuet he gets free reign of his life he'll go hunting for Peter." Lupin added voicing opinions he usually chose to keep quiet, but this hidden personality got to show itself again without Lupin having very much control over it.
"I know, but he's promised to leave Peter to me while he's at school. I just hope he gets himself in a nice little pickle with Voldermort and somebody finds his mangled body rolling down the Themes or something." Sirius laughed with his evil glare that also only allowed it's self to be show to Moody when he's feeling particularly wolfish and Kresher when he was annoying Sirius too much.
"Yeah I guess. He deserves worse though for what he did, but you can always trust Voldermort to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible can't ya!" He laughed hoarsely then started up on another of his pet hates.
"You know this Umbride woman, she's got her self a buddy in the ministry that hates part humans as much as she does. They're trying to force through a tracking spell for all werewolf's since all those horrible attacks at muggle schools by Greyback."
"People can't believe that all werewolves are the same can they?" Sirius asked hopelessly.
"Not everybody in the world is quiet as educated as you Padfoot when it comes to werewolves. I can't even pas though Diagon Ally without somebody recognising me these days for what I am and I can't even go to buy more ingredients for my wolfbane without the assistant guessing what it was for.' Lupin added sadly before snapping a bit more.
'The twat wouldn't even sell it to me, Moody had to drag me out the shop before I got too far in to my rant about hardly being safe if they won't sell me potion ingredients.' Lupin argued going hot in the face and twitching a lot. Sirius pulled out the brandy from down the side of his seat and offered it across, but Lupin as Sirius expected declined any sort of alcohol relief when he was near a change.
'I was just a bit wound up about trying to get at Harry that was all." He explained but Sirius sighed and tried to reassure him.
"That was an accident and near enough all of Kresher's fault. I've never seen you let your err, Mr Hyde take over once, even when you had those lovely raging hormones at school.' Sirius explained trying to calm his friend down but knowing it was probably useless. Lupin was only going to get worse with company until he finally changed and then after, he'd just be totally exhausted for days.
'Did you get all your ingredients in the end for your next batch?" Sirius asked carefully.
"Yeah Tonks got a few for me and Moody got the rest from somewhere else. It all seems decent quality stuff and McGonagall's taken it to Snape for me, so I don't have to ask the bloody twat again." He replied finally coming a bit down to his normal self but Sirius knew that one little thing would probably set him off ranting again.
"I wish we could find somebody else in the order to mix it for you. I mean Snape can't be the only half assed potion maker, I mean if Andromeda can produce a useless daughter like Tonks and still be really good at it, then I'm sure there's got to be somebody else." Sirius explained but he'd thought of everybody he knew and other than his cousin who wasn't a member of the order, he couldn't think of anybody else as good at potions as Snape was. The slimy git had been top of his year ever since he started school.
"Yeah well it wouldn't matter anyway, Snape keeps the recipe secret and I can't get a copy. All these years I've been a werewolf and I can't even mix a bloody wolfbane potion. I mean, somebody like me should be an expert by now, the amount of times I've drank the wretched stuff."
"What did you do before working at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked for the first time ever.
"I either locked myself up somewhere or if on the rare occasion I had a job I went down to St Mungo's and injured the painful sensation of asking for it and filling out those dratted forms with everybody looking. I still haven't decided if asking Snape is worse or not but at least he makes decent quality stuff and doesn't thin it down like they do at the hospital."
Lupin growled and Sirius took this as his cue to make an excuse to leave. He often listened to his friends problems for quiet a bit but just like Lupin did with him, but he preferred to leave the room rather than risk an argument between them.
Harry however after failing to get Ron on to the Quidditch team finally fell asleep in the common room one day missing unfortunately the half extra lesson on transfiguration he was supposed to go to and wasn't doing as well as he had hoped. He was barely managing to balance all his activities and received no sympathy from anyone on his team other than Ginny for being tired at practice.
As it was, Ron was barely speaking to him and he hardly had a chance to spend any time with Ginny private or not and what with his first match coming up soon against Slytherin, Harry was feeling the strain of the common room, all Gryffindor's hopes lied with Harry and how good a captain he was to win the tournament.
Luckily McGonagall was so determined to see her house do well, that she forgave Harry of his nap and let him off his homework this one time, in the hopes that Harry would catch up with himself and find a way to pull his dismal team together.
He didn't dare tell his team mates how rubbish they were at playing as Hermione pointed out, if they were anything like Ron this would probably just make them worse and unfortunately, Harry agreed. When he voiced his worries to Sirius however at first Harry didn't manage to get any sort of decent help from him but when he came back a second time Sirius started to be a little more helpful.
"You're still struggling with this captain business?" He asked as Harry sat down with his mirror in the room of requirement, for another cosy little chat armed with his bag of dinner Dobby had provided for him. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry at the moment but knew that at practice in just over an hour he was going to need all the energy he could get.
"Yeah, I tried to ask Ron but he just snapped at me and walked off." Harry explained sadly biting into a chicken sandwich and chewing slowly.
"What's the main problem with them? Are they just totally crap or can't concentrate or haven't they got very good skills?" Sirius asked supping on his coffee and folding Lupin's paper away.
"I've seen them all do it well, they all know the maneuvers and they can all fly well, it's just it doesn't matter how many times we practice they just seem to get worse and worse."
"But they can definitely do it?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah most of them are pretty ok, on there own that is, but put them together as a team and they're bloody useless. Ginny's got a bit more about her and so has Katie, but the two beaters can't concentrate on both balls and the third Chaser Michel keeps dropping the qwaffle, the keeper is so busy lording it about the place, he doesn't follow the game and the others can't stand him."
"Lupin wants to know if they've got any confidence in themselves?" Sirius asked having discussed Harry's Quidditch troubles with both Tonks and Lupin and tried to come up with something he could say next the time Harry got in contact.
"No not really, I think that's the worse thing, half the team spend most there time arguing about who's fault things are and the rest just sulk because they think they're no good." Harry explained.
"Remus recons you should try and do something fun rather than practice, but shove in some skills and see what happens." Sirius sighed but he didn't quiet understand what this meant.
"What get them playing a daft game that makes them work together rather than doing anything officially quidditch related? That might work, I thought Lupin was never very interested in any sort of sport, he always said he's too tired and can't be bothered?" Harry wondered.
"He is, but he's a good teacher isn't he?" Sirius explained.
"Yeah if you get over the odd dress sense, he's really quiet cool, as a teacher, as a person he's right boring though sometimes." Harry added.
"I'll tell him you said that." Sirius grinned raising an eyebrow.
"Go ahead, I think he quiet liked teaching to be honest, seemed quiet chirpy most the time in lesson, even when Snape was around. Particularly when he heard what Hermione had said about him to her dad!"
"Yeah he was over the moon bout that, came and told me three times all about it."
"What sort of game could I get them playing?" Harry asked, hoping Sirius might be able to come up with something else.
"Something very simple, on a broom and only involving one ball."
"Like basketball?" Harry wondered remembering how he had once thought Quidditch was like basketball but a bit more complicated.
"Err, don't know what that is Harry I'm afraid. Is it one of those weird muggle games?" He asked.
"It's not weird, just a bit American that's all. Sort of like quidditch except you all play attack or defense and you only have one ball to play with. It's got lots of rules like everything but I could tone it down and give it ago." Harry wondered finally thinking he might just have a plan for today's quid ditch practice.
"Err, I'll get Tonks to explain it later, but it sounds about right. What about warm ups and stuff what do you usually do?" Sirius continued having thought of another thing that James had once suggested to his captain.
"We just do boring things, I've tried livening things up but it never really works." Harry explained dully taking another bite of his sandwich.
"Well didn't you ever play bulldog as a kid." Sirius asked.
"Sirius, the only game I played as a kid, was run and hide as fast as your skinny legs can carry you." Harry replied sarcastically.
"Oh. Well Tonks suggested it. Try and get to one end of the pitch to the other without getting caught by the bulldogs."
"Oh well you know that does give me an idea. Last year Hermione taught me how to lasso things by magic."
"Oh, I hope it wasn't HER, she taught you how to lasso, you can hardly pretend she aint your girl if you go around lassoing her to the ground and have her crying in your lap for hours on end." Sirius explained sarcastically grinning back at him.
"Is that all your pee-brain can think about?" Harry asked hotly but Sirius knew he was only playing with him but he still found it a little annoying how Sirius can either, find out some how about most things and guess about the rest. In the last few chat's they'd had over the mirror Harry and Sirius had finally got to the stage where it was quiet ok to make jokes about each other, provided they weren't to offensive.
"You know, not so much recently, but hay you aint that old yet ya know!" Sirius laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked a little offended that Sirius still couldn't quiet resigned him self to the fact that there was definitely not something going on between two of the three friends nor was he a cute little mop head about 11years old.
"I had to listen to that bloody women for hours. And I'm not stupid I know, she walked in on you two cuddling on her bedroom floor. And although I won't believe everything she rants on about because it's her, it's hard to confuse two people making out on the floor with two people apparently not making out on the floor but looking very much like it." Sirius sighed lazily, he didn't really care what Harry got up to with girls, it wasn't as if it was going to surprise him or make him feel uncomfortable like Tonks did, he'd just rather Harry never lied to him about things.
"I fell off the bed that was all and she got the wrong end of the stick. You know what she's like?" Harry sulked annoyed Sirius was finding it hard to believe him but judging by the look he was getting back Sirius was probably just winding him up to get a slip of the tongue from him.
For about a minuet they sat in silence and Harry was beginning to wonder if Sirius was already fed up with him but in reality he was just trying to think of something else to say.
"So what's this idea you have then or would I rather not know?" He finally asked shoving quiet a sturdy slice of cake in his mouth and chewing.
"It's just a game Sirius, but I hope it works. Half of Gryffindor are gonna kill me if we lose this next match and the rest still have there suspicions about me being a total crackpot from last year."
Harry sighed back to his rather depressed and stressed self. He'd forgotten about eating and was probably going to feed the rest of the meat to Buckbeak later when he went to hide behind Hagrid's for a bit while he read. Recently Dumbledore had arranged to have Buckbeak moved over to the school and although Sirius was sad to see him go he did agree that keeping a fully grown animal locked up in his house was hardly going to be healthy for him.
Harry had been a bit worried about Sirius when Hagrid came striding over to tell him, but since then Tonks had brought Sirius a large stuffed teddy version of Buckbeak just in case Sirius got lonely and needed something to curl up with. Failing that, Snuffles had taken to curling up as a dog in the corner of Lupin's room when he was feeling particularly lonely weather Lupin wanted him there or not as apparently, Snuffles had a habit of snoring on purpose to annoy him.
"Cheer up Harry, it won't be that bad and I'm sure they'll forgive you for having such a crap team to work with in the first place." Sirius soothed knowing full well how much winning Quidditch meant to Harry and that he would be so depressed if he lost he'd probably quit anyway.
"I guess, it's just I don't have any fun these days. Just do boring school work and Quidditch is so dull when it has to be so serious, the closest I get to having any fun these days is sat with Buckbeak or listening to Hagrid telling me about some knew creature. I don't mind it, but still Hogwarts has never been so crap."
"Don't you spend any time with your friends?" Sirius asked not sure how somewhere as exciting as Hogwarts could be called dull or crap even if you were a total loner.
"I guess sometimes, just I could do with a break that's all."
"Don't you have a trip to Hogsmade soon?" Sirius asked casually but Harry knew this was Sirius itching for an opportunity out his house. Harry however wasn't going to give him the benefit though of bringing the subject up. He cared too much about Sirius and didn't want him hop footing his way up to Hogsmade just because he was board. Harry thought it made him sound too much like his own father who would have enjoyed the thrill of getting caught. Well that was what Sirius had occasionally said and he was backed up by Lupin so Harry just had to take it as fact as there wasn't anyone else to ask.
"Yeah, but I'm not going. It's one of the few chances the library's going to be empty enough and besides, I've got a lesson with Dumbledore later in the afternoon." Harry replied knowing full well what Sirius was edging for.
Sirius however quickly covered his disappointment as he hadn't expected Harry to jump at the opportunity, he just hoped for the slightest glimmer of hope to get out of his wretched house. Harry, having seen Sirius often disappointed didn't know what to say to him now but he really didn't want to make an excuse and leave either.
"Well I guess you can't be late for Dumbledore. He always says how well you're doing with his lesson's, even if he's a bit vague about what he's teaching you." Sirius added, trying to change the subject a bit, he didn't want to leave either, he liked talking to Harry even if it was over a mirror in often very dim light, but it was a hundred times better than anything they managed last year.
"Yeah, he doesn't really want it mentioning it to anybody. Some of it tends to be things I'd get in to trouble for knowing, but Dumbledore thinks I'd benefit from knowing anyway and other bits of it usually tend to be a little on the dangerous side and I don't think he wants me being like you and dad and teaching stuff I shouldn't, to my friends." Harry explained getting more comfortable again.
"He said that?" Sirius asked not sure if Harry was being a bit rude to him or very proud.
"Not exactly, just he doesn't want me talking to my friends about most of it, in case we're overheard. I had to hide in Dumbledore's wardrobe the other week, because Scrimgeour came barging into the school wanting to get a chance to talk to me." Harry explained.
"Oh, did you hear what he wants you for, because so far only Dumbledore knows? I recon Moony's right though he wants you more than just to be a poster boy." Sirius asked really quiet curious and hoping Dumbledore hadn't sworn him to secrecy on this as well.
"Yeah I got that as well from what I heard but I was right at the back of the room and only heard bits of it. Dumbledore was careful about what he said, but Scrimgeour was furious and threatened to kick Dumbledore out the school. Dumbledore merely said how Fudge had tried last year and failed and that it was for the school governors to kick him out, not the minister." Harry explained pleased to be telling Sirius something other than he's a useless Quidditch captain abilities and Sirius was not aloud to leave the safe house for anything.
"So that's why he's so angry at the moment. He had Arthur up in his office not long ago, to try and get information about you but he just played dumb a bit and said how Dumbledore kept you really close to him and how he never really saw you at all anymore. I think he even made out how you weren't really allowed to have friends because Dumbledore's worried people like Mr Weasley might find out and snitch. Mrs Weasley went mental though about it and judging by Bill's quick retreat to here for dinner, Arthur didn't have a very pleasant evening." Sirius explained with a snaky grin.
"Doesn't she normally go mental?" Harry asked, having recently grown to almost dislike his friend's mother as much as Sirius could at times.
"Yeah, but she's not so open about it normally. It was just after a meeting, when Dumbledore had gone back to the school, she started bellowing at Arthur. We all left the room but Bill stopped to try and sooth things for a bit." Sirius explained as Harry listened avidly.
"What was she so cross about?" Harry wondered finding himself feeling quiet sorry for Mr Weasley but absolutely sure Ginny would never be capable of such a thing.
"Well Arthur had neglected to tell her about it and she'd herd through Percy. He'd sent her a snotty letter about how Arthur had better watch his step in future and how Percy was intending to take over Ron and Ginny's care as the Weasley's would be deemed unfit to take care of them, if he lost his job."
"That's horrible. How could he say something as daft as that?"
"Seems he's been sending Ron regular letters and is trying to put him on what he thinks is the straight and narrow before he gets to old."
"To late for that, Ron burns them all and says the most horrible things about Percy when he gets them, I've seen him do it. They don't come that often but recently Percy's started sending him money to." Harry explained.
"Percy sends him money?" Sirius asked totally flabbergasted and totally unsure weather he should tell Arthur about this.
"Yeah and Ginny, it's only a few gallons every now and then, so they can by a book or something, but Ginny uses it to bye stuff from Fred and Georges and Ron tends to shove it in a Dursley sock and hide it, but after the last letter he decided he'd rather be poor and gave it all to Ginny so she could by a new scarf after Malfoy set fire to her last one." Harry explained pleasantly.
"Oh are you sure about that?" Sirius asked and there was something in his voice that suggested something completely different.
"Pretty sure, Ginny told me about the money and Nev told me about the letters. Ron won't talk to me that much these days about serious things, it's usually just homework and Hermione going barmy again." Harry explained a little dully.
"Hermione, why do you talk about her?"
"She's gone a bit odd again at the moment and well, seems to be hiding in the girls only places a lot with my cloak for some reason. We can't work out what she's up too and she won't tell me." Harry explained oddly.
"Err, that does sound odd. Why's she under the cloak?" Sirius asked really rather confused as well about Hermione after Tonks told him from Ginny about the wet damsel incident.
"Not a clue, but a lot of the other girls keep giving her trouble and she doesn't like to be seen around me any more if she can help it. I don't really know why, but she recons it's for my own good and when it's blown over she'll tell me." Harry explained having total confidence in his friend.
"Oh well she's your friend." Sirius sighed really not sure what was going on any more but was rather curious about Percy.
"Yeah I trust her enough to know what she's up to. Well, at least I trust her to understand why some girls are so dam weird better than I could ever get to grips with." Harry explained not wanting Sirius to think his friends were untrustworthy or anything.
"Oh before I forget, Tonks wants to talk to Ginny, so could you let her know and try and get her somewhere quiet about 8ish tomorrow night?" Sirius asked quickly.
"Sure that'll be easy, what about?" Harry asked smirking secretly to himself about how he often liked to get Ginny some where quiet at around 8ish on any evening.
"I dunno. Girly stuff I think. Tonks is hoping to catch her at Hogsmade next weekend."
"She is?" Harry wondered rather surprised.
"Yeah, she was hoping to see you as well for some reason. But if you're busy then I'm sure it can wait." Sirius explained making Harry feel really guilty about blowing Sirius off before he'd had a chance to ask anything. He just assumed Sirius wanted a jaunt and it didn't occur to him that Sirius might have grown up a bit at last.
"Oh well I, sure I'll tell Ginny." He finished but his feelings showed only too clearly. He wanted to say he was sorry to Sirius but couldn't bring himself to do it. Fortunately Sirius wasn't as totally emotionally retarded as he seemed and picked up on some of what Harry was thinking.
"I know you're just looking out for me and I am grateful but I was just hoping I could come see you. But if you can, Tonks would really like to see you and I don't mind if somehow you seem a little less busy all of a sudden. Honestly, I really don't mind, it's daft me trying to get outside anymore and you could do with a break, your looking really quiet pasty again Harry." Sirius explained bluntly hoping this would make things all seem ok again if he just ignored his own feelings. It sort of worked but recently it had started clashing every now and then with Harry and his attempts to make things all seem ok with Sirius by ignoring His own feelings.
"I know you're lonely and if you don't mind, it would be nice to see Tonks again." Harry replied dodging the subject as best he could. He never did quiet have Sirius's bluntness with important things, but as he puts it, his life is so crazy and dangerous sometimes, he hardly has time for subtleties.
"Good, because even if I can't see you I know Tonks would like to. Besides, I've made some more cake if you want it?"
"Oh yeah that last batch was really strong had a whole compartment full of girls giggling away from it." Harry grinned knowing Sirius would enjoy getting the story out of him almost as much as Harry enjoyed seeing him happy. It was an odd sort of relationship they had. Both got more pleasure from seeing the other happy than the other could give to them.
"Oh eye. What's this, little Harry getting girls drunk so he can seduce them?" Sirius asked cocking an eyebrow and watching carefully as Harry took a bite out a turkey sandwich.
"No, not exactly, but Hermione was a bit annoyed that half of them had half there clothes missing when she came in and was in a right state from that crying potion. Pretty much sat on me lap for half an hour."
"What, you managed to get a bunch of girls topless and drunk before you've even got back to school?" Sirius asked totally flabbergasted by this new information and was beginning to wonder if Harry wasn't actually a bit of a ladies man.
"Na! Who do you think I am? It was just Cho and two of her friends that was all and they weren't topless, just a bit flushed that was all, from the cake. Obviously!" Harry explained but in his joke he'd sowed the seed of curiosity in Sirius's mind and knew that some day it will come back to annoy him as Sirius had a habit of remembering things very well for a very long time.
"Flushed were they? All hot and out of breath in a steamed up carriage, I bet Hermione was a bit annoyed. And from what I can remember, most lads don't complain when girls throw themselves at them." Sirius teased glad that at least Harry was getting to flirt with girls in the same way Sirius used to love doing.
"I'm not most lads Sirius. Besides, you haven't seen any action in nearly two decades have you! I mean, when was the last time you saw a women that was sort of fit walking around half naked in the morning and not Tonks!" He replied knowing he was pushing the boundaries again.
"Oi! I had an excuse, what about Remus, neither did he and he was walking and talking around the place quiet free and randy!" Sirius replied in his mock outrage.
"Yeah well, we aren't all as dry as you pair! Anyway, what's Tonks after or she just fed up of your not so subtle hints and wants to get out the house for a bit?" Harry asked changing the subject again.
"Dunno. When are you supposed to be going down to Quidditch practice anyway?"
"Soon. Well now actually." Harry added not really wanting to go.
"Don't be late you, otherwise it won't look good." Sirius explained in his recent parenting voice. He hadn't quiet perfected it yet, it always seemed to sound like a sarcastic joke but still, he was trying.
"I know, I have to set some things up anyway." Harry sulked not sure if being a captain was really all it's cracked up to be.
"You'll be fine. What's the worse that could happen?" Sirius soothed sure Harry would be fine if he only picked himself up a bit.
"I'll get kicked off the team." Harry sulked but at the moment that didn't seem quiet so bad.
He soon left Sirius to his boring house hold jobs and headed down to the pitch with his mood only lightening when he saw Ginny had come down early to find him before practice. He smiled broadly at himself and decided that it wasn't going to be quiet such a rotten night after all.