Author's Note: As a few of you have reminded me, I did say this chapter would be up before last week ended, so I'm so sorry to disappoint you. It needed a significant amount of work, and I got pretty sick over the weekend. I live in a place that is usually quite warm, but it's been unseasonably cold lately, and I think my body rebelled. Then, the R key broke on my keyboard. Do you know how hard it is to type a story about HaRRy, SiRius, Remus, and Ron without a properly functioning R key? Lol. Anyway, here it is. Hope it was worth the wait!

July 20, 1995

The previous day had been one of the best of Harry's life. They didn't do anything grand or spectacular, but Sirius had spent the whole day with him, focused solely on him. They'd laughed until their bellies ached, eaten way too much junk food, and simply enjoyed being together.

It was the kind of day that he had dreamed of having while he was growing up with the Dursleys.

How today would end up so completely different was beyond Harry's comprehension.

Harry jolted awake in a panic. Sweat was clinging in beads to his forehead and his chest was tight from heavy breathing. He looked around his dark, blurry room and realized he'd had another nightmare. He reached for his glasses and used the back of his wrists to wipe the moisture from his forehead. Now, with his vision clearer, he looked at the clock beside his bed.

2:03 am

Bugger Harry cursed to himself as he threw his head back against his pillows again with a heavy sigh. His heart was beating much too rapidly to settle into sleep any time soon.

He knew exactly what he should do. Sirius had made it clear. If he had any trouble sleeping, he needed to inform his father immediately. The problem was Harry had no real recollection of the dream, just that it had involved the graveyard and left an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach. His body was also not even close to ready to get out of bed, and every muscle was protesting the idea of pulling himself from under his warm covers and walking to Sirius's room.

He could feel a slight burning in his throat from where he had been breathing so heavily. He considered calling Dobby for a glass of water because he really, really did not want to get up, but he didn't want to disturb the well-deserved rest of the loyal elf. He turned to his side and buried himself deeper into his blankets, but his mind began the now familiar reliving of the events of the graveyard. Every move Harry made from every angle, making his mind race with what he could have done differently. Try as he might to shake the images from his mind and drift off to a peaceful sleep, it was no good. His body wanted sleep, but his mind was fully awake.

Groaning, he threw off his covers and walked to the door of his bedroom. He tiptoed down the hallway towards Sirius's room and lifted his hand to knock before pausing.

Knock! half of his brain told him, like an angel on his shoulder.

No, you're not a toddler, the other half said. He wasn't going to wake Sirius when all he needed was a glass of water and to preoccupy his mind with other things.

He told you to wake him when you needed him.

But I'm not a child, and I don't need him!

Back and forth his mind went. He debated with himself for another minute before he finally came to a decision. Slow backing up, he walked back to his own room, grabbed his dad's old book, and headed to the kitchen.

….

The previous day had been one of the best for Sirius as well. He hadn't heard Harry laugh quite that much in a long time, and the sound was the sweetest music to his ears. Truthfully, he hadn't laughed like that in far too long either. He'd ignored practically every responsibility he had and just enjoyed spoiling his son.

It was the kind of day he'd dreamed of when James originally named him godfather to the boy he loved with all his heart.

How today would turn out so completely different was also beyond his comprehension.

Sirius snuck a peek at his snoozing son before he walked downstairs to make breakfast. He pulled some eggs from the basket Mrs. Weasley had dropped by a few days before and gathered some ingredients for omelets. He busied himself with cooking until he heard the floo chime. He was certain it was Remus, but something on their table caught his eyes and distracted him from checking. He was staring at it in confusion when Remus entered the kitchen.

"If you do that long enough Padfoot your face will stick that way," Remus joked as he followed his friend's gaze to the book placed open and upside down on the table. "Ah, The Old Man and the Sea, I remember James loved that book. Is Harry reading it?"

Only then did Sirius seem to come out of his confused trance. "Yeah, yeah he is. It's strange though, he was reading it when I tucked him into bed last night."

Remus twisted his face in confusion. "I'm failing to see how that is strange."

Sirius looked at him. "I mean, he was reading it in bed, where he still is this morning. But the book is down here. I wonder how it got here."

Remus didn't find this to be particularly puzzling. "Is it possible Harry got up and brought it down here?"

Sirius went back to cooking the omelets. "It is, but if he did, he did it in the middle of the night, and he's supposed to wake me when he has trouble sleeping."

Remus frowned. "I see. Well, maybe he just got up early this morning, then decided to go back to bed."

Sirius looked over his shoulder and lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Harry? Get up early? You have met him, correct?"

Remus shrugged. "I guess all we can do is ask him."

Sirius nodded. "I intend to. I just hope he has a good explanation."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time Harry's hidden his sleeping troubles, would it?" Remus reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," Sirius answered as he flipped a completed omelet onto a plate. "But after the last time, I told him if he didn't wake me when he had trouble sleeping, he would lose his broom. I really hate to start the day off punishing him after all the time I've been away lately."

"Perhaps a reminder would suffice this time," Remus supplied, figuring it was his godfatherly duty to at least attempt to get the boy out of trouble.

Sirius didn't immediately veto that suggestion, but ultimately he had to shake his head regrettably. "I'm afraid the time for reminders passed when he fainted and fell off his broom."

Remus hummed but refrained from commenting further.

"What brings you by so early?" Sirius questioned.

Remus helped himself to a cup of coffee while he answered. "I was trying to get here before Harry woke actually. We never really got to finish our conversation the other day."

Sirius nodded his understanding. "Did you speak to Albus?"

Remus nodded. "Yes."

"What does he think?"

Remus sighed and sat at their kitchen table. "Truthfully?" He waited for Sirius to nod before he answered. "He thinks we should do nothing."

"WHAT?!" Sirius turned around so quickly he sent a few eggs flying.

"I didn't say I agreed with him!" Remus snapped back.

Sirius turned around as he smelled burning eggs, but it didn't stop him from airing his grievances against his former headmaster. "I might not have been around when that batty old man was letting Harry…"

"Sirius."

"Put his life at risk while he sat back and did nothing, but I am around now, and I'll be damned if…"

"Sirius!"

"I let him get Amelia killed just because he has some fu-…"

"Good morning, Dad!" Harry greeted, smirking as he let his father know that he was privy to his tirade.

Sirius turned around again. "Harry?"

Harry was standing with his arms crossed, a look of mock sternness on his face. "Do I need to scourgify your mouth young man?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You want an omelet?" he asked, as if that would make Harry completely forget what he just heard.

Harry smirked. "Yeah, that sounds great. Just no…"

"Vegetables, I know," Sirius finished for him.

Harry smiled and sat down across from his godfather. "So, what did Dumbledore do this time?"

Sirius sighed. "We're just having some differences of opinion again on how to proceed, knowing what we know about Amelia right now."

Harry wasn't letting it go that easily. "What differences of opinion?"

Uncertainty washed over Sirius's face. Harry was not clueless as to how Sirius felt about their headmaster's dealings with Harry in the past, but the father did try to avoid openly criticizing the man in front of his son. "I thought you didn't want to be involved this time?"

"You know what? You're right. I don't," Harry agreed more easily than anyone could have predicted. Sirius breathed a silent breath of relief while Harry turned to his godfather. "What are you doing here?"

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Not happy to see me?"

Harry laughed. "I'm always happy to see you. I was just curious."

Remus chuckled. "I just came to speak to your father, and to bum some breakfast I suppose. How was the quidditch match last night?"

"Brilliant," Harry began and proceeded to tell him all about every aspect of the match.

Sirius placed their three plates in front of them and poured Harry a cup of juice while the teenager rambled on about the match between inhaling bites of eggs. The game had been a high scoring affair, and Harry went on and on about each and every score, trick play, and foul. Sirius sat and listened, letting the conversation flow naturally from there until he noticed Harry had cleared his plate, then he spoke to his son.

"Hey Harry," he said casually, trying not to sound overly stern. "I noticed your copy of Old Man and the Sea was on the kitchen table. I thought you were reading that when you went to sleep last night."

"Oh yeah, I must have left it there when I got water last night," Harry answered.

Sirius hummed. "What time was that?"

Harry's face twisted in thought. "I think maybe around 2."

Sirius's eyes enlarged significantly. "Did you stay up that late reading?"

Suddenly Harry was aware of where this conversation was going, and he did not like it. "Uh, no. No, I woke up around that time and came down for water."

Sirius swallowed and willed his voice to be calm. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Well," Harry began nervously, chewing his bottom lip. "Yeah, but it wasn't that bad really. I don't even remember it. I just woke up and had some trouble going back to sleep, so I came down for water and then read before I fell asleep again."

Sirius mentally cursed. He hated to start their day off this way, but Harry hadn't left him with much of a choice. He had made his expectations very clear, and Harry knew it too. Sirius could tell by the way the boy was nervously fidgeting. "Is there any particular reason you did not wake me?"

Harry let out a small sigh. "No. It's just the nightmare wasn't even that bad. I was fine, I just couldn't really go back to sleep. I didn't need anything, really."

Sirius stared at him another moment. A large part of him really wanted to just let this go. Was it really that big of a deal that Harry had trouble sleeping one night? But Sirius knew Harry, and he knew that if he let him get away with this, the boy would just continue to find excuses not to wake his father. After all, he'd already done that enough to make himself faint…on his broom, no less.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I told you to wake me up no matter what. You didn't do that; therefore, your broom will have to stay on the ground today."

"What?!" Harry erupted, even though a part of him knew that was going to happen. "That's not fair!"

Sirius lowered his eyebrows, silently warning his son to check his tone, though his eyes were still sad. "It is fair, Harry. I told you exactly what would happen the next time you had trouble sleeping and didn't wake me. I don't believe I left any room for debate, in fact."

Harry pushed his plate away with a huff and crossed his arms petulantly. After a minute more of pouting, he finally looked at his father. "Can I be excused?"

Sirius nodded sadly. "Yes, you may."

Harry stood and stomped out.

"Well, that went swimmingly," Sirius muttered irritably.

Remus smiled sadly at him. "You didn't expect him to take it well, did you?"

Sirius debated rewarding his friend's remark with a rude gesture but decided to take the more mature route and simply stick his tongue out, which only caused Remus to laugh.

"You did what you had to do as a parent, Padfoot. You shouldn't feel bad for that," Remus told him in a way that only someone who wasn't actually a full parent yet can do.

Whether he should or not was irrelevant. Sirius felt awful.

…..

"I'm bored," Ron remarked after he'd beaten Harry for the third time at wizard's chess. "I wish you could fly." Against his better judgment, Sirius had allowed Harry to come to the Burrow rather than accompany him to Grimmauld Place during the Order meeting. Arthur was representing the Weasley cohort, while Molly stayed home with their children, and she was all too happy to have her bonus son over for a couple of hours.

"So do I," Harry agreed. "It's so stupid I can't. Sirius is acting like I'm a toddler. He doesn't have to know what I'm doing all the time. What's the big deal about one nightmare?"

Ron nodded his head in solidarity for his best mate, though he didn't want to reveal to said best mate that he kind of saw Sirius's perspective. "Speaking of things Sirius doesn't need to know, Fred and George are working at Dad's store. You want to borrow their brooms?"

Harry twisted his mouth as he thought it over. There was a part of him that wanted to say yes, but a bigger part that would feel awful about doing so. Of course, he didn't want to reveal that to his best mate either. "No thanks. Something tells me Dad would find out, and then he'd probably take my broom away for the rest of the summer."

Ron nodded and looked out the window. "So, um, have you heard from Hermione lately?"

Harry's forehead creased. "Uh yeah, yeah I think she wrote to me last week. Why? Haven't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I have," Ron quickly told him. "I was just wondering. I mean…What do you think of Hermione?"

Harry smirked. Ginny had said several times that she was sure her brother and Hermione were destined for marriage with the way they bickered, and even Sirius and Remus had mentioned how much they reminded them of Lily and James. Harry had wondered how long Ron was going to deny that he was head over heels for the brilliant witch.

"What do you mean, what do I think about her?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"I mean," Ron began nervously, "Do you think she's umm…pretty?"

Harry was thankful that Ron was wistfully staring out the window rather than watching his best friend, otherwise he would notice how hard Harry was trying not to laugh. "I mean, I guess. She has…nice…skin?"

"Yeah," Ron replied, finally turning around. "She does have nice skin, doesn't she?"

Yeah, sure," Harry answered with a poorly concealed snicker.

Ron shrugged and sniffed the air. "It smells like Mum baked biscuits. Want to go see?"

….

"YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!" Sirius yelled incredulously at his girlfriend as if there weren't several other members of the Order of the Phoenix sitting awkwardly in the room with them.

At this point, Amelia would normally say something like No, you are but, judging from the steam coming from Sirius's ears, she figured it was not the time for joking. Plus, she didn't enjoy being yelled at. "I may still be recovering, but I'm strong enough to hex you," she snapped. "And yes, I am serious, Siri. Albus is right. We need to let whoever did this think they got away with it."

Sirius was dumbfounded. He simply could not believe his ears. "But if their goal was to kill you, and they realize they failed, they'll just try it again."

Amelia frowned. "Well, for the record, we don't know that was their goal, but if it was, now that we know about it, it'll be that much easier to stop them."

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by an angry Sirius.

"What do you mean we don't know that was their goal? You said it was yourself, and if it wasn't, they bloody well tried anyway."

Amelia narrowed her eyes. "I said someone from our ministry attacked me, I didn't say it was their goal to kill me, but that is irrelevant anyway. What I meant was, we don't know why they attacked me. It could be any number of reasons. It could be retaliation for Tom Riddle's death. It could be to intimidate me with the upcoming trials. It could be because I was named interim minister. We just don't know. Whatever the reason, I'll be damned if I'm going to let it stop me from moving forward with our entire agenda. Magical Britain needs some major changes."

It was quite remarkable that Sirius's anger wasn't causing the entire house to burn down the way it was radiating off of him, but he was rescued from further angering his girlfriend by her brother.

"I don't like this idea either, Amelia," Richard Bones, Amelia's younger brother who had been staying with her in Sirius's absence, spoke up. He'd stayed mostly away from Order business in recent years, but now that someone was targeting his big sister, and the only family he had left, he had to act. "You're putting yourself at extreme risk."

"Well, I will admit it's certainly not ideal, but I do believe it's the best option we have," Amelia countered. "If I go around saying that someone is out to get me, that the people that were arrested because they committed the crime in broad daylight are actually innocent, I'm going to look like I'm off my rocker."

"But what about those people, Amelia," Remus interjected. "They're sitting in prison right now for a crime they didn't choose to commit."

Despite his best efforts to keep his anger in check, a small growl escaped Sirius at that remark, and Amelia looked at him sympathetically before answering.

"I know, and I intend to do everything I can to get them out, but we all know that until we have actual evidence they're innocent, there's no way they'll release them yet."

Everyone had to admit that was the truth. Right now it was Amelia's word against dozens of witnesses, and she'd just come out of a coma. In fact, they weren't even sure she wasn't mistaken, but they would do anything in their power to keep her safe regardless.

"You need to come stay with us," Richard told her. "We have plenty of room."

"Your house is no safer than mine, Rick, and if I come stay with you, I'll put Susan at risk. Absolutely not," Amelia countered. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Well, then we need to have an Order member with you at all times," Sirius ordered.

Amelia was about to object to the authoritarian tone in Sirius's voice, but Kingsley spoke up before she could. "Madam Bones, I agree with Sirius, but there is one flaw in that plan. We would all need access to your home in order to do that. I believe myself and Sirius are the only ones with access currently."

"And Albus," Amelia added absently as she considered that point.

Sirius scoffed, earning him another glare from his girlfriend who was becoming more annoyed with his attitude by the second, before an idea occurred to him. "You can stay at Grimmauld Place."

Amelia raised her eyebrows. "Here?"

Sirius nodded. "It has every protection a house can have. And I can order Kreacher to protect you no matter what. The Order can swap out staying with you. That way, you never have to be alone, but you won't compromise the location of your own home."

Amelia was thoughtful for several seconds before she released a sigh. "I guess that would be ok," she answered regretfully, "I was so looking forward to going home."

"I will escort you there after the meeting," Kingsley promised. "So you can gather some things. I'll even stay there tonight if you'd like one night in your own bed."

Sirius humphed and Amelia cut her eyes to him, on the verge of telling the man off. But as she glared at him, she could see in his stormy grey eyes that even though he was being, in her opinion, a massive tosser right now, he cared for her deeply and wanted her safe.

In fact, she could see he loved her.

She softened her features and looked back at Kingsley. "I appreciate that, but I'll just gather my things and stay here."

Sirius still wasn't happy, but he felt a little better knowing Amelia would never be alone and she would be in a truly safe house. "I'll have Kreacher prepare you a room."

Amelia thanked him before telling the group, "Well that covers my personal time, but what about when I'm in the office? You all can't be hanging around outside the door."

Kingsley spoke up again. "We'll coordinate a plan similar to what Sirius did at Hogwarts. We have enough members, we can make some strategic placements." He looked at Sirius, who gave a silent nod of agreement to help.

"You can use me," Arthur Weasley spoke up. "I'm only working part-time now, but no one will think twice if I'm at the Ministry."

"Me too," Tonks added. "I can be anyone at the ministry I need to be."

Kingsley nodded and produced a parchment with his wand. "I'll start a schedule." Before he could look up, Amelia spoke his name. The two of them looked at one another and seemed to have an entire conversation without using words.

"I know," Kingsley finally said. "But I checked all of their wands immediately, Minister. There is no evidence any of them were involved."

Sirius seemed to understand, along with Dumbledore, but everyone else seemed confused.

"There were aurors assigned to protect me on the trip. As much as I hate to admit it, it could have been one of them," Amelia explained.

"Well, who were the aurors assigned that day?" Sirius questioned, mentally making a list of who he needed to curse into oblivion. Even if they didn't attack Amelia, they certainly didn't protect her either.

"At the time of the attack, Scrimgeour…" Kingsley began.

"It wasn't him," Amelia immediately interjected. "Rufus and I don't always see eye to eye, but he wouldn't hurt me. Plus…"

"Not even to keep you from being the next Minister?" Sirius interrupted. "And wasn't he a bit upset when Kingsley was promoted to take your spot instead of him. You have to admit the man is power hungry."

Amelia gritted her teeth. She didn't like to be interrupted…and questioned…and maybe she was a bit grumpy from several days in a hospital and in desperate need of rest. "If you would let me finish," she snapped, "I was going to say that I would recognize him. The person I saw was definitely younger than Scrimgeour."

Sirius locked eyes with her, the tension in the room rising rapidly again, but he finally conceded. "Ok, who else?"

"Alexander Williamson," Kingsley answered.

"Who is he?" Sirius asked.

"Young guy, good auror, but a bit green. I don't think he's capable of doing this," Amelia answered.

"You just said it was a young guy," Sirius countered.

"I said he was younger than Rufus Scrimgeour. A lot of people are," Amelia argued.

Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes, feeling as if this conversation was going nowhere.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and tried to get them back on track. "Perhaps we should discuss motive. That might narrow down our suspect list. Shall we start with the theory that this was retaliation for the death of Tom Riddle."

Everyone in the room fell silent, each privately remembering how that had been common following the first war. Their contemplations were interrupted by the sound of the floo and a very unwelcome face entering the room.

….

Harry and Ron had settled at the table with a plate of chocolate biscuits between them when Mrs. Weasley walked in.

"Harry dear, what are your plans for your birthday?" she asked over her shoulder as she busied herself with preparing a lunch to transport to the Order.

Harry shrugged. "We haven't really talked about it."

Mrs. Weasley gave a disapproving huff but she changed her tone to sweet as she asked her next question. "You're not going to your beach house?"

"No ma'am, we were just there," Harry answered.

Ron smirked from his seat at the kitchen table. "You could always go back and see your Italian girlfriend," he teased.

Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny had picked that exact moment to walk into the room. Ron didn't notice her as his back was to the door, but she definitely heard her brother's comments and looked directly at Harry.

Harry caught her eye and wanted to hex Ron, and he very well might have if Mrs. Weasley hadn't been right there. "I…I…I don't have an Italian girlfriend," he stuttered, his eyes darting back and forth between his clueless best friend and ex-girlfriend.

Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as she wiped her hands. "Well, please tell Sirius that I am more than happy to host a party here if he doesn't want to go through the trouble. I know he's been terribly busy lately." She stuffed a tray of sandwiches into a picnic basket that seemed way too small before exiting the room.

Harry felt annoyance rise at Molly's not-so-subtle jab at Sirius's parenting. Sirius had been busy with all that Amelia was going through, but Harry knew that he would always drop everything if Harry needed him. He had proven that to his son time and time again. Harry's irritation wasn't relieved at all by Ron's next statement.

"I say go back to Italy. Didn't you say that girl was smoking hot?"

Behind him, Ginny choked on her glass of water, and Ron finally noticed she was in the room just before Harry kicked him hard under the table.

"Ouch!" Ron couldn't help but yelp, but he shot apologetic eyes to his best friend as Ginny hurried from the room. He pulled his knee to his chest and rubbed his shin as he attempted to make amends. "Sorry, mate. I didn't know she was there."

"No bloody kidding," Harry snapped back.

Ron looked over his shoulder to see if Ginny was really gone. She was. "Have you talked to her?"

Harry shook his head. "Not yet. I'm sure she doesn't want to speak to me now."

Ron winced. "I'll talk to her. Tell her I was just being an idiot. She'll understand."

Harry could tell his friend was truly remorseful, but he was still annoyed. "Thanks," he managed to say before looking down at his watch. The Order meeting would be ending soon and Sirius wanted him home for lunch. "I have to go."

Ron frowned. "I really am sorry."

Harry shook his head and stood up. "Don't worry about it. I really do have to go."

Ron nodded and walked with him towards the floo. "Oh before you go, Dad wanted me to tell you that his store is opening next week. He's having this big grand opening, and he said you and Sirius should be there too, since you're pretty much the reason he has the store at all."

"Oh, yes, Arthur would be thrilled to have you there," Molly said with great effort. She still hadn't completely come to terms with the idea that her husband and sons were running a joke shop, but she couldn't deny that Mr. Weasley had been the happiest she'd seen him in a long time, and Fred and George were finally blowing things up away from her home.

That announcement helped Harry's mood slightly. "Ok, that sounds brilliant. I'll tell Sirius. See ya."

Ron waved as his best friend disappeared.

…..

Sirius stood up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Amelia sighed and rolled her eyes. In fact, a few Order members did the same, but Severus Snape stood up even taller and looked with contempt at his oldest rival. "Pardon me, Black, I thought you were aware I am a member of the Order."

Sirius scoffed. "You were a spy for Voldemort. He's dead. You're not needed."

"Sirius," Remus said sharply, but Amelia skipped the banter and simply smacked the man in the back of the head.

"Will you shut up?"

Snape was about to respond with something that was most certainly not going to be helpful, but Dumbledore beat him to it. "I asked Severus to be here, Sirius. He has intimate knowledge of Voldemort's most loyal followers that I believe will be valuable in this discussion. Regardless of what motive we deem most probable, I assume we all would agree that the suspect is likely a death eater."

For a moment, it seemed as if Sirius had not even heard his former headmaster as he and Snape engaged in a staring match, but after a few seconds, he sighed and gestured towards an empty chair…across the table and several seats away from him.

Amelia kicked him under the table.

"Sorry," Sirius managed to mutter like an impenitent child.

"You're here just in time, Severus. We need some insight on who is most likely to have the motive and ability to do something like this," Dumbledore explained. "Right now we have three theories. Let's start with the first. This was retribution."

Snape blinked a few times boredly as he thought before finally shaking his head. "That theory is extremely improbable. None of the Dark Lord's followers still at large have made any effort to find him in the last thirteen years. Why would they seek revenge now?"

"Good point," Amelia agreed along with a few others at the table. "I would think many of them are actually relieved that he did not return to power."

Snape nodded.

"Ok, next theory," Amelia said. "The trials of the death eaters we captured are quickly approaching, and everyone knows I'm calling for the maximum sentence for them all. Who would want to stop me?"

An awkward minute passed as everyone waited for Snape to answer. When he appeared as if he was not participating at all, others began to throw out theories.

"Well," Remus began, "Lucius Malfoy is the only one fighting it, isn't he?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes. They're really pushing the Imperius defense again."

If someone knew him extremely well, they would have noticed the slightest twitch Snape's eyebrow gave at that bit of information, but he didn't comment, and truthfully, no one knew him extremely well.

"And Lucy is wealthy and well-connected. He'd have the influence to have some of his cronies do this even while he sits in Azkaban," Sirius added to the conversation.

Snape moved forward slightly in his seat and looked at Dumbledore. "What is the last theory?"

Dumbledore gestured towards Amelia. "Madam Bones is our reigning Minister. Someone could be trying to stop her from taking office."

Snape cut his eyes back to Amelia. "Who is defending Lucius?"

"Carl Yaxley," Amelia answered. "Do you know him?"

In typical Snape fashion, he ignored the question. "Your thinking is foolishly limited," he told the group. "The last two theories do not have to be mutually exclusive. Someone could be both trying to stop Madam Bones from prosecuting the Dark Lord's followers and trying to stop her from ascending to Minister."

Silence filled the room again as everyone thought over his words. Finally Sirius conceded that Snape might have a point and looked at him. "Ok, do you know who might want to do that?"

"No," Snape answered dryly. "I do not pretend to know the thoughts of others, but I can tell you that Corban Yaxley has always been extremely power hungry and is good friends with Lucius Malfoy."

"I'm assuming Corban and Carl Yaxley are related?" Tonks asked.

Amelia nodded, looking nervous. "Brothers."

After another pause, Sirius spoke slowly. "So, Corban Yaxley is probably the death eater that hit you with the spell?"

Everyone in the room nodded their agreement with the exception of Severus Snape. "No," he said plainly.

Sirius cut his eyes at Snape angrily. "What do you mean no?"

"My apologies, I thought you understood basic, two-letter words," Snape replied sarcastically.

"You-" Sirius snarled.

"Gentlemen!" Dumbledore interrupted, wanting very badly to send both of them to detention. "Explain your thoughts please Severus."

Snape gave one last nasty glare to Sirius before addressing Amelia again. "It is my understanding that you believe the Japanese aurors currently in prison were under the Imperius curse. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"And then you were attacked by someone else?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded and agreed again.

"It would take someone extremely skilled at that curse to use it against three able-bodied wizards at the same time," Snape replied. "They would need an accomplice to send the other spell."

After a moment of thought, Amelia had to agree.

"Who the accomplice might be, I have no idea, but among the Dark Lord's followers, Corban Yaxley is the most talented at the Imperius Curse. He is well known for it," Snape finished.

….

Harry was already feeling annoyed when he arrived back at his home because of his best friend's mouthy blunder.

It only got worse from there.

"Dad?" Harry called out. Normally when he stepped through the floo, it was a matter of seconds before Sirius was in the room, but now the house was quiet. "Dad!" he repeated.

Nothing.

Harry checked his watch. The Order meeting should have ended a few minutes ago. Where was Sirius? He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mirror.

"Sirius Black."

He was shocked when Amelia's face appeared in the glass.

"Hi, Harry. I guess you're looking for Sirius."

"Amelia?" Harry was thoroughly confused and wasn't at all thinking about being polite at this point. "What are you doing with Sirius's mirror?"

Amelia didn't seem to notice his curtness. "He gave it to me to use in case I needed him while I was in the hospital."

Harry was barely paying attention to her answer. Instead, he was busy staring at the room behind Amelia. He recognized it as Sirius's childhood bedroom at Grimmauld Place. What was she doing there? They were supposed to be having an Order meeting, not doing…nevermind, he wasn't going to think about what they could be doing in his father's old bedroom.

"Where's Sirius," Harry said shortly, his annoyance rising by the second.

"Just downstairs," Amelia quickly reassured him. She was starting to realize that Harry seemed a bit annoyed. "We just finished up the meeting. I'll go get him now."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said harshly. He ended their conversation and tossed his mirror on their couch. At first he just stood there angrily huffing, his eyes darting around the room. They landed on his Firebolt lying by the backdoor where he had tossed it the day before. This did nothing to improve his mood as he thought about the injustice of Sirius taking his broom simply for not waking him up in the middle of the night, and now the man had a lot of explaining to do. What was the man thinking, giving his mirror to Amelia? What if he had needed it? He thought briefly about taking the broom out for a fly out of spite, but he knew that would be a bad idea.

He was tired of looking at it though, so he stomped over and picked it up with the intention of tossing it in the closet where it belonged when the floo chimed.

Remus stepped through and, understandably, was not pleased to see what was in Harry's hand.

"What do you think you're doing with that, young man?"

If Harry wasn't fully angry before, he was now.

"Sod off. I was just putting it away," Harry snapped. "Where the hell is Sirius?"

Remus's eyes went so wide they nearly popped out of his head. Harry never spoke to him that way. But they quickly resumed their normal shape and then narrowed to slits as he marched to the boy and towered over him with his hands on his hips.

"Sirius is finishing some things up at Grimmauld Place and will be here any moment, and I can tell you, Harry James, he will not be pleased to come home and find you in your room for your attitude for a second time this week. So, do you want to try that whole thing over again?"

Harry's ire faltered a bit as he remembered that it wasn't actually Remus he was angry at. "Sorry, but I really was putting it away." Taking a tentative step away from his godfather, he walked the short distance to the closet and deposited the broomstick. Closing the door, he looked back at Remus. "What's Dad doing?" he asked again, more respectfully but with a bit of challenge to his voice. He wanted to know if Remus would lie to him or not.

Remus decided against further chastisement for the boy's attitude. "He was going to ask Kreacher to prepare a room for Amelia, and then speak to her for a few minutes. He should be here very soon."

"A room for Amelia?" Harry questioned irritably. "Why? Doesn't she have a house?"

"Yes, she does, but he and Richard are concerned for her safety," Remus responded. "So she's going to be staying at Grimmauld Place for a while."

"Oh," Harry answered, looking down at the floor, his chest now feeling a bit tight as his brain processed that information.

If Harry had slept well the night before…

Or if he hadn't gotten in trouble that morning…

Or if Ron had just kept his big mouth shut…

Harry likely would have been in a better frame of mind when he returned home and would not have had such a gut-wrenching reaction to Amelia staying at Grimmauld Place or to Sirius giving away his bloody mirror.

He was absolutely shocked at Sirius's actions after the countless lectures he'd been given over having his own mirror with him at all times. He couldn't even imagine the world of trouble he'd be facing if he'd given his mirror to Ginny.

And though Harry would say he was completely comfortable with Sirius dating Amelia, he was not so keen on her moving into their home. So it wasn't the home they lived in full time, but they'd stayed there on more than one occasion when Order meetings ran long, and Sirius always said that it would be their safe house if things in their world ever got truly dangerous again. Fortunately that was never a necessity, but Harry still felt possessive of the house.

Maybe he still held on to a bit of fear that they one day would need it.

Sirius hadn't thought twice about either action because he saw them both as necessary for Amelia's safety, but his son couldn't see past his hurt and anger to feel the same way.

Remus could see that something was clearly bothering the boy. Harry's shoulders were slumped and his face pinched. He placed his hand gently on Harry's back and knelt down so he could look the boy in the eyes. "Harry, is everything ok? You seem a bit upset."

Harry met his eyes. "Yeah, everything is fine," he answered, though there wasn't an ounce of truth in that statement.

….

While most members of the Order were downstairs eating the lunch Molly had prepared for them, Amelia was wandering upstairs. Sirius had told her which room was Harry's, but she could have her pick of the rest. She'd pretty much already settled on a guest room on the third floor, right across from the grand master suite that Sirius currently used when necessary, but now she was looking around curiously at all the other rooms the large home housed. She'd pushed the door open to the bedroom that was clearly Sirius's when he'd been a boy.

There were pictures plastered all over the wall. She saw a young Remus and James beside teenage Sirius in many of the pictures. Even Lily made an appearance in a few, probably from their seventh year at Hogwarts. The parts of the walls not covered in photos were occupied by pictures of muggle vehicles and pretty young ladies wearing not much more than their birthday suits. She playfully rolled her eyes at these and found herself watching a picture of the young Marauders when Sirius's mirror had vibrated.

Now she was staring at it, blinking in confusion at Harry's abrupt goodbye when she heard a soft knock at the door. She turned to see Sirius leaned against the doorframe.

Amelia smirked and pointed at a poster of 3 bikini-clad muggle girls surrounding a motorcycle. "Subtle."

Sirius chuckled and looked around. "This bedroom was decorated with one thing in mind: Drive my mother crazy."

Amelia laughed. "I bet it worked."

"Indeed," Sirius confirmed. He stood up and approached her timidly until their eyes met.

"I'm sorry," they both said in unison.

Amelia smiled as Sirius let out a breath of relief and pulled her close. They hadn't exactly been cordial to one another during the meeting, and he was thankful there didn't seem to be any lasting resentment.

"If it makes you feel any better," Sirius began as he took in the scent of her hair, "I drive Harry crazy with my overprotectiveness too."

Amelia chuckled. "That does help some, actually, but perhaps I acted a bit like a teenager about it too." She glanced up at him and he winked and kissed her forehead.

"That's ok. I worry about you both because…"

"You love us," Amelia finished for him.

Sirius nodded and squeezed her again. "More than I can say."

"We love you too, you know. And I promise, I will be careful ok? You have to admit I'm less inclined to run off into danger than Harry."

Sirius held up his hand and stuck out two fingers, pinching them so close together they were almost touching. "Just this much."

They shared another laugh before Amelia's eyes turned concerned. "Speaking of Harry, he actually just called your mirror."

"Oh?" Sirius responded. "Well he probably just made it back home before Remus got there. Was he ok?"

"Physically, yes, but he seemed upset."

Sirius frowned. "Well, I better get home and see what's going on."

Amelia nodded and smiled encouragingly. "I need to go get my things too, and probably go to the office for a while."

Sirius held out his arms and she fell into his embrace once more. They stayed that way until Kingsley appeared in the doorway and told Amelia he'd checked her home, and it was safe. With one final kiss, they separated and parted ways.

….

Harry had his arms crossed and was staring at a dark spot on their hardwood floor while keeping his mouth firmly closed.

"Harry, are you upset about all of the time that Sirius is spending with Amelia?" Remus tried again, softening his tone.

"No," Harry answered automatically. Truthfully, he wasn't very hurt by the time Sirius was spending with Amelia. It was the fact that the parts of their lives that included Amelia seemed to be growing rapidly, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Remus hoped to get a few more words out of the boy, but eventually he had to give up that notion. He softly lifted the boy's chin to look at him.

"Whatever is bothering you isn't going to get better if you don't talk about it."

For a moment, it looked like Harry might come to his senses, but just as he was pulling his chin away, Sirius came through the floo.

"Hey kid," Sirius said cheerily. "Did you have fun with Ron this morning?"

Harry was definitely not in the mood for light chatter, and Sirius was about to learn that the hard way.

"I guess. Would have been better if I could fly," Harry answered bitingly, not chancing a glance at Sirius.

Sirius certainly wasn't in the mood to go to battle with a teenager right now either. "Perhaps you will remember that the next time you find yourself breaking one of my rules," he responded, giving his son a look that warned him he was in no mood for nonsense.

Harry scoffed. "You mean the rules that only apply to me?"

All of Sirius's earlier consternation over scolding Harry when he'd been away for so long went out the window with the boy's disrespectful tone. He took three large steps closer to the boy, put his hands firmly on his hips and looked Harry directly in the eyes as he spoke sternly. "What exactly does that mean, young man?"

Harry was much too angry to be intimidated. "You gave Amelia your bloody mirror!"

Whatever Sirius thought was the problem, he hadn't expected that. "That's what this is about?!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Harry shouted. "You'd murder me if I gave mine to Ginny!"

Sirius looked to Remus for help, but he was just as clueless as Sirius. He rubbed a hand over his face and attempted to reason with the boy. "Harry, I gave Amelia my mirror because she was staying in Japan, and it was the only way to communicate over that distance. Now that she's back in England, she gave it back to me," he explained, pulling the mirror from his pocket as evidence.

Harry looked between the mirror and his father for several seconds before he finally spoke. "Oh," was the only word he could come up with. Although Sirius's explanation made complete sense, Harry still wasn't quite ready to completely forgive his father. There was still the matter of Amelia moving into Grimmauld Place. While there might be some logic to that decision, he still felt as if Sirius should have at least discussed it with him first.

But then again, why should he? It wasn't like it was actually their home. It was Sirius's property, but it had never been their primary place of residence. As Harry thought about it, it wasn't so much that Sirius didn't tell him. It was the fact that Amelia was there at all. Even though Harry didn't live there, it deeply bothered him that Amelia was staying there now, and he really couldn't explain why.

"Yeah, oh," Sirius replied, annoyed by his son's attitude. "You know Harry, if you're upset with me, you can always talk to me about it. There's no need for the cheek."

Harry was starting to feel some remorse for his words and actions, but it disappeared quickly with his father's mild scolding. "Well, you could have told me. And what was Amelia doing in your room anyway? Did you even have a meeting today?"

That was so far from the apology Sirius expected and so patently ridiculous that Sirius didn't even justify it with a response. Instead of replying, he looked at Remus. "Did he give you cheek when you got here too?"

Remus was less than thrilled by his godson's antics. He had never been the type to lash out at others when he was upset. Shutting others out, self-sabotaging, or just general sulking were Remus's methods of choice for dealing with big feelings, but anger he couldn't quite relate to. Normally he did his best to keep the boy out of trouble, but Harry's mouthiness was starting to become a pattern of bad behavior. Wincing in sympathy for the boy, he looked at Sirius and nodded. "Yeah, since I stepped out of the floo."

Sirius sighed and looked at his son. "I think it would be best if you spent some time in your room." When Harry's jaw dropped open, Sirius shook his head. "You're not confined there. Whenever you are ready to have a rational, respectful conversation, you are welcome to join us again. But the disrespect is going to end right now."

Harry stood there stewing another moment before he turned and stomped up the stairs. Pausing at the top, he looked back at his father and spoke again, his voice dripping with malice. "Thanks for coming home long enough to punish me. At least in prison, the guards are there every day."

Remus was gobsmacked as he heard the door slam upstairs, but his shock was nothing compared to how Sirius was feeling. For the bewildered father, it felt as if someone had kicked him hard in the stomach and knocked the very life out of him. Remus looked to his best mate and his heart broke at the hurt look in Sirius's eyes as he practically melted into their couch and put his face in his hands.

"You didn't deserve that," Remus attempted to comfort his friend. "By now, Harry knows better."

Sirius shook his head several times as he straightened his back. "I should have told him about the mirror."

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius would resign himself to feeling guilty when his son was the one who should be remorseful, and Remus found this unacceptable. Though he normally stayed out of their father-son disputes when he could, he wasn't about to let his best friend be treated that way. Without another word, he made up his mind and marched directly to the boy's room.

Harry had only just slammed the door when Remus opened it right back up. He didn't even have time to turn around to see who had followed him before he felt his godfather grab his arm and land a stinging swat to his backside.

"Hey!" Harry protested, attempting to jerk away from his godfather's hold before he could continue to assault his rear end.

Remus didn't let go, but he also had no intentions of smacking the boy another time. Instead, he spun him around and spoke as sternly as Harry had ever heard him, his face inches from the teenager's. "If anyone knows what it's like to be in prison, it would be your father, Harry James."

Harry felt like something had sucked all the air from his lungs. His anger dissipated almost immediately, replaced instantly with guilt. Tears began to pool in his eyes and he hugged himself and stared at the floor.

"Sirius didn't deserve that," Remus said more gently. The boy's tears were quickly destroying his anger too, but he kept an edge to his voice. "Whatever is bothering you, you need to talk to him."

Harry silently nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. He felt like the worst son in the entire world. Why had he gotten so upset? Didn't Sirius always put him first? He'd gotten so defensive this morning when Mrs. Weasley suggested otherwise, and now he had turned around and made the man feel awful for something so stupid.

Harry didn't want to be a bad son. He didn't want to tell his father that Amelia moving into one of their houses felt quite a bit like her moving into their home. He didn't want to say that he worried about Sirius just as much as the man worried about him. Hell, he didn't even want to bother the man in the middle of the night, but Harry was starting to see that the more he tried to handle problems on his own, the more he ultimately messed up and hurt Sirius inadvertently.

"Can I…Can I go to talk to him?" Harry asked, his voice gravelly as he tried to fight back his tears.

Remus realized he was still holding the boy's arm, so he gently let go. He had briefly considered making Harry spend some time in the corner or write some lines, but his immediate remorse had him reconsidering. Harry knew he was in the wrong. There was no need to further rebuke him. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Sirius was still in his seat on the couch, his face buried in his hands. He probably would have protested Remus's interference if his own guilt hadn't distracted him completely. He didn't even look up as he heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. The next thing he knew, he was enveloped in a hug by a gangly teenager with messy black hair sticking up all in his face.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, and Sirius could hear the sincerity in his voice, along with feeling the tears beginning to soak the front of his shirt.

Sirius wrapped his own arms around the boy and gently rocked him. He looked up as Remus walked quietly down the stairs. With a nod of approval, the professor waved to his friend and stepped inside the fireplace before disappearing to presumably his own home.

Though Harry was devastated that he had hurt Sirius so much, he also felt a flood of emotions for all the other things that had happened that day. Mrs. Weasley's cutting words. Ron's loose lips. Finding out about the mirror. Finding out Amelia was staying at Grimmauld Place.

That last thought had Harry sobbing particularly hard, and Sirius knew this was more than just his sorrow following his careless insult.

"Harry," Sirius said softly, gently stroking the boy's hair, "please tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.

Harry sat up slightly and sniffled, using the back of his hand to wipe his nose. Sirius winced and produced a tissue for him, which Harry took and used right away. Banishing the tissue, Sirius nodded encouragingly to his son and rubbed his back.

"It's everything," Harry said honestly. He went on to tell Sirius about the nightmare he'd had the night before, about how Ron had gotten him into hot water with Ginny, even about how Mrs. Weasley had taken a jab at Sirius's parenting. Sirius was used to her comments and accepted that he and Molly would probably never see eye-to-eye on many issues, but he also knew Molly would lay down her life for his son and that fact alone made him respect her tremendously.

"And," Harry continued, taking a deep breath, "I was mad that you took my broom this morning. But that's so stupid," Harry scolded himself. "I don't know how many times I woke up at night with the Dursleys and wished I could go to them for comfort, and now you want me to do that, and I got so mad at you for it." He shook his head in frustration.

Sirius couldn't help a slight chuckle. "Harry, you're almost fifteen. You're supposed to want independence, to be a little secretive sometimes even. And normally, that's ok, but your lack of sleep has affected your health, so it's important I know about it."

Harry nodded. "I know. I'm sorry." He rubbed his hands along his pants nervously. He knew the time had come to tell Sirius the rest of the truth, but he felt truly awful doing so.

As much as Harry wanted to hide his feelings from his father, it was a fruitless effort. Sirius could read him like a book.

"Harry," Sirius began, softly clearing his throat, "I can't help but feel like there's still some unfinished business here."

Harry looked up at him and Sirius gave him an encouraging smile.

"Whatever it is, kid, I want to hear it. I promise."

Harry sighed. He couldn't look at Sirius when he said what he had to say, but he took a deep breath and said it. "When Remus told me that Amelia was going to be staying at Grimmauld Place…I don't know. For some reason I just got so angry."

Sirius sat up in alarm. "It bothers you that Amelia is staying there?"

Harry grimaced. "Yeah, and I don't know why. It's so stupid!" he replied, completely disappointed with himself. "We don't even live there."

Sirius placed a hand on Harry's knee and waited for the boy to meet his eyes. "Harry, your feelings are never stupid."

Harry's cheeks colored, but he nodded.

"Let me ask you, though, why do you think it bothers you?"

Harry looked down again. "I guess, it feels a little bit like she's moving in with us," he admitted.

To his son's surprise, Sirius nodded, like he completely understood. "That makes sense. I'm sorry I didn't think about that."

"Well you shouldn't be sorry," Harry argued. "It's so st-"

Sirius took his son by surprise by lifting a finger and tapping his lips before he could get the words out. "Don't call your feelings stupid again."

Harry paused and nodded. He bit his bottom lip and barely could meet his father's eyes as he asked sheepishly, "But, she will move in with us one day, won't she?"

Sirius puffed up his cheeks and then let out a long breath. "Well, no one can predict the future, but I suppose if things keep going the way they're going, then yes, yes she would." He paused to see how Harry reacted to that. When his son didn't look just completely distraught, he continued, "But I can promise you Harry, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. And it will never happen until you are completely comfortable with it."

"But…but what if I'm not comfortable with it until I get married and move out myself?" Harry asked.

"Well then, she won't move in until then," Sirius assured him with all the confidence in the world. One thing he knew for certain is that he would always put Harry's needs first.

Reluctantly, Harrry nodded his understanding, but Sirius could see there was still something left to discuss. He reached and tapped the boy's knee. "Anything else?"

Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights. He wanted to just let it go, but Sirius was looking at him expectantly, and something told him that he wasn't getting off that easy. "I don't know. I guess it's just…" he stopped himself and shook his head, tears threatening to fall again.

Sirius gently lifted his son's chin. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath and looked at Sirius. To his father, he looked all of five years old as he whispered, "What if we need it again, Dad?"

Sirius didn't answer. Instead, he pulled his son close and hugged him again, hoping the boy always felt warm and safe in his arms. He found himself in a wholly unfamiliar role. Usually, it was Sirius who worried too much, and Harry that had to tell him everything would be ok. Now it was up to him to convince his son that their world was safe again, but could he do that if he didn't fully believe it himself?

"Listen to me, Harry," Sirius said gently. "I know things are a bit uncertain now, with everything that's happened with Amelia, but I promise you, I will always, always keep you safe. Do you understand me?"

Harry saw the sincerity in his father's eyes and heard the conviction in his voice, so he nodded, but he didn't look fully convinced. Sirius wondered if this was partially his fault. His constant worry seemed to have rubbed off on his son.

Of course, dying will have that effect on a person too, and Sirius shouldn't carry all the responsibility for his son's fear on his shoulders.

"I think it would be a good idea for you and I to talk to Healer Williams together about our fears," Sirius suggested. "This is not healthy for either of us to live like this. Not to mention, your nightmares aren't going away."

Harry nodded in agreement and laid his head back on his father's chest. After a few minutes of silence as he soaked in the comfort, the guilt began to be heavy in his stomach again. He looked up at his father sheepishly. "I guess I should go back to my room now."

Harry stood up and Sirius did the same, but instead of letting the boy walk away, Sirius grabbed his shoulders and steered him towards their kitchen. "No, I'm starving, and I'm sure you are too, so we're going to have lunch and put all of this behind us."

Lunch actually sounded amazing to Harry, who, now that the anxiety was released from his stomach, could tell he was quite hungry. But it didn't stop the shame he was feeling for how poorly he had treated his father. "Ok, but then I'll go to my room afterward."

Sirius couldn't tell whether Harry was asking him or telling him, but he supposed he should set some type of consequence. He didn't want to have to have an argument with the boy every time Harry had something bothering him. He had to learn to talk to Sirius first, before things blew up. He also knew part of Harry's attitude problems stemmed from his lack of sleep the night before, so a little rest would probably serve the boy well. "You can spend one hour after lunch in your room, thinking about how in the future you're going to talk to me instead of…." He waved his hand a bit, trying to think of the right wording.

"Telling you to sod off?" Harry supplied.

Sirius wrinkled his forehead. "When did you tell me to sod off?"

Belatedly, Harry realized his mistake. He swallowed hard. "I…I think that w-was actually Remus I said that t-to," he stuttered nervously.

Sirius's face quickly grew stern. "Two hours. Two hours in your room, then, we're putting this all behind us."

Instead of celebrating his light sentence, Harry was baffled. "Two hours for the awful things I said to you? I should be grounded for at least a week."

Sirius's eyes grew wide in amusement. "A week? Harry, if your grandparents grounded me for a week for every snarky comment I made as a teenager, I'd still be grounded to this day."

Harry rolled his eyes. He was sure his father could have never said anything half as horrible as what he said. Sirius was a wonderful father. He was kind, understanding, funny, and forgiving, even after spending 12 years in the worst place on Earth, and Harry had just thrown that in his face. "No, it should be a week."

Sirius's stomach growled, so he gave his son a nudge towards their kitchen and followed behind. "You were angry, Harry, and everyone says things they regret when they're angry. You need to let go of your guilt. I've forgiven you, now it's time to move on."

Harry thought that was pretty rich coming from the man who had spent 12 years rotting in Azkaban simply because he felt guilty, but there was no way he was going to remind his father again of that deplorable place.

Sirius could see the hesitation on his son's face, so he shrugged nonchalantly. "Ground yourself for as long as you want, but all I know is I plan on going for a fly on my motorcycle this evening, so you'll have to decide if my sidecar will be occupied or empty."

Harry smiled as he sat down beside his father, their lunch appearing in front of them. He had the most brilliant father in the world. He still felt like the world's biggest prat, but he also felt as if his day was about to get a lot better, and this time he knew exactly why.