She can find him—even when he wants to be invisible. And she'll never let him go on alone.

"I'll go with you!"

"When are you going to get it into your head, we're in this together!"

It felt like a long wait to the Hogsmeade weekend. At least I didn't need a Dursley to sign the sheet for me: Sirius had sent me a signed permission slip by owl post last summer, which I carefully brought back to Hogwarts.

I didn't care to try it with McGonagall, so I asked Dumbledore himself, showing him the slip. He said it was good enough for him. I never saw him bring it up with Professor McGonagall, but that Hogsmeade weekend she just waved me past and said,

"I already have your permission form, Potter." I hesitated, but her face was a neutral mask.

"Harry." Hermione tugged at my arm. I was clogging up the line.

"Oh, right. Thanks, Professor." I managed.

And just like that, we were off towards Hogsmeade. It wasn't snowing, but it was still a cold day, the wind holding a bite. The pack of food on my back helped shield the wind—we had asked the house elves for some extra food, so we could bring Sirius lunch, if not dinner too.

"You got your form signed?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence.

"Remember, last year on the train?" I recalled, smiling. "Sirius sent me a signed note saying I could go to Hogsmeade." Hermione burst out laughing.

"You actually handed that in?" She grinned. I shrugged.

"To Dumbledore, actually. He accepted it." I said brightly. "Sirius'll love hearing that."

"We're meeting him at the end of that road, right?" Hermione confirmed.

"The sooner the better." I readjusted the backpack. "Think he could go to the Three Broomsticks with us as a dog?"

"Yes barman, we'll have two butterbeers, with some ginger in mine, and a glass of wine for the dog." Hermione joked. "We could ask him. He'd probably love to spend the time with you."

An hour later...

"This whole thing smells." Sirius groaned, leaning back against the cave wall and helping himself to another piece of chicken. "There has to be a plan. Whoever put your name in that cup wasn't doing it for a laugh. And if the Durmstrang Headmaster isn't behind it…"

"Then it has to be someone else." Hermione finished.

"This is exactly what troubles me. Malfoy isn't even there." Sirius rubbed his forehead. "Noticed anything else odd?"

"There's these two American students who showed up. Percy and Annabeth." I said. "Dumbledore let them come. They helped us figure out how to do the second task. We first saw them at the Yule Ball."

"How old are they?" Sirius asked.

"Both look seventeen or eighteen." Hermione said, cutting Sirius off before he could draw any assumptions about them being Death Eaters. "They've helped us, and Dumbledore knows them. He wanted to talk to them in private at the ball."

"Well, Dumbledore brought in Moody, maybe he wants more eyes on Hogwarts grounds, helping out." Sirius pondered.

"Hey, want to spend the day with us in Hogsmeade?" I asked. "You'd have to be the dog, but still… and you could meet the Americans, Percy said he would see us in Hogsmeade."

"Well, I would like to see the Three Broomsticks again." Sirius laughed. "Though I don't suppose they'd let you order the dog a firewhiskey yet, would they?"

"Come with us." Hermione smiled. "You can be our dog Padfoot." We all burst out laughing at that.

"You've convinced me." He grinned. "Do you want to meet up somewhere, or just go back to Hogsmeade together?"

"Just go back with us." I said. "C'mon, Hermione." I gestured for us to step outside. Seeing people change from human to animal was always disturbing. A few seconds later, a huge black dog joined us outside the cave. Hermione petted him on the head, and we set off back down the mountain. Not the most fun part of our day…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Harry! Hermione!" I heard the now-familiar voice of Percy call. The two Americans were just down the alley. Hermione waved, smiled.

"Oh, a dog." Percy noticed. "What's his name?"

"Padfoot." Hermione grinned. "Saved our lives once." Percy scratched Sirius behind the ears kindly.

"I've got a dog back home, Mrs. O'Leary." He grinned. "Also a lifesaver."

"Want to go to the Three Broomsticks?" Annabeth invited us. "We'll treat."

"Sounds good." I said. I had more than enough money to pay, but it was always better to accept offers. Declining would've been rude.

"We've got a lot to talk about." Percy sighed. "I wish it was just for fun. Annabeth and I, we always get to go to the most amazing places, but it's never just fun."

"Not true!" Annabeth objected playfully. "We went to the Bahamas last year. That was fun."

"Most of the time." Percy corrected himself.

"We might want to go somewhere else, if it's serious talk." Hermione offered. "Three Broomsticks is usually crowded." The Americans hesitated for a moment.

"Crowded is better." Annabeth said. "Makes it impossible to be overheard." Sirius gave a friend bark and licked her hand. She laughed. "Your friend must like the Broomsticks more." It was probably her thinking he liked—it sounded like something he would say.

"By the way, I didn't lose the knife you lent me, Annabeth." I remembered. "It's back in my trunk, though."

"Did you dry it off after the task?" Annabeth asked.

"I took it out, put it in the sun to dry." I was pleased to say I could.

"Thanks. I'll get it later." She said cheerfully.

"You know how amazing this town is?" Percy looked around again. We were all in high spirits. "Every shop has something amazing. Back home at camp, magic items are rare. You're lucky to have one, and it's usually a gift or reward."

"Like what?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Our head counselor gave me a pen that turns into a sword." He held up a gold ball point pen. "Celestial bronze. Very effective against most enemies. Won't hurt normal people, though."

"Better to discuss all of this over a meal." Annabeth sighed. "It can take a little time." The Three Broomsticks was just up ahead.

"So you ever patch things up with your friend?" Percy asked. I felt a little sour.

"No." I said shortly. "He's not an easy person to deal with."

"What's his problem?" Percy asked. I looked questioningly at him. Percy clarified himself. "Some people, anger, jealousy, different stuff. What's his problem, really?"

"I think you Americans call it an inferiority complex." Hermione remarked. "He's not very sure of himself. Poor family, and he's child number… five, I think?"

"That's not so hard to deal with." Annabeth said brightly. "Think you can help him, Seaweed Brain?" She was addressing Percy, but it was a playful joke, not an insult.

"Joy." He sighed. "Come'on, let's get lunch." He pushed open the door of the Broomsticks, and we entered. Madam Rosmerta greeted us, and we found ourselves a table amidst the crowd. I wasn't sure if she hadn't noticed Sirius, or just didn't mind dogs.

"What can I get you?" She asked us. She noticed Percy and Annabeth. "Ah, nice to see you two back again."

"Good to be back." Percy said. "I'll have a fruit smoothie, the chicken sandwich, and a steak for my canine friend here." I don't know if dogs can grin, but Sirius looked like he was. Annabeth ordered another 'smoothie' along with shepherd's pie. Hermione and I got ourselves some butterbeers, and our favorite dishes.

"I didn't know they had muggle drinks like smoothies here." Hermione remarked.

"What is a smoothie?" I asked curiously. Three pairs of eyes turned to me. The Americans looked amazed.

"We don't have them much in the wizarding community." Hermione said, trying not to smile. "Harry, smoothies are a mixture of fruit, honey, and usually milk. My parents love them, because don't mess up your teeth nearly as much as ice cream or soda."

"What do your parents do?" Annabeth asked conversationally.

"They're dentists." Hermione said. Thankfully, it was clear they both knew what dentists were.

"Not bad." Annabeth smiled a little. "If you don't mind your clients dreading seeing you. Isn't it a bit harder in Britain, though? I mean, compared to the States. I heard there's a lot more regulation in healthcare. Though we'll soon have tons more of that back in America…"

"Yeah." Hermione said. "The office they work at has three people full time who just deal with paperwork and stuff, not even scheduling people. So what do your parents do?"

"My dad's a historian. He teaches military history, and writes in his spare time." Annabeth explained. "Not bad, if you don't mind all his models and photographs everywhere. He loves researching." Both girls glanced to Percy.

"My mom's a fiction writer." He said. "Nothing big enough that you've heard of it." Something dawned on me and Hermione at the same time.

"So… what about your other parents?" Hermione asked hesitantly. Percy rubbed his forehead, sighing.

"This is where it gets interesting." He said.