Chapter 15

News, Parties, Sleepovers

Harry froze before the door, his mind blanking as he tried to comprehend what Madam Bones had said, but he couldn't wrap his mind around it. Pettigrew was dead? How did this happen? What, or who, could have killed him?

Needing to know more, Harry opened the door and walked in. Sirius and Madam Bones jerked their heads toward him. Their eyes widened.

"Harry?" Sirius said as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What are you doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep," Harry said as he sat down at the table. "Please continue. I'd like to know more about Pettigrew's death as well."

Madam Bones looked at Sirius, who gave her a "what are you looking at me for?" shrug. She sighed, and then, beginning again, she said, "We're not exactly sure what happened. No one even realized that Pettigrew was dead until early this morning during a shift change."

"Let me guess," Harry started, "it was made to look like a suicide?"

Madam Bones gave him a mirthless smile. "If only things were that simple. When we found him, Pettigrew's body was mangled. His limbs were twisted like pretzels, and there was a look of horror on his face, as if the last thing he saw was so terrifying it became permanently etched onto his face."

It sounded like someone had tortured him before killing him and then hanging him. What Harry didn't get was the purpose. Why would someone go to so much trouble to kill a person like this? Were they trying to make an example of him? Who were they making this example to? Was this punishment? Who could have punished him?

I wonder if one of the Death Eaters somehow killed him to keep him from being interrogated…

The theory was entirely possible. Pettigrew must have known who all the Death Eaters were, so he would have been able to identify them, which was another reason Harry had wanted to capture him alive. With Pettigrew's knowledge, they would have had enough evidence to sentence the Death Eaters who got out of a trial by claiming they were under the Imperius Curse.

"What about your aurors?" asked Harry. "Did they not notice anything unusual?"

Madam Bones shook her head. "That's the problem. No one noticed anything unusual."

Harry didn't get understand. For Pettigrew to have been killed in such a gruesome manner, he must have undergone intense pain. He should have been screaming his head off. Yet no one had even heard him. No one had known anything unusual was happening. That was just weird.

"Did you check your aurors to see if their memories had been tampered with?"

"We have." Madam Bones sighed and leaned back in her chair. Adjusting her monocle, she continued, "However, none of my aurors have had their memories tampered with or erased. Croaker of the Unspeakables has already verified this for me."

Tampering with a person's memories was generally a sloppy affair. To mess with someone's memories, they had to obliviate them and then replace what was lost with false memories. What's more, the false memories had to seamlessly merge with the real memories. Otherwise, you ran the risk of having the person whose memories you replaced realize that something was wrong.

Also, because of how fragile the mind was, erasing and replacing memories was a delicate procedure. Few people could do it right. In fact, the act of tampering with someone's memories without giving them lasting brain damage was next to impossible. Erasing? Sure, that was easy. Tampering? No, Harry didn't even think Headmaster Dumbledore could seamlessly replace a person's memories with false ones.

"So… you think someone assassinated Pettigrew?" Sirius asked.

Madam Bones nodded. "That is what we believe."

"However, you have no information on who could have done it?"

"That about sums it up."

"Well, damn."

Harry stewed and thought about how Pettigrew could have been killed. Whoever killed him must have been a skilled assassin. Perhaps this person was an animagus. If someone had an animagus form that was small enough, they could have slipped in without anyone noticing, created a barrier to keep noise and distort one's sight, and then assassinate Pettigrew in as brutal a manner possible before slipping back out.

"Are there any wizarding assassins?" Harry asked. "I haven't looked into this because it didn't seem relevant to me, but if there are people who kill others for money in the wizarding world, one of the Death Eaters might have hired them to kill Pettigrew."

Madam Bones frowned. "There are Hit Wizards, but all of them work for the Ministry."

"That means very little," Harry said. "A good portion of the Ministry is controlled by people like Lucius. Besides, not everyone is altruistic. Slip the right amount of money into a person's pocket, and most of them wouldn't think twice about doing something illegal."

"I guess that's true." Leaning back in her head, Madam Bones looked at the ceiling and blew out a deep breath. "However, I would like to place my faith in the people working in the Ministry. The Hit Wizards especially. They might be under a different branch than the aurors, but they are still members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Harry knew nothing of Hit Wizards, so he couldn't say anything about them. However…

"What if they're not Hit Wizards working for the Ministry?" he asked. "There's nothing that says an assassin has to work for the Ministry. I'm betting there's probably a group or individual somewhere who accepts assassination contracts from the darker families."

"I know of a few people who killed others for dark families," Sirius said. "I don't know any names, but my parents would often have people over. Money would exchange hands, and then a few days later, someone who my parents disliked, or someone who had opposed them, would wind up dead."

"I don't deny that there are people who kill for money," Madam Bones said. "However, assassins in the magic world keep their names strictly confidential. I'll have to ask Alistor about it, but my understanding is that not even the families who hire them know the true identities of the people they hire."

Madam Bones stood up, adjusted her monocle, and looked down at them.

"In either event, I came here tonight to inform you of what's happened, since you are involved in all of this. An investigation is underway, but I don't know how much we'll find out. We'll be sure to inform you of whatever we do find, however."

"I would appreciate that," Sirius said.

"Thank you," Harry added.

Madam Bones nodded at them both as he and Sirius stood up. They walked her to the door, which she left from since the fireplace still wasn't connected to the floo network. She bade them both a good night, and then walked off the lawn and disapparated once she'd gone past the wards.

Harry glanced at Siriurs, who stood still and was staring at the place that Madam Bones had left, a strange grimace etched onto his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "I'm just not sure how to feel."

Pettigrew had, at one point, been Sirius's friend. Regardless of what the rat had done, in spite of the bad blood that now existed between them, and despite Pettigrew's betrayal, it did not change the fact that, at some point in time, they had been friends.

Harry could not claim to know what was going through his godfather's mind. How could he? It wasn't like Harry had ever been betrayed before. Even so, he imagined his godfather must have been hurting.

"Say, Sirius," Harry began. Sirius turned him, and Harry, still looking at his godfather out of the corner of his eyes… smiled. "Have you ever heard of Nintendo?"

XoX

"Go, go, go! Hop on the turtle! Hop on the turtle!"

"It's not a turtle, Sirius! It's a Koopa!"

"Whatever. Just hop on it!"

In an effort to cheer up Sirius, Harry had gone out and bought a Nintendo NES and a TV. He'd then asked Kreacher to create an area within the wards that negated magic. Since magic adversely affected machines, he needed an area where there was no magic.

Wards were a complicated field of magic that required nearly a decade of study to master. They were a combination of runes and permanent enchantments. Harry, having never studied wards in depth yet due to not having enough time, couldn't even begin to figure out the wards surrounding Grimmauld Place, which were ancient and complex.

Fortunately, he didn't have to.

One of the benefits to having a house elf was that they were given access to the wards. This was done for multiple reasons. For one, a house elf could not betray their master; loyalty was assured. For another, house elves actually had more raw power than most humans, not to mention an instinctive intimacy with the intricacies of magic that few humans possessed. Where a skilled human could manipulate a ward in minutes, a house elf would only take seconds.

Now, he and Sirius were playing Mario Bros. It was a new game that had just come out this year. Harry really did have to thank Ragnok's people for updating him with knowledge about this gaming system. He was sure this company, Nintendo, would eventually become a major player in the industry of video games.

"Jump! Jump!"

"I am jumping! Shut up and let me play!"

On the screen, a tiny pixelated man in red ran along, leaping over small red goombas and hopping on the shells of koopas, all of it done in search of a princess… who was in another castle.

"What the hell is this?!" Sirius shouted as a small creature with a mushroom head hopped up and down. "We went through all that trouble to rescue the princess, only to discover that she wasn't even there?! I call foul play!"

"You mean I went through all that trouble," Harry corrected. "You have not done anything yet. However, it's your turn now. That was the deal, right? Either one death or one level complete before we switch places?"

"All right! It's my time to shine!" Sirius cheered. "Give me that thingamajig! It's time to show you what I'm made of!"

It was during this time, as Sirius began playing, that the doorbell rang. Since his godfather was preoccupied, Harry stood and wandered toward the door. Professor Lupin was on the other side. Harry blinked.

"Harry," the professor greeted with a tired smile. "Where's Sirius."

"In the living room," Harry answered seconds before a shout of "what the hell are you doing?!" came to them from the living room.

"I see," Professor Lupin said.

Harry chuckled. "It's good to see you, Moony. Why don't you head into the living room. Sirius is currently discovering the joy of video games. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to have you join him on this most auspicious moment."

Professor Lupin snorted to hide his laughter. "I'm sure."

Harry watched as the DADA Professor wandered into the living room. He listened as Sirius bellowed out a greeted so loud that his voice reverberated off the walls.

"Why do you allow such filth into our home, My Lord?" Walburga asked, her tone resentful.

Harry glanced at her. "You served under the Dark Lord decades ago, yes?"

"I did."

"Did you know that the Dark Lord had allied himself with werewolves, vampires, and dementors?" Harry asked. He spread his arms as Walburga recoiled. "The world is not so black and white as you might believe. Our world is one of shades. The Dark Lord knew this, and he used that knowledge to pull wool over the eyes of Britain's noble houses."

"And you seek to do that same?" Walburga asked, frowning.

Harry shook his head. "Rather than pull wool over your eyes, I would see it undone. My goal is not to spread disinformation, but to inform those who are lacking in knowledge the truth about this world, so they can make their own decisions." Harry smiled. "Saying that, I would prefer it if that decision was to follow me, but one cannot always have what they desire."

The portrait frowned, which caused Harry to stifle his chuckle. As master of the house and one who spoke parseltongue, she gave him preferential treatment. This had allowed him to practice his speeches on her.

After all, if he could convince one such as Walburga to join his cause, then convincing the other dark houses shouldn't prove too difficult.

XoX

Harry woke up early the next day and went for a fifteen kilometer run. He wanted to get a feel for the area, since he was going to be living here for the foreseeable future.

The area surrounding Grimmauld Place was completely different from Privet Drive. Far more industrialized than what he was used to, there were tall buildings all around him, not skyscrapers, but certainly larger than anything found near his old home outside of the library. The ancient house of the Black's was on Eversholt St. and Phoenix Rd.

There weren't many people outside. At the same time, there were far more people than Harry was used to seeing first thing in the morning. An older couple was walking a dog on the other side of the street, several young people strolled past him–college students?–and paused to look at him as he passed. One of the girls in the group whistled, and Harry felt his lips turning into a frown.

It took awhile, but Harry soon discovered a park. Oakley Square Gardens was a small copse of trees next to a triangular shaped section of buildings. Harry stopped there and used this place to do his push ups and other exercises.

By the time he returned home, sweat dripped down his skin, soaking his shirt all the way through and making it cling to him. After grabbing the morning newspaper, he entered Grimmauld Place on silent feet. The portrait of Walburga was sleeping, and so Harry crept past it, wandered into the shower, and cleaned off before getting dressed.

Harry's normal routine when he was home was to make breakfast for the Dursleys. Then he would sit down and have some coffee while reading the newspaper and checking his stocks. Since Kreacher didn't like it when he cooked, Harry didn't make breakfast. He set the morning newspaper on the table, right next to a letter from Gringotts, which informed him of how his stocks were doing.

Setting aside his stocks for the moment, he picked up the newspaper. It was a mundane newspaper. There wasn't much going on in the mundane world, though it seemed several people had gone missing in London, a couple of older people and a young woman from college. They'd gone missing sixteen miles from the hotel that he'd been staying at during the summer break.

Deciding that there was nothing interesting in the news, he picked up the Gringotts letter and read on how his stocks were doing.

It looks like Microsoft's value is higher than Apple right now.

Feeling the deep frown on his face, Harry tried to determine what the best course of action would be. He could sell his Microsoft stocks now and buy Apple stocks while they were low. However, it looked like Microsoft would still rise a bit more. He wanted to sell and buy when these two companies were at their highest and lowest respectively.

The door to the kitchen opened and Sirius stumbled in. His eyes were still half closed, and he was yawning as he scratched his stomach.

"Morning," he yawned as he slumped onto his chair. A plate filled with a traditional English breakfast appeared before him.

"Good morning, Sirius," Harry said absently as he flipped to the next page.

I'm so glad Ragnok has switched from parchment to paper.

"What's that?" Sirius asked as he stuffed his face with poached eggs.

"My stocks," Harry replied.

"Stocks?"

"The stock market."

"I have no clue what that is."

"I'm not surprised."

"I feel like I've just been insulted."

"And I should care because…?"

Sirius pouted as Harry flipped another page. He blinked at the contents. It looked like Ragnok had found a seller for the basilisk skin. The offer being made was 5,000 galleons per square meter. It was a lot of money. The amount of skin taken from the basilisk, including the shed skin, was about 256.5 square meters.

That's 1,282,500 galleons.

That was a lot of money, and it was only what he would make from the skin.

What am I going to do with all this?

Harry sighed. It looked like he was going to have to speak with a few people.

Flipping to the next page, Harry found the title deed to a small shop located within Diagon Alley. The shop, which was being named CH Potions, was not yet open for business. However, it looked like the shop owner was someone that he knew quite well.

So, Cassidy managed to get a licence and is opening the shop? I'll go see her soon.

But first, he needed to do some Christmas shopping.

XoX

CH Potions had been given a prime location. It was two buildings away from Ollivanders, making it more visible to the public than the other potion shops. The glass windows were currently covered with a curtain, and there was a sign hanging from the wooden door that said "not yet open for business."

Harry walked up to the door, knocked once, and then waited to see if someone would answer. There was a pause. Then there was some thumping. Harry heard someone thumping against the door.

"Who is it?" a voice called from the other side.

"Cassidy?" Harry said. "It's Harry."

"Harry!"

The door swung wide open. A woman stood in the doorway.

Cassidy Fergins looked the same as last year. She wore her brown hair in braids, and there were a few strands framing her face. Light brown eyes were widened in surprise. She must not have been expecting him.

She's shorter than me.

He must have grown without realizing it. The last time they met, she'd been taller than him, but now he was a few centimeters taller than her.

"You're… you're here…" Cassidy looked shocked, as though someone had sucker punched her in the face.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I got a letter from Gringotts. They said they found you a place to open shop. Thought I'd check in."

Gringotts normally wouldn't send someone a letter about another person's business. However, Cassidy had gotten her loan through him. The contract that she had signed was one that he'd written up and signed in blood, essentially making them magically contracted business partners.

"I thought you had forgotten about me," Cassidy admitted.

"I'm sorry." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "A lot has happened."

"I know," Cassidy said. "I read the news."

Harry smiled. "There's a lot more that happened that the Daily Prophet didn't cover. However, most of it isn't important. I came because I wanted to see how you were doing, and also…"

Reaching into a pouch at his side, Harry pulled out a spiral bound notebook, which he held out to Cassidy. She took it. There was a curious frown on her face.

"What is this?" she asked.

"These are all my notes on the potions I've modified to be stronger and more effective." Harry watched as she flipped through his notes. "If you want, you and I can schedule some time to go over a few of these."

Cassidy's stunned expression reminded him of someone who'd been shocked with a taser.

"Um, yeah. I-I'd like that. Are you sure you have time?" she asked, coming out of her stupor–at least enough to speak.

"I can make time," Harry said. "This is important. It's not every day you become the shop owner to a potion store."

"Um, thank you," Cassidy said.

An awkward silence befell them. Harry and Cassidy stood there, neither of them saying a thing. Should he say something more to break the ice? Hadn't they already talked, though? The ice should have been broken.

This… this is really awkward.

"Well," Harry coughed into his hand and tried to hide his blush. "I'll, uh, I'll let you get back to it. Good luck with the shop–oh! And let me know if you need any help."

"Thank you, Harry," Cassidy said with a smile.

Harry smiled back and left. That had to have been one of the most awkward meetings in his life.

XoX

Christmas was coming up, and Harry was wondering what he was going to do for it. Certainly, he'd be spending time with Sirius. However, what should he do beyond that? He wanted to do something for his friends, with his friends, but he didn't know what that something was. A party? A small gathering? Would he go to someone else's gathering?

After what happened this summer, would I even be invited?

Harry knew he shouldn't be dwelling on this. He knew it wasn't healthy. On a theoretical level, he understood that what he was doing, wallowing in self-derision over something that everyone else had already forgiven, was not good for him. And yet he couldn't help it.

Having eidetic memory meant that he could never forget anything that happened, no matter how much he might want to. His parents' death, the way he treated the Dursleys when he was younger, Hermione's death, and how he'd treated everyone after that… all the things he wished he could forget would remain with him for the rest of his life. It made forgiving himself difficult.

Sitting at the table in the kitchen, scribbling notes on a notebook, Harry wondered how long it would be before these moments of intense guilt would fully leave him. Awhile, was his guess. Still, he had hope, and he was getting better. He guessed it would just take him longer than most people.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Sirius called. Loud thumping reverberated from the hallway. Harry's ears twitched as the door opened and a surprised voice squawked. "C-Celestina!"

Harry blinked. Standing up, he walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway just as Celestina was greeting Sirius.

"Sirius, you look as rakish as ever," Celestina said.

"I do look rather debonair, don't I?"

"I think shabby might be a bit more accurate."

"How harsh."

"Celestina," Harry greeted as he walked into the room. Celestina looked at him. Harry almost–almost–shuddered at the bright smile on her face.

"Harry," she said with a warm smile that sent chills down his spine.

"I'm guessing you're not here to see me," Sirius said.

"You're just a bonus. I'm actually here to speak with Harry."

From what little he knew of Sirius, Harry understood that his godfather was moments away from trying to hit on the woman. Wanting to head that off, Harry said, "Would you like to come into the sitting room, where we can speak in private."

"Private?" Sirius asked. "Are you saying you don't want me there?"

"I think that would be for the best," Celestina admitted with all the primness of a sophisticated noble. "It wouldn't be a good idea to have any dogs sniffing around. You know how they are."

"Willing to hump anything with two legs and a bosom," Harry agreed.

"Oh, very funny, you two," Sirius said. "You're both so hilarious."

The sitting room was one of the new rooms that had come about when Sirius did all of his redecorating. It was a spacious room with soft carpet that sank underneath Harry's feet. The walls were a light cream, but they were tastefully decorated with silver and gold patterns. Bookshelves lined the walls. Most of the tomes that sat on those shelves were the less sensitive books. All of the ones filled with dark magic were in a hidden room that only Harry could access.

As they sat an intricate glass table, two glasses appeared before them. One of them, a large glass mug, was filled with butterbear. The other was empty.

"Do you have a preference for your drink?" Harry asked.

"Do you have wine?" Celestina wore a smile as Harry blinked.

"You mean the non-magical drink?"

"Yes."

"White or red?"

"White please."

The moment she asked for white wine, her glass became filled with liquid. Celestina picked up the glass. She lightly swirled the wine, smiled, and then took a sip.

"This is good wine."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry said. This was the same wine that Selene had made him drink when they'd gone out to eat. Since he didn't know much about wine, he had thought it would be a safe bet.

"I suppose not," Celestina admitted with a wry smile. "How have you been? I did not get many chances to speak with you the other day."

She was obviously referring to when they had arrived on Platform nine and three-quarters. He inferred from her words that she'd been hoping to speak with him. Sirius's presence must have derailed her plan, whatever it was, and now she was coming to coerce him into something.

"I have been well," Harry replied. "Things were hard for a while, but everything has improved since this summer."

"Yes, this summer."

For the first time since they had met, Harry thought he saw remorse in the woman's eyes. It only lasted for a second. Harry blinked and it was gone, making him wonder if it had been a trick of the light.

"Harry, I am sorry about what happened. Blaize told me about Hermione. It must have been very hard for you."

Harry swallowed the lump that threatened to stilt his speech. He knew platitudes would come eventually, if for no other reason than because people loved to feign sympathy. However, he'd not expected Celestina to show any form of remorse. She'd never seemed like that type to him.

"My son was deeply injured by Hermione's passing," Celestina continued. "It was hard on him, and he had his friends. As I understand it, you had no one to rely on during your time of need."

Shifting in his seat, Harry forced the words out. "It was… trying, I'll admit. However, thanks to Blaize and the others, I was able to move past my grief once I arrived at Hogwarts."

It was not entirely true. He might have moved past his grief, but the guilt he felt from his actions afterward still occasionally clouded him. However, Harry didn't want to tell this to Celestina.

"You mentioned that you wanted to discuss something with me," Harry prompted.

"Yes." Setting her glass down, Celestina gazed at Harry with a knowing expression. "You have not done much this year to expand your influence. While this hasn't necessarily hurt your reputation, and many are now sympathetic toward you because of what happened to Sirius, your position is currently being threatened by several people."

"Such as Lucius," Harry said.

"Such as Lucius," Celestina agreed. "To counteract this, I was thinking you should host your own Yuletide celebration. My son will attend, of course, and I imagine all of your friends and their families will also be there."

There was merit in hosting his own party. Nobles loved to party. It was a great place to solidify alliance, talk politics, and even make backdoor deals if one was bold enough. Her suggestion was a good one, but still…

"Are you suggesting I host a party because doing so will allow you to showcase the friendship between myself and your son?"

Celestina smiled. "You're a smart boy. That is one reason I am suggesting this. However, that is only part of the reason."

Remaining silent was harder than Harry would have thought. He wanted to ask this woman what the other part was, but at the same time, saying that he wanted to know felt a lot like losing. He refused to lose to anyone.

Her smile glimmering with a sort of deviousness that made Harry think she knew his every thought, Celestina continued. "The other reason is because of you. The ambition burning brightly within you is a rare thing for someone your age, and yet I can already see the results of your ambition in Blaize and your friends. When you come of age, you will bring great change. I would like to align my house to yours so I can be there when you bring about this change."

So that was it. Celestina knew that he wanted to change the wizarding world, believed he had what it took to succeed, and wanted to align herself with him to be there when it happened. It was a rather straightforward reasoning. He was surprised. Given that this woman was a Slytherin, he would have expected something more… subtle.

"Not every scheme needs to be subtle," Celestina said, once again seeming to peer into his mind. "Subtle doesn't always benefit people, least of all the ones that are coming up with the scheme. There are many occasions where it's best to take a straightforward approach."

Harry felt his cheeks growing warm, though he tried to pretend he wasn't embarrassed at being seen through so easily. "Yes, I suppose you have a point."

Leaning forward ever so slightly, Celestina pinned him with her vivid, smiling face. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I offered a few suggestions for your Yuletide celebration, would you?"

"Not at all," Harry said, gesturing for her to continue. It only occurred to him after she started talking that Celestina had successfully coerced him into doing her bidding.

It seems I still have much to learn, he thought while listening to Celestina's suggestions.

XoX

Sirius had been sulking since Celestina came over. The man walked as if in a slump, he spoke in half-hearted grunts, his entire disposition reminded Harry of a child who'd been scolded by his parents. His godfather only acted like himself when the three of them–him, Professor Lupin, and Sirius–were working on the motocycle.

It was during one of those motorcycle sessions, while he and Professor Lupin stood off to the side as Sirius replaced old parts with new ones, that Harry asked about something that had been bothering him.

"You want to know about the relationship between Sirius and Celestina?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Yes."

Professor Lupin looked up, his eyes gaining a thoughtful glance. "Their relationship is… complicated. I'm sure you already know that arranged marriages aren't unheard of in wizarding society. This is especially true for the Ancient and Noble Houses or the Founding Five Houses like Black, Bones, and Potter. Even today, there are still arranged marriages happening in our world."

"I'm guessing Celestina and Sirius were placed into an arranged marriage with each other?" Harry said.

"You're only half right," Professor Lupin said. "You see, Celestina and Sirius were, I guess you could say they were romantically entangled. Sirius, as you seem to be aware, is something of a playboy. Back at Hogwarts, he would take many women to bed with him. Well, Celestina was the same way when it came to men. There was actually a betting pool between the Marauders to see who among those two would sleep with the most people."

"Uh… that sounds really interesting." Harry thought he might have been turning green. The knowledge of his godfather's promiscuousness was rather disturbing.

"Anyway, he and Celestina, when they weren't sleeping with other people, would sleep with each other. I'm not really sure about the true nature of their relationship, but they seemed close enough to James and I."

"What does that have to do with them being put into an arranged marriage?"

"Ah, well… their parents eventually decided to arrange a marriage for them when they were still attending Hogwarts. Sirius didn't take it too well and ran away from home. That was actually what led to him being kicked out of the family."

Harry wasn't sure what he should say to that. He hadn't known this part of his godfather's past, and he wasn't sure what to think. Even so, hearing all this did make him curious about the history between Sirius and Celestina. Was there something there? Was Celestina upset that Sirius had run away from the arranged marriage, or was she relieved? He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't think it would be appropriate.

Everyone has a few skeletons they want to hide.

"Are you two going to keep standing there all day, or are you going to help me?" asked Sirius, snapping Harry and Professor Lupin out of their conversation.

"I guess we should lend him a hand," Professor Lupin said. "Who knows what Sirius might blow up if we're not watching him."

"Right." Harry agreed.

As he and Professor Lupin joined Sirius by the motorcycle, Harry pondered the past surrounding his father's friends.

The life of a Marauder was surely a complicated story.

XoX

Sleepover. It was a new term for Daphne, who'd never heard of it until Susan Bones suggested they have one. According to her, it was originally a muggle term used to describe when a group of friends got together at someone's house and spent the night.

Witches and wizards did not have sleepovers. The act of sleeping over at another's house when you weren't a member of said household was generally reserved for important guests, dignitaries, and political allies. It wasn't something that a group of teenage girls did together for fun.

Thanks to Celestina's blackmail, she and Astoria had been allowed to attend one of these sleepovers. Daphne had no idea what sort of blackmail material Blaize's mum had on her father. However, it must have been significant, something that could destroy everything he had worked toward. Otherwise, there was no he would have let her and Astoria do as they pleased.

Arriving at Susan's house via floo, Daphne and her sister were greeted by Susan, Hannah, Tracey, and Lisa. The three of them were standing beside Madam Amelia Bones. Daphne found the vision of Madam Bones, known for her professionalism, wearing muggle clothing–jeans and a T-shirt–to be a highly unusual dichotomy with her normal views of the woman. Yet she couldn't deny that the head of the DMLE wore them well.

"Daphne! Stori!" Susan greeted them with a big smile. She and the other girls walked up as they stepped out of the fireplace. "How are you two doing?"

"We're doing great!" Astoria said, beaming at everyone.

"Thank you for having us over," Daphne said.

"Don't mention it." Susan grabbed their hands. "We're glad you could come."

"Daphne!" Tracey leapt at Daphne, who stepped to the side and let her friend plow face first into a wall. "Owch…"

Before anyone else could speak, Madam Bones walked up to them. "Susan, I need to head off to work soon. Why don't you girls go to the lounge and relax?"

"Okay. Bye, Auntie."

After giving her aunt a hug, Susan lead them to a large room with several comfortable-looking chairs, sofas, and tables. Daphne glanced at the billiards table as they walked past it. Switching her gaze, she noticed the numerous games, both muggle and magical, that were set inside. There was a table for wizarding poker, another that had various muggle board games, and one that she couldn't figure out what it was. All she could tell was that it had a net stretched across the middle.

"This is so exciting," Hannah said, grinning from ear to ear. "We've never had a sleepover with so many people."

"I've never had a sleepover period," Tracey said. Then she paused. "Then again, we did all stay at Blaize's house awhile back. Couldn't that be considered a sleepover as well?"

Hannah shook her head with an emphatic no. "First off, we were with the boys. It's only a sleepover when it's just us girls."

Daphne didn't know about the veracity of that statement, though she did understand the semantics. There were some things that could only be spoken of around other girls.

"But what does one do at a sleepover, I wonder?" Lisa inquired, seemingly to herself.

Susan and Hannah shared a grin.

Sleepovers, as Daphne soon learned, involved a lot of girl talk. They spoke of things like the latest fashion, the latest gossip on various wizarding celebrities, and what boys at Hogwarts they thought was cute.

"Don't tell anyone this, but I actually think Anthony Goldstein is kind of cute," Lisa confessed.

"Anthony?!" Hannah gawked. "Really? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. He's a good enough guy, but I don't think I would call him attractive."

"Then what boy do you think is attractive?" asked Tracey.

"Oh, well." With her cheeks turning a mild red, Hannah looked down at the table, where a plate filled with scones sat. "Erm… Harry."

"You mean Harry Potter?" Lisa asked. Hannah nodded. "Well, I can't really blame you for that. I think Harry's handsome too, but isn't that kind of obvious? Every girl at Hogwarts thinks he's the hottest thing since before everyone learned that Gilderoy Lockheart was a fraud."

"I suppose that's true," Hannah allowed.

Tracey nodded. "Right. We shouldn't talk about boys who are obviously cute. Otherwise I would've mentioned Blaize."

"And Terry, right?" Lisa teased.

"Wha–no!" Tracey said, her voice almost hotter than her face. "I'd never think that little jerkwad was attractive."

"Sure. Sure. You can keep telling yourself that," Lisa said.

"Denial is an unpleasant thing," Hannah added.

"I am not in denial!"

"So, Tracy likes Terry?" Astoria asked. "I thought it was weird how they were always arguing like an old married couple."

Tracey whirled on Astoria, and, pointing a finger at the girl, shouted, "We do not act like an old married couple! We don't act anything remotely resembling a couple!"

"I'm surprised you know what 'remotely resembling' means," Daphne teased.

"Ugh… uh… shut up, Daph," Tracey moaned. "You're totally killing my vibe here."

As the conversation went from teasing Tracey and back to "the most eligible bachelor of Hogwarts," Daphne leaned over to Susan. "Speaking of who we all like, did you decide on what we should do about Harry?"

She and Susan had been talking a lot, and their discussions had naturally been about Harry. Daphne had presented Susan with a proposal. She wanted to marry Harry, but thanks toa bunch of ancient laws that the Ministry had never seen fit to change, Daphne could not take on the Potter name. She could either become a second wife or a mistress. Being a second wife would allow her to keep her name, but it meant her firstborn child would also be a Potter. Knowing her father as she did, he would have found that unacceptable. His goal had always been to turn her into someone's mistress.

That said, Daphne didn't care about her title. Her ultimate goal was to get out from under her father's grip, to become free from the influence of her father, and to save her sister from ever having her life controlled by that man. Harry could make that happen.

What's more, Daphne would admit that she liked Harry a lot. She didn't know if she loved him. However, whenever she thought of a life without Harry in it, the pain in her chest was unbearable. He was important to her. If she was going to create a life for herself, then she wanted it to be with Harry.

To that end, Daphne had created a proposal to Susan. She would become Harry's Second Wife. As a Bones, she couldn't become the first wife because she needed to retain her family name. The family name was important in their society, the Bones even more so. As a Founding House, the loss of the Bones family would be an indelible blow. In return for becoming Harry's second wife, she'd help make sure Daphne became his mistress.

"Um… I have thought of it," Susan admitted. "But could you give me some more time?"

Daphne wished she could tell Susan no, that she had to answer now. She couldn't. Unlike her, Susan was not in a hurry to secure her livelihood. She wasn't rushing to attain freedom for herself and her sister, and while Daphne wanted to push her friend into agreeing, she refused to do that. Doing something like that, forcing her friend into something she might not want, was something her father would do. She wouldn't become like him.

"I understand," Daphne said. She tried not to let disappointment leak into her voice, but it must have shown on her face.

"I'm sorry," Susan said. "I know your circumstances aren't the best."

"It's okay." Daphne sucked in a deep breath, blew it out, and smiled. "Nothing will happen to me or Stori for a while yet. I'm just impatient."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" asked Astoria.

Daphne smiled and ruffled her sister's hair. "Nothing important."

Astoria frowned, but thankfully for Daphne, Tracey quickly grabbed everyone's attention with her antics.

They went from girl talk to playing games. They played everything from pool to exploding snaps to uno. It was fun. There was also the added benefit of seeing her sister smile. While Astoria smiled a lot, it was rare to see her look so relaxed during the holidays.

Living with their father was like living in a constant, never ending nightmare. Every day Daphne feared for what he might decide to do with her sister. Every day Astoria had to worry about her future. As the second daughter to a prominent neutral dark family, the chances of her being sold off to ally the House of Greengrass with a more powerful house was high. More than anything else, Daphne was afraid of that happening. She was terrified of the knowledge that their father could sign a magical contract that bound her sister to live as someone's mistress, or worse, the chattel of some rich noble.

A loud popping sound to their left alerted everyone to the appearance of a house elf. Daphne was surprised, but she also knew that not all houses treated their elves like they should be invisible. The Bones must have been one of those houses that treated their elves like a part of the family.

"Miss Susan, I have several letters for you and your friends," the house elf said.

"Oh," Susan sounded surprised. "Thank you."

The house elf handed the letters over to Susan, who flipped through the envelopes before handing each one out to the people they were intended for. There was one for each of them. As Susan handed Daphne the letter meant for her, she glanced at the seal, and, upon recognize the combined crest of Houses Black and Potter, tore it open without a second's thought.

"Dear Daph," she read out loud, smiling at the fluttery feeling the informal greeting invoked within her. "I hope this letter finds you well. It is my honor to invite you to attend a Yuletide celebration on the twenty-third of December. I hope you can attend. Yours truly, Harry."

"I didn't know Harry was going to have a Christmas party," Tracey said.

"I wonder if it was his idea or someone else's?" Lisa inquired. "He does seem the type, but I thought he would have asked us to come personally. He's not the kind of guy who does things without prior planning."

"No, he isn't," Daphne agreed. Someone must have convinced him that a party was a good idea. She didn't know who, but she wasn't going to complain. Any opportunity to spend time with Harry was a good thing.

"Well, it looks like I need a new dress," Tracey said.

"Me too," Hannah added.

"Oh, I'd also like a dress," Lisa said.

"Me four!" Astoria cheered.

Daphne looked at Susan, who looked back. "Think we'll have time for a shopping trip tomorrow?" she asked.

Susan shrugged. "I imagine we will."

"Then I guess that's settled.

Their plans were set, though they would have to get Madam Bones's permission. Daphne wondered if she should get a casual dress or an elegant dress. She didn't know what sort of party Harry was planning, but his mention of Yuletide instead of Christmas informed her that there would likely be politicking.

Elegant it is.

With her decision made, Daphne joined her friends.

The rest of her night was spent gossiping, giggling, and getting into pillows fights until exhaustion claimed her.

XoX

Harry knew it probably wasn't the best idea, but he had sent an invitation to Lisa Crawft, inviting her to the party as well. While he was concerned about someone discovering her non-magical origins, he had his godfather and friends to help him.

The doorbell rang early that morning. When Harry answered the door, Lisa's mother and father were standing behind her. While her mother wore a cardigan and her father a business suit, Lisa was wearing a yellow sundress, but she was also dragging a large suitcase behind her.

"Hey, Harry!" Lisa greeted with a grin.

"Lisa." Harry smiled. "Come on in. Here, let me grab your luggage."

"Oh. Thank you."

Harry grabbed the handle from Lisa. At the same time, he greeted Mr. and Mrs. Crawft. "It's a pleasure to see you both again."

"Likewise. You look a lot happier than you were when you lived with the Dursleys," Mrs. Crawft said. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you."

"Hey, Harry!" Sirius said as he wandered into the hallway. "Who's at the–oh." He paused upon seeing Mr. and Mrs. Crawft. "Hello."

Harry almost sighed at seeing Sirius, who wore nothing but an expensive robe and slippers. They were one of his godfather's splurges. The man wore these every morning now. Harry thought the gaudy pink color was ridiculous, but Sirius loved them.

"Mr. Black," Mrs. Crawft sounded like she was trying not to choke on her own spit. Harry understood. That outfit was garish. "It's a pleasure to see you, um, this morning. Please be sure to take care of my daughter."

"Hey, Harry," Lisa whispered into his ear. "Why is your godfather wearing a pink robe?"

"Because he thinks it's manly," Harry whispered back.

"But it's pink!"

"I know."

Sirius didn't seem to realize that Mr. and Mrs. Crawft were staring at his wardrobe. "Don't worry. Harry here is the most responsible kid I know. He'll be sure to take good care of your daughter."

"He'd better," Mr. Crawft mumbled, only to grunt when Mrs. Crawft elbowed him.

"Please be sure to take care of our daughter, Harry," Mrs. Crawft said.

"I will, Mrs. Crawft," Harry said.

"Harry, why don't you take Lisa's luggage upstairs?" Sirius said, then turned to the Crawft parents. "Would you two like a tour of the house?"

Mr. Crawft looked like he was going to say no, but Mrs. Crawft smiled and clapped her hands together. "We'd love to see the place where Harry is now living." She looked at her husband. "Wouldn't we?"

Mr. Crawft grunted. "Sure."

Harry lead Lisa upstairs, giving the portrait of Walburga a sharp glance as he passed, and carrying her luggage over his shoulder. It was heavier than he expected. What did she have in here? Why had she even brought her luggage over?

"Is it just me, or does this hallway look larger than it should?" Mrs. Cawft's voice drifted from below.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Sirius released a nervous laugh. "Anyway, how about I show you the kitchen…"

"So… can I ask what all this luggage is for?" asked Harry.

"Oh, those are my spare clothes and toiletries," Lisa said. "I've also got a dress in there."

"A dress?"

"For the party."

"Ah. Right."

Lisa was going to take part in his party, which he'd committed to on the suggestion of Celestina. While it was illegal for his friend to know about magic, Harry didn't care, and he had a plan to let her get away with it.

"Lisa," Harry grabbed his friend's attention. "We need to come up with your alias for when the party starts."

"Alias?" Lisa questioned.

Nodding, Harry said, "That's right. This party is going to have more people than just my friends. A lot of political figures from the wizarding world will be here, so I need to make sure they don't find out that you're a non-magical person who discovered magic. They'll erase your memory if they do."

Lisa paled as she and Harry entered the hallway. "I don't want that."

"Me neither," Harry said. "Which is why we're going to say that you are my penpal from the Colonies, and that we became contacts because we signed up for a mundane program where we send letters to each other. You're currently visiting here with your family, and the school you go to is the All-Girls Salem Academy for Witches in West Virginia. Since underage wizards can't use magic, no one will be able to question you on this."

"Um… okay," Lisa agreed.

Harry smiled. "There's no need to be nervous. I'll let my friends know about the alias, so they can help keep your secret."

Lisa nodded. "R-right."

Their footsteps thudded along the hallway. Harry paused in front of a door, and then he frowned as he realized what he was doing. He backtracked their conversation. He went over it again. That was when he realized that something she said didn't make sense.

"Wait. Why did you bring toiletries with you?" Harry asked.

The expression on Lisa's face, which Harry could've sworn all but said, "Are you kidding me?" made him wonder if he was missing something.

"Didn't your godfather tell you?" Lisa asked. "I'm spending the rest of Christmas break here."

"Fweh?" was Harry's eloquent response.

XoX

After getting Lisa set up in a room, Harry and Lisa came back down stairs. The Crawfts stayed for a while longer before giving their daughter and Harry a goodbye. Afterward, he asked Lisa to wait for him upstairs. Meanwhile, he dragged Sirius into the kitchen and magically locked the door.

"Sirius, why didn't you tell me that Lisa was staying over?"

Sirius grinned as he sat at the kitchen table. A plate of bacon and the appeared before him, which he took great relish in munching on. Harry glared at him. His childish godfather was doing this, stretching out the time it took to answer, because he found it fun to mess with him. The jerk.

"Did you like that little surprise?"

"Like it?" Harry growled. "Do you even realize what kind of trouble you're causing for me?"

"I don't see what the big deal is," Sirius said. "You should be happy that your friend is staying over the night. I've given you the perfect opportunity."

"Opportunity?" Harry blinked. "For what?"

His words earned Harry an "are you an idiot?" expression from Sirius. "How can you be so dense? I'm giving you the perfect opportunity to make your friend one of your conquests."

"Huh?"

"This is your chance to get some experience with women."

"Uh…"

"I can already tell that she's sweet on you, so making her fall the rest of the way should be easy."

Harry needed several seconds to actually comprehend Sirius's words. His mind simply couldn't fathom them. It was like trying to answer questions like "what is the meaning of life?" or "why can't I find my underwear?" He simply couldn't wrap his head around it.

When he finally did get it, his face became a furnace of shame. "Sirius…" Harry muttered, his arms shaking. "You are going to regret ever speaking."

He pulled a wand out from beneath his sleeve. Sirius blinked. Then he stood up as Harry pointed the wand at him.

"Now, Harry… what are you doing with that wand? Surely you can't be thinking of using magic. It's illegal."

"Oh, don't worry." Harry smiled. "I'm using my mother's wand. The Ministry won't even know I'm using magic. Now be quiet and take your punishment like the dog you are."

Sirius never stood a chance. Half an hour later, Lisa would come down and ask Harry about all of the screaming she'd heard.

And that's a wrap. The plot thickens. Who killed Pettigrew? What sort of Yuletide party is Harry going to have? What will I have for breakfast this morning? These questions and more will be answered in the next chapter... except for that last one. None of you will know what I'm eating for breakfast. ^_^