Finally another chapter! With any luck I might manage another by Sunday evening, but don't count on it. Why is college so hectic?

Enjoy and review!

Chapter 5: Confessions and adjustments

"I don't think the Dementors will ever find you in here, Siri. Too warm and sunny, though it certainly hasn't been easy travelling here."

"Remus! Why are you here? And how did you find me at all?"

"I'm a werewolf Sirius and you're pack, which means that I can just use my homing instinct on a map to find you." He went on quickly seeing the twinkles appearing in Sirius' eyes. "As for my reason of coming here, Harry wrote a letter about recent events at Hogwarts and wanted me to break the news. Now do you have someplace relaxing?"

Sirius led the way as he mentally went over every possible catastrophe that could have happened to Harry. He knew he should have stayed closer to Harry, but Peru had an old property of uncle Alphard and no exchange treaties with the UK. Here he had been able to rest and get back part of his old strength. The magical community here had no ties to the British one, meaning he had been able to seek healing for his body and mind. In the past few months he had come a very long way, though the mind healer had declared him unable to take care of his godson for a long time yet.

"Before you start freaking out, drink this. It's a Calming Draught. I don't want you jumping to conclusions before you've heard it all." Taking the vial Sirius swallowed it in one go, trusting his old friend and pack member unconditionally. "Good. You know the Triwizard Tournament is taking place at Hogwarts this year?" Seeing his friend nod, Remus steeled himself and went on. "Apparently professor Dumbledore set a precaution of some sort to prevent the participation of underage students. Against all odds Harry was chosen anyway as a fourth champion, upon which he swore his innocence in the matter before the whole of Hogwarts and its visitors. It mattered not, he was bound in an inescapable magical contract which will end as a winner is chosen."

Despite the Calming Draught Sirius still blew his top. His pup was sent to his death sentence no matter the precautions taken and no one could do something about it?! He needed to go back to Hogwarts. F***k the Dementors and the Ministry! He needed to support James and Lily's son! Hurriedly rising to his feet he was met with Remus' golden eyes.

"Sit down Sirius! You haven't heard everything yet and this is not the moment to do reckless things. You wouldn't be able to help Harry anyway, even if you were at Hogwarts. Putting your life at risk isn't going to help anyone, least of all Harry!"

He gulped. He and James might have led most of the pranks, but Remus was the indisputable alpha of their pack. His werewolf coupled with his supreme understanding of many branches of magic gave him a power Sirius couldn't deny. It was true that Remus had never reproached them in school for their pranks and misbehaviour, but back then he was still going through his coming of age and scared of losing his only friends. The tongue-lashing he had been given for that last joke on Snivellus had truly been awe-inspiring. He nodded meekly at Remus and sat down again, trying to focus on staying calm like his mind healer had told him to.

"It seems that afterwards Snape talked with Harry and stumbled upon his aunt Petunia's guardianship of him. He found this irregular and worrying for some reason, Harry didn't elaborate, and insisted on preforming a full medical scan. Keep your mouth shut if you can't say it politely Sirius. He found enough to contest her right as Harry's lawful guardian and adopted him shortly afterwards."

"What! Why did Harry agree to have that slimy, greasy dungeon bat as his adoptive father?! James would be rising from the dead if he knew about this! I need to get back to England to claim my rights as Harry's godfather. Where is that blasted Portkey when I need it? Let go Remus! You can't possibly tell me you're fine with Snivellus raising Harry!"

"Sit down!" Remus roared; his eyes a translucent gold and more animalistic features bleeding through. Only a couple days away from the full moon brought the wolf closer to the surface. His warning seemed to get through to Sirius. Really any mention of Severus Snape worked like a red cloth on a bull.

"Look Sirius. Harry accepted Severus Snape as his adoptive father. He would never accept an unsuitable person nor someone he would be able to trust fully. It's clear he saw something in that man and if you want a place in Harry's future life, you better make nice. Get on with him enough and he might even push for a trial so you can become a free man again. Alienate him and you will lose Harry, perhaps forever. Do you understand? I myself have written him to offer a sincere apology for my past actions and inactions. School time is over. It's time to face to real world and our place in it. I suggest you make an appointment with your healer to discuss this and your issues about it. Don't send Harry anything until you've had time to think it through. You might break his hearth otherwise."

Remus walked away, regal despite his patched up robes and sickly appearance. Sirius would need time to think this over and make rational decisions. Azkaban had stopped his mental growth while the rest of the world had grown up around him. His evil mother hadn't assisted the development of a healthy mind either. Still he needed to get over whatever issue he had with Severus Snape or he would lose Harry forever thanks to his bullying tendencies. Sometimes he wondered if it wasn't just a case of repressed sexual tension. Nevertheless it wasn't his business and he wouldn't put his nose into it. That would only do more harm than good.

He knew his friends' son rather well. Many saw him as a carbon copy of James, but he was completely like his mother on the inside. Lily had always hated bullies with a burning passion. That isn't to say that she didn't like a good prank. Some of the things she had pulled in revenge had been utterly amazing. It had never been humiliating though and even the victims had laughed and congratulated her on her creativity. But bullying was so morally wrong to her, she got furious by just thinking about it.

Harry thanked the person who had had the foresight to inform him about magical oaths. It had been a very calm two weeks since he had been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. Most of Hogwarts inhabitants left him alone, though he had noticed a gaggle of younger girls and boys appearing wherever he went and older (male) students offering their help for all sorts of things. Oftentimes Malfoy seemed to just materialize at those precise moments and sent the person bothering him off with a few disparaging comments. He didn't understand Malfoy's reasoning behind it, but was grateful for his interference nonetheless. He didn't like it when people forced their presence on him.

Fleur, Viktor and Cedric's help at their weekly meetings had done wonders for his understanding of the theory behind the magic. Harry was a creature of instinct: he knew what he wanted to do and his magic did it for him. This meant he wasn't very good at writing essays, because they were all theory. In private he usually didn't even bother with speaking the spells aloud and they were now all working on wandless magic. Should they ever lose their wand, this way they wouldn't be entirely helpless. Ron and Hermione had joined all meetings and when Harry introduced Luna, Fleur took an immediate shine to her. She said Luna reminded her of her baby sister who had remained in France with her parents. Gabrielle was only eight after all and not yet allowed to attend school.

Under Fleur attentions Luna flourished. She didn't hesitate to speak her mind, even if most didn't understand half of what she said. Harry had a creeping suspicion that she might see more than the typical person did, but didn't share it with anyone. It was Luna's tale to tell. Her creativity and eccentricity still showed in her outrageous jewellery (self-made), but Fleur tempered her, resulting in more classical and refined pieces. The knowledge shared in the group ensured that Luna could defend herself against her bullies, who hadn't learned from the severe punishment that Flitwick had dealt out. For Ravenclaws they were surprisingly dense and stubbornly blamed Luna for the consequences of their own actions.

Flitwick had detracted all points Ravenclaw had obtained by that point. The worst of the lot had lost most of their possessions, like Luna had over the years, and weren't allowed to write home so they could be replaced. A zero bullying policy was installed: all those caught would serve detention for a month and had a letter sent home. A second offence resulted in a weeklong suspension. So far none had dared to ask about third offenders, but the rumour mill had it that they would get a mark on their criminal record. He also insisted with Dumbledore that all Heads of Houses held regular interviews with all students. These conversations were both meant to pick up on the climate ruling their students and bullying.

Cho and her friends had only tried once more and it hadn't ended well for them. They had been caught by Cedric in the act of using a torture like spell on Luna and he, extremely disappointed and angry at his crush, had given Cho a piece of his mind. The spell in question made the victim think they were being drowned. It was not considered dark, but when the case had been brought to professor Dumbledore, at Cedric's insistence, he had looked like a living thundercloud. The girls had been expelled from Hogwarts immediately and a trial would soon follow.

Despite the … hiccups down the road, they had fun learning and teaching each other. When the older students had learned of Harry's corporeal patronus, they insisted that he taught them. Having no Dementor/boggart to practice with, the mastering of the spell came quite quick, though whether it would hold when needed to was yet to be seen. Hermione had caught on first and produced a silvery otter, with Viktor's tiger and Fleur's flamingo a close second and third. A day or so later (Harry was sure the others had practised in secret.) they were joined by Luna's unicorn, Ron's terrier and Cedric's pelican.

"Remus, my boy. It's good to see you. How can I help you?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in their usual fashion. He was glad to see the former Hogwarts' student and professor in such a good condition so soon after the full moon. He deeply regretted the laws that discriminated so against magical beings and really would have liked to offer Remus a permanent position. Most people seemed to think him all-powerful and resented him for not using his many titles to better the wizarding world. In truth he felt he held too many, ensuring he could never devote his full attention to anything. On top of that the board held a lot of power and tied his hands when it came to Hogwarts. The only reason Filius' suggestion had been approved at all was because they had a reputation to up hold and he had threatened to leak the whole affair to the press.

Remus' words shook him out of his reverie. "I wish to visit Harry to offer my support for the upcoming task and to catch up with all that has happened since we last saw each other. I realize it's a Friday and he has lessons, but perhaps you would allow us to have dinner together?"

"Certainly my boy. In fact it is almost time for the Weighting of Wands Ceremony. You can talk with Harry directly afterwards. Please follow me."

The slytherins were already waiting in front of the dungeon after lunch. To Harry's surprise Malfoy was once again engaged in a heated discussion with Parkinson and Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle nowhere in sight. This had been happening a lot recently and was usually followed by heated looks during class. Not to mention that he was sure he had seen Hermione deep in conversation with the two slytherins one evening. He wasn't sure what had been the object of discussion, but couldn't but feel it had been about him. However Hermione couldn't know that he often dreamed about an utterly charming and romantic Dr… Malfoy, could she? Surely she wasn't that all-knowing. And really, Malfoy would never be interested in Harry, so he should just put it out of his mind.

Professor Snape arrived, robes swishing in their customary dramatic fashion, but didn't open the door of the classroom yet. Instead he stood in front of it, staring and waiting for his students to fall silent. Dean and Seamus were as usual the last to stop whispering to each other, blushing self-conscious at the glare levelled their way. (Harry gave it a five; it was the I can't believe I have to teach these dunderheads glare and far from menacing. Though he might be a bit too desensitized to Severus' glares.)

"Because of special circumstances you won't have a practical lesson today. Instead you'll fill out these questions and write a 2 feet long essay on antidotes with a worked out example of your choice for next lesson. Mr Potter, come with me. You are needed for the Weighting of Wands." The professor's soft and silky voice nearly hypnotized his students, though Harry could see the confusion begin to form. Swiftly picking up his things he followed after Severus, completely missing the longing look thrown in his direction by courtesy of Draco Malfoy.

I know I've taken some liberty with Luna's Patronus and while a hare does suit her, I found I liked a unicorn even more. I found a list of animal symbolism and took my inspiration from there.

Hope you enjoyed it.