Author's Notes: Another fun chapter. Harry has nerve; I've always liked that about him.

At the top of the largest hill, Harry could see a quaint little town below Neville and him. He holstered his wand. "We're going to look out-of-place, but the Muggles won't mind as long as we're friendly. Have you ever spoken to Muggles before?" Harry said turning to look at his sweating classmate.

Neville shook his head. "Only to Muggle-borns."

"Well, don't use any magical terms around them. We've got to be mindful because of the Statute of—" Harry stopped what he was going to say when he had that queerest sensation again, the very same that he'd had in Hogsmeade and at Spinner's End. He turned, yanking out his wand, and pointed it. A giant black mongrel woofed at him, its tail wagging in a friendly manner.

"Oh! A dog! I've always wanted one of those—"

Harry grabbed Neville by the arm before he stepped any closer to the dog-like creature. "Who are you? Why are you following me?"

The black dog's tail wilted slightly, and it whinged in a sad and pitiful manner. It lowered its head and ears as it laid down, panting in the hot sunlight.

"Harry, I don't think he means to hurt us," Neville said in an admonishing tone.

"You didn't see it try to attack me in Hogsmeade," Harry muttered, lowering his wand only slightly.

Ignoring Harry's warning, Neville took something greasy from his pocket and crouched low. "Here boy, I was saving it for later, but you look too thin to me. You can have it."

The dog crawled forward hesitantly and took the meat very carefully from Neville's fingers. The dog chowed on it ravenously. After licking Neville's fingers clean, the dog then thumped its tail wildly when Neville scratched behind its ears. "See, Harry?" Neville said as the dog rolled on its back. "He doesn't mean any harm." The Gryffindor scratched the beast's belly.

Harry sighed. "You can keep him then. I don't like dogs."

The dog made a yipping noise, rolling to sit up. If Harry didn't know any better, the incredibly big dog was giving him a look of consternation.

"If you'd been chased around and bitten by foul-mannered dogs bred by your mean Aunt Marge, you wouldn't like them either." Ears up, the mongrel tilted his head and gave Harry those sad eyes that puppies were notorious for. "You aren't going to change my mind by looking cute," he said firmly.

The dog made another small whinge, looking absolutely despondent, his ears and tail drooping sadly. Harry resisted the strong urge to scratch the mutt behind his ears.

"Oh, give him a little pat on the head at least!" Neville cried. "Can't you tell he wants your attention?"

Harry still wasn't sure what the strange sense he had with the dog was. He hesitantly took a step forward, carefully raising his non-wand hand towards it. "I'm warning you," Harry said uneasily, "No funny business." He flicked his holly wand menacingly at the dog.

His tail limply wagging, the beast raised his head, snuffling towards Harry's hand.

"Step away from him, you fool boy!" A voice yelled out harshly.

The dog went from friendly and benign to snarling and threatening at once. Feeling the snakes tighten around his arms, Harry stumbled backwards at the beast's sudden transformation and landed on his rump. With gnashing teeth, the dog bounded up the hill towards Harry's guardian, who threw stunning spells at it.

Neville looked dumbfounded where he was still kneeling on the ground. His wand still in hand, Harry got up and made shooing motions at the Gryffindor. "Run, Neville!"

There was a noise of gongs and something struck Harry's back with the force of a football; red light sparked over his head. Perplexed at the sparks, it took Harry a moment to realize what had happened. The Spellfast cloak had done its job!

When Neville didn't move, Harry yanked out his magic cloak and pulled it around them.

"What—" Neville asked, sounding disoriented.

"I told you I'd protect you. Now be quiet."

There was a CRACK of Apparation.

Harry wasn't worried when he saw the over-large dog wander back down the hill sniffing around, though the same couldn't be said for Longbottom who made a small noise before Harry shushed him. Alerted to their presence by the noises, the dog walked around and around them. He appeared unable to locate them. The dog sat back onto his haunches and howled piteously.

Beneath the Invisibility cloak, Harry kept his wand uncertainly trained on the dog.

Before their eyes, the mongrel began to melt and reform. Soon, the dog had transformed into a wild-haired, gaunt-faced man, who began to weep.

"Harry! I should have been there, Harry!" He howled madly, tears pouring from his bruised eyes. His greyish pale skin was pulled tight over his cheekbones, nearly hollow where the cheeks should have been. It was Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. The one who was supposed to be in Azkaban but had escaped.

As dark clouds suddenly appeared on the horizon, the escaped convict stood up shakily; the dirty, short-sleeved prison robes hung on Black loosely like Dudley's castoffs had once hung on Harry. There were tattoos wrapped around the adult's throat and shoulders and his elbows were knobby. His translucent white arms were stick-like similar to a house-elf's and largely unmarred. With a loud CRACK of Apparation, the emaciated fugitive disappeared, and the curious black clouds on the horizon vanished.

Neville's eyes were wide with fright. "Harry…" His year-mate whispered. "That was Sirius Black!"

"I know. He's my godfather."

"Your…" Neville choked, "Your godfather?! He murdered fourteen Muggles in one go! They found him laughing like a madman among the carnage! Everyone knows he's a Supporter of You-Know-Who!"

Harry took a deep breath. He might have known that if Hermione had ever told him about Death Eaters like she promised. The most curious thing was that Harry hadn't seen anything that looked like brand on either of Black's bared, veiny arms. "Keep your voice down. He's gone now, but that doesn't mean we're safe."

"But I gave him some food and scratched his ears and rubbed his belly," Neville said sounding ill as he stared at his hands like he didn't know who they belonged to.

"You didn't know the dog was Sirius Black, and neither did I," Harry said gravely.

Neville's jaw opened. "That's another thing! Harry… he's an Animagus. That's why he was able to escape from Azkaban!"

Frowning, Harry vaguely remembered that term. He knew that magical folk had to register if they were one. "A… what?"

"A person who can Transfigure themselves into an animal! Like Professor McGonagall can turn into a cat! They have to be specially restrained in Azkaban!"

"But if no one knew Black was an Animagus, why didn't he escape earlier?"

Neville looked confused at Harry's pointed question. "I don't know."

Harry thought about the dog's bizarre behavior, docile and gentle with him but absolutely berserk with Snape. "I think you might be right. I don't think Black wants to hurt me."

"But, Harry!"

He thought about the warning to Snape that Augusta Longbottom had given him. "I think he might be after Professor Snape," he concluded.

"But… But Harry…" Neville said much more quietly. "Sirius Black's the whole reason why your parents are dead."

Head coming up sharply, Harry narrowed his eyes at Neville. "What?"

"He was their Secret Keeper to keep their home Unplottable. He had to have personally told You-Know-Who where they were in order for You-Know-Who to… to…" Neville's eyes filled with unshed tears. "A Secret like that can't be passed from anyone but the Secret Keeper, Harry. For your parents to have made him your godfather too… they had to really trust him, trust Sirius Black. And he betrayed them. Betrayed them to You-Know-Who." Neville's face was twisted up; he looked very guilty about it though he would have been Harry's age when his parents were mudered.

As understanding of what Sirius Black had done dawned on Harry, raw hate flooded into him. The dark slick wood felt comforting in his shaky hand. Betrayal was the worst possible thing in the world. His parents had been murdered in cold blood because Black hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut about where they lived?

There was yet another CRACK.

Feeling some of the anger ebb, Harry looked up to see that Snape had returned with Mr. Weasley and an athletic-looking woman with short, spiky hair that rapidly changed colors. Their wands were drawn.

"Harry?" Mr. Weasley called out. "We're here to help. Are you hurt?"

Neville moved to say something. Harry grabbed him before he could. "They could be Polyjuiced," he whispered. He remembered how Hermione and Ron had impersonated Goyle and Crabbe.

Neville's eyes grew even larger. The thought had obviously never occurred to him.

Harry's guardian walked around, eyes on the ground. Professor Snape crouched, touching something on the ground and then looked down the hill where Neville and Harry were standing under the invisibility cloak. "Clever boy," Snape murmured.

Something warm unfolded inside of Harry, but he refused to take the invisibility cloak off until he was sure they were safe.

"What is it, Severus?" The woman asked, her hair a shocking hot pink. "Did you find where they've gone?"

Snape stood up straight. "Before bricking that infernal entrance up, I collected the shedskin and a jawful of fangs."

The statement wouldn't have made any sense to anyone other than Harry, his guardian, and Professor Dumbledore. Without warning Neville, Harry slipped the cloak off of them one-handed and packed it into a pocket. He grinned broadly when his guardian's blank expression hardly changed. Beside Harry, Neville whimpered a little when Snape's coal black eyes swept over him.

"Good gracious!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, coming down the side of the hill with the witch. "You were hiding right under our noses! Are you both alright?"

"Yes," Harry answered calmly and peered over Mr. Weasley's shoulder to see Snape keep lookout for any attackers. "Nothing a hot bath won't fix."

The witch with a pale, heart-shaped face cackled. "Ohh, you look just like I thought you would! Wotcher, Harry!" Before Harry could respond, she turned to Neville. "'Ello! We'll be spiriting you away too!"

"H-hello," Neville said nervously as the witch placed her hand on his shoulder.

"The name's Tonks! And one, two, three!" The witch said brightly. With a loud CRACK, they were gone.

Finally holstering his wand, Harry leveled a look at Mr. Weasley. "We're going back to my birthday party, I hope?"

"Of course, Harry. Where else would you go?" The red-headed wizard placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Then they were spinning wildly. There was a shrieking hiss, and Harry realized with horror that Mr. Weasley had no way of knowing that the snakes were there just as Snape had not cared about the black owl feather. Mid-Apparation, Harry's magic reacted wildly gathering the bits of the Lionsnakes that had fallen behind and snapped them back together.

When they landed on the grassy ground, Harry pitched forward. The snakes were roaming along his arms, hissing in a distressed manner.

"Quiet!" He whispered to them. Merlin, he hoped they were alright. He had an awful feeling that he might have missed something, like a snout or an eye. Harry understood why a license was required to Apparate.

Mr. Weasley's hands were immediately on him, grabbing his palms to inspect them. "Are you alright? Have all ten toes and fingers?"

Still dizzy, Harry tore himself away from the questing hands. "Yes. Everything present, sir."

"Oh, no! Your glasses… I'm so terribly sorry, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "I haven't had such a rough Side-Along Apparation since I was twenty-four!"

Harry reached up and touched the frames still on his face, noticing that the lenses were missing when a finger poked through. The towering, green blurry splotches must be the tall hedges in Snape's garden. "It's fine," he croaked still feeling queasy. With bile flooding his mouth, he leaned over and retched. Thankfully nothing came up from Harry's stomach. He swallowed and straightened.

"We must get inside, Harry," Mr. Weasley said with low urgency as he pulled Harry to his feet. Harry lost his balance and fell to the ground again. The nausea was worse than usual.

There was a CRACK, and long fingers grasped the front of Harry's robes. "Get inside," his guardian said harshly. "Arthur, you may go."

The snakes squirmed against Harry's arms as he stumbled through the open door. Snape moved by him to the sitting room. Harry leaned heavily against a wall to regain his center. He belatedly wondered why Arthur Weasley was back in England so soon. Wasn't he supposed to be in Egypt with his family?

Alone, he hissed quietly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Please don't do that again, Wizardling. It will take time to regrow our quills."

Harry winced. "Sorry. I can't promise not to. Apparation's about the only way my guardian travels."

"Master Harry!" Dobby exclaimed next to him.

He nearly jumped straight out his cloak.

"Dobby is so glad you've returned, sir!" The house-elf sobbed out, launching himself at Harry and holding onto him tightly. "Dobby will never, ever leave a package to Master Harry unchecked ever again."

"Dobby—Please—let go." Harry shoved his hands at the clingy little elf.

"Dobby," Nanua's voice crackled across the room, and Harry's house-elf let him go very reluctantly. "Master Harry, you look pale as death. Must've had quite the scare," Nanua's voice crooned. "Come sit with your friends. They've been awaiting your re-appearance." Taking his hand, Snape's house-elf led Harry into the sitting room, which was still crowded with his year-mates.

"There you are, Harry!" Neville's voice exploded happily. "They don't believe you invited me."

"Of course not," Draco's voice said snootily, "Harry doesn't like dumb Gryffindorks like you."

"Or great big cry-babies either," Pansy added.

Neville made a small noise.

"What's the matter with you? Gonna start crying for your mummy, Longbottom?" Draco said meanly.

"Shut up all of you!" Practically blind without the lenses in his glasses, Harry sank into the comfortable, re-stuffed chair that Nanua had left him by. "There is nothing wrong with crying. I cried in front of Neville less than an hour ago. In fact, I've cried loads in the past," Harry said angrily. "If you've a problem with that, you can go. And take your presents with you."

Silence met his ears.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to finish enjoying my birthday party. You may stay or you may leave."

A blurry hand reached up and took the frame off Harry's nose. "Your glasses were Splinched," Davis said quietly. "Someone was in a hurry to bring you back."

Harry had never heard of the term before. From context, he guessed that 'Splinched' meant to leave part of something behind during Apparation. "I just escaped an old woman's machinations only to have Sirius Black ambush Neville and I. As I said I would like to finish enjoying my birthday party before any other misadventures begin. Come sit with me, Neville." Harry patted the chair on his right. "Nanua, be sure everything is prepared for an extra guest. It's Neville's birthday today, too."

"Of course, Master Harry," the house-elf said.

Noticing that no one wished Neville a happy birthday, Harry turned to him. "That's alright with you, isn't it?"

From the seat next to him, Neville's blurry form seemed to nod its head vigorously. "I don't have a gift though..."

"It's alright. We can start next year. Why don't I send you a Christmas gift that doubles as a birthday present?"

Neville made what Harry could only term a happy noise.

"Here, Master Harry. I've brought you some tea to help settle your stomach."

Harry took the white object and saucer from Nanua's ill-defined hands and took a long sip. He felt much better. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the flavorful drink. It just occurred to him then that the anti-nausea potion didn't seem to have any aftertaste when put into tea. He was blinking at the contents of the teacup blindly, when Nanua said, "Would you also like me to fetch your spare pair of glasses?"

"Yes, please do." Harry took another deep breath. He heard the shuffling of feet on the carpet as Harry's housemates took a seat, and then Nanua returned placing his Glaxxes in hand. He put them on and everything became clear around him.

His Slytherin year-mates had seated themselves in the chairs around him in the same order, except now a glowering Draco sat on the other side of Neville. The rest were looking at Harry with an odd mix of worry, concern, and eagerness. "Thank you, Nanua."

"My pleasure, Master Harry. Your Birthday Feast will be served shortly."

After too much silence, Harry said with a precisely calm tone, "I hope you were able to entertain yourselves while I was away." He looked at each of the other Slytherins, who shifted under his gaze.

"Are you okay?" Theodore asked hesitantly.

Harry flicked his eyes at Neville, realizing by the tension in the Gryffindor's shoulders that he must be unnerving all of them. "I might be a little stressed," he admitted. "Nanua, my presents!"

One appeared in his lap. "From Draco," Harry said as he inspected the tag. "Exactly how much did you spend on a bribe, Draco?"

Draco scoffed in denial as the others chuckled. The tension in the room lessened considerably.

Carefully taking the wrapping off, Harry opened the box. Inside was a small round container made of amber. He opened the clasp and found the container hinged open. A mirror was within it. Harry thought it looked a lot like the kind of compact Muggle girls had for make-up. He peered into it, knowing there had to be something special about it if Draco had given it to him. Alabaster pale skin, a piercing grey eye and a wickedly curved smirk appeared in the mirror, causing Harry to startle violently. The compact dropped into the box. "What the bleeding hell was that?!"

Everyone around him, except for Neville, had a good laugh at his reaction. Harry scowled and waited patiently for them to fall quiet.

Draco held a matching compact made of green, marbled stone. "It's a two-way mirror. This way we don't need letters to communicate to one another."

"Brilliant!" Harry said excitedly for he had missed his correspondence with Draco. He picked Draco's gift up and opened it. "Does it work anywhere?"

"I've never heard of any spells that can block them," Theodore answered, when Draco shrugged.

"Thanks, Draco," Harry said, closing it and setting it back into the box.

And on Harry's gift-unwrapping event went. Unsurprisingly, Crabbe's gift was a large box of Chocolate Frogs, while Goyle had decided to forgo sweets this year. His thoughtful gift was a green rubber tube embedded with Slytherin's crest that was made to slip onto a broom handle for extra grip whilst one played Quidditch.

Harry received books from Bulstrode, Davis, Perks, and Nott: Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming by Professor Sibyll Trelawney, Advanced Quidditch Techniques and Maneuvers For Seekers by Victor Krum, translated by Sturgis Podmore, Jinxes and Anti-Jinxes by Professor Vindictus Viridian, and The Ultimate Compendium of All Dark Creatures Known and Un-Known by the Nott Patriarchs.

Harry hefted the last, which was much, much thicker than any other book he ever owned. "Your Dad helped write this?"

"Yes," Theodore answered. "It was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather who started the tradition. The Notts are a fairly well-known name among certain circles."

Harry thanked him like he'd thanked Crabbe, Goyle, Bulstrode, Davis, and Perks. He wondered if this was what Dumbledore meant by constantly receiving books as gifts…

A long, wide box appeared next in his lap. "From Daphne," he said, reading the card, and then grinned at her. "Are we on first-name basis, now?"

"Only if you wish, your Grace," she said teasingly.

"Hey, if you're calling her Daphne, then you should call me Tracey!" Davis complained.

"Don't get wound up. I would rather you all call me Harry..."

"But then we can't call you, your Grace," Daphne said.

"That is the catch, yes." Grinning, Harry undid the ribbon and tore away the paper impatiently. Inside were sleek, dark green Quidditch pads. Harry had been wearing secondhand ones provided by the Slytherin Quidditch Team that were overlarge for him and weren't very good at lessening the impact of a Bludger. "Is this a whole set?"

"Enchanted for resiliency and weightlessness. The Enchantments on it should prevent any more broken bones by Bludgers or unfortunate falls," she said beaming.

"Thanks, Daphne. I hope I can still play. With the way things are..." Harry mulled over the likelihood of his guardian forbidding it. His Slytherin year-mates shifted uncomfortably.

"Of course you will, Harry!" Neville said brightly next to him. "You're the best Seeker Hogwarts has seen in over a century! It'd be silly not to let you play."

Relaxing, Harry smiled. "I hope you're right." He set the box down and stood up. "Well, that's done. Let's go eat something."

"About time!" Draco announced self-importantly.

Harry laughed and led them through the door to the dining room, which was as magnificent as it had been when Augusta Longbottom had visited. This time there was a large round table covered in an emerald green tablecloth with eleven seats and eleven sets of silver cutlery and delicate china plates. A bulbous glass filled to the brim with ice water and an empty tankard sat by each. Harry took his place where the largest chair was. Neville chose to sit on the left of him, while Draco reclaimed the seat to Harry's right. The others filled in the other chairs in much the same way they had in the living room.

As soon as they had settled into the chairs, the courses of food began and the others began to chitchat, leaving Neville out of the conversation.

Harry picked up his tankard and was delighted to find that it was filled with Butterbeer.

"So, is this what it feels like to be your brother?" Neville asked as Harry took a drink.

Draco nearly spat out his bite of salad. "Longbottom, what are you blathering on about?"

Neville's ears turned bright red. "It's nothing."

"Mrs. Longbottom wants to adopt me," Harry said.

The other Slytherins' conversations died at that announcement.

Eyeing Neville, Theodore muttered, "That certainly explains things."

"You really think his grandmother will win in court?" Pansy asked acidly.

Harry didn't want to answer, but with them he knew he didn't have to.

"Gran's not a Death Eater," Neville said, not knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

"Ex-Death Eater," Harry corrected.

Neville looked at Harry and opened his mouth.

"I'd be very careful about what I'd say about my godfather if I were you, Longbottom," Draco's voice cut across the table.

"I was only going to say that Gran believes that You-Know-Who's evil spirit lives on and won't stop attacking Harry until he's dead."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Pansy asked impatiently.

He blinked repeatedly. "Gran says that no renounced servant of You-Know-Who can escape his wrath when he returns."

That hit Harry like a punch to the gut. Was that why Black was trying to kill Snape?

"When he returns, not if?" Bulstrode uttered harshly.

"You're right, Milly," Tracey said, "Sounds like Longbottom believes that it's only a matter of time before the Dark Lord rises from the grave."

"My father believes he will," Draco said quietly.

Again, tension lay suddenly thick around the table. Harry wondered if birthday parties were normally this distressing. No one really seemed interested in eating any longer.

Harry downed the rest of his Butterbeer and set the tankard upon the table, hating that his birthdays were cursed. He looked down the table, unhappy to see the long faces. "Would you stand with me if I fought him?"

Pansy, Tracey, and Daphne stiffened in response to his gaze.

At the shocked silence, Harry hesitated, "I," He poked the treacle pudding in his bowl with a spoon. "I have been powerless my entire life until I came to Hogwarts. I don't want to die under the foot of someone else. I'd rather go fighting, and I've only survived this long because of help," he finished softly.

"Morbid words for a child on his thirteenth birthday," Snape said behind him.

Harry spun in his chair and a grin burst on his face. "You're back!"

Snape snorted. "Did you forget who owns the house?"

Everyone laughed, even Neville, who was surprised by the eruption of laughter. He had a pale look of shock at himself, likely that he had laughed at the scary ex-Death Eater's joke.

"Your grandmother is here to fetch you, Longbottom." Snape's black eyes glittered with amusement at this fact.

Neville affixed a stare of terror on the doorway out of the dining room. "Oh, no," He moaned pitifully, holding his head in a distressed manner.

"She can wait," Harry retorted loudly, leaning his chair back on two legs to try to look into the other room, but his view was blocked by Snape who had remained standing in the doorway.

Neville's eyes grew larger, while Harry's Slytherin year-mates waited on bated breath for Professor Snape's reaction.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"She kidnapped me, so I kidnapped Neville. She can bleeding well wait," Harry said reasonably.

Hands dropping, Neville let out a gasp of shock. "You kidnapped me?!"

"Longbottom, you didn't think Harry invited you just for your company?"

Harry let out an irritated sigh. "Draco, Neville is a friend and he is welcome here. You would be smart to learn a bit of humility before you find yourself kicked out." He abruptly stood. "Keep eating. I'll be back shortly." He stalked out of the room past a coolly observant Snape.

He felt his guardian follow him into the sitting room. Harry had a very clear image of the cupboard in his head.

"I don't know how you escaped the forest, but it is too dangerous for my grandson to make unannounced social calls without my supervision," the old woman said tartly, her green eyes stormy.

Harry's pent-up rage boiled to the surface. "You are a miserable, hypocritical old hag! You've told my guardian that he's isolated me too much and yet there wasn't a single person at Neville's birthday party!"

"How dare—"

He interrupted her. "If I must, I will live with you, but don't ever think I'll be 'grateful'," he snarled. "I will never greet mistreatment with gratitude ever again. And I will never again ever accept any meals you offer, since you drugged the one cup of tea I had. And when your Guardianship is finalized, Dobby will come with me to prepare my meals."

"I will not be spoken to in—"

"Now!" Harry took a short breath, feeling like a load had been lifted from his shoulders. "I will finish my birthday feast with my invited guests and you can either wait here or you can leave. Either way Professor Snape will bring Neville to your residence after our combined birthday party is over."

"How dare you speak to me this way!" Neville and Snape's grandmother spat out irately, clutching her red handbag tightly in her grip. "I demand you apologize to me at once for your insolence!"

Harry turned on a heel and was startled to see Snape in the doorway, framed by Harry's wide-eyed year mates. When he had grown so angry, he'd forgotten about everyone else. As the old witch continued to sling enraged words at Harry's back, Harry checked Snape's expression to find his guardian amused, an eyebrow raised with a half-smirk on his lips. Harry relaxed some knowing he wouldn't be punished and sidestepped Snape. Harry's year-mates moved aside so he could retake his spot at the table.

"The exit is behind you, Augusta," Snape's voice said wryly.

A broad smile was restored to Harry's face. He flashed it reassuringly to Neville before digging heartily back into his meal.

"You are the scariest person my age," came Neville's comment. "I can't wait to tell Ron and 'Mione."

Harry laughed. He hoped that Mrs. Longbottom was having second thoughts about adopting him.