Prongslet

by Japanime1

3-year-old Harry Potter, a rare and powerful Elemental Wizard, is abused by the Dursley’s and is taken to be raised by his Godfather Sirius and Remus. I know this has been done before, but I believe this one to be quite unique.

37. The Past Always Comes Back

Disclaimer: You want to know what I OWN?! I'll tell you what I OWN…nothing, nada, not a friggin' thing! How unfair is that to my wallet?!

Chapter Summary: What goes around comes around, and when not properly buried...the past always returns full-face.

A/N: W00t, the fifth chapter since my long absence! How many of you believed we would get to this point in a weekly consecutive manner? Aren't you proud of me? :-) Well…I'm proud of me, so I suppose that has to count for something, even if you're not… I mean, I don't want myself to fall back into the shadows for another year, m'not so sure about how you all feel on that subject… o.o'' Either way, though, that is not a part of the plans. The plan is to continue onward, continue forward, and enjoy life as I take out time here and there during the week to add on to my chapters, and post them on their normal designated weekend time. –Grins.- Also, credit where credit is due, parts of the flashback in this chapter come from the amazing MidniteMarauder. Anywho, thanks to all of you awesome people who reviewed, I love you guys a ton! Here's your chapter!

Chapter 37: The Past Always Comes Back

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"You're joking…" the male stated, not wanting to believe it. It could not be true…it was impossible.

"I'm afraid not, my good sir," Xantos smirked, lounging easily in the other's sitting room armchair. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but—"

"B-But they said if we si—"

"And you believed them?" The casually dressed, muggle jeans and t-shirt, Death Eater rolled his eyes at this. "Not the smartest of choices, I must admit, and I would have thought you of all of those out there would be wary of such people's promises. Either way, if you let things stay as they are, they and their friends will go through with their plan, and you and your family will—"

"N-n-no! I refuse to let that happen!!" the other roared almost desperately.

The raise in voice did not faze Xantos in the least, in fact, if the glint in his eyes were anything to go by, he almost preferred it. Interestingly enough, this mission of his was much more for his own means than for those of Lord Voldemort. If truth were told, Lord Voldemort did not even know about it…and 'Serpent' intended to keep it that way until he had finished this. If all things went according to plan, then the Dark Lord would benefit, and if not…well, at least Xantos, himself, would get some personal satisfaction.

Were the chances high of getting a Cruciatus Curse or two…or three, cast his way if he 'were' found out? Certainly! Assuredly! Undoubtedly! But of - friggin' - course! ...Did that worry him, however? Naw. Being a Potter, and Voldemort being who he was, Xantos was more than a little used to pain...he shrugged it off mostly, in his mind, while making sure to 'ask for forgiveness' verbally, lest he get more than his fair share. See, Voldemort was pretty easy to appease and/or calm if you knew the right path to take in regard to him. Granted, it took Xantos a while to learn the ropes, not having been raised in a dark wizard family and all, but he eventually had.

"Then I'd suggest you act," the dark golden-brown haired wizard advised persuasively. "I'd suggest you fight back against them…their papers are only magical ones. According to legalized law on this side of the spectrum, things are quite different… Magic 'doesn't exist' after all. And if you get him back, and make sure he doesn't speak against you, then you're very much in the clear. They won't be able to touch you or your 'lovely'," he cleared his throat at this, "family."

"…H-how do we go about it?"

"I'd recommend…starting with a letter," the cold hazel-eyed man replied, a strange smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

Yes…this mission was for Voldemort in the least of senses…if at all. This mission was for Xantos, himself, and for his own satisfaction, in truth. Young Draco Malfoy, while never having been told things directly from the source, but rather through unsanctioned thought reading, had shared far too many things with Xantos for him to sit back and not deal punishment where punishment was way overdue…

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The past always has a way of coming back. This holds true for very nearly everything…especially if such a past was never truly buried. Sirius more than anyone knew this, considering he had had to see Alexis Summerlin again after years of not seeing a bloody bit of her. Thankfully, he did not have to see her much, but considering she was re-inducted into the Order of the Phoenix, he certainly had to see her from time to time. …Whoopty friggin' doo.

Much to Sirius' disappointment, time and distance apparently 'did' make the heart grow fonder, because his Godson adored the girl. Bloody hell! He would have thought Harry would have grown out of it, and preferably dropped her like a ton of weights considering his Godfather disliked her, but Harry had not…he had just grown closer with her every time Remus – that double crosser – let him go and visit.

The twenty-eight year old man supposed he just had to accept that the past always had a way of coming back. He had to accept that his own personal bitterness was not shared by those around him, and that that was not exactly 'wrong'…it should be that way, actually, he had to admit, despite not wanting to.

It was a mixture of all this that had the blacksheep of the Black family sitting rather gloomily in Dumbledore's office. The elderly wizard had called an abrupt Order meeting for just a few choice people, specifically Sirius, Remus, Severus, Alexis, and Arthur Weasley. The girl occasionally sent him the look that clearly stated 'I really wish you'd let me explain things to you, Sirius', but the bluish-grey eyed male would merely look away and occupy his gaze with a particularly interesting speck of lint on his robes.

"Voldemort has apparently found a suitable host body in Albania over the summer, Severus has informed me, but has decided that invading Azkaban at the moment would be most unwise," Dumbledore continued, not missing the clear tension between Sirius and Alexis, but knowing this to be far from the right time to make amused comments on it like he usually did. "It is apparent that he has decided to remain under the radar for a while longer, and has set his sights on something else to help him gain a body of his own – in case getting a hold of Harry again proves difficult."

"Did he mention what it was?" Remus asked, glancing briefly at Snape before returning his amber gaze to Dumbledore.

"He has apparently only mentioned it to a select few, among them Greyback, Xantos, and Yaxley," the Headmaster replied with a sigh. "Perhaps with time this information will reach Severus, as well."

Sirius looked like he wanted to retort something – likely along the lines of 'or Snivellus knows it all and is withholding bloody information!' – but refrained, knowing from a good deal of personal experience that verbally lashing out at the supposed 'spy' Death Eater only got him reprimands.

"Now then, onto the other…much more sobering matter for why I called you here today…"

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Dear Harry,

Sorry it's taken my so long to respond, I wanted to make sure it did not seem obvious that post was flying between Ireland and England often. Hedwig is a beautiful owl, I bet you care a lot for her. I'm looking forward to seeing you again during the holidays, as well, and I can only imagine what 'Quidditch Marbles' are…Sirius and his extravagant gifts… Merlin. Anyway, I'm sorry I missed another birthday, but you know how I can't come down there…I'm glad you are enjoying the Sugar Quills, though.

A Malfoy and a Potter as friends…you couldn't have paid me in the past to even think that 'remotely' possible, especially considering James and Lucius… You really are an odd one, kid.

Congrats on Flaming, you'll have to show me next time you're up here.

Severus? Yeah, he's not half as bad as Sirius makes him out to be, I was good friends with him in school...well, secretly, anyway, because not many people accepted him in Slytherin for not being a pureblood. He was a little bookworm-ish, too, but he was interesting enough for a mudblood.

As to Sirius and Remus and their 'days'…that doesn't surprise me. Sirius would drive anyone mental and/or up a wall…

Anyway, it was a nice surprise to get a letter from you; it brightened my normally dull afternoon. If you write back, make sure it's not for a while, just in case… I look farward to hearing from you again, little guy.

Always,

Reggie

Harry read over this with a large smile on his face for the millionth time since he had gotten it two days ago. It was his first letter ever, delivered by his own owl, and it was something he cherished.

"—and I mean, what's her problem? She gives me that look everytime! I only pulled her hair four times! …Hey," the Weasley said skeptically, "are you even listening, Harry?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry…"

"Riiight. How many times are you going to read that letter?" Ron joked amusedly.

"Dunno yet," Harry answered, folding the letter and placing it back in his pocket.

"I've never gotten a letter before, so I guess I don't know what it's like," the red head sighed.

Harry nodded slightly with a smile, "It's fun."

The young Potter shivered once from where he sat on the grass on the moderately warm October afternoon, bringing his hands up to rub at his arms.

"Are ya cold?" Ron inquired from where he sat next to him, somewhat perplexed, petting Amber who had her head resting on his lap. She was a lot bigger now, not nearly the small pup/cub she had been all those years ago, but she was still as playful and affectionate as ever.

"No, not really, it was just a shiver I guess," the Potter replied with a reassuring smile, dropping his hands to his lap once more, feeling unexplainably uneasy for some reason, but seeing no true reason to voice it.

"Wish we didn't have baby sitters…" the red head commented jadedly, glancing across the lake where Percy and Charlie stood talking to their friends, looking over at the boys every now and then to make sure they were still there.

"Well, we have been such non-trouble-seeking kids, Ron, I can't imagine why anyone would think someone should watch us…" Harry replied jokingly, glancing out over the shimmering lake as well.

"…Ah, yes…there's that…"

'Harry Potter' visiting Hogwarts had eventually become very widespread news throughout the school over the years, and the students often looked forward to seeing him. But ever since too many students asked him more than appropriate questions about his past, and Voldemort, Dumbledore had made sure to order the school to not bother him on the occasions that he visited.

However one person in particular, besides the Weasley family, always tended to break this rule.

"Wotcher, Harry, Ron!"

The two eight year old's heads both snapped in the direction of the voice, quickly to be greeted with a yellow and black robed female with a pale heart-shaped face and spiky pink hair…who then promptly tripped.

"Tonks!" both boys called concernedly, scrambling to their feet – Ron bumping Amber in the process. The wolf-like-tiger animal gave what could have easily been a huff before marching off for Hagrid's hut while the two children rushed to the fifteen year old girl's aid.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she assured them, though allowing them to both grab onto one of her two hands to help her up before she dusted off her Hufflepuff school uniform. "I'm such a klutz..."

Harry and Ron shared a smile before looking back up at the girl.

"Just a little," the Weasley boy grinned.

"Funny," the daughter of Sirius' favorite cousin replied dryly.

"Did you just get out of class?" Harry asked curiously.

"Mmhmm, Muggle Studies with Professor Quirrell," the girl shrugged looking around as if expecting to see someone else together with Harry and Ron.

"…Looking for someone?" Ron inquired with a bemused expression.

"Oh…er…" she seemed to blush faintly before shaking her head, removing the blush, and answering, "I just thought…you know, Sirius and…erm…Remus…might have been around with you two."

"They're up inside the castle talking with Professor Dumbledore," said the raven haired boy. "They've been talking for a while, I bet they're almost done, so you'll probably be able to see them soon."

"Brilliant," the girl smiled brightly before plopping down on the soft grass, soon to be joined by the eight year olds.

"So…any animal face requests from you two?" she asked encouragingly, earning herself wide grins from the boys.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

An incredulous, if not stunned, silence filled Dumbledore's office following his reading of the letter he had received earlier that morning, the minds of the occupants going a mile a minute.

…What?

"W-wait…" Sirius said slowly, disbelievingly, after the pregnant pause, "…what are you saying? Y-you can't--"

"They want him back?" Remus repeated softly, in disbelief, his voice somewhat shaky. "They want…him back? I…how? Why?" He shook his head before stating, obviously, his voice gaining some strength back, "It's been five years! He's ours!"

Dumbledore nodded solemnly, not having thought the Dursley's would think to bring actual Muggle law against Wizarding one. It was relatively impossible for the Dursley's to have know that under Wizarding law, the custody papers were in Sirius' and Remus' names, but that in Muggle law Harry still belonged to his blood relations…that is, they would not have known without the help of someone with knowledge of such law differences.

An alarming event, indeed, and one the Hogwarts Headmaster had truly not foreseen in the slightest.

The Dursley's wanted their nephew back immediately…would not tolerate him living with people that would fill his head with magic mumbo-jumbo nonsense. Would not tolerate the breaking of Dumbledore's promise of 'not taking them to court if they signed the papers he had brought them', as their informant had told them. Would not tolerate another fake assurance, and wanted the son of Petunia's sister inside the walls of their house by tomorrow evening, or the Muggle police would be called to report quite the kidnapping.

"No…no, like hell we're giving him back to them!" Sirius shouted as this all finally sunk in to his very core, rattling him something terrible before he pushed himself roughly, albeit shakily, to his feet, bluish-grey eyes flashing dangerously. "Going back would crush him! We promised him we'd never…! He's only just starting to really move passed the hold they had on him, there's no way--!"

"I'm afraid we might not have much of a choice in the matter, Mr. Black…for the time being…" the elderly wizard cut in gently, and Sirius' shook his head in a slow, almost pleading, 'you can't be telling me this' kind of way before swallowing back emotion that was threatening to take over.

Snape continued to stand indifferently at the back of the room, mind going over all of this information, however successfully hiding his surprise. Who cared if Potter had to go back to his aunt and uncle, anyway? Certainly not him. It would do the little spoiled brat some good… Arthur, on the other hand, was just as incredulous as Sirius and Remus, dread filling him…

Stomach rolling over in anger, the elegant ebony haired male opened his mouth for what could have easily become a shouting fest – Merlin knew he had inherited the infamous Black temper, despite the usual care-free disposition most saw – but he was soon cut off.

"Sirius…" Alexis said unsteadily, bringing his attention to her, and she could feel her chest tighten at the resonating despair and loss evident in his eyes… "…Don't…" This last bit was said barely above a whisper; the girl's eyes shimmering with held back tears.

The Black studied her for a moment, taking in a long shaky drag of breath, before allowing Remus to pull him back down into his chair. Was there really…nothing they could do? They had to do this? Had to give Harry up? Just like that? No fight?

"They're prepared to call Muggle law enforcement into the matter if we do not, which will ultimately only get Harry taken away, regardless. The Ministry of Magic respects Muggle law, so if we want to reverse this, we'll have to bring the case before a Muggle judge… Which we will do; it is the only way to fight this back."

"But it's been years…" Remus choked out. "…There's no…there's no physical proof anymore."

"There's an eye-witness in Arabella Figg, and young Harry, himself, could testify against his fami—"

"They're not his family," Sirius growled through clenched teeth. "No one who could do what they did to a child, could ever be called their family."

"Mr. Black, I understand how you feel, but—"

"NO! You don't understand!" the Black roared, jumping back to his feet, fists clenched, nails digging into his palms, and Remus, Arthur, and Alexis shrunk back slightly in their seats. "You haven't raised him like Remus and I have! You may wish you understood, but you can't! If this whole thing was even remotely possible, why didn't we do this first? Why didn't we go to Muggle court first, and make them pay for what they'd done then??" he demanded, furious.

"I had been positive at the time that they would never reali—" Dumbledore began to explain soothingly, apologetically, however seemingly unaffected by the young male's response other than a sadness in his normally twinkling blue eyes.

"Well you were bloody friggin' wrong, weren't you!!" Sirius yelled, and the Headmaster had to close his eyes. The Black's whole body seemed to be shaking, his breathing heavy. "I can't…I can't…I won't…" And with that he turned and stormed from the office, slamming the large oak door behind him.

Remus, who while very nearly agreeing with every last thing his best friend said, and who was doing his best to not have an outburst of his own, moved to stand, but Alexis beat him to it.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't do anything rash," she said quickly, emotion evident in her voice, before she moved passed them all and out the door as well.

Amber eyes gratefully watched her go, before he released an unsteady breath. He was barely controlling his own emotions, there was a slim chance he would be able to help calm someone else's.

"Is there really…is there really no other way, professor? We…we have to really…" His throat locked on him at the mere thought of seriously having to take Harry back, regardless for how short of time they could try and make it.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Lupin…"

And it was the deep sincerity in his old Headmaster's words that finally broke Remus Lupin down, the lycanthrope burying his face in his hands.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

He could not… He would not… Merlin, how was it even possible for him to?! He had lost James, his other half, which had nearly killed him…to lose Harry would somehow be even worse, he knew, which was definitely saying something. Harry was his world, his…his everything. Regardless of how short a time their separation could be, the mere thought of knowing what kind of people he would be leaving the eight year old with… The mere thought of not being able to do a thing to protect him…

He could not…would not…

Emotion choked the Black, biting back a sob as he closed the vacant, desk-less classroom door behind him, turning and slamming a fist against the stone wall…not that that helped him any, he realized with a sharp hiss, because now his fist was throbbing like no tomorrow. No, instead, he leaned his back against the wall and allowed himself to slide to the floor, resting his head back against the cold wall – which felt nice, considering how hot his skin felt -, cradling his throbbing hand slightly as his tear shimmering eyes closed tightly.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

-Flashback.-

"I'm going to be a father!" James shouted for the four-thousand, three-hundred and eighty-sixth time in the last seven months. And just as he had for the last four-thousand three-hundred and eighty-five times, Sirius – walking around Godric's Hollow with his best mate - rolled his eyes, sighed, and refrained from smacking James upside the head.

It's a disease…he can't help it if he's an idiotic, prat, poncy little git.

He merely imagined smacking James upside the head, grinned, and felt a lot better for it.

"I know! I can't believe it, either!" James said, completely oblivious, carrying on the conversation as if he had been responded to. "Me! Bloody hell! But…Pads, I've got a huge favor I need ask you..."

"Lily's tired of your pitifully undersized prick, and she finally wants a real man, mainly me, to—"

"No, y'friggin wanker, it's not about me or my prick, and Lily is more than satisfied, thankyouverymuch. It's about my kid. …My son…or daughter. Merlin, what if it's a girl? I've never been around a baby girl, I don't know anything about them!"

"Well, to put it simply, mate, they definitely don't have pricks, trust me. They're too preoccupied with their hair and clothes than is strictly healthy, and they get pissy every month. Actually, you should be used to the pissy part of the deal, you lived with Moony for seven years, too," he added, plopping down on a random bench.

"I'm sure Moony'll be ecstatic to find out who you associate him with. And thanks millions, because I didn't know any of that shite already," he deadpanned, before rolling his eyes and plopping himself down next to the dog Animagus. "No I – don't start with me, Pads -- I'm trying to ask you something serious, and so help me Merlin if you interrupt me to make some daft pun about being 'Sirius', I'll hex your bullocks off."

Sirius laughed his bark-like laughter, before saying, "Okay, okay I'll let you ask, but I'll tell you right now, I'm not changing any diapers. No sir, if I wanted that job, I'd have knocked someone up mysel—"

"We want you to be the baby's Godfather, you friggin' ponce!" James said, and smacked his friend upside the head.

Sirius stared at the hazel-eyed Potter. "Godfather? …That thing catholic Muggles do?"

"Yeah, basically, Lils was telling me about it…some wizards do it, too," James said. "Don't you have a Godfather?"

"'My' family adopt a Muggle tradition? Hell no," Sirius laughed.

"Good thing you're not like them, then, eh? Anyway, You'd better say yes."

"Y'know, Prongsie, Lily would have been kinder about asking me..."

"Does that mean 'yes'?"

The words 'of course, you damn arse,' rose to his lips, but he paused as the realization sank in. He had no idea what a Godfather was...let alone their job. He sat back on the bench, turning truly thoughtful and serious for the first time all afternoon.

"Sirius?"

"Merlin, Prongs, I have no idea what it even means to be a Godfather…how am I s'posed to--"

"Oh, well." James brought a hand up and scratched his head. "I think Muggles do some elaborate stuff, with blood and wine and what-not…weird stuff, maybe a sacrifice to their God or something…"

Sirius went a little pale, and James laughed.

"Relax, mate. For us—me and Lils, I mean—we just want you to, you know, be there for him—or her—like real family, only more, and, well, if anything ever happened to me or Lily …"

Sirius did not need or want him to finish that sentence. The future looked grim enough as it was, with Voldemort's power and his followers growing with every passing day…the current state of the Wizarding world was not a comforting one.

"Yeah," he said. "I'd do all that for your kid anyway, you know. You do know that, don't you?"

"Yeah. I know," James nodded with a smile, "You've always been family to me, you don't need a title for that… But after Lils told me about it…well, 'I' wanted to ask."

"And y'know what? It'll be a nice touch to add another 'in your face' to the family. My mum'll go completely mental, you know she will." He shook his head. "Me…a Godfather."

James smirked, eyes twinkling with their usual mischief. "She'll get the first announcement."

"Merlin…I know I'm going to sound as idiotic as you do, but… 'I'm going to be a Godfather!" The Black bounced a little with a giddy, lopsided grin plastered onto his face.

-Two Months Later.-

The first time James Potter, beaming with pride, carefully handed baby Harry to Sirius…the first time Sirius Black had held the little bundle in his arms…there had been no magical moment similar to it. …None.

The Black had balked at first, terrified of dropping the small thing, but once he finally had the baby there in his arms securely, bright emerald green eyes staring up at him curiously beneath an already accumulated tuft of raven black hair…it was like the magic of old.

"Prongs, he's got your hair…poor kid…" he joked.

He smiled, however, and smoothed Harry's hair, which unsurprisingly refused to lay flat. Prongsie's heritage lives on... But it looks like he's going to have Lilikin's eyes, he thought to himself. But despite all these various thoughts…he felt it. Felt the connection between himself and the baby, the strong and uncontrollable desire to take care of him, to protect him…

I'll always be there for you, kiddo, he thought to himself. …Little Prongslet. I mean, it. I'd die before I let anything happen to you…

The instantaneous way he felt about Harry had come as a thorough surprise to him. He loved Remus and Peter and Lily, sure. And James, of course there was James. He could try and tell you how he felt about the messy haired Potter, but words would fail him…there was no describing how he felt about James. Minerva McGonagall, their Head of House had often remarked that they were two bodies sharing the same brain, and while she meant it to make fun, Sirius had taken it as a compliment. James was the person to whom he had poured out all the contents of his soul, and vice-versa, the good and bad together from both of them, and with the gentlest of hands the two had taken and sifted though it all, keeping what was worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blown the rest away. No matter how cheesy that might sound to the world, it was true. He and James were as close as any two people who were not sleeping together could possibly be, and he had never really given his feelings much thought before. Well, he had thought about them, but he had never felt a need try and put words to it.

But Harry was different. Here was a baby who would spend most of the time sleeping, eating, pooping, and crying for attention… He would not understand a word you said to him for at least almost a year and could not even speak English, so it was not like it was possible to have a proper conversation, and yet…

Yet, this child was the most precious thing in the world to Sirius. From that moment on, every spare moment he could possibly find, he spent with his godson…swiftly developing his 'Separation Anxiety' disorder that he complained of as an excuse every time he visited Lily and James' home.

He had never really considered having children of his own…while he joked about it, he was actually uncertain on how wise it would be to carry on the bloodline of a family such as his. Either way, he did not need a child by blood any more than he needed a family by blood. James was his brother, Lily had become the sister he had never had, and Harry was his heart's child, and that was enough…that was perfect and fine with the bluish-grey eyed young adult.

The newborn yawned, eyes slowly closing, and turned his face toward Sirius' chest, one tiny hand clenching at his shirt.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Alexis Summerlin found Sirius with his face in his hands on the floor of the unused classroom he always could be found in when he wanted to be alone – which was rare, but had occasionally happened during their school years – and she knew he had to have tears falling, despite how quiet he was. Merlin, even she had tears, and she was not the one who had lived five years with her best friend's son and now had to return him to people who likely so much as hated him…no matter how short a time it would be.

"…Siri…" she murmured softly, moving to slid down to the floor beside him, before tentatively wrapping an arm around his shoulders comfortingly…the action reminding her so much of the same that she had done for the male – her boyfriend at the time - at Mary and Harold Potter's funeral.

The Black lifted his head slowly, red, puffy eyes moving to stare at her with a deeper sense of anguish than she had seen earlier. He had apparently not even heard her come in.

"Alex…" he rasped, voice strained.

His emotion-filled voice broke her heart, and she pulled him gently against her side, his head coming to rest against her shoulder, their past frozen in the actual past for the moment as the man allowed himself to sink into the comfort of her he had so relished when he had been younger.

"I'm here…it's going to be alright, Siri, you're not alone… It won't be for long…Dumbledore won't let it be, you know that. It's better to lose him for a few days, than for forever, right? …You'll have him before the week is out."

"…That's too long…" Sirius moaned, burying his face into her shoulder; leaving Harry with those Muggles was definitely the way to break his bloody promise...Prongs had to be rolling in his grave. "A day, even, would be too long…"

"We're going to get him back…" the strawberry blonde assured once more, feeling the small tremors coursing through the body against her.

"H-how am I supposed to tell him?"

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

A/N: Okay, so I feel like crying now, so I'm going to stop… Cliffie, yes? …M'sorry. :-(

So this is it for chapter 37. I know the last chapter did not do much in plot movement, but I had felt a nice transition chapter, since I'd done an age skipping, would be a good thing…more so considering the chapters I had planned to follow it. –Sighs.- …Angst makes me sad… But it's necessary in stories from time to time, I must admit. Fluff can't be twenty-four-seven... –Sighs again.- Anywho, tell me what you all think, yes? I'd love to hear your opinions.

I really need to go eat some chocolate now…

And, on a lighter note, onto this chapter's 'Curiosity Filler'!

"If you could have any one wizarding spell at your disposal, one and only one, that you could use infinitely, which one would it be?"

And, of course, as I'm sure you know by now, I shall reply with my answer once you tell me yours! :-)

Until next time, dear Readers,

-Chloe

-Japanime1