The next morning, Harry was finally allowed to leave St. Mungo's hospital. Molly Weasley arrived at his bedside at 8 am and ushered him out of the hospital, talking frantically all the while.

"I was worried sick about you! I'm so happy to see you healthy, dear. Now come on, lets get you home and give you some real food, not the nasty grub they serve in this place."

"Um…yeah…thanks Mrs. Weasley." Harry mumbled, still half asleep. Harry had slept very well this particular night owing to a potent dose of dreamless draught. However, his sudden waking left him feeling groggy. Mrs. Weasley had practically shaken him awake, tore open the curtains, and muttered to him about combing his hair. She was in quite a rush to return to Grimmauld Place, for what reason, Harry did not know.

"Good thing you only got a concussion, dear boy, after sustaining a fall like that. Why, I was so worried you'd have some memory loss or something. You remember everything well, don't you?"

As she said this, they passed by a sour looking wizard with a pair of frog legs sticking ominously out of his chin.

"I do." Harry said, eyeing the wizard curiously.

Mrs. Weasley asked similar frantic questions the whole way back to Grimmauld Place. She quieted down somewhat over breakfast, although it was still awkward to answer her through a mouth of bacon and eggs. Harry gulped breakfast down and ran off to find his friends.

Upon entering his bedroom, he found Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in deep conversation. He heard them mention his name.

"Talking about me?" He asked, half-jokingly.

They turned around quickly. "Harry!" Ginny squealed, before calming herself.

"Oh, I mean Harry, you're back." She said more calmly.

Ron was bemused by Ginny's outburst, but Hermione, on the other hand, smiled.

"Yes, I'm back." Harry replied. "What's up?"

"Well, you see…" Hermione began. "We've been discussing you and the plan, and we think that maybe…" Ron cut her off.

"Maybe you should sit the last part out, mate." Ron said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Sit it out? Seriously?"

"Harry, you've just been through a bad experience, and we want you to rest. Ron and I think we can handle it, and Ginny has volunteered to help out." Said Hermione.

Harry turned to Ginny. "You knew about our plan?"

Ginny blushed a violent shade of scarlet.

"She was eavesdropping on us the whole time." Ron muttered. "She told us all she's heard and wants to help."

"Why did you start eavesdropping in the first place?" Harry asked.

Ginny blushed a little bit more. "I was just curious about what you three talk about. You're always locked up in there together."

Harry eyed Ginny for a moment and then turned back to Hermione.

"Thanks for your concern, but I think I'm well enough to continue this."

"But Harry…"

"Listen Hermione, I need to do this last part myself. Firstly because I need to help convince Snape to accept Sirius's apology. One of the reasons he hates Sirius is because of my father. I look just like him, and that's why he hates me, too. If I can work with him on getting past that, maybe we can achieve something. Plus, I want to see if I can hear about my mother…"

"Harry, that's a bad…"

"Hermione hear me out! The second reason is that being part of this plan with you guys helps me take my mind off everything. For a little while I don't have to think about Cedric or You-Know-Who. When I'm with you guys, I don't feel so alone. I feel like I'm doing something to help the Order and if all these people are willing to risk their lives for me, it's the least I can do."

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione said, tears swelling in her eyes. "Harry you're not alone…you're…we'll always be here for you!"

"Yeah, mate, don't worry we have your back no matter what." Ron said sympathetically.

"Thanks guys. I know you mean that. So, I'm back in on the plan, agreed?"

Ron and Hermione nodded.

"So, did I miss anything?" Harry asked.

"Yes, actually. Ginny was just telling us about something Fred and George have been up to." Hermione answered.

"They're up to something fishy. I've seen them hanging around Mundungus Fletcher, whispering to him about getting them something. As far as I know, it's hard to find and may be illicit." Ginny said.

Harry was surprised. Fred and George dealing with Fletcher?

"Could this possibly be something related to the joke shop they want to open up? Couldn't they just be looking for ingredients for the puking pastels or something?"

"No, it's not like that. I was worrying about them pulling another little 'prank', like the cake incident, so I listened in on them too. Apparently this has something to do with yet another scheme of theirs, and I don't really think we can afford another one of those." Ginny said.

Harry frowned. Surely Fred and George weren't trying to cause more trouble, were they? Then a thought struck Harry; both Fred and George loathed Snape as much as he did. Maybe they were trying to cause another little incident to kick him out of the order, or even worse; make him look so bad that he was fired from Hogwarts. As much as a Snape free Hogwarts appealed to Harry, he could not allow Fred and George to frame someone. Although Harry intensely disliked Snape, he could not stand back as the twins caused trouble that could cost the order a member and someone their job.

"Okay, well then we'll have to keep an eye on them. Ron, tail Fred. Ginny, follow George. You two are their siblings, so they might be more open about their actions to you. Hermione, keep an eye on Fletcher. Try to find out what's he is getting for Fred and George." Harry said.

"More open? Fat chance!" Muttered Ron.

Harry ignored him. "So get going guys. You have some serious sleuthing to do."

Harry turned his back on them and headed for the door. "Meanwhile, I'll be having a chat with Snape."

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Sirius was dumbfounded. Absolutely and completely dumbfounded. When he had saw the picture missing last night he had known that his suspicions were true; Snape had a thing for Lily. He could not believe how brash Snape had acted. He was always clever enough to keep himself out of trouble, cunning enough to hide his tracks and deceive. But this time, he had slipped up. Actually, he had been slipping up a lot lately. He had caught him looking at the picture in the yearbook, he became softer when speaking about her, and he did not even stay calm and try to play off not having anything to do with the missing picture. When Sirius had picked up the book, Snape went ballistic. Perhaps he had known that one of his deepest secrets was about to be discovered, and ran off, unable to react in an unsuspicious way.

Just to be sure that Snape did take it, Sirius had decided to ask the few others who might have taken it. First, he had asked Kreacher. My oh my, how lovely that conversation had gone…

*********************************an hour earlier*******************************

Sirius approached an old room where he kept some of his parents' old belongings. He suspected that Kreacher was inside here; he was always trying to collect some old Black family heirlooms to prevent Sirius from getting rid of them. Sirius entered the room and was greeted by a ghastly sight; Kreacher had a pair of his father's old trousers pressed tightly against his ancient, decrepit lips.

"Er…" Sirius began, at a loss for words.

Kreacher stopped immediately and held the trousers tightly to his chest, as if they were a young child.

"Sorry to interrupt…whatever the hell that was… but I have a quick question for you."

Kreacher bowed deeply, holding the trousers closer to him in the process.

"Kreacher is at your service master…" Kreacher said before uttering less kind words in a barely audible voice.

"There was a picture in my yearbook, creature. It has disappeared, and I suspect it was taken. Did you take it?" Sirius asked.

"Kreacher took a picture of Master Regulus from an old yearbook years ago. That is all Kreacher has taken from any yearbooks."

"How surprising. You can keep that picture Kreacher…" Sirius paused and smirked for a moment. "To think, I though you might have taken a picture of my muggleborn friend."

Just as he had hoped, Kreacher was deeply offended.

"KREACHER WOULD NEVER..."

The house elf sputtered, enraged at his master.

"Kreacher would never, ever take pictures of mudbloods… mistress would roll in her grave…"

Amused enough, Sirius left Kreacher to his pining. One suspect down, one more to go.

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If Kreacher did not take the picture, there still was the likely chance that Harry took it. After all the time they had spent at Grimmauld Place, Harry and Sirius still hadn't talked much about a subject Harry cared for very much; his parents. Sirius could tell that Harry really wanted to hear stories about the parents he never knew, and Sirius really wanted to share those golden memories with him. Perhaps Harry, overcome with longing, had snuck into the study and looked through the yearbook. Upon discovering a picture of his lovely mother, he may have cut it out in order to have some small piece of her.

However, this did not seem like something Harry would do. Harry did not steal; and Sirius doubted that he would have taken the picture without asking. It was also true that Harry already had been given a photo album of his parents pictures early in his Hogwarts career… why would he need to take more?

Perhaps the best explanation for Harry taking the picture would be his initial reaction to the picture and its subjects; Snape and Lily. Harry had been appalled to discover that they had been friends. Maybe he hated the idea so much he tore out the picture, as if he was trying to erase the event in the first place.

All three were likely reasons for Harry to take the picture. Still, of all possible suspects Sirius still put his money on Snape. In order to prove this hunch, he would only need to ask Harry. And if Harry did not admit to taking the picture, Sirius would have some serious sleuthing to do.

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Harry marched towards the parlor, fists clenched in his pockets. He was on his way to an unavoidably awkward situation; a conversation with his least favorite teacher, Snape. Harry was both eager to get the conversation over with, and to ask questions. He knew that talking to Snape was bound to be unpleasant, but it was for the sake of the order. Besides, he had taken on Lord Voldemort in the graveyard a few months back, and it certainly could not be any worse than that. He was also eager to maybe learn a bit about his mum. The first time he had asked Snape had been a nightmare, but that had been due to Sirius's presence. True, Harry did not evoke any warm feelings in Snape either, but at least he was somewhat used to Snape's vindictiveness. Harry wondered if he would actually get anything at all from this conversation. Even Hermione said it was a bad idea, and Harry agreed. But he was determined to take the risk and try, as any true Gryffindor would do.

While thinking over how to begin the conversation, Harry saw Sirius approaching him. Harry beamed at him. He really wanted to talk to Sirius more about his parents, but lately everything had been too hectic. Harry hoped Sirius wouldn't offer to talk now. Turning a pleasant evening with Sirius down to be belittled by Snape would be almost impossible for him to do.

"I see you're back home already." Sirius said, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled. "I just got back this morning. Mrs. Weasley brought me back."

Sirius nodded. "I know. She left to get you very early, Dumbledore's orders. He wanted you safe at Grimmauld Place as soon as possible."

"That explains it. I'm glad to be back."

"And now that you are, I was thinking that we should have a chat again soon. But for now, I have to ask you something and I need you to answer honestly." Sirius said.

Curious, Harry nodded.

"Do you remember that picture I showed you, of your mother and Snape in the yearbook?"

Harry's eyes widened. Where could this be going? Harry hoped to dear life that Sirius wasn't going to tell him they had been more than friends as Harry had feared…

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It's gone. Someone cut it out, and I don't know who. Do you have any idea where it is?"

"No, not at all." Harry paused. "You thought I took it?"

Sirius looked apprehensive. "I suspected you, being that it did contain your mother. You also had a very erm… strong reaction to it."

"Well, seeing a picture of Snape and my mother all cozy with each other was not exactly my favorite moment."

Sirius grinned. "Don't sass me, you." He joked.

"But seriously, they were never more than friends, right?"

Sirius looked slightly uncomfortable. "No, nothing more."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Right. Erm, I have something I have to do, so I'll catch you later?"

"Yeah, later. I'm occupied with something at the moment too…"

They went their separate ways, with Sirius heading to the stairwell and Harry heading to the parlor. Upon reaching the threshold, Harry took in a deep breath, and then entered quietly.

Sure enough, the potions master was lounging in a great, worn arm chair. He was intently reading a book titled Potioneering Breakthroughs of the Modern Era. He was so fixated on the book that Harry wondered whether he knew anyone else was in the room. Apprehensively, Harry took a seat across from him in an equally worn wooden chair. Snape now realized he wasn't alone, and looked up drowsily.

"Oh, its you Potter. I had thought Kreacher had come back to pilfer more of Black's heirlooms. I do wish I had been right." Snape drawled out.

He really didn't seem like he was in the mood for a conversation, but then again, when was he ever? Harry ignored his subtle rudeness and cleared his throat.

"So, erm… you must know all about occlumency."

Snape blinked. "Yet another keen observation by Potter."

"Well, yeah… I just thought I could ask you about it. You know, I really need to learn it so I thought we might jump right in talking about it."

Snape looked back down and flipped another page in his book.

"We'll have plenty of time to discuss it when term begins. As of now, I'm on vacation."

"Oh, well…"

"What is it Potter? You thought that teachers don't need breaks? How unfortunate it is that we cannot all be famous Harry Potter whose vacation lasts year round."

"No sir, I actually don't vacation year round. You know, I go to something called class."

Harry snapped, his temper getting the best of him already.

"Your body may be in class, but anyone whose seen you in my classes cannot deny your mind's on an infinite vacation."

Harry took in a deep breath. Getting angry would not lead anywhere. So, without further ado, Harry said what was really on his mind.

"You were friends with my mother." Harry said abruptly.

Snape's head shot back up, his eyes narrowed. His lip began to sneer slightly, but his complexion became slightly flushed.

"Yes, I was. And how exactly is this any of your business, Potter?"

"She was my mother, Professor. She is my business."

"Listen here, Potter…"

"How long did you know her?" Harry said calmly

"Excuse me?"

"How long were you friends, sir?"

Snape looked blankly at Harry. He looked confused and reluctant.

"Potter, I swear if you don't drop it I'll make sure you have detention every day until graduation."

A sudden idea struck Harry.

"Sorry sir, I'll just leave. I get it, you hated her just like you hated my father. I won't ask…"

"I DID NOT hate her!" Snape yelped almost uncontrollably.

Harry was silent. Snape continued.

"Your mother was talented, kind, intelligent, exactly what James was not! I could never hate her!"

Harry was taken aback, but was still silent.

"She was too good for your father, what she saw in him, Merlin only knows."

At last, Harry spoke up.

"Why."

Snape looked annoyed. "Why what?"

"Why was she too good for him?"

Snape gaped at him, looking flabbergasted. "She, she…" He was rendered incoherent by annoyance and reluctance.

"If you'd only tell me about her, then maybe I might understand." 'Lies' Thought Harry.

Snape gaped at him some more, this time looking him in the eyes.

"Please, sir. Tell me about her, from the beginning to the end."

Black eyes met green and held for a second.

Reluctantly, slowly, but genuinely, Snape nodded yes.

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Sirius tip toed up the stairs and headed towards Snape's bedroom. If the picture was anywhere in Grimmauld Place, Sirius bet it would be hidden in there. If Kreacher or Harry didn't take the picture, it had to be Snape who took it. Sirius doubted that the man would risk carrying the stolen photograph around, so it was likely he hid it somewhere in his room.

Once Sirius reached the top of the stairs he heard two people talking low behind the first door to the left of the hallway. He immediately recognized that one belonged to Remus. Remus sounded somewhat flustered, even though he was speaking in a whisper. Overcome by curiosity, Sirius decided to listen in and discover what was troubling his friend.

"You're not listening, Remus. Everything you keep talking about doesn't matter to her." Said a man's voice.

"Like it or not Arthur, she has to acknowledge that I'd cause her more trouble than good."

Arthur was silent for a moment, but then spoke.

"She is already aware of the less lovely parts of your condition, Remus. She encountered them first hand a short while ago, and that encounter has not changed her feelings for you. That's really saying something."

"I could have killed her… or everyone for that matter!" Remus said in an exasperated voice. "Whether she loves me or not, I cannot allow myself to destroy her, make her an outcast like me, or…" Remus stopped talking and began breathing heavily.

"It's okay, Remus. I understand. This is your choice, but please, whatever you choose, be true to your own feelings as well. Do not let these fears get the best of you."

"Thank you, Arthur. And you understand that Tonks must not know about this conversation?"

"You have my word, Remus."

At that moment, the door opened abruptly. Arthur was half way through the threshold when he saw Sirius's shocked face at the top of the stairs. Arthur looked at him wide eyed, but Sirius just nodded.

"Hi, Arthur. Morning to you."

"Yeah, morning…" Arthur said sheepishly.

"Who's there?" Remus muttered inside the room, his footsteps coming nearer.

Sirius took off down the hall and turned his head slightly as he walked just in time to see Remus staring at him apprehensively. Arthur nudged Remus's shoulder and the two walked downstairs.

So, Remus and Tonks…. dig each other? Sirius would never have guessed. Sure, Remus wasn't bad looking, although he was looking sickly lately. And he was a sweet guy after all. Who knew his little cousin Tonks would fall for him, the sly dog. Sirius swore he would speak to Remus about it; it would be a union he'd support wholeheartedly. But for the meantime, he had even more pressing matters to meddle in. Once he reached the door to Snape's room he pulled out his wand and checked for any spells that would prevent him entry. Discovering none, he turned the knob and entered the room…

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