A/N Okay, sorry for the long overdue update. It's just getting harder to find the time to do it more than once a week. My work schedule has been insane. This is the first part of a chapter. Mostly angsty and some overdue family housekeeping. We'll be getting into the whole Moody storyline tomorrow with the second part. I wanted to break them up as this was already over nine thousand words and it was hard finding a breaking point.

Thanks to everyone who has stayed with me and has been reviewing. After the next chapter, we will pick up back with the book instead of concentrating on the two missing months that JK didn't write about.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy it!

*******************

Sirius flopped down on the stuffed leather sofa, completely exhausted from a full day of teaching, grading, decorating and cleaning. Blowing a large gust of air through his mouth, he kicked his long elegant legs up onto the coffee table, pushing aside the sniggling little inner monologue of what a hypocrite he was being. He certainly would never have allowed Harry to do the same thing to the furniture.

Across the room, Remus snickered as he poured the tumblers of firewhiskey, knowing full well what was going through his best friend's mind at the moment. Sirius' face, although tired, looked guilty as sin over the harmless motion. Making his way back over to the seating area, he pushed a tumbler in Sirius' eagerly outstretched hand and contentedly settled himself in the chair closest to the fire. The autumn nights were already growing cold and he never seemed to feel warm enough.

Sirius took a bracing swallow as he used his free hand to rake his fingers through his hair. Never a good sign, his mate well knew.

"What's troubling you, Padfoot?" he asked as he took his first sip.

Sirius raised his eyes up, frowning. "I'm fine, Moony. Let's talk about why you were so secretive earlier." He looked away and took a second, unusually large gulp, his face distracted as he stared at the fire in intense concentration.

Remus wasn't buying it. Leaning forward, he deposited his glass onto the table and cocked his head in Sirius' line of sight, forcing the man to acknowledge him.

"That can wait a few more minutes. Let's talk about what is bothering you first." His gentle but firm tone leaving no room for discussion.

Sirius huffed. After decades of friendship, it still amused him when Remus acted like the little nanny goat prefect from their school days. Sighing in annoyance, he pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tiredly. Remus knew that familiar motion as well.

"Harry?" he guessed. Sirius' godson was the only thing that could make the man that concerned.

Sirius' eyes flew back open and he gave Remus a sheepish smile. "Transparent as glass, aren't I," he replied humorlessly.

"Just to me, I think," Remus answered, kindness overflowing in his soft voice. "He seemed fine at dinner. What's the matter?"

Sirius took another swallow, his eyebrows knitted in concern. "He was fine at dinner. It wasn't until Hermione opened Ron's gift that he got upset."

Remus settled back into his chair, decidedly puzzled. "What are you talking about? I didn't notice anything wrong with him."

Sirius cocked his eyebrow. "Well, that I find surprising," he teased. Remus was usually exceedingly sharp in observing Harry's moods. At Remus' glare, he sobered back up. "Harry hasn't been himself lately. It's concerning me quite a bit, actually, but he refuses to talk about it."

"He was acting perfectly normal when he came in this evening," Remus mused, perplexed. Harry had bounded into the room cheerfully, as energetic and upbeat as Remus had ever seen him.

"Yes, when he came in he was in a good mood. I was happy to see it, to tell the truth. It's a side of him I haven't seen since the incident with Alastor. Then tonight, he clams back up again. You really didn't notice that he couldn't wait to leave as soon as the gifts were opened?"

Remus frowned and tried to recall the trio's exit. It had seemed perfectly normal to him. Hermione was flustered and spouting repeated thanks, the boys were laden down with her packages to take back to the tower. The only thing out of place had been Harry's unusual discomfort when Sirius had hugged him good-bye, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. Remus had seen the gesture bestowed dozens of times and Harry had never really minded, but this time Harry had shrugged out of it and left without a backward glance.

Smiling slightly, he wondered if the godfather was just having trouble accepting the fact that the boy, now used to regular displays of affection, may be starting to bristle from it in public.

"Because Harry pulled away from you when you were hugging him earlier?" he asked, his voice sympathetic.

Sirius glared. "No. Because of the way he was looking at Ron and Hermione after she opened the gift. He seemed angry and confused. But thank you for pointing out the other, by the way. As if I wasn't already upset enough about that."

"I'm sorry," Remus said earnestly, trying to keep from smiling at Sirius. His friend's distress over Harry's possible maturing idea of public hugs wasn't a laughing matter, but the idea that Sirius Black, of all people, would someday be upset over something like that was just a little hard to take seriously.

"I noticed that he wasn't exactly fawning all over you either, Remus," Sirius bit back, still more than a bit wounded over his friend's cavalier attitude.

Remus took another swallow of the fiery liquid and frowned. He had not really noticed that either, to tell the truth. While it was true that Harry had not made an especially large attempt at bidding him farewell, he hadn't been rude either. Remus had just assumed that they were all tired and wanted to get back to the tower before curfew.

Tapping his fingers against the crystal tumbler, he took a moment to ponder the events of the evening. It had all seemed perfectly lovely at the time. What could possibly have upset Harry? Another moment of replaying the dinner, then the gifts and then....wait...no, surely not?

"Sirius, does Harry fancy Hermione?"

Sirius practically choked on his whiskey.

"What? No. No, of course not. He's told me as much a dozen times."

It was true. Sirius had taken a liking to Hermione immediately and he could think of many other little witches would not be as suitable for his godson as Hermione was, but Harry had very vehemently denied feeling anything for her other than friendship. As time had gone by, Sirius could swear he had also seen the beginnings of brotherly protectiveness over her as well. All in all, it had been very cute to watch.

"Besides," Sirius continued, "he must surely see how much Ron fancies her. Harry was the one who convinced me to hire Ron so that he could have extra pocket money. That's what Ron used to buy the bracelet. Good lad, he has been working very hard for it, too. Ron's behavior towards her practically screams crush and Harry spends a lot more time with them than I do. I don't think he could not have noticed by now. It doesn't appear to affect their friendship. We all had a very good time in Hogsmeade yesterday. I didn't notice anything amiss between them. Did you?"

Remus shook his head, perturbed. "No. Nothing." The boys had seemed to have had quite an enjoyable afternoon, especially after Sirius had let them loose in Zonko's, promising them each an armload of goodies.

Remus was startled out of his quiet pondering by the loud sound of a smack as Sirius slapped his hands down on the leather sofa cushions.

"It's probably just his inner teenaged angst peeking out again. We have had several close calls with his cheeky attitude lately. I'll talk to him tomorrow night and see if I can't ferret something out of him. Maybe I'm making him study too much. What with Quidditch being cancelled this year, I may be acting a little too aggressively in trying to keep him occupied and out of trouble."

With that wishful thinking in mind, Sirius turned to Remus and gave him a long hard stare.

"Now, tell me what is going on with you, Moony."

**************

That morning, Remus had been in Diagon Alley, of a mind to shop in Slug & Jiggers to find the appropriate vials for Hermione's gift. Early morning, after term had already begun for the year, saw little traffic in the apothecary shop and it was because of this that he chose that time to buy what he needed. Too many people now knew about his 'furry little problem' and he preferred to keep as low a profile as possible.

He had managed to slip in quietly and, to his pleasure, found the shop empty although he could hear the faint murmuring of whatever staff was on duty in the back room. No one else would have managed, but then again, he did have the distinct advantage of his superior sense of hearing. Peacefully alone, he was able to take his time and peruse the various displays, intent on making the gift he was preparing as attractive as one could.

It wasn't until his little straw shopping basket was almost full that the two young store clerks returned to the front, mumbling between themselves as they emptied out the tubs that they had carried with them. Without meaning to eavesdrop, his honed senses left him no choice but to listen in on their whispered conversation.

"Another order? Blimey, that's more than they usually go through in an entire year and it's only the first month of term," one of them griped, as he pulled out a large cardboard box.

"I don't ask. I just take the orders and fill them," the other one snapped back.

Remus smiled to himself. Nothing like having a job that you weren't interested in doing. Before Hogwarts, he had found himself in that unenviable position more than once.

"What's Snape doing to them this year, I wonder? It seems like a lot product to go through, unless there was a larger number of new students than usual."

At this, Remus' keen ears perked up even more than usual. If it involved Severus, it was always good to know. Just in case.

"These aren't for Snape. See that little code over there on the order? That just means Hogwarts in general. Only Professor Snape has his own code because we usually only supply him. The general code is used for all of the other professors and the medi-witch."

"Then why would anyone else over there need all of these lacewing flies and boomslang skins?"

"Who knows. They could be doing any number of things. All I know is that the orders have had the right authorization spells on them. That's all I care about. Now how about you stop yakking and get back to work?"

Keeping his back turned as he pretended to show interest in a display of beetle eyes, Remus attempted to steady his accelerated heart rate. It may have seemed innocent to the young and unenthused clerks, but to him it was fairly apparent that someone at Hogwarts was regularly brewing a large supply of Polyjuice Potion.

********************

As Remus finished telling his story, he couldn't help but notice the loud clinking coming from where Sirius was sitting and holding his iced firewhiskey in a trembling hand. At first, he thought that Sirius might be panicking, but upon a closer second look, he saw only rage in his friend's silver eyes.

"Merlin, Remus. Polyjuice Potion. What if Alastor isn't Alastor?"

Sirius slammed his glass down onto the coffee table and shot up to his feet. "We need to tell Albus."

"No, Sirius," Remus replied calmly. "Not yet."

Sirius shot daggers at him. "Are you daft? What do you mean not yet? Aren't you concerned for Harry's safety, at all?"

At this, Remus shot to his feet as well. "You know better than that, Sirius," he spat out. The acid in his tone startled the worried godfather and he backed down ever so slightly. "I was merely going to suggest, as Albus has been more than a little unhelpful in this particular matter, that we gather actual proof before you go off half crazed and threatening again."

Sirius began to pace the room, as was his habit when in his animagus form. The fact that he had not, as yet, transformed into Padfoot was surprising to Remus. Sirius almost always felt the need to channel his inner beast when especially upset. Remus knew from long experience that Sirius would not be engaging in any more conversation until he calmed down.

"When does Harry have his next DADA lesson?" he asked after a fashion.

"Thursday afternoon," Sirius answered without hesitation, not bothering to look up from the floor as he paced a hole in the carpet. He had made it his priority to know where his boy was going to be at any time of the day.

"Excellent. That gives us more than two days to poke around and see if we can find any proof. I'll do it. With my sense of smell, I can get catch the scent before you could."

Sirius stopped pacing. "And how are you going to do that, exactly? What reason would you have to be here?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. You could always request a meeting with Alastor, or with whoever it is, to discuss Harry's marks. You are his guardian after all. I'll just come along with you. I don't think he would have to be drinking it at the time for me to catch the scent. Polyjuice is subtle but distinctive. I should be able to recognize it if I get close enough."

Sirius resumed his pacing, his gray eyes clouding over with indecision. "I don't know, Moody. I don't like the idea of my godson spending even another minute under this roof if there is the possibility of some disguised death eater running around."

Remus nodded his head. "I know, old friend. I feel the same way. But until we know something for sure, you can't go around making false accusations like that. If we're wrong, you could lose your teaching position here, and then Harry would really be unprotected. You have the map, right? Charmed like the one for Celestial Court?"

Sirius nodded reluctantly. When he had agreed to let Harry come back to Hogwarts, he had allowed Remus to return the Marauder's Map to his godson, but only after making another copy with the stress charm that he had put on the Sprog map. If Harry was feeling truly threatened, he would know.

"Good. And you also have the sealing magic protecting him. I'm sure he'll be fine for another couple of days."

Sirius didn't like this one bit. It was taking all of his resolve to refrain from packing Harry up and taking him home this minute. He dropped back onto the sofa and dropped his head into his hands. It was all just so bloody unfair. Harry didn't deserve to have these kinds of worries at his age.

Remus sat down beside him and put a comforting arm around his friend's shoulders. "He'll be okay, Sirius. We'll watch out for him together. In the meantime, you have to keep your regular schedule. It wouldn't do to show anyone that you are doing anything other than what you would normally do during the day. We don't need to send out any alarms that might trigger hasty decisions.

Sirius nodded dejectedly, knowing that Remus' words made sense even if he didn't want to hear them. Sighing deeply, he summoned the new map and opened it to the Gryffindor tower page. Immediately finding the comforting little dot that bore his godson's name that confirmed Harry's presence in the dorm, he rubbed it lovingly as he prayed for the ability to keep his precious child safe from whatever harm may be brewing for him.

*********

Sirius was in a right foul mood after breakfast. Alastor, or whomever it was that was masquerading as Alastor, had casually brushed off his request for a parent teacher meeting until Wednesday afternoon. Sirius was, of course, incredibly anxious to get proof and answers before he lost his mind in worry. But he had promised Remus that he would keep his temper as long as the scheduled meeting took place before Harry would be expected back in the DADA classroom. Sirius shuddered to think about what an impostor could do to his godson during that time.

He had let Remus know about the day and time when he returned to the residence briefly before his first class started. True to form, his loyal friend had pledged to remain on the grounds until then to help watch out for Harry, for which Sirius was grateful. He loved teaching but, when it came to Harry's safety, having to give lessons and act normally would be difficult to accomplish without the reassurance that Remus would be keeping an eye on him. Especially as Harry was scheduled for a 'detention' with Snape later this afternoon.

Harry still seemed to be in a foul mood when Sirius had tried to talk to him after lunch. All his kind entreaties had earned was a short tempered glare and a harsh 'bye' from the boy as he stomped off to his Charms lesson. He did notice that Harry had eaten alone. Ron and Hermione had never made an appearance at the Gryffindor table, so he wondered if the boy was just upset to be dining solo when he was used to having his friends around. If Sirius had not been so worried about the potential polyjuice potion problem, he would have given his godson a good scolding for his rudeness.

*********

As Harry angrily made his way to Sirius' residence, he struggled to push aside his temper. It wasn't easy as it had been a hard day.

He was still smarting from the night before. He felt indescribably hurt by everyone's reaction to the pretty little bracelet that Ron had given to Hermione. It was a nice gift, he admitted to himself. Really thoughtful and really unlike Ron. Harry was with him when he purchased it and had been surprised by the choice. It just didn't seem like something that Ron would think to give to her, but he hadn't really paid it a lot of attention. Honestly, he had just assumed that Ron couldn't come up with anything else. It was true that he had watched Ron pick out the charms, but he had given little thought to what they were, other than the troll with the vivid green eyes. It had seemed amusing at the time. The others, he had just thought that they were random choices to put a little filling on the empty links before presenting it to her.

He hadn't even blinked when the clerk had rung up the price. Sure, it was fairly expensive, but Harry knew that Ron was saving every bit of the money that they had earned together on Sunday afternoons. Still, he must have had to use some other pocket money to make up the difference, but Harry had just been so pleased that Ron had been able to afford something like that. His mate's financial worries upset Harry quite a bit. He would have happily given Ron as many galleons as he wanted, but his gingered friend's pride was too important to compromise.

Still slightly giddy from being on the receiving end of Cho's beautiful smile, he was practically skipping as he made his way to the residence for Hermione's party. The party itself had been brilliant and he had been pleased to see how happy Hermione was. In the years past, they had never made much of a deal of their birthdays. Just a small token gift and the like. But after the very big deal that Harry's birthday had been this year, he had been so grateful when Sirius had offered to host a get together for Hermione.

Everything was perfect (except for the annoying cat face charm) right until Hermione had opened Ron's gift. Harry had been a bit shocked by her tearful smile, thinking that she might be overreacting just a little. But it was the universal look of understanding that had been exhibited by everyone in the room but himself when Ron pointed out the little shell charm. Clearly the entire party were in on some kind of secret regarding the significance and Harry had been gutted to the core knowing that the very people he considered his little family shared an inside joke that he was not allowed in on.

Living with the Dursleys, he had never expected to be considered a part of anything. They may be his blood family, but he had been excluded from their little family moments since the day he arrived unwanted on their doorstep. When they shared knowing laughs and smiles, it didn't bother him. He was used to it. To be pushed out of the little circle of his new 'family' broke his heart more than he thought possible and instead of holing up in his bed in the dorm and crying his eyes out like a five year old, hurt and betrayed he unconsciously made the decision to just be mad about it.

Really mad.

He barely had the strength to keep from biting everyone's heads off last night. He didn't even look Remus in the eye as he made his way out of the residence, unwillingly holding a large pile of boxes. His godfather's arms around him felt foreign and unwelcome. He would have thought that at least Sirius would never keep anything from him. Sirius was always so insistent on complete honesty and Harry had been punished more than once for being less than completely forthcoming with him. When Sirius had bent down to kiss his head, it was just too much for him and he had squirmed out of the embrace before he said something he knew he would regret.

When they got back to the dorms, he had carefully set down Hermione's gifts on the study table, even though he really had wanted to just throw them into the fireplace and watch them burn. Ron and Herimione were supposed to be his friends. They shared everything, always. He didn't begrudge them any personal secrets, but they were sharing one with his godfather and the man that had become an uncle to him and he didn't know how they could justify doing something so hurtful to him.

He had curtly wished Hermione a last 'Happy Birthday' and then climbed the stairs as calmly as he could. He wouldn't let them see how upset he was over their indifference.

Waking early, he had choked down a quick solo breakfast and then spent a few minutes in the library before his morning class, hoping to see Cho. Right now, a glimpse of her pretty face seemed to be the only ray of sun in his cloudy life. Of course, his luck being what it was, she wasn't there and he had sat dejectedly until it was time to leave.

He had maintained a calm but cool air towards Ron and Hermione during the morning, keeping his distance from them but trying to remain civil. He even managed to keep his composure when he saw them huddled together in one of the corridors near the Great Hall. They didn't see him and he didn't say anything. It was hard enough to maintain an indifferent air when he had to see them. He wasn't going to invite opportunity. Still, as much as he didn't want to see them during lunch, he felt another pang of hurt when they failed to show.

So, it was with that temperament that found him more than unwilling to engage in a casual chat with Sirius when his godfather cornered him on his way out. He had been rude and he knew it. Quite frankly, he was surprised when Sirius didn't pull him aside for an earsplitting lecture, but he hadn't and, for whatever the reason was, Harry had been grateful.

The rest of the afternoon had passed uneventfully until he had to go to the dungeons for his 'detention'. Then everything just went straight to hell.

He was just about to push his way through the heavy oak door when Malfoy and his dimwitted sidekicks came barrelling out.

"More detention, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "I thought you Gryffindors were supposed to at least be a little smart."

Harry gritted his teeth, but ignored the jab. If he got into it with Malfoy in the temper that he was in, he would surely hex the blond brat's head completely off and then he really would be in for it. Ignoring him, Harry tried to brush past but was shoved back by the broad shoulders of Malfoys little thugs.

"Not so fast, scar head. Tell us what you did this time. What could the headmaster's little golden boy possibly have done to earn another detention? Did you get caught kissing your little mudblood girlfriend?"

Harry's blood was beginning to boil. He was angry with Hermione, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't take offense over Malfoy insulting her.

"Shove it, Malfoy. Get out of my way," he growled at Crabbe and Goyle.

The goons refused to move, giving Draco time for a second go. "Or did you get caught breaking the rules again? Is your convict of a godfather teaching you how to be a criminal?"

Harry's bag was off his shoulder and his right fist was flying through the air before anyone noticed the dungeon door opening again. When Harry's hand connected with Draco's nose, there was a sickening crunch and then the sound of a scream. Blood was pouring from Draco's nose and he was yelling like a girl while Crabbe and Goyle hovered around him, unsure as to what to do.

"Draco! Stop that infernal wailing this minute and remember your position! Crabbe, Goyle, take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see his very displeased Potions professor glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand suns. Biting down on his lip, knowing how much trouble he was in, he looked down and stared at his hand which was bloodied and bruising.

"Draco didn't do anything, Professor. He was just asking Potter why he had detention," Crabbe whined.

Snape looked calmly from the bloody, shrieking blond to Harry. He was under no delusions about what the true story was, but he couldn't exactly say anything about it either.

"Well, Mr. Potter will have many more to look forward to, thanks to his behavior today."

Harry's eyes squinted in rage, but he didn't say anything that would make matters any worse. He was barely even paying attention when Snape conjured a piece of parchment and quickly spelled a few words on it. Once he was assured that Malfoy, yowling like he was being murdered, was being practically carried down the corridors, he thrust it into Harry's injured hand.

"You are useless to me today in the mental state you are in. Give this to your godfather, immediately. We will reschedule at my convenience."

With that, the man turned on his heel and stormed back into the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

Frustrated and feeling completely worthless, Harry drew back his fist and slammed it several more times into the wall next to the door, spewing out a string of profanity unlike he had ever released before. When he was finally worn out, his poor hand bloody and raw, he hoisted bag back onto his shoulder and sullenly made his way towards the Astronomy tower.

************

Sirius had been marking tests at his desk as he waited impatiently for the day to end. Wednesday could not come quickly enough for him and he had taken to dashing down to his quarters every change he got to worriedly check the map for Harry's whereabouts. Remus found it endearing at first, but it was quickly becoming nerve wracking.

The latest perusal had confirmed Harry's anticipated arrival at the dungeons, so Sirius had trekked back up to his classroom to get some work done. He was looking forward to seeing his godson safely next to him at dinner. Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't even hear Ron's quiet arrival until the redhead cleared his throat. Sirius had clearly forgotten that they were to be setting up for Sirius' first evening Astronomy class later in the week.

He had been novel in his teaching methods. Astronomy was usually held at night, but Sirius knew from experience that students were inattentive and tired late in the evening which is why he used spells instead of the actual sky for lessons during the day. However, Thursday was going to bring an impressive meteor shower and he was keen to have his students participate in it.

Pasting a smile on his face, he welcomed Ron in and the two of them got busy working on equipment lists and schedules.

Harry was trudging up the spiral staircase a few minutes later, murder in his eyes, his bleeding hand shoved firmly in his robe pocket. He didn't want Sirius to see it and ask questions before he had the chance to explain himself.

He bypassed the residence, knowing that, at this time of the day, Sirius would still be in his classroom. His godfather didn't work downstairs until after they had their family dinner together. He was steeling himself for what he knew was going to be an unpleasant confrontation. Sirius could be fairly tolerant at times, but there was no way he would condone Harry punching another student, even if that student was Malfoy.

He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. As he stepped into the classroom, head slightly bent from emotional overload, he saw Sirius and Ron sitting companionably at one of the work tables, ernestly engaged conversation over a pile of parchment. It was too much for Harry. Way, way too much.

"Oh, Bloody Hell, enough already!" he shouted, to the shock of both his godfather and best friend.

**************

Ron was stunned into silence.

He had rarely seen Harry as angry as he was. Wincing inwardly, he hoped that he wasn't responsible for it. He and Hermione had had a long talk during lunch. Silently acknowledging without verbally admitting their mutual attraction (it still seemed so weird after all), they had spent the majority of their time agreeing to make full efforts to spend as much time with Harry as possible, with Hermione also sharing her suspicions of Harry's regard for Cho and how they could help with that. Ron had agreed full heartedly. He was still trying to deal with his feelings for Hermione, but he wasn't prepared to do it at the expense of his friendship with Harry or Hermione's.

Sirius was not quite as stunned, but he was confused.

Slipping into full parent mode, the first thing he could think of doing was calling Harry on his choice of words.

"I don't like that language, young man, and you know it," he scolded, wondering, even as he was talking, where his words were coming from.

Harry stared back at him, utter disbelief oozing from his pores. All he was suffering and his godfather could only be bothered to lecture him on his choice of words. Disgusted, he spun around and began to stomp back down the stairs.

Sirius regained his senses and stormed after him.

"Harry James, come back here this minute," he called tersely.

Even in his worried state, he wouldn't condone disrespect in the boy. He watched Harry stop short, his back heaving. After a brief second of internal argument, Harry turned back around and faced Sirius, but he didn't move until Sirius shot him his sternest look and motioned him back with his index finger. Harry obeyed, but only just, his temper boiling over even as he struggled to keep from crying.

Harry slammed his feet down on each step as he unwillingly made his way back up to the landing Sirius was standing on. His face and neck were flushed with rage and he was panting from the exertion of keeping his mouth closed.

"What has gotten into you lately?" Sirius demanded, trying to keep his own temper in check. Was this what he had to look forward to until Harry was out of his teens? Not likely, he thought. One of them wasn't going to make it through the next few years if Harry's attitude didn't change very quickly.

Harry didn't respond. He knew that if he opened his mouth, he was either going to start swearing at his godfather or he was going to burst into tears. Neither option was acceptable, so he clenched his teeth together and looked away.

Sirius counted to ten, keenly aware of Ron's nearby presence in the classroom. He cast a silencing charm around Harry and himself and only then realized that Harry shouldn't be there at all.

"Why aren't you with Professor Snape?" The realization sent his mind whirring and worrying, firmly displacing anger as his primary emotion for the moment.

"He kicked me out," Harry spit out venomously, avoiding Sirius' gaze.

"What? Why?"

Giving up any idea of breaking the news to his godfather favorably, Harry just shoved Snape's note into Sirius' hand and glared back defiantly. If he was going down, he was going down swinging.

As Sirius read the short note, his disbelief kicked up a notch.

"You punched Draco Malfoy? Why would you do such a thing?" he asked, confused.

The question wasn't presented as an accusation, but in Harry's enraged and turmoiled state, that was how he heard it. Squaring his shoulders, he fumed.

"He deserved what he got. I'm not sorry about it."

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. He refused to allow himself to completely lose it. They both needed a few moments to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he put a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave him a pointed look.

"I don't know what has gotten into you lately, but it's going to stop," he said as calmly as he could. "You are going to go downstairs, sit at the table and work on your homework until I am done up here. Then you and I are going to have a long talk. Do you understand me, young man?"

In no mood to be rational about anything, Harry shrugged off Sirius' hand and spun back around. "Whatever," he mumbled under his breath as he started to descend.

Sirius had had enough of his cheek. "What did you just say to me, Harry James?" he demanded irritably.

Harry paused again, knowing the use of his full name was always a precursor to unpleasant results and turned back around.

"Yes, sir," he forced out through gritted teeth before turning away and plodding down the rest of the stairs.

****************

Once inside the residence, Harry threw his book bag across the room and screamed.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

It was loud, but he knew it wasn't loud enough to bring his godfather running. Sirius kept their homes protected with a charm that prevented outsiders from hearing any noise coming from inside of them. He had done this at Privet Drive and at Celestial Court previously. This was useful on a day like today when Harry just wanted to rip his hair out by the roots from the injustice of it all.

Of course, he didn't plan for Remus to be in his bedroom and he certainly didn't plan for his anguished scream to bring the man running out into the living area, wand drawn and ready for dueling.

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" he demanded upon seeing Harry standing in the room, alone, and evidently not under attack, although he did smell the faint scent of blood in the air and it worried him.

"Oh, for the love of Quidditch!," Harry yelled, seeing Remus standing in front of him. He just wanted a moment of peace alone. Was that so much to ask?

He lifted his hands and pulled at his hair in frustration, completely forgetting about his injury. Remus saw it immediately and paled as he strode quickly over to the shaking boy. He gently pulled it away from Harry's tortured scalp and held it loosely in his own, mindful of how much it must hurt.

"Oh, Harry. What happened to you, kiddo?" he asked, his voice soft and genuine, and his warm golden eyes full of compassion as he put an arm around him.

Harry's pent up anger and hurt started to collapse as he took in Remus' words. For the first time in days he remembered that, rowing or not, he had people who did love him and felt even worse for it. Why did everything always have to be so hard?

Collapsing onto the leather sofa, he hunched over and groaned in defeat as he felt the tears that he had been suppressing all day fall.

*********

Remus filled a glass with water and walked back over to the sofa, offering it to the now quiet but still red faced boy. He had sat silently as Harry unburdened himself for fifteen minutes.

On the one hand, he supposed it might be a good thing that Harry upset himself over everyday kinds of stress and didn't just collapse under the stress of being targeted for death from the day he was born. He knew from personal experience that, when faced with life or death situations, this small boy slumped on his godfather's sofa rose to the occasion with every bit of his father and mother's bravery.

It was comforting, in a way, to realize that Harry had not allowed himself to shut himself off from emotions. He certainly had enough reason to. Marked as a target before birth, orphaned as a toddler, raised in a hostile environment, several near death experiences. All of these would break a normal person. Or, at the very least, make a person hard and unfeeling. Clearly, Harry didn't have these problems. In fact, the poor child felt too much and even Sirius' late entry into his life, bringing with him all the unconditional love in the world had not completely squelched Harry's insecurities.

Sirius was doing a brilliant job as Harry's guardian in most respects, but if the two of them didn't start talking more openly with each other, Remus swore he would physically knock their heads together. It amazed the werewolf how his friend could go from completely overprotective to completely oblivious in under sixty seconds.

He knew his friend. Sirius was more likely to get his back up if he felt confused or overwhelmed. This was a bad trait in a parent of an insecure child who needed gentle coaxing instead of the verbal battering ram that Sirius was prone to fall back upon.

Of course, Harry himself was not blameless in this mess. He needed to learn to speak up when he was upset instead of letting it fester until it boiled over, taking out everything in its path.

Harry was sitting quietly now, tightly gripping his water glass in his non-injured hand. In his worn out emotional state, the only thoughts going through his mind were his personal disgust and embarrassment over allowing Remus to see him cry like a five year old and his acceptance that he was, once again, disobeying his godfather. He was supposed to be doing his homework, not sitting in a heap on the sofa talking to Remus. He didn't really care anymore. Even Sirius could only be just so angry at him and there was already a substantial butcher's bill to be paid before his homework came into play.

"Harry, please let me clean up your hand for you," Remus urged. The sight of the bloodied, bruised and now swollen knuckles were concerning him.

Harry just shook his head again. "Sirius will do it," he muttered quietly. "As soon as he's done spending time with Ron," he added, a heartbreakingly sorrowful look on his face.

Remus reached out a hand and gently lifted Harry's face up to look at him. "Sirius would come down in a second if he thought you needed him. You know that. He took Ron on as an unofficial assistant because he thought it would make you happy. Sirius loves you, Harry. Everything he does, he does it to make you happy."

Harry stared at the older man, wildly confused. "Assistant? What are you talking about, Remus?"

Oh, for the love of Merlin.

"You really need to speak with your godfather, kiddo," Remus groaned as he stood up and began to make his way towards the door.

"Remus, don't. I'll wait until he's not busy, really," Harry called out, a little desperately.

"He is not busy, Harry. Believe me, he is never too busy for you," he said tersely, getting up a head of steam to shake some sense into Mr. Black.

******

Angrier than he had been in a while, Remus pounded up the stairs towards the classroom. Standing at the entrance, he cleared his throat to get Sirius' attention.

"Sirius, a moment please?"

Sirius stood up and walked over to him. "Everything okay, Moony?" he asked, concerned over the look on his friend's face.

Remus cast a silencing charm around them and then uncharacteristically smacked Sirius in the back of the head. Immediately, Sirius recoiled as he rubbed the injured spot, a firey flash in his eyes.

"Bloody Hell, Lupin. What was that for" he demanded.

"Your godson is downstairs, Sirius," he answered simply.

Scowling, Sirius resisted the urge to throw Remus over the side of the landing. "Yes, I know that, thank you. I sent him there."

"Oh. Well, that's odd. I would have sworn that if you knew Harry was downstairs, bruised, crying and physically and mentally in pain, that you would somehow find a reason to be down there with him," he spat out, his words increasing in volume and agitation as he spoke.

Now Sirius paled. "What?" he asked breathlessly, starting down the stairs.

He didn't get very far before he felt Remus pull him back.

"Wait a minute, Sirius."

Sirius threw him a death glare and pulled his arm away. "No."

"Yes," Remus insisted. "Why didn't you tell him that you had hired Ron to help you around the classroom?"

"What?" Sirius asked confused, still trying to get down to his godson. "What are you talking about?"

"He didn't know, Sirius. You didn't tell him. Ron didn't tell him. The poor boy keeps catching the two of you spending time together without him and it's killing him."

Sirius stopped short, shaking his head back and forth as if to physically clear it out. Nothing was making sense.

"Why else would we be working together in my classroom?" Sirius was genuinely confused.

Remus took a deep breath and slowly walked down until he was level with his friend.

"He didn't know you were working together. He thought that you were replacing him while he had to suffer through extra lessons and Severus' torments. And please tell me that someone thought to tell him the reason why Ron was so determined to get into the grove that day. Because Harry seems to be the only one who didn't know last night and, if memory serves, he was the one who probably suffered the most for it considering that he was only trying to help a friend."

"Oh, God," Sirius whispered quietly, ready to fall down on the step he was standing on. "I didn't want to speak behind Ron's back. I promised him. But I thought he would have told Harry. They tell each other everything."

"Apparently, not," Remus replied sadly. "Go. I'll go back upstairs and talk to Ron."

Sirius nodded absentmindedly as he sprinted down the last few steps and hurried into the residence.

******

Inside, Harry had carried his bag over to the table and was currently struggling with the job of removing his study materials with his left hand. He had decided to mitigate his godfather's anger by a least trying to obey him. He was using his right sleeve to brush away the last stubborn tears. He was tired of crying in front of his godfather.

He never used to be this emotional. It just seemed that, the greater his night visions grew in intensity, the more intense his emotional pain and anger tended to float towards the surface. He had decided that if things didn't start to change he was either going to turn into a little girl or kill someone.

He looked up when he heard Sirius enter the room and choked back a sob. He would not break down again. He wouldn't!

Sirius saw his beloved child, standing forlornly at the table, his face red as he held his right hand gingerly in the air and Sirius could have kicked himself for his earlier dismissal.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I was going to study, but Remus wanted to talk to me. I'll start now," Harry said miserably, desperate to avoid looking Sirius in the face as his resolve to stand firm crumbled.

Sirius crossed the room in three long strides, his eyes going wide as he saw Harry's poor disfigured hand. He picked it up carefully and examined it, mentally flaying himself for not checking before.

"Merlin, Harry. What does Draco's face look like?" he asked, with a hint of exaggeration in his voice.

Harry gave his godfather and incredulous look at the question and then, mercifully, burst into laughter.

**

Sirius and Harry spent twenty minutes in the bathroom as Sirius gently tended to Harry's hand. Nothing seemed to be broken and Harry resolutely refused to go to the hospital wing. Draco was probably still there and he didn't think he could handle another encounter with him. Sirius didn't know a lot of healing magic, but he made a good job of it anyway and the bruising already seemed to be lightening up.

When they were finally finished, Sirius motioned him over to the sitting area and Harry obediently, but unhappily followed. He didn't really feel like talking, but he knew he wasn't being given a choice.

He sat next to Sirius on the couch and waited for the lecture to begin.

"I'm sorry, little one."

Harry really had not expected that.

"What?" he asked, confused as to whether or not he had heard correctly.

"I'm sorry," Sirius repeated. "For whatever reason, I was sure that you knew that I had hired Ron. I'm not sure why I thought so. You never mentioned otherwise to me. I thought it would please you. I know how much Ron means to you."

Harry's shoulders slumped. "He didn't tell me, either."

Sirius sighed deeply. Hindsight really was 20/20. From this end it had become crystal clear how such a misunderstanding could have taken place. "He probably thought that I had mentioned it to you. Did you ever think to ask him why we were spending so much time together?"

Harry bit back a rude retort and then shook his head. He was partially to blame, he realized, but Ron was not innocent.

"He's been keeping a lot of things from me lately. I thought we were friends."

Sirius reached over and pulled Harry closer to him. "You are friends. He spends most of his time with me talking about you. You are a pretty intimidating friend to have, you know."

Harry shot his eyes up and looked at his godfather as if the man had gone temporarily mental.

"You're Harry Potter," Sirius reminded him. "Whether you like it or not. It can't be easy for Ron to always play second fiddle to you. He already has a line of bright and accomplished brothers to follow and his best friend happens to be the most famous teenager in the entire wizarding world. Don't you think he feels a bit insecure every now and then as well?"

Harry took that in and was silent for a moment. He never meant to make Ron feel that way. Ever since they met, Harry had alway been jealous of Ron.

"Remus told me that you were upset with all of us because of Ron's gift to Hermione," Sirius continued, when it was clear that his godson was not going to speak.

Harry just gave him a sad look and then returned to staring at bruised knuckles.

"That is a story that Ron told me in confidence the day he came over to Celestial Court after your birthday. Remember that day when I made you stay in the library and write your thank you cards?"

Harry looked up again, his eyes shocked, and nodded.

"I won't betray his confidence. Not even for you, as much as I love you. It's not my place to tell you that story. But I don't think that it is a big secret that Ron and Hermione fancy each other, is it?"

Harry sucked in a deep breath and his mind spun for a quick second before he realized that he did know that. Their dynamic had certainly changed over the past few months. He shook his head.

"Does that bother you? I know it might seem strange to see your two best friends become more intimately attached with each other than they are with you. There will be many times that they have secrets with each other that they don't share with you. Your Mum and Dad did. We learned to accept that."

Sirius rubbed Harry's back gently as he waited for his godson's response. He could only pray that Harry was open to this idea. A romance dropped into a friendship could wreak real havoc and he didn't want to see his child go through any more pain unnecessarily.

"No," Harry responded firmly as he decided. "No. It's okay." His eyebrows were knitted together in thought as he was thinking the same thoughts as Sirius was. "If they're happy, then that's okay."

Sirius exhaled a large breath he didn't realize that he had been holding. "Good. I'm glad to hear it." He reached over and put his hand under Harry's chin. "They'll be glad to hear it, too. Alright?"

Harry gave him the smallest of smiles. "Alright."

Sirius pulled Harry against him tightly and hugged for all he was worth until he heard Harry's heavy exhale which generally heralded the end of his godson's tension. Dropping a kiss on the black spikes that were already rapidly growing out, he pushed the boy back until they were facing each other. Lifting one eyebrow, he switched into stern parent mode.

"Now, why exactly did you feel that Mr. Malfoy needed a broken nose, young man?"

***************

After dinner, Sirius and Remus were sitting around the fire while Harry sat at the table working on his neglected studies. The air in the room was significantly more clear than it had been in a while due to long overdue conversations that had taken place that afternoon. Once he had been purged of all of the hurt feelings that he had been plagued with for the past few weeks, Harry even found the energy to whinge about the week's worth of grounding he had been given for sending Draco to the hospital wing.

In an attempt to both adhere to the new house rule about open communication lines as well as to take away the sting of punishing him for something that was probably well deserved, Sirius and Remus had shared their suspicions about Alastor with Harry, telling him that he probably would have been confined to the residence anyway. Sirius had already decided that Harry should know as much as possible. Yes, their little meeting was only a day away, but if Harry could help in keeping himself well away from Moody, that was not a bad thing.

Currently, the two men were arguing over the logistics of keeping someone on polyjuice potion long enough to make it through a whole day of classes.

"The potion would have to be administered nearly constantly to have that kind of effect," Remus reasoned as Sirius scratched his head in frustration. "How is he doing it?"

Over at the table, a boy who had some personal experience with the potion and who should have been concentrating on his Transfiguration homework finally spoke up.

"What about his flask?" he suggested as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other and then looked at Harry.

"What?" the boy asked, a little discomforted by their intense stares.

Sirius snorted. "From the mouths of babes, Remus."