Harry Potter and TGTL: Fourth Year

by KappaIota

Sequel to Harry Potter and the Godfather that Lived. AU Fourth Year with Harry facing the Tri-Wizard Tournament, his first crush, Voldemort's return and an overprotective guardian. As with the original, will include teen discipline themes/adult language

32. Chapter 32

A/N Holy word count, Batman! My Harry and Sirius had a lot to say after the stress of the last chapter. Apparently they needed a ton of tooth rotting fluff and even a little bit of angst to deal with it, so this chapter is pretty long lol. Thanks for all the reviews everyone! I hope you enjoy this seriously overgrown chapter!

SCANDAL

AT

HOGWARTS!

By

Rita Skeeter

Has Dumbledore forgotten how to care for our children?

It has recently come to this reporter's attention that the safety of our children, the wizarding world's most precious commodity, may well be at stake under the current tenure of Headmaster Dumbledore. More than one family has now gone on record to say that their sons and daughters have experienced a truly appalling lack of regard for their personal protection while at...

"Achooo!"

Looking up from the evening edition of the paper, Sirius watched his son try to contain another sneeze as he also wiped at a watery eye. Harry was curled up in an armchair in front of the fireplace in Sirius' study and was supposed to be concentrating on his Herbology notes, but the poor kid just looked miserable.

Grimacing, the worried father summoned another dose of Pepper-Up potion and walked it over, wordlessly holding it out for his son to take.

"No, Papa," the boy groaned, his stomach protesting even one more mouthful of the vile substance. "Please. No more potions. They're so foul and, besides, I don't need it. I'm perfectly fine."

"You're not fine," Sirius disagreed, pointing out the growing pile of tissues his stubborn child was trying to hide in the crevice between the seat cushion and the chair frame.

Harry hadn't been fine for three days since that dreadful task that had sucked the energy right out of both of them. In fact, neither of them were even remotely close to being fine, although in Sirius' case it was more mental than physical.

His son, however, seemed to have caught a cold that he just couldn't shake, no matter how many remedies they tried pouring down his throat.

Poppy was entirely displeased by Harry's lack of response to the normal cures, but she also reluctantly assured Sirius that it did happen sometimes. Even magic could only do just so much, after all.

According to her professional opinion, his son was worn out, mentally and physically, and what he really needed was some good rest.

Sirius had heartily agreed, so he'd cancelled his classes for the rest of the week and told Minerva he was taking Harry home to recuperate, being very clear that he didn't trust that their residence in the Astronomy tower was safe anymore.

After everything that happened at the lake that day, no one was about to disagree with him.

Wisely, Albus was giving Sirius a wide berth at the moment. Many of Sirius' colleagues had gone out of their way to express their support for him and Harry after hearing the whole story, and even the staff members who weren't fully behind Sirius' well deserved thrashing of that git Bagman had offered to help cover his time off just in case his wrath was pointed in their direction.

None of them were about to come out and admit that the idea of their own quarters not being quite as sacrosanct as they'd always assumed scared them just a little.

Poppy was not only outraged by Sirius' abduction from his quarters, she was also snapping at anyone who would listen about the absolute idiocy of exposing children to the harsh winter elements like that. Listing, in great detail, all of the possible complications to their well being and health simply for a silly trophy and threatening to hex everyone involved with organizing the damnable tournament.

Albus was apparently giving her a wide berth as well.

Trying to ignore his father's insistent look as he held the potion out, Harry turned back to his notes as if they were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen and managed to last almost a full thirty seconds before...

"Aaachooo!"

Wiping a hand under his traitorous nose, Harry scowled as Sirius wagged the vial of potion in front of him and then sighed and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you do," Sirius said, placating his child as he clucked his tongue sympathetically.

"You can either just take the potion, because you know that I love you and only want what's best for you, or I can Scourgify your mouth first for all the naughty words Remus said you used the other day, and then you can take the potion because it won't taste so bad after that."

"You never would!" Harry gasped in horror as he shrunk back into the padding of the armchair. "That's just mean. And cruel! And...and...I'm sick!"

Sirius had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at his son's affronted whine, especially once the boy realized what he'd just admitted to and then glared at his smirking father.

But he did take the potion vial finally and then angrily chugged it back like a shot until steam billowed out of his ears and the sneezing stopped. Sirius summoned a glass of pumpkin juice from the table behind him and handed it to his son who took a big sip to mask the ghastly peppery aftertaste.

"Remus is a dirty tattletale," Harry grumbled as Sirius tucked a warm, knitted throw around his son's shoulders a little more tightly. "I'm not apologizing for what I said either."

"And I'm not asking you to," his father agreed as he dropped in the chair next to Harry's. "Remus was just worried about you, so I better not hear that you're giving him any cheek about it either. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled with a pout, even as he pondered thoughts of revenge.

"Honestly, under the circumstances I would have said the same and worse," Sirius admitted, taking the sting out of his scolding. "I did say the same and worse, come to think of it, so I'm very proud of you for keeping your temper as well as you did. You did much better than I."

Slightly mollified, Harry snuggled further into the chair, enjoying the coziness of the fire and the feeling of just being at home.

"Can we have a curry for dinner?"

Sirius smiled at the abrupt change of subject. He was happy to see his son's appetite returning a little, especially when Harry's sickness had the boy acting especially grumpy.

"Sure we can. You want it from that little place that does the really good homemade mango ice cream?" he asked, glancing at the clock on the mantle and realizing with a start that it was already dinner time and he hadn't noticed.

"Yes, please."

Harry perked up, looking forward to one of his new favorite meals and unabashedly blew his runny nose loudly now that his tissue stash was busted. Take-away was something that he'd never been allowed to enjoy during his years with the Dursleys. Money wasn't spent like that on the "freak".

"Nothing against the food at school," the boy clarified, "but it tends to be a little bland sometimes and we haven't had a curry for ages."

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when Harry was just grateful for the generous portions he was given in Hogwarts' Great Hall after so many years of being punished with missing or small meals. It was kind of nice to be able to be picky about the food he liked now.

He contentedly sipped at the juice that was soothing his sore, scratchy throat while Sirius summoned parchment and quill and began to jot down a selection of their favorite menu items. The restaurant they liked was run by a wizarding family from Karnataka and they wouldn't blink an eye when Bicky, one of the Celestial Court house elves, popped in to place the order and bring it back.

Although he knew perfectly well that she wasn't involved in Sirius' abduction from the Astronomy tower, Harry still flinched when Bicky popped into the room answering her master's summons. Sirius suspected that it might be a while before his son was completely comfortable around any of the little creatures again.

He'd already assured his son, on their walk back from the lake that day, that the elf that abducted him wasn't one he recognized which calmed Harry's fears about it being Dobby. Harry hadn't been shy about expressing his concern that the house elf, who was known to cause a bit of chaos when he thought he was doing the right thing might, have had a hand in it.

But thankfully, Sirius was able to get his son's concern sorted rather quickly. He'd only seen the elf that grabbed him for a brief second, but it was enough to know he hadn't seen her face before and also enough to recognize the school crest on the tea towel she wore.

Immediately after returning to their residence from the task, Sirius had shooed his son into a hot tub to stop him from shivering to death. Harry, still shaken from finding his father missing, insisted on keeping the door cracked enough so he could hear Sirius fussing about in the sitting room safe and sound. Once Harry was warm again, his father bundled him into a large blanket with a warming charm on it and then plunked the boy in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate while he summoned Dobby.

The old little house elf appeared right away, but he was obviously frightened half to death by the twin angry glares on the faces of both wizards. With Dobby already feeling guilty over what Harry and Sirius had been put through, it didn't take much to get the little creature to confess the identity of the elf in question.

Dobby had found his friend Winky drunk on butterbeer in the Hogwarts' kitchen that morning, which apparently wasn't an unusual occurrence for her since she arrived at Hogwarts late last summer. When trying to console her, she'd tearfully admitted to Dobby that she'd taken Sirius from the tower the night before but refused to say who had told her to do it or why.

No amount of persuasion by Dobby could get her to say another word further and she was now missing from Hogwarts as well. All Dobby could tell them about her was that Winky had once belonged to the Crouch family, but had been freed against her will right after the Quidditch World Cup.

Sirius already harbored an intense dislike for Bartemius Crouch, seeing as he was the one primarily responsible for the twelve years Sirius rotted away in Azkaban, so he wasn't about to shake the idea that the detested man might have had a hand in his abduction. He already knew that Crouch had been acting very peculiarly for months already, and it didn't exactly inspire Sirius with confidence to know that they had a rogue house elf that might still be loyal to her old family on the loose as well.

But once they were back in the own home, he did assure his son that Bicky and the rest of the Celestial Court house elves were absolutely loyal to the two of them and they were perfectly safe, although Harry was still a bit jumpy at the moment.

Bicky did as she was told with their dinner order and less than thirty minutes later the two wizards were tucking into a Murgh Masala so spicy that it was giving the Pepper-Up potion a run for its money in clearing out Harry's clogged sinuses. Not wanting to bother with a move to the dining room, they ate off trays that Sirius had transfigured in front of the study's fireplace and just chatted about nothing important to take their minds off of troubling things.

It was nice not having the Second Task dangling over his head anymore, even with the resulting trauma stemming from it, and it wasn't too long until Harry was scraping the bottom of his second bowl of the promised mango ice cream before he yawned and stretched sleepily in the chair.

"I vote that's how we always treat a cold if I get one," the boy sighed, happily sated as he put his empty bowl on the table between them. "So much better than that disgusting potion. I swear, all potioneers are right foul gits."

Sirius chuckled as he took a spoonful of his own ice cream.

"Then I suppose this is a bad time to tell you that one of your earliest ancestors, Linfred of Stinchcombe, was a master potioneer whose work inspired many of the potions commonly in use today," Sirius told his son with a mischievous smirk. "In fact, the Pepper-Up potion you dislike so much was perfected based on his research."

Harry looked suitably horrified for a few seconds, thinking of all the unpleasant dosing he'd been given over the past few days and silently cursing his family bloodline for their obvious propensity for torture.

"You're joking."

Barking a laugh, Sirius shook his head and put his now empty dish on the table next to Harry's.

"I'm not. In fact, you come from a very long line of talented potioneers, little one. All the way up to your grandfather and Sleekeazy's."

"Hmph," Harry huffed unhappily, although his curiosity was now peaked like it always was when hearing stories about his family. "So what other ghastly concoctions can I blame on my forefathers?"

Sirius pursed his lips in thought, wracking his brain hard to remember the discussions he'd had with James' father about the Potter family tree.

"Umm...Linfred also brewed the first version of Skele-Gro too, I think. Do you know what that is?"

"Ugh!" Harry spat, the memory of that unpleasant flavor filling his mouth. "Yes. I had to take it to regrow the bones in my arm Second Year after that tosser Lockart vanished them. It was disgusting!"

This was not a story Sirius had heard before and it had him immediately sitting up straighter.

"And why did he do that, exactly?"

"Remember when I told you that I got hit by Dobby's bludger during a match? Well, I broke my arm," Harry shrugged. "But instead of waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come, like a normal person, Lockhart insisted on fixing it himself. I tried to stop him because everything he did was rubbish, but of course he did it anyway, and the next thing I knew my bones were gone. The man was a complete menace."

Sirius closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten as he reminded himself that Lockhart was already in lifetime care in the Spell Damage ward at St. Mungo's and so would have no idea as to why Sirius was suddenly in his room beating him to death.

He also wasn't feeling particularly fond of Dobby at the moment either.

"I guess the Potter line of brilliant potioneers is going to end with me," Harry said in resignation, thinking it was just another way he was letting the side down. "Snape hasn't been as bad this year as he used to be, but he's still a git in class most of the time. I won't be learning much as long as he's my professor."

Hearing this, Sirius hummed in thought as he searched his son's face. Suddenly uneasy, Harry squirmed in his chair. He didn't particularly care for that look in his father's eyes.

"What?"

Pausing for just a second, Sirius took a deep breath and decided that it was time to talk to his son about the plans he'd been making for the past two days.

"What if I told you that we weren't going back to Hogwarts next week? Or, possibly, never?"

They'd already had this conversation a couple of months ago at their tropical island hideaway, and while Harry had put up some resistance on that occasion, he was finding it hard to drum up any of it now. Once upon a time, the very idea had been horrifying to him, but after the fear and anxiety over finding his father missing, added to the pressure and strain of the tournament, the restrictions on his daily movement, as well as the jeers he was still getting from a large part of the school, the boy was suddenly feeling much more agreeable.

"I guess I'd say I was okay with that," Harry admitted tiredly, causing his father's eyebrows to rise in surprise. "Just as long as I can stay in contact with my friends."

That last part was directed towards Sirius' recent decision to redo the wards around Celestial Court to limit access only by himself, Harry, Remus and the Celestial Court house elves. No one else could floo or apparate in at the moment, and the only owls allowed to pass through the wards were Xerxes and Hedwig.

Although Sirius had assured his son that it was just a temporary security measure to give them both some peace of mind after the Second Task, Harry was still a bit miffed.

As far as Harry's willingness to withdraw from Hogwarts entirely, Sirius had really been expecting a fight when he finally brought the subject up. Knowing, as he did, how attached his son was to the school and the life he enjoyed there.

Not that it was going to stop him from pulling Harry out of the school now that his mind had been made up about what was best for his son, but he really hadn't been prepared for Harry to agree to it so easily. Clearly the boy had been rattled more than even Sirius suspected.

"Of course you can. I'd never keep them from you. Just give it until the weekend for things to calm down a bit more and then I'll lift a few of the restrictions on the wards. Okay?"

Harry nodded, knowing that his father was very aware of how much Ron and Hermione meant to him. He had faith that ultimately Sirius would do whatever it took to keep them in Harry's life even if they were not at school together anymore. But truthfully, he was still concerned about them being at the castle right now when it seemed like anything could happen to them.

The three of them had always had a knack for finding trouble.

"You don't think they would be in danger there, do you?" he hedged. "It's just that, well, you were targeted, weren't you? What if whoever is after me goes for Ron or Hermione next just to get to me?"

Sirius couldn't honestly say the thought hadn't occurred to him. Especially after the news Remus had brought to him the night before.

Apparently, while Sirius appreciated Rita Skeeter shining a spotlight on the dangers of the tournament to others besides the champions, as well as tonight focusing on the alarmingly high rate of injury for the students at the school, she'd also written a freelance article for Witch Weekly titled

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

which went on, in great detail, about how Harry and Hermione were dating, only for Hermione to throw Harry over for Viktor Krum instead. According to Remus, several anonymous readers had taken to writing gobs of hate mail to Hermione for breaking Harry's heart. Including one deranged psycho who'd filled an envelope with Bubotuber pus.

Poor Hermione's hands were a right mess almost all day yesterday before Poppy was able to treat the terribly painful boils that had sprouted all over her skin.

Sirius was furious about it and had immediately decided that any possible collaboration was definitely off. He hadn't shared this news about Hermione with his sick kid yet either because right now Harry was having enough trouble just trying to breathe normally. The last thing Sirius wanted was his son getting worked up over something he couldn't do anything about and getting sick all over again.

He also knew that he was going to have to tell Harry before he found out from his friends instead and then became cross with his father for keeping it from him.

But probably not today.

Maybe tomorrow.

"I don't know, little one," he finally answered sadly. "But I promise that I'll do what I can for them from here. Meanwhile, I think we should talk about what's next for you."

For the next forty-five minutes, Sirius outlined the plan he'd been formulating since their arrival at Celestial Court. Truthfully, it was something that had been lurking around in the back of his mind since the night his son's name had come out of that damn goblet, but now it was all he could think about and, with Remus' help, he'd already started to implement it.

It was going to mean a drastic life change for the both of them and originally he thought it might be a hard sell for Harry. In some ways he wished it still was but, to his surprise, far from being opposed, Harry was surprisingly accepting.

Harry yawned widely again after they finished hammering out a few small details. Although it wasn't quite nine o'clock yet, the boy was still very much under the weather and it was probably a good idea for him to go back to sleep.

"I think maybe it's time you went up to bed," Sirius said with a fond smile. "You look done in."

Sighing, Harry wiggled around in his chair again, stretching and working the stiffness out of his arms. He'd spent so many hours just lying about recently, but honestly he didn't really have the energy to do much else at the moment. Thankfully, his breathing was slowly getting better and he hadn't sneezed once since before dinner.

"Are you coming up too?"

Sirius shook his head as he gathered up the sheets of parchment he had his plan outlined on and returned them to his desk.

"No. Not for a while. Remus will be here in a bit and he and I have some things to discuss before I go see Dumbledore on Monday."

"Well, then can I stay down here?"

Harry couldn't look his father in the eye when he made his request. He knew that he was too old to admit that he didn't want to be upstairs alone, far from the study where he could know for sure that his father was safe if Harry just stayed there. It was a childish need to have the comfort of Sirius close by at the moment.

"I'm pretty comfortable where I am," the boy assured his concerned parent, "and I'll go to sleep, I promise."

Sirius didn't actually need to be persuaded to keep his son in sight. He had a bad feeling it was going to be a while before either of them were okay with the other not being in their immediate vicinity. No matter how secure their home was.

"Of course you can."

Moving back over to Harry's chair, Sirius summoned a couple of plump, goose feather pillows and a larger blanket and then tapped the chair with his wand. Immediately, the chair began to stretch and lengthen until it was in the shape of a very ornate chaise lounge that was big enough for Harry to lie down in.

After stuffing the pillows behind his son's head, he tucked the new blanket up under Harry's chin and then affectionately tousled the boy's wild locks until Harry started to drift off.

"Better?"

"Mm-hmm," Harry muttered tiredly as he curled up with his eyes shut. "I love magic."

Sirius grinned and leaned over to drop a kiss on his son's forehead.

"And I love you. Pleasant dreams, little one."

"night, Papa," Harry whispered, half-asleep already.

"Good-night, Son."

*********HP*********

Sauntering through the torch-lit corridor, his jet black robes billowing behind him, Severus turned a corner and came face-to-face with the sentry gargoyle blocking the access to the headmaster's office. One of the worst things about being summoned like an errant school boy was having to put up with the ridiculous passwords that Dumbledore chose.

Obviously on purpose.

Rolling his eyes in agitation, Severus gritted his teeth.

"Fizzing Whizzbees."

A second later the gargoyle moved and silently allowed Severus to proceed. Swearing colorfully under his breath at the continued humiliation, he rapped two smart knocks on the door and then entered.

Of course Dumbledore wasn't actually in his office. He never usually was any time he beckoned for his pet Potions professor to drop whatever he was doing and report like a miscreant found wandering the castle after lights out. Far too often, Severus was left to wait far too long than was respectful between work colleagues for the headmaster to deign to join him.

As if Dumbledore hadn't been the one to initiate their meeting in the first place.

Pure Arrogance.

For the millionth time, Severus had to remind himself that he was lucky to be where he was at all, and he grudgingly had Dumbledore to thank for that.

After all, he was a marked Death Eater and not all of Voldemort's followers avoided Azkaban following his downfall. Only the truly wealthy ones, of which Severus was definitely not, had any real chance of retaining their freedom. Bleating like lost sheep about the traumas of enduring the Imperius while they lied through their perfect sets of dazzling white teeth.

It would have been all too easy to send away a young man of no money or connections, especially if it were ever known exactly what part he played in the deaths of the highly lauded and widely mourned Potters.

No one in the wizarding world except other hidden supporters of the Dark Lord would have allowed Severus to escape justice for that.

But Dumbledore had taken him in, for a price, and given him a place where he could be relatively sheltered from further scrutiny. All it cost him was his dignity as he endlessly toiled away to educate the mealy mouthed half-wits that tainted his classroom with their snotty attitudes, poor comprehension skills and talents for making huge messes.

Still, it was better than prison or death.

Usually.

As he sat down in one of the chairs in front of the headmaster's desk, he folded his hands in his lap and looked around the room with casual disinterest. There was no telling how long Dumbledore would take before making his grand entrance, so Severus might as well make himself comfortable. It wouldn't matter to Albus that Severus currently had two intemperate potions brewing.

They wouldn't become volatile, but they'd probably be ruined if he wasn't back to tend to them in half an hour.

Not that something as trivial as brewing remedies to restock the Hospital wing was of any concern to the great Albus Dumbledore. Although he would certainly look down his pointed nose at Severus in great disappointment if the younger man failed in his task to provide them.

If he had to guess, he'd assume he was here once again to talk about the situation regarding the Potter boy, since that unpleasant topic took up the majority of his time with the headmaster. As if Severus was a one man army deployed solely to ensure the safety and well being of the offspring of his oldest enemy.

It was too hard for him to think about the boy as being hers too.

Although, if he had to be honest, his first opinion of the child, reinforced by a few years of behavior which clearly showcased the hereditary disrespect Potter Junior had for rules and authority, was slowly but surely changing.

Not that Severus would ever have any real regard for the little upstart, but at least the boy was attempting to be less of an arrogant bully than his father had been. While he never really agreed with Dumbledore's decision to have the child raised by his illiterate, knuckle-dragging Muggle relatives, he couldn't deny that the boy turned out better than if he'd had his father's privileged upbringing.

Of course now the boy was living with Black. Who surprisingly had established an element of respect and discipline in Potter heretofore unseen since the boy's first year at school. Although, to be fair, Severus had known Regulus Black quite well, so he also knew that the Black household was not entirely dissimilar to his own in terms of rigidity and harsh punishments.

Sirius Black, tainted by his Gryffindor traits no doubt, was obviously less severe with the boy than Orion Black had been with him, but certainly enough of his own upbringing had bled into how he was raising godson. Potter's manners had improved by a visible degree. His nighttime forays through the school's corridors had been fully curtailed and even his less than stellar marks had risen to the point where the boy might actually manage to scrape a few respectable O.W.L.s next year.

Severus approved.

Because had the child been raised by his insufferably arrogant father, Severus had no problem believing that the younger Potter would have grown up into a carbon copy of the pompous, self absorbed and vain showboat that had been the bane of Severus' own years in school.

The boy would have been obnoxious and overly confident, his misbehavior fueled by the safety net of indulgent parents and the family's vast fortune. He'd strut about the castle like he owned the place, charming all the teachers and pretty little witches alike. Always thinking that he was better than the other students, especially the awkward ones that came from ramshackle homes run by indifferent parents.

That's what Severus had thought originally when the child first came to Hogwarts.

He didn't know much about the man Petunia Evans had married, but he did know that they did well enough for themselves. The house little Prince Potter was raised in wasn't excessively large, but it was respectable and tidy. The boy didn't live in the lap of luxury but he wasn't raised in squalor either.

Severus chose to not notice how the child's well-worn Muggle clothes swamped his small, skinny frame. Or how he attacked the food in the Great Hall as if he didn't know where his next meal was coming from.

All he cared to notice was that Potter was insolent and disrespectful in class, without a proper fear and respect for authority instilled in him. He argued and talked back to Severus on several occasions, when Severus himself would never have dared to do the same during his time as a student.

He constantly caused chaos and havoc in school. Sticking his nose in where it didn't belong and inviting danger at every turn. The mischief engaged in by him and his little partners in crime rivaled even some of the dastardly deeds carried out by Severus' childhood tormentors.

All of this translated into making Severus' job as his silent caretaker even more difficult than it already was. Especially since it was occasionally hard to protect a child who was such an insufferable little know-it all that you felt empathy with the ones who wanted to do him harm.

But for all of the child's poor choices and regularly poor behavior, Severus occasionally allowed himself to remember that young Potter also didn't have any memory of being held in his mother's loving arms.

Something that he and Severus had in common.

Harry, because his mother had loved him enough to die for him, and Severus because his mother simply had never loved him enough.

Thankfully, before Severus could get too maudlin in his musings, the heavy door swung open and Dumbledore swept into the room adorned in absolutely garish robes of blinding orange and lime green. Where the man even found the blasted things, Merlin only knew.

"How are you today, my boy?"

"As always, I'm enraptured by the many joys that my life gives me, Headmaster," Severus drawled sarcastically.

Used to the surly rejoinders often given in response to his polite inquiries, Dumbledore allowed himself a small smirk as he took his seat at his desk. Severus had always been an exceptionally difficult child.

"I'm pleased to hear it. We should all strive to appreciate happiness in whatever form we find it."

Severus rolled his eyes internally, wanting this conversation to be over as quickly as possible. After so many years, he wasn't sure why Dumbledore insisted on participating in these little social niceties that held no value to him.

"If we could get to the point headmaster? I have cauldrons filled with Wiggenweld and Blood Replenishing potions brewing at the moment, and while it makes no difference to me if the students are forced to suffer if the Hospital Wing's stores aren't refilled, I'd rather not be subjected to Madam Pomfrey's histrionics about it."

"Certainly, my boy," Albus placated. He knew that the young man had a low tolerance for social interactions. "Tell me, Severus, do you remember Barty Crouch, Junior?"

"Of course," Severus answered calmly, his Occlumency trained mind giving nothing away. "One doesn't forget when a son of the head of the DMLE takes the Dark Mark."

"Would you say he was a particularly talented wizard?" Albus inquired, a little too casually. "Capable of pulling off some truly complicated magic?"

Severus paused for just a second, surprised that the topic of their conversation didn't seem to be about the Potter boy. But he'd known Dumbledore long enough to know that the older man didn't ask questions when he wasn't already fairly sure of the answers.

"I would say he was someone capable of a great many things," Severus said cautiously, "but also a man that played his cards very close to the vest. Except for his hatred for his father. He was quite open about that."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed as he stared at a portrait on the wall behind Severus' chair. "I think that became astonishly clear at his trial."

"Bellatrix and Rodolphus tolerated him because he was unswervingly devoted to the Dark Lord," Severus offered, trying another tact. "But he would have needed something more than that to have fallen into Rabastan's good graces. Rabastan was a singularly gifted wizard in the dark arts himself, but he was also paranoid to the point of madness when it came to others in their circle. He even suspected his own brother and sister-in-law on occasion, but yet he implicitly trusted Barty."

"That is curious," Dumbledore agreed, "although not unusual in and of itself. We often find our kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places."

There was a solid moment of silence between them as the headmaster seemed lost in his own thoughts. Severus sat patiently in his chair, even as he itched to return to the quiet sanctity of his lab.

"Pity about Mrs. Crouch passing so soon after her son, don't you think?"

Severus looked up at the unexpected remark, keeping his face placid.

"I'm sure his trial and then his loss was extremely difficult for her," he responded at length.

"Yes, it probably would have been," Dumbledore agreed. "A loving mother will do just about anything for her child. I can't imagine the pain she suffered, believing her only son to be beyond her help."

Severus' eyebrows raised in confusion, the pointed reference to Lily not going unnoticed by him, but he didn't give voice to the questions he had in his head.

"You should be off now, Severus," Dumbledore said at last, offering the younger man a lemon drop that he refused. "I wouldn't want to be the cause of you finding yourself in Poppy's bad books. As always, our conversation tonight has been...highly illuminating."

Standing from his chair, Severus bowed his head slightly and turned to leave. As he closed the heavy door behind him and stalked off in the direction of his lab, his mind was racing as to why Dumbledore had suddenly acquired such an acute interest in a teenager long dead.

*************HP**********

Sirius sat in the squashy chair and gazed into the flames of the roaring hearth. One hand held a tumbler of whiskey precariously dangling in the long fingers while the other hand slowly tapped on the soft leather of the chair's arm. His handsome face, marred by the worry over his child's well being, had become a touch more drawn and slightly haggard as the days went on.

On the transfigured chaise lounge next to him, Harry was deeply slumbering, the slight flush to his face a sign that the fever he'd been battling for the past few days was attempting another comeback. While this cold his son couldn't seem to shake was problematic, it wasn't the thing that had Sirius so worried.

Harry hadn't slept a full night alone in his room since the second task and the boy's stressful state wasn't helping him recover any faster. Sirius crossed his fingers and hoped that both he and Harry would return to a semblance of normality once his plan was fully implemented, because while he was happy to have his son close by on a regular basis, it wasn't exactly healthy for the boy in the long term.

The simple truth was that Sirius himself wasn't resting very well either, which had to be at least partially responsible for Harry's unease, but that didn't mean he could shake the feeling any faster than he was. There was nothing like being abducted from your own home in the middle of the night to make closing your eyes unappealing, so there wasn't much Sirius could do about his apprehension at the moment.

It also meant that Sirius was once again in the habit of keeping not only his own wand but his great-grandfather's as well securely holstered to his arms at all times, since he wasn't ever going to be left without one again no matter where he was.

Intellectually he knew that they were as safe as they were going to get within the confines of Celestial Court, so feeling the necessity of such a gesture truly bothered him. He'd thought that living like this had been put behind him for good once he became a relatively boring teacher and responsible father.

It was far too much like the precautions he'd needed to take during the war and his time as an auror, always away on dangerous missions and fighting for his life, but for right now, it simply couldn't be helped.

They weren't going back to live in the castle and that was final. It didn't matter that just before they left the tower Dumbledore had sent a message assuring Sirius that the castle was safe. Promising the worried father that nothing like what happened the night before the task would happen again.

Quite frankly, Sirius had just about had it with Albus Dumbledore and all his promises of safety.

Harry was supposed to have been safe living with the Dursleys too, and everyone saw how well that had worked out. As far as Sirius was concerned, he and Albus had very different definitions of what constituted being safe.

As a father who had a son with truly unique circumstances like Harry did, Sirius was prepared to do whatever was necessary in order to give his child as close to a normal life as he could, but the one of the other things he could not afford to compromise on, besides Harry's safety, was the quality of his education.

As long as Harry was not sleeping well and looking over his shoulder every second, the boy wasn't going to be in any kind of position to learn anything of real value in his classes.

How was Harry supposed to acquire all the knowledge and skill he needed to protect himself if he had to spend all his time at school worrying for his life?

It was an unsustainable existence as far as Sirius was concerned.

However, he was at least comfortable with the fact that he now had a viable solution, and not only that, his son was actually agreeable to it. It would make things significantly easier if he wasn't fighting with his kid when he would already be battling Dumbledore. Hopefully, Remus would have been able to get quite a bit of the plan sorted before he returned tonight.

Speaking of which, Remus must be a bloody seer considering that he came strolling into Sirius' study just at that moment. With cheeks pink from being outside in the still frosty air, the werewolf shed his outer robe and walked over to the fireplace to warm his hands for a moment before casting a fond smile at the sleeping Harry and then frowning at Sirius.

"You look bloody awful, Padfoot," Remus said quietly as he walked over to flop down in a chair opposite Sirius' desk. "Maybe you should take some of the Dreamless Sleep tonight."

Sirius waved his hand away in annoyance, getting up from his chair in front of the fire and returning to his desk where he poured a tumbler of whiskey for his friend and slid it over. With a flick of his wand, he summoned a few of the remaining take-away bags from where they had been sitting on a table near the door, along with a plate and some cutlery.

"There's no way I'm going to be drugged out of my mind if Harry needs me," he insisted, keeping his voice as soft as possible so he didn't wake his son. "We ordered out for dinner. There's some Lamb Vindaloo in there for you."

Humming appreciatively, Remus pulled out the containers of meat and rice and made himself a plate that he dug into hungrily. It had been a long day and he was starving.

"How'd it go today?"

Swallowing a large mouthful, Remus took a swig from his whiskey glass before pulling a roll of parchment with a large official seal on it from his satchel.

"I got everything you wanted filed with my contact at the ICW," he answered happily as passed the roll to his friend. "He made sure it was all processed through the Educational Office before Albus had a chance to intervene."

Sirius smiled widely. It was the first piece of good news he'd had since they returned home. The one hitch to his plan had been the chance that Dumbledore would attempt to stop it in its tracks before it could be finalized.

"Thank Merlin the Supreme Mugwump has more things to occupy his time than a simple paperwork issue."

Checking through the parchment sheets and confirming that everything had been noted accordingly, Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. Albus would probably throw a wobbly when he found out, but it would be far too late by then. He really shouldn't have forced Sirius to let Harry compete in the first place.

"Now that the particulars are all sorted, how are you going to break the news to Harry?" Remus asked, taking another large forkful of the aromatic lamb.

"I already did. He agreed with me."

Remus' eyebrows shot up in surprise and Sirius just shrugged with a small smile on his face. Both of them had been sure that Harry would dig his heels in and fight the plan all the way.

"I'm not going to complain," Sirius said, gratefully. "It makes everything much easier if I don't have do battle with him too. What did you hear about Bagman?"

At the mention of the man's name, Remus' face darkened considerably, the wolf inside of him howling for revenge, but it was just a brief moment before his mouth turned up in a wicked grin.

"I'm afraid dear Ludo is looking for a new job," he sneered uncharacteristically. "The ministry received a fair number of complaints against him after Rita's article came out yesterday detailing what happened to you and Harry. It didn't help that his underlings despise him. He was sacked this afternoon without references. Apparently he doesn't have as many friends in the Ministry as he thought."

Sirius felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him at the news. He didn't usually rejoice in the misfortune of another, but that slimy git had it coming to him. It was just too bad that he'd been healed of Sirius' handiwork. He deserved to have a physical reminder of what happened when you messed with someone's kid.

"I'm sure any public outcry is because it's Harry Potter, but at this point I'll take all the help I can get," Sirius admitted, rubbing a tired hand down his face. "My account manager at Gringott's was also happy to tell me that Bagman is in deep with them as well. So now that he's out on his arse I doubt we'll be seeing him around much anymore. He'll either go into hiding or the goblins will simply disappear him."

Remus shuddered at the thought. He was generally a peaceful man and didn't wish violence on anyone, but if Bagman had gotten himself into a pickle with the goblins then he was about to reap what he sowed. They weren't known for being incredibly forgiving when it came to debts.

The clock on the mantle softly chimed the arrival of eleven and Remus balled up his napkin and pushed the now empty plate away. The combination of good food, good whiskey and good news had him feeling very sleepy.

"I think that's it for me tonight. I might just stay here instead of heading back to the cottage if that's okay with you?"

Sirius wasn't fooled by the casual request. He knew that this was his friend's way of letting him know that Sirius didn't need to protect Harry all on his own right now.

"Perfectly," he smiled wearily. "I should probably be getting that one up to his bed anyway. He can't sleep on a chair all night."

Standing up from his desk, Sirius arranged his papers neatly and set them aside for the morning. He reached both arms in the air and stretched out his cramped muscles from sitting for so long before shuffling over to the sofa. Harry's face was still a deep pink so Sirius quickly palmed the boy's forehead to check. It was warm but not alarmingly so, so he dismissed the idea of waking his son to force another fever reducing potion into him.

Pulling the heavy blanket away, Sirius leaned down and scooped his son up into his arms and held him close. Harry stirred briefly from the disturbance and opened his eyes just enough to sleepily squint, but once his still-not-quite-awake mind recognized his father's face he closed them again and dropped his head against Sirius's shoulder as Sirius softly shushed him back to sleep.

"You remember that you're a wizard, right?" Remus teased lightly, following behind as Sirius gently carried the boy towards the staircase. "Harry's getting a bit too big for that, isn't he?"

Harry might be a bit smaller than the other boys in his year, but he wasn't a little child. He also may be a little thinner, but his weight wasn't insignificant either. A simple levitation charm would have gotten the job done without straining Sirius' already sore back.

"He'll never be too big for me to carry if he needs me to," Sirius argued softly as he defensively held his sick son closer to his chest and slowly started to climb the stairs.

Remus' attempt at levity had fallen flat, given the glare on Sirius' face, so he backed down.

There had been a time right after Harry was born that Remus had felt the tiniest sting of jealousy over Sirius being named the boy's godfather. Granted, he'd always known that James and Sirius were just a bit closer to each other than the other Marauders, but it still wounded him that James would choose the decidedly rakish and more careless Sirius to take over the care and nurturing of his firstborn instead of the much more steady and cautious Remus.

But now, seeing just how much parenting Harry had changed his oldest friend, he could finally admit that he'd been wrong all those years ago.

While Remus had hidden himself away from Harry after that terrible night, his heart breaking for what he thought was the loss of all of his dearest friends, Sirius had been sent to Hell for the rest of his life. But still, through all of that, he'd managed to hang on to his sanity long enough to escape his prison cell to protect Harry once he realized how close the real traitor Pettigrew was to the boy.

Not only that, but after being cleared of the wrongful charges against him, despite a tiny bump at the start, Sirius had buckled down and become a wonderful father to the boy. Harry was loved, cared for and provided for in all the ways that James and Lily would have wanted for him. Far more than Remus would ever be able to give in more than just materialistic things.

Even before his first day as a Hogwarts professor, Remus had already physically and emotionally distanced himself from Harry just because someone else told him to. He'd fled like a coward, feeling that he couldn't be a proper role model for the boy with his furry little problem and believing Albus when he told Remus that it would be better for Harry to be with his blood family. Arguing that, for safety reasons, Harry needed to stay with his aunt and uncle and there was no cause to confuse the boy.

Now Remus truly realized how exceptionally flawed Albus could be in a lot of respects and he was keenly regretting all the years he'd been convinced to not fight for James' and Lily's son like he should have in the first place.

Sirius had fought for Harry, at great personal risk, and that ultimately was the difference between the two of them.

James had made the right choice.

***********HP**********

"Do I have a godmother?"

Startled by his son's abrupt question out of nowhere, Sirius looked up from his work and frowned for just a second before he pasted a weak smile on his face.

"Why? Tired of me already and want to trade me in?"

Harry's eyes widened in horror for a brief second before he realized that his father was just taking the mickey.

"Never," he said firmly, affronted by the very idea. "Besides, it's not the same thing. You're not my godfather anymore, you're my father now."

That did bring a real smile to the older man's face as he got up from his seat at the desk and strolled over to his son sitting crossed legged on the still transfigured chaise lounge where today he was supposed to be studying the next chapter in his History of Magic book. Harry was looking decidedly better this morning than he did last night, but he was still feeling a little rundown and had immediately migrated to the comfort of Sirius' study right after breakfast.

"Yes I am," Sirius agreed as he flopped down to sit next to Harry, hooking an arm around the boy's neck to drawn him in so he could place a quick kiss on the still slightly flushed forehead to surreptitiously check his son's temperature. "What made you ask about your godmother?"

Harry shrugged, careful to not move too much, lest Sirius decide to remove his arm from Harry's shoulders where the boy was perfectly happy to have it at the moment. He pursed his lips for a few seconds before huffing out a nervous breath he'd been holding in.

"Well, no one has ever mentioned me having one," he said at last. "I mean, it's always been about you and how close you were to my Dad. But most people have both a godfather and a godmother, right? I was just wondering if I did too, and if I did, where's she been all this time?"

"That's a very good point," Sirius agreed, even as a sharp pain of loss stabbed him in the chest. "And to answer your question, yes, you did have."

Getting up from the chaise, Sirius walked back over to his desk and rummaged around in the drawers a bit before retrieving an old, partially wrinkled photo. Retaking his seat next to his son, he passed the photo to Harry.

"This is the Order of the Phoenix," he explained quietly, his voice becoming a bit hoarse with emotion. "The secret organization that I was part of, along with your Mum and Dad and the others, to fight Voldemort and his followers. You've heard me mention it before, yes?"

Harry nodded as eagerly searched the faces of the people in the photo. Some of them were waving, some just smiling, but Harry could see that they were all trying very hard to mask the identical haunted looks in their eyes.

Of course Harry was immediately drawn to the images of his parents who were center in the photo. As he got older, it was becoming more and more apparent to him just exactly how young they were when they were fighting a war. Looking at his Mum and Dad in the photo now, they suddenly didn't seem nearly old enough to carry the weight of the burden he knew they had.

James and Lily looked full of life as they snuggled against each other. Forever young and forever in love.

A tear slipped down's Harry's left cheek as he sniffed. It never got any easier to see James and Lily no matter how many photos and stories Sirius gave him of them.

"It's been thirteen years, and still not a day goes by I don't miss your Dad," Sirius said sadly as he looked at the image of himself and James standing side by side. Just like they always did. Brothers to the end.

He'd never get through this if he allowed himself to linger on James, so Sirius, fighting his own sadness, reached out to tap the photo enough to make the people in it move around so others could come to the front and be seen better. Harry put up a hand to stop him when he thought he caught a familiar face.

"Who are they?" he asked, pointing to a smiling couple.

"That's Frank and Alice Longbottom. Neville's parents. They suffered a fate worse than death if ask me."

Looking closer, Harry realized just how much Neville resembled his mother and remembered that he wasn't the only one who'd grown up without his own Mum and Dad around.

"What happened to them?"

"Tortured into madness by my deranged cousin," Sirius spat out angrily. "My family with their pureblood mania. I hated the lot of them."

Harry's heart ached for the pain in his father's voice and he had no desire to delve any further into the subject of the Longbottoms right now when it clearly upset Sirius. Later, he'd try and find out more about his friend's parents and felt a little ashamed he'd never thought about it sooner.

"There," Sirius finally said, pointing to a beautiful blonde young woman with an enormous smile of perfect white teeth, "That's your godmother, Marlene McKinnon. She and Lily were like sisters. Closer even, especially given who Lily's blood sister was. Just like me and James."

"She's very pretty," Harry said quietly as he took a good look at the woman who technically had as much of a claim to him as Sirius once did.

Sirius smiled wistfully as he leaned over to wrap his arm around Harry again, the anxious need for affection more to comfort himself than his son. It was hard to mask the pain looking at this photo was causing him, but he was determined to keep the promise he'd made to himself to endure what he had to in order for his son to know all the things he should.

"She was a beautiful girl," Sirius agreed. "Inside and out. She loved you too. Maybe not as much as I do," he teased, poking a finger in Harry's side and getting a very small chuckle from the boy, "but she did. Marlene was terrific fun. You would have loved her too."

Harry couldn't help noticing all the past tenses in his father's description. It wasn't hard to figure out why he'd never met his godmother.

"She died, didn't she?"

Sirius sighed and drew him in closer, absently rubbing Harry's arm soothingly.

"About two weeks after this was taken, yeah," he confirmed sadly as he remembered the shock they all felt that night. "She was home celebrating her dad's birthday when the Death Eaters came. They got the whole family. Marlene's parents, her little brother and sister. Grandmother. Everyone. Mar was a good fighter. Skilled and tenacious, but horribly outnumbered. She took out three of them on her own before they got her though."

Harry frowned as he looked up at his father's troubled face. He hated that he caused the man unhappiness just by bringing the topic up, but he wanted to know.

"Did they go after her because of me too?" he asked, afraid of the answer. "Because she was my godmother?"

"No!" Sirius vigorously shook his head. "Of course not. Harry, understand that we were all targets long before you were born. With good reason. War is a bloody business and there are casualties, that's just a fact. You can't take everything on yourself, little one."

Harry nodded shakily, but he didn't look entirely convinced. Instead he just scooted closer to Sirius and continued to take in the faces in the photograph, recognizing a few, but not knowing anything about most of these people who had been important to his parents. The young Sirius himself was practically a different person with a cocky, confident look on his face that the man sitting next to Harry now didn't really have anymore.

Not that Sirius hadn't physically recovered from his time in Azkaban, more or less. Good nutrition and a vigorous work-out regimen had mostly restored his powerful body, but the sparkle of mischief so clear in the photo had been replaced by a serious introspection. Something that Harry didn't fully realize until he had an image to compare to the man he knew today.

Looking at his father closely now, Harry saw Sirius' expressive gray eyes shining suspiciously bright as he stared at the smiling image of Marlene. Suddenly it was clear to him that this pretty blonde was more to Sirius than just a friend or comrade-in-arms.

"You loved her, didn't you?"

Sirius let out a watery chuckle and shook his head in amusement at Harry's powers of observation. The boy didn't really miss much.

"As much as I could love a woman at the time," he admitted sheepishly, knowing he was busted. "Back then I was never much one for monogamy. Not like your Dad, who knew the minute he saw Lily that she was The One. The war took up all of my focus, like it did most of us, and I didn't have time to think about a wife or kids when I was concentrating on staying alive. But if things had worked out differently, then yeah, Marlene could have been the one for me."

Harry's forehead wrinkled in thought as he lamented another tragedy for Sirius. Honestly, he didn't know how his Papa managed to keep getting up in the morning after losing so many people who were important to him.

"Do you think you'll ever..."

At his son's hesitancy, Sirius cocked an eyebrow as he smirked at the boy.

"Ever...what?"

Feeling awkward, Harry shrugged and fiddled with the photo in his hand. He wasn't honestly sure he wanted the answer to this particular question.

"You know," he stammered. "Look for another Marlene, maybe."

Sirius reached out to take the picture from his son's fidgety hands before it got ruined accidentally. He cast one more longing look at the people he'd loved and then put it safely back in his robe pocket.

"Maybe," he answered at length. "Someday, when you're all grown up with a family of your own and I'm just a sad old man who needs company. Maybe then I'll see if there is a lady out there that will put up with my nonsense."

"I'll never let you be sad," Harry protested vehemently, "Or alone."

Leaning over, Sirius pulled Harry closer into an embrace as his heart burst with affection for the boy.

"I appreciate that, kiddo. I'll be happy enough as a doting Grandpapa to your own little ones someday. I'll spoil them to pieces and then send them home to you to sort when they start to climb the walls. It's every parent's revenge, you know"

He gave his son a mischievous wink that made Harry grin and shake his head before the boy grew serious again.

"You don't have to wait that long, you know," he said, not looking his father in the eye. "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to look now."

The words were barely out of Harry's mouth before Sirius started shaking his own head. He had no interest in anything other than being a father for the foreseeable future.

"I'm not planning on looking anytime soon," he insisted. "I haven't had nearly enough time with just you yet. I'm happy with the way things are."

Harry smiled, a small blush further pinking his warm cheeks. He probably shouldn't have felt as pleased as he did to hear that he wouldn't need to share Sirius any time soon. After so many years of not having a parent to care for him, he felt just a little bit too possessive of the few years left he had to spend at home with his father to add an unknown woman into their little family.

"Me too."

Sirius continued to hold him close for a moment, fighting the little voice inside of himself that insisted on making sure that Harry wasn't just saying what he thought Sirius wanted to hear.

"Really?" he asked a little insecurely. "Are you sure? I know I can be rubbish at the father thing at times. You must miss having someone to be your mum when I muck things up so badly."

Harry pulled back and glared a little. Annoyed with Sirius talking down about himself.

"You're a brilliant father," the boy insisted. "Trust me. I know what a bad one looks like, and I think you do too."

Grimacing, Sirius knew that Harry was obviously referring to that great lump Vernon Dursley and the hateful memory of Orion as well. At least in that regard, he conceded, his son might have a valid point.

"Besides," Harry continued, leaning back into Sirius' chest comfortably, "sometimes you're a bigger mum than even Mrs. Weasley, so I'm not really missing out on anything."

"Hey now," Sirius protested, reaching down to give Harry's bum a light swat. "No need to be so cheeky, young sir."

Harry laughed as his father affected a fake pout and pulled out of the embrace so he could lean against the raised back of the chaise while he stretched out enough to lay his feet in Sirius' lap.

"Don't deny it," the boy smirked. "You know you are."

Sirius huffed and then automatically tucked the blanket more firmly around Harry's legs so the boy's toes wouldn't be cold and making Harry grin widely at his father unconsciously proving his point.

Looking at Harry smile and then realizing what he'd done, Sirius barked out another laugh. His son could be too smart by far sometimes.

Still, there were fairly important things that this conversation brought up in his mind and they had Sirius thinking that it might also be time to act on a few more ideas he'd been pondering recently.

******************HP***********

Harry wasn't upset with Sirius after finding out about Hermione's hate mail and her injuries.

He was livid.

Knowing that it was only a matter of time before his son was going to demand to check-in with his friends now that he was firmly on the mend, Sirius had steeled himself and confessed the news he'd been keeping from the boy.

In retrospect, it hadn't been one of his better decisions. He above anyone knew how much Harry hated to be kept in the dark, but Sirius had convinced himself that there was nothing either of them could do about it from Celestial Court, especially when Harry was still very much under the weather. Besides, Hermione was fine after a fashion in Poppy's capable hands and ever since the original incident her owl post was being thoroughly checked.

Sirius should have known better than to think that any of that was going to mitigate his son's anger about being not being told of the attack on her right away.

After all, right now a large part of Sirius' own anger at Dumbledore was because of the way the man kept secrets from people who should really know what's going on, and here Sirius was doing the exact same thing.

Harry had immediately demanded to see his friends, which just wasn't possible at the moment for a variety of reasons, and the whole conversation had quickly devolved into a huge row between him and his father. Sirius was just as adamant that his son wasn't going anywhere near Hogwarts any time soon and it led to Harry threatening to order one of the house elves to take him there or, barring that, risking an untrained attempt at severely under-aged Apparition himself.

Feeling guilty over his well intended deception, Sirius had let the boy storm about for a few moments, including holding his tongue while Harry hurled a few choice words at his father that would normally have gotten his son's mouth washed out at once. He couldn't truthfully say that he wasn't hurt by the rude things his child was shouting at him, but Sirius eventually reminded himself that he was the adult in this equation so he racked his shoulders back and put on his sternest face.

For his part, Harry almost faltered in his tirade when he saw Sirius' hurt face initially fall, but he was too angry to let the guilt settle in and just too emotionally strung out after everything that had happened recently to be reasonable about Hermione being hurt because of him. He also knew that he had absolutely no idea how to apparate, so his threat was an empty one, but he was feeling utterly helpless stuck at home and didn't know what else to do.

Sirius was just quietly fuming after being issued an ultimatum from his fourteen-year-old that could have the boy getting splinched or worse..

While he agreed that Harry had every right to be upset, and he apologized sincerely for not telling his son about Hermione sooner, he also firmly warned his hot-headed child against doing something so incredibly dangerous and foolish and to also mind his excessively disrespectful tone unless he wanted his backside to have a very unpleasant encounter with Sirius' belt.

Harry swallowed hard at the thought because Sirius had never used a belt on him before and his father didn't issue empty threats, but then he scowled, crossed his arms defiantly and held his ground.

Through even more shouting, he made it clear that he wouldn't be deterred from his goal and then jutted his chin defiantly in the air and challenged his father to do his worst. Bravely decreeing that any punishment he might incur would be worth it because he wasn't going to be held prisoner when his friends were being hurt.

Recognizing that he would have felt the exact same way when he was Harry's age, Sirius took a deep breath and calmed down, which led to Harry also taking a deep breath and calming down, and it ended with Sirius agreeing to temporarily lower the ward on their floo so they could make a fire call to the Gryffindor common room.

They knew that dinner in the Great Hall would be over by then, so Harry had put his head through the fire and got Seamus' attention, asking him to please find Ron or Hermione. Startled by the unusual sight, the boy had jumped back in shock, but once he was sure it actually was Harry, he recovered enough to send Lavender Brown up to the girl's dorm to tell Hermione while he fetched Ron.

As soon he saw his friends for himself, Harry relaxed considerably. Hermione reassured him repeatedly that she was perfectly okay and the three of them caught up as much as they could in a public area, being careful to not divulge too much private information when others could be listening in. However they did make plans to meet the next day at the Three Broomsticks since it was a Hogsmeade weekend before ending the call.

It was fair to say that Sirius was a little put out by his son's presumption that he'd be allowed to travel to Hogsmeade without asking for permission first, but since he felt partially to blame for Harry's worried need to see his friends, he allowed it. Although he did make it clear that his indulgence for that sort of thing was a one-time deal only.

Feeling badly, now that he'd talked to his friends and confirmed they were okay, Harry was too ashamed about his earlier behavior to give his father the proper apology Sirius deserved, so he'd fled up to his room instead and stayed there for the rest of the night. It was the first time since they'd been home that he'd gone to bed on his own and the guilt eating him up inside, along with the worry over waking up and finding his father missing again, meant that he didn't get a wink of sleep all night.

Neither did Sirius.

By the time morning came around Harry looked under the weather again. He wasn't sick exactly, but the lack of sleep hadn't done him any favors. His father, already sitting at the breakfast table, didn't look much better and the two of them shared a silent meal with Sirius excusing himself early to work in his study.

He didn't ask Harry to join him either and the boy sulked off alone to hide in the library until it was time to go.

Just before noon, Sirius called Harry into the parlor so they could leave. Although they were apparating directly in front of the Three Broomsticks, Sirius still made his son cover up with the invisibility cloak just to make sure no one took too much notice of their presence.

Harry wanted to grumble about it being an unnecessary precaution, but he obeyed without complaining since he still felt terrible. They arrived just outside a huge throng of excited students eagerly running to their favorite shops and Sirius swiftly herded Harry through the pub's front door and upstairs to a private room he'd already booked with Rosmerta.

They barely had time to take off their cloaks before Ron and Hermione came storming in to join them.

"Harry!"

Hermione rushed over and threw her arms around her friend. She'd been so worried about him all week and he'd looked off during their fire call the night before.

Slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm, Harry nevertheless hugged her fiercely, happy to see in person that she indeed looked perfectly fine. Releasing Hermione, he insisted on her showing him her blemish free hands before Harry turned to greet Ron, giving his mate a little good-natured shove before they all took their seats around the table.

Just then Rosmerta herself came up to wait on them. Sirius ordered a round of Butterbeers and playfully flirted with the older woman as much as his bad mood would allow while the kids decided what they wanted for lunch. She took their food order on an old writing pad that she vanished with a flick of her wand and then left them alone.

"Are you really okay?" Harry asked Hermione anxiously. "No one's tried anything else, have they?"

She looked fine, but he knew his friend well enough to know what a thick skin she could have. Hermione pursed her lips and grimaced a bit, but she nodded.

"I'm alright," she assured him. "It did hurt a bit, but Madam Pomfrey got it all sorted very quickly."

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," Harry apologized, his eyes flooded with guilt. "If I could..."

"Stop. Just stop."

Hermione held her hand up in protest before Harry could really start to wallow. He'd done nothing wrong as far as she was concerned.

"You're not responsible for this," she stated vehemently. "Whoever sent that envelope is, that's all. Besides, there were things in that article that had nothing to do with you. Somehow she knew about Viktor inviting me to visit him in Bulgaria and you were already long gone from the lake by then."

Harry couldn't help noticing the way Ron flinched when Krum's name was mentioned. It surely hadn't been easy on the redhead to have Hermione be the thing that Viktor would miss most. But before he could say anything further, their lunch arrived and soon they were all tucking in.

Not having much of an appetite, Harry pushed his food around on his plate. He saw his father frowning over Harry's lack of interest in his lunch, but Sirius simply turned away and remained quiet as he picked at his own meal. The guilty butterflies in Harry's stomach fluttered around even more over Sirius' uncharacteristic failure to scold him into eating and it quelled any figment of interest he had in the shepherd's pie in front of him.

"We were so worried about you, Harry," Hermione said once they finished and their discarded plates vanished. "Professor Lupin sent us a letter and told us that you were sick and resting at home for a few days. Did something else happen during the Task?"

"No." Harry shook his head and fiddled with his napkin. "I just caught a chill I couldn't shake, but I'm okay now."

"Good," Ron sighed in relief. "Everything was so crazy that day, we didn't get a chance to really talk to you about anything. We wondered if you got hurt or something and we didn't notice before you left."

"This morning's paper said that Ludo Bagman has been sacked." Hermione announced with wide eyes. "I think it's a good thing that they didn't let him get away with doing what he did. Just because he's a department head at the Ministry shouldn't mean he's allowed to just do what he wants."

"Dad said that everyone at work was talking about it the other day," Ron confided quietly. "And Percy won't shut up about what a disgrace Bagman is to the entire Ministry. They say he owes a bunch of gold to a lot of people there as well."

"Your brother Percy," Sirius chimed in for the first time, "he's Crouch's assistant, right?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "Percy thinks Crouch walks on water. He's right chuffed that he gets to take over his boss' duties all the time now. It's made his big head even bigger, if you ask me."

"Does he mention if Crouch is out of the office a lot?"

Shrugging, Ron nodded. "I guess. I mean, according to Mum's letters, Percy has pretty much taken over all of the department's responsibilities. But she's upset because it means that Percy doesn't come home for dinner anymore. He's always working. Why?"

Harry shared a quick knowing look with his father and Sirius nodded his permission to share what they suspected.

"Crouch used to have a house elf named Winky, but he freed her last summer even though she didn't want to be freed. Dobby brought her to Hogwarts to work in the kitchens after that. She was the one that took my father from our residence the night before the Second Task."

"You think Crouch had something to do with it?" Ron gasped, astounded.

"It's possible," Sirius shrugged. "House elves have been known to remain loyal to their former masters, and Barty Crouch and I have a bad history. It was because of him that I was sent to Azkaban without trial."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "What happened between you two to make him hate you so much that he'd do something so terrible?"

Sirius pursed his lips, thinking over whether or not he wanted to talk about it. But ultimately he decided that at least Harry should know what happened all those years ago and Harry always shared everything with his friends anyway.

"Crouch was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement back when I first became an auror. Under other circumstances I wouldn't have qualified as quickly as I did, but the war was going on, which meant a lot of casualties, and the department was fast tracking candidates up through the ranks to meet the demand. James and I saw too many go to their deaths because their training was rushed and I admit I wasn't quiet about it."

Sirius grimaced at the memory of all the grievous injuries and dead bodies he'd had to encounter during those terrible few years. As if it wasn't bad enough that entire families were being annihilated on a regular basis.

"At least the two of us had a bit of talent and a fair amount of experience getting out of tight situations. But some of the others were just there because they looked at the auror department as something glamorous, or because their families expected them to serve. Too many of them didn't have what it took to do the job and they paid the ultimate price for it. Even worse, sometimes their lack of qualifications meant that a few who actually knew what they were doing ended up in harm's way trying to protect the idiots."

Harry perked up a bit and scowled, as this was the first time he was hearing this story. It made him even angrier at Crouch than he already was at what had happened to Sirius.

"Not only that," Sirius continued, "but Crouch also gave the auror department permission to use the Unforgivables. This was unprecedented, you understand, but considering how scared people were of Voldemort and his followers, it was a move that was overwhelmingly popular. At least it was with the people who didn't actually have to carry it out, anyway."

Here, Sirius paused for a moment and fiddled with his mug of Butterbeer, wishing it was something much stronger. Although they were alone in their private room, Sirius wasn't careless enough to want his son to see him acting like an emotionally weak day-drinker.

"I caught one of the rookies coming up the ranks behind me torturing a suspected Death Eater on a mission one day," he recalled, staring at his glass. "Crouch's motto at the time was 'attack first and ask questions later'. It wasn't exactly the best example to set when you were gunning for the job of Minister of Magic night and day. When I pulled the rookie off the woman and said I was putting him on report, the little prick just laughed in my face. Said Crouch himself signed off on it. By the time I got back to the Auror Office, I had an official reprimand from Crouch sitting on my desk, citing me for interfering with an active investigation."

Sirius huffed derisively and shoved his glass away.

"Active investigation, my arse," he swore angrily. "That rookie was enjoying it. That was the problem with allowing the aurors to break their own laws. It made us no better than the filth we hunted down. The woman turned out to be innocent, by the way. Not that it mattered much at the time. Lots of innocents were treated unfairly back then."

None of the three kids said a word as they listened in rapt attention. Not much was spoken about the years during Voldemort's reign of terror at school. As if it was so horrible that the professors couldn't bear to relive it.

"In any case," Sirius resumed, once he'd take a moment to calm down, "I had a target on my back after that. Harry had just been born and James was rightfully preoccupied at home more often than not, so I was on my own pretty much most of the time."

Harry winced, hating the fact that his birth had put Sirius at risk because it meant his Dad stayed home with him instead. Everything bad always seemed to come back to Harry's very existence.

"It didn't help when I started hearing rumors about Crouch's son taking up with the Death Eaters," Sirius growled angrily. "Although I was estranged from most of my family, I still kept in contact with my cousin Andromeda. She was disowned by the family too, like me, but her mother Druella occasionally would sneak a visit with her once Andromeda's daughter was born. Druella was worried because Andromeda's sister Bellatrix was getting too close to Crouch's son and she thought it was a setup by the DMLE, but everyone in the auror department knew that Crouch had no use for his son. He treated Junior as bad as any criminal we caught."

"The son of the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a Death Eater?" Hermione asked, interrupting for the first time. "That's mad!"

"And true," Sirius nodded. "After talking with Andromeda I decided to do my own little investigation into Barty Junior. I watched him from the shadows as much as I could get away with, since I couldn't have Daddy finding out what I was up to. Junior wasn't exactly subtle about it either. He developed some kind of partnership with Rabastan LeStrange and they were always together. I was putting together a file on Junior and LeStrange to present to the Ministry, but before I could officially submit it, well..."

Sirius trailed off and looked sadly at Harry for a moment before clearing the sudden lump that lodged itself in his throat.

"Anyway," he sighed, wiping a hand down his weary face, "I suspect that after I was arrested my desk was searched and the file I was working on made its way to Crouch. Sending me away to prison without a trial was a great way to bury the incriminating evidence I'd uncovered. Besides the fact that Crouch always hated me just for my last name alone. I'm sure it gave him great joy to put away a Black. Especially one gunning for his son."

Harry wanted nothing more than to come around the table and comfort his father, but he held back, still feeling perfectly awful over their row. Sirius was always so good at hiding his sorrow over his false imprisonment, sometimes Harry could forget how much was taken from the man at such a young age.

"You said it was the Crouch's former house elf that took you from the residence," Hermione began, her forehead furrowed in thought. "If that's true, does that mean that Crouch Senior and Ludo Bagman are working together against Harry in the Tournament?"

"No," Sirius shook his head decidedly. "Crouch despises Bagman. Has for years. Unlike me, when Bagman got accused of collaborating with Augustus Rookwood, who actually was a Death Eater, Bagman got a trial but was ultimately cleared of all charges. Crouch was furious over it."

"What happened to Crouch Junior?" Hermione asked, still sussing out the puzzle.

"He died," Ron answered, already knowing this part of the story. "Dad says that's why Crouch never became Minister and why he's just the head of IMC now. Because he just gave up after losing his son."

"Well, partly," Sirius clarified. "A few days after I was sent away, Junior and the LeStranges were arrested. Crouch gave his son a trial, probably because he wife begged him to, but it was all for show. By then he'd already washed his hands of Junior and was more than happy to publicly put him away. But instead of making Crouch look good, people started to realize what an absolute bastard he was, that he could sentence his only child to life in prison without even a flicker of compassion. Junior didn't last long in Azkaban either and it made him an object of pity. Crouch's reputation was tarnished for good after that and that's why his career faltered."

"Percy still thinks Crouch will be Minister someday, and that he'll make Percy his Deputy," Ron snorted.

"Not likely," Sirius said with a humorless smile. "You can get away with his ideology in wartime, but not when there's peace. He's every bit as bloodthirsty and evil as Voldemort's followers, but he's far more dangerous because he's the sort that believes he's a righteous man. Thankfully people understand that about him now, so there's no chance he'll ever be a position of true power again."

"So what will you do about it all, once you both come back to school?" Hermione asked, frowning at Harry in worry.

Harry and Sirius traded uneasy looks for a few brief seconds before Sirius nodded his head. Clearing his throat, Harry forced himself to break the bad news to his friends.

"We're not coming back."

For the next several minutes, Harry outlined his future plans for his friends and wincing repeatedly over Hermione's outrage as well as the hurt look on Ron's face. He didn't want to leave them, of course, but even though he was miffed by his father's recent highhandedness, he still agreed with him that it was better if Harry not return to school.

Finally, when Harry was spent, he saw Ron and Hermione hold a silent conversation between them before Ron shrugged.

"Well Mum's going to go spare," he said at last, "but I reckon I can get Dad to talk her round."

Hermione took a deep breath as she turned to Ron.

"Can I use Pig? I'd like to get a letter to my parents as soon as possible and I don't dare borrow a school owl."

Nodding, Ron shrugged again.

"Yeah, sure. We can send him with both our letters at the same time. It'll be faster that way."

Harry looked from one of his friends to the other, his face pinching in confusion.

"What are you two talking about?"

"I've always admired your courage, Harry," Hermione said with a fond smile. "But sometimes you can be so thick."

"We're with you, mate. Whatever happens," Ron asserted fiercely. "Don't you know that by now?"

"I don't..." Harry shook his head, completely confused.

"We're coming with you," Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes before throwing Sirius a questioning look. "That is, if it's okay?"

Startled, but inordinately pleased by the loyalty being shown by his son's friends, Sirius nodded.

"Certainly. As long as it's okay with your parents."

Harry beamed widely, finally getting with the program and feeling an extraordinary wave of affection for his best friends. If they were joining him then the entire thing was just perfect as far as he was concerned. He felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders and it made him relax considerably as he began talking about the details with them, truly happy and excited for the first time.

They'd stayed with Ron and Hermione at the pub and talked for hours until it was time for the two Gryffindors to head back to school, so it was almost six o'clock when Sirius and Harry returned to Celestial Court. It had been a long day and Sirius was feeling especially tired after such a stressful week and no sleep the night before. He had some complicated errands to run in the next couple of days, was still fairly upset by his son's disrespectful behavior the night before, and all he wanted to do was have a quiet evening at home.

But Harry, much calmer now that he'd seen his friends in person, found that he couldn't stomach the guilt about the way he'd hollered at his father anymore.

He was still upset that Sirius had kept important information from him, but in all fairness it was also true that he'd been pretty shaken by the task and run down as well. So he sort of understood why Sirius waited since Harry would have probably been just as anxious about Hermione's safety if he was told right away but he wouldn't have been in any kind of physical shape to do anything about it, although he would have certainly tried.

Sirius was nothing if not overprotective, but he did it out of love, and Harry was at least honest enough to admit that the enormous tantrum he'd thrown was not even remotely a measured response to his father's justified caution.

Walking ahead of Harry, Sirius flopped down onto one of the antique sofas in their formal parlor once they were inside, too lazy to even make his way down the hall to his study. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and closed his eyes for a minute, willing the enormous headache he was feeling to go away.

Harry, feeling a bit apprehensive, stood awkwardly in the doorway, leaning against the jamb with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Papa?"

"Hmm?" Sirius asked tiredly, his eyes still closed.

Harry fidgeted a little, his face blushing a deep red as he recalled their argument and all the terrible things he said.

"I'm really sorry about last night," he apologized, his head bowed shamefully. "Although I still think I had a right to be mad, you didn't deserve to have me speak to you like that and I'm so sorry."

Sirius let out a deep sigh of weariness before he opened his eyes and sat up. Harry looked positively miserable across the room, and while Sirius hadn't liked his son's disrespect at all, he was prepared to just let it slide this time since he wasn't exactly innocent himself.

"I appreciate that," he assured the boy. "I'd also appreciate it even more if it never happened again, okay?"

Swallowing hard, Harry nodded his head and hugged himself a little tighter.

"Yes, sir."

Watching his son hover uncomfortably in the doorway for another few seconds was difficult for Sirius because he couldn't stand to see his child so upset. Especially when the boy looked like he was working hard to drum up the nerve to say something else but didn't quite know how.

"Harry?"

"I know you probably went easy on me last night because I've been sick," Harry said finally, looking up for the first time. "And I just wanted you to know that I really am fine now, so if you wanted to..."

"To...what?" Sirius asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

"You know," his son huffed with a deep exhale, "give me a smacking or, I don't know, send me to bed without dinner or something. It's okay. You don't have to worry about me not being well enough to handle it."

"When have I ever sent you to bed without dinner?" Sirius exclaimed, horrified that Harry would even suggest such a thing.

"You haven't," Harry shook his head furiously before looking down again, "but it was the punishment I hated the most when I lived with the Dursleys, so you should probably know that it's one that's pretty effective with me. I didn't usually deserve it when they did it, but I know I do this time, so..."

Sirius let out another weary sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He really was too worn out to deal with his hatred of those people and the emotional scars they left on his kid.

"Come here."

Holding his arm out, Sirius beckoned his son closer. Harry nervously shuffled over to where his father was sitting and hesitated for just a second before realizing that Sirius was pulling one of the throw pillows from behind him and and placing it in his lap. Suddenly it was clear that Harry was being invited to lie down and put his head on the pillow and not being put over his father's knee for the promised encounter with Sirius' belt.

Relieved, he folded himself onto the sofa and closed his eyes, relaxing from the comfort of Sirius' fingers carding his hair soothingly, especially after a whole day of the two of them being at such harsh odds.

"Merlin, but you have your mother's hot temper," Sirius mused as he stroked his son's wild locks. "I'd always thought you had to have red hair to have a temper like that."

"I'm sorry, Papa."

"I am too," Sirius confessed, the pain in his head receding a little. "I'm just as responsible as you are for our quarrel. Probably even more so, to be honest, even if it was out of concern for you. So how about we make a deal?"

He waited for Harry to nod gently before continuing, contenting himself with holding his son close after they'd been so upset with each other.

"I'm your father and I will always want to protect you. Which means that from time to time I might make a decision you don't like," Sirius said quietly. "Sometimes I also might overreact when I shouldn't, so I'll try really hard not to, but if you promise to try and understand my decisions without going off and doing something dangerous, I'll promise to try and be understanding when you need to vent your frustration a little. Alright?"

"Alright," Harry agreed, feeling that was a perfectly acceptable compromise as he snuggled in closer. He genuinely hated it when he and his father weren't getting on. "I really am sorry. I was just..."

"You were scared for your friends."

It was a statement, not a question. The hand that wasn't stroking Harry's hair slipped onto the pillow next to the boy's head and Harry reached up to grab it like a lifeline as he nodded shakily.

"I know what it feels like to be scared for my friends, little one. It's okay."

And Harry nodded again, because if anyone knew what that felt like, it was Sirius. He hated that his father shared so many fears with him, but on the other hand it was good to finally have an adult in his life who understood him so well.

They sat in companionable silence for another few moments as Sirius' gentle ministrations soothed the both of them. Eventually Harry tiredly kicked off his trainers and got more comfortable on the sofa, in no hurry to sit up as long as his father let him stay where he was.

"Do you really think Ron and Hermione's parents are going to agree?" he asked after a fashion.

"I don't know," his father answered truthfully. "It's quite a big decision to make. Arthur and Molly will certainly have some reservations about it and Hermione's parents are in the dark about a great many things that are likely to upset them. It might be too much for them to take in."

"Do you really have to tell them everything?"

"Yes, Harry James," Sirius scolded gently, "I really do. Hermione is their child and they deserve to know more than what Dumbledore sees fit to tell them. I know if it was you, I would certainly want to know everything that affected you."

Harry shifted so that he was lying on his back and looking up at his father. His worried green eyes were pleading with Sirius to make everything work out okay.

"But what if they decide that she should just be brought back home? What if they think our world is too dangerous for her? That's what you would do if you thought I was in danger, right?"

"It's not quite the same thing," Sirius assured him. " Hermione is a witch and there's no getting around that. She's already a part of our world whether her parents want her to be or not. In the end she's going to have to learn how to use her abilities so she's not a danger to herself or anyone else. I'll make sure they understand that."

Harry wasn't entirely convinced, but he did trust his father enough to know that Sirius would do his best.

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right," Sirius smirked, laughing for the first time all day. "I'm the parent. It's my job."

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head fondly, feeling much better.

"And you are going up to bed at eight o'clock tonight," his father said, suddenly looking very stern. "After you've had your dinner."

Nodding, Harry accepted that he was still getting off lightly for all of his cheek.

"Yes, sir."

"Not for what happened yesterday," Sirius clarified, knowing that his son thought he was being punished, "but because I don't think either of us slept very well last night, so I'm going up with you then as well. I don't want you getting sick again because you're exhausted."

That brought a smile to Harry's face as he rolled back onto his side and sleepily snuggled into the pillow again while they waited for Bicky to call them into the dining room.

****************HP*************

The sharp crack that sounded in the street wasn't particularly loud enough to be heard by any of the residents of the smart, upper middle class neighborhood. Sirius had chosen his spot well to apparate. There were plenty of trees lining the street full of very nice detached houses, so he was easily able to hide his unusual arrival from anyone who might happen to be walking by.

A quick glance at the numbers on the doors had him striding across the road towards the narrow three story home that belonged to the Granger family.

Approaching the door he checked his watch once again to make sure that he was right on time. Because some of the pure-blood manners that had been beaten into him were never going to go away, he always tried to make it a point to never arrive anywhere either late or too early.

Unconsciously straightening up to his best posture, he took a deep breath and gently pressed on the button for the doorbell. Inside he could hear the faint ringing of a bell playing the Westminster chime. A sound that had him thinking of his time living in London when the booming notes of the clock at the Muggle parliament regularly floated through his bedroom window.

It only took a few seconds for a petite brunette who could only be Hermione's mother to answer the door. Behind her stood a tall man with short, curly hair which was probably the only physical trait he passed down to his daughter. The three of them stood in a moment of awkward silence before Sirius cleared his throat and put his hand forward.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger? My name is Sirius Black," he greeted them politely. "Or would you prefer Doctor?"

His warm smile was enough to shake Hermione's mother out of her brief freeze. She smiled back, maybe a little less enthusiastically, before taking his hand.

"I'm Jean," she said as she gave his hand a quick press before releasing it. She turned slightly to wordlessly beckon her husband closer. "This is my husband, Hugh. Won't you come in?"

Moving out of the doorway, Jean stepped behind her husband who reached out to greet Sirius as well and then the two of them led their visitor towards the small but tidy sitting room. Hugh gestured to the sofa and Sirius took the invitation to sit down as Jean played mother, lifting a teapot to fill a set of delicate china cups.

"Tea, Mr. Black?"

"Please, call me Sirius. And yes, thank you. I would love some."

For a brief moment the three adults busied themselves with their tea cups, but the niceties could only hold off the inevitable awkward conversation for just so long. Sirius took a sip, nodded approvingly at the rich blend, and then cleared his throat.

"I appreciate your allowing me to come and visit today at such short notice. I've actually wanted to meet you both for quite some time."

Jean took a sip from her own cup and then offered a plate of ginger biscuits to her guest. Although he didn't necessarily want one, Sirius took one anyway to be polite and then placed it on the saucer under his cup.

"Hermione's letter was very insistent and we've heard a lot about you from her already," Hugh started as he took a biscuit of his own. "It's quite the story."

Sirius smiled wistfully and gave a brief nod.

"Yes. I have led a rather interesting life. I hope you won't hold some of it against me."

"Well," Jean hedged, "to be honest, it was somewhat difficult last summer to wrap our heads around the fact that our daughter was going to spend a weekend at the house of the man all of the news channels were calling a dangerous mass murderer."

"I have no doubt," Sirius agreed sadly. "If I had been in your shoes, I'm not sure that I would have been able to overlook something like that if it had been Harry who was invited."

"Mr. Lupin was kind enough to explain what had happened," Hugh said, holding his hand up calmly. "And since we knew that he was one of Hermione's teachers at her school, we felt we could trust him. She spoke very highly of him last year and of course she's always going on and on about Harry. So we understood the particulars, but it was still a bit of a shock to find out that you were named his guardian."

"I'm sure it was," Sirius said, nodding his head. "Harry's father James was like my brother. Actually, I was much closer to him than I was to my brother by birth. I was honored to be named Harry's godfather. In our world, it's not a role that gets taken lightly."

"We've had to make certain...allowances for things we don't entirely comprehend," Jean admitted carefully. "Your world is still quite a mystery to us and it has been difficult on occasion, but Hermione is very happy to be a part of it and that's ultimately what is most important to us."

Sirius leaned forward to place his mostly empty cup on the low table in front of him before sitting back fully and steeling himself to do what he really thought he must.

"I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been to have everything thrown at you like that," Sirius marveled. "Or for you to let Hermione go to a strange new school like you did without being able to see it for yourself first. I'm afraid that our world isn't always exactly friendly towards non magical people. It's a true failing on our part."

"Hermione is treated well, isn't she?" Jean frowned as she gave her husband a quick worried look.

"Oh yes," Sirius hurried to assure her. "That is to say, it's just like any other school. Children tussle and pick on each other, no matter where they are, but I assure you Hermione is well regarded for academic excellence."

It wasn't the entire truth, of course, but this was already a difficult negotiation and he didn't want to make unnecessary trouble for Harry's best friend if it could be avoided.

The Grangers looked sufficiently placated, if still a bit concerned, and Sirius could understand. He wasn't sure how he'd react if the tables were turned.

"It was always our wish for Hermione to be schooled where we both were ourselves," Jean stated quietly, her pretty face frowning, "She's our only child and we didn't want her to be sent away. That's why we moved to this area in the first place. Because we wanted to be close enough for her to be a day student and not a boarder."

"Hermione had some trouble fitting in at school, though," Hugh admitted. "Our daughter is very bright, but her peers didn't always appreciate her competitive spirit."

"We miss her very much," Jean sighed, "but we understand that it's for the best that she go to Hogwarts so she can be with other children like her."

"So you can understand why her letter was such a shock," Hugh continued. "Education is very important to us and we let her go under the assumption that it was the best possible choice for her...circumstances."

"Wizarding families mostly teach their children at home before they start at Hogwarts," Sirius explained easily. "So there's always a bit of an adjustment period for all of them first year regardless of where they come from. I don't know if Hermione told you, but Harry's mother Lily also came from a Muggle, or, excuse me, a non-magical home. It's not uncommon. I graduated from Hogwarts myself, but no school is perfect and I've come to have several reservations."

"She's always seemed so happy there, so her letter has us a bit confused ," Jean said as she took a sip from her cup. "Is something terribly wrong? Should we simply have her come back home and try again here?"

Sirius took a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair for a second while he tried to compose the best way to share some completely awful truths with these very nice, but very unsuspecting people.

"Has Hermione told you anything about the TriWizard tournament?"

"Um...," Jean pursed her lips as the Grangers looked at each other. "She mentioned that there was some kind of competition going on this year. With a couple of other schools joining in?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded. "That's true. And Harry was chosen as one of the champions, even though he didn't enter."

"How did he get chosen if he didn't enter?" Hugh asked with a confused frown.

Sirius paused. Truthfully he was beginning to have second thoughts about pulling the curtain back for these Muggles.

They say sometimes that ignorance is bliss, and maybe that would have been better for the Drs. Granger. But he also knew that Harry would never forgive himself if something happened to one of his best friends because of a target painted on their backs owing to their relationship with him.

Knowing that it was too late to turn back now, he began a slow and very sanitized explanation of what had been happening at Hogwarts since Harry's and Hermione's First Year.

By the time he was finished, both of the Grangers were looking quite sickly, as he was sure he would have himself in their position. It had been rather hard for him to explain to the two very nice, but decidedly normal Muggles about the higher than average risk posed to magical students when they already spent ten months out of every year fretting for their daughter.

Hugh's first reaction was to abruptly demand to be taken to Hermione so he could bring her directly home, which Sirius fully understood, knowing how he would feel in similar circumstances, but he was eventually able to assure the horrified father that his plan would ensure the safety of both of their children for the future.

What Sirius didn't expect was that, by the time his visit was ending, both of the Grangers were insisting on personally participating in his proposed endeavor. The very idea immediately set the cogs in his mind turning with possibilities. It was an unforeseen but very welcome bonus that would compliment the goals he'd already sketched out very nicely.

With a large smile on his face, knowing that he now also had added incentive for Molly to agree, Sirius bid the Grangers farewell, apologized for the rudeness of disapparating inside their home and headed for the Burrow.

**********HP*********

No matter how many times Sirius passed through the gargoyle entrance to the headmaster's office, he would never fail to shake his head at the obtrusive intimidation factor behind Dumbledore's home court advantage over any visitor.

One would think that a wizard of Albus' skill and reputation wouldn't necessarily need the trappings of his impressive surroundings as a shameless attempt to cow his staff. Maybe the students, but certainly the professors shouldn't be subjected to feeling like they were small firsties again.

In any case, Sirius was here on a firm mission today, and he wasn't going to be railroaded into changing his mind.

Dumbledore's disembodied voice echoed from behind the heavy door inviting Sirius inside and the younger man racked his shoulders back and strode forward with purpose. He'd sworn that he would never allow himself to be led when it came to Harry ever again.

"Sirius," Albus greeted pleasantly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened recently, "how can I help you today, dear boy?"

Reflexively, Sirius stiffened and forced himself to refrain from gritting his teeth. He wasn't anyone's boy anymore, and certainly not Dumbledore's.

"I've come to tender my resignation," he stated plainly, getting right to the point. "As well as to advise you that I am withdrawing Harry from the school effective immediately."

For a brief second, a flash of panic spread across the older wizard's face before it vanished, leaving behind the deceptive grandfatherly confused smile.

"If this is about the Second Task...," he began, only to be stopped short by Sirius raising a hand.

"That, and so much more," Sirius snarled, fighting to keep control of his anger. "I no longer have any confidence that my son is safe here. You've proven time and again that you can't protect him. What's more, I'm not entirely sure you want to."

"You mean your godson."

Sirius huffed derisively at Dumbledore's absolute gall. The fact that the man could even summon up the nerve to make such a statement infuriated Sirius to no end. Albus might be the headmaster of a large school, but he'd never had a child of his own and had no idea how powerful that attachment was.

"No, I mean my son. Harry might not have been born to me, but he's mine in every single way that matters, and as his father I will no longer allow him to be used as a pawn in whatever game you're playing."

"I'm sorry you feel this way, Sirius," Dumbledore said sadly. "I can't imagine what I have done to earn such displeasure from you. You've certainly changed from the young man I used to know so well."

Now Sirius laughed coldly as he shook his head in macabre amusement.

"No," he agreed, still chuckling, "I'm certainly not that same young man anymore. Probably has something to do with twelve years of living in filth on the brink of perpetual madness. It does tend to take a toll on one. But let's not dwell on my past. I'm doing this for my son because after all this time, someone has to do what is really right for him and not just for the greater good."

The two men stared at each other, each unwilling to bend at the moment. Sirius summoned the deep determination that had served him in order to survive in Azkaban while Albus searched the younger man's face very carefully for any trace of hesitation. Finding none, he heaved a deep sigh.

"Harry must stay and finish completing in the tournament," he said at last, his voice tired as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his chest. "You know that as well as I."

"I know nothing of the sort," Sirius rebutted sharply. "What I do know is that my son doesn't sleep at night because someone with access to this supposedly safe castle put his name in the Goblet and now he's forced to compete for his life and magic. I also know that in order for my underage child to be chosen in the first place that damned Goblet had to have been subjected to a powerful Confundus charm that allowed Harry to be entered as a champion for a fourth school."

Albus nodded slowly, unable to refute these facts since it was clear that four champions chosen by the Goblet required four schools competing. It was the first thing he thought about when Harry's name sailed out of the flames that terrible night, and apparently Sirius had as well. Of course he'd had to ask Harry as a matter of form if the boy entered himself, but no one, least of all Albus, had any real belief in a fourteen year old's skill in manipulating the powerful relic like that.

"So what is it you plan to do then?"

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly, pulled a roll of parchment out of his robes that he tossed on Dumbledore's desk and then clasped his hands behind his back where he had quick access to his spare wand.

"It's very simple. I'm giving my son his school. One where he can sleep at night without worrying about whether or not I'll be there when he wakes up in the morning, and where he's not constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure that his closest friends aren't being hexed in the corridors or by owl post."

Albus' eyebrows shot up into his forehead. An unusual sign of surprise that one normally didn't see on the perpetually placid headmaster.

"And may I inquire where this school might be?" he asked when he'd finally regained his voice.

Sirius smiled a cold smile that didn't quite reach his snapping silver eyes. He didn't mind risking his own safety, but he'd be damned if he'd risk Harry's ever again.

"Our home is certainly large enough for such a venture," he said with a shrug. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to invite you to visit as I have cancelled out the previous Fidelius and re-cast it again, and no I won't tell you the secret," Sirius said firmly before Albus could open his mouth to interrupt. "I think you'll find out if you try to recall our address that you no longer know it."

"I'm sorry you don't feel that you can trust me," Dumbledore said sadly as he re-took his seat behind his large desk. "I've tried hard to keep Harry as safe as possible under the circumstances. Especially when the boy had no one else to care for him."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief as he ran a hand down his face and chuckled without humor. The statement was entirely laughable on its face considering all the perils his young son had already faced since his first day at Hogwarts almost four years ago. Unfortunately, the irate father couldn't summon the ability to do more than quietly scoff at the headmaster's hubris.

"You know, I think you actually believe that. I don't know whether I should hate you for it or pity you."

"Sirius," Dumbledore said carefully, trying not to further offend the young man, "you have more than enough reason to hate me after I failed you so badly, but I've always done what I thought best for young Harry. If you believe nothing else, please believe that."

"What was best?" Sirius scoffed, feeling his temper rise up. "You did what you thought was best? Tell me, Albus. How was it best for Harry to dump him like unwanted garbage on Petunia's doorstep in the middle of the night? A baby, alone, outside all night in the cold with a note pinned to him like he was nothing more than a bank deposit."

He held a hand up as Albus started to speak in his defense, tired of listening to the old man's pitiful excuses.

"How was it best for Harry to have you place such a tempting prize like Flamel's stone in the castle his first year, knowing who it would attract? Don't tell me that you didn't do it as a test for Voldemort and for Harry when we both know that's exactly why."

"I couldn't possibly have known..."

"You did know," Sirius interrupted with a growl as he pounded his fist on Dumbledore's desk. "Let's not pretend that you didn't. You're many things, Albus, but a fool is not one of them."

Seeing the fierce look of disgust on the younger man's face, Albus wisely held his tongue. He had done a lot of distasteful things for the greater good over the years and it wouldn't help anything to try and deny them now.

"You allowed the students to remain in the school when the Chamber was opened. Even after they started getting attacked. You waited until my twelve-year-old son took care of the problem for you. Who does that?"

Sirius was on a roll now and he wasn't about to be stopped. The air in the headmaster's office began to crackle and sizzle with the beginnings of a magical explosion and only the safeguards put in place to prevent such a thing kept objects from flying about as Sirius' temper began to boil over.

"Don't sit there and try to play innocent over the Tournament either," he accused sharply. "You're the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. Something as historically dangerous as the TriWizard doesn't get approved without your say-so, so tell me why, after two hundred years since the last time it was held, why have it now when Harry's a student? Is it because you want to see how a fourteen-year-old boy reacts under extreme pressure?"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Sirius rubbed a tired hand down his face and tried to block out the images of his son, hurt and bleeding, out of his mind.

"Harry has had his life put in jeopardy over and over again here," he continued, his voice a wavering mixture of rage and pain, "for reasons that I simply cannot comprehend if you truly want to sit there and try to convince me about how much you care for him. When I think back to how we all worshiped you when we were young. Believing in everything you said to us, blindly, like you were this shining beacon of light in the darkness. We threw ourselves into battle on your orders, when all this time we were nothing more to you than a means to an end."

An enormous lump lodged itself in Sirius' throat as he shook his head, but he swallowed it down and blinked hard, driving back tears of rage and frustration from all the unnecessary loss before they could escape.

"Were we ever more than cannon fodder to you?" He shook his head and held his hand up when he saw Albus about to speak. "Never mind. It doesn't matter now."

Sirius' chest was heaving by this point, not exactly feeling the relief of venting things that had been bothering him for a very long time, but knowing that they had to be said out loud if he was ever going to move past his feelings of betrayal.

"James and Lily, and so many others, are dead because we followed you, and maybe it was the right thing to do at the time, but I won't make the same mistake with Harry. I'll make sure that he's properly trained and educated but, unlike you, I'll keep him safe. There will be no chance meetings with Voldemort or one of his minions in hallways of our home. You can bank on that."

Standing, Sirius straightened his immaculate robes and cleared his throat again. It had been a long time since he was a school boy or even an intemperate young man and he would never again be intimidated or coerced by his former headmaster.

"I believe you will be receiving notice very shortly from both Arthur and Molly, as well as the Grangers, informing you of their intentions to withdraw their children today also," Sirius continued. "I will be taking them with me as soon as they are finished packing, but I'll leave instructions with Minerva on how to contact us in an emergency. Try to not need my son to save your school this term."

With that, Sirius turned and strode out the door without looking back.

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