The following day, Harry had a floo powder conversation with Ron-initiated by him, for the first time. It was a rather strange experience, talking with just your head in the fireplace of the recipient, not to mention sharing this space with Sirius. He couldn't see his godfather directly, so interrupting might have been unavoidable, but Sirius let Harry do most of the talking. While it wasn't uncomfortable, exactly, Harry wished that Grimmauld Place had telephones instead. At least, it was easier than traveling by floo powder.

They easily settled on Saturday for the big trip to Diagon Alley. Ron was far less excited about picking up his school books than he was about visiting the twins' joke shop.

Not that Harry could blame him.

"They've been doing really well!" Ron told them. "Totally raking in the galleons. Mum's actually stopped talking about how they should have finished school and applied for a job at the ministry."

They both rolled their eyes at the idea of Fred and George in that setting.

"We can't wait to see it," Sirius grinned. "I have heard about some of what they came up with, but it will be excellent to see everything all at once."

"Of course," came Mrs. Weasley, as her face suddenly appeared in the flames, "with all the disappearings and attacks going on, we need to be extremely careful. There's no need to go making flippant remarks about Death Eaters, is there, Ron?"

"No, Mum," Ron muttered, but cast a look at Harry and Sirius to imply his mother was overdoing it with the caution.

Harry risked a sideways glance at his godfather, who gave him a furtive smile before responding.

"Naturally, Molly," Sirius replied, keeping his voice level. "We all wish to remain safe and unharmed."

They agreed to meet at Diagon Alley just after breakfast.

The evening before, Sirius made Harry promise not to tell Ron and Hermione about any of his lessons, except for Potions.

"I reckon I know why, but can you tell me?" he asked.

"First, tell me what you think," Sirius said, with a wry smile.

"Because even though you're not supposed to do magic outside of school if you're underage, they can't actually detect underage magic unless you're a muggle born. Or living with muggles. And Ron will be furious because his mum and dad probably knew the whole time and didn't tell him. Which would have also helped when we were cleaning the house last year," Harry concluded.

"Personally, I don't think magic would have made a huge difference when you hadn't passed your OWLs...but in essence, yes. I think the law is a bunch of nonsense, and I will say it was passed by the ministry, so the school had no saw in it...but it's a foolish law all the same. Even with muggle borns, their parents or guardians already know that they have magic after their first year, so as long as they don't hex their neighbors or use it outside the home, it's rubbish to make them go over two months without practice. I have no doubt that Draco Malfoy, for instance, has been using an unregistered wand since before his second year." Sirius paused for breath. "All the same, I won't interfere with how Arthur and Molly raise their kids, as much as I disagree sometimes. So, until you get back to school, I don't want your friends to know you were studying anything but Potions. Then, it's too late for much damage, as they both become of age this year."

Harry nodded. "I promise I won't say anything until we board the train next month."

Sirius chuckled, and gave him a hug. "Thanks, pup."

The rest of the day was a good one. Harry watched, eagerly, as Sirius prepared the Wolfsbane, talking Harry through it. He could see what Sirius meant about it being above NEWT level. His hands moved so quickly and effortlessly that Harry was half convinced he had transfigured extra ones out of thin air. The potion finished, Sirius set Harry to work on the love one again, as he was improving but his potion was still thicker than it should be.

After lunch, they practiced non verbal magic, having advanced to Shield charms. Harry's was powerful when spoken, but Sirius's hexes easily broke through his non verbal one. While somewhat discouraged, especially after having finally mastered the love potion, Sirius thought he had done well.

"Especially for a first attempt," he said, as he reversed the damage from the Stinging hexes he had sent at Harry's hands. "Tomorrow, though, I am going to show you how to put an end to any hexes your opponent casts on you, like the leg locker or the body bind. Without magic, of course."

"That's 'finite incantem'?" Harry asked.

"Just 'finite' if it's non verbal, but yes. Also, in the next week, we should teach you some healing spells. Repairing a broken arm and whatnot," Sirius continued.

Harry flinched a bit. "Just how much damage are you going to do to me, Sirius?"

Sirius placed both hands on Harry's shoulders. "I promise that I won't let it hurt for more than a few seconds, but it's impossible to repair injuries without causing them. We'll start slow, all right?"

Harry nodded. While he didn't like the idea of Sirius breaking any of his limbs, he had experienced enough injuries to understand the logic behind being able to heal them on his own. Had he been able to fix his broken arm in his second year, after all, he wouldn't have needed to regrow all the bones when Lockhart messed up.

Of course, mending broken bones were probably beyond a second year's ability, even for Hermione.

"You won't start with breaking my arm or anything, will you?" Harry asked, worriedly.

Sirius looked aghast. "Merlin, pup, I was talking about toes and fingers!"

Oh. Well, that wouldn't be quite as bad.

Still, he was glad they wouldn't be starting immediately.

In their nightly trip into the Pensieve, Sirius showed Harry a memory of Sirius visiting the Potters just after Lily had given birth. Because of the danger, they couldn't go to a Healer, so it had been James and Sirius at home with her.

Harry witnessed James telling Sirius that Lily had wanted to go at it alone, armed with pain relief potions and muscle relaxants that were supposed to make her body stretch more easily for Harry to come out.

But as Harry had been a large enough baby to cause Lily back and foot pain as early as three months in, they were both prepared to help her.

Well, help as much as they could.

Harry watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as James removed him from his mum and cut the cord. As James calmed Lily down, stroking her hair and reassuring her it was all over and she had done great, Sirius gave a squirming and very upset Harry his first bath. He placed the worn out infant with Lily, now clean and smelling vaguely of lilac, who emerged from her near stupor to feed him.

"Your dad later said that he regretted letting me bathe you, that first time," Sirius said, grinning, as they headed upstairs.

"Why's that?" Harry asked, still in awe at having seen his birth.

"Because while you would tolerate your mum giving you a bath, I was your favorite, and whenever your dad tried, you screamed like a banshee," Sirius explained, grinning. "We had no idea why you reacted like that. James held you exactly like I did, was really gentle, used all the same soap and towels, but it didn't matter. It wasn't until you were practically a year old that you tolerated him bathing you, but even then, you gave him the worst stink eye you can imagine!"

Harry snickered at the mental image. "Poor Dad. I liked him otherwise, though, right?"

"Oh, sure," Sirius reassured him. "You weren't a perfect baby, but who is? Your grandparents liked to embarrass your dad by telling me of all the things he got up to as a toddler. No, pup. You were a happy baby, most of the time. It was just bath times, when your dad attempted it, that you changed up your hallow for a pitchfork," Sirius smirked. "Any sane parent would have given up and leave bathing you to your mum and me. But your dad was bloody stubborn. Our ears paid the price."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, torn between wanting to snicker and disappear into the floor.

"His fault. Well, mostly. I only teased him about it every time he attempted. And when he managed the first time without you letting loose all hell, well, his head was so high in the air, I was amazed he could see. 'Course, the next time, you were as bad as before." Sirius ruffled his hair.

Harry reddened, and seeing this, Sirius put an arm around him.

"You had us all wrapped around your little finger, though. And we loved you to bits, pup," Sirius reminded him.

It was true. Harry's mum and dad had died for him, and Sirius would have, too, had it come down to it.

Harry hoped it wouldn't.

He took a shower in his own bathroom before joining Sirius, whose hair was also damp, though far more tidy than Harry's.

"You fancy a back rub or a foot one tonight?" Sirius asked, once they were both in bed.

"Um, a back rub. Thanks," Harry answered, looking grateful.

At Sirius's nod, he removed his shirt and lay down on his stomach. Almost immediately, Sirius's hands started on his shoulders, moving in slow, even motions. He moved to his neck, and Harry tensed slightly.

"It's okay, pup, I won't tickle you," Sirius said, softly, as he applied light pressure along the top of his neck.

"Okay," Harry murmured, letting himself relax.

As he promised, Sirius was careful to avoid any ticklish areas, as he worked out the extra tension on Harry's neck, no doubt caused from bending and standing around the Wolfsbane potion for over three hours. Harry felt himself relax, let himself get lost in Sirius's soothing ministrations, and before long, he could feel his breathing become steady and even. So much so that, even before Sirius had reached the middle of his back, Harry felt himself in a half awake haze.

Then, as though Harry was a small child, Sirius was carefully pulling the arms his pajama around him, buttoning the shirt, and, finally, holding him close to him, his arms wrapped around his frame. While almost entirely asleep, Harry felt the covers tuck in around him, and then, Sirius wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. Harry then felt and his godfather's fingers run over his head, brushing back his hair. And again. And again...

Even if Harry hadn't cleared his mind that night, he would have bet that his sleep would have been without any nightmares.

The following morning, just after breakfast and dressing, Sirius and Harry communicated by Floo with the Weasleys to fine tune their plans for Diagon Alley.

"We're making the trip by Floo, of course," Mrs. Weasley began, "and since everyone wants to see Fred and George's joke shop, we thought we would leave just after we've had lunch. Would you two like to join us?" she added, as though the idea had just occurred to her.

Sirius turned to Harry, who nodded, and grinned at Mrs. Weasley. "Sure, that would be great, Molly. Makes sense for us all to leave from your house together."

Mrs. Weasley beamed, and Harry thought she might try to reach through the fireplace to give them both hugs.

"I'm a bit anxious, even with you and Arthur coming along," Mrs. Weasley added, a bit more somberly. "I've been hearing all about the disappearances, and if it were up to me, I would just pick up everyone's books with Arthur. Of course, Ron needs new robes, and since Arthur's been promoted, we can afford to buy new ones this year. Hermione also wants a new set of dress robes-she's likely outgrown her old ones-and I suppose Harry, you could use new ones as well?"

"We already bought mine earlier in the summer," Harry explained.

Mrs. Weasley didn't ask why they'd gone before the shopping list came out, for which Harry was grateful. By her nod, Harry rather wondered if Mrs. Weasley assumed that they had made a first trip just for general supplies, like quills and robes and such, and were going again for their books.

"Oh, how were things then?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Harry and Sirius both shrugged.

"We had to keep our wits about us, of course, but we managed to get everything purchased without too much trouble," Sirius recalled. "Sound right, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, trying to recall. "It wasn't so different than last year."

"Well, I just hope everyone stays alert and doesn't try wandering off," Mrs. Weasley said, her brow wrinkling anxiously. "I'll be glad when we're all back and everyone is safe, or safe enough," she amended. "We'll see you around noon, then?"

They both agreed, and Mrs. Weasley's face disappeared.

"D'you think it will be much worse than before?" Harry asked, studying his godfather.

Sirius frowned a bit. "There have been disappearances, and I'll expect you to stay with me at all times, pup," he began, and Harry nodded in agreement. "But as long as we stay alert and keep our wits about us, I don't think it's too risky to bother with."

"There's also only four of us kids, and three adults," Harry noted, smiling. "Easy enough to keep track of."

Sirius snorted. "Your dad and I managed it before. Speaking of which, fancy a trip into the Pensieve before we head over to the Weasleys?"

Since they did not have lessons during the weekend, they had nearly three hours to fill before embarking to The Burrow.

Harry readily agreed, and they retreated to the sitting room while Sirius took a few minutes to decide which memory to extract from his head to show his godson.

At The Burrow, Mrs. Weasley heaped enough food on their plates to fill four.

Harry was glad that she didn't complain that he was too skinny. While he hadn't minded being told this in the past-and it was usually after several weeks at the Dursleys-he was eating well at Sirius's, and he didn't want his godfather to infer that he wasn't feeding Harry proper portions.

Sirius and Harry dug in, Harry keeping an eye out on the conversation as he ate.

The topics ranged from Quidditch-Sirius had proudly revealed that Harry had been made captain-to the fast approaching end of the holidays. After Harry and Sirius revealed that Horace Slughorn would be teaching Potions, speculation run mad about who would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Perhaps they're nixing it altogether," Ron guessed. "I mean, Umbridge spent all of last year forcing us not to learn anything that was actually useful, and the three of us still passed our OWLs."

"They wouldn't do that, Ron, with Death Eaters on the loose!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"They were on the loose for a good part of last year, though, weren't they?" Harry ventured, and Sirius gave him a subtle nod.

"But the Ministry had taken over the school, and they were half convinced we were training to overturn them," Hermione reasoned. "With full authority restored to Dumbledore, he wouldn't cancel the class that could help us defend ourselves."

"I hope none of you need to defend yourselves again!" said Mr. Weasley. "After hearing what you went through at the Department of Mysteries, it's a wonder you made it out alive."

Harry, who had been nearly entirely responsible for this fiasco, looked down at his food. He felt Sirius's hand on his shoulder, briefly, before someone changed the subject to Quidditch.

"You got your broom back, didn't you, Harry?" Hermione asked. "So you can play Seeker this year?"

"Yeah, McGonagall gave it to me at the end of the term," Harry answered. "I expect we'll need to have tryouts soon, what with so many of the team gone."

There had only been the vacancy for Keeper in Harry's fifth year, since Wood had graduated at the end of Harry's third, but now, Fred and George's roles of Beaters were available, as well as one Chaser. If Ron wanted to remain on the team, and Harry was fairly certain he did, they wouldn't need tryouts there. All the same, it would be a busy beginning of term.

At least, he didn't have OWLs to worry about.

After clearing their plates, which included generous helpings of pie for dessert, they lined up in front of the fireplace to make the trip.

"Remember your first try?" Ron whispered, giving Harry a nudge.

"Landed in Knockturn Alley," Harry remembered. "I was so relieved to see Hagrid! Thought I'd end up as body parts being sold by that old hag."

It was an amusing memory, now, but had been absolutely terrifying at the time.

"Yes, well, let's all keep our wits about us today, and remain close!" Mrs. Weasley instructed, giving Ron a pointed look. "Diagon Alley!" she called from within the flames.

Everyone emerged with some soot on their clothes, but otherwise fully intact. The adults easily restored their clothing to good condition, and then they spoke about where to go first.

"We need to go to Madam Malkins, Flourish and Blotts, the Apothecary for potions ingredients, and Eeylops Owl Emporium before visiting the joke shop," Mrs. Weasley decided. "Harry, you said you don't need any new robes?"

Harry shook his head.

"All right, shall we start at Madam Malkins and then meet Harry and Sirius at Flourish and Blotts?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"There's not much sense in all seven of us traveling together, Arthur," Sirius pointed out, mildly. "Or even five. Why doesn't Molly take Hermione and Ron to Madam Malkins, and the two of us and Ginny go to the book shop?"

This seemed reasonable enough, so everyone agreed.

The shop was very crowded, and Harry remained close to Sirius as they perused his list for the books they haven't bought. There were only a few, but it still took nearly a half an hour to get hold of everything. He glanced up when Sirius was paying to see Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley emerge, more stormy faced than Harry had seen in awhile.

"What's got her?" Sirius murmured, also noticing.

Harry shook his head. "No idea. Maybe they saw Malfoy?"

"That would put anyone in a bad mood," Sirius agreed.

As they helped Ron and Hermione gather their books, they learned just what had occurred in Madam Malkins. Draco Malfoy, in with his mother, had made "quite a fuss" in the store. He and his mother had both insulted Hermione's lack of wizarding ancestry, using a slur everyone knew to be extremely insulting, and then attacked the Weasleys for being blood traitors.

Harry was both glad that he hadn't been there, and wished he'd had the opportunity to get a few nonverbal hexes in on Malfoy.

Not that he would have. Doing so would have implicated Sirius for teaching Harry outside of Hogwarts, and while there would have been no concrete proof, rumors traveled fast.

Once all of them had calmed down, they could concentrate more fully on the book list.

"You'll be taking Potions, then, since Slughorn lets in E students?" Harry asked Ron.

"Need to, if I want to be an Auror. Hopefully, his class won't be as bad as Snape's," Ron answered, dubiously.

"He was a fair enough teacher when I had him," Sirius encouraged. "He had his favorites, but that had more to do with who he invited to parties than how he graded. After five years of Snape, you'll have no problem getting along with him. Well, fewer problems, anyway."

Mrs. Weasley laughed. "I've never had Severus as a teacher, of course, but my sons could tell you stories. When it was Bill and Charlie, I thought they were exaggerating, but even Percy didn't care for him. His only OWL that was below Outstanding was his Exceeds Expectations in Potions."

She stiffened a bit as she mentioned her estranged son, but managed to control herself.

"He's always had it out for Gryffindors, even as a kid," Sirius acknowledged. "Even went so far as to try to sabotage our work on occasion."

"Did he really?" Harry asked.

"Oh sure, but he stopped after we started to use the Shield Charm." Sirius grinned. "Oily git nearly broke his legs as he fell on the floor the first time. Not that it stopped him from trying."

Harry felt his godfather's arm around his shoulder, and could practically hear what he couldn't say out loud.

The Apothecary was rather less crowded than the book shop, but it still took awhile to buy everything. Next, Harry and Ron ordered a large box of treats for Hedwig and Pig, and then, at last, it was time to see Fred and George's joke shop.

It took some time to get there. Mrs. Weasley had the number, but kept looking around, perhaps expecting to find a small room contained in the same building as other stores. It wasn't easy to miss, though. Bright and flashy as the twins, Harry thought it looked a bit like a firework display.

"Well, let's go in, shall we?" asked Sirius, grinning widely. In a whisper, he said to Harry, "I'm proud of you."

"What? Why?" he asked, also speaking softly, as they headed inside.

"You gave your winnings to them to start this," Sirius explained. Looking around, he added, "Don't worry, their mum doesn't know. The twins might have mentioned it to me after they, er, made their glorious exit from Hogwarts. While I don't advocate dropping out, I must admire their manner of leaving. Anyway, their parents were furious, which was nothing new to them, I assume, and when they visited Grimmauld Place after setting everything up about a month later, they swore me to secrecy that you had given them their startup." Squeezing Harry's shoulder, Sirius said, "Your dad would be so proud, pup."

Harry smiled, although a bit teary eyed. "The winnings should have gone to Cedric. I tried to give them to his dad, but he refused. And, well, I just couldn't stand to hold onto them, knowing what they meant. When the twins told me about how Bagman cheated them, I made them take the money."

"They said you threatened to hex them, and I think they really believed you would!" Sirius smiled. "Even their mum can't deny how well they're doing."

That was certainly an understatement.

Fred came over, then. After giving Hermione some sort of cream to blot out a mark on her face (Harry had only just noticed it), he insisted on giving Harry and Sirius the full tour. The items contained everything from muggle magic tricks to patented daydreams.

"Take whatever you want, on the house!" George insisted. Nodding to Sirius, he added, "You as well!"

Noticing Ron loading a basket with items, Sirius answered, "Well, will you give the same discount to your family?"

"Deal!" the twins said in unison, and Harry felt another sense of gratitude towards Sirius.

They left the shop with both arms laden with merchandise, and Harry noted that Ginny was carrying one of the Pygmy Puffs George had showed them. Although very cute, Harry privately thought that his loyal owl Hedwig was a better pet. Still, Ginny seemed enthralled with Arnold-as she'd named him.

He also learned that she was, it turned out, dating Dean Thomas. Harry wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. He liked Dean well enough, and he hadn't been one of those who had turned against him in disbelief at the beginning of last year. Of course, he also hadn't spoken up in favor of Harry, as Neville (and by extension, his grandmother) had. He just hoped he wouldn't have to watch them snogging in the hallways.

Ron's little sister and his friend...it would be too weird to see that.

A/N:

If you've reread chapter six recently-as I had to in preparation for this chapter-you'll notice that a lot was left out. Most notably, the trip to Knockturn Alley. While I certainly believe it was important in the original text, I couldn't see it happening in my version. Harry, while not a total goody goody, would not run off from Sirius after not even witnessing the display in Madam Malkins. Additionally, I toned down the parts about Ginny dating Dean because Harry, having not spent as much time with his friends this summer, likely wouldn't pay as close attention to the boyfriends of Ron's sister. That's not to say he has no stake in it, but he certainly has more pressing matters on his mind.

Also, there's something to be said for not rewriting a chapter that you can read the original of without significant change. :)

As always, reviews are much appreciated!