It was barely eleven in the morning when Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room, a little over twelve hours since he and Sirius had left.

Still, you would have thought he'd been gone for weeks, the way Ron and Hermione pounced on him.

He performed a nonverbal "Scourgify" on his robes to remove the dirt, and was pleased (although, he had to admit to himself, not at all surprised) when it works perfectly. Even so, his two friends looked impressed at the feat, before dragging him onto a comfortable chair and pestering him for information.

"What was it like?" Hermione pressed, once they were in the relative privacy of the male dormitories. "Did Dumbledore teach you new spells?"

Harry shook his head, taking a minute longer than strictly necessary to figure out what to say to them, and how to say it.

"You know about pensieves, right?" he asked. At Ron's blank look, Harry added, "I told you about having seen a memory of Dumbledore's, after the war, back when we were in fourth year."

"Oh, yeah, that's right!" Ron remembered. After a moment, he asked, "Did you show you some?"

"Just one, last night." With that, Harry told them all about Voldemort's mum and uncle and grandfather-neither of whom he had ever met.

"His uncle hexed his muggle father?" Hermione asked. "Simply because his mum thought he was nice to look at?"

Harry nodded. "You should have seen how they acted. Make Malfoy's family look almost tame."

Hermione looked doubtful of this, but no less interested. "Well, we all knew that Voldemort was a half-blood, and this explains why. I feel a bit bad for his father though, being the subject of a love potion."

"What's wrong with using a love potion?" Ron asked, genuinely perplexed. "Mum made one, back when she was a student here. We need to know how to make them for our NEWTs, too."

"Oh, so you'd like it if someone tried to give you one, would you?" Hermione asked, placing her bands on her hips.

"No, because I'd know not to drink it. Not after the first sip, anyway," Ron retorted.

"Anyway," Harry said, wanting to steer clear of a fight, "that's the first of the memories, and I reckon that there will be more. Sirius thinks he knows what's up with Dumbledore's hand and the ring, but he wants to test it out on something else before we know for sure."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I do hope he'll be careful. If a ring did that to Dumbledore..."

"Relax, Hermione, Sirius knows what he's doing," Ron put in, then retrieved a roll of parchment from the pocket of his robes. "McGonagall was here with some more names of people who want to try out for Quidditch."

"And we still have to speak to Hagrid about why we're not taking Care of Magical Creatures," Harry added, glumly.

"I figure on saying there wasn't time," Ron suggested. At Hermione's look of consternation, he added, "Well, there isn't, really! We're already studying all hours of the day with five subjects, and you're taking seven."

"Yeah, you sure you don't have a time-turner hidden on you, again?" Harry grinned.

She shuddered. "No, I most certainly do not. I would never want to go through that kind of year again!"

"Well, I still have loads of homework," Ron groaned, "so I suppose we'll have to visit during the week. Maybe next weekend, even." Ron grinned. "Unless you two want to go without me."

"No!" Hermione and Harry both answered at once.

Harry looked over the list of names. "I think we'll have tryouts on Saturday morning. Give the rest of Gryffindor house a chance to decide if they want to play," he added, jokingly. "I was thinking of having a full on reserve team of players, just in case someone gets sick and can't play. Of course, Ginny wants to play Chaser, but she's really good at Seeker, so if she doesn't mind, I'll have her fill both roles."

"What will you do about team practices?" Ron asked.

"Twice a week. Once for the actual team, once for the reserve. As the game gets nearer, I might cut the reserve practice in half, to give the real team the extra time," Harry decided. "You still want to play Keeper, right?"

"If I'm any good," Ron answered, rather nervously.

"You are," Harry told him, determinedly.

The rest of the week flew by, what with hours of homework and classes. Nonverbal magic, as Sirius had warned Harry, was expected in Charms and Transfiguration as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione had caught on quickly, to no one's surprise, and Harry had had six weeks' worth of practice under Sirius's tutoring, but it was still taking Ron-as well as most of the sixth year Gryffindors-awhile to catch on. Harry had told him to start off slowly, working at basic spells and progressing onward to the ones they were learning this year, but either he wasn't listening, or nonverbal magic was harder for some than others.

Snape wasted no time reminding the class how necessary it was to become proficient at nonverbal magic, and since Harry and Hermione had met his expectations, he took out his ire on Ron. Harry was a bit surprised that Neville didn't bear more of the brunt of it, since he was still struggling a bit, but Ron was certainly worse than Neville, and he looked positively constipated when he tried to perform an advanced charm without saying anything.

Hermione and Ron were both progressing well in Potions. Hermione had borrowed Harry's book when he wasn't in need of it, and seemed to have memorized Sirius's instructions as well as the standard ones. Her potions were just as good as his, and it was rather a shame that Slughorn had only given out a prize after the first lesson.

He did praise Harry and Hermione liberally at their flawless potions. Ron's potions, while improving, were not quite at the same level as Harry and Hermione's. All the same, he wasn't put out, because the three of them exceeded nearly everyone else in the class, and what with Malfoy clearly just another student in Slughorn's eyes, the class was enjoyable for all of them, and certainly Harry's best class.

On Saturday morning, it was time for tryouts and, afterwards, a talk with Hagrid. Not that they had told him before that they would be visiting, but Harry thought he would be happy to see them even if he was disappointed that they hadn't decided to carry on with his class.

Sirius appeared as Padfoot around the edge of the school grounds, and Harry grinned when he say Sirius.

"Do I need to ask how you got here?" he wondered, scratching the dog behind the ear.

Sirius cocked his head for a bit, then resumed his human form and pulled Harry in for a hug.

"I need to have some secrets, don't I, pup?" he teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Well, all right, then."

He showed Sirius the list of names of interested players.

"Merlin, Harry, that's practically all of Gryffindor Tower!" he nearly gasped.

"Pretty sure there are people there who aren't in Gryffindor," Harry returned, pointing out a few names that didn't look the least bit familiar.

Sure, he hadn't memorized every name of every student in Gryffindor, but he was quite certain there was a Molly Risby in Hufflepuff, and a Harris MacDonald in Ravenclaw.

Sirius gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Good thing you're holding tryouts for seven extra players, then."

Harry spent a few minutes discussing how he was going to separate such a large amount of players, and before long, they started to emerge.

"Quick, change back before they see you!" he hissed, seeing several forms in the background.

"On it!" Sirius answered, and then, there was a black dog in front of Harry.

Sirius disappeared into the forbidden forest. Harry hoped that he wouldn't run into Aragog or other flesh eating creatures, but he reasoned that his godfather likely knew the forest better than he did, and would know what to avoid.

Besides, he wouldn't be heading in very deep, or for very long. He wanted a good view of the potential Quidditch players, and Harry remembered Sirius telling him that dog eyes weren't as good as human ones.

Harry headed out to the field to meet his team and the new recruits.

After putting the prospective players into groups of ten and having them fly around the pitch, things got competitive. He weeded out the students who could barely stay on their broomsticks, and then the ones for other houses. Katie Bell had insisted on competing, but there was no need, because she was excellent. Ginny also did extremely well, and earned the second spot on the team. His third player was also a girl named Demelza Robins. Harry's loyalty to Ron meant there would be no tryouts for Keeper, although he emphasized that there would be tryouts for the reserve team, and that earned some interest, although a formidable looking Cormac McLaggen stormed off, then, swearing mutinously under his breath. His new Beaters were not nearly as good as Fred and George had been, but they were decent enough-Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes.

The reserve team consisted of a female Keeper who had managed to save two goals, two male and one female Chasers who were decent but hardly exceptional, two Beaters who met the same description as the Chasers, and, to Harry's surprise, a first year Seeker who reminded him a bit like himself at that age, only (he had to admit) not nearly as talented. Still, Laura Baker certainly had room to improve, and if she stayed with the team for all seven years, she might be quite formidable by the end.

Harry concluded the tryouts by emphasizing that team practices would be on Monday nights, and reserve practices on Thursdays. That any reserve member who cut practice without an authorized note from Madam Pomfrey would be cut from the team.

He knew that he couldn't please everyone, but he was happy with how he had done.

Sirius emerged after everyone except Ron and Hermione had left, beaming and giving hugs all around.

"Well done, Harry! You handled that like a real leader. Not that I was surprised, of course," Sirius added, grinning.

"Thanks!" Harry beamed. "I'm glad it's over, though. For this year, anyway. You want to come over with us to Hagrid's? We're going to explain why we're not taking Care of Magical Creatures."

Sirius chuckled. "A real pleasant conversation, then. Sure, I'll join you. Haven't talked to him in awhile."

When Hagrid saw them approach, he became stormy, but he wouldn't shut the door in their face with Sirius there. After several minutes ruminating about Aragog's poor health, he accepted their reasoning for not adding their class into their timetable.

All the same, it was not a fun visit, and all four of them were happy to leave.

After they left, Sirius asked if there had been any word about a Hogsmeade trip, but all three of them shook their heads.

"Want to go today, if you don't have too much work?" Sirius suggested. "Or, perhaps, we could talk in the Room of Requirement?"

"Is this about what Harry couldn't tell us that you two had talked about?" asked Hermione, politely, yet rather shrewdly.

Sirius grinned. "Might be."

Harry glanced at Ron and then at Hermione. As tempting as Hogsmeade sounded, it was already nearly lunchtime, and they did have mountains of homework to do. If they put it off until tomorrow, they'd likely be up past midnight.

"I think the Room of Requirement might be better," Harry said, and received enthusiastic nods from the others.

Sirius made an aborted motion with his hand, and Harry was sure he had been about to tousle his hair, only to stop in front of his best friends.

Harry wouldn't have minded, but he also wasn't disappointed.

A hug was one thing, but some acts of affection were best done in private.

"Room of Requirement it is, then," Sirius answered. "But let's stop by the kitchens to grab lunch, and some snacks."

Once settled in, Sirius recounted the theory he had told Harry the previous weekend. Perhaps it was because of their work load, but it already felt like ages since they had last talked. Ron and Hermione listened with a mixture of awe and horror as Sirius explained the basics of horcruxes, and how they had kept Voldemort in a state of existence after his curse had rebounded on him when Harry had been a year old.

"The memory Dumbledore showed Harry contained the ring that he now wears, and the locket." Sirius promptly removed the locket from one of the pockets of his robes. "It was a horcrux. No longer, thank Merlin."

"How'd you manage to destroy it?" Harry asked.

"Fiendfyre," Sirius responded, promptly. "Remus and I both handled it. And, although we managed without injury, it's not something I ever want to see you lot try without an adult present, understand?"

It was one of the few times Sirius spoke firmly, or gave direct commands, so the three witches and wizards nodded, solemnly.

"There are other ways to destroy horcruxes. Harry destroyed the diary with the basilisk's venom, and as that's a lot easier to manage than Fiendfyre, I suggest we make our way back down to the Chamber of Secrets, at some point, to see if there's any left. I'm nearly certain there is. It will be a lot easier to collect without the monster inhabiting the place," Sirius continued. "I reckon that the Sword of Gryffindor would also work, but it's in Dumbledore's office, and I'd rather him not know what we're doing until it's finished."

"But why? Surely, he can help you!" Hermione protested.

"He could," Sirius answered, reasonably, "but he nearly lost a hand with that ring. He's also the first to admit that his reflexes aren't as strong as they used to be. Now, I'm not saying that we should never go to him for help, if it's really necessary, but I'd like to do this all without him. As much as we can, anyway."

Hermione couldn't deny this logic, but her nod was hesitant.

"I've been doing more reading about the relics of the founders," Sirius continued. "So far, we've managed to destroy the ring and the locket, both of which belong to Salazar Slytherin. There's the diary, which was Tom Riddle's own possession, but undeniably a horcrux. The only remnant of Rowena Ravenclaw was the Diadem, and that's been lost for ages. However," Sirius grinned, "I rather suspect that it's in this room. Of course, we'll need to leave the room and restate what we need from it. Once that's done, I'm certain we'll find it."

"That only leaves Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and the snake," Harry reminded him, smiling in spite of himself.

"Yes, pup." Sirius returned his smile, and Harry found that he didn't mind being called "pup" in front of Ron or Hermione. "The sword is the only thing that remains of Godric Gryffindor, and the cup is the only thing left of Helga Hufflepuff. I'll be using my rights as heir of Black to look at Bellatrix's vault, along with Remus, later this week. Dear Bella's probably used a bunch of enchantments on it, so I'm tempted to bring Moody along, too, but I figure if we get in too deep, we can try again at a future point. After the cup and the diadem, we only need to kill the snake, and then Voldemort is a mere mortal."

It sounded so possible, when Sirius put it like that. He rose, and they followed, having finished their food from the kitchens.

"Sirius? Should we be worried about enchantments or hexes around the diadem? If you touch it or anything? I mean," Hermione added, "look at what the ring did to Dumbledore."

Sirius smiled at her, then reached into his other pocket to reveal a pair of gloves. "I charmed these to repel all hexes I could think of, just in case. Although, based on our experience with the locket, and Harry's with the diary, I don't think that merely touching them with your hands will cause any immediate harm. It's more the interacting with them."

"You mean, if you had put the locket around your neck, it might try to choke you?" Ron asked, horrified.

"Probably not choke you, but alter your emotions. Make you darker as long as you wear it. Dark magic affects the user like that," Sirius explained.

"But what about what happened to Dumbledore's hand?" Hermione protested, looking ill at the idea.

Sirius and Harry shrugged. "Dunno. He keeps putting off telling us about that," Harry explained. "But I figure it was some dark magic he fought to get at the ring."

"I wonder how I came across the locket," Sirius observed. "Regalus was a Death Eater, so perhaps he was given it for safe keeping, but you would have thought he would have guarded it more closely." He shrugged. "I suppose we'll never know the full story."

"You'll be careful, won't you?" Harry asked, hearing the pleading note in his voice. "When you go to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault to look for the cup?"

Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I promise, pup. I'll be extremely careful, as will Remus."

Harry nodded, believing him.

After the final hugs and goodbyes, Sirius left them, and Harry felt a pang of anxiety as well as the usual homesickness whenever he left his godfather.

Up next: Even a chilly day in Hogsmeade can be made pleasant with Sirius around!

Author's note:

I've been writing like crazy during my two week vacation (while still enjoying the beach!), so I've advanced past chapter 40 in my log. In a later chapter, I incorporated an idea from a fanfic I read several months ago involving Harry and Snape being sent back in time to Harry's first year. I won't say more at this point, but there is one plot point that I borrowed. I would love to 1) contact the author to let him or her know and 2) appropriately give them credit within the story, but as I have no idea as to what website I read the fic on, I'm enlisting help of my readers. If the story sounds at all familiar to you-or by some chance you wrote the fic and are reading this one-please contact me so I can do the author appropriate justice.

As always, feedback would be greatly appreciated!