"Mr. Potter, kindly stay after," McGonagall told him, after inspecting his latest transfiguration assignment.

They had begun working with larger animals, turning them into furniture and back, over the past week. As had become the norm this year, the incantation was expected to be performed nonverbally, and at least half of the class was still struggling to some extent.

At least half of the birds that they were to turn into chairs were still birds, and of the ones that resembled chairs, half of those had birdlike features.

Harry, thanks to Sirius, had managed the transfiguration perfectly (though it had taken three attempts) and Hermione had managed on the first attempt. McGonagall, likely expecting her star student to have no trouble, had assigned Hermione to begin working with larger birds for the second half of the class.

Harry packed up his bag, leaving the chair behind, and waited until the rest of the class had vacated the room.

"Good work today, Potter," McGonagall told him, giving him a small smile. "Very good work. You've improved considerably even since the end of your fifth year."

"Thank you, Professor. I, er, received some tutoring over the summer from my godfather," Harry said, a bit taken aback.

Her smile widened. "I won't tell. Few of the staff believe that the Decree is beneficial for young witches and wizards, you know. Going without practicing magic for over two months can put a strain on the magical core. To do so the year before the OWL exams, especially..." She shook her head. "However, that's not what I asked you to stay behind about."

"Oh?" Harry asked, at a loss for the appropriate response.

"The next Quidditch match will be in three weeks," she explained, "and it will be posted shortly. I know that Hufflepuff is not viewed as a considerable challenge, but our house hasn't won against them in five years."

Harry nodded, letting this sink in. It was not entirely his fault for the gap. The tournament had been canceled during their second year, and, well, yes he had fallen from his broomstick during his third year when the Dementors came by...the tournament had been canceled again in his fourth year. The worst of it had probably been last year. The Chasers were simply too good, and Ron's confidence had been at his lowest. Ginny had been a fine Seeker, and the game had ended quickly, but they had still lost.

"I'll add practices, if they haven't booked the field," Harry suggested.

The professor nodded. "Very good. Hufflepuff has become a rather formidable team. You did extremely well against Slytherin-but I daresay that Professor Snape would take a victory from Hufflepuff as a victory from his own house."

Harry knew this was the case. "I'll train my team hard, Professor."

"Very good, Potter."

They normally practiced once a week when there was no match in sight, and twice when there was. Harry decided to up the practices to three-once on Monday, once on Wednesday, and again on Friday. When the announcement was posted in the common room later that day, he added this own to the board, and called the team over for a private meeting.

"McGonagall warned us not to overlook them," he said, bluntly, after they had all gathered, "and she thinks we can do with extra practices."

"Did she say what we needed to work on?" Demelza asked.

She hadn't, or not directly, but Harry knew.

"Scoring as many goals as possible, and blocking as many goals as possible. Which means that will be the focus of our practices until the game," Harry explained. "We may take a different approach to Ravenclaw, when we play them, but for now, goals will be our focus. I'll try to get the Snitch as early as possible, of course."

"Like you did in your first year," Ron put in, grinning. "It was the shortest match ever, I'd say. Practically before the game had even started, Harry had caught the snitch."

Harry flushed. "It wasn't that quick, Ron."

"Well, nearly."

Harry waited for the chatter to abate before going on. "Yes, but that was five years ago, and everyone who played then has finished school. As we-well, most of us-know from last year, their team is a force to be reckoned with. We can't take winning for granted. Not by a long shot."

"And no one wants Hufflepuff to win the Cup!" Ginny put in. "So we really ought to play like our lives depend on it."

This was met with universal enthusiasm, and Harry wondered if Ginny wouldn't end up as a fair captain after he left.

The next couple of weeks passed quickly. Between classes, studying, Quidditch, and the daily talks with Sirius (which had become closer to check-ins) than talks, Harry hardly had a free moment to himself. He could not imagine how Hermione was managing, as she was taking two more classes than Harry and Ron. If she had made any progress with the Nagini as a horcrux problem, she hadn't said anything. Harry's cloak remained neatly folded on his trunk each morning, and he kept it with him at all times-unused.

Applying the glamour had become nearly second nature, and Harry almost forgot that he had ever had a mental link with Voldemort. He certainly didn't miss his scar hurting when Voldemort was nearby or in a particularly foul mood.

"Yeah, I reckon it must be nice to have your head to yourself," Ron noted one Saturday morning, when Harry had mentioned it.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He was never sharing a mind with him, Ron."

"Just privy to his moods, more like," Harry agreed.

Well, except when he'd sent Harry the vision of his godfather being tortured. But even that had come from outside sources.

Harry reminded himself that he better practice his Occlumency again-he had been so busy, he had neglected it for almost a month.

It wasn't just Voldemort who could see into his head. Snape could, as well. While Harry wasn't intentionally keeping any secrets from his teacher, he also didn't fancy him peering into his mind. Even if they hadn't ever been on better terms-that is, he didn't intentionally provoke Harry.

The night before the match, Harry opened his mirror to talk to Sirius, feeling even more nervous about the upcoming match than ever. Had this been how Wood felt?

"Hello, pup," Sirius greeted warmly.

"Hi, Sirius," Harry answered, feeling a bit calmer.

"About your match tomorrow," Sirius began. "Would it be all right if Remus joins me?"

Butterflies swarmed Harry's stomach. "Sure."

Sirius gave him an odd look, and Harry realized he must have seen something in his face.

"He doesn't have to, if you'd rather not..."

Harry shook his head, a bit more forcefully than he had intended. "No, it's not that. I mean, I'd like to see both of you. It's just..." He swallowed. "I'm nervous. I'm afraid we'll lose."

To his credit, Sirius didn't laugh or tease him. Instead, his expression changed, taking on the look Harry recognized when he was recalling the past.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Harry," Sirius said, softly.

Harry nodded, then forced a laugh. "But it's Hufflepuff!"

"Didn't they beat you last time? Not you, that is, but your team?" Sirius asked, gently.

"Yeah. Their Chasers are really, really good. Brilliant, even. Ginny got the Snitch quickly last time, and we still lost," he recalled, a bit glumly.

"Your Chasers are quite formidable, aren't they? Dean and Ginny and Demelza?" Sirius reminded him.

"Yes..."

He felt a bit of anger at Dean's name. Katie still wasn't out of St. Mungo's. It being her final year, it should be her.

Well, she'd missed enough class that she would likely have to redo her final year...

"Ron's gotten loads better, too," Harry managed to get out. "I think he will be better against Hufflepuff than Slytherin, although he was loads better against them this year than last."

Still, if he lost his confidence again...

"Your dad would get like this before a match, especially after he became captain," Sirius murmured. "You have as much of your mum in you as your dad, but seeing you like this..."

He chuckled, and Harry smiled back.

"I can't really do much except try to catch the Snitch quickly and hope everyone else plays well," he conceded.

"And try to get a good night's sleep," Sirius reminded him, gently. "Will you be coming home after the match?"

Harry nodded. "It's been ages since I have been over."

"You've hardly had a moment to yourself," Sirius noted. "It might only be a day, but we'll have a good visit."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you both," he answered, meaning it.

Then, he yawned.

"Time for bed, I think," Sirius chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry relented.

"See you soon. Sweet dreams, Harry."

"G'night. You too."

As he stretched out on his bed, his kitten curled up in the crook of his arm, Harry allowed himself to relax as he cleared his mind.

He slept well that night.

Author's note:

I apologize for the length of time between updates. While I had planned to update this fic or "Harry Potter's Adoption" on a weekly basis, inspiration for these fics has been rather lacking. As you know, this has happened before, and I believe it will not be long before I am writing more again. As it is, I have made a good start on the next chapter, so I feel reasonably confident posting this one.

I also began writing a Marauders era fic called "The Unlikely Gryffindor." In this AU, Severus Snape gets sorted into Gryffindor and becomes a fifth Marauder. I am having more luck with writing that fic, so if you're at all inclined to check it out, I'd appreciate it.

Next up: The bit match...Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff!

As always, constructive feedback is most welcome!