I wanted to wait until I had more chapters ready, but I give up. Hehe, I have chapter seven to read through again and I'm in the process of writing chapter eight. Spoiler alert, chapter seven is double the size of this one.

Harry is so loved and so this chapter was born. Also, for the sake of continuity. AND for a dozen more reason that I am unsure you guys care about. Alright, I'm done blabbing. Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts. I can always be encouraged to post next chapter faster against my better judgement :)

Ironic

Snape's sneer and Dumbledore's piercing eyes were the last things Harry saw before green flames whisked them away. Mrs. Weasley nearly dragged him past the kitchen into a chair. The table was stacked with all sorts of breakfast foods. It was only a matter of time before everyone came down looking for it. His eyes darted to the clock.

"Eat, Harry." His plate was piling high, "You are far too skinny, dear! Those relatives of yours don't feed you enough!"

She sounded exasperated. Between being potentially expelled, Voldemort, and Snape; Harry could hardly think anymore. He scowled.

She tutted. Harry poked his eggs, "Mrs. Weasley, who's here?"

"Usually, the house is very busy. Professor Dumbledore told you this is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Mrs. Weasley looked at him. "We are staying here with your Godfather and Remus."

Harry got the distinct impression she didn't like Sirius very much. She took a chair next to him, "Hermione is here as well."

"Hermione is here?" He stabbed his eggs aggressively. They were all here. All of them. Not a single letter about it.

She nodded, "Now. I'm going to go wake everyone before it gets any later. It's been a long night with Mundungus leaving his post and the dementors. I'm glad you're okay dear."

They've had a long night? Was that supposed to be a joke? He wasn't okay, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Especially not when her eyes were searching him up and down with so much concern. Harry attempted to smile, but he was sure it looked more like grimace, "I'm alright Mrs. Weasley."

She patted his cheek, "Good, dear. And don't you worry about that letter from the ministry. Dumbledore will never allow your expulsion."

Truthfully, he had been afraid. That much was true. Yet, while being unable to return to Hogwarts weighed heavily on his mind, it almost paled in comparison to everything else that he'd just discovered. All the anger he'd built over the summer, it hadn't disappeared. With all the information that had been thrown at him, it had exploded spectacularly, but it'd left him tired and empty.

Snape had led Voldemort to his parents. He was the reason they were dead. He felt a pang of rage, but it was empty.

He had grown to hate his Potion's professor over the years. The man had never failed to single him out at even the smallest of wrong doing, even if it hadn't been entirely his fault. Snape had a horrible disposition and while he tended to be menacingly soft spoken; around Harry, his temper always managed to flair. Harry lightly pushed small bites of egg scrambles on his plate.

Snape had been unhinged. Of all the times the man had gone off on Harry, he'd never looked wilder. Probably from all the patience he'd had with Harry up to that point. Harry almost scoffed. Snape was about-

"Harry!"

Harry got barely a glance at Hermione's toothy smile before her bushy hair covered his sight.

"Harry?" said Ron. "You're here!"

When Hermione let him go, he saw twin smirks next to Ron's grin.

"Well, well, if it's not the man of the hour?"

"Ah, ah, not so fast Forge. Harrykins is not quite a man yet!"

"Of course, you are quite right. My apologies Gred. I often forget that not all have reached our maturity."

Harry blinked. Mrs. Weasley scowled, "Don't-"

Fred and George disappeared and reappeared beside him.

"Can you guess who got their apparition license?" Fred - or maybe it was George - said.

"That's right, we did!" answered George. Honestly, who the hell knew? The way they went around, they may as well be the same person.

"Tell us, Harry." said Fred. "Your wishes are our command."

"Flowers," he transfigured an empty vase into daisies.

"Perhaps, a three leg chair?" George flicked his wand and a leg disappeared causing the chair to topple over.

"Enough you two!" Mrs. Weasley screeched. Her hands pulled them by the ear. "Just because you can do magic now, does not mean you have to go waving your wands everywhere!"

Her hands slapped their backs in frustration. With a pop, they were gone. Or so it seemed. Fred peeked his head into the kitchen, "I'll admit the chair bit was not the best, but wasn't it fun?"

Harry grinned at the boy's wink as Mrs. Weasley stomped toward her son. George popped his head over Fred's, "Well, looks like it's time to go. Love you, mum!"

"Love you, mum!" Fred echoed and then they were gone.

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she were weighing the option of strangling her children.

"They've been driving mom mad." Ginny told him as she slid into a chair in front of him. Harry, even with his current state of mind, couldn't help smile. Ginny had no desire to hide her amusement as she grinned widely. He wondered if he had ever seen her smile so brightly in front of him.

"Alright, sit. All of you! Fred! George! Come down to eat!" Mrs. Weasley pushed Ron and Hermione onto seats. "And please, no more magic!"

The sound of twin pops followed her command. The twins walked into the room. Mrs. Weasley glared. For a moment, Harry could forget about everything. His worries fell to the back of his mind as Mrs. Weasley buzzled around the table. Mr. Weasley joined the table with a soft word of thanks as Mrs. Weasley poured him tea. Harry happily greeted Remus and Tonks, who he learned was an Auror. Alaster Moody, also known as mad-eye, was officially re-introduced as well. The only one missing . . .

"How can you-?"

All eyes turned to the accusatory voice. Harry noted Mrs. Weasley's face twist into displeasure, but he was halfway up his seat and Sirius met him in the middle.

"Sirius!"

All was right in the world as he embraced his godfather. Sirius leaned back as he held Harry by the shoulders, "Are you alright?"

Sirius held his face, searching his eyes for something Harry couldn't understand, but he felt warmth all the same. Harry nodded as Sirius took a step back. His hands falling to Harry's shoulders again.

"And that git. He didn't do anything?" Harry's smile faded.

"Snape . . .?"

"Snape?!" Ron exclaimed.

Remus gently informed the room of mixed confusion, "Last night, it was Severus who fetched Harry."

"Or so Dumbledore told us." He nodded at Sirius and Mrs. Weasley.

"Why Snape of all people?" Tonks wondered aloud. Moody's magical eye fixated on Harry.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to spill everything he'd learned about his mother and Snape. He looked from Remus and Sirius. They could tell him the truth. He nearly opened his mouth. Almost spilled what would undeniably earn him Snape's hatred tenfold, but Hermione made him pause mid thought.

"Harry?"

He couldn't see himself as a death eater, ever. He didn't understand what would have possessed Snape to join. However, as he watched his best friends, he understood one thing. He would do anything for her and Ron. As angry as he was at them, he loved them more than he could describe. Harry wasn't sure why Snape hated his father so much, but he supposed that if Snape felt even a pinch of what he felt for his bestfriends, he must have truly cared for his mother. Enough to risk his life to protect Harry despite being the son of James Potter. Still, if his mom was a muggleborn like Hermione. Why join Voldemort? And if Snape was a pureblood, why become friends with a muggleborn? So much made no sense. However, he remembered. He had given his word already.

"Yeah, we got here earlier."

"He's here?" Sirius stood from his chair.

Mrs. Weasley scowled, "He and Dumbledore left."

Sirius fell back on his chair. Remus handed him a mug that he took gratefully.

"I'm surprised he didn't ship you off to You-Know-Who." Ron muttered.

"Ron Weasley!" reproached Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Ron. Professor Snape-"

"Is a Death eater." Cut in Moody gruffly. His eye spun erratically.

Mrs. Weasley bristled, "Dumbledore trusts Snape. That ought to be enough."

The room went silent after that. Moody appeared unfazed. Harry cleared his throat. Without meeting anyone's eyes, he shoved a spoonful into his mouth after saying, "Snape is going to be giving me lessons."

Harry felt more than saw the stares.

"Lessons?" Sirius frowned, "For what?"

Harry shrugged, swallowing his food down thickly, "Voldemort can read minds, Snape knows how to fight it."

Mrs. Weasley lightly laid a hand on his shoulder, "Did Professor Dumbledore . . ."

Harry nodded.

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "If Snape thinks that he's just going to barge in here and do whatever he wants, he's got another thing coming. Harry, I will speak with Dumbledore-"

Truly, some part of him was touched, but inexplicably his anger flared, "I agreed to those lessons."

He slammed his fork on the table. Hermione flinched. Ron winced. Harry's chair grated against the floor as he stood, "I'm not hungry."

Stomping up to the uppermost floor, Harry had barely sat down on his temporary bed when Ron and Hermione came barreling in. Ginny followed quietly behind them.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione questioned him. Worry described her face perfectly.

Harry looked at her and said nothing, not that he'd be able to as she had already begun to ramble, "We were so relieved when we heard that you were able to fight the dementors off. Although, Headquarters has been a mess since! After we heard about the dementors and the ministry, people would not stop coming in and out! It's outrageous what the ministry is trying to do! At first, we assumed they were searching for the dementors and then Sirius told us the ministry was trying to expel you! They can't do it! The minster is out of his mind! You were protecting yourself against dementors! Honestly, what were they even doing away from Azkaban?"

Pausing her enraged speech, Ron blew out a puff of air, "Blimey, Harry. You should have seen Dumbledore yesterday. After Mundungus showed up . . . Bloke could barely get two words in. As soon as he said he'd left his post, it's no wonder You-Know-Who is scared o him."

Harry had yelled far too much already, he knew. Probably because he loved them, probably because he felt betrayed . . .

"You know," slowly Harry started, "All summer long, I kept waiting to hear something from you guys, anything really."

"Harry, we-"

He glared at Hermione. Ron waved his hands around, "We wanted to mate! Dumbledore-"

"Yeah, I know." Harry cut him off. Just like that his anger evaporated. Dumbledore didn't trust his mind, so he would put up with Snape until he learned Occlumency or gave up trying. Suddenly he sagged. Ginny, who he had forgotten, asked him suddenly, "Did Snape take points from Gryffindor for being a show off instead of getting your soul sucked out?"

Ron and Hermione looked at her as if she'd grown horns. Harry himself did a double take. Ginny looked unsure, but her eyes were watching him expectantly. His lips twitched and soon he was laughing.

"He- He probably would have liked that."

Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, you two."

"Wouldn't put it past him, greasy git." Ron grinned.

Harry shook his head, " Snape's the one who told me all I know."

"All you know?" Hermione echoed, "You mean you know about Dumbledore already? Did he also tell you about the Order? Oh Harry! The ministry . . . Obviously, you got a letter, but have you seen what they've been putting out about you? The minister of magic refuses to admit Voldemort's back, not even Dumbledore-"

"I know." Harry nearly blushed, "Snape told me."

"That's mental, Harry. What's Snape playing at? Why would Dumbledore even send him?"

Harry paused. What could he tell them?

"He-"

If he told them Snape had made a mistake, Harry was sure Snape would kill him.

"He's part of the Order, isn't he?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes. He's Dumbledore's spy for the Order. It's a very risky-"

Harry didn't intend to tune her out, but Snape's injuries came to mind. If Snape cared for his mom so much that he was risking his life, then why? Why join Voldemort in the first place? His mom would have never agreed with Voldemort's agenda. She had even refused to join him. If Snape hated Harry's father then why bother protect both Harry and James? Say he was doing it for his mom's sake. Why still protect him after her death? Did Harry's mom mean that much to Snape? The man had not a nice thing to say about Harry.

Nevermind all that, Snape was the reason his parents were dead. A flare of anger burned in the back of his mind, if he hadn't told Voldemort about the prophecy. Harry frowned, if his parents hadn't switched secret keeper . . . If Pettigrew hadn't betrayed your parents, his mind provided unhelpfully.

"Harry!"

He looked up. Hermione huffed, "Are you even listening?"

Harry watched her pensively. If Hermione married Malfoy—he nearly shivered—and had a kid, and Harry by some unlikely chance joined a group of psychotic wizards whose leader wanted to kill their baby because Harry had heard some loony witch say he had the power to 'vanquish' the guy and was stupid enough to tell him not knowing that the baby in question was actually Hermione's baby and that caused the evil leader to go after her family—

Harry shook his head. That would never happen. Ron cleared his throat, "Give the guy a break Hermione."

"Dementors, expulsion, and Snape." He stressed the last one with horror over his face, "Bloody hell, Hermione, it's a miracle he's here in one piece."

Hermione looked sorry towards Harry before turning to Ron. Hands on her hips, she took a breath signaling an incoming rant, "Honestly Ron, Professor Snape is hardly going to chop Harry into-"

"Hey!" Ginny cut them off before they could get into it. Harry nearly sighed with relief, though the feeling is only momentary. At the door, Sirius peaked his head into the room, "You lot okay?"

Hermione crossed her arms, her expression irritated. Ron grinned half-heartedly, "We're good, Sirius."

Harry refused to look at Sirius. He couldn't say why, but he was irritated and the last thing he wanted was to say something stupid. Half of him hoped Sirius would just leave. Instead, the man opened the door wider and stepped into the room, "Think you can spare a second for your lovable godfather?"

At this, Harry had no choice but to look at the man. Though Sirius was grinning, there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. He broke eye contact, "Er. . .Sure."

Ron and Hermione nodded, understanding. With a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, Hermione said quietly, "We'll see you later, Harry."

He didn't bother responding. Ginny looked at him one last time before closing the door behind her. Once alone with his godfather, Harry cleared his throat, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

When the man said nothing, Harry dragged his eyes to him. Sirius crossed the room and sat at the foot of his temporary bed, "I just wanted to see my favorite godson."

Surprisingly, a smile tugged at his lips. Encouraged by it, Sirius continued with a mischievous smirk, "My standards are very high, you know. You should feel very honored."

Harry snorted, his discomfort melting almost entirely, "With all the godsons you have, it's been hard work."

A bark like laugh burst from Sirius' mouth. Eyes full of warmth, Sirius scooted closer. More solemnly, he asked Harry, "What happened this morning?"

Harry shook his head, "Nothing."

The mood was uncomfortable again. Sirius watched him skeptically, "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push you. I rather you didn't lie, though."

Harry sighed. Fiddling with his hands, he told his godfather, "I'm just . . . angry."

Sirius seemed to sense he had more to say. To his credit, Harry continued, "Dumbledore explained things to me and I understand. I really do. But . . . some of the things we talked about, it's frustrating! The last weeks I nearly went mad not knowing what's going on and knowing that everyone knew-"

"Dumbledore-"

"I know." Harry snapped. At Sirius' pained face, Harry softened his tone, "I know. He explained it to me already. I'm just angry for no reason."

"It's not for no reason, Harry."

Sirius reached over to grasp Harry's shoulder, "You have every right to be angry. I don't agree with Dumbledore keeping you in the dark, but—"

"It's not that. I'm not-" Harry scowled frustrated at himself, "He's got a good reason for it."

At this Sirius looked surprised. Harry added peevishly, "Dumbledore says that if I learn Occlumency, he won't keep so much from me. The catch is I have to learn it from Snape. Which couldn't be better because we get along just great!"

The sarcasm in Harry's words was thick. Sirius didn't manage a word in as Harry slowly worked himself into a frenzy, "That last thing I want is everyone reminding me how much I'm looking forward to the lessons! And I haven't forgotten that I got not a single letter from you or any of my friends with answers to my questions and I KNOW. Dumbledore told you not to, but I'm still annoyed. Voldemort killed my parents, he killed Cedric, and he tried to kill me several times now. Is it too much to ask to be kept in the loop?"

At some point, Sirius' hand had fallen from his shoulder. The man looked thoughtful, "I can still try talking to Dumbledore, try to change his mind."

Harry gave him a pointed look, as if to say it was unlikely. Sirius gave a wry smile, "Yeah, you're right. On the alternative, I can have words with Snape."

"Do you want me to die?" Harry muttered with disbelief.

"Not on my watch," Sirius told him, "Sniveling snake will answer to me."

Harry shook his head, "Don't go looking for trouble, Sirius. Snape is nasty, but Dumbledore talked to the both of us already. The last thing I need is an angry Snape . . . well, angrier."

Sirius was going to argue more, but Harry pleaded, "If I have issues, you'll be the first to know. Honest."

With a long look, Sirius relented, "If you have any problems, you come to me. Okay?"

Harry nodded. Seemingly satisfied, Sirius told him, "This was my brother's room."

There was a sort of aloofness in his voice. For the first time, Harry glanced around the room, colored in the traditional Slytherin green and silver, the room was neat. He assumed Dumbledore had fixed the product of Harry's outburst because there was no glass and the books were back in their place. Turning to the bedstand, there was the picture frame he had thrown earlier completely intact. Following Harry's gaze, Sirius reached for the frame. A young boy, maybe 11, grinned softly at the camera. The wompling willow swayed in the background as did his robes. The Slytherin crest over his chest glinted against the sun, but Harry focused on his face. The boy bore a striking resemblance to Sirius. Standing beside him, an older student: a blond with an elegant smile - whom he thought looked like a younger version of Malfoy's mother - stood on the boy's left and on his right, an attractive dark haired woman smirked at the camera. It appeared the blond had graduated.

Sirius snorted, "The one in the middle is my brother, Regulus and the two beside him are our cousins, Cissy and Bella."

Harry thought Sirius sounded mocking. The man pursed his lips, "Ever heard of Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy?"

Harry stared at the picture frame, "They were Black's?"

A shiver crawled down his spine. Bellatrix Lestrange sounded familiar. Sirius scoffed, "And damn proud of it too."

The question was clear on Harry's face. Sirius scoffed, "I hated the whole lot of them: my parents too, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal . . . my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them . . . a better son by their standards . . . Stupid idiot joined the Death Eaters . . . He was younger than me."

"Was?" Harry asked hesitantly, "He died?"

"He was murdered. Either by Voldemort himself or on his orders."

Harry's eyes widened, "But you just said he was-"

"He got cold feet." Sirius said simply. At Harry's silence, he continued, "From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death."

Harry blanched. He cursed Snape because he would have believed it even if it hadn't come from Sirius, but now he had abundant and visual proof that it was true. Not for the first time, he wondered what could possess anyone to join the evil maniac.

Sirius snorted bitterly, "The irony of it all is that my parents thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things. . . . Changed their tune when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."

Harry thought he might sick up. At that moment, Harry had the singular thought that while Snape may have joined the Death Eaters voluntarily, he no longer was one by will. Most spectacular, Harry had the sinking feeling that the realization would bring him more trouble than good. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he asked his godfather.

"How could you stand it?"

Sirius smirked at that, "Well, I did run away."

"You're kidding!"

"You're grandparents, Harry, were real good to me." Sirius said fondly, "The day I left, I went straight to your father and since then, I would spent the holidays and such with them until I finally got my own place."

Harry perked up, "What were they like?"

"They were good people. Had a lot of patience, both of them. With the amount of trouble James and I got into . . ." Sirius trailed off. His voice was filled with mirth, "Don't get me wrong, James was a good student, but let's just say we didn't always strictly follow the rules."

At this, Harry frowned. A rule breaker, just like your father. He wasn't sure why he was thinking so much about the man, but he was certain that it scared him. The reason for the sudden fear was unknown to him, of course. Tossing the thought, he replied, "Yeah, I doubt McGonagall would have approved running around with a werewolf, animagi or no."

Sure enough, Sirius smirked mischievously, "No, probably not. We got into enough trouble with all the pranks we pulled, I think she'd skinned us alive had she known."

Harry grinned. For all the Snape talked about his father's so called flaws, Harry was sure he'd been a good man. Harmless pranks were hardly something to be criticized so harshly, especially by a death eater, turned spy or not.