The two of them stayed in their position on the couch for quite some time. The only sounds were Harry's gasps for air and Sirius' calm noises of comfort. Sirius held him until the sobs turned to sniffles and his breathing returned to a more normal rate. At some point, Harry became aware of another hand brushing his hair back and he turned to peek out from behind Sirius' cloak collar.

"Hey there," Remus murmured.

"Hi," Harry responded. His voice sounded too loud in his own ears.

"Can I bandage your hands? You can stay right where you are with Padfoot."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Hands? Both of them?"

Remus hummed, still brushing back the fringe of Harry's hair. "Yes, both of them. The quill marks and the nail marks from where you were squeezing them earlier."

Harry's thoughts were foggy as he continued to stare at the older man. "You know about the quill?"

"Ron and the twins mentioned earlier that those detentions involved a blood quill. You know, Ron and Hermione are quite worried about you."

"I know," Harry agreed. "I don't mean to worry them."

"Of course you don't," Remus replied. "But now that we know, can I help you take care of it?"

Sirius had begun to rub his thumb at the base of his neck and Harry all but melted back into his hold. "I don't have to move?"

Remus chuckled lightly, "Not an inch, love. I just need your hands."

Shuffling slightly to pull his hands away from Sirius's cloak, Harry tucked his head back down at the slight pressure from his godfather's grip. As he closed his eyes he could feel a rumble in Sirius' chest under his ear as they spoke above him. But Harry just let it be, content to stay in this warmth for as long as they let him.

Once his hands were wrapped in bandages Remus shuffled back, tapping Harry's temple to grab his attention.

"All cleaned up. We'll want to wrap them again tomorrow to make sure they stay clean." With that, Remus slipped down onto the floor in front of the couch and tilted his head to be directly in Harry's eyesight. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Harry."

All Harry could manage was a small shrug in response with a muttered, "It's fine."

Harry felt more than heard Sirius' sigh. "No, kiddo, it's not. I know you haven't seen a lot of capable adults, but what she did to you, to the twins, was wrong."

Harry stiffened a bit in his grasp. "Well, what was I supposed to do? No one can stop it so it's fine."

"I wish you felt you could've told me, but from what your friends said, I guess you didn't want me

to react poorly?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt trying to help me, Sirius." Harry mumbled into his chest. A kiss pressed to his head and Harry flushed.

"That's kind of you, kiddo, but this is what Remus and I are here for. And there is something we can do, and I won't even have to leave the house."

This got Harry to push up and away, trying to see Sirius' face. "What?"

Sirius loosened his hold. "The Ministry may not like you right now, Harry, but you are still a child and blood quills were banned for anything but official forms some time ago. What she did constitutes assault against a minor, and a minor from a Noble house too. A concerned note about detention practices on multiple students – from a concerned family member like Bill – to the right people in the DMLE? Well, that kind of thing has to be investigated and not even Umbridge would escape that type of scrutiny completely unscathed if it got public."

"It's actually illegal?" Harry asked incredulously.

"It is."

"...I didn't know that."

"Why would you? I doubt most kids your age would. You're not signing many legal forms at the moment, are you?" Sirius replied with a quick nudge of Harry's chin.

Harry shook his head with an embarrassed grin. "No, I guess not." Harry shot a look at Remus, still seated on the floor. "I guess I'm also surprised at how, er, calm you...both of you...are about it?"

Remus gave Harry a sly smile. "Well, I did punch Sirius' Mum's portrait not 20 minutes ago, so I'm not certain calm is the right word."

That startled a laugh out of both Harry and Sirius. Harry couldn't really imagine his former professor hitting anything or anyone. The image his mind produced was more hysterical than terrifying.

"Sirius said you might do that," Harry replied, leaning back into the couch and less on Sirius's side. Remus shot a fond look up at Sirius. "Well, he does know me pretty well by now."

"What can I say," Sirius shrugged, "I should've been a seer."

Sirius turned to Harry, slowly reaching towards him with a questioning expression. Harry moved his bandaged hands and let him give them a once-over. "Well," Sirius sighed, "I wish we could've just healed the quill scar, but looks like Moony got it wrapped up pretty well." Sirius moved his hand back down to rest on his knee keeping Harry's wrist loosely in his grasp, fingers pressing gently over Harry's pulse point. "Do you feel okay enough to talk about it with us now?"

Harry kept his gaze on their hands interconnected on Sirius' knee. "I'm not sure what else you want me to say," he replied.

Remus leaned back against the coffee table, head tilted to the side as he answered, "Well we haven't heard your side yet, have we?"

"No, I guess not." And as much as Harry didn't want to talk about it, he did appreciate that they

wanted to hear his side of the story too. "I mean, it's not that big of a deal – er, okay, wait," Harry stuttered at the stern look Sirius leveled him with, "I just mean there isn't, like, that much more that I'll tell you that you probably don't know?"

Sirius gave his wrist a gentle squeeze. "Tell us anyway."

With a sigh, Harry started to tell them. And once he started, he found that he just kept going. Sirius and Remus were an attentive audience, encouraging but not interrupting. He told them about Umbridge – from the hearing, to her speech at the welcome feast, to the things she said in class and during their detentions. He talked about how much he missed quidditch, and how he couldn't believe how much shit Malfoy got away with. Of how much he loved teaching the DA, and how incredibly confusing girls are. He even shared the things that he hadn't been able to tell Ron and Hermione – like how his dreams left him more exhausted than he was before he fell asleep. Or how much it hurt to have people he considered friends really, truly believe that he could do any of the things the Ministry and the Prophet accused him of.

By the time he was done, Harry was exhausted but also lighter than he'd felt since September. At some point during his rambling, Remus had reheated the mugs of cocoa, shoving them into everyone's grip. The heat of the mug was grounding, warming Harry's cold hands as he spoke. And, now that he'd finished talking, it provided an ample distraction for his eyes so he didn't have to look at anyone else in the room.

If Harry had looked up from his drink, he would have seen the silent conversation happening between the other two men, full of distorted facial expressions and mouthed words. Finally, Sirius gave in and turned on the couch to face his godson.

"So," he began, "you've kissed a girl?"

Remus was emphatic as he groaned out a tired "Sirius," but Harry couldn't help the small snort of air he let out.

"What?" Sirius protested. "We've got to start somewhere don't we? And I for one want to hear all about this milestone in our kid's life! Stop being such a prude, Moony." Sirius shot Harry a quick grin and a wink before continuing, "Anyway, tell us all about it kiddo."

"Not really much to tell," Harry mumbled into his mug, cheeks aflame.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong young one," Sirius replied. "There is always something to tell about your first kiss."

"Well, you would know wouldn't you Pads?" "Hush your filthy mouth, Lupin." Sirius shot back.

Harry looked at his godfather. "No," he started with a growing smirk, "I'd rather like to hear what Professor Lupin has to say."

"It's Remus, please, Harry. Or Moony. I haven't been your professor for some time." Remus sent Harry a wink, before giving Sirius an appraising glance. "As for your godfather here, well it is quite a good story. Where to start, where to start."

Sirius had leaned forward, almost hanging off the couch to get into Remus' space, trying to shush the other man. Harry rarely got to see the two of them like this. He brought his knees up to his chest, leaning fully into the couch corner to watch as they traded barbs back and forth. As much as it was nice to have had their support and attention this evening, Harry could admit to himself that

he was somehow feeling content, drained, and overwhelmed at the same time. He didn't mind having a moment with the attention off of himself.

At some point, Sirius did fall off the couch with his hands smothering Remus' smile. Harry couldn't help the small snort he let out, quickly covering his own mouth to stifle his laughter as the two men turned to look up at him from the floor.

"Sorry," Harry got out between his fingers, another giggle working its way up his throat. "Sorry, carry on."

Sirius flopped off of Remus, shifting to sit next to him on the floor in front of Harry. "Well," he sighed, grinning up at Harry, "at least someone is getting some joy from my misery." He nudged Remus, "Go on, then, tell your story and make me lose all my cool points with my one and only godchild. I'll be fine"

"Oh Sirius," Remus said, placing a hand on the other man's cheek consolingly. "Don't fret. You never had any cool points to begin with."

The look of genuine affront on Sirius' face pulled another peal of laughter from Harry, so much so that he spilled some of the cocoa from his mug as his arm jerked. Remus grabbed the mug from his hand, a pleased look on his face as he cleaned the drink from Harry's sweater.

Sirius smile had turned incredibly bright as he glanced between the two. "I've got to say, I am not a fan of this 'gang up on Sirius dynamic' the two of you are cooking up here. Get on with the story- telling, Professor."

Remus dug an elbow into the other man's side but kept his attention on Harry. "Your godfather here will have you believe that he is incredibly suave – do not let him fool you, Harry. He was just as much of a bumbling mess as the rest of us were with our first relationships."

"Says Mr. Heartbreaker," Sirius muttered with a grin.

Harry's eyes shot to Remus, who flushed and quickly continued his story. "Anyway, your godfather and your Dad had a bit of a competition on who could get their first kiss – well – first. And our dear Padfoot over here was chatting up a friend of ours and just, without warning, kissed her in front of the entire house. After, she looked at him and said 'that was a bummer' and left him standing in the middle of the Common Room."

Harry's eyes widened. "Is he joking?"

Sirius grimaced and ran through his hair. "No, it definitely wasn't the highlight of my Hogwarts career that's for sure." Harry's eyebrows shot up as he watched Sirius grab Remus' hand with a soft smile. "But it did help me figure out I was more of a blokes guy, so some good came out of it I guess." Turning back to Harry, he added "So, see? Nothing to be embarrassed about. Tell us about this girl."

But, for what must've been the hundredth time that evening, Harry's brain had short-circuited. He couldn't tear his eyes from their intertwined hands.

"Harry?" Sirius called, waving his free hand in front of his face. "You still with us?" "You're holding hands?" Harry asked softly, tightening his grip around his legs.

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance. "Yes," Sirius responded slowly, knuckles whitening. "Is that, er, is that a problem?"

Harry startled at the question, shaking his head frantically. "No!" he nearly shouted. "I mean, no, I, just..." he hesitated, trying to figure out which question to ask first. "Are you, I mean... uhm, when?"

"Well, in school for a little. And then again as of last year."

"And," Harry cleared his throat, "and people are, like, okay with it?"

Remus sighed, a look of understanding crossing his face. "I'm guessing your aunt and uncle didn't have very positive opinions about the LGBTQ community?" he questioned.

Harry tucked his chin behind his knees. "No, not really," he mumbled.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Harry retorted.

The smile on Remus' face turned soft, eyes crinkling as he leaned towards Harry. "What are your thoughts? Not your family's, not the muggle world's. Yours."

Harry swallowed, glancing back at their hands as he answered. "I don't...I'm happy for both of you. And I think that people should, I don't know, be allowed to do what they want?"

Remus nodded at him. "I think that's a very fair opinion. And, as I am sure you haven't heard it from your relatives, it is completely normal to like boys, or girls, or both, or anyone. There is nothing wrong with that. Understand?"

"Okay," Harry mumbled as he shoved his face further into his knees, heart tightening in his chest.

Sirius' discerning eyes hadn't left Harry for the entire conversation, head titled in contemplation. Harry felt a flush burn bright in his cheeks but Sirius just settled back into the coffee table, pulling Remus into his side. "So," he said, "am I ever going to hear about this kiss of yours?"

If Harry thought he had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to whatever his face was doing now. Fully hiding from view, he heard the others chuckling. "It's embarrassing," Harry whined.

"All good relationship stories are a little embarrassing. It comes with the territory, Haz."

"Fine! It was fine, I guess."

"A ringing endorsement if I ever heard one," Sirius teased.

Harry groaned, looking at the man over his knees. "She was crying, okay? Like the whole time, so it was, like, wet and weird and I don't know that either of us liked it all that much."

Sirius' expression turned concerned. "Crying?" he asked.

Harry turned to face the hallway. "Yeah, crying. I don't know. It was after the last DA meeting and she and I were the last ones there and we were talking about Cedric and then she pointed out the mistletoe and she kissed me but then she didn't stop crying and I didn't know what to do, and then she just left."

"Cedric? Why were you talking about – " "It was Cho Chang wasn't it?"

Harry and Sirius both whipped their heads to look at Remus. "How do you know that?" Harry asked incredulously.

"You were a bit smitten with her your third year if I remember correctly. And it makes sense that you and she would be talking about Cedric."

"It does?" Sirius asked.

"She was dating him last year," Harry clarified.

Sirius let out a sigh of understanding. "Oh, well that can't be easy for either of you to navigate."

Harry shrugged. In all honesty, the kiss with Cho was confusing but hadn't been really top of mind the past few days. "Yeah, I don't know. Hermione told me I couldn't understand all the emotions she's feeling, and she's right I think? But I also don't think Cho gets how I am feeling either, if that makes any sense."

"It does," Remus agreed. "But that's why you have to talk to each other. That is," he continued with a questioning tone, "if you want to be in a relationship with her still?"

Harry fiddled with this fraying hems, trying to sort his thoughts in to some sort of cohesive structure. "I'm not sure that I'm really...ready? To, like, do all that? I don't know, I just feel like I'm all over the place and she keeps acting like I can fix things and I can't even remember to eat lunch every day."

"That's okay," Sirius responded. "The not being ready for a relationship part, not the not eating part – that we need to find a solution for."

Remus nodded. "Maybe you should tell Cho that? When you go back to Hogwarts. So you can both be on the same page."

Harry sighed, "Yeah, probably." He fiddled with the whole in his jeans, contemplating if he should share what else had been in the back of his mind for the past year. He glanced at the two men across from them, their fingers still gently intertwined on Sirius's leg. "I think," Harry continued quietly, "I think it's also that, we don't have a lot in common? Just quidditch, really. Well, quidditch and – " Harry cut off abruptly, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat.

The room stayed silent as Harry tugged on the loose thread, staring hard at the ground in front of him. Eventually, he got his voice back and quickly rushed out, "I think we both liked Cedric more than we like each other is all." Blush staining his cheeks again, Harry made no move to look at Sirius or Remus, just waited tensely on the couch for one of them to respond.

Harry felt the couch shift next to him, saw Sirius hesitate before laying a hand on his knee. "That's okay too, Harry," he said softly. Harry clenched his eyes shut, laying his forehead on his godfather's hand.

The three of them sat there for a while in calm camaraderie until Harry couldn't hold back a yawn. Sirius chuckled, moving his other hand to brush through Harry's curls.

"Tired, Haz?"

Harry shrugged in return. "A little." Harry turned his head more intentionally into the hand in his hair, letting out a pleased sound as Sirius scratched his nails gently across his scalp.

"That's fair," he replied. "You've had quite the night." Sirius sighed, looking over at Remus on the

floor. "And, honestly Harry, we still have quite a bit to talk about. But, I think those conversations should wait until after a good rest. No offense, kiddo, but you look a bit like death warmed over with those bags under your eyes."

"Pot. Kettle." Harry retorted.

He heard Remus chuckle and the coffee table shuffle as the man got up from the floor. "I think all three of us could do with a good night's sleep before continuing these conversations. And I also think, that this is a good enough reason to have a small sip of Dreamless Sleep potion. Not a whole dose mind, just enough for you to really rest." He paused in front of Harry, crouching back down to place a kiss on his forehead before doing the same to Sirius. "I'll be right back." And then he was gone, moving down the dark hall towards the kitchen.