The following day, it was nearly time for Viktor to leave. He couldn't stay away from his job and responsibilities any longer. Hermione and Cedric knew of his intentions to ask Esperanza to come to Bulgaria with him, so they spent the morning in the flower garden on the roof, because damn them for being nosy. Esperanza had opened all her blinds and looked to be going through orders at her desk.

Viktor appeared at the top of the stairs dressed in nicer attire than he'd been wearing the past two weeks.

"Good luck," Hermione mouthed.

Viktor smiled and nodded.

Cedric and Hermione sipped their tea and watched out of the corner of their eyes as casually as they could. He knocked on her door; Esperanza looked up at the flash of light and jumped to her feet to let him in.

"Come to say goodbye before you leave?" she asked, pulling him in and kissing him.

Though the door was closed, they could see the couple perfectly. Viktor took a deep breath and signed as he spoke. Who he practiced with, Hermione wasn't sure, but seeing no hesitation, he must've been practicing hard.

"Oh, no…" Cedric whispered.

Esperanza's eyes had widened and she stepped back to grip her work table tightly. Hermione could see the panic in her cousin's eyes.

"Of course, she wouldn't want to leave," she muttered.

"What? Why?" Cedric asked. "I mean… I wouldn't want to leave this house, but I would to follow my true love."

"Yes, but think about what happened to Tía Evita," said Hermione. "He-Who-Must-Be-Forgotten asked her to leave with him and look how that turned out."

Realization dawned on his face. "Oh… but Viktor isn't—"

"We all know he isn't like that," said Hermione, glancing to see what Viktor's reaction was. He wasn't angry or yelling… but she couldn't quite see his face. "Esperanza especially knows that, but Cedric, anxiety is a powerful thing. We were looking at it from how we would react, we weren't actually thinking about how Esperanza would react considering her past."

"Circe…" Cedric muttered. "And we encouraged Viktor."

Viktor left Esperanza's room looking incredibly sad, he approached Hermione and Cedric.

"I hope to see you both again," he muttered. "If you are ever in Bulgaria, look me up. Cedric, keep in touch?"

"Yeah, I'll write as often as I can," said Cedric, holding out his hand.

They slapped palms and punctuated it with a fist bump.

"Herminia, Esperanza needs you," said Viktor. "I… I am glad we became friends."

"Me too, Vik," said Hermione. "See you around."

Viktor nodded and left.

Hermione jumped to her feet, knocking her chair back in the process, and ran into Esperanza's room to find her curled up on the floor crying her eyes out and breathing shallowly.

"Hey," Hermione knelt down. "It's okay. Shh. Cálmese, cálmese. Tavi."

"Yes, Miss?" said Tavi, popping into the room.

"Get me a calming draught, please."

"Yes, Miss."

"What did I just do?" Esperanza whispered.

"You… did what you had to do I guess," said Hermione.

~o0o~

Two days after his werewolf transformation, Hermione and Cedric would return to England. In two weeks, Cecilia would come and stay for a couple days before bringing Hermione home on September 1st, since school wouldn't start at Castelobruxo until the 4th. Hermione would stay at Grimmauld place for most of the time so she could hang out with her friends before basically leaving them forever.

Not that they knew that.

Surely they would figure it out when they got their letters and she didn't. She'd have to tell them eventually.

Their portkey was leaving at early sunset which would bring them to England around eleven. Crookshanks was staying at the house since Portkey travel made him sick and Belle was going home with Cedric.

"Cedric," said Tavi at their early breakfast. "May I speak with you?"

"Of course, Tavi," said Cedric, waving his hand to give her the floor.

Tavi took a deep breath, gripping tightly onto the scarf which now served as belt for her pink tunic.

"I have worked for the Willoughby family for decades," she said. "And I have been loving it. Loving you. Until this summer, I never realized how happy I could truly be. With freedom. With making my own choices. And I have made a decision that I would like to tell you."

"What is it?"

Tavi's voice shook and she sniffled a little. "Tavi wants to work for the Sanchezes!"

Cedric blinked in surprise. Those who were at breakfast stopped whatever they were doing in shock.

"May I ask why?" Cedric asked neutrally.

"Tavi loves it here," she said, reverting to old speech habits. "Tavi is finding the ocean peaceful. Tavi loves a big house full of people and children to tend to. Tavi loves gardening with Mama Florencía and helping all the Mamas with things they can't do anymore. Tavi is loving you very much Cedric, but Tavi feels her purpose is here."

Cedric nodded slowly. It hurt a little. Tavi was his nanny. She raised him and it was feeling a bit like he was losing the last bit of family he had.

"I want you to be happy," he said, taking her hands. "I could see you have been thriving here and I don't want to take you away from where you're happy. I accept your resignation if Abuela Ximena agrees to hire you."

Tavi looked at Abuela Ximena.

"She has been a help," said Abuela Ximena, considering it. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. You are hired, Tavi."

"And I accept your resignation," said Cedric.

Tavi jumped up and gave him a giant hug which he returned as tight as he dared.

"I'll miss you," he said.

"I will miss you, too," she said and smoothed his shirt out. "Make sure you eat three times a day and bathe at least every other day. And be a good boy."

Cedric chuckled and nodded. "I will."

Tavi patted him on the head and stepped back to stand beside Mama Florencía.

"Here, Cedric," said Tía Manola, handing him a mirror. "This connects to the big one in our family room. Call if you need us, okay? Will you be alright going to the Portkey?"

"Yes, we'll be fine," said Hermione, giving out her final hugs. "And you're sure I can take your bike Renata?"

"I hardly use it anymore," said Renata. "Besides, it'll just be back here in two weeks. I can apparate until then."

"Okay," said Hermione. "Bye everyone. See you in two weeks, I guess."

"Thank you so much for having me," said Cedric, stashing the mirror in his bag. "I'll miss you all."

"Don't forget," said Mama Antonella. "You are welcome to stay forever."

"I'll keep it in mind," he replied.

Hermione and Cedric left out the front door and to the electric blue motorcycle that belonged to Renata. Hermione mounted it first, Cedric got on behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The motorcycle hummed. Revving it once, Hermione kicked the kickstand back and drove out of the parking area slowly before taking off full speed down the rocky path.

The road was worn in a few places creating a smooth rut where the path was taken most. The rest was lumpy with rocks and slick with mud patches from consistent rain. Hermione had only driven the bike a few times, but she knew the path well and had never seen it at sunset. With a whoop, she revved the engine and sped up making Cedric grip onto her tighter. As soon as they rounded the bend they were greeted by a sight most beautiful neither of them could suppress a sigh of awe. The sky was an explosion of orange and red hues that would turn a phoenix green with envy. Fluffed around the golden sun were iris clouds, chaotic against the fiery sky but created a surreal feeling that couldn't be captured in word, picture, or even painting. The two teenagers were washed in the warm light which reflected off their hair and skin with a golden glow. With the wind blowing through their hair, they nearly felt as if they were flying and invincible.

Hermione grabbed her camera out of her bag while maintaining her steady steering along the curving, rocky path that now reflected the colors of the sun.

"Smile!" she laughed, holding the camera at arm's length and snapping a photo. She quickly stuffed it away and put her hand back on the handle bar, blinking away the dancing blue spots on her vision.

Cedric closed his eyes and buried his face in Hermione's hair until they reached Luesma. She carefully navigated the streets and busy traffic. It seemed quite a few people had cars in this area even with it being a magical city.

When they reached the transport area, Hermione used her wand to clean the motorcycle and get rid of the exhaust smell then, with some help from Cedric, stuffed it away in her beaded bag. He wondered how much it could hold and wondered if he could test its limits. Hermione linked her fingers with his and smiled at him. He could feel the pang in her heart as she knew she would have to say goodbye to her home in England alongside the longing to stay here in D.R.

They took the soda bottle from the transport employee and queued up at the platform. There were only two people in front of them so it wasn't very long.

"Does Britain even have a specified platform for Portkey travel?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure," said Cedric, placing his hand on the bottle.

He felt his stomach lurch and realized he had touched the bottle with his prosthetic which was now painfully slipping. He grabbed onto his metal wrist tightly and gritted his teeth. He was pretty sure he could hear Belle caterwauling in his backpack.

International Portkey travel sucked .

Not paying attention, he landed hard on soft dirt and damp grass. It was chilly with a light fog and stones raised up out of the ground almost uniformly. Shouting in panic, he summoned his wand and scrambled to his feet.

"Cedric!"

He faced Hermione, her face unnaturally pale in the nearly full moon and her hands raised where he could see them. She closed her palms and opened them making two soft orbs of light that showed they were just in a small clearing and the stones were just stones and not grave markers.

Cedric lowered his wand but didn't put it away.

"Where did it dump us?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said and kicked the soda bottle. "Let's find a road and call the Knight Bus."

Cedric nodded in agreement and held his wand flat in his palm.

"Point Me."

It spun in a circle and pointed straight ahead. Sliding his wand in its holster, Hermione looped her arm with his and stroked his forearm gently with her thumb. They had been dressed for a tropical climate and wherever they landed had them shivering and wishing for sweaters. The road wasn't too far away from the clearing. Hermione stuck out her right thumb and stepped back. An instant later, the Knight Bus appeared with a loud bang and sputtered to a stop.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," Stan Shunpike recited dully.

He was a Fifth Year when Cedric started Hogwarts. Must suck working the night shift on this thing.

"We need to get to—" Hermione faltered and furrowed her brow.

The letter from Sirius was clear. No. 12 Grimmauld Place. Cedric tried to say it too, but found he couldn't.

"What's the matter?" Stan asked. "Cat got your tongues?"

Belle spit from her place in Cedric's backpack.

"Number 13 Grimmauld Place," said Hermione at last. "Islington Borough, London."

"Right, take a seat anywhere," he said after they paid him the fare.

Cedric and Hermione sat on one of the beds like it was a couch and held on tightly.

"Take it away Ern," said Stan.

"Yeah, take it away Ernie!" the shrunken head said from its perch. Was it even moral to have that thing?

Hermione inhaled sharply as she flew back, thinking loudly that she was glad she was wearing shorts and not a skirt. Cedric held onto her hand and kept the other tight around the bedpost.

"You two don't look properly dressed," Stan noted with a gleam of amusement. "Where'd you come from?"

"The Caribbean," said Hermione.

"Where's that?"

Hermione opened her mouth, closed it, and looked at Cedric.

"West," he answered. "And South."

"Ah." Stan nodded and cocked his head. "Do I know you?"

"No," said Cedric, bracing his feet against the floor as the bus slammed to a stop to let another couple get off. He puffed his fringe out of his face.

"Huh…" He studied the both of them, wracking his brain for where he might have seen them before but coming up empty.

Cedric wasn't surprised. With his long hair and Hermione's half-shaved 'do plus their (mostly) relaxed demeanor and tropical appropriate attire they certainly didn't look like their old selves.

"Are you tourists?" Stan asked.

"No," said Hermione.

"What did you say your names were, again?"

"We didn't," said Cedric.

Stan waited for a continued answer and frowned when neither offered their name.

"Tight-lipped," said the shrunken head, cackling. "Might be on da run from da law."

"I thought shrunken heads were supposed to have their mouths sewn shut," said Hermione.

"Wait!" Stan gasped. "I remember! You're Cedric Diggory! You's a werewolf now!"

Ernie grunted and looked up with shock. Cedric saw them glance nervously at the moon and suspicion filled their minds. Cedric pulled the emergency stop and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist so she wouldn't fall down.

"Where we at?" Cedric asked.

"Nort' hampton," said the shrunken head.

"Great," said Hermione. "I want a refund."

"A what?"

"A. Refund," she repeated, holding her hand out. "If you're not going to treat my boyfriend like a normal wizard, then refund us and we'll use a different method. What's another hour and a half?"

Not wanting to argue with her, Stan gave them their refund in the form of two galleons. Hermione stormed off the bus, opened her bag, and summoned her motorcycle. It sprang out and bounced once before falling onto its stand.

Cedric hurried off the bus and clambered onto the bike, just managing to wrap his arms around her before she took off. She knew exactly where she was going.

They practically flew down the road, the cold air stinging their cheeks. Cedric rested his chin on her shoulder trying to focus on getting a cup of tea once they reached Grimmauld Place. Instead, he couldn't help but think about the look on Stan's and Ernie's faces when they realized who he was.

The fear, the suspicion, minds racing with what they'd do if he transformed and attacked them then and there despite it not being a full moon.

Hermione rested her hand on top of his. Stop it. I can hear your thoughts and I'm not even a legilimens.

"I'm fine," he said in her ear.

"Lies," she called back. "You don't have to be fine with it, Cedric."

"It's going to keep happening," he replied.

"Yes, it will," she said. "But you shouldn't resign yourself to it. Not everyone is like that and we'll change their minds."

"How?" he asked. "You're leaving and I'm going to Japan after I graduate."

Hermione quieted and looked straight ahead, regrets filling her mind.

"Don't you think about transferring back to Hogwarts," he said. "You'll be safer at Castelobruxo."

"But—"

"I'm a Hufflepuff," he said and grinned. "I'm sure I'll find a way to carry on."

Hermione laughed and pushed the motorcycle faster. They were lucky there wasn't as much traffic this late since she had to remind herself what side of the road to drive on. She passed through Chalk Farm to get to Islington borough. They reached the wealthy part and slowed, counting down until they reached No. 13. There, she parked, switched off the engine, and studied the building. She lifted her eyepatch, put it back, and strode forward confidently between 13 and 11. Cedric followed close behind and they entered a pocket of reality. He lightly rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder and saw an aura of magic in a color he couldn't describe on a trichromatic spectrum.

He was so glad he took lessons from Tía Constanza. It was interesting to see the world from Hermione's eyes. He was so focused on the colors he bumped into her. She stopped in front of a red door with a bronze knocker in the shape of a lion.

"Everyone is probably asleep," said Cedric. "It's well after midnight."

"This has the Fidelius Charm," said Hermione, the situation clicking. "Maybe they're secure enough they'd keep the front door unlocked?"

She tried it, but it didn't budge.

"I can unlock it," she said. "Accio lock pick."

"I think it better we announce our presence than break in and get hexed," said Cedric.

"Yeah." She clicked her tongue, put her lock picking kit back in her bag, and lifted her hand to the knocker when someone cleared their throat.

Cedric whirled around with his wand at the ready, casting the Lumos charm. If it was an intruder they'd be blinded.

"Ow!" a familiar voice cried.

He lowered the light to see Bill squinting and blinking. He was as ruggedly handsome as ever. When he realized who they were, Cedric was flooded with relief. The eldest Weasley brother had no fear or suspicion around him.

"Hey, Bill," said Hermione.

"Hey," he replied, unlocking the door with a key and entering. "What brings you here?"

"Hanging out before school starts," said Cedric, following him into the house, he saw what the house looked like before and the change surprised him.

It was finally habitable. You wouldn't have been able to tell the shape it was in just a month ago. The floors were a lovely mahogany, the wooden panels on the wall were painted red, and the wallpaper was burgundy and beige striped. Gone were the plaques of elf heads, replaced by pictures of friends and family. What once was the dining room had been turned into a recreation room with a pool table, a round card table, and a giant painting of dogs playing poker.

"I see you two changed your hair," Bill commented. "Looks nice."

"Thanks," said Hermione with a cheerful smile. "Late night?"

Bill flushed slightly. He had been giving Fleur lessons in English and while they took the lessons seriously, paying attention to spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and all that jazz, there was a lot of flirting. Nothing too serious, they hadn't even declared themselves a couple yet. Cedric quietly thought that Bill was a little too old for Fleur. Or rather, they were at different points in their lives.

"We probably should have just gone to my parents for the night," said Hermione.

"Quizás," said Cedric, setting the backpack down and letting Belle out.

She took off into the next room where there was a loud thud followed by a small, "mew…"

"Aw, poor baby," Hermione cooed.

"I should catch you up on everything," said Bill. "Why don't we get some tea?"

They went downstairs to the kitchen which was rather big and had the copper cookware hanging from the ceiling above a long table. The stove itself had six burners, there were two ovens, and a large basin. It still wasn't nearly as big as the one in D.R. but it was the right size for all the Weasleys to be staying as well as Sirius and Harry and any guests they might have. Hermione poured water into the kettle on the stove and went about finding the pot and tea cups while Cedric searched the pantry and cupboards for the tea itself.

He found a standard black tea and some biscuits. Soon they were sitting across from each other, sipping their tea.

"Okay," said Hermione, nodding at Bill.

"First off," he said. "Don't mention Percy around my mum."

"Why not?" Cedric asked.

"He and Dad got into a huge row," Bill explained. "About how we never had enough money and how Dad never tried to move up beyond Head of the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and thought that his tinkering with Muggle things were embarrassing."

Cedric winced.

"Now he won't have anything to do with us," Bill continued sadly. "Thinks he's too important, especially now that he's Minister Fudge's personal assistant."

"Fudge is an imbecile," said Hermione. "I wouldn't be proud to be his assistant because I know I would just end up doing all the work or something stupid."

"Percy loves the work," said Cedric. "He's that kind of person because once he takes that position then it'll look like he's a natural."

"Be that as it may," said Bill. "It's hurting Mum the most. She tried bringing him his favorite zucchini bread and he slammed the door in her face."

"What a- a… plonker," said Hermione.

"Is plonker a real word?" Cedric whispered.

"It is now. Plonker. Noun. Percy Weasley is a plonker."

Bill twitched, automatically wanting to defend his family, but also knowing Hermione was speaking the truth albeit in a blunt manner. He merely sighed and nodded.

"It gets worse," he said. "Percy said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he—Percy I mean—knew his loyalty was with the Ministry. Packed his bags that night and left. Besides Mum, I'm the only other person who knows where he's living. I think he hopes I'll see reason and take his side."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Cedric. "What else is going on? Seems like a lot."

"Well, the Ministry is trying to discredit and set inquiries on anyone who supports Dumbledore. Luckily, if he made them redundant then he'd lose half his staff so Dad's and other people's jobs are safe." Bill drummed his fingers on the table in irritation. "He doesn't believe Voldemort is back."

"But there's, like, three eye-witness accounts!" Hermione shouted.

"They're claiming that this is solely the work of Fenrir Greyback," he continued. "Cedric… it's probably best if you remain with someone who can vouch for you at all times. There was a werewolf attack in Ottery St. Catchpole. No one was hurt except a dog that protected its owner and since werewolves don't typically hurt animals the dog was okay. I heard that they tried to convince the Muggles it was a wolf attack, but someone pointed out there are no wolves in England. So the story was changed to a rabid dog. There was a search for you until Sirius told them you were on holiday and nowhere near the scene."

"I was in Hawaii when the attack happened," said Cedric. "Were the Hogwarts letters delivered?"

"Not yet."

Cedric sighed with relief.

"Oh, and Harry has a hearing tomorrow."

"For what?!"

"He and the next door neighbor were attacked by a dementor," came a voice from the doorway.

They all looked up and saw Sirius.

"Sorry," said Hermione. "Were we being too loud?"

"No, I just got home from work," he said and got himself a cup of tea. "It's nice to see you both."

"Wait…" Hermione slowly turned to look at him. "What about a dementor?"

"Harry really should tell you," said Sirius.

"Yes! He has a hearing tomorrow! Do you have someone representing him?"

"Er…"

Hermione clenched her jaw and Cedric grinned. Hermione Sanchez-Granger, teen lawyer, was on the case.

"Wake him up, right now," Hermione ordered. "Do you have access to the Ministry after hours?"

Sirius nodded.

"Good, hop to it. ¡Ándale!" She clapped her hands and sent him off. She dug around her bag and brought out a notebook, a file, and summoned her wizard law books.

"I'll make a pot of coffee," said Cedric, getting the bag out of his backpack while Sirius ran upstairs to get Harry.

Hermione wrapped up her hair in a scarf to keep it out of the way and to avoid questions about her new 'do, then got to work.

Harry stumbled down the stairs, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Hermione?" he mumbled. "What is this?"

"I am going to get you off," she said, determined.

"… what?"

"Your hearing," said Cedric quickly. "Hermione's going to represent you."

"Seriously?"

"No, Sirius Black," said Sirius.

Without looking up, Hermione swatted him with her file folder.

"Get me the records of magic used in front of muggles on or around these dates," she said. "Along with how they were handled. Harry, give me your statement of what happened when you were attacked by the dementors."

"Er— right," said Harry, suddenly alert. "Um, well, you know Lisa from next door?"

"Yes, we took taekwondo together," said Hermione.

"She asked me out when I was coming home from the store over a week ago," he said. "I said yes."

"And where did you go?"

"Laser tag arcade," he said. "It was a lot of fun. A bit like when you, me, and Cedric went a couple years back. We stayed until closing which was about eleven. Then we walked to the tube. She said she had a bad feeling and kept a baton in her hand."

"Yes, she had an experience with a mugger," said Hermione. "Go on."

"So, we got on the tube which was mysteriously empty for a Friday night except for one other person who looked homeless, but we didn't notice him until the doors were closed," he continued. "And then it got really cold… the lights flickered and the tube stopped at another empty stop. These two dementors showed up and got onto the tube just as the doors shut."

"How did Lisa react?"

"She was crying and waved her baton around." Harry got a small grin. "Cracked one in the head. Didn't even know that was possible. I cast the patronus charm and sent them off at the next stop. We get home without any other issues."

"What did Lisa say upon witnessing you use magic?" Hermione asked, writing all this down in shorthand.

"That she knew it had to exist," he said. "She always believed magic was science we have yet to understand. Asked me questions and I answered them. What else could I do?"

"What of the homeless man?" Cedric asked.

Hermione paused and looked up. "Yes, what did happen to the homeless man?"

"Er… he disappeared about the same time as the dementors appeared."

"Look into my eyes," said Cedric.

"What?"

"Do it," said Hermione.

Harry tentatively turned to Cedric and stared into his eyes. Cedric entered the memory. Interesting how people picked up faces so easily. Though his main focus was occupied, his peripherals did not miss the man leaving, but not through the door, no… he disappeared. The memory shifted to what Harry was dreaming about when he was abruptly awoken. A black door with a silver handle, something seemed off about it.

"The homeless man was a wizard," said Cedric, breaking contact, taking a sheet of notebook paper and drawing out the face. "He apparated."

Bill leaned over his shoulder, Cedric barely brushed his hand and sending the image of what he saw, just how Tía Constanza trained him.

"That's Mundungus Fletcher!" Bill gasped, wide awake now. "Oh, Sirius is going to be furious."

"Who's Mundungus Fletcher?" Hermione asked.

"He's part of the Order of the Phoenix," said Bill. "It's the rebellion against Voldemort."

"Mundungus Fletcher is a mole," said Cedric, looking at Hermione. "I bet Dumbledore had him tagging Harry to keep him safe."

"Well, he did a brilliant job," said Harry sarcastically.

"How do you know this?" Bill asked.

"What happened after you returned home?" Hermione asked, getting them back on track.

"Aurors came," said Harry. "Williamson and Proudfoot. Lisa claimed she would keep it secret, but a man named Portly obliviated her. She doesn't even know who I am anymore."

Hermione's eye twitched as she stabbed a hole in her paper with her pen.

"Did they get your statement?" she asked.

"Er—no," he said. "They left after that. I've been cooped up ever since."

"Have you cast any spells on your wand since then?" Hermione asked.

"No," he said.

"So, we can look at what spell was last cast which, if what you say is accurate, is the patronus charm?"

"Yes," said Harry truthfully.

"Brilliant," said Hermione, slurping down some more coffee. "I'm going to need your wand."

"N-now?"

"Well, I certainly don't need it after the trial."

Sirius returned with an envelope containing copies of the records. Hermione took them with a muttered "thank you" and scanned both documents, then went through the reports. The men in the room watched her with great interest as to what exactly she was doing.

Cedric rested his chin in his hand and smiled. She was so brilliant. He loved watching her mind work.

"What are the charges?" she asked Sirius.

"Underaged magic in front of a muggle."

Hermione smirked and closed the documents.

"What do you have?" Sirius asked.

"A case," she said and drained her coffee cup. "Harry, go back to bed and don't worry your pretty little head about anything else. Your big sister is on the case."

"Alright," said Harry. A weight lifted off his mind and he wasn't as scared about tomorrow.

"I'm going to bed myself," said Bill, yawning broadly and going upstairs.

"You're going to represent Harry tomorrow?" Sirius asked Hermione.

"Of course," she said. "Since he's underaged it's probably just going to be the school board and an executive from the Department of Law Enforcement. It'd be easier for me to do the talking. The last time someone got on his case about underaged magic in front of muggles I slammed a bat on an Auror's hand and then chewed them out. I acquitted Buckbeak, I proved your innocence, I took down Peter Pettigrew. I got this."

"No argument there," said Sirius, also relieved that his godson was going to have someone with him.

Hermione put on her headphones and got to serious work building her case file. She would have preferred more time, but she would work with what she had.

"How are you doing, Cedric?" Sirius asked.

"Brilliant," he said.

"You've recovered well."

"Yeah, I've had a lot of help with that." Cedric ran his thumb over his metal knuckles. "I'm just lucky my best friend was ready to take me in." He heard Sirius's thoughts loud and clear. "I've accepted that I'm not going to get Amos back in my life and I learned from Manny—Hermione's dad—that I don't have to forgive him."

"You remind me a lot of myself," said Sirius with slight bitterness. "Except…"

"It's the arm, isn't it?" said Cedric, not wanting to push Sirius into a spiral. The man was prone to those after his years in Azkaban.

Sirius chuckled. "With how you're turning out you could pretty much be mine and Remus's love child—" He put a hand over his mouth.

Cedric raised an eyebrow. Oh! Okay, he needed to play this right so that Sirius wouldn't freak. Evidently, he'd never come out to anyone except James, Lily, and, more recently, Professor Lupin who requited the feelings.

"Can I call you Dadfoot, then?" he said cheekily.

Sirius laughed, stopping when Hermione gave them an irritated look. She turned up her music and took another sip of coffee that Cedric poured.

"Really though," said Sirius, "I know what it's like to… have what happened to you happen. Maybe in a different way…"

"I appreciate it," said Cedric, knowing what he was getting at. "I'll be fine. And nobody got their school letters yet, right?"

"Not yet," Sirius confirmed. "Although, and you didn't hear it from me, you're up for Head Boy."

Cedric grinned. "That's a nice thought."

They talked for a little bit until Sirius decided to go to bed since he wanted to get up and go with Harry to the hearing.

"You'll be bunking with Bill," he said. "And Hermione will room with Ginny."

"I'll stay up with Hermione," he said. "She's going to be at this all night and someone has to keep the coffee going."

"Alright," said Sirius. "Oh, and be mindful of Kreacher, he's my house-elf. Can't free him, he knows too much."

Cedric hummed and snapped his attention to Hermione. Her thought burst was bone rattling. It was a brilliant idea but her mind was moving too fast for him to follow.

He believed she would get this taken care of.