Sirius had woken up at seven fifty the next morning, wondering what on earth had woken him up so early. He'd been dreaming again, - normally they were horrendous ones involving his parents, but this one he'd just had was about Regulus.
The dream was about the day he received the news that Reggie had become a Death Eater. By that time, Sirius was already living with James and his parents, so he'd been alerted of it by a letter from his younger brother himself.
He remembered exactly how he felt - angry, betrayed, downright furious, but most of all he felt scared. He always tried to deny that he felt the latter.
He knew his brother - well, he thought he did, - but Reggie never struck him as the type to actually join the Death Eater's mantra. Sure, he would always nod at anything their parents said regarding the eradication of muggles in their society, but Reggie would always tell him afterwards (in secret) that he didn't totally agree with them, he just wanted to appease them. Such a bootlicker, he was, Sirius thought, remembering how Regulus always did everything to please mother and father, why couldn't he just speak his damn mind, like I did?
All these years had passed, yet he still missed his brother. Brotherly love rarely left you, and even though Regulus stood for everything Sirius hated, he couldn't help but love and miss him. He wondered how alone Reggie must have felt when he died… To this day, he had no idea what Regulus's cause of death was, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to find out. He couldn't help but also see a little bit of his brother's looks in Dorea - for she resembled Reggie (and consequently, Sirius) when she laughed and grinned.
Sirius decided to get up, knowing that the kids were probably still all sleeping, and tiptoed down the corridor and into his study - where, locked away securely, was the papers Dumbledore had given him after their discussion. The old man had given him a few job advertisements - "you have to step out into the wizarding public at some point, Sirius," the Headmaster had said to him, "you are a free man, and an innocent man, though the Ministry were reluctant. You have to show your face." Dumbledore still spoke calmly to him, even though a few nights before, when the kids were occupied up in their rooms, he Floo'd over to Grimmauld Place for an Order meeting, and almost screamed at the old codger that all this time, Harry and Amelia were knowingly staying in an abusive household and yet he did nothing. He was so angry at Albus that Remus and Arthur had to cast a Silencing charm around the room so that the Weasley kids didn't wake up.
One job was sticking out at him in particular - he was surprised at it, but Dumbledore seemed to think he was up to it. The pay was good (though he didn't really need money), the hours were decent (which he preferred) and the overall job was something that sounded interesting, it hadn't really appealed to him before. It involved-
He was interrupted when Ditsy, one of their house elves, suddenly Apparated into the study, almost giving him a heart attack. "Master, Mistress McGonagall will be Floo'ing over at 9 o' clock this morning." The elf proclaimed. He could just see it's small ears bopping as it made its way over to his side.
Sirius gathered his thoughts. "What is she coming over for?"
"To talk about Master Harry Potter's club, of course." Ditsy replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
Sirius had almost forgotten that Minerva had to get Albus to confirm and approve of Harry's Defence club. It had been just under three days since she'd been over, when Harry had told her about it. Sirius knew that it had definitely been approved, but knowing Albus, he probably made up his own rules regarding its running. He nodded at the house-elf, and Ditsy Dissaparated.
The time was ten past eight, and Sirius figured that the kids would have to wake up now, so that they weren't eating breakfast when Minerva came over. He stood up and went to wake them.
However, Harry was already up and about. He met him on the staircase. "This is the earliest you've risen," Sirius said suspiciously.
"I want to go for a quick fly-around outside, to prepare me for today, and then eat breakfast." Harry declared, sounding confident.
"Prepare you for what?" Sirius asked.
"Well, doing exercise when you first get up gets your brain working so it's ready for activities," at Sirius's blank stare, Harry continued, "I read it in a book. I want to try it out."
"Well, McGonagall is coming over at nine - I reckon it's about your club, so you will have to look presentable." Sirius allowed.
"Oh, okay," Harry said, "It'll only be a quick fly-around, then."
He had knocked on Amelia's door, but she was already awake and was apparently just getting dressed, so that was fine. He had to knock a few times on Dorea's door before he heard her grunting. "McGonagall's coming over at nine, you have to get up." He said to his daughter on the other side of the door. He heard her sleepily call out an "okay" before he heard her get up. Satisfied, he walked downstairs smirking. She's just like me - not a morning person on the best of days.
Harry felt his heart twinge nervously a bit, as Professor McGonagall came through the fireplace in the living room at nine, almost on the dot. She stepped out and brushed herself down.
"Mr Potter, good morning," she inclined her head with a thin smile, "I can inform you that your club has been approved by Professor Dumbledore."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and felt Dorea and Amelia pat his shoulders on both sides. Sirius ruffled his hair in congratulations. "Professor Dumbledore has asked me to give this to you," she paused, as she handed him a piece of parchment. "Both me and the Headmaster have added enchantments to this sign-up sheet, which will prevent any students that are secretly already marked Death Eaters from joining your club. It also worms out those who are personally sympathetic to the Death Eater cause."
"That's great! Thanks, Professor." Harry said sincerely.
McGonagall smiled. "I look forward to hearing of this club's developments," she made her way out, but turned to them as she grabbed some Floo powder. "Oh, also, are you content with doing your Ancient Runes and Arithmancy tests on the same day, Mr Potter?"
Harry froze a bit, even though the days of the tests were constantly looming over his head. "I suppose to get them out of the way quicker, yeah, I'd be fine doing them on the same day."
"Good. You will have an hour interval between the two of them, so don't worry about having to immediately dive into the other test as soon as you finish the first one. To save time, Professors Vector and Babbling have decided to include both the third and fourth year contents of both their subjects into one paper, so instead of you having to do four tests in one day, you'll only be sitting two." McGonagall waved goodbye. "I'll distribute both of the tests to you on the morning of the twenty-fifth. Good day to you all."
When she left, Harry let out a low sigh. Dorea stood up. "How far along have you got with both subjects?"
"I've actually almost done the third year content for Runes, it's just Arithmancy that's taking a bit longer," he explained, "I'm almost halfway through the third year Arithmancy stuff, but it feels like it's going in one ear and straight out the other."
Amelia considered. "I'm the same most of the time, so don't worry, it's meant to be quite hard." His sister said in sympathy.
For the next few days, Harry spent most of his time revising Arithmancy, since he was practically on the fourth year Runes stuff and he was understanding that subject better anyway, so focused more on getting third year Arithmancy done and dusted. He found that referring to the Intro books alongside the textbook did confuse him at times, so decided to only use it when he really wasn't understanding something. As a result, he found himself gradually getting better at it. Sirius helped when he could, even though he only had a basic understanding of the subject. He wished that Remus had more free time to come over and tutor him, but he did manage to drop off a paper folder filled with written exercises and tests for Harry to do one morning (that he'd made himself, which was impressive). Amelia and Dorea's notes were also very handy in situations where he got totally stumped.
Every few nights, they also did more work in the Potions Lab and Duelling room. They gradually improved at their mock duels, and they even started to beat Sirius more often. Harry even suggested that they start brewing fifth year potions, which were a bit more hard going, but it felt good to get a head start on them.
Harry came downstairs on the twenty-fifth of August and ate his breakfast solemnly at the table, in silence. It felt like chewing carpet - for he was to sit his entry tests for Runes and Arithmancy today. McGonagall would probably be over at any moment…
She came into the kitchen, papers in hand. "Today's the day, Potter," his Transfiguration teacher said, in what was probably meant to be a cheery voice, but all Harry could hear was impending doom. "You have three hours for both papers - an hour and a half each for both years, however if you do go over time it doesn't matter - so long as it's no more than half an hour over." She placed the tests face-down on the table.
"There's no rush, Harry, you can start them whenever." Sirius came in.
"Yes, you can have one last skim over your notes," McGonagall said, but then turned to Sirius, "but you better make sure that he doesn't cheat!" Minerva knew that there were enchantments on the papers - they would turn purple if Harry did in fact cheat, but she didn't tell them that. She knew that her Gryffindor student wouldn't dare cheat anyway, but it had to be said.
When she left, Harry could no longer eat. He tidied his plate away and cleaned the table of crumbs. Amelia and Dorea came in then. "Good luck for today, Harry, don't stress too hard." His twin sister said sincerely, for which he was grateful for.
"Yeah, but remember it won't be the end of the world if you fail it." Dorea pointed out.
"Wow, ever the supportive godsister, Dorea," Harry said sarcastically, but grinned nonetheless.
"Are you doing them in here, Harry? There is a study down the hall you could use," Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I think I will go in there, actually." Harry replied. If he did the tests in the kitchen, then it would mean that Sirius, Amelia or Dorea might walk in and disturb him. He didn't want them walking in at a crucial part of the exams, so gathered his things and followed Sirius to the study he was on about.
Sirius stopped at the door. "Are you ready?" He asked.
"Would I be allowed twenty minutes to go over my notes? I'm thinking of sitting Arithmancy first to get it out the way." He asked.
"Yes, of course, so long as you put your notes away for the actual test." Sirius allowed. "Sit them outside the door when you've done, so that you can't be tempted by them."
Harry nodded, and went to go into the study. Sirius gave him a pat on both shoulders and said one final good luck. The study was a bright but cavernous room, and by the window was a massive mahogany table. It must've been a metre in length and half that in width, with a comfy chair accompanying it. He sat down at it, and got ready to review. Here we go...
Just under three hours later, Harry exited the study, one completed paper in hand, and went into the kitchen. Sirius was in there. He got up instantly. "How did it go?"
"I think third year Arithmancy went alright, but the fourth year stuff was tricky. I'll be amazed if I passed it. I'm not entirely sure if I'm cut out for Arithmancy, if I'm honest." Harry said, feeling a bit deflated. Technically, he was relying on the third year content to really bring his marks up, since the fourth year stuff went terribly, he thought.
"Oh don't worry about it now, I bet you smashed it." His godfather sounded way more optimistic than he did. "When are you sitting the Runes exams?"
"Can I have an hour lunch break before I do one last review of the content, and then sit the paper?" Harry asked.
"Sure!" Sirius replied.
Amelia and Dorea walked in then. "Arithmancy is so hard, isn't it?" Dorea felt his pain.
"Runes is a lot easier, Harry, if I remember rightly the third year exam was just basically translating a massive scr-"
"-Oi! Don't tell him!" Sirius cut in sharply.
"I wasn't telling him what it was about, though, did I?" She replied cheekily.
"The Weasley's are coming tomorrow, by the way, as is Hermione." Dorea announced. Harry raised his eyebrows, and nodded in excitement. He could see the happiness in Dorea's eyes (for Fred would be coming over), and he sent her a knowing look when Sirius wasn't looking, which she smiled ruefully at.
"And we're going to Diagon Alley with them on the twenty-seventh, when the book lists arrive." Amelia added. Harry couldn't wait - it almost took his mind off the test.
For the whole duration of the hour break, Sirius kept insisting he should at least have two sandwiches, a snack and a drink - he called it "brain food". "I'm pretty sure this morning's toast is still in my system, Sirius." Harry remarked.
"Even so, it could be wearing off!" Sirius said, like a worried mother hen, as if Harry's brain was going to shut down indefinitely if he didn't eat. For the sake of his godfather's blood pressure, Harry made sure Sirius saw him eat a chocolate bar and have a glass of orange juice with his cheese sandwich, so he couldn't complain anymore. He even munched on an apple to appease him more.
Harry spent less time reviewing Ancient Runes, as he found it generally easier to do than Arithmancy, so therefore felt a lot better about the test he was about to sit. In Runes exams, you were allowed to have a copy of the Rune Dictionary in front of you anyway, as there was no possible way to memorise every single rune and know its translation, so that eased Harry even more. He almost felt confident about this subject.
When he flipped the exam paper open, it turned out the third year content did include a script of Runic writing, as Amelia said, which was followed with the simple instruction: "Using your Rune Dictionary as a guide, translate the script of writing above to English." That whole section alone was worth 30 marks. It was followed with a multiple choice section with only eight questions, and that's all there was for third year. Fourth year had a multiple choice section, two translations to do, and some questions where you had to outline, describe and explain.
Two and a half hours later, Hary left the study for the second time that day, this time feeling a lot better. He even skipped a bit in his stride towards the kitchen, where the three other inhabitants of Black Manor were waiting to hear his verdict. "I think I did fine," he said, although his voice sounded a bit unsure. "The third year stuff went quite well, although I think I mucked up a few translations… Fourth year was alright as well, it wasn't that bad." He handed his combined Ancient Runes paper to Sirius.
"Well done for getting through it, though!" Sirius congratulated him with a hug. Amelia and Dorea did the same. At five o'clock they were sat having dinner, and Harry was telling them about the fourth year Arithmancy exam in detail when the Floo flared in the living room.
It was Professor McGonagall. "All done?" She asked briskly.
Harry nodded, and Sirius turned to face her as he handed her the two papers. "He went ten minutes over the time limit on the Arithmancy paper, but was well within time on the Ancient Runes one." He explained. McGonagall smirked a bit when she saw that the papers hadn't in fact turned purple, meaning that Harry hadn't cheated. "I will give these to Professors Vector and Babbling, who will mark them tonight, so that you will know your result by tomorrow morning. They will mark you for both years and then give you an overall grade for each year." She turned on her heel and was off again as briefly as she came.
Harry didn't realise that they'd be marked so quickly - he would rather not know tomorrow whether it had all been a waste of time studying both subjects all along. If he had failed (and he thought he had in fact messed Arithmancy up, quite spectacularly), he would be in no mood to go to Diagon Alley. Not even Ron, or Fred and George could cheer him up if that happened.
Now that he no longer had to study anything, Harry used his remaining time before school started to do some more reading, flying, and forward study. He and Amelia spent the afternoon in the Potion's Lab, and Harry spent time brewing the potions that were a part of the fifth year curriculum, Amelia doing the same. He couldn't wait to see the look on Hermione's face when they were back in class, brewing. She would wonder what on earth had happened to them.
Harry's new-found Potions skills were really put to the test when he started brewing the Draught of Peace - for one mistake could mean that someone would find themselves sleeping forever if they took it. Even though he wasn't actually going to give it to anyone, he wanted to know that he could brew it perfectly. He really took his time with it, but almost at a cost - as he realised he missed a step.
"Amelia," he spoke up suddenly. His twin turned and came over to his bench (she was brewing a Hair-Raising Potion, another fifth year potion). "I've just realised I've missed a step, - I forgot to add the syrup of hellebore, just as I added the porcupine quills." He explained in a rush, quite stressed and annoyed at himself.
"Oh gosh, Harry, I don't know if it's fixable…" Amelia said next to him. "Is there a way to undo it? It would be a shame to have to start all over again…"
There was only one way to find out. "Dippey!" Harry spoke.
Within a second, Dippey, one of their house elves, Apparated into the room at his command. "Master Harry, sir, is there a problem?" The rather sweet elf spoke.
"Summon Sirius here, please, I might have done something stupid." Harry commanded gently.
Dippey Dissaparated, and appeared almost two seconds later with Sirius. "What's happened?"
"Sirius, do you know if there's a way to undo a mistake you've made to your potion?" Harry explained sheepishly.
"Well, I know a spell which reverses a step, but I don't know if it saves the ingredients you added as well…" His godfather had a think.
"Please do it, I don't care, I'll get more porcupine quills." Harry said.
Sirius waved his wand, and within an instant, the porcupine quills came out of the cauldron and were now sitting tidily where they were before - and they looked virtually unused. Almost as if they'd been sitting there the whole time. "Wow, thanks!" Harry was grateful, as he suspected that if his godfather hadn't done that, the Potions Lab would be on fire. "What spell was that? I think it will be handy to know."
"The incantation is Laxo, it's very effective. You can use it in class when Snape isn't looking, if the Slytherin's ever try to sabotage your potions." Sirius explained. "Although I must stress to you - do not tell Snape, or let him find out, that you've been brewing over the holidays. I do not want him sticking his nose in matters that do not concern him."
Harry was a bit confused at that. "Why?"
"I do not know if he knows of this house, of Black Manor. But if he does know, then he knows that this house has a Potions Lab, and he connects the dots… He will find out we're staying here, which means the Death Eater's will find out and they'll know where we are." Sirius revealed. "I do not know what we'll do if they discover this location."
Harry nodded at that, swearing to himself to not let Snape find out. Amelia did the same.
The next morning at breakfast, you would have thought Harry was sitting more exams - for he was eating nervously for the second day in a row. McGonagall would be giving him his results this morning. He had dreamed last night that he'd gotten T's in the tests, and McGonagall had laughed so hard that her teeth had fallen out and chased him all around the house. The dream had then morphed into a different scene - Professor Flitwick announcing to the Charm's class that they were studying "What NOT to do in your O.W.L exams" that year, and held Harry's Arithmancy test paper up as an example, with a big red T occupying the top-left corner, which caused the whole class to be in tears, laughing at him. The final scene he saw before waking up with a start at six a.m was him zooming around the Quidditch pitch, chasing the Snitch. When his dream-self failed to catch it, he heard Lee Jordan commentate on the microphone, "Oh dear, Potter's failed to catch the Snitch and win it for Gryffindor, which makes that the second thing he's failed at this year besides Arithmancy."
When he heard the Floo signal next door, Dorea put an arm around him, even though his heart was now going at a hundred miles an hour. To make it worse, McGonagall walked in with Professors Vector and Babbling. He tried to read their expressions - although they were smiling at him, they could be masking their disappointment.
"Mr Potter, good morning," McGonagall said as the three ladies sat down across the table from them. Sirius came in and slid into the seat next to him.
"Good morning," Harry echoed, trying to look confident.
"We have marked your test papers," Vector said, as she reached into her bag to take his tests out. Babbling was already holding the Ancient Runes one in her hands, yet he couldn't see anything that would give him a clue as to how he did.
"Is it good news or bad news?" He tried to sound optimistic.
"You've done well, considering what little time scale you had to study." Babbling replied.
Oh god, I've definitely got P's, haven't I? Harry was dreading this.
Vector handed him the Arithmancy paper, and Harry hesitated to take it, but when he did, he was pleasantly surprised when his eyes were drawn to the red handwriting in the top-right corner.
Third Year - A
Fourth Year - P
"Well, I did better than I ever could have dreamed." He exhaled, relieved, but also annoyed at the P. It would be a miracle if he was allowed to do fifth year Arithmancy.
"Do not let that P get you down, Potter," Vector said kindly, "you were six marks off an A for fourth year, and it was a difficult paper for someone so new to the subject."
Babbling handed him the Ancient Runes test paper. His spirits were lifted, for his results read:
Third Year - E
Fourth Year - A
I can do Ancient Runes, at least, Harry thought. "Are you sure this is my paper?!" He said, astounded that he'd done that well. Everyone chuckled at that. He spoke again. "I'm assuming my marks are too low to let me into Arithmancy, Professor Vector." He said as he flicked through the paper, to see where he went wrong.
"Actually, Mr Potter, I can offer you a solution." Vector voiced, and he straightened up, keen to hear it. "If your timetable allows it, you could meet with me for private Arithmancy lessons twice a week, or three times if need be. They would have to be in the evenings, as my N.E.W.T and Advanced level students, as well as the third to fifth years, leave me little free periods during the days. We can figure out what days that fit your schedule and don't clash with Quidditch and your Defence club."
"Oh, you found out about the club," Harry said, his face flushing a bit.
"Dumbledore has told all the staff, Potter." McGonagall said.
He would have loved to know what Snape's reaction would have been to the idea of Harry wanting his precious Slytherin's integrated into the club. It might have even made him laugh for once in his life. He turned to face Vector. "I would still like to learn Arithmancy, Professor, so I would like to take up your offer of private lessons. How would that work in terms of the class and the O.W.L exam?" He enquired.
"You would only be with the O.W.L class when it came to sitting exams, and on the rare occasion we did a group project or something." Vector answered. Arithmancy required quite a lot of individual thinking and work. "You would be given the exact same lesson as the class would have, and the exact same work too. Which means you can always ask certain people for help, regarding homeworks and exercises." She gestured towards Amelia and Dorea. "We can discuss more when Hogwarts resumes, when you have your timetable."
Harry nodded at that. He handed the test paper's back to the teachers, who had to take them back to have on record. The three teachers left then, saying goodbye, after McGonagall gave the three of them their book lists for fifth year. Harry's had been updated to include Runes and Arithmancy textbooks. He was delighted that there was no longer a requirement to spend money needlessly on Divination textbooks.
When they left, Sirius bolted out his chair and spun him around in a hug. "You passed Ancient Runes!" He shouted in delight. Amelia and Dorea got up and soon it became a group hug.
"Hey, didn't he technically pass Arithmancy too? He's done enough to still do fifth year." Dorea noted.
"It certainly doesn't feel like I've passed, I have to have private lessons." Harry said.
"You'll find yourself understanding it better in no time when you have a teacher for it," Amelia assured him, "she's really good at explaining."
The day was made even better when Remus came over to visit, and was delighted at Harry's marks. Even Tonks had come over, as she wanted to finally see the house and congratulate Harry. The two of them offered to stay for dinner that night, and Tonks even went out to get them a muggle Indian takeaway as a treat. Soon, they were all tucking in to all sorts of korma's, masala's, and bhunas.
The next morning, most of the Weasley's came through the Floo and were now in the living room of Black Manor. Ron was the first through, and almost bolted at him.
"Aw, mate, Grimmauld Place is so boring without you lot," his best friend said as they engulfed one another in a hug.
Hermione came through with Ginny, and they hugged Amelia and Dorea before coming to Harry. "Oh, Harry, how are you?! Remus said last night that we had a lot to catch up on, regarding you." Hermione gushed.
"Let him breathe, Hermione." Ron said, chuckling.
"I'll tell you all about it when Fred and George come through." Harry said, as Mr and Mrs Weasley came through next, and were greeted by Sirius.
The last to come through were Fred and George, and Fred almost ran at Dorea until he remembered Sirius was there, so instead he just walked, and they greeted each other platonically, which was quite hard for them to do considering they were in a couple.
Harry, Amelia and Dorea spent half an hour giving the Weasley's (and Hermione) a tour of the Manor. They were rendered speechless most of the time, and when they actually seen how big it was from the outside, their faces were priceless. Even the Potions Lab and the Duelling Rooms had them whistling and saying "wow". Hermione was most impressed at the library.
"So, mate, Lupin said you've made a few decisions." George remarked.
"So come on, out with the news!" Fred carried on.
Harry took a deep breath. "Okay, so, just over three weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to take up both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, for fifth year."
"Harry, isn't that, like, impossible?" Ron laughed, as if he was joking.
"I thought it would be too - I spent countless hours revising two years worth of content, and just yesterday I was given the third and fourth year exams to see if I could be allowed on to the O.W.L course."
"And?! Have you had your results back?" Hermione urged.
"For Ancient Runes, I got an E for third year and an A for fourth," he paused, as Hermione made an excited noise, "and for Arithmancy, I got an A for third year but a P for fourth. But that was apparently okay though, as Vector has offered to give me private lessons in the evenings when we go back to Hogwarts, so I can still take Arithmancy, I just won't be in the class."
"Hang on," Ron said, "Ancient Runes is always on at the same time as Divination…"
"Well, I've had to drop Divination, haven't I?" Harry answered for him.
Ron didn't even look bothered. "Good on you, mate, that class is useless anyway. It's not like I'd be alone in the class - I'll still have Dean, Seamus and Neville."
Relieved with his friend's acceptance, Harry continued. "When we go back to Hogwarts, there's something else that I'll be doing…"
And so for the next ten minutes or so, Harry explained the Defence club, and his strategy for uniting Hogwarts students. His friends listened tentatively, and even though their eyebrows raised alarmingly when he said he was going to allow Slytherin's to join, they were amazed, surprised, but excited.
"Oh Harry, I just know you'll be a great leader!" Hermione said, "We can all learn a lot from you. I want to sign my name right now!"
Harry summoned the enchanted parchment, and he soon realised that the club didn't yet have a name, which would be no use. Quickly wracking his brain, the best he could come up with was "Defence Association", and so wrote that as a title at the top of the page before signing his own name and passing the parchment around. When he got it back, it was decorated with eight names. Hopefully we get double or triple that amount when school goes back, Harry thought.
"Now that's out the bag, you won't believe who's been made Gryffindor Prefects," Ginny said, trying not to snigger. Fred and George made retching noises.
"Who?" Amelia asked.
"Me, and-" Hermione started,
"Little Ronnikins!" Fred said in a girly voice. Ron flushed a furiously beet red, and shoved his brother slightly.
To say Harry was a bit surprised was an understatement. The thought of Prefects hadn't even crossed his mind that summer, to be perfectly honest. He kind of knew Hermione was a given for the girls Prefect, but Ron? Harry would have thought Dean, who was an underrated wizard - he was very knowledgeable for a muggleborn, just like Hermione.
"Well, some congratulations are in order!" Dorea exclaimed, as she gave Hermione another hug and a well done, and did the same for Ron. Ginny said they were throwing a party for them at Grimmauld Place that night, and that they'd been invited.
"Oh mate, you should have been there when mum found out." Fred nudged him. "She was horrendous."
"In what way?" Harry asked, smirking, as Amelia and Dorea were congratulating.
"Her gushing." George supplied. "The shriek she let out, and the 'oh, Ronnie!', it was revolting."
At eleven a.m, they were getting ready to Floo to Diagon Alley. They would be accompanied by Mr & Mrs Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius - who was stepping out into the wizarding public for the first time in years, since his name got cleared.
He just so happened to be standing next to his godfather as they were queuing up in the living room to use the Floo. Sirius was holding both of his hands and rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, Sirius, nobody will think you're a murderer." Harry offered his support.
Sirius scoffed, but didn't smile. "There's going to be so many people in Diagon Alley today, though, buying their kids books and supplies…"
Harry had a thought. "You could change your appearance."
"Nah, I suppose Dumbledore is right - I've got to get out in the public at some point - and today is that day." Sirius said, trying to straighten up. When it was their turn to go, Sirius ushered him forward first.
Taking a handful of Floo powder, Harry said loud and clearly (unlike that time just before second year when he appeared in Borgin and Burkes instead), "Diagon Alley!"