Dumbledore put up a valiant protest to Sirius' request, and if it had just been Sirius, the matter probably would have been tabled, with Dumbledore promising to bring Harry to meet Sirius after the school year ended. As it was, though, Hermione knew that Harry wanted to meet his godfather, and speeding that process along seemed like a good way to help atone for never mentioning to Harry that she had been helping free Sirius beforehand. And fortunately for Sirius, Hermione knew the Hogwarts rulebook cover to cover; she'd hunted it down and practically memorized it first year, after asking Snape if declaring someone a 'foe' was against the rules.

Parents and legal guardians of students were permitted to the school to visit in the event of major, life-altering events in the family, she'd recited. Previous events documented had been a death, a birth, a pregnancy, incarceration, a formal family feud, a murder attempt, and getting released from prison. As Sirius was effectively being released from prison (he'd been literally unshackled at the stand, she pointed out), it counted as a major event, and as Harry's legal guardian, he should be able to visit his godson and tell him of his freedom.

Hermione could tell Dumbledore was strongly considering bringing up the fact Sirius' former status hadn't yet been formally returned to him – his Wizengamot seat, his legal holdings, etc. – but in the end, he decided against it. So it was with a mild smile and resignation that Dumbledore led Hermione and Sirius back through the halls of the Ministry and into the elevator to go back to Hogwarts.

"There are likely to still be reporters in the Atrium," Dumbledore lamented. "A hazard of the publicity, I fear."

Sirius snorted. "Blood suckers, the lot of them."

A wave of noise washed over Hermione as the elevator opened to the Atrium and Sirius Black walked out. Reporters cried out for a statement, but Sirius and Dumbledore strode through the crowd with assurance, unbothered, Dumbledore wearing a bland smile, Sirius wearing a vicious grin. Hermione hurried behind them, going through the Floo to Dumbledore's office and collapsing into a chair there as Sirius and Dumbledore followed her through. Sirius looked around the office, wide-eyed, while Dumbledore considered Hermione carefully.

"If we are to do this," he said finally, "we might as well do the whole thing properly."

Hermione blinked. "Sir?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Miss Granger, please go and fetch Mister Potter and take him to the Great Hall," Dumbledore said. "It is quarter to four. If I am not mistaken, he will be in Defense Against the Dark Arts, just finishing up."

"The Great Hall, sir?" Hermione repeated.

"Sirius Black has been known to roam these halls before," Dumbledore said mildly. "Being open about where he is and that I am aware of it this time will significantly reduce the rumors."

Sirius looked surprised by this, but he shrugged.

"Wherever works," he said. He grinned. "I could use a good Hogwarts dinner anyway."

Hermione left Dumbledore's office, taking a detour to the Slytherin dormitory to change out of her Wizengamot robe and into a sleek green one. She paused to clip on her silver Slytherin crest and finger-comb her hair before heading out and back up the stairs. She didn't want Sirius forgetting she was a Slytherin, particularly if he was going to be talking to Harry, and she intended to remain at Harry's side until Harry seemed comfortable.

When Hermione knocked on the DADA door, Lupin called out "come in," and he looked surprised to see her. He was holding what looked like a kappa's skull in his hand.

"Miss Granger," he said. "What brings you to this class?"

"Sorry for interrupting, sir," Hermione said. "The Headmaster is requesting Harry Potter."

"Now?" Lupin glanced at the clock. "He's got another ten minutes of class."

"I know," she said. "Only—he's to meet his godfather, and Dumbledore wanted him to come now—"

Lupin's eyes widened as he inhaled sharply, and Harry's excited gasp echoed in the room, his chair scraping as he hurried to his feet and shoved his things into his bag.

"I'll get the homework from Neville, Professor!" Harry told Lupin, rushing toward the door. "Bye!"

Hermione glanced back at Lupin, who had gone very pale.

"Follow me, Harry," she said loudly. "We're going to the Great Hall…"

She closed the door behind her. Harry was practically vibrating with excitement, and Hermione looked at Harry with a smile as they walked.

"He got off, then?" Harry wanted to know. "He's innocent?"

"Cleared of all charges," Hermione assured him. "He wants to meet you. Dumbledore was pushing to wait until the end of the school year until I reminded him that Sirius is your legal guardian, now, so he had the authorization necessary to visit you at the school."

That gave Harry pause. "…my legal guardian?"

"He's your godfather," Hermione said, glancing over at Harry. "Your parents probably intended you to live with him if anything happened to them."

Harry lapsed into silence for a long moment.

"Well," he said. "I guess we'll see if it comes up."

There were maybe a dozen students scattered around doing homework in the Great Hall when Hermione and Harry entered. Sirius was sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table, immediately visible as soon as one entered the Great Hall, and he stood as Hermione and Harry approached.

"Harry," Sirius breathed, his eyes drinking him in. "Look at you."

Harry shot Hermione a look, who shrugged, before he turned back to Sirius, looking him over as Sirius took in Harry.

"You look just like your father," Sirius said, awed. "Except for your eyes. You have Lily's eyes."

"You don't look anything like your photo in the paper," Harry said, blunt. "How am I supposed to know you're actually Sirius Black?"

Sirius cackled, grinning.

"Had to look good for court, didn't I?" he said, sitting back down. "Had to make sure I could fool them into thinking I would be a productive member of society so they'd let me off."

Harry grinned back, sitting down across from Sirius. "'Fool them'? So you're not a productive member of society?"

"I've been lounging around the past twelve years, living off of the taxpayers' money," Sirius said, stretching out and folding his arms behind his head. "Certainly doesn't sound productive to me."

Harry laughed. "You were in jail!"

"So?"

Hermione sat down at the table as well, listening in and watching. Harry wanted to know all about the trial and how it went, and Sirius retold his account of it with flair and panache, gesturing widely.

"—insisted they declare me innocent," Sirius was saying. "When they voted, it was like a million to two."

"Forty-seven to two," Hermione corrected, rolling her eyes.

"Only two people voted guilty," Sirius went on, ignoring her. "That's practically no one. So Dumbledore declared I was innocent of all charges, and that I was free to go, and there was a great cheer. It was brilliant."

That wasn't quite what had happened, but Hermione let it slide.

"So you're my godfather again now?" Harry asked. "Now that you're innocent?"

"I was always your godfather, Harry," Sirius said, frowning.

"Well, yeah. But now you have your titles and land and stuff restored to you, right?" Harry asked. "Did they give you back your wand?"

Sirius looked startled and frowned deeply, as if only just realizing he didn't have his wand. After twelve years without one, though, Hermione imagined it had become his norm.

"There will be a follow-up hearing where Sirius will be formally restored his land and titles," Hermione said. "Madam Bones is having her staff hunt down his old wand, and the Minister will present it to him. That'll effectively restore him in society and to his Wizengamot seat, and he should have access to any ancestral properties or vaults at that point." She paused. "Though, the vaults I suppose is more of a question for the goblins."

"Wizengamot seat?" Sirius made a face. "I don't want that."

"Well, you've got it," Hermione said sharply.

"Uh-uh. Nope. No way," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Playing politics is not my thing. I'm staying on it long enough for Peter's trial, and then I'm off."

"You'd just give it back to Narcissa?" Hermione said, astonished.

"Why not? She was probably doing a good job before—"

"The Wizengamot is important," Hermione shot back. "You would have a voice on legislation—"

"Like what? Cauldron-bottom thickness? Hermione, law is boring—"

"Like on werewolves," Hermione snapped at him. "I'm working on legislation to improve their lot in life. And I need you on the Wizengamot to vote."

That caught Sirius off-guard.

"…werewolves?" he said.

"Werewolves," Hermione repeated firmly. "If you value your old friendship at all, you'll stay on the Wizengamot until my bill passes."

Sirius considered that.

"…I guess I'll need something to keep busy anyway," he conceded. "And it's probably not best to let the Malfoys have two seats. Seems more than a bit unfair."

"Agreed," Harry snickered. "The Malfoys are always a problem."

"So! Harry. Tell me about you," Sirius urged. "What's your favorite class? Do you have friends? What do you think of Hogwarts? I want to know it all."

Harry looked surprised at being asked about himself.

"Err. Well, I'm thirteen, now," he said. "Though you probably know that, I guess."

"I did know your birthday." Sirius grinned. "I held you when you were a baby, Harry."

Harry looked surprised by this, then vaguely uncomfortable at the thought.

"I'm really good at Defense," Harry said. "I like Arithmancy and Charms, too, though I think I need to get permission to take Ancient Runes next year to help with Arithmancy—"

"Arithmancy?" Sirius repeated, surprised.

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's loads better than Divination, and it's mostly just maths. But I'm having trouble with the runes—"

"I wouldn't have thought you'd take Arithmancy," Sirius said. "Kind of a swotty class, isn't it?"

Harry was caught off-guard, then looked annoyed.

"Why?" he said. "Because it's hard?"

"It just always seemed like that," Sirius said, shrugging. "Even your mum didn't take that one. She excelled in Charms—"

Hermione expected Harry to ask Sirius more about his mother, but instead, Harry just looked irritated.

"I really like it," Harry said flatly. "Hermione told me it was mostly muggle maths last year, and I thought that didn't sound bad. We're taking Arithmancy together. I like the logic in how it works."

"So you're taking a class just because your friend is taking it?" Sirius drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. So what?" Harry shot back, folding his arms. "Hermione is one of my best friends. Why not? I'm only in Magical Creatures and Divination because Ron and Neville wanted to take those classes."

"Those are at least more common electives," Sirius tried to say.

"So?" Harry said. "I don't care. I don't care what's common. I do what I want."

Sirius didn't know quite what to say to that.

"Tell me other things about you," he said, after a moment. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Quidditch," Harry said immediately, his eyes lighting up. "I made Seeker as a first year for Gryffindor, did you know? And we just won the Quidditch Cup a couple weeks ago—"

"I knew it!" Sirius crowed, grinning. "Your Dad was brilliant at Quidditch. I knew you'd love it. It's in your blood."

"Really?" Harry said, excited. "My dad played?"

"Best damn Chaser Gryffindor had in years," Sirius said firmly. "Gryffindor took the cup four years in a row because of him."

"Wicked." Harry was smiling wistfully. "I never knew my dad played."

"Seeker, though." Sirius whistled. "That's a key position. Very niche, very specific skills there. Has the Firebolt helped?"

"Yeah, it's—hey!" Harry cut himself off, exclaiming. His eyes went wide. "You sent that?"

Sirius grinned. "Guilty."

"I knew it!" Harry turned to Hermione, grinning. "He did send it!"

"Of course he sent it," Hermione chided gently. "We knew the odds—"

"You knew I sent it?" Sirius asked. "Wait, how? I didn't send a card—"

"We did the Arithmancy," Harry said, waving a hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter now – we just had to run the odds to make sure the broomstick wasn't going to kill me—"

"Kill you?" Sirius repeated blankly. "Why on earth—"

"My broomstick tried to kill me first year, and a Bludger tried to murder me last year too," Harry said. "It's kind of a thing. And at Christmas we thought you we were still trying to murder me, so it made sense to check—"

Sirius was staring at him.

"You've just… had murder attempts?" he repeated. "During school?"

"Strictly speaking, the Bludger was only supposed to grievously injure Harry, I think," Hermione said, smirking.

"Bloody thing broke my arm and nearly took my head off," Harry groused. "But first year, Quirrell jinxed my broom. That was a deliberate attempt at killing me. I only lived because Snape was doing the counter-curse—"

"Snape?" Black repeated, blinking. He looked disturbed. "That's right… he's teaching now, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "He teaches Potions, which I'm not very good at. He's our coven advisor, though. I get along with him better there—"

"You get along with him?" Sirius repeated, incredulously.

"Kind of?" Harry frowned. "He's very sarcastic, but most Slytherins are, really. Blaise is Slytherin too – he's in my coven – and he's always being sarcastic and teasing me—"

Sirius was shaking his head.

"The Houses must have changed," he said. "Friends with two Slytherins… well, I suppose with Voldemort gone, you don't really need to worry about junior Death Eaters, do you? But Snape…"

"Or maybe," came an acidic voice from above, "there never was anything wrong with Slytherin House, and your own prejudice blinded you from seeing the truth."

Hermione looked up to see Snape standing behind her, his arms folded as he looked down at Sirius. There was a deadly fire in his eyes, and as Sirius stood up, there was an anger in his eyes as he glared right back.

"Snape," Sirius sneered. "What an unpleasant surprise."

Harry looked at Hermione in alarm as the tension ratcheted up dramatically between the two adults. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, and other students were watching on. Hermione stood up between the two, looking Sirius dead in the eyes.

"Professor Snape is the Head of Slytherin House," Hermione said warningly, keeping her voice low. "A House with a legacy I am proud to be a part of. As was Narcissa Malfoy, who was instrumental in securing your freedom, Sirius." She gave him a sharp look. "You've spent twelve years in prison, and we learned in court that it might have been in part because of schoolyard bullying when you were a child. Let's not start your freedom off by behaving badly, shall we?"

Fury flashed across Sirius' face, and he looked like not saying something mean was strangling him.

"Well said, Miss Granger," Snape said silkily. "Only, that would require Black here to feel gratitude for something, which he's never done before. Everything's always been handed to him, you see—"

"You have no idea," Sirius snapped, glaring. "I had to fight back against my mother—"

"Your rich, pureblooded mother who spoiled you?" Snape sneered. "Poor you."

"She disowned me, you absolute arse—"

"Sirius."

The gasp of breath that was Sirius' name cut off the growing argument, and they all turned to see Lupin standing there, his eyes wide. The moment stretched on as they looked at each other, drinking each other in.

"Moony," Sirius said finally, his voice choked, and Lupin went to him immediately, embracing him like a brother.

"How very… touching," Snape sneered. He looked down at Hermione, giving her a curt look, and Hermione winced, venturing a cautious, sheepish grin.

"You could at least wait until Harry gets to know him before you murder him in a duel?" she suggested, and Snape rolled his eyes, but a smirk was lurking on his lips.

"I will leave you then, Mister Potter, to your… happy reunion." His lips curled. "Remember where your loyalties lie."

He strode away, robes billowing, while Lupin and Sirius were still hugging each other tightly.

"What does that mean?" Harry wanted to know, whispering to Hermione. "My loyalties?"

"Sirius and Lupin bullied Snape in school, along with your father," Hermione murmured back. "They bullied a lot of Slytherins. I don't think they were very nice." She paused, gnawing on her lip. "I think he's reminding you to not try and act like your father. Snape wants you to remember yourself, and who you've chosen to be."

Harry seemed to dwell on this.

"Well, my first loyalty is to you and the coven, right?" he asked, almost rhetorically. "You're the ones I trust the most, I think. Then Neville and Ron – they're my closest friends, after the coven. Then… maybe Dumbledore? I don't know…"

Hermione felt a rush of affection for Harry, and she squeezed his arm.

More students were coming into the Great Hall now and staring at Sirius Black, who had sat back down and was now chatting with Lupin. Lupin was apologizing for not trusting him, and Sirius was waving it off as if being imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years had been a minor inconvenience.

"—going to be Peter's trial," Sirius was saying. He scowled. "Knowing him, I should probably register now so I don't get fined when he takes the stand."

Lupin was suppressing a grin. "I think that's probably wise."

"How long are you here for?" Harry asked Sirius. "Are you staying?"

"Nah," Sirius shook his head. "I'll go home after dinner." He paused. "Home. Merlin, I haven't been 'home' in… fourteen? Fifteen years?"

"Where are you going?" Lupin asked. "The old townhouse?"

"Only place I know of," Sirius said. He scowled. "Mum re-inherited me after I got thrown in Azkaban, did you know? For being a successful spy for Voldemort."

"Merlin." Lupin shook his head. "That's awful."

"Yeah, well. At least I have a place to stay." He grinned. "And I'll enjoy horrifying dear ol' mum with the changes I make."

Lupin and Sirius both chuckled, before Sirius turned to Harry. He paused, dark eyes meeting Harry's green ones.

"I know you live with your relatives now," he said. "But—I'm your godfather. After I get my place back into shape, if you wanted—you could come live with me…"

To Hermione's astonishment, Harry stayed quiet for a moment, looking at Sirius.

"Maybe?" Harry said, managing a small smile. "Dumbledore says there are blood wards at my aunt's house that helps keep me safe, so we'd need to make sure he thinks your place is safe too."

Sirius looked mildly annoyed at this, but Lupin was nodding.

"A valid point," he said, giving Sirius a look. "Harry's safety is of paramount concern. Right Sirius?"

"Right, yes, of course," Sirius said. He made a face. "I'm just considering what kind of safety hazards are inside the house. Who knows what kind of Dark magic shit she left just lying around before she died? I'll probably walk inside and be immediately eaten by a dresser…"

Harry suppressed a snicker while Hermione fought to keep down a giggle.

"You and your mum didn't get along?" Harry asked.

"No. I ran away as a teen and lived with your dad for the summers," Sirius said wistfully. "Good times, that, despite the disowning. But a boy's got to become a man at some point and take a stand, decide what he's going to believe in and stand for—"

"What did you stand for? What about my dad?"

Hermione touched Harry on the arm as she stood. He glanced back at her, giving her a grateful smile before he turned back to Sirius, who was telling Harry about James. More and more people were filing in, now, ready for dinner, and Harry seemed to be doing okay on his own.

Hermione went over to the Slytherin table, where people were pretending not to stare at Sirius Black and doing their best to have unrelated conversations. Blaise smirked at her as she approached.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, grinning. "How was the Wizengamot?"

"Oh thank Merlin," Pansy muttered. "Now it's topical."

"Enlightening," Hermione said. "Did you know the goblins—"

"No one cares about the goblins, Hermione!" Tracey moaned. "Come on – Sirius Black is right there."

"Oh," Hermione said. She grinned. "Innocent. He was cleared of all charges."

There was a commotion at this being confirmed, and suddenly everyone in her class was listening in.

"Sirius was able to declare he was innocent in the Truth Circle, and he laid all the claims of blame at Peter Pettigrew's feet," Hermione said. "The rest of the trial kind of focused on why he hadn't gotten a trial before, but it didn't really matter. The vote was forty-seven to two."

"That's excellent," Draco said. He looked genuinely pleased. "He's free, now? Entirely?"

"I think he has to report to the Ministry tomorrow to get his wand," Hermione said, "but yes, essentially."

"That'll be good," Draco mused. "Mum could use more family to visit. Even with him being an annoyance, it'll cheer her up. She's stretching the definitions of 'family' thin as it is."

Theo snorted. "Least you have family."

Draco shot him a dark look, which Theo ignored.

"Why's Potter talking to him?" Pansy wanted to know. "If it's established Black didn't actually want to kill him—"

"Oh, Sirius Black is Harry Potter's godfather," Hermione said, surprised. She'd forgotten that wasn't exactly common knowledge. "They're just getting to know each other."

Draco's jaw dropped.

"So if I go and visit my cousin this summer, now, Potter will be there?" he groaned. "I never get a break."

"Oh, it wouldn't be so bad, Malfoy," Blaise said. He batted his eyelashes. "You could practice Quidditch and get Seeker lessons from him."

There was a roar of laughter and Draco's face turned red as he glared at Blaise who grinned back, unrepentant.

When they left dinner to go back to the common room, Hermione brought up the topic again with Blaise.

"—and when Sirius brought it up, he just said 'maybe'," she told him quietly. "Harry hates his aunt. His excuse was about the blood wards, but it was just an excuse. Harry doesn't give a damn about the blood wards – he lived at the Weasleys' last summer as much as he could…"

"Well, Harry doesn't exactly know him, does he?" Blaise mused. "And he's got a bit of a rough history with trusting adults. His relatives, Dumbledore for putting him with his relatives, Quirrell trying to murder him…" He shrugged. "He doesn't need to trust an adult to protect him, now. He's got the coven house, now, to stay safe in."

"That's still just a treehouse," Hermione protested. "I mean, yes, I hoped Harry could live in it if he wanted, but compared to a London townhouse…"

"Harry wants his freedom," Blaise said simply. "That's worth a lot to him. And he'll be able to be around Luna and Ron all summer, as well as us anytime we meet."

Hermione glanced at Blaise.

"Do you think that will happen?" she asked, pleased. "That we'll all be around each other all summer?"

Blaise laughed.

"So long as you don't take off for the Goblin Hold again or something equally ridiculous," he said, nudging her, his eyes sparkling, "I'd say the odds are rather high."