After their encounter with Trelawney, Ginny and Hermione spent an anxious night waiting for something to happen. They scrutinized every page of the next morning's Prophet at breakfast, but found nothing significant enough to merit a prophecy–certainly no mention of Riddle or his Death Eaters.

Hermione continued to fret for several days that by silencing the prophecy, Ginny had merely delayed an event that remained inevitable, or had perhaps already occurred without their notice. As time passed though, studying for final exams pushed these concerns to the back of her mind.

Ginny studied for her exams as well, but remained more interested in what she was learning in her extra lessons. When she and Harry arrived at their next meeting with Lupin, he looked pleased to see them, perhaps even relieved.

"I wasn't sure you would feel comfortable being around me, having seen what I become," he told them. "It's one thing to accept it intellectually, but quite another to witness it firsthand."

Harry said, "The werewolf thing still doesn't bother me. Not telling me Sirius is an Animagus kind of does."

"That was an error in judgment on my part, but not something I kept only from you. I wasn't as forthcoming as I should have been with the headmaster either. I thought I was doing enough by making sure he knew about all the secret tunnels into the school Sirius knew from our student days, and by helping to monitor them."

"But he got in anyway."

"Yes, though not using the tunnels. He realized we would be watching them, so he approached through the Forbidden Forest instead. He spent most of the last year living out there, where he was able to evade the Dementors by remaining in his canine form. I had no idea the Animagus transformation would allow that."

"I'm not sure what the big secret was. McGonagall showed us she could become a cat in like our first class with her."

"Professor McGonagall is a registered Animagus. When I was a student, my friends took it upon themselves to become unregistered–and thus illegal–Animagi for my sake. Werewolves do not attack other animals, and this allowed them to stay with me and make my transformations more bearable."

"My dad was one of those friends, wasn't he? Him, Sirius, and Pettigrew?"

"Correct. James took the form of a stag, as did his Patronus. And now yours has as well. Excellent work, by the way, since I didn't get a chance to tell you at the time. Ginny, you also deserve congratulations, for that shield you cast. And not incidentally, my sincerest thanks to both of you, for saving us all."

Ginny gave a simple nod, while Harry said, "Thanks, but I still don't understand the secrecy. My dad is gone, you thought Pettigrew was too, and you thought Sirius was guilty of far worse crimes than failing to file paperwork. Why keep the secret?"

"When I was a student here, I was supposed to remain in the Shrieking Shack on the nights I transformed. Instead, I went running around free outside–without benefit of Wolfsbane–relying on my friends to keep me away from people. Looking back now, I'm horrified by my own recklessness, and I didn't want to reveal that my friends had participated in it, which they only did for my sake."

Harry said, "I wish you'd told me sooner, but I guess it all worked out. If everyone knew what Sirius could do, they might have captured him, and the truth probably never would have come out."

"I am of course happy with the outcome, but it does not absolve me. I kept silent out of guilt, and fear of having my guilt revealed. Intent matters. If there is one thing I hope you have learned from our lessons, it is this basic principle–that intent matters. This is true both in magic and in the way we choose to live our lives."

He turned to Ginny. "With fire magic in particular, the sort of intent necessary to wield more powerful spells can easily lead one into the Dark Arts. That is part of why this area of magic is so perilous, even beyond the obvious dangers of losing control of a spell. I will not try to persuade you to stop, but I urge you to remain ever cautious."

Ginny said, "I'll be careful, but now that I've shown I can handle more powerful spells, you have no reason to keep holding me back."

"Is that what you believe I've been doing?"

"We always work on control. Never on power."

"Which is exactly what I promised to teach you before we began, for your own safety."

"Holding back didn't keep me safe from Dementors. Pushing beyond what you taught me did."

"That was unexpected. Fighting a swarm of Dementors was never part of my lesson plan for either of you. I've never worked with you on developing greater power, because I've never doubted it would come easily to you, once you were ready. I still believe you need to learn control more than anything else. You cannot continue to make progress if you wind up immolating yourself," he finished bluntly.

Harry said, "If you're that worried, you should stay and continue to teach us."

Lupin said, "My position here will become untenable once news of my condition gets out, as I fear it must, with all the ongoing attention on what took place out on the grounds that night."

"Not to mention the curse on the job," Ginny added.

"That too. Also, I fear Professor Snape's patience with this arrangement has nearly reached its limit."

"What's Snape's problem, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Back in school, Severus had a bitter rivalry with your father, and by extension, your father's closest friends, myself included. It was the sort of rivalry which involves jinxes and hexes and practical jokes whose aim is for the victim to be laughed at, rather than with."

Harry stared at him. "That's why he's hated me since I got here? My father's gone, so he takes it out on me? And my father's friends?"

"It's more than that. Besides everything I did to him while in full possession of my faculties, Severus has good reason to fear werewolves, and to hold a grudge against Sirius in particular. But you should probably hear that story from Sirius."

"Still keeping secrets, Professor?" Ginny asked.

Lupin sighed. "Fair point. Very well. I suppose this is something you should know, Harry, if you intend to live with him."

"I do."

"Sirius is a good man, but can be impulsive. Reckless, even. And though he would never harm you for any reason, he is quite capable of violence. As am I, for that matter, and not just when the wolf is in control. Once I knew who the real traitor was, I was willing to let Sirius go ahead and murder Pettigrew. I even considered doing it myself, for everything he did years ago, but also for the fact he's been free all this time, while Sirius…"

He stopped and shook his head. "I'm sure that's partly my own guilt over not questioning the official story years ago. In any case, now that I've had more time to consider, as furious as I am at Pettigrew, killing him would not be the example Sirius and I should be setting for you. In fact, you and Hermione were the ones setting a better example for us."

Harry thought about this. "I didn't want him to do it, but I can't say either of you were wrong to feel that way. But what's that got to do with Snape?"

"Ah, yes. This is a story which may sound familiar to you, from what I've seen of your interactions with Draco Malfoy. As an aside, it would be a good idea for you to quash that rivalry before it goes too far."

Lupin raised his hands when he saw Harry's scowl. "I recognize that the will to do so may not be there on his side."

Harry gave a tight nod, but kept quiet to allow Lupin to continue.

"As I started to say," Lupin explained, "the conflict between our group and Severus–and some of his Slytherin housemates–started with practical jokes and harmless jinxes. As time passed, and the tensions that would lead to war began to rise, things escalated. Severus was always trying to get us in trouble for being out after curfew. One full moon night, Sirius told him where to find me, knowing full well that he would find the wolf."

Lupin paused to let that sink in. "If your father hadn't intervened, I likely would have killed Severus Snape that night."

Harry said, "Thank you for telling me, but that was a long time ago, and it doesn't change my mind about living with Sirius."

"I'm not trying to change your mind. I think you and he could be good for each other. I simply want you to be aware of what the people in your life may be capable of. And perhaps to get you to think about what things you are willing or not willing to do."

He turned to Ginny. "I believe you would both do well to reflect on this. Though I may not have much moral high ground to stand on when it comes to making good choices, I can at least urge you to make your choices thoughtfully, rather than impulsively."

Neither student had a response to that, so they left the matter there, and started the lesson.

Since Harry had mastered the Patronus Charm, Lupin turned to helping him catch up in areas where he was weak due to poor Defense teachers during his first two years at Hogwarts.

In contrast, Ginny already had a strong command of the fundamentals of the subject. If Lupin suspected who her first tutor had been, he didn't comment. She continued to focus on fire magic, though Lupin also began having her practice dueling with Harry, now that Harry was working on skills suitable for use against opponents other than Dementors.

~*~

When they left the lesson, Harry waited until they turned a corner, then said, "He didn't ask where you learned to cast that fire shield. I wonder why not."

Ginny shrugged. "Fine by me. If he doesn't bring it up, I'm certainly not going to. He didn't mention me trying to kill Pettigrew either, except indirectly, talking about choices. He likes to talk around things, to make us do the work of figuring out what he's getting at. Who knows? Maybe he implied something about me breaking into his office, but it was so subtle we missed it."

Harry snorted. "Maybe. What do you think about the other stuff he said? About what we're willing to do?"

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win the war and keep the people I care about safe."

"We don't know there's going to be another war. Not for certain."

"If Riddle regains his full strength, there will be."

"I don't know if I'm ready."

"You are. In some ways, the war has already started for us."

"I suppose." He paused. "I have killed two people already, depending on how you count."

"Two?"

"Quirrell and the diary. I didn't mean to with Quirrell, but he was trying to kill me, and I think I would have done the same thing even if I'd known what would happen. I don't know if the diary counts as a person, but it seemed like one while I was talking to it. But I guess you know that better than anyone."

"I didn't know you felt that way about the diary–like you'd killed someone to save me."

"I did what I had to, and I'd do the same thing again. I don't regret it."

"If you were willing to kill for me, why wouldn't you let me take care of Pettigrew for you?"

"It's not the same. The diary was about to kill you. Pettigrew wasn't a threat."

"Are you sure? He's the one who actually did the things people blamed Sirius for, and look how terrified everyone's been of him for the last year. I've been thinking about what could have happened if my family had figured out what the rat really was. Rats can be dangerous when they're cornered. And there's no telling what he might have done next if he escaped, now that he can't hide anymore. I won't apologize for wanting to stop him once and for all."

"I guess, but it's different when your opponent's already down, and not able to fight back, and you can turn them over to the Ministry."

"A lot of people who were handed over to the Ministry during the war wound up going free, by using the Imperius defense. Or maybe I should say the pure-blooded, upstanding member of society defense. Or the bags of gold in the right hands defense. Take your pick. Lucius Malfoy was one of them. Look how well that turned out."

"I get all that, but it's not just whether Pettigrew is dangerous or deserves it or whatever. It's also the effect killing someone has on the person doing it."

She studied his expression. "What effect did it have on you?"

"Like I said, I'd do it again, in both cases. I didn't have much choice."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"My point is, I would never want you, or Sirius, or anyone else to do that for me, if there was another way."

"I don't think we need to worry about spoiling my innocence at this point. That Portkey has already departed."

"Stop. You're not poisoned. The diary is gone. He's gone. He's not in your head anymore."

"That doesn't mean everything just gets wiped clean."

"Ginny…"

"No, listen. We were talking about Pettigrew, so let's talk. I wouldn't have been doing it just for you, and I shouldn't have put it like that a minute ago. He's hurt lots of people, probably more than we know. No one jumps straight to betraying their friends and then killing a street full of Muggles, no matter how scared he was."

"Lupin did tell us they thought they had a traitor even before what happened to my parents."

Ginny nodded. "I told you about my uncles. I don't know if the rat had anything to do with that, but he was a spy for the people who did. Not to mention it turns out the fucking creep was sneaking around my house and sleeping in my brothers' beds for as long as I've been alive. What if my parents had given me the rat, instead of Ron? So yeah, I've got plenty of reasons to put an end to him. And to Lucius Malfoy, for that matter, if I ever get the chance. Or anyone else who joins Riddle. I have personal reasons for some of them, but they've all hurt someone's family, even if not mine, so they've all got it coming."

When Harry said nothing, she asked, "Do you see me differently because of it?"

"No."

"But you still don't agree."

"No, not about the specific situation that night, but I see where you're coming from. I haven't changed my mind about living with Sirius, and if I don't blame him or Lupin for what they wanted to do to Pettigrew, I'm certainly not going to hold it against you. And whatever other reasons you had, I know one was that you're on my side, no matter what."

"Yes. You can count on it. No matter what."

"I wish you understood how much that means to me, and how I would never give that up, never give you up, no matter what you did."

"I'm working on it, but it's still nice to hear you remind me."

He put his arm around her, and kept it there for the rest of the walk back to Gryffindor Tower.

~*~

As the end of term approached, Lupin met Harry's regular questions about Sirius with assurances that he remained safe, and that the headmaster and Director Bones were working to get the Ministry to reconsider his case. But with Lupin unable to point to any specific signs of progress, Harry found it difficult to remain patient.

When Harry had arrived at McGonagall's office after dealing with the revelation of his parents' true betrayer, people wanting to commit murder for him, and finally an attack by a swarm of Dementors, he'd been in no mood to talk to the Aurors, and was grateful to McGonagall for keeping them away.

Now he was starting to have second thoughts, though Lupin told him if his testimony could help, Dumbledore would let him know. Harry didn't like having other people fight his battles–maybe not even Dumbledore.

For Hermione's part, she started searching through magical law books in the library, as she had done for Buckbeak's case, though she regretted the distraction from studying for final exams.

The Weasleys knew from years of hearing their father talk about his work that formal legal codes and established precedent often held less sway than political maneuvering. They all advised Hermione to let Dumbledore handle it.

Even Percy agreed, though he alone didn't see a problem with the way the system worked. One night in the common room, he offered his view that although of course the ordinary citizen should follow all the laws, rules, and regulations that apply to them, the top people at the Ministry were able to see the big picture, and sometimes needed to rely on their experience and judgment to make exceptions in particular cases.

Percy seemed prepared to argue this at length, but Harry didn't hear it, as he got up and walked away.

Hermione scribbled some angry notes in her notebook, but decided to follow everyone's advice, and stop spending time on a situation she couldn't hope to influence. She returned the law books she'd borrowed, and threw herself entirely into her exam preparation, taking time out only to throw her friends into theirs, whenever she judged they weren't putting forth enough effort.

The Ministry at least removed the Dementors from Hogwarts, announcing they'd reviewed the matter, and had concluded the creatures posed a greater threat to the students than Sirius Black did. But even with them gone, Sirius remained in hiding from the Ministry.

~*~

The last Quidditch match of the year was between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff had lost to both Ravenclaw and Slytherin by so many points, they were effectively out of the running for the Quidditch Cup.

Gryffindor had won both their previous matches for the season, but Slytherin had scored enough goals in their drawn-out matches against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff to put them in first place, ninety points ahead of Gryffindor.

As a result, Gryffindor would be playing more for points than to beat Hufflepuff, a fact which Oliver Wood reminded Harry of frequently in the days leading up to the match. If Harry could catch the Snitch, that would win them the Cup. Failing that, he had to prevent Cedric Diggory from catching it before Gryffindor had a chance to score at least ten goals.

If Harry were flying against Malfoy, he might have resorted to the same sort of jibes Malfoy was always throwing at him, but he couldn't bring himself to sink to that level against Diggory. The Hufflepuff Seeker was too decent a bloke.

Instead, as soon as the whistle blew to begin the match, Harry set about making himself a distraction purely through his flying, looping around and in front of Diggory in erratic swoops and dives, always coming just short of getting called for Blatching. The idea had come to him when he remembered a nature film he'd seen back in Muggle school, about birds driving away predators.

As the match went on, his strategy seemed to be working well enough. The number of goals scored by both teams continued to creep upward, and Diggory showed no sign of having caught even a glimpse of the Snitch. The other Seeker didn't look as rattled as Harry had hoped, though. The guy was too damned steady.

The closest Harry came to truly unnerving the other Seeker was when he needed take a break to let his dizziness subside, which gave them a chance to talk.

Diggory grinned at him. "Nice flying. Whoever wins, I look forward to a rematch next year, when I hope we'll both be playing the same game."

Harry snorted. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Yeah, sure, if neither of us gets killed by Voldemort, Death Eaters, or a Dark creature first."

The smile fell from Diggory's face. "Merlin, kid."

Harry shrugged. "Sorry. Don't worry, though. It'll almost certainly be me."

Harry threw himself back into his maneuvers, so he wouldn't have to see the look on Diggory's face anymore, and so he wouldn't have room in his head for thoughts of anything but flying.

He became so immersed that he lost track of everything else, including the score, until a burst of cheering attracted his attention. The noise drew his focus away for just a moment, but when he looked back, Diggory was rocketing away across the field.

Harry spotted the Snitch then too, and gave chase, but his heart sank as he saw Diggory's hand reaching out, his fingers closing around the Snitch seconds later.

As Hooch blew her whistle, Harry had a moment to wonder if he'd screwed up the one thing his team was counting on him for. Then Lee Jordan announced that Hufflepuff had won the match, but Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

Harry flew down to join his team where they were gathering to congratulate each other and celebrate their victory.