Chapter 5: Black vs. Red

After a few more minutes Tonks and Siris leave teenagers alone. Hermione still was holding his hand. Harry smiled at her.

"I don't know how to help him. I want to hug him and take care of him, but every time I hugged him, he flinched. Now it all made sense. He was abused and beaten, he wasn't used to tender touch." She thought. Unconsciously, tears began to gather in her eyes.

"Hermione, I told you I don't want pity over me." He told her. When she looked in his eyes, he saw something in them. Then he reached one arm to her and he hugged her gently with one arm. "It's okay, Hermione. It's still me" She was stunned. It was the first time Harry initiated touch. She looked at him. "What? Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked confused.

"No, everything is alright, but you never initiated physical contact with me." Hermione explained "This surprised me."

"After all these years of your bones-crashing hugs, maybe you convinced me a little." Harry laughed. At this Hermione smiled. She liked his laugh.

"Harry" she said seriously "How do you feel about hiding things from Ron, he is your best mate after all?"

"No Hermione, he's not. He lost privilege to know everything about me after the Goblet of Fire failure." He said bitterly. "That was the last straw. And after his so-called apology I didn't have the strength to fight with him. Also last year I had too many opponents and only you by my side. I didn't want you to suffer because of that. But I swear, if he does something like that one more time I start to treat him worse than Malfoy. At least that blond ponce is honest with me." At that Hermione nodded. "What about your feelings about that?"

"Can I be totally honest with you?" Harry nodded. "I'm friend with him only because of you. In our first year after you saved me, I was lonely and wanted a friend. I had known you and Ron go as a package." Hermione confesses. "It's not like I don't like him. But without you I would never consider him as a friend. He is not very bright, he is fixed only on two things. Quidditch and food. Honestly, where does he put all this food?"

"I think this year we need to distance ourselves from him a bit." Harry said.

"Agree" Hermione answered.

After that conversation they talked more about what they hoped to learn from Tonks and Sirius. Harry visibly relaxed during this conversation. Hermione was slightly surprised by Harry's attitude and his eagerness to learn, which is usually overshadowed by Ron's laziness. After about half an hour Hermione went to her room. Few minutes after that, Ron came to their bedroom and went to sleep. Harry couldn't sleep until 3 am and when he finally slept he had nightmares all night.

Next morning. Black ancestor house.

At breakfast every teenager resident, Sirius, Molly and Tonks eat their meal. When everyone finishes their meal beside Ron. Molly Weasley stood up and looked at Harry, Hermione and her children.

"Well, " she started firmly. "For your today's duties…" She stopped when Sirius stood up and continued when she stopped.

"...consist of playing chess, listening to WWN, talking and above all relaxing. I'll just kidnap Harry and Hermione for a bit and together with Tonks we'll keep the promise we made to them yesterday." At the end Sirius winked to Harry. All redhead teenagers cheered. Harry grinned at him but he knows that Molly Weasley isn't that easy to overrule by anyone, maybe beside Albus-Too-Many-Names Dumbledore.

"What are you thinking you are doing Sirius?!" Mrs. Wesley snapped at him. Her anger caused her face to turn red.

"Hmmm…" Sirius nonchalantly answered "I think I care about my guest, Molly"

"What?!" She was taken aback by this statement.

"Think Molly. This is my house after all. If you live here then you all are my guests." Sirius tries to ire Molly more on purpose. It was successful. Her face was as red as her hair.

"Are you serious?" Everybody beside Molly and Sirius growl at that statement.

"Yes, I AM Sirius" Sirius said proudly like it was the best joke in the world. "Molly, they are just kids. Give them some space and time. They already suffer for not having the possibility to play Quidditch or simply go out."

"But there is work to-" Molly started.

"And that work will be here also when they go to Hogwarts. They can't work like house elf here. It's not their job!"

"But we can live in this mess!" Weasley's matron shouts at Sirius.

"If you don't like my house you and your family are free to go back home where the rules you set apply. But here I refuse to let the children work in this house until the end of the holidays. They need to have a holiday, to rest" Sirius' statement caused absolute silence in the kitchen. Even Ron stopped chewing his six helping of breakfast.

After few minutes Mrs. Weasley turned to children. "We are leaving for the Burrow. I can't stand this anymore. Go pack your things and we leave in an hour." She looked expectantly at all the teenagers. Ginny stands up first and goes straight up the stairs to the room. After her Ron stuffed the whole sausage into his mouth and went upstairs as well. Meanwhile Fred and George exchanged looks and nodded at each other. Then Twins nonchalantly and simultaneously took cups of tea and started drinking. Harry and Hermione looked at that scene with no wish to move anywhere.

"Fred, George, what with you? Go pack yourselves. Harry, Hermione you as well." Weasley's mother said with power.

Fred and George started their ping-pong talking.

"We have…" said first.

"... no wish to move …" continued the second one.

"... from here. We are …"

"... of age and can …"

"... decide for ourselves."

If Molly earlier was angry then now she was furious. "Harry, Hermione go to pack yourselves, now." She said.

"No." Sirius simply said. They are in my custody. Harry is MY godson and Hermione's parents agreed to let her stay here, not in the Burrow."

"AAAH!" Molly Weasley shouted and left the kitchen, probably to pack her and her husband's things.

Tonks watched the whole scene with her mouth open.