A/N: From now on author's notes will follow chapters instead of preceding them. See below.

Chapter 8: Discoveries

Harry went down to breakfast the next morning to find Sirius and Lupin already there. Both men looked tired and careworn. Neither was speaking to the other, but Harry didn't think that they were still quarrelling. A member of the Order had been killed last night, and the loss had to weigh heavily upon their minds.

Wordlessly, Harry joined them. When a post owl deposited the Daily Prophet atop his scone, he glanced at it and quickly looked away. News of the attack on Warbleton was splashed all over the front page, and a large picture of the sparkling words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY" hanging above the town's rooftops accompanied the headline. Seeing that photograph made Harry feel sick to his stomach. His one consolation was that no one could possibly think that he had had anything to do with the attack now that Voldemort's return had been accepted as fact. No one in their right mind could fail to see it as anything other than what it was – a cruel swipe at Harry.

As the silence dragged on, Harry remembered what he, Ron and Hermione had decided the previous day – that he was going to ask Dumbledore to test him for the ability to perform Legilimency. Harry's heart sank when he realized that Dumbledore probably wouldn't be available now that Voldemort had struck again. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Sirius," Harry said neutrally, "when do you think I could talk to Dumbledore about… what I mentioned yesterday?"

Lupin looked up from his own copy of the Daily Prophet.

Sirius smiled wryly. "I don't think he'll have many free moments in the foreseeable future. Can't it wait? I'd hate to have to ask Snape to darken our doorway."

Lupin's curiosity seemed thoroughly piqued. "What do you need Severus for?"

"Harry and his friends wanted to know whether You-Know-Who was a Legilimens," said Sirius.

"He is," said Lupin.

"I told them as much," said Sirius. "I suggested they talk to Dumbledore if they wanted more information. I know very little about it, myself."

"You would if you'd paid attention in class seventh year," said Lupin. Sirius merely shrugged, and Lupin smiled for a moment before turning his gaze to Harry. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Ron, Hermione and I were talking about Voldemort and it just came up," Harry lied, using the story that Ron had fed to Sirius. "Hermione thought she'd read somewhere that he could do it. If Voldemort can read minds, then I'd like to know about it."

"Ah." Lupin took a deep drink from his coffee cup and gazed at Harry over the rim. Harry couldn't decide whether his old professor was convinced by the story or not. "And how is your research coming?" he continued, setting his cup back in its saucer.

"It's coming," Harry said evasively. "We're not quite through the books yet. I expect we'll continue today if Ron and Hermione want to. I was a bit of an idiot yesterday."

None of that had been a lie, although it wasn't the whole truth. He had been an idiot, and they hadn't read all of Nicodemus' books, but that was because they had already found what they were looking for. Harry felt no more willing to mention their find to Lupin than to Sirius.

So now what? Harry asked himself. Dumbledore didn't have time to test him just now, and there was no way he was going to go to Snape for help, but he didn't think he could bear to just sit around when he was so close to the answer he sought.

The answer suddenly seemed perfectly obvious. I'll just have to figure it out myself. Yes – that was it! He could look in the library for more information about Legilimency. If he was lucky, he might find a description of how it was done. Hermione would probably have a good idea of where to start; she had spent a lot of time in the library during the previous summer.

At that moment, Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, and Ron followed shortly after. Their greetings to Harry weren't as warm as usual, but neither were they cold, and Harry hoped that they were willing to tell him to forget about yesterday.

"Good morning," said Sirius. "There's plenty of food, if you're interested."

"I'm fine, thanks," said Ron. Hermione was staring off into a distant corner of the room, apparently not having heard the invitation.

"Something on your mind, Hermione?" said Lupin. "I suppose you've heard about everything that happened in Warbleton."

"Oh!" said Hermione, glancing up in surprise as if she had indeed been lost in her own thoughts. "Well, yes, we have heard it all, but that's not what I'm thinking of, not exactly. It's just that… well, I had a dream the night before last, and I've been trying and trying, but I can't quite remember it, and I don't know why. I've always been able to remember the important kind before."

"But how would you know if you'd forgotten?" Ron joked.

Lupin, however, was concerned. "You had a dream? The night before the attack?"

"Yes," said Hermione, "and I think it might have been about Warbleton, but I can hardly recall any of it. I slept like the…" She trailed off.

"Like the dead," Lupin said heavily. "There's no harm in using the word. Griselda's gone; she'd think us foolish for tiptoeing around the subject. But I must admit that I expected you to sleep deeply, Hermione. I had Pip make a special pot of tea after you returned from the Library. He added some powdered oak root and a small shot of firewhiskey."

"Oh," said Hermione. "Well, I understand the oak root." She rolled her eyes when she saw Ron looking at Harry for a clue. "It's one of the ingredients in Dreamless Sleep potion," she said irritably. "But isn't firewhiskey supposed to have a rather strong taste? I didn't notice anything strange."

Lupin apparently found this question amusing. "Why do you think they call it firewhiskey? It does burn on the way down. Some people say they don't notice a thing, but most of them are lying. Anyway, there wasn't much in the pot, and the oak root would help mask the taste." He sighed. "I never imagined I'd be causing a problem. It was my feeling that you all needed something to help calm your nerves."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders halfheartedly. "There's no way you could have known. At least I know that I'm not going to start forgetting my dreams all the time, now."

Harry was glad that Hermione had her answer, but now that he had a plan of action, he was impatient to get to the library. "What do you say we get moving?" he said aloud. "We, um, have a lot to do."

Everyone looked at him, surprised by the abrupt change of subject. Sirius recovered first. "You never answered my question about Dumbledore. If you really want me to" – he sighed in resignation – "I'll contact Snape for you."

"Don't bother," said Harry. "It can wait." And so saying, he strode out of the room, leaving Sirius and Lupin looking at each other in confusion.

"Oi! What's the rush?" said Ron, who was hurrying after with Hermione.

"It's nothing," said Harry. "It's just that I have an idea and I really want to get started."

"Well, I hope you plan to clue us in on whatever it is," said Hermione, sounding wounded.

Harry stopped walking, and so did his friends. He turned to face them. "Look," he said, "I'm really sorry about yesterday. I don't know why I acted like such a prat. But right now I want to talk to you both about something, and I don't want to do it in front of Remus and Sirius."

"Oh," said Hermione, perking up a bit. "All right, then."

"So what is it?" said Ron.

It took Harry a moment to recover. He hadn't expected Ron and Hermione to brush off yesterday so easily, but if it didn't bother them, then he wasn't going to let it bother him. "Let's get to the library first," he said. "We're not far enough away from them yet."

They filed up the stairs and down the hall to the room in question. As soon as he entered, Harry made a beeline for one bookshelf in particular and began to climb its ladder. Since he and his friends had spent so much time combing the library, he felt that he knew the arrangement of books rather well.

At the base of the ladder, Ron and Hermione exchanged doubtful glances. "So tell us what the big secret is," said Ron.

Harry continued to climb, peering at each shelf as he did so. If he remembered correctly, books about mental health had been located on this shelf. "At breakfast, I asked about getting some of Dumbledore's time, and Sirius said he didn't think that would be possible for a while."

Ron snorted. "How could he say that when he knows how important this is?"

"Well, that's the thing," said Harry. "He doesn't know why I want Dumbledore at all."

"You didn't tell him?" said Hermione in disbelief.

"Nope," said Harry.

"Why?"

Harry hesitated in his climb. He looked back down past his shoulders at his friends on the tiled floor below. "Lots of reasons. We don't even know if I can do it, and I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. I'd like to find out whether or not I can do Legilimency first, and then take it from there."

"But Dumbledore wouldn't go spreading the news around if you asked him not to," said Hermione.

"Yes, well, he's not available right now, is he?" said Harry. He looked away from his friends and climbed up another rung.

"Professor Snape, then. He could tell you whether or not you could do it –"

"I am not going to Snape for help," said Harry. On the floor below, he heard Hermione make a sound of exasperation.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! He helped save your life last year, and then you helped save his!"

"It didn't exactly make us friends."

"Well, what will it take for you to trust him?" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry looked down. "It's not that," he said. "I don't still think he's working for Voldemort, if that's what you mean."

"Then what is it?" Hermione said, softening her voice.

"You said that a Legilimens can look into other people's minds, to see their thoughts and memories and such," said Harry. "I don't want Snape in my head. I've got all sorts of memories that he's got no business looking at. Besides, he'd never consent to help me, and even if he did, he wouldn't keep it a secret. Can you imagine how he'd react if Sirius came to him to ask him such a thing?"

"I can," Ron laughed. He twisted his face into a frown, opened his mouth, and did a very passable imitation of Snape's sneering tones. "Have you taken leave of your senses, Black? I am not at your beck and call! I have neither the time nor the desire to tutor your pigheaded godson in the intricate details of Legilimency!"

Harry laughed, and so did Hermione, although she clearly wasn't convinced yet. "Look, Hermione," said Harry, "Snape and I don't mix. Going to him would cause all kinds of trouble, and all I want is to find out if I can do Legilimency at all."

"I don't know," she replied uncertainly. "In order to find that out, you'd have to practice getting into someone else's head, and if you're not going to tell anybody else about it… that leaves me and Ron as your guinea pigs. And learning Legilimency's not as simple as learning to levitate something, you know."

"Guinea pigs?" said Ron.

"Muggle expression," said Hermione.

"Yeah, I know," said Harry. "And that's why I promise I'd never try anything until we'd read enough on the subject. I'm not just going to wave my wand and give it a go without being prepared."

Hermione still looked doubtful. "Maybe…"

"It doesn't bother me," Ron put in. "I'd rather do this alone than have to deal with Snape."

"And I swear that the moment I found out I could do it, that would be it," Harry added. "No more practicing to see if I could get any better at it or anything. I'd go straight to Sirius and Lupin."

"And if Dumbledore still can't teach you and you have to go to Snape?" said Hermione.

Harry sighed. "Then I'll go to Snape."

"You mean that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because if you renege, I swear I'm turning you in myself."

Hermione's acceptance settled the matter. Harry immediately turned his attention back to the bookshelf, looking for titles on Legilimency and Occlumency. It was much easier to find these than it had been to find Estella the Wise, but the moment he sat down and cracked one of the books, Harry realized that it was still going to take some reading to learn exactly what he wanted to know. Much of the information was far and beyond the basics of the spell, and a good deal of it was over his head. Ron and Hermione were having similar problems. "Maybe this will be useful later, when you try and cure insanity," said Hermione. "Assuming you do turn out to be a Legilimens, that is."

"Blimey!" Ron suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Harry and Hermione said together, looking over at him with interest.

"It says here," said Ron, pointing at his book, "that Legilimency isn't exactly an inborn talent."

Hermione's mouth fell open slightly. "Are you sure? You're not reading about something else, like Occlumency?"

"I'm sure," said Ron, and he read a line directly from the page. "'Most witches and wizards can develop some amount of skill, but the greatest Legilimens are either sorcerers of remarkable ability, or those who have a natural affinity for it.'" He grinned cheekily at Hermione, whose face pinked.

"So even if I can't do it now, it doesn't mean I couldn't ever do it, right?" said Harry hopefully.

"Well, according to this, it can take a long time to become good at it if you're not… predisposed," said Ron. "Or really talented in general."

"I guess we'll have to stick with hoping that I'm predisposed, then," said Harry.

Ron grinned back at him before turning a smirk upon Hermione. "So it looks like you made a wee bit of a mistake."

Hermione bristled slightly. "I only read about Legilimency in passing once, and the book implied that it wasn't a learnable skill."

"Implied?" said Ron, grinning still more broadly. "I'd hardly call that hard evidence."

"Well, when the writer went on and on about how uncommon Legilimens were, I came to the most logical conclusion, and that is that Legilimens are born, not trained!" snapped Hermione. She was clutching the book in her lap very tightly, and her shoulders were hunched.

"Sheesh. Take it easy," said Ron, rolling eyes. "I can count on one hand the number of times you've misquoted a fact, Little Miss Perfect, so you'll forgive lesser mortals like me who can't help tweaking you when you do."

Harry glanced up from his book at them. He only had one ear on the conversation now; Ron and Hermione quarreled so often that he had learned to tune them out. But Ron hadn't fired back at Hermione like Harry had expected. In fact, it almost sounded like he had paid her a compliment, however backward. Hermione seemed to have decided that Ron had done just that. Her defensive posture had softened into something less so. "Well. I'll certainly do my best to see that it never happens again, if only to prevent your having the satisfaction, Ron Weasley."

"Better watch it," Ron teased. "Because you know I'll be watching like a hawk. A hawk with Omnioculars."

"You'll be wasting your time." Hermione turned up her nose, but she was smiling a little bit now.

"You're still only human," Ron retorted, grinning wolfishly.

It took a few hours of leafing through various volumes, but at last they found a book that included a chapter on beginning Legilimency. It included instructions on how to pronounce the spell, details of the proper wand motion, and even a description of what it felt like to both cast and be under the spell.

While Harry excitedly devoured the information, Ron and Hermione were debating whether or not they should actively try to keep Harry out of their heads while he tried to get in. One of the more in-depth books had confirmed Hermione's suspicion that Occlumency, too, could be studied by anyone, and while it was not as difficult to learn as Legilimency, it still required great strength of will. Ron and Hermione agreed that they both wanted to learn at some point; neither liked the idea of anyone being able to look inside their minds, especially Voldemort. In the end, they decided not to attempt it until they knew more about Harry. "We don't want to make this any harder for him than it has to be," said Hermione. "And I'm uneasy enough about this as it is. There's really no reason to complicate things."

For once, Ron was in complete agreement with her. "But I want to start practicing this as soon as someone can teach me," he said. "And who's to say that you and I can't do Legilimency, too? I mean, we might be naturally good at it and we might not, but the book did say that anyone can do it a little. It'd be wicked cool."

"Yes," said Hermione, and her eyes lit up. "I hadn't thought of that! But I expect I'd find it more useful than cool."

"I'd be able to tell when Fred and George were about to pull something on me," said Ron, and a slow smile crept over his face. "That'd be both useful and cool. Ha! Imagine their next prank falling completely flat because I foiled it. I can see their faces now!"

"Right," said Harry, interrupting them. "I think I'm ready to try this."

Ron and Hermione's chatter ceased immediately. They looked at each other and drew deep breaths. "Are you sure?" said Ron. "It was only one chapter, wasn't it?"

"I don't think we'll find anything else I can use that's any more complete," said Harry. "I've got the pronunciation and the wand movement, and I know how to get out of your head once I'm in."

"My head?" Ron's face paled. "Whoever said I was going first?"

"Hermione seemed more reluctant," said Harry.

Ron looked to Hermione for help, but she merely stared back at him with wide eyes that clearly said, "No way." He sighed and stood up. "Oh, all right. I guess I've got less knowledge to lose than she does, anyway."

"Oh, don't say that, Ron," Hermione said reproachfully.

"Well, whatever," said Ron. He shrugged in resignation. "One of us has to go first. It might as well be me." Hermione gave him a halfhearted smile.

Harry rose from his chair and, picking up the book he had been perusing, began to tell Ron what to expect. "If this works, then you ought to see memories in your head," he said. "At random, like you've got no control."

Ron gulped. "And you will have control?"

"I think so," said Harry. "This really doesn't seem too hard. I just cast the spell, and then I ought to see your memories, too."

"So… you'll see what I see?"

"Right." Harry looked back at the book. "And if I were already good at this, I'd be able to look for something I wanted."

Ron gulped again. "Blimey. I don't like the idea of You-Know-Who doing that."

"Well, you'd know it if he were," said Harry. "You just… wouldn't be able to stop him."

"Unless I could do Occlumency," said Ron, who was now very pale. "Maybe you should just get on with it."

Harry put the book down and wiped his hands, which were suddenly sweaty, on his trousers before drawing his wand out of his pocket. "Okay. Stand… over there, I guess." He gestured with his wand to a spot near the table. Ron moved, and Harry motioned for him to step farther away from the table. "Don't want you to hit the corner if you fall over," he joked, and swallowed hard at the look on Ron's face. He stood still, facing Ron, suddenly not wanting to continue.

"Don't you think you should practice first?" Hermione said in a small voice.

"Good idea," Harry said quickly. He turned to face one wall full of books. He pointed his wand sternly at the wall and cried, "Legilimens!"

Nothing happened. He felt none of the sensations that the book said he should feel, but then, the wall didn't have any memories.

"Well?" said Hermione.

"Walls can't think," said Harry. "But I got the pronunciation right." He turned to face Ron again.

Ron inhaled sharply. "Might as well get it over with."

Harry nodded and tried to swallow. His mouth felt very dry. He thrust his wand in Ron's direction, drew a deep breath, and said, very clearly, "Legilimens!"

Harry felt a slip-sliding sensation, as if he were skidding across the floor toward Ron, but it was over almost as soon as it had begun. There was a brief feeling of resistance the likes of which Harry couldn't explain, and suddenly he was watching a very young Ron cry as the twins played keep-away with his teddy bear. The scene changed, and he saw Ron saving his first goal as Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron was blowing out candles on a birthday cake, fighting with Harry in the common room, getting on a broom for the first time –

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

The sheer volume of the voice sent Harry careening out of Ron's memories. He felt the slip-sliding sensation as his own mind retreated from his best friend. Harry staggered where he stood, feeling as if his brain had been picked up and slammed back into his skull. "Ron –" he managed. "Did you –"

Ron shook his head but said nothing. He was staring, white-faced, over Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned very slowly as the room seemed to spin whenever he moved. His godfather was standing in the doorway, his face nearly purple with rage, one hand clamped on his wand.

"What in blazes were you thinking of?" Sirius roared.

"Sirius –" Hermione began, stretching out her hand.

"I am addressing my godson!" Sirius snapped, cutting her off. "Although I do have a thing or two to say to you two as well, who should have more sense. But you, Harry! Have you lost your wits entirely?"

Harry dropped his head into his hands, not from shame, but in pain. He had been torn from Ron's head, and it hurt. Sirius' shouts weren't helping. He felt as if a hundred house-elves were tap-dancing on his brain. "We didn't just decide – to do this – for fun," he managed through gritted teeth.

"I don't care why you decided to do it!" Sirius thundered, and Harry bit back a moan. "You have no idea what you're doing! You could have seriously injured yourself experimenting like that, not to mention your friends!"

"Well, you – became an Animagus – on your own," Harry retorted. Instantly he wished that he had chosen less challenging words, because he heard Sirius suck in an enraged breath.

"I don't think you have any room to be smart just now, Harry Potter." His voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, expecting Sirius to start shouting again at any moment. He heard his godfather step closer to him. "What on earth possessed you to do such a –"

"It's for the project!" Harry shouted, and was unable to bite back the whimper that escaped him at the end. His head was splitting.

Sirius paused for a moment. "What?"

"It's for Professor Thornby," Harry explained. "And the Longbottoms, and…." His voice sounded strangled. "Nicodemus said – Legilimency – I'm going to be sick," he finished as his stomach began to do somersaults.

"Sit down," Sirius said hurriedly, and Harry felt his godfather take hold of his shoulders. "Come on. Over here. Ron, fetch that dustbin, would you…?"

Harry shuffled his feet as Sirius steered him. At a feeling of pressure on his shoulders, he dropped into the chair that he knew they must have reached. Footsteps approached, and a metallic clink on the tiled floor announced Ron with the dustbin.

"Harry, do you need –"

"No," Harry replied tightly, still clasping his head with both hands. "Just give me a minute."

"Let go," said Sirius, and his voice was surprisingly gentle. Harry felt his godfather's hands close over his own. "Let go. Let me see."

Harry allowed his hands to be pulled away, but he kept his eyes tightly closed. He felt the air around his face stir as Sirius began muttering unfamiliar words. To his immense relief, the throbbing of his brain began to lessen. It slowly ebbed away while Sirius continued his incantation, and when he finally stopped, Harry felt nothing but a dull ache at the back of his head. He carefully opened his eyes to see Sirius squatting in front of the chair. Ron and Hermione stood on either side of him, looking anxiously down at Harry. Both were very pale.

"Better?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Yes," said Harry. "Thank you."

Sirius' lips twisted in disapproval. "If it hadn't been so bad I might have left it. Maybe it would have taught you a lesson."

"It only happened because you interrupted," Harry said brashly. "The book told me what to do."

"The book told you what to do," Sirius repeated dryly. Harry saw Ron and Hermione look unhappily at each other. "What makes you think that the world will stop and wait while you sift through someone else's head? What makes you think, should you ever become a properly trained Legilimens, that you would never be interrupted by urgency or danger? Legilimency is not like other forms of magic, Harry! It is not as simple as charmwork or even a potion! You are mucking about in other people's brains! What would happen if something went wrong? There could be very real consequences!"

Harry felt his cheeks begin to warm. It was humiliating beyond measure to be so lectured in front of his friends. The book had indicated that basic Legilimency was not very dangerous, but he said nothing. There was more than a little truth in Sirius' words, and Ron and Hermione had had the same misgivings.

"That being said, I will grant you that I should have held my peace instead of exploding," Sirius said fairly. "I heard you cast the spell. I was so shocked that I didn't think about what an interruption might do, either to you or to Ron. You are all right, aren't you?" he said, looking up.

"Yes," Ron said thickly.

Sirius got to his feet. "I don't know what the three of you were thinking," he said, shaking his head. "You two as much as Harry." Shamefaced, Ron and Hermione looked away from Harry, Sirius, and each other. "At least one of you should have had the common sense to stand up and say, 'This is dangerous.' And what was so urgent about this matter, anyway? Why couldn't you wait just a few days for Dumbledore?"

Harry looked down at his lap. He didn't know how to answer those last questions. It had seemed so urgent before, so imperative to learn Legilimency as soon as possible. But Sirius was right. Nothing would have happened in three or four days to make it necessary to proceed without Dumbledore. It felt terrible to have Sirius angry with him, and he felt even worse for landing his friends in hot water, too.

Sirius sighed and scrubbed at his hair with one hand. "Well, I can see that you've all taken my point," he said. "Can I assume, Harry, that Legilimency was how Estella managed to help her patients?"

Harry looked up at his godfather. Sirius no longer looked angry, but merely grim. He nodded his response.

"Legilimency's not that easy to manage," said Sirius. He paused for a moment before saying, "Was that your first try, or did I miss that?"

"It was the first," said Harry.

"And… did it work?"

Harry looked up at his godfather. Sirius' face was still grave, but there was a glimmer in his eyes that hadn't been there before – curiosity.

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. He looked past Sirius' shoulder at Ron. A slow smile was growing on his friend's face. Harry felt his own lips twist into a grin that he couldn't hold back. The pain in his head and Sirius' anger had nearly driven any feeling of triumph from him, but now it was returning. He had done it!

Hermione pressed both hands to her mouth and she looked at Ron. "It did?"

Ron nodded. Hermione actually squealed, and she spontaneously threw her arms around him in complete joy. Ron flushed to the tips of his ears, but he still hugged her back.

"I guess this means I'm a natural," said Harry. "The book said it wouldn't work on the first try for hardly anyone."

Sirius gave him a shrewd look. "So that's why you wanted to know about You-Know-Who," he said. "You thought you might be a Legilimens because he was a Legilimens. Like being a Parselmouth."

"Looks like I was right," said Harry.

Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe. You might have gotten it from him, and you might not have. Legilimens are hardly common, but they're not nearly as rare as Parselmouths. And it sounds like you already know that Legilimency can be learned."

Harry could hear the disapproval in Sirius' voice. He clearly thought that knowing Legilimency was not a genetic gift gave Harry even less excuse for trying it without a teacher. Luckily, though, Sirius said no more on that subject. "Well. It is very good of you three to want to help Frank, Alice, and Celeste," he said. "And I must admit that I am very pleased to hear that we've got some real prospects now." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I have no problem at all with your learning Legilimency, Harry."

Harry looked up at Sirius with hope. Ron and Hermione smiled with real excitement.

"However," said Sirius, "it's not really up to me. It's up to Remus, as he's your legal guardian now, and Dumbledore, who might not consent to teach you whatever Remus says."

Harry's heart sank a little. "You're going to tell them, aren't you." It wasn't meant to be a question.

Sirius smiled wryly. "Of course I'm going to tell them. They need to know what you've done so far, and also that I've already verbally flogged you within an inch of your life so you don't get shouted at again. I don't think a second round would drive the lesson in any deeper." One corner of Sirius' mouth twitched, and Harry couldn't help but smile a little. "All I want," Sirius continued, "is for all three of you to promise me that you will never do anything like this again. Because I swear if I ever catch you practicing alone without Dumbledore's permission, I'll… Well, I don't rightly know what I'll do, but it will have to be drastic." His mouth twitched again.

"I promise," said Harry. His friends murmured the same words. Their eyes were bright with simmering excitement. Harry got the feeling that they were going to pop if they were forced to keep from celebrating for much longer.

"All right," said Sirius. "I'll talk with Remus and get in touch with Dumbledore. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long."

The moment Sirius left the library, Ron and Hermione exploded. Their whoops and cheers echoed in the chamber, and before he even had a chance to move, Harry found himself crushed in one spontaneous, ecstatic embrace.

-

A/N: As Ron would say: Bloody hell! A new chapter! It's been ages, but I'm still around, and still writing, although my creative levels seem to have permanently dropped. But I won't let a little thing like that stop me.

krysalys73: You're always one of the first to review. :-) I guess when it comes to Sirius, I took the opposite tack from JKR. In Phoenix, he grew moodier. I've got him maturing a bit, although, to be fair, this Sirius isn't living at Grimmauld Place, which really must have stunk big time.

athenakitty: Whatever fate I had in mind for Sirius when I began Guardians, he'll keep.

Sherry: Glad you liked it! Thanks!

rose estraz: If you're still around… I'm really sorry. :-(

Rawiya Prabhakar: Will try harder to update much faster next time! This story hit a real dead zone for quite a while (obviously). I had to make some tough decisions, and I couldn't seem to work out the snarls for a long time, so I busied myself with other stories and other things. But I'm moving forward now.

Kaye: Aw, thanks!

Kiku-san: Hope you're still reading! Glad you enjoyed!

ginnlilanpotter: Thanks a bunch!

GinnyLilianPotter: Hmm. I think you're the same person as the last reviewer. But anyway, I'm flattered, and thanks for letting me know!

Ezmeralda: Thank you very much for the encouragement. Sometimes it bugs me a little what I'm doing – taking developments from Phoenix and twisting them around to suit my own ends, but I've found that I can barely help it. Canon events have just wormed their way into my head and I can't seem to keep them from influencing my writing.