A/N: I bet you guys thought I was gone forever. I'm sorry, I really am. I have absolutely not abandoned this story, I know you won't believe me but I work on it quite a bit. I already have another 20k words written. I wanted to make this chapter longer, but it was a good length so I decided to end it and post. I'll put more at the end.

Sirius woke up with strangled gurgle, choking on his nightmare. In that moment, the past year of freedom didn't exist, the warm comfortable bed didn't exist, the flesh on his bones didn't exist. For just a moment, he was trapped in his cell in Azkaban again, the slimy bedrock that the prison was bolted to had begun to crumble, and he was tipping towards the ocean, to drown in its grey, murky depths.

It was a reoccurring nightmare he had been having, probably since the beginning of his imprisonment. Sirius would deny it 'till his death, but he was afraid of water, he had been ever since his dear ol' mum had unceremoniously chucked him into the lake at Black Manor when he was five. It was her way of teaching him how to swim. Fortunately, Andromeda rescued him easily enough. He did learn to swim eventually, but only as a precaution. He never went near water if he could help it.

Shivering in his sweat he forced himself to sit up trying to anchor himself to the here and now, rather than stay stuck replaying the past. He looked over and the room was just light enough to let him see Harry's sleeping form, his breathing quiet and even. He matched his breathing to Harry's in an attempt to match his peacefulness.

It took a while, but it began to work. Feeling somewhat calmer, Sirius tried in vain to get back to sleep. He thought of every relaxing, sleep-inducing thing he could come up with (he even tried to remember the names of the many Goblin Wars), but it was to no avail. His eyes stubbornly stayed open. Recognizing defeat, he sat up, intending to get some letter-writing done before Harry awoke, when he saw it.

In the middle of the floor, close to Harry's bed, was a little white something. He pulled out his wand and went to get a closer look. Nope, not trash, he thought, it looks like it's tucked into the wood? Hmm…must be Moony's retaliation. Grimly, he cast a privacy bubble so it wouldn't wake Harry, shut his eyes tight, and cast the spell to move the little plank of wood. He always liked to get pranks over with quickly, to take them bravely like the Gryffindor he is. But, nearly a minute passed with his eyes squeezed shut, and he heard no bangs, he felt no anamorphic changes take place. Cautiously, he cracked open a lid, and quickly slammed it shut again. Then he opened his eyes, blinking in confusion. That's supposed to be a prank? Moony's losing his touch. In the empty hollow left from removing the wood, was some food wrapped in napkins. Not even tempting food, like triple chocolate cake or fizzing whizzbees. It didn't even have an 'Eat Me Drink Me!' charm on it from what he could tell. Definitely getting off his rocker in his old age. Sirius thought fondly, prodding the food with his wand. Even weirder, it was the same kind of food the house-elves served them every day. Shaking his head, he replaced the board and called for a house-elf. Bang popped in immediately.

"What can I's be doings for yous, Master Blacks Sir?" Bang asked in a low voice, glancing at Harry's sleeping form.

"You know, I really don't want to give you a direct order, but it would be wonderful if you'd call me Sirius. Master Black was my father, you know."

"Yes…Sirius, Sir. What can I's be doings for Sirius?"

"How about a small tea? I don't want to eat without Harry, but I could do with some toast."

"Of course Sirius Sirs, will Sirius be wanting his potionses?"

Sirius made a face. "No…I'll wait for breakfast, to take them with Harry. You know, solidarity. Not for me though, for him. He uh, needs the support. Yeah, support."

Bang gave him a very sceptical look. "Whatever Master Sirius says. I's is being right back." With that he popped away again.

Damned house-elves…Harry does need the display of support, those potions are foul…well, not to me, I'm quite seasoned when it comes to taking potions of course, not to mention that it takes quite a bit to ruffle this dog's feathers…that doesn't make any sense…anyway, I'm a grown man, it's nothing to me to force putrid substances down my throat for the sake of my 'health' but he's not. Yeah, I'm doing this for Harry. With that comforting thought he settled into his desk to work on that Witches Weekly letter. While it was his idea, he was dreading the interview more and more…and the photos that came with it. Not that Sirius had aged badly, not at all. If anything, he was more ruggedly handsome than ever, but he still was a little skinny, a little gaunt. He was taking nutrition potions, and working out four days a week, but time was the only thing that would have him looking as he should. At least his hair was starting to get some shine to it again.

Bang popped in, placed a towering tea tray on the desk, and popped back out. Sirius worked steadily for over an hour, nibbling as he went, before he got the letter to sound precisely how he wanted it too. Moony would have to check it over of course, but he thought it conveyed the right tone and, well, seriousness. This interview was absolutely a publicity stunt, and as such, it needed to go off without a hitch. It helps, of course, that Sirius was in the right, but that didn't mean much to the ministry. It never did.

Shaking his head to clear it, he stood up and fetched his communication mirror, which was linked to Moony's. It was still relatively early in the morning, but Moony tended to rise with the sun like the old man he is. The mirrors were secured by magical signatures, so he tapped his wand to it, before calling, "Moony!"

After a moment, Remus came into view, perfectly dressed. "Is everything alright?" He asked mildly, "Normally, the only time you see the sunrise is if you haven't yet been to bed."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I've finished the letter to Witches Weekly, and I've discovered your little prank, which was more pathetic than I'm able to express. I thought about letting it slide, but you know me, I'm like a dog with a bone," he said with a wink. "Come 'round for breakfast, I need your editing services."

Remus looked confused. "I hate to tell you this, Padfoot, old dog, but you've lost it. While you can be assured that I am, of course, planning retribution, I haven't enacted my plans yet. Perhaps it was Harry."

"Hmmph, nice try. I'll see you in a bit. Do you want the house-elves to fix anything special?"

Resigning himself to Sirius's odd notions, "I'll head right over. Eggs Benedict would be nice, I should think. Harry seems to enjoy it."

"Yeah, I don't think he'd ever had it before this summer. I'll take your suggestion under advisement. Padfoot, out." Sirius ended the connection and called for Bang and Loop, placing their breakfast order. While Harry currently was dead to the world, Sirius was certain the smell of hot eggs and tea would rouse him once breakfast was ready.

Remus apparated in softly, carrying a small briefcase. "I've brought some issues of Witches Weekly for us to look over. It might help us determine what kind of questions you're going to field, and if they've got anyone with a real knack for journalism. I'm undecided if we should pick the most simpering of their writers, or the most professional. Any thoughts?" He peered at the slumbering form in Harry's bed, probably wondering why he wasn't up yet.

"I think Harry's sleeping in today, which is good. It's progress. Not that he'll thank me when school begins, but I think I heard somewhere that kids only grow when sleeping, so I say let him have a lie in. Oh and good idea, Moony. I'm inclined to say the most simpering, for a few reasons, but feel free to disagree."

"I don't, really. I think for right now we need to focus on changing your imagine from the second most hated man in Wizarding Britain—"

"Thanks, Moony. That always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside."

"—from the most hated man in Wizarding Britain, to someone the general public can sympathize with. Perhaps after Harry's at Hogwarts you can do another, more solemn and comprehensive interview to round this one out. However, right now I think we want sympathy more than anything; we want to gain the upper hand via public opinion. It's unlikely that Bones is going to do an actual trial, because if you look at the facts, there's no case against you. However, if the public pushes for it, we could go to trial and we really don't want that. While I'm certain you'd go free, no problem, it'd sow public doubt and be very difficult on you and Harry."

"I agree. Pass me one of those rags and let's start our research."

They settled in to the table and soberly began to study the gossip magazines as if they were going to be on the Potions N.E.W.T.

Less than twenty minutes later, both men were shocked, disgusted, amazed, and impressed by the publication.

"I never knew ladies had such problems with facial hair. There are five different creams for it, five!"

"Modern transfiguration really has come a long way…do they really think men care about that stuff though?"

"Why is there a column devoted to Lockhart's recovery? Remind me to press a suit against him once I'm a free man."

"…Oh so that's how they do that…okay then."

"Do you think these products really work? Cause this grey-away potion looks pretty legitimate…not that I have grey hair yet of course, but it's always good to plan ahead."

It took the house-elves popping in with breakfast to tear the two men away from the magazines. Almost guiltily, with a silent agreement to not discuss what they had been doing, they shuffled them into a stack and on an unused chair to make room for the steaming platters. Eggs Benedict with muffins, toast, sautéed spinach with brie, bacon, spicy sausage, a large bowl of fruit, and a drinks tray arranged themselves on the table. With the scent glands that only a teenage boy can possess, Harry awoke to the delicious aromas floating in the air, and shuffled over to the table, his hair in a masterful mess.

Silently, the threesome got to eating, not letting a speck of the house-elves hard work go to waste. Sirius even did his best to choke down some of the spinach with his eggs. As they finished, Bing popped in with potions for everyone. Remus didn't even try to protest.

"Would Master Sirius Sirs be's wanting a spoon of sugar for his potionses?" The elf asked slyly, while Harry expertly threw his growth stimulant potion back, swallowing with a disgusted look.

"No! No, of course not." Sirius said, before muttering under his breath, "I don't need a damned spoon of sugar." Inhaling deeply, he took his nutrient potion, his protein potion, and his muscle stimulant potion as quickly and as stoically as possible. If Harry or Remus noticed his odd behaviour, they wisely left it alone.

Harry, feeling a bit more human now, excused himself and went to shower and get ready for the day. After the bathroom door was safely shut, Sirius retrieved the magazines.

"I think Tracey Bell will work. She seems to spend a lot of her time gushing and pitying any poor thing that she comes across. If she can call that Manticore 'as harmless as a puppy,' surely an accused murderer and escapee won't be a problem, right?"

"Is she the one who was advocating for a gnome sanctuary?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Yeah, let's definitely request her. Bring your letter over, so I can look at it."

As Sirius got up to cross the room his eyes caught on where the weird prank attempt was hidden. He turned back around. "Seriously Moony, we need to talk about your pranking abilities. I know it's been a while, but this doesn't even make sense."

Remus sighed impatiently. "Honestly, on my honour as a Marauder, I really don't know what you're talking about. Is this supposed to be a prank?"

Sirius snorted, "No! I wouldn't prank someone by pretending that they did a prank. That's too complicated. And you know what I'm talking about," he marched over to the board, "right here, ring any bells? It's alright to admit it you know. We all make mistakes."

Remus looked questioningly at the seemingly innocent plank of wood. "This is the weirdest prank you've ever tried to pull on me Padfoot. Have you been watching any muggle films?"

"This is the weirdest prank you've tried to pull on me, Moony! Come on, we're both proper adults now. Just admit it, and we can drop it."

"I did not do it, whatever it is. You admit that this is all a prank!"

"No you!"

"No you!"

Both men seemed to realize at the same time that they were acting more like first years than adults.

"Just show me whatever it is you think I did. Perhaps you're right and I attempted a prank with a Forget-All Puff Shroom that went wrong." Remus said, diplomatically.

They kneeled next to the plank of wood and Sirius made a dramatic gesture with his wand. The hiding hole revealed itself. They began to examine the food within.

"…Sirius, honestly, do you not know a cache when you see one?"

"A what?"

"A cache. You know, of food. Harry's obviously been storing food here all summer, and I'd bet he's been storing food in the floor for years so he wouldn't starve."

Sirius looked horrified, "But surely he knows we wouldn't starve him! We're trying to fatten him up! He doesn't need to store old food in the floor. He doesn't think I'm like the Dursley's does he? Remus, what—"

"Calm down, Padfoot! Think! I know it's hard for you to use your brain, but try." Sirius glared at him. "Psychologically…keeping a store of food was a habit that could potentially save his life. Think about pet dogs, even though they have all the food they need, they still like bury bones to dig up and eat later. It's a natural instinct"

"You're comparing Harry to a dog."

"I know but it's the best metaphor I've got."

"Is it time to talk to him about mind healing?"

"That's up to you, Sirius. Are you ready for that conversation?"

"I don't think I have a choice."

Sirius replaced the board and began to pace in agitation. He somehow managed to pull it together when Harry emerged from the bathroom, clean and dressed, rubbing his scar absentmindedly.

"Is your scar hurting?" Sirius asked.

"Er, a little. It's more like it's itchy? I shouldn't've slept on my stomach."

"If you want a pain reliever then just ask, okay?"

"Okay. Er, is it okay if I go out and ride my bike for a bit? I won't stay out long." Harry looked nervous asking, he always did. It must be hard for him to adjust to have a parent-like relationship after being treated as a slave for nearly his whole life…I need to remember that Harry hasn't had anything near a normal childhood.

"Of course, go have fun. Come here, I'll put a Notice-Me-Not charm on you, just in case."

Harry obligingly stepped forward and accepted the blue-coloured spell. He flashed Sirius a grin and exited the room. Harry really liked the fact that he could sneak around the Dursley's house unnoticed now. Sirius didn't feel the need to tell him to behave when he did.

Sirius walked over to his freshly-made bed and did a graceful belly flop onto it, ruining it. "What are we going to do?" He groaned out from under his mop of hair.

Harry came in from riding his new bicycle sweaty and a little bruised, but pleased. He'd been practicing and now he was trying out small tricks he had seen other kids do, with varying degrees of success. He had described his new bike to his friends and now Ron and Ginny shared an old bike that their Dad had stored in his shed to examine. There weren't many places to ride it around the Burrow, and their mum disapproved, so they had only ridden it once in the muggle village so far. They didn't seem very impressed with it anyway. Hermione, of course, already had a bicycle, and had admonished him for not also purchasing a helmet and pads.

He had been sending (and receiving!) more letters than ever this summer, since he had more time on his hands and he didn't fear the Dursley's retribution if they found out he was sending and receiving letters too often. He now got at least one letter a day, poor Errol and Pigwidgeon were probably spending more time at Privet Drive than they were at the Burrow. Though Hermione didn't say anything, Harry knew she was frustrated with not having an owl. He was considering asking McGonagall if having two pets was even a possibility, though he couldn't imagine why it couldn't be. Especially for Hermione.

He and Ginny owled nearly every day, just keeping up with one another. Ginny was wordier than Ron, so she was a good pen pal, he felt comfortable telling her more and going into more detail than he did with Ron. Guys just weren't friends like that, or at least he and Ron weren't. It sort of confused him, how each of his friendships could be so different, but after all, what did he really know about friendship? Before Hogwarts he had never had a real friend. He, Ron, and Hermione had only bonded by nearly being killed….and actually it was kind of the same with Ginny, it just took a bit longer. Harry decided to not question the differences in his friendships and just be grateful for three great friends.

"Hey pup, what 'cha thinkin' about?"

Sirius's tone was almost normal, but something was off. He was trying to be too casual, sitting posed at the table, Remus opposite him, and a brown paper package between them. Immediately, Harry's guard went up, his hard-earned instincts making him feel as if he were in trouble.

"I-er, I'm sorry if I, uh, stayed out too long." Anyone could see Harry was nervous.

"Harry, you're not in trouble, but we do need to have a serious conversation. Is that okay?" It was the first time Sirius used the word 'serious' without making a pun or joke. Harry swallowed.

"Uh, yeah, sure." He walked over and sat down stiffly, feeling like the summer sun, which has just been so hot on his skin, barely existed anymore.

"Harry, you are not in trouble, okay? But we, as a family, need to be able to have serious conversations. Maybe we let this go too long, but I think we all needed some time to adjust to…well, everything." Remus said, his kind eyes boring into Harry..

"Listen, cub, I don't think I'm going to be so good at this parent thing. I don't know if you even want me to be good at this parent thing. I can probably do a decent uncle, but that's beside the point—"

"I…" Harry interrupted.

"You what? You can tell me anything Harry, I promise you that."

Harry had no idea how to express how he felt. This conversation had barely begun and he felt like he was floundering and confused. "I…I don't want you to think that I don't want you to be…to be sort of like a parent. I don't know. I don't know what having a parent is like, but…I know that I've always wanted one. I don't…we don't have to label anything right now, do we?"

Sirius smiled, looking teary. "No, we don't. I don't want you to think that I could ever try, or even want to, replace your Dad. Though I know you don't remember James…James loved you so much. He was such a proud father. To try and step in that role…feels wrong, I think. But honestly, I just want you to be happy and comfortable."

"I don't think I want that either…not that there's anything wrong with having two dads…but, er, it just doesn't feel right."

They smiled a little at each other. "See, that wasn't so bad?" Sirius said, semi-humorously. "But that's not all. We need to talk to you about something I found last night, and what it means for us, and you."

Harry was nervous again. Found? Found what? "Is it something to do with Voldemort? Is everything okay?" He asked, worriedly.

"No, no, everything's okay on that front as far as we know. No, Harry, last night I woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn't fall back asleep. I noticed something unusual on the floor, and I investigated. Harry, I found your stash of food."

Harry flushed, both out of embarrassment and anger. What right was it of his to go poking around what was really Harry's room?

"Harry, I know why it's there. You know why it's there. It's very important to me that you understand that I am not the Dursley's. You will never be starved again, do you understand? Harry…we know they abused you, from when we did those medical scans. I mean…Harry, not killing them for what they did to you has been the hardest thing. Remus and I…we both wanted to say so much, but we didn't know how. We didn't feel it was the right time. Bloody hell, I barely felt I had the right. But I do. Your parents—your parents left you to me in the event that they couldn't care for you, and I made a bloody mess of it, and I will never stop being sorry. But I'm here now, and I know, I know it's probably too late. But you will not go hungry ever again if I have something to say about it."

Sirius had tears in his eyes and the display of emotion made Harry uncomfortable. Harry was still a little scared, and still a little angry, and definitely embarrassed, but mostly he wanted to cry too. He wasn't sure if he could. He and Sirius looked at each other for a long moment, then Sirius reached over and grabbed his hand. That did it, and Harry's eyes freed a tear.

Remus sniffed, blinking rapidly. "Harry, I have to apologize too. I trusted Dumbledore to keep you safe, and I knew part of that was staying away from you. I think Dumbledore must've been afraid that if the Dursley's thought there was even one person—" His voice broke, "—one other person that would care for you, they would've left you with them the first opportunity they had. And well, we know I could never be given custody of any child, but much less The Boy Who Lived. But those are bullocks' excuses, I should've checked on you. I kept putting it off, hoping Dumbledore would tell me something, anything, even just let me send you a letter. And then you turned eleven, and I knew I could send you a letter fairly safely, but I was scared. I knew that you couldn't possibly remember any of us. I thought you had a new family, and a happy life, and I would just drag you down. And then I saw you at Hogwarts. And I knew, instantly, I was wrong. And then I couldn't bring myself to talk to you, I was so afraid you'd reject me, that you'd hate me. But, like Sirius said, I'm here now. You are going to have food, and clothes, and a proper home, and a proper family, now."

Sirius sniffed dramatically, wiping an eye. "You were always the most eloquent of the Marauders."

They all let out a small laugh, and it was just enough to diffuse the heavy emotion rolling through the air. Harry was grateful for it. Every bit of it.

"Harry…you don't have to stop…keeping a snack around for later. But you've got to do it in style." He pushed the package over to Harry with a weak grin.

Harry tentatively reached for the package, beginning to open it after inspecting it. Opening it, he reached in and pulled out a dragon-hide bag, with heavy cords to tie it shut. It was very pretty, and Harry was very confused.

It must've shown on his face. "Harry, believe it or not, growing teenage boys have long been hiding food to eat later. In fact, Sirius and James used to have competitions to see who could sneak the most food from the kitchens at Hogwarts in one run." Remus said, smiling.

"Yeah, we hit our growth spurts about the same time in fourth year. I ate a whole chicken once, and I wasn't even transformed at the time." Sirius said.

Harry chuckled for real this time, thinking of Ron, eating chicken out of both hands. Maybe his animagus was a dog too.

"Anyway, this is a Stay-Fresh pouch, specifically designed to hold food. I think you'll be amazed with exactly how much it holds, and it keeps it fresh, so no more stale cakes, or mouldy bread, okay?" Sirius asked, wrinkling his nose. "It also has some sort of special Impervious charm on it, so the food stays all…separate. I don't know how to explain it."

"We thought it would be a good idea to give you a better way of storing food. We hope you like it."

He did. When he had first realized that they knew about him stealing food he was terrified, embarrassed, and angry. He'd been hiding food for as long as he could remember, but it wasn't until Hogwarts that he realized just how different that was from his peers. He didn't expect anything remotely like this. Harry, not being the best with words, stood up and hugged his Godfather tightly. He felt Remus's hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles on him. In his entire life he couldn't remember feeling so loved and supported. For anyone, it would be touching, to Harry, it meant the world. Unable to hold back his tears, he cried into Sirius's shoulder, and felt a kind of relief he hadn't before. The relief of knowing he had a parent.

That wasn't the end of that conversation, which is why Harry found himself in a sleek looking office building in downtown London the next Monday. Nervous was a fairly normal state of being for Harry, rarely though, did his anxiety manifest itself physically, but if you looked closely at his hands they were shaking, and he had barely been able to stomach his toast, much to the consternation of the house-elves.

A comfort to him was that Sirius wasn't much better, and perhaps even worse. Sirius was in disguise, despite being in muggle London, as an added precaution. In the end they decided to not disguise Harry, as starting out with such a deception might make them look all the worse for it. Sirius was only disguised because it'd be foolish not to be. Moony was here too, in fact, it was him who had given the recommendation to Harry and Sirius, as he had been through this before, albeit briefly.

"It's not as bad as you might think. And for you two, I think you haven't much of a choice." He had told them, after a long talk between the three of them. In the end, it was actually Sirius who made the decision to come; he even worked out how to use a muggle payphone to make the appointments. Harry wanted to get a landline, but they weren't sure how considering the magical, and delicate state of their current living situation.

They had already filled out all the necessary paperwork, which Harry privately thought was enough for one day with all the ridiculous questions he had to answer, but any minute now he was going to be called back. He really had no idea what to expect, this was something with which he was totally unfamiliar. He worried over it, wondering if it would hurt, what they would make him do—

"Potter? Dr. Chambers is ready to see you now."

Harry got shakily to his feet and gave a lukewarm smile to Sirius and Remus, before following the receptionist down the hallway, feeling as if doom was upon him.

Though it wasn't fun, especially the bit where he put his memories in that odd basin, a Pensieve, is that what is was called? Anyway, though it wasn't fun, it wasn't bad either, and he at least felt better than he did prior to the appointment, if only because it was over. He re-entered the waiting room, where Sirius was pacing anxiously.

"How'd it go? Are you okay? That took forever—"

"It was er — fine. I think it's your turn now."

Sure enough, the receptionist called Sirius back a moment later.

Sirius had a bit more reason to be nervous than Harry—he was still technically a fugitive. But the magical promise to keep all information revealed in sessions private should be enough to prevent and unwanted things like arrests. Pettigrew's arrest would hopefully help as well.

Turned out, he had little to worry about. Dr. Chambers was more than understanding and the clauses that would allow him to share information only covered an intent to bring harm to another person. Sirius certainly had that towards the Dursley's but Dr. Chambers understood why by the end of their session.

Sirius wasn't too sure about all of Dr. Chamber's suggestions, but he certainly seemed to know his stuff. He had worked with a number of patients dealing with the aftereffects of Azkaban.

Once a week was as much as therapy, uh, mind healing, as Dr. Chambers could talk them into. Dr. Chambers is a muggleborn psychiatrist/mind healer who specializes in people on the fringes of Magical society, which is why Remus had been to him before, and why he thought he'd be a good fit for Harry and Sirius. He was actually rather kind and down-to-earth, but neither Harry nor Sirius was fully convinced yet.

Nevertheless, Sirius still asked Bang to pick up a journal for him. Meditation and yoga sounded ridiculous, but there was nothing wrong with keeping a journal. Harry was having a bit of a harder time with his assignment for the week. He didn't know if he could do it.

Harry awoke blearily to an empty room. His scar was aching, it was getting a little worse each day. He briefly considered asking Loop to bring him a pain relief potion, but he changed his mind. Shoving his new glasses on his face, he went to check on Hedwig who had woken up at the same time as he. "What d'you think Hedwig? You've been here with me more than anyone. Do you think Dr. Chambers is right?" She stared at him unblinkingly with her golden eyes and nipped him affectionately. He scratched her head for a moment and left her so that she could go back to sleep.

He quickly found the note Sirius left him on top of the Prophet. "Had some things I needed to take care of at the Manor, didn't want to wake you. Eat breakfast and take your potions. Get into an appropriate amount of mischief. Should be home about 5. —Sirius"

Harry grinned. In short order he ate breakfast and got ready for the day. He checked the time, it wasn't yet noon. He had been sleeping in more and more, and he felt guilty about it but Sirius almost ordered him to. With nothing to do, he thought he might try Dr. Chamber's suggestion about writing in a journal. His mind was swirling with all the changes happening in his life, his anger at Pettigrew, and his happiness about Sirius going to be cleared of all charges so it was probably a good idea. Problem was, he didn't have a journal or even a notebook. Sirius and Remus had cleared the room of all of Dudley's things, even the books and school supplies. He knew he was being silly because those things didn't belong to him, but he wished they had left them. Some of the books were quite good and they helped make up for his lack of stuff.

Shrugging his shoulders, he dug out the invisibility cloak and threw it on. There was sure to be an empty notebook in Dudley's room or around the house.

He moved slowly and quietly once out in the familiar hall. Some sort of repelling charm was preventing them from really noticing Harry's absence. Every time they thought about it or approached his door, they suddenly remembered something very important and dashed off and forgot all about him. Harry also suspected liberal use of Confundus charms. He checked Dudders' room first, but the sole notebook at some point had a pop spilled all over it, and now the pages were glued together.

He was about to creep down the stairs to check the little writing desk where his uncle paid bills when he heard laughter. He proceeded cautiously, and saw that Dudley's gang was gathered 'round the telly, a bowl of celery sticks utterly ignored on the coffee table. Dudley's diet didn't seem to be going well, then.

Unable to reach the writing desk and dig through it without being possibly being seen, he ventured towards a room he had never in twelve years entered. No light seeped out from under the door, so he figured it was safe to go in.

Their bedroom was much larger than the others, and had a bath attached with two other closed doors on the same wall. It was decorated in pink and green, with ugly lace trim everywhere. Petunia's decorating taste was really foul. He started with the dresser, but only turned up Vernon's ugly sweater, trousers, and under things. Shuddering a bit, he carried on, but he didn't find anything of use in the vanity either. He approached the door closest to him and opened it, but other than dozens of floral house dresses, there wasn't much there. Going for the second door, he stopped short when he realized that it was locked. He jiggled the handle once more to be certain. Why on earth would it be locked…cakes they're hiding from Dudley perhaps? The thought was only partially sarcastic. Thankful that the twins had taught him how to pick a lock the muggle way last summer, he retrieved a few of Petunia's hair pins from the bathroom and got to work. It was a very easy lock to pick, which he was grateful for, and it quickly clicked open.

Well, they certainly weren't hiding cakes. There was a small filing cabinet, stacks of photo albums, and several boxes, most of which were labelled with Vernon's name. He spied one at the top that had the faded words "Lily Potter" in an oddly familiar script. His heart leapt into his throat and he grabbed the stool from the vanity and climbed up to get it. A wave of paranoia washed over him and he checked behind him, but no one was there. He knew he couldn't spend all day in here without someone walking in, so he decided to take the box with him and replace it another day. He glanced in the other boxes but they were full of school memorabilia and knick-knacks, but nothing usable. His journal idea was long forgotten, but curiosity propelled him to check out the filing cabinet. It became clear in second that the first drawer was simple tax information and the like.

The second drawer was Dudley's report cards and various papers and projects he had done. His envy over how his relatives loved Dudley and not him had long passed, but it still stung a bit.

The last drawer at the bottom is where he struck gold. There was a fancy looking journal, which even had a lock on it. No key that he could see, but a simple unlocking charm would do the trick anyway. He put it on top of the box and went back to the drawer. There was a stack of letters and a scroll, both made of parchment. Muggles didn't use parchment. It was about the last thing he expected to find. He scooped them up and began to open the scroll when he heard the stairs creak and he realized he needed to get out of there. He shoved his finds in the box and closed the door, cursing under his breath when it didn't lock. He hid himself and the box under the invisibility cloak as best as he could and worked on locking the door back. The twins hadn't taught him how to do that, so it took a minute. Just as it clicked, Petunia walked in the room. He froze under the cloak, but she didn't seem to notice anything as she entered the bathroom. Breathing a sigh of relief, he clutched the box to his chest and crept out of the room, careful to leave the door exactly as ajar as she had. A few steps later and he was in his bedroom again. His heart was hammering a bit as he set the box on the table and removed the cloak. He wasn't sure where to start, but something about the scroll called him to it. He unrolled it and held it flat against the table and began to read.

"This magical contract hereby grants guardianship and full rights to Mr. Vernon Avatrox Dursley and Mrs. Petunia Aemula Dursley…for the suppression of magic of Mr. Dudley Tectus Dursley and the sum of £1,000,000 to be awarded on Mr. Harry James Potter's 17th birthday after which the signatories are released from their duties to Mr. Harry James Potter…Signatories agree to provide care for Mr. Harry James Potter to the best of their abilities…Signatories agree to send one photo a year with a brief update to Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore until Mr. Harry James Potter's 11th birthday at which time…Signatories agree to remain at #4 Privet Drive, Surrey, England until such time as the contract is fulfilled or declared voided…Signatory Mrs Petunia Aemula Dursley agrees to renew the blood ward located on the property of #4 Privet Drive, Surrey, England once a year on Lughnasadh…Mr. Harry James Potter's magic will be bound by Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore prior to Mr. Harry James Potter taking up residence at #4 Privet Drive, Surrey, England. Contract can only be voided if care duties for Mr. Harry James Potter are abandoned before his 17th birthday...Suppression of Mr. Dudley Tectus Dursley's magic will be abandoned if the contractual obligations are not fulfilled…"

And at the bottom were three signatures and two tiny fingerprints, all the muddy burgundy of dried blood. Suddenly Harry felt very dizzy, he sat roughly in the chair, trying to squash down the wave of nausea that rolled through him. He was unsuccessful. He barely made it to the bathroom in time. Wiping his mouth and washing his face with cold water, he heard the unmistakable pop! of apparition.

Loop was there, wringing her floppy ears. "Master Harry Potter Sirs! You is beings sick!" She waved a small wrinkled hand and a purple potion appeared in it. "You is taking this right aways! You is resting while I call Master Sirius Black Sir!"

"It's okay, Loop. I'm fine now, really." He meant it other than still feeling like he had been slapped and dropped off in a different reality.

Her small hands pushed against him, "You is resting right now! Master Sirius Black is being giving me orders to take care of you! You must take your potion!"

Humouring her, he took the potion and went and sat up on his bed. The instant he did, she popped away, presumably to fetch Sirius. He wouldn't admit it, but the potion did calm his rolling stomach and get rid of the cold sweat he was experiencing.

With her gone, he went back to the contract, examining the fingerprint. One was over the name Dudley Dursley, the other over his name. He placed his now-larger finger over it and wondered if it was his blood the contract was signed in. It wasn't just anger he was feeling, it was immense betrayal. The twinkly-eyed headmaster who he thought had always swooped to his rescue had in fact damned him to a family that loathed him, a family that starved him, a family that—

Sirius and Remus popped into existence and rushed at him. His godfather's eyes were wide with fear as his hands grasped Harry's shoulders.

"Is everything okay? Loop said you were sick and in distress! What's wrong?"

Harry put a hand on top of Sirius's. "I just went looking for a notebook to write in—he sold me, HE SOLD ME!" Sirius wrapped him in his arms as his godson began to cry. Sirius looked at Remus with utter confusion.

"Harry, Harry look at me." Harry did, his face red and tear-marked. "I need you to tell what happened."

Harry pointed to the box and scroll on the table, "The scroll, read it."

Remus picked it up and began reading while Sirius still partially hugged Harry.

You could tell he was reaching the end because he began snarling as if he were transformed.

"I'm going to kill Dumbledore." His words were so vicious that Harry was shocked; the quiet, kind professor was gone.

"Let me see," Sirius said, reaching out an arm rather than move away from Harry. The further Sirius read, the more he started shaking in anger. By the time he reached the bottom, staring at the tiny finger print he knew was Harry's a nearby cup exploded. Remus waved away the mess with a hand.

"I…I cannot believe he would stoop so low. I am speechless." Sirius hugged Harry tighter, only reigning in his rage because he knew it wouldn't help Harry in this moment.

"What is the other stuff?" Sirius asked Harry.

"I don't know, I didn't get that far. I found it in a locked closest in my aunt and uncle's room. I swear I was just looking for a…journal because Dr. Chambers recommend I keep one."

Sirius gave him a half smile. "He gave me the same suggestion. Let's go through it, we might as well get it over with."

They opened the box and Remus went straight for the journal with a gasp. "I've seen this before! It's Lily's!" He turned it over in his hands, fingering the lock. "Look, someone's tried to break in," he pointed to dents in the gold lock where someone had obviously tried to pry it off.

"Who would do that? Petunia and Vernon wouldn't, they hate magic. They hate it so much they took Dudley's magic away! That might be the most shocking bit of all this, Dudley a wizard? What're the chances?" Harry's head reeled with the implications of the scroll, but he tried to push it aside for now.

Remus, still staring at the journal, said automatically "Well there is a theory that lines that produce muggleborns are more likely to go on and produce more muggleborns. Something like the wizarding gene skips some people than the idea that they're truly random. It's just a theory though, it hasn't truly been researched."

Harry, thinking of Colin Creevy and his brother, nodded, "That makes sense."

They dug through the remainder of the box, finding more of Lily's stuff. There were photographs throughout her life, a small album of Harry that included her pregnancy diary, school awards, jewellery, her wand, some more letters, clippings of her and James's wedding announcement and Harry's birth announcement, a silver rattle with "Evans" engraved on it, a small and old looking carved wooden cube, and another scroll of parchment, this one much larger than the contract that essentially sold Harry into slavery.

It was more of his mum than he had ever known. All he had was the searing memory of their deaths given to him by the Dementors, the photo album Hagrid had given him, the stories Remus and Sirius told him, the invisibility cloak given to him by Professor Dumbledore, and the marauder's map given to him by the twins. All these scraps had been given to him by others, but this time he had found them all on his own.

Remus flipped through the photo album while Harry reached for the scroll. He unfurled it partially and read aloud to himself, "The last will and testament for James Emrys Potter and Lily Maris Potter."

Sirius swore and Remus snarled, "Dumbledore said that their will was destroyed that night!"

Harry let Sirius take it from him and instead he started to dig through the letters. They seemed to be from various people, but a number of them were from a young Petunia. He perused them, and despite the situation, a small grin appeared on his face. It was hard to imagine his bitter, obsessive, and hyper normal aunt as the little girl who wrote these letters to her sister. There was a tone of disapproval and jealousy that ran through them but mostly it was sisterly gossip and shared wonder at all that magic could do.

Remus was turning the wooden cube in his hands thoughtfully while they read. It's hollow with no openings, and I don't sense any magic on it but…his mouth set into a grim line as he felt the wolf inside raise his hackles at whatever the box contained. Whether that meant it was good or bad, he couldn't say. He had spent far more years trying to pretend the wolf didn't exist than he had trying to understand it. He set it down and shook the unease from his shoulders.

He went to read over Sirius's shoulder, his eyes scanning it quickly before he caught his name. "Blooming bowtruckles! What were you thinking Prongs?!"

Sirius grinned at him, "Ah yes, how many times I heard that phrase after he'd done something daft."

"I…I…he can't've been serious."

"He was, look," Sirius pointed to a few lines on the scroll. "It's all there. He did a good job of it."

"What? What did my dad do?" Harry asked them, leaning over to try and read the scroll upside down.

"As you know, Harry, the laws against werewolves restrict us quite a bit. We cannot adopt children and legally if two werewolves want to have children, they must apply for a license, which is never granted of course. A werewolf and a witch or wizard can legally have a child, but that almost never happens for the obvious reasons, which is probably why it's legal. In the will, you go to Sirius first. Then if he kicks the bucket, you go to my parents and I am put in charge of your estate as your steward, effectively making me your guardian but in a way that is perfectly legal, I also get a rather hefty sum for doing so. Lily figured that out, I'd expect."

"Oh. So I was supposed to be with you? All this time?" Again Harry felt his anger flare, causing the air to shimmer with magic and the chairs rattle.

Sirius put a hand on his should. "Calm down, pup. Believe me when I say that we are going to get Dumbledore for this. In every way possible. He cannot be allowed to illegally meddle in people's lives this way."

Harry sat in one of the chairs, his mind overwhelmed with all of this new information. Every bit he had learnt over the years had been treasured and ruminated over any time he needed comfort. This was a lot for one day. His feelings about Dumbledore were so confused and tangled up. His feelings in general were tangled up. He was happier than he'd ever been but sometimes sadness or anger or other feelings overwhelmed him and he didn't know why. It seemed like the older he got, the more confusing things got.

"The rest of the will is pretty straightforward. They were very well prepared for any eventuality. If not my parents, then Alice and Frank, if not them then McGonagall. They really did a good job. I just want to know why they chose goblin witnesses rather than us. If we had known I could've went to the ministry with my memory of the will…or no I couldn't've. I forgot. Werewolf memories and testimony under Veritaserum aren't admissible." His voice had turned bitter.

"And they didn't bother with any of that with me. They took me straight to Azkaban; the laws enacted for the war allowed Barty Crouch to just declare me guilty based on the few things the Aurors saw. No trials during those days. Those came later. But I still never got one."

The excitement of the find was wearing off for all of them. With unspoken consensus, they put everything back in the box, to finish looking at another time. Sirius called Bang and Bell for a late lunch, knowing that Loop would chide them for not eating on time.

They were quiet as they ate sandwiches and soup, each preoccupied with their various injustices. Remus noticed how downtrodden both Sirius and Harry were, and tried to shake away his own disquiet to come up with something to cheer them up. They could all use a distraction. It took him awhile to think of it, but once he did he tried to silently communicate it to Padfoot. In their later school days and before the war ended they had learned enough of Occlumency and Legilimency to communicate with each other with their minds at a short range. It was easier for some than others. Lily and James had been able to communicate quite well, especially after their wedding. He and Sirius got pretty good at it, but distance was hard. Peter never picked up the trick and now he knew why.

He reached out slowly, immediately reaching Sirius's shields, but they were weaker than they used to be. He 'knocked' thinking hard "Padfoot, it's me."

After a moment, Sirius gave a little jolt and looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Remus could feel when Sirius allowed him access.

Let's take Harry to the Quidditch field. We all need a distraction and look at him.

Sirius did, taking in his slumped shoulders and listless eating.

I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

It'll still be a surprise, just sooner rather than later.

Oh all right then, Sirius thought at him with a roll of his eyes.

Once it was clear that Harry was done picking at his food, Sirius said "Come on, Prongslet. We've got some very serious business that needs tending to. Get your broom."

Harry gave him a bewildered look.

"Go on then, get it and we'll get going."

Harry obeyed with a sceptical look on his face. He came back, carrying his Firebolt. Sirius admired it, it was clear that Harry was taking excellent of care of it.

He pulled Harry into a loose hug and apparated away.

Harry's feet slammed into the ground a long moment later and his lungs expanded gratefully. Disconcerted, it took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing. It was a Quidditch pitch, and a marvellous one at that. It was a little larger than the one at school, with a much nicer-looking changing area. The stands were smaller but made with nice wide, cushioned seats with an overhang to protect observers from rain and sun.

"Wow! This is amazing!"

"I thought you'd like it." Harry jumped, not expecting Remus to be behind him. "Welcome to Black Manor, or at least part of it. The house-elves and I have been working on this for weeks, we meant it to be a part of your birthday surprise, but I figured after today we could use some fun. Sirius and I'll go get our brooms and we'll play a game."

Harry cocked his head at him. "I didn't know you could play."

"Well I was never brilliant at it, but I didn't care to be. Sirius was pretty good."

"I was on the Quidditch team for about half a minute before I got thrown off for pranks and caring more about the ladies watching than the game," Sirius said with a roguish grin.

"What position did you play?" Harry asked excitedly.

"I was a chaser. Which, in retrospect, makes sense given my Animagus form."

That got a laugh out of Harry. Sirius grinned, Mission accomplished.

"Come on, come check out the changing rooms and we'll get our brooms and a Quaffle. There are more games to play on brooms than just Quidditch, you know."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Dear Ginny,

So much happened today, I can't begin to tell you. But first give Ron a kick on the arse from me for doing that to you. And another for not replying to my last letter. Besides, he'll want to hear what I have to tell you! It's brilliant! Well not all of it. But don't tell him, if he can't bother writing a quick line back once a week then he'll have to wait for the surprise.

Black manor has a Quidditch pitch! It's brilliant! We spent the whole afternoon playing on it. Have you heard about Quaffle tag? It's not Quidditch but it's fun all the same. Oh and Remus and Sirius can fly! I mean, of course they can fly, but they can fly pretty well! Sirius was actually on the Gryffindor Quidditch team! He got tossed off for not taking it seriously, which isn't surprising. I even got to see Buckbeak! He seems happy, though I'd suspect he misses Hagrid. He flew with us for a little while before going off and finding some Hippogriff things to do.

I think they were just trying to cheer me up though. This morning I found some stuff in my relative's room (I swear I wasn't snooping) that was pretty awful. Well not all of it, my aunt had some of my mum's stuff. I've never really had much from them, you know? But we found a contract between them and Dumbledore. I don't know if I can go back to school now, every time I think of him now I get so angry. We also found my parent's will and there were loads of places for me to go instead. But he wanted me here. No matter how bad it was for me. He promised them a load of money if they'd keep me. And the craziest part, you'll never believe it, Dudley is a wizard too! My aunt and uncle must have begged him to suppress his magic because that's in there too. I guess that's why they were always spoiling him and didn't want him to get upset 'cause he might break out of it and have some accidental magic.

I'm kind of scared, Gin. So much is changing. Sirius and Remus told me not to worry about the contract, that they were going to go after Dumbledore over it, but Dumbledore is so powerful! Everyone loves him. I'm scared he'll find a way to force me to live here until I'm of age. I'm sorry I don't want to bore you. At least I'll be seeing you on my birthday, right? Are the twins coming? 'Cause I don't know if that's such a good idea. Sirius gets up to enough mischief as it is. Not that it's not fun. But I like my hair black, thanks.

I hope your mum lays off you. It's not fair for you to have to more chores than your brothers. Ron would never volunteer for more chores but surely the twins and Percy will see how unfair it is.

I'll send this off now, Hedwig is annoyed with waiting on me to finish this letter. Bye,

—Harry

Harry rolled up the letter and tied it to Hedwig's ankle with a bit of string. She allowed him to give her a scratch before she flew out the open window and into the dusky sky. She hated when he sent letters too late at night because it cut into her hunting time. But writing to Ginny always helped, because he knew that the next morning in her reply she would somehow take his jumbled thoughts and set them right. Hermione was rarely wrong, but she was definitely not wrong when she told him that girls grow up faster than boys.

In the dim light, Harry could see Sirius's sleeping form, light snores coming from it. After they had spent the afternoon and most of the evening playing games and had a very late dinner, Sirius had declared himself knackered from kicking everyone's arses (when in reality Harry won most of the games) and proceeded to bed as soon as Remus left.

Harry however, didn't felt very tired. Now that the fun was over, he couldn't help but be drawn back to the box of his mother's stuff. For a long time he just sat quietly with the photo album, flipping back and forth between pictures of his family, his heart swelling at the thought. His mum's diary of her pregnancy was hilarious. It was obvious that she had written it for Harry to read later. "I only vomited three times today, we may not give you up for adoption yet…I sent your father out for 10 different kinds of jam at the muggle grocery, I think you're turning me into a bit of a prankster, but that's what I get for having your father's child…" He grinned and quietly chuckled at each entry. He would never stop feeling sad, angry, and even bitter over his parent's deaths. But in that moment he just ruminated happily over the brief time that they had together before they were taken from him.

Finally, yawns began to overtake him and he realized it was past time for bed. As he went to put the photo album back in the box, the weird wooden cube caught his eye. He had ignored it earlier in favour of the much more important items he'd discovered, but now he was curious. He picked it up and began to turn it over, and without warning it opened up, wood folding back on itself to reveal its contents. There weren't many of them. A tiny leather-bound book was tucked in between a cushion and the back of the box. On the cushion lay two rings. And even Harry, with his limited knowledge of marriage and relationships, immediately recognized them as wedding bands. Both were thick gold with glimmering red stones imbedded in them. He reached out to touch them, but something stopped him. He had been in the magical world long enough to begin to realize that it's always a mistake to touch an unknown magical object (Riddle's diary in the forefront of his mind). He pulled back, though something about them called him. He set the cube back down and it closed up immediately, leaving no sign of a seal where it opened. Covering his hand with his sleeve, he picked it up and put it back in the box quickly so it wouldn't open again.

Harry lay in bed for a while that night listening to the hoots of owls and the croaks of frogs, while he thought over all that had happened that day. Though his birthday wasn't for a while, planning it with Sirius was making him nervous. Sirius kept pushing him to invite more of his friends but he was pretty firm on it just being the Weasley's, Hermione, and Neville. Still, it'll be nice to see Ginny and Ron and Hermione, and I'm interested to meet Remus's parents…and I'll finally get to see the Manor and my parents' home and all the other surprises I'm sure Sirius has cooked up for me. Eventually Harry's thoughts faded and he was swept off to dreamland where he dreamed of many things, most of which he couldn't understand yet.

Sitting on the roof of The Burrow, Ginny was staring absentmindedly at the stars when an annoyed hoot broke her trance.

"Hedwig! You startled me!" The owl stuck out her leg, where a letter was tied. Ginny quickly undid it and started to unfurl the letter when Hedwig nipped her. "Oh, keep your hair on, here," Ginny gave her an owl treat out of her pocket. While she ate it, Ginny scratched her head by her ears the way she liked. In the last few weeks, she and Hedwig had gotten very well acquainted. The treat and the scratches seemed to appease the snowy owl, as she cuddled into Ginny's hand. Ginny began to work on a pinfeather on Hedwig's head while she finished opening Harry's letter. By the time she was done reading it, she had freed a few new feathers. Part of Hedwig's recent grumpiness was that she was in the middle of a moult, Ginny had several of her beautiful white feathers now, she kept them in a jar with a few of Errol's and Pigwidgeons's feathers. She didn't have any of Hermes feathers because Percy thought keeping them was ridiculous, but she thought that they were beautiful.

"What's happened to our boy now, Hedwig? He really is always getting himself into some kind of trouble…well I suppose it's not really his fault. Trouble's always finding him." Hedwig hooted and bobbed her head like she understood. "But this is a different kind of mess than what we get up to at school. Bugger!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, something in her was joyful that Harry felt he could confide this information in her. Not her brother, her.

Ginny shooed Hedwig off to go hunt whilst she leaned back against the peak of the house and tried to figure out what to say to Harry.

Her mind spun in circles, her parents talking about how great Dumbledore is, his piercing blue eyes and batty grin looking down at her from the head table, his eyes solemn as she explained what happened in the chamber, an ancient withered hand patting her shoulder and having Madam Pomfrey escort her to the hospital wing, Harry, underweight, jumpy, dressed in practically rags, Dumbledore again, questioning them at the end of the year, her mind imagining a sick image of a baby Harry being handed over to cruel and hideous muggles, then Dumbledore turning his wand on another baby, robbing it of magic…She shook herself, goose bumps erupting on her skin.

She crawled back through the window, dug a fresh sheet of parchment out of her desk drawer, and began to write. By the time she was done, she had used two sheets of parchment, and Hedwig had returned from hunting with a bit of frog on her beak. Ginny gave her a sip out of her water glass before giving her the letter. She watched her fly into the night until she was a speck in the sky that could be mistaken for a star. Then she crept downstairs to toss out her water and make a cup of tea. It was well past time for bed, even the twins had gone quiet hours ago. Ginny however had turned into a night owl since starting Hogwarts. It's hard to sleep easily in the dark when you could have a nightmare at any moment. She took her tea back up to her room, where she curled up in bed and continued to think about Harry and this predicament with Dumbledore.

Somehow she knew that Dumbledore would be extremely unhappy with Harry's plans to move in with Sirius. She could only hope he wouldn't interfere but she thought that was a slim possibility. He almost certainly would interfere, and then what? She had reassured Harry in her letter, but he was right, Dumbledore was extremely influential and well respected. Her parent's opinion of him had suffered after what happened in her first year, but even with students petrified and her being possessed by Voldemort, nothing really happened. Dumbledore was ousted from the school for a few months before coming back, but no investigation was made, at least not that she knew of. It was disturbing to her to think that Hogwarts could have a teacher with Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head in Ron's first year, then in her first year Voldemort possessed her and made her try and kill students, and then this past year they discover that Scabbers is actually a death eater and a mass murderer? She could remember her older brothers telling her all about their adventures at Hogwarts, but they were never dangerous or deadly, they didn't have to fight for their lives or suffer attacks. They got up to normal stuff, like sneaking into the forbidden forest and discovering secrets rooms in the castle. The most dangerous thing they ever got up to was Quidditch, and even then she couldn't remember Charlie ending up in the hospital wing nearly as much as Harry did.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts and worries that she barely noticed the golden light seeping into her room. Only when she heard her mum getting up did she realize that she had stayed up all night, again. She debated trying to get an hour or two of sleep before her mum came to wake her up, but with how noisy the twins had been lately, she doubted she would get any sleep at all. All summer, from dawn till dusk, they had been shut up in their room making bangs and explosions. It wasn't that unusual for them, but she had a feeling they were up to something for real this time. They wouldn't tell her anything of course, but she had seen boxes and plans in their room, as well as a few cauldrons with things simmering in them. They were very lucky that mum had been pretty busy since they came home, knitting baby things for one of their cousins who was due any day now.

Resigning herself to a long day, she got up and put on her dressing gown, and went down the stairs to help her mum with breakfast. That ought to please her, she thought. But I'm getting rather sick of this housewife business. I'm not even thirteen yet!

"Oh good morning Ginny! I didn't expect to see you up so early. How did you sleep, darling?"

"Just fine, mum. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Molly gave her a huge smile, "Well if you could get to work on the scones dear that would be wonderful."

They worked together in silence until her dad came home. Ginny brought him a big mug of coffee and a scone, which he accepted gratefully. He looked beat, on raid nights he often hadn't slept for nearly a full day with all the preparation he had to do. Generally she and her brothers would go outside to the orchard and fly and swim all day to let their dad sleep in peace afterwards, but today she thought she might fake a headache or something and sleep too. It had only been a few weeks that she had been home but it felt like ages with all the nonsense she had to put up with from her mum.

Fortunately for Ginny, Percy asked their mum to look over his notes for some report he was doing for work and she was able to escape after breakfast. Her bed was tempting but she knew she would be undisturbed in the orchard, so that's where she went.

She sneaked a blanket, a book, and some muffins out with her so she wouldn't have to go back for a while. Near the edge of the wards was a huge, ancient tree, and the roots were so large they formed a little hollow, which was just perfect for one or two people to hide in. The moss was soft and anyone coming that direction wouldn't see her unless she was standing up. She didn't think any of her brothers knew about it, so she had deemed it "her spot." A few years ago she had stolen Fred's wand and carved "Ginny's Spot Keep Out" in the trunk of the tree. She had always been able to use Fred and George's wands when needed because the blackmail material she had against them was endless. That and they had a soft spot for her. Being the youngest and the only girl was difficult in so many ways, but at least she had all of her brothers wrapped around her pinky finger. Well, except Ron, but Ron is a prat, she thought. She was miffed at Ron for several reasons. Harry had sent him three letters so far this summer, but Ron had only sent a short, emotionally constipated one back. A flobberworm could see that Harry really needed friends right now, but all Ron cared about was Quidditch and eating all the meals mum was forcing her to learn how to make. That was the other thing she was pissed at him about, he thought that mum training her how to be the perfect little housewife was great because it meant less chores and more pastries for him.

The Weasley's didn't do betrothals, but the Prewetts did. When her mum ran away to marry her dad, the family was scandalized, not only because that just wasn't done, but because it broke the marriage contract they had forced her into. Not that Ginny blamed her, she had briefly met Perseus Flint during a very awkward run-in at Diagon Alley. He had been horribly rude to them, but overall he seemed a bit dim and like he may be part troll. Ginny was very grateful that he wasn't her dad.

Her mum's parents essentially disowned her after that, until her brothers Fabian and Gideon died that is. But her mum, and their family, were still the black sheep among the Prewett family. She and her brothers were treated more like illegitimate children than legitimate ones. It was obvious what her mum was up to, she just hoped that dad intervened soon, before she had to take matters into her own hands. Curled up in the shade of her favourite tree, a warm, sweet summer breeze caressing her, her worries slowly melted away as she dropped into a deep sleep.

AN: I hope you like the bit of Ginny's POV. I'm beginning to move the plot along, and while I've looked over this chapter easily a dozen times, please point out any mistakes or brit-picks if you notice them. I have a question for you, dear reader, what ships would you like to see? I'm pretty firm on Hermione and Ron, but only later in the story, maybe as late as 7th year. Harry and Ginny obviously, though it's not going to happen as quickly as any of us want ;) I'm a fan of wolfstar, but I don't think Sirius or Remus are going to have romance on their minds for a long time. At some point I think I'll post a poll about it, but not right now. I hope you enjoy this update and I'm sorry if it doesn't live up to the wait. Personally I don't think it does either. Next chapter expect a bit of a time skip, plotting, unexpected news, Harry's birthday, and some different POVs. I anticipate it being a long one. Oh, and if there's anyone willing to beta for me, I would really appreciate it. Even just someone keeping me on task would be nice.