It's been FOR EVER. Sorry. SORRY. Erm. Yeah. Hope everyone like this, and I shall try my hardest to get chapters up a bit quicker.

M. Sunshine

Not until the following evening would Madam Pomfrey allow Harry to go back home. After having slept soundly (courtesy of one of Pomfrey's Dreamless sleep potions) he had felt brilliant, and was rather annoyed that she hadn't let him move an inch from the bed. When she finally (though reluctantly) declared him one hundred per cent healed, he'd basically jumped out of the bed and dragged Sirius to the fireplace.

"Bloody hell, Harry, calm down." Sirius said, pulling free from his grasp.

"I want to get home." the teen declared firmly, folding his arms over his chest as he stood by the fireplace in Pomfrey's office.

"I know, I do too. But I have to go speak to Dumbledore first." Harry groaned. "Come on, it won't take long. You go and visit Hagrid or something, and I'll come get you once I'm done."

"I can't come?" Harry enquired, with raised eyebrows. How often would his godfather meet the Headmaster without including him? It gave him that feeling of being left out, like he couldn't handle hearing the truth.

"No, you can't." Sirius replied instantly. "Nothing important and it won't take long, as I said."

"If it's nothing important, then how come I can join in?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes. Sirius heaved an exasperated sigh.

"I don't fancy going over this again, Harry. Now, I have to go. You can either stay here or head down to Hagrid's, your choice."

"But-"

"I said no," Sirius frowned. "And I mean it. See you in a few." With that, he turned and swiftly left the infirmary. At first, Harry thought he'd stay in the Hospital Wing and sulk, just because of it. But he decided it would be far more fun to pay Hagrid a visit, so he followed Sirius, and then turned towards the stairs. It took some time to hurry down the four flights of them, but he eventually reached the front doors, and swung them open. The sun was setting, but it was still warm and a light breeze ruffled his hair as he started down the lawns towards the gamekeeper's hut. Fang was lying on the doorstep, snoozing, but his master was nowhere to be seen. Harry frowned, and gave the massive dog a scratch on his head before banging on the door. There was no answer, something that made Harry even more confused. He turned and peered through the small window. Though the view was half blocked by a giant pot, he was certain no one was inside.

"Where's Hagrid, eh?" he said softly, crouching down to stroke the dog gently. Fang sighed but didn't move. Harry stood up again, looking towards the dark forest. Was it possible that Hagrid had gone in there, to help a hurt animal or something, he pondered. But he'd have brought Fang with him, wouldn't he? So Harry had to decide what to do. Head back to the castle and wait for Sirius, or go looking for Hagrid. Of course, the sensible thing would be to head back and just inform his godfather that he couldn't find the gamekeeper. Dumbledore would surely know where he was. On the other hand, his curiosity and annoyance with Sirius was currently outweighing his sense, and he automatically started for the forest. Fang whimpered and stood, trotting after him. As soon as he'd passed the outer trees the darkness enfolded him, the massive treetops blocking out all sunshine. It was rather spooky, the change from warm and light to cool and dark in a few steps. Harry hugged himself briefly to try and warm up, before strolling casually along. Not ten minutes after he'd entered the forest did he regret his decision. He had no way of knowing if Hagrid was even in the woods, and he was well aware of the numbers of strange creatures lurking in dark corners. The huge dog whined again, and Harry absentmindedly placed a comforting hand on the animal's head.

"Where is your master at?" he said quietly, stroking the short fur. Fang merely cocked his head. Harry sighed, patted the head a last time before turning. He hadn't had time to get too far in, yet there was no sign of the end of the vegetation. Scowling, he started walking with cautious steps, listening intently to the muffled noises around him. The occasional bird screeched, but only briefly. Frankly, they were a bit of a comfort. Proof that there was some life there. He kept walking, freaked out by the odd silence. Taking longer steps he hurried in what he hoped was the direction of Hagrid's hut. Suddenly, he heard a thick twig breaking, and he spun around, staring into the misty, grey scene. Nothing. He reached for his wand before remembering he didn't have it. And in any case, he wasn't allowed to use it. But this was Hogwarts grounds, and in a life-threatening situation he would-

"Harry Potter?" Almost falling over, he jumped just about two feet into the air and turned again. There, standing right by a thick tree trunk, was a centaur. And Harry was relieved to recognise him as Firenze.

"Oh. Hi." The centaur frowned at him, whipping his tail back and forth.

"What are you doing in here?" he enquired, his rumbling voice booming in the otherwise quiet surroundings. Harry shrugged a bit.

"I was looking for Hagrid." Firenze snorted, a very horse-like thing to do for someone like him.

"You shouldn't have come in here alone." He stated firmly. "It's dangerous, remember?" Harry rolled his eyes a bit, acting a lot more confident than he actually was.

"Yeah, I know. I'm on my way back." he assured him.

"I'll walk with you." Harry was glad for the company, and nodded mutely before walking beside the centaur along the non-existent path.

"These are especially rocky times." Firenze said. "Dumbledore is on his way to finding them, I think. I was asked several times for my opinion. I must say, it is an honour to be regarded as a valuable asset to the Headmaster." Harry nodded along, before realising what he'd said. Finding them? Finding what?

"Excuse me, but finding what?" The centaur looked down at him, and Harry thought he looked almost surprised. Harry cracked his knuckles, waiting expectantly as Firenze contemplated something.

"The Headmaster has not told you?" He eventually asked, choosing an easier route. Of course, Harry hadn't a clue what he was talking about, so it felt kind of difficult to answer the question. He grimaced.

"I guess not, seeing as I dunno what you're talking about."

"Then I really am at no liberty to talk about it." Okay, this is getting thoroughly annoying, Harry thought, feeling his wretched anger bubble up in the pit of his stomach.

"Honestly, Firenze, that's the kind of answer that made me come into this damn forest in the first place. Not a kid, remember?" he said, in a voice he thought sounded pretty convincing. The centaur sighed, and fingered one of the arrows for his bow before speaking again.

"Although it really is for Professor Dumbledore to tell you this, I do agree with you: you are not a child, and considering what they all expect you to eventually do you should know." Hearing this from someone made Harry feel exceptionally light-hearted and he smiled gratefully.

"The Headmaster has, most likely, figured out why He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named seems to be difficult to… remove." Well that was a straightforward way of putting things.

"Okay…? And what does that mean?" Harry asked, trying hard not to sound awfully rude.

"I believe it was in your second year that you entered the Chamber of Secrets and destroyed the diary, am I correct?" Harry nodded in affirmation. "It was rather lucky you had a Basilisk tooth close by, as trying to destroy it with most other implements would have failed." Harry raised his eyebrows.

"It was just a diary." Firenze chuckled, something between a low laugh and a neigh.

"It was a lot more than a diary. That book was a Horcrux." Harry looked lost at the name.

"A what?"

"A Horcrux." The centaur repeated with gravity. "They are foul things. One can, by some very dark magic I might add, contain a piece of one's soul in an object, so that should the body be harmed, the soul lives on. Clearly speaking, you cannot die." Harry's blood practically ran cold. Voldemort had Horcruxes? He couldn't die?

"But I did destroy the diary." Firenze smiled warmly.

"Yes, you did. Not a lot of things can do that, but Basilisk venom is one of them."

"So Voldemort had a Horcrux?" Harry asked, hoping for a good answer. Firenze smile turned sad.

"He didn't have one. He has several." was his quiet reply. Ahead, Harry could see the outlines of Hagrid's hut, but his mind was drifting. Voldemort had more than one Horcrux. He couldn't die. Could not be killed.

"But does that mean-"

"No, Harry. He can be defeated." Firenze stated with vigour. "It'll just be a bit more difficult than killing an ordinary wizard." He spoke of murder as though it was going for a stroll. Of course, talking like that was just in his nature. Harry knew for a fact that the centaur was a very gentle and kind being.

"But…" Harry frowned. "How the hell do we find them then? Because, I suppose in order to kill him we have to get to all of them and destroy them."

"Yes, you need to find them. And how to do so, I don't know. You'll have to speak to the Headmaster." They arrived outside the hut, and Harry saw Hagrid and Sirius, both looking rather concerned.

"Brilliant." He muttered. They hadn't seen him yet, and Firenze snorted amusedly.

"Stay away from the forest." He said, nodded and then trotted back in between the trees. Sirius turned around, and looked immensely relieved upon spotting his godson. You'd think I was gone for hours, Harry thought irritably as he walked over to them.

"Harry!" He said, placing his hands heavily on Harry's shoulders. "Where the hell have you been?" he exclaimed, his grey eyes stormy, still with a worried edge to them.

"I was looking for Hagrid." he replied, avoiding his eyes.

"Hagrid was in the castle, not in the forest." Sirius said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, no shit Sherlock." he replied sarcastically. "I realised he wasn't in there…"

"You went into the forest?"

"Yup."

"Harry, are you out of your mind? Alone? Without your wand?"

"It's not like I could have used it anyway." he said defensively.

"You didn't even know if Hagrid was in there or not!" He caught sight of Fang. "He couldn't have been, as he always brings Fang! For Merlin's sake!"

"Will you relax? I'm fine. I met Firenze, he walked me back." Mentioning the centaur, Harry felt the irritation with his godfather rise. Annoyance stemming from no one telling him anything, having to hear it from a centaur he barely knew.

"You met Firenze?" Sirius asked, his frown still etched firmly in place.

"Yeah. Had a rather nice chat." At this point, he noticed Hagrid staring at him, looking almost nervous. Fang had scurried over to his master, and was sitting awkwardly at his side. Harry looked back to Sirius, realising it was sort of rude to look the other way.

"Did you, now?" Harry couldn't believe how unfair Sirius was being about all of it. Yes, it had been stupid to go into the forest, he'd realised this quite quickly. But he wasn't hurt, everything was fine. Well, everything except for the fact that no one had told him Voldemort was pretty much immortal!

"Yes, thanks." he said. "It was quite informative." His godfather looked almost beside himself, but instead of answering, he let Harry go and turned to Hagrid.

"We'll be leaving now. Thank you." Hagrid just waved a bit, and Sirius beckoned for Harry to follow as he marched back towards the castle. The put-out teen had no option but to walk after him.

Harry chewed his dinner slowly, glancing up at his uncharacteristically quiet godfather. Sirius had barely said a word since they'd Flooed back home, and Harry was beginning to feel worried. Was he still upset with his going into the Forbidden Forest? Of course, Harry couldn't blame him, but he did think Sirius might be overreacting if this was the case. He wasn't eleven years old; he was perfectly capable of minding himself, thank you very much. Harry was still a bit indecisive about how to approach the subject about the Horcruxes with Sirius, too. He wasn't at all ready to tell him he knew about them yet, especially not as Sirius seemed to think he was some young child.

Sirius rubbed his forehead and finished his Butterbeer before standing up to put his dishes in the sink.

"This was, erm, great." Harry said, in an attempt to start a civil conversation. "Thanks." he added, still disconcerted by Sirius' silence.

"Mm-hmm." was the subtle reply as the sink was filled with warm water and a mass of bubbles. The boy sighed and pushed his plate away from him.

"Listen, about earlier-"

"Would you bring your plate over if you're done?" he interrupted, in a soft yet firm voice. Startled, Harry raised his eyebrows, but did as he was asked. As soon as his godfather's hands were busy scrubbing the dishes, Harry leaned against the table and shoved his hands loosely into the pockets of his jeans.

"Honestly, Sirius, I'm sorry." he said. "It was stupid; I dunno why I did it." The older wizard didn't react at first, but after a few moments he flicked his hands to get rid of the foam and turned around, eyeing the scrawny boy intently.

"Yes. It was the most stupid thing you've done in a while, I'd say." he said, in a calm and low voice, completely unlike his usual loud and cheerful way of speaking.

"Yeah…"

"Really, Harry, what the hell goes on in that supposedly bright head?" he exclaimed, his grey eyes annoyed but still carrying that concerned-godfather-hint. Harry had the modesty to look embarrassed, but still felt the familiar flicker of annoyance at his godfather's light scolding.

"Dunno…"

"No, obviously not." The man shook his head. "You scared the life out of me, you know. For about twenty minutes, no one knew where you were." Harry didn't think it very wise to point out that twenty minutes wasn't actually that long. "I checked with Hagrid, who hadn't seen you, nor had anyone else. You just wandered over the grounds and then disappeared. I mean, are you out of your mind? There are Death Eaters actively trying to get to you, Harry. Voldemort doesn't take breaks." The harsh words sent shivers down Harry's spine, and he wanted nothing but to coil up and hide away.

"You need to get it into your head that you are not invincible." Okay, that hurt. "You're brilliant, and a very smart and brave young wizard. But you're kid, for Merlin's sake! Stop putting yourself into danger like this. I won't lose you to something as ridiculous as that. Use your head!" It felt like Sirius was verbally smashing something heavy into his head. Not that he was wrong. Harry knew he had a point, but this whole having-a-parent-that-worries-thing was new to him, and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Yes, there were other people who worried about him, people he loved and didn't want to leave, but he hadn't ever truly considered that it would hurt them when he went off on his save-the-day-escapades. Staring into Sirius' face, he could see that he wasn't annoyed with Harry doing what he wanted: he was angry that he had put himself in danger, and that he hadn't thought first. Huh. That is a bit childish.

He blinked several times, and his shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry." The words were barely audible. "I'm a right mess-up. I can see why you deem me a lost cause." To his relief, Sirius taut face loosened a bit, and a fragment of the usual mirth re-entered his gaze.

"No, there's still hope. But stop acting the hero. I know you don't do it consciously." he added when he noticed he'd ruffled his godson's feathers. "It's your damn Gryffindor trait. Definitely the result of mixing your dad's craziness with your mum's everlasting love." Harry grinned sheepishly and Sirius sighed, shaking his head again. "Think before you act from now on, yeah?" Harry nodded in mute agreement. "Perfect. Oh and ever go into that damn forest again, and I'll use your Firebolt to clean out the chimney." Harry rolled his eyes, but nodded again all the same. Best not push the man any further.