Coincidences - HollowBody - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1: Bacon

Chapter Text

A/N:

This is my first HP fanfiction, so feel free to leave criticism/praise/flame in the comments so I can improve.

This is a Harry/Astoria story, and any other pairings will be background, if at all present. If you notice slight premise differences from canon, it is likely intentional.

A HUGE thanks to BingBong for both the idea for this story and help with editing this chapter. Without him, this story would not have been written.

Sirius Black ran for his life.

His canine legs burned from the exertion, his ears filled with the sounds of his nails clicking against the cobbled Hogsmeade streets and his own heavy panting.

Sirius had plenty of experience running away, and in his time had outpaced many a Death Eater, Dementor, and spurned lover, but twelve years in Azkaban did no favors for his muscles, and he wasn't getting any younger.

Maybe this is penance,he thought, thinking of one such woman he had spurned.For what it's worth Vanessa, I really did love you.

He picked up the pace and narrowly avoided a collision with a street vendor, too focused on escaping to register the verbal (and thankfully not magical) curses hurled at his back. He ducked into another alleyway before making a sharp turn down a sidestreet, sure that this maneuver would shake his pursuer. Hearing nothing behind him, he allowed himself to slow to a trot and turned one more corner, chest heaving and heart pounding.

He froze. Up ahead, as if they knew where he would be before even he did, was the very figure he was running away from to begin with.

"You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?"

Several minutes earlier…

Astoria Greengrass was many things. She was friendly, cheerful, and had a good sense of humor. At two weeks shy of fourteen, she was starting to show signs of the beautiful woman she would no doubt one day become, and her ever-present smile and easygoing nature had made her many friends across all four houses at Hogwarts.

While Astoria was all of those things and more, one thing she wasn't, was immune to distraction. In fact, this aspect of her personality was such a fundamental part of her that her friends weren't even surprised to realize that from one moment to the next she had disappeared from their little group walking around Hogsmeade on the first trip of the year. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, and for many of the third years this was their first time in Hogsmeade. So instead of getting lost searching for their friend, they assumed from experience she would turn up soon, gushing rapid-fire about some rare animal or secret passage she had found, completely ignoring their concerns for her safety.

Ultimately, her friends were quite right. Astoria had been taking in the sights of the village around her when she saw a dog skulking behind a building, looking around as if to find someone or something. At that moment, their eyes made contact, and they both froze.

Astoria's reason was simple. Sheloveddogs.

Sirius' reason was also simple. Years of experience pranking prefects and teachers, and later fighting and fleeing from Voldemort's followers had honed his survival instinct, and he knew when he was in danger. And when he looked into the young girl's bright blue eyes, his tail shot down and his hair stood on end, his animalistic instincts telling him to run, and run fast.

And that was how Sirius found himself in his present situation, slowly backing into a dead end street.

"There's no need to be afraid." She said in a light, feminine voice that belied the malice he could see in her eyes.

She's not even out of breath,Sirius thought.What kind of monster is she?

"I just want to pet you for a bit! My mom won't let me get a dog because my dad is allergic and Daphne says they're too messy." The girl started, speaking as if she knew the dog in front of her understood the words she was saying. For the record, he did, but she didn't know that. "Personally, I think they just don't want me to get a dog because they think I'm not ready for the responsibility." Her words drifted off and she looked wistfully into the distance. "Or maybe it's because they still blame me for what happened to Flopsy…"

What happened to Flopsy!?Sirius screamed in his head, a small whimper of fear coming out of him.

A couple seconds later, her head snapped back to face him, causing him to jump a bit in fright. "Anyway," she began, a big smile back on her face. "I'm not saying you have to do it for free."

She advanced slowly, reaching into the pocket of her robes to find the folded up napkin that still held the remainder of the breakfast she ran out of time to finish that morning. She picked out a piece of bacon and held it in front of her while making an oddpspspssound that Sirius was convinced was the incantation for some rare piece of dark magic.

As the girl backed him into the wall, he resigned himself to his fate. It was a relatively short life, all things considered, and he had many regrets. There were still so many things he wanted to do, not least of all which to be there for Ha-

He stopped. His nose twitched. Sirius' heightened senses easily picked up the delicious smell wafting from the bacon.That's Hogwarts bacon,he thought,not the cheap stuff Kreacher gets, and certainly not that vegan junk Remus has been trying to put me on to. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for me to take just a bite?

Sirius stopped backpedaling and took a tentative step forward. The aroma of the bacon was even stronger than before, and his body started moving of its own volition towards the delicacy.Unfortunately, I seem to be under the Imperius Curse. It's not like I want to, but I really have no other option now but to eat the bacon. What a pity.

He inched further, so close now he could almost taste it. One more step and the prize would be his. He took the step and reached up with his mouth to grab it.

The second he made contact with the bacon strip, Astoria pounced.

She wrapped her arms around him and started to pet his head, fluff the side of his ribs, and tickle under his chin. "Who's a good puppy!" she cooed as she made a thorough mess of his already shaggy fur.

I've been captured!Sirius thought helplessly, as he struggled to free himself from her deceptively firm grasp.And who's she calling a puppy? I've probably spent more time in prison than this kid has spent on the planet! I'm a grim, not some spineless housepet to be treated like a…

His internal diatribe was cut off as he was fed another piece of bacon, momentarily overwhelming his thoughts with the memories of better times. Breakfast in the Great Hall, sitting with James and Remus talking about nothing in particular, complaining about classes and discussing their plans for the holidays…

"I'm sorry for chasing after you Mister Puppy." Astoria said as she began to relax her grip and ease up on the petting. "I kind of lose control around animals sometimes…"

At this, Sirius glanced at the girl, still savoring the taste of the bacon. She seemed genuinely penitent, and was that a trace of sadness he saw? He chuffed and nudged her hand with his snout to tell her it was no big deal.Maybe I overreacted a little,Sirius admitted to himself.She seems like a nice kid, and that bacon was terrific.

As Astoria fed him the rest of the contents of the napkin including half a muffin, he lost himself in the nostalgia.

To think so much has changed in these past 20 years, but the house elves still make the exact same blueberry muffins,Sirius smiled.

When his impromptu meal finished, Astoria let go of him and dusted herself off. "Well that was fun, but I really should be off now, I need to get back to my friends before they notice I'm gone!"

She didn't seem like she was going to chase him again, so Sirius bowed his head to her once as a way of expressing his thanks for the food, and turned to walk away.

A Slytherin huh?Sirius thought, thinking back to the emblem on the bacon girl's robes.It's a shame she didn't end up in Gryffindor, she'd have probably made a great friend for Harry.With that thought reminding him of why he had come to Hogsmeade today in the first place, he went off to find his godson.

Harry walked around Hogsmeade reflecting on the events of the past year. Pettigrew escaped, Remus lost his job, and Sirius was still a wanted man, framed for a crime he didn't commit. On the other hand, he and Hermione had saved both Buckbeak and Sirius that night last spring, and he had cast an incredibly powerful patronus charm to do it. The confidence boost he had gotten when the adrenaline died down and he realized what he had done was a welcome one, especially given the trouble he had a tendency to get into.

What are the chances I get to have a quiet year this year?Harry thought to himself as he strolled through the village. He had planned to meet up with Ron and Hermione at The Three Broomsticks around noon, which left him a little over an hour to appreciate the early autumn weather alone with his thoughts.Probably not great, but with any luck at least this one won't end with me fighting for my life like the last three did.

He was kicking a stone along a path on the outskirts of the village when he heard a dog bark. The sound made his thoughts drift back to his godfather, and the unfortunate turn of events at the end of last year that prevented him from going to live with the man. He hadn't lost hope entirely, but Harry had a feeling he'd be spending at least a few more summers with the Dursley's yet.

The dog barked again, and this time Harry turned his head to look at the source of the noise.

Sirius!? What is he doing here?

The dog started to trot away, heading down a path that clearly led to the shrieking shack. After looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching, Harry followed after him.

When he entered the decrepit house, Sirius was already waiting for him in human form. Sirius pulled Harry into a strong hug, and it hit Harry just how much he had missed the man who he had met for only a few hours. Unbeknownst to him, Sirius was feeling the exact same way.

"Sirius!" Harry beamed at the man, regretfully pulling away from the embrace. His smile was quickly replaced with a puzzled frown however as he thought about the situation he found himself in. "Why are you here? Isn't it dangerous for you to be around so many witches and wizards?"

Sirius sighed and sat down on a rickety chair he pulled from the corner of the room, gesturing for Harry to do the same. "I won't lie and tell you it's risk-free, and to be honest, Remus thinks it's a bad idea. But I've failed you once Harry, and I won't do it again." Sirius paused for a moment before continuing. "I know we can't live together like a family yet, and I'm working on that, but I'd like us to be able to at least act like one."

While Harry wasn't thrilled at the prospect of Sirius putting himself into danger for him, he couldn't deny he liked the idea of having him around more often. Besides, after twelve years alone in Azkaban Harry figured the man might need some semblance of family just as much as he did.

"I'd like that as well," Harry replied. "Does that mean you'll be living in Hogsmeade?"

Sirius' heart broke a little at the hope evident in Harry's voice. "Unfortunately not," Sirius sighed, trying not to notice the slight slump of Harry's shoulders at his reply. "Even for me, that would be too dangerous. But every second weekend when Hogwarts brings you all down here to Hogsmeade I'll make sure I'm here so we can spend a couple of hours, just, well, doing what families do?" Sirius laughed a bit as he finished that sentence, realizing how awkward it sounded.

"That sounds great!" Harry replied enthusiastically. "But what exactly do families do? I've never really had one before…"

Sirius' heart broke a little once more. "Honestly, I'm not so sure either." He said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "But I'd like to get to know you better, so maybe we can start there?"

For the next couple of hours, Harry and Sirius talked about anything and everything, from their favorite foods to their dream vacation. While it started off a little stilted, they both quickly relaxed and found themselves genuinely having fun learning more about the other, and sharing in turn. Eventually, Sirius even felt comfortable teasing his godson a bit.

"So Harry, has any special witch caught your eye yet?"

Harry blushed, waving his hands around awkwardly. "I-I-I wouldn't say so…" He stammered out. "I mean maybe a couple?" Sirius' eyes lit up in excitement. Boy talk with his godson! This is what he'd dreamed of all those years ago when James made him Harry's godfather…

"Oh yeah? Like who? If it's that Hermione girl, you've got my approval. A real smart kid, and brave too!" Sirius shot Harry a thumbs up.

"N-n-no!" Harry spluttered. "She's more like a sister to me than anything. At best, like, occasionally I'll notice a girl in the hallway and I'm like 'oh, she's cute', but there's nothing really going on besides that…" Harry's face was now a bright red, clearly uncomfortable with this topic.

Sirius was about to let the subject drop when a sneaking suspicion wormed its way into his mind.

"Harry, have you ever told any of those girls you thought they were cute before?"

"Er, no."

"Have you ever spoken to them at all?"

"Er, not that I can remember…"

"Have you ever spoken more than a full sentence to a girl other than Hermione?"

"Does McGonagall count?"

"Absolutely not!" Sirius roared.

Harry flinched back in surprise at his godfather's reaction. It wasn't that big of a deal that he had problems talking to girls, was it?

Before Sirius could interrogate him any further on his (lack of) experience communicating with the opposite sex, the brave Gryffindor boy did the only thing he could think of, and planned a hasty retreat. "Oh well, gosh, look at the time Sirius! I have to head back now before the last carriage leaves. Same time in two weeks?"

Sirius looked at his godson, eyes narrowing as he caught on to his thinly veiled strategy. "Same time in two weeks," he confirmed. As Harry was leaving the shack, Sirius called out to him again.

"Harry?"

The boy turned around. "Yeah?"

Sirius' eyes softened. "I really enjoyed today, thanks for coming."

Harry smiled back at him. "I did too Sirius."

Later that night, Sirius paced up and down his bedroom floor in Grimmauld Place. He had truly had a great time with Harry that day, and he felt like he had finally made ground on a relationship that should've started over a decade ago had he not chased after Peter like a moron.

There was, however, one thing he couldnotget over.

My godson can't remember the last time he spoke to a girl other than Hermione. He even asked if McGonagall counts! This is simply unacceptable, the boy is too shy. If I don't intervene, he'll spend his life alone in a hut, caring for blast-ended skrewts or something!

Sirius winced as he realized he had just described a man who he had a great deal of respect for.

If that's what Harry wants, that's fine.Sirius rationalized in his head.However! If he misses out on opportunities in love because he was too shy to speak to a witch that caught his eye, that is a failure that reflects on me as his godfather!

Sirius took another sip of amber liquid from a bottle that was much fuller a few hours ago.

And as such, it is my responsibility to see to it that he gets the practice he needs speaking to girls.

For the first time since before James died, a glint appeared in Sirius' eyes that would be instantly recognizable to any teacher that had the misfortune of dealing with him during his days as a Marauder.

If only I knew a witch his age, that was kind and compassionate, and would be patient with him, I could set them up on a few dates and ensure my godson gets the confidence boost he so dearly needs…

Sirius froze. Because he did know a girl that fit that description.

Bacon Girl!

A/N:

Thanks for reading the first chapter of Coincidences.

I originally posted this on FFN but will be posting it here as well in case anyone prefers AO3.

I'll post the next couple chapters over the next few days, after which both sites will be synced up.

Chapter 2: First Contact

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! Thank you to everyone who has reacted and commented so far. Please continue to do those things, if you'd like.

This, and subsequent chapters will be a little longer from here on out. I hope you enjoy the story.

A big thanks once again to BingBong for his help editing this chapter. All of his suggestions improve the quality dramatically.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted. "Where were you?"

Hermione wasnotpleased with Harry. Together with Ron they had agreed to meet up at The Three Broomsticks earlier that day but Harry hadn't shown up. After an hour of running around scared out of her wits looking for him, he showed up nonchalantly apologizing for his tardiness.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I really am," He started, holding up his hands as he attempted to pacify her. "I lost track of time."

"You lost track of time? Harry, with everything that happened this summer, your visions, and the attack at the Quidditch World Cup, you can't disappear on us for an hour because you 'lost track of time!'" She continued irately.

"Listen Hermione," Harry replied, lowering his voice and looking around conspicuously. "Padfoot was here, in Hogsmeade. He came here to see me, and asked me if I wanted to meet him regularly."

Hermione's eyes softened at the mention of Harry's godfather as she knew how much the man meant to him.

"That's great news Harry!" Ron said. He had stayed silent while Hermione went on her rampage but deemed now would be a safe time for him to make an input.

They were quiet for a moment as the three of them climbed into an empty carriage headed back to the school. Once they were seated, Hermione spoke up again hesitantly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

While she wanted to be purely happy for her friend, she couldn't help the pragmatic part of her brain that told her this was a bad idea.

"Definitely a little. But I really need this Hermione, and I think he needs it too." He shifted awkwardly. "We had a great time, and now that I've got a little taste of what family should be like I'm not sure if I can live without it again." Harry admitted.

This last statement took all the wind out of Hermione's sails. How could she possibly argue against that?

With the heavy emotional stuff out of the way, Ron decided it was his time to shine. "So what did you do with him? Did he tell you what it was like in Azkaban? Or show you any advanced magic? Oh, oh! Did he teach you how to become an Animagus?" While Ron still held a slight grudge against Sirius for biting his arm, he couldn't help but feel that it was a little bit cool that he knew aconvict.

"Honestly," Harry replied, shrugging. "We mostly just talked."

Ron's shoulders slumped. That was pretty boring. But still! He knew aconvict.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's reaction. "Well, what did you talk about then?" She asked.

"A bit of everything really, it was quite nice. Though at the end he was getting on my case about not speaking to enough girls."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then at Harry.

"What?" He asked a little defensively.

"Well mate," shrugged Ron apologetically. "He's not wrong."

Harry turned to Hermione. Surely she wouldn't stand for this fallacious slander of his social abilities!

Hermione smiled at him weakly.

"It's not like Ican'ttalk to girls. I justdon't." Harry said, a little more defensively this time.

Ron and Hermione shared another look.

Harry was appalled at the lack of faith his friends had in him. "Fine!" He threw up his hands in an exasperated manner. "If you guys are so convinced I can't talk to girls, I'll just have to prove you wrong." As they left the carriage and stepped back into Hogwarts, Harry's eyes wandered the hallways looking for a target.

There! He spotted the back of Katie Bell, a chaser on the Gryffindor house quidditch team with him. He wassurehe had spoken to her before, and he could do it again.

"Hey Katie!" Harry said confidently, striding up to her.

Katie turned around as she heard her name. "Hi there Harry! How are you holding up without quidditch this year?" she asked, smiling at him.

Katie is sort of cute when she smiles, isn't she?No! Where did that thought come from? Don't psych yourself out. Just reply casually.

"Ah."

Katie looked at him quizzically. "Not good then, I take it?" She laughed.

"Haha."

"Anyway Harry, don't forget to keep training. You wouldn't want some young upstart to take your spot on the team now would you?" She said as she slapped him on the shoulder companionably.

"Yep."

Katie backed away from him. "I need to get going now. I'll see you around!" She said as she ran off.

"For sure."

Eventually Harry realized she was gone and he turned back to face his friends.

"See? No problem at all."

His friends looked at each other with matching, horrified expressions on their faces. The situation was even worse than they thought.

The next two weeks were relatively quiet for Harry. The new Defense Against The Dark Arts classes with ex-auror Alastor Moody had proven interesting due to the professor's…barbaric teaching methods, but were also informative and useful. There was something strange about the man beyond just his presumed paranoia, but Harry had found no reason to distrust him as of yet. Regardless, seeing as how the last three DADA teachers had tried to kill him, he was remaining vigilant.

The cancellation of quidditch that year had been a huge bummer for Harry, and he found himself with much more free time than he knew what to do with. He took up flying around the school for sport, trying to do broom tricks and quidditch maneuvers by himself for fun. He also started reading more, much to Hermione's delight.

All in all, it was actually a very peaceful time for Harry, and in no time at all the next Hogsmeade weekend was upon them.

Sirius Black spotted his quarry. Bacon Girl was surrounded by a group of friends, same as the last time he saw her two weeks ago. They made eye contact, and he turned away, running a few steps. He then turned back to look at her, raised a canine eyebrow, and chuffed.

Astoria's eyes narrowed.Was this dog challenging her?She took a single step towards the dog, and the dog replied with his own single step back. She took another step forward, and again, he took another step back.

Oh, it's on.

Astoria slipped away from her friends without them noticing with an ease that only she could manage - her childhood years spent at the Greengrass family manor dodging private lessons in favor of climbing trees and chasing butterflies had not gone to waste. She then proceeded to run after the dog once again.

Sirius had not spent the past two weeks sitting around plotting his godson's love life and watching muggle soaps on the television. Rather, he had only spent themajorityof the past two weeks doing those things. He did take a bit of time to stop by Hogsmeade one morning to get familiar with the streets and alleys such that he would be able to outmaneuver anyone who chased him, should the situation arise. In the end, being captured by Bacon Girl had been a bit of a wakeup call for Sirius. He had much more dangerous enemies than her and if he was going to be spending more time in the village to see Harry he needed to be better prepared.

So naturally, he was putting that information to good use for the first time today by interfering with his godson's love life to recreate a scene from his favorite soap.

As Astoria chased Sirius through the streets, Sirius skillfully led her to what was written in his plans as the 'Harry Impact Point'. The HIP was really an estimation of sorts from him, founded on a complex series of calculations he had done beforehand based on geographical coordination and psychological manipulation.

In other words, he had mentioned to Harry in a letter last week that he had a particular craving for sugar quills, and was therefore expecting Harry to walk from the carriages to Honeydukes in order to pick some up for him before they met.

As Sirius rounded a corner into a deserted street with Astoria hot on his trail, he spotted Harry. Before his godson could notice him, Sirius slipped into a narrow gap between two buildings he knew was justbarelywide enough for him to squeeze through and came out on the other side. He stuck around just long enough to hear the sounds of the collision he had spent all week planning before darting off again, his work done.

"Oof!"

"Whoa!"

In a scene that couldn't have been played better by the best actors on the muggle soap circuit, Astoria ran into Harry's chest at full tilt, causing them both to bounce off the other and send Harry's glasses flying.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" Astoria cried out from the ground, rubbing her nose which had gotten hit in the collision.

"Umm, that's alright. But can you help me find my glasses? I don't see very well without them…" Harry replied, sitting upright and gathering his wits about him. As the smaller girl had run into his chest, he hadn't been hurt very much but still felt disoriented from the abruptness of it all.

Astoria looked around for a second before she spotted a rather mangled looking pair of glasses on the streets. She picked them up sheepishly and handed them to Harry.

"They're a bit bent, and the glass is cracked in a couple of places," she started timidly. "But I suppose they have a sort of rugged charm now?"

Even Astoria realized this sounded pathetic, and what made it worse was that it was entirely her fault. She had been the one chasing the dog and not paying attention to her surroundings, and the meager allowance she got from her parents wouldn't cover the cost to buy him new ones.

"Oh! Don't worry about that actually, I know just the spell for this. Hermione taught it to me this summer when she had to repair my glasses for the seventh time." He pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the deformed spectacles in his other hand. "Oculus Reparo!" He said with a small flourish, and with a little sparkle, they were as good as new.

Astoria's eyes widened at the magic she had just witnessed. "Wow! That's really cool! Do they teach you that in-"

Her words cut off as the boy in front of her placed the glasses back on his head and she got a good look at him. In the confusion, she hadn't processed just who it was she had run into until this very moment.

Harry Potter.Astoria immediately went rigid. Harry had a reputation for breaking the rules at school, and was always in the middle of trouble. While her Gryffindor friend Colin Creevey never had a bad thing to say about Harry, herotherGryffindor friend Romilda Vane told her that everyone should stay away from him as he liked to transfigure pretty girls into garden gnomes.

Her sister Daphne was in Harry's year and rather disliked the boy, but then again, Daphne rather dislikedallboys. The other Slytherins said he was arrogant and short-tempered, and there were more than enough rumors about his wrongdoings to go around. She had heard that he had befriended a homicidal Hippogriff in his third year, commanded a snake to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley in his second year, and evenkilledan innocent teacher in his first year. Though she wasn't sure if she believed that last one.

This was all, of course, putting aside the fact that this was the boy famous all around the world for having defeated he-who-must-not-be-named when he was just one year old.

Ultimately, Astoria realized that she could not have chosen aworseperson to have run into and broken (however temporarily) the glasses of.

And she was terrified.

As for Harry, the second he put on his glasses and got a look at the girl who had run into him he froze.

She had light blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders and bright blue eyes the color of the sky on a summer day. She appeared (from his spot on the ground) to be a few inches shorter than him, and had a face that looked like it belonged on the cover of the teen section inWitch Weekly.

She was, to put it mildly, absolutely gorgeous.

And he was terrified.

When he faced down the Basilisk at the end of his second year, he was scared. Scared in part for his own life, but also for the lives of those who would suffer if he failed to kill the monster and allowed Tom Riddle's return.

At that moment, he felt like he would have preferred to face down two Basilisks than speak a single word to the witch standing in front of him.

So instead, he just stared at her blankly.

Oh my gosh he's glaring at me what do I do I don't know the counterspell to the garden gnome hex-

Harry slowly got to his feet.

Oh my gosh he's standing up maybe he needs to be standing to turn me into a garden gnome-

He brushed the dirt off his robes.

Oh my gosh he's checking his pockets, probably for a garden gnome so he can switch our souls and-

He turned around and started walking away.

What?

As Harry left, Astoria's frenetic brain ran through all of the possibilities of what this could mean for her. After a second of processing, she decided that most likely he was heading off to go perform a dark ritual that would cast another blood curse on her family.

I can't let that happen!She thought in a panic.Maybe if I apologize he'll take pity on me and let my family live…

"Wait, Mr. Potter!"

Harry stopped walking.

"I'm really,really,sorry for bumping into you," Astoria got out in a rush. "I was chasing after this dog you see and I wasn't watching where I was going and please don't curse my family!"

Harry turned around to face her, eyes wide in surprise.A dog? She can't possibly mean Sirius could she?Harry thought, so fixated on the girl's mention of a dog that he didn't hear the last part of her apology.

"What did the dog look like?" Harry asked seriously. While he was scared of speaking to her, and would readily admit now that he had problems talking to girls, Harry was no coward. And if by some miniscule chance she knew something about Sirius, he needed to know so he could warn his godfather that he was no longer safe in Hogsmeade.

Astoria gulped audibly as she felt Harry's cold green eyes on her. She had no choice but to tell the truth and hope that the demon in front of her would find some benevolence deep within his frigid heart and spare the lives of her family, and now also the life of the innocent dog she had implicated.

"Um! He's big, has dark fur and gray eyes!"

That's definitely Sirius! But does she know his secret?

"And why were you chasing him?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing.

Eep!Astoria squeaked in her head. "I'm sorry! I wanted to play with him, I really like dogs, you see…"

Harry visibly relaxed. He believed the girl, and had assumed as much. Sirius may be a touch irresponsible, but Harry had faith that the wily man would not have his real identity revealed by a teenage witch so easily.

Still, he was going to have to warn Sirius to be more careful.

Can I leave now?Astoria thought hopefully.I need to go warn that dog that his life is in danger! And then I need a big hug from Daphne and two scoops of ice cream…

"Sorry again Mr. Potter." Astoria bowed respectfully. "If that's all, I need to go find that dog now!"

As Astoria turned around to scamper off, she felt her blood run cold as she heard the voice from behind her that she was so dearly hoping she wouldn't.

"Please wait. Why don't you come with me instead?"

Was that really the best I could come up with?Harry chastised himself, reflecting on his poorly thought out attempt at preventing the young witch from going after Sirius.

Sure, it had worked. The girl was now walking a couple of paces back from him down the sparsely populated backstreets of Hogsmeade instead of chasing Sirius.

On the other hand, he had impulsively invited a girl he had just met to follow him to an unspecified destination and he was absolutely mortified.

Astoria, for her part, was debating if her chances of survival were better if she followed him, or just chose a direction and ran.

This is the boy who defeated you-know-who as a toddler! Who am I to think I have a chance at getting away from him? Besides, I don't exactly know where I am or how to get back to my friends even if I did escape…

Accepting her fate, Astoria marched behind the boy to what she was sure would be her grave.

Mom, Dad. I'm sorry for not trying harder in my lessons. I'm also sorry for running away from home when I was ten. Also breaking the heirloom vase in the living room. Come to think of it, I'm sorry for a lot of things. When I'm gone I hope you always remember me as your darling little Tori.

Astoria tried to think of everyone she needed to apologize to before her inevitable and untimely demise.

Daffy, I'm sorry Mom and Dad always put pressure on you to watch over me at school. I'm sorry for never knocking when I come into your room. I'm sorry for stealing your favorite shirt and then accidentally ripping it and then burying it in the garden before you noticed. Oh, you didn't know that was me? Anyway, I know I wasn't the perfect sister to you, but you were the perfect sister to me.

Flopsy, I'm sor-

Astoria's depressing train of thought came to a halt as she noticed where Harry was headed.

What's with that shady looking alleyway?! Wait, he's totally going to leave me there so no one can find the body! Wait wait wait I still have so many people to apologize to!

Astoria closed her eyes as she walked and braced herself for whatever curse she was about to be hit with.

She let out a little yelp as she tripped over a rock.

Harry turned around when he heard the noise and rushed over to the girl to help her up.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, too concerned for the girl's safety to be nervous about talking to her.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going…" Astoria mumbled, looking at the ground as Harry helped her up.

Relieved that she was okay, Harry let go of her hands and continued walking. This time, he walked in stride with her, in case she fell again.

Wait? Wouldn't that have been the perfect opportunity for him to kill me?

Astoria was starting to feel a bit confused. Harry had ample opportunity to curse her ever since they met, and yet here she still stood, alive and well (with the exception of the knee she had just bruised tripping over a rock).

But if he isn't going to curse me, why did he ask me to follow him and where is he leading me?

Eventually, Astoria's curiosity won out over her sense of self-preservation.

"Mr. Potter, may I ask you a question?"

Harry didn't look at the girl as he replied. "Please, just call me Harry. And yes, you may."

Harry discovered that if he didn't look at the girl while they spoke, he could almost manage a conversation without stuttering.

"Where are we going?"

Fortunately, Harry had anticipated this question would come up at some point and had formulated a reasonable answer in his head as they walked.

"Back to the High Street," he replied. "I'm headed there anyway, and I thought it might be dangerous to leave you alone. Hogsmeade has some dicey areas, and if you chased after that dog and ended up lost somewhere unsavory, I'd have to live with that on my conscience."

That made sense to Astoria. If Harry wasn't planning on hurting her or turning her into a garden gnome, and she was starting to admit that itwasa possibility, then it was sensible to assume that he wouldn't want to leave a younger student alone on a deserted street.

And sure enough, a short while later they emerged from the alleyway and back to the main streets of Hogsmeade where many other Hogwarts students could be found.

Harry stopped and turned to face her.

"Well, that's it I guess." Harry declared, clapping his hands together. "Remember to stick with your friends from now on, and don't go chasing random dogs. Really. Don't chase dogs. It's dangerous."

As Harry walked away, he mentally applauded himself for speaking to the girl face-to-face. He was getting better already!

Astoria watched Harry's back as he walked along the street and headed into the open door of Honeydukes. As she reflected on the events of the past ten minutes she realized at no point did Harry give her any reason to believe he was going to hurt her, and he had even made sure she got back to the High Street without getting lost. Was it possible that the rumors she had heard about him were false? Could it possibly be that Harry Potter was just a normal fourth year Hogwarts student, and not a demon disguised as a boy in ratty clothing? Astoria wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she didn't get to the bottom of this, so she bravely headed off towards the sweet shop she had just seen him disappear into.

Harry was looking through the rows of sweets inside the shop and deciding what to purchase.

Some sugar quills for Sirius, some chocolate frogs for Ron, and then for Hermione I'll get-

A little blonde head popped out from behind the rack of pastries he was looking at and he jumped back in surprise.

"Hi! I realized I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Astoria Greengrass. Third Year, Slytherin."

Her again?

"Is it true you're friends with a homicidal Hippogriff?"

After getting over his initial shock, he thought about the first part of what the girl had said.

Greengrass…So she's Daphne's sister?Harry could see the resemblance now that he looked for it. She had the same eyes and hair color as her older sister, and had some similar facial features too. Having said that, Astoria was a bit shorter than her sister, and her features were generally softer in contrast to Daphne's sharper ones.

He had already known she was a third year and a Slytherin thanks to the emblems on her robes, but it just now sunk in for him that hers was possibly the first non-hostile interaction he had had with the house since starting at the school.

"Uh, no." Harry answered her question slowly. "If you mean Buckbeak, he's not homicidal at all. He's proud, and he gave Draco a mean scratch last year when he felt he was being slighted, but he's never seriously injured anyone and he's a reliable friend."

Harry realized he may have revealed a bit too much and he quickly tried to cover his bases. "Which is to say, I haven't seen him since he escaped, and I had no part in helping him escape, but he's probably doing fine now, and I still consider him my friend." He said in a rush.

Astoria looked at Harry suspiciously. Harry just gave a weak smile in return, hoping that she wouldn't press him for any more information regarding the innocent beast. Thankfully, she seemed to have other questions on her mind.

"And is it true that you set a snake on Justin in your second year?" Astoria asked.

"Wait, how is that rumor still going around? We cleared this up over a year ago and he even apologized for suspecting me!"

Huh. That wasn't what the older Slytherins had told her.

"Okay, one last question. Is it true you killed a teacher in your first year?"

At this, Harry shifted uncomfortably. Astoria's mouth dropped open when she noticed his reaction. She had beensurethis one was made up!

"Technically he was already dead, possessed by a shadow of Voldemort," Harry started uneasily. "But I did, uh, finish the job, so to speak."

Astoria gaped.This Harry has some incredible stories!

At her silence, Harry continued to walk around the sweet shop picking up gifts for his friends. He tried to ignore the pretty blonde girl who was following him around with a profoundly thoughtful expression on her face.

Was everyone lying about Harry?Astoria considered silently as they walked around the store. She had spent the last three years hearing the students in her house tell stories that made Harry Potter look like a demon, but her own brief interaction with him seemed to indicate the opposite. Astoria felt as though she had a good instinct to know when someone was lying to her, and she believed the answers he gave to her questions. But if his account of the stories were truthful, then didn't that mean she had been lied to when she first heard them?

Astoria shook her head to clear away this complicated string of logic. Thinking wasn't her strong suit. Rather, Astoria's strong suit had always been making friends, so that was what she was going to do.

If I can't trust anyone, I think I'd prefer to make up my own mind about Harry Potter,the girl decided.There's just one more thing I have to confirm first.

Harry was at the cash paying for his sweets when the young witch finally spoke up again over his shoulder.

"Is it true that you transfigure pretty girls into garden gnomes?" She asked innocently.

The older woman working the register at Honeydukes failed to suppress a chuckle at this. Harry flushed in embarrassment. "No! Of course not." Harry said, turning to face the girl. He was getting a little frustrated now. "Who's telling you these things anyway-"

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"..."

That caught him off guard. He looked into her eyes, expecting her declaration to have been some sort of joke. The eyes that looked back at him were clear and honest, without a hint of deceit in them.

What a strange girl,Harry thought as he considered her question.I guess it wouldn't hurt? Maybe it'll even help get everyone off my case about not talking to girls…

"Okay I guess." He replied.

At this Astoria beamed up at him, and Harry blushed, averting his gaze.

A moment later a group of students, presumably Astoria's friends, came through the door.

"Astoria! Where have you been? we've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Hi guys!" she replied cheerfully. "I was just making a new friend!"

The group rolled their eyes at this, as it was a line they had heard many variations of before. They did a double take however, when they noticed Harry Potter standing in front of her and made the connection.

A girl at the front of the pack spoke up then. "Come on, Astoria." She began, eyeing Harry warily. "We made reservations at The Three Broomsticks for your birthday and we'll be late if we don't head there now."

It's Astoria's birthday today?Harry thought, surprised.If she was born in September as a third year, that means she's only two months younger than me!The thought made Harry a bit happy, but he had no intention of digging into his psyche to figure out why that may have been. Then, realizing how much time he had taken up of the girl's birthday, he began to feel rather guilty. So as the girl waved goodbye to him and turned to leave, he tried to make amends the only way he could think of with the resources currently in his possession.

"Astoria!" He called out. As she turned around, he handed her a single sugar quill from his recently purchased stash. "Happy Birthday!"

Sirius was literally rolling on the floor of the shrieking shack laughing.

"So you're telling me," he gasped between wheezes. "That you gave the prettiest girl you've ever seen a single sugar quill for her birthday?"

Several minutes earlier…

Harry walked into the shrieking shack, finding Sirius laying on a couch he didn't remember from his last visit, flipping through a magazine.

When he noticed his godson enter, Sirius threw the magazine aside carelessly and sat up on the couch.

"I took the opportunity to do a bit of refurnishing, seeing as how we'll be spending a bit more time here and all." Sirius started, gesturing to a large upholstered armchair set up directly across the couch.

After a brief hug with his last remaining family member Harry sat down on the chair, noting that despite its worn-down appearance it was rather comfortable.

"Now Harry, how have you been-" Sirius began to ask before he was cut off.

"Sirius, before we begin I have something important to tell you."

Sirius tensed.He couldn't possibly have caught on to my plan, right?He thought, thinking back to his involvement in Harry's 'meeting' from earlier.

"I ran into a girl earlier today who was chasing a dog that matched your description exactly, and she would've followed you further if I hadn't distracted her." Harry said apprehensively. "You may want to be a little more careful from now on, I'd hate it if we had to stop meeting like this because you got exposed accidentally while walking around Hogsmeade…"

Phew!Sirius relaxed.He was just worried about my safety.

"Don't worry, Harry." Sirius assured him. "I knew she was following me, and the great Sirius Black wouldneverget caught by someone so young!"

Sirius shot Harry a confident smile, completely ignoring the fact that the very same witch had caught him just two weeks earlier.

Harry still looked slightly concerned, so Sirius continued, dropping the joking tone from his voice.

"Really, Harry. I'm being careful, I promise you. Running away from children is part of my cover as a dog, it helps me blend in if anyone recognizes me from week to week in Hogsmeade. I keep my ears up for any rumors around town, and I'll be the first to know if my cover is compromised."

Harry's worries were mostly assuaged by this, and it was evident as he released the deep breath he was holding and relaxed further into the armchair.

"More importantly," Sirius began after a moment, leaning towards Harry with a teasing grin on his face, "tell me more about this girl you ran into, and how exactly you 'distracted' her from following me!"

And so for the next few minutes Harry detailed his encounter with Astoria from earlier in the day. While Sirius obviously knew how it started, seeing as how he was the one to set it up in the first place, he listened rapturously to the rest of the tale, laughing when Harry recounted the absurd questions the girl had asked him.

Harry finished the story, blushing as he told Sirius how he had impulsively given Astoria a single sugar quill worth about one sickle when he had discovered that it was her birthday.

And such was how Harry found himself looking down upon his godfather as he rolled on the floor, laughing so loud Harry was afraid the privacy wards set up around the shrieking shack wouldn't be able to contain it.

When Sirius finally settled down, he got back up and looked at Harry, who was wearing an expression that mixed embarrassment and annoyance in an artful way.

"Don't worry about it kid," Sirius comforted him, putting one hand on the boy's shoulder and using the other to wipe tears from the corners of his own eyes. "Girls find clumsy stuff like that endearing. Trust me."

Harry wasn't so sure, but he would take whatever solace he could get at this point. Eager to divert the attention away from himself, Harry turned the implied suggestion back around to Sirius.

"Oh yeah? I take it you were popular with the girls during your time at Hogwarts?" He asked.

Sirius guffawed. "Me? Popular doesn't even begin to cut it! There was this one time on Valentine's day in my sixth year…"

Over the next couple hours Sirius told Harry stories about his own time as a student, including several about James, as he noticed that Harry always paid extra attention when his father was mentioned. He kept the stories mild, as he was pretty sure Harry wasn't ready for the more…steamyones, but he had to admit it was a lot of fun to reminisce about those peaceful days he had spent with his best friends.

When it was time for Harry to leave, they both got up regretfully, wishing the time they could spend together wasn't limited to just a few hours every two weeks.

"I'll see you next time Sirius," Harry said dejectedly as he broke away from a hug.

"I'll see you soon Harry. And don't forget to write me a few letters!"

As Sirius watched Harry walk back down the path into the village, he thought back to the sorrowful expression on his godson's face as he left.

I really need to find a way to get exonerated,he thought sadly.

Later that night, Astoria sat on her bed in the Slytherin girl's dormitory thinking over the events of the day. She had an excellent birthday, all things considered, and got to spend most of it with her friends and sister. Her parents had sent her the guitar that she had begged for over the summer (she didn't have the heart to tell them she wasn't interested in the guitar anymore and now wanted to learn the harp), and her sister had come to her room earlier to wish her a happy birthday and give her a matching pajama set with little ducks on it. Her friends had paid for her lunch in Hogsmeade, and presented her with many other small gifts as they went shopping around the village.

Eventually her eyes drifted towards the first birthday present she had gotten that day, and the most unexpected one as well. She looked at the sugar quill where it lay on her bedside table, still wrapped in the plastic packaging it had come in.

Her unexpected encounter with Harry Potter that morning had been running through her mind all day, and she didn't tell anyone about it, even at the urging of her friends who had seen her with the boy in Honeydukes.

Ultimately, she just wasn't sure what to think of him quite yet. While she had applied her 'friends first, ask questions later' policy to him, and he even accepted her offer, she wasn't totally convinced of his innocence yet. After all, where there's smoke there's usually fire, and she had heardalotof rumors about him.

However, she had already decided that she would no longer put absolute faith in those rumors, and it would take some investigation of her own to determine if he truly was someone she could be friends with.

I really hope he is though,Astoria thought as she got into bed.I'd love to hear more of his stories…

And as that last thought floated away, the girl drifted off to sleep.

"I'm a genius!" Sirius shouted to himself gleefully as he paced around the living room in 12 Grimmauld Place.

The Black family house elf, Kreacher, silently picked up the empty bottles that Sirius had left on the floor. While Kreacher never held much love for the blood traitor Sirius, his recent mannerisms had been scaring him. The man would laugh and mutter to himself all day, writing notes in a little book that he carried around everywhere.

"Not only did they meet each other, but they even talked for a while afterwards! She asked to be his friend!"

Kreacher tried to extricate himself from the room without drawing the attention of his clearly deranged master.

"Kreacher!" Sirius yelled.

Kreacher froze, realizing his stealth mission had failed.

"She asked to be his friend, Kreacher!" The man looked into the eyes of the old house elf with a big smile on his face.

Kreacher wrung his hands uncomfortably. He had been a house elf for many years, but evenhedidn't have the experience to know what to do in this situation.

"Is there something Kreacher can do for the Master?" Kreacher eventually inquired nervously.

"Yes. Here. Take this galleon, and go buy yourself something nice. Don't spend it all in one place, and make sure to be back in time for breakfast tomorrow morning. I'll be making pancakes!"

That was it, his master had clearly lost his mind. He bowed to Sirius, and with a snap Kreacher apparated to France to visit his estranged daughter. After all, he wasn't sure how much time he had left on this planet considering he served a madman and this might be his last chance to make reparations.

"It's a good start, it's a good start for sure," Sirius monologued, alone in the house once more. "But I need more. Something to get them to start seeing each other in a different light."

Suddenly, something on the muggle television set Sirius had been only partially watching caught his attention.

"YES! That's it! That's exactly it!" Sirius jumped excitedly, clapping his hands together as an idea came to him.

And just like that, Sirius took out his little book and started writing notes, laughing like a maniac all the while.

Chapter 3: Not-quite-friend

Chapter Text

A/N:

Welcome back :) Thank you to everyone who has read the story so far, I hope you continue to enjoy it.

As always, feel free to leave a comment, I take them all to heart and use them to improve as a writer.

For those reading on Ao3, you're now caught up with FFN. Next chapter will be up tonight, and then the pace from there on will be around weekly.

Big-ups to BingBong for his continued help editing this fic.

Monday morning found Harry sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast with his two best friends Ron and Hermione, eyes frequently flicking to a certain witch at the Slytherin table.

Astoria Greengrass had thrown him off with her friendliness that weekend, but he couldn't deny that he found her personality refreshing. She was energetic and funny, didn't seem to hold an intense prejudice against him like most Slytherins did, and the prospect of possibly making a new frienddidexcite him.

And it was for those reasons that his eyes kept drifting to the Slytherin dining table while he ate his toasts.

Definitely for those reasons, and not because he thought she was really pretty.

"Harry!" Ron shouted, breaking Harry out of his reveries. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry Ron." Harry replied. "I was a bit distracted."

"You've been distracted all morning," Hermione chimed in. "And why do you keep staring over at the Slytherins? Has Draco been bothering you again?"

I wasn't staring, was I?

"No, it's not Draco. I haven't heard much out of him yet this year actually."

"Then what's up Harry? I've been trying to tell you about the Chudley Cannons new lineup for the past ten minutes and you're not even listening." Ron whined.

To be fair, even at the best of times, Harry only pretended to entertain Ron's ravings about his favorite quidditch team. While Harry liked flying, his interest in professional quidditch was only in passing.

As Harry heard a clear laugh ring out through the noise of breakfast at Hogwarts, his eyes once again landed on a particular third year witch. She was laughing at something someone said, and started to reply in turn with animated gestures and rapid-fire speech. He couldn't hear what she said, but it must have been funny, because all of the students around her started laughing as well. Even her normally taciturn sister Daphne couldn't help a small smile from beside her.

Hermione turned around in her seat to follow Harry's eyes. When she saw the source of Harry's distraction, her eyes widened in shock.

"Greengrass? That's who you've been staring at Harry?" Hermione inquired in an alarmed hush.

"Uh, no..?" Harry got out sheepishly, knowing he'd been caught. But still. He hadn't been staring, had he?

Taking this deficient denial as admittance of her suspicion, Hermione shared a glance with Ron.

"What?" Harry asked, knowing that exchange always happened right before they told him something they thought he ought to have already known.

"I get it mate," Ron started conciliatorily. "Daphne Greengrass is one of the prettiest witches in our year. But she has a reputation, you know?"

Hermione frowned at this, but nodded. "She's a diligent student, and her grades are behind only Padma's and my own. It's just, she can be a bitmeanwhen she rejects boys."

Wait. His friends had mistakenly thought the target of his distraction was Daphne, instead of Astoria. And more importantly, they were already assuming he was interested in her.

Andmostimportantly, they were already assuming he'd get rejected!

"Hold on a second! Even if it was Daphne that I was staring at," at this Ron and Hermione grimaced, "Who's to say I'd be rejected?"

Harry realized something and continued. "And wasn't it you two in the first place that said I should get better at talking to girls? Shouldn't you beencouraging me instead ofdiscouraging me?"

Hermione turned to Ron, hoping he'd say what she didn't want to.

Ron shrugged diffidently. "We're just saying, maybe you should set your sights a little lower for your first crush?"

Hermione cringed at this tactless display from Ron. She should've handled it herself.

Before Harry could respond in justified irritation, Hermione cut in.

"No, that's not whatwe'resaying." She glared at Ron before turning her attention back to Harry. "But have you ever even spoken to Daphne? She barely talks to anyone other than Tracey Davis, and when she does, it's usually not to exchange niceties."

Harry wasn't sure if he should feel offended or flattered by the concern his friends were showing for him.

Harry sighed. "I'm not rushing off to ask out Daphne Greengrass. So you guys don't have toworryabout that." His friends took on guilty expressions at this, realizing their attempt to help him may have come across a bit rude. "I don't even have a crush. I was just…looking."

Harry felt no need to correct his friends about the girl he hadreallybeen looking at.

As they finished their breakfast, Harry made a conscious effort to keep himself from stealing glances at Astoria. He did however, notice when Professor Snape made his way down to Astoria's spot on the table, cloak billowing all the while, to have a brief conversation with her. Unfortunately he was much too far to hear what the man said, but it didn't seem to be a pleasant topic, if Daphne's expression was any indication.

"Miss Greengrass." Snape intoned, staring directly at Astoria so there would be no confusion as to which sister he was referring. "I have been informed that despite being a mere month into the semester, you are already falling behind on assignments for Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, Divination, andPotions." He said this last word with a distinctive 'pop' at the front.

While the length of the list wasalmostcomical in nature, the students didn't make so much as a sound as the intimidating man spoke, and any hint of good humor disappeared from Astoria's face.

One of Astoria's friends gawked at her. "Isn't thateveryclass?"

"No, I'm still keeping on top of Care of Magical Creatures." Astoria replied timidly.

Snape's eyes narrowed until only a hint of his dark irises were visible. "While you may find this funny Miss Greengrass, let it be known that I donot." Snape said, traces of irritation creeping into his monotone.

"I've already informed your parents about your…substandard performance. But as your head of house, Ihighlyrecommend you start to pick up the pace. It would be a shame forbothof us if I had to see you in my third year potions class again next year."

Snape's tone made it abundantly clear that his 'recommendation' was much less discretionary than his words would suggest.

As he left, Pansy Parkinson spoke up from halfway down the table.

"How did you failDivination?I would have assumed evenyouwere capable of drinking tea and reading fortunes, Astoria." Pansy said mockingly. A few of the older students laughed at this.

While Astoria had no clue why, Pansy had been getting increasingly more hostile to her ever since the end of last year. Daphne had told her it was out of jealousy, but she wasn't so sure. What did Pansy have to be jealous of after all?

As Astoria looked down at her empty plate in shame, Daphne gave Pansy a sharp look from across the table that promised retribution later. Pansy quickly shut up at that, knowing better than to continue to provoke the ire of the elder Greengrass girl.

"Come on Astoria, let's go." Daphne said, holding her sister's arm gently as she got up from the table.

As they walked out of the hall, Daphne turned around to face Astoria seriously.

"Don't listen to Pansy. She's a petty b-" Daphne caught herself. "She's petty, and would kill for your brains, let alone everything else you have."

Astoria giggled at her sister's near slip-up. "Thanks Daffy." She said, cheering up slightly at her sister's display of protectiveness.

"Having said that, Astoria."

Uh oh.She had seen this one coming a mile away.

"You need to start being more disciplined with your studies. You're not a first year student that can wing it anymore, you need to spend time on your schoolwork now."

Astoria looked away, feeling guilty. She had heard this speech before, and had ignored it every time.

"Snape may be a moody, melodramatic teen trapped in a grown man's body, but hedoesn'tmake threats idly. If you want to avoid repeating a year, or worse, being expelled, you need to start taking your classes more seriously."

Daphne looked at her younger sister, deciding she had been sufficiently chastised. She knew Astoria would inevitably be getting some sternly worded letters from their parents anyway. She ruffled her sister's hair gently. "If you need help, you let me know, okay?"

"Okay Daffy, I will. Thanks." Astoria smiled up at her sister.

"Now off with you!" Daphne said teasingly, patting her sister on the back. "Straight to class, no distractions."

And with that, Astoria ran off to her first class, sincerely hoping she wouldn't encounter anything interesting along the way.

Harry sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, listening to Professor Moody describe the ten worst dark wizards of all time, including their crimes and how they were defeated, in excruciating detail. When the grizzled war veteran got to the final wizard on his list, Lord Voldemort, Harry paid extra attention.

As he described all of the rituals Voldemort had been speculated to have performed to increase his strength, as well as the spells and methods he had been known to use, Harry realized how utterly outclassed he was.

Voldemort was a powerful wizard with decades of experience improving his craft relentlessly, and Harry was a teenage boy who had been learning magic for a little over three years. While he had so far been able to prevent Voldemort's attempts at returning, how long until he made a mistake? How long until one of the Dark Lord's followers succeeded in bringing him back and he had to face down one of the strongest wizards of all time? If the visions Harry had been having over the summer were any indication, it might not be very long at all.

Harry turned his attention back to the lecture at an opportune time.

"That's it for today. This week's essay will be twelve inches of parchment on how YOU would go about defeating Lord Voldemort, if he returned."

The class looked around at each other, exchanging glances, trying to figure out if their teacher was joking or if he had just gone insane.

"HA! Stumped already? Well don't worry, let's ask our resident specialist on slaying Dark Lords for some advice! How wouldyougo about defeating Voldemort, Harry?" Moody inquired, looking intently at the stunned boy.

"Honestly sir," Harry began as respectfully as he could manage. "I did it last time, and I'd prefer if someone else did it next time."

Astoria woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. She had finished all of her assignments for the coming week the previous day with Daphne's help, and had already told her friends she would be busy today. It wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend, as they had already had one the week before, so they would likely have just lazed about in the courtyard anyway.

There's no time for lazing about today,Astoria thought.I have some investigation to do!

Astoria had met Harry Potter the previous weekend, and the stark contrast between the borderline psychopathic boy she had heard about and the rather nice and respectful boy she had met had awakened her curiosity. While her own experience told her he was a kind boy who she would love to be friends with, she was hesitant to dismiss the rumors she had heard entirely.

Which was precisely why Astoria had blocked off this day in her schedule to do some 'covert investigation'.

Astoria was speaking to a painting in the hallway just outside the Gryffindor common room when the door opened and her target emerged, walking with his two friends she knew to be Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. She wished the painting a good day, and followed after the trio as inconspicuously as she could manage.

Meanwhile, the painting was left confused, wondering what sort of girl would be interested in talking to him for twenty minutes straight on a Sunday morning.

Astoria tracked them down to the Great Hall, and set herself up at the end of the Slytherin table where she would be able to observe the boy while he ate. She mindlessly spoke to her housemates to avoid drawing suspicion, but in her head she was entirely focused on the behavior of her potential future friend.

Two pieces of toast, two fried eggs over hard, and a sausage. Nothing suspicious yet, but maybe that's just what he wants everyone to think,Astoria considered.What's this? He's taken a strip of bacon, but seems to be avoiding eating it? This is important, I can feel it.

Astoria took note of the boy's eating habits and mannerisms, including how he placed an egg on top of a piece of toast before eating them both together. She wasn't sure how this was relevant to the question of the quality of his character, but she would leave no stone unturned.

She was distracted from her analysis as many owls flew into the hall, delivering letters and packages to the students around her. She shuddered as she remembered the three separate letters she had gotten that week from her parents regarding her poor grades.

Returning her observations to Harry, she noticed that agorgeoussnowy owl flew down to Harry, dropping a letter in his lap. Harry patted the bird as it affectionately nibbled his finger, until eventually he gave the owl the strip of bacon he had been saving on his plate. With a quick kiss on the head, and what looked to be a 'thanks for your work' (Astoria wasn't great at lip reading), Harry sent the beautiful avian back into the air, presumably back to the Hogwarts Owlery.

Aww, the bacon was for his bird!Astoria observed fondly.Now I want an owl…Maybe if I become real friends with Harry he'll let me feed her too?

After several more minutes had passed uneventfully, Astoria saw the trio of friends stand up and part ways. Ron headed further down the table to where a few other Gryffindors were sitting playing chess, and Hermione left the hall with a stack of books in her arms, leaving little question as to where she might be headed.

Harry left a few seconds later, and after wrapping up the rest of her breakfast in a napkin and putting it in her pocket, she followed after him.

In this case, having a great many friends around the school was a serious boon for Astoria. She navigated from group to group, greeting and speaking to people in a way that made her movements tailing Harry seem natural. She eventually settled down with a group of people sitting on the grounds outside of the school, which conveniently gave her a view into the groundskeeper's hut she had just seen Harry walk into.

Harry came out of the hut a couple minutes later, and she watched as he helped Hagrid with various tasks, including weeding the flowerbeds, feeding the mooncalves, and watering the nifflers.

Well that's just adorable! When I become real friends with Harry I'll help him feed the mooncalves and water the nifflers too!

After an hour or so, Harry vanished the dirt off his clothing using his wand, said a quick goodbye to Hagrid, and took off once more.

Astoria continued to shadow Harry for the rest of the morning as he went about the school, doing a bunch of incredibly mundane activities such as talking to his friends and doing his homework in the courtyard.

After lunch he flew around the empty quidditch pitch, doing tricks on his broom that Astoria found quite impressive. Sometime later he descended, and entered the changing rooms that lay just off the field.

While even Astoria wouldn't follow someone into a changing room, shedidpress her ear against the door, just a little bit. She heard Harry's out of tune singing over the sound of a shower running, and instantly backed away, realizing how creepy she was being.

Still, she had come away with valuable information, and was now certain that Harry Potter was, in fact, just a normal boy.

After all, what sort of evil dark wizard would sing muggle pop songs in the shower?

Astoria ate dinner with Daphne in the Great Hall like usual that night. Her eyes kept landing on a particular green-eyed boy at the Gryffindor table as she thought about her discoveries that day.

Now that I know he's not dangerous, I can be his friend for real!Astoria thought happily. Making a new friend was truly one of the great joys in Astoria Greengrass's life, and to make one as interesting as Harry Potter wasespeciallyexciting.

Wait, I may have decided I want to be his friend, but he hasn't necessarily decided if he wants to bemyfriend!Astoria realized with a start.I know I asked him if he wanted to be my friend last week and he said yes, but at the time I meant it more as acquaintances, and now I mean actual friends, and also when he said yes it was less of a 'Yes!' and more of a 'Uh, okay…' so it's possible that-

"Astoria!" Daphne grabbed her sister's arm.

"Oh! Sorry Daffy, I was a bit distracted, what were you saying?"

"I wasasking," Daphne started, eyeing her sister carefully, "why are you staring at the Gryffindor table?"

"I was staring?" Astoria asked, turning to face her.

"For the past five minutes. And then you suddenly got this horrified look on your face, like the one you made last Christmas when Dad ate the last cinnamon bun and didn't save you a piece."

"Hey! To be fair, hepromisedI could have the last one…"

"So? Why were you staring?" Daphne repeated her question.

"No reason."

Daphne didn't believe her younger sister for a second, but knew from experience the reason would come out eventually.

It probably wasn't a big deal anyway.

"Hey, you know, I don't think Harry Potter is actually as bad as everyone in Slytherin makes him out to be."

Damn it!Daphne mentally smacked herself in the forehead.That's a much bigger deal than I thought!

Astoria was in her room getting ready for bed when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" She yelled, as she finished braiding her hair. Daphne walked in, greeted her quickly, and then sat on her bed.

"Astoria, I wanted to talk to you about something." Daphne began slowly.

Astoria gulped. Usually her sister only took this tone with her when she was about to ask her to do something she didn't want to.

"It's about what you said earlier, about Potter." Daphne continued. "I know you want to be friends with every witch, wizard, and muggle you meet, but I really think you should stay away from him."

Astoria frowned at this. "But why? He's a nice guy, and all those stories the Slytherins tell about him are made up!"

"Of course those stories are made up," Daphne replied with a scoff. "They make him sound like some sort of evil deity when he's really just a dorky teenage boy. That's not what this is about though."

"What's it about then?"

Daphne sighed. "Politics."

At Astoria's confused look, she elaborated.

"Relations between Slytherins and Gryffindors are rocky at the best of times. While you might be able to maintain your friendships with Romilda, and that little boy with the camera, you can forget about Potter. If the other Slytherins see you hanging aroundhim,you'll never hear the end of it. They won't even let you sit at our table anymore."

"But that's not fair." Astoria pouted.

"Sometimes life isn't fair, Tori." Daphne said, putting her arm around her sister. "Besides, what makes you want to be friends with Potter so badly anyway?"

"Well," Astoria started, listing off reasons on her fingers. "First of all, he has lots of interesting stories. He's also really good with animals, I saw him feed his pretty owl this morning. I know he's kind because I saw him helping Hagrid with some chores, and he also knows a bunch of neat broom tricks. I saw him practicing them after lunch!"

Daphne paled. Just how closely had her sister been watching Harry Potter?

"Oh! And I know we share an interest in muggle music, because I heard him singing in the shower!"

"..."

Much later that night, Daphne sat on her bed back in her own room with her head in her hands.

Where did I go wrong? Was there something I could've done?

Daphne's hands shook as she thought back to what Astoria had told her she had been doing that day.

My little sister is a stalker!

The following weekend, Harry was changing in his room after breakfast when he heard a voice call out from behind Ron's curtain.

"Hey Harry!" Ron's voice said. "I was thinking it would be fun if we had a picnic this afternoon in Hogsmeade. You know, before you meet with Padfoot?"

"A picnic?" This surprised Harry a bit, as he didn't take Ron for a picnic kind of guy, but it didn't sound bad to him so he had no reason to disagree. "Sure, why not. What do we need?"

"Don't worry about that! Just go down to the kitchens and ask the elves for a basket. I'll meet you around eleven, you can set us up in that little clearing behind the black lake we found last year."

"Okay, sounds fun." Harry replied, a little confused as to why Ron had this planned out so well. "By the way, is there a reason your curtains are closed?"

Ron laughed. "Oh, you know, a boy needs his privacy."

Harry wasn't exactly sure what had gotten into Ron this morning, but deciding to ignore the strange behavioral patterns of his best friend, he headed off to the Hogwarts kitchens to prepare their…picnic.

A few seconds after Harry left, the curtains around Ron's bed were pulled aside to reveal his older brothers, the twins Fred and George.

"Nice work, George! Your Ron impression is spot-on. Harry is surprisingly gullible isn't he?" Fred said to his brother.

"He most certainly is Fred." The other brother replied. "Let's hope target number two is just as easy a mark!"

While the twins weren't absolutely sure why they were requisitioned for this particular 'prank', they had put the pieces together and figured they had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Besides, who were they to reject a personal request from one of their idols, 'Padfoot' of the Marauders?

And perhaps most importantly, who were they to reject the notebook full of the Marauders' designs he had given them as payment?

"Hello?" Harry called as he entered the kitchens in the Hogwarts basem*nt. "Is anyone there?"

"Harry Potter sir!" A familiar voice shouted, as Dobby came running out into Harry's field of view. "Does Harry Potter need something from us elves?"

Harry watched as other house elves started to appear from behind corners and through hallways to congregate at the door where he stood.

"Um, yes, in fact." Harry began awkwardly, suddenly feeling nervous from all the eyes staring up at him. "I was hoping I might be able to get a basket, with some food, for a picnic?"

"Of course sir! Dobby would be honored to prepare a picnic basket for Harry Potter!" The little house elf was bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement at the prospect of being able to help the young wizard who had freed him from his previous master. "Dobby will bring a blanket, and a pitcher of cold tea for Harry Potter as well!"

"Thank you Dobby, that would be a tremendous help." Harry thanked his small friend earnestly.

At these simple words of appreciation, Dobby, overcome by emotion, sniffled and blew his nose into the rags he wore around his body, and ran away to prepare the basket.

As he waited, Harry looked around the kitchens, and noticed that many of the other elves were still staring up at him, unmoving and unblinking.

"Um, hi?"

A dozen sets of big eyes stared back up at him, silently.

"It's um, a nice day today isn't it?"

They continued to stare.

Harry tried to think of something to say to fill the space that he was starting to feel quite uncomfortable in. "Oh! Before I forget, now would be a good time to tell you, thank you so much for preparing our meals every day. They're always delicious."

It was at this moment that all of the assembled house elves burst into tears.

As Harry floundered wondering what he possibly could have said that would cause this reaction, Dobby came back with a basket in hand. Seeing Harry's troubled expression, Dobby hurried to reassure his human friend.

"Don't worry, Harry Potter sir. They is just overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion Harry Potter shows them." Dobby explained, handing Harry the basket which was filled to the brim with food, as well as a blanket and a closed pitcher of tea.

"If you say so Dobby." Harry said hesitantly, glancing at the still sobbing mass of elves in front of him. "Do they not get thanked for their work very often?"

Dobby shook his head. "Dobby believes that many of the students don't even know that the food is prepared by the house elves."

At this Harry frowned. "Not that we mind sir!" Dobby rushed to add. "We is happy to be serving the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts! But to be appreciated is nice sometimes, Harry Potter sir. That is why the elves is crying."

"Huh." Harry considered what Dobby had just told him. "I'll keep that in mind, Dobby, and see what I can do."

With a final thanks for the basket, Harry left the kitchens and crying house elves behind to catch a carriage to Hogsmeade.

Astoria was walking through Hogsmeade with her friends when she passed by a pair of redheaded boys she recognized to be the infamous prankster twins of Hogwarts.

"It's a shame about Harry Potter, wouldn't you say Fred?" One of the boys said to the other, rather loudly.

"Whatever are you talking about George?" Fred replied, equally loud.

"That our dear brother Ron wasn't able to make it to the picnic they had planned today! That poor Harry boy is probably sittingall by himselfat that little clearing behind the lake."

"Ah, such a pity. That little clearing that you can get to by continuing down this road, turning right at the Three Broomsticks and then left when you hit Hogsmeade Station?"

"That's the one. It's a shame we're too busy to stop by, wouldn't you say Fred?"

"I most certainly would, George."

Astoria watched as the two boys passed by and out of earshot.

What luck,Astoria thought.I've been waiting for an opportunity to speak to Harry ever since last week!

"Sorry guys! I have something to do, I'll catch up with you later." Astoria said to her friends as she ran off.

Astoria's friends exchanged glances.

"She totally went to go look for Harry Potter didn't she?"

After 30 minutes of waiting, Harry realized he had likely been set up.

How did I fall for that?Harry thought, shaking his head.Ron would never spontaneously feel like having a picnic! And if that didn't tip me off, he stayed behind the curtains the whole time. I wonder who it was then…?

Feeling like a bit of a fool, Harry looked over at the picnic basket he had brought.

Oh well. No point letting Dobby's food go to waste.

With his decision made, Harry lay out the blanket on the grass and spread the food across it. He sat down and picked up a sandwich, looking out across the black lake to where he could see the profile of Hogwarts.

All things considered, this isn't so bad,Harry told himself.Someone gets to have a laugh at the idea of me eating my lunch alone on a picnic blanket, and I get to have a nice lunch alone on a picnic blanket. Everyone wins, I suppose.

"Hi Harry!"

A few seconds after coming to terms with his solo lunch date, Harry was interrupted by a bright voice from behind him. He turned to see Astoria Greengrass, standing amongst the trees in the entrance to the clearing.

"I overheard George Weasley telling Fred that Ron canceled on you." The girl said. "If you don't mind, can I join you instead?"

Harry sighed as he made the connection in his head. "I'm now under the impression that Ron never knew about these plans in the first place." He replied, turning away from the girl to help with his nerves. "I think I've been set up by the twins to take my lunch alone today. They were probably having a good laugh about it when you overheard them."

"Oh. That's kind of lame for a Weasley twins prank isn't it?" Astoria said, clearly unimpressed.

"My best guess is they were in our room to rig Ron's bed when they took the opportunity to get a quick one over on me as well." Harry explained. "It's my fault for falling for it. It was pretty obvious, in hindsight."

"So can I sit?"

"Oh, sorry about that. Of course, wherever you'd like."

Astoria cleared away a small spot on the blanket and sat down a few feet away from Harry. Now that the conversation was over, Harry wasn't sure what to say to start it back up again. He grabbed another sandwich and took a large bite.

"Can I meet your owl?" Astoria asked.

Harry was still chewing his sandwich, so he rushed to swallow so he could answer the girl's question. In his haste he started choking on the food, and needed to take a swig of tea before he gathered himself enough to speak, red from both the shortage of breath and the embarrassment.

"Hedwig? Sure, if you'd like." Harry eventually replied. "As long as you bring her some treats and give her lots of attention she's super friendly. You can pet her on her chin and back, but nowhere else. Not unless you want to get bitten, that is."

At Astoria's silence, Harry took another bite of his sandwich.

"What's your favorite muggle band?" She asked, as soon as he started chewing.

Is she doing this on purpose?

Learning from his previous mistake, Harry suffered through the awkward silence this time as he took his time chewing, suddenly very self-conscious about the sound of his eating.

Eventually, he swallowed. "I, uh, I really like Weezer, if you've heard of them."

Astoria made a face.Oh well! No one's perfect,she thought.

"Can I hear you speak Parseltongue?"

That caught Harry by surprise.This girl sure has a lot of questions.And some strange ones at that.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Last time I spoke Parseltongue in public I got accused of being the Heir of Slytherin for the rest of the year."

"Not by me! I actually spent that whole year terrified that the Heir was actuallymeand I just didn't know it."

Harry tried to imagine the inquisitive little blonde girl as the Heir of Slytherin.

Nope. Definitely not.

Harry stared off into the distance, pretending he was speaking to a snake. He figured if he could visualize it, his instinctive Parseltongue would come out instead of the English he heard it as.

"Hello. I am Harry Potter."

To Astoria's ears, Harry had just hissed menacingly for a couple of seconds.

And she found it super cool.

"Wow! Tha-" Astoria's words were cut off as a small green viper slithered into view from the long grass and onto the blanket.

"Well met Harry Potter. I was not expecting to be seen by a Speaker as young as yourself. You have a very discerning eye."

Harry tried to hide his surprise, as he honestly had no clue there was a snake nearby.

"Oh my gosh it's a snake! Hello Mister Snake your scales are so pretty and your eyes are such a beautiful shade of red-"

"What does this one speak of, Harry Potter?"The snake asked Harry while Astoria babbled away about the snake's appearance.

"She finds your aesthetic pleasing."Harry replied.

"-can I pet you? Do you have a name? You look like a Cory. If you don't have a name and would like a name you should consider Cory-"

"She also wants to know if she can touch you, and if you have a name."Harry translated."…She says you look like a Cory."

The snake hissed in a rhythmic way that Harry guessed was the Parseltongue equivalent of a laugh.

"This one seems to be filled with energy. Reminds me of my own mate, back when I was still a snakelet."

Harry blushed at the snake's insinuation."Actually we're just friends."Harry replied."Though come to think of it, I'm not even sure if we're friends yet…"

The snake raised an eyebrow at him, which was a surreal experience for Harry as he hadn't actually known a snakecouldraise an eyebrow, and then slithered over to Astoria to be petted.

Astoria squealed in delight as the snake wrapped itself around her arm, graciously allowing her to run her fingers over his scales and tap the top of his head in a vaguely affectionate manner.

"Even for a Speaker such as yourself,"the snake spoke to Harry,"my true name would be near impossible to pronounce."

Astoria watched in fascination as the small reptile hissed at Harry."So you and your not-quite-friend may refer to me as 'Cory' if you wish."

Harry watched quietly as Astoria played with the snake, translating for them when one or the other had a question. Eventually the snake disentangled itself from the girl's arm and turned to face the two students.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Harry Potter and not-quite-friend of Harry Potter. I now have things to which I must attend, but should you need to find me in the future, return here and call for me. I will hear you."

With that parting remark, which Harry translated for Astoria, the snake disappeared back into the grass from whence it came.

"That was incredible!" Astoria shouted. "I wish I could talk to snakes too! Do you think you could teach me?"

Harry was relieved Astoria had reacted so well to both his speaking Parseltongue, and the unexpected presence of the snake.

"Definitely not." Harry said, loath as he was to let her down. "I don't even know how I learned it myself."

"I figured as much." Astoria sighed. "I just wish I was as good with animals as you are. Most of the time they run away from me on sight, and when they don't, they bite me when I try to pet them."

Harry thought about this. With what he knew of the girl, he had a sneaking suspicion the source of her problems was that she came on too strong. When he told her as such, she nodded in confirmation.

"I figured it was that." She admitted. "But I just can't help myself! They're all so cute, each and every one of them! I can't resist hugging them and loving them and petting them and feeding them and brushing their hair…"

Harry cringed as the girl rattled through a ridiculously long list of all the things she wanted to do with animals, many of which were thingsnoanimal would ever want to do. Deciding that they could reopen this discussion later when he figured out a way to help her, Harry tried to change the subject.

"Animals are great and all, but personally I wish I was as good withhumansas you are." Harry said as Astoria got to the end of her list. "I always see you surrounded by friends, and the ease you have talking to strangers is equal parts impressive and troubling."

Astoria frowned. "We're not strangers. We're friends."

"Really?" Harry replied.

Astoria's frown deepened. "I mean, unless you don't want to be?"

"No! I mean yes! Which is to say, I would love to be friends with you Astoria. Let's be friends." Harry stumbled over his words in a rush as he tried to ensure he didn't offend the girl. After all, hedidwant to be her friend.

Astoria smiled in relief. "Great!"

Harry took a sip of tea to collect himself. Realizing he was being rude, he offered her some as well.

"Would you like some tea? Help yourself to the food and snacks as well, Dobby packed enough for two."

"Dobby?" Astoria asked in confusion.

As Harry explained his connection with the unique house elf, he also told Astoria about the Hogwarts kitchens and the house elves that worked there.

"How come we've never been told that the food was made by house elves?" Astoria queried. "And how do I get into the kitchens to thank them?"

"I'm thinking it's because house elves are taken for granted in wizard society, and the older generation doesn't even think twice about their involvement with everyday tasks like food preparation." Harry answered. "I don't think they mind working, but it would definitely be nice if we found some way to thank them for their effort."

Astoria looked thoughtful.

"We need to take things slow though," Harry added. "Receiving appreciation is so foreign to them that they started to cry when I thanked them earlier. So, er, maybe you can leave this one to me? I have a feeling anything you came up with would involve a lot of tears, for better or for worse."

Astoria pretended to look offended at this, but she knew Harry was probably right. Discretion wasnother strong suit.

After a couple minutes of eating together in silence, Astoria spoke up.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you haven't looked at me once since I got here?"

Harry blushed. "Oh, um, actually I'm shy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, er, it's just the two of us here, and I don't know youthatwell, and so I'm kind of nervous, and if I look at you it'll be worse." He got out apologetically.

Astoria sat up on her knees and tried to move into Harry's field of view.

Harry turned his head away so he wouldn't be looking at her.

Astoria shuffled around again, circling him.

Harry quickly turned his head back around the other way, avoiding looking at her all the while.

Astoria's eyes narrowed.It's on.

Sirius watched the two teens play their strange game of…whatever it was they were doing. He wasn't too sure to be honest, but it looked like they were getting closer, and that's what mattered.

He was set up at another small clearing by the lake, with an angle from where he could 'observe' his godson covertly. He was staying in his dog form just in case someone stumbled upon him, but he had brought some jerky to eat while he watched.

As Sirius was just getting to the good part, where Harry finally turned to face Astoria and they both burst out laughing at the silliness of the situation, Sirius heard a noise from behind him. Turning around in a flash, he saw a small dog with dirty golden hair.A puppy?He thought.What's a puppy doing here?

The little canine whined, and Sirius realized it was staring at his pile of jerky. Sirius' eyes narrowed.

Oh no you don't. That's my jerky.

The puppy continued to stare pitifully at the jerky, but Sirius refused to budge. After 12 years in Azkaban eating gruel, Sirius appreciated every good meal he could get, and under no circ*mstances would he be willing to share with some young upstart.

Suddenly, the little dog stared over Sirius' shoulder across the lake, it's eyes going wide.

Harry!?Sirius thought in a panic, whipping around to see what had caught the other dog's attention.

Too late, Sirius realized he had been had. Harry and Astoria were sitting peacefully talking, slightly closer than before and with Harry averting his gaze less often.

Meanwhile, his jerky pile was one piece smaller.

I can't believe I got duped by the oldest trick in the book!Sirius mentally berated himself for his mistake.

Enraged, he swallowed the rest of his jerky in one gulp and set off to find the little thief.

Harry spoke with Astoria a little while longer as they finished up the food, and he was quite proud that he was able to look at her for most of their conversation without freezing up. Their silly antics from earlier went a long way in dissolving the awkward tension, and Harry could feel that the girl was being patient with him as he slowly got more comfortable with her.

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" Astoria eventually asked him.

Harry started as he realized he had almost forgotten about meeting Sirius. "Oh! Actually yes, I'm meeting with someone in just a few minutes." Harry said, starting to pack up the basket. "It's a good thing you reminded me, I was having so much fun talking to you that I almost forgot."

Astoria beamed at the indirect compliment. "I had fun too! We should do this again sometime."

"I'd like that." Harry replied, giving the girl a smile of his own.

As Harry and Astoria walked back from the clearing into the village, she turned to him with a question.

"Who are you meeting, by the way?"

Uh oh. I can't exactly tell her I'm meeting the wanted criminal Sirius Black now can I?

"Oh, um, one of my family members." Harry said nervously.

"Cool! Where are you meeting them? I'll walk with you."

I can't tell her that either…The Shrieking Shack is supposed to be abandoned and I can't risk anyone investigating it.

"You don't need to do that! I'm just meeting them at, um, a place." Harry answered tactfully.

Astoria looked at him suspiciously. "You're meeting them at aplace?" She repeated.

"Yes."

"And where is thisplace?"

Harry was deeply lamenting his inability to improvise a compelling cover when he was saved by a group of girls in the distance, who waved at them and ran over.

"Astoria!" One of the girls said excitedly. "We've been looking for you, youwon'tbelieve what we just saw."

Harry backed away as the girl continued speaking.

"Sean Finch from Hufflepuff was supposed to go on a date with Veronica Knowles from Ravenclaw, but thenwesaw him in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop with Gab-"

"Bye Astoria!" Harry said quickly as he hurried away from the group, using the distraction of her gossiping friends to slip away from her.

Her eyes narrowed at him in a way she probably thought was threatening, but he just found incredibly cute.

I really have to get better at lying,Harry thought as he ran off.

"Hi Sirius!" Harry said cheerfully as he walked into the Shrieking Shack, taking a seat on the armchair.

Sirius raised an eyebrow from the couch he was seated on. "You seem to be in a good mood. Something happen?"

"Well," Harry started, smirking. "I made a new friend today. The girl I mentioned last time, Astoria Greengrass. And contrary topopularbelief, I was able to talk to her perfectly fine."

Sirius looked at the smug expression on his godson's face and rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that it wasnotperfectly fine, as he had watched Harry avoid making eye contact with the girl for the first 15 minutes of their meeting. He also knew that Harry would likely not have spoken to the girl again after their previous run-in had he not gone to the trouble of recruiting the Weasley twins to set upthisone. Not to mention the fact that they wouldn't have met the first time had Sirius not orchestratedthatencounter as well!

But Harry couldn't know any of that, so Sirius kept his mouth shut.

"What about you Sirius?" Harry asked. "You seem rather cross, is something troubling you?"

Sirius lay down on the couch, head propped up on one armrest, feet resting atop the other. "If you really must know Harry, I spent the past hour chasing a thief. Unfortunately the little bugger proved more crafty than I gave it credit for, and I had to call off my search to make it back here in time to meet you."

"A thief?" Harry inquired worriedly. "What was stolen, Sirius? Nothing that could be traced back to you I hope?"

"No," Sirius shook his head sadly. "Worse. It was my jerky."

Sirius explained the incident from earlier, leaving out the fact he was essentially spying on Harry at the time, and neglecting to mention that the dog who stole his jerky was a little puppy no more than a few months old.

They then gave each other the highlights of their previous two weeks, after which the conversation headed in whatever direction they felt like, touching a lot of bases. At a certain point, Sirius tried to get a feel for where Harry was at regarding Astoria.

"So, you've mentioned this Astoria girl twice now." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Is there something your godfather should know about?"

"No! It's not like that at all," Harry began, waving his hands in embarrassment. "She's really nice, and she's fun to be around, but I've only just met her. I'm glad to have made a new friend, and I'm enjoying getting to know more about her."

"If you're interested in getting to know more about her, I highly suggest the broom closet on the fifth floor by the North Tower."

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, blushing furiously.

"Right, right. I forgot." Sirius said, sighing. "You're an innocent little angel who thinks holding hands is limited to married couples on their wedding night. I can't wait to brag to all of my friends about how great of a priest my godson is when I'm older."

Harry rolled his eyes at this exaggerated depiction of his maturity level. They talked for a while longer about subjects that Harry was more comfortable with, until eventually the time to part ways had come.

After seeing Harry off, Sirius switched back to his dog form and started down the streets of Hogsmeade. It had started to rain an hour or so earlier and he was making haste to the portkey he had set up just outside of the village when something caught his eye.

Huddled in a cardboard box, underneath a shop awning in a futile attempt to stay out of the rain, was the little puppy from earlier. The pitiful animal looked up at the sound of Sirius' footsteps, and its eyes widened in fright as it recognized the much bigger dog that it had stolen from just a few hours before.

So the thief was a stray, huh?Sirius thought.

As Sirius walked by, he narrowed his eyes at the shivering dog but made no move to get revenge for his lost jerky.

You're forgiven, pup. You lead a tough life, and you probably needed that snack more than I did.

Sirius took one last look at the stray, who was so dirty it looked more brown than blonde. Watery eyes looked back at him, filled with fear and the calculating cunning that was required to survive on the streets. Sirius could count the ribs poking out of the malnourished dog, and he could spot the fleas that he knew from experience must have been driving it crazy.

For what it's worth, I wish you all the best,Sirius thought as he walked away.

"Master, what isthat?" Kreacher asked when Sirius got home to 12 Grimmauld Place.

"This, Kreacher, is a puppy." Sirius answered, holding up the filthy bundle of dirt and fur. The little dog was dripping mud all over the floor, and had flies buzzing around it like a street lamp in the evening.

"Kreacher will not allow that wretched beast in the ancestral home of the Black family!" The house elf shouted, stamping his foot in protest.

Sirius frowned. "First of all Kreacher, that home you speak of belongs tome,and it is thereforemydecision what is allowed in and what is not."

Kreacher lowered his head, realizing he had spoken out of turn.

"Second of all, look at it! It's cute, in a mangy kind of way." Sirius set the dog down, and it trotted over to Kreacher.

Up close, the little life form was even more revolting than Kreacher had originally thought. It was dirty, had a limp in one leg, and was missing hair from several parts of its body.

Kreacher knew his master was mad, but this was another level entirely. Disgracing the noble house of Black with this repulsive-

Kreacher's train of thought was interrupted as the dog licked his face.

Kreacher froze in shock and disgust.

The dog wagged its tail, and licked Kreacher's wrinkly face once more.

And then again.

What was this feeling?

Kreacher didn't even notice he had reached out to touch the animal, and his hands felt fur that was tangled and knotted, mixed with patches of skin where the hair had fallen out.

Kreacher hated it. It was all wrong. This mutt was an atrocity, clearly not even of purebred lineage, and yet he couldn't stop his hands from petting it.

Through the dirt and the grime, Kreacher couldn't help but feel the warmth that radiated from the dog and found its way straight into his heart. As he looked into its eyes, Kreacher could've sworn the corners of the dog's mouth turned up in a soft little smile.

Kreacher never smiled. He knew that, and Sirius knew that. But to an outside observer, it might'vealmostlooked, for a second, like a tiny grin reached Kreacher's cracked and weathered lips.

"It is despicable." Kreacher said.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply but Kreacher kept speaking.

"These feelings, that is."

Sirius quirked his head sideways at the old house elf.

"This varmint will not be walking these hallowed halls looking like this. First a bath, then a trip to the potioneer for some remedies. After that, a few weeks of proper eating and regular exercise and Kreachermaybe able to turn this little cur into a noble hound worthy of the Black family."

Sirius watched in shock as Kreacher hobbled away with the puppy in his arms, a pep in his step that he hadneverseen as long as he knew the elf.

Well I'll be,Sirius thought.I think Kreacher just made a new friend.

Chapter 4: Preparation, Patience, Opportunity

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! New chapter.

Thanks for the continued support for this series :)

Massive thanks to BingBong for his extensive help with this chapter. Please pray for his sleep schedule.

Albus Dumbledore looked on in shock as a small slip of paper floated down into his hand from the Goblet of Fire.

Harry felt a sinking feeling in his gut, years of practice giving him a sixth sense for anticipating when he was about to find himself in the middle of unwanted trouble.

Dumbledore unfolded the note, and his eyes widened in consternation.

The entirety of the Great Hall was silent as he quietly read the name printed on it.

"Harry Potter."

A few days before Harry's name came out of the goblet, he was sitting on a desk in an unused classroom on the fourth floor, with Astoria on a desk of her own across from him. He was listening earnestly to a story the blonde girl was telling about her life before she came to Hogwarts, intrigued by the novelty of learning what a happy home environment looked like.

"And then Daphne said to me, 'don't you dare tellanyoneabout this,' all menacingly, and then she put the ice cream back in the freezer while I stood therefrozenin fear at like, two in the morning, and walked past me back to her room." Astoria recounted animatedly. "Years later, I started teasing her about it, and I even called her 'Ice Queen' for a while."

Harry laughed at this anecdote which was totally at odds with the mature and collected Daphne Greengrass he knew from class, and idly wondered if Astoria noticed she had done the exact thing her sister told hernotto do by sharing this story with him.

"Your sister can definitely be intimidating at times." Harry supplied.

"At times maybe," Astoria agreed. "But if you knew the lengths she goes to hide the fact she still sleeps with a teddy bear named Boo-Boo, you might find it harder to take her seriously."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. He wasn't sure what shocked him more – Daphne's hidden cute side, or Astoria's willingness to divulge her sister's secrets with him after only a handful of conversations.

Harry and Astoria had started meeting in the unused classroom last week, when he got a letter delivered by his own owl asking him to be there after dinner. Trusting that Hedwig wouldn't have accepted a letter from someone with bad intentions (she was a smart bird after all), he came and found Astoria waiting for him. She had told him it was her older sister's idea to meet him in private, to avoid the drama that would inevitably arise from a Slytherin associating with Harry Potter.

While she told him she had every intention of revealing her friendship with him eventually, consequences be damned, she also said she thought meeting him in secret for a while at first would be exciting.

Unsurprisingly, Harry had found no reason to reject the pretty witch's proposition of secret, 'exciting' meet-ups.

"What wasyourfamily like, Harry?"

Harry cringed. Noticing his reaction and realizing what she had thoughtlessly said, Astoria winced and rushed to apologize.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't mean it like that! Of course I know about your parents, but I mean, what about the people who raised you?"

Astoria hung her head at her own lack of tact.

"Don't worry about it." Harry reassured her, giving her a small and only slightly forced smile. "I grew up with my aunt and uncle on my mother's side, and they were not the most pleasant group of muggles you'll ever come across. They hated magic with a passion, and hated me only slightly less."

"That's horrible…" Astoria said sullenly. Coming from a loving home herself, she had trouble relating to Harry's situation, but she knew for sure that she would have turned out drastically differently without the support and care she got from her parents and sister. The idea of growing up with none of that was heartbreaking to her.

"What about the family member you said you were meeting last week in Hogsmeade? Who were they?" Astoria asked, looking to bring the conversation away from the rather miserable place it had gone.

Harry recited the speech he had planned for this very moment. "That was a family friend of my parents. He's been out of the country for several years, but we recently reconnected. I've been meeting up with him every Hogsmeade weekend, since he recently moved near the area."

Astoria nodded. "And where did you end up meeting him anyway? You were awfully evasive about it last week…"

"Er, well," Harry replied, feigning bashfulness. "We were meeting in a rather seedy spot, far from the High Street, so I didn't want to mention it."

This was the only excuse Harry had been able to devise since parting ways with Astoria in Hogsmeade the week before, knowing that she would eventually ask him about it in the future. It cast him and his 'family friend' in a rather strange light, but it was better than her finding out the truth.

Astoria narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "If you say so…but one of these days you're going to tell me about this 'seedy spot' you're so insistent on hiding from me." She replied, clearly not buying Harry's story entirely. Luckily for Harry, she decided today didn't have to be that day and let the topic drop.

After chatting for a little while longer, Harry checked the time and got up off the desk he was sitting on. "It's time for us to head back," he said. "If we're trying to avoid drama, we'd best not be caught in an empty classroom together after curfew."

Astoria blushed at the implication, and Harry paled.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Harry spluttered, face going from white to red with such impressive speed one would think he'd used a color-changing charm. "I just meant that being caught hanging out together would spark rumors! Obviously we weren't doing anything untowards in the classroom, and I didn't mean to suggest that other people would have thought so, though admittedly it is a possibility, and I certainly-"

"Harry." Astoria interrupted him.

"Yes?"

"I knew what you meant."

"Oh! Of course. Haha…" Harry scratched the back of his head awkwardly, eyes looking around the floor for a large hole he might be able to jump in.

"Besides, it's not like we're meeting in a broom closet or anything." She joked, causing Harry to blush once again.

"O-of course not!" Harry stuttered out. "I wouldn't even dream of it!"

A sudden and unexpected urge to tease the boy overtook Astoria's better judgment. "You can dream if you'd like," she said with a wink. "But just know it takes more than a couple weeks of talking to get me into one of those."

At this, Harry froze, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

As Astoria walked away, she felt a blush of her own rise to her cheeks.

Woah, did I just flirt with Harry Potter?She thought incredulously to herself as she headed back to the Slytherin dorms.

The evening Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament, the entirety of the Great Hall was in a ruckus. Those in the know explained to those that weren't about the tournament, and how it was a legendary stage for the best witch or wizard from each of the three largest European wizarding schools to demonstrate their skills for fame, glory, and fortune. While the event hadn't been staged for the past couple centuries due to the tendency for its participants to meet an untimely end, the students were under the impression that this modern reinvention of the tournament would likely be a lot safer than it used to be.

Dumbledore explained that any student wishing to participate was to throw their name into a large structure made of ornately decorated wood called the 'Goblet of Fire' within the next twenty-four hours. Much to the displeasure of many students, he also mentioned the age restriction for entrants, being the wizard's majority of 17, which was enforced by an 'age line' drawn in runes by Dumbledore himself around the goblet.

"Who do you think will be chosen from Hogwarts?" Ron asked Harry excitedly.

Around him, Harry could hear many variations of the same conversation, as well as numerous older students voicing their interest in participating. Honestly, he didn't care too much. A year with the attention focused onanystudent other than him sounded nice, after all.

"Personally, I hope it's Angelina," Ron answered his own question with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if Cedric Diggory, Roger Davies, or even Cassius Warrington were selected."

The noise in the hall came to an abrupt halt as Dumbledore retook the podium to introduce the foreign schools.

"From France, headmistress Olympe Maxime and the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!"

He waved his hand and the doors opened, revealing a group of elegantly dressed students in a loose line behind the tallest woman Harry had ever seen. Directly following the woman, who was clearly the introduced headmistress, was an incredibly pretty girl perhaps a few years older than Harry. She walked with such grace it seemed as though she was floating, and she emanated a beauty that made her skin glow. Harry saw Ron nearly fall off the bench as he unconsciously leaned further towards the blonde, blue-eyed girl. It took Hermione smacking him on the shoulder to bring him back to reality, but when she turned to Harry to do the same, she saw that he had in fact kept his wits about him.

While Harry had to admit the girl was undeniably beautiful, he privately noted that there was a different blonde, blue-eyed witch that was more his type.

As the students walked over to be seated at the Ravenclaw table, with the headmistress joining Dumbledore at the front of the hall, the doors opened once more to welcome the next school.

"From the North, headmaster Igor Karkaroff and the Durmstrang Institute!"

This group was led by a stern looking man with a scowl on his face that looked like it never came off, and maintained a strict, orderly march all the way to the Slytherin table. At the head of the students was a thin young man with sharp features, whose presence immediately caused the noise in the hall to rise.

"That's Viktor Krum!"Ron whispered excitedly, his voice lost in the sea of so many other students with similar expressions of awe. Once again, Hermione had to smack him on the shoulder to prevent him from falling off his bench as he leaned towards the famous quidditch player even further than he had upon seeing the Beauxbatons girl.

"May I extend a most cordial welcome to each and every one of our esteemed guests." Dumbledore said once the commotion had died down. "The exemplary students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be staying at Hogwarts for the remainder of the academic year, and will be joining us for our meals and classes."

The headmaster turned to look out over the students, eyes twinkling brightly in the way they often did. "Though their stay may be fleeting, let us seize this opportunity to cultivate the bonds of international cooperation, to sow the seeds of camaraderie that may blossom into enduring friendship for years to come. Without further ado, let the feast begin!"

As the food appeared on the tables and everyone began to eat, the conversation in the hall picked back up.

"I can't believe it!" A Slytherin boy said excitedly near Astoria. "Viktor Krum is sitting with us atthistable! I can't wait to send a letter back to my parents…"

Astoria tuned out of that conversation and listened to another, between two second year girls.

"Did you see that girl from Beauxbatons? I've never seen anyone so pretty in my life!"

"That's because she's aveela. My cousin goes to Beauxbatons and she told me about her, her name is Fleur Delacour. She'ssupposedto be a prodigy, but she probably just uses her twisted bird magic to seduce the teachers. She shouldn't even be allowed in Hogwarts, if you ask me."

A veela, huh?Astoria considered as she ate her dinner. She had heard about veela growing up, and while she, unlike many of her classmates, had nothing against humans with mixed blood, something about their ability to charm a man against his own wisheshadgiven her a bad feeling. Even the open-mouthed, adoring expressions on the boys' faces when the girl had walked by felt…nonconsensual, to her.

I wonder if Harry stared at her like that too?She shook her head.Not that it matters or anything.

Still, something about the thought of Harry looking at Fleur affectionately made her feel bad in a way she didn't quite understand.

"Are you feeling alright Tori?" Daphne asked from beside her, noticing the complicated expression on Astoria's face.

"Oh yeah I'm fine, just thinking about…stuff." She replied.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her sister any further.

Astoria turned to look at the Gryffindor table, a habit she had picked up recently since becoming friends with Harry, and noticed the boy sitting with his friends. He wasn't talking much, mostly choosing to listen to the conversations of those around him. Every once in a while he would smile at something someone said and his deep green eyes would light up a bit, which would make Astoria smile in turn.

"You're staring again." Daphne said.

"No I'm not!" Astoria answered, turning her head away quickly.

When Astoria returned her gaze back to Harry, she was much more subtle about it, turning her eyes but not her head. As a movement caught her attention, she saw Fleur Delacour stand up from the Ravenclaw table and head towards the Gryffindors, right in line with Harry.

She couldn't be…she couldn't be heading towards Harry to use her veela powers to seduce him, could she?

Astoria looked on in a fret as Fleur's path held true towards Harry.

Not that she would even have to use her powers, I guess. She's older, beautiful, and apparently a prodigy too…

Fleur was only a few steps away from Harry's spot at the table now, and Astoria began to panic.

Harry is allowed to fall in love with whoever he wants. It's none of my business, I just think he should make the decision without the influence of evil veela powers! But also it kind of is my business because I'm his friend and if he got a girlfriend she might not take kindly to our meetups and also Fleur is at least a few years older than us so it would frankly be kind of creepy if-

Fleur stopped in front of Harry and opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to lure him into her cruel web of seduction with some sweet words of affection. Astoria gripped the fork in her hand so hard that her knuckles turned white in anticipation of the loss of her friend, who was about to be turned into some French girl's thrall right before her eyes.

Wait. She's not talking to Harry?

Astoria watched as Fleur asked Ron Weasley a question, to which he responded by handing her a big bowl of some kind of soup from the middle of their table. Fleur walked away without so much as looking at Harry, and Astoria realized her worries had been for naught.

Phew!She thought as she relaxed back onto the bench, letting go of the fork she had been unconsciously squeezing for the past few seconds.I guess I overreacted. It was wrong of me to assume she would use her powers irresponsibly just because she's a veela.

If Astoria had been paying attention at that moment, she might have noticed the look of absolute horror on her older sister's face, who had been watching her the whole time.

Later that night, Daphne paced up and down her room.

Face it Daphne, you know what you saw.

She didn't want to admit it, but the facts were right there in front of her.

Astoria had been meeting with Harry Potter every few days in the empty classroom. It was Daphne herself who recommended it, and she had guessed that Astoria would lose interest in him quickly once she realized he was really just a normal boy like everyone else.

Instead, her sister spoke about him more frequently and more fondly with each passing day. She had written off the glances her sister would always steal towards the Gryffindor boy before, but the soft expression Astoria had been taking on recently whenever Harry smiled was exceedinglysuspicious.

Tonight was the last straw.

Daphne thought back to the look of terror on Astoria's face as the pretty French girl from Beauxbatons approached Harry's table, and her undisguised relief when she left. She would've found her sister's comical expressions cute, if they were caused by any other boy.

Daphne sat on her bed with her head in her hands.

Out of everyone in the world, why did Astoria's first crush have to be on Harry Potter ?

"Harry, can I ask you a question?" Ron asked his friend that night in their room.

"Sure Ron, what's up?" Harry replied as he put away his things for the day and got ready for bed.

"Do you have anyone youlikeright now?"

"In a romantic way? Not really." For some reason his thoughts flicked to Astoria Greengrass for a moment, but he dismissed them just as quickly.

"What about Hermione?"

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her."

Ron shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I mean, are youinterestedin Hermione?"

Harry looked appalled. "Absolutely not! I mean, she's my best friend and I love her, but romantically? Definitely not. I'd rather date Blaise Zabini."

Ron stopped for a second in confusion. "Zabini? Why him?"

"No reason really, it was just an example, like a 'oh I'd rather date him because I'm really not interested in her' kind of thing."

Ron looked at his friend suspiciously but didn't press the matter any further. "What's wrong with Hermione?" He asked eventually, returning to their original topic.

"Well, she's smart and kind and incredibly loyal," Harry started, "but she's also rather naggy and bossy. Those qualities are great in a friend, but dating her would be like…no offense, dating your mom, Ron."

Ron blanched. "If I dated Hermione it would be like I was dating my mom?"

"Who said anything about you dating Hermione?" Harry replied slowly, realizing his friend just let slip something important.

"Uh, no one. I was just, you know, saying."

The two boys got the rest of the way ready for bed in silence. As Harry got under his covers and turned off the lights, he decided to give Ron a piece of advice.

"Hey Ron."

"Yeah?"

"Hermione may be getting overlooked by everyone right now, but she's getting older, and prettier too. You may want to shoot your shot while, um, supplies last, so to speak."

He's probably right.Thought Ron, as he realized the girl he liked might not be available forever.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.

"Damn." Said Ron. "Never thought I'd see the day whereyougive someone girl advice."

Astoria sat chatting with her friends in the Great Hall the next evening as the whole school waited for the announcement of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament.

It came as no surprise to anyone when Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons and Viktor Krum of Durmstrang were selected, as they had clearly shown themselves to be the dominant students of their respective delegations. The Hogwarts champion was waited on with much higher anticipation, and when Cedric Diggory's name came out of the goblet, there was a cacophonous mix of cheers and jeers from his supporters and those who were hoping for someone different.

"Diggory?" Draco Malfoy questioned incredulously to the rest of the Slytherin table. "Now Hogwarts hasnochance of winning. He's more of a girl than Fleur is."

Most of the older students laughed at this, and many of the younger ones too. Astoria personally found it incredibly rude and inaccurate, as well as rather derogatory towards women. Upon further reflection, she realized most things that Draco said could fall into one of those three categories.

Draco turned his head to look directly at Astoria, smirking at his successful joke. When he saw her unimpressed expression he frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could begin a loud noise echoed across the hall.

The Goblet of Fire had roared to life once more, and a small piece of parchment drifted down from the gout and into Dumbledore's awaiting hand.

The Hogwarts headmaster opened the note, and a mixture of surprise and profound sadness was etched into his features as he read it aloud.

"Harry Potter."

The entire hall went silent, and all eyes turned to Harry. Astoria saw him in a state of total shock, and could see that his friends sitting around him weren't looking much better. Eventually, Hermione gently grabbed his arm and a quiet 'go on Harry' was heard from across the soundless hall.

Harry reluctantly walked up to the front of the hall, and was led away through the door the other champions had gone through just minutes earlier.

The second the door closed behind him, the gathered students erupted into a tumultuous fervor.

"He's a cheat!" Someone yelled.

"I thought wizards under the age of 17 weren't allowed to enter?" Another said.

"If he's allowed to enter, I want to enter too!"

Astoria heard the Durmstrang students talking amongst themselves at the end of the table, accusing Dumbledore of tampering with the goblet to get a second Hogwarts champion to increase their chances of winning. She saw the Beauxbatons students talking across the hall, and assumed the conversation was much the same.

"Just what we needed." Draco said sarcastically. "Hogwarts gets a second champion, and of course it has to be that miserable little egotistPotter."

"But how did he manage to get his name in?" Pansy asked from the seat next to him, looking at Draco like he held the secrets to the universe.

Draco scoffed. "Potter doesn't have the talent to sneak his name into the goblet. He barely has more magic than thatsquibLongbottom."

Astoria was about to speak up in defense of Harry when she felt Daphne's hand take hers. She looked up at her sister, who mouthed a 'no' together with a slight shake of her head. While Astoria wasn't thrilled about letting the little ponce run his mouth about her friend, she respected Daphne enough to not make a scene over it.Yet.

"So who did it then?"

Draco looked derisively at Pansy before answering. "He probably begged McGonagall to do it for him.Everyoneknows he's her favorite, and she probably couldn't say no when he asked for help."

"But how will he compete? He'syearsbehind all of the other competitors, surely they won't let him participate in the tasks?"

When Draco spoke he took the tone one would take with an ill-behaved dog. "Do youeverstop asking questions?"

Pansy shrunk back at the venom in his voice, and despite her recent troubles with her, Astoria couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl.

Satisfied that she had been put in her place, Draco replied nonetheless.

"They won't let him participate. But personally, I hope they do."

That surprised Astoria, and most of the other students around him as well. Draco smirked, seeing they had taken his bait.

"He'd be dead five seconds into the first task."

Most of the table laughed, but Astoria couldn't fathom why. Even if they didn't like him, to want to see Harrydeadfelt entirely uncalled for.

"Five?" An older boy at the end of the table called out. "I bet he'd die of fright before he even set foot in the arena!"

That quip was met with more laughter around the table.

The slowly sinking realization that Harry might end up being put in genuine mortal danger from this tournament made Astoria feel sick. After saying a brief goodbye to her friends, she ran to the owlery to pen a letter.

"Congratulations Harry!" A group of rowdy Gryffindors roared as he entered the common room. After being chewed out by most of the staff for the past hour, they had finally let him go, believing that he in fact didnotput his name in the goblet.

From the group of a couple dozen or so students, the Weasley twins emerged and put their arms around Harry's shoulders.

"We're not sure how you did it." George said.

"And we don't like not being sure." Fred continued.

"So how'd you do it?" They said together.

"I didn't." Harry replied honestly.

"Ah Fred, the classic denial tactic. We've definitely used that one before haven't we?"

"Sure have, George. I guess we know how they feel now, don't we?"

"I mean it!" Harry said insistently. "I just wanted to have a quiet year…"

"Well done Harry!" Called Lee Jordan, as he came over to slap Harry on the back. "Personally, I'll have my money on you. Oh, and tread lightly around Angelina for the time being. She's not in the best of moods since she wasn't chosen, and she'sextracross that you were able to sneak in over her."

Great,thought Harry sarcastically.Even my own housemates are mad at me.

Harry pushed his way through the crowd and over to the chairs by the fireplace where he saw Ron and Hermione.

"Before you ask, no. I didnotput my name in." Harry said to his friends impatiently, getting tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

Hermione looked up at Harry sympathetically. "Weknowthat, Harry. We knew that the second your name came out of the goblet."

Ron shrugged. "I'm not going to lie mate, at first I was mad, because I had really wanted to compete, and here you were getting selected without even trying."

Harry opened his mouth as if to speak, but Ron continued. "But I know you wouldn't enter the tournament intentionally, and I spoke with Hermione, and she sort of convinced me that maybe participating wouldn't have been all that great after all."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He had been slightly worried that his friends might not believe him.

"Speaking of which Harry," started Hermione, "please tell me they withdrew you from the competition?"

"I wish." Sighed Harry, knowing his bad luck would never have allowed such an easy out. "Apparently the contract was magically binding the instant my name came out of the goblet. If I refuse to enter, I'll lose my magic."

His friends both paled.

"That's ridiculous!" Said Ron, getting mad for Harry. "Students used to die during these tournaments, and even if they scale back the level of danger from previous ones, they'll still be based on what a 6th or 7th year could handle, not a 4th year!"

Harry looked at Ron, shocked at the rational and well-worded argument his normally brusque friend had just made. Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him. Noticing the look Hermione gave him, Ron turned away sheepishly.

"Or at least, that's what Hermione said before you got here…"

Sirius was plotting the next development in Harry's love life when an unexpected letter arrived courtesy of Kreacher.

"Master Sirius," the house elf began, "Master Dumbledore wished for me to deliver this letter to you."

"Dumbledore? How strange…" Sirius said. "Did he tell you what it was about?"

"No, master. He simply appeared in front of Kreacher and Max on their evening walk, and told me it was 'imperative that Sirius Black receives this letter.' Scared poor Max half to death when he burst into flames and disappeared…"

Sirius looked down at the puppy Kreacher had named 'Max'. He was looking considerably better than he had when Sirius picked him up two weeks before, and was now starting to resemble whatever overbred labrador retriever mix he was meant to be.

With a quick pause to give Max a pat on the head and some ear scritches, Sirius collected the letter from Kreacher and headed off to his bedroom to see what the old Hogwarts headmaster could possibly want from him.

Poor Max was once again scared half to death a few minutes later as a booming 'WHAT!?' echoed across the house, followed shortly by the sound of a glass bottle shattering into countless pieces against the floor.

The next morning was just as bad as Harry had been expecting.

The older Gryffindor students who had put their names into the goblet wouldn't even look at him when he entered the common room. His arrival in the Great Hall for breakfast was met with taunts and insults from the Slytherins, and he even got heckled by more than his fair share of Hufflepuffs, who were clearly upset that Harry had stolen some limelight away from their champion Cedric. The Ravenclaws were a mixed bag, with some looking at him scornfully and others pityingly.

Simply put, Harry Potter was once again the pariah of Hogwarts.

As he sat down with Ron and Hermione to eat his toasts, he noticed that most of his housemates were keeping their distance from him. Ginny and Neville still sat nearby, but Harry guessed most of the other people who supported him were afraid to do so openly, for fear of provoking the ire of the other students.

"For what it's worth Harry," Neville spoke up timidly, "I believe you. About not putting your name in the goblet, I mean."

"Thanks Neville." Harry replied, and he meant it.

Hey, the rest of the school may be against me, but at least I have Neville.He thought.

Partway through breakfast Hedwig came to deliver two letters. He opened the first one; a short one from Sirius, where he asked to meet Harry at the Shrieking Shack as soon as he got to Hogsmeade that afternoon. The second was an envelope he recognized from the letters Astoria had sent to organize their handful of secret meetings over the past two weeks, but he was too scared to open it. Harry wasn't sure what sort of reaction his new friend might have to his name coming out of the goblet, and he wasn't quite ready to find out. He had been avoiding making eye contact with her that morning for the same reason.

Tucking the unopened letter into his pocket, he turned to his friends. "I'm meeting Padfoot early today. I have a pretty good feeling I know what he wants to talk about, but I'm surprised he got news of it so fast."

Ron and Hermione grimaced.

"I take it you haven't seen this morning's Daily Prophet yet?" Ron said.

"Oh." Replied Harry. He actually hadn't, but he could guess what was on the front page.

"Did he say anything else?" Hermione asked hopefully. "Maybe he knows of a way to get you out of the tournament without losing your magic?"

"He kept it short. Just told me to bring a notebook and an empty bag."

"Huh, that's odd," commented Ron.

"Odd indeed, but I'm sure it's for a good reason." Said Hermione. "For my part, I'm headed to the library today to do some research on both the history of the Triwizard Tournament,andmagically binding contracts."

"Oh!" Exclaimed Ron, realizing he too could be of assistance to his friend. "I know, I'll send a letter to Percy! He's working with the Department of International Magical Cooperation right now, so he might know a thing or two that could help you."

Harry looked fondly at his two oldest and most loyal friends. "Thanks guys. It means a lot."

"Of course!" They replied.

"Harry!" Sirius wrapped his godson up in a big hug the moment he entered the room. As they broke apart, Sirius sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him, indicating for Harry to sit with him as opposed to his usual armchair.

"Dumbledore sent me a letter explaining what happened last night." He began once they had settled. "I'm absolutelyfuriousthat this was allowed to happen, and I'm still trying to think of a way out of it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to though, and either way, you'll need to be ready."

"Ready for what?" Harry asked.

"First of all Harry, this tournament is no cakewalk. Students have died during the three tasks it consists of, and I willnotbe letting that happen to you." Sirius took on a very solemn expression and continued. "Secondly, your name coming out of that goblet last night was no accident Harry. Someonewantedyou in this tournament, and I don't believe it was someone with your best interests in mind."

"Voldemort?"

"Most likely." Sirius sighed.

"But what can I do? I'm not ready for this tournament, I'm only in my fourth year. And that's puttingasidethe notorious dark wizard who wants me dead and happens to be one of the strongest of all time."

Sirius winced. "I know Harry, trust me I do. But I'm going to try my best to help train you over the next year so you can get through this ridiculous tournament unharmed."

"And that'll be enough for me to take on Voldemort?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Maybe not. But he's not back yet, at least not fully, and don't dismiss the possibility that someone will take him down before he comes back to full strength."

Harry wasn't convinced, but he set the matter aside for the moment.

"Okay Sirius. So how are we going to train?"

Sirius stood up, and headed to the front of the room as if he were a teacher in a class. "First, I will teach you everything I know."

"Cool!" Harry said, genuinely excited to learn. "Are you a good dueler?"

"Mediocre."

"Are you good at defensive spells?"

"Not particularly."

"What about wards and runes?"

"Atrocious."

"Then what are you good at?"

"Pranks."

Harry deflated.

"Now wait just a moment Harry," Sirius raised a hand seeing his godson's disappointed expression. "There's a lot more to magic than just fancy spells and powerful incantations. I may have told you I was a mediocre duelist, but I should add that I've also never lost a duel, even against your dad – and he was one of the best in our generation. Do you know why?"

Harry's interest was piqued once more.

"Why?"

"Because I win all of my duels before they even start."

Sirius proceeded to give Harry an exceptionally well organized lecture on the importance of what he called the 'three pillars of pranking': Preparation, Patience, and Opportunity. He explained how these concepts transferred over from his days as a school prankster and helped him become a powerful wizard, despite his relatively low power and knowledge when it came to magic. Harry even took notes in the notebook he was asked to bring as Sirius described tactics from several battles he had helped lead to victory in the first wizarding war against the Death Eaters.

"To summarize." Sirius said as his lecture came to a close. "Preparation. Win your battles before they begin. Patience. Don't let haste ruin your well thought-out plans. And finally, Opportunity. When the chance comes, act decisively and strike to claim victory."

Harry had to admit, Sirius' advice was actually sound and informative, and he had learned a lot. Still, he couldn't help but feel like a bit ofpracticalmagic might have been nice.

"And now I have some gifts for you. You brought a bag I trust?" Sirius lifted a satchel from the end of the couch and opened it up.

"Here's a book full of spells we came up with during our time at school. They're mostly from Remus, with several from James and even one or two from me. Most of them are useless, but I went through and highlighted the ones I think you should learn." Sirius took out another book from the bag. "Here's one full of designs, it explains the theory behind the Marauder's Map, as well as some two-way mirrors we made in our fifth year so we could talk over the summer. I don't understand a word in there, and you probably won't either, but your friend Hermione might get some use out of it. And finally, here's our notes on the process of becoming animagi. Just keep in mind that the ritual is extremely dangerous so you'renotto go trying it without me."

Harry took the three books and put them in his bag. "Thanks Sirius." He said. "I feel a lot better about this whole mess now."

"Of course Harry." Sirius smiled compassionately at his godson. "We're family, and we're in this together."

Feeling a bit more confident after his meeting with Sirius, Harry mustered up the courage to open the letter he had gotten earlier from Astoria.

Dear Harry,

Please meet me in the clearing from last time at noon today before you see your relative, if you have the chance.

I'll be waiting,

-Astoria

Harry checked the time.Uh oh,he thought.Surely she hasn't been waiting there for the past hour?

Harry arrived a short while later in the clearing, out of breath from running.

"Astoria." He gasped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't read your letter."

"Is someone talking to us, Mr. Ladybug?" Astoria said to a small insect on her finger. "I thought I heard something, but I might've been mistaken. After all,whocould possibly be here at the clearing with me?"

"Astoria…?"

"Surely it wouldn't be someone who ignores my letters, and then doesn't look at me evenoncethroughout breakfast."

"...Are you mad at me?"

"Surely it wouldn't be someone who I've beenincrediblyworried about, but didn't even deign to let me know if they were okay." Astoria soliloquized to the bug. In response, it flew away.

"I'm really sorry Astoria."

She turned around. "Oh? Hi Harry."

"I was scared. I thought maybe you'd believe that I put my name in the goblet, or that you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. Then I met up with my relative earlier than normal today to discuss the tournament, and I didn't end up reading your letter until just a few minutes ago. I'm sorry, I really am."

Astoria sighed. "It's fine, I forgive you. I just wish you'd trust me and my friendship a little more than that. If I was the type to ditch someone over a bit of controversy, I'd probably have run away screaming the first time I saw you."

Astoria didn't mention that she did, in fact, want to run away screaming the first time she saw him.

Harry grimaced. Controversydidseem to follow him around like a lost puppy. "It won't happen again." He said. "And Idotrust you Astoria, I mean it. It was just my insecurities getting the better of me."

"Don't worry about it, forgive and forget." Astoria said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "But if you ever ignore my letters again…" She narrowed her eyes menacingly at him. "Let's just say there's a reasonno onein my family tries the silent treatment with me anymore."

Harry shivered.I love it when she glares at me,he thought, before quickly chasing that unwelcome and unsettling intrusion away.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon filling Astoria in on what had happened the night before, and the fallout since. He was relieved to find out that she believed him that he didnotput his name in the goblet, anddidstill want to be his friend.

"So tomorrow night, in the empty classroom?" Harry asked her as they got up to part ways.

"Sure!"

As Harry turned to leave, Astoria spoke up again, with a devious smile on her face.

"Harry, one more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't make me wait on you for an hour ever again, or you'llneverget me into that broom closet you've been dreaming about."

Harry walked briskly away, bright red, and Astoria giggled.

I wonder why I like teasing him so much?She thought to herself as he exited the clearing.

When Sirius got home to 12 Grimmauld Place that night, he realized he had forgotten one thing.

One very important thing.

My plan!He lamented.Harry was supposed to 'accidentally' share the 'Couple's Sundae' at Madam Puddifoots with Astoria today!

Sirius slapped himself on the forehead. He had forgotten all about his plan in the turmoil of the past twenty-four hours since he received news of Harry's name coming out of the goblet.

Without my help, they probably haven't made any progress since the picnic!

With that, Sirius redoubled his efforts to concoct a new ploy for the next Hogsmeade weekend.

After all, with all the stress and the training Harry was about to undergo for the tournament, he would need some time to relax as well.

That's what Sirius told himself, anyway.

Chapter 5: Just A Little Crush

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! Thanks to everyone who has been reading this fic so far, I hope you continue to enjoy it.

This fic will be updated every Thursday (evening, EST) until it finishes, or I need extra time to finish a chapter.

Thanks to BingBong for his continued assistance editing this fic, and a reminder to all that his idea was the inspiration for the premise of Coincidences.

"This is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed in glee as she looked through one of the notebooks Sirius had given Harry. "I've always wondered how they made the Marauder's Map, and this explains it in detail. It's based on a complex series of runes they set up around the school, and then mapped to the parchment. They discovered the intrinsic magic of the school was powerful enough to perceive the given name of everyone within its walls, and using a frankly mind boggling amount of self-sustaining charms they were able to have that information transferred to the Map! It updates every…"

As Hermione gushed about the magical complexity of the map, Harry and Ron looked through the book of spells.

"Look at this Harry!" Ron said, pointing to one of the spells circled 'important' in the book. "You can cast this on someone to check if they're under the effects of a love potion!"

"Huh." Harry replied. "I'm sure that was very useful for Padfoot back in the day, but I'm not sure how pertinent it is to us. "

"What about this?" Ron suggested. "They call this one Fictus Impetus, it creates a huge explosion that looks like a devastating attack, but in reality is just an illusion."

Harry read over the notes in the margin as Ron recited them. "That one actually does sound quite useful." Harry admitted, folding down the corner of the page so he could practice it later.

Cool! It looks like Fictus Impetus was credited to my dad. Harry thought as he noticed the small stylized signature of ~Prongs ~ next to the description of the spell. All of the text in the book was written in Remus' neat handwriting, but each Marauder was credited for their own spells with their own signature. Harry made a note every time he saw a spell created by his dad.

I wonder when he came up with this one? He mused. He liked to guess about the circ*mstances surrounding his dad's spells as he found them in the book, in an attempt to glean some information about what he was like as a person through the spells he made.

Harry was broken out of his reveries when Ron glanced at the other book sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room.

"Harry?" He asked. "Are you going to try to become an animagus too, like your dad and Padfoot?"

Interested, Hermione stopped talking to herself about the Map and listened to Harry seriously as he answered.

"I'm not sure yet, to be honest." He shrugged at his friends. "I'm not sure how useful it is for me at the moment, and Sirius said the ritual is pretty dangerous…"

"But it would be so cool!" Ron encouraged Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the boy's juvenile exclamation. "Harry's right, Ron. Until a time comes when it seems important, it's an unnecessary risk. Besides," she continued in the lecturing tone she often took when explaining anything to anyone, "the first page says that the only animal you'll ever be able to transform into is your 'spirit animal'. If Harry goes through all the trouble to identify his spirit animal, only to discover it's something useless, all that time will have been wasted ."

"But what if his spirit animal is a dragon! Or a lion!" Ron cried.

"What if it's a lemming?" Hermione retorted.

As Ron and Hermione debated the merit of the animagus ritual, Harry checked the time and realized it was time for him to go meet Astoria.

"Sorry guys, I have to go." He said, packing the books back into his bag and getting up off the couch. "I'll be back in a couple hours."

Ron and Hermione ceased their dispute as they watched Harry exit through the common room door. It had been a trend they noticed over the past couple of weeks; every few days, he would disappear for a few hours after dinner, and be back right before curfew.

"Where do you reckon he's always going?" Ron asked Hermione.

"I'm not sure…" She answered. "Maybe he has a girlfriend?"

Ron scoffed. "Harry? He's so clueless, it'll be years before he gets a girl."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the equally clueless boy in front of her. She had noticed him being nicer to her these days, and knew what it was likely about, but he had yet to say anything to confirm her suspicions. Besides, she wasn't totally sure how she felt about him in any case, so she was content to just wait and see.

"What?" Ron asked, noticing the look Hermione was giving him.

"Oh, nothing." She replied.

"Astoria?" Harry asked later into the evening, sitting across from the girl on desks as per their routine. "Why do you think you were sorted into Slytherin?"

Astoria gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean? I had to go somewhere, didn't I?"

"Of course. I just mean, and I don't intend any offense when I say this, but you're not exactly the most Slytherin person I've ever met…"

"Oh! I've heard that before." She replied, understanding. "The hat actually gave me a choice, you see."

A choice? Harry leaned in attentively as she continued.

"During my sorting ceremony, the only thought in my head was, 'I want to be placed into the house that will allow me to make 100 friends!' because that was my goal before I came to Hogwarts. Then the hat said to me, '100 friends you say? The attitude of a Hufflepuff, but with the ambition of a Slytherin…' and then I said 'Oh! Oh! My sister is in Slytherin so why don't you just put me in there!' and then the hat was all like 'You might struggle in Slytherin' and then I was all like 'Honestly Mr. Hat I'm not good at studying so I'll struggle anywhere, you may as well just put me in Slytherin, and so here I am!"

You know what? Harry thought. That actually makes a lot of sense.

"The hat actually offered me a choice too," Harry said. "It said I would do great in both Slytherin and Gryffindor, but I had met Draco Malfoy prior, and knew for sure I didn't want to be with him. So I told the hat, and ended up in Gryffindor."

Astoria's jaw dropped. "You're telling me you could've been in my house if it weren't for Draco?"

"Probably."

"Ugh! He's so annoying!" Astoria whined. "We could've met years ago and been friends years ago and we wouldn't have to meet in an abandoned classroom years ago!

"That last one doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does."

They talked into the evening, until curfew came sneaking up on them and they had to depart.

"Same time on Thursday?" Harry asked as they made ready to leave.

"I guess so." She replied, a bit hesitant.

"Is something the matter, Astoria?"

She isn't tired of meeting with me, is she? He thought worriedly.

"It's just, I'm tired of having to pretend I don't know you in the hallways and stuff." She replied with a dramatic sigh. "Can't we just talk in public like normal, instead of hiding away in an abandoned classroom every few days like forbidden lovers?"

Harry blushed at Astoria's metaphor. "It is bothersome," Harry admitted once he collected himself, "but Daphne is right. I may already be a pariah, but it would hardly do for you to become one too. Let's just keep things secret a little while longer, until things with the tournament die down?"

"I guess…" Astoria conceded irresolutely.

"I'm sorry, Astoria. But don't blame me. Blame Malfoy, it's his fault we're not in the same house."

"Oh, trust me, I do."

A few days later, Astoria woke up and headed down to the Slytherin common room like usual. She was greeted by the unwelcome sight of Draco Malfoy, grinning smugly and handing out badges of some kind to their housemates.

"Oh, Astoria!" He called to her as he saw her descend the stairs. "I have something for you."

She took the proffered badge and looked at it more closely. It said "Support Cedric Diggory – The Real Hogwarts Champion" in bright green letters, and after a few seconds, switched to "Potter Stinks" in a bright red.

Astoria stared disgustedly at the badge. "I thought you didn't like Cedric?" She asked the boy.

Draco shrugged, still smiling. "As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

I really don't think Cedric is Harry's enemy… She thought, but resisted the urge to say.

Using all of the discipline her sister had tried to instill in her over the years, Astoria left the common room and discretely threw the badge in a nearby trash bin without making a scene.

All of this staying under the radar is so not my style…

Astoria spent breakfast that morning trying to ignore the fact that all of her classmates and friends were wearing Draco's badges. She had tried to convince her friends to take them off, but when they asked her why, she had to brush it off. She had played off the couple times they had seen her with Harry in Hogsmeade as a coincidence, but defending him any more than she already had would have appeared suspicious.

And because both Daphne and Harry himself didn't want her to reveal her friendship with Harry, she had to avoid suspicion.

And she hated it.

But to honor their wishes, she stayed silent.

And she continued to stay silent throughout her morning classes, when her classmates played with their badges.

And she continued to stay silent throughout lunch, when she saw Draco and his band of lackeys taunting Harry.

And she even continued to stay silent when she saw Cedric Diggory do nothing to stop his friends from wearing the badges themselves.

She drew the line however, at dinner, when she spotted some of the Gryffindor students wearing the badges. The look on Harry's face when he saw some of the people he used to consider friends wear the badge was simply heartbreaking, and when she saw him dismiss himself from dinner early that night, she could stand it no longer.

Sorry Daphne, Sorry Harry, she thought.

And when dinner finished, she went looking for him.

Harry sat in the library with Neville, trying to get his homework done, when a determined looking Astoria came up to him and slammed her books down on his table.

"Harry! I need help with transfiguration."

Wait, why is Astoria talking to me in such a public place!? Harry thought in a panic. Especially now of all times!

He could see the confused glances of many other students looking their way, wondering why a Slytherin was talking to Harry Potter. Unsure of what to do, Harry tried to play it cool. "Oh, hi. Who are you?"

Astoria raised an eyebrow dramatically at him. "Seriously? You're going to pretend all the time we spent in that empty classroom never happened?"

Several gasps sounded from the nearby tables.

"Uhh…"

"Was I just a casual tryst for you? I told you everything about me, laid it all bare , and now you act like we've never met?"

More gasps sounded from the nearby tables, and Harry was almost certain one of them came from Madam Pince, the Hogwarts librarian.

Harry looked up at Astoria in both shock and horror, but he saw a playful gleam in her eyes.

From beside him, Neville spoke up nervously. "Harry…you should really try to treat women with respect…that's what my Gran always tells me…"

Harry sighed. I guess the cat's out of the bag now either way. I hope Astoria knows what she's doing. He gestured to the seat across from him. "Have a seat Astoria, I'll help you with your work."

"Yay! Thanks Harry!"

Harry turned to Neville, but spoke loud enough that the rest of the library could hear. "And for the record, we never did anything other than talk in the classroom."

"Don't sound so disappointed, Harry." Astoria said.

Harry blushed. "That's not what I meant!" He was about to explain himself when he saw the smirk on Astoria's face and realized she was just having him on. He sighed, and shifted his seat over to look at the book she had opened. "You know what, forget it. What part of transfiguration are you having trouble with?"

"Most of it. And by most of it, I mean all of it."

"Ah."

"Yep."

They spent the next hour going over the basics of third year transfiguration, with a few reminders of second year concepts as well. While she had mostly come to give Harry her support, and having him help her study was just a pretext, she had come away better for it as she realized Harry was in fact a very good teacher.

"Thanks for being so patient with me, Harry." Astoria said gratefully. "Most people give up on me after a few minutes."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I actually find teaching really enjoyable, and it helps that you're a good student." He replied honestly.

Astoria's eyes widened and a happy little smile graced her lips. "No one has ever called me a good student before." She said, and Harry could see that she was actually treasuring the compliment.

Harry felt bad for the girl then, doubly so when he considered she was likely telling the truth. While she did get distracted easily, he found if he could direct her enthusiasm correctly, she actually took to learning quite well. "Well, maybe that's just because no one has ever understood your merits as a pupil before." He said encouragingly.

Astoria's eyes widened again, impressed by the boy's smooth flattery, and she began fanning herself with exaggerated motions as if trying to cool down. She leaned in closer to Harry with a smile and whispered, "Keep talking like that, and that broom closet might not be so far off after all."

Harry's face flushed a deep red. Astoria snickered mischievously and collected her books, saying a quick goodbye to Harry and Neville before leaving the library.

I know she's just kidding, but I really wish she would stop teasing me like that…she's going to put thoughts in my head.

Neville heaved a big sigh from next to him. "Intense girl, that one."

"Tell me about it." He replied.

When Astoria stepped into the Slytherin common room later that day, she braced herself for what she knew was coming.

"Astoria!"

Well that was quick, she thought.

"What the hell do you think you're doing hanging around Harry Potter? Are you trying to be an even bigger disgrace to this house than you already are?"

Astoria located the source of the beratement to a girl standing near the fireplace at the head of the room, surrounded by several equally irate looking classmates.

Of course, it just had to be Pansy Parkinson, didn't it? Astoria thought as she prepared for what she was sure would be an unpleasant conversation.

"I can be friends with whoever I want Pansy," she began with a sigh, "and I don't care-"

"Shut up!" Pansy yelled, and the raw hatred in her face took Astoria by such surprise she took a step back. "I'm sick of you, and I'm sick of your disgusting cutesy act. Why don't you just go-"

Pansy cut her sentence off short as she saw a boy descend from the stairs to the Slytherin rooms.

"What seems to be the problem here, ladies?" Draco said patronizingly.

Pansy took a moment to collect herself before she pointed towards Astoria. "Jenn told me she saw Astoria hanging out with Harry Potter in the library today. She also said Astoria mentioned something about trysts in abandoned classrooms. As you can see Draco, Astor-"

"That's enough Pansy." Draco waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Leave us."

Pansy stared at the boy, hurt visible on her face. She hesitated for a second, as if debating what to do, but eventually with one last venomous glare at Astoria, she stomped out of the common room.

"Astoria," Draco started evenly once the girl left, "is what Pansy said true? Were you talking to Potter today?"

"Yes."

At this, there were scattered murmurs from the pockets of students around the room.

Draco frowned. "And what about these 'trysts'? I sincerely hope, for your sake of course, that there's no truth to these rumors…"

"I fail to see how that's any of your business, Malfoy ." Astoria said coldly, having quite enough of this interrogation from the arrogant boy.

The room fell silent as everyone looked towards the rebuffed Draco. His face twitched in anger, but he kept his voice calm as he spoke.

"That's where you're incorrect, Astoria. You see, I've taken an interest in you, and I can't be seen courting a girl who associates with the wrong type of people."

"Wait, what?" Astoria was so shocked she forgot to be angry. "You want to court me? What about Pansy?"

Draco made a disgusted face. "She tries so hard, but still falls far from my standards. Besides, her constant yapping drives me up the wall."

Constant yapping? Astoria thought. He hates constant yapping but wants to court me ? He clearly hasn't been paying enough attention…

"So how about it, Astoria?" Draco said with a confident smile. "Next Hogsmeade weekend, I'll meet you by the gates at eleven. Of course, you'll have to cease this silly pity project with Potter, but it's a small price to pay-"

"Ew, no."

The entire room froze, no one moving a muscle.

"What?" Draco said, affronted. "I must've misheard you. For a moment there, I thought you said-"

"Then I'll say it again." Astoria interjected before he could finish, putting her hands on her hips. " No. You're mean, petty, and disrespectful. I have absolutely no interest in being 'courted' by you, and I never will."

At this harsh rejection, several students gasped, and Draco's face contorted into one of rage.

"And for the record," Astoria continued, "I won't stop associating with Harry, because he's nice and he's my friend. He also doesn't mind my 'constant yapping', which already makes him a whole lot better than you."

"You insolent little!-" Draco drew his wand in a fit of fury, but was cut off as a spell hit him square in the chest, freezing him where he stood.

"Daphne!" Astoria exclaimed, turning to see her sister standing in the doorway with her wand raised, out of breath.

"Astoria." Daphne said as she caught her breath. "I came as soon as I heard what was going on. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No. I might've lost a few brain cells listening to him speak though." Astoria smiled.

Daphne laughed, relieved that her little sister was okay. "And heaven knows you had precious little to lose in the first place."

"Hey!" Astoria retorted, as Daphne came over to ruffle her hair.

"Now Astoria, you're coming with me to my room. We have things to discuss."

Eep!

Daphne spared one last glance around the room at the other Slytherins, none of whom were meeting her gaze, and dragged her sister away.

"I'm sorry Daphne!" Astoria said as soon as her sister closed the door to her room. "I know you told me to keep things with Harry a secret, but you saw the badges today, they were bullying him!"

Daphne sighed. "I'm not mad at you, Tori."

"You're not?"

"No. If anything, I'm a little proud that you stood up for your friend like that. I heard you reject Draco as well, and take it from me, that was cold. " Daphne smiled conspiratorially at her sister.

Astoria smiled back, before her expression switched to confusion. "Speaking of which, what was that about, anyway? Since when has Draco Malfoy been interested in me? We've never even spoken before!"

Daphne shrugged. "I don't think he was interested in you for what you have to say."

"Then why?"

"You might not have noticed Astoria, but you're starting to get pretty. And while you may not have noticed, based on the looks I've seen you getting lately, other people have ."

"Aww, you think I'm pretty?" Astoria asked.

"Naturally. You take after me , after all."

Astoria giggled at her sister's mock vanity.

After a moment, Daphne turned to her sister and her expression became more serious. "You know what this means though, right?"

Astoria looked down at the floor sullenly. "I know. I'll be the outcast of Slytherin house for a while."

"Not quite." Daphne gave her sister a soft smile. " We'll be the outcasts of Slytherin house for a while."

At that, Astoria hugged her sister at full strength.

"Speaking of your friendship with Harry," Daphne said cautiously, as they broke away from the embrace. "I heard a rumor about you 'laying bare' with him in the classroom on my way here. You're, um, being careful, aren't you?"

"Oh my gosh!" Astoria blushed furiously. "That's not what I said at all!"

Daphne quirked her head at her sister.

"I was just teasing Harry in the library, and I took it a little too far. The second I said it I regretted it, just, for some reason, I can't seem to help myself around him…"

"For some reason?" Daphne repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why, but when I see him I get the urge to tease him, and I like it when he blushes."

Daphne swallowed hard. It was time to do her duty as an older sister. "Do you think it's possible the reason is that you like Harry?"

"No!" Astoria denied. "We're just friends! I mean yes I like him, but I don't like like him."

"But you like it when he blushes?"

"And when he smiles." Astoria added.

"When you speak to him, does your heart race?"

"And sometimes I feel butterflies in my stomach too." Astoria admitted.

"When you think about him with another girl, do you get sad?"

"I've never thought about him with anoth-"

Astoria's sentence cut off as she imagined Harry holding hands with Fleur Delacour, walking along a beach at sunset. She felt a twisting in her gut, and tears started to form at the back of her eyes.

"Okay Astoria, that's enough of that." Daphne said, taking pity on the miserable looking girl and shaking her out of her painful delusion.

Astoria stood there staring at the floor for a few seconds until her eyes widened in alarm and comprehension.

"Daphne?"

"Yes?"

Astoria turned slowly to look up at her sister, an expression of revelation clear on her face.

"I think I have a crush on Harry Potter."

The next morning at breakfast, Harry sat with Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny like usual.

"So let me get this straight," Ron said. "You've been meeting up with Daphne Greengrass' sister in secret every few days for the past three weeks."

"Yes."

"And yesterday all the Slytherins found out, and that's why she's sitting alone?"

Harry looked over to the Slytherin table, where Astoria sat with her sister and her sister's best friend Tracey Davis. The other members of her house were keeping their distance, even her usual friends, and he could see many whispers and pointed fingers directed towards the girl. He had spared her his fair share of glances that morning already, and every time he saw her his heart ached at the situation she found herself in due to him.

"...Yes."

"Wait!" Exclaimed Hermione, putting the pieces together in her head. " That's where you've been going after dinner. To meet up with Astoria!"

Ron caught on surprisingly quickly, considering it was Ron. "And that's why you've been sneaking looks at the Slytherins lately!" He added, pleased that he had made the association. "You haven't been staring at Daphne, you've been staring at Astoria! She's the one you have a crush on! "

Ginny frowned at this, and turned to look at Harry. Harry for his part blushed furiously and waved his hands around in front of him.

"I haven't been staring!" He denied, "And I don't have a crush on her, we're just friends!"

Ginny let out a sigh of relief at this, but Ron and Hermione just exchanged glances.

Noticing the look that passed between them, Harry growled in frustration. "I hate it when you guys do that!"

"I'm sorry about your friends, Astoria." Tracey said sympathetically. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually."

"I'm sure they will too." Astoria nodded nonchalantly. "And if they don't, well then they weren't very good friends to begin with now were they?"

"That's…really mature of you, actually." Daphne said, a bit surprised at how well her sister was handling her soft exile from the house. "And Tracey's right. Most of them don't really care about your friendship with Potter, anyway. They're just afraid of angering Draco by hanging out with you."

"But you're not?" Astoria asked.

Tracey scoffed at this. "Draco wouldn't stand a chance against your sister in a duel, and it's not like he can pressure people into not talking to us. We weren't talking to anyone else in the first place!"

"I guess that's true." Astoria replied, realizing that her sister and Tracey really only ever did talk to each other and her.

That can't be healthy, Astoria thought. Should I be doing something about that?

"You know, Astoria," Tracey began, a playful smirk on her face. "Personally, I find it really romantic that you showed your support for him, even knowing what it would do to your friendships in Slytherin. You must have it bad for him."

Daphne smacked her friend on the shoulder. "Hey! No teasing my sister. That's a privilege reserved for me. Besides, she doesn't 'have it bad for him' , she just has a little crush. Right, Astoria?"

"Right." Astoria answered.

Right? Astoria thought.

Astoria glanced around the hall and spotted Harry. He had already been looking her way when they made eye contact, a fact that made her heart skip a beat. She beamed and waved her hand vigorously at him, to which he blushed, gave a small smile, and waved back.

Another skipped beat. She loved it when he blushed.

Wow, I actually have it bad for him!

Towards the end of breakfast, Harry got a letter from Sirius. After giving Hedwig a piece of bacon for her troubles, he opened up the envelope, and two tickets fell out.

Lord Chamberlain's Wizards

Traveling Globe Theater, Hogsmeade

AFTERNOON SHOWING - 13:00 - 19/11/1994

Confused, Harry read Sirius' letter for context.

Dear Harry,

I have recently come into possession of two tickets for a stage play this weekend in Hogsmeade, performed by Britain's premier all-magical theatrical company.

Due to my 'circ*mstances', I can't very well show up in such a public venue, but it would be amiss of me to let these tickets go to waste.

Why don't you bring one of your friends? We'll meet up early that day.

Love,

-Padfoot

Harry thought about this. He had never been to see a play before, and he couldn't deny the prospect intrigued him.

"Hermione." Harry said, turning to his bookworm friend and showing her the tickets. "Would you be interested in going to see a play with me this weekend in Hogsmeade?"

"Of course-" Hermione's words cut off as she read the ticket.

Quidditch and Mayhem

Hog's Head Inn, Hogsmeade

A Spectacle of Brooms and Violence! Audience Participation!

"Actually," Hermione corrected herself quickly. "I forgot. I have an exam I'm really nervous for, and I'll be using this weekend to study."

There was no way she was going to that! It sounded horrible !

Harry turned to Ron. "Do you want to come? I thought I'd ask Hermione first since she likes books and all, but it would be fun to go with you as well!"

Ron wasn't too sure an afternoon watching a stage play sounded fun, but he'd go just for Harry. Besides, it would make him seem cultured, and that might impress Hermione.

"Sure Harry, I'd love to go-" Ron's words cut off as he read the ticket.

Singing Spiders: The Musical

Hadley's House of Horrors, Hogsmeade

The First Arachnid Musical - Now With Real Acromantulas!

"-but unfortunately I have already made plans with Seamus and Dean that day."

There was no way he was going to that! It sounded horrible!

Harry was surprised that both of his best friends had already made plans for that day, but there was nothing for it, he supposed. He turned to his final hope. "Neville? Would you like to come?"

"It would be fun-" Neville's words cut off as he read the ticket.

Never-Ending Tragedies 2

Earnest's Coffee Shop, Hogsmeade

Literally Just Constant Tragedies!

Neville blanched. "Sorry Harry, I'm really bad with stuff like that. I read Wuthering Heights last summer and it took me over three hours to stop crying."

"Oh, okay. No worries." Harry wasn't sure what Neville was so scared of, but he guessed that some plays could be pretty sad, and that wasn't for everyone.

Who's left? Harry thought dejectedly. I don't think there's anyone left who'd go with me…

As Harry looked around the Great Hall, he caught sight of a particular Slytherin girl.

Oh. I guess it's worth a try? He thought. I'll ask her after classes today.

Unbeknownst to him, Ginny followed his gaze, and let out a disappointed sigh.

"This potion will have to be brewed in pairs ." Professor Snape intoned to the third year potions class. "As such, find a partner, get your ingredients from the front of the class, and begin. "

Astoria looked around at her usual friends hopefully, but none of them would so much as meet her gaze. Today had been a shared class with Ravenclaw, and she tried to call out to some of her acquaintances from that house as well, but they had all paired off rather quickly.

Oh well, she thought. I guess this will be another failed grade for me…

As Astoria walked to the front of the class to fetch her ingredients by herself, she noticed another student, a Ravenclaw she didn't know the name of, doing the same.

"Hi!" She said, "Do you also not have a partner?"

The girl turned to face her. She had straggly, dirty-blonde hair that fell most of the way down her back, and big gray eyes that were opened just wide enough to give her a look of constant surprise.

"Hi Astoria," The girl replied slowly. "As of yet, I don't."

"Well then would you like to be mine? Also, forgive me, but I don't know your name…" Astoria chose not to comment on the fact that despite never speaking before, the girl knew hers.

"I don't mind. I should think it'll be a nice change of pace to work with someone on a group project. I'm Luna Lovegood, by the way."

Something about the dreamy way Luna spoke made Astoria feel calm. "It's nice to meet you Luna!" Astoria said, extending her hand.

"Oh, a handshake! I've always meant to try one of these." Luna said, grasping the other girl's hand with her opposite hand in a strange way that made a couple of their fingers interlock.

Unconventional, but interesting. Astoria thought, looking down at their intertwined hands. I guess this is her first handshake?

"How was it?" She asked the girl as their hands came apart. "Everything you hoped it would be?"

"It wasn't bad." Luna replied pensively. "I'd slot it just behind milkshakes but considerably above earthshakes."

Astoria nodded at this. She could see where Luna was coming from.

With introductions out of the way, they collected their ingredients and sat down at a table towards the back of the classroom.

"Luna, I'm going to be completely honest with you. I'm horrible at potions. Maybe you can take the lead, and I'll follow your directions?"

Luna nodded her head. "That sounds reasonable. Personally, I find potions rather easy, as long as you don't care too much what the end result is."

"Great!"

They worked together efficiently, with Luna leading and giving Astoria tasks to do. While Astoria was no potions expert, she couldn't help but feel some of Luna's requests seemed odd.

"Caress the frog leg before you add it into the cauldron," Luna instructed. "One last loving touch will help it dissolve better."

Astoria was a little bit skeptical, but nonetheless did as she was told.

"Now add two bat wings."

"But the recipe says to add only one?"

"Well sure, but you wouldn't want it to get lonely now would you?"

Astoria thought about this. She has a point, I guess?

"Finally, we'll need to crush the Moonmoss. Personally, I find it easiest to do it with my teeth."

"Like, you chew it?"

"Yes. It has a nice flavor actually, would you like to try it?"

Astoria looked at the clump of moss in her hand. She was pretty sure it wasn't poisonous.

Here goes nothing. She put it in her mouth and chewed it, noting that it actually did have a pleasant kick to it, that reminded her somewhat of a strong green tea.

"Nao woh?" She asked Luna, her mouth full of moss.

"Oh, just spit it directly into the cauldron."

With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, Astoria tucked her hair behind her ears and spit the chewed up moss into her cauldron as quietly as possible.

"Are you sure that was necessary Luna?" Astoria asked, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and feeling a bit weird about what she had just done.

"Actually, it was a joke. But then you took it seriously and I thought, 'why not?'"

"..."

When the class was almost finished, Snape walked around to inspect everyone's potions. When he got to Astoria's table, he looked into their cauldron with a sneer.

"Last time I checked," Snape began in an irritated monotone, " Serenity Serum was not supposed to glow purple."

Astoria shrank back from the professor's glower, but Luna kept a smile on her face as she answered. "Perhaps not, but this is not Serenity Serum. My best guess is that this potion would function wonderfully as a shampoo."

After classes had finished that day, Astoria and Luna sat in the potions classroom, scrubbing cauldrons in detention.

Even though we have to scrub cauldrons for the rest of the week, seeing the dumbstruck look on Snape's face when Luna spoke to him made it all worth it, Astoria thought. She's an interesting girl, that's for sure.

"Luna?" She spoke to the girl next to her, once the potions professor left the room.

"Yes, Astoria?"

"Do you want to be my friend?"

Luna's eyes widened even more than they already were by default. "You really mean it?"

"Of course! I had a lot of fun with you in class today. Besides, my goal of making one hundred friends recently took a major setback, and I'm looking to restock."

"One hundred?" Luna looked contemplative as she stared off into space. "I wonder how long that would take. I just made my first today…"

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Astoria recited smugly, proud that she had remembered one of her dad's favorite sayings.

"That would be an awfully long fall."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it."

With that, the girls went back to scrubbing cauldrons.

After dinner, Harry found Astoria sitting in an alcove of the castle near the Great Hall, talking to a Ravenclaw girl he didn't recognize.

"Hi, Astoria. Do you have a moment?"

"Hi Harry! Sure, what's up?"

"Oh, er…" Harry said lamely, glancing at the girl next to Astoria.

"I see my presence is unwanted at the moment. Harry wants to speak to you alone, he's just too polite to say it." The girl said. "I'll see you later, Astoria."

As she stood up to leave, she looked at Harry. He startled a bit as her big gray eyes peered up at him. "By the way Harry, I believe you about not putting your name into the goblet. If you were lying, there'd be a lot more Fibberflies hanging around you."

"And I, uh, don't have any Fibberflies hanging around me?"

"No, you're remarkably clear." Luna replied. "But you do have an infestation of Heartglow Sprites, which is usually a sign of someone who's in lov-"

"Thanks! For confirming that I don't have Fibberflies, that is."

"Sure!" She replied cheerfully, before leaning in to whisper in Harry's ear. "I'm sure she'll say yes."

As she skipped away, Harry watched her retreating figure in a mixture of awe and horror.

How did she know what I was going to ask Astoria? He thought.

Astoria laughed at Harry's expression. "Isn't she fun?"

"Uh…I guess so?" He replied. "Is she a new friend of yours?"

"Yup! I met her in potions today. We worked on a project together, and then spent detention with each other after that!"

"Ah."

"Her name's Luna Lovegood. She's really interesting, I think you'd like her!"

"I bet. Hey, listen, are you doing okay?" Harry asked, changing the subject. "I saw the way all the Slytherins were treating you today…I'm sorry you had to go through that for me."

"Nonsense!" Astoria said. "If I had known this would be it, I would've spoken to you in public weeks ago. If my friends can't be friends with me because of who I'm friends with, I don't want to be friends with them ! Besides, now we can talk in the hallways! Keeping it secret in the classroom was fun for a while, but now, being open about it feels…nice?"

"Yeah…I think it does feel nice." Harry agreed.

"Anyway, the thing that really surprised me was when Draco Malfoy asked me out on a date to Hogsmeade-"

"What!?" Harry exclaimed in shock.

Astoria was startled for a moment at his outburst. "Yeah, I got back from speaking with you in the library yesterday and Draco was all like 'Don't hang out with Harry, also date me' or something equally eloquent as that."

Harry gulped. "And you said…?"

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him. "No, of course?"

Harry heaved a huge sigh of relief, which he realized too late was more obvious than he was intending.

A small smile began to form on Astoria's face. "And why does my rejecting Draco make you so happy?"

Because I wanted to ask you to go with me to Hogsmeade instead? I can't exactly say that now, can I?

"Uh, because he's rude and wouldn't treat you right. And you're my friend."

Astoria's smile disappeared, and a small frown appeared in its stead at the word 'friend'.

"Was there anything else you wanted to speak about?" Astoria asked, a bit coldly.

Did I say something to make her mad? Harry thought, confused at the tone she had taken.

"Uh, there was one more thing."

"I'm waiting." Astoria replied, tapping a foot on the floor.

How do I ask her to go with me to this play without it sounding like a date?

"Harry, if you're just going to stare at the floor-"

"Do you want to go see a play with me in Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Astoria froze. Did he just ask me on a date? She thought.

Harry showed her the tickets Sirius had given him, and she read them.

Lord Chamberlain's Wizards

Traveling Globe Theater, Hogsmeade

AFTERNOON SHOWING - 13:00 - 19/11/1994

The Lord Chamberlain's Wizards? Astoria thought in shock. Even I've heard of them! They're the most famous company of actors in magical Britain, maybe all of Europe! Daphne is going to be so jealous when I tell her-

"Um, if you don't want to go, it's okay…" Harry said, shuffling his feet awkwardly at the girl's silence.

"No! I mean yes! I would love to go, thanks for inviting me!" She said, and she leapt up to hug him.

Harry stood there with his arms glued to his sides as Astoria hugged him. Apart from Hermione and Sirius, he wasn't used to being hugged, and certainly not by a girl he found so pretty. When Astoria pulled away, she gave him a judgemental look.

"Harry. You're an awful hugger."

"Sorry." He replied shamefully.

"That's fine. It just means we'll have to keep practicing." She said with a wink.

Astoria giggled as Harry reacted exactly as she had been expecting. She took one of the tickets from the inanimate, blushing boy and skipped away.

Halfway down the hall, she turned back to him.

"It's a date, Harry!"

Harry watched as she turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

"It is?" He asked the empty hall, himself, and the world.

"It's a date!" Sirius yelled to himself on the couch of the living room in 12 Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher, sitting on the floor with Max, covered the dog's eyes and ears with his hands. He didn't want the developing canine to be influenced by his master's insanity.

"No one else will go with him, and eventually he'll have no choice but to ask Bacon G-, I mean, Astoria!"

Kreacher had slowly been realizing that while his master was certainly insane, he was likely not going to harm anyone, at least not intentionally. This growing sense of security allowed Kreacher to ask his master a question.

"Master, is this 'date' the reason you made Kreacher withdraw one-hundred galleons from the Black family vaults and wait in line to purchase two tickets for the Lord Chamberlain's Wizards performance in Hogsmeade?"

"Precisely, Kreacher! And it was worth every knut!"

While his master might not harm him, his master was certainly a threat to the ancient family's treasury.

"And how about those enchanted tickets?" Sirius bragged to his old house elf. "Not bad, eh? Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!"

As Sirius laughed at his own joke, Kreacher looked down at the puppy in his arms.

"Let's go for a walk, Max. We'll come back when the master is asleep."

As Kreacher and Max left through the back door, Sirius continued his rambling.

"The plans aren't done yet though, Kreacher!" He said, oblivious that the elf was long gone. "Next he'll need some new clothes, some pocket money, and some flowers!"

Kreacher and Max came back a couple hours later to find Sirius passed out on the couch, snoring, his little book of plans open on his chest.

Chapter 6: First Date

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hello! Thank you to everyone who's been reading this fic so far.

I'm pleasantly surprised there are so many Harry/Astoria (Historia?) fans like me.

Thanks as always to BingBong, for trying to convince me to write lemon- I mean, for his help editing this chapter.

AO3: An extra thank you to the AO3 reader base who have left plenty of nice comments for me to read :)

"Daffy?" Astoria said, knocking on the door to her sister's room. "I need your help."

"Hi Astoria," Daphne replied. "What's up?"

Astoria walked over to Daphne and sat on her bed. "I have a date tomorrow."

"A date!" Daphne's eyes widened in surprise. "With Harry?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Where?"

A happy little smile spread across Astoria's face. "He got tickets to theLord Chamberlain's Wizardsin Hogsmeade."

"What!? I heard they were coming to Hogsmeade, but their tickets costat leasttwenty galleons per seat. How does Harry have that kind of money to throw around? Especially when he dresses likethat." Daphne said, thinking about the worn down and poorly fitting clothes the boy normally wore. While she knew he came from an old magical family, she would've guessed his finances were limited based on the state of his dress.

"Hey! His clothes aren'tthatbad…" Astoria said unconvincingly, trying futilely to defend her friend and crush – evensheadmitted his 'casual' clothes left a bit to be desired. "But actually, that's what I needed your help with. I've never been on a date before, and I have no clue what to wear…"

It just so happened that Daphne hadalsonever been on a date before, and she was pretty sure Astoria knew that. But she could hardly show weakness now, not when her sister was looking up at her so helplessly.

"What kind of look are you going for?" Daphne asked, figuring that was as good a place as any to start.

"I'm not really sure. I've always just worn whatever I liked, but now…"

"Go on," prompted Daphne at her sister's hesitation.

"I dunno, I want him to notice me." Astoria said shyly.

Yeesh!Daphne thought, trying not to blush herself at her sister's words and demeanor.I don't think I'm ready for this.

"Let me get Tracey," Daphne said after a while. "She's better with this stuff than I am."

"How are your preparations going for the first task?" Sirius asked Harry when they had settled into their usual seats in the Shrieking Shack. "Have you figured out what it is yet?"

"Not yet," Harry answered. "I've poked around, but they're keeping a pretty tight lid on any information."

"And the spells? Were my notebooks helpful?"

"Very! Thanks again for that. Hermione's still working through the item designs, and we're leaving the animagus ritual aside for the time being, but me and Ron have been practicing some of the spells in the other book."

Sirius nodded. "That's a good start Harry, but I can't stress enough how imperative it is you find out what the first task will entail before you have to compete. Remember, preparation is the backbone of every good plan."

"Yes, Sirius." Harry replied dutifully, knowing his godfather's insistence was coming from a place of concern for his safety. "I'll try my best."

"I'll make sure to be there in case things go wrong," Sirius continued, "but that would also mean revealing my presence and likely needing to flee the country after. So ideally, it won't come to that, but just know that Iwon'tlet anything happen to you." Sirius gave him a meaningful look as he spoke, and the conviction on the normally flippant man's facedidmake Harry feel safer.

"Thanks Sirius," Harry said honestly. "It means a lot that I won't be facing whatever death trap they have prepared for me all by myself."

Sirius cringed. "Hopefully it won't bethatdeadly, it is thefirsttask after all…"

"Expect the worst, prepare for even worse than that." Harry said smugly, reciting the words Sirius had made him write down in his notebook during their previous meeting.

"Ah, so youwerelistening!"

"Of course."

Sirius adjusted his seating position on the couch and looked over to where his godson sat on the armchair. "Now Harry," he started, rubbing his hands together. "Did you find anyone to go to the theater with today?"

Sirius was hoping by some chance Harry had invited Astoria, but he had a sneaking suspicion he would have to do the work to get them to go together himself.

"Er, actually, yeah." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Remember the girl I mentioned a couple times, Astoria Greengrass?"

"Sure, I think I vaguely remember her." Sirius lied through his teeth as if he hadn't been planning her and his godson's courtship for the past two months.

"Well, I asked her."

"Seriously!? Did she say yes?" Sirius was astounded Harry hadactuallyasked Astoria.

"Yep." Harry smiled.

I'm so proud of him!Sirius thought.But where did he find the courage? Anyway, that saves me a lot of running around later…

"And what are you going to wear for the date?" He asked.

"Uh, I don't think it's really a date…" Harry blushed and turned away. "I thought I'd just wear what I'm wearing now?"

Sirius looked, appalled, at the outfit Harry was currently donning. A worn out hoodie over a faded shirt, with trousers a little too big for him, rolled up at the bottom revealing a pair of dirty running shoes. Clearly his cousin's hand-me-downs.

"Harry." Sirius began patiently, in the tone one would take with a clueless infant. "You willnotbe going on your first ever date looking like that."

"It's not really a date-"

"You willnotbe wearing that." Sirius repeated. "If you do, Astoria will never speak to you again."

"Really?"

"Really."

Harry looked down at the ground. "This is all I have though." He said sheepishly.

Sirius gave him a puzzled look. "I could have guessed your miserlyrelativeswouldn't fork out enough money to get you dressed nicely, but I know for a fact your parents left you with plenty of galleons. Have you never gone shopping before?"

Harry shrugged. "I suppose Icouldhave, but I've never seen the point in it. Clothes are clothes, why waste money on more of what I already have?"

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "You still have much to learn, Harry. What you're currently wearing aren'tclothes,they'reequipment.They keep you warm and decent, but nothing more."

"So what should I wear?" Harry asked. "I suppose I could run out and buy something right now, but I didn't bring much money with me either."

"First of all Harry, when you're going on a date, you should always bring some money just in case."

"But it's not really a d-"

"Second of all," Sirius said, cutting off Harry's interjection. "Don't worry. I happen to have a wardrobe of newly purchased clothes that would fit someone your size right here."

Sirius pulled a miniature cupboard out of his pocket, and after placing it on the ground by the couch, cast a spell with his wand that brought it back to full size.

"And why exactly, were you walking around with a wardrobe full of clothes my size in your pocket?"

"Preparation! It's the backbone of every good plan."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't have much of an eye for fashion, I don't suppose you had an outfit in mind?"

Sirius grinned. "Why yes! It just so happened Ididhave one."

Harry watched as Sirius pulled a leather jacket, a chain, and sunglasses out of the wardrobe. "Why don't you try these?"

Harry waited for Astoria at the gates where the road from Hogwarts led into Hogsmeade Village. After rejecting countless outfits that Sirius had called 'badass' but Harry found a little too over the top, they had settled on a clean black sweater, a pair of new jeans and black converse. Sirius had insisted Harry wear a white t-shirt underneath the sweater, to peek above the collar just a bit, but Harry adamantly refused the chain his godfather tried to get him to add to the ensemble.

Harry had to admit the new lookwasmaking him feel slightly more confident, but that confidence didn't go very far to counteract the immense nervousness he felt while waiting for Astoria.

Is it a date?Harry asked himself for what must have been the hundredth time since they had made the plans just a couple of days earlier.

Astoria said it was a date, but she's always teasing me, so maybe she was just joking around again?

Harry was broken out of his ruminations as a group of carriages came down the path from Hogwarts and stopped just outside the village gates. As the students filtered out of the carriages and through the gates, a small crowd pushed past him, some of them bumping into him on purpose.

"Watch where you're going,Potter!"A large older boy said as he walked by, forgoing subtlety and slamming his shoulder into Harry's rather aggressively.

"Sure." Harry said, stumbling back a step from the impact.

When asked about it later, Harry confessed that he didn't even remember the incident, so focused was he on the girl standing just outside the gates.

She's so cute!Harry exclaimed to himself, utterly enchanted by the sight of Astoria Greengrass, her shoulder-length blonde hair shifting slightly in the mild breeze.

While Harry freely admitted he found Astoria attractive, and the few times he had met her in Hogsmeade she was stylishly dressed, there was something different about her today. She was wearing fashionable cargos and a white t-shirt, with an open jacket over top. It took him a good few seconds to draw his eyes away from the inch or two of skin he could see between the top of her trousers and her slightly cropped shirt, and he tried his very best to keep the blush off his face. He could tell her pretty features were accented with just a bit of makeup, but Harry didn't have the first clue what specifically it might have been.

As he looked at her, Harry wasn't sure what to say. Or more accurately, Harry hadmanythings he could have thought to say, but at the moment, his words were failing him. So he just stood there.

Astoria, for her part, wasn't doing too much better.

He's so handsome!She screamed in her head, trying to burn the image of him standing there by the gates into her mind.

While she had never found him hard on the eyes, Astoria had never quite noticed Harry like this before. Most of what she liked about him was his kindness, his quiet strength, and the sensitivity she could see in him that most other boys his age lacked – and that had been enough to inform her crush on him. but as she looked at him now, dressed way nicer than she'd ever seen him before, and knowing that he had dressed that way forher,something different awakened inside of her.

Harry startled as a girl started laughing from beside Astoria, who in his distraction he hadn't even noticed was there.

"I told you he'd like it!" Tracey said to Daphne with a smug expression on her face.

"Oh Iknewhe'd like it," Daphne replied. "I just think it's…too much, for someone her age."

Daphne hadn't been a fan of the outfit Tracey had chosen for Astoria, on account of it being too 'exciting'; Tracey laughed and called her a prude, but Astoria clearly wanted Daphne's approval before wearing it to Hogsmeade on her first date. Eventually, Daphne came to terms with the fact that the outfit really wasn't so bad, and she was just having a hard time letting go of the 'little kid' Tori from her childhood and embracing the young woman she was becoming.

"Potter doesn't clean up so bad himself, eh?" Tracey asked.

"I suppose not." Daphne admitted with a scowl. "I just don't like the way he's looking at my sister. It's…lascivious."

Tracey chuckled. "Don't look now, but your sister's wearing a pretty similar expression herself."

"I know." Daphne sighed. "Come Tracey, let's leave. I'll need more than a few butterbeers to cope with my little sister's loss of innocence."

As the two girls walked by Harry, Tracey put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bring her back by five, y'hear?" She said in her best impression of a stern father's voice.

"O-of course!" Harry replied, who was still too focused on Astoria to have paid much attention to the other girl's words.

Tracey cackled and put her arm around Daphne's shoulder, the two of them walking off into Hogsmeade.

Left alone, the two teenagers continued to stare at each other for a few more seconds, until Harry finally mustered up the courage to speak. Remembering Sirius' advice toalwayscompliment a girl's appearance at the start of a date (though he still wasn't sure thiswasa date), he decided to open with that.

"Hi. You look nice today." He said.

"Thanks. You look nice too."

"Thanks."

"..."

"..."

Simultaneously, they both burst out laughing.

"It's like when we first met all over again!" Astoria said when she recovered.

"It is, isn't it?" Harry smiled. "Sorry about that, I was just a little stunned. I've never seen you in…er, makeup before."

I stunned him?Astoria thought happily. "It's not much, but Tracey helped me put it on. Do you like it?" She asked, batting her slightly mascaraed eyelashes at him.

"I do." He replied, trying to keep his cool at her cute action. "You look a bit older."

Astoria had to admit she liked the way Harry was looking at her.Maybe I'll have to get Tracey to help me with my makeup more often!

"I was a little stunned too," Astoria confessed. "I've never seen you in anything so…fashionable before, no offense. Is this new?" She asked, gesturing to his attire.

"Yeah," Harry said, as casually as possible. "I figured it was time to change things up a bit, start to pay more attention to my appearance, you know."

Harry felt bad lying, but Sirius had told him that undernocirc*mstances was he to tell her that his godfather dressed him today.

"Well, I like it. You look ho-, older." She corrected herself.

"Holder?" He repeated, confusedly.

"Don't worry about it."

As they walked through Hogsmeade together on their way to the theater, Astoria noticed a lot of students glancing their way.

I guess we're still a bit of a fuss?Astoria thought, thinking back to all the rumors she had heard over the past few days about both Harryandher supposed connection to him.

"When do you think they'll stop staring?" She asked. "You'd think they'd get tired of gossiping about us by now, wouldn't you?"

"In my experience, theyneverget tired of gossiping." Harry glanced at her. "But also, uh…I don't think that's the only reason they're staring."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said earlier, you're kind of gorgeous." He said with a light blush.

Astoria felt her heart flutter at Harry's candid compliment. "You didn't say I wasgorgeousearlier. You said I lookednice."

"Oh," said Harry awkwardly. "Is there a difference?"

Astoria frowned. "Yes, a rather big one in fact. So which one is it? Am I nice, or gorgeous?"

"Both." Harry replied honestly. "And a lot of other things as well," he added shyly.

Astoria glanced around, a bit embarrassed, and noticed that shewasdrawing a lot of stares, particularly from the boys.Maybe Daphne was right,she thought to herself.Am I getting pretty?

It was at that moment when she noticed she wasn't only drawing stares from boys, but girls too. Only, the stares weren't directed at her, they were focused instead on the boy walking next to her. Something about their gazes seemed…hungry, and she found it didn't make her feel very good.

Astoria latched on to Harry's arm possessively. "So which play are we going to see today?" She asked, smiling prettily up at him.

Harry glanced away timorously from the girl, but made no move to shake her off his arm. "Um, I'm not actually sure, to be honest." He replied. "I got the tickets from the family friend I was telling you about."

"You mean, 'the family friend that Iwasn'ttelling you about?'"

Harry avoided the temptation to look at the girl then, because he could hear the menace in her voice and was pretty sure if he saw her glare at him looking the way she was today he would melt on the spot. "Yeah, that one."

"Hmph." Astoria pouted.

She looked around again and saw that most of the other girl's gazes were now directed enviously at her, instead of hungrily at Harry.

Perfect!She thought, and then narrowed her eyes threateningly at a woman who was a little too old to be ogling her date.

"Um, Astoria?" Harry started, "is there a reason you're clinging on to my arm?"

"Because I want to. Does it bother you?"

"Oh, not at all!" Harry got out in a rush. "I was just, um, curious."

"Good."

Together they approached a large tent set up in an open lot in a wealthy district in Hogsmeade, where the Travelling Globe Theater was stationed. It was designed to look like a compact version of the exterior of the original Globe Theater, as it would have looked in Southwark centuries ago.

They showed their tickets to a professionally dressed middle-aged usher, who, with a flick of his wand, drew back the curtains on the tent and waved them through. As modestly sized edifices tended to be in the wizarding world, the tent was much bigger on the inside than the outside suggested. The interior was reminiscent of a modern theater in London, with a seating capacity that Harry guessed would be close to one thousand. While the seats and stage looked newly renovated, the exquisitely carved panelings along the walls and ceiling appeared original, giving a glimpse of what the theater must have looked like centuries earlier.

"This is incredible!" Astoria remarked, looking around in wonder as they walked to their seats. "It looks so…authentic!"

"Apparently," Harry said, reading from the back of the playbill they were given on entry. "The Traveling Globe Theater was built at the same time as the original. Only, it was made magically and was designed to fit inside a shrinkable pop-up so it could be used on a tour, hence the'Traveling'in the name."

They followed the markings on their tickets past the balcony, through the upper and dress circles, and into the center of the stalls.

"Are you sure this is right?" Astoria asked, looking at the seats that held the same number as on their tickets.

"I think so." Harry answered. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all! They'rereallygood actually…I'm just surprised."

Astoria had been to a few stage plays with her family in the past, and knew that the center of the stalls tended to be the most sought after, and expensive seats.

That family friend must either be a diehard thespian, or have alotof dispensable wealth.Astoria thought, feeling her curiosity surrounding Harry's mysterious friend grow ever further.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, heaven knows I'mthrilledto be here with you Harry," she said, hoping her genuineness came across, "but shouldn't you have come with your family friend instead of me?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck and avoided looking at her, two habits she was coming to associate with any mention of this 'family friend'. "Well," he started, "something came up, and he wasn't able to make it, so he told me to invite a friend."

A 'friend' huh?Astoria thought a bit crossly. Ever since she had realized her feelings for Harry, any mention of the wordfriendfrom him had left a distinctly unpleasant taste in her mouth. While she loved being Harry's friend, and wouldn't trade it for anything, she also didn't want to feelstuckthere.

"I can't help but feel like we're not really the typical demographic here." Harry said in an effort to change the subject, turning around in his seat to look at the other playgoers as they filled the surrounding places.

Astoria followed his gaze and noticed that he was right – they seemed to be the youngest ones there, and by a margin of atleasta couple decades. Everywhere she looked there were middle aged witches and wizards, expensively adorned and elegantly poised. She had to admit, they seemed a little underaged and underdressed.

"We're just getting a head start." Astoria replied, unbothered. "When we're older we can come back in our suits and dresses and tell the other old people 'Hey, we were coming here way before you were!' and stuff like that."

A collection of dirty looks were cast their way at the 'other old people' comment, but Harry didn't notice. He was rather fixated on the idea that Astoria intentionally or unintentionally implied that they would still be going to the theater together when they were older.

What did she mean by that?Harry thought, but wasn't given the opportunity for too much reflection as the lights dimmed and the performance began.

"Sweet Sebastian! Though magic dost flow within my veins whilst thou art untouched by its whim, in thine eyes I see a brilliance that outshines even the brightest wizard'sLumos."

"Fair Olivia, thy words do pierce mine heart with longing. Fate hath cast us asunder, bound by the chains of our disparate worlds–yet still, love doth bloom betwixt us like a rose amidst the thorns of circ*mstance."

As it turned out, Harry and Astoria were watchingOlivia & Sebastian,a seminal and highly controversial wizard play relaying the forbidden romance between a pureblood witch and a muggle aristocrat. While it was merely a coincidence, Harry couldn't help but feel like the subject matter of the play hit a little close to home regarding his friendship with Astoria.

"Alas, Sebastian. In this labyrinth of impossibility, is there not a glimmer of hope?"

"Naught but if thou dost forsake thy kith and kin–yet, I cannot bid thee to make such a sacrifice. Nay, let us cherish the moments we steal away, for even in secret, our love shall burn brighter than any star."

Wait,Harry thought.The two lovers are meeting in secret, so that Olivia's friends don't turn on her? Isn't this almost exactly what me and Astoria did?

Harry glanced over discretely to see if Astoria was noticing the same connection he was, but the girl was entirely engrossed in the stage, eyes sparkling as she watched the actors perform.

Wow! She seems really into this.Putting aside all other thoughts, Harry returned his attention back to the stage.

In the final scene of the play, Sebastian was obliviated by Olivia's father, and upon seeing her lover with no memories of her, Olivia took her own life.

That's pretty intense!Harry thought, thankful in hindsight that he didn't take Neville, whodefinitelywould have cried.

At that moment Harry heard a sniffle from beside him, and he turned to look at Astoria just as she wiped a single tear from her eye.

I guess even Astoria wasn't totally unaffected...

As he watched the pretty girl struggle to hold back tears, with eyes that were a little bit red and watery, he realized there were indeed alsootherreasons he was thankful he had gone with Astoria instead.

"That was amazing!" Astoria exclaimed as they left the theater. "So sad, butsoamazing!"

Harry was relieved that Astoria had enjoyed herself. He had appreciated the play as well, but was honestly surprised the normally energetic girl was able to sit still for so long, captivated by the performance.

Astoria ran up to a lamppost elevated along the street and grasped it dramatically. With a hand out towards Harry, she started speaking in a pronounced fashion that drew the attention of the people around them, many of whom had also just watched the play.

"O, Harry!" Astoria cried. "Whyfore art thou a Gryffindor?"

Harry cringed in embarrassment as they became the subject of many curious glances. He didn't respond to the girl, and had to suppress the urge to tell her that 'wherefore' in old English meant 'why', and 'whyfore' wasn't a word.

"Whyfore dost thou ignore me?"

She looked at him expectantly, and Harry decided he had no other option but to play along, both for the sake of his friendship with Astoria, and for the girl's own sake to not look like a total crackpot in public.

"Alack, words fail me." He replied in an equally dramatic manner. "Thy beauty as boundless as the sea, thy laugh richer than any noble's purse–yet, I express nothing but a drop in the ocean of my love for you, sweet Astoria."

Woah,Astoria thought.He's good! Also, did he just say he loves me?

Much to Harry's dismay, his pronouncement brought even more gazes to their impromptu performance.

"Mine father wishes us apart!" Astoria continued. "Go, Harry. Find thou another woman, for I can never be beholden to you."

Her dialogue needs work, but the passion is there,the critic in Harry voiced.

"And yet," he replied. "I would not wish any companion in the world but you–should fate deny our union, then solitude shall be my sole partner."

The gathered spectators gave a scattered applause at this, and an embarrassed Harry and Astoria gave short bows and returned to the road.

"That was sort of fun." Astoria said with a smile. "For a second there I was afraid you were going to leave me hanging."

"For a second there I was considering it, but you're right, it was fun. We should do that more often."

Astoria looked at him mischievously. "You mean, like, roleplay?"

"Yeah, I guess so?" said Harry innocently, and a little too loudly. "I liked it. We should roleplay more often!"

Astoria covered a blush, and noticed the strange looks they were getting from the people around them. She found it equal parts cute and concerning that Harry was completely oblivious to the less wholesome possible interpretations of what he had just said.

They chatted and 'roleplayed' some more as they walked around Hogsmeade, eventually stopping by Madam Puddifoot's for some hot chocolate. Harry tried to pay using the pocket money Sirius had given him, but Astoria insisted on paying for both of them since he had been the one to get the tickets.

They spent a long time there, talking about the play and just about anything else they could think of, entirely ignoring the whispers and pointed fingers focused in their direction by students who saw them sitting in Hogsmeade's go-to 'date spot'.

When they were at risk of missing the last carriages back to Hogwarts, they finally stopped making excuses to spend more time together and headed back to the village gates. Astoria waved at Daphne and Tracey, who were standing further back in front of a carriage waiting for her, and called to them that she'd be there in a minute. Steeling her resolve, she turned to face Harry.

Now's my chance!Astoria thought.Other girls weresureto have taken notice of him today, I need to act before anyone else does.

"Thanks again for today, Harry." She said, smiling demurely at him with upturned eyes. "Do you think we could do this again sometime?"

The full force of her cuteness made Harry take a step back in wonderment, but he recovered swiftly to answer the girl.

"Hang out as friends? For sure!"

Astoria's jaw dropped open and she stared at him incredulously.Is this guy for real?

"Harry." She said calmly, trying to suppress the yell that was just underneath the surface.

"Yes?"

"We walked to a theater, arm in arm, where we watched a romantic tragedy about forbidden love."

"Right." Harry replied, unsure of where the girl was going with this.

"We then wandered around Hogsmeade for a while, occasionally roleplaying the two lovers out of the play we just watched."

"Right."

"We then spent over an hour inMadam Puddifoot'sdrinking hot chocolate."

"...Right." Harry had a feeling he knew where she was going with this now.

Astoria clapped her hands together and gave him a patient smile. "Does this, to you, sound like 'hanging out as friends?', as you so aptly put it?"

"No." Said Harry, hanging his head in shame. "It was a date. Honestly, I was kind of hoping it was, I just didn't want to make presumptions in case I was getting ahead of myself."

Astoria sighed.If nothing else,she thought,at least he's so hopeless with girls that he's not likely to get snatched up by anyone else anytime soon.

"I feel like I'm supposed to be mad at you right now, but the way you look in that sweater is making itreallyhard for me to hold a grudge," she said, shrugging.

She shifted her stance, and pointed her finger at him assertively. "But make no mistake; today was a date, and we're going to go on another one sometime soon, okay?"

"Okay!" He agreed happily. "I'd like that a lot." He ignored the voice in the back of his head that was telling him hereallyliked the commanding tone of voice the younger girl was taking with him.

"Astoria!" Daphne called from the carriages. "Hurry up, or we'll have towalkback to school!"

Astoria looked at Harry for one more moment, and making up her mind, stepped up to him. Getting on the tips of her toes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Bye Harry!" She called, as she turned around and ran back to Daphne and Tracey.

Harry was feeling pretty good about his successful date, andextragood about how it had ended, and was riding high when he got back to school in the evening.

His good humor was swiftly ruined by Ron.

"Dragons, Harry!" Ron shouted in concern as Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room.

Harry looked at his friend oddly. "What are you talking about, Ron?"

"The first task, Harry!" Ron said, the color gone from his face. "You'll have to fight a dragon!"

"Oh." Replied Harry lamely, and as the words sunk in, his face lost its color as well.

A dragon!? How am I supposed to fight a dragon!?

Harry mentally reviewed all of the information Ron had shared with him earlier that night. Ron's brother Charlie, who worked with dragons in Romania, had informed him that he would be coming to Hogwarts for the first task. When pressed for information, he had eventually told Ron that the first task would pit the champions against a dragon apiece, and that they were currently being held deep in the Forbidden Forest.

Relax Harry,the boy told himself.Just remember what Sirius taught you.

Harry took a deep breath.

Gah!He screamed in his head.How am I supposed to win the duel before it starts if the duel is against a dragon!?

The next day, once Harry had calmed down a bit, he thought about what Sirius would've done in his position and decided to start with some information gathering. Wearing the invisibility cloak he had been given on his first Christmas at Hogwarts, he snuck through the Forbidden Forest and towards the encampment where Charlie had told Ron the dragons were being held.

Harry watched in terror and awe as four huge dragons rattled their cages, occasionally breathing spouts of fire in the direction of the trainers. The trainers, one of whom Harry guessed to be Charlie thanks to his bright orange hair, seemed to be in the middle of feeding each dragon a massive slab of meat that looked vaguely sheeplike.

While every dragon devoured their 'lunch' with a ferocity that left him with no doubt as to what would happen to his body if he failed to defeat it, one dragon in particular stood out from the pack. This one, distinctly larger than the other three and with dangerous looking spikes covering its spine and tail, forwent its meal in favor of attacking its cage with such vigor Harry thought it could break free at any moment. When the trainers tried to prod the dragon with spells, it simply shot back a thick pillar of fire that the trainers had to jump out of the way to avoid.

I know which dragon Idon'twant to face.Harry thought, before remembering he didn't really want to face any of them.

The trainer Harry believed to be Charlie darted forward dangerously close to the unruly beast, and thrust his wand towards a set of wards inscribed in the ground around the crate. The runes produced what looked to be some sort of purple glitter that encircled the dragon, absorbing into its hide. Harry watched as the creature took a few more swings in protest at its cage and roared one last time before ungainly slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Great!Harry thought sarcastically, watching the rise and fall of the dragon's spiked back as it slumbered.All I need to do to beat a dragon is to inscribe a complex series of wards around it, and then survive while getting close enough to activate them!

Sticking around for a little while longer, Harry took note of the appearances of each of the four dragons so he could research them with Hermione later. He wrote down everything else he could possibly think of, including how fast they seemed to move around in their cages, and how sharp he estimated their talons to be. Eventually, he figured he had gathered as much information as he was going to be able to get, and headed off back to Hogwarts with his notebooks in hand.

After dinner, Hermione found Harry and Ron in the common room discussing strategy for the first task, and placed a heavy tome on the table in front of them.

"I think I found them." She started, flipping to bookmarked pages as she listed off the dragons Harry saw. "You saw a Swedish Short-Snout, a Common Welsh Green, and a Chinese Fireball. All three of those dragons are, as dragons tend to be, incredibly dangerous."

"What about the spiky one?" Harry asked, with a bad feeling in his gut.

Hermione frowned. "If I'm correct – and I'm afraid I am, that's a Hungarian Horntail."

"A Horntail!?" Ron bellowed, scaring some of their fellow housemates seated further away in the room. "My brother told me about those, they're supposed to be one of the most deadly and aggressive breeds out there!"

"Exactly." Hermione said, her frown deepening. "Why onearththey thought it would be a good idea to bring one of those into a tournament for students isbeyondme."

That pretty much matches my assessment as well,Harry thought.

"So I'm going to have to fight against one of these?" He asked, looking at the pages Hermione had bookmarked.

Hermione shook her head. "I doubt even the ministry would be insane enough to actually expect you to defeat a dragon, leaving aside the moral implications of staging a deathmatch against an endangered species. More likely you'll have to survive the dragon's attacks while completing some sort of objective."

Harry slumped in his seat. "That doesn't sound a whole lot easier to me." He said dejectedly.

"It isn't." Hermione agreed, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Hey, you beat a basilisk. How much harder could a dragon be?"

Harry and Hermione both glared at Ron for his nonchalance.

He shrugged guiltily. "I'm just trying to help. I mean, you killed the 'King of Serpents'. Isn't a dragon kind of just, a sky serpent? Surely that's a step down from a Basilisk?"

"Ron, if you don't mind we're trying to have-"

"Wait!" Harry shouted, cutting off Hermione. "Youmaybe on to something Ron."

"Really?" Asked Hermione, surprised.

"Really?" Asked Ron, even more surprised.

"Cory!"Harry shouted in Parseltongue at the clearing he had met the snake in earlier that year, during his picnic with Astoria.

He had snuck out of the castle in his cloak that night, and walked by foot down to Hogsmeade. He knew his idea was a long shot, but as Sirius had once told him;'A bad plan is better than no plan'.

"Cory, are you there?"

Just as Harry was about to give up and head back to Hogwarts, a familiar voice came from the tall grass around him.

"Greetings, Harry Potter. It is a pleasure to see you once again. To what do I owe this visit?"

The small green viper slithered into view, and brought itself to full size, reaching around Harry's knee. Out of respect, Harry crouched down so he would be eye level with the little snake.

"I needed to ask you a question."Harry hissed, hoping his wild guess was correct."Do you by any chance know if dragons can speak Parseltongue?"

The snake closed its slitted red eyes in thought."The wild ones often do,"he replied,"but dragon breeding has become…tainted, over the years. Why do you ask?"

Harry considered for a while how best to explain his situation to the snake."I need to consult with a few, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to communicate with them or not. I was hoping to offer them a deal of sorts."

"You speak of the four caged dragons in the forest, do you not?" Cory hissed inquiringly.

"...Yes."

The snake paused, its eyes closing once again."Let me talk with them."Cory said after a while."Dragons and humans have a…colorful history, and you will likely not survive long enough to speak with them should you appear unannounced – I will request an audience for you."

Harry walked with Cory, who he noted was quite fast, to the edge of the forbidden forest.

"Wait for me here."The snake told Harry, and he slithered away, lost in the dark copse of trees.

Harry stood around in the moonlight, fidgeting and doubting the logic of his plan. While bribing the dragons to spare his life didn't seem like the smartest solution, it was the best he had come up with. In any case, it was certainly more clever than one of Ron's ideas from earlier that day, which entailed Harry summoning his broom and trying to outfly it.

It was almost an hour before Cory finally returned, wriggling through the grass and back up to Harry.

"Three of the dragons are…incapable of speech,"Cory said."The last one, however, was interested in hearing more about your 'deal'. She gave her word she wouldn't incinerate you before you said your piece."

"Uh, okay…"Harry said skeptically.

"A dragon never goes back on their word." Cory supplied.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Not really."

Harry steeled his nerves and made his decision. Ultimately, it hadn't been a hard choice. He could either face a dragon the day after tomorrow, entirely unprepared, or he could take his chances now, with assurances he would at least be heard out before he was turned to ash.

"Okay, Cory. Lead on."

"Come closer, hatchling, so I can gaze upon your visage."A deep feminine voice rumbled in Parseltongue.

Of course the only dragon capable of speaking to me would be the Hungarian Horntail!Harry lamented his bad luck.

Silently, of course.

"Huh!"she huffed, taking Harry's appearance in as he approached."For one so young, your eyes tell of a deep pain that usually takes humans decades to develop."

"Thank you, oh great and powerful Dragon."Harry replied deferentially, trying to appeal to her sense of pride.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Of course. My apologies for my profound ignorance."

"And stop speaking like that,"she snapped."Ihatea submissive man."

Harry stood up straight, trying to hide his shock."Sor- I mean, sure. Okay."

"Better,"she said."Now tell me. For what reason did you seek an audience with me?"

He took a deep breath to collect himself, and recited the speech he had been preparing for the past hour."I am being forced to participate in a wizard tournament."He explained."I recently found out that I'll be forced to face one of you four dragons as my first challenge, and knowing I had no chance in a fair fight, I was hoping to make a deal in advance."

"Ah,"the huge dragon let out a breath, and the uncomfortable warmth of the exhaled air made Harry start to sweat."I was wondering why we were brought here. So I'm to face a human hatchling in a match? You were smart to come to me first, I'll give you that – I would've torn you apart in half a second on the field."

"Was that one a compliment?"Harry asked.

The dragon let out a rumbling laugh."Yes, little human."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. She didn'tseemto want to kill him just yet, so it was time to make his offer.

"I have gold. Lots of it."

The dragon stared at him silently for a few seconds, and Harry got ready to run."What use do you suppose I have for gold?"She asked eventually.

"Well, uh, you're a dragon…"He began,"I thought that maybe you'd like, uh, have a pile of-"

"Ihighlyrecommend you don't finish that thought."The dragon hissed menacingly."Somedragons find those stereotypes rather offensive…"

"I won't apologize, because I'm not submissive."Harry said, trying to prevent his voice from shaking as he attempted to maneuver the conversation back to safer territory without angering the dragon."But rest assured it's not a mistake I'll make again."

The Horntail remained silent for another moment, staring at him oddly, and spoke again just as Harry was about to hightail it out of the forest."There is only one thing you can do for me, human. Succeed, and I'll give you my word that I will spare your life in this 'tournament'."

For the first time since he found out about the first task, Harry felt a glimmer of hope surge through him."And what would that be?"

Harry moved silently under his invisibility cloak as he searched through the encampment looking for the Hungarian Horntail's eggs. It didn't prove very difficult as the trainer's campsite, set up some distance away from the dragon cages, was not very large. After only a few minutes, Harry came across a locked enclosure which contained several piles of eggs of varying shapes, colors, and sizes.

How do I know which ones are the Horntail's?Harry asked himself, casting a tinylumosspell with his wand in an attempt to see better. With the aid of the light, Harry noted the differences between the eggs, and came to the conclusion that the green and red eggs probably belonged to theWelsh Greenand theFireballrespectively.

I can't believe I figured that one out all by myself!He thought sarcastically.

The final two sets of eggs were a closer call, but Harry could justfeelthat the slate gray, textured eggs were the Horntail's, as opposed to the smoother white ones.

That's great and all, but how do I get into the enclosure to steal the eggs?

Harry skulked back through the camp and towards a large tent he had noticed earlier, where he was guessing the trainers slept. Still hidden by his cloak, he slowly unzipped the front flap and snuck in.

The interior of the tent was a sparsely but neatly decorated affair, with shelves of books and equipment lining the far walls, and a half dozen beds and trunks for the staff towards the front.

As Harry had been hoping, each bed was filled with a sleeping body, and he tiptoed around them to the back of the tent, where various tools hung from a steel pegboard. While he saw a plethora of magically enchanted lassos and collars, as well as some accoutrements that Harry could only imagine being used as weapons, there were no keys in sight.

Harry sighed mentally, as he didn't dare make a sound within the confines of the tent.

Nothing can ever be easy for me, can it?

Harry crept to one of the beds, where a young man with a shock of orange hair lay snoring. He figured that if his plan failed and Charlie woke up, he'd be the only one Harry might have a chance of convincing to remain silent, due to his connection with the Weasley family.

Carefully lifting up the corner of Charlie's bedsheets, and noticing that the man's pants did in fact have pockets, he went searching. Harry sleekly pried the pocket open with his fingers, and slipped his hand in to feel around for a key.

"Ghh." Charlie muttered in his sleep.

Harry froze.

Charlie shuffled, and turned over, crushing Harry's hand between the mattress and his thigh.

Harry's fingers felt the key, and he grabbed hold of it.

"Ooh!" Charlie murmured.

Harry just barely suppressed the urge to scream in horror. He quickly let go of the 'key'.

After trying again and this time finding what he hoped was the correct key, Harry slowly extricated his hand from his best friend's older brother's pocket.

"Mmm…" Charlie moaned, still sound asleep.

Doing his best to repress the memories of the past minute to a strongbox within a dark cupboard of a miniscule corner in his mind palace, Harry left the tent quickly and invisibly, key in hand.

"I went through hell for these."Harry whispered in Parseltongue to the Horntail, lifting two gray eggs, one in each hand."Please tell me they're yours?"

"My babies!"The dragon cried as she saw them, confirming Harry's suspicions."Bring them to me!"

Harry set both of the eggs gently down on the floor of the cage, only alittlenervous to be sticking his hand into the Horntail's bite range.

As he withdrew his hand, the dragon's huge mouth came down upon the eggs and swallowed them whole.

"Holy sh-" Harry cut off his alarmed shout before he could accidentally wake the trainers.

Noticing his reaction, the dragon chuckled."Fear not, little mortal,"she said."My eggs will remain intact and safe in my stomach until I am back home in Hungary, where I will regurgitate them."

Harry didn't answer, as he was too busy reeling from this unexpected and unneeded up-close lesson on dragon biology.

"You made sure they will not notice the eggs are missing?"She asked tentatively into the silence.

I guess even dragon mommies care about their babies.Harry remarked, picking up on the hesitation in the Horntail's voice.

"They will not."He affirmed with more confidence than he felt. He had cast one of the spells he found in the book Sirius had given him, which was similar to theGeminiospell in that it duplicated an object, but with better effects. The duplicates would stand up to all but the most intense magical scrutinies, but only lasted a few days before disappearing. For Harry's purposes, he was hoping that would be enough.

"Then I will uphold my end of the bargain,"the dragon replied."Should you be matched against me in this tournament, I will do you no harm before I escape. Furthermore, while evenmyability to communicate with the other dragons is limited, I will try to inform them that you are no threat."

"Do they not wish to escape as well?"Harry asked curiously.

"They wish for nothing; their lineage no longerthinks, as you and I do."She sighed wistfully."In any case, they were bred and born in captivity – it's where they belong. For my part, I'd prefer to be free to tend to my brood without the constant surveillance ofsoftskins."

The derogatory way the dragon said 'softskin' made Harry feel like it was probably something he should be taking offense over.

Needless to say, he didn't express his hurt feelings at that moment.

"Thank you once again."Harry said instead.

"Don't thank me, hatchling. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"In that case, pleasure doing business with you."

Harry heard the dragon laugh softly from behind him as he headed back towards Hogwarts, hoping he'd be able to catch at least a couple hours of sleep before his first class in the morning.

"Master Sirius, a letter from Master Harry has arrived."

Sirius Black turned to look at his house elf in excitement. "Good, good! Bring it here Kreacher, I've been waiting for this one. He promised to tell me how his date went!"

Kreacher handed the letter to Sirius, who tore into it with enthusiasm.

Dear Padfoot,he read.

The date with Astoria went very well, thanks once again for the tickets. We both enjoyed the play immensely.

When the performance was finished, we were inspired to engage in 'roleplay', which was very fun.

"Kreacher, wait!" Sirius called to the elf, who was trying to tiptoe out of the room.

"Yes, master?" Kreacher replied nervously.

"Do you ever get that feeling, where youreallywanted something to happen, but now that it's really happening, you start to wonder if it's all happening too soon?"

"No, master. I can't say I do."

"Oh."

Sirius continued reading the letter.

We then went to Madam Puddifoot's to drink hot chocolate and chat. It was a wonderful day, and one I'll never forget.

By the way, I know what you mean now about the importance of clothes. She said she liked my outfit, so thank you for helping me look cool!

"Kreacher, wait!"

"I haven't moved, master."

"I take back what I said before," Sirius said, wiping tears out of his eyes. "This is everything I've ever wanted."

Kreacher was unsure what his duty as a house elf demanded he do in this instance, so he just shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Sirius threw the letter aside, and took out his little book to start planning a wedding.

Due to the blurring of his vision caused by excessive crying, Sirius failed to notice the postscript underneath Harry's signature.

P.S. - For the first task, I will be made to face a dragon. But don't panic, I have a plan.

Chapter 7: Fame Is a Fickle Friend

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! New chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story so far. I'm very grateful for the reception it has been getting, and I really enjoy reading all of the comments.

Thanks as always to BingBong for his help editing this chapter, as well as fielding a thousand of my annoying story related questions per week.

"Astoria," Daphne said seriously.

"Yes?"

"Are we going to talk about the kiss today?"

"No."

"Okay."

Daphne had been asking Astoria if she wanted to talk about 'the kiss' for the past two days, but her answer was still in the negative.

While Tracey found itincrediblyamusing, Daphne was quite shaken up to have witnessed her little sister kiss a boy, even if just on the cheek, and wanted to know what it meant for Astoria's relationship with Harry. At this point, Daphne would even just like to know how Astoria's first date went, but Astoria refused to speak on the subject even once since getting into the carriage with her and Tracey a couple days prior.

In fact, Astoria wasn't speaking muchat allsince the date, and that troubled Daphne more than anything else.

A quiet Astoria wasnota good Astoria, from her experience.

UGHHH!Astoria screamed into her pillow once Daphne had left her room.Why did I kiss him!? He probably hates me now, I didn't even ask for his permission, and I always tease him but I don't know if he actually likes me, because I've been dropping hints and he's not picking them up, and he said he was glad it was a date and that he'd like to go on more in the future, but that isn't an excuse to just walk up and kiss someone that you're not even officially dating-

The primary reason Astoria had been so quiet for the past two days was because her head was filled with a constant stream of regret and self-doubt. She didn't regret kissing him per se, as she had found it incredibly fun, even if it was just on the cheek. The issue was that the second she got into the carriage she realized that she wasn't sure ifHarryhad liked it.

At the time, she was pretty sure he would, but then she got reflecting and realized that while she had been rather obvious about her romantic interest in the boy over the past few weeks, he had been rather mild in reciprocating.

Sure, he had been the one to ask her out on the date, butshewas the one that had to tell him that itwasa date! And while he may have said he'd like to go on more dates in the future, Harry was so dense and oblivious that for all she knew, he could've meantplaydates.

How am Ievergoing to face him now?She thought, burying her head under her covers and wishing she could turn back time and get a redo of the end of the date.And even if he forgives me, what will I do if he doesn't want me to kiss him again…?

I really want her to kiss me again,Harry thought on his way through the courtyard.

When he wasn't thinking about the dragon he was set to fight, which admittedly was most of the time, he was thinking about Astoria.

Is it possible that she actually likes me?He questioned, trying to put all of the hints together in his head.She said she wanted to go on more dates with me, and she even kissed me before she left…maybe all that teasing was because she liked me?

Harry shook himself out of his musings, as he saw his target sitting amongst a group of his friends.

"Cedric!" He called. "Do you have a moment?"

A few of Cedric Diggory's friends laughed and flashed their'Potter Stinks'badges at him, which he readily ignored, but Cedric said a few quick words to the group and ran up to Harry anyway.

"Hi Harry, what's up?" Cedric said, before glancing back at his friends and giving Harry a sheepish look. "I'm sorry about the badges by the way, I tried to get them to stop wearing them, but they won't listen…"

"Don't worry about it." Harry said, having gotten used to it and rather stopped caring. "Listen, the first task is going to involve dragons, and I thought you should know."

"Seriously?" Cedric asked, his face going pale.

"Seriously." Harry confirmed with a grave expression. "They're being kept in the Forbidden Forest until the day of the task, in case you wanted to sneak around and do your own research."

"I will," Cedric nodded. "And thanks, Harry, I know you didn't have to do this. Especially with everything going around the school at the moment, what with the badges and all…"

"Like I said, don't worry about it," Harry assuaged. "Besides, I'm sure Fleur and Viktor already know as well, if the way their headmasters have been stressing over them is any indication."

"You're probably right," Cedric agreed, "I have a feeling Hogwarts is the only school that's going to be playing fair in this competition."

"We can't be that fair if we have two champions," Harry shrugged. "The other headmasters will probably use that as an excuse to help their representatives in any way they can short of completing the tasks for them."

"All the more reason for us to look out for each other I guess, right?"

"Right." Harry replied, looking over to where Cedric's friends were still laughing and playing with their badges.

Cedric followed his gaze and grimaced. "I'll tell them off again and make sure they stop wearing them this time, I promise."

"Luna?" Astoria said to the girl sitting next to her in Potions class.

"Yes, Astoria?" She replied, in the middle of dissecting a Mothwing Butterfly.

"I have this friend, you see," she began, "that kissed this boy – on the cheek, mind you. But now my friend isn't sure if the boylikedthe kiss and now she's afraid to speak to him again in case he says he didn't."

"That's fascinating," Luna replied, as she plucked an antenna from the deceased insect.

"I know, but what should I do?"

"Don't you mean, what should your 'friend' do?"

Astoria floundered around with her hands making vague gestures, crushing the butterfly wing she was trying to preserve in the process. "Yes! Exactly, what should my friend do?"

"Well, the way I see it, you have three alternatives."

"My friend has three alternatives?"

"Yes, right. Your friend." Luna nodded sagely. "First, you can get someone to go ask Harry if he liked it, so you can know if you need to stay away from him or not."

"I don't know, that's still a bit scary…what are my other options?"

"Second alternative, you can never speak to Harry ever again." Luna suggested helpfully. "That way, he'll be kept in a constant state of both liking and not liking the kiss. I call that ideaSchrödinger's Harry."

Astoria didn't like the sound ofSchrödinger's Harry."And the last one?"

Luna hummed. "Well, we're in potions class, after all. You can always slip someAmortentiainto his morning orange juice. Then you'll know for sure that even if he didn't like the last kiss, he'll like the next one and be begging on his knees for more."

"I can't do that!" She shouted, scandalized, and floundered some more, causing the remainder of the butterfly corpse she had been mangling to fall off her desk. She wouldobviouslynever use a love potion on Harry.

But she had to admit, shedidlike the mental image Luna had conjured up…

"Miss Greengrass," a menacing voice from behind her intoned. "I believe this belongs to you?"

Astoria turned around slowly, and sheepishly accepted the pulped butterfly carcass from Professor Snape.

"The assignment was todissectthe butterfly, notdestroyit." He said disparagingly. "Detention in my office tonight, for wastingvaluableschool resources."

Snape looked over to Luna's desk, and his scowl vanished for a moment, overtaken by genuine surprise. He quickly plastered the scowl back on his face however, and Astoria almost believed she had imagined it.

"And you will be joining her in detention tonight as well, Miss Lovegood."

Snape sneered at the two girls one last time before spinning away and walking back down the row of tables.

Astoria turned to look at her friend's desk, where she saw Luna had forgone dissection in favor of pulling the insect into a bunch of tiny pieces and rearranging them into a startlingly accurate self-portrait.

"Wow, that's really good!" Astoria praised.

"Thanks," she replied.

Harry woke up on the morning of the first task, feeling rather worse for wear. While he had previously made arrangements with the Hungarian Horntail, he had no way to guarantee that she would be chosen to face him that day. He also wasn't totally discounting the possibility that the dragon's word was less dependable than Cory had claimed, and he'd be eaten in short order after entering the arena either way.

Unsurprisingly, Harry didn't find he had much of an appetite, so he forced down a light breakfast and headed off early to the arena where the first task would be staged.

"Harry!" A voice called out to him on his way out of the school. "Come here for a second, boy."

Harry turned to see Professor Moody waving at him in a 'follow me' gesture. Puzzled and onlyslightlysuspicious, Harry followed the man into an unpopulated alcove off a hallway.

"Have you figured out your plan for the task today?" Moody asked once they were alone.

Harry thought about how much he should be revealing to the teacher, and decided that the correct answer in any case was 'as little as possible'.

"Yes."

"Good, good." The man replied, his eyes darting around everywhere as if expecting an enemy to jump out of the shadows at any moment. "You know what you'll be facing?"

"Yes," Harry said. He considered lying, but figured it was expected that the champions would find out what the task consisted of before the actual day anyway. After all, the organizers of the tournament didn't seriously expect them to face a dragon without atleasthaving time to prepare, did they?

"And how will you approach it?"

"I'm just going to fight it." Harry didn't like how many questions the man had, and wascertainlynot going to reveal his scheme.

Moody froze.

Is this kid stupid?He thought.He's going to try to fight the dragon in a 1-on-1 duel?

"I have a better idea," the ex-auror suggested. "I hear you're a good flier. Why don't you try summoning your broom, and outflying the dragon?"

Is this man stupid?Harry thought.He wants me to fly against a creature whose primary method of movement for its whole life has been flying? Anyway, I'm sure Ron will be happy to know he thinks in line with 'Mad-Eye'Moody...

"Thanks, but I think I'll stick with my plan, Professor. Have a nice day."

Alastor Moody looked at the boy incredulously as he walked away.

I hope they don't ask me to pick up all the pieces after the dragon's done with him,he thought.

The four champions were assembled in a tent just outside the arena that had been constructed for the first task. They had been asked to appear in front of the tournament judges: the three headmasters of the represented schools, as well as Bartemius Crouch Sr. who was representing the Ministry. There was also a rotund man who Harry gathered was an ex-athlete of some kind, but he honestly wasn't sure what purpose he served other than to run around and act important.

"For the first task," Crouch began, "each of you will be asked to retrieve a golden egg guarded by a dragon."

Harry looked around, and as he had expected, none of the other champions looked surprised.

"The egg will be hidden amongst the dragon'srealeggs, and you'd best believe they will be defending it with theirlives.You will be evaluated based on the speed and elegance with which you finish the task, and causing unnecessary damage to the other eggs will result in a point deduction."

With his explanation out of the way, Crouch gestured for the rotund man to step forward with a velvet bag. "While normally we would leave the assignment of dragons to the Goblet of Fire, due to its…previous unreliability, you will instead be randomly selecting a miniaturized dragon out of a bag. This idea is courtesy of our Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, Ludo Bagman."

At this the rotund man, Ludo apparently, beamed in pride.

"Right then!" He said brightly. "Let's start with the Beauxbatons champion! Just stick your hand into the bag and pull a dragon."

"Wait!" Harry yelled as Fleur was about to put her hand in the bag. "Isn't this unfair?"

Everyone looked puzzled by Harry's outburst, and he saw a flicker of annoyance cross Ludo's features before he schooled them back into his normal smile. "And how would that be?"

"Well," Harry said, quickly trying to think up a scheme that would guarantee him the Horntail. "Even if we're not looking, we can stillfeelthe dragons, right? I mean, for example, if there was aHebridean Blackin there, you'd be able to feel the horns and avoid it. So that means whoever chooses first would have an advantage over the others, wouldn't it?"

Everyone looked at Ludo Bagman expectantly.

"Uh, well," the man faltered. "Of course, that only works if you know every breed of dragon by feel! And I doubt the four of you knoweverydragon breed by feel."

Ludo wiped a bead of sweat off his brow, hoping that his improvised response would be enough to deflect any negative reception the other organizers may have given his idea. While they all looked at him dubiously, none of them said anything, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"So with that concern mollified, let's continue!" He said, eager to move on. "We'll keep things simple and go from oldest to youngest."

The champions spoke amongst themselves for a moment, establishing the order of their birthdays. In the end, being the oldest, Fleur once again reached towards the bag to select her dragon.

Ultimately, Harry didn't need to pick first, he just needed to ensure he put the thought of feeling the dragons into the other champion's heads, just in case it wasn't there already. He assumed that if they knew the task would contain dragons, they would also knowwhichdragons were prepared, as he doubted he had been the only one to go snooping around the forest. Andanyonewho saw the dragons would know which one, even amongst the other deadly creatures, was the one to avoid.

Sure enough, Harry watched as all three champions fished around in the bag, and drew any dragon that wasn't the Hungarian Horntail. It wasn't hard after all, the spikes lining its back and head would've made it a pretty easy dragon to identify through touch alone.

Resisting the urge to let out a breath of relief that at leastthispart of the plan was working so far, he reached into the bag and drew the final remaining dragon.

"Ah," Ludo smiled. "The Hungarian Horntail. The most fearsome of them all…"

While third years and below weren't technically allowed to watch the first task, Astoria snuck in anyway, sandwiched between Daphne and Tracey. The seventh year prefect stationed outside of the arena looked like he was about to protest, but a simultaneous glare from all three girls silenced him.

Remus Lupin walked in, disguised, with his head shaven and his scars covered with makeup. Next to him was a perfectly groomed, large black dog on a leash.

"Sorry sir, but no pets allowed," the prefect said.

"Ah, don't mind him," said Remus, gesturing to the 'dog'. "This is my service animal. We'll stay at the top so as not to distract anyone. Good day!"

Before the boy could protest, Remus and Sirius walked through the gate and into the stands, where they found a particularly unassuming corner to hunker down into.

"Place your bets here!" Called the Weasley twins, wandering around just outside of the stands in a crowd full of students. "5 to 1 odds that Harry Potter survives, 20 to 1 that he wins!"

A small girl with wide eyes and dirty blonde hair walked up to them. "I'll place two galleons on Harry Potter to win."

"Sure thing!" The twins said in unison. "Just mark your name on this sheet."

Luna Lovegood,she wrote, and then handed the boys her two galleons.

Astoria's anxiety grew as she watched the other three contestants complete the task.

Dragons!?She thought.How is Harry possibly meant to steal an egg from a dragon!?

While Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor had all successfully retrieved their eggs, none of them had gotten through unscathed. And that'sbesidethe fact they were all at least three years older, and vastly more experienced than Harry was.

Noticing the girl's apprehension, Tracey put a hand on her shoulder. While she would've loved to give Astoria some words of encouragement to relieve her worries, Tracey too had a hard time believing Harry would get through this task in one piece, so she kept her silence.

"Dragons!?" Remus whispered furiously to Sirius from the top of the stands. "What were theythinking?"

Sirius growled softly, and Remus knew his friend was just as angry about the situation as he was, if not more. Realizing that he probably had to play the role of the rational one here, Remus patted Sirius' flank. "Don't worry, I'm sure Dumbledore will intervene if anything goes wrong."

Sirius whined uncertainly.

Harry tentatively stepped into the arena to the cheers and jeers of the spectators. On the other side of the field, he spotted the massive dragon chained to the arena by thick steel fetters. She was positioned in front of three eggs – the two fakes he had made a few nights prior, and the golden egg he needed to retrieve to complete the task.

Harry and the Horntail stood motionless for a few seconds, staring at each other, until the dragon broke the calm by unleashing a terrifying roar.

The crowd flinched back in surprise, and immediately fell silent. Despite having seen three dragons before this one, the level of power and hatred the Horntail emanated wasnothinglike the others.

Astoria gasped, and squeezed Daphne's hand so tightly the older girl winced in pain. Daphne didn't complain however, and squeezed back just as hard. While she had never spoken to Harry, and didn't care much for the boy either way, she hardly wanted to witness his grisly demise at the jaws of a dragon. Besides, Astoria was rather fond of him, and Daphne was loath to see what would happen to the girl's mental state if her crush died right in front of her.

Sirius was just about ready to jump into the arena and fight the dragon himself, but Remus put a hand on his head. "Look at his eyes, Padfoot. He's not afraid – trust that he has a plan."

Sirius growled in response. While hedidtrust his godson, it took all of his willpower to not reveal himself right then and place himself in front of Harry, just in case.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. While everyone else present in the arena that day heard the fearsome roar of an enormous dragon, Harry heard it for the message that it was.

"Come, hatchling!"The dragon roared in Parseltongue."You're to defeat me and steal my eggs – play the part convincingly!"

Thanking his lucky stars that the dragon had decided to keep her end of the bargain, Harry advanced on her with his wand raised.

"Move to the left!"The Horntail shouted, her speech masked in a bellow of rage.

Caught by surprise, Harry dove to the left just in time to avoid a blistering pillar of fire expelled from the dragon's mouth.

Woah!Harry reassessed how much effort he was going to have to put into this game of pretend.The Horntail really doesn't do things halfway, does she?

As he got to his feet and gathered his wits about him, he heard another warning and dashed to the right this time, waiting out the stream of fire behind a rock. When the flames died down, Harry emerged and raised his wand at the dragon.

"Fictus Impetus!"He whispered, recalling his dad's fake combat spell from the Marauder's notebook. With great force, a bolt of magic shot from his wand and towards the dragon. Upon impacting her scales, the spell exploded with a loud crack like a blast of thunder.

The Hungarian Horntail bellowed in pain and stumbled several steps back from the attack. Harry had to admit, the display was rather convincing, as he knew for a fact the spell would feel like a light tap on the arm to a human, and probably wouldn't even register on the nervous system of a dragon.

The crowd gasped, shocked by theincrediblypowerful spell the young wizard had just cast. While they didn't know what spell it was, they knew it must have beenamazingto have damaged a dragon.

Meanwhile, further up in the stands, a man and his dog narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

"That's James' spell!" Remus whispered excitedly to Sirius. "The dragon isacting!I'm not sure how he managed it, but Harry must have planned this out with the Horntail in advance!"

Sirius felt an emotion well up in his chest that he identified at once as a strong, all-encompassing pride. While he didn't want to overvalue his own contributions towards Harry's accomplishments today, and knew that the boy must have put in a lot of time and effort to set this up, he couldn't help but feel like the plan was reminiscent of somethinghehimself would have done years ago.

Sirius watched Harry dance around the arena, dodging all of the Horntail's attacks a moment before they were launched, and sending his own 'attacks' back in turn. Witnessing first-hand the growth of his best friend's son andhisown godson, Sirius felt his eyes begin to tear up.

James would've been so proud,he thought.

"Did you know he could do this?" Daphne asked, awestruck by Harry's powerful showing against the dragon.

"Of course!" Astoria lied, equally shocked as everyone else at the boy's display of skill. Within her, the deep anxiety she was feeling at the start of the match slowly shifted into hope that Harry might be able to get out of this mess unharmed.

Was he always this strong?Astoria wondered.Maybe the younger Slytherins were right to be afraid of him after all…

Although none of the spells were real and he had advance warning of the dragon's attacks, after a few minutes of 'fighting', Harry could feel himself starting to tire.

"We now enter the endgame,"the Hungarian Horntail roared."Make sure to sell it well, for both our sakes."

In a spectacular show of strength, she pulled against the chains so hard that they snapped right out of the ground with a sharppingnoise. She roared in triumph and the crowd gasped, some of them fleeing the arena in fear for their own safety. Harry saw the dragon trainers mobilize from the sidelines to wrangle the loose creature, so he acted quickly.

"Begone, beast!" He shouted, and put all of his focus into one final silent cast of his dad's original spell.

The force of his spell shook the stadium, and the dragon let out such a compelling wail of agony that he almost believed he hadactuallyhurt her. She faked a limp and took off into the sky, one wing lagging behind slightly to cause an intentionally uneven flight.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Harry was pretty sure he could make out the start of a chant forming from the Gryffindor section.

I didn't actually damage her, did I?He thought uneasily, as the dragon clumsily flew over his head.

"It was a good performance, fledgling,"she said in Parseltongue, her voice reaching Harry's ears as she easily dodged a few grounding spells from the trainers."Perhaps in another century or so we can have a real spar."

Of course I didn't,he realized as her flight evened out ever so slightly, confirming his suspicion that this had been just another part of the performance.I can't tell if I'm relieved or disappointed…

Harry watched the dragon fly away and out of sight, much to the distress of Charlie Weasley and the rest of his team.

As the dragon disappeared into the sky, the cheers from the crowd engulfed him.

Gildeory Lockhart may have been the worst teacher I've ever had,Harry thought,but he was right about one thing – fame is indeed a fickle friend.

Shrugging, he walked over to the dragon's 'eggs', and picked up the gold one, lifting it up high above his head for all to see.

The roar of the crowd was deafening.

"Oh my gosh you were amazing!" Astoria said as she ran into the healer's tent where Harry had undergone his post-match examination. He was alone in the tent, sitting on a bed lost in thought, and she wrapped him up in a hug before abruptly pulling away and looking down at her feet shamefully.

"Um, sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Are you okay?"

Harry looked at the girl oddly, unsure where her bashful attitude was coming from.

"Yeah, totally fine. Madam Pomfrey gave me the all clear, I'm just hiding out here for a bit before I get swamped by everyone." He said, thinking back to all the cheers he had gotten at the end of the task.

"Oh, sorry." Astoria mumbled. "I didn't realize you wanted to be alone. I'll just leave then…"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Astoria?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you being…" Harry searched around for the correct word. "Weird?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Astoria." Harry said seriously, taking her hand in his. "What's bothering you?"

The way he looked at her so honestly and openly made her hesitation break, and she finally said what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry for kissing you!" She got out in a rush, almost blurring the whole sentence into one word.

Harry was stunned for a moment, and before he could open his mouth to reply, she kept going.

"At first I wasn't sure if I could still be friends with you like before without kissing you again, but then today when I saw the dragon and I knew you could've died and I thought 'wow that's really selfish of you Astoria' and I realized that we can still be friends even without kissing, even though I want to kiss, because I like being your friend, and I'm really sorry for kissing you I know you hated it-"

"Wait!" Harry interjected, finally putting a stop to the girl's speech.

"What is it?" Astoria asked, her eyes looking like they were on the verge of tears.

"How did you come to the conclusion that I hated the kiss?"

Astoria thought about that for a second. Howhadshe come to the conclusion that he hated the kiss? She tried backtracking her seventy-two hour long train of thought, but came up dry.

"Um, did you not?" She eventually asked.

"No, quite the opposite really." He blushed.

Astoria's eyes lit up and her heart soared. "So does that mean I can do it again?"

"If you want…" Harry's blush deepened.

Astoria leaned over to where Harry sat on the bed, prepared to plant her second ever kiss on Harry's cheek. The moment before she made contact, the blinding flash and unmistakable shutter sound of a camera filled the tent, causing Harry to instinctively turn his head towards the source of the commotion.

Both of their minds cleared entirely as their lips met.

"Harry Potter," a delighted female voice began, an enchanted quill scribbling on a notepad in the air next to her, "mereminutesafter defeating one of thedeadliestbreeds of dragons in a duel, rushes to his lover for a kiss."

She sighed. "What a perfect headline that will make!"

The two teens turned to look at their uninvited photographer, but both were still too stunned from the accidental lip contact to speak.

"The girl- what's your name, girl?"

"Astoria."

"Victoria, who is- what year are you in, girl?"

"Third."

"Who ismuchyounger than him, seems to hold a tight rein on their relationship." She said matter-of-factly, glancing at the notepad to make sure the quill was doing its job correctly and copying her words down. "While Harry Potter may have no problem dealing with dragons, he seems to be weak to a pretty face – take note, witches."

"People keep telling me I'm pretty lately," Astoria said to Harry, still too shocked to be rational. "Do you think I'm pretty too?"

"Of course I think you're pretty," Harry replied, still too shocked to be shy. "I already told you that on our date the other day."

"You didn't say I waspretty,"Astoria frowned. "You said that I was nice, and gorgeous."

"Oh. Well I think you're nice, gorgeous,andpretty."

"Aw, thanks." Astoria blushed.

The woman, who Harry's subconscious had decided was probably a news reporter, smiled widely at the 'content' she had just received.

"The young Victoria isinsatiable,"she continued monologuing to her quill, "and Harry Potter bends to her every whim, showering her with the love and attention she sodesperatelyseeks."

"You bend to my every whim?" Astoria asked him.

"I mean, I wouldn't- Hey, wait!" Harry's brain had finally caught up to the situation, and he turned to look at the woman in the tent with them. "What are you doing here!?"

"Oh, don't mind me!" The woman said. "I'm no one, really. Just keep chatting away and forget that I'm even here."

Astoria's brain had also started to unscramble, and she narrowed her eyes at the reporter. "That's kind of creepy, you know. We're literally just kids."

"Yeah, are you even allowed to be here?" Harry continued. "Surely there's a law somewhere that wouldn't allow you to interview two minors without a parental consent form or something?"

"Well, I'll be going now! It was nice talking!" The woman chirped, and promptly disappeared from the tent.

"That was weird," Astoria said after she had left. "Why was Rita Skeeter talking to us?"

"Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked questioningly.

"Oh, she's a journalist for the Daily Prophet. She specializes in writing controversial and scandalous articles about various witches and wizards…oh." Astoria stopped speaking as she realizedexactlywhy Rita Skeeter was talking to them.

"You don't suppose she got a picture of our kiss, do you?" She asked nervously.

"I have a pretty good feeling she did." Harry replied, feeling a bit sick to his stomach. "You don't suppose she'll actually use it in the paper, do you?"

"I have a pretty good feeling she will…"

Harry left the tent and headed back to school, bracing himself for the storm of questions, comments, and accusations he was surely about to receive after his 'fight' with the dragon. He hadn't been in the mood to handle itbeforemeeting Astoria, but getting his first ever 'real' kiss had lightened his mood considerably, and he now felt ready to face pretty much anything. What hewasn'texpecting was to see Sirius in dog form, waiting for him by a small grouping of trees near Hagrid's hut.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked quietly once he had gotten closer. "You're way too close to the school!"

"I know, Harry, and I won't stay long." Sirius said as he shifted back into a human. "But I wanted to congratulate you on your victory today."

Harry shrugged guiltily. "It wasn't really a victory, to be honest. The whole thing was planned in advance, in exchange for stealing and returning the dragon'srealeggs to her."

"Of course it was planned in advance," Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's what I'm congratulating you for!"

"But I lied to everyone," Harry confessed.

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed loudly. Harry flinched and looked around, but thankfully there was no one around to notice the conspicuous escaped convict. "I bet you'realreadystarting to build a reputation as one of the strongest wizards of your generation thanks to that performance today. Do you know how useful that deception can be when used against your enemies?"

Harry thought about it, and realized that Sirius had a point.

"I guess you're right…I still feel bad though."

"You can feel badafteryou've won the tournament.." Sirius said with a grin. "Anyways, I have to get going now, but I'll see you next weekend. And remember, don't tellanyonethe fight was staged!"

Harry agreed, but was already making a mental list of exceptions to the word 'anyone', starting with a certain blonde-haired Slytherin girl.

"Oh, and Harry?"

"Yes, Sirius?"

"Your dad would've been proud of you today."

Harry didn't trust his voice at that moment, so he just nodded in response.

When Astoria walked into the Slytherin common room that night, she was greeted by the sight of her old friend group standing around the fireplace. Before she could climb up the stairs to her room, one of the girls called out to stop her.

"Astoria! Wait…"

Astoria turned to face her. It was Alice – one of her best friends before everyone stopped talking to her.

"Hi…?" Astoria said tentatively.

Alice shuffled around awkwardly and glanced back at her friends, before taking a deep breath and looking Astoria in the eyes. "We just wanted to say we're sorry. We never minded that you were dating Harry, we were just afraid of Draco…"

Astoria stared at the girl silently, not bothering to correct her about her current relationship status with Harry.

"We're really sorry," she continued, "and we promise we'll be better friends in the future."

Astoria wasn't sure she'd ever like or trust the girls as much as she used to, but she didn't have anythingagainstthem either.

"Apology accepted, I guess."

The girls collectively exhaled a sigh of relief, and Astoria realized something didn't add up. "Why the sudden change of heart though? Aren't you still afraid of the big bad Draco Malfoy?"

The girls looked around sheepishly at the obvious jab. "Well, Draco isterrifiedof Harry now, andyou'redating him," Alice said. "So if he got mad at us for talking toyou,Harry would get involved, and Harry just beat a Hungarian Horntail, so Draco knows he wouldn't stand a chance."

"How interesting." Astoria said, still not bothering to correct the girl. Technically, she still wasn't actually dating Harry.Yet.

One of the girls from the back of the group who Astoria didn't know as well spoke up timidly. "Um, Astoria? How did you start dating Harry, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well," Astoria replied, really starting to like the sound of this whole 'dating Harry' thing, "I ran into him when I got lost in Hogsmeade towards the start of the year, and he was worried for my safety so he walked me back to the High Street."

It wasn'texactlywhat happened, but it was close enough and sounded rather cute that way.

"That'ssoromantic!" One of the girls squealed.

"Yup!" Astoria beamed. "Andthenhe bought me candy from Honeydukes."

More squeals.

"Sothat'swhat you were doing there with him!" Alice said. "You told me it was just a coincidence you guys were there at the same time!"

Astoria frowned. "To be fair, at the time I was hesitant to tell you the truth, which based on how you ignored me for the past two weeks, wasn't that bad of a decision."

Alice looked down at the ground shamefully. "I'm sorry, it was just Draco…" She rationalized, but even to her own ears it sounded weak.

They all sat there chatting in the common room for a little while longer, and it did a lot to dissolve some of the lingering awkward tension between the girls. Astoria told them stories about Harry and what they had been up to, including all about her previous date with him in Hogsmeade.

"That soundssonice," Alice sighed. "I want a boyfriend too..."

"Especially one asstrongas Harry," another girl said.

"And asdreamyas Harry."

"He's a bit scary, but it's sort of exciting…"

Astoria looked at her friends in horror. "No no no! Harry is off limits! He's mine, you guys go find someone else!"

Alastor Moody made sure no one was following him before stepping out of the school wards and disapparating.

He didn't bother taking another shot of Polyjuice Potion, and his appearance slowly shifted away from the ex-auror he was disguised as and into the Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr.

"My Lord," he said as he entered the old house in Little Hangleton where his weakened master was currently hiding. "I bring news of the boy."

"Good," hissed the voice of Lord Voldemort. "Did he survive the first task?"

"Yes. Not only did he survive, but he beat back the dragon as well. A Hungarian Horntail, no less."

Voldemort hummed in thought. Evenhehadn't been able to beat a dragon at Harry's age. In fact, it had taken himdecadesbefore he could even attempt it, and it certainly hadn't been against a Hungarian Horntail.

"The boy is more powerful than we initially believed," he hissed. "He has had someone to help him, no doubt."

"My Lord." Barty bowed deferentially. "Could it have been Dumbledore, perhaps?"

"No. That old fool wouldn't let any of his pawns get so powerful so young. He's too afraid of another repeat…"

"It's Sirius Black!" called a voice from the corner of the room. Barty watched as Peter Pettigrew, who he hadn't even known was there, emerged from the shadows.

"I'm s-s-sorry My Lord!" Pettigrew bowed deeply, apologizing for his outburst. "Sirius Black escaped f-f-from Azkaban last year, and w-we know he was in contact with Harry this spring!"

"Sirius Black, you say?" The Dark Lord mused. The blood traitor had been quite the thorn in his side during the First Wizard War, and had indeed been a close friend of the Potters. While the world at large still believed him to be the Potters' betrayer, he of course knew the truth of the matter.

"It is possible," He eventually declared. "Barty, continue monitoring the boy. Try to prevent him from dying in the tournament, but not at risk of exposing your cover; we want him alive, but not as much as we need an informant within Hogwarts."

Barty Crouch Jr. bowed, and swiftly left the house to return to the school before anyone noticed his absence.

"As for us," Voldemort said, turning to Pettigrew. "We will deal withSirius Black."

Sirius Black sat on the couch in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place that night, absent-mindedly petting Max. Kreacher had gone to visit his daughter in France, and had made it clear to Sirius that if he didn't look after the Black family puppy while he was away, there would be consequences.

"Harry was amazing today!" Sirius said aloud. "To think he managed to get the dragon on his side!"

Max barked at something that was on the television.

"True," replied Sirius, "I should've done more to help him…but seriously! I didn't expect them to throwdragonsat the poor kids for thefirsttask!"

Max whined when a commercial for dog treats came on.

"You're right, Max. 'Expect the unexpected.' Maybe I should do a little more research on the tournament before the next task…"

Later, when Max had been taken on his final walk for the night and tucked into bed, Sirius went through the Black family library, looking for information on the Triwizard Tournament.

Before he could make any productive progress, something caught his attention.

"The Yule Ball!?" He exclaimed.

Perfect.

Chapter 8: Your Girlfriend

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi, thank you to everyone who's been reading this fic so far :)

I hope you continue to enjoy it, and feel free to leave a comment if you'd like.

Thanks as always go to BingBong for his consistent help editing this story.

"Linda, come have a look at this!"

Linda Greengrass, mother to Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, walked over to the kitchen table where her husband was sitting drinking his morning coffee.

"What is it, Jacob?"

"Take a look at this," he said, showing her the front page of the newspaper he was reading. "Doesn't this 'Victoria' girl kissing Harry Potter look a lot like Astoria?"

Linda wasn't sure what shocked her more; seeing her youngest daughter on the front page of the Daily Prophet kissing 'the boy who lived', or witnessing yet another display of her beloved husband's incurable vacuousness.

"That IS Astoria!" Linda yelled, both in shock and frustration.

Jacob looked at the moving picture again, recognizing his daughter this time, and spat out his coffee all over the paper.

"Kreacher, come have a look at this!"

Kreacher, house elf to the noble Black family, walked over to the couch where Sirius was messily eating a croissant, getting crumbs all over the place.

Kreacherhatedcrumbs.

"Isn't this Harry Potter?" Sirius said, pointing to an animated picture on the cover of the Daily Prophet.

"Master, I know that you already know that itisHarry Potter."

"Of course it is!" Sirius beamed proudly. "Look at him, Kreacher! He's a little Casanova!"

"That's great, master." Kreacher intoned uninterestedly. "Now please take your croissant off the couch."

The morning after the first task, Hogwarts was rife with excitement over the article about Harry Potter in that day's edition of the Daily Prophet. While rumors had been abound that he was dating Astoria Greengrass ever since they were seen together in Hogsmeade last weekend, the article had confirmed everyone's suspicions.

Astoria tried to eat breakfast in the Great Hall with Daphne and Tracey like usual, but she was positivelyinundatedwith students trying to sit next to her on the bench, ask her questions, or otherwise just bask in her presence. She remarked incredulously that in the span of twenty-four hours, she went from being her house's biggest pariah to its biggest celebrity.

While most of the older Slytherins still gave her dirty looks when she wasn't looking, even Pansy kept her overt displays of dislike to a minimum. Whether it was because her 'boyfriend' had defeated a dragon the previous day, or simply because they noticed the tides were turning out of their favor she wasn't sure, but she wasn't complaining either way.

Astoria noticed Daphne's discomfort at the mass of bodies around them, and she gave her sister an apologetic look.

"Astoria, what's it like being on the front page of the newspaper?" a voice called out from the crowd.

"Uh, it's okay I guess?"

"Astoria! Is it true Harry Potter bends to your every whim?" another asked.

Astoria blushed. "Um, maybe?"

Daphne gave her sister a sharp look at that.

"Actually, I take that back. He doesn't."

A tiny girl that Astoria assumed must have justbarelysqueaked by the age cutoff to enter Hogwarts this year walked up to her, little brown curls bouncing, and pulled at her sleeve.

"Can you get Harry Potter to defeat Professor Snape?" she asked innocently, her eyes full of genuine hope.

Astoria tried not to laugh as she glanced over to where Professor Snape sat at the teacher's table, glaring at the raucous group irritatedly.

"You know what," she said. "I'll ask him for you."

Harry wasn't a big fan of attention at thebestof times, and in the wake of the incredibly embarrassing article Rita Skeeter had written about him that morning, times were certainly not at their best. Almost the entirety of Gryffindor house was bunched up at the end of the table where he sat, bombarding him with questions related to the dragon fight, the golden egg which was supposed to hold a clue for the next task, and the Daily Prophet article.

"Harry, what spell was that yesterday? I've never seen anything so powerful!"

"It's a family secret!" Ron answered from beside him.

"Have you figured out the clue in the egg yet?"

"We're working on it." Hermione responded from his other side.

"Is it true Astoria Greengrass makes you call her 'Mistress'?"

"What!? No!" Harry yelled in annoyance and embarrassment. "That wasn't even in the article, you clearly just made that up right now!"

At Harry's irritation, everyone took a step back. He sighed, realizing that while he was no longer the mosthatedstudent at Hogwarts, he had replaced it for being the most feared instead.

As Sirius had predicted, no one had figured out his performance the previous day was faked, and there were already articles apart from Rita's which evaluated him as the strongest student of his generation. The omnipresent'Potter Stinks'badges disappeared overnight, and his foremost antagonizers had been awfully quiet since the first task.

In some ways, it was nice to no longer be mocked and degraded everywhere he went, but on the other hand, he had just exchanged one type of notoriety for another.

It didn't help that there was now a picture of him kissing Astoria Greengrass on the front page of the premier British wizarding newspaper, preceding a lengthy article that both exaggerated his 'trouncing' of a loose Hungarian Horntail, and vastly misinterpreted his relationship with 'Victoria'.

Then again, whatismy relationship with Astoria?He wondered, ignoring the swathes of people around him.We went on a date, promised more in the future, and even kissed…

Harry thought along those lines for the rest of breakfast, until eventually he had finished his food. He took a small scrap of paper out of his notebook, wrote a short message on it, and placed it on his empty plate.

"What did you do that for?" some younger Hufflepuff boy he didn't recognize in the crowd surrounding him called out.

"Oh, it's for the elves," Harry explained. "All of the food here is prepared by house elves, but they never really get any recognition for their work. So I've been leaving them little comments, telling them what I liked and stuff."

The surrounding students looked at him strangely.

"And do they like that?" the Hufflepuff asked.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not really sure, but most people who do a service for someone else - even if they enjoy doing it - like to be thanked every now and again, don't you think?"

"I guess so?" he replied.

The boy wasn't so sure; he had come from a long line of pureblood witches and wizards, and he hadneverheard of anyone writing notes to a house elf before.

That didn't, however, stop the boy from taking out a scrap of parchment and writing a comment to put on hisownplate.

After all, he was just a first year Hufflepuff boy. Who was he to question the logic behind the actions of Harry Potter, Vanquisher of Dragons?

"When were you going to tell me that you and Harry were dating?" Daphne asked her sister crossly once they had finally managed to shake the group following them, and found an empty alcove off the hallway.

"Well, er, technically we're not…" Astoria avoided eye contact as she answered.

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "I may not believe a word Rita Skeeter writes, but Iknowthat picture was real, and I overheard a few third years telling stories of how you 'gushed' about your boyfriend last night."

Astoria shrugged guiltily. "The kiss was real, and Imayhave implied I was dating Harry to afewpeople yesterday…"

"Astoria."

"Yes?"

"Just ask the boy out already."

"But what if he says no…?" Astoria whined.

Daphne just stared at her sister coldly, subjecting her to the full force of her famous glare.

Astoria shrunk away from Daphne's glower. They both knew very well Harry wouldn't say no.

"Isn't theboysupposed to ask out thegirl,anyway?"

Daphne sighed. "From what you've told me about Harry, I'm afraid you'll be beyond marriageable age by the time he asks you. You might have to help him along a bit."

"You're right," Astoria decided eventually, realizing her sister might have a point. "I'll go find him later."

"Or you could forget about Harry Potter, and boys entirely, and just be my cute little sister forever?" Daphne suggested, only partially joking.

"You mean you don't want to become 'Aunty Daphne' someday?" Astoria asked sweetly.

Daphne felt her stomach lurch. "You're way too young to even be joking about that!" she yelled. She wasn't evencloseto ready to think about her precious little sister having children with someman.

Astoria giggled evilly and gave her sister a big hug before running away.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the afternoon hiding out by the lake, talking and avoiding Harry's 'fans'.

"You may have gotten lucky that things worked out so well with the dragon yesterday," Hermione lectured Harry, "but don't expect things to go so smoothly next time."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, appalled. "It was bloody brilliant! It reallydidlook like he beat the dragon!"

Hermione frowned. "There were atleastthree possible points of failure in the plan, and any one of them could have gotten himkilled.Just because it worked out in the end doesn't mean it was a good plan."

Harry watched his two friends go at it, enjoying the moment of normalcy in his otherwise hectic life.

"If you were so against the plan, how come you didn't say anything back when he told us about it?" Ron asked.

Hermione shuffled around awkwardly, looking down at her feet. "Well, I couldn't come up with anything better at the time…" she admitted.

Harry could tell Ron was about to tactlessly shout in triumph over his verbal defeat of Hermione, so Harry kicked him in the shin before he could speak.

"Ow!" Ron exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"Eh, I just felt like it."

Ron looked at Harry strangely, and Harry reminded himself to give Ron an important lesson on how to talk to a girl you have a crush on later.

"That'sbesidethe point anyway," Hermione continued, brushing off the boys' strange behavior. "All I'm saying is we have to puzzle out the egg's clue sooner rather than later, so we have more time to prepare abetterplan for the second task than we did for the first."

"I'll start working on it soon," Harry said, deciding it was time to get involved in the conversation. "I just have some stuff to figure out first."

"What stuff?" Ron asked curiously.

Hermione studied him for a moment. "You mean with Astoria?"

"Yeah."

His friends had blissfully kept their questions about Astoria to a minimum since that morning, but he knew they were just as curious as everyone else was. Knowing he would have to tell them eventually, and deciding he could use their help sorting out his thoughts, he explained.

"I like her, and I'm pretty sure she likes me. We talked about going on more dates in the future, and then yesterday, as you and apparently everyone else in the country knows, we kissed."

"So youaredating!" Ron declared confidently.

"Well, not really." Harry replied uncertainly. "We've never actually made anything official."

Hermione gasped. "Harry! She clearly likes you, and because of your over-the-top 'performance' with the dragon yesterday, the poor girl was caught kissing you on the front page of the Daily Prophet."

"What's your point?" Ron asked her, truly confused.

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly. "I swear, boys aresoclueless. Harry, take responsibility and ask her to be your girlfriend!"

Harry wasn't sure if Hermione's logic wastotallysound, or if it was coming from the place of a lonely girl who spent the better part of her past fifteen years reading romance novels and having only two friends.

Having said that, it had been the excuse he was looking for, so after they had split up some thirty minutes later, he set off to find Astoria.

I'm going to ask Astoria out,Harry thought as he walked around the school.When I find her, I'll just confidently walk up to her, and say 'Hey Astoria! Want to be my girlfriend?'

No, that doesn't sound right…

Harry took a deep breath and worked on his pitch.

'Oh hi Astoria! Do you by any chance want to date me?'

No, that's no good either…

Harry wasprettysure Astoria liked him, and would say yes regardless, but he still didn't want to make a mess of asking her out.

'Astoria, I really like you. Would you be my girlfriend?'

Hey, that one's not bad!

Having settled on his wording, Harry practiced the line a few times in his head on his way through the courtyard. Eventually, he spotted Astoria standing near the fountain by the clocktower, and mentally prepared himself to call out to her.

Okay Harry, breathe.You're going to prove everyone wrong once and for all. You're going to get a girlfriend, and you're going to ask her yourself.

"Astoria!" he called, "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Oh, hi Harry! I've been looking for you too!"

"Really?" Harry asked nervously.

Maybe she isn't interested in me anymore?He thought.Maybe the picture in the Daily Prophet scared her and she decided she wanted someone less trouble than me? No, Harry! You're just making excuses. Ask her out, prove that you can do it. Not only to Sirius, Ron, and Hermione, but to yourself as well-

"Um, do you want me to go first?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "I can do this."

"Do what…?" Astoria looked at him questioningly.

"Ask you to be my girlfriend," he responded casually, still lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh- Wait, what?" Astoria almost thought she had misheard the boy, so surprised was she that he had actually worked up the courage before her.

Harry froze. "Ah! Did I say that out loud?"

"Er…yeah."

Harry sighed. "I didn't mean to tell you like that," he said. "I had a whole line planned out and everything…"

"Oh?" Astoria raised an eyebrow. "I'd love to hear your line. Want to pretend I didn't catch anything and you can start over?"

Harry exhaled, and looked at the girl shamefully. "If you don't mind?"

"Sure."

Harry focused, and turned to Astoria with a serious expression on his face.

"Astoria, I really like you. Can I be your girlfriend?"

"..."

"..."

"So, would that make me your boyfriend?" she asked.

"Huh? No, I-" Harry stopped mid-sentence as he replayed the previous few seconds in his head and realized he had mixed up his words.

Astoria giggled as Harry's face dropped in horror. Ultimately, she liked hima lot,and his social clumsiness was just one of those things that she found adorable about him.

"I think you're overthinking it Harry," she said, deciding to help him out a bit. "But my answer is yes. I was actually looking for you so I could ask you out as well…"

"So youwillbe my girlfriend?" he implored hopefully. "I know I botched this whole thing really bad, but I like youa lotand I promise to treat you well-"

Astoria gave him a quick kiss, and he stopped speaking the instant their lips met.

"Yes, Harry. I'll be your girlfriend," she smiled at him, their faces only a few inches apart.

Feeling bold, Harry leaned in and reinitiated the kiss. This one lastedmuchlonger than the last one, and was considerably more…intimate, as well.

After what could've been seconds, hours, or days (Harry really couldn't tell), a timid voice from behind broke them out of their trance.

"Um, Harry?" Neville Longbottom said bashfully. "You're drawing a lot of attention, I thought you should know."

Harry turned to look at the boy, and saw that there was indeed a crowd of students whispering and pointing in their direction from the fringe of the courtyard.

Harry and Astoria looked at each other, their faces flushed from both the rush of the kiss and the embarrassment from being watched.

"Shall we take this elsewhere?" Astoria asked.

"Let's."

I wonder how Harry and Astoria are getting on since that article?Sirius thought as he skulked through Hogsmeade in his dog form.

Today was another one of his routine check-ups, where he would put in the time to play the part of a stray dog in town. He wanted to ensure that his appearance would be a regular one, and wouldn't draw attention to the one day every two weeks the Hogwarts students were brought in.

Sirius also used the opportunity to pick up on the town gossip, in case any relevant information about him, his allies, or his enemies was passed around.

"Did you hear about Harry Potter?" a middle-aged woman asked a street vendor as she purchased some fruit.

"Of course!" the vendor exclaimed. "Beat a dragon down no problem. I'd say I was surprised, but that's about what you'd expect from the boy who saved the wizarding world as a baby, eh?"

"Sure is, Robert," the woman agreed. "I wishmyson would be more like him – I'm always trying to get him away from those muggle picture boxes. Kids these days just don't go outside anymore, do they?"

"Tell me about it…"

Sirius left the two villagers to discuss their problems with the new generation by themselves, and set off to pick up more rumors.

After a successful few hours in Hogsmeade, where he established there was nothing out of the ordinary that week, Sirius headed back to the portkey he had set up on the outskirts of town.

All of a sudden on his way down the street, the fur on his back stood up and he got a distinctive uncomfortable prickly feeling; his instincts telling him he was being watched.

Sirius had lived long enough to know not to ever dismiss his instincts, and as he walked by a shop window, he used the reflection of the glass to get a glimpse behind him. Sure enough, there was a figure about a block behind him on the otherwise deserted street, moving slowly and casually. While the figure kept themselves sparse, it was exactlythatwhich tipped Sirius off that hewasin fact being tailed.

This was hardly Sirius' first time in such a situation, and he didn't change his gait whatsoever to avoid giving away his knowledge of his pursuer. He lumbered calmly but deliberately, the way a stray dog would, and turned down a few more streets at random. After confirming through another window that he was still being shadowed, he stepped up his attempts to shake them.

Using his intimate knowledge of the Hogsmeade backstreets, he swiftly lost his pursuer and made it to the portkey.

How troubling,Sirius thought as he returned home to 12 Grimmauld Place.Who could that have been?

Sirius knew that the tracker had been experienced, but not experiencedenoughto keep his presence concealed.

The aurors are trained better than that,he reasoned,so that rules out the ministry. A professional investigator wouldn't have found me in the first place, with shoddy skills like that…

Sirius ruled out the obvious possibilities, and eventually had to come to terms with the only rational explanation.

One of Voldemort's men…but how did they know about my animagus form?

The answer hit Sirius a moment later, as obvious as it was. He grit his teeth, and narrowed his eyes in anger and pure hatred.

"Pettigrew," he seethed.

On Saturday morning, Harry walked down to Hagrid's hut to spend some time with his big friend and see if he needed any help with chores.

"Harry!" The man said as he opened his door. "Wha' a pleasant surprise! I haven' seen yeh around much these days."

Harry looked around guiltily. "Yeah, sorry about that Hagrid. I've recently got, um, a girlfriend, and that's been taking up a lot of my time this past week."

"Don' worry abou' that one bit!" Hagrid assured him. "An' congratulations on the girlfriend. Youth is meant ter be spent having fun, not spending time with yer old groundskeeper!"

"But Idohave fun spending time with you, Hagrid."

Hagrid looked around bashfully, and tried to casually wipe the moisture away from his eyes.

Ultimately, it was true. Harry found it a great deal of fun to help the man with jobs around the hut, especially the ones where he got to help the magical creatures. Talking to Hagrid was fun, and refreshingly void of any Daily Prophet rumors – Harry knew that Hagrid didn't read muchat all,let alone the newspaper.

"So what will we be doing today?" Harry asked.

"Well, I told Aragog I'd meet 'im in the forest today, he said he had somethin' to ask o' me."

"On second thought, Hagrid, I need to go spend my youth having fun now. I'll see you later!"

Harry tried to make a swift escape; he had no interest in going back to visit the giant acromantula that had tried to eat him and Ron in his second year at Hogwarts.

"Nonsense!" Hagrid laughed, and put a massive hand on Harry's shoulder, preventing his escape. "It'll be quick, I tell yeh. We won't be goin' into the nest either, we'll be jus' outside."

"Hagrid. Aragog tried tokillme last time I saw him," Harry protested.

Hagrid scratched his beard uncomfortably – hedidfeel guilty about that. "He's sorry 'bout that yeh know," the half-giant said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did Aragog evertellyou he was sorry about it?"

"Well, no," Hagrid admitted. "But I could jus' tell."

"If you say so…"

Eventually, Harry agreed to go with Hagrid. He wasrelativelycertain that Aragog wouldn't harm him with Hagrid around, and hehadlearned a few more spider repellant charms since his last encounter with the beast.

Having said that, he was still ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Yeh know Harry, yeh really took me by surprise the other day against tha' horntail," Hagrid said as they walked together through the Forbidden Forest. "I knew yeh were a great wizard, but I didn' know how much power yeh put behind those spells!"

Harry winced. As much as he liked Hagrid, he also acknowledged the man was probably theabsoluteworst person to tell anything meant to be kept a secret.

"I guess so," Harry shrugged. "I've been practicing a bit."

"A bit!" Hagrid laughed. "Somethin' special yeh are, tha' I know."

Harry felt pretty bad lying to Hagrid, but there was nothing for it he supposed.

"Though," Hagrid spoke after a while, almost hesitantly. "I think yeh could've bin a bit more gentle with her. She was jus' trying ter protect her eggs after all…"

Harry looked at him incredulously. "She was trying to kill me, you know!"

Technically, she hadn't been, but Hagrid didn't know that.

"I know, I know. I jus' feel bad fer those creatures, bein' forced into those tiny cages an' such..."

Harry shook his head at his friend's ability to feel bad for even the most vicious of creatures; he made a mental note to never tell Hagrid that he had slain a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, for fear he might do irreversible damage to their relationship.

"I'm sure the dragon is fine," Harry said. "According to Ron's brother, they've given up the dragon as irretrievable, and her eggs are nowhere to be found either."

"That's a shame fer the sanctuary, but I can' say I'm too upset myself…" Hagrid shrugged. "A dragon like tha' is meant ter be free."

"I agree."

Taking in the appearance of the massive acromantula for the second time, Harry decided that Aragog was no less scary in the light of day than he was in the dark of night.

"Greetings, Hagrid,"the spider wheezed.

Harry couldn't help but feel like Aragog was sounding…old? He didn't let his guard down however, as his two giant pedipalps still twitched menacingly.

"Hi there Aragog! Yeh remember my friend Harry, don' yeh?"

"Of course…"Aragog said ominously, in a way Harry really didn't like.

"Hi again," Harry mumbled, desperately trying to keep his cool.

Hagrid looked between the two of them happily, glad that they were getting along. "Well now," he said. "Yeh had somethin' ter discuss with me?"

"Indeed,"the giant arachnid began."It's one of my daughters you see…"

Harry cringed. He remembered Aragog's offspring quite keenly, as they often appeared in his nightmares.

"She is…not like the others,"he continued."She has a sharp mind – perhaps the most intelligent arachnid I've ever seen. But she is also small, and weak. If she stays in the colony, she will be eaten in short order."

That piece of information surprised Harry.They eat their own?He thought.That's pretty brutal…I'm almost starting to feel sorry for them.

"Where is she now?" asked Hagrid.

"Come forth, Willa."

As Aragog spoke, nothing happened. Harry looked around in confusion, and the sentiment was echoed by Hagrid.

"Willa?" called Hagrid, looking around for an acromantula.

"I'm down here, you big oaf!"a squeaky, feminine voice called from the forest floor.

Harry looked down, and saw a small tarantula no bigger than the size of his palm looking up at them. Her body was the pure white color of fresh snow, and her eight eyes were blood red. Harry thought she was rather cute, all things considered.

"Keep staring and I'll start charging you a fee!"she chirped.

On second thought, not that cute,Harry revised his first impression.I see why they were going to eat her now.

"Quite the spirited one, eh?" Hagrid laughed, clearly finding the spider's attitude to be amusing.

"Indeed,"Aragog agreed."In my old age I have gotten soft – I'd have let her be eaten a decade ago. While her growth is severely stunted, she thinks well, and I'd consider it a shame for such a unique acromantula to be cannibalized."

"Daddy,"Willa whined."I keep telling you. I'm not an acromantula, I'm a princess spider!"

Harry looked at the little creature skeptically. "Have you ever heard of a 'princess spider'?" he asked, turning to Hagrid.

"Well, er, no." Hagrid confessed. "But that doesn' mean they don' exist!"

Harry was relatively confident that ifHagridof all people hadn't heard of a 'princess spider', no one had.

"So, uh. What do we do with her?" Harry asked.

"I'll take her in o' course!" Hagrid replied matter-of-factly.

"But she's anacromantula,Hagrid! Do I need to remind you what happened thelasttime you illegally accommodated an acromantula?"

It was a low blow, and Harry knew it, but he had to express the severity of the repercussions if Hagrid was caught housing yet another outlawed creature on Hogwarts grounds.

Hagrid looked down at his feet, ashamed, and Harry immediately felt irreversibly guilty.

"I jus' want ter help," Hagrid said, like a chagrined infant.

Harry let out a big sigh. "Fine. She's so small, no one will think she's an acromantula anyway. We'll just say you're researching a newly discovered breed of arachnid called the 'princess spider' if anyone finds out."

Hagrid looked up at Harry, hope clear in his eyes.

"But that won't matter, becauseno onewill find out. Right, Hagrid?"

"Right!"

"Don't I have a say in the matter?"the little spider asked sassily."What if I don't want to stay with the large, uncouth lout?"

"Would you rather get eaten by your siblings?" Harry countered.

"Hmph!"she replied."They wouldn't dare eatme."

Despite her words, Harry could hear a slight waver in the spider's voice.

"But I suppose Icouldgrace you with my presence, at least for a little while, until I grow too large to be contained."

Harry and Hagrid looked at Aragog questioningly."She is four years old,"the patriarch explained."She is fully grown."

"Huh," Harry snorted, looking down at her.

"Just you wait!"Willa shrieked angrily up at him."When I getmassive, you'll be the first one I eat!"

"Mr. Potter, may I speak with you for a moment?" Professor McGonagall asked Harry after class later that week.

"Of course Professor, what do you need?"

"I just wanted to be sure you've secured a date for the upcoming Yule Ball," she said.

She took in his blank expression and continued. "Youdoknow about the Yule Ball, don't you?"

Harry felt like Dumbledore might have mentioned something about a ball at some point during his introductory speech for the tournament, but he wasn't really paying attention at the time. And with everything that had happenedsincethe announcement, Harry felt like he could be forgiven for letting it slip his mind.

"Uh, sure." Harry replied.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him. "It is customary for the champions - this includes you, Harry - to open the ball with a dance. Which is why, for the sake of tradition, you must find a partner."

"I have to dance?" Harry asked, horrified. "I don't mind going, butdancingis a bit much don't you think?"

"It doesn't matter whatIthink, Potter. The tradition has never been broken, and I won't let a Hogwarts student - frommyhouse no less - change that."

As Harry sighed, McGonagall smiled at him. "Besides, from what I've seen, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to decide on a date."

"Even you, Professor?" he groaned. Harry passively wondered just how many people in Britaindidn'tknow about him and Astoria.

"Oh, don't worry," she chuckled. "It's a good thing! I assumeyou'rethe one I have to thank that her Transfiguration grades are finally reaching acceptable levels?"

"It could be," Harry shrugged. "I don't suppose you want to show your thanks by getting me excused from dancing?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter."

Harry walked through the hallways after dinner that night looking for Astoria. While it was probably a given that they'd go to the ball together, he wanted to ask her anyway – both to confirm that shewouldactually go with him, and because he hadn't spoken to her all day and wanted an excuse to go look for her.

On his way down the staircase, a younger Gryffindor girl he recognized ran up to him.

"Hi Harry!" she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Oh. Hi?"

"My name is Romilda. Do you want to take me to the Yule Ball?"

Harry stood there, mouth agape, looking at the girl. She smiled sweetly up at him.

"What year are you in, Romilda?" he asked eventually.

"Second."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, listen. I have a girlfriend, but even if I didn't, you really shouldn't be asking out boys two years older than you at your age."

"But Astoria is younger than you too," she pouted.

"By two months!"

Romilda sulked and walked away, and Harry briskly moved on. He felt weirdly guilty just by talking to the girl, and decided to tell Astoria about it.

Harry was walking through the hallway when another girl, a Slytherin this time, stopped him.

"Hi Harry!"

"Um, hi?"

"I'm Olivia. Do you want to take me to the Yule Ball?"

Harry paused for a moment in complete shock.Am I popular now or something?

"Wait a second," he said, recognizing her face. "Aren't you one of Astoria's friends?"

"Yeah," she giggled, grabbing his arm playfully. "What does that matter?"

"You know I'm dating your friend, right?" he said aghast, trying to shake her off his arm.

"For now," she purred, maintaining her grip on his arm and pressing herself against him slightly. "But I could be asomuch better girlfriend…"

"Oh my gosh, no!" he said disgustedly, and forcefully pulled himself free. "I havenointerest in girls other than my girlfriend, andyoushould really think about how you treat your friends!"

Harry stomped off angrily, leaving the spurned girl behind without a second glance.

I just want to find Astoria…Harry thought as he searched the courtyard.

"Um, Harry?" a voice from behind him called.

He turned around and saw Ginny. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.Surely not, right?

"I just wanted to ask, if, um, maybe-"

"Sorry Ginny, I'm looking for mygirlfriendAstoria right now."

Harryreallydidn't want to have to reject his best friend's little sister.

"Oh, okay," she replied. "I'm pretty sure I saw her sitting with Luna by the Astronomy Tower."

"Thanks!" Harry said, and ran off before Ginny could ask him to take her to the ball.

"Wait!" she called.

Harry turned around slowly.

"I just wanted to know-"

"Look," he interjected. "I have a girlfriend, and I'm really not interested in taking anyone else to the ball."

Ginny looked at him strangely. "I know that," she said.

Harry froze. "Wait, so-"

"I just wanted to know if you've seen Neville around.Heasked me to the ball and I was looking for him so I could accept his invitation."

Harry blushed. "I'm really sorry Ginny. I've had a strange night, and I might have built up a bit of an ego unknowingly."

"It's okay, Harry."

"And I'm not sure where Neville is, but good luck with him! He's a great guy, you won't regret it."

As Harry ran off to go find his girlfriend, Ginny watched his figure disappear into the shadows cast by the setting evening sun.

Shewasgoing to ask him to take her to the ball, but he didn't need to know that.

Besides, Neville did actually ask her, and shewasplanning on taking him up on his offer in light of the short conversation she just had.

Ginny sighed.

I guess it's time to finally move on,she thought.

"Astoria!" Harry exclaimed in relief as he found her sitting on the steps to the Astronomy Tower with Luna. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "Of course, Harry! I kind of assumed I would be."

"Well, apparently noteveryonemade that assumption."

At Astoria's puzzled expression, Harry detailed the events of his night to her.

"Olivia!?" she growled angrily. "I can't believe her!"

Astoria thought about it for a moment and realized that she actuallydidbelieve her – Olivia was kind of like that.

"You sure are popular," Luna remarked. "Should I ask you too?"

Harry wasprettyconfident she was joking, so he just laughed.

"I feel insecure all of a sudden," Astoria said, hugging her arms around herself. "Why do I have so many new rivals all at once?"

"You don't have any rivals, Astoria," Harry said, walking over to where his girlfriend sat on the steps. "You're the only one for me."

"Aww," sighed Luna.

Astoria's eyebrows shot up. "Woah, Harry! Where did that come from?"

He had stolen the line straight from a book he had read earlier that year, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"From the heart," he said, winking at her.

"Yikes," said Luna.

Astoria winced. "Yeah, that one was a little corny," she admitted.

Harry's face fell, disheartened, and Astoria rushed to reassure him. "But still, I like the newfound confidence! It looks good on you!" she said, playfully batting at her boyfriend's arm.

Harry blushed. "I'm trying to be a little less shy is all," he said. "I figure if I can face a dragon I can face a girl…"

"You'll get there," encouraged Luna.

Astoria narrowed her eyes at him teasingly. "That's fine and all, but don't gettoocomfortable. If I ever catch you with Olivia, I'll make that Horntail look like a puppy…"

"Oh gosh,no."Harry said, and he meant it – Oliviascaredhim. Besides, he was pretty sure the way his girlfriend was glaring at him right now was all he'd ever need.

After a while, Luna left and Harry took her place next to Astoria on the steps. They spent some time in each other's company, talking, making plans for next Hogsmeade weekend, and eventually kissing as well.

"Harry?" Astoria said, in between kisses.

"What is it?"

"My parents want to meet you."

Harry almost fell off the step he was sitting on. "Already? We've only been dating what, three days?"

Astoria shrugged. "Maybe, but we were on the cover of the Daily Prophet after only, um, negative one days?"

"Oh," Harry said lamely, realization slowly dawning on him. "And I take it they saw that?"

"Yup," she confirmed. "I got a letter today, telling me to invite you to our house one afternoon over the holidays. They made it sound like it would be fun, but I have a feeling they just want to grill you with questions."

"I don't mind," Harry said, thinking it would be rather fun to see his girlfriend's home. "Did they say anything else?"

"Not much," she started, and Harry let out a breath of relief. It sounded kind of nice, and he wasn't nearly as nervous about the idea as he had been expecting.

"Just that they werereallyworried about me and all the attention I was getting, and that they had gotten over a dozen letters asking about my eligibility to be wed to various pureblood scions, and that mom wants records of your medical history, and that dad spent the last three nights crying about his 'baby girl being all grown up' and a few other things along those lines."

"That doesn't sound like 'not much'!" Harry shouted, nowconsiderablymore nervous about meeting Astoria's parents.

"My Lord, I bring news."

"Speak, Avery." The Dark Lord hissed.

"It is as you suspected," Avery said with a bow. "I sighted a dog fitting Black's description in Hogsmeade earlier this week."

Peter Pettigrew bit his fingernails nervously.

"As I thought," Voldemort declared. "It istherethat he meets with the Potter boy. Tell me Barty, when is the next 'Hogsmeade trip'?"

"This weekend, My Lord." Barty Crouch Jr. spoke from his weakened master's side.

"Good," he replied. "We shall act then. Avery! Bring who you must. Keep the boy alive, but ensure that Sirius Black is killed. Donotfail me again."

Avery left the house in Little Hangleton and reflected on his misfortune. Of all the Death Eaters walking free, it washimthat Pettigrew contacted to complete this job, and it washimthat was punished for failing to seek out his old master. While he still supported the Dark Lord's cause, he would have preferred to lay low until Voldemort was back to full strength.

What if I get caught?Avery thought to himself.I don't want to go to Azkaban!

The man started to feel himself panic, but he pushed the feelings down with practiced ease. Avery wasn't one of Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters during the first war for nothing – he had a sharp mind, and was often able to turn the tables on a bad situation.

…But what if I don't get caught?

I'll keep my identity a secret,he thought.A handful of thugs should be more than enough to take down Sirius Black. I'll take the credit, but frame someone else. My hands will be clean of the whole thing, and when Voldemort returns to power, he'll reward me handsomely.

Now just to make sure the plan goes off without a hitch…

Avery smiled as theperfectscheme started to unfold in his head.

"Kreacher, did you purchase everything I asked for?" Sirius Black asked his house elf.

"Yes master," Kreacher replied. "But are you sure this plan is wise?"

"Don't tell me, after all this time, you've come to care for me?"

"Of course not, master. You may do as you wish."

While Kreacher wouldn't go so far as to say hecaredfor Sirius, hedidfeel as though the man was beginning to grow on him.

After all, his master may have been insane, but he was stillhismaster.

"Perfect," Sirius smiled, rubbing his hands together. "Let's give those Death Munchers something to be afraid of."

Chapter 9: Hello Darlings

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! New chapter.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading this fic so far, and to everyone who left such nice comments for me to read :)

Thanks as always to BingBong for helping me edit this chapter, and a reminder that I was inspired to write this story from a prompt that he came up with.

Dear Harry,

Have you found a date for the Yule Ball yet? You know you'll have to open it with a dance, right?

If you don't have anyone to ask, why not try Astoria? I saw her kiss you on the front page of the newspaper the other day, so I'm sure she'll say yes ;-)

Harry looked up from the letter he was reading and took another bite of toast. He was honestly surprised it had taken Sirius this long to mention the article. Shrugging and assuming his godfather must have just been busy lately, he continued reading.

Anyway, you better ask her soon! I already made an appointment for you and *someone else* to go get fitted at a fashion house in Hogsmeade this weekend – I'll leave directions below. You'll be taken care of by Sally, who used to be a good friend of mine. She does much better work than whatever you would've found at Malkin's or Twilfitt.

On that note, I have a few things to attend to and I won't be able to meet with you this week, for which I am sincerely sorry. I hope you can forgive me, and have a good time with whoever you choose to ask to accompany you to the ball.

Love,

-Padfoot

P.S. - I think you should ask Astoria!

P.P.S - She'll say yes!

P.P.P.S - Other girls might not say yes!

Harry's face fell as he read the part of the letter that mentioned Sirius' inability to meet with him that week. As it was, this was the first letter Sirius had sent him since the first task, and the thought of going another two weeks without seeing him made Harry feel rather lonely.

"Padfoot?" Ron asked, once Harry had finished reading and returned his attention to breakfast.

"Yup," Harry replied. "He wants me to ask Astoria to the ball."

"A bit late on that, isn't he?" Ron remarked.

"Yeah, well we didn't talk much this week," Harry said. "I didn't have the chance to tell him about me and Astoria yet…"

"You can tell him all about it this weekend, I suppose," offered Hermione.

"Unfortunately not. He said he has 'a few things to attend to', and wouldn't be able to meet me..."

Hermione frowned at that, and Harry understood her worry. Sirius shouldn't have much to attend to, considering he was in hiding and all.

"That's a shame," Ron said with a conciliatory frown. "Any other plans, then?"

"I think so. Padfoot said he made a reservation for me and Astoria to go get dress robes at some place called 'Bowles', have you heard of it?"

Ron shrugged. Hermione thought the name sounded familiar, but couldn't recall where she might've heard it, so she shook her head.

"Oh well," said Harry. "I'm not sure how necessary it is, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something better than what I picked up this summer, and I doubt Astoria has anything to wear yet."

"Wait!" shouted Ron, seeing an opportunity. "Does that mean you won't be wearing the robes you bought in Diagon Alley with us?"

"I guess not? At the time I didn't know what the robes were for so I just picked the cheapest black robe I could find-"

"Can I have it?" Ron asked excitedly.

Harry looked at his friend in surprise. "If you want," he shrugged. "I'm not sure if they'll fit you quite right though…"

Ron sighed in relief. "Trust me, no matter how badly they fit, they'll be better than what my mom sent me."

"What did your mom send you?" asked Hermione.

"You seriously don't want to know," he replied. "I would've been atotalembarrassment to my date."

Harry looked at Ron oddly. "I didn't even know youhada date for the ball yet. Who did you ask?"

"Well," Ron started uncomfortably. "I haven't actually asked anyone yet…but I will soon!"

Harry made eye contact with Hermione, who just rolled her eyes at him.

"Why don't you just ask someone cool, who you already speak to?" Harry suggested. "You know, like as a friend?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry.

"Yeah, you're right," replied Ron thoughtfully. "That's not too bad of an idea."

"Alright, I'm off then!" Harry said as he got up to leave. "See you guys around."

As Harry walked away, Ron turned to Hermione.

"Hey Hermione! You're my friend. Want to go to the ball with me? You know, as friends?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Ronald. I'll go to the ball with you,as friends."

Bit of a cop-out, but at least having a date will get that creepy Viktor guy off my back,Hermione thought.

Harry tried to ignore the stares as he walked over to the far end of the Slytherin table, where a large group of girls sat eating, chatting, and laughing. His girlfriend was right in the center of it all, and when he approached, she turned to look at him with a big smile on her face.

"Um, may I borrow Astoria?" Harry asked the group at large.

"Nowyou ask?" called Tracey, grinning at him. "Shouldn't you have askedbeforeyou stole our little princess- Ouch!"

Tracey's joke was cut off as someone - likely Daphne, who was sitting next to her - stomped on her foot.

Harry blushed, and turned to face Astoria. "I mean, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course Harry," she smiled playfully. "You know I'll never turn down a 'moment' with you- Ow, Daphne!"

Astoria shot her sister an accusatory look as she cradled her recently stomped foot.

Astoria got up off the bench, and Harry glanced awkwardly at Daphne. They had never actually spoken before, but shewasin his year, and hewasdating her little sister. Were they supposed to talk about that?

Daphne just maintained a silent glare in his direction, so Harry bashfully broke eye contact without a word and led Astoria out of the hall.

He was just gratefulhisfeet were not in stomping range.

"Sorry for dragging you out here," Harry said as they exited into the hallway. "But your sister still scares me."

"Oh, don't worry about her," Astoria replied offhandedly. "She'll never admit it, but she approves of you."

"Really?"

Astoria shrugged. "Probably. I figure if she didn't approve of you she would've hexed you by now."

"That's a relief…I think?"

"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh right!" Harry exclaimed, remembering why he had asked for her in the first place. "Have you got a dress for the ball yet?"

"Not yet," she replied. "Honestly, I was planning on just begging my parents to send me something cute. Why?"

"My, er, family friend told me he has an acquaintance in Hogsmeade who could set us up with something, so I was wondering if you wanted to take him up on that?"

Astoria narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the mention of Harry's 'family friend'. It had been a recurring point of contention between them, as Astoria didn't understand his reticence to discuss the friend in question, and Harry didn't understand how to tell her that his godfather was a (wrongfully accused) mass murderer.

"I'd be happy to come, of course," Astoria said. "But youaregoing to introduce me to this friend eventually, right?"

"Um, yeah. For sure," Harry replied noncommittally.

His girlfriend sighed in disappointment.

I really have to find a way to explain Sirius soon,Harry thought.

Sirius arrived in Hogsmeade early that morning, before even the most opportunistic of townspeople were awake and starting their day. He figured the only way the Death Eaters could have tracked him down to Hogsmeade was by knowing of his association with Harry, and it then stood to reason that they would strike when Harry would next be in town. If he was wrong, he would have simply wasted a day that he could have spent with Harry, which while certainly not ideal, was not irredeemable. If he was right however, he'd have protected both Harry and himself, and taken out a few of Voldemort's followers while he was at it.

Either way, he'd covertly escort his godson to Sally's shop, where he would be safe; despite everything, Sally was a highly competent witch. In the meantime, Sirius would do some hunting of his own. He hadn't displayed any signs of noticing his stalker during his last visit to Hogsmeade, so he wasn't expecting the Death Eaters to be prepared for his own pre-emptive attack.

Been a while since I've had a good, old-fashioned stakeout,Sirius thought to himself as he got comfortable on the roof of a tall building near the center of town, omnioculars in hand.Just like old times, eh?

And then he waited.

Harry followed the directions from Sirius' letter, leading Astoria to a rather sleek looking store in an upscale part of the village. As they entered, they noticed a young girl and what appeared to be her mother already there, getting ready to leave.

"But maman! I wanted the red one, not the silver one!"

"Come now, Gabi," the woman said to her daughter. "The red one wasfartoo distracting; this is not your time in the spotlight."

"It willneverbe my time!" Gabi whined.

"Do not be so sure," her mother said with a patient smile. "It may come sooner than you think."

Harry and Astoria watched as the pair left the shop, and turned their attention back to the interior of the store.

"Are we waiting for someone?" asked Astoria.

"I think so? Someone named Sally apparently-"

"Hello Darlings!"

A gaudily dressed woman with a neckline that plunged a little too low for Harry to be comfortable looking at swept towards them and clapped her hands together. The woman had a thin handsome face, glossy dark hair, and carried herself regally. Her exact age was hard to pin down, but Harry would've guessed she was somewhere in her mid thirties.

"You must be Harry Potter!" she said, grabbing his chin with her long fingers and twisting it around to get a better look at his face. "Despite what they say, I don't find you look much like your father."

"You knew my dad?" Harry asked, astonished.

"Of course I knew James." she replied, letting go of his face. "Never was my type though. Too…committed."

Harry was still reeling from that revelation when she turned to inspect Astoria. "Ah, and you must be Victoria!" she said with glee. "I've read all about you in the Prophet – I'm a big fan of yours."

"You're a fan of mine?" Astoria asked, bewildered. "What have I ever done to earn fans?"

"Oh, don't be so modest," the woman laughed. "Your work is inspiring; to have a famous wizard like Harry Potter wrapped around your finger at such a young age is no small feat!"

Astoria gave Harry an awkward smile and shrugged.

Harry sighed. He had long since given up trying to correct the misunderstandings that were born from Rita Skeeter's article.

"Now, on to business," she said, smiling widely. "I'm Sally, and I'll be helping you find your dress robes. Come with me!"

Harry and Astoria followed Sally through the shop, which let them have a good look at the clothes displayed on the countless racks and mannequins around them. Everything they saw exuded extravagance and meticulous attention to detail; the gowns were made of exquisite silks and satin, and the craftsmanship on display from the handcrafted suits was incredible.

"This place is amazing," Astoria whispered to him as she looked around in awe. "I've never seen clothes so beautiful!"

"Itisimpressive," Harry answered. He didn't know the first thing about fashion, but evenhecould tell this was no run-of-the-mill dress shop.

Astoria eventually remembered she was here tobuya dress, and turned to Harry sheepishly. "I think these dresses may be alittleout of my budget though…" She had gotten a bit of extra money from Daphne today, but she knew in a store like this that paltry sum wouldn't even buy a button.

"Nonsense!" Sally said, whipping around to look at the two teens. They startled as she spoke, as they hadn't even known she was listening to their conversation.

"Our mutual friend," she said, winking at Harry, "has paid in advance. Don't worry about anything other than finding theperfectrobes today."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise.Sally knows about Sirius? Is that even safe?

Noticing Harry's shock, Sally laughed. "Oh, he tried to put it under a fake name, but he can't fool me. Don't worry though, my lips are sealed," she said, closing an imaginary zipper on her lips.

She found him out that easily?Harry thought.I guess I have to remind Sirius to be more careful again…

Astoria looked over at him suspiciously. "I take it your 'mutual friend' is that mysterious family friend of yours?"

"Er, yeah."

Astoria frowned. "I appreciate their generosity, but Ireallywould like to meet them, especially if they're going to spend that much money on me…"

"I know, I know," Harry said guiltily. "Just give me a bit more time, please?"

"Okay, Harry," Astoria sighed in resignation. "You'll tell them I say thank you though?"

"Of course."

Sally eventually led them to a closed room at the back of the shop with mirrors on every side.

"The fitting room," she said cheerfully, gesturing around her.

She took out her wand, and with a short flick, a measuring tape snapped to attention beside her. She turned her eyes to Harry and gave him a smirk.

"Now Harry, undress."

Harry looked at her, frightened. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on now, don't be shy. Off with your shirt! How else do you expect me to take your measurements?"

Harry turned to look at Astoria, who also seemed to be at a loss for words. He turned back to Sally. "Um, in front of her?"

"Tsk, tsk. I know what you kids get up to these days, it's nothing she hasn't seen before."

Harry was quite sure that 'you kids' werenot,in fact, getting up to anything like this, at least not amongst the people he knew. He wasdefinitelysure that neither he nor Astoria were, in any case.

After a moment to collect himself, he decided that being seen shirtless probably wasn'tactuallythat big of a deal; he had changed in front of the Quidditch team in the locker rooms before, and it never bothered him then. With a deep breath he removed his shirt, only a little bit awkwardly, and hoped Astoria didn't stare.

Astoria stared.

She had obviously never seen Harry without a shirt on, but thanks to this wonderful 'Sally' woman, her boyfriend's bare torso was now on full display. Astoria's face flushed red, and she licked her lips unconsciously. She had never seen so much of Harry before…

"This is kind of embarrassing," Harry said into the silence.

"It shouldn't be!" replied Sally. "Sure, you're a bit on the slim side, and your skin is so pale it's almost translucent, but the way your girlfriend is staring at you meansshedoesn't mind!"

Astoria squeaked and turned away, flustered over being caught.

Harry blushed and tried to cover himself with his arms. He hoped Astoria was staring because shelikedwhat she saw, and not because she was disgusted…

Sally looked at the awkward, blushing couple in surprise. "I guess you two are taking it slow then? You know, by the timeIwas your age-"

"Um, the measurement?" Harry asked.

"Right, right."

Over the next few minutes, Harry's measurements were taken, and Astoria managed to resist the urge to turn around until it was finished; it helped that since the room was made of mirrors, she was still able to peek occasionally.

"Now then," Sally said with a smile, putting the measuring tape away. "Let's dress you up, shall we?"

I wonder how things are going with Sally?Sirius wondered.

While neither of them had been aware of it, Harry and Astoria had been tailed by Sirius throughout their entire walk to the shop. He had done it just to be safe, but the lack of attackers had proven his suspicions likely correct – the Death Eaters were afterhimtoday, not Harry.

With his godson's safety assured, Sirius returned to his perch in the center of town, and continued looking for any irregular activity that would indicate Death Eater presence. It was regrettable, as he was originally planning on beingmuchmore involved with Harry's selection of robes for the Yule Ball, but he also trusted Sally's aesthetic judgment.

After all, there was a reason she was one of the wizarding world's top fashion designers. She wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect.

"Pretty good," Sally said, as Harry tried on what felt like the hundredth robe. "But we can do better."

"I agree," Astoria nodded sagely.

In the past thirty minutes of trying on every robe that caught either of the girls' eye, Harry had noticed a bond of camaraderie form between the two of them.

"What about this blue one?" Sally suggested.

"No, definitely not that one," Astoria replied. "He needs something darker. How about that maroon robe over there?"

Sally hummed. "You might be onto something…Harry! You know what to do."

Harry sighed and trudged back to the changing room, maroon robes in hand.

"Nope," the two women said immediately and simultaneously as Harry came back out.

This is going to be a long day,he thought.

Sirius wasalmoststarting to suspect he had been wrong about the timing of the Death Eaters' attack when he spotted a group of seven men apparate into Hogsmeade by the gates through his omnioculars. While the men were dressed casually with their faces unconcealed, Sirius had been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, and a group like this most certainly was.

Sure enough, the man at the head of the group gave a few short orders while pointing in various directions, and the men set off in three groups of two. The leader stayed where he was, leaning against a wall and pulling out a cigarette, presumably waiting for his 'scouts' to return.

I doubt they're searching for a tea shop,Sirius thought to himself.I wonder if they're looking for little old me?

Sirius clambered down the side of the building using his recently purchased Wizard's Climbing Shoes, and set off to find the first group of men.

After tryingseveralmore robes, Harry emerged in a simple black ensemble that while rather plain in design, fit perfectly and had an indescribable aura of power and elegance about it.

The two women stared at him for a moment, speechless, and the gleam in Astoria's eyes reminded him suspiciously of the way Hedwig looked at bacon.

"It's perfect!" Sally declared enthusiastically. "You'll be the talk of the ball, Darling!"

Astoria looked at herincrediblyhandsome boyfriend, completely lost for words.Was he always this…yummy?she thought.

"Astoria dear, you're drooling," Sally said.

Astoria wiped her mouth and turned to the woman. "Um, maybe we should pick something a littlelessnice? I have enough competition as it is…"

Sally laughed. "Oh, don't worry sweetheart. You won't haveanycompetition once we've found your dress."

"So it's Astoria's turn now?" Harry asked, relieved that he wouldn't have to try on any more clothes.

"Yup! Follow me, Astoria. It's time to take your measurements."

Harry blushed as he followed them into the fitting room. Was Astoria going to have to take her shirt off like he did?

Am I ready for this?Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart.I mean, I'd like to see more of her, but I also want to take things slow- Actually, that's not what this is about at all. She's just getting measured, and it's not like I'm going to make things weird by looking at her or anything-

"Harry?" Sally said as she noticed Harry following them into the fitting room. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"What? I thought…"

Sally raised an eyebrow at him. "You thought what?"

"Well, Astoria was there whenIgot measured, so I just kind of thought, well…"

"Don't be a creep," Sally said. "You can wait in the store."

"A creep!?" Harry shouted indignantly.

"I mean, I don't really mind if Harry watches…" Astoria said, blushing and looking at the ground.

Sally shook her head furiously. "Absolutely not! Your dress will be a surprise, and he'll see it on the night of the ball and no sooner!"

Astoria felt a bit guilty, but was also a little relieved; she was trying to be fair, but ultimately knew she would've been pretty embarrassed to get measured in front of Harry.

"Sorry," she said, smiling up at him. "I guess you'll have to try a little harder if you want to see me out of my robes."

Harry blushed furiously. "Oh my gosh, I never said I wanted to! I just assumed that- You know what, forget it. I'll go wait outside."

Astoria giggled as he walked away. Sally turned to look at the girl, respect clear in her gaze.

"Not bad," she praised. "But I'll teach you a thing or two later that'llreallyknock his socks off…"

"Hello, friends!" Sirius said cheerfully as he stepped out of a shadow in an alleyway that he had created using some of his supply of Shadow Powder. "Were you looking for me?"

The two goons looked at each other in shock.

"It's him!" one of them yelled. "Kill-"

The man was cut off as Sirius tased him unconscious with a Zonko's Prank Party Popper that he had modified to pack alittlemore punch than it was supposed to.

Sirius pointed another Party Popper at the remaining goon. "Who sent you?" he asked.

"I'll never tell you!" the man shouted, raising his wand.

It was the last thing the man said before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

After Harry had changed out of his new dress robes and had them sent back to his room at Hogwarts, he snuck out of the back door and into the streets of Hogsmeade. He had been looking for an excuse to duck out today and find a Christmas present for Astoria, and being kicked out of the changing room when it was Astoria's turn to get fitted presented a good opportunity.

He had asked Hermione, being his only other female friend, what Astoria might like for Christmas. She told him that since it was still early, it was better to play it safe and get her something thoughtful but functional, like a scarf. It seemed a decent enough idea to him so he had done some research and found a clothing store of good repute on the other side of the town that would have a selection for him.

Now, just to get there and back before Astoria finishes up with Sally,he thought as he took off at a jog down the street.

"Hey, Tucker. What did they say Black looked like, in his dog form?"

"Er, I think they said, 'big, with black fur' or somethin' like that. Why you askin', Eddy?"

"You don't reckon that's him over there, do you?"

The two men looked over to where a large black dog was lying down, whimpering, at the end of a street.

"That's gotta be him!" Tucker said to Eddy. "And he's injured, one of the other teams musta hit him already!"

The two men went running down the street, and the dog, noticing them, got up slowly and started to limp around a corner.

"He's running!" Eddy said. "Don't lose him!"

As the two men turned the corner they had seen the dog disappear into, they were promptly sprayed in the face with a canister of Instant Sleep Gas.

Tucker and Eddy had a short moment to look at each other in surprise, before they slumped gracelessly to the ground.

"Not bad," a perfectly uninjured Sirius said as he looked down at the can in his hand. "I see why this stuff is illegal now."

Sirius shifted back into a dog before anyone turned up the street he was on and noticed him. With one last glance to make sure the men weren't getting up any time soon, he trotted away.

I know I'm a bit of a failure with fashion, but I hope she likes this scarf!Harry thought as he clutched the present he had purchased Astoria with both hands. He wasn't sure if she'd like it, but it was the same color of blue as her eyes, and he thought it would look nice on her.

Harry ran off towards the other side of town, where he was hoping he'd get back before Astoria was finished choosing her dress.

After capturing the remaining two men in a 'Resizable Cage For All Occasions' and casting a few silencing charms on them, Sirius loped back towards the Hogsmeade gates.

So it's just the leader left, eh?Sirius thought to himself as he walked.This group wasn't as competent as I was expecting. I guess the Death Eaters don't have the same resources they used to…

Soon enough, Sirius spotted the same man from before leaning against a building with a cigarette, but with a decidedly more concerned expression on his face.

I'm not taking any chances with you,Sirius thought as he snuck behind the building and shifted back into a man.I may not be great with a wand, but even I won't miss from a few feet away.

Avery watched from a short distance as Sirius took out the leader of the group he had hired with a stunning spell to the back.

He knew they would fail; it was all part of his plan.

Avery didn't expect for a moment that a band of thoughtless thugs would be able to kill Sirius Black, a mission that he and his fellow Death Eaters had tried and failedcountlesstimes to do during the first war. Granted, Black was rusty now, and considerably older than he had once been, but Avery had lived long enough to know never to trust anyone else with a job that needed to get done. So in the end, Avery had set up a hiding spot within viewing distance of the leader of the group, betting that eventually Sirius would make his way over to take him out.

Avery smiled as he watched Sirius transform back into a dog and take off down the street. It wasnowthat he would be most vulnerable, with his guard let down. Avery wouldn't use an unforgivable curse - he couldn't take that kind of risk in case he got spotted - but he knew more than enough 'forgivable' spells that could kill a man when properly aimed.

Stepping out of his hiding spot, he pointed his wand at the dog's neck.

"Diffindo!"

On his way back to Sally's shop, Harry passed by the Hogsmeade gates. He was so focused on getting back in time that healmostmissed the dog casually ambling down the sidewalk.

Sirius!? What is he doing here? I thought he had business to attend to today…

Harry realized that Siriuscouldbe in Hogsmeade attending to business, but still – if Sirius was already there, couldn't he have taken at least a little bit of time to meet with him?

Harry was in the middle of wondering why his godfather didn't want to talk to him when he noticed the other man. One he didn't recognize, from behind Sirius, with his wand raised in the dog's direction.

"Diffindo!"

"PADFOOT!"

At Harry's shout Sirius spun around, causing Avery's cutting curse to hit his shoulder instead of his neck. He yelped in pain, and looked wildly between his godson and the Death Eater in panic.

Avery got over his initial surprise from seeing Harry rather quickly, and raised his wand towards the boy. While the Dark Lord had told him that Potter must remain alive, hedidn'tpreclude maiming him.

"Confrin-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry hadn't survived his first three years at Hogwarts by being slow to react. The moment after he had yelled to Sirius, he had his wand out to disarm the man who tried to kill his godfather.

Avery looked down at his empty wand hand in shock. The little brat haddisarmedhim! No matter, he had a backup wand in his-

"Stupefy!"

The man fell to the ground, stunned. Satisfied that the threat had been dealt with, Harry looked around and noticed that their scene was starting to draw attention. Putting his wand in his pocket, he ran over to the injured Sirius and hauled him into his arms. Harry almost gagged at the amount of blood that matted his fur, and he felt himself start to panic as he heard Sirius' ragged breath.

"Don't shift yet," Harry said in a rush as the dog whimpered. "There are too many people around."

Harry ran through Hogsmeade carrying the large canine. His arms and legs burned from the exertion and he drew many strange looks, but he didn't care; the life of his only remaining family member was in danger.

"What happened here?" Officer Philippe, senior member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement said once he pushed through the crowd and arrived on the scene.

There was a large bloodstain on the ground, and a stunned but otherwise uninjured man laying prone some feet away.

"Officer, I saw the whole thing!" exclaimed a man from the gathered crowd. "It was Harry Potter!"

There was muttered assent from the group, backing up the man's claims.

Officer Philippe looked at the man questioningly. "What do you mean, civilian? Speak clearly."

"That man," said the villager, pointing at Avery, "tried to kill a stray dog, and then turned his wand on Harry Potter, probably to do the same! Potter disarmed and stunned him, and then ran off with the dog!"

Officer Philippe furrowed his brow. Thiswasn'tthe case he had been expecting when he was called in on the emergency line to Hogsmeade a few minutes earlier.

A stunned man, a stray dog, and the boy who lived,Philippe thought.How do these pieces fit together?

"Officer!" one of his junior agents called to him as he jogged over. "We have two unconscious men in an alley off High Street. Their profiles match the descriptions of known wanted criminals in the DMLE database!"

Philippe rubbed his temples. He had been an officer for over a decade, and knew from experience that this new complication wasverylikely to be connected with the scene in front of him. He just didn't knowhow.

"Understood," he said, before turning to another of his junior agents. "Don, call in backup. Let them know we'll need a full sweep of the village and extraction of atleastthree potential felons. When you're done with that, send a missive to Hogwarts – we're going to need to speak with Harry Potter."

Harry placed Sirius down as gently as his sore arms could manage on to the floor of the Shrieking Shack. Sirius shifted back into his human form, and gasped in pain as the wound on his shoulder transformed along with him.

Harry reallydidgag this time, as he saw the massive gash in Sirius' arm that traveled from the top of his shoulder to his elbow, revealing the bone underneath.

"Oh no, oh god, what do we do," Harry panicked as he grabbed the scarf he had just bought and used it to try to stop the profuse bleeding from Sirius' arm. "We have to get someone that can help. Damn it! We don't have enough time to get Madam Pomphrey-"

"Kreacher," Sirius croaked weakly.

With a soft pop, a weathered old house elf appeared beside him. "Master, what-" the elf stopped abruptly as he took in the damage done to Sirius' arm. "Oh! Oh dear, oh dear me."

With a snap the elf disappeared again, and Harry feared for a moment he had abandoned them, but a moment later he was back, his thin arms full of supplies.

"Drink this, master. It will help with the pain," Kreacher said as he lifted a vial to Sirius' lips. Sirius drank it down, shuddering, but his gasps of pain slowly subsided.

Harry watched as the elf applied lotions, salves, and powders to Sirius' wound, waving his hands over it with softly muttered expressions all the while. After a few minutes, Kreacher took out a roll of gauze and wrapped the arm tightly. By that point, a bit of color had returned to Sirius' face and he turned to look at his godson and his house elf.

"That makes the second time you've saved me, Harry," he said softly. "And thanks for coming, Kreacher. I'm surprised you didn't use the opportunity to finally get rid of me."

"You insult Kreacher. A house elf's duty is always to his master."

"Um, will Sirius be okay?" Harry asked nervously.

"Yes," the elf replied sharply. "The reckless, careless, thoughtless master who doesn't listen to Kreacher's warnings will be okay."

"Hey!" Sirius retorted, a little too loudly and devolving into a brief coughing fit. "The plan workedflawlesslyuntil that pinhead Avery showed up…"

"Avery?" Harry questioned.

"The man you stunned," Sirius explained. "Good job on that by the way! He was one of Voldemort's Death Eaters in the first war, but he avoided Azkaban by making a few convenient donations to the right people."

"Oh," said Harry, trying to put all the pieces together in his head. "And whatwasthe plan, exactly?"

"Harry?" Astoria said as she came out of the fitting room with Sally. She had found theperfectdress, and was positively ecstatic about it.

She wanted to show her boyfriend justhowecstatic she was, preferably using kisses, but he wasn't in the showroom of the store where they had left him.

"Huh," said Sally. "He disappeared."

Astoria narrowed her eyes. "So it seems."

"Does that happen often?"

"Occasionally."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "The dress will be sent directly to your room at Hogwarts. Do you need anything else?"

"No, that will be all," Astoria replied. "Thanks Sally, for everything. I need to go hunt for my boyfriend now."

Kreacher glared at Sirius as the man explained his plan to Harry. By the end of the story, Harry was glaring at him as well.

"Your plan was to take on a group of unknown size and skill, that already knew both your human and animagus identity, without help?" Harry said incredulously.

"Well," Sirius started. "When you put it like that, it sounds a bit rash…"

"No matter how you put it, master, it sounded rash. This is what I already told you last week," Kreacher scolded.

"I still don't understand," said Harry, shaking his head. "Why would you try to fight them? Why didn't you let someone know, letmeknow, and then just stay away from Hogsmeade?"

Sirius sighed, scratching his head, and he grimaced as the movement made intense pain shoot through his arm. "It was Pettigrew," he admitted. "The only way they would have known about my animagus form is if Pettigrew was informing them. I thought that maybe he'd show up today…"

"And you wanted revenge?" Harry suggested.

Sirius looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with his godson.

"Sirius," Harry began. "I already lost you for fourteen years because of Peter Pettigrew. Please promise me I won't lose youforeverbecause of him as well."

Sirius winced. What was he supposed to say to that?

"Master Sirius, Master Harry is wise. You should listen to him, even if you don't listen to poor Kreacher."

"I know, I know," Sirius said with another sigh. "It was dumb. I wanted us to be safe, and I let my emotions get the better of me, again. I promise I'll be more careful in the future."

Harry turned to look at Kreacher. "Kreacher, can you make sure he follows through with that?"

"Yes, Master Harry," the elf nodded. "Today has taught Kreacher that a much firmer hand is needed with troublesome masters like Master Sirius."

"Have you seen Harry?" Astoria asked one of her friends once she had gotten back to the High Street without finding her boyfriend.

"Everyone's looking for Harry! Apparently he got in a fight with an adult wizard and then ran through town with a bleeding dog in his arms!"

Astoria's jaw dropped.What's he gotten himself into the middle of this time?She thought.I swear, these things only happen to Harry!

Astoria ran through Hogsmeade, asking everyone she could find if they knew where her boyfriend was. No one did, and her concern grew with every passing minute she didn't find him. Eventually, she came upon Luna, who was standing by herself, staring at the Shrieking Shack.

"Luna," she gasped, catching her breath. "Have you seen Harry?"

"Several times."

"Really?"

"He goes to school with us."

"Oh- Wait, what? I mean, do you know where he is now?"

Luna shrugged. "I was picking mushrooms over there when I saw him run into the Shrieking Shack. I'd try looking there, if I were you."

Astoria took off towards the Shrieking Shack before Luna had even finished her sentence.

"Master, we can't stay much longer," Kreacher said. "There are too many-"

"Harry!"

Sirius, Kreacher, and Harry all looked towards the door as it crashed open and a blonde girl ran in.

"Oh thankheavens," she said as she moved to Harry and wrapped him in a tight hug. "I thought you were hurt. Wait, are you hurt? Where did all this blood come from?"

"I'm not hurt," Harry replied, his brain working overtime to figure out what he was supposed to do in this situation. "It's, uh,hisblood," he said, pointing towards Sirius.

"Oh," Astoria exhaled, relieved. While a bleeding stranger wasn'tgreat,she figured it was still decidedly better than a bleeding Harry.

Astoria took another look at the man sitting on the floor with a bandaged arm, who was looking up at her in surprise. He lookedawfullyfamiliar for a stranger…

Oh right,she thought.He's been on wanted posters for the past year-

"Harry!" Astoria exclaimed in panic. "That's Sirius Black!"

Harry forced out a laugh and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Ah, yeah. Remember the family friend you wanted to meet?"

"...Yes?"

Harry gestured to Sirius. "This is my godfather."

Astoria looked up at Harry, her eyes wide and full of confusion. "Huh?"

"Er, it's a long story, but basically he's innocent and was framed for all of those crimes, and is actually my legal guardian."

"Not so legal at the moment!" Sirius chimed in. "They still think I killed all those people."

Astoria's face paled and Harry shot Sirius a glare for his poorly timed addendum. Realizing he had yet to make proper introductions, Harry gestured to Astoria.

"Sirius, this is my girlfriend, Astoria Greengrass."

"Girlfriend!?" Sirius exclaimed with a big smile. "It's nice to finally meet you Astoria, I've heard so much about you!"

Astoria looked at the man she had spent her entire life believing to be the wizarding world's most notorious mass murderer. "Hi? It's, um, nice to meet you too. I've, um, heard a lot about you as well..."

Sirius beamed.

"Master, we should really get going," Kreacher spoke up from the corner. "The ministry could be here at any moment."

Sighing, Sirius turned to Harry. "I'm sorry we didn't get much of a chance to speak today, but Kreacher is right – we caused too much of a stir to remain here for long. I'll send you a letter as soon as I can."

Harry nodded. "Okay Sirius. You'll stay safe?"

"I promise."

Kreacher grabbed on to Sirius' uninjured arm, and with a soft pop they disappeared.

They stood there in silence for a bit, Astoria recovering from the chaos that was her past half hour, and Harry wondering how he was going to deal with the inevitable ensuing fallout.

Eventually, Astoria composed herself and turned to look at Harry with her arms crossed. While normally he found her glaresincrediblyattractive, at the moment, he was just terrified.

"You have alotof explaining to do," she said.

Sirius and Kreacher returned to 12 Grimmauld Place, their sudden entrance by apparition causing Max to bark in surprise.

Kreacher levitated Sirius over to the couch, where Max promptly jumped up to snuggle by his feet.

Sirius lay there, about to drift off to sleep, when a thought struck him. "Hey Kreacher, you don't suppose Harry's going to get trouble from the ministry for stunning that Death Eater, do you?"

"I imagine he will, master."

Sirius thought some more. "What about his girlfriend, for keeping my identity a secret from her for so long?"

"I imagine the girlfriend too, master."

"Oh dear."

Chapter 10: Magically Come Dancing

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and enjoying this fic so far.

If you'd like, feel free to let me know what you're liking/disliking in the comments so I can continue to improve as a writer :)

The value BingBong brings to this story as not only an editor but as someone to bounce ideas off of and get live feedback from is not to be understated. So once again, a big thanks to him for sticking with me for the past 10 chapters.

"Have a seat, Harry."

Harry walked over to the armchair Astoria was pointing at and sat down sheepishly.

"Do you know why I'm mad?" she asked.

"Um…" Harry thought about it. He felt like this was a trick question. "Is it because I didn't tell you about Sirius?"

"No."

Damn. Heknewit was a trick question.

"Is it because I left you in the dress shop without saying anything?"

"No."

Harry tried to think about what else Astoria might be mad at over.

"Is it because-"

"No."

"Hey! I didn't even get to finish my guess, how did you already know it was wrong?"

Astoria just glared at him with her arms crossed, so he shrunk back into the armchair.

"So, um, are you going to tell me why you're mad?" he asked eventually.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I want to be mad at you for a little while longer before you have a chance to apologize and make things better," she explained.

Harry tried not to let his confusion show on his face. He may have a girlfriend now, but girls clearly still presented many mysteries he didn't yet have the experience to unravel.

After a brief pause, she sighed. "It's because you didn't trust me enough to tell me about your godfather."

Harry gave her a puzzled look. "Wait, wasn't that the first thing I guess-"

"I understand why you were hesitant to tell me," she spoke over him. "But I hope you know that I would've believed you about him, and I could've kept it a secret too. We're dating now, and you can let me share some of your burdens."

Harry looked away from her guiltily. "I know. I was going to tell you about him eventually…"

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him.

"Probably…" he added.

Astoria sighed and sat down next to him on the armchair. It was a rather tight squeeze, but Harry wasn't complaining.

"I'm sorry," he said. "And I knew you would've understood, I just didn't really know how to say it…"

"It's fine." Astoria swatted his arm playfully. "I'm still a little mad, but it's not like my godfather is a notorious mass murderer, so it's not that easy for me to put myself in your shoes."

Harry let out the breath he was holding in.That wasn't so bad,he thought.I guess I really could have told her sooner…

"Now, are you ready for your punishment?" Astoria asked facetiously, narrowing her eyes at him.

Harry laughed and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "You're so cute when you glare."

Astoria frowned. "My glares aren'tcute,they're intimidating."

"Of course they are," he said, giving her another kiss."Superintimidating."

She pulled away from him. "Hey, wait! Are you being sarcastic?"

"No…?" He tried to put his arm around her but she pushed him away.

"I'm not cuddling until you tell me I'm scary," she pouted.

"You're scary," he said.

"Ugh, say it like you mean it!"

"You'rereallyscary."

She glared at him one last time, gave up being angry, and sunk into his arms.

Ron and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room late that night, waiting for Harry to return.

"Harry just can't seem to keep himself out of trouble," Ron remarked from the couch where he sat nervously twiddling his thumbs.

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, sighed, and put it away. She was trying to pass the time before Harry got back, but was ultimately too nervous and just kept reading the same page over and over again.

"To be fair, it's rather hard to stay out of trouble when you caused Voldemort's downfall as a baby, have a wanted criminal as a godfather,andhave a penchant for saving people at risk of your own life. But still, youareright," Hermione sighed. "Harry is a veritable trouble magnet."

Ron nodded, and looked off through a window overlooking the school grounds. "These days, I'm really glad I'm just Ron Weasley."

Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's actually really mature of you, Ron. I'm impressed."

"Well, you know," Ron started bashfully. "I'm getting older and all that…"

Harry chose that moment to practically fall through the common room doors.

"Gah!" he exclaimed. "This day feels like it lastedforever."

"Harry!" his two best friends cried in unison when they saw him.

Harry staggered over to the seating area his friends were in and collapsed into a chair. He had no clue what time it was, but seeing as how they were the only ones in the common room, he assumed they were closing in on midnight.

"How much do you know?" Harry asked eventually, trying to get away with speaking as little as possible.

"Just that you stunned a man in Hogsmeade, and then ran through town with…er, a dog," Ron answered.

While they had at least known that Harry was safe, one of Ron and Hermione's biggest worries since hearing about the incident in Hogsmeade earlier that day was of the 'bleeding dog' that Harry was rumored to have been running through the village with. They were able to assume the dog was Sirius, but they weren't certain how bad the 'bleeding' was.

Harry sighed. "Where should I start…"

Harry filled them in on the events of his day, starting with seeing Sirius in his dog form in the streets of Hogsmeade and ending with the past several hours of talking to agents from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement once he had returned to Hogwarts.

"You told themyouwere the one to take down those thugs?" Hermione shook her head incredulously. "No wonder they kept you so long! Youknewhow much extra trouble that was going to cause."

"What else was I supposed to say? I couldn't let them figure out Sirius was involved…"

"And they didn't?" Ron asked. "I mean, surely the thugs mentioned him?"

"Probably," Harry conceded. "But is anyone really going to believe that me and Sirius Black were in cahoots to take down a group of criminals?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. Harry was probably right, but she still didn't like it. If anyone from the DMLE found out that Harry was associating with Sirius Black, he would be inmajortrouble.

After a few moments of silence, Ron turned to look at Harry. "So what now?"

"I'm not sure," Harry replied uncertainly. "They seemed satisfied with my answers by the end of it all, and the evidence backed my claims pretty compellingly. With any luck this all gets swept under the rug by the ministry and forgotten by tomorrow."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance.

"What?" Harry asked, noticing the matching expressions on his friends' faces.

"Well, mate," Ron began. "You're not exactly known for your luck…"

"Master," Kreacher began. "Master Dumbledore has once again refused your request to accommodate Master Harry over the winter holidays."

"That's not fair!" Sirius exclaimed. "He's my godson!"

Sirius walked over to the couch and flopped down into it dramatically.

"That may be so master, but you are not his legal guardian. His guardianship is still entrusted to the muggle family in Surrey. If they don't sign the release form, Master Harry must remain at Hogwarts over the holidays."

Sirius sighed. "But I don't want Harry to spend another holiday alone!"

Kreacher walked over to Sirius and gave him a pat on the knee. "Master Harry will be fine," Kreacher said.

Sirius leaned back on the couch, thinking. "I don't want Harry to spend another holiday alone…"

There was a pregnant pause in the living room as Kreacher held his breath, waiting for Sirius' next words. He had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to like them.

"And if I don't want Harry to spend another holiday alone," Sirius began, a smile forming on his face. "Then we just have to make sure that he doesn't!"

Not this again,Kreacher groaned.This is exactly what we were trying to avoid!

Since his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had been subject to whispered words and pointed fingers. At first, it was because of his name and legacy, and later, because of the trouble he often found himself caught up in. Now that he was halfway through his fourth year at Hogwarts, he had long since grown accustomed to the gossip, rumors, and drama.

What hewasn'taccustomed to was having older students run away from him in the corridors.

"What wasthatabout?" Ron asked as they watched Marcus Flint take one look at Harry, turn on his heel, and walk briskly in the opposite direction.

"Er, I'm not sure?" Harry replied. While he had seen a lot less antagonism from the Slytherins these days, they had never seemedafraidof him before.

As they kept walking towards the Great Hall, they turned a corner and very nearly ran into Pansy Parkinson.

"Eep!" Pansy squeaked as she threw herself to the ground to avoid bumping into Harry. "I'm sorry!"

The three friends watched as Pansy picked herself up hurriedly and bolted down a set of stairs.

"Huh," Hermione said. "Thatwasweird."

"I don't think I've ever seen Pansy apologize to anyone that wasn't Draco," Ron added. "Definitelyweird."

A few minutes later, Harry sneezed and a nearby first year Slytherin girl started to cry.

"What's going on today!?" he asked no one in particular.

His question was quickly answered as he stepped into the Great Hall and noticed that morning's Daily Prophet lying on a nearby table.

"Harry Potter, Hero of Hogsmeade?" Ron read aloud, picking up the newspaper. "Who came up with that?"

Harry found the credited author at the bottom of the page and groaned. "Rita Skeeter, apparently. Doesn't she have anything else to write about? I'm kind of tired of her acting like my personal biographer…"

"Itiskind of creepy," Hermione admitted.

Leaving the newspaper aside, they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. As usual, Harry was swarmed by a group of admirers that wanted to know all about his latest escapade in Hogsmeade and as usual, he evaded most of their questions and gave vague answers to the rest.

Out of curiosity, Harry took a look around the hall, and sure enough every time he made eye contact with a Slytherin they glanced away hastily.

"Hey, Neville?" Harry asked. "Any clue why the Slytherins are scared of me?"

Neville looked up from his cereal. "Um, well, you beat eight dark wizards at the same time yesterday… "

"I did?"

"Well, that's what Rita Skeeter said anyway."

"Huh. And now all the Slytherins are afraid that they're next?"

Neville shrugged. "Theydobelong to the house with the highest outturn of dark wizards, I guess they're afraid you'll do a purge."

Harry looked at Neville aghast. "Mygirlfriendis in that house!"

Neville gave Harry a sympathetic look, but he couldn't totally hide his amusem*nt. "Then I guess she'll be spared from your wrath."

Harry sighed. He really couldn't seem to catch a break.

"Your boyfriend really can't seem to catch a break," Tracey observed.

"Tell me about it," Astoria sighed. "This morning alone I've had like, five people come up to me and ask to be my friend. I would've found it nice if I didn't know they were just trying to get on my good side so that Harry doesn't smite them or whatever."

"Stupid, the lot of them," Daphne declared. "But still, I have to admit. Harrydoesappear to be a much more capable wizard than I originally gave him credit for. First the dragon, and now this…"

"He's definitely capable," Astoria replied honestly.

After Sirius left yesterday, Harry told Astoria all about his godfather, as well as the truth behind his fight with the dragon and the men in Hogsmeade. While Astoria still found Harry's actual accomplishmentsveryimpressive, she understood Harry's need to stay silent about it to the rest of the school.

"So does that mean you approve of him as Astoria's boyfriend now?" Tracey asked Daphne.

Daphne narrowed her eyes in irritated concentration. She wasn't sold on Harry Potter, not yet at least. By all accounts he treated her sister well, and seemed an upstanding enough sort. He was also handsome, talented, and came from a line of storied and well-respected wizards on his father's side.

"Harry Potter is alright..."

On the other hand, he was annoying, caused way too much of a stir with the media, and most importantly, was dating her little sister.

"...But that doesn't mean I think he's good enough for Astoria."

Astoria smiled and shrugged. She knew that Daphne wouldn't thinkanyonewas good enough for her; Daphne was rather protective of her, after all. As it was, 'Harry Potter is alright' was probably a soaring compliment coming from her.

"Maybe you should stop worrying about my love life and figure out your own," Astoria teased. "You're a year older than me and you haven't even had acrushon a boy yet!"

As Astoria's attention returned to her breakfast, Daphne and Tracey exchanged a surreptitious glance.

"She's right you know," Tracey said with a mocking smile.

"Shut up."

Peter Pettigrew stepped nervously into the room where his master dwelled. "M-m-my Lord," he got on his knees and bowed deeply, letting his forehead touch the ground. "The mission d-did not succeed."

Voldemort remained silent, so Peter continued. "Avery and all his m-m-men were stopped by Harry Potter before they c-could finish off Black, My Lord."

He risked a glance up, and immediately shrank away whimpering from the rage he saw there.

"And what of Avery?" Voldemort hissed.

"He was in m-m-ministry custody, but he escaped."

Voldemort screamed in rage, and the bulb of a nearby lamp exploded. "The coward!" he rasped. "To think he's fallen so far, even the Potter boy proved too much for him to handle…your confidence in him was misplaced, Wormtail."

Pettigrew bowed even deeper, pressing his cheek to the floor. "My Lord!" he blubbered. "H-H-Harry is much stronger than we anticipated!"

"Which is precisely why we have to kill Sirius Black first, you fool!" Voldemort took a shuddering breath as he contained his temper. "Ensure that he is dead before the final step of our plan is staged; we can't risk him getting in the way."

"Y-yes, My Lord!"

"And Wormtail?"

Pettigrew cringed at Voldemort's use of his loathsome childhood nickname, which naturally, was why he used it.

"Donotfail me again."

Harry and Hermione sat in the library on a cold December afternoon, studying together.

"I forgot to ask," Hermione said as she put away one of the books she was finished with. "Did you end up getting that scarf for Astoria?"

Harry stopped for a moment, trying to remember what happened to the scarf he had bought. "Ah," he replied once he remembered. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's covered in blood somewhere at Padfoot's house."

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

Hermione looked over at him. "Do you have a backup plan?"

"Another scarf?" Harry suggested.

"I guess you could," Hermione said. "But why don't you use the opportunity to think of something she'dreallylike?"

"Like what?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know, Harry. She'syourgirlfriend, notmine.I barely even know her."

Harry thought about that, and realized Hermione had a point. Sure, Hermione was a girl, but that didn't mean she would know the perfect gift for every other girl by default.

No, what Harryreallyneeded was someone who knew Astoria well. Someone who knew her even better than he did, and would be able to provide insight into what she'd want for Christmas…

One does not simply talk to Daphne Greengrass.

The boys were afraid of her, and the girls knew to stay away from her. Besides the professors, the only people that spoke to Daphne were her best friend Tracey and her little sister Astoria, which was exactly how she liked it. Daphne didn't like speaking to, hanging out with, or generally associating with people, and shedespisedlarge groups. They made her uncomfortable, and she would admit (to no one) that she had a smidge of social anxiety. Over the past four years she had established an untouchable reputation at school that kept people at an arm's length, and it was a very rare occurrence for someone to call out to her.

In fact, it wassucha rare occurrence that it took Harry three tries to finally get her attention.

"Um, Daphne?"

Daphne looked up from the book she was reading and glared at Harry. Shehatedit when her reading time was interrupted. And this was such a good book too…

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked nervously.

She didn't feel like speaking, so she just nodded shortly at him. Normally she would've hexed him for speaking to her while she was in the middle of a chapter, but that would've angered her sister, and an angry Astoria was not a good Astoria.

"What do you think Astoria might like for Christmas?"

Hmm…Daphne thought.Consulting the older sister for advice? Not bad, Potter.

"Why don't you think for yourself?" she replied, a little more harshly than she had intended.

Harry flinched back in surprise from her aggressive tone, and Daphne immediately felt guilty. She hadn't been trying to be mean, but her tongue got the better of her sometimes…

"I tried," Harry said after a while. "But I've never had a girlfriend before, and I really like her, and I want to get her something special."

He really likes her? Of course he does. Astoria's the best.

"It'll be good enough if you just get her whatever," she said, a little more dismissively than she had intended.

"But I don't want it to be just 'good enough'," Harry persisted. "I want to get something that'll make herreallyhappy…"

"..."

Daphne looked at the blushing boy appraisingly.He's kind of wholesome?Really annoying, but surprisingly authentic for a teenage boy…

"She likes animals," Daphne said eventually. "Get her a guidebook or something. But if you do, make sure there are a lot of pictures; she doesn't really do words."

Harry beamed at her. "That's a great idea! I'll definitely do that. Thanks Daphne!"

"Sure."

Harry was about to leave when he noticed the book Daphne was holding. "Hey, I think I read that book last summer! Isn't thatAnnie on-"

"That's enough Harry. Please let me get back to my reading."

"Oh, okay," Harry nodded understandingly. "Sorry for disturbing you, and thanks again!"

Daphne watched as the boy walked away. She felt a bit bad about cutting off the olive branch he had extended to her at the end there, but ultimately she wasn't quite ready to become friends with her little sister's boyfriend yet.

So he likes to read, huh?Daphne thought as she turned her attention back to her book, trying to find the spot where she left off.I suppose he's not the worst boy Astoria could've picked…

The next day after classes, Harry went down to visit Hagrid. If anyone knew about animal guidebooks, it was Hagrid. And if anyone knew about animal guidebooks with lots of pictures and not so many words, it wasdefinitelyHagrid.

As he approached, he heard two voices engaged in a heated argument.

"Willa, those are the blast-ended skrewts I've bin caring fer. I can' very well get rid of 'em just because yeh don't like 'em!"

"It's notjustthat I don't like them; those filthy varmints are an insult to my very existence!"

"Don' call 'em varmints, they're respectable creatures jus' like you and me."

"I'm not a creature! I'm a princess spider!"

Harry knocked on the door. He really did need to ask Hagrid for a book recommendation, but he also felt like breaking up this quarrel might be the right thing to do.

"Oh hi there Harry!" Hagrid said as he opened the door. "I'm happy to see yeh, but now might not be the bes' time fer a visit…why don' yeh come back tomorrow?"

"Trouble with the spider?" Harry asked.

Hagrid scratched his beard awkwardly. "She's not too happy stayin' here with me, I don' think. I normally have somethin' of a knack for creatures, but Willa might be too smart fer my normal tricks…"

"Is that Harry?"Willa called from somewhere out of sight.

"Hi Willa," Harry replied, poking his head into the hut. "It's been a while."

The little white spider crawled into view and came to stand beside Hagrid in the doorway."I never thought I'd be so happy to see you. I almost forgot what real English sounded like!"

Harry frowned at the spider's rude words. "You know, if it weren't for Hagrid you'd be acromantula food right now. You could stand to be a little nicer to him."

"I would've been perfectly fine on my own!"she replied indignantly.

"Then why are you still here?" Harry asked.

"Hmph! Maybe I just prefer human society to spider society."

Hagrid looked at Harry and gave a great big sigh. "She wouldn' survive long in the wild. I'm lookin' ter rehome her, but I'm scared o' what cruel experiments the wrong wizard might do ter such a unique creature…"

Harry crouched down to the floor and took a long look at the palm-sized spider. Whatever she was, she really didn't look like an acromantula; he wouldn't have even believed shewasone if Aragog hadn't specifically told them that she was his daughter. She was essentially just a fuzzy, white, talking tarantula with a superiority complex.

Huh,Harry thought as an obtrusive but interesting idea came to him.This might be a horrible idea, but here goes nothing.

"Alright, listen," Harry said to Willa. "I know someone who might like to take you in, and you may find they suit your preferences better than Hagrid. No offense," Harry turned to Hagrid.

"None taken," Hagrid said. "I understand it can be tough ter live in the hut with me."

Harry tried to ignore the slight sulk in the man's tone and turned back to the spider. "But this person is very important to me, and you'll have to promise to behave yourself, and tellno onethat you came from an acromantula colony."

"And you promise they're not big and smelly like Hagrid?"

Harry glared at her. "You're going to have to watch that attitude of yours if you want to stay in human society," he warned. "But no, for the record, she'snotbig, and she usually smells like vanilla."

"Ugh, I can't think of what to get Harry for Christmas!" Astoria complained one night in Daphne's room.

"Christmas is only a week away," Daphne reminded her. "You better think of something soon."

"Why don't you just put a little bow on your head and tell him that his present is you?" Tracey offered.

Astoria looked up at her sister's best friend hopefully. "Would that work?"

"No!" interjected Daphne. "Just get him something normal, like a scarf."

Astoria sighed. "But I want to get him somethingspecial…"

Daphne felt a strong sense of déjà vu wash over her.Could it be that these two actually suit each other rather well?

The week leading up to Christmas was surprisingly uneventful for Harry. He had exchanged several letters with Sirius, who due to an increased law enforcement presence in Hogsmeade, was staying away from the village until next school year. Sirius told him that while it was a shame, he'd make it up to him soon.

Harry helped Astoria study for her exams, and the preparation helped him with his own, which he thought went rather well. Thankfully, Hermione was too hung up with her own studying to pester Harry about the clue for the second task, which he was procrastinating with finding (he had opened the egg a few times, but it just screamed at him obnoxiously).

Without Sirius to meet, Harry spent the last Hogsmeade trip of the year with Ron and Hermione, picked up some last minute presents for his friends, and spent an hour or so in the tea shop with Astoria.

Overall, despite the fact that he didn't get to see Sirius, it was by far the most pleasant week he had experienced at Hogwarts since his name was pulled from the goblet, and before he knew it, Christmas was upon them.

"Harry, wake up! It's Christmas!"

Harry groaned. "Give me a few more minutes…"

Eventually Ron dragged Harry out of bed and they met with Hermione in the common room to do some preliminary gift exchanges. Hermione gave him a watch, and Ron got him an odd looking device called a 'sneakoscope'. Harry gave them the presents he had picked up in Hogsmeade the other day; a perfume bottle and a book about Quidditch, respectively.

"This is great Harry, thanks!" Ron said as he flipped through the book. "When are you meeting up with Astoria?"

"A little bit later," Harry replied. "I still have, er, a few things to set up…"

Hermione frowned at him. "Set up? What exactly did you get her?"

Harry sighed. "A guide book, a small cage, and a year's supply of live crickets."

Ron and Hermione stared at Harry, their eyes wide and mouths open. They didn't know it at the time, but the exact same thought went through their heads simultaneously.

That's the worst Christmas gift ever!

"Where are we going, Harry?"

"Not far," Harry replied. "It's just, um, one part of my gift kind of hinges on another part, so we have to go, um, find it first."

Astoria had given Harry an empty magical book that could store up to three-hundred paperback novels (Daphne told her Harry would like it), which he had appreciated very much. As she followed him through the school grounds in the snow, she decided it seemed as thoughhisgift for her was a little more involved.

"Um, how long do you think this will take, ish?" Astoria asked. "Tracey said she'll need at least four hours to get me ready for the ball."

"Four hours!?" Harry exclaimed. "What could she possibly need four hours to do?"

"I guess that's something you'll just have to look forward to," she said with a smile, grabbing his hand so she could hold it while they walked.

Harry remembered the last time Tracey had helped Astoria get ready, back during their first date in Hogsmeade a little over a month ago, and realized hewasrather looking forward to seeing the way his girlfriend would look at the ball.

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at Hagrid's hut.

"We're here," Harry stated nervously. He was starting to regret this whole idea, and wished he had just gotten the scarf instead.

Astoria looked at the hut. "You got me Hagrid's hut for Christmas?"

Before Harry could reply, the door opened and Hagrid came out. "Merry Christmas Harry!" he said, enveloping the boy in a crushing hug.

"Merry Christmas Hagrid," Harry wheezed out from the center of his friend's pulping embrace. "This is my girlfriend, Astoria Greengrass," he said once he was free.

"Hello there Astoria, an' a Merry Christmas to yeh as well!"

"Merry Christmas Hagrid!" Astoria smiled up at the man, even though she was still unsure why she was here.

Hagrid spoke joyously as he invited them into his house. "Yeh know, I'm glad it was Astoria. She's one o' my most passionate students in Care o' Magical Creatures, so I know I can trust her with this."

"Trust me with what?" Astoria asked, more confused than ever.

"Hello!"

Astoria looked towards the source of the voice and saw a tarantula the size of her hand on Hagrid's kitchen table, waving a leg at her in an uncanny approximation of a human greeting.

"..."

Harry and Hagrid gulped nervously as they waited for Astoria's reaction. They werereallybetting on them to hit it off; Hagrid because he wanted Willa to be rehomed with someone he could trust, and Harry because if they didn't, he'd have purchased a traveling crate and a year's worth of live crickets for nothing.

"No, but, who buys their girlfriend a cage for Christmas?" Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione winced. "I…really don't know. I think he got her a pet."

"A pet that eats live crickets?"

"Yeah…"

"So that would be like, some kind of reptile, right?"

"That, or a tarantula."

Ron's face fell as he thought about his best friend. "I guess we'll be here to comfort him when she breaks up with him."

"Maybe she'll like it?" Hermione said doubtfully.

Ron shook his head sadly. "What were you thinking, Harry?"

For Astoria, it was love at first sight.

"Oh my gosh you'readorable!"she declared as she ran over to the table where the spider stood. "I've never seen such abeautifulwhite color before, you look just like freshly fallen snow, maybe your name is snowflake? No, not snowflake, that sounds weak, you don't look weak so maybeWinterwould suit you better, oh and your eyes aregorgeous,such a deep red I could getlostin them-

"Astoria," Harry started, knowing from experience he would have to cut her off if they wanted to be anywhere anytime soon. "This is Willa. Willa, this is my girlfriend Astoria."

"Willa? What a beautiful name! It's nice to meet you Willa." Astoria extended one finger to the spider, who extended a leg in turn and shook 'hands' with her.

"Likewise,"she replied."It's nice to meet someone who knows beauty when they see it."

"Oh my gosh do I ever. You're so pretty you could cure my sister's arachnophobia!"

"You're not so bad yourself. You have nice hair, for a human. And you smell positively scrumptious."

"You like it?" Astoria asked excitedly. "My mom bought this perfume for me last year, it's vanilla but with a hint of strawberry…"

Harry and Hagrid exchanged a glance, starting to feel a bit more confident about their plan. They let the two girls talk it out for a while longer, listening patiently as they discussed all things aesthetics. Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation, and Harry spoke up.

"So, if you two are open to it, would you like to be companions?"

Astoria looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't have an animal for school yet, right? Owls are messy, cats are a lot of maintenance, and toads are…toads. So I thought maybe you'd like to take care of Willa?"

Astoria's eyes got wet and she sniffled a bit. "Really?"

"So long as she's alrigh' with it," added Hagrid, gesturing to the spider.

"I like her,"Willa confirmed."She's vibrant, pretty, and flattering. Everything a human should be."

"I would love to!" Astoria exclaimed, brushing a happy tear off her cheek. "Oh mygoshthis is so exciting, thank you guys allsomuch!"

Harry exhaled a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad the two of you got along, and that you wanted to take her."

Astoria nodded excitedly. "Of course! I've always wanted an animal, it's just my parents refused to get me another one after what happened to Flopsy."

Harry, Hagrid, and Willa all froze.

"Flopsy?" Harry asked.

Astoria nodded sadly. "A bunny I used to have."

"What happened to Flopsy?"questioned Willa.

"She ran away."

"Blimey," said Hagrid, surprised. "I didn' think wizard animals ever ran away."

"They normally don't," Astoria replied. "But after a week Flopsy chewed right through her cage, broke the lock on my door, and somehow burned down half of the vestibule to escape."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Woah! She must havereallywanted to get out of there."

Astoria's face fell and Harry rushed to comfort her. "That's not what I meant! I just mean, um," he stumbled over his words looking for a way to cheer her up. "You were so much younger back then! You didn't know any better…"

"It was only two years ago," she said mournfully.

Willa looked over at the two men, abject fear painted clearly in her eight red eyes."Am I going to be okay?"

"Champions, this way!" called Professor McGonagall from outside the Great Hall.

Harry went to join the rest of the Triwizard competitors and their dates gathering around McGonagall. While everyone else was accounted for,hisdate was still nowhere in sight.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said when she saw him. "Idohope you have a partner?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure she's just late," he replied nervously. "But just out of curiosity, what would happen if I didn't?"

McGonagall frowned. "I suppose you'd have to open the ball dancing with me, I'm afraid."

Harry looked at the woman aghast. He really liked her as a teacher and as a person, but opening the ball with her would be absolutely mortifying.

Please get here soon Astoria,he thought desperately.

Harry heard the hallway go silent as everyone turned towards the top of the staircase, where a beautiful girl descended.

Wow, Hermione looks great!Harry thought as he watched his two best friends walk down towards the crowd. Ron had found a way to make Harry's old dress robes work even though they were clearly a little too small for him, and together they made quite an attractive pair.

I'm still not sure if anything will ever happen between them, they're a little too different, but I hope they have a good time-

Harry's thoughts ceased to exist as he spotted his girlfriend.

Flanked by two older girls that were beautiful in their own way, Harry didn't even notice them, so focused was he on Astoria. She wore a pastel pink dress with modest frills and a few ornaments that might've looked gaudy on a different girl, but Astoria wore with an authenticity that made her look like a princess.

"Wow…" was all Harry could say as he watched her get closer. Her hair was done up in a style that Harry couldn't name but definitely liked, and a bit of makeup blushed her cheeks and accentuated her eyes. Whatever Tracey had done, it waswellworth the four hours.

"Sorry I'm late," she said shyly as she approached. "I wanted to brush Willa's fur and I got carried away. It turns out she likes baths and manicures too."

Harry tried to imagine his girlfriend giving a tiny manicure to her pet tarantula, but couldn't quite picture it.

"Ahem," Professor McGonagall cleared her throat from behind the champions. "Now that you're all here, prepare yourselves. Very soon the rest of the school will be allowed into the hall, and you'll follow them a few minutes later with the Yule Ball's introductory dance."

Harry and Astoria froze at the mention of 'dance', and McGonagall's expression dropped in horror. "Please tell me the two of you know how to dance?"

Harry turned a questioning glance to Astoria, who shrugged. "I skipped all of my dancing lessons when I was younger. What about you?"

"I, er, forgot about the whole 'dancing' part of the ball…"

Harry's head of house let out a big sigh and buried her face in her hands. "Just try to follow along with what the other champions are doing, andpleasetry not to make fools out of yourselves."

"Ouch! Harry, you're stepping on my toes!"

"Well your toes keep getting in my way!"

Harry and Astoria tried to copy the other three pairs around them, but that only went so far to counteract their serious lack of preparation for the opening dance.

"Who even does ballroom dancing anymore anyway?" Astoria whispered to him as they stumbled around awkwardly. "Sometimes I feel like wizarding culture is stuck in the middle ages."

"I know what you mean," Harry nodded. "But to be fair I'm not any better at modern dancing than I am at ballroom."

"Yeah but at least it's kinda fun."

Harry sighed. "I can already see tomorrow's newspaper headlines –Boy Who Lived, Dies of Shame."

Professor McGonagall always tried her best to remain neutral as a teacher, but naturally, she still had her favorites.

Harry Potter was the son of two of her best and brightest students, and she had first met him when he was just a baby. He displayed his mother's dedication to studying and his father's talent for magic, and was a brave, virtuous student. Simply put, he was the perfect Gryffindor.

Astoria Greengrass, while not thebeststudent she ever had, was certainly one of the most friendly, and her bright and sunny disposition reminded the transfiguration professor of what made her love teaching adolescents so much in the first place.

All this to say, Minerva McGonagall was quite fond of the two students, and she hardly wanted them to make fools out of themselves, for their own sakes. Discreetly taking out her wand, she readied a few spells to nudge their feet in the right direction, just a bit – it was her professional duty, to ensure that Hogwarts didn't lose face.

That's what she told herself, anyway.

"You know," said Harry after a minute of dancing. "I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this!"

"Me too! I know this sounds corny, but it feels like my feet are moving on their own…"

"I feel the same way," Harry agreed. "Maybe we're naturals?"

Astoria gasped in excitement. "Maybe we're prodigies? I've always wanted to be a prodigy at something!"

McGonagall allowed herself a rare smile as she watched the two of them dance happily. Eventually, she let up on the spells and was pleased to see that Harry and Astoria were still able to keep up a passable performance.

Ah, to be young and in love,she thought.Elphy and I used to dance like that; without a care for anything else in the world.

Minerva's expression turned wistful as she thought about her late husband.

"Minerva?" a soft voice spoke from beside her, breaking her out of her musings. She turned to find her longtime friend and colleague, Albus Dumbledore.

"Care for a dance?" he asked.

After the first song, the rest of the school started to join in. Harry and Astoria for their part decided that ballroom dancing wasn't so bad after all, and kept going for another two hours.

"I'll go get us something to drink," Harry said as they finally took a break.

"Okay!" Astoria replied, sitting down on one of the chairs lining the hall. "Something fruity for me, please."

As Harry walked towards the drink bar, he saw Daphne and Tracey hanging out on a couple of seats at the other end of the hall.I wonder where their dates are?He wondered.

Harry was trying to figure out which punch bowlwasn'tspiked by the Weasley twins when an overly sweet voice spoke up from behind him.

"Hi Harry!"

He turned around and saw Astoria's friend Olivia, the girl who had tried to ask him to the ball a month or so ago. While the two girls had, for the most part, remained friends, Harry still wasn't sure why.

"Can I steal you for a dance?" she asked, fluttering her fake eyelashes at him.

"No."

"Aww," she pouted. "Not even a teensy one?"

"No."

She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to the dance floor. "Oh come on, Harry. No one likes a prig-"

Harry's patience wasreallybeing tested, and he glared at the girl with genuine irritation. "Listen Olivia, I'm not going to dance with you, or do anything else with you for that matter. Honestly, I'd prefer it if you didn't talk to me at all."

Olivia looked up at him with an expression so hurt, Harry almost felt guilty.

"I just wanted a dance," she sniffled.

Harry sighed, and the guilt started to set in for real. "Look, I'm sorry. But I really only want to dance with Astoria, and your forcefulness is…inappropriate. Why don't you just go back to your date?"

Olivia scowled. "Draco Malfoy issupposedto be my date, but he refuses to dance and just keeps sulking and staring at Astoria…"

Harry winced. He was starting to feel sorry for the girl now. "I'll go ask a few of my friends to dance with you," he suggested. "And while I know it's none of my business, you really should've picked a better date."

"I tried…" Olivia said softly, but Harry pretended he didn't hear.

This is absolutely perfect!Rita Skeeter thought as she buzzed around the Yule Ball in her animagus beetle form.

She had seen Harry Potter take leave for a few minutes to speak to another girl and introduce her to a few of his friends, all while his girlfriend sat alone and clueless. Now he was coming back to her, drinks in hand, pretending it never happened! Rita buzzed with absolute joy as she rested her wings on a nearby table and tried to come up with tomorrow's headline.

Harry Potter – One Date Wasn't Enough? No…that's no good.

A Cheat is a Cheat? Meh.

Harry Cheater-

Rita's thoughts were cut off as she was grabbed by the leg and pulled under the table. She squirmed and screamed as she was dragged unceremoniously into the darkness.

"Hello, little beetle,"a menacing feminine voice sounded from above her.

Rita looked up into the shiny, blood red eyes of a terrifying white tarantula. She tried to wriggle free, but she was caught snugly in the creature's mandibles.

"You don't fly like a beetle,"the spider said."And you don't wriggle like one either…"

Rita couldn't communicate in her beetle form, so she just squeaked in fear.

"You wouldn't be up to any trouble, would you?"Willa clicked her fangs threateningly.

Rita shook her little beetle head back and forth, hoping her intention would come across. She had been known to do anything for a scoop, but she had never come this close to the jaws - literally, in this case - of death before.

"Correct answer. You're lucky I'm in a good mood right now; I just got a manicure. But if you decide to cause any problems,especiallyif those problems are for humans named Hagrid, Harry, or Astoria, just know that you're not safe. Is that understood?"

Rita nodded her little beetle head up and down, and the pressure around her let up as the spider disappeared back into the shadows.

She immediately flew away and out of the hall, heading home to rethink her career options.

Sirius, Max, and Kreacher sat lazily on the couch in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place. They were all under a big heated blanket, watching some cheesy muggle Christmas cartoons. Earlier that day, Sirius had given Kreacher a mug that said 'World's Best House Elf', and Kreacher had given Max a new squeaky toy. Kreacher regretted giving Max the squeaky toy a few minutes later, but at least the puppy was enjoying it.

"This wasn't a bad Christmas," Sirius declared. "Not a bad Christmas at all."

"It was peaceful," Kreacher replied, as he scratched Max between the ears.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Sirius asked, pointing a remote at the television set to flick between the one with the train and the one with the green monster.

Kreacher sighed, thinking about the plan his master had spent the past week going over with him. "Yes master, Kreacher is ready."

Sirius smiled.

"Perfect."

Chapter 11: Meeting The Greengrass's

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! New chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading/interacting with this fic. I hope you continue to enjoy it :)

Eternal gratitude and appreciation goes towards BingBong, who helped me edit this chapter in the middle of his exam period. A true warrior indeed.

Harry stood on the platform at Hogsmeade Station, waving goodbye to his friends as they took the train home for the winter holidays.

He had a wonderful time at the Yule Ball the previous night with Astoria, and was quite pleased (and rather surprised) that he hadn't woken up to see his name once again on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

Ron and Hermione had wanted to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays to help him prepare for the second task, but he had convinced them to go home to their families, and promised to try to figure out the egg's clue on his own. Really, Harry had known they only wanted to stay in order to keep him company, even though he insisted time and time again that he was perfectly happy to be alone for a couple of weeks.

Harry was actually quite looking forward to his two weeks off, and he had already gotten permission from his head of house to use the floo network for a day trip to the Greengrass manor that weekend. He was surprised he didn't need a permission slip from the Dursley's for that, but McGonagall didn't ask him for one, and he wasn't about to mention it.

Harry returned to his otherwise empty dorm in Gryffindor Tower and threw himself onto his bed. He took one look at the golden egg still sitting on his bedside table, decided that he still had enough time before the second task, and took out a book instead. Hewouldtry to figure out the egg's clue; he had promised Hermione, after all. But not today. It was still only his first day off! And the egg wasreallyloud.

Two weeks, huh?Harry thought as he opened one of the novels that he had put inside the magical tome Astoria had gotten him for Christmas.That's enough time to finish maybe, five books? I'll also practice some of the magic in the Marauder's spellbook, and try to figure out the egg's clue, er, eventually… Sounds like a pretty good plan to me!

Content with his plan, Harry started reading.

A few hours later his plan was shattered into oblivion as there was a knock at his door, and Professor McGonagall stepped inside.

"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid you'll have to come with me," she said grimly. "You're needed at the front gates."

Harry looked up from his book, and took in the woman's stony expression. She seemed mad, but not particularly at him.That can't be good,he thought.

"Of course, Professor. But, um, is there a problem?"

She gave him a sympathetic look, and sighed.

"It's your Aunt and Uncle, Harry. They're here, and they want to take you home."

Vernon Dursley shook a pudgy finger in Hagrid's direction. It was likely meant to be a threatening gesture, but the Hogwarts groundskeeper towered over him to such an extent he just looked like a petulant child.

"I'm warning you!" Vernon yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. "You bring me back to London this instant or I'll sue this entire school into bankruptcy!"

Hagrid crossed his arms and glared at the man. There were very few things that got Hagrid mad, but ever since meeting the family a few years ago and witnessing first-hand how they treated Harry, the Dursleys were one of those things.

"I'd be more than happy ter take yeh back right now," Hagrid said a little hotly. "If yeh would jus' follow me-"

"I'm not going anywhere until you bring me the boy!"

Harry and McGonagall descended the stairs and took in the scene before them. Vernon was in a heated argument with Hagrid, while Petunia stood a few steps back with her arms around Dudley, who looked like he wanted to run away.

"There he is!" Vernon shouted once he saw Harry. "You're coming with us, boy!"

Harry wasn't afraid of his uncle – not inside of Hogwarts, anyway. Ignoring him, he turned to Hagrid.

"Why are they here?" Harry asked, genuinely unnerved. Seeing the Dursleys at Hogwarts was such an abrasive clash of his two worlds that he felt like he might get whiplash.

"Well," Hagrid began, "they were at the train station in London, said they were expecting yeh. When I told 'em yeh were stayin' at Hogwarts like usual, they demanded ter come."

Vernon's face got red with anger, and he shook with rage as he spoke. "We never wanted to come here! I asked you to bring me the boy, and the next thing we knew we were getting whisked off-"

McGonagall, sensing no more productivity would come from this squabble, decided to cut in.

"Excuse me, Mr. Dursley," she said, politely but rather severely. "May I ask why we didn't receive a letter requesting Harry's return to your household for the holidays this year?"

Vernon turned to her and scoffed. "Send a letter to you freaks? I think not! I'm here to collect the boy, and now that he's here, I'd like to be on my way!"

They've never asked me to come back before,Harry thought.What could they possibly want with me?

Professor McGonagall frowned, clearly thinking along the same lines as Harry. "And why do you want Harry to return with you this year?"

"Does it matter?" Vernon asked impatiently. "I'm his guardian! You thrust the boy on my doorstep every year without a care, and now that I'm here to pick him up - something well within my rights - you refuse me?"

McGonagall's frown deepened. She knew what the Dursleys were like, and had no desire to see Harry spend any more time with them than he had to. On the other hand, she could hardly refuse his legal guardian's request to bring him home over the holidays.

Turning to Harry, who still looked quite stunned, she sighed. "I'm sorry Harry. But this situation is out of our hands; you'll have to return to London with your relatives."

Harry nodded his head, too puzzled to be upset. "I understand."

She patted him on the shoulder. "I'll send someone to check up on you later," she said softly.

Harry and the Dursleys followed an agitated Hagrid through the school and to the emergency portkey located in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore himself wasn't present, but his animal companion, the phoenix Fawkes, was.

Vernon and Petunia gave the large bird a wary glance, and Dudley looked at it with a hungry expression.

It's so surreal to see the Dursleys in Dumbledore's office,Harry thought.And what's wrong with Dudley?

Dudley Dursley was staring at Fawkes, and by the looks of it, was straining against Petunia's hold to run to him. Eventually, Vernon grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him over to the portkey.

"This is it I suppose," Hagrid said to Harry as they stood around the enchanted toy train that served as their transportation back to London. "I'll have Hedwig an' the rest o' your stuff sent over later."

Vernon scowled. "Don't you dare send thatbloody birdto our house! Hedwig can stay at the Hogwarts owlery for a couple weeks."

Hagrid scoffed in a derisive way that Harry had never heard from the otherwise tolerant man before. "Good! I didn' want ter send her anyway! Reckon she'll be a whole lot safer here than with you lot."

Turning to Harry, Hagrid spoke softer, his voice concerned. "Yeh sure everything'll be alright with 'em?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess so… I spend every summer with them after all, what's another two weeks?"

In reality, Harry was a bit more concerned. He wasn't sure why the Dursleys wanted him back for the holidays, but hewassure it wasn't for some extra family bonding time. Realistically, it probably wasn't anything more nefarious than using him as a source of free labor to fix the roof or paint the garage, but he couldn't be sure.

"Come boy!" Vernon shouted. "Touch the portkey. We've wasted enough time here already!"

Vernon grabbed Harry's hand and placed it on the toy train, while Petunia did the same with Dudley. In a swirl of color and magic, they were gone.

Hagrid was left alone in Dumbledore's office, feeling confused but not being able to place the source exactly. Something about the Dursleys seemed not quite right…

Hagrid shrugged off the feeling.I'll never be able ter understand 'em I guess. Probably fer the better that I don't. I hope they don't give Harry too hard a time though…

Harry sat in the backseat of a car that must have been new, as it wasn't the one he was used to seeing in the Dursley's driveway.

Does Vernon always drive this badly?He thought as the car swerved rather uncomfortably.

None of them had spoken since arriving at the platform in King's Cross Station, and Harry was starting to get the feeling that something much weirder was afoot than he first thought. If nothing else, the fact that Harry was sitting next to Dudley without being verbally or physically abused was a pretty good sign that something was wrong.

Turning to his cousin, Harry was startled to see the boy staring at him wide eyed, totally silent but with his mouth hanging open. "Uh, Dudley?"

Dudley continued staring at him, and started to drool a bit on the seat. Harry was equal parts disgusted and concerned.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Woof!"

Huh. Did Dudley just bark at him?

"Woof! Woof!"

Yup. Dudey definitely just barked at him.

Harry was about to ask Vernon to pull the car over to a clinic and get Dudley checked out when the boy leaned over in the seat and licked Harry on the face.

"Oh my god!" shouted Harry, totally repulsed. "Dudley, did you justlickme-"

His words were lost as he watched his cousin's hair slowly change color to a light honey blonde. Then the rest of his body grew similarly colored fur, and his face changed shape, narrowing and elongating into something bestial. Finally, the boy shrunk down so small that his form was hidden entirely by the now oversized clothes, his presence made known only by the shuffling of something beneath the fabric.

"Woof!"

A head poked out from underneath the pile, and in his cousin's stead now sat an adorable little puppy.

Harry felt the panic begin to set in as he realized he wasn't actually in a car with his muggle relatives at all – he had been kidnapped! Fumbling for his wand, he whipped his head around to see who wasreallydriving the car.

"Hi Harry!" said Sirius from the front seat, making eye contact with his godson through the rear-view mirror. "Technically I'm still a widely known and highly wanted criminal, and the Polyjuice wore off a little sooner than I was expecting, so we're going to have to speed things up a bit!"

Harry looked at his godfather, totally baffled. "Wha-"

His words were cut off as his stomach lurched and the car jerked forwards, accelerating into a sprightly tear through the streets of London.

"So let me get this straight," Harry said once they had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place and were safely under the protection of its numerous wards, runes, and enchantments. "You went to Surrey to steal hair from my relatives and then used Polyjuice Potion to abduct me from Hogwarts?"

"There were a few other steps, but pretty much!"

Harry was sitting down on a chair in the living room with a glass of water, trying to recover from the surprise of the day's events and his godfather's awful driving. Sirius smiled at Harry like he hadn't done anything wrong, and Kreacher looked exasperated, making his own thoughts on his master's plan clear.

The puppy just sat there licking himself.

Harry sighed. "Not that I'm not happy to be here, but isn't that a massive security flaw for Hogwarts? I mean, they basically forced me to go along with a group of people thatweren'teven my relatives, just because they looked like them. And this is knowing that a potion exists in the magical world that's within the brewing capabilities of a talented second year girl, which allows anyone to look like anyone else as long as they're in possession of some of their hair."

"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "It's definitely not a good look for the school. But still, I'm sure they would've caught on to us if we weren't playing our parts so well."

Harry had to admit, Sirius' Vernon impression was pretty good; there must have been some 'covert observation' done over the past week to replicate the man's mannerisms so authentically.

"So you just lied to McGonagall and Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Obviously."

"Hagrid seemed pretty upset…"

Sirius winced guiltily. "Yeah, I feel a bit bad about that – I might have to send him an apology note later. But still, I think he was mostly mad at himself; it was him who first brought you to the Dursley's all those years ago, and he probably blames himself for the way they treated you."

"I've never really thought about it like that," Harry admitted.

"And you shouldn't. But I'm sure it was still in the back of Hagrid's mind when he saw us today."

After a few more minutes to regain his bearings, Harry got settled properly into his godfather's home.

"You've met once already, but this is Kreacher," Sirius said, gesturing to his house elf. "He's been working with my family for a long time."

Kreacher gave Harry a short bow, which Harry awkwardly returned.

"And this is Max," Sirius pointed at the puppy.

"Woof!"

Harry bent down and gave Max some ear scritches. The puppy looked like it was smiling as it pushed its little head into Harry's hand, and Harry decided he liked the dog much better when he wasn't polyjuiced to look like his cousin Dudley.

Sirius took Harry on a quick tour of the house, showing him the kitchen, bathroom, library, and any other room that might be useful to know about during his time there. While the place definitely had some personality, Harry couldn't help but feel like Sirius and Kreacher were slacking a bit on the cleaning.

"This feels like the flat two bachelor's might share," Harry remarked, stepping over an empty bottle of brandy.

"Well, it basically is," Sirius said. "I haven't spoken to a woman in over fourteen years, and Kreacher is a widower."

Harry turned to Sirius in surprise. "House elves get married?"

"Of course," replied Sirius. "They have kids too – Kreacher has a daughter in France."

"Huh. I feel like we really don't get taught enough about house elves."

Sirius shrugged. "That's the way it's always been."

Harry followed Sirius up to a bedroom on the second floor, which in contrast to the rest of the house appeared to be recently cleaned, with a floral scent in the air and fresh sheets on the bed.

"And here's where you'll be staying for the next couple weeks," Sirius announced. "I'll give you some time to get settled in, but feel free to call me or Kreacher if you need anything."

"Okay," Harry nodded. "I will. And thanks for arranging all of this, Sirius. It means a lot that I'll get the chance to live with you, even if it's just for a short while."

Sirius smiled warmly and patted his godson on the shoulder. "It's the least I could do."

Minerva McGonagall padded down Privet Drive in her animagus cat form.

She had once observed the Dursleys many years ago, and knew that they were muggles of the worst sort. Harry was more than capable as a wizard and could handle his relatives in a worst-case scenario, but she wanted to be there tonight, just to catch a glimpse of their intentions with the boy. After all, it was awfully strange of them to request Harry's return for the holidays out of the blue like that…

McGonagall pounced up to the windowsill and took a peek inside. Vernon and Petunia were sitting on the couch watching some muggle television program, and Dudley was on a tacky upholstered chair eating directly out of a tub of ice cream. Harry was nowhere in sight, which while not particularly suspicious, still gave McGonagall a creeping sense of dread.

She hopped up to the second story window, circled the house, checked the backyard and the garage, and still couldn't find Harry Potter.

Surely he's not back in the cupboard?McGonagall thought, morbidly hopeful that hewasactually just in the cupboard.

Finding an unassuming corner of the backyard, she shifted back into her human form.

"Homenum Revelio!"she incanted, pointing her wand directly at the Dursley residence.

Sure enough, her spell detected only three human presences in the house; Vernon, Petunia, and Dursley.

Her worst fears were realized – Harry Potter was missing.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk reading a letter when McGonagall burst through his doors, looking panicked.

"Albus!" she exclaimed. "We have a problem that needs your attention immediately – it's an emergency!"

Dumbledore sighed, looking up from his letter. "Let me guess, Harry Potter was taken away earlier today by his relatives, but you visited their residence and he is nowhere to be seen."

"What? Why, yes!" McGonagall replied, taken aback. "How did you know?"

Dumbledore lifted the letter in his hand. "I was informed just a few minutes ago myself. By his captor, no less."

"A ransom?" McGonagall asked nervously.

"Not as such," Dumbledore shook his head. "I can't disclose his location at the moment, but rest assured that Harry Potter is safe, and will likewise return safely to Hogwarts at the start of term."

McGonagall tried to order her raucous emotions, sorting out the events of the past day in her head. "But how could it be?" she asked. "Was Potter not picked up by his relatives this afternoon?"

"Not the Dursleys in any case," he replied. "They were in Surrey all day, completely oblivious to the entire ruse."

Minerva's face paled, and Dumbledore nodded gravely. "We got lucky today; Harry is safe, healthy, and probably a great deal happier than he would have otherwise been. But we've learned an important lesson that we'd do best not to forget."

"We've grown complacent," McGonagall affirmed. "The security systems at Hogwarts are severely lacking."

"What's this?" Harry asked, poking at his dinner with his fork suspiciously.

"Orange chicken," Sirius replied. "Trust me, just try it. It'll change your life."

Sirius insisted on celebrating their first day living together with 'Chinese takeout', a concept Harry had read about but never actually experienced. He was enjoying the beef and broccoli, but was otherwise avoiding anything that looked excessively colorful.

"Woah!" Harry said once he took a bite of the chicken.

"I know, right?" Sirius grinned.

"I feel like I'll have to do a cavity search later."

Sirius choked on his food, and took several seconds to recover. "I don't think that means what you think it means," he said eventually.

Harry frowned. "My friend Hermione's parents are dentists, so I know about cavities even if I've never had one."

"Right," said Sirius, looking oddly at him. "Anyway, stay out of trouble, and you won't have to learn about the other kind of 'cavities' the hard way, like I did."

Harry didn't really know what Sirius was talking about, but that was nothing new, so he just shrugged and moved on.

Harry, Sirius, and Kreacher sat eating the rest of their dinner, enjoying a pleasant conversation. Harry saw Kreacher slipmorethan a fair share of beef strips to Max, who was sitting next to them by the table. Overall, it felt like a family - arealfamily - and Harry knew thatthiswas exactly what he wanted out of life.

"Any progress with the ministry?" Harry asked hopefully once they had cleared away their dinner.

Sirius sighed. "Nothing much. Remus and Albus are poking around, but my case was locked up pretty tight, and there's only so much they can ask before they start drawing unwanted attention."

Harry wanted Sirius to be free, and he wanted to live here on Grimmauld with him, Kreacher, and Max on a more permanent basis. Unfortunately, the possibility of Sirius ever being exonerated seemed less likely with each passing day.

"What would we need to do?" Harry spoke up after a while. "To prove you're innocent, I mean."

"Capture Pettigrew, I guess. If the public ever finds out that he's still alive, the case would be forced back open, and I'd get a real trial."

And Pettigrew is hiding away somewhere, knowing full well we're on the lookout for him,Harry thought dejectedly.

"Cheer up," Sirius said, noticing his godson's downcast expression. "We have two full weeks together now! Let's make the best of it."

Ultimately, Harry's original plan for the holidays didn't change too much.

He spent his mornings with Sirius, going through the Marauder's spellbook and practicing magic. Despite his modesty about his own skills, Sirius was still an adult wizard with seven years of magical education and decades of practical experience, and there was a lot he could teach a fourth year student.

In the afternoons, Sirius would lecture about esoteric strategic concepts.

"Always outsource your work," Sirius declared one day.

"What do you mean?"

"You're only one person; there's only so much you can do. Whenever possible, delegate labor to others and perform only the most critical jobs yourself."

Harry frowned. "That just sounds like laziness to me."

"Laziness is the mother of invention," Sirius replied, shrugging. "Besides, I'm not telling you to never do any work yourself, just to be aware of when you might be able to get some help with the minutiae."

"That sounds reasonable, I guess…"

Harry wasn't sure what that had to do with getting stronger as a wizard, but he dutifully wrote it down in his notebook anyway.

Before dinner Harry would usually take Max out for a walk around the neighborhood, with Kreacher showing him the routes to take to avoid people. They would all eat dinner together, chat or read in the evening, and then after that, they'd avoid opening the golden egg. Harry opened it once at Sirius' prompting but the wailing from the egg had upset all four of them, especially Max and Kreacher, so they put solving the clue on pause for the time being.

By the time the first weekend came around, it was already one of the best weeks he could ever remember having, and Harry's resolve to live with Sirius one day only strengthened.

Daphne walked across the hall and into her sister's room, where she saw Astoria furiously trying to tidy up her things. There were spells for that, but Astoria wasn't the most…competent witch, and was therefore trying to do it manually.

"I hear Harry is coming over today," Daphne said casually, standing in the doorway.

"Ahh!" Astoria shouted, throwing clothes around the room in a way that did not seem conducive to tidying.

"Would you like some help?" Daphne offered. "For starters, you should try folding your clothes instead of throwing them from one corner to another."

Astoria looked up at her big sister, distress clear on her face. "How do you even fold clothes though!?"

Sighing, Daphne rolled up her sleeves and got down to help.

"You look great!" Sirius said, patting Harry on both shoulders. "The exact boy every parent hopes their daughter brings home!"

Harry was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, in his best attempt to look like a nice and respectful boy to Astoria's parents. He thought hewasa nice and respectful boy, but the only thing her parents knew about him at the moment was that he kissed their daughter on the front page of the Daily Prophet, so he felt like he was playing from behind.

"And you're sure I shouldn't bring them a present?" Harry asked.

"Nah," Sirius replied. "You're fourteen – anything you bring will just look like it's from your parents, and it's pretentious. Just go there, smile a bunch, and tell them how much you treasure their daughter. You'll do great!"

"If you say so…"

Harry checked himself in the mirror one last time, made a futile attempt to pat down his hair, and gave it up for lost.

"Is Master Harry ready to go to Diagon Alley?" Kreacher asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Harry replied.

Kreacher took his hand, and they both disappeared with a snap.

Pinky, proud house elf of the Greengrass family, watched in horror as Astoria tried to bake cookies. The girl had made Pinky promise not to help, so Pinky didn't help.

But Pinky still watched.

And eventually, Pinky could bear it no longer.

"Miss Astoria," Pinky said. "May I help?"

"No! I need to do this by myself!"

"But why all by yourself?" Pinky asked. "We can make the cookies together!"

Astoria sighed, answering while she whisked vinegar into the batter. "Every time we bake together you give me little tasks like 'measure the sugar', but then I do it wrong and you just do it yourself anyway. Then I give up and sit on the floor and you let me know when it's time to decorate, and then I usually just make a mess and eat the icing straight out of the piping bag."

Pinky had nothing to say in response to this – Astoria had summed it up perfectly.

"May I at least mention something crucial?" Pinky asked. She thought Astoria really ought to know she had mixed up the sugar and the salt.

"No! I'm going to make the cookies all by myself, and then Harry is going to try them and be all like 'Oh Astoria your cookies are so good I love you rah rah rah' and then I'll pretend it was easy and that I'm a super good baker."

Pinky sighed as she watched Astoria's batter begin to bubble.Mister Harry will be lucky if he's even able to speak after eating one of those cookies...

Harry fidgeted nervously as he stood on the corner of the street in Diagon Alley, waiting for Astoria to come take him back to her house.

She's running late,Harry thought as he checked the watch Hermione had gotten him. It wasn't the first time he had checked the watch; he checked it every minute that passed since their agreed-upon meeting time, which at the moment, was fifteen and counting.

"Are you Harry Potter?"

He looked up from the watch and towards the figure that had called out to him. Before him stood a handsome middle-aged man that could only be described ashuge.Not as big as his friend Hagrid, but definitely closer to seven feet tall than six. Muscles corded his body like a muggle fitness model, visible even through the tailored suit he was wearing.

"Um, yes," Harry replied cautiously.

"Astoria got caught up baking cookies, so I'm here to pick you up instead."

Is he their butler or something?Harry thought as they walked through Diagon Alley together. He knew his girlfriend came from a wealthy family, so it wasn't entirely out of the question, and the man's neutral expression and confident bearing certainly lent him the requisite air.

Or maybe a bodyguard, for that matter?

Harry also considered the possibility that the man had caught wind of his plans with his girlfriend somehow and was trying to kidnap him, but he knew he was just being paranoid since last week's incident. They were walking through Diagon Alley with their identities unconcealed, and Harry couldn't help but feel like if he reallywasbeing kidnapped, his would-be captors would have sent a far less conspicuous envoy.

His suspicions were further abated as they continued to walk through the streets and several people gave nods or curt greetings to the man ahead of him. Whoever he was, he was clearly well known and well liked, which was probably a good sign.

Harry almost tripped over the sidewalk as a particularly friendly woman called out to the man.

"Good morning Mr. Greengrass!"

Mr. Greengrass!?Harry thought, bewildered.This can't be Astoria and Daphne's dad, can it? He looks nothing like them!

He took another hard look at 'Mr. Greengrass' and decided thatmaybehe could see the familial resemblance now that he was looking for it, but it also might've just been in his head.

"Um, excuse me…" Harry spoke up after the woman had passed by. "But are you Astoria's dad?"

The man turned around to look at him squarely. "Ah, my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jacob Greengrass, Astoria and Daphne's father," he said, extending his hand towards Harry.

Harry shook Jacob's hand, and was surprised to find that the massive man was quite gentle, and didn't break every bone in his hand as he had been half-expecting.

"Nice to meet you," Harry replied nervously. "I'm Harry Potter, Astoria's boyfriend."

Jacob nodded and they continued walking. "Astoria has told us a lot about you," he said. "She likes you a great deal…"

Harry scratched his arm uncomfortably. What was he supposed to say to that?

"I like her a lot too," Harry responded, reaching around for words to fill the awkward silence. "Honestly, I think I love her, but I'm only fourteen so I'm not sure if it's too early for me to know for sure…"

Ahh! Why did I say that!?Harry reprimanded himself.Just stop talking!

Harry thought Astoria's dad might take issue with his statement for one reason or another, but instead the muscular man just nodded sagely.

"It's never too early to be in love," he said. "You'll know it's real when it hits you; I fell in love with Astoria's mom when I was eleven."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? You've been together that long?"

"Not quite," Jacob said, shaking his head. "I declared my love for her in the middle of the sorting ceremony, but she rejected me."

"Oh…"

"I tried to win her affection for the next six years, but she never returned my feelings. Eventually I realized that if I really loved her I'd let her go, and stopped my pursuit in fear of bothering her."

Harry was starting to get really invested in this story. "What happened next?" he asked. "I mean, you got together in the end, right?"

Jacob nodded. "The day after I started leaving her alone she realized she liked me and asked me to be her boyfriend."

Harry froze. "That's it?"

"That's it."

Huh. That's sort of disappointing, but I guess life is like that sometimes…

In any case, Harry was really grateful it didn't takehimsix years and an emotional epiphany to get together with Astoria.

Anyway,he thought.Astoria's dad seems pretty friendly-

Jacob Greengrass' expression shifted and he look intently at Harry, his amiable attitude from before disappearing. "Do you like flowers?"

Harry gulped. He felt like the answer to this question was more important than he could realize.

"Um, I often tend to the garden at my Aunt and Uncle's house. I suppose I'd say that generally I like them…?"

Jacob nodded. "What about ice cream?"

Harry had to force down his instinct to make some sort of loud exclamation.What do these questions have to do with anything, and why does he look so intense?

"I like it," Harry said hesitantly. "I think most people do…"

Jacob nodded again, and his stern expression cleared up.

"Astoria chose well with you, Harry," he said, a bittersweet smile forming on his handsome face. "Welcome to the family."

Harry Potter and Jacob Greengrass entered the Greengrass family manor engaged in a lively conversation. They were joking and laughing, and an outside observer might think they had been friends for years. Linda Greengrass knew better, and she narrowed her eyes as her husband and her youngest daughter's boyfriend stumbled out of the floo network and into the foyer.

Jacob Greengrass may have been the talent behind the Greengrass Herbology empire, butshewas the brains that turned his little family flower shop into the multinational conglomerate it is today. Her husband was simply too trusting, and she knew it would be her duty and not his to determine if their daughter's chosen boyfriend was worthy.

"We're home!" Jacob called, his words echoing through the expansive house.

Linda emerged from where she was waiting behind a door, making it look casual. "I trust you had no trouble on your way here?"

"None at all!" Jacob replied. "We were just delayed a bit because we stopped for ice cream."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Only Jacob would stop for ice cream in the middle of picking up their daughter's first boyfriend. She adored her husband, but his love for ice cream knew no bounds when it really should, and that love had rubbed off on Daphne in a bad way, who was now just as much of an ice cream fiend as he was.

Linda strolled up to the pair, gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting, and extended her hand towards Harry. "It's nice to finally meet you, Harry," she said.

He shook the proffered hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you Miss Greengrass."

Linda narrowed her eyes.Good,she thought.He passed the first test.

She simplyhatedit when men kissed her hand upon being introduced to her. It was a chauvinistic tradition of bygone times when women weren't seen as equals, and by offering her hand to Harry and lettinghimchoose how to handle it, she was able to uncover a small part of his personality.

Wow, she's scary!Harry thought.I see where Daphne got her glare from.

"Hi Harry! Welcome to my house!"

Harry turned to look in the direction the voice had come from, and saw Astoria come around the corner, oven mitts still on her hands. She gave him a hug and a kiss, which embarrassed Harry tremendously considering it was in front of her parents, and smiled up at him.

"Sorry I couldn't come to get you – I was making cookies."

"Oh, that's okay," Harry blushed. "I had a good time with your dad."

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her dad, who just smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

The group moved as a whole to the kitchen, where a tray of…something, was cooling on the counter. They were vaguely circular, but they were black and very flat, so Harry assumed they weren't the cookies his girlfriend had been making.

"Do you want to try a cookie?" Astoria asked, pointing at the somethings where they sat cooling on the counter.

"Of course!" Harry replied, forcing himself to imbue enthusiasm into his tone. In reality, he was still kind of full from the ice cream, and had no desire to eat the 'cookies' his girlfriend had made, as they looked positivelydangerous.

Alas, his girlfriend had made them, and likely made them especially for him as well, so he had no choice.

He picked up a cookie and looked at it warily. He was pretty sure he almost cut his finger on one of its edges. Astoria stared at him expectantly, so taking a deep breath, he bit into it.

The cookie was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. It was so horrifically bad that Harry thought his taste buds might never recover. It was crispy and soggy at the same time, was unequivocally burnt, and tasted strongly of salt and vinegar for some reason. Harry was pretty sure this singular cookie could defeat Lord Voldemort if given the opportunity, and would cause Dementors to flee faster than any Patronus Charm ever could.

"It's great!" he said, trying to smile.

Astoria sighed in relief. "I'm so glad you like them. I got lost halfway through the recipe so I improvised a bit at the end there, and I wasn't sure how they would turn out."

Harry swallowed the alchemical creation, and turned to look at his girlfriend seriously. He was pretty sure if the Ministry of Magic ever found out about Astoria's cookies there would be a new item on the sanctioned goods list.

He simplyhadto be honest with her.

"Astoria-"

He stopped speaking as he saw the look in her eyes. She was full of nervousness, hope, and a little bit of fear. She was a teenage girl who had just made cookies for her boyfriend to commemorate him visiting her home for the first time, and she wanted everything to go well.

And while his girlfriend's cookies may be an extinction-level threat, they were still his girlfriend's cookies.

"Yes?"

He took another cookie, and tried to turn his brain off while he crunched, chewed, and swallowed. "Your cookies are great. Thank you for making these."

Linda Greengrass had to admit, she was impressed. Even Daphne wouldn't ever eat more than one of Astoria's infamous baked goods, while Harry had managed a whole three. Of course, honesty is important in a relationship, but there's a time and place for those things, and today wasn't it for Harry to tell Astoria just how bad she was at baking.

Not only that, but as Astoria gave him a tour of the house and blabbered on telling him stories from her childhood, he listened earnestly and attentively. Linda was willing to acknowledge that her youngest daughter could be a bit of a handful, and required a great deal of patience to deal with, but Harry seemed to have patience in spades, and never made her feel like she was worth less than she was.

There's just one last test you have to pass,she thought as she secretly watched the two pass by Daphne's room.

"Hi Daphne!" Harry said as the girl emerged from her room to greet them.

"Hi Harry," she replied.

"Have you read any good books so far this break?"

"A few."

"Cool! Maybe we can lend each other some books we've already read when we get back to school? My stash is dwindling."

Daphne sighed. "Maybe."

Linda was shocked. That was it. Harry had passed the final test; gaining Daphne's approval. Not only did Daphne speak to him without cursing him, but she even implied she might possibly lend him one of her precious books!

You chose well Astoria,Linda thought as she returned to the daily tasks that needed her attention.I suppose we'll have to break open a bottle tonight to celebrate. Maybe two bottles – I think Jacob will need it.

"You got abducted by your godfather and now you're living with him in London?" Astoria asked excitedly once they were alone in her room.

"Yeah, pretty much," Harry replied. "It's been a lot of fun."

Harry was rather nervous to be in his girlfriend's room. It smelled like her, and was much cleaner than he had expected from the generally frenetic girl. He tried to prevent himself from being rude and looking around the room too much, but something still caught his eye from her bedside table.

"Is that the sugar quill?" he asked, embarrassed at the reminder of the lame gift he had given Astoria for her last birthday, on the day they first met.

Astoria blushed. "Yeah, it's the sugar quill you gave me in Hogsmeade. I don't have the heart to eat it, since it's the first present you ever gave me."

Harry's heart warmed several degrees. "You kept it after all this time?"

"Of course! I actually want to cast a preserving charm on it, so that I can keep it forever. Or maybe we can eat it on our wedding day, because it'll be like symbolism or whatever?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Our wedding day?" he repeated. "You want to get married?"

Astoria froze. "You mean like right now?"

"No! I think it's a bit soon. But I mean, maybe eventually?"

"Oh, okay," she blushed. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Harry was confused. He had just wanted to ask Astoria what she meant by 'our wedding day', but had apparently ended up proposing instead.

Oh well,he thought.It's not like I'm opposed to the idea…maybe closer to ten years from now though.

They spoke for a couple more hours, going over the events of their respective past weeks and making plans for their return to Hogwarts the week after. At some point they returned to the kitchen and sat around the counter on stools so they could eat snacks and chat a bit more with Astoria's parents, where Harry noted Linda Greengrass was much friendlier than her first impression suggested.

"It was very nice to meet you," Harry said to Jacob and Linda once it had come time for him to leave. "Thanks again for inviting me over."

"Of course," Linda replied. "It was a pleasure having you, Harry."

"Come back anytime!" added Jacob.

Astoria walked Harry down to the manor gates, where he said he would call his house elf to pick him up. "So this is goodbye then?" she asked.

"For another week, I guess."

Astoria pouted. "Will you miss me?"

Harry pretended to think about it. "Maybe a little," he said, holding his thumb and forefinger just a tiny bit apart.

She swatted his arm playfully and gave him a kiss. "See you in a week, Harry."

"See you in a week, Astoria."

She turned to walk back down the path to her house, and Harry called Kreacher.

"Woof!"

Kreacher appeared with a pop, Max on a leash by his side. Clearly, Kreacher had been in the middle of a walk and decided to bring the little dog along with him to pick up Harry.

Naturally, the moment Astoria heard a bark, she spun around and came running back down the path to the gates. "Oh my gosh a puppy!" she yelled, immediately getting on the ground so she could play with him. "You're just thecutestthing ever, if I didn't already have an animal I'dsowant to bring you to Hogwarts, you're just a tiny little guy aw look at your little face-"

Kreacher exchanged a glance with Harry, who just shrugged.

After a while, Astoria got up and brushed herself off. "Wow!" she exclaimed with a big smile on her face. "He's adorable! And so well trained too, you guys must take great care of him."

It might've just been his imagination, but Harry could have sworn he noticed Kreacher stand a little straighter after that one.

"Of course," Harry said. "Max is a noble hound, worthy of his position as a noble family's guard dog."

Max wagged his tail cluelessly and Harry was relatively certain Kreacher puffed his chest out a bit.

"Master Harry, we should get going if we want to be back in time for dinner," the house elf said after a moment. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Oh, wait!" Astoria said. "Why don't you bring some cookies home for your godfather?"

Harry was about to make some excuse as to why hecouldn'tactually bring her weapons of mass destruction into his house, but didn't have the heart to follow through.

"Sure! I bet he'll love that."

"So how'd it go?" Sirius asked Harry once he had returned with Kreacher and Max to 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Great! Her house is really impressive, and her parents are super nice."

Sirius smiled. "I knew they'd love you. Now you just need to bring her over here, so she can meetusproperly!"

Max barked.

"Max already met her," Kreacher supplied. "They have become friends."

"Oh yeah, she loved Max," Harry added.

Kreacher nodded. "Kreacher thinks she is a nice girl; a good match for Master Harry."

Sirius frowned. "That's not fair! I want to meet her too…"

"Her parents seem pretty protective," Harry said apologetically. "I don't think they'd be too keen on her meeting a wanted criminal…"

Sirius sighed. "If only the ministry didn't want me dead,Icould get the chance to play the whole protective parent act…"

Harry knew where Sirius was coming from, but there was no point thinking about that now.

What therewasa point thinking about now was a way for Harry to get back at Sirius for all the times he had teased him over the past week.

"Well Sirius," he smiled. "You may not be able to meet her yet, but she gave us some cookies to bring home. Would you like to try one?"

Chapter 12: Clues Blues

Chapter Text

A/N:

Hi! New chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and interacting with this fic, I hope you continue to enjoy it :)

Thanks as well go to BingBong who helped me edit this chapter, and all the ones that came before it.

Sirius gasped out what he was sure would be his final breath. "They're done?"

Harry nodded, and instantly regretted it; the movement of his head made him feel sick.

"Kreacher has never undergone worse punishment than an Astoria cookie," Kreacher remarked from where he lay curled up on the floor.

On his last day at 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry finally mustered up the nerve to finish off the rest of his girlfriend's cookies. They had only gotten worse with time, and there were still six left. He had planned on eating them all by himself, but Sirius and Kreacher each took two in solidarity to help him, leaving all three of them in quite the state.

"I'll find a way to come see you soon," Sirius said, straightening up on the couch. "I'm still not sure how safe Hogsmeade is for me at the moment, but we'll figure something out."

"Okay," Harry replied reluctantly. He had gotten used to living with Sirius, Kreacher, and Max over the past two weeks, and while he was looking forward to seeing his friends at school again, the thought of leaving the family he had finally been able to spend time with saddened him greatly. "Don't take any unnecessary risks though," he added.

Sirius shrugged. "What one deems as necessary depends on their set of beliefs and values."

"That sounds like an excuse to get into trouble," Harry said.

"It is. Kreacher has heard that one before."

Sirius eyed Harry and Kreacher warily. "You two are always teaming up against me lately. I feel like I'm on the verge of a coup d'état."

Harry took a dramatic stance, holding one arm aloft as if brandishing a sword. "We serve only one king here. Right, Kreacher?"

"Right, Master Harry."

They both looked to Max, who barked once and tilted his head in confusion.

Sirius sighed and shook his head. Kreacher had clearly been spending too much time around dogs and kids lately; Harry was one thing, but the sight of his curmudgeonly old house elf riffing a 'bit' was just surreal.

"You have everything packed and ready for school?" Sirius asked eventually.

Harry patted down his bag and his pockets. "I think so…"

"Alright then," Sirius nodded. "Kreacher will bring you to King's Cross Station so you can catch the Express. I'll send you a letter soon, and we'll-"

"Ah! You've forgotten one thing, Master Harry."

Kreacher popped away and came back holding the golden egg. "I remembered seeing this sitting in the library the other day," he said helpfully.

Harry and Sirius looked at each other simultaneously, their faces dropping in horror.

"We totally forgot about the egg!"

"So," Hermione said once she had settled into the train compartment with Harry and Ron. "What was the egg's clue?"

Harry looked around sheepishly. "Er…"

Hermione's mouth dropped open incredulously. "Harry! Youpromisedme you'd figure out the clue on your own over the holidays…"

"Sorry Hermione," Harry mumbled. "This break didn't really go as I expected and I got distracted…"

"Oh, yeah," Ron said, stuffing some kind of pastry into his mouth. "I was going to ask about that. I thought you were staying at school over the holidays, so why are you here on the Hogwarts Express with us?"

Hermione froze. How had she not noticed that earlier?

"Well you see," Harry began. "First, I got kidnapped by the Dursleys…"

Harry recounted the whole story of his past two weeks to his best friends. He reallyhadintended on solving the egg's clue, but he had gotten so caught up with Sirius that they never really got around to it. He knew it wasn't an excuse, but hoped Hermione would have mercy on him nonetheless.

Hermione sighed. "Fine. I guess that's asomewhatvalid reason."

Harry exhaled a breath of relief, but still felt guilty. He knew Hermione was weak to him talking about family, and hehadbroken his promise with her.

Hermione glared at him. "But you've lost your chance."

"What?"

Hermione extended her hand towards Harry with her palm upturned. "Give it here."

"Huh? Give you what?"

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "The egg, of course! If you're not going to figure out the clue, I'm going to figure it out for you."

"No, you don't have to do that," Harry rushed, waving his hands in front of him. "I'll work on it-"

"Harry," she said severely. "Give. Me. The. Egg."

Ron nudged Harry. "I think you should just give her the egg, mate."

"But I feel bad if you do all the work…" Harry looked down ashamedly.

Hermione sighed. "It's not like I'm doing yourhomeworkfor you; this is about you surviving the task. I know you're not as good with this kind of stuff as I am, so just let me help you."

A little voice that sounded suspiciously like Sirius spoke in the back of his mind. 'Outsource your work!' it said.

"Okay," Harry conceded eventually, handing Hermione the egg. "But let me know if you can't solve it and I'll try again."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Me? I'm Hermione Granger, I can solveanything."

That night in the Great Hall, the school marked the end of the holidays and the start of the next scholastic term with a huge feast. Headmaster Dumbledore gave a short speech to welcome back the students who left Hogwarts over the break, and gave his standard set of esoteric life advice. Whatwasn'tstandard was his additional announcement about a new array of security protocols recently implemented within Hogwarts.

"I didn't understand a word of that," Astoria told Daphne after he had finished. "What was he talking about?"

"Essentially, Dumbledore placed a series of wards throughout the school that will block all of the most common identity obfuscation magics."

Astoria was still totally confused. "What?"

"It'll be harder for outsiders to sneak into Hogwarts now," explained Tracey.

"Oh," replied Astoria. "Was that a problem before?"

Tracey shrugged. "They're probably just trying to be extra careful with the other schools here, and therewasthat whole incident with Sirius Black last year…"

"Oh, right…" Astoria stared at her dinner plate with intense focus. She knew she didn't have a very good poker face and shereallycouldn't afford to give away any hints about her knowledge of the 'real' Sirius Black.

"Anyway," Tracey said, changing the subject. "Is it just me, or has the food here been getting better lately?"

Daphne looked at the braised oxtail gnocchi in front of her and realized shewasenjoying it quite a bit. "Itdoesfeel like our meals have been rather elevated recently, but it's probably just an attempt to impress the visiting schools."

"I don't think so," Astoria chimed in. "I think it's because the house elves have been more inspired lately. We've been sending them little notes for the past few months, and I think they're taking our comments to heart."

"What are you talking about?" Daphne asked.

"Well, Harry went down to visit the house elves in the kitchen back in October and he said they might like to get a bit of appreciation for their work, so we started sending them little letters to read after we eat. Haven't you seen me writing them recently?"

Daphne nodded slowly. "Yeah, but you just write 'Thanks for the food!' every time, so I figured it was more of a spiritual thing for you than an actual letter to anyone."

Astoria shrugged. "I'm not very good at writing out my thoughts, and Harry says any kind of feedback is appreciated…"

"Sounds like fun to me!" Tracey said, and after she finished eating, she took out a blank piece of paper and started writing.

The house elves sat around after the dinner service, taking turns reading the notes they had received that day. It had become a routine for them to read the comments together ever since they started getting a few of them last year, and their excitement only grew as the number of daily letters increased as well.

"Look!" cried one of the elves. "This one says they liked the tarts!"

The elves cheered, patting each other on the back in a congratulatory fashion and wiping tears from their eyes.

"This one is a request for pizza!"

The elves discussed amongst themselves to figure out who knew what pizza was, and how they might be able to integrate it into the menu rotation in the future.

Dobby lifted up a tiny scrap of parchment. "This student says our pork cutlet was overcooked…"

The elves burst into tears.

"Don't worry elves," Dobby rushed to assure them. "This only means we should continue to strive for improvement!"

Dobby had, to some extent, taken up a leadership role in the Hogwarts kitchens, and was taking his self-appointed job very seriously.

"Here," he said, after flitting through the stack to look for something more positive. "This one says 'Thanks for the food!'"

The elves cheered once more.

Later that night, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall scoured the halls looking for the missing Professor Moody. The man hadn't appeared at dinner that night, and after speaking to the other teachers, they realized he hadn't been seen since that morning.

Both Dumbledore and McGonagall were aware enough to realize that Moody's disappearance coincided exactly with the activation of their new security measures, and both had seen enough in their long lives to have a healthy distrust of coincidences. They had intentionally kept mention of the new measures a secret until tonight, just in case there were any infiltrators already in their midst, but the idea that one of Hogwarts' own teachers had been a fraud was an eventuality they were reluctant to accept.

"If he's still around, he's making himself sparse," McGonagall stated once they had finished a full patrol of the school and looped back around to Moody's vacant office.

Dumbledore sighed. "I imagine Alastor, or whoever was wearing his skin, has long since left the premises. The wards are keyed to alert me of any possible threats to the school, and they're coming up empty."

McGonagall paced around the office, concern clear in her face. "But could it really be? We've been working with an imposter for the better part of five months, and none of us ever caught on?"

"I'm afraid our overconfidence has failed us once again," Dumbledore said, opening up a cabinet full of tiny bottles. "We often underestimate our instincts when we should trust them, and overestimate our instincts when we should test them."

The headmaster unstoppered a vial from the cabinet and held it up to his nose. With a frown, he turned to McGonagall.

"Polyjuice," he said sadly.

McGonagall let out a weary sigh. "Then Harry Potter's 'captor' wasn't the first to notice that particular deficiency in our security…"

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore replied, shaking his head. "But the silver lining is that if the imposter was making a steady supply of Polyjuice Potion, our old friend Alastor may still be alive."

"But where-"

A large chest in the corner of the room rattled violently, shaking the two professors from their musings.

Making his way over to it, Dumbledore withdrew his wand and carefully undid the intricately woven seals and locks covering its surface. Peering inside the chest once it was open, Dumbledore saw a lone man sitting on the floor of a cell several meters deep.

"I'm sorry Albus!" the man called up groggily from the bottom of the magically extended box. "They caught me by surprise."

McGonagall rushed over to the chest to take a look for herself. "Alastor, is that you? Who did this?"

"Bartemius Crouch Junior!" Moody spat out irately. "We were lied to – he didn't die in Azkaban as we were made to believe."

Dumbledore rubbed his temples as McGonagall lifted the man out with her wand. He would need to get the whole story from Alastor once he was ready, and would likely be having averyserious conversation with Barty Crouch Sr. in the near future.

Come to think of it,Dumbledore thought.I'll need to find a new teacher as well…

Barty Crouch Jr. ran through the school grounds, his disguise having long since worn off.

He had no clue how Dumbledore had figured him out, but he was sure the man had somehow known about his scheme, if not his true identity. After all, Dumbledore hadspecificallygone to the trouble of integrating various extensive rune setups into his new security system that were otherwise only seen at Gringotts to remotely annul the effects of Polyjuice Potion.

But if he already knew about me, why didn't he just kill me on the spot?

Barty tried to puzzle out the answer to that question, but Dumbledore was simply too powerful and unpredictable to have his true intentions read so easily. Regardless, it was clear that Hogwarts was no longer safe for him, and his infiltration mission had come to an abrupt end.

I'm sorry My Lord, I have failed you…

"Wotcher, everyone!"

The entirety of the third year Defense Against The Dark Arts class turned to watch as a young woman with bright pink hair tripped into the classroom. She took a second to regain her footing and then turned to look out across the rows of desks with a big smile on her face.

"Professor Moody recently went through, er, a traumatic experience, so I'll be your new teacher until he returns. You can call me Tonks, Professor Tonks, or Auror Tonks, but nothing else!"

The class devolved into whispers; many students had remarked on Moody's absence at the previous night's start-of-term feast, but no one knew why he was missing. Upon hearing the cause was a 'traumatic experience', speculation and gossip filled the classroom.

Two girls sitting at the back of the roomalsobegan whispering, but for different reasons entirely.

"Do you think that's her natural color?" Astoria whispered to Luna.

"I'd reckon so, but I'm open to the possibility of her being green."

"Huh? I meant her hair."

"Ah. Maybe. Why don't you ask?"

"Should I? Because like, it looks natural, but it's also pink and I've never seen a natural pink before…"

"I'd like to be a natural pink."

After the new Professor Tonks gave a brief overview of the content she planned on going over for the remainder of the year, she asked the requisite question all teachers asked when they reached the end of their syllabus.

"So, with that out of the way! Are there any questions?"

Astoria raised her hand.

"Yes, you! There in the back, what's your name?" Tonks said, pointing at Astoria.

"Oh, hi! I'm Astoria Greengrass. Um, I'd like to know if your hair color is natural."

The class laughed and Astoria blushed. She hadn't actually meant it as a joke, and she hoped the new teacher didn't take it as such.

Tonks smiled. "That's a great question!"

Astoria heaved a sigh of relief that turned into a collective gasp with the rest of the class when Tonks' hair shifted from pink to green, to blue, and then back again to pink.

"I'm actually a metamorphmagus!" she said, writing the term out on the chalkboard. "Which if you've never heard before, is a term referring to witches or wizards who can change their appearance at will. Unlike ananimagusfor example, you cannotbecome a metamorphmagus later in life – you're either born with it or you're not."

"How do you know if you're a…one of those, or not?" Astoria asked excitedly, not wanting to attempt to pronounce the word for herself.

Tonks recognized the girl's enthusiasm and shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid you'd know by now if you were; when I was a kid all of my accidental magic manifested in changing my size, shape, and color."

Astoria slumped back in her seat dejectedly. That could have beenherthing!

"While I may not be able to teach you guys how to become metamorphmagi," Tonks continued with an energetic smile. "Icanteach you how to do plenty of other cool stuff – I may have only graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago myself, but I'm not the ministry's most newly minted auror for no reason!"

Tonks conjured a handful of training dummies, and had the class practice stunning spells on them. She walked around the class ensuring everyone's safety from the misfires, and giving advice to the students who were struggling.

"The Stupefying Charm is one of the most useful spells a witch or wizard can know," she said as she walked. "It may be simple, but it's still a staple in the toolkit of the professional auror as the most effective method of neutralizing a target without causing any lasting damage. As such, mastery of this spell is paramount!"

While most of the class was casting the spell with relative ease and were primarily focusing on perfecting their aim, Astoria was having a hard time getting her stunning charm to actually stun. Luna also hadn't managed to stun her target, but shehadmanaged to transfigure it into a chicken, replace it with a block of cheese, and then disintegrate it, so Astoria had a feeling she just wasn't really trying to stun the dummy in the first place.

"Sorry Professor Tonks," Astoria said, discouraged, as the new teacher came over to observe her. "I'm not very good at magic…"

"That's not true." Tonks dismissed her apology with a wave of the hand. "Who told you that?"

"Everyone," Astoria replied, shrugging. "I mean, noteveryone,my sister tells me I'm just unfocused, and my boyfriend tells me I'm amazing, but I know they're just trying to make me feel better…"

Tonks narrowed her eyes, taking in Astoria properly for the first time. "Aren't you dating Harry Potter? I think I've seen you in the Daily Prophet…"

"Yeah, that was probably me…"

Tonks gave her a beaming smile and a pat on the back. "Well ifHarry Pottersays you're amazing, who is anyone else to disagree? Besides, it took me until my fifth year to really master the stunning charm."

"Really?"

"Yup!" Tonks nodded. "I was written off as a failure, and a few of my teachers even wanted to hold me back a year. But when I was around fifteen, I found something I really wanted to do - become an auror, obviously - and having that dream really grounded me. From then on, I started to have an easier time learning the magic that evaded me all those years before."

Astoria looked up at Tonks hopefully. "So I'm not a lost cause?"

"Of course not! Here, cast that stunning spell for me again, and I'll give you a few tips…"

Hermione stared at the golden egg that held the clue for the second task. Shehadbeen staring at it almost all day, every day, for the past few days, and yet she was no closer to solving its puzzle than she was when she started.

Ugh!Hermione thought.If only this egg wasn't so loud, and the survival of my best friend wasn't hinging on me finding its solution, I might find this sort of thing fun.

As it was, Hermione brought the egg with her everywhere. She looked at it under the table during class, she took it with her into the library when she studied, and she even brought it with her into the baths – though she was careful to keep it away from the water, lest it damage the magical item permanently.

Why did I go and say 'I can solve anything'? It sounded cool at the time, but if I really do fail at finding the clue it'll be so embarrassing…

Hermione took a deep breath, and thought about that unfortunate possibility.

If I fail at finding the clue…

If I fail…

Fail.

Something awoke inside of her. Hermione Granger did not fail; that was simply a fact. Since she had received her first assignment in pre-school, she had never failedanything,not evenonce.

Failing had never been in her robust, precocious vocabulary, and she wasn't going to add it now.

Tying up her hair, she took out her notebook and started to draw sketches – this was going to take a while.

Harry was sitting in the courtyard reading over the Marauder's spellbook, making sure he hadn't missed anything that seemed useful, when Ron called out to him.

"Hey, Harry! I don't suppose you've seen Hermione around much this week?"

Harry shook his head. "Not outside of class, if that's what you mean."

Ron frowned. "Do you think maybe she's avoiding me?"

"I don't think so – at least not for the reasons you're thinking. My guess is she hasn't been able to solve the egg's clue yet and has been obsessing over it for the past week."

"Yeah, you're probably right…"

Harry closed the book. "Speaking of Hermione though, how are things going with her?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, your crush on her. Have you made any progress?"

"Oh," Ron blushed. "That.Um, not really…"

Before Harry could ask any further, he was distracted as another voice called out to him.

"Harry! Can I speak to you for a moment?"

He turned around to see Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff prefect and fellow Triwizard champion, jog up to him from across the courtyard.

"Hey Cedric, what's up?"

"I'm guessing you've already solved the egg's clue," Cedric said. "But I thought I'd check just in case – you told me about the dragons in the first task, after all."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "No, I actually haven't figured it out yet. You'd really be willing to tell me the solution?"

"Of course!" Cedric replied, his tone a little defensive. "It's like we said before – we should be looking out for each other. I'm still going to try to win, but, let's just say when you hear the clue you'll be glad for a bit of extra preparation time."

"So what's the egg's clue?" Harry asked.

Cedric cleared his throat and looked around conspicuously. "I recommend you take the egg with you into the bath; spend some time with it and really let itsoak in."

Harry looked at Cedric confusedly. Why was he trying to be coy? If he was going so far as to give him such an obvious hint, why not just tell him the whole clue?

"So I have to put the egg in the water?"

"Er…yeah."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "And I'm guessing if I open it underwater the screeching will be intelligible?"

"Well, yeah," Cedric confirmed, scratching the back of his head. "But, um, that's all I'll tell you. I'm still going to try to win."

"Right…"

Harry and Ron watched as the boy left, jogging over to the group of friends he had left waiting just outside of the courtyard.

"He's a nice bloke," Ron commented. "And plenty talented too. But I'm not too sure he has the necessary competitiveness to win a tournament like this."

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not complaining."

Harry and Ron didn't see Hermione again until much later that night in the Gryffindor common room. She stumbled through the door from who knows where, looking rather tired and disheveled, but satisfied nonetheless.

"I solved the egg's clue!" she said triumphantly, heading over to sit down with the boys.

Harry had been looking for Hermione ever since Cedric told him the egg's secret that afternoon, but he hadn't been able to find her.

"How'd you do it?" he asked, wondering if she'd used the same method as Cedric.

"Basically," she explained proudly. "Iknewthat the screeching justhadto be a magical language – after all, the screeching was the only clue! So the issue was finding out how totranslatethe language into something we could understand."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance as she spoke, but Hermione was too focused on her speech to notice.

"Sothenthe trick became building a charm framework that could translate the message, assuming itwasone, in real time. Now the basis for most magical translation spells can be found in the library, but it wasincrediblydifficult to copy down every single one and connect them so that they allcouldactivate, but onlywouldactivate if they recognized the language, so I didn't get a jumbled mess as an output."

Harry stifled a wince. "Did that, er, take a long time?" he asked guiltily.

Hermione laughed, slightly manically. "Maybe sixty hours all told?"

"That's rough," said Ron. "You know Cedric told us-"

"Thanks a lot Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, cutting off Ron and shooting him a look. The last thing Hermione needed right now was to know that all of her hard work could have been avoided by sticking the egg in a bathtub. "That's a huge help. So what was the message, in the end?"

Hermione grinned smugly. "Actually,it was a riddle in the form of a poem, and after I heard it, I did some research and figured out what it meant as well. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm positivelycertainthat the second task will entail you making your way to the bottom of the black lake to collect something precious the tournament organizers will have stolen from you."

"They're going to steal something from him?" Ron asked angrily. "Is that even legal?"

Hermione cackled so loudly that the boys flinched back in surprise. "I'msoglad you asked. Ialsodid some research related to that – to take a private possession like Harry's Firebolt would require the owner's consent, which is highly unlikely for them to ask for, since it would give up the whole game.Besidesthat, the organizers clearly have a flair for the dramatics. So my guess, and I'mveryprobably right, is that they're going to takesomeoneinstead."

Harry was speechless. "They're going to steal someone important to me and leave them at the bottom of the lake in the middle of the winter?"

"Most likely. But they'll need the person's permission of course, and since they haven't signed up for the tournament they probably won't be placed in any real danger."

"Alright," said Ron, clapping his hands together. "Now that we know what Harry will be facing, we can come up with a plan!"

Hermione shook her head. "It's time foryou guysto come up with a plan. I've been ignoring my homework for the past week in favor of building the translation array for the egg, and now I'msuperbehind. Let me know if you need help, but otherwise I'm passing on the torch."

"Of course, Hermione," Harry said. "I'm really grateful for all your help – we'll take it from here."

Harry noticed the dark circles under Hermione's eyes and guessed that homework wasn't the only thing she had been sacrificing.

"And maybe get some sleep too, alright?"

The next day, Harry and Ron sat in the library with a big sheet of parchment in front of them, brainstorming a plan for the second task.

"For starters, do you even know how to swim?"

Harry shook his head. "I never learnt. Have you?"

"I'm not bad," Ron replied. "But not nearly good enough to make it to the center of the lake and back. And that's ignoring the factyou'llhave to do it at least partially underwater while fighting off the local flora and fauna."

Harry hummed thoughtfully. "So I'll have to use magic."

"I reckon that's the point."

They spent the next couple hours trying to recall any sort of magic that might help Harry during the task. Ron had found mention of the 'Bubble-Head Charm' in a sixth year textbook, which would give Harry an unlimited supply of oxygen, but wouldn't address his lack of ability to swim. They also considered the option of a partial or full transfiguration into an aquatic animal, but the amount of time it would take Harry to master such an advanced field of magic was much greater than the month he had left before the task.

"Maybe now's the time to go for the animagus ritual?" Ron suggested. "If you're lucky, your spirit animal will be a fish…?"

"And you think it would be safe for me to face whatever challenges await me in the lake while transformed into a fish?"

Ron shrugged. "Maybe you'll be a dolphin."

"It's too risky," Harry sighed. "At best, I'll spend the whole month working on the ritual in hopes that I become both an aquatic predator, and that the task will be accomplishable without a wand. The worst, and more likely scenario, is I spend all of my preparation time becoming a…muskrat or something, with no backup plan for the task."

After a few more minutes of fruitless brainstorming, they called it quits for the day, and Ron left Harry alone in the library.

The Bubble-Head Charm seemed the most promising idea so far,Harry considered.If I could combine that with something-

"Hey there, good-looking! Whatcha thinking about?"

Harry was broken out of his thoughts as Astoria sat down next to him with a big smile on her face.

"Oh, hi Astoria! You seem to be in a good mood?"

Astoria nodded jubilantly. "The new defense teacher, Tonks – have you met her? We just had our third class with her, she'ssupernice and I feel like I might even befinallygetting a little better at the subject!"

"That's great!" Harry said honestly; he knew his girlfriend struggled particularly with Defense Against the Dark Arts. "We've had a few classes with her. She's definitely a big change from Professor Moody, but she has an enthusiasm that's hard not to get swept up in."

"For sure. So what were you working on?" Astoria asked. "Something for the tournament?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Hermione figured out the clue in the egg, and now we're trying to figure out how to prepare for the task itself."

"What was the clue?"

"The organizers are going to steal someone important from me and stick them at the bottom of the black lake in the middle of February, and I'm going to have to go fetch them."

"Oh…"

They went silent for a moment before looking up at each other, seemingly coming to the same conclusion.

"That means you!" Harry realized.

"Poor Ron!" Astoria exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oh…I mean, it's possible they'll ask Ron," Harry conceded. "But I figure we're kind of famously a couple now, so if they had to choose someone it would probably be you…?"

"Oh," replied Astoria. "So I'm important to you?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, yeah? You're my girlfriend, of course you're important to me."

Astoria smiled happily. "I know, I just like to hear you say it out loud sometimes."

"Anyway," Harry said, trying to hide his blush. "I'm having trouble figuring out how to solve the task's problems. For one, I don't know how to swim, and I also don't know how well magic works underwater. I'll have to do a lot of research and practice over the next month, and the time pressure is starting to stress me out…"

Astoria looked up at him, surprised. "You're actually going to do the task?"

"Huh?"

Taking in Harry's confused look, Astoria continued. "I mean, in the first task, you made a whole plan with the dragon so you could avoid actually 'doing' the task the way it was meant to be done. I kinda thought you'd come up with another scheme this time, instead of just doing it the expected way…"

Harry thought about that.

Astoria looked at him.

Harry thought about that some more.

Astoria looked at him some more.

"You're right!" he said eventually.

Astoria smiled. "Of course I am!"

Harry gave his girlfriend a kiss, an idea already starting to form in his mind. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"

Astoria's smile widened. "Yep! But that doesn't mean you can't tell me again!"

Sirius, Kreacher, and Max all paced around the house restlessly.

"This week has been kinda boring, eh?" declared Sirius.

"Kreacher doesn't get bored," the house elf replied.

Max whined, and Sirius looked at Kreacher skeptically.

"But if Kreacher did get bored," the elf continued. "Now would probably be when Kreacher would feel it."

"That's a rather roundabout way of agreeing with me," Sirius said.

Max squeaked and rolled over onto his back with his paws in the air.

Sirius sighed. "Hogsmeade is still crawling with law enforcement, I'm being actively hunted all across Europe, and Harry's not even around anymore."

"Even Kreacher is getting a little antsy," Kreacher admitted. "The house feels rather empty now without Master Harry."

"Is it time for me to come up with another one of my rash yet brilliant plans?" Sirius asked.

Kreacher looked at his master. He really should've said no, but he was so bored he couldn't muster up the will to refuse.

"Kreacher will help."