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SIYE Time:5:55 on 29th March 2024
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Harry Potter: To Love Is To Live
By _kb_

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 96
Summary: What if Ginny really got over Harry during his fourth year, and then he fell for her and found love while she was with someone else? Can he get her attention and convince her to be his girlfriend? What happens if he can't and she is the secret to helping him defeat Voldemort? {post-GoF & Alt-OotP } COMPLETE!
Hitcount: Story Total: 67756; Chapter Total: 6114





Author's Notes:
{A/N: This chapter marks the halfway point in the story (chapter-wise). I hope everyone is enjoying it. :-) If you are, there are 2 good reasons: GinnyMarie, my pre-beta, who was very good about keeping me from making plot errors; and cwarbeck, who has been an incredible beta-editor and makes my writing look so much better than it really is. Thanks ladies! -- kb}




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Chapter 6: Visitors

[Sun Jul 14]

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft was sitting at his desk looking over a short list of names that had been nominated for Head Boy and Head Girl. Beside each name was their marks and a short list of achievements as written by their Head of House. He was about to choose the Head Boy when his fireplace lit up and a man came out. As the number of people who could do that unannounced was very limited, the Head Boy was forgotten as he focused his complete attention on his visitor.

Dumbledore noted that his Potion's professor was very pale and unstable on his feet. The man quickly made his way to a chair, which he slumped into before he started digging for something in his robes. "Severus, are you all right?"

The Potions master did not answer as he was quickly swallowing a potion. After putting the empty phial back into its place and taking a couple of deep breaths, he softly answered with a slight quiver in his voice, "No Headmaster, I am not. I spent more than the average amount of time under a Cruciatus Curse last night, and I received a last reminder of my failure minutes ago."

"I'm very sorry, Severus. What went wrong?"

"The Dark Lord was very displeased at," the greasy-haired man spat out the next word, "Potter's failure to show up at the Department of Mysteries. He was even more displeased when Lucius Malfoy pointed out my failure to inform the Dark Lord that Potter had been sick for a month and was incapable of coming. It was of course unsafe to point out to Him that I was unaware of his plan to lure Potter out and capture him and the Prophecy, and so I was unaware of the need to inform him of Potter's sickness."

"I see. Did you learn anything else of importance?"

"The only thing of significance is that he sent Pettigrew on some mission, but he didn't say what it was or where he was to go. Other than that, the Dark Lord seems to want to think about his next move, but I believe he will restart his reign of terror as he did in the last war now that his rebirth is known." Snape's voice still was not completely steady yet.

Albus ignored the information on Pettigrew as there was not anything he could do about that for the present time. "That's unfortunate, but not completely unexpected given how the last war went. Why don't you rest for a minute and let me finish what I was doing and we can talk about other matters. Would you like something to drink? There's a good brandy in the cabinet, and you can help yourself to anything else in there you'd like."

"Thank you, Headmaster." The spy got up and poured himself a large amount of brandy before returning slowly to his chair.

In the meantime, Dumbledore was very quickly scribbling a short note. While Severus was occupied with pouring his drink, the old man walked over to Fawkes and handed the note to him. The beautiful phoenix grabbed the note in his beak and flashed out of the room. Dumbledore returned to his seat and by the time he was comfortable again with a new cup of tea from his Ever-Filling Teapot, the bird had flashed back to his perch. When the other man was settled, the conversation resumed.

"Severus, are you happy teaching here?"

Snape almost choked on his drink; that was about the last question he had been expecting. "Yes Headmaster, why do you ask?" he drawled. Dealing with Dumbledore was almost as difficult as dealing with the Dark Lord sometimes, though he had to admit it was certainly less physically painful.

"I'm trying to decide if teaching is the best thing for you, personally."

"You aren't thinking of having me leave are you? That would remove my Death Eater cover for the Dark Lord." Snape was calm on the outside only because of years of practice before Voldemort; on the inside, he was almost panicking.

"Not particularly, unless you wanted to. I'm just concerned for you, Severus. You don't always seem happy, and I'm sad to say that I've recently started hearing reports about your teaching over the last few years that lead me to believe you may not like it here." Albus was doing his best to dance around the issue, as he did not want to lose his spy into Voldemort's camp.

"What kind of reports?"

"Reports of work not being graded fairly, and other biased behaviour in the classroom are the most disturbing to me as Headmaster. A few other rumours have also recently reached my ears, some of which I don't believe, and a few which might be true, but are easily explained away, most of them due to lack of time on your part because of all the things you do." Dumbledore patiently waited for an answer.

"I don't know what to say, Headmaster. I've always tried to do my best to teach my craft. Of course, some students don't want to learn, which makes teaching difficult."

"Alas, that is all too true, sometimes. Very well, Severus, I'll let you return to your summer holiday and I hope you will recover quickly from your recent difficulty. I will warn you that various people will be watching your work most closely this coming term, so I would suggest you be most careful, and dare I say, fair, in dealing with all the students in your classes."

The hook-nosed Potions master nodded and drained the last of his brandy before he stood and left. Albus thought deeply for a few minutes, then also rose to leave. Sealing his Floo completely, he left the room for Gryffindor Tower.

In the Tower, he had barely set foot in the common room before he was besieged with, "Albus, what's happening that we need to stay here?" Only Sirius' head and wand could be seen from around the edge of the boy's stairs. Looking up them to the door on the first landing, he saw two more heads and wands sticking out. One head had black hair and one had red hair.

"My apologies everyone, I did not mean to scare you. I merely wanted to make sure you stayed here, so as not to run into my guest. The fewer people who know you're here, the better, even if I do trust them." Anticipating their question, the old man continued. "Severus dropped in unexpectedly with a report." The three began walking towards him.

"Anything useful this time?" Sirius asked.

The Headmaster looked at Harry. "Apparently, Voldemort was most unhappy with you, Harry, for not showing up at a trap he'd set up for you."

"The long corridor, I was supposed to go there, wasn't I?" the boy asked.

"Yes Harry," Dumbledore answered, "it seems that dream was being sent to you. But you have no need to worry about that now. I have made it so that corridor is now useless to Voldemort, and he should leave you alone about that. However, that does indicate I need to teach you Occlumency, since your lessons with Professor Snape didn't go as well as I had planned." Harry nodded his acknowledgement.

"Was there anything else that was useful?" Sirius queried.

"Not really. Apparently your old friend Pettigrew is on a mission, but there is no information about what or where."

Sirius' voice suddenly became laced with hatred. "I would dearly love to catch the rat. I'd give all my gold to get a hold of him so I could chop his tail off and slowly feed him to Buckbeak, or any other hippogriff for that matter." Ginny paled a bit, but both teens understood the man's animosity for his former friend. A supposed friend who had caused him to spend twelve years in Azkaban after he had betrayed Harry's parents and then framed Sirius.

Truth be told, Harry understood exactly how the man felt. If not for Pettigrew, he would still have his parents and never would have had to live at the Dursleys.

***

Like most nights when Harry had dinner at the castle, the three adults joined him and Ginny. As usual, Dumbledore started the conversation with a question about their classes.

"How are our pupils doing Sirius?"

"Excellent, Albus, in fact, I'm quite impressed with both of them. Ginny is catching on very quickly to the fifth year spells as well as some of the sixth year spells I've been showing them."

"She is at the top of her class, and that's why she was picked to be a prefect," McGonagall pointed out. Ginny paid close attention to her food to hide her embarrassment. "Really, Miss Weasley, there's no need to be embarrassed for someone stating the truth about you in a positive way. You are a good student and all the teachers think so, even Severus."

"And Albus," Sirius went on, "Harry has just been phenomenal when we duel lately. The power he puts behind his spells is tremendous. He's fast and thinks well on his feet. I can still beat him, but I'm telling you, if he keeps progressing like he has been over the last two weeks, I don't know how I will be able to win against him by the end of the summer."

Now it was Harry's turn to look closely at his food.

"That good?" Albus sounded curious.

"Absolutely, and his spell work in Transfiguration and Charms has been quite excellent as well. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't make an Outstanding in those two OWLs as well as in Defense," his godfather explained.

"Potter has always been good in Defense." McGonagall now looked at Harry, "But why didn't you do as well in Transfiguration last year? Even at the beginning of the year when you seemed to do well, it appeared to me that you had to struggle to get an Exceeds."

Harry swallowed his current bite of food before answering. "You're right Professor, I did struggle then, and I can't explain it. I'd say it has something to with Hermione's tutoring, but she was helping me all last year too. She did explain some things about 'intent' that I hadn't understood before, and I think that helped, but all I can really say is that it all comes easier now."

"Very interesting, Potter." His Transfiguration teacher looked at him very thoughtfully.

Harry had found he could ask almost any question about magic that he wanted at these meals and get an answer; he took advantage of that now. "Professor, we've been looking at animal to animal transfigurations in our sessions, and I was wondering how hard human to animal transfigurations are in comparison. I know that's really seventh year material, but I'm curious now." Harry looked at her as she considered him and the question. He thought he saw a wink from the Headmaster, but he was not totally sure.

"Like many things Potter, it depends." McGonagall put her fork down as she had finished dinner, though the treacle tart was tempting her. "To turn someone else into an animal is only about half again as hard as turning, say a cat into a dog. You need to take special care that the person's consciousness isn't lost, but that's really the only wrinkle and where the extra difficulty comes in. Shall I assume you're also asking about doing that transformation to yourself?" He nodded. "Then as your godfather can tell you, the Animagus transformation is quite difficult because it's essentially wandless magic, which most wizards and witches can't do, or can only do one or two very simple spells."

"So the fact that I did a wandless Lumos last year would indicate I might be able to make the Animagus transformation?" Harry was getting a bit excited.

"I don't know that I'd go that far, Potter, but I would say that it indicates you have the power to do so, if, and that is a big 'if' Potter, you can manage to learn how to do it. Many have tried and failed. That being said, it is my opinion that you probably could do it if you had the time and training. Albus, what do you think?"

Harry was getting very excited as he looked to the Headmaster, whom he just remembered used to teach Transfiguration too.

"I think I would agree, Minerva." Then he looked at the boy. "However Harry, I must caution you not to get your hopes up too high. While I will authorize Professor McGonagall to teach you to do this if she feels it appropriate, this normally takes many months, and it's not uncommon for it to take several years of very hard work every day in order to complete the transformation."

"He's right," Sirius agreed. "It took James and I a little over two years to master, and Wormtail took nearly three years." Harry noted that Sirius never called Pettigrew by anything other than Wormtail, at least in recent memory.

Even with all these warnings, Harry was still excited and turned to his Transfiguration teacher. "Please, Professor, will you teach me?"

"And me too," Ginny chimed in.

Minerva was not sure why she felt this way, maybe it was because she had not had any really promising students who seemed to be capable of this in a number of years. In fact, it amused her that Bill Weasley was the last student who had tried, and failed; and now here was his sister asking to be instructed on how to become an Animagus. "It will be very hard, but I'll agree to instruct you once the term starts. We'll find one evening a week and work on it for an hour or two, then you can work on your own as much as you want, at least in the beginning. Once you reach a certain point however, I shall tell you not to practise on your own, but only in my presence. And you are never at anytime to practise by yourself. Is that clearly understood?"

The warnings and restrictions did not faze them, they were both thrilled. "Yes Professor," they said almost in unison, which made them laugh; the adults found it funny too.

Harry dished out some of the dessert and started eating it. Ginny looked over at him and noticed that he seemed to be absent-mindedly rubbing his scar. "Harry, is your scar bothering you again?"

"Just a bit," he shrugged, "but then it's almost always prickling or aching slightly."

"Can you do anything about it Headmaster?" Ginny asked.

"I had hoped that Harry's learning Occlumency would have helped that, but it appears that it hasn't and I'm starting to wonder if it ever will," Dumbledore admitted.

"Then why are you going to teach me sir?" Harry wondered.

"Because Harry, even if it does not block the connection to Voldemort, it is still a useful skill for you to have. For example, if Voldemort does make a connection to you, Occlumency is good for not letting him get any information from you. Please understand that the connection and influencing you via the connection are two different things, so even if you can't stop the connection, at least you can stop him from doing anything useful with the connection. Also, if you are dueling someone who's a Legilimens, then Occlumency can help you shield your mind so he or she doesn't know what you're about to do." Dumbledore looked at him to see if he understood.

Harry thought about that for a few seconds. "At first it seems like you're splitting hairs with the blocking and the influence, but I guess I can see what you mean. It's like I can't remove the pipe, but I can stop up one end so the pipe can't be used."

"Exactly Harry," the head Professor congratulated him.

"And that's why you and Professor Snape are considered such good duelers, because you can use Legilemency to know what spell is about to come at you before it's cast." Harry was thinking out loud, but it sounded good to him.

"Very good again, Harry," Dumbledore told him. "Therefore, I shall also take up one of your evenings this coming term, at least for a few weeks. After you have the basics of the skill down, I'll see you about once a month to help you refine it." Then he looked at the girl. "Ginny, why don't you come as well. If you are going to be around Harry a lot, it would be a good skill for you to have too."

Ginny was thrilled to be included in this as well. "Yes, sir." She gave him a big smile. "By the way Professor, you didn't answer my original question. Can something be done for the pain caused by the intrusion by V-Voldemort." It was the first time she had said it and she was proud of herself. Harry smiled at her as he recognized she had overcome that fear.

"I'm afraid not, Ginny, at least not unless I could analyze it while it was happening. If I could, perhaps I could detect something about it and could then devise a remedy." The old man was sad to have to say that, he really did not want Harry to suffer from a pain he never should have had.

"Sir, is the connection in the scar? Because if it is, could the scar be removed and then it would take the connection away?" Ginny felt like she was stretching for an idea, but she just had to ask.

"You amaze me Ginny," Dumbledore told her. "I hadn't thought of that; but alas, I think not. The scar is not a tumour."

Too bad, Harry thought. The three of them soon went back to the Gryffindor Tower for the evening.

[Mon Jul 15]

The next week finally came for Ron and it was time for him to Floo to school to see his best mate. Of course, it was also a great escape from his mum. She was still hexing him with little stings when he was doing what he thought of as normal things. He did have to admit that most of the things she reprimanded him for were the same things Hermione did, so perhaps a little change in behaviour was not totally bad.

Since Harry's sickness, Hermione had been coming over every other day. Usually his mother would go get her a few hours before his friend needed to be there for dinner, and Hermione would spend the time with him. Chess was a common pastime, and when he let up a little, she actually gave him a good game. They also had spent a lot of time discussing last year. He hated rehashing the OWLs for the thousandth time, but he put up with it because she was fun to be around, and deep down, he also knew that he needed her if he was to get better marks. There was also something about her that felt nice. He was not sure what the feeling was, but he had finally recognized that he felt it whenever she was around.

Ron had also been a bit put out with her going to tutor Harry and Ginny instead of spending time with him, but he also recognized he could not monopolize all of Hermione's time. Harry and Ginny were her friends too. Besides, he really did not want to be studying any more this summer. Now that he understood Harry's situation with having to repeat a grade, he sort of understood why Harry was doing this, but Ron personally felt that since he had already seen all the material before, that would make the year a breeze for him and he would have enjoyed himself as much as possible.

As he Flooed into the Gryffindor common room, he saw Harry sitting on the couch in a T-shirt and shorts, reading a book. Ginny was on the other end of the couch writing notes for the book in front of her; she was dressed in a loose T-shirt and a pair of long shorts. Mental they are, he thought. Hearing a noise to his left, he saw Sirius using Spell-O-Tape to put some papers up on the wall near the exercise machine.

"Hey Ron," Harry called out.

Ron grinned at his best friend. He was looking a lot better. Of course Harry had always been on the thin side. "What's up Harry?"

"Oh, just finishing up my afternoon homework. Hey, you should have worn shorts."

Looking down, Ron did not see anything wrong. "Why? I like these jeans."

Harry smiled, "OK, but I bet you'll want shorts for next time. Come on, Sirius is putting up the instruction book so you can easily figure out what to do, though I'll show you too."

The two boys went over and Harry started demonstrating to him how the Muggle exercise machine worked. As Harry finished the initial explanation, Ginny came up to Harry. "If you don't mind, I think I'll join you and do a little bit of light exercise. Don't worry, I'll stay out of your way."

Harry saw Ron about to object, so he quickly cut that off. "Sure Ginny, there's plenty of stations on the machine. Since you've watched me use it before, you can start on the other side and it won't be a problem."

"Thanks Harry." She smiled at him for sticking up for her.

He winked back. "OK Ron, let's try this first one. Sit here and we'll work your leg muscles."

Ron decided it was almost too much fun to be work, until his muscles started getting tired. Still, he noticed that for about any exercise, he was lifting about double what Harry was. He almost pointed that out until he remembered the scene he had caused last time he was here, and Ginny was very nearby, so he stopped himself.

The hour and a half Harry had allotted for the workout went by quickly, and before Ron knew it, his friend was saying, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired and it's time to stop."

"Yeah, I'm kinda tired too, Harry. Whatcha going to do next?"

"Take a shower, then Hermione will be here shortly for a Potions tutorial. We don't actually make most of the potions, but we'll probably do one or two of the easier ones that don't use the rarer ingredients."

"Wow, you're really going all out in your studying." Ron was both impressed and happy it was not him.

"Have to Ron, I've got a lot to do, or so everyone keeps pointing out to me. Anyway, I'm glad you came. Want to come by tomorrow at the same time? We can probably fit one game of chess in too since Hermione won't be here."

"Sure Harry, I'll see you then." I'll be wearing shorts too, Ron thought. His knees were a bit sore from rubbing on his pants.

***

[Thu Jul 25]

Harry woke from a wonderful dream, or so it seemed to him as it was starting to slip away. He thought it was something about him, a beautiful redhead, and a broom closet. Or was he mixing that up with what he did last night? Deciding that both were equally good thoughts, he got up. Glancing at Sirius' bed, he noticed it was empty, as usual. He could tell it had been slept in, but he really wondered about his godfather. The man usually came to bed after Harry, and got up before Harry too. He wondered if it was because the man was trying to make up for being out of life for twelve years.

After returning from the bathroom and getting dressed, he went downstairs and found his guardian pouring through another old book. "'Morning, Sirius. What's up?"

"Oh, 'morning, Harry. Just reading another book from Dumbledore's collection. I figured my time to read through his bookshelves was limited, so I should take advantage of it. Ready for breakfast, kiddo?"

"Almost. I'm just missing the most important part of my life."

While he heard Sirius give his classic bark of laughter, he also heard, "Ah, that's so sweet," from behind him. Twirling quickly, he caught Ginny in a hug and gave her a quick welcoming kiss.

More laughter came as did the comment, "Come on you two, enough mushy stuff. Let's go get breakfast." Sirius started towards the door when he exclaimed, "Son of a ..." Suddenly he whipped out his wand and pointed it at the chairs in the corner and yelled, "Accio Wormtail!" When nothing came flying into his hand, another flick of his wand and the two chairs in the corner went flying to the side, but it was obvious nothing was there.

Sirius whirled around and drew a circle around the area in front of the fireplace and cast an Imperturbable Charm before stepping into it. The teens were already near the fireplace.

"What was ..." Harry started but was cut off.

"Harry, Ginny, quickly Floo to my house and stay there. You'll be safe while I hunt that rat."

"But ..."

"Shut up Harry, and go now! I'm sure I just saw a rat with a silver paw. I need you two safe and I need to hurry before I lose him. Now GO!" He shoved his godson towards the pot with the Floo powder. When both Harry and Ginny had left, he grabbed some powder himself, threw it in, and said, "Dumbledore's office".

Fortunately, the Headmaster was in. "Albus, you've got to seal the castle right now!"

"What seems to be the problem, Sirius?" The old man seemed to talking quite slow for some reason.

"I'd swear I just saw Wormtail. Seal the castle so he can't get away. I have to hunt him down."

"Are you certain? That would be most unusual."

Sirius practically screamed, "Yes I'm certain! How many rats have one silver paw? Now quickly Albus! I don't want to lose him."

Nodding, the Headmaster quickly walked over to a portrait of the castle and tapped it with his wand while saying, "Clausus". Sirius watched the shutters on the windows in the room snap shut and briefly glow blue. "All doors, windows, and Floos are now sealed. I believe there is no way in or out of the castle."

"You believe?" Sirius had been starting to breathe easier, but the Headmaster's qualification gave him pause.

"Yes, Sirius, I believe it to be true. I know that's more vague than you'd like, but many things in life are not entirely certain because we don't fully understand how they work. I know this castle can seal itself, which it just did. But I also can't tell you how it does it, so I don't fully know the limitations therein. Still, I do trust it, like I trust the Fidelius around your house."

"Oh, OK, I understand. Can the seal be broken or are you the only one who can turn it off?"

Albus looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered. "I think it could be broken, but it would take some very powerful magic. Suffice to say, if Pettigrew really is in the castle, I believe he will be staying here. Of course, we will too, so that raises an interesting issue."

The Headmaster changed to a more commanding tone, "Frolly!"

A house elf with an immaculate apron with the Hogwarts crest popped in. "Yes, Headmaster."

"Frolly, as you've no doubt sensed, I've just sealed the castle." The elf nodded her agreement. "Given the amount of food we have the castle right now, how long can you feed three adults, two students, and all the house elves?"

"I sent Harry and Ginny to Headquarters for safety," Sirius informed him.

"Ah, very good. So Frolly, it's now only three adults and all the house elves."

"Depending on how much we eat, we can live here for at least a week. If we eat less, then we can stay longer." The elf seemed unconcerned about it all.

"That should be sufficient for our needs. Frolly, I have a new order for you. We believe there to be an intruder in the castle who we desperately need to catch. This intruder is a man, but he can also take the animal shape of a rat. So please have all house elves start searching for this man, and if you find him, capture him and let me know. I would also request that you keep at least four elves guarding the kitchens at all times. As he will eventually want food, he may go there."

"Yes sir, it will be done." The elf popped out.

"There, I believe that will be a good start. I need to tell Minerva of our problem and then we can start searching ourselves." The Headmaster started for the door.

Sirius desperately wanted a way to find that rat. He needed something like a Point Me spell attuned to the rat, or something that would show him where ... And a smile broke out over his face. "Actually Albus, I have an idea, I'll find you soon." He strode back to the fireplace, and with some Floo powder spoke "Gryffindor Tower" and was gone.

The Headmaster shrugged and resumed his trek for the Great Hall to find his colleague and maybe a quick spot of breakfast.

Sirius came out of the Gryffindor fireplace and quickly looked around. No one else was there, at least that he could see. Sprinting up the stairs, he quickly went to Harry's trunk, which was fortunately unlocked. He really did not want to waste the time trying undo any locking charms there. Rummaging through the box, he finally found what he was looking for next to an invisibility cloak. That's my boy, he thought.

Pulling out the old parchment, he tapped it with his wand and spoke, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." A large grin appeared on his face at the same time writing appeared on the parchment. Spreading it out, he started searching. There was no one around him, so he was safe for the moment. There was Albus and Minerva in the Great Hall, they were probably talking. He considered that having the castle empty of people should make this easy.

"There!" he told himself. On the first floor near the kitchens was a box labeled "Peter Pettigrew". With a feral look, he grabbed Harry's Firebolt and took off. Once out of the Portrait hole guarding the Tower, he jumped on the broom and flew as fast as he dared. The parchment was whipping around in his hand.

As he neared the corridor he wanted, he slowed down and checked the map carefully. The rat was at the entrance to the kitchens. Sirius suspected he was going for a back door out of the castle. Arriving at the picture of the fruit, he was about to tickle the pear when there was a loud thump against the door from the inside. His wand was already out, so he tickled the pear and grabbed the door handle. Turning the knob, he yanked the door open with a stunning spell on his lips, but there was no need for it.

In the doorway at his feet, was an unconscious Wormtail, and maybe ten feet inside the kitchen was a little green creature with large eyes and a big round nose. One hand was out in front of him as if warding something off, while the other arm was cocked back as if he was about to throw a spell. Sirius was never so happy to see a house elf in his life. "Excellent! You caught him!" The elf relaxed.

Looking down at his former friend, Padfoot muttered, "Accio Wand!" and two came at him, which he grabbed and stored away. "Accio Portkeys" and nothing came. Strange, he thought, I wonder how he planned to get away; you can't Disapparate here. Then another idea came, "Accio Broom!" and a stick the size of his hand came out of the rat's robes. It looked like a very miniature Cleansweep 5; that was stored away too. Finally, he commanded, "Incarcerous!" and bound his prisoner.

He now looked at the elf who had been watching patiently, "Now that I have that done, who do I have to think for this wonderful job of capturing the intruder?"

"My name is Dobby, Sir. I is assigned to watch the kitchens, Sir, when this man came in."

"Excellent work Dobby, most excellent," Sirius complemented him again. "In fact, why don't you come with me and we'll talk to the Headmaster about rewarding you. A quick peek at the map showed the two professors to still be in the Great Hall, so he headed that way with a Mobilicorpus spell to bring his prisoner.

Walking into the Great Hall, he surprised the other two. "Sirius, you got him already?" Dumbledore was amazed at the speed of the capture.

"While I was hot on his trail, it was this wonderful elf that did the actual capture." The man let his unconscious prisoner drop to the ground without any concern. "I think he deserves a big reward, and I'll gladly pay for it."

"Dobby, very good work indeed," the Headmaster praised the elf, who became even more shy. "So Dobby, Sirius would like to reward you, and I agree this deserves something. What would you like? If we can make it happen we will."

The elf looked at the Headmaster, then at Sirius who solemnly nodded his agreement. With some fear in his voice, Dobby squeaked, "Being free is nice, but if it's not too much trouble, I be wanting a nice family, Sir." Then he hastily added, "Hogwarts is very good to me, but I miss having a family to take care of and call mine."

Sirius smiled, "I believe I can help you, Dobby. Can you promise to keep all my family secrets if you come live with me?"

"You would give me a home?" Happiness came to Dobby's face as his eyes seemed to swell.

"Yes, Dobby; you would live in my house with myself and Harry Potter, who is my godson."

"I could live with the great Harry Potter? Oh you are the bestest wizard next to him." Dobby seemed to be vibrating with happiness.

Sirius looked at Albus in confusion, so Albus told him, "Harry freed Dobby, ah, three years ago from the Malfoys."

Understanding and a smile came to Sirius. "Dobby, you will be most welcome in my house," the thought of getting rid of Kreacher was very appealing. "I believe I have some things to do here, but when I'm done, I'll return home and you can come with me. I can hire you or you can be bound to the House of Black, your choice."

"Oh thank you, Master Black!" Dobby bowed low.

"Albus," Sirius turned to him, "we need to get this piece of trash to the authorities so he can be locked up and my name can be cleared."

"Certainly, Sirius. Minerva, if you would come with us, after I unseal the castle, you can Floo to Headquarters and see if Kingsley or Tonks is there, as well as bring Harry and Ginny back."

"Of course Albus, I'll be happy to," she told him. The three plus an unconscious prisoner and a house elf traveled to Dumbledore's office.

The Headmaster unsealed the castle allowing McGonagall to leave. The two men sat down and had some tea while they waited. The house elf guarded the prisoner.

---

When Harry and Ginny had arrived at Grimmauld Place, they had found Mad-Eye Moody poking around in the kitchen trying to find something to eat. When he mentioned that there were a few others around who had not had breakfast yet, the teens volunteered to cook it. Remembering what Sirius had told them, they whipped out their wands and got to work.

Twenty minutes later, the three were eating and figured the rest would come when they got hungry enough. There was already a pile of dishes there, so Ginny waved her wand at them and started them washing. Harry used his wand to clean up the stove area. They both loved this new freedom.

As Harry was bringing a dirty pan and plate from the table to the sink, Mrs. Weasley came out of the Floo and startled him, causing him to drop the pan, which dumped a few bits of food on the floor. Having enjoyed using his wand for every day things so much, he did not think and used his wand to levitate the pan over to the sink. In the same way, Ginny used her wand to clean up the bits of food on the floor.

"Harry! Ginny! What are you doing? You're going to get expelled for underage magic." Ginny's mum was beside herself in shock.

"It's all right, Mrs. Weasley," he assured her. "Sirius told us it couldn't be tracked here, and we've been doing it for over an hour with no notices."

"But, but... Alastor," she addressed the retired Auror, "how could you allow them to do this?"

Mad-Eye looked at her and said, "He's right, there's no problem with them doing magic here. What good would a Fidelius Charm be if you could track magic inside it? And magic is right useful. Good job on the breakfast, kids."

"Thanks, Mad-Eye," Harry told him. He was actually more thankful for being backed up than for the complement, and the old Auror seemed to understand that as he gave Harry a hearty grin.

For one of the few times in Ginny's memory, her mum looked unsure of what was happening and what she should do about it. This was going to be a great story to tell her brothers, though not in her mum's presence, of course.

It was at that time the Floo fired up for another person, and out stepped McGonagall.

"Professor!" Harry all but shouted. "Did Sirius get him?"

The usually stern woman gave him a small smile and answered, "Yes, Peter Pettigrew has been captured. They are all in Professor Dumbledore's office right now. You may return to the Tower any time you wish." She turned to the others. "Does anyone know if Kingsley or Tonks is here?"

"Tonks is in the living room with Lupin, I believe," Alastor told her. His magical eye swiveled, "Yep, they're still there."

While McGonagall went to talk to Tonks, Harry raced for the fireplace and had thrown in some powder and said, "Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office," before anyone had noticed. Ginny had realised what he was up to as soon as he started moving and followed him. She was throwing the powder in when her mother called her name, but she did not stop and followed her boyfriend.

Molly tried to follow, but when she tried to Floo, she did not go anywhere. Still standing in the fireplace, she turned to face the room. "Minerva, why can't I follow them?" she said with some anger in her voice.

"I'm sorry Molly, you're not on the Headmaster's list. If you'll let me get Tonks, I'll go through and temporarily add you."

"Then why could they go through?" she demanded.

"They're on the list for their own safety," McGonagall replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. With a purposeful stride, she left to go find an Auror. Molly came out of the fireplace and stomped to get ashes off of her, as well as to express her anger. Mad-Eye grinned, but knew he needed to keep his chuckle to himself.

A moment later, Minerva and Tonks come into the kitchen and went for the fireplace. "I'll let you know in a minute or two when you can come through, Molly." She went through to Hogwarts with Tonks following close behind.

The scene in front of Minerva was not one she was expecting, it was chaos. With both fascination and horror, she watched Sirius try to pull Harry back, while the boy had his hands around Pettigrew's neck. The man had barely succeeded in breaking Harry's grip, when a blue-white aura flared out from Harry and threw his godfather back. Freed, Harry returned to the prisoner to finish choking him. As the energy sparks from Harry's aura touched Pettigrew, the prisoner started twitching as if he was under a Cruciatus Curse. Her shock continued as she watched Albus whip out his wand and send a stunning spell at Harry, which had no effect whatsoever. It had appeared to have been absorbed. To her horror, Ginny then dashed to Harry's side.

Minerva tried to move, expecting to have to catch Ginny as she was thrown like Sirius had been, but instead the aura engulfed Ginny as she wrapped her arms around him. With her hair starting to move outward as if filled with static electricity, Ginny put her arms around him from behind and her face near his ear. After a few seconds of Ginny talking to him, Minerva saw her pull the boy back. When his touch left Pettigrew, the prisoner stopped twitching and Harry seemed to collapse as the aura disappeared. Only Ginny was holding him up, and she was barely doing that. Minerva's shock left her and she rushed over to help Ginny.

"Lay him on the couch," Dumbledore directed as he walked over to the prisoner. Satisfied that Pettigrew was still breathing, Albus continued over to the now unconscious boy, whom he proceeded to examine.

"Is he going to be all right?" Ginny asked with a slight panic in her voice.

"I believe so, Ginny, but we shall have to be patient for awhile. Minerva, if you would please look at Sirius. I believe he only knocked himself out when he fell. Dobby, please go to the Hospital Wing and bring back a Strengthening Potion and two Headache Potions." The elf disappeared.

His final order was issued to the woman behind him. "Tonks, if you would, please take charge of your prisoner and put him in a high security cell that will prevent his leaving, even if he tries to turn into his rat Animagus form. Also, please credit his capture to me and leave Sirius' name out of the report. He still needs to avoid publicity until his name is officially cleared."

"Of course, Headmaster." The young Auror put a special Portkey onto Pettigrew and activated it. They popped out of the office and into the security area of the Ministry building.

Dobby returned shortly, and Albus and Ginny carefully made Harry swallow the Strengthening Potion. "I think you should hold onto the Headache Potion, Ginny. He may want that when he wakes up."

Groaning came from behind the old man, so he turned and saw Sirius sitting up and rubbing his head. "Headache?" Albus asked while holding out the potion.

The man on the floor did not answer but gratefully took the potion and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he asked the question on everyone's mind. "What happened, Albus?" The three adults found a chair, while Ginny sat on the edge of the couch next to Harry, holding his hand and looking very worried. All looked to the Headmaster for an answer.

"I'm afraid I can't fully explain as it's not a common occurrence. In fact, I'm only aware of it happening to one other person, Nicolas Flamel. His wife once told me that he had an episode that sounded very similar to this. The best way she could describe it was that he was doing wandless magic."

"I don't understand, Albus," Minerva told him, and looked like she had heard a nonsense answer from a student and was about to reprimand said student. "I've never heard of an aura like that, and Harry would have had to do numerous very advanced spells to accomplish what he did, not to mention the fact that he's now unconscious. So how could you call that wandless magic? Other than the fact that I agree he didn't seem to be using a wand."

The Headmaster seemed to be thinking very carefully. "After having seen this, I think I can now understand Perenelle's explanation a little better. I think I would describe this more like accidental magic, except that it was continuous as opposed to a single event. The aura was most likely a manifestation of his magic, or maybe even his magic making itself visible."

"But Albus," Minerva objected again, "all the spells he was doing. I saw a Banishment and what looked like a Cruciatus, and those are not trivial spells."

"No, they are not; and you didn't mention the shield-like spell he did to block my Stupefy, or maybe he merely absorbed the energy; I'm not sure which. To answer all of these questions would clear up several unknowns in the realm of Magical Theory. Alas, I doubt we'll get the answer."

"When's he going to wake up, Professor?" Ginny asked.

"I don't rightly know, Ginny. Don't worry, I don't believe he's in any danger. I would say that he has magically exhausted himself and all he needs is some rest. Sirius, why don't you help Ginny take him back to the Tower and you can also get some rest. If you are still on your normal schedule, Ginny, I believe you were to visit your parent's house for dinner tonight. You might want to Floo your mother and send your regrets so everyone can rest after the excitement."

"Oh my word!" Minerva exclaimed. "I was supposed to temporarily open your Floo for Molly as she was at Headquarters and tried to come through when I did. She's going to be beside herself, wondering what has happened."

The old man sighed; he was not looking forward to this. "Sirius, why don't you pick up Harry and Floo back to the Tower and put him to bed. Ginny you'll need to go too. Minerva and I will go to Headquarters and calm your mother down as best we can before she Floos to the Tower, as I know she will want to check on you two. Actually, I hope she hasn't already remembered she can do that now."

Everyone went their way. Dumbledore and McGonagall did find Molly still at Grimmauld Place. It was a very long ten minutes for the professors before Molly had vented enough of her anger and frustration for them to explain to her what the emergency was. Once the mother understood what had happened and where the children were, all the professors could do was to follow her through the Floo as she had to check on her daughter and surrogate son. It was another hour before she could be persuaded to go home.

---

As dinner time was rolling around, Ginny was trying to decide how to get some food sent up. She really did not want to leave Harry at the moment. Sirius was not here now, so she waited for him to return. She assumed he was talking with the Headmaster, though the more she thought about it, he might be at the Ministry and was in the process of becoming a free person again.

Sitting in the chair next to his bed, she held Harry's cool hand and waited for him to wake up. It was so much like when he was sick before, except that he looked almost normal now. He was still a bit thin overall, even if his face had mostly filled back out.

Then an inspiration struck her. She wondered if it would work a second time. Getting out of her chair, she crawled onto his bed. He was under the covers, she was on top, and they both were clothed. Still, she wondered what her mum would say if she came up now, so she tried to keep an ear open for feet on the stairs.

Putting her lips down by his ear, she began whispering, this time meaning everything she said. "Harry, this is Ginny, and I want you to wake up. I really need a hug, and while I could kiss you now, it just wouldn't be the same unless you were awake. So if you'll wake up, I'm sure we can find someplace for us to go so I can snog you senseless." She also caressed his face. Watching him, she was not sure if he had moved or if it was her imagination. So she started whispering to him again.

Ten minutes later, she was about to give up hope when she heard, "Now that's how I'd like to wake up if I needed a nurse."

Ginny about fell out of the bed, she was so startled. A loud bark of laughter came from the man in the doorway. "Shut up Sirius, you about frightened me to death. How'd you get up here so quietly anyway?"

He continued into the room with a tray in his hands as she got up and pulled another chair over to act as a table. "I was walking very slowly with the food, and of course I suppose you were a bit busy there, so I could see how you might not have heard me." The grin still hadn't left his face. "Your reaction was priceless, though you should be glad it was me and not you mum."

"Yeah, good point. I'd probably be back at The Burrow by now and grounded for the rest of the summer," the girl admitted. "She's a bit sticky about me being close to boys."

"You're her daughter and she cares about you, Ginny. Be glad she does. On the other hand, as long as I don't catch you doing anything more than what I've caught you two doing so far, I won't give you any problems. I know how it is to be young, but do understand Ginny, that even I have a line you and Harry shouldn't cross -- a line that I think James and especially Lily would agree with."

"Thanks for the trust, Sirius," she told him quietly. "I understand and will honor your request."

"I hope you do. I'd kind of like to keep you around. I think you'd make a fine goddaughter someday."

Ginny about fell out of her chair. Looking at him again, she saw he had a pleasant smile on his face, as if he was discussing a fond memory. "You're serious aren't you?"

"In name and feeling," he told her, his smile broadening. "Don't feel rushed, or pressured, or anything else, Ginny. I'm merely stating that I think you are very good for Harry. The two of you are well matched in temperament and power, not to mention in personality."

"It's a little soon to be discussing anything permanent, isn't it? I mean, I'm only about to turn fifteen, and we've only been dating for about three weeks."

"Like I told you, no pressure; you've got plenty of time. But answer me one question, Ginny: When you think about Harry, does life just feel right? Do you feel, um, complete?"

The girl thought about that. Her feelings for Harry were still somewhat new, and yet, Sirius had a point. When she was with Harry, especially when it was just the two of them alone doing whatever, the world did not seem to matter -- everything was as it should be. Michael and Dean had been nice, but she had not ever felt this way about them. Harry was so much more real. "Yes," she finally answered very quietly.

"Could you speak a little louder so I can hear?" she heard from her right side.

Moving like she had been hexed, she jumped up and ran to the bed. "Harry!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Are you all right? Do you hurt anywhere? Can I get you anything?" She heard a laugh from behind her.

"Slow down, girl, let him answer at least one of the questions." She glared at the man, but she did shut up.

"I'm fine, except for being very tired." She looked at him as if she was not sure he was being totally honest with her. "Well, all right, I'm hungry too, but otherwise, I really am fine."

"Come on Sirius, help me sit him up." Between the two of them, Harry was made comfortable so he could eat whatever he wanted from the tray of food Sirius had brought with him. He thanked them when he had eaten about half of what he normally ate.

"Harry," his godfather moved a bit closer to him. Ginny was sitting on the bed beside her boyfriend. "Do you remember what happened in the Headmaster's office?"

He closed his eyes, reliving the incident in his mind. "Yes," he finally answered.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

He really did not want to, but he also realised he would be pestered about this episode until he did. While he could evade questions about his health, this was one subject that would be impossible to avoid. "When I came into the office and saw Wormtail, I started thinking about all the problems he'd caused me: my torture and the rise of Voldemort again, getting you falsely imprisoned, and then finally my parent's death. I don't know what happened, Sirius, but something just snapped in me and I wanted to make sure he didn't cause pain to anyone else ever again. I'm really sorry about anything that I may have done to you. I think that I knew it was you trying to pull me off of him, but I'm not really sure. Perhaps the best way to explain it is that I wasn't thinking, I was merely acting out of pure instinct."

"Do you know how you did all the magic you performed?"

"No, I just didn't want to be stopped. It was like another part of me was doing that while I was going after Wormtail."

"I'm sorry to have to ask this Harry, but did you feel another presence?"

"No," he told his godfather, "Voldemort wasn't there."

"That's good to hear. So what caused you stop?"

"I don't know. I do remember hearing Ginny telling me to stop, so maybe that did it, or maybe I thought I'd finished off Wormtail. Did I?"

"No Harry, you didn't -- thankfully. Dumbledore told me just before I got here that he's being questioned very carefully," Sirius told him.

"And will you be free now?" Harry was hopeful.

"Soon Harry, very soon. Do you think I should keep this golden hair or go back to my normal dark hair?" he teased his godson.

"I think your normal hair looks better on you. I'm sorry I caused problems by going after Wormtail. I know that would have made things a lot worse if I'd killed him."

"Well, we would have lost some information about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but other than that, I think everything else would be the same, except for what it would have done to you." Harry nodded sadly. "But don't worry about it, Harry, that didn't happen and a number of good things have transpired today."

"Wormtail was caught, you're going to be freed, what else is there?" Harry was curious.

"Those are the most important things, but there's more. Dobby helped capture Wormtail, and he's been rewarded with a family." That surprised both of the teens. "So, how would you feel about having Dobby help out around Grimmauld Place?" That got him two smiles.

"That would be awesome, Sirius. I bet he'd do a great job." Then Harry's face fell, "Oh wait, what about Kreacher?"

"Oh yes, Kreacher. Well, I've got some good news there too. When I returned home earlier with Dobby and bound him to the House of Black, Kreacher couldn't believe he'd been replaced and fell over dead." Sirius had a big smile on his face at that thought.

"Well, that does solve the problem," Harry deadpanned, though he was still smiling.

"Actually, it solved several more. I heard multiple thumps when he died, and then my mother's portrait started screaming; but when I went in there, she was not on the wall, but on the floor."

"You mean ..." Ginny was amazed.

"You got it, Ginny. Apparently it was Kreacher's magic that was holding her there, as well as all the elf heads on the wall. So they're all gone now, and Dobby has been tasked with redecorating the place. By the time you return there in a few weeks, hopefully it will be a cheery place to live."

"That's great Sirius! Wow, I've got a family, and a nice house. What more could I want?" Harry was very happy, until he heard a very good imitation of Umbridge's, "Hem, hem". Startled, he looked over at Ginny and quickly added, "I've got the best girlfriend in the world, a family, and a nice house. I've got everything I need." Sirius laughed at him and Ginny gave him a hug.

Harry snuggled down in his bed a bit before looking at his girlfriend. "Hey Ginny, since Sirius is here to make sure you don't cross the line, how about you lay down here by me so I can go back to sleep?"

She turned a deep red and dropped her head down to his chest to hide. "How much did you hear, Harry?" She was so embarrassed; he kept hearing all of her secrets.

"I seem to remember a loud laugh in the distance, but I remember something about lines, and definitely something about feelings. But I don't think I heard the answer to Sirius' question." He managed to pull her around so she was lying next him on top of the covers with her head by his shoulder. "Tell me how you really feel, Ginny."

Sirius picked up the tray and empty dishes. "I'll be back in a few minutes, kiddo. Be careful, because you never know when someone will be watching." He walked out of the room to take the tray to the kitchens.

Ginny finally whispered to him, "I feel wonderful whenever I'm with you, Harry." She put her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest as she closed her eyes, reveling in being close to him and the feel of his arms as he wrapped them around her. Both of them were asleep when Sirius returned a few minutes later.

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