Never Let Them See You Bleed

At the same time Hermione was climbing the stairs at Haven, a tall, blonde form Apparated to a small house. A small mouse of a man, who was twitching visibly, opened the door, and the man knew that if he opened his mouth, he would stutter over his words. The only thing that kept Pettigrew alive, Lucius Malfoy thought to himself, is that Voldemort wants to see Black kill him before Black himself is killed. Striding into the main room, he knelt before the chair, and the man that sat in it like a regal king.

"You called for me, Master?" Lucius humbly asked, not daring to get any closer to the massive snake that curled around his master's feet.

The snake raised its head, flicking its tongue out, tasting the air around it. A soft hiss from the man, and the snake lowered its head, its beady eyes never leaving the kneeling man.

"You have done as I told you?" Voldemort asked, a soft hiss threading through his voice.

"Yes, Master. But I don't understand-"

"Your place is not to understand, Lucius, but to obey," Voldemort snapped. Lucius bowed his head in acceptance. "Your son will have no choice but to come to us when the time comes."

"My Lord," Lucius began after a moment.

"Yes?" His Master hated dealing with the minor details of his followers, Lucius knew, but if he were to find out this information from someone else, or at a later date, he knew that it would mean his death. If he revealed the information now, it might only mean some lingering stiffness from the Cruciatus.

"There is something else."

Voldemort's red eyes narrowed.

Peter Pettigrew hovered near the doorway, listening to the hushed conversation, careful not to move his right arm, which cast a sick reflection from the light onto the silver the arm was made of. His Master's hearing was exceptional, and he did not want to be punished for listening in. He leaned close to hear the new information, only to jump away hurriedly as the agonized screams echoed through the house.

---

Hermione walked uncertainly down the hall, barely making any noise aside from the soft swish of her summer dress and the muffled sounds her sandals made on the plush carpeting. Coming to a halt at the second to last room on the left, she took a deep breath, released it on a sigh, and pushed the door open. She didn't see one of the other doors open and a blonde head poke out. Letting the door shut behind her, she stood nervously by the doorway and debated on how to wake Harry up.

Should she simply shake him awake? No. Harry had too many bad dreams, and woke up quite violently if shaken. The one time she had tried that, she had avoided a black eye only because of her ability to dodge quickly.

Call him awake? Although it seemed like a good idea at first, Harry was a sound sleeper when he was completely exhausted. And judging from the slight purplish marks under his eyes, he hadn't been sleeping much at all.

She racked her mind for a way to wake him up that didn't involve using magic. Biting her lower lip, she sat down on the side of his bed, knowing that she would have to be fairly close to him to get him up. Harry, though, had chosen that moment to turn over on his side, flinging his right arm outward. His eyes immediately popped open as soon as it registered contact with soft, warm skin under light cotton.

"Harry, it's me," Hermione quickly said, lest he mistake her for someone come to do him harm. She could see the tension released from his shoulders and his eyes closed in relief.

He rolled back onto his back, flinging one arm over his eyes. "It's too early to get up, 'Mione. Five more minutes," he pleaded, the slur of sleep in his voice.

Hermione wondered how long it would take him to realize that his best female friend was in the room with him - and he wasn't wearing a shirt. A part of her brain wondered what he was wearing, but the ruling logical part swept that thought away. One... two... she counted to herself.

Before she got to three, Harry's eyes snapped back open, a look of shock appearing as he jackknifed straight up. "Hermione!" A dull flush spread across his cheeks as he looked semi-blindly at her. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Grabbing his glasses off the nightstand automatically, she slid them into his hand. "Um... happy birthday?" His face registered complete shock for a moment, and she couldn't resist teasing him a bit - until he got back to the Harry that she knew. "Don't tell me that you forgot today's your birthday?"

"No," he replied slowly. "I just... didn't expect to see you, that's all." Now that his brain was clearing, and he could see, he was feeling vaguely self-conscious. All of the marks he knew about were gone, but there might have still been one or two that he didn't know about, and he didn't feel like dealing with Hermione's questions.

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she watched Harry fidget. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting all nervous."

Come on Harry, think of a plausible story that she'll accept for the time being, he thought to himself. "You'd be nervous too if you were sitting half-naked in front of your best friend."

She knew it was a diversionary excuse, but she let it slide. "You wouldn't be embarrassed if Ron was here instead of me," she shrewdly pointed out.

"Ron's different. You - you're... you know."

"A girl?"

"Well, yes. Besides, how did you find me?"

"Professor Snape told me where your room is." Sighing silently, she quickly kissed Harry on the cheek, in almost the same spot she had kissed him earlier in the summer, and then stood up. "Hurry up and get dressed. I'll be right outside."

Harry merely nodded dumbfounded expression on his face as he watched Hermione walk towards the door. He wondered just exactly when her hips had started swaying like that - and why he was feeling so happy that her lips had come into contact with his skin again. As the door shut, he was jerked back from his thoughts. Making a mental reminder to Sev why Hermione was waking him up, he grabbed some clean clothes and pulled them on. After an attempt at getting his hair to behave failed, he quickly straightened up his bed, and then rushed out into the hallway, nearly running into Hermione.

"In a hurry?" she asked, the teasing light back in her eyes.

"Well, since you had to wake me up and get my curiosity piqued, I figured that I might as well hurry." Much to his surprise, he actually felt happy, and he knew that even if everyone else forgot his birthday, his day couldn't get any better.

But it did. The delicious smell of something cooking wafted up the stairs and his stomach rumbled, but he still wondered who exactly was cooking. Sev was more the 'anything-in-a-minute' type of cook, and he didn't think that Narcissa was up yet, and the very thought of Malfoy cooking was laughable.

"Who's here?"

Hermione merely smiled and kept walking down the stairs. She turned left, then stopped and looked over her shoulder, confused.

"What or who are you looking for?"

"The kitchen," she answered concisely, a hint of irritation on her face. She hated not knowing the answer, and he knew it. Since he had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, he pointed to his right, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. After shooting him a definitely irritated look, she marched past him. Harry nearly laughed, but that would have just irritated her more. Instead, he caught up with her in three strides and looped his arm around her shoulders. It was a somewhat awkward fit, since Hermione had to be a good half a head taller than he was, but he hoped that he would be growing taller in the coming months.

"Come on, Hermione, you know the answer all of the time. It's good for me to know the answer once in a while, especially in the house that I've been living in for the past month and a half."

Huffing out a sigh, she knew that she couldn't stay mad at him for long, especially when he gave her that lost puppy look. Giving him a smile in return, she let his arm stay looped on her shoulders, a fun sense of friendship and affection filling her, the self-consciousness of being taller than Harry forgotten. She wouldn't think about that affection part too much, though. Pushing through the door, she felt Harry freeze as he saw the assembled guests.

"Happy birthday, Harry," she said.

Severus felt his lips curve slightly as he watched the joyous smile blast across his young charge's face. He watched Harry look at all nine of the Weasleys, from Molly cooking, to Bill and Charlie playfully doing battle with their forks, to the almost demented smiles of the twins, and to the smiles on the youngest two and their father. Percy wasn't smiling, of course, but he seemed to radiate a quiet enjoyment of his family. Molly turned from her cooking for a moment to run over and give Harry a hug.

"Happy birthday, dear."

Harry returned the hug, enjoying the feel of a mother's arms around him, even if she was his best friend's mother. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he whispered back. Once Mrs. Weasley had released him to attend to her cooking once more, Ginny rushed up and kissed him quickly on the cheek, gave him a quick hug and a birthday wish, them moved out of the way as her brothers moved in. Perhaps she knew that she wouldn't be able to wish him a happy birthday otherwise unless she got there first. Molly, knowing her brood all too well, announced that breakfast would be served in a minute and that they had best all sit once they had given Harry their birthday wishes. Once all the Weasley boys had moved away, Harry sat down next to Sev, with Charlie on his right.

"You planned this all, didn't you?" Harry quietly asked Sev.

Severus merely smirked slightly. "Yes."

"Are they staying all day?"

"Yes."

Harry shook his head, but smiled, and the gratitude shining from his eyes spoke volumes. "Thanks, Sev." His voice seemed choked, as if he was fighting back tears of happiness.

"You're welcome, Harry."

Both Severus and Harry noticed the door open slightly, and then close again. Sharing a meaningful glance, they both knew that one of the Malfoys was outside the kitchen, but did not want to enter, a completely understandable fact, considering how the Weasleys despised the family. Severus stood. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," he murmured as he walked out the door.

Once outside, he wasn't entirely surprised to see Draco standing there. "What's wrong?"

"Mother's sick," was the short, quiet answer. Severus frowned.

"Again? She was just sick not more than an hour ago." Draco just shrugged. Severus mentally ran through all of the various things that he knew of that could cause a being to throw up repeatedly. "Is she throwing up any blood?"

"I don't know. I just heard her being sick, then came down here to get you."

Severus nodded. "Go back upstairs. I'll be up in a moment."

Draco nodded once, then took the stairs two at a time. Turning, Severus reentered the kitchen and headed straight for his cupboard. Pulling out the bottle of blue liquid, he grabbed a glass and started pouring, mentally calculating the amount it would take to settle Narcissa's empty stomach. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, but he paid them no mind until Molly looked closely at the liquid and sniffed at it delicately.

"Anti-nausea?"

Severus nodded, keeping an eye on the glass.

"In your cupboard?"

Once it was a little more than three-quarters of the way full, he stopped pouring and re-stopped the bottle, storing it away. "With my life, I've learned to be prepared for any contingency. I will be back momentarily, please don't wait for me."

"Would you like me to see to your guest?" Molly asked.

Severus paused. He knew that with several children, Molly Weasley knew more than the average witch about healing, almost on a par with Madam Pomfrey, but he could not guess her reaction as to seeing Narcissa Malfoy. "I will ask, but I will not speak for her."

When he returned two minutes later, he made sure that before entering the kitchen, the annoyance he felt was carefully kept off of his face, lest he frighten Harry again. As he had asked, they had not held breakfast for him, but Molly immediately noticed his entrance and looked up at him with an inquiring look.

"She will see you."

Molly nodded and stood, then waved for everyone else to keep eating as she left. "Did she drink the potion?" she asked, already falling into her healing mindset.

"No. She refused for some reason she wouldn't share with me."

Molly stopped mid-step and frowned. There were very few conditions that necessitated not drinking an Anti-nausea potion. In fact, with every single one of her pregnancies, her doctor had warned her strenuously against drinking them. But she didn't know if Professor Snape's guest was of childbearing age or not, and there were a few other conditions, such as accidentally ingesting poison, or even something so mundane as a childish Slug Curse. Climbing the stairs, she twisted her hair, and then placed a holding spell on it, so it wouldn't fall into her face while she was working. At the top of the stairs, she looked down the hallway.

"Which room is she in?"

"Second door on the right." As she neared the door, she could hear the gut-wrenching sound of someone being sick. Opening the door, she froze for a moment in shock when she saw Draco Malfoy standing by the door of the private bathroom. Looking quickly up at the taller man at her side, she was met with an impassive expression, but she could detect the barest hint of a deeper emotion flashing in his eyes. I shouldn't be hesitant to treat any Malfoy, she thought to herself. They may be powerful and richer than Merlin, but it shouldn't matter. Well, I would be very hesitant to treat Lucius, she had to admit. Lucius was just evil incarnate, and both Molly and Arthur thought that he had escaped Azkaban only by buying the right people.

Walking across the room, she got right to the door before she recalled that Professor Snape had only referred to his guest as 'her', so that narrowed down her patient list down to one: Narcissa. Cursing quietly, she opened the door, not surprised to see the younger woman curled over the loo, her long, pale blonde hair falling over her shoulder. Kneeling beside her, Molly gently gathered the silky hair and held it while Narcissa became sick once more. Her eyes flashed as she saw the still-discolored flesh around the slender neck. Murmuring soothing words and rubbing circles on the frightfully thin back, Molly waited for Narcissa's stomach to quit rebelling.

"All right, dear, up we go." She turned on the water. "Rinse your mouth."

Narcissa silently obeyed, avoiding her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She didn't want to know how she looked, fearing that she would break down if she saw what damage her husband had inflicted on her. She could feel the burning of her throat every time she swallowed a bit of water, as well as the aching of her back and the twinges of her ribs every time she breathed. And those were just the most recent injuries. Her face, though, was unmarred. Lucius never had struck her in the face; instead he beat her where it wouldn't show. The most telling scars though, were hidden on her heart and in her mind. Lucius liked to hurt her more with words than he did with his fists.

Molly was growing even more certain of her earlier diagnosis as Narcissa stumbled more than walked back to the bed. And the marks on her neck made Molly even angrier. "The last time I was that sick," Molly commented, "I was pregnant with Ginny."

Narcissa was very good at hiding her emotions, but she couldn't stop the wild, panicked look that flashed across her face for a bare second, or the trembling of her hands. She knew that Severus had seen her face, but was far too afraid to look at him, not knowing if he would be angry with her for hiding this information or if he might even banish her from his house. Haven was her only refuge, and the wards around it kept Lucius from finding her. If she were forced to leave, she knew that Lucius would find her and finish the job of killing her.

"How long have you known?" Molly asked quietly, but her voice still carried throughout the room.

Narcissa collapsed onto the bed, hunching her shoulders and trying to curl into herself. Her hands curled over her stomach, trying to protect the life she carried. "Three weeks," she finally answered, meeting Molly's compassionate brown eyes.

Molly nodded. "Almost two months, then?"

"June fifth."

"You're certain?"

Narcissa nodded, but didn't speak. There were some things that she wanted to keep for herself - such as the fact that Lucius had rarely touched her since Draco was born, except for the rare times when he felt the need to reinforce his power over her by forcing her to have sex with him. And every time, he continually told her how she couldn't ever please a man in bed. Which is probably why he sought other witches, her mind told her. She of course, couldn't blurt this out to Molly Weasley. For all of her kind intentions, she represented an older authority figure, and since Lily's death, Narcissa was left without a close female friend to confide in.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and her head whipped around. Draco stood there, his gray eyes trying to discern the truth from hers. "Mother? You're-?"

Narcissa nodded once again, letting her eyes drop, not wanting to see his reaction. Some part of her mind scoffed that she was such a coward about everything now, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her son, afraid that he would also be angry with her. Suddenly, she felt Draco's hand move to her back while his other arm slipped around her and his head rested on her shoulder. Her lip started to tremble as she realized that he was hugging her.

Draco had been trained from an early age to be unemotional, but he knew that his mother needed to hear the words. His face was turned into her neck, and only Narcissa heard the words she needed, and longed to hear. "I love you, Mother."

With that, Narcissa burst into tears. Holding Draco close, she rocked back and forth, comforting him as she comforted herself.

Molly felt Snape tap a finger on her shoulder, then he jerked his head towards the door, indicating that they should leave and let mother and son heal their strained relationship in private. Molly nodded and slipped quietly out the door Snape held for her. Once the door had shut, Molly felt free to let her temper rise.

"If I ever..."

"You'll have to stand in line," Snape replied, probably a bit sharper than he had intended. He was good at controlling the emotions on his face, but his dark eyes blazed with anger and both of his hands shook with the force of trying to control that anger.

"Why would he want to kill her and the baby? Another baby means another potential follower for You-Know-Who."

Severus frowned. He had been considering the question for the last few minutes, but it didn't make any sense to him. Of course, since he wasn't Voldemort's right hand like Lucius was, he wouldn't know of the plans they came up with when he was not there. "I don't know."

"Would Dumbledore?"

Severus looked at Molly, momentarily startled, and then he shrugged. "Possibly."

Stopping at the top of the stairs, he breathed deeply, trying once again to reign in his emotions. Molly sat on the steps and did the same. Resolving not to let his murderous intentions towards Lucius Malfoy ruin Harry's birthday party, he concentrated mainly on the happiness in Harry's eyes when he saw the Weasleys earlier. Some times, he tiredly reflected, he honestly felt older than Dumbledore. Releasing one last breath, he started his way down the stairs, not surprised to see Molly follow him. Pushing back into the kitchen, they were met by curious stares, and in Harry's case, worried.

As soon as he sat down, Harry couldn't help asking. "Is she all right?"

He nodded. "Yes. She'll have to tell you the rest."

Harry, knowing that he wouldn't get any more out of him, turned back to his breakfast. Molly was apparently being as tightlipped as he about Narcissa's condition and her rule over her family kept them from asking questions. Breakfast, after a moment of two or silence, was finished with light, teasing banter between family, while Severus engaged in a serious discussion with both Charlie and Bill about the moods of the magical communities abroad about the recent troubles in England.

Once breakfast had been finished, the table was cleared and they all moved to the living room, where the twins set up a rowdy game of Exploding Snap, quickly roping Ron, Ginny, Harry, and most surprising of all, Hermione into it. The charmed fire still burned, blowing cool air into the room, keeping the temperature comfortable.

[After an hour and five games of Exploding Snap, in which the last game everyone got involved, which Severus won by barely beating Harry and Ginny, Molly told Harry that he could open his presents.] Fred and George caused many laughs (and some sharp admonishments to behave from their mother) by almost scrambling over each other to get the presents over to Harry. Severus, almost preternaturally aware of what went on in his house, looked over towards the fire just as it blazed up.

Arthur, noting where his attention had drifted to, also looked at the fire. Severus was already drawing his wand and moving closer to the fire. "You're not expecting anyone?"

"No."

By this time, everyone had drawn their wands, and was ready to hurl various hexes and stunning spells (even though most of them would be given stern warnings from the Ministry of Magic about not performing magic outside of Hogwarts) at whoever was coming through if they proved to be a threat. The fire greened and no one quite expected the shaggy black dog to bounce out, followed by a head of brown hair flecked with gray. Severus lowered his wand, but didn't wipe the look of dislike off his face as Remus Lupin walked out of the fire, holding a bulging bag.

Remus smiled as he spotted the presents assembled in front of Harry. "Ah, good, I'm not late."

"Professor Lupin!" was the greeting from five of his former students.

He smiled. "Hello," he greeted as he unzipped the bag, revealing several presents inside. Shaking his head as 'Snuffles' ran around licking Harry, then Hermione and Ron, he placed the presents in a neat stack beside those already assembled.

Molly frowned as she watched the dog she knew was Sirius Black bounce around, enjoying the attention he was getting. He looked much too thin, and as he rolled onto his back to let Ginny rub his belly, Molly knew that he still wasn't getting enough to eat since she could see his ribs.

Remus shook his head as he watched his friend get a belly rub from the youngest Weasley. "Hedonist."

A single bark with a smug look was his answer.

"Did you have to bring him?" Severus asked, somewhat bitingly.

Remus shrugged. "He wouldn't stay behind. Besides, it is Harry's birthday." What went unsaid, but understood between the two, was that it was the first birthday since Harry turned one that Sirius had been able to attend. "Also, Dumbledore wanted me to tell you to expect him soon."

"Lovely," Severus muttered. Looking at the dog who had given up the belly rub and was once again bouncing around, he nearly rolled his eyes. "Sit!" he barked.

'Snuffles' gave him a dirty look, but complied, sitting in between Harry and Ron.

"By Merlin, that dog is huge. Is he yours?" Fred asked.

"In a sense, yes," Remus replied.

"Neat," George commented. "Is he trained to attack?"

"When he feels like it." Remus was saved from further inquiry when Dumbledore stepped out of the fire.

His eyes twinkled as they looked over everyone, sitting in chairs or the floor, all trying to rise. Waving them down, he took a chair near the fire. "I trust you're having a good birthday so far, Harry?"

Harry nodded, the happiness sparkling from his eyes, nearly making them twinkle. "Yes, sir. Now that everyone, well, you know."

Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Sirius, sitting between Harry and Ron. "Excellent. I also have some news, whether it would be considered a present or not is debatable." Snuffles whined, then barked, as if he were asking a question. "Yes, this does require your input, so if you don't mind."

Snuffles shimmered for an instant, then was replaced by Sirius. All of the Weasleys, save Ron and Molly, scrambled for their wands, while Ron moved closer to Sirius, and Molly moved quickly to intercept her family before anyone did anything rash.

"No!" Harry shouted, trying to dive in front of his godfather. "Sirius is innocent!"

Arthur hesitated for an instant, feeling Molly's hand on his arm, then seeing her solemn nod. Looking at Dumbledore as the final authority, he withdrew his hand from his robes when Dumbledore also nodded. "Perhaps some one should tell us what exactly happened."

Sirius sighed and pushed his long hair back. "It was Peter. I was supposed to be James and Lily's Secret Keeper, but I convinced them at the last moment to use Peter."

"Peter Pettigrew is dead," Bill pointed out.

"He lived under your roof for twelve years and is very much alive," Sirius drawled back. "Do you remember your rat Scabbers?"

"Yes."

"Peter is an illegal Animagus. He turns into a rat. That's how he escaped after he blew up that street, framing me for it."

"He's alive?" Percy repeated weakly.

Sirius smiled sardonically. "He won't be after I get done with him. I was sent to Azkaban for twelve years for his murder. I'm going make sure that I'm the one that commits it. But I believe that the Headmaster wants to tell Harry his news, not listen to my story for a second time."

Once again, all eyes turned to the Dumbledore, who seemed to come out of a trance. "Ah, yes. As most of you know, the Order of the Phoenix, like its namesake, has risen from the ashes. Most, if not all of you are members of the Order, whether you know it or not. Harry, you along with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will start training with the Order when you return to Hogwarts."

Several exclamations broke out at his announcement, most concerned over Harry, Hermione, and Ron's safety. Severus however was quiet. He knew that Dumbledore had to have a very good reason for starting training so soon.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, for the both of you, this training will be optional, but I would highly suggest that you both take it. It won't be long before Voldemort tires to hurt Harry through either one of you two. And I highly doubt that either of you will give up your friendship simply because you're in danger."

"You got that right," Ron muttered.

"Harry, unfortunately, this training is not optional for you." He sighed and stroked his beard. "I am too old to fight this battle, and I hate to place this burden on your shoulders. If your father was alive, then he would take the majority for you, but he's not, so we are left with no other recourse. It is grossly unfair, but I must charge you with the task of stopping Voldemort by any means necessary."

Harry shrugged. "It's all right. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky again," he said, pointing vaguely to his scar.

"This time we're not relying solely on luck to see us through. Sirius, Remus, you have contacted your group?"

Remus nodded. "It was hell trying to convince Fletch that Padfoot was innocent. Arabella was much easier."

"I suspected as much. Arabella's always had her suspicions about what happened."

Sirius snorted. "Arabella's got her suspicions about everything."

Dumbledore shrugged. "She was an Unspeakable for over two decades. That alone breeds some powerful skepticism."

"I'd call it paranoia."

Remus spared a look at his friend. "It's not paranoia if they're really after you. Everyone knows that Arabella knows more than anyone about anything. It's just a wonder that she wasn't attacked the first time." Everyone mulled over that fact for a moment, the only sound in the room was the occasional pop of the fire.

"Headmaster?" a shy, hesitant, voice spoke up.

Dumbledore looked at Ginny. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"I want to take the training also."

"No!" Her parents chorused together.

"May I ask why?"

Ginny's eyes flashed, showing a hint of the infamous Weasley temper. "Because even though I've tried to forget my first year, and Merlin knows that I've tried, I still remember everything. And if I can use that information to keep my family safe, I'll do it." Her eyes hardened even as a sneer twisted her lips. "Besides, Tom used me. He used my mind, he used my body, and he used my fears. But when he took everything from me, I took a little from him, and now I'm going to make sure that he realizes the full extent of his mistake."

Dead silence greeted the end of her sentence until Severus spoke. "You should be in Slytherin with that attitude, Miss Weasley."

Ginny shrugged and ducked her head to hide the rising blush. "Tom's influence," she mumbled.

"On the other hand, it does take a certain degree of bravery to relive some very painful and disturbing memories. Besides, not all members of the Order go out to fight the battles, our Intelligence, for example." He looked at Ginny, considering. "You would probably be an excellent Intelligent person, if you're sure about this."

Ginny nodded. "I want to do it."

"Very well."

Arthur was livid. "Now wait just a moment. It's bad enough to involve Bill, Charlie, and Percy, but to involve the rest of my children-"

Severus interrupted Arthur mid-rant. "The children were already involved. Voldemort has learned his lesson from Harry. He's not going to discriminate between parent and child any longer. This war is going to be very messy, and a lot of children are going to have to grow up very suddenly. Be it intentional or not is moot point. The younger they start the training, the easier it will come to them."

"As much as it pains me, I've got to agree with him. The younger, the better," Sirius said.

"You're agreeing with me? I must remember to mark this day down," Severus sarcastically drawled.

"Sod off."

Dumbledore sighed. "Children. Listen to me carefully, because I will only say this once. I will not have Harry's life jeopardized because you two cannot move beyond a schoolyard grudge. Am. I. Understood?" His eyes flashed, and they were all afforded a glimpse of the power the older man always held in check.

Chastised, they both nodded their heads. "Severus, I do not know precisely what happened the night James saved your life, nor the circumstances that caused it, but you will be working closely with Remus, Sirius, and their group."

Severus nodded his head and shot a guarded look at Lupin sitting on the couch.

Remus merely raised an eyebrow, and then sat forwards. "Snape, I have no earthly idea why you chose to believe him that time, since you never had before, and I don't know what possessed you to joke about it, Sirius. And I still have yet to figure out what your parents were drinking when they named you." A wicked grin curved his lips. "Unless they were referring to the 'Dog Star.'"

Sirius, recognizing the grin turned a mock-hurt look on his friend. "Are you calling me a dog?"

"In more ways than one. You'd go after a table leg if it was wearing a skirt."

"I would not." Sirius could tell that Moony's former students were watching him with a kind of astonished awe. "I do have taste."

"Should I start listing them in chronological or alphabetical order?"

"That was low, Moony."

"Truth hurts, Padfoot."

George suddenly looked from Sirius to Remus. "Moony and Padfoot?"

Fred picked up on what his twin was thinking. "As in one half of the Marauders that created the Marauder's Map?"

Sirius grinned, an echo of his younger self shining in his eyes. "It's still around?"

"It was my first indication that you were innocent when I saw Peter appear on the Map."

"How did you get it unless you nicked it off Filch?"

Fred shifted a bit. "Actually, we got it from Filch. Then we passed it to Harry a couple of years ago."

"And then I got it from Harry."

"I received it earlier this year," Dumbledore said. "And it's staying in my office for the time being, also."

Sirius shrugged. "It only works at Hogwarts, anyway."

He stood. "Ah, well, I must be getting back now, as there are many things I have yet to do, and several people to talk with about training. Harry, do enjoy the rest of today. I will be owling all of you later, before school reconvenes." He got to the fireplace before remembering something. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot." Rummaging in his pockets for a moment, he pulled out a small, gaily wrapped package. "Happy birthday, Harry."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Headmaster."

He nodded, then taking a pinch of Floo powder, he called out his destination, and then with the whoosh of flames, Dumbledore was gone.

Adding Dumbledore's gift to the pile before him, Harry had to shake his head in wonder. This has to be more presents than Dudley had ever received at one time, Harry thought to himself.

"Harry, don't wait for help, just start opening," Severus told him after a moment.

With a grin, Harry blindly picked a present before him.

Harry had been alternately moved and amused by the wide range of his gifts, from the squirting wand the twins had given him, to the Weasley jumper Molly had knitted him (even though it was far too warm to wear it), the Golden Snitch from Sirius, the large book called Hexes, Curses, and How to Dodge Them from Hermione, a moving pewter wolf statue that howled silently from Remus, Sev's present of a promised shopping trip for new clothing, Charlie's dragon hide boots, and Bill's handwritten manual to curse-breaking. Finally, he was down to Dumbledore's present. Peeling away the wrap, he looked for a moment at the soft box in confusion. Opening it up, he blinked in shock at the antique-looking pocket watch the box held.

"Wow," Ginny breathed, her eyes wide as she looked over Harry's shoulder. Ron echoed her statement as soon as he saw the watch.

It was a very unusual watch, for it held no hands and no numbers. Little planets and stars rotated along the outer edge, giving the watch an almost hypnotic quality. With one look, Harry could tell that Hermione was just as confused about the watch as he was. He was just about to ask Ron what it was when Hermione slipped a piece of parchment into his hand. Setting the watch down on his knee, he unrolled the parchment and read it aloud.

Harry-

This watch is, as you have no doubt guessed by now, no ordinary watch. It will not tell time, but rather tell where people are, much like the Weasley family clock at the Burrow. -

"Neat," he commented, breaking off from the letter. Skimming the rest, he discovered the charm for making the watch work, along with an admonishment to not put too many people on the watch.

Hours later, after the sun had gone down, everyone was enjoying the warm evening outside. Dinner had been served outside, with two plates delivered upstairs for Draco and Narcissa, along with an invitation to join them outside. They had politely refused, enjoying a quiet day to themselves.

While the adults chatted on the porch about anything except the coming war, Harry chased Ron, Hermione, and Ginny around the yard with his squirting wand (which looked amazingly like his real wand), and their laughter enticed the twins to come off the porch to come play, along with Sirius, who bounded off the steps and transformed himself back into 'Snuffles' in midair. He ran around barking, almost daring Harry to try and hit him with the wand, and then shaking himself dry every time he did get hit.

Everyone knew that this might be the last time in a long time that they could indulge in a little carefree fun, so they simply let themselves enjoy it.