Home is where the heart is

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise in this story belongs to the esteemed JK Rowling ^_^

Harry awoke in the hospital wing to find that Sirius and Remus weren't there, and instead a fussing Madam Pomfrey was attending to him. "Honestly, can't you ever keep out of trouble, boy?" she said irritably, looming over him with a flask that no-doubtedly contained a disgusting healing potion. "Now drink this up."

It was pointless to argue, so Harry gulped the entire flask. It burned the whole way down, but almost instantly, he felt completely energised.

"Can I leave now?" Harry said pleadingly, glancing at the door and his freedom from Madam Pomfrey's clutches.

"Oh.......go on, then. But if I find you here again within the next fortnight, I'll-" But Harry had leapt out of bed and snatched his robes out of Madam Pomfrey's hands, and ducked behind a curtain. Hurriedly he changed, and dashed out of the hospital wing, calling his thanks over his shoulder. Finally - no more infirmary, no more potions or droughts!

Harry cheerfully made his way down to breakfast, noting that it was too early on a Sunday morning for most students to bother waking up. Upon entering the great hall, Harry found that only one other person was there. Draco Malfoy.

Harry was surprised to see that Malfoy didn't even look up as he went past, and by the looks of it, he had barely even touched his toast. Harry frowned. Something......strange was going on - usually Malfoy would delight in tormenting him about being in the hospital wing, but there was nothing - no response whatsoever.

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table and reached for some sausages, when he felt a tugging at his robes. Turning around, he came face to face with Dobby the house elf, who was looking up at him with his enormous brown eyes.

"Dobby?" Harry asked, a little bewildered. When the house elf nodded, Harry smiled at him kindly. "How are you? I haven't seen you around for a while."

Dobby, in return, blinked his huge brown eyes. "I is good, Harry Potter! I heard you is sick?"

Dobby had changed his outfit from the last time Harry had seen him. He wore a bright green poncho, a pink and orange beanie with holes cut out for his ears, and unmatching socks - one rainbow striped, the other a sky blue. The colours clashed so badly that Harry's eyes were getting sore at looking at them.

"I - I'm alright, Dobby. How....how's Winky?" Harry said hesitatingly.

Dobby's bright grin faded slightly. "Winky is better than she was, Harry Potter, but she is still sad for her old masters. Even though they were bad," he admitted, taking off his beanie and twisting it in his hands. Harry nodded sadly. Poor Winky had been so attached to the Crouch family, despite how rotten and badly they had treated her.

"Okay.....um, so, what have you been up to?" he asked, changing the subject.

Dobby swelled with unmistakeable pride. "Professor Dumbledore has asked Dobby to be his personal elf!" he said delightedly. "He said I will tend to his rooms if I wants, and that I is a good elf!" Tears of gratitude welled up in his eyes. "Professor Dumbledore is the noblest, kindest, wonderfulest, understanding of all wizards....besides you, Harry Potter," Dobby added hastily, as if he was worried that Harry would take offence.

Harry grinned. "I don't think I'm on the same level as Dumbledore, Dobby. It's great that he asked you......he's always liked you, anyway."

This caused Dobby to look even more proud. But then Dobby caught sight of Harry's watch and let out a small yelp. "I is best be going now, before I am missed in the kitchens," Dobby said in his squeaky voice. "It is still very early, and there is more breakfast to cook!"

Harry glanced at his own wristwatch. It was only 7:30 in the morning - a Sunday morning. He'd been too anxious to escape the hospital wing to notice.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter! Dobby will visit you soon!" Dobby said, beaming up at him, before scurrying off. Harry turned back to his breakfast and ate ravenously, feeling starved after staying in the hospital wing for a day. He felt perfectly recovered from the violent nightmare on Friday night. And the time spent in the hospital wing had given him some quiet time to think about Dumbledore's proposition, and the meaning of his dream.

Harry had absolutely no clue to what he had seen in the dream, and gave up on trying to figure it out. But as for the Order of Phoenix......Harry sighed to himself. What would he choose? It was obvious that Sirius was strongly against it, but Dumbledore had said that he needed Harry. And he had yet to let Albus Dumbledore down. But Harry didn't want to hurt Sirius either.

Life was complicated.

Harry was too busy staring into his pumpkin juice like it held all the secrets of the universe, pondering, that he didn't notice Draco Malfoy wince in pain and grab his forearm convulsively. Malfoy stumbled out of his chair and headed for the dungeons, unnoticed.

**************************************************************************************

Draco silently cursed as he made a beeline for the Slytherin common room. Damn the Dark Mark, damn the Death Eaters........He grimaced again as his arm experienced a fresh wave of cruel pain.

Draco half-staggered to the entrance to the common room and croaked the password. "Parseltongue."

Luck was with him - the room was empty. Draco managed to collapse into an armchair in the corner, mostly out of sight to anyone coming down from the dorms. More than anything, he wished that he had never become a Death Eater.

After fainting at the Death Eater gathering, Voldemort had ordered that he was taken back to school and smuggled into the Slytherin house, while the rest of the students took a 'nap'. This, of course, meant that his father had managed to knock everyone out with a large sleeping curse. Put into bed and given a healing potion - done. Draco got up the next day and could actually walk. His father had sent him an owl, scolding him for passing out from 'a bit of pain' and expected him to do better in the future.

Who the hell was Lucius kidding?! That kind of pain could have damaged him permanently!

Then again, you already are. A new Death Eater...ooh, what fun.

Ignoring that annoying subconscious of his, Draco tried to avoid remembering what had exactly happened at the ceremony - it was too chilling and painful. Instead, he concentrated on ignoring his 'tattoo' that was burning. Ever since he had woken up on Saturday morning, he had experienced sudden spasms of pain. He hated it. Because of the ongoing moments of intense pain, Draco had to slip in extra early for breakfast, and sneak off to the kitchens for lunches and dinner. He'd known where the kitchen was since first year, thanks to the handy hints that his mother had given him. How she had knew. Draco had never figured out.

Curled up in the armchair, Draco tried clear his mind of the pain. He couldn't go back up to his dorm - what if he had an extra-bad spasm there? He'd have a hell of a time explaining it, even to those dimwits Crabbe and Goyle. Draco closed his eyes and thought longingly of the days when all he had to worry about was homework and beating Potter at quidditch.

*****************************************************************************************

Sirius woke at 11:00am, feeling groggy and tired. Hugging his pillows firmly, he snuggled back under the covers, trying to get comfortable. Sirius rarely got to sleep in a bed this big and soft, so he planned to enjoy every moment of it. He'd had precious little luxuries for the last fourteen years, after all. Ahh......smelled so nice and clean, too. No offence to Remus, but even middle-aged bachelors had trouble doing the washing properly.

Sirius was just dozing off again, when he suddenly remembered why he was there, in a comfortable four-poster bed, in an elaborately furnished room with a nice big fire.

Hogwarts. Harry. Remus. Dumbledore and the Order. And that traitorous Danielle.

The realisation hit him like a ton of bricks.

Sirius groaned and rolled out of bed, silently cursing the awkwardness of his circumstances. He couldn't stay in bed and laze all day......there were far too many questions that he needed answered. Sirius staggered to the bathroom and splashed water on his face to help wake him up.

It was going to be a hell of a day.

Wondering what on earth he was going to put on - his old - no, Remus' old robes - were nowhere to be seen, probably removed by a house elf - Sirius found some clean robes hanging in the closet, and pulled them on gratefully. Oh, and they fitted him well, too. Another luxury. Sirius even noticed a hairbrush on top of a chest of drawers.

Now there was a tactful way of saying that you had messy hair, Sirius thought wryly, attempting to untangle the knots in his ink-black, shoulder-length hair. Now that he was dressed, it was time to confront the day.....and the past. Frowning to himself, Sirius put down the brush and stared at his reflection in the mirror that hung over the drawers.

"We've got some old business to settle, Padfoot," he told his reflection grimly. Steeling himself, Sirius left the rooms and transformed into a familiar, black, shaggy dog.

As his alter ego, Padfoot, Sirius went up to Dumbledore's office, being careful not to be spotted. Animagus or no, it wouldn't be wise to be seen in the halls. Sirius halted outside the door. He could hear voices inside, so he pressed himself close to the door and listened in dog-form with interest.

*****************************************************************************************

"What?! They're here? Now?" Danielle stammered, gaping at the headmaster. Had she heard the man correctly? She felt her stomach twist in shock. Surely he was joking.........

Professor Dumbledore looked back at her gravely. "Indeed they are. They came immediately, after Harry had a rather violent dream and ended up in the hospital wing. I'm afraid that you cannot avoid them forever, Danielle." He folded his hands inside his robes.

They were standing in Dumbledore's office, with Fawkes the Phoenix recovered from his 'rebirth', fluttering his wings while perched on his hatstand. Danielle had been summoned to speak privately with the headmaster. Although she had originally had not the faintest inkling of why she was being called, she had obediently arrived, not expecting anything important of it.

She was wrong.

"I......I.....Why didn't you tell me before, if they arrived yesterday?" she finally asked, her voice quavering. "It would have been nice to have a bit of warning about something like this!" Dimly, she realised that she was scolding the Headmaster of Hogwarts - Albus Dumbledore himself - but felt too outraged, scared, and nervous to care.

Dumbledore fixed her under his penetrating gaze. "It was not the time, Danielle. And they know of your presence here.....I've explained about your whereabouts for the last decade-and-a-half, as you seem loathe to." Danielle flushed at the soft rebuke. She just knew that Dumbledore was disappointed in her lack of courage, but accounting for the explosive personality of Sirius Black and the quiet, commanding presence of Remus Lupin.....who could truly blame her? She just felt too ashamed to face them.

"Will you not speak to them? Remus? Sirius?" Dumbledore continued, voice soft.

Danielle flinched as though she had been struck. She didn't know what to say. It had been fourteen long years since the death of her best friend Lily and her other close friend, James. She had been so close to them both. Fourteen years since the disappearance of Peter Pettigrew, and the arrest of Sirius Black. And lastly, her own sudden disappearance.

"I don't know if I can face them," Danielle admitted softly. "It's been a long time, and a lot has happened. I expect they'll want answers.......but I don't want to give them. I don't even know why, myself. I don't want to ruin everything...." she finished in a half-whisper.

Ashamed at her own selfishness, Danielle stared at the carpet. Even though she was a grown woman, strong, independent - a former Auror, for God's sake! - she would rather run and hide, than face her old classmates. She particularly dreaded facing Remus. Danielle was more afraid of his gentle face, clouded by betrayal and sadness, than being yelled at. Unbidden, the image of his shocked figure in the Leaky Cauldron surfaced from her memory.

Where could I even start trying to explain?

She saw an expression of sympathy cross over Dumbledore's face. But before Dumbledore could answer her, the door flew open under a strong force, and the person that Danielle had dreaded to face stormed in, a towering figure. A person she had not believed it would be possible to encounter again until recent circumstances. Sirius Black.

**************************************************************

Sirius had heard enough. Not only was the suspense killing him - as soon as he heard her voice, after all these years.....sounding so normal - he just snapped.

It was time to find out what the hell was going on.

Striding into the office determinedly, the first thing he saw was the short, stocky woman he had known well at Hogwarts and afterwards. Danielle. She looked like a terrified deer caught in headlights. Which suited him fine.

"Headmaster," he nodded, not taking his eyes off the younger professor, who seemed to have frozen. "I came up to see you....but I think now I have some extremely urgent business to attend to....if you don't mind."

Dumbledore's eyes flicked from one to the other, before he spoke. "Ah, Sirius. No, I don't mind. Conduct your...erm, business here, if you like. I'm afraid that I must attend to some of my own business......you know, seeing to the state of the school grounds which are, er, slightly neglected under Hagrid's absence...."

At this, Danielle stiffened, and turned to Dumbledore, her eyes frantic. Dumbledore shook his head slightly, the look in his eyes asking her to be strong.

"You both have quite a bit of catching up to do. Sirius, please hear Danielle out. When I come back, I expect both of you to still be in one piece." he said quietly, now fixing Sirius under his stern gaze. Sirius nodded curtly, and Dumbledore threw Danielle one quick, reassuring glance, before sweeping out of the office.

Leaving the two alone.

There was a long, tense silence, as both adults eyed each other off. Sirius was the first to break the silence, moving to close the door, and then leaning on it.

"Well. Fancy meeting you here, Danni. Care to fill me in for, say, fourteen years?" he asked, his voice calm, almost casual. But the hard look on his face betrayed his barely-contained fury.

Danielle straightened herself and lifted her chin defiantly. "I won't be interrogated by you-"

"You'll tell me everything I ask, Danielle! You disappeared without a trace on the night that Lily and James were murdered, your house burnt to the ground, nothing remaining of your belongings! We thought you were dead, too!" Sirius exploded, his voice raising to a yell.

"And I only found out the day I was thrown in Azkaban! For twelve years, I believed that my closest friends were either dead or gone for good. And then I find out that you're very much alive and kicking, and dropping into the Leaky Cauldron for butterbeers! You've been globe trotting all these years, you disappeared from the magical community, only to appear suddenly at the beginning of Voldemort's return!" Sirius was no longer leaning against the door.

He was pacing up and down, every now and again throwing his hands into the air, directing his angry tirade at both Danielle and everything around him. Danielle was slowly backing up, willing to put any piece of furniture between herself and the furious wizard.

Sirius was still ranting. "Why did you run off? You had a home, you had James and Lily and their son, Harry! You had Remus, you had a job! Why didn't you come back, at least, and take Harry? Do you realise that he spent his childhood locked in a cupboard? You owe me - and Remus - answers right now!" Sirius stopped pacing and faced her again, his face as stormy as a thundercloud.

Danielle discovered that she couldn't tear her eyes away from his, no matter how much she wanted to. The inner pain in Sirius' eyes stung her badly.

"I......I don't know....." she finally whispered, looking down and staring at the floor. "I didn't just leave, you know. I was still here when James and Lily were murdered."

"Then why didn't you come forward?" Sirius demanded.

She shifted. "It's a long story." Sirius let out a harsh laugh.

"We have time."

Danielle looked up and bit her lip. "Then we'd better bit down."

Sirius and Danielle both sat in the armchairs opposite each other. She swallowed nervously, aware of the fact that she would have to start from the beginning, and that there was no getting out of it. "Please.........don't interrupt me. If you do, I mightn't be able to finish."

He inspected her pale face, and nodded once. Danielle took a deep breath, and hesitatingly turned to look out the window. It was easier to recount her past if she talked to the wall.

"That day......I was on an Auror mission - one of Dumbledore's numerous spies had tipped him off about a congregation of Death Eaters in a certain meeting spot. So I went along, with my group, to flush them out. Mad-Eye Moody was the leader, and thanks to him, we managed to sneak up on them. We ended up in a short but intense battle.......no one died, but there were a few injuries. I didn't get to leave the Ministry that day until it was very late."

Her eyes became glassy, the events of that day playing on in front of her eyes.

"It was midnight when I arrived back home........it was already burning. There was nothing I could do, except stand there and watch everything I possessed go down in flames. They had a strong waterproof charm over the whole house, one that even I couldn't break alone. Zacharius had been out hunting, so he escaped any injury. That was the main worry on my mind at the time."

Here, Danielle snorted to herself, as if this amused her greatly. "I had my wand and the clothes on my back - that was it. When I tried to sort through the debris, I found a little note from the person - or should I say, persons, who did it. A really witty letter, actually. Raved on about how I would lose everything close to me, how he had already started, of course......and the Dark Lord would seek more vengeance against me, yadi yadi yah."

Sirius saw the anger in her face, but remained silent. She still hadn't explained everything.

"I decided that the only place I could go to was Hogwarts, to Dumbledore. I didn't want to intrude on Lily and James during the middle of the night, with their baby and all. When I arrived it was early morning, and yet the whole castle's staff was awake and buzzing. Professor Dumbledore took me aside and broke the news to me."

It seemed that Danielle was more talking to herself than to Sirius.

"I must have locked myself in that room at Hogwarts for at least eternity. My best friend dead, James as well, Voldemort gone, Harry, my godson, dumped off with Muggles........the world had gone mad. It was a living nightmare. Dumbledore left me alone for a few days. When I bothered to come out, I found out my next piece of shocking news - your apparent 'betrayal' of the Potter's, Peter dead, Muggles dead......and then the news of you being thrown in Azkaban on top of it. I guess it was too much......I couldn't take it. I cracked."

Here, Danielle stopped suddenly, to compose herself. It was like reliving the memory of that fateful week - the worst days of her life. She realised that she was shaking, and forced herself to calm down. Sirius wore a strange expression on his face - was it anger? Fear? Pain? Sadness?

She couldn't tell.

"I admit it.....I ran away. Away from the memories, the pain, the people I knew......anything, just to leave it all behind. I didn't even say goodbye to Remus....although I went to the funeral. And so I left, and went to my own Godmother, who lives in Australia. I lived there for seven years - it was wonderful, simply because it was a fresh start. No body asked about where I came from, and I got a job working as a waitress. I didn't stay with Louisa long, though. Didn't want to be a burden. I rented a little flat near the beach, actually. It was quite nice there."

Sirius stared on at Danielle, his face unreadable. But his mind was racing. So that was why she had left. And yet, after all this time......she never came back, until now.

"Then, when the opportunity arose, I was offered a trip to go to Japan, and liked it so much I decided to stay there. Learning Japanese was a hurdle, though, especially since I didn't know any when I arrived. The people there were very polite, and tried to help me out."

Danielle gave a twisted smile. "In Japan, I started to use magic again. And then I got a job in the Japanese Ministry of Magic. Magical wildlife analyst, believe it or not. I stayed there happily. Until Dumbledore somehow traced me, and requested that I take up the position as the Defence professor. It took some pretty smooth talking on his part, to convince me. But in the end I did end up being dragged back to England. Much to my dismay."

"Because I was worried that I'd have to remember the past. I'd tried to erase all the people I had loved from my memory. It was less painful that way. But when I came here, on my very first night.....Dumbledore told me all about the last few years - you've been busy, Sirius. Escaping Azkaban, meeting Harry, hiding out......well, I expect you're happy now."

Startled at this sudden change of direction, Sirius jerked in surprise and looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

Danielle looked at him bitterly, feeling relieved, angry with herself and the past, and much braver than she had felt earlier. "Well, you stormed in here and got the truth out of me. Now you know that I ran away and was in whole, a coward. You've succeeded in intimidating me and making me go over the same emotions I've been feeling for the last fourteen years I've spent in 'exile'. You've proven your point. Going to gloat?"

In a flash, Sirius stood up and crossed over to the armchair where she sat. He gripped Danielle by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "What do you mean, am I happy?" he growled. "You think I'm getting satisfaction out of hearing this? Do you have any idea what it was like, finding out that you were still alive? To Remus and me? You scared the hell out of him that day in Diagon Alley. He thought he was hallucinating!"

Danielle looked at her lap, her eyes filling with tears as he shook her, but made no move to break free of his grasp. He was hurting her, but she deserved it. Of course she did. She deserved whatever punishment Remus and Sirius felt like dealing out.

Sirius noticed her tears and realised that he was being very rough. He stopped shaking her. "You already know, don't you?" Sirius said quietly, still gripping her shoulders. "You already know what it's like, to leave and then to blame yourself everyday, every morning you wake up, wishing you were dead."

Danielle slowly raised her head and looked at him with red, watery eyes. "I thought I could have saved them," she whispered. "If I had gone back to their house instead of going home...their house was closer as it was....I might have been able to get them out, or at least have stalled Him before he got to the...."

Sirius let go of her and sunk back into his chair. "Don't be stupid," he said, in a gentle voice, surprising himself. "He would have just killed you before moving on and going after them, anyway. There wasn't anything you could have done."

She wiped her tears away from her eyes. "I never went to the ruins," she said. "I just - I couldn't bring myself to go there and see...."

Shaking his head, Sirius looked out at the breezy autumn day. "If I had a choice, I never would have gone, either," he informed her. "The place was unrecognisable. And I found their bodies...and Harry...and I realised what I'd done. What Wormtail had done."

He turned back to Danielle, who was watching him, a pensive expression on her face. Then Sirius remembered why he had stormed into the Headmaster's office. "Dumbledore never told you that we were here since yesterday?" he commented.

This made her stiffen in her seat. "No, he didn't," Danielle mumbled. "Nearly caused me to have a stroke, too....." Sirius heard her say under her breath. Awkwardness had returned to the atmosphere of the room.

Sirius now understood why she had been so terrified to talk to them.....to come back. Danielle was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control her pain. And Sirius found that he couldn't shout at her, although a deeper part of his mind said she deserved it.

She ran away.......she doesn't deserve to be here, One part of his mind sneered.

No, things have been just as hard for her. Its not like she was obliged to stay, Another part argued. Even you can see that she's sincere. And she came back, too, when she could have stayed in Japan and never returned. Maybe there's room to give her a second chance....

Sirius rubbed his head tiredly, torn over how he should act. Should he give her a second chance, and leave the past behind?

Danielle watched him, an expression of disbelief on her face. This was the man that had spent twelve years in a prison cell guarded by Dementors. But looking at him now, you would never guess. With quite a few square meals under his belt, and dressed in some clean robes, he looked like the very image of health. But she had seen the shadows in his eyes, when he spoke of Lily and James, and finding their home destroyed.

Eventually, he glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. "You've given Remus and I a lot of grief," he said, standing up and looking down at her. "God knows that nothing's changed from school. But I can see that you're back and working for Dumbledore, so I won't hassle you or...'intimidate you' anymore. In turn, you don't just disappear off the face of the earth without telling anyone. Deal?"

Danielle opened her mouth uncertainly, and then closed it again. She felt lost for words. This was the closest that she'd ever gotten to a truce between Sirius Black and herself in her whole life. And she decided that it was probably a good thing. She stood up.

"Deal," she said simply, holding out her hand. "Truce?"

Sirius looked at her for a moment, and then reached out to grip her hand. "Truce."

They shook each other's hand firmly, returning the handshake.

"You know, I think that's the first time we've ever agreed on something," Danielle said, after a pause. "And neither of us tried to knock the living daylights out of one another."

"Feel's weird, don't you think?" Sirius agreed. Danielle nodded. And then she frowned.

"Aren't you going to tell me off for leaving Harry with the Dursleys?" she asked, massaging one of her shoulders. It was still sore from Sirius grabbing her. He gave her an apologising wince.

"Sorry I lost my temper," he said ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I shouldn't have hurt you like that."

Danielle appraised him. "Well, you had a good reason to," she admitted. "But let's get this straight now - do it again and I'll knock your block off. I've learnt martial arts for a few years now and I know enough to seriously damage you for life."

The memory from the first night he had entered Gryffindor House resurfaced. "I believe you," he said fervently. "You beat me up in school all the time, remember?"

"Not that you'd admit that you were hurt."

"I had my manly pride!"

"Your manly, oversized ego, you mean."

"Ouch, that hurt." Sirius smiled at her. And for the first time since he had entered the room, Danielle smiled a real, genuine smile back at him.

"You know, I've really missed this bickering," she told him honestly. "You seem to be the only person in the universe who can make me argue."

Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"Well, one of the few people, anyway," she amended. "But you didn't answer my question. Aren't you going to blow up at me about the Dursleys?"

He sighed. "No. What's done is done. I can't really imagine you raising a child all by yourself, anyway. You'd suffocate it or something."

Danielle gasped in indignation. "I would not!"

Sirius winked at her and tucked his hands into the pockets of the robe. "Harry probably would have had to go to the Dursleys anyway - Dumbledore wasn't going to let me take him, and I'm his Godfather as it is."

She gave him a look. "You're forgetting who just happens to be his Godmother, aren't you?" she reminded him archly.

He waved his hand airily. "Yes, well, my point is that no, I'm not going to go off at you again. I can only yell for so long before my voice box gives out."

Sirius glanced at the door before sobering. "Remus is here, you know," he ventured. "Are you going to talk to him?" He was trying to sound offhand, but found that he was watching Danielle closely. Even since the first week of school, all the way back in first year, Danielle had only been friends with two main people : Lily and Remus.

Lily, because she was funny, bright, and straightforward - no interest in girly stuff either, which had instantly appealed to Danielle. And Remus, because he was quiet, kind, and offered good, solid advice. With Remus, Danielle always found that she could pour out her heart to him, and he'd never make fun of her or scoff at her problems, no matter how trivial they were. Nothing had changed as they got older.

Sirius knew that it must have been hard for her to leave Remus without saying goodbye. Although they had never been romantically involved - despite all the teasing they had copped from everyone, including himself - they had always been close. He remembered how much it had annoyed him in his older school years, unable to understand why the two would spend hours in the library or walking around the school grounds, talking about what seemed to be extremely boring subjects.

But all of that was beside the point.

Danielle stopped and thought of Remus, as she had seen him in the Leaky Cauldron, that brief glimpse. He had appeared haggard then, the years taking their toll on him. And then she felt her resolve strengthen. She'd already faced the more explosive of the two, and it was long past the time that she should have confronted Remus.

"Danielle?" Sirius asked again.

"Yes, I will," she replied, feeling a fresh wave of determination. "If anyone tells him the whole truth, it will be me and only me. Unless you want to come along?" she added questioningly.

Sirius shook his head, dark hair flopping. "I'll come down, but I won't stay. I think you two need to sit and talk it out for a while."

She flashed him a grin of thanks. "Good to know I've got your support."

He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Well, after all that, I think it's in our best interests to clear everything up." Grinning, he transformed into his dog-form. Danielle gaped at him for a moment, mouth hanging open.

"So that's how you got out of Azkaban!" she exclaimed.

Padfoot the dog nodded his head up and down, a wicked doggy-grin on his face. He bounded over and stood on his hind legs, placing his front paws on her shoulders. Sirius was such a large dog, and Danielle was so short, that he accomplished this easily.

He began to wash her face.

"Whaaa......urgh, get off, you - ack, stop! Cut it out, you mangy pest!" she spluttered, attempting to push the animal off her. He relented, and sat on the floor, his tail thumping against the carpeted floor. Wiping her face to try and get off the dog slobber, she glared down at him. "For that, I ought to singe your tail hair," she grumbled, heading over to the door and opening it wide. She began to descend the stairs, Sirius padding carefully behind her.

"Do you know where Remus is?" she inquired, when they reached the bottom and slipped out from behind the entrance gargoyle.

Sirius sniffed the air for a few moments, until he got a whiff of Remus' scent, towards the second corridor. He took off in that direction, Danielle jogging behind him and calling out, "Hey, wait up!" Sirius made sure that he wasn't going too fast, and eventually they came to the second corridor. It was abandoned, as it was Sunday, and most students were either in their Houses, in the Great Hall, or the Library.

Sirius trotted down the corridor, until he stopped at the entrance of the DADA classroom.

"Are you sure he's in there?" Danielle whispered. Sirius looked at her disdainfully, as if to say, Of course he's in there! I could smell him a mile away, with his wolf scent..

She cast a nervous look up and down the corridor, before steadying herself. "Wish me luck," she muttered to Sirius. Placing her hand on the doorhandle, she took a deep breath, and opened the door.

*****************************************************************************************

After much searching, Harry found his two best friends in the last place he'd thought they'd be on a weekend - the library. "What are you doing?" he asked, sitting down next to Ron, who looked slightly sickened by the sight of mountains of books all around him. The redheaded boy grimaced.

"Hermione dragged me here.....something about studying for the OWL's......"

Harry turned to Hermione, who was half-hidden behind a toppling pile of books. "Hermione........you do know that the OWL's aren't until the end of this year, right?"

Hermione didn't look up from her book. "Yes. I'm going over things that can help me with my project for potions."

Harry drew in a breath of shock. "What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked in concern.

"I just remembered........I'm with Malfoy!" he groaned, putting his head in his hands. Ron patted him on the back.

Then, Hermione looked up from the huge book she was reading. "You can't do anything about it, Harry. I suggest you look through some of these, too. You never know what might help."

"But you've done this before already, Hermione! Why are you bothering?"

"Because I want to. And anyway, I have to make sure I know as much as Blaise does....." Here, Hermione looked pensive. Ron's expression brightened.

"I get it! You want to show her up. Prove you're better than her." he grinned, looking at Harry knowingly. Hermione didn't answer. Then Ron chewed his lip uncertainly.

"Harry.....what are you going to do about the Order?" he asked quietly, glancing around so make sure that nobody could overhear. Hermione looked up from her book and frowned at Ron disapprovingly. It made her look quite severe - uncannily like Madam Pince, the librarian.

"Don't pressure him, Ron!" she scolded. "Dumbledore never gave him a strict time limit, and besides, Harry hasn't even decided yet. You're still recovering from that vision you had, aren't you?" Hermione suddenly turned to Harry and fired the question at him, catching him off-guard.

"Nah, I'm okay," he said casually. When both Hermione and Ron stared at him anxiously, he groaned. "Not you, too! I swear, I'm fine! Nothing's wrong, and I'm not unconscious or anything. Don't start fussing - Madam Pomfrey's done that plenty enough, thanks."

"It's just that........we came to visit you, and it was creepy, y'know? You were really pale, and your scar kept on bleeding," Ron said uncomfortably. "It looked like you were dying or something, and Sirius was just sitting there, looking like everything depended on you waking up......"

Hermione nodded, a grave expression on her face. "We didn't want to leave, but Dumbledore said that Sirius needed to be alone with you......"

Harry felt a rush of warmth towards his godfather. "Well, I'm fine, so don't stress," he said cheerfully. "And as a matter of fact, I've decided on what I'm going to do about the Order of Phoenix." Reaching into his pocket, Harry drew out his father's golden Phoenix pin. He knew what he had to do, and nothing was going to stop him.

"I'm going to join."

****************************************************************************************

Remus quietly closed the door behind him, and turned to inspect his old classroom. He didn't know exactly why he was drawn to come back to the Defence classroom, except that he needed to see what could have been, if he'd stayed.

Sunlight was filtered through the large, elaborate windows that faced east, flooding the room in bright light. The room was mostly unchanged from what he remembered, a few pieces of furniture moved around. Still the same, huge, polished wooden desk. The same blackboard. The same maps of the world that labelled the habitats of magical creatures. The same pin board at the back, with various projects by younger students displayed.

He breathed in the musky scent of the room, remembering the days he had spent here, both as a student - and as a teacher. Strangely enough, it was like coming home. But that's just silly, he thought to himself. I don't have a home, I never have.

Walking across the room, Remus went over to the window and looked out onto the grounds. The Defence classroom always had one of the best views from the castle, and in the middle of the day, Remus could appreciate the beauty of autumn. The trees in the Forbidden Forest were changing to gold and red, making the expanse of trees look like a sea. "Pretty...." He murmured. It was a peaceful day, with a promise of rain later on.

Remus was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely acknowledged the sound of the door opening and closing. After a few minutes, Remus blinked. His wolf senses weren't very strong in his human body, but his extra-sensitive nose could smell the person that was standing only a few feet away. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Remus apologised, turning from the window. "I..."

But then he stopped abruptly. His mouth opened in shock. Danielle was standing there, her hands clasped in front of her tightly. "Remus...." she said awkwardly, meeting his eyes. "Long time no see, right?"

He moved away from the window and just stared at her, unable to make himself speak. It was like seeing a ghost, some part of his mind thought. Of all places to meet her...it figured that fate would put them here. "....Danielle?"

"Uh, yeah, it's me," she said lightly. "I was told that you were here and so, well, I came. I was hoping that you and I could talk....unless..." Danielle, truthfully, felt a lot more terrified than she let on. She held her hands firmly, so that he wouldn't see them shaking. She also felt extremely uncomfortable. Who was she, to just walk in here and confront him?

He continued to stare at her. I don't believe it, Remus thought in amazement. It's really her! Physically, she hadn't changed much - still short, stocky, with her cute little button nose and freckles sprinkled over it. Although, the length of her hair was nothing like what he remembered. Before she left, her hair had been cropped to her neck. Now it was nearly touching the small of her back.

"If you don't want to talk, I'll leave now," Danielle continued, getting ready to turn around and flee the room. This managed to shake Remus out of his daze.

"No! Er...I mean, no, please stay," he said sincerely. "I just - it's hard to believe you're here. I - I'd always believed that you were dead." Then, Remus nearly kicked himself. It was just typical that he'd bring that up, first thing!

And of course, Danielle felt even guiltier. "I've been putting off coming back for a long time," she admitted. "I told Sirius that I'd come here and tell you the whole story - me and only me. I should have done it a long time ago."

"Sirius?" Remus had a fair idea of what had just happened. "He didn't barge in and threaten you, did he?" He felt annoyed at himself for leaving Sirius alone, trusting him to sleep, when it was the first thing that Sirius would have thought of when he woke up.

"Well..." Here, Danielle looked sheepish. "I guess you could say that....but it's alright now, really," she added, seeing Remus' expression. "We've talked, and, well, we even called a truce."

"You two called a truce?"

"Oh, yeah," Danielle said lightly. "No big deal." Remus snorted in disbelief. There was a pause, before both of them went to speak quickly.

"I'm sorry for everythi -"

"Are you here to stay? Why -"

They both stopped, and cautiously looked at each other. "You go first," Remus said, indicating. "If you've already talked to Sirius and are still alive, I guess everything must be all right..." Danielle just shook her head.

"No, everything is far from all right," she said gravely. "You deserve to know everything, and I never even attempted to contact you in fourteen years. You should throw me out of the room, by all accounts. I won't blame you if you do. I'm just....so sorry..." she finished in a whisper, fighting back sudden tears. He'll never forgive me - not really. She just felt so guilty. What must've it been like, to be the only one left that wasn't dead, in jail or just gone?

Remus stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he told her gently. "You obviously had your reasons....but you're back now, and that's all that matters."

Danielle didn't look him in the face. "You should be yelling at me," she sniffed. "I left you here, all alone, when everyone else was gone. And you're being nice to me, and I haven't even explained anything yet."

He smiled slightly. "I suppose I should. But I'm just glad to see you. I thought I was seeing things in The Leaky Cauldron....you gave me the shock of my life." When Danielle still didn't look up, he realised that she was crying, which surprised him even more. He'd only ever seen Danielle cry once, and that was when her mother and sisters died.

"Danielle....Danni, don't cry, I'm not angry!"

"I can't help it, Remus. Must be a middle-age-crisis-mood-swing or something," Danielle said in a watery voice, tears streaming down her face. "I felt like I'd abandoned you." At this, Remus sighed, and gathered up in a hug. Shocked, Danielle went to pull away, and then stopped. Her best friend had actually forgiven her.

Remus just held her and let her cry. Truthfully, he felt like crying himself. Which was stupid, really - they should be happy. "I think we're getting more emotional as we get older," Danielle finally laughed, when they had stopped hugging. "Emotional old softies."

"True," he agreed. "Our younger selves would have laughed themselves silly at us."

They smiled at each other. Then, Danielle sighed. "Okay, now we've got to talk - and I promise not to go all watery on you again," she added sheepishly. "Let's sit down....my feet are sore." She hoisted herself onto a front desk, swinging her legs. Remus leaned against the teacher's desk and waited.

And Danielle began to speak. She explained everything, not missing out a single detail, determined to set things straight. When she was finished, Danielle scratched her head. "And so, I hopped on a plane, landed back in good old Britain, and resigned myself to the life of a school teacher."

There was a brief silence, before Remus spoke. "You're back to stay, aren't you?"

She hesitated. "I think so......unless the Japanese government wants me back. I was their only experienced source on British and western magical wildlife."

Remus just raised an eyebrow. "Fine, go ahead and do that eyebrow thing of yours," she grinned. "I don't know if I want to stay here either....it's just so strange, coming back."

He looked at her seriously. "Danielle, please stay," he said sincerely. "Now that you're here, things are much more clearer. And I've heard that you're a good teacher, as well. Surely you don't want to continue the tradition of dropping out after one year?"

"You're only saying that so I'll stay!" she accused.

Grinning, Remus looked up at the ceiling innocently. "I'll stay for this year at least," she conceded. "But I'm not making any promises. It's freezing in this country, in case you hadn't noticed!" As if reminding her of the oncoming winter, a blast of wind rattled the windows.

"Yes....you never did like the cold, did you?" Remus commented innocently.

"I have less body heat!" Danielle said defensively. "I'm smaller than you great, huge, hulking men, y'know. And speaking of hulking..." Danielle got off the table and stood up straight, cocking her head to one side as she examined Remus. "Have you gotten any taller than you were?" she demanded. "I don't remember you being so big."

"Well, thank you for informing me," he said mildly. "I don't think I've grown that much - perhaps you've shrunk?"

She shot him a look that clearly said shut up. "Oh, how amusing."

Remus just chuckled and straightened. "I think it may be a good idea to find Sirius, don't you agree? I'm sure he's itching to hear how our little reunion went."

"Yeah, itching. I'll bet that Animagus form of his picks up enough fleas. If there aren't enough living in his everyday hair."

"I heard that!" A muffled voice called from outside. Danielle glanced at Remus sideways. He winked in return and turned towards the door.

"Sirius, have you been eavesdropping? I thought you'd grown out of that habit."

The door opened and Sirius came in, wearing an indignant expression. "I don't eavesdrop - I merely happen to overhear things...." Closing the door, he strolled over to the pair. "Have you patched things up, then?"

"Yes," Danielle replied, smiling at Remus. "We've done our talking."

There was a long pause, as they all looked at each other. "This is the first time in fourteen years that we've all stood in the same room," Remus said softly.

Sirius swallowed. "Sort of like déjà vu, isn't it?" He was clearly remembering happier days.

"Well.....we're all here, now," Danielle finally said in a cheerful voice. "And I for one, am very glad. Do you have any idea how much I missed you people? Even you," she added, nodding at Sirius. As Sirius opened his mouth and was obviously trying to think of a good reply, Remus inwardly laughed. Some things never change.

***********************************************************************

Some things never change, Harry thought exasperatedly, as Hermione and Ron began arguing loudly over whether or not McGonagall would be able to recognise a helping hand from Hermione's essay - Ron just couldn't be bothered spending hours researching. After the shock of him announcing his decision to join the Order, it had gone down surprisingly well.

"I knew you would, mate," Ron told him confidently. "You've got to be the youngest member they've ever had! First quidditch teams and now this....."

"Oh, Harry.....do be careful, it's bound to be really dangerous," Hermione said worriedly. "You're doing the right thing, but it would be horrible if anything happened to you...."

And after another good long discussion over The Order, they were back on the subject of homework. "Come on, Hermione!" Ron howled. "McGonagall set us the same essay! The same facts will probably be in everyone's essay!"

"Well then, you should research it yourself, then, shouldn't you?" Hermione said loftily, turning a page. Harry just shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. He knew that he would have to find Dumbledore that day and tell him the news - the sooner, the better.

"Maybe I'd better find Dumbledore now," Harry suggested, but he was unheard over the bickering between Ron and Hermione. He sighed. "Ron? I'm really a Slytherin in disguise and fully support Voldemort and his evil ways."

Nope, they still didn't hear him.

Well, when all else fails...."Hermione, I'm gay," he said solemnly.

Hermione stopped in mid-speech. "What?"

Harry grinned at her gobsmacked expression. "I'm kidding. Look, I think I should go and find Dumbledore." When she and Ron went to volunteer to come with him, he shook his head. "I need to go alone and do this...you guys have fun researching."

Ron looked resigned. Giving him one, final look of pity, Harry stood up. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Hermione asked worriedly. He nodded. "Well.....good luck, Harry. Tell us everything when you get back."

"See you," Harry said quietly, and made his way out of the library.

***********************************************************************