Faith, Hope, and Love: Faith

Hogsmeade

Walking towards Hogsmeade, Kari realized that it was only her second time in the Wizarding village. She had only been old enough to go last year, but her privileges had been taken away by Umbridge early in the year, after Kari had seriously pissed the woman off.

Umbridge had said to read the book. So, Kari had read the book.

Out loud.

With a German accent.

So, she had gotten her privileges taken away. But now she smiled happily at the beautiful sky. The snow on the ground was sparkling in the sunlight and there were sounds of laughter all around her.

Up ahead, Harry and Cho were walking hand-in-hand with Ron and Hermione beside and slightly behind them, their fingers not quite touching. Ginny and Luna walked beside Ron, laughing about something that Kari couldn't quite hear.

Technically, she was walking with Amanda and her gang, but Kari was slowly edging away from them, as their inane chatter seemed to focus on which seventh year boy was the cutest in each house. Kari avoided their eye-contact as much as possible and kept her head down, afraid they would see her silent laughter as they discussed a seventh year who she had recently overheard talking to one of his classmates about which girls they thought were the most flighty. Needless to say, some of those girls' names whom she was now walking with had come up. But those names were nothing compared to how many had come from Slytherin house....

At the thought of that particular House, Kari glanced casually behind her. From his little gang, Draco was glaring at her. Okay, so their first meeting hadn't exactly set them off on the right foot, and Gryffindor's latest Quidditch triumph over Slytherin had been really one-sided, but did he have to glower at her?

As she passed under the shadow of a large pine tree, she felt a comforting presence on her shoulders. Automatically, she reached up to stroke Shadow's soft fur.

"The Dark Lord hasn't taken him under his wing already, has he?" she asked the cat, worried. Maybe she had been wrong to ignore the Lord Voldemort's return for so long. She felt Shadow chuckle.

"The Dark Lord with wings?" Shadow snickered. "Now there's an image...." Kari shuddered at the thought. "Well, if you'll excuse me...." The weight on Kari's shoulder suddenly vanished.

"Shadow?" she asked, surprised at his sudden departure.

"Oi, Kari! Heads up!"

"What?" Kari looked up just in time to see the snowball crash into her face. Thrown to the ground, she heard the ringing laughter of her schoolmates around her, then the jokes about how she could dodge two Bludgers and a Chaser and still get the Quaffle through the goal, but could get hit by something as tiny as a snowball. She wiped the snow out of her eyes and sat up to see Ginny doubled over, still laughing at the effect of her aim.

"You are so dead," Kari growled, gathering snow into a ball as she got to her feet. Ginny just laughed harder and Kari let her snowball fly. Unfortunately, her aim was a bit off and she ended up hitting Ron instead, who turned around and glared at her. Kari grinned sheepishly and took off running as Ron crouched down to form his own snowball.

"Get back here!" he shouted after her. His sister, however, had other ideas and shoved an armload of snow into his hood and pulled it over his head. Kari turned back towards them when she heard his yell and was promptly hit in the stomach by another snowball. She looked up, astonished, to see Harry grinning at her, tossing another snowball into the air lazily.

"Nobody attacks my mate," he said, with a sparkle in his eye. Kari grinned back at him.

"Bring it on."

..............

"Okay, I'll see you later, bye!" Kari called, waving goodbye to Ginny and Luna as they went into the Three Broomsticks. They had invited her along, of course, but she had said she had to meet somebody somewhere else. Truth was, she was completely freaked out by Luna's watchful stare.

The girl may have helped her pick out some Christmas presents, but that didn't stop the hairs on the back of Kari's neck from sticking straight up every time she caught the blonde staring at her like she was some sort of circus act. So, she had foregone Ginny's pleasant company and decided to do the rest of her shopping alone. Of course, it was only an hour later when she finally emerged from Honeydukes with huge bag full of chocolates when she realized that she really was very thirsty.

What had started out as a simple snowball fight earlier had culminated into an all-out war between the four Houses, ending only when a stray snowball had hit Hagrid as he was passing by and he revealed just how much snow he could dump on a person at one time. The small trenches some ingenious student had built up to serve as a fort were also no match for the Groundskeeper, who stepped over them easily and sent the defenders scattering. Fortunately, by this time, people were tired of the game and wanted to get to Hogsmeade anyway, so the war had been abandoned.

Really, it was no surprise that Kari was thirsty. However, the chance of running into Luna in the Three Broomsticks wasn't very appealing either. So she headed off to the Hogs Head.

The bartender raised his eyebrow when he saw her, but handed her the butterbeer she ordered without comment. She took a seat near the corner, with her back to the wall and facing the door. Then, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, she pulled out one of her purchases, a book called Runes for Spellers, which Dumbledore had recommended to her. However, while she was actually interested in what the book contained, she only pretended to read it as she strained her ears to hear snippets of conversation around her. Maybe Shadow would stop nagging her constantly about not being aware of the Dark Lord's movements if she told him she had been listening for news outside of Hogwarts.

"Just gave birth yesterday, poor thing..."

"I still don't understand why you need the damn potion to boil!"

"50 galleons, take it or leave it."

"One shot of Odgens...."

Kari sighed and turned a page. Nobody was saying anything interesting today. Shadow was just being paranoid when he had told her to keep her eyes and ears open. As if on cue, she felt something rub up against her leg. She froze. No ordinary cat would ever take a liking to her that easily.

"Shadow?" she whispered, slumping down and pretending to be very engrossed in her book.

"'By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!'" he hissed at her.

Kari's blood went cold. They were here? Now? Not good. Not good. She took a few deep breaths and forced herself to remain calm.

"You don't have thumbs, cat," she said, downing the rest of her butterbeer. He hissed louder.

"Get help," she commanded, abandoning all efforts to look casual. Shadow disappeared. Throwing her stuff back into its bag, she grabbed her coat and hurried towards the door. Just when she was a few feet from it, a hooded figure stepped through, blocking her way. Kari felt her heart race and she stepped to the right to let it go past her. It didn't move.

"Excuse me," she breathed, and tried to push past the figure. It grabbed her arm and hung on.

"No, my dear, excuse me," a cracked woman's voice came from the hood.

'Don't look,' Kari thought to herself, trembling. She couldn't get to her wand without dropping her bags and alerting her assailant. She glanced at the hand holding her hostage. Long, black fingernails... 'Don't look!' she thought again, but she could help herself as she looked up into the dark space of the hood.

Never before had she wanted to be more wrong.

"Bellatrix Lestrange!" she screamed.

Instantly, the bar was in an uproar. Kari ducked as a few semi-drunk wizards shot spells at her and the Death Eater. Bellatrix laughed as she blocked them all and sent a few back at them. The bartender shot a spell at her, which a surprised Bellatrix had trouble blocking.

Immediately, Kari twisted in Bella's grip and bit hard into the woman's hand. With a scream, Bellatrix released her and clutched her wounded hand. For an instant, Kari's eyes caught hers, showing the girl all of the hate and murder that she would love to inflict right now....

Bellatrix raised her wand, but Kari swung her bags at the woman's wand, knocking it from her hand as they both ducked another volley of shots coming from the bartender.

"GO!" he shouted at Kari as Bellatrix dived towards her wand. Kari wasted no time in obeying him, and was out the door before Bellatrix could retaliate.

Hogsmeade was in chaos. Death Eaters and villagers were running every which way, dueling, screaming, hiding.... An explosion at the back of one of the warehouses sent most of the duelers running for cover. Shouts of "The Aurors are here! The Aurors are here!" sent the villagers cheering, as they attacked the invaders with renewed vigor. Within seconds, Kari was almost all alone in the street.

"Expeliarmus!"

Kari's bags flung themselves out of her hands as she heard Bellatrix's voice behind her. Whirling around, she grabbed her own wand from her pocket.

"Reducto!" she shouted, pointing her wand at the ground in front of the Death Eater. It blew up in Bella's face, sending her sprawling backwards. She was instantly back on her feet, the look of murder back in her eyes. Both of them had their wands out and ready, but neither wanted to make the next move; they were too unsure of their opponent's abilities.

"So, you know how to play, do you?" Bellatrix sneered, watching the girl in front of her carefully. Kari kept her expression neutral. 'I have to stay calm,' she thought to herself. 'I have to distract her and stay calm...But why are they here? And why me?'

"Your boss was pretty stupid to attack us here," she said, her eyes focused on the woman's face. "Both Dumbledore and the Ministry are already on their way." 'I hope,' she added silently. Bellatrix's face contorted with rage.

"How dare you speak of the Dark Lord that way!" she snapped. "He has a perfectly good reason for attacking today!"

"Right. So, what is it?" Kari asked, enjoying her control of the conversation while she still had it. When Bellatrix didn't reply, it confirmed Kari's suspicions. "The Dark Lord doesn't even tell his loyal servants why they have to attack Hogsmeade?"

"How dare you--" Bella began, raising her wand.

"I wonder," Kari interrupted, "did he even tell you why you had to capture me?" Bellatrix looked dumbfounded for a second, but then she sneered.

"What makes you think I was told to capture you?" she asked, raising her wand slightly.

"If you were allowed to, you would've killed me already," Kari silently cursed as her voice started to shake slightly. "You've had at least two opportunities. Both in the Hogs Head and when my back was turned out here. Since the Dark Lord's return isn't a secret anymore and everyone already knows you're scum, you've had no reason to hold back, other than any orders you've gotten."

"Don't get too cocky, girl," Bellatrix said warningly, venom on every word.

"I'm not. I'm just assessing the situation," Kari replied, hoping Bellatrix couldn't see her shaking hand from that distance. The woman hadn't stopped looking at her either, and with every movement Kari made, she was ready to counter any spells shot at her. No doubt, Bellatrix was a very good duelist. 'I'm so dead if I don't think of something fast,' Kari thought.

"Just--assessing--the situation?" Bella repeated slowly. She burst out laughing. "Oh, Merlin, you sound just like--" She stopped and stared at Kari, her eyes narrowing.

"Wait a minute. You look familiar," she said. "Do I know you from somewhere?" Now it was Kari's turn to laugh. If it had a hysterical edge, she couldn't help it.

"Have you already forgotten that you've been in Azkaban for the past fifteen years? I'm only fifteen. Unless you saw me as a baby, which I doubt, you couldn't possibly know me."

"I know I've seen you before," Bellatrix said, one eye twitching. 'Why hasn't anybody come by and helped me yet?' Kari thought desperately. 'I can't keep her distracted much longer. Not unless she's really interested in this subject...'

"You might've seen my birth mother," she said. "I've been told we have an uncanny resemblance."

"Of course!" Bellatrix said, her eyes lit up in recognition. "You're that annoying little Healer my late cousin was so fond of!" Kari felt her breath leave her and sucked it back in sharply.

"Please don't make me kill you because of stupidity, Bellatrix. I can think of so many better reasons. I'm a fourth-year student at Hogwarts. Therefore, I can't be Healer. You're thinking of my mother, Sora Caritas."

"So, who are you?"

"I'm Kari Tomoe," she said, inclining her head a fraction, as her father had taught her. Even enemies deserved respect.

"Tomoe? I've never heard of any Tomoes."

"Not exactly thinking today, are you Bellatrix?" Kari taunted. "First you think I'm my mother, whom Sirius Black had no interest in, by the way, and second--"

"Expeliarmus!"

Kari gasped and threw herself to the ground before realizing that it hadn't been Bella who'd spoken. In fact, she was sprawled on the ground a few feet from where she had been standing, her wand sailing past Kari towards a man with long black hair. Kari's jaw dropped.

"Second, I'm no longer your late cousin, Bella dear," Sirius said as he caught the wand. Bellatrix's eyes were the size of saucers.

"N-no-not possible!" she stammered as Sirius bound her with ropes that shot out of his wand. He grinned at her cockily.

"Surely you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily?" he said. Then he turned to Kari, who was still staring at him. "Are you all right?" he asked, stepping towards her.

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine," she said quickly, getting to her feet before he could reach her. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, smiling slowly.

"I know," Kari said, a little too quickly. She took a breath. "I know. I just--"

"Sirius!" They both looked up to see Remus Lupin hurrying towards them.

"How is everyone?" Sirius asked.

"Fine," he said breathlessly, "but we can't find about a third of the Death Eaters and Dumbledore is sure they haven't Disapparated."

"So, they're still here?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded.

"That's not the worst news," he said slowly. "Many of the students visiting here have also gone missing; Harry included."

"WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed. "Quick, we've got to find him! You go that way, Moony--"

"Sirius. They've already started searching. Come on, let's get Kari back to Hogwarts," Lupin said. Kari started. He remembered her? It had been three years! Lupin looked down at her.

"It is Kari, right?" he asked politely. She nodded slowly and he went over to her bags, picking them up and brushing the snow off of them. He smiled at the still-tied-up Bellatrix. She glared right back at him and struggled to break free of her bonds.

"Nice work, Padfoot," Lupin said, walking back over and handing Kari her bags. Sirius smiled slightly, but his eyes were darting around frantically, as if he could find Harry through sheer will-power. Lupin put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get you back to school, Kari," he said cheerfully, as though Hogsmeade didn't look like a battlefield right then. He flicked his wand at Bellatrix, who was immediately levitated into the air, ropes and everything, to bob along behind him.

"Thank you, Professor," Kari said quietly, almost afraid to be noticed by the two men. Part of her wanted to tell them to go look for Harry, but she really didn't want to walk by herself right now....

"Kari, huh?" Sirius said casually, resigned to not being able to go after Harry immediately. He snorted in laughter. "You sure do look like your mum."

Kari's eyes shot towards his face against her will. He caught her staring at him and grinned at her.

"We heard you. Sora Caritas, right? We used to go to school with her," he said. Lupin smiled at his friend, but shook his head warningly. Sirius didn't catch it.

"I know," Kari said, shortly.

"So, did she tell you what a horrible person I was?" he asked, chuckling.

"No," she said. "My mother died when I was born." Sirius's jaw dropped and Lupin sighed.

"What? But, then--who...?" Lupin elbowed Sirius as Kari refused to look at either of them. "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," he said awkwardly.

"Don't be," Kari said, a strange lump in her throat. "It wasn't your fault." 'Even though I thought it was for the longest time...' she finished silently, still refusing to look at the ex-mad mass murderer.

The store window ahead of them seemed like a good place to concentrate. Unfortunately, she could see her reflection clearly in the glass, with Sirius and Lupin on her right with Bella floating just behind Lupin. And behind the corner of a building behind them was a hooded figure who was pointing his wand at Sirius....

"OI!" she yelled and tackled Sirius, throwing them both to the ground. Lupin threw himself down as the spell just barely missed Sirius and struck the window in front of them instead, shattering it. Lupin was instantly back on his feet, dueling with the hooded figure.

Sirius lay on his back in the snow, staring at the little girl who had pushed him down.

"Miss Kitty...." he whispered. A stray curse landed in a snow bank next to them and exploded, raining snow on them. Quickly, he pushed Kari off of him and scrambled to his feet to help Lupin.

"Go! Get back to Hogwarts, now!" he shouted at her.

She didn't need any urging. Grabbing her bags, she ran for the nearest cover. It was just a small bush, but it would fit her needs. She began to concentrate.

'Dumbledore would kill me if he knew I'd done this,' she thought. Nonetheless, she landed with a pop just outside the school gates. Having a cat who knew all sort of spells and could teach them to her before she was supposed to know them was very handy at times. She checked to make sure no one had seen her, then ran inside.

The castle was much more organized than she had thought it would be. The different houses were all sorted in different areas where their tables usually were. Kari ran to the Gryffindor area, glad to see that almost everyone was back safely. But when she got there, she realized what a key word "almost" was. Many of the sixth-year girls were crying, Hermione foremost among them.

'Please let no one be dead. Please let no one be dead,' she thought frantically as she made her way towards the bushy-haired girl.

"Hermione?" she said timidly. The other girl looked up with big, puffy eyes. "What happened?"

"We-we were attacked," Hermione sobbed. "Ron got hit badly and Harry...we don't know where Harry is! He never came through!" she wailed. Ginny came over and patted her on the back.

"Ron will be all right, Hermione," she said reassuringly. "And Harry... I'm sure Harry will be fine, too."

"Didn't come through?" Kari asked, puzzled. Ginny looked at her, tears in her eyes as well.

"Harry knew about a secret passage in the basement of Honeydukes that led back to Hogwarts," she said. "When we were attacked, he led us there and told us how to get through. Then he went back for the others." She indicated the rest of the people in the room.

"Ron stayed with him," Hermione sobbed. "And when they were trying to find more people, they were attacked."

"Ron took the hit and Harry carried him out of there," Ginny continued. "He was still unconscious when Seamus and Dean carried him back here, but Madam Pomfrey woke him up and he told us Harry went looking for even more people Apparently, Cho and I were at the top of his list." She looked miserable. "We were already here when Ron made it back and the professors won't let us go look for him!"

"Absolutely not," McGonagall said, coming up behind Kari, who squeaked in surprise. The professor glared at Ginny. "I will not let the efforts and sacrifice Potter and your brother went through be in vain, Miss Weasley. Think about how they would feel if they knew that you went back into danger after everything they went through to bring you to safety. You are not to leave this castle. And you, Miss Tomoe," she added, turning on Kari, "are you all right? You didn't come back with the rest of them..."

"I didn't know about the passage," Kari said, truthfully. "I thought the only way to get to Hogwarts was through the front gate. So that's where I went. But I had some help from Professor Lupin and...." she hesitated. Should she talk about Sirius here with everyone around? Dumbledore had mentioned keeping his return a secret.

"Well, I'm glad you are unharmed thanks to the efforts of Professor Lupin and his companion," McGonagall said, nodding at Kari, who took this as a sign that she had done the right thing not to mention Sirius.

"Um, if you don't mind, Professor," Kari said, as McGonagall was about to turn away. "I just got back and I--um, have to use the lavatory...." McGonagall nodded and Kari quickly walked out of the Great Hall, heading for the bathroom.

"Shadow," she muttered as she walked. Instantly, he was on her shoulders again. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"What? No thanks for earlier?"

"Thanks for earlier. Where is Harry Potter?" The cat grumbled as she reached the bathroom and took an empty stall. She sat down on the toilet and grabbed the cat off her shoulders, putting him in her lap. He glared at her.

"No tricks, no games, Shadow," she said seriously. The cat narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"In Hogsmeade," he answered. Kari resisted the urge to strangle him.

"Specify."

"Honeydukes."

"Specify!" she snapped. Shadow jumped.

"In the basement, by a large crate of candy," he said sullenly. Kari sighed in exasperation, but it was all she was going to get out of him.

"Thank you," she said, trying to calm down. "Now, I need another favor."

...............

Harry stumbled into Honeydukes, gasping for breath. He still hadn't found Ginny! He had promised Ron he would find her, but it was too late. The Death Eaters were closing in on him. Clutching the counter for stability, he forced himself to breathe. He had just gotten into twice as many duels that he had ever been in in his whole life, and some of them he hadn't come out of in the best of shape.

He groped for the door to the cellar. He was battered, bruised, and bleeding, but he had to get to Hogwarts.

The windows of the candy shop shattered. Instinctively, Harry ducked, pulled open the door, and with a rush of adrenaline, he was down in the cellar just as he heard excited Death Eater voices.

"He went in here. I saw him!" Harry recognized Crabbe Sr.'s voice from the two duels he'd had with the man already.

"Then hurry, you fool!" Lucius Malfoy snapped. Harry heard them enter as he backed away from the stairs and into the darker corners of the basement.

"There's nobody here," Dolohov said.

"Wait a moment." Harry's heart jumped as he heard Peter Pettigrew's squeaky voice. "The basement. There's a secret passage to Hogwarts in there!"

'No!' Harry thought desperately. 'They can't come down here, there's nowhere to run! And if I go back through the passageway, they'll catch me for sure. Wormtail, I swear, if I ever catch you....'

A flash of light blinded him. Blinking, Harry was wondering what the hell that was when he felt a slight weight on his shoulder. He froze. Then he heard a comforting warble right next to his ear and almost laughed in relief.

"What the bloody hell was that light?" someone upstairs asked.

"Fawkes?" he gasped. The bird's talons gripped him tightly for an instant in response. Then the phoenix took off from his shoulder fly around his head, slowing down to wave its tail feathers in his face. Harry suddenly remembered Dumbledore's disappearing act last year.

"Are you sure this'll work?" he whispered to the circling phoenix.

"Doesn't matter," Malfoy said as the basement door was flung open again. "Let's go! You first, Crabbe."

The phoenix trilled at Harry above his head and he looked up to see it regarding him solemnly with bright blue eyes that glowed even in the darkness. "I hope you're right!" Harry said, quickly reaching up and grabbing one of the tail feathers in front of him. Instantly, the world turned into nothing but fire and his stomach dropped as gravity lost control over him. For a moment, Harry wondered why he wasn't burning...

In the next moment, gravity took control again and he fell onto a hard, cold, stone floor. Blinking rapidly, he realized he was back at Hogwarts, in the hallway leading to the Great Hall. He looked up to see the phoenix who had rescued him flying away.

"Thanks, Fawkes!" he called. It warbled back at him as it turned a corner and was out of sight.

Relieved beyond compare, Harry tried to stand up. However, one of his legs kept giving out on him and wouldn't hold his weight. He grimaced down at his ankle. He must've sprained it at some point.

"Harry! You're here!" he heard a familiar voice cry. Looking behind him, he saw Kari running towards him from the girls' bathroom. She kneeled next to him. "Oh God, you're hurt...."

"Just a sprained ankle," he reassured her. She raised an eyebrow at him and laughed weakly.

"No offense, Potter, but you look like hell," she said. "Can't you feel that?" she asked, poking his cheek. To his surprise, it hurt. A lot.

"Ouch!" he said, bringing his hand up to his cheek. It came back stained with blood. How had he not noticed that? Then he looked down at the arm he had just raised. It didn't look much better, with scratches and bruises and blood everywhere....

"What? Did Mr. Hero forget he was human?" Kari asked teasingly. Harry was too shocked to be offended. Dear God, how was he still alive?

"Come on, hero," Kari said, taking his arm and draping it over her shoulder to help him walk. Harry said nothing about the fact that she wasn't really helping a lot because she was so much shorter than him.... "Madam Pomfrey's in the Great Hall and I know a couple of Gryffindor girls who are going to be really glad to see you. Of course, Madam Pomfrey will probably have a few choice words for you too, but just nod and smile to that...." Harry laughed weakly.

Back in the Great Hall, Harry immediately realized what an understatement Kari's words had been. He was immediately rushed by half of the school, all of whom wanted to shake his hand or pound him on the back. Somehow he got separated from Kari, but spotted her later with a huge black cat in her arms, standing beside Hermione, who looked like she was either going to pass out or burst into tears at any moment.

"Harry!" somebody cried and he felt someone latch themselves around his neck and kiss his cheek. Surprised, he looked down to see Ginny with tears streaming down her face. "Thank God. Thank God." And she hugged him again. Harry hugged her back, equally relieved to see that she was safe.

"Ron. Is Ron okay?" he asked anxiously. Ginny nodded. Nearby, someone coughed, and she immediately let him go, blushing slightly as Cho stepped forward and muttering something about telling Ron that he had made it back. Harry lost sight of her and turned back to Cho, who looked slightly angry. "Cho, I'm so glad you're okay...."

To his surprise, she burst into tears and ran to him to pound on his chest with her fists as she continued to sob.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Harry Potter!" she cried, accenting each word with another hit. "I thought you were dead... that something had happened... I couldn't bear it..." Her legs gave out on her and Harry had to grab quickly to prevent her from falling completely on the floor in a dead faint. Apparently, her nerves couldn't take the pressure.... Unfortunately, his ankle wasn't really helping him stand....

"Potter! Out of the way, all of you!" McGonagall commanded, bearing down on him with Madam Pomfrey right her.

"Professor," he said, trying to lower his girlfriend to the ground without hurting her, "Cho..."

"Miss Chang will be just fine, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, taking the girl's pulse before turning back to him. She grimaced and pulled out her wand.

"You, however, look like you've gone through hell, Potter," McGonagall said, as Flitwick levitated Cho back towards the Ravenclaw table.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately," Harry muttered.

"What happened?"

"Well, Professor," Harry said, grimacing in pain as Madam Pomfrey started to work on him, "Hell is a really good word for it."

"Why in Merlin's name are you standing, boy?" Madam Pomfrey demanded. Harry looked behind him to see she had conjured a chair. "Get off that ankle, now!" Harry obediently sat as he began to fill McGonagall in on what had happened.

Finally, when both the nurse and the professor were satisfied, Harry was able to go over to where Hermione and the other Gryffindors were. Hermione latched onto his neck immediately, still shaking slightly.

"I thought I'd lost you both for a moment there," Hermione whispered. Harry just hugged her back.

They were safe now. The Death Eaters hadn't been able to get anyone. Everything was okay. He'd even managed to tell McGonagall about the secret passage and had seen her dispatch a couple of Aurors to guard it.

"Indeed, well done, Mr. Potter," said a familiar voice behind him. Harry turned to see Professor Dumbledore approaching with Fawkes on his shoulder. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling merrily.

"Thanks, Professor," Harry said, grinning. Dumbledore must've sent Fawkes after him.

"Not at all, Harry," the headmaster murmured, stroking Fawkes's head, "I merely did what I could. Which, I might add, was painfully limited to calling in the Aurors and fighting a few battles myself. Fortunately, thanks to your efforts, very few of the students suffered any harm from this attack. For that, I am in your debt."

"Call him on it," a voice suggested lowly. Harry looked over to see Kari staring at the ground, trying to look innocent. And, was it just his imagination, or was her cat smirking at Fawkes? The bird was definitely glaring back at him with those beady, black eyes.

"Oh, I will," Harry laughed, turning back to the headmaster. "As soon as all of this is cleared up."

"I'll just bet you will," said a new voice, coming from behind Dumbledore. Harry started in surprise as Professor Lupin came up to stand beside Dumbledore. "Hello, Harry."

"Professor Lupin!" Harry exclaimed delightedly. "When did you--"

But he never got to finish that sentence. At that moment, a very familiar black dog came trotting up behind Lupin, wagging its tail excitedly. Harry stared at it, shocked.

It couldn't be. It couldn't.

The dog caught his stare and barked once at him, wagging his tail even more enthusiastically.

"Is that--" Hermione said faintly behind him. Harry's legs gave out underneath him and he sank to his knees as he continued to stare. This wasn't happening. It was a dream. No. This had to be a different dog. One who couldn't turn into--

"Snuffles here has been a very bad dog," Lupin said cheerfully. "He had caught Bellatrix Lestrange, but then he let her get away...." The dog growled at his friend, but Harry wasn't even paying attention to what his ex-professor was saying anymore. All that registered in his mind was "Snuffles."

Snuffles. It was Sirius. Snuffles was here. Sirius was back.

"Snuffles?" he choked out. The dog ran forward to nuzzle his hand.

"Yes, Harry. Snuffles," Lupin said gently, though he was smiling widely. "And it seems he likes you. Would you like to take him outside for a moment so I can talk to Professor Dumbledore?" Harry looked up at him, at a loss for words. Behind him, he felt Hermione pull him to his feet.

"Go on, Harry," she said excitedly. He turned to see her beaming at him, even though tears were pouring down her face. Snuffles nudged his hand impatiently.

In a daze, Harry followed the black dog past his chattering schoolmates and the two Aurors guarding the doors. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks, who both grinned at him when they who he was with. The dog led him around the corner so they wouldn't be seen.

Then Harry saw a face that he thought he'd never see again. Sirius Black was standing before him, clean cut, dressed in new, clean robes, and grinning like there was no tomorrow.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he commented lightly. Harry just stared at him, dumbfounded. A million questions poured into mind, but he couldn't form one of them into words. Finally, Sirius reached out and ruffled his hair. "You're not going to faint on me, are you?"

Sirius's touch jerked him out of it. He reached up to touch his hair, trying to smooth down the stubborn locks.

"I just might," he muttered, looking down at the ground. Could this really be happening? "How? Why?"

Sirius laughed. "I just get back and that's all you can say?" he teased. He held out his arms. "Get over here, Potter. I want a hug."

Harry was already moving. He tackled Sirius, hugging him tightly as tears threatened to overflow. Sirius laughed as they lost their balance, holding him just as tightly.

'This is real. He's real. Sirius is alive. He's back. He's here,' Harry thought.

"You're back," he whispered.

"Yeah, I got bored being dead. Nothing to do but sing Alleluias all day long," Sirius said lazily. Harry choked and started laughing. After a moment, he pulled away from Sirius.

"No, really. How?" he asked. Sirius grinned at him.

"Turns out the Death Veil isn't very aptly named," he said. "It's really just a gateway to this void-thing that slows down time. I was never dead to begin with. All Dumbledore had to do was fish me back out because it somehow froze my body and wouldn't let me move."

"That's it?" Harry said. "But why'd it take so long?"

"Eh... all Dumbledore would say was that he had had to find some help first, and then, once I was back, there was all this paperwork...." Sirius said. He looked sheepish. "I've actually been back for awhile now, but Dumbledore made the Ministry hush everything up so I could get a fair trial. He even convinced them to give me Veritaserum during my testimony. Of course, all the secrecy meant that I couldn't contact you either, which I wasn't too happy about. But Dumbledore said I'd be the most help to you as a secret weapon for the Order. So, here I am. Course, I'm not going to be a secret for much longer. Damn Bellatrix got away. I managed to catch a few others though, so that should make up for it, right?"

Harry grinned at him. "Yeah, definitely. But, how did your trial go? Are you free now?"

"Of course," Sirius said. "What with my testimony and your little interview as evidence, they had no choice to but to set me free. They did fine me a thousand galleons for being an unregistered Animagus, though."

Harry whistled. "That's a lot."

"Yeah. Guess I'll have to get a job, huh?"

"I guess so. Got any ideas?"

Sirius grinned at him evilly. "Wouldn't it be great if I joined the Aurors after evading them for two years?" Harry laughed.

"I dunno, Sirius. I was told they look into your criminal records," he said.

"Meh. They'll overlook it due to my superior skills," Sirius said, posing.

"I think you're going to have to pull a few more strings than that," Harry laughed. Sirius looked at him thoughtfully. "What?"

"You know something? You're right," he said. "Would you be willing to do me a favor?"

"Like what?" Harry asked, slightly suspicious.

"Well, just think. If the Boy-Who-Lived welcomed Sirius Black back to the Wizarding World with open arms...."

"You're just trying to use me for my fame!" Harry exclaimed, pretending to be hurt.

"Tell you what," Sirius said. "You do this for me, and first thing come summer vacation, I'll adopt you and get you out of those horrible Muggles' house. Deal?"

"You'd do that even if I refused," Harry said, crossing his arms. The realization of the truth of his statement made him grin even wider. He wasn't going to have to live with the Dursleys for much longer!

"True..." Sirius mused. "But this way, I'll give you an allowance." Harry burst out laughing. Both he and Sirius knew that an allowance was probably the last thing he needed.

"Come on," he said, still laughing. "I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see the Boy-Who-Lived walking in with a mad, mass murderer."

"Ex mad, mass murderer," Sirius corrected crisply. "And, you're right. I think we're going to need a camera."

Still laughing, they strode back towards the doors leading into Hogwarts.