The Temple of Le Fay

"Harry? Harry? Come on now dear. Wake up now. Harry. . ."

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He had been dreaming of Hogwarts, of being back in class once more. In his dream, he'd been in Potions class, but instead of Professor Snape taking the lesson, there had been a giant snake which had tried to eat Dean Thomas. Harry had been hissing at it, but the snake had merely redoubled its efforts, as though Harry was egging it on. It had been at this point that Harry had been awakened.

Mrs Weasley was standing by his bed, a sizzling frying pan in one hand and her wand in the other.

"Come on now Harry. You've got more visitors," she said. "Hurry up and get dressed, there's a good lad."

Harry rushed through washing and dressing, inadvertently giving Charlie a nasty shock when he turned the hot tap in the bathroom while Charlie was showering. He headed back downstairs, his hair still wet but knowing that there was no point at all in trying to straighten out his wild hair.

As he walked into the kitchen, he pulled up short, and a big drop of water fell from the end of his fringe onto his cheek, where it trickled slowly downwards.

"Harry, we're glad to see you too, but there's no need to cry," one of the visitors said, grinning widely. He stood up, running a hand through his short, black hair. He seemed to have put on weight in the year since Harry had last seen him, and Harry thought his godfather looked much better for it.

"Sirius!" he yelled, having regained his voice. He stepped forward, and the two embraced in a big, back slapping hug.

"Not just me, Harry," Sirius said. He waved his hand at the table, and Harry's grin widened still further as Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore rose and shook his hand.

"Sorry we couldn't make it yesterday, Harry," Sirius said, as the four took their seats. "We were delayed at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore suggested we travel down with him in one of the school coaches, which was certainly more comfortable than walking all the way down here."

"You were going to walk?" Harry asked, looking up from his breakfast. He was distantly aware of the others eating in the front room, but his attention was solidly on the three grown wizards in front of him.

"Padfoot is exaggerating, Harry, as always," Remus said, tolerantly. "In fact, since he got a new wand, he's almost impossible to keep in one place."

"You have a new wand?" Harry asked, feeling that there was a lot he needed to catch up on.

"Well, not exactly new," Sirius said. He pulled a black wand from inside his robes, the handle of which was tipped in silver. "Recognise it, Harry?"

Harry certainly did recognise it. It seemed just minutes ago that he had held that wand, only to see it torn away, along with his own wand, and fly into the open hand of Lucius Malfoy.

"That's Lucius Malfoy's wand," Harry breathed. Sirius grinned.

"That's right," he said. "Had to get rid of that ugly snake's head, of course. Amazing what you can do with a hammer and a file in just a few minutes."

"I'm afraid Sirius was rather taken with Mr Malfoy's wand when he reported to me earlier this month," Professor Dumbledore said, speaking for the first time since a quiet 'Hello'. "As it is quite impossible for him to enter a wandmakers anywhere in the wizarding world, I thought it might be wise to equip him with one of my fondest prizes."

"And he's been like a child with a new toy ever since," Remus added, rolling his eyes in a tolerant way. Sirius grinned, and Harry could see the mischief sparkling in his eye.

"Speaking of which, Harry. . ." Remus said. He lifted up a book that Harry recognised the Marauders Manual. "However did you come by this?"

Harry opened his mouth to respond, and then glanced sideways at Dumbledore. The old wizard caught Harry's eye, and adjusted his half-moon spectacles, peering closer at the book cover.

"Ah, accountancy," he said benignly. "Never quite my cup of tea. Perhaps I shall leave you three to discuss this doubtless excellent set of accounts. I think Arthur is out in the garden. I have a matter I wish to discuss with him that shall take exactly five minutes. After that, I shall return."

So saying, Dumbledore stood up, sweeping his long beard over his shoulder and striding out of the kitchen door and into the garden beyond. In the silence that followed, Harry dimly noted that the sounds of breakfast in the other room had gone.

"Well, Harry?" Sirius grinned. Harry smiled back. He hadn't really thought he was in any trouble with Remus and Sirius, but it was nice to know for sure.

"It was a birthday present from Fred and George Weasley," he said. "They were the ones who found the Marauders Map, too."

"Indeed?" Sirius said, sounding impressed. "I must meet these boys. . ."

"Later, Sirius, perhaps," Remus said. "Before the Headmaster returns, Harry, have you looked at this book yet?"

"Me and Ron glanced at it, yeah," Harry said. "We weren't going to follow your advice, to be honest I don't know if things have changed since you were at school, but-"

"Chapter Seventeen, right?" Sirius asked, his eyes creasing at the corners as he tried not to smile. "That one wasn't, er. . ." he looked at Remus.

"I think that what Sirius is trying to say, Harry," Lupin said with a wide smile, "is that Chapter Seventeen is a bit of a joke. It's the one you show to the other boy who's after the girl you like. It's also the chapter that the book opens to if any girl tries to read it. There are ways of enchanting the book to make sure it only shows the accountancy stuff to anyone other than the owner, but we didn't have time to do that much work on it. Maybe it's something you and Ron can do. Your legacy to Hogwarts," he added, with a laugh.

Harry smiled at the effort that his father and his friends had put into the Manual. It seemed that they had thought of everything.

"Not that you need any of the advice in here, as I understand it," Sirius said suddenly. He looked at Harry sharply. "When do I get to meet this girlfriend of yours, then?"

Harry was saved from replying by Dumbledore's return. As the Headmaster stepped back into the kitchen, Harry thought he heard a noise outside the door, but dismissed it as he looked up at his teacher.

"I have brought Arthur up to date with our progress," Dumbledore said, glancing at Remus and Sirius. He took his seat again, and smiled at Harry.

"First, Harry, let me wish you a belated Happy Birthday," he said. Harry smiled as Remus and Sirius echoed the wish. "I hope it was a satisfactory day?"

"Very much so, sir," Harry replied, smiling at the memory.

"Excellent. Now, as you may or may not be aware, in the British Muggle world the sixteenth birthday is seen as something of a landmark in the life of a person. They are granted certain liberties, responsibilities if you will, such as the right to smoke, marry, and ride a moped. Now, I hope none of these will be too tempting to you. I myself tried riding a moped once upon a time, which is where I received the scar on my knee. A most useful scar in the shape of the London Underground map, and it even alters itself to include new lines and new stations, but it still rather hurt at the time.

"No, for you, Harry, I'm afraid responsibility takes its usual form, in much the same manner as it has done since you came to Hogwarts five years ago. Voldemort has increased his efforts in recent weeks, Harry, since his forces were so embarrassingly defeated in Hogsmeade. Whilst his Death Eaters inflicted some losses, they themselves suffered the capture of possibly their most prominent member, Lucius Malfoy."

Harry smiled slightly, a grim satisfaction at having been there when Lucius had been defeated.

"It also appears that the Dementors have, for the time being at least, retracted their support. It seems that they attempted to feed on some of Voldemort's forces during the battle, which doubtless aided us somewhat.

"Following their apparent departure, and I should make it clear that we are not certain that the Dementors have truly left, it appears that Voldemort has redoubled his efforts to gain an advantage over our side. He has sent envoys to the giants, and while I think that Madame Maxime and Hagrid have convinced them to at least stay out of the coming conflict, we can never be certain. As well as this. . ." Dumbledore paused.

"Do you remember, Harry, what we spoke of on the morning of Remus' departure from Hogwarts a little over two years ago?"

Harry thought back, absently swigging his cold tea as he did so. He remembered discussing Wormtail, and how all the Marauders had been present in the castle grounds the night before. He thought of Professor Trelawney, and how Dumbledore had mentioned giving her a raise. At last, he looked back up at his Headmaster, feeling as though he were answering a particularly difficult question in class.

"Professor Trelawney," he said. "You said that when she predicted Pettigrew rejoining Voldemort, it was her second real prophecy."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, looking delighted. "Very good, Harry. Yes, Once before Professor Trelawney has made what I believe to be a genuine prediction. It involved you, Harry, in a way."

"Me? What do you mean?"

Dumbledore pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from inside his robes. Tapping it with his hand, he put it own on the table where it unrolled itself. Harry looked at it, as did Remus and Sirius. It appeared to be quite blank. Lupin looked up at Dumbledore, but the old wizard was looking fixedly at the parchment, murmuring something under his breath.

Suddenly, the parchment moved, making Harry flinch in his chair. It folded itself over several times, including at one point parting at what Harry was sure was the edge of one fold, and rejoining two edges. Eventually, the parchment lay flat on the table again, and Dumbledore looked up.

"My apologies," he said. I had quite forgotten that the parchment had been protected. It will now display the information we desire. You may wish to know that it is a prediction written down by Professor Trelawney whilst in a trance shortly after she started working at Hogwarts. I believe it to be quite genuine, especially in light of recent. . . Ah-"

Writing had begun to appear on the parchment. Harry recognised the writing as that of his Divination teacher. All too often he had seen large samples of it attached to his homework, criticising his lack of effort, application, understanding or sometimes all three.

There was a stunned silence as Harry, Lupin and Sirius digested the prophecy, then Remus spoke up.

"Well, it sounded like complete rubbish to me, so I guess it really was Professor Trelawney. And yet you say you believe it, Albus?"

"Oh yes," Dumbledore said. "Of course, the sixth year could have meant Harry's sixth year of life, and we spent a great deal of energy during that year trying to find out what the prophecy meant. Now we believe that it means this coming school year, Harry's sixth. Of course, before we go much further, I think it is time to open the door and invite everyone who is outside and listening to come and join us."

Sirius waved his wand at the kitchen door, which slammed open, tipping several bodies loudly onto the floor. Only Hermione stood upright, apparently not having given into the temptation to listen at the door, but staying close enough to get updates from the others.

Harry and Remus leapt to their feet to help the fallen eavesdroppers. Harry hauled Ron and Ginny to their feet, while Remus untangled the twins, before pulling them upright. Ron stood before Professor Dumbledore, transfixed in the Headmasters gaze.

"Er. . ."

"Yes, Mr Weasley?"

"Well, we were wondering if we could come in and do the washing up now?"

"Five of you to do the washing up?" Dumbledore asked. "Molly is indeed very lucky to have so many willing helpers. However, the time for washing up is yet to come, I think. Instead, you may join us and help us with out plans for the coming year, if you wish."

They sat down at the kitchen table, and Remus read out the prophecy. While Remus was speaking, Harry let his eyes wander over the faces of his friends. Hermione's was a study in rapt attention, her eyes focussed on Lupin, she was obviously taking in everything their former teacher was saying. Ron was watching everyone else. While Harry was sure that he would catch the gist of the prophecy, he wouldn't know the details. Instead, Ron would be thinking of the overall impact, how the prophecy would affect those he cared for and the world beyond. Fred and George wore identical inscrutable expressions. Harry had learned that they could take some things very seriously indeed, and he was glad they were there.

Lastly, he looked at Ginny. He knew he wouldn't be the only person to make the connection between the 'Greatest Enemy' of the prophecy and Voldemort, and he was worried about Ginny's reaction. He looked at her, and smiled reflexively as he realised she was watching him. Nonetheless, she seemed alert, and was clearly listening to Lupin as he read out the prophecy. She smiled at him slightly, a small signal to let him know she was there. He relaxed back in his chair, and looked around the group.

He found his gaze drawn to Sirius. His godfather was sitting slumped in his chair, with his chin on his chest. He didn't seem to be listening to Lupin's reading. Instead, he was stealing glances across the table. Harry followed his gaze, and realised that his Sirius was looking at Ginny. Harry felt vaguely uneasy about the surreptitious way Sirius was acting, as though Sirius was sizing Ginny up. He thought of the sharp way that Sirius had asked about her earlier, and a slight shiver ran down his spine.

Remus' reading came to an end, and Ron rocked back in his chair. Dumbledore looked around the table.

"I would value your opinions," he said.

"Er, Professor?" Hermione said. "Surely this prophecy has been studied by more experienced wizards than us?"

"Indeed it has, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "Nevertheless, I would like your opinions. As I had to come to the Burrow today, I decided to seek out another set of opinions to those that have been given over the years."

"Well, it seems to me. . ." Fred began, before looking over at George.

"Well, the Greatest Enemy is You-Know-Who, right?" George said, for the two of them.

"That is what we surmise, yes," Dumbledore said, inclining his head a fraction.

"The enemy of the greatest. . ." Hermione murmured. All heads turned to watch her. "Does it mean, well, Morgan Le Fay, Professor?"

Dumbledore peered at Hermione over the top of his spectacles. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, I read a lot of medieval novels growing up, and I loved reading about Camelot, King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere. . . And Merlin," she added. "Morgan Le Fay was Merlin's great enemy. She wanted King Arthur to banish him, because he was King Arthur's oldest friend and most trusted adviser. And she was scared of how powerful a wizard he was. But she could do magic as well, couldn't she?"

"Indeed. Miss Granger, it took many weeks of study for some of the most learned wizards of this age to draw the conclusion that this prophecy referred to Morgan Le Fay. Most impressive."

Hermione blushed, and muttered something about having fewer possibilities to consider than the older wizards would have.

"And they do so often ignore their classical literature," Dumbledore said. "I trust you are still reading the classics?" he asked. Hermione nodded, blushing pinkly. Harry looked at Ron, who was watching Hermione with an expression of outright pride that made Harry grin. The smile only lasted for a second, however, as Harry thought of the prophecy and ran it over again in his mind. He had a very bad feeling about what it was saying.

"If evil and evil meet. . ." Ron mused. "So, You-Know-Who is going looking for this Le Fay woman? But, if she was alive in Merlin's time, she must be long dead, right?"

Dumbledore stared at the prophecy for a long second before replying.

"Many years ago, there were ways of prolonging life when it reached its lowest ebb," he said at last. "This magic is lost to us, although echoes of it remain. The spell known as Enervate is a poor relation of this magic, for example. Do you remember the end of King Arthur's tale, Miss Granger?" he asked.

"He was fatally wounded in battle, and taken away by the Lady of the Lake. He's supposed to return, alive and fully healed, when England needs him the most," she said, a distant expression on her face, almost as though she had the books open in front of her.

"Where was he taken?" Ron asked.

"The Isle of Albion," Sirius said. "I read a lot as a child too," he said, smiling at Hermione.

"So, where is this place? Did this Lady stay there?" Fred asked.

"As to the location of Albion, no-one knows," Dumbledore said. "Some have theorised that it is simply unplottable, or that its whereabouts were known only to a Secret Keeper. Others have suggested that it exists only in another dimension that cannot be accessed from our own unless the old magic is once again found. Whether any or none of this proves to be true, it does seem to be Albion that Voldemort seeks. One rather supposes that the Lady had some kind of sanctuary there that she used in her attempt to heal the King."

"And Le Fay?" Ginny asked. Harry's eyes met hers, and drew strength from her resoluteness, her unwillingness to bow in the face of another attempt by Voldemort on their lives and the lives of all wizardkind.

"Lost to the annals of time," Dumbledore said. "Whatever became of her, she does not seem to reappear in any way after Arthur's defeat."

"Hang on," George said, slowly. "I remember Bill telling us a story once, about wizards back when magic was just starting to be controlled. Something about great magic wars," his expression misted over with the effort of recollection, "and how all true wizards would have a stronghold where they practised their spells and could just be safe from attack."

Dumbledore nodded. "Very true, although not many of these strongholds survived their creators death."

"What if Le Fay built one?" Fred asked. "What if that's what You-Know-Who is after?"

Dumbledore inclined his head once more. "Very good, Mr Weasley. It is known as the Temple of Le Fay. Some wizards take her complete disappearance as a sign that she retreated and hid somewhere. No real proof has ever been found. . ."

"But Le Fay was a good enough witch that you can believe she would have made sure no proof could be found. That way no-one could come after her," Sirius finished the sentence.

"Indeed."

"So you think that this is what Voldemort is after?" Remus asked.

"I do. I may, of course, be wrong. Every possible interpretation of the scroll is being checked thoroughly. On the last lines, however, we are all in agreement."

"If Voldemort gets what he's after, he'll kill me," Harry said quietly. He had reached the conclusion while the others had been talking.

"So it would appear," Dumbledore said. "If only the rest of the prophecy were so clear."

"And the last line?" Ron asked

"A somewhat grisly play on words. If Voldemort does succeed in adding Morgan Le Fay's magic to his own, then the consequences shall be serious, and there shall be many graves dug."

Dumbledore looked at Harry. "I am sorry to spoil your holidays in this way, Harry, but I wished for you to know what the precautions are for."

Harry looked up.

"Precautions?" he echoed.

"Yes. There will be many new staff members this year. Research assistants in the library will seek out anything, however obscure, that may help our search. They will be working extensively in the library. They will be talking with Professor Trelawney at length. They will likely be with us for much of the coming school year.

"They are employees of the Ministry of Magic."

The silence was deafening.

"You most likely know of the problems the Ministry has had, trying to cover the news of Voldemort's return. Minister Fudge has decided to place a number of his employees at Hogwarts this year in order that any unusual occurrences are brought immediately to his attention."

Sirius snorted.

"Just researching, are they? I wonder how long that will last?"

"For exactly as long as I wish," Dumbledore stated, calmly.

*

Dumbledore departed shortly after that. Harry had walked out of the kitchen, his head swimming with all the information he had received. Another ploy by Voldemort, another eventful year ahead. His mind flashed back to his third year at Hogwarts, when everyone had thought that Sirius was trying to kill him. He felt like that again now, forewarned but hardly forearmed.

He found an old apple tree that was growing in the orchard and swung himself up among its branches. As he did so, he thought what he knew of the old stories of King Arthur and his adventures.

"Harry?"

He looked down and saw Ron on the ground, peering up into the branches of the tree.

"Come on up," he called.

Ron made his way gingerly up the tree, tearing his shirt on one of the branches, which resulted in him swearing loudly. Huffing greatly, he settled uncomfortably onto a branch next to Harry, and looked at his friend as though waiting for an explosion.

"Quite something, all that stuff that Dumbledore told us, isn't it?"

"Guess so," Harry said, staring at the knee of his jeans. There was a small fray in the material, and Harry poked at it moodily.

"Maybe we should just give school up, what d'you reckon?" Ron asked. "I mean, we got our O.W.Ls, we can go and fight Voldemort now."

"I've thought about it," Harry said, shortly. "But it's stupid to think I can go out there and fight. How many spells can I actually do? I don't think Voldemort will mess about if I see him again. It'll just be Avada Kedavra and he'll step over my body as though I didn't mean anything."

He looked over at Ron.

"Do you ever get the feeling it's all hopeless?"

Ron looked over at him anxiously, apparently weighing his reply carefully.

"Sure," he said eventually. "You-Know-Who being back scares the sh. . . scares the pants off me," he admitted. He pulled a face. "Then I think of how easy we have it. We're going to be at Hogwarts, the safest place on this earth. Nothing can really touch us so long as Dumbledore is around, and besides, if he is looking for this Temple place, it should mean he doesn't give the rest of the world as much hassle."

"I know that you're right, and I'm being stupid," Harry said. "It's just. . . I'm only just sixteen, and Professor Dumbledore is coming to me and telling me all this stuff. I mean, what do I know about Morgan Le Fay? Hermione seems to know a bit, but what can I do? It seems like everything that happens has to involve me, well, us."

"Yeah, seems that way," Ron said, plucking a leaf from it's stem and looking at it idly. "Does that really bother you?"

"No, I suppose not," Harry admitted, still poking at his jeans. "Whatever happens, I'd want to know. Really, I'm glad that Professor Dumbledore is telling me this from the start. Its better than finding out by accident. Besides, at least we'll know what all the new people at Hogwarts are there for."

The two friends shared a smile, then Ron looked around, and lowered his voice.

"From what dad and Perce have been saying, I don't think that Fudge has a lot of support left at the Ministry. I think most of the Aurors know that You-Know-Who is back. They can all fight, they all saw the Dementors and the Death Eaters last year. Who else but, well, him could get that kind of co-operation going? So people believe he's back, doesn't matter what it says in the Daily Prophet. They can keep on saying it's all lies and fakes, but most people know the real truth."

Harry nodded, still poking at the small hole he'd now made in his jeans.

"Yeah, because of me again. I guess it's another year of being the Boy Who Lived, the one everyone thinks is right at the centre of all the weird stuff."

"Well," Ron said, "you said yourself last year that people will always look to you. Just be yourself, mate. It's always been good enough up until now, right?"

*

Ginny and Hermione walked by the river that ran alongside the Weasley's home. They walked slowly, the two friends not wanting to talk at first about what they had heard that morning. Eventually, inevitably, the conversation turned that way, and the first thing either one of them said was simple.

"I'm scared."

Hermione nodded. She felt the same way as Ginny did.

"Me too."

"Not just for me, or Harry, or my family. . ." Ginny tailed off. "I'm scared for everyone. We know that You-Know-Who came back, but if he's going to get this old magic, if he's going to be stronger, then I don't know how we can beat him."

She looked over the water, her expression unreadable.

"He nearly killed Harry last time they met, and then nobody has heard of him for over a year. What if this Temple isn't all that he's been after? What if there are other things out there that he's already got?"

Hermione stopped to watch the fish swimming gracefully through the river. She squatted down, and dipped her hand in the water, letting its coolness trickle through her fingers. Eventually, she looked up at her friend.

"He might have, but I don't think so," she said. "Professor Dumbledore is the smartest wizard alive, and if he doesn't know about something like that, it almost certainly doesn't exist. The Temple of Le Fay, from what he said, is legendary, so I have to think that anything else like that would be as well known."

Ginny looked a little more hopeful. "I guess so, but even so, the thought of him back, stronger than anyone can imagine, it's terrifying. And I know Harry thinks so, as well, otherwise he'd have been here, trying to make us think otherwise."

Hermione sighed. Ginny was right. Harry was a born leader, and had proven so the previous year. She needed Harry or Ron to be here, because she was as scared as Ginny was, and was trying hard not to show it.

A sound behind the two girls made them jump, and they spun around to find Remus and Sirius standing before them. Lupin smiled.

"Hermione, Ginny," he said. "Have either of you seen Harry at all? We wanted to talk to him before we have to set off again."

"You're going already? Hermione asked, clearly disappointed.

"Afraid so," Sirius said, his face blank as he looked at the two girls. "We have to get on with our work." His eyes flickered over Ginny for a second. "But we wanted to talk to him before we get going."

"You could try the orchard," Ginny said. "He might be playing Quidditch there." She stared at Sirius obstinately, as though she felt he'd offended her. For a second, their gazes met.

*

Harry sat bolt upright in the tree, narrowly missing a branch just above his head. Ron looked at him.

"What's up?"

"I. . . I don't know," Harry said. "Where are the others?"

"Fred and George have gone in to work," Ron said. "Hermione and Ginny are off together somew- Hey!"

"Come on!" Harry yelled, already sliding down the trunk.

Ron didn't ask questions, and soon the two friends were sprinting out of the orchard, heading toward the river where they could see there girlfriends standing in front of two grown men.

*

"So, you're Ginny," Sirius said, his gaze blank and unwavering, the dark circles around his eyes making his stare seem slightly disturbing. His expression was inscrutable, his voice even and unemotional.

"I am," Ginny replied, her small frame was completely still, her voice as even as Sirius' was. "Was there something you wanted to say to me?"

Sirius let out a great sigh, and raised his eyes to the sky. Looking back down, the change on his face was remarkable. His face was split with a huge smile, and the weariness he carried with him seemed to vanish instantly.

"Moony here was right," he said, with a short bark of a laugh. "Ginny, you may not know that I'm Harry's godfather, but I am. A lot of my contact with Harry last year was centred on you in some way, and I wanted so much to be there for him. I know I wished for someone who knew what they were talking about when I started getting interested in girls, rather than this one here," he jerked a thumb at Remus, who grinned.

"I wish I was available to Harry more often, I have felt, and I do feel that I am not fulfilling my role." Sirius sighed, heavily, before continuing. "I took some consolation in knowing that Harry had protection from Dumbledore and Hagrid, that he had great friends in Hermione-" he nodded to her "-and Ron. And now, I see, he has found a girlfriend with spirit."

To their great surprise, Hermione and Ginny watched as Sirius drew an arm across his face, obviously wiping away tears. When next he spoke, his voice sounded a little cracked, as though he were speaking through great emotion.

"Ginny, I have heard a lot about you, and I was hesitant to believe so much of it. I thought that Harry might have exaggerated your positive traits as boys his age tend to do. It seems like I was wrong. I'm sorry for thinking that. What I have seen here today, and having spoken at length with both Moony here and Albus, well, I think that you will be very good for Harry. In so much as I have any right to do so, I fully approve of you being with my godson." He smiled. "And I apologise for how pompous that sounds, but when you've missed as much of someone's life as I have, you want to make the most of moments like this."

Ginny grinned as the import of what Sirius was saying hit home. "Thank you," she said, slowly relaxing as she accepted that Sirius was on her side. "That means a lot. I know Harry thinks the world of you, so being given your approval is almost like-"

Impulsively, Ginny wrapped her arms around Sirius and hugged him. He looked flustered for a second, and then returned the embrace.

"-like being given it by his parents." Ginny finished.

Remus and Hermione looked on, touched by the scene in front of them.

Suddenly, Harry and Ron appeared, leaping over the hedge that lay between the river and the orchard. They hurtled down the slope towards the group and arrived panting and out of breath.

"Sirius? Ginny?" Harry managed to gasp. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Harry," Sirius said hoarsely, as he released Ginny. "Everything is absolutely fine."

"We should be going, Padfoot old man," Lupin said quietly. Sirius nodded, pulling his wand from inside his robes. The two men turned to Harry.

"Can we have a word before we go, Harry?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded.

"Do you have to go so soon?" he asked. Lupin nodded regretfully.

"We don't get much time to rest, working against Voldemort and his followers."

The three of them walked a little way down the river, leaving Ron with Hermione and Ginny.

"What was all that about?" he asked. Ginny smiled, but didn't say anything. Hermione took Ron's hand and led him a short way away, leaving Ginny alone to take in Sirius' words of praise.

*

"I wish we could stay a little while as well," Sirius said. "I'd dearly like to get to know Ginny better, Harry. She seems a wonderful girl."

"She is," Harry said, feeling a little odd discussing his relationship with an adult. "I'm glad you like her."

"We both do," Lupin said, a smile lightening his heavily lined features. "Of course, Padfoot was the only one of us who felt that he had to give his blessing. You'd think that the two of you were getting married or something."

"Married?" Harry started. "I-"

"It's okay, Harry," Sirius said, scowling at Lupin with mock anger. "I know you're still young, but I'm trying to find my way with this whole godfather thing."

Harry smiled. "I've got no complaints," he said. Sirius grinned. "Just don't let Mrs Weasley hear anyone mention marriage. For Ron's brothers sakes as much as mine."

"Ron and Hermione seem to be getting along well enough," Sirius said, nodding along the bank to where Hermione and Ron were sitting.

"Oh yeah," Harry said. "But Ron's a bit worried that Mrs Weasley will start thinking about marriage just because they've been going out for eight months now."

"Well, your parents were going out for not much longer. . ." Lupin tailed off. "But I'll leave you to tell Ron that, shall I?"

Harry grinned. "When did my parents start going out?" he asked.

"Seventh year," Sirius said, throwing himself down on the grass and stretching. "Well, they'd been dancing around one another since they were about thirteen, but eventually Lily gave in. James did most of the chasing, of course."

"I remember," Lupin continued, sitting down and trailing a hand in the river. "I was up in the common room, studying for a test we had the next day. James came through the portrait hole, and sort of stumbled over to me. I asked him if he was all right, but I was trying to study, so I didn't really notice when he didn't say anything. Then, all at once, he said 'She said yes,' and I looked up.

"'Who said yes, Prongs?' 'Evans. Lily Evans. We're going to Hogsmeade together next weekend.'

"Well, of course, all the Marauders were jealous as anything, but we rallied around. Your dad was like a zombie for the rest of the week, couldn't concentrate on anything, couldn't talk straight, could barely feed himself. Whenever Lily walked past in the Great Hall, he spilt whatever he was eating down his robes."

Sirius laughed. "I remember. It got so bad that I was lending him my stuff to wear by Thursday, and that was with the house elves doing our laundry every couple of days."

"Eventually, the Hogsmeade weekend came and we sent your dad off in the best clothes the four of us had between us. He looked very debonair, but being James he wanted to add something a bit extra."

"So he got hold of a bottle of Sleekeasy's hair potion and plastered it all over his scalp so that his hair actually stayed flat for once."

Harry looked at the two friends, and began to get an idea of what was coming next.

"What did you do to it?" he asked. Sirius erupted in laughter, and Lupin grinned widely.

"Well, you have to understand Harry, we all liked your mum. We knew that she really liked James, and we didn't want to mess it up, but we had to do something to wind him up a bit."

Sirius nodded. "We put some Skele-Gro in with the hair stuff. We knew from experimenting that it made your hair grow like wildfire, so when James got down to Hogsmeade to meet Lily -still completely oblivious to pretty much anything but how nervous he's feeling- he didn't realise that he had about four foot of hair hanging down his back."

"And, of course, we'd sent him out in a shirt with a high collar, so he didn't feel it tickling his neck," Remus laughed.

"Of course, the last laugh was on us," Sirius said. "Next day, they're walking around like they've been together for ever, and Prongs had his hair back to normal."

"And then, three days later we wake up and find ourselves locked in our dormitory with our front teeth ten inches long and growing," Remus finished with a laugh. "James had a great many good qualities, but once you got him angry he usually found a way to get you back."

Sirius smiled, and stood up. "Anyway, despite a bit of a rocky start, your parents were married less than a year after finishing school," he said, serious once more. "They were perfect for each other, Harry. I'm not going to say that you and Ginny are as well matched, I don't know her well enough to say. But I will say that it is uncanny looking at the two of you. She could easily be Lily's sister, and you, of course, are the spitting image of your father. I hope that she is every bit as wonderful as her 'sister' was a few years ago."

"I think she is," Harry said, simply.

Lupin rose, and stood by Sirius' side. "Then I imagine that the two of you will have every bit as interesting a time as your parents did," he said. "Things didn't end with hair and teeth, after all. However, much as I'd love to spend the day reminiscing over such pleasant memories, we must be off."

Sirius nodded, and Harry embraced the two older men.

"Remember, we're only an owl away," Sirius said, as the two stepped back. They drew their wands, and with a loud crack they were gone.

Harry stood watching the river flow by for a few minutes, and turned on hearing someone approach. He turned, and smiled at Ginny who was stood watching him. He held out his hand, and she slipped her own into it. They stood together, watching the river in silence. Eventually Ron and Hermione came and joined them, and the four stood together until summoned in to lunch.