After Harry left, Sirius pondered his love life, lack thereof, or lack of definition. He was truly and absolutely confused and worst of all he could not seek out his friends for advice because of the secrecy. His rendezvous with Hestia had continued through the months and he didn’t know how she felt, she was a mystery, but he was head over heels, completely in love with that crazy witch. But she insisted on keeping things a secret and at the same time she started arguments like the one from last night.

“Severus took Emmy to the opera,” she had said while running her fingers through his hair.

“Hum,” he mumbled into her stomach where his head had been resting. They had taken advantage of the fact that Remus was at Grimmauld Place tonight and had for once stayed in his room instead of her quarters. He did like his bed better.

“You never take me to the opera,” she complained and her hands were becoming a little forceful. Sirius opened his eyes and thought “What the hell!”

“You want to keep this secret,” he politely pointed out.

“Humph! Excuses, excuses! You’re just not romantic like Severus!” she cried, threw him off of the bed making him land on his bum, jumped off the bed, got dressed and stormed away in such speed that Sirius was dizzy.

And now he was here, confused. But he knew whose fault it was and he was going to give them a piece of his mind. He strode towards his destination and banged the door open. He was met by a glare but paid no heed. He walked to the cauldron.

“You Severus Snape are making us look bad! Stop that at once!” he yelled and stormed out.

“Us who?” Severus faint voice reached his ears as he was stalking back towards his room.

Xxx

“So you agree with me that he has been acting odd lately?” Remus asked worriedly to his other two companions. He turned to the oldest who was seated behind his desk and asked. “What do you think is going on?”

“Remus my dear friend, unlike people may think I am not all knowing,” Albus said calmly.

“Maybe he’s been Confounded or given some sort of mentally unbalancing potion,” Severus pondered from the chair in front of Albus’ desk. He turned to Remus and asked, “Has he been alone with anyone untrustworthy?”

Remus fidgeted a little and said uncomfortable, “I’m away most of the day and sometimes I stay with Dora at Grimmauld Place, you know? We’re trying to get you all used to me being away little by little. I don’t know Sirius’ every move anymore.”

“But you suspect someone?” Severus narrowed his eyes. “The same person I suspect?”

“I don’t want to be unfair. He has been behaving exemplary and we are supposed to be giving him a second chance.”

“Yes, but Malfoy does meet with Sirius regularly to appraise him of his school progress and as Sirius wants to use those meetings to guide Malfoy and maybe have him confide in him I know for a fact he always makes them tea sessions,” Severus said. “Sirius told me himself.”

“I think we should investigate further before we accuse young Malfoy of drugging Sirius,” Albus said cautiously.

“But Albus, you don’t understand! Sirius barged to my lab and started shouting at me about doing something that makes God knows who look bad and stormed out! That’s not all. He keeps disappearing and  making lousy excuses for it and sometimes he spaces out like he is in some other word! His mind has obviously been addled with!” Severus cried.

“I have found you spacing out recently too Severus,” Albus said with twitching lips.

“That’s different,” Severus said uncomfortable.

“And if that was Sirius’ case I’d know about it,” Remus agreed. “He’d tell me if he met someone. Besides, that’s not how Sirius acts when he is with someone.”

“Last year you two were quite convinced that Sirius was infatuated with Professor Jones,” Albus pointed out.

“Yeah,” Remus waved a hand dismissively. “But nothing happened there and they still bicker like old ladies. I think we might have seen something because we wanted Sirius to settle down. They would never go out together. No this is something else and I’m worried.”

Xxxx

“I heard Harry asked Albus for dating advice but I believe he was disappointed. There was something about asking Dean Thomas for a duel that Harry didn’t quite like,” Severus said casually to Sirius as he sat on one of the armchairs in the Marauder’s quarters. It hadn’t escaped Sirius notice how Albus, Severus and Remus seemed to be finding more time to spend with him and were watching him oddly. Did they know? Oh, Hestia would be so angry! But they weren’t watching her.

“Yeah, well. Harry asked me for advice but I wasn’t about to give it to him!” Sirius protested. “Then he’d start dating Ginny Weasley, and eloping and we’d never see him again! I told him to give up.”

Severus raised an eyebrow from his chair and sneered, “Oh, yes, because that would work perfectly. You’ve known your son for how long now?”

Sirius glared at him and Severus continued, “Have you stopped to think that Harry will date and eventually get married no matter what you do?  Perhaps if you help him you can at least have some control over the situation. At least you know Ginny Weasley. What if he meets some foreigner and decides to go live with her in China? Ever thought of that?”

Sirius eyes went wide and he started hyperventilating at the thought of his baby all across the world. Soon after he was bolting out of his quarters to look for Harry for a much needed advice session and Severus was congratulating himself on his well honed Slytherin skills.

Xxx

“I couldn’t help but notice that you and your dad were conspiring in a corner while watching Ginny Weasley and Dean Thomas avidly the other day,” Professor Jones said conversationally to Harry at her office desk while they were discussing the material the D.A. had covered.

“Oh, er- that was nothing,” Harry said awkwardly. Professor Jones was okay and he enjoyed their time together but he wasn’t about to discuss his love life with her!

“Do you want a piece of advice?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer, “Whatever tips your father gave you, forget them. Dean and Ginny will end it soon enough without any interference. Dean is too, how can I say- old-fashioned for Ginny.”

“Do all the teachers discuss the students’ love lives?” Harry asked horrified.

“Of course we do, gossip is entertainment. We have bets going on how long couples will last. By the way your friends Hermione and Ron better get married because I have good money on that. So make sure they do.”

Harry was absolutely horrified and was going to have words with his dad and Uncles for never letting him in that little secret of teacher-hood.

“Anyway, if you wait patiently, you’ll get what you want without making an enemy of a friend and if you position yourself properly, you’ll be there when she is all alone.”

“You make it sound like a chess game.”

She smirked at him, “Everything in life is a chess game.”

Harry decided to take both pieces of advice; after all, they were the same, but he wasn’t about to tell Professor Jones that she and Sirius Black had agreed on something.  He valued his life thank you very much.

Xxx

Between Quidditch, the D.A. and classes, time passed by as Harry left Ginny and Dean alone and was rewarded around May when they broke up because Ginny was getting annoyed with Dean’s exaggerated gentlemanly ways, which according to her bordered machismo. Harry was there promptly with an ear to lend and a hidden notebook to take notes of what not to do.

Sirius and Hestia were still keeping their relationship secret and Sirius was getting quite annoyed with that. He had managed to say the dreaded and sometimes very embarrassing “I love you” one night and he had been ready to be thrown out of the room or AKed right there but he was not ready for what actually happened.

They had been once again in his bed, and the memory of that fight about not being romantic was still fresh even though it had been months before, and Sirius had looked straight into her eyes and blurted out without thinking:

“I love you.”

At the realization of what he had just did, he tensed and was almost getting ready to reach his wand to defend himself when Hestia smiled, and not one of those dangerous ‘I am about to kill you slowly and painfully’ smiles, but a true smile.

“I love you too,” she said and kissed him. Sirius was confused but happy and grinned like a maniac after the kiss and said.

“I can’t wait to let everyone know that we’re together.”

“Oh, no we won’t,” she said simply. “We are still keeping this a secret.”

“But what? How? Why?” he asked bewildered.

“For one, you have a son,” she reminded him.

“Yes, and for the first time in his life I want him to meet someone who I am involved with,” he said firmly.

“But he is my student!” she cried. “Things will get awkward. I work with Harry alone a lot because of the D.A.. Can you imagine if he starts seeing me as his father’s girlfriend? No, no way. We’re keeping this between us.”

Sirius slumped down on the bed defeated. WOMEN!

Severus and Emmeline were also going strong. Severus never thought he’d be so happy with someone who wasn’t Lily but he could honestly say he also was in love. As Harry had said, she wasn’t occupying Lily’s place, she had one of her own, that didn’t make him forget Lily but was as strong as Lily’s had been.

Remus and Tonks, of course had almost everything ready for the wedding that was only a month away.  They were to get married in the first week of the summer vacation and the preparations were getting into that frenetic stage where you think you won’t have time for anything even if you are on schedule. Remus also had come home one day with his first victory in the Care of Magical Creatures Department. They had finally passed the law that substituted the Dementors in Azkaban with human guards that had started to be trained as soon as Madam Bones assumed the Ministry. The Dementors had been rounded up by most of the Auror corp.’s Patronuses and had been escorted to a deserted island that they had found. They had been contained there by a field similar to a large Patronus that surrounded the island that the Department of Mysteries had developed. This way they ensured that they could get rid of them without unleashing them on the population. They had estimated that without means to feed on human emotions and therefore breed they would eventually die out. It seemed harsh but Dementors were truly dark creatures and dangerous.

On the other hand Remus was also putting together two other bills that he was quite proud of and hoped to be able to pass. One granted more rights to half-humans and forbade employers to discriminate them because of their status. If someone was found to be denied an opportunity or fired because he or she was half-human the employer would be punished; depending on the size of the infraction he or she could get fined or even do some time in Azkaban.

The other bill was one protecting house-elves, and one he had asked Hermione’s help for with the research. They had talked to many house-elves and he knew that the idea of freedom was horrifying to them, but he managed to ensure that even as slaves they had rights and no master would be allowed to abuse their house-elves by inflicting corporeal punishment or withholding food. They would be obligated to provide proper clothing, like the togas the house-elves of Hogwarts used, and have decent living arrangements for them as well as giving them a day off. If someone was found abusing their house-elf, like Dobby had been, the house-elf would be freed and the owner would be sentenced to a stint in Azkaban.

Those were two very bold and polemic bills that both Remus and the Minister agreed had to be presented with care. They hoped that in the next few years they would be able to pass them.

Harry and all the other students were preparing for finals, and in some cases O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, and you could see stressed out teenagers everywhere in the castle. It was in this frenetic state of end of the year stress that Draco Malfoy convinced Harry to a one–on-one game to relax. Malfoy had approached Harry and said casually:

“Congratulations on the Cup, though let’s face it. It was an easy win; after all you didn’t have real competition this year.”

“Oh, I remember winning the Cup even when you were Seeker,” Harry playfully said back. It was weird to talk civilly to Malfoy and even joke with him but it had become a common occurrence lately.

“Care to make it a bet?” Malfoy asked. “You and me after the Snitch?” he asked producing a Snitch from his pocket.

“I thought you were banned from Quidditch,” Harry pointed out.

“From the team, not from playing for fun. So, scared?”

“You wish,” Harry smirked and both boys went to get their brooms.

Xxx

“Wake up sleepy head,” Hestia murmured while kissing Sirius’ slumped form on the couch. She had come to see him after his weekly tea with Draco and found him asleep and with the tea tray still out. Honestly the man could be a slob. She continued kissing him but he didn’t stir. She started getting worried and shook him forcefully. Nothing.

Xxx

Harry had to concede. Draco Malfoy had always been the best competition. He was a good Seeker and Harry had a tough time racing him to the Snitch, but Harry wasn’t the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing and he beat Malfoy to the Snitch. His mind had time to notice that it was weird for Malfoy to be smirking triumphantly when he lost, and as Harry caught the Snitch and felt the familiar pull around his navel, he only had time to think “Bugger!” before he was pulled away.

Xxx

In his office at the Ministry, Remus stood up in the middle of a meeting when he felt the familiar shiver that meant Harry was in danger. Excusing himself but not giving any explanation Remus bolted from the office and ran towards the Apparition point. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had been walking by a corridor and almost was knocked out by the frantic werewolf, decided to let Tonks know what he’d seen. Soon, Tonks was the one hurrying towards the Apparition point.

Xxxx

“Sleeping draught in his tea,” Severus said as he sniffed the tea. Hestia had flooed Poppy and Albus when she couldn’t wake Sirius and they had brought Severus.

Poppy nodded after her diagnostic scan and said, “He will stay out for at least twelve hours. But he is not in any danger.”

“But why would he take a sleeping draught in the middle of the day?” Hestia asked very much aware that probably he hadn’t taken the draught willingly.

Severus looked around and then at the other three awake occupants of the room, “I’ll go look for Draco to make sure he is not up to something.”

He was about to leave when they all heard a frantic shout from the bureau’s drawer, “SIRIUS!”

“That’s Remus,” Albus said worriedly and walked quickly to the bureau. Opening the drawer he found Remus’ worried face in the two-way mirror.

“Remus, what’s going on?”

“I felt the bond and Apparated. It took me to a deserted forest area. What’s going on? What happened to Harry? I’ve cast detection charms but haven’t found trace of living people anywhere in the area. There is something wrong here.”

“Is the bond at its strongest?” Albus asked.

“No.”

“Good,” Severus said relieved.

“There may be wards concealing whoever took Harry and because the bond isn’t at its strongest you can’t get past them. Can you find out where you are and let us know? We’ll put together a rescue team.”

“I’ll call soon. Where’s Sirius?” Remus asked.

Albus looked solemn, “I believe young Malfoy played us all. He managed to incapacitate Sirius for the next few hours. Don’t worry he is not in danger. He was given a sleeping draught.”

“Good. I’ll figure out my coordinates and call you back.”

As soon as Albus put the mirror in his pocket Tonks came barreling through the door.

“Remus left in a hurry and said nothing!” she said out of breath taking in the scene of her unmoving cousin and the three worried people in the room.

“Call Kingsley Nymphadora and let him know we will need Aurors. Lucius Malfoy probably has Harry. Tell Kingsley he was probably aided by his son and we need someone to secure Draco. Remus is about to let me know his location and I’d like the Aurors to meet me there.”

Tonks nodded and took out her Auror communicator. Before she called Kingsley she said dangerously, “I’ll secure my little cousin. We don’t want to give him time to flee.”

“Tonks,” Hestia called. “Do everything by the book or his lawyers will use both your relation to Draco and to Harry to get him free.”

Tonks nodded as if all she wanted was not to get Malfoy by the rules but she knew Hestia was right. She left calling for Kingsley, while the others started organizing themselves. Severus had a horrible sense of déjà vu.

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A/N- Thanks for reading and reviewing and humongous thanks to SWaddict1986 for her help and tips.