Written in the Stars - Yuletide Dreams

Yuletide Dreams

“You know you don’t have to go back, if you don’t want to,” Harry reminded Cain for the dozenth time.

The werewolf offered him a wan smile as he continued packing his trunk.

The Christmas holidays had finally arrived at Durmstrang, and as ever, most had opted to return home for the duration of the festive period, Cain included.

“I do,” he sighed. “I need to know why they didn’t come, Harry.”

Harry patted him on the shoulder as he nodded his understanding.

“Well, my offer always stands,” he said sincerely. “If you need a way out of there, you’ll always have a place with me.”

After everything that had happened and what Cain had almost done to all three of his roommates, he was so incredibly touched by the sentiment.

None had held it against him and had even protected him from the backlash of the rest of the school who demanded to know every detail which led to him transforming outside of the full moon.

As ever, it had been Harry who had gotten him through the difficulty he had faced, who had protected him as his own parents should have.

It wasn’t always easy being friends with Harry Potter. He tended to overshadow you without much effort on his part but living in his shadow and under his protection was not such a bad place to be.

“So, when were you going to tell us about you and Zabini?”

Harry choked on his response, and Cain grinned at the other boy.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Harry denied.

Cain released a deep sigh and shook his head disappointedly.

“I’m a werewolf,” he pointed. “I can smell her all over you. You’ve been rutting like animals in heat for weeks now.”

Evidently, Harry saw no way to deny it any longer.

“Bloody hell, do the others know?”

Cain shrugged.

“I’ve not said a word, but I bet the elf and the vampire do,” he replied with a shrug. “Ana will be able to sense Zabini all over you, and Lucinda, well, she has a keen sense of smell too, doesn’t she?”

Harry frowned as his cheeks reddened slightly and Cain clapped him on the shoulder.

“Maybe try showering when you’re done,” he suggested. “I love you, Harry, but I don’t need to know what you and she have been getting up to.”

Harry placed his lowered his embarrassment.

“Why didn’t you say anything before now?” he groaned.

“It was funny that you thought you had a secret,” Cain snorted. “Anyway, for what it is it worth, you’re a lucky bastard. Zabini is, well, you know.”

Harry could only shake his head.

“What do I say to the others?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if they ask, what do I tell them?”

“To mind their own business,” Cain answered simply. “It’s got nothing to do with them what you do and who with. It’s like when they found out about you and the Greengrass girl, they all acted like you’d spurned them. It was quite pathetic really. You can’t not enjoy yourself because it might hurt someone’s feelings, especially people who are supposed to be your friends. Have any of them told you that they’re interested in you like that?”

Harry shook his head.

“Then you have no reason to feel bad or hide what you are doing,” Cain huffed. “If they want a piece of you, isn’t up to them to make that clear?”

“You make it sound so seedy,” Harry muttered.

Cain smirked in response.

“I’m a wolf, Harry,” he pointed out. “Yes, I may find a mate at some point, but monogamy is not really in my nature. It’s different for those that were marred before being turned. They somehow retain that level of commitment. Me, I will probably never develop feelings that deeply.”

“So, you will spend your life rutting like a wolf, as you so elegantly put it?”

“Maybe,” Cain answered with a shrug. “Anyway, all three of the girls act as though you belong to them in their own way.”

“Viktor said something similar,” Harry replied with a frown.

“He’s not wrong,” Cain sighed. “There are plenty of girls here interested in you, they’re just too scared to speak with you, let alone anything else.”

“Come off it,” Harry snorted.

Cain offered him a pointed look.

“Listen, I’ve heard some of the comments made about you, especially in the duelling room when people think they can’t be overheard. Even the purebloods girls. Honestly, if you knew what was said by some of them…”

“Bloody hell,” Harry muttered to himself.

Cain chuckled amusedly.

“I’ll leave you with that,” he declared. “Have a good Christmas.”

“You too,” Harry returned as he began packing his own trunk, his thoughts now consumed by the conversation he’d shared with Cain.

He had been feeling bad for sneaking off with Alessia, and not mentioning it to the others, but Cain and Viktor were right. In truth, it was no one else’s business what he did and with whom.

With that in mind, he finished his packing and readied himself for some much-needed time away from the school.

As much as he would miss his friends, it had been two years since he’d had Christmas with Cassie, and it would be the first one he was going to be sharing with Sirius.

His godfather had been a man of his word.

Throughout the year thus far, Harry had received several letters from Sirius, and even a few from Remus with them, and he had come to look forward to hearing from the two men.

They were both funny in their own way, and always had stories to share about their time at Hogwarts with his parents.

Somehow, even though he barely remembered James and Lily Potter, hearing about them and what they were like at his age made him feel closer to them, like he was now accumulating more memories of the parents he had never gotten to know.

Harry appreciated it more than he could express, and he was looking forward to hearing his godfather and the werewolf recount more tales over the duration of the holidays.

(Break)

“He’s been with her again,” Lucinda muttered as she closed her trunk.

“Zabini?” Eleanor whispered.

Lucinda’s nostrils flared as she nodded.

Eleanor offered her a sympathetic smile.

“It’s hard enough for me to see it. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you.”

“For you?” Lucinda questioned.

Eleanor shrugged, a playful grin tugging at her lips.

“I can’t say that I would complain if Harry wanted to give me that kind of attention.”

Lucinda grimaced before releasing a deep sigh.

“I don’t know if it would be worse being you or her.”

“I’d be worse than Zabini?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Lucinda assured the other girl. “It’s just that Zabini will be gone by the end of the year, and you’ll still be here. It would be hard to see you like that with him.”

“Then I won’t tell you if it happens,” Eleanor responded with a smirk, ducking as a laughing Lucinda threw a pillow at her.

“I think I’d rather it was you,” the vampire decided. “At least you wouldn’t try to take him from me, even if we will only ever be friends.”

“Is that what worries you about any other girl?”

Lucinda nodded.

“How many girls do you think would let Harry be friends with a vampire, let alone one who has such complicated feelings about him?”

“True,” Eleanor conceded, “but the thing you should be asking is that would Harry be with someone who would take his friends away?”

Lucinda smiled sadly.

“He adores you,” Eleanor sighed. “If you could see it how the rest of us do, you’d understand.”

“Oh, I know he does,” Lucinda snorted. “I can smell his hormones reacting to me whenever I’m close and I’m not too stupid to see how attentive he is to me, but will it last? Is it that he just wants me physically even if he doesn’t realise it yet?”

Eleanor shook her head.

“Why don’t you talk to him about it?”

“Because I’m terrified,” Lucinda admitted, “and I want him to figure it out for himself. I don’t want to push anything and then it goes wrong. I can wait for whatever might happen between us. I have all the time in the world for that.”

“What about him being with other girls, even just physically?”

“I don’t like it,” Lucinda replied irritably, “but no human woman could ever compare to a vampire in that way. If and when I get my chance with him, no mortal will measure up.”

“I don’t know if I should be intrigued or disgusted,” Eleanor replied. “I suppose I’d best get there first then.”

“Well, I could always go into details, if you wish?” Lucinda offered.

Eleanor shook her head.

“No, thank you,” she answered firmly.

Lucinda shrugged in response.

“Your loss.”

“What’s her loss?” Harry asked as he joined them.

“Nothing,” Lucinda answered airily. “Nothing at all.”

(Break)

They were looking at him with varying degrees of suspicion, many evidently believing that he was indeed innocent of the crimes he had been imprisoned for. For Sirius, this was the first time in many years he had seen most of these people, or any people in fact.

Azkaban had been a lonely, miserable experience, and though he was no longer a prisoner within the island fortress, he had still all but traded one cell for another.

Grimmauld Place held too many unpleasant memories for him, and if it weren’t for Voldemort’s impending rise to prominence, he would perhaps have accepted Cassiopeia’s offer of inhabiting one of the other Black properties on the continent.

That was not to be, however.

He was needed here, for Harry, and to play his part in righting the wrongs of the past.

Sirius wanted Wormtail.

More than anything else, he wanted to get the rat and make him pay for what he had done.

He had dreamed of it for over a decade now, of having Wormtail at his mercy, pleading for his pathetic life.

There would be no reprieve, not for him.

“Sirius, do you have anything you wish to add?” Dumbledore questioned.

He shook his head in response.

“No.”

“Then that will be all for this evening,” Dumbledore announced. “Elphias, if you hear of Lucius attempting to pressure anyone else, do inform as quickly as you can.”

“Of course,” Doge acquiesced.

“I will call for you all again,” Dumbledore said dismissively.

Sirius stood with the others and accompanied Remus to the fireplace where they waited their turn to use the floo network.

When they arrived back in Grimmauld Place, it was not to the empty study they had left only an hour prior.

Cassiopeia was waiting for them, her expression one he remembered only too well from his childhood.

Even in her advancing years, the woman cut quite the terrifying figure, and her gaze could still freeze any in their tracks.

“How was your meeting?” she asked.

“Meeting?” Sirius asked.

Cassiopeia nodded.

“You’re a part of Dumbledore’s not-so-secret-club, aren’t you? Do not lie to me, Sirius. I know all about The Order of the Phoenix.”

“Are you a member?”

Sirius felt Remus roll his eyes at him.

“If she was a member, she would have been there, you idiot.”

“Good point,” Sirius conceded, falling silent as he caught sight of Cassiopeia’s glare.

“By all means, work with Dumbledore, if you must, but your loyalty is to Harry. Do not forget that, boy.”

“Of course my loyalty is Harry’s!”

“And mine,” Remus added.

Cassiopeia hummed.

“Good, because he will have so few allies by the time he returns. He will need some that he can rely on.”

Sirius nodded his understanding.

“He will have us,” he assured her sincerely. “No matter what.”

Cassiopeia merely nodded.

“Why don’t you join the Order?” Remus asked.

Cassiopeia giggled, the very notion of doing so evidently proving to be hilarious to the woman.

“The Order is not what will win the war, not with Dumbledore running it,” she replied frustratedly. “He is unwilling to do what is necessary, and soon enough, you will find yourselves in a similar or worse state than you were the last time around. Stunning spells and taking prisoners is useless when you are facing an enemy that is trying to kill you. It is an uneven battlefield and that will end in only one way; lots of death of those you choose to fight with. Dumbledore clings on to his morals, and all they have done is get others killed. Tell me, how many of Voldemort’s lot were eliminated during the last war.”

Sirius shrugged, a frown creasing his brow.

“Not many,” he admitted.

“And how many Order members gave their lives?”

“Too many,” Remus sighed worriedly.

“And that is why you can’t win this war,” Cassiopeia sighed. “Harry will win it though. He is willing to do what is needed, and more than that, he wants to. He will not shy away from putting an end to his enemies, and he will make them suffer for everything he has endured because of them.”

“You don’t really expect him to fight in a war, do you?”

Cassiopeia shook her head.

“No. All I expect from him is that he will be a good lord for both the Potter and Black families, but Harry expects it from himself. For fifteen years he has carried what happened to his parents with him, and he will not be satisfied, unless he puts an end to Voldemort personally.”

“That is not what James and Lily would want,” Sirius grumbled.

“James and Lily are dead,” Cassiopeia said bluntly, “and believe me, if I had my way, I would keep Harry as far from all of this as possible, but I have no right to do that. When the time comes, he will make his way here, and Merlin help Voldemort and his followers. They do not know it yet, but their fates are already sealed. He will do to them what they have done; he will hunt them down, and he will make an example of them.”

“You sound almost proud of that,” Remus muttered.

Cassiopeia nodded unashamedly.

“I am proud of the man I know my Harry will be,” she declared. “He will be as just as Charlus, but as ruthless as Arcturus with all the magical ability both possessed, and so much more. His enemies will fall, and he will rise. Mark my words, the name Harry Potter will be remembered as one of the greatest to walk among us.”

Sirius shared a look with Remus.

After such an impassioned speech, he found it all but impossible to disbelieve.

“Better than Grindelwald?” he asked.

Cassiopeia’s nostrils flared at his temerity, but she nodded without hesitation.

“Harry will surpass both Gellert and Dumbledore.”

The woman wore a knowing smirk, almost as though she had knowledge that no other possessed.

That would not surprise Sirius.

Cassiopeia always seemed to know more than anyone else around her.

“Harry will have my loyalty and my wand,” he reiterated. “I shirked my responsibility once, and that won’t happen again. If necessary, I will go to hell and back to make sure that kid comes out of this alright.”

His words were sincere, his tone unwavering, and he met the penetrating gaze of Cassiopeia as hers bored into his.

After a moment, she nodded satisfactorily.

“I believe you,” she replied simply before taking her leave of the room.

Both Sirius and Remus remained silent for several moments before the werewolf broke it with a deep sigh.

“Bloody hell, that was intense.”

“It was,” Sirius agreed.

However, he understood why, and though he had questioned her motivation for taking Harry in when she had so little to gain from doing so, Sirius had no doubt that she loved Harry more than she had anyone else.

She had raised him, cared for him, and undoubtedly taught him much of what he knew.

Cassiopeia Black had become something she had never intended to; a parent, and though it had not changed her much as a person on the surface, it had indeed changed her where it mattered most.

Harry was her priority, and she wanted nothing more than to see him thrive and to live a life that had been taken from him before he was truly able to appreciate it.

“Come on,” Sirius murmured.

“To where?”

“To the library first, and then to the basement,” he explained as he left the study with Remus following suit. “If we are really going to war, we need to be prepared. Dumbledore won’t like it, but this could be Harry’s life weighing in the balance. I never thought I would say it, but Cassiopeia is right.”

Remus nodded his agreement.

“For Harry.”

“And for James and Lily,” Sirius added as he pushed the door open to the library.

There would be little of use to the werewolf, and Sirius had avoided this place for his entire life, but if there was ever a time to be here, it was now when he would likely need it most.

He was a Black, after all, so perhaps it was time he truly lived up to the name that he carried.

For Harry, he could do that.

(Break)

He’d been back with the pack for but a day but already, Cain could feel the mixture of emotion and tension amongst them. Both were palpable and many were in a state of frenzy seldom seen in places like this.

It was almost though there was a sense of hope in the air, though not in a way that boded well for any.

It was the worst kept secret that Greyback planned to move them on from their home, and Cain was no fool.

To move a pack as large as this would garner much attention, and none of it good.

He regretted returning here. Wishing he had taken Harry up on his offer, he reminded himself of why he had come.

He wanted answers.

He wanted to know why when he was on his deathbed, his parents had not come to him.

Did he mean so little to his own mother and father now?

Not that he had been presented with an opportunity to speak with them.

They had not been home when he’d arrived, and he simply could not bring himself to look for them amongst the other emotional werewolves.

Even from the house, he could hear the baying of the pack, the inevitable fights that broke out, and the screams of those that dared speak out against the evident plans as they were torn to shreds by either Fenrir or the others.

It was not a good place to be, but here he was.

Cain needed answers and if truth be told, despite Harry’s offer, a wolf needed to belong to a pack.

Lone wolves did not fare well in a world that despised them.

“There you are,” his mother admonished as she entered his room.

“Here I am,” Cain echoed.

His mother frown at him.

“Why are you not with the rest of us?”

Cain snorted humourlessly.

“You mean watching them tear each other apart? No thanks, I’d much rather stay out of it.”

His mother was not pleased by the answer, her eyes flashing a dangerous amber colour.

“Are you not a member of this pack?”

“You tell me,” Cain chuckled darkly. “Aren’t we supposed to look out for one another?”

“Of course,” his mother answered irritably.

“Then who was looking out for me when I was fucking dying?” Cain spat, the days of anger and frustration he’d felt bubbling to the surface.

“Dying?” his mother asked amusedly. “We were assured that you were fine.”

“Fine? I was poisoned and was so close to dying that I transformed in a room full of other students. I could have killed them, or them me! What then? Would you say that it was fine?”

His mother narrowed her wolfish eyes at him.

Cain knew he had crossed the line with her, but he didn’t care.

For her to be so dismissive of what had happened hurt him as much as it infuriated him.

“You will watch your tone, boy,” she growled. “You’re no longer a cub.”

Cain nodded his understanding.

“Fine,” he returned evenly. “If there is nothing else, I have work to be getting on with.”

He turned from her, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

He knew that werewolves were not so maternal for the most part, but he had hoped when she knew just how gravely ill he had been that there would be something akin to care from the woman.

There had been nothing.

All she seemed to care for was Greyback’s grand plan and all but worshipping the ground their alpha walked on.

‘Fenrir wishes to speak with you,” his mother announced.

Cain’s attention snapped back towards the woman.

“Why me?” he asked suspiciously.

“He wishes to check on you for himself,” his mother answered with a shrug. “So much for the pack not caring about you.”

With that, she turned and left the room.

“He will arrive in an hour,” she called from the foot of the stairs.

Cain could only frown thoughtfully.

Greyback wasn’t merely coming to check on him.

The alpha wanted something from him, of that he was certain.

But what could that be?

Cain was a student and had nothing to offer the pack. Still, he did not believe for one moment Fenrir Greyback wished to check on his wellbeing. No, something else was the catalyst of the impending visit.

Whilst he waited, he played over every possible scenario in his mind, but even as he heard the heavy footfalls of the alpha draw closer as he climbed the stairs, Cain was at a loss.

Nevertheless, an involuntary shudder worked its way down his spine as the enormous man entered his room bringing the heady aroma of blood, sweat, and death with him.

Despite this, the look he gave Cain appeared to be one of concern as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“Your mother has been worried about you,” Greyback sighed. “What’s been happening, kid?”

Cain shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Everything here just feels different, and with what happened at school…”

He broke off.

“What did happen? Your mother mentioned that someone poisoned you and that it made you transform.”

Cain nodded.

“They did and I did,” he murmured. “They wouldn’t tell me what happened though.”

He wasn’t going to pass on that information to Greyback.

There was no doubt in Cain’s mind that he was sick enough to poison members of the pack in an attempt to replicate it.

A scowl crossed the older werewolf’s features, but he schooled his expression quickly.

“But you are okay?”

“I am,” Cain confirmed.

“Good,” Greyback declared. “I would have been devastated to lose you.”

He rubbed Cain’s shoulder comfortingly, and even through his clothes, he could feel the rough skin of his hands and the sharp nails at the end of Greyback’s fingers.

“What of your friends? I bet they were worried.”

“The other werewolves were,” Cain replied carefully. “My other friend, Jonas, he’s a son of a hag, he was worried too.”

“Your other friend? Is he the only other you have?”

Cain felt a sense of dread fill him.

Fenrir wasn’t here out of concern nor to check that he had indeed recovered.

He wanted information.

“None of the purebloods speak to me, and the half-bloods don’t want much to do with the creatures,” he explained.

“That is the world we live in, unfortunately,” Greyback sighed. “What are the other students like?”

Cain shrugged in response as he pondered his reply carefully.

“They don’t bully us, not really,” he answered. “We’re mostly left alone, but some of the pureblood ones try to when they are bored. They don’t get very far though. There are a lot of us there, and we all look out for one another, even if we aren’t pack outside of school.”

Greyback, his lips pulled over his yellow teeth as he nodded.

“That is good,” he declared. “What of Harry Potter? I understand he is a student there.”

And there it was.

Greyback had guided the conversation to precisely this, and once more, Cain’s stomach filled with a deeper sense of dread.

What interest could Fenrir possibly have in Harry?

“He is,” Cain confirmed.

It was no good to deny it, not when it was now common knowledge.

“He mostly keeps himself to himself,” he continued. “He doesn’t cause anyone any problems, but he doesn’t have any friends other than a few pureblood students. He doesn’t mix with the likes of us.”

Greyback scowled once more.

“What have you noticed about him?”

“Not much,” Cain replied with a thoughtful frown. “He likes to play pranks on people sometimes, and they say that he is good at Transfiguration and Charms. I’ve not paid much attention to him really.”

Greyback nodded as he stood.

“I’d like you to observe him,” he instructed. “Learn as much as you can about him and report it back to me. Do you think you could do that, for the pack?”

Cain swallowed deeply as he nodded.

“I can,” he confirmed. “I won’t let you down.”

Greyback smiled, though it came across as more of a leer than anything else.

“Good,” he growled gently. “The pack will only benefit from it.”

Cain listened as Greyback’s footsteps receded down the staircase and out of the house before he dared breathe again.

For reasons unknown to him, the pack had now taken an interest in Harry and instead of playing his part as he would be expected to do, there was only one thing on his mind.

He needed to tell his friend, to warn Harry of the danger he might be in.

Here, these wolves might call him pack, but none of them looked out for him, no longer cared for him, not like Harry always had.

Not a day passed that his friend did not make sure that he was okay, that he had everything he needed, and that his transformations were bearable when the full moon came.

Cain owed Harry his life for everything he had done, and though he might indeed find himself as a lone wolf or even a dead one for doing so, he would not stab Harry in the back.

Not for the pack, not for his parents, and certainly not for Fenrir Greyback.

Fear filled every fibre of him as he pondered just why Greyback was interested in his friend, but Cain quickly realised that the reasoning did not matter.

Fenrir only took an interest in humans for two things, food or torture.

Cain would never see Harry become either for the monster, not that it would likely come to pass.

Greyback was an infamous killer, perhaps the most prolific werewolf to ever live, but Harry was Harry.

He certainly would not submit to any, and Cain had no doubt that Greyback would be biting off more than he could chew should he take too much of an interest in his friend.

(Break)

“Most impressive, Harry,” Gellert praised as he watched the boy casting the spells he himself had painstakingly created.

It was quite the sight to behold, and though the former Dark Lord had provided the knowledge, the hard work of utilising it was all Harry’s.

It filled the old man with pride to see someone so dedicated, so driven to succeed, and as ruthless as he had once been.

Gellert still and always would harbour his ambition to see the world moulded in his perfect image of it. That would never come to be but knowing there were those like Harry that could bring some needed changes made his wholly unsatisfying existence just that more tolerable.

“Does it tire you out using them?” Gellert asked.

Harry shook his head.

“They did at first, but not anymore,” he explained. “I got used to them quickly. I suppose the Elder Wand helps.”

Gellert nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, whatever you are doing is undoubtedly working. Keep up the work, Harry, and there will be very little you cannot achieve if you put your mind to it.”

The boy smiled, reminding Gellert that he was still just that.

For all of his ability and potential, Harry was still a child in many ways, but not so in others.

He was indeed on the cusp of manhood, and a fine one he would make.

“I brought you a present,” Harry declared as he removed his trunk and resized it. “I know there isn’t much you are allowed in here, but I checked, and this is fine.”

He reached in and produced an ornate box that he handed to Gellert who accepted it with a curious quirk of his eyebrow.

Within, he found a pensieve and he chuckled to himself.

“You might not be able to take over the world now, but you can revisit your attempt at it,” Harry snorted. “I’m sure there are other memories you would wish to see again.”

Gellert smiled warmly at the boy.

It was the most thoughtful gift he could have given him.

For as detached as he could be towards others at times, deep down, Harry truly was a very kind person.

Cassiopeia had indeed done a fine job raising him.

“It is the most wonderful gift I have ever received,” Gellert replied sincerely. “Now, it is Christmas morning. Should you not be with the others?”

Harry nodded.

“I’m going, but I wanted to make sure you got your gift too,” he explained as he shrunk his trunk and placed it back within his robes. “Oh, there’s something else too.”

He removed a box from his pocket and placed it on the floor on Gellert’s side of the cell. Tapping it with his wand, it increased in size considerably and the most enticing smells filled the entire corridor.

“I can’t imagine the food you get in here is great, so I had Elgar make a few things for you. It is Christmas,” Harry said with a shrug.

Gellert opened the box to find it filled with an array of foods, roasted meats, potatoes, and too many sweet treats to count.

“Merry Christmas, Gellert,” Harry offered, waving as he made his way towards the exit.

“Merry Christmas, Harry,” Gellert whispered in response, his eyes fixed on the hamper of food he’d been given. “Merry Christmas.”

(Break)

“This won’t end well for you,” Cassiopeia warned amusedly.

Sirius growled in response from his hiding place behind the kitchen door.

Harry had yet to meet his dog form and Christmas Day was the perfect time to introduce his godson to his other side.

Cassiopeia didn’t know what she was talking about.

Sirius would pin the boy down.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Cassiopeia sighed.

Sirius ignored the woman, his ears perking up as he heard the front door open and he squatted down on his haunches, ready to leap at the unsuspecting Harry.

His tail began to wag as the footsteps drew nearer, and before Harry had even fully entered the room, Sirius pounced.

What happened next was as confusing as it was surprising for the Animagus.

One moment, he was airborne, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as he flew towards his godson. The next, he found himself in a tangle of his own limbs and the many branches of the Christmas tree.

He whimpered helplessly as the laughter of his Aunt could be heard.

It was a thoroughly embarrassing situation he found himself in, and it only got worse as he finally managed to free himself.

Instead of being greeted by the sight of the laughing woman or even an admonishing glare from Remus, he found himself staring into the eyes of a snarling wolf.

Sirius was filled with terror, and without thought, his tail was tucked between his legs as he bolted from his own kitchen.

Much to his dismay, the wolf gave chase, and a yelp escaped him as a chunk of fur was pulled from one of his hind legs.

The wolf was faster than him, and there was seemingly no escape.

Sirius howled pleadingly as he found himself pinned to the floor, the slobbering wolf dribbling as it took the dominant position.

“Alright, that’s enough, Harry,” he heard Cassiopeia huff.

The wolf looked towards the woman before allowing Sirius to stand, and it was then the former Azkaban prisoner realised that the wolf was Harry and not a creature he had conjured.

Reverting back to his human form, he felt a mixture of pride, embarrassment, and irritation.

He had not comported himself well in the face of the beast, much to his shame.

“You’re a bloody wolf?” he groaned.

Harry grinned smugly in response.

“Better than a mangy dog.”

“I do not have mange!”

“That’s enough from both of you,” Cassiopeia grumbled. “Come on, Kreacher will have dinner ready soon.”

Sirius cursed under his breath as he and Harry followed the woman back to the kitchen where Remus was attempting to repair the damage to the tree.

“Did you know about this?” Sirius demanded.

Remus held his hands up innocently.

“I had no idea,” the werewolf assured him amusedly.

Sirius hummed disbelievingly.

Remus had known, and judging by the expression he wore, he found the entire situation hilarious.

“It’s not funny,” Sirius mumbled.

“But it would have been if you got me?” Harry asked.

Sirius nodded.

“It would have made my Christmas.”

Both Harry and Remus shook their heads.

“Has he always been so petty?” Harry questioned.

“You have no idea,” the werewolf replied. “He once tried to prank your dad but wasn’t so subtle about it. James heard everything and Sirius ended up bald for two weeks before Lily took pity on him and fixed it.”

“I never did get the git back for that,” Sirius broke in sadly.

“So, you’re going to try to take it out on me?”

Sirius grinned as he nodded.

“I’ll get you, Harry. It’s just a matter of time.”

Harry quirked a challenging eyebrow in return.

“We’ll see.”

“We will,” Sirius agreed.

“Come on, dinner is ready,” Cassiopeia announced. “The two of you can sit on opposite sides of the table. Neither of you can be trusted.”

“You mean Sirius can’t be trusted,” Harry snorted.

“You can’t be trusted!” Sirius fired back petulantly.

“Merlin help me,” Cassiopeia groaned. “It’s like having two children. Are you planning on spending the night here, Harry?”

“I don’t see why not,” Harry answered. “I’ve finished my homework and sent all my presents to everyone.”

“You mean to your girlfriend,” Sirius teased.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“What happened to the Greengrass girl?”

Harry shrugged.

“Nothing, but we both agreed that having a relationship when we are so far apart just wouldn’t work.”

“That’s very mature,” Remus commented.

“So, there isn’t anyone else?” Sirius probed.

“Maybe,” Harry answered cryptically, “but not anything serious.”

“Don’t,” Remus warned as Sirius opened his mouth to reply. “Just don’t.”

Sirius scowled at his friend as he took his seat at the table where Kreacher began serving them their meals.

“Do you really have a vampire for a friend?” the werewolf asked curiously.

Harry nodded as he removed a photo from within his robes.

“Lucinda,” he confirmed. “That’s her there,” he added, pointing to a pale, dark-haired girl amongst a group of teenagers. “The others are the rest of my friends.”

“James would be so proud,” Sirius chuckled. “Three pretty girls, Harry?”

“They’re my friends,” Harry sighed. “Nothing has happened with any of them.”

“But you are interested in another girl? I bet they don’t like that much.”

“Not really,” Harry answered, “but that’s my business.”

Sirius nodded his agreement.

“I do hope you are not disrespecting these young women,” Cassiopeia interjected.

“If he is, then he doesn’t take after James,” Sirius pointed out. “Lily was the only girl for him from the moment he saw her. It was quite pathetic.”

“Pathetic because he wasn’t caught in a broom cupboard with someone new every week?” Remus asked.

Sirius smirked unashamedly.

“Hey, I’m not complaining. He just left more girls for me.”

“That’s enough of that talk!” Cassiopeia snapped. “Harry does not need your encouragement to become a lout like you. He is doing a fine job of that himself.”

“I’m nothing like him!” Harry defended.

Cassiopeia hummed disbelievingly.

“Next time, do not leave the notes that Alessia gives you in your robes,” she advised.

Harry’s eyes widened in realisation.

“You didn’t read that, did you?”

“No, but Elgar did,” Cassiopeia explained. “Just don’t get the girl pregnant. If you do, you will be marrying her.”

“Good luck trying to make that happen,” Harry muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing,” Harry answered quickly, shooting a glare at the guffawing Sirius and Remus.

(Break)

He had not experienced such excitement for so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like, and now that he had been reminded, he was more eager than ever to press forward with his plans.

He watched the blaze in the distance, the smell of burning timber and the items that were within the manor as they were reduced to nothing but ash, a smile cresting his lips.

Perhaps he should not have returned so soon, even if it was just for a single excursion, but his patience was not boundless, and the urge to come here and rid himself of a powerful enemy had been too strong to ignore.

Still, he had already been gone too long, and as he witnessed the arrival of the aurors, Lord Voldemort vanished, leaving no trace of his presence behind.

(Break)

Harry woke in a cold sweat, his breathing laboured as he sat up and poured himself a glass of water with a trembling hand.

It had been some time since he’d had such a vivid dream, so long that he had felt the euphoria from the misery of others.

He had come to know where these visions were from, and if Voldemort was feeling such happiness, it meant that someone else was suffering.

But whom?

With Voldemort, it could be anyone, but somehow, the Dark Lord felt close, much closer than Harry had felt him before.

It was not a comforting thought, and cautiously, he moved the corner of the curtain just enough that he could see into the street outside where he expected to find a shadowy figure waiting for him.

The square outside Grimmauld Place was empty, but Voldemort had not been far away.

Releasing a deep breath, he drew the Elder Wand and held it as he climbed back into bed.

How he would fare in a fight against the man that had murdered his parents, Harry knew not, but he was not foolish enough to believe that he was ready, not yet.

He yearned for the day that he would be, that he could sleep peacefully without bearing witness to the atrocities of his foe. But that day was still far into the future.

Until then, he would do what he always had.

He would endure and he would learn.

There was little else to be done until Voldemort was truly dead.