FicWad: fresh-picked original and fan fiction

Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own the Harry Potter story, characters, villains, heroes and creatures. I also sadly do not make any money off this story. Trust me; my bank account cannot lie about that.

Thanks to Nancy for her help as always!


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FLAMES OF BETRAYAL
By Marietsy

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


Harry looked at Ron. "You think we should get Severus for this conversation? I'm sure he'll want to be in on it."

"Yeah, but let's have breakfast first. Severus needs time to acclimate to having a family," the redhead replied.

"True." Harry turned to his godfather and noticed the look of confusion on the man's face.

"Harry," Sirius whined, "why are you acting so friendly with Snape? Why is he even here? In fact, where am I? Where's Moony? Shouldn't he be here with you? He is your godfather you know, or well he should have been, but since I'm not actually dead I guess that my Will didn't actually take effect," he mused thoughtfully.

"Godfather?" Harry and Ron exclaimed, shocked. They looked at each other and grimaced. Harry frowned at the thought; /if he was suppose to be my godfather, then why didn't anyone tell me? Not that it matters, the man turned his back on me. /Harry felt pain well up in him at the thought. He'd been trying hard not to think of all those who turned on him, but Sirius bringing up Remus reminded him of his former friends and mentors.

Ron reached up and squeezed Harry on the shoulder. Through their bond, he could feel the pain and sadness that Harry felt. He knew how much Remus' betrayal hurt him. He felt the pain of his own family's betrayal. Many would say that he went too far by changing his family name, but they didn't have to live with what his family had done.

Harry looked at Ron and smiled. The redhead had always been there for him. Harry never blamed him for the doubts he'd had after the trial. Harry knew he himself would've been hard pressed to believe in someone after testifying under Veritaserum. Harry patted Ron's hand, his expression showing his gratitude. "Thanks, Ron," he said softly and Ron grinned.

Sirius looked at them, confused by their serious looks. What had happened to make the boys so sad? "There should have been an amendment to my will. It was notarized and left it at Grimmauld Place. I told Molly about it. She should have told you after I supposedly died." Harry and Ron looked at each other grimly; yet another thing Harry had been wronged by those who were supposed to be looking out for him.

Harry looked at Sirius and said, "A lot of things have happened in the last two, no wait, it would be three years now, wouldn't it? Regardless, too much to go over right now. We'll have breakfast, and then invite Severus back. He'll want to be here to hear your side of the story about confronting Dumbledore."

Dobby popped back into the room with their food. He stuck out his hand and a table appeared. He laid the try down on the table and turned towards the wizards in the room. "Breakfast is served," he said with a flourish.

Harry grinned at the house-elf. "Thanks, Dobby. Did you eat already?"

Dobby beamed at Harry brightly. "Yes, Dobby had breakfast with Sage," he replied shyly, a tinge of red coming to his face.

"Really? Is there something you need to tell us about Sage?" Harry asked delightedly.

Dobby shook his head violently, his face embarrassed. "Noooo, Dobby and Sage are just friends. Sage helps Dobby."

"Of course, Dobby. If you say so," Harry said slyly.

Ron and Sirius chuckled at Dobby's embarrassment. Dobby ignored them and began to pile some food on a plate. He walked over to the bed and jumped up. He sidled up to Sirius, sat down, and carefully placed the plate on Sirius' lap. "Mutt must eat. Mutt has not eaten well for a while. Dobby will watch until Mutt has eaten everything on his plate. Dobby will care for Mutt," he said, determined, and continued to stare at Sirius sternly.

Sirius looked at Dobby then his plate. He glanced at an amused Harry and pouted. "How am I going to eat with him staring at me like that?" he whined.

Dobby grunted with irritation. "No more talk, Mutt must eat!" he growled.

Sirius looked at him, surprise filling his face. "Ah...well..." he stammered, looking very flustered.

Harry chuckled at Sirius. "You'll find Dobby has changed quite a lot since you last saw him. He's a free elf and he chooses to do what he wants. He's decided to care for you so you might as well just go along with it. Dobby can be quite um...aggressive if he doesn't get his own way."

Sirius gulped and looked at the stern house-elf warily. He picked up his fork and began to eat. Dobby sat back with a satisfied look on his face. He turned to look at Harry and glared at him. "Harry needs to eat as well. Dobby would tell Ron to eat, but that would be pointless," he said witheringly, a pointed look at Ron.

Ron was sitting at the table, gulping down food at a fast pace. He looked up and stilled as he noticed every eye in the room on him. He swallowed his food hurriedly and asked, "What?"

Harry chuckled, shook his head, and said, "Nothing, Ron. Go back to eating."

Ron looked at them with confusion then shrugged. He scooped up more eggs and placed them on his plate. He began to eat once again, a look of pleasure on his face. Harry walked over to the table and grabbed his own food. He sat down, scooping the fluffy eggs into his mouth.

An hour later, Dobby and Sirius were arguing over the amount of food Sirius ate.

"Mutt must eat more! Mutt is malnourished," Dobby said adamantly. "Mutt must not die!"

Sirius sighed, annoyed. "Once again Dobby, I can't eat all this. My stomach has to get use to the richer foods than what I've been eating. If I eat anymore, I'm going to throw up. If I do that, then all the food you forced down my throat will be for nothing, wouldn't it?"

Dobby growled and Harry decided to interfere. "Dobby," he called quietly. Dobby turned and looked at Harry, a frown on his face. "You know as well as I do that you can't make him eat if he doesn't want to. Don't make him sick. It would be defeating the purpose of trying to feed him. I know you promised, but you do need to back off a little. He's not going to keel over if he doesn't have another bite."

Dobby opened his mouth then closed it. His shoulders sagged and he looked at Harry sadly. "Harry is right, Mutt is right. It's just Dobby promised," he murmured sadly, his eyes welling up with tears.

Harry stood up and walked over to the bed. He sat down and took Dobby's hand in his. "I know you did Dobby, and you can take care of him, but you need to treat him as you would treat me. Just don't forget that he's a strong wizard, just as I am."

Dobby sniffled and nodded in understanding. He turned towards Sirius, a tremulous smile on his face. "Dobby understands. Dobby apologizes to Mutt."

Sirius smiled at the house-elf. "It's all right, Dobby. I get that you want to take care of me, even if I don't understand why it's so important to you."

Harry looked at Dobby and said, "Dobby, would you take the dishes back to the kitchen then find Severus. Tell him we would like to have him here. There are things we need to talk about. I would like you here as well."

Dobby's face brightened and he nodded. "Dobby will do so. Dobby and the Professor will be back soon."

Dobby took Sirius' plate, walked over to the edge of the bed and jumped down. He walked over to the table, placing the plate on the tray. With a snap of his fingers, Ron and Harry's plates and cups flew to the tray and Dobby picked it up, popping out of the room. Harry sat on the bed and sighed.

"Prongslet, why does Dobby care so much about what happens to me?" Sirius asked, confused.

"He promised Winky that he would take care of you. He's just following through on his promise."

Sirius sat up abruptly, panicking. "Winky! How is she? She jumped in front of curse that was meant for me," he exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot to ask about her."

Harry looked at Sirius and shook his head sadly. "She didn't make it, Padfoot."

Sirius gaped at him then sank back against his pillows. He looked at Harry, his face filled with bewilderment and sadness. "She was a good friend. She kept me sane for the last three years. Why Harry? Why did she jump in front of that curse?" Sirius asked.

"Dobby said it was because she loved you. If it'd been Winky's choice, she would've bonded to you. Since she couldn't, she took care of you as much as she was able. She went around the bond with Dumbledore to save you, with Dobby's help, that is."

Sirius nodded in understanding and mourned the cheerful house-elf who'd taken care of him for the last three years. He hadn't realized how much the elf cared for him. He would really miss her.

The three men sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Harry looked up when Severus and Dobby walked into the room. The Potions Master stopped a moment and looked at them, his expression concerned. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I was just telling Padfoot about Winky," Harry commented.

"Ah," Severus murmured and walked over to sit in the chair that was sitting next to the bed. Dobby climbed up on the bed and sat close to Sirius. He gave Sirius an intent look then nodded with satisfaction.

"Now that we're all here, why don't you tell us what happened to you," Harry began. "Dobby gave us his account, but he arrived after Winky jumped in front of the curse."

Sirius nodded and closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts of the night before. He opened them again and looked at Harry.

"I was sitting on the bed, trying to read one the books that Dumbledore left behind. I was antsy because I knew that Winky was going to give Dobby the letter I wrote, and I didn't know how soon I would be rescued, or if I was even going to be rescued. I was distracted from my reading by the sound of the floo activating..." Sirius began.

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FLASHBACK

Sirius looked up at the sound of the floo. He put down the book and got off the bed. He was concerned because the only person able to come through the floo was Dumbledore. What happened? Was he going to follow through with his threat to kill him? Did he find out about the note? Oh, Harry, I hope that I'll survive whatever is going to happen. I have a very bad feeling about this.

Sirius watched as Dumbledore stumbled out of the floo. He looked at the Headmaster's face and felt fear. Whatever happened, it'd enraged Dumbledore. The old wizard looked at him with a look of malice and hate. He sneered at Sirius, his face filled with anger. "Well looky here, the mutt is ready and waiting for me like a good dog. That's good; I would hate to have to chase you around the room."

"What do you want, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked.

"I've decided I need a spot of torture to make my evening better. Since you're the only one no one would miss, I decided to come and play with my favorite whipping boy. I've decided that tonight you die. I have no use for you anymore."

Sirius felt fear. He hoped that someone would find him soon. "What's got your knickers in a twist, Dumbly? Something not go your way?" Sirius taunted./ I'm so going to die. Can't you ever shut up, Padfoot?/

Dumbledore smiled at him coldly, his eyes filled with malice and contempt. "Oh, not to worry, I may have been defeated by not being able to overturn the contracts, but I'm far from finished. The war has only begun."

"Contracts? What contracts?" Sirius asked, confused.

Dumbledore laughed harshly, his eyes cold. "Do you really think I'm so foolish as to tell you anything? You're going to die wondering what's going on. I no longer have use for you." He raised his wand. "/Crucio/," he muttered.

Sirius braced himself, but he couldn't stop himself from screaming as he felt the curse hit him. The pain was excruciating. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. He fell to the ground and began to convulse. He could hear Dumbledore laughing in the distance. He didn't know how long he had been under the curse, but it suddenly stopped.

He laid there panting, unable to move. He finally raised his head and look at Dumbledore. "Is that all you got, old man? I've seen better curses from Longbottom," Sirius sneered.

Dumbledore roared with rage. He pointed the wand at Sirius and yelled, "/Crucio/."

Sirius felt the curse hit him again and began to scream. He could feel his throat getting sore from his screams. His body was convulsing and he couldn't feel anything beyond the pain.

The curse was lifted and Sirius lay there, sobbing from the pain. He couldn't move his body for fear of pain. He stayed still and hoped that Dumbledore wouldn't curse him again. He heard footsteps and moved his head slowly. He saw someone standing in front of him and watched as Dumbledore squatted down. The old wizard reached out and patted him hard on his arm. Sirius moaned in pain.

"Tut, tut, Sirius. Really, haven't you learned by now to control your mouth? Or do you want me to give you another use for your mouth, hmmm?" Dumbledore asked with mock kindness as he gently caressed Sirius' mouth. "Do this for me and I might let you live a little longer," he said, his eyes dilated with lust and rage.

Sirius looked at him, horrified, as he caught on to Dumbledore's meaning. He moved his head away from the Headmaster's hand and spat on him. "I would rather die than touch any part of you with my mouth."

Dumbledore's face hardened, his eyes cold. "Very well, then you shall die." The Headmaster stood up and looked down at him with hatred. "Stand up dog!" he growled.

Sirius willed his body to move and he slowly stood up. He weaved a moment before stiffening his legs. He looked at Dumbledore in the eyes and said, "You may kill me, but know this Dumbledore, your days are numbered. Harry will find out all about you and when he does, there will be no help for you."

Dumbledore laughed coldly and replied, "Harry is my pawn, my weapon. He does what I say and when I say it."

Sirius remembered the vision of Ron's initiation into the Black family. He grinned at Dumbledore. "Does he really?" he asked innocently.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "What do you know?" he demanded harshly.

Sirius laughed at him. "What do you mean? I haven't been out of this place in two years. I can't possibly know anything."

"Tell me what you know?" Dumbledore roared.

"Make me you pathetic, old man. You can't even control an eighteen year old boy, what makes you think I'm going to tell you a thing?" Sirius asked cheerfully.

Dumbledore growled and raised his wand. "/Caedo/," he said and the spell hit him on the arm. Sirius yelled out in pain and looked down. There was a cut on his arm, about six inches long and it was bleeding. He ignored the pain and glared at Dumbledore. "It'll take more than that to make me talk, you bastard. What's the matter? Losing your power?" he taunted.

Sirius got wary as Dumbledore stood there, lost in thought. He grinned evilly and called out, "Winky! Come to me."

A moment later, the house-elf appeared. "What can Winky do for Dumbly, sirs?" the house-elf asked. She looked over at Sirius and her eyes widened as she saw the blood running down his arm. "Mutt! Mutt is hurt!" she cried out.

"Yes, he is Winky, and do you know why?" Dumbledore asked in a gentle voice. Winky shook her head violently and began to back away from the old wizard. She could see the cold look in Dumbledore's eyes. "Winky not know."

"Then why are you backing away from me, slave?"

"Dumbly is scaring Winky. Winky is afraid," she moaned.

The Headmaster laughed derisively at the house-elf. "As you should be. See what happens when you lie to me, Winky," Dumbledore said and pointed his wand at Sirius. "Caedo," he yelled and the spell hit Sirius on his chest.

Sirius fell to his knees in pain. He looked at his chest and saw that blood was seeping through his shirt. He moaned at the pain and looked up at Dumbledore, his expression a little dazed.

"Better," he stated hoarsely. "But still not enough."

Dumbledore glared at him. "You will be broken Sirius, I have all night. But first I have a lesson to teach a house-elf about going behind their master's back."

"Winky did nothing you good for nothing, you arsewipe. Your own stupidity caused you to lose control of Harry. I may not have seen the boy for two years, but even I know that he would've rebelled from your tender loving care. He hated being treated like a child and I'm sure you haven't treated him any differently all the years that I've been here. It doesn't take a genius to know that he's going to rebel. From your reaction, I believe that he already has. What did he do, Dumbledore? Did he tell you to piss off?" Sirius laughed grimly.

Dumbledore glared at Sirius. "He isn't the one to worry about!" he yelled.

Sirius looked at him, confused, and asked, "Then who is?"

Dumbledore looked at him with before shaking his head. "Oh no, Sirius, I'm not telling you. You'll die without ever knowing. I tire of this," he said and raised his wand. "/Reducto/," he yelled.

"No! Mutt must live!" Winky screamed and jumped in front of Sirius. The animagus watched, horrified, as Winky was hit by the spell that was meant for him. Winky flew into Sirius, knocking him down to the floor. He hit his head hard and the room started to go dark. He shook his head and looked up. He saw Dumbledore walk over to him and kicked Winky out of the way.

"I'll have to get me another slave. This one wasn't very good. You don't know how much I have looked forward to this. You're one problem that I'm finally glad to get rid of. Tell Lily and James I said hi," Dumbledore said coldly. "There's no one to save you now." He raised his wand and began to utter a curse.

"NOOOO!" a voice yelled.

Sirius saw Dumbledore turn around quickly and he looked past the old wizard. He looked on in confusion and pain as a house-elf raised his hand and threw the Headmaster against the wall and held him there. "You hurt Winky and Mutt! You must pay!" he growled and raised his hand again. The Headmaster flew against the other side of the room and slammed against the wall. Sirius watched with satisfaction as Dumbledore lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

He looked at the house-elf wearily, beginning to loose consciousness from the pain and blood loss. "Help," he muttered weakly and saw the house-elf hurrying over to them.

"You's all right now, Mutt. Must get help," the house-elf muttered and Sirius' world fell to black.

END FLASHBACK

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Sirius finally fell silent and the room was quiet. Harry suddenly jumped up from the bed and began to pace back and forth, rage filling his face.

"That's it! That man has to go! He's as bad as Voldemort, if not worse. Why? Why is he doing this? Has he always been like this or was it just recent?" Harry wondered.

Severus snorted with grim amusement. "Oh no, he's always been like that. We just never saw it."

Harry nodded distractedly. "Let's not forget what he did to you and your estate," Ron reminded him.

Harry looked disgusted. "Oh, yeah."

Sirius looked at him and asked, "What's he been doing to your estate, Harry?"

"Stealing from it. He made himself Executor of my estate and began to steal money from it. Ghistpok told me that the Dumbledore is penniless. He used it all up in the first war with Voldemort. His estate has apparently been losing money for the last hundred years."

"He was what?" Sirius exclaimed, surprised.

"It's not a problem right now, and in all truth, he didn't take much out considering how large my estate is, but that's not the point. He lied to me and stole from me. That pisses me off," Harry said angrily.

"I would say so," Sirius snarled. "Bastard! Tell me you put a stop to it."

"Ron did it for me," Harry said proudly.

"Why would Ron do it for you?" Sirius asked, as he looked Harry then Ron.

Harry glanced at Ron and Severus then sighed. He fidgeted on the bed and began to bite his bottom lip. Sirius was looking at him suspiciously, yet with a good deal of concern also.

Harry heaved a huge sigh and looked at Sirius, pain filling his eyes. "Almost two years ago, I was convicted of murder and sent to Azkaban," he informed his godfather softly.

Sirius looked at him, astonished. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were bulging. He was silent a moment before his mouth clicked shut and his eyes narrowed.

"Bullshit!" he exclaimed. "You would've never killed anyone, and if you did, it was only because you were defending yourself. I don't know what's going on, but that's just not true," Sirius stated firmly.

"They had proof and I confessed under Veritaserum," Harry said softly. He saw Ron opened his mouth in outrage and held up his hand.

"You did?" Sirius squeaked and Harry nodded. The animagus stared at him a moment then shook his head. "You didn't do it. I don't know what plan Voldemort had, but you didn't kill anyone Harry -- no matter what you confessed. Everything magical can be gotten around if you try hard enough. It doesn't matter if you're on the run, which I assume you are. We can be on the run together."

Harry's eyes welled up with tears and he began to cry. His godfather believed him. He didn't know that Harry had been proven innocent and released; he just knew that Harry hadn't killed anyone and was willing to stay with him regardless. Harry cried softly and Sirius sat up, pulling him into his arms.

Sirius stroked his hair and said softly, "It'll be all right, Harry. We'll find your proof and we'll show everyone that you're innocent. I'm here; Ron, Dobby, and Snape are here. I'm thinking they believe that you're innocent or else they wouldn't be here. We'll work together on finding out what happened."

Harry continued to cry, releasing pent up emotions that he tried to repress since his release from Azkaban. Sirius faith in him overwhelmed him. He calmed down and lay limply against his godfather, sniffling a couple of times before looking up. He saw that Ron's had tears in his eyes and look of guilt on his face. He held out his hand and Ron grabbed it, squeezing gently. "It's all right, Ron. I told you that I forgave you. Hell, there wasn't a reason to forgive you. I wouldn't have done the same."

Ron nodded and wiped away the tear that slid down his face. He held onto Harry's hand with a tight grip as if Harry would disappear. Harry knew that though they tried to hide it, there were still a lot of hurt feelings for the both of them. Only with time would they get better.

"Why is Ron so upset?" Sirius asked softly.

"After everyone turned their backs on me for being a murderer, only Ron stayed with me. He believed in my innocence and made sure that everyone knew. He was the only one. I didn't know then that Severus believed in my innocence. When I confessed under Veritaserum to the murders, Ron felt betrayed and began to believe that I might have actually killed them. He feels guilty about it, but I told him that even I would've been hard pressed not to do the same thing. Veritaserum is supposed to be the one thing that is impossible to lie under," Harry explained.

"So how did you confess?" Sirius asked.

"At the trial, Voldemort managed to take control of my mind for a moment with the help of Malfoy, who was in the audience under a Polyjuice potion. Once Voldemort took hold, he forced me to lie. So I was convicted and thrown into prison."

Sirius's jaw clenched with anger and asked, "How long were you there before you escaped? How did you escape?"

"Eighteen months, not counting the month I was detained for my trial and I didn't escape. Apparently the Malfoys; Lucius and Draco, were captured and questioned several weeks ago. They confessed to Voldemort's plan to frame me. Draco was the one to kill the students and he framed me. Once it was known, I was taken out of Azkaban and sent to Hogwarts where I was to heal," Harry said with contempt.

Sirius nodded his head, looked at Harry thoughtfully and asked, "Who did Malfoy kill?"

Harry glanced at Ron then turned back to Sirius. "Colin Creevey, Cho Chang and," Harry paused and uttered softly, "Ginny Weasley."

Sirius gasped and looked over at Ron. He gave him a look of sorrow and compassion. "I'm sorry, Ron."

Ron's jaw clenched a moment as he held back the pain. He gave Sirius a grim smile. "Thanks, Padfoot," he said softly.

Sirius turned back to Harry and asked, "Why did you need to heal? Were you hurt?"

Harry snorted with amusement as Ron began to laugh. He even heard Severus give a chuckle or two. "Apparently, I'm catatonic with very little hope of getting better," he intoned solemnly, mirth dancing in his eyes.

Sirius began to laugh wickedly and asked, "Dumbledore thinks you're catatonic? Oh, that's priceless."

Harry chuckled. "And as long as Dumbledore thinks that, the more time I have to learn and to prepare."

"What do you mean prepare?" Sirius asked.

"Right now, Ron and I have Dumbledore at a standstill. He can't do anything to me without losing his magic and we have documents proving his theft from my estate. For now, that'll keep him quiet, but I don't believe that he'll just sit idly by and do nothing. So in the time that I have before he strikes, I have to prepare for him and Voldemort," Harry explained.

"How would Dumbledore lose his magic?" Sirius asked and Harry proceeded to tell him about the contract that he had Dumbledore unwittingly sign. He also explained how Dumbledore lost control of Harry's assets and Sirius had to laugh at their ingenuity.

"So that's what pissed Dumbledore off. He said something about not being able to overturn a contract. He also doesn't think you're the threat right now, Harry. He told me that it was the 'other one' he was more concerned about," Sirius informed them.

Harry turned to Ron, delight showing on his face. "Ron, you have the Headmaster worried. Good for you! We each have our own little Dark Lord after us. Ahh...the joy of it!" he sighed whimsically.

Ron snorted with mock annoyance and said, "Sure, give me the old guy." Harry laughed.

"Harry," Sirius started quietly, "where was Remus during all of this? He's supposed to be your godfather."

Harry glanced at him sadly before looking away, his jaw clenched in anger. "I never knew that Remus was supposed to be my godfather. Molly kept that little fact from me. Whether it was by her choice or Dumbledore's, I'm not sure, but I had no clue. I'm not even sure if Remus knew or not. Regardless of that fact, Remus didn't believe in my innocence. He told me at the trial that you would've been ashamed of me, that if you'd lived, you would've killed me yourself. He proceeded to tell me that I should've been drowned at birth to save all of you the trouble. He turned his back on me, Padfoot," he said, swallowing the hurt he felt. "I don't know why he didn't believe me. He hurt me, Padfoot."

Sirius sat frozen a moment then growled in rage, "That bastard! He was supposed to be your new godfather. He was supposed to take care of you. How could he turn on you like that? You were the last of our family. If I ever get a hold of him, I'll kill him. Then I'll have a damn good reason to be sent to Azkaban."

"No!" Harry exclaimed, his face panicked. "You can't kill him. He may have hurt me, but I don't want him dead. I can't lose you again, Sirius."

Sirius crossed his hands and pouted. "Fine, then I'll have Snape kill him for me," he said cheerfully.

"I'd be happy to," Severus smirked. "In fact, I have this new potion that involves silver nitrate and..."

"NO! Damnit! No killing Remus," Harry exclaimed.

Severus slumped back in his chair with a pout and began to mutter, "Fine, ruin all my fun. Maybe I can torture him instead?" he asked with a hopeful look at Harry and Sirius chuckled.

Harry began to shake his head then paused. He frowned thoughtfully, nodded, and said, "All right you can torture him, but nothing too harmful or permanent."

Severus grumbled some and Sirius butted in with a perky, "Fine." He looked at Severus and grinned slyly. "We'll talk later." Severus gave him a regal nod and looked satisfied.

Harry looked at them and shook his head in exasperation. "They act like children," he mumbled.

Severus snorted and glared at Harry. "Oh, and who contributed to driving a goblin mad?" he asked with sarcasm.

Harry grinned as Ron laughed merrily. Sirius looked between the two of them and asked impatiently, "What? What did you do?"

Harry explained what they done to the goblin they had dubbed as Susie. Sirius started laughing and looked Harry and Ron with pride. "You two are true Marauders. If you had an animagus form, I would induct you into the club."

Harry looked Ron with a mischievous smile and got off the bed. Sirius looked at him, confused, as he backed away from the bed. With a wicked grin, he transformed into his animagus form. He shook his body, jumped on the bed, and began to lick Sirius on the face. He turned and yipped at Ron and Severus, who were looking at him with awe.

Sirius lifted his hand to pet him. "When did this happen? How long did it take?" Sirius asked, happiness filling his face. Harry quivered with pleasure and literally melted onto the bed as Sirius continued to pet him. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he wiggled with delight when Sirius scratched him behind his ear.

"Wow, Harry, you're beautiful. You're a silver wolf with green eyes. There's even a tuft of black fur where your scar would be. Do you have a name yet?" Sirius asked.

Harry sat up and shifted back to his human form. He shook his head and said, "No, I haven't really thought about it. It came as a surprise to me when I gained my form and since then thinking of a name has been my last concern."

"What do you mean a surprise?" Sirius asked.

Harry explained to him about how was able to use wandless magic in Azkaban. He told him about how he spontaneously transformed one night without the aide of a potion. Sirius stared at him, his expression stunned, and Harry poked his godfather. "Padfoot? Hey, Padfoot? Yo! Paaaadddfffooootttt," Harry sang out and waved his hand in front of his godfather's face. Nothing happened; he didn't move nor did he blink.

"I think I broke him," he grinned at Ron.

Ron grinned back. "It looks like it. So, what's your animagus name?'

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I'm open to ideas."

"How about Silver?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "Too obvious."

"Prata?" Severus suggested.

"Are you calling me a prat?" Harry asked with mock outrage.

"No, you dunderhead. It's Portuguese for silver."

"Oh, well thanks, but no. It sounds like an insult every time someone says my name," Harry said.

Severus smirked and asked, "And your point is?" Harry rolled his eyes as he grinned at the Potions Master.

"Argent?" Ron asked.

Harry frowned in thought and asked, "Isn't that French for silver?"

"Yep," Ron answered.

Harry shook his head. "Again, too obvious."

"Argentum?" Severus inquired.

"That would be?" Harry asked.

"Latin for silver," Severus grinned.

"Silber?" Ron wondered with amusement. "It's German for silver."

"Ron, again with the obvious," Harry said with a mock growl.

"Argento?" Severus asked, obviously smothering a smile. "It's Italian for Silver."

"You guys," Harry whined. "They all sound alike and are obvious.

"Plata? It's Spanish for silver," Sirius piped up. He'd finally gotten over his shock and decided to throw his two-knuts worth in.

"Still sounds too much like an insult," Harry explained with a grimace.

"Celevon," Dobby mentioned. Harry looked at him with surprise.

"Celevon?" Harry asked and rolled the word around on his tongue.

Dobby nodded. "It's Elvish for silver."

"You have your own language?" Harry asked.

Dobby nodded eagerly and explained, "We do, but that's not from my language. It's from the High Elves. They left this land many centuries ago, but my people kept records of their language. I just thought I would suggest it."

Harry looked at him with surprise and asked, "Dobby did you know that you're talking differently."

"I know of this. I have growth spurts if you will, due to my magic. Since its no longer being suppressed, many things are changing for me. My intelligence is one of them," Dobby explained.

"Wow, Dobby that's great. Just to let you know though, you were always a smart in the first place," Harry said with a smile.

Dobby blushed and hid his face, embarrassed by Harry's complement. "Dobby thanks you Harry," he stammered, reverting to his original speech pattern. Dobby cleared his throat, grinning sheepishly. "As you can tell, it's not fully integrated yet. I will fall back on it when I'm emotional. It should be another couple of weeks before its permanent. Until then, I will change speech patterns, depending on the situation."

"Gotcha," Harry said.

"You never said Harry, did you like that name?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded his head eagerly. "Yes, I did. It's different. I think I'll keep it. Thanks, Dobby."

Dobby blushed. "You're welcome, Harry."

"So, what else has been going on in the last three years that I should know about?" Sirius asked.

"Did you know that you're a free man?" Ron asked cheerfully.

Sirius' head whipped around and he stared at Ron. "What?" he asked.

"Yep, a couple of years ago, Wormtail was captured and questioned under Veritaserum. He told everything, about how you weren't the Secret Keeper and how you hadn't betrayed the Potters. He also told the Aurors about how he framed you for the deaths of the Muggles that he killed. After hearing that, the Ministry declared you innocent of all charges. You're a free man. Of course, you're supposed to be dead too. Wonder how that's going to work out," Ron said thoughtfully.

"You think Dumbledore's going to try something?" Severus asked.

"Not if he doesn't want us to go public about his theft he won't," Harry growled.

Ron nodded in agreement. "You know that's only going to hold him off for so long. We need something more on him. Something that will show what kind of man he really is."

"Well, I could contribute to the evidence, but again, it's not enough," Sirius said. "I think I need to lay low for now."

"Yeah, but where are we going to get the evidence we need? No one wants to believe that Dumbledore is anything but the kind, gentle, benevolent man that he portrays. The Ministry and the Wizarding World will look at us like we're crazy," Harry said with irritation.

They were quiet a moment before Sirius piped up, "How about you tell me about the changes in your appearance. I thought it was your mother coming through, but now I'm not so sure."

Harry looked at Ron and grinned at him. "Ron and I went through the Blood Rite. We bound ourselves together as brothers. After the Rite, we noticed some subtle differences in our appearances. I took some of his; like the red hair, lighter skin, the freckles, speckles of brown in my eyes whereas Ron took some of mine; the black hair, darker skin, less freckles and green speckles in his eyes. We also have a bond in the back of our minds where we can feel each other's emotions, if they're strong enough. Ron's magic is also a bit stronger just as it was when you accepted him into your family," Harry explained.

Sirius looked at Ron and smiled in delight. "That's right, you're a Black now. That makes you my son, errr...no, nephew. I'm way too young to have a son," Sirius said with a sniff.

Ron laughed at Sirius' antics. "But Dad," he whined.

"We'll have none of that my boy," Sirius said with a stern look.

Harry snickered. "Threaten to send him to bed without his supper. That'll get to him."

Ron looked at Harry, his expression horrified and betrayed. "No! Don't take away my food."

Harry and Sirius laughed, while Severus rolled his eyes. Dobby frowned disapprovingly at the comment. "Ron needs to eat. No taking away his food," he commanded sternly, shaking at finger at Harry and Sirius.

"I would never do that, Dobby. Ron would be crushed," Sirius informed him and Dobby gave him a smile of approval.

"I do have a question though, why did you decide to do the Rite? Not that I mind you being part of the family, but why?" Sirius asked.

Ron's expression turned serious. "Let's just say that Harry wasn't the only one that was betrayed by his friends and family. My former family didn't like the fact that I believed in Harry. They took every opportunity the last nineteen months to let me know that. When Harry released from Azkaban, I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to leave my family. Plus, Harry needed me and I was going to help him."

"Have you talked to any of your former family since the Rite?" Sirius asked Ron.

"No, and I don't want to, except maybe Percy. His breaking away from the family makes much more sense now. We'll see. Just because I broke away from the Weasleys doesn't mean that Percy will have anything to do with me. I'm still hanging out with Harry and that was one of the reasons he broke away from the family. Him and Dumbledore," he said then paused. He frowned thoughtfully before saying, "You know, he obviously disliked Dumbledore after he graduated Hogwarts. I always thought it was because of Fudge, but what if it's more? What if Percy found out something about Dumbledore?"

Harry looked at Ron sharply and nodded thoughtfully before saying, "Not sure, but it's something we can check out if you want. That would mean you would have to get a hold of Percy without letting Dumbledore know about it. You know he has spies in the Ministry."

"I'll see if I can talk to him later," Ron said.

Severus stood and looked at them. "Well, if we've discussed everything, then Harry and Ron need to get ready for their lessons."

"Lessons?" Sirius asked.

"Severus is teaching Ron and me the spells we need to learn to prepare for Dumbledore and Voldemort. Plus, I have nineteen months of lessons that I missed while I was in Azkaban," Harry explained.

Sirius perked up. "If I had a wand I could help. I was once an Auror, you know. Think you could use some help?"

Severus looked at him thoughtfully, and then nodded his head. "I think if we alternate, we can teach them what they need to learn."

"Great! Then I'm going to get dressed and go to Ollivander's to get a wand. I'll be ready to teach late," Sirius said excitedly.

"NO! Mutt stays in bed. Mutt was injured and must heal. Mutt will do nothing until tomorrow," Dobby growled.

"Dobby," Sirius whined. "I'm fine."

"Don't make Dobby tie Mutt to the bed because Dobby will," he said fiercely.

Sirius tried to stare Dobby down, but the house-elf glared at him until Sirius sighed with annoyance. "Fine, I won't do anything until tomorrow. But you have to entertain me because if I have to stay in the bed and do nothing, I'm going to go mental."

Dobby calmed down. "I can do that."

"Harry, Ron let's go find a place to duel," Severus said before turning, and walking out of the room.

"Later, Padfoot," Harry called out.

"See you at lunch, Celevon," Sirius replied.

Together Harry and Ron walked out of the bedroom, leaving Sirius and Dobby talking about pranks.

As Harry walked out of the room he heard Sirius exclaim, "You laced the Headmaster's lemon drops with what?" then burst into laughter. Harry looked at Ron, an exasperated look on his face. "Remind me to ask them what that was about at lunch please." Ron grinned and nodded.

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Caedo - Latin - to cut
Celevon - Elvish for Silver






O-------o--------o-------O

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