Sacrifice

Hi everyone :)

Too...Many...Plot bunnies...O.o Why won't they leave me alone? Why? WHY?
As you may have gathered from that, I have yet another new idea for a fic. This one about the next generation, ie, Albus, Scorpius, and Rose. Not sure if anything will actually come of it but the idea certainly is distracting me from the present -.-
Enough grumbling, on with the chapter.

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For weeks the re-trial of Sirius Black was all the people of the Wizarding world wanted to talk about. It was shocking! The evidence that had once seemed so concrete, so completely damning, was suddenly worth nothing with the revealing of Peter Pettigrew, the man who was supposed to have been completely obliterated.

It had been such a shock to everyone, even more so as it involved Harry Potter. It was well known that the saviour was back in the Wizarding world but because he had been kept within the safety of Hogwarts' walls almost constantly, very little news about the teenager had leaked out. So the fact the boy was part of Peter Pettigrew's discovery just made the story all the more interesting and gossip worthy.

Of course, with the sudden re-entry of the man Sirius Black was supposed to have killed, a retrial was immediately called. The actual trial, however, went terribly slowly. It had started just as September was ending and had dragged on for over a month. But finally, on the 12th of November 1995, the verdict was finally declared:

Sirius Black was found not guilty on all charges and would therefore be released from Azkaban immediately. Yes, Sirius Black was finally a free man.

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Harry wasn't really playing any attention to where he was going as he walked down one of the corridors of Hogwarts, his nose stuck in a song book. He was eager to learn the words to the song he and Severus were concentrating on at that moment in time and so he was taking every chance he got to look them over and try to memorise them. That included as he walked to and from his own rooms to his teacher's. Unfortunately, so deep was his concentration that he really didn't notice he was about to bump straight into someone until the actual bump had occurred.

The collision was nothing serious, it didn't even throw Harry off of his balance, yet his spoke an apology nonetheless. "Oh, I'm sorry," he started but paused when he looked up and saw who it was he had bumped into. "Remus, hello." He greeted with a happy smile.

In the months that had passed, he had spent more time with his fellow werewolf and had come to really enjoy the man's company. Despite what Fenrir said about his Childe, Remus was a lovely person and very kind and caring. They often had tea together during lunch times and they talked about all sorts of things, not just about the past or werewolf issues.

"Hello, Harry." The man greeted him in return. "Interesting book?"

"Oh, no, I'm just trying to memorise some song lyrics." The teenager explained just as he noticed exactly how the professor was dressed; wearing a coat and carrying along a suitcase. "Are you leaving?" He questioned, his tone reflecting the sadness he felt at that idea.

"Just for a few days." Remus reassured. "I'm going to be staying with Sirius to help him get settled."

"Ah, yes, Severus told me that Sirius Black's a friend of yours. I'm really glad that he's finally been allowed his freedom; it must've been awful spending so long in prison when he was innocent." Harry sympathised sincerely.

"Harry, do you know who Sirius Black is to you?"

The boy blinked in surprise. "I didn't realise he was anything to me."

"When you were just a baby, your parents named him your godfather." Remus revealed gently.

Harry gave a slow nod but said nothing, mostly because he had no idea what a godfather was.

"So he's the only real family you have left."

The teenager bit his tongue from saying that Fenrir, and even Severus, were his family. Although it would've been a truth in his eyes, Harry knew that it would be a hard thing for Remus to hear. He didn't want to make the man sad so he kept his opinions to himself.

"And I was wondering if you might like to come with me and meet him; I know he'd just love to meet you."

Harry's eyes widened in complete surprise at being asked that. Go with Remus to visit someone who had once been a convicted killer? Simply because he was somehow loosely related to him? He didn't think so!

"I, uh," he began hesitantly, not quite sure how he could phrase his refusal in a polite but firm manner. "It's a bit too short notice really. I'm sorry, Remus, but I really need more warning about stuff like this."

"Oh, of course," Remus quickly agreed, sounding immediately apologetic. "I just thought I'd offer since I'd bumped into you."

"I'm not saying never, just not now." Harry reassured, feeling the need to try and cheer the man up if he could.

Thankfully, Remus smiled then, perhaps because he knew what the teenager was trying to do for him. "I'll have to remember to bring it up on another day then."

Harry gave a smile in return but inside he was cringing; why couldn't he have just said a firm "no"?

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It was when the sky was dark and the moon light was bright in the sky that Harry and Fenrir had their best times outside. Walking outside on a cloudy night was better than nothing, but on a cloudless night, when the moon light was strong and bright, that was their favourite time to be outside. That was how the moon was that night, as they wandered through the grounds of Hogwarts, Fenrir as naked as always while Harry wore his robe to keep out the late-autumn chill. The teenager walked close to his Alpha's side and the guiding hand on the back of his neck was present as always.

They conversed quietly between themselves, so quietly that they barely disturbed the silence of the night. Their topic of conversation; Sirius Black. Fenrir had already explained what a godfather was so Harry now knew just how much of a "family member" the man was. Now, the conversation had switched from who Sirius was to whether or not Harry should meet him.

"I mean, I know he was found not guilty at his retrial and so that means he's innocent and all that but, well, there has to be a certain something about a person to make others think he's capable of such things in the first place." Harry reasoned.

Fenrir simply gave a small grunt.

"Do you think I should meet him?"

"Not up to me."

Harry sighed sadly at that, his gaze falling to look down at the ground even as his head tilted to the side to lean against his Alpha's arm. "That seems to be your answer to everything recently."

"Because so much is out of my hands." Fenrir muttered bitterly, obviously not liking that fact in the least.

"What's your opinion then? Because I know you have one."

The Alpha glanced down at his small mate before he gave a light huff. "There wouldn't be any harm in you meeting him eventually, but I have to be there and it has to be here, at the school. Snape's gotta be there too."

"Why so much protection?" Harry questioned curiously.

"A guy who's been in Azkaban that long when he knows he's innocent; he ain't gonna be stable."

"You think he might do something?"

"Wouldn't put it past him."

"Like what?"

"You can't second guess people like him," Fenrir rumbled. "They're capable of anything."

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November's full moon seemed to come out of nowhere, what with Harry being distracted by the happenings with Sirius Black. Remus had yet to offer to arrange a meeting again but the thought of the man was never far away from the teenager's mind. It was a constant source of worry for him, and it didn't matter how many times Fenrir and Severus told him not to worry about it, he couldn't help his restless mind. Now that Fenrir was away for the full moon, it was even worse as there wasn't anyone to distract him for most of the time. That's why, at that moment, Harry was hurrying through the corridors of the school, even more eager than usual to see Severus; the man created a wonderful distraction.

Unfortunately, before Harry could even get anywhere near the dungeons, he was distracted in a completely different way. A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder from behind and, holding in a scream of complete shock, the dark haired teenager turned around to see who it was. Much to his dread and annoyance, it turned out to be Draco Malfoy, offering a charming smile and a gaze that most would probably find disarming. Harry didn't. All he could think about in the blond's presence was how to get away.

"Hello Harry, it's been a while since I've seen you." Draco greeted pleasantly.

"Uh, yeah, well, you know, I've had things to do, professors to see, Alphas to keep happy." Harry said lightly as he tried to dip out of the other teenager's hold.

Draco was having none of it and simply tightened his grip. "What's the matter?" He asked with a light, slightly hurt, frown.

"Nothing's the matter," Harry quickly assured. "I'm just..."

A strange popping sound behind him made Harry pause then. He frowned lightly in confusion and glanced over his shoulder. The scream from initially being scared by Draco finally came out as he was shocked by the small, apparently withered, creature that was standing a foot behind him. He all but threw himself at Draco and then quickly put the blond between himself and the creature.

"What the Hell is that!" He cried, peering around Draco's side and clutching onto his sleeve tightly.

"It's a house-elf. Haven't you even see one before?" The blond inquired.

Harry mutely shook his head, his eyes not straying from the sight of the strange creature.

Draco glanced to Harry and, upon seeing that the part-werewolf really was unnerved by the house-elf's presence, he turned an annoyed look onto the creature. "What are you doing here?" He demanded of it irritably.

"Mimi is very sorry, Young Sirs," the house-elf practically squeaked. "But Mimi is here to tell Mr Harry Potter that Mr Professor Dumbledore Sir requests his presence in his office."

"Message received, you're dismissed." Draco replied snootily.

The house-elf didn't leave straight away, instead looking to Harry. The dark haired boy gave a small nod, to show that he had understood the message, and that was obviously enough for the creature. Without further word, the house-elf vanished with the same pop it had made when it had arrived.

Very slowly, as though he was half expecting the creature to reappear very suddenly, Harry carefully stepped out from behind Draco, eyeing the spot where the house-elf had stood warily. He'd never actually seen one before and was quite startled by the appearance. Before, he had heard the word "elf" and had simply imagine ethereal beings of incredible beauty with moon light skin and golden hair. That creature he had just seen was about as far away from his idea of an elf as anything could possibly be.

As Harry got over the surprise and he calmed down, he became aware of the fact that Draco was staring at him rather intently. The part-werewolf's eyes immediately fell to the ground and an embarrassed blush coloured his cheeks. "Uh, sorry about that."

"It was no problem. I can only imagine how strange it is to see a house-elf for the first time when you're not used to such things." The blond said sympathetically.

Harry nodded a few times as he slowly began to inch himself away. "Well, I, uh, better go and see what the headmaster wants." He said by way of excusing himself.

Of course, Draco could hardly stop him but his expression made it clear that he definitely didn't want Harry to leave so soon. "Perhaps I'll see you later?" He asked just a little too eagerly.

"Yeah, perhaps. But for now, if you'll excuse me..." Harry trailed off before he quickly turned and hurried back down the corridor in the way he had originally come. He heard a farewell being called after him but he didn't acknowledge it; best not encourage anything that might lead to a friendship after all.

The dark haired teenager pretty much knew the school like the back of his hand at that point, what with having lived there and only there for over a year. So, it took him very little time to reach the headmaster's office and he even knew the password. After quickly saying it and then a brief walk up the stairs, Harry was in front of the office door.

He was just about to give a small knock when something made him pause; a raised voice. Intrigued, Harry leaned in a little closer to the door to try and hear exactly what was going on. It didn't take long for the two raised voices to become recognisable; Severus and that male Auror, Kingsley. It was hard to make out exactly what they were saying, the words were muffled during the journey from their mouths, through the door and then to Harry's ear. Both sounded annoyed, however, so it was no doubt some sort of argument. The boy frowned at that. It took a lot to get Severus to raise his voice and the mere fact that it was Kingsley who was apparently prompting it just made him dislike the man even more than he did previously.

Having listened to the muffled voices for quite long enough, Harry lifted his hand and gave a few sharp knocks on the door. That immediately silence the two men in the office and for a few seconds there was nothing but silence. Eventually, he heard a voice call out to him, sounding clearer as it was raised to a volume to purposely travel through the door.

"Come in Harry." It was Dumbledore.

Harry carefully opened the door and then stepped inside the office behind. Inside, he was greeted with the sight of four adults waiting for him: Professor Dumbledore; Severus; Kingsley; and Tonks. Severus and Kingsley both still looked rather annoyed with whatever had just been happening, Tonks looked like she was about to slap her partner by whom she was standing next to, while Dumbledore was looking as serene and jolly as ever. The entire situation was more than a little suspicious and Harry lingered by the door because of it.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Harry." The headmaster said pleasantly from where he sat behind his desk.

"S'no problem." Harry murmured as he eyed the male Auror warily.

"No need to stand in the door way, come sit down, dear boy." Dumbledore invited, gesturing towards the chairs in front of his desk.

The teenager's eyes flickered towards Severus for just long enough to determine that the man wanted Harry to at least hear everything out. Only then did he slowly start to move over to the chair nearest the Potions Master.

"What's this all about exactly?" He asked carefully upon reaching the chair.

"Nothing to worry about Harry, nothing at all." The oldest wizard in the room reassured.

"Then the Aurors are here because...?" Harry asked a little warily as he slowly sank down into the chair.

"They're just here to give me their opinion on something." Dumbledore said reassuringly, though Harry knew there was something the headmaster wasn't saying. "Tell me, Harry, have you thought any more on the subject of visiting Sirius Black?"

"Oh, um, I," Harry stumbled awkwardly.

"He is your godfather, you know."

"Yes, I know he is, I just..."

"We were thinking," the elderly wizard interrupted then, cutting off anything the teenager might have been on the verge of saying. "That perhaps you'd like to see him today? What with Remus also away and Severus teaching classes most of the time, there's not really anyone to keep you company here."

"It's, uh, a bit sudden, don't you think?" Harry said rather weakly.

"Perhaps you could go tomorrow then?"

"I, um, I appreciate you all thinking about my interests and trying to help me, but I don't think I want to meet my godfather in the next few days."

"You don't want to get to know the last link you have to your parents?" Kingsley asked then, sounding a little put out.

"No, it's not that," Harry reassured. "It's just, I don't really feel comfortable making a decision like that without my Alpha."

Severus was, of course, far too mature to stoop so low as to say "I told you so". However, upon Harry speaking, a rather smug look that just screamed that phrase crossed his face. If it was noticed by either Dumbledore or the Aurors, however, then none of them commented upon it.

"I'm sure Merick wouldn't mind if you left the school grounds for only a few hours." Dumbledore assured calmly.

"You obviously don't know him very well if that's what you truly believe." Harry criticised. "But anyway, even if he didn't mind, I would. I'm not some weak minded child who needs his approval before I do anything. I value his opinion and his advice is always in my best interest, unlike your advice, and the advice of your Aurors."

"We've been really patient up until now..." Kingsley started then, sounding angry, as he stepped forwards slightly.

"Kingsley, I don't think you should..." Tonks tried to pacify him but was quickly cut off by the man.

"No, I've had enough of it." He told the young woman before he returned his attention to the teenager. "You and your precious Alpha keep making out as though we're the bad guys, as though we're the ones you should be wary of. We're trying to help you, for Merlin's sake! But how can we when you won't let us?"

"Because, apparently, your idea of helping us is suppressing us." Harry answered back, the slightest hint of anger starting to creep into his tone. "How can we trust you, any of you, when you limit our time outside and separate us so completely every full moon, the one time of each month that we need to be together the most?"

"Because it's for your own good!" Kingsley almost yelled, obviously losing his temper just as quickly as Harry was.

"That is a matter of opinion!" The teenager retorted as he stood from his seat angrily. "Perhaps you'd like to experience the frustration of being locked away from the full moon when you have werewolf blood in your veins. I have to every month, yet I put up with it. Why? For the sake of peace! Because I'm smart enough to understand that this is the safest place for me at the moment. But that does not mean that I want to live my life according to your standards! You don't know me! You don't understand me and you don't respect my way of life!

"You all want me to be this hero, this saviour, this wizard. But I'm not and I don't want to be! I'm not here to fight your war for you, and I'm not here to convert myself into a perfect little wizard. I'm here for one reason only; to stay safe, because some guy is trying to kill me for who knows what reason."

Harry paused then to take in a deep breath. When he started to talk again, it was in a much calmer tone. "I'm grateful for your protection, I'm grateful you've allowed my Alpha stay with me, and I'm grateful that you care enough to want what's best for me. But I'm telling you this now; stop it. You're pushing things to far. If I want to meet my godfather, then I'll tell you so. Do not try and force the subject on me anymore." With that said, he turned and left the room without further word.

Once outside and with the door shut behind him, Harry rubbed his forehead and winced a little, sincerely wishing he didn't live to regret what he had just said. Back inside the office, he could hear that Kingsley was immediately beginning to yell, no doubt highly insulted and indignant about what he had just heard. Sometimes the truth was hard to bear after all.

Although Harry knew he'd be going against Dumbledore's rules, he was past really caring and so he made the decision to head outside to see Fenrir. He needed to be with the man, he needed the safe and reassuring presence, he needed to be told that he had done the right thing and that things were still going to be all right despite the fact he had snapped at the room of adults. He wasted no more time in heading down the stairs and hurrying outside, heading straight into the forest Fenrir was always banished to for the three days of the full moon each month.

Unfortunately, he completely underestimated just how hard it was to find his Alpha inside the huge expanse that was the forest. It felt like he searched for a good hour with no luck before he finally gave up. Feeling even worse than before, he found a fallen log and plonked himself down on it before proceeding to sulk. He rested his elbows on his knees and then held his chin in both of his hands. Then he just sat, and sulked.

"'Arry?" The familiar voice of Hagrid said no more than two minutes later.

Harry turned his head to look behind himself and saw the half giant was lumbering towards him, a look of concern on his face. Harry gave a sigh and turned around to sit properly, staring down at the ground slightly morosely.

"Wha' ya doin' out 'ere, eh?" The huge man asked lightly as he came to sit beside the teenager. "Ya ain't supposed to be ou' 'ere, ya know."

"Yeah, I know." Harry confirmed.

"Then wha's the matter, eh?"

"I just yelled at that Auror, Shacklebolt...And kinda at the headmaster as well."

"Ah." Was all Hagrid said to that, his tone knowing.

"I don't like arguing with the headmaster or the Aurors, I really don't, it's just that he makes it so hard sometimes." Harry tried to defend his actions, partly to Hagrid but mostly to himself.

"'E just wants what's best for ya, 'Arry, that's all any of us want." Hagrid assured sympathetically.

Harry sighed again then. He knew people just wanted what they thought was best for him, but what they thought would be for the best and what was actually for the best were two completely different things. They needed to all stop being so stubborn and insistent that they were right and take a moment to really look at him and his life. If they did, they would surely see that he was happy and that Fenrir was what was best for him.

Hagrid gave a heavy, sympathetic sigh then and brought a hand up to give the teenager beside him a few comforting pats on his back, just under his right shoulder. They were surprisingly gentle for such a massive man and Harry couldn't stop the small smile that made its way onto his face.

Before the warm scene could progress any further, however, a rustling in the shrubbery ahead caught Harry's attention and made him look over in its direction. He was just in time to see the sight of his Alpha come lumbering through the plants. He looked rather tired and drained but that took nothing away from his usual air of dominance intimidating presence.

"There you are!" Harry gasped with clear relief and in a second was away from the half-giant in favour of rushing to his Alpha.

When the teenager reached the adult, he was easily caught and hefted up into the Alpha's arms, his slim legs immediately wrapping around the thick waist. Harry's arms looped around his mate's neck and he looked into his eyes anxiously. Before he could speak, however, Fenrir beat him to it.

"What's happened?" He demanded, knowing that something had to be the matter to prompt Harry to disobey Dumbledore's rule.

Harry quickly went through everything that had just happened then, going into detail about what he, himself, had said and what had been said to him. Fenrir listened in silence and they remained still, completely ignoring the fact that Hagrid was still in their company.

When the teenager had finished his recollection and stopped talking, Fenrir gave an approving nod. "You did the right thing." He praised gruffly before he glared off to the side. "Might've known they'd wait until I wasn't around to try and push you into it."

"Now 'ang on just a second," Hagrid said then, sounding annoyed. "I'm sure it was nothing like that. We all just want what's best for youn' 'Arry."

That got nothing but a blank stare from Fenrir for several moments before he finally spoke. "You're still here because...?"

Hagrid seemed quite taken aback by that comment and he was obviously stumped on how to retort. Not that Fenrir cared, it just made leaving easier. He turned then, still carrying Harry, and moved back off in the direction he had originally come from. They weren't called after and for all they knew, Hagrid remained standing where he was, rooted to the spot.

The two werewolves remained silent as they moved through the forest. It was only when they came to a large tree and Fenrir sat down on the ground, keeping Harry sitting in his lap, that their silence was broken.

"What should we do, Fenrir?" The teenager asked quietly, leaning forward so his head rested on the man's shoulder.

"We'll wait until the full moon's over." Fenrir decided reasonably, one of his hands unconsciously coming up to comb through his young mate's hair. "I'll be able to sort things out and those lot will have calmed down as well, so we'll be in a better position to bargain."

"I'm not going to get out of it, am I?" Harry asked quietly.

"Do you want to?"

The teenager just gave a little shrug.

"Seems like we need to wait until after the full moon for another reason as well; so you can take the time to make up your bloody mind." The Alpha grunted.

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After a lot of debating and a lot of arguing, an agreement was made. Harry would meet Sirius just as long as the meeting took place at Hogwarts, with Fenrir present, and Severus. Dumbledore had agreed on the condition that Remus and himself be present and the meeting took place in his office. Fenrir had seen no reason to fight that and so they had made their deal.

That had been one week ago, and the arranged date to meet Sirius Black had arrived.

"Fenrir, if you don't hurry up, I'm going to leave without you." Harry threatened as he furiously dried his hair with a towel, running into the living room from out of the bathroom.

"You're always going on at me about my hygiene; when I start making an effort, you nag." Fenrir's voice came from out of the bathroom.

"For one thing, I am not nagging, so shut up!" Harry yelled petulantly as he threw his towel to the side. "Second of all, you're only spending so long in the bath to make us even more late than we already are!"

"So we're a few minutes late."

"More like ten minutes late already!" The teenager cried. "I can't believe you insisted on mating just when I was getting out of the bath!"

"Didn't hear you complaining when you were lubing up your arse for me." Fenrir's smirking voice floated out of the bathroom.

Harry glared in the bathroom's direction and didn't bother to dignify that remark with a reply. Of course he hadn't been complaining, not when Fenrir was giving him one of the most amazing bouts of oral sex he'd ever had in his life. How was he supposed to be sensible when that tongue was doing all sorts to him?

"I'm leaving now," Harry declared as he marched over to the portrait hole.

"What?" Fenrir demanded, the sound of sloshing water accompanying the sound.

"You can follow on when you feel like you've wasted enough time." The teenager instructed in such a way that would definitely get him some sort of scolding when they were in private again. He was past caring though; he refused to be later than he already was.

The rarely trod path of Dumbledore's office was run through as fast as Harry was able, which was extremely fast indeed. It was a mere two minutes later than Harry stood in front of the statue guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office. The teenager spoke the password and didn't even wait for the gargoyle to fully move before he was squeezing through the opening and taking the stairs two at a time.

By the time he reached the top, he was admittedly rather out of breath but he didn't give himself time to recover. He politely knocked on the door though didn't wait for an answer before he pushed it open, the process taking much more effort than usual as Harry's tired limbs protested. "Sorry I'm late," he gasped out as he almost fell into the room.

"That's quite all right, Harry." Dumbledore's voice reassured. "Are you all right, though?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The teenager panted as he guided the door shut behind himself. "Just ran all the way here, I'll be fine in a minute." He reassured as he finally looked up to the other occupants of the room.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk as usual, Severus was standing to the headmaster's left while Remus was standing just off to the side on the elderly wizard's right. Then, there was the unknown man sitting on one of the chairs in front of the desk, his body angled around so he could look at Harry. The man had shoulder length black hair that, although clean, looked limp and lifeless; his skin was a sickly pale and looked as though it craved sun light; his clothes were sophisticated but old and rather worn and somewhat tattered; and then there was his face which was tired, his blue eyes dim with dark circles under them. But the expression on his face, that was the most striking of all. He looked partly ecstatic, partly disbelieving, and partly on the verge of tears.

There was no need to actually tell Harry who this stranger was; it was more than obvious that it was Sirius Black.

"Harry..." The man breathed in awe as he slowly rose from his seat.

Harry was, admittedly, a little unnerved by the man's appearance and his apparent overwhelming emotion but he did well to hide it. He opened his mouth to speak a greeting and was about to offer his hand to shake when, very abruptly, Sirius rushed forwards and seized the teenager in a tight hug. Harry didn't fight the hug (mostly because he was frozen from shock) but he didn't return it either and was feeling rather overwhelmed by the fact that he was being hugged by someone he had known for less than a minute.

"Oh, I thought I'd never see you again." Sirius murmured, his voice emotional, before he pulled back just enough to look at the boy's face which he held in between his hands. "You look so much like your father."

The teenager could think of nothing else to do but offer a weak smile. What else could he do? Here was a man who had obviously been through a lot in his life and who was also obviously already very affectionate towards Harry. And, Harry couldn't help but think that maybe the man might've even been suffering from a few mental scars as well, as he really did seem just a little too emotional.

"Harry, this is your godfather, Sirius Black." Dumbledore introduced needlessly.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you." Harry said rather lamely, not really knowing what else to say.

"Oh, I can't believe how much you've grown." Sirius murmured, acting as though he hadn't even heard what his godson had said. "So much like your father," he murmured affectionately as he stroked the boy's cheeks with his thumbs. "Except for your eyes; you have your mother's eyes."

A more genuine smile crossed Harry's face then and that only seemed to delight Sirius even more. He hugged the teenager to his chest tightly, burying his nose in his hair. Harry, who had always liked hugs and cuddles and the such, couldn't help but sigh and close his eyes in bliss. This man might be almost a complete stranger and might've been a little odd, but he was really good at hugging.

"I finally have you, like I was supposed to." Sirius murmured happily then, gently rocking the boy in his arms as though Harry was much younger than he actually was.

The teenager's eyes popped back open upon hearing that and he felt the urge to correct the man. However, before he could, the door to the office burst open to reveal a very irritated looking Fenrir. He strode in and slammed the door shut and then pinned a hard look onto Harry.

"You and me are gonna have words later, Pup." He threatened.

It wasn't much of a threat, Harry had heard much worse, and it did nothing more than make the teenager want to sigh and roll his eyes.

Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't as used to the massive werewolf's threats as his godson was and immediately went on the defensive because of it. He held Harry a little tighter, holding him to his chest protectively, and backed up a pace. "Him!" He demanded angrily. "That's the monster you've been letting take care of my godson?"

"Sirius, there's no reason to get agitated..." Remus tried to soothe.

"No reason?" Sirius echoed in disbelief. "Did you hear what he said? Did you hear how he said it! He's not coming anywhere near my godson again!"

"Let the pup go, Black, you're smothering him." Fenrir growled with a roll of his eyes; he had no patience for situations like this normally and it was very trying to have some for Harry's sake.

"He's not a pup." Sirius shot back angrily.

The Alpha studied the man for a moment or two before his gaze flickered onto Severus. "Does he know?" He grunted, jerking his head in the direction of Harry's godfather.

"No." Severus replied.

Fenrir turned his attention to Dumbledore then. "There a reason you ain't told him the pup's got werewolf in him?"

Fenrir knew exactly what he was doing and he wasn't at all surprised by the outcome. While Dumbledore and Remus closed their eyes in despair, Severus simply pulled his wand out of his robes. And while that happened, the revelation slowly began to sink into Sirius.

"He's what?" He asked quietly, looking to the headmaster.

"Sirius," Remus tried gently. "Greyback didn't..."

"Greyback?" Sirius demanded loudly and Remus winced at his slip of the tongue. "You're Fenrir Greyback?" He shouted to the Alpha furiously. He released Harry then and charged towards the larger man. "You son of a..." The words faded to nothing as he fell in a heap to the floor.

Everyone turned to look at Severus who was putting his wand away again. He returned their stares easily. "As much as I would've enjoyed seeing Black beaten to a bloody pulp, I felt it might be rather unsuitable for Harry to witness as such." Was all he gave by way of explanation.

Knowing that was the only explanation they were going to get, they all returned their attention to Fenrir who was now back in possession of Harry, a secure arm around the teenager's waist. Harry seemed quite content where he was, though his eyes were wide and fixed on the sight of Sirius who was still crumpled on the floor.

"Why did you do that?" Remus demanded of the Alpha angrily.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" Fenrir challenged in return.

"He wasn't ready to hear the truth."

"Then he wasn't ready to meet us." The Alpha grunted as he released Harry and held the back of the boy's neck instead. "We'll talk about giving this another try when Black's calmed down." He told them as he opened the office door.

Not a moment later and the two werewolves had left the room.

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End of Chapter 21.
Hmm, whenever I write Sirius in any detail, he always comes out as a slightly unstable, emotional type. Kinda annoys me -.- But I seriously can't seem to write him any other way XD

Reviews!

darkpyroangel06
I'll say Happy Valentine's simply because I otherwise ignore the day (not only single but asexual, so, y'know, never really going to care much about V-Day XD).
Well, Sev will be straight in this if only because I don't want to be tempted by a Fenrir/Sev/Harry threesome XD But otherwise, nah, Sev's totally gay (for Harry XD). Remus isn't sappy at all, I never really imagined him to be. Sirius on the other hand...

Werewolf Mistress
On the subject of Sirius, all I will say is this; imagine how much everyone else is trying to get Harry and Fenrir apart. Right? Okay, now times that by a couple of hundred XD

Sirin Black
Don't worry, Harry's too loyal, plus he loves his big, grumpy Alpha. He'd never leave Fenrir for a Wizard's life.

Coobs
I'm glad you liked it ^_^

The Siner
Glad to hear it ^_^

playmouse
When it comes to cliffhangers, I can be rather mean XD I try not to use them too often though (because then we all start to get bored of them).
Thank you for the luck, I'll try my best with the next chapter ^_^

Kuromei
I'm glad you liked everything so much, and the fact you missed a couple of updates just means you got to have a veritable feast of updates to catch up on...Well, maybe not a feast. A three course meal perhaps XD

kawaiiyashie
My updates come regularly, every fortnight, so don't worry about that ^_^ If a fortnight is too long for ya, take heart in the fact when I finish pre-writing it, I'll bump up the update speed to weekly.

kagneko-malfoy
I can't see Remus ever being happy with his lycanthropsy, I think it would be rather OOC for him to ever accept it. But he does make peace with it towards the end when a very interesting fact is revealed...I don't think that gave anything away, at least I hope it doesn't XD

Kati-chan
Gah, I know what you mean about the slashed words. It's a bad habit of mine that I'm really trying to break >.< I'll get there eventually, just try not to let it bug you too much until I do XD
I'm glad you liked everything else though ^_^

julianYES
I always try to put in as much smex as possible but I need to be in the mood to write it and sometimes it just doesn't come out the way it's supposed to so it gets edited out ^_^;

Nothing more to say for this chapter. I must now go and attempt to hide from the plot bunnies. Oh, who am I kidding? There is no hiding from the plot bunnies O.o

Hugs
Dream