Once in a Blue Moon (COMPLETE)

A/N: There have been quite a few updates on this story for the last couple of weeks, so please make sure you have read the most recent chapters before you start this one.

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Trying to Catch Your Heart
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Sirius woke up the next morning with a new determination for how he was going to set about winning the heart of Remus Lupin.

He had briefly contemplated telling his friend that he liked boys, but discarded that option when he realised that Remus might not take it that well, considering their sleeping arrangements the previous night.

Instead, Sirius had decided to go out of his way to act towards Remus as he thought a boyfriend should and see how his friend reacted. That wasn’t to say that he was going to grab him and kiss him senseless, tempting as the thought might be. No, Sirius was going to be the most caring and considerate boyfriend imaginable. Then, when the time was right, he would come out to Remus and, hopefully, Remus would agree to make things official, because he had already seen what a great couple they made.

Sirius stroked his hand through Remus’s hair as the other boy continued to sleep. They would have to get up soon, the Hogwart’s Express wouldn’t wait for them, but for the moment Sirius was content to simply lay there and savour the feeling of Remus lying sprawled across him.

The peace was soon broken with the advent of Alphard as he came into the room to check if they were out of bed yet.

“Come on,” he chivvied. “The train leaves in two hours and you aren’t even dressed yet.”

Remus shot up and practically ran from the room in his eagerness to be ready on time.

“It’s too early,” Sirius groaned as he stumbled from the bed and tried to remember where he had put his clothes the night before.

“Sirius?” Alphard asked quietly, closing the door to, even though they could hear the sound of running water from the bathroom down the hall. “Are you sure?”

Alphard didn’t need to be any more specific, Sirius knew exactly what he was asking and he nodded once.

“Just remember what I told you about letting your parents know.”

“I’ll tell them when I’m of age,” Sirius promised.

“If they find out earlier, know that you can always come here until things calm down.”

“Thanks,” Sirius replied and he hugged his uncle tightly.

“Remus seems like a nice young man,” Alphard commented. “And clearly he has good taste if he’s fallen for you.”

“He is nice,” Sirius agreed. “But he hasn’t fallen for me.”

“He hasn’t?” Alphard looked towards the unmade bed and his brow furrowed with confusion.

“Not yet anyway,” Sirius said with a wink.

-o-xXx-o-

Platform nine and three quarters was as crowded as ever. Sirius had crammed both his and Remus’s trunk onto one trolley and had carefully positioned himself so that he was standing on Remus’s injured side, thus ensuring that no careless students or parents were going to knock into his shoulder as they jostled towards the train.

“Sirius!” James called from across the platform. “Over here!”

Sirius waved back, and after saying a brief goodbye to his uncle, he and Remus slowly made their way through the crowd.

“Guess what?” James asked as soon as they reached him. “Evans is a Gryffindor prefect. So, which of you two got the badge?”

“How do you know it isn’t Peter?” Remus asked.

“Because I already asked him.” James turned to Remus with a grin. “It’s you, isn’t it? Teacher’s pet all last year, it couldn’t be anyone else.”

Remus laughed and shook his head. “Wrong,” he said with a grin as he reached over and pulled aside Sirius’s cloak to reveal the shiny badge.

“Great,” James said with another wide grin. “Now, you know what you have to do, don’t you? You’ll be working closely with Evans from now on, so be sure to put in plenty of good words for me.”

“Don’t you think maybe it might be time to look elsewhere?” Remus asked hesitantly. “I mean, this crush of yours has been going on a while now and you still spend half your time fighting with her and the rest being rejected.”

“It’s a love hate relationship,” James explained.

“Yeah,” Peter chimed in as he approached the group. “He loves her, and she hates him.”

“Hey! You’re supposed to be my best mate.”

“I am,” Peter replied easily. “That’s why I keep telling you to stop chasing her; gather up the last scraps of dignity you possess and move on.”

“Hi, Peter,” Sirius greeted him. “You have a good summer? Sorry I didn’t write more.”

“That’s okay, I had more than enough correspondence from James, pages and pages on the glorious Lily Evans to keep me from getting bored. Summer was pretty good. I was in Egypt for most of it. Bloody hot, but I made some good contacts in case I decide to work out there after school.”

“We should get on the train,” Remus interrupted, nodding towards where the rest of the students were beginning to clamber on board the Express.

Sirius steered them towards the train and guided Remus into the first empty compartment they came across. “Where do you want to sit?” he asked. “You won’t get knocked if you sit near the window, but you don’t want to be leaning on that shoulder too much.”

“I’m fine here,” Remus replied as he sat down in the window seat that put his sore shoulder away from the rest of the compartment.

“You’re sure?” Sirius asked. “I’ve got to go to the prefects’ carriage, but I’ll be back soon. I’ll take this seat.” he dumped his things onto the seat beside Remus. “If you get tired you make sure not to lean on the window, you can rest against me, I won’t mind.”

With those last words of advice Sirius ducked out of the compartment and made his way towards the other end of the train where the rest of the prefects were gathering.

“What’s with him?” James asked after Sirius had gone. “I know he’s always looked out for you, but not to this extreme.”

“I hurt my shoulder on one of the full moons,” Remus explained.

“Badly, I take it?”

“Dislocated it.” Remus reached up to rub at the offending joint and grimaced slightly. “It’s not too bad now, but the second full moon didn’t help it much. Sirius is making sure I’m okay, because he knows I want to try out for the Quidditch team, and if I hurt it again, it’ll screw up my chances completely.”

James’s eyes lit up at the word Quidditch and he pulled a thick book from his bag. “It’ll be so great with you on the team,” he said enthusiastically. “What position are you hoping for? We need a new Keeper this year and a new Beater, too, I think. You’d be great for Keeper; you’re so fast you could guard all the hoops at once.”

Remus smiled at James’s enthusiasm and felt a small measure of relief that he hadn’t said anything about not wanting him on the team, stealing any of the glory that he seemed to bask in after every winning match of the year. He hoped everyone else on the team would be prepared to give him a chance.

When Sirius returned to the carriage he took his seat beside Remus with an uncharacteristically shy smile. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Fine,” Remus replied, somewhat testily. He was getting a little tired of the smirks from the other boys as they watched Sirius clucking over him.

Sirius seemed to realise that he was crowding Remus and focused his attention on the food trolley that had just arrived at their compartment.

“What’s everyone having?” he asked as he reached into his pocket for his money.

Remus put in his order, along with the rest of the boys, and felt his irritation evaporate as quickly as it had arrived. Sirius was only looking out for him, probably because he was still feeling guilty about arriving late for the first full moon. That was all it was… wasn’t it?

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius kept up his attentions towards Remus as they settled in for their fifth year at school. He carried Remus’s books for him, helped him with his homework, ensured he had the best helpings of his favourite foods whenever he was late for breakfast due to some early morning activity, and did countless other little things to make his life easier. Sirius was as attentive towards Remus as if they were really dating, although he made sure he didn’t crowd him too much, like he had apparently done on the train.

Remus hadn’t joined him in his bed since they had arrived back at school, and Sirius was reluctant to ask him to do so, not when he was so unsure as to whether Remus liked him in the same way. He wasn’t sure what Remus would think about sharing his bed if he knew that his best friend was gay.

Despite his sleepless nights, Sirius made sure that he was wide-awake for Remus’s early morning Quidditch practices with James and Charlene as he trained for the upcoming tryouts.

He cheered as Remus saved one quaffle after another that James sent his way. He just hoped that the still lingering prejudices within the school didn’t keep Remus from taking what he was sure was his rightful place on the team.

-o-xXx-o-

Remus turned his head and buried it in Sirius’s chest. “I can’t look,” he mumbled into his shirt.

Sirius laughed and tried to steer his way through the crowd that had gathered around the notice that announced the new members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was sure that his own heart was probably pounding as rapidly as Remus’s, but in his case it wasn’t entirely through nerves and anticipation over who had made the team.

“Step aside,” Sirius ordered with a friendly smile to take the edge off his words. “Prefect coming through.”

“With a nervous werewolf in tow,” James added with a laugh of his own.

Sirius pushed his way to the front of the crowd, not an easy task with Remus clinging to him like a limpet. “You didn’t make Beater,” he commented with a consoling pat on Remus’s back.

“I didn’t try out for Beater,” Remus pointed out. “I tried for Keeper, remember?”

Sirius laughed again. “Of course I remember. You don’t really think I’d forget that, do you?”

“Then stop teasing and just tell me,” Remus scolded. “Please, I can’t bear the suspense.”

“Hmm, let me see, Keeper, Keeper…”

“Bloody hell, stop tormenting him,” Charlene interrupted. “Of course you made it Remus, you were the best by far.”

“Really?” Remus asked, finally looking up from Sirius’s robes.

Charlene looked at him in surprise. “You really thought you wouldn’t make the team?” she asked incredulously.

Remus shrugged. “I knew I played well, but I’m… well… I thought maybe the rest of the players wouldn’t want someone like me on the team.”

“Someone like you, who can stop the other team from winning?”

“Someone like a werewolf,” Remus corrected.

“The team wants to win,” Charlene pointed out simply. “They may even think that having the scary werewolf on the team might work to their advantage.”

“They don’t, do they?” Remus asked uneasily.

Charlene laughed and shook her head. “I’m just teasing. Really we put you on the team so that we can be sure you can wake up lazybones over there for the early morning practices.” She nodded towards James who looked affronted at her comment, but could hardly argue with her when her words were so accurate.

Remus laughed and basked in the attention he was receiving from making the house team. Sirius kept his arm hanging loosely around his friend’s shoulders and smiled widely to see his friend so happy. “Knew you could do it,” he said as he gave Remus a quick squeeze of congratulations.

Remus smiled back up at him before turning to Charlene. “The full moons won’t be a problem, will they?”

“I’ve already spoken with Professor McGonagall and she’s confirmed she’ll make sure any matches that are close to the moon are put back far enough for you to recover.”

Remus breathed a sigh of relief although his grin seemed to be permanently fixed to his face. He turned to Sirius with a smile. “I can’t wait to tell Rom. Have you seen him?”

Sirius shook his head. “He’ll turn up soon. He never stays away for too long and he’ll be as proud of you as I am.”

“He’d better turn up to my first match,” Remus stated.

“He will,” Sirius assured him. “Neither of us would miss it for the world.”

-o-xXx-o-

“You don’t have to get up to come and watch the practice,” Remus said as Sirius sleepily dressed.

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he said.

James was still fast asleep and Sirius took out his wand and muttered the incantation to send a stream of icy water at him to wake him up.

“You absolute tosser!” James yelled as he sat up, reaching blindly for his glasses.

“Practice time,” Remus reminded him.

“You could have just woken me up gently. You know, persuaded Lily to come in here and kiss me awake or something.”

“If Lily was waking you up, I’m sure it would be a far ruder awakening than a bit of cold water,” Sirius pointed out. “She spent most of the prefect meeting last night complaining about you.”

“What about this time?”

“Something about stalking her between classes and damaging her robes when she tried to get away.”

“I didn’t mean to tread on them,” James muttered. “I was only offering to carry her books for her.”

“Maybe she didn’t want her books carrying?”

“Neither does Remus, but you keep carrying them for him even though his shoulder’s all better now.”

Sirius flushed and turned to Remus. “You don’t mind me carrying your books, do you?”

Remus rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I can carry them myself perfectly well, but it seems to make you happy to lug them around for me, so who am I to argue?”

“So, you don’t mind?”

“No, Sirius,” Remus replied patiently. “I don’t mind. Just don’t come complaining to me if you one day find yourself with back problems because of the extra weight you’re carting around every day.”

“Why are you up anyway?” James asked as they headed outside to the Quidditch pitch.

“Showing support for the house team,” Sirius replied easily.

“Didn’t see you showing support when it was just me on the team.”

“Didn’t see you getting to practice on time either,” Sirius countered. “Besides, we’ve got a great team now that Remus is on it.”

Remus blushed as James continued to tease Sirius over his sudden interest in the game. “Anyone would think you fancied someone on the team,” he slyly suggested. “Our new Beater has a boyfriend, just so you know.”

“Who says I’m interested in her?”

“The only people who get up at the crack of dawn to come watch the practices are the other teams checking out the competition and those who have crushes or are dating someone on the team. Since you’re not on the team for one of the other houses, I’ll draw my own conclusions and guess you have a crush on someone on the team.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Remus interrupted.

“You don’t know that.”

“If Sirius had a crush on someone, he’d have told me.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Of course he would have.”

Sirius knew that if he let them continue arguing about this sooner or later one or both of them would figure out the identity of his crush. Unfortunately, whilst he wanted to know what Remus thought of the idea of the two of them together, he certainly didn’t want an audience for that particular conversation. Timing it so that it wouldn’t look too suspicious, he deftly changed the conversation to the one topic he knew the other two boys would leap into without hesitation. “So, which team do you think is the most competition for the Cup this year?”

James was sure that it was Slytherin and immediately launched into a long, and in Sirius’s mind, rather boring lecture on their flying style and tactics. He was still detailing several of the worst fouls the Slytherins had committed in the previous year when they arrived at the pitch.

“You ready for your first practice?” James asked Remus as he climbed onto his broom. “Don’t be too hard on yourself if I get a few past you. I’m the best Chaser in the school.”

“Arrogant git,” Remus replied as he too took to the air. “Don’t be too upset if you don’t score a thing, Potter!”

Sirius laughed and settled down on one of the benches to watch the practice. He wasn’t surprised to find that Rita Skeeter had appeared beside him, her quill poised over the ever-present parchment as usual.

“He’s doing quite well, isn’t he?” Rita commented. “Gryffindor might even give us Slytherins a run for our money this year.”

Sirius laughed. “We might even beat you.”

Rita just smiled.

“What?” Sirius asked.

“Just seems odd to hear you refer to the Gryffindors like that. Back in first year you didn’t really seem to like being a Gryffindor. You were a bit full of yourself really.”

“I wasn’t,” Sirius replied, slightly stunned. “Was I?”

“You hardly talked to anyone back then, you were always disappearing to goodness knows where; it just seemed like you were kind of a snob.”

“I never realised people thought that.” Sirius looked down at his shoes and frowned. Was that really how people had seen him back when he had first come to Hogwarts?

“Dressed in your fancy Slytherin colours but sitting at the Gryffindor table,” Rita continued. “Even though you started talking to people later on, you still seemed to be looking down on everyone else.”

“I wasn’t, or at least I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s like sometimes, even now, you think you’re so much better than the rest of us.”

“I don’t think that at all.”

“Then why don’t you prove it,” Rita suggested with a sly smile. “Prove to the rest of the school who still think you’re just another stuck up member of the Noble House of Black that there’s more to you than meets the eye.”

“People believe what they want to believe,” Sirius replied. “I don’t see that I can do anything to change their minds about it.”

“Of course you can,” Rita cooed. “You could give me an interview for school newsletter. ‘Sirius Black – Best Friend of the Werewolf of Hogwart’s School Speaks Out’.”

“So, you want to know more about Remus?” Sirius rolled his eyes at the predictability of Rita and her manipulation.

“My readers want to know about what it’s like to be friends with a werewolf. What happens on the full moons? Where do you both go? Are you really training to be a Healer?”

Sirius groaned as Remus missed saving the quaffle for the first time in the last fifteen minutes.

He was only half listening to Rita prattle on as he applauded and cheered his friend’s triumphs. One quaffle had got through, but it was clear he wasn’t making it two.

“Well, what do you think?” Rita asked. “One teeny little interview and everyone will see you in a whole new light.”

“I’ll think about it,” Sirius said, hoping that she’d forget about it and find someone else to bother.

Thankfully the practice soon drew to a close and Sirius hurried down to the pitch as the team came down to land.

“Okay, let’s hit the showers,” the captain called. “Good practice everyone.”

“You were great!” Sirius said to Remus as he approached him. “Here, let me put your broom away while you get cleaned up.”

“Thanks,” Remus replied as he handed the broom across.

“Thanks, mate,” James added as he tossed his own broom towards Sirius, clearly thinking that the offer was aimed towards the both of them.

Sirius watched as Remus headed inside with the rest of the team. “Hey, James!” he called. “Wait a minute!”

“What is it?” James asked as he pulled off his elbow pads.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Just did, didn’t you?”

“Funny,” Sirius replied sarcastically. “Um, I was wondering…do you…did you…erm…do you think I’m a snob?”

James looked at him in confusion for nearly a minute and Sirius began to wish he hadn’t asked the question.

“Is it that difficult a question?” he finally asked.

“Do you want an honest answer?” James finally asked in all seriousness.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

“You can sometimes come across as a bit of a snob,” James finally admitted. “Not so much now, but back in first year, you did kind of look down your nose at everyone else. Even now sometimes you come across like you think you’re better than the rest of us.”

“Oh.”

“We don’t mind so much now we’ve got to know you,” James assured him. “But you wanted an honest answer and there it is.”

Sirius nodded slowly. “Thanks,” he whispered. “You’d better hit the showers or you’ll not get time to eat breakfast.”

James took off after his team mates, leaving Sirius standing on the edge of the Quidditch pitch. He wondered if Remus thought he was a snob, who thought he was so much better than the rest of them. For some reason, he didn’t want to know the answer to that question. Remus wouldn’t want to be with him if he thought he was a snob; he wouldn’t want to date him if he thought Sirius was looking down his nose at him.

He could see Rita in the distance, making her way back to the castle and he ran to catch up with her.

Sirius knew that Rita only wanted to speak to him because he was a friend of Remus, and because Remus had persistently refused to give her another interview. But with recklessness borne of the shock that everyone thought he was just another snobby Black, he told her breathlessly that he would speak with her for the newsletter.

Rita’s face lit up into a bright smile as she tugged him towards the castle, eager to get started on the interview as soon as possible.

-o-xXx-o-

Sirius didn’t tell the other Gryffindor boys, not even Remus, about his interview with Rita. He hoped that she printed what he had told her honestly and without elaborating on things, but he suspected that was too much to hope for.

It was over a week later when the newsletter was dispatched to the rest of the students and Sirius, having been tipped off by Rita the day before, was up before even Remus in order to see the interview for himself.

He read it twice before he tossed the parchment into the fire and buried his face in his hands.

He should have known it would backfire on him. All he had wanted to do was try to convince people he wasn’t what they thought he was. Instead, Rita had written a long and detailed article about Remus, from Sirius’s point of view, and she had pulled out all the stops to make it as dramatic and dreadful as possible.

“What are you doing up so early?” Remus asked as he wandered into the common room, still dressed in his pyjamas.

“Thinking about how bloody stupid I am,” Sirius replied.

Remus came over to sit beside him and tugged his hands away from his face. “You’re not stupid, so what’s wrong?”

“I’ve screwed up big time,” Sirius said.

“What have you done?”

“Something really stupid.”

“It can’t be that bad, surely?”

“Oh, it can,” Sirius replied with a groan. “I just didn’t want everyone thinking I’m a snob.” His voice dropped to barely more than a whisper. “I didn’t want you to think that.”

“Who thinks that?” Remus asked in astonishment. “You’re no such thing. I’d never think that.”

“Rita and James think I am.”

“James is a tactless idiot, and since when do you listen to anything that Rita says?”

“Er, never.”

“Exactly. So, what have you done that’s so terrible?”

Sirius couldn’t look at Remus as he confessed that he’d given Rita an interview for the newsletter.

“Is that all?” Remus asked with a quick laugh.

“You haven’t seen what she’s written,” Sirius muttered.

Remus stood up and went to fetch one of the newsletters from the pile near the portrait hole. “Let’s see what’s so terrible,” he said as he sat back down on the sofa and quietly began to read the article.

“Well,” Remus finally said as he tossed the newsletter onto the table. “Let’s hope no one sends your mother a copy of that one, too. If she finds out you’re best friends with a werewolf she’ll, no doubt, hit the roof.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Sirius asked quietly.

Remus laughed loudly. “Come on, Sirius,” he chided. “You didn’t think I’d actually believe any of the rubbish she’s written, did you?”

“I guess not,” Sirius muttered. “I’m so sorry, Remus. I never thought she’d twist everything round like that.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But how many people are going to believe what she’s written?” Sirius asked. “So many of the students are still scared of you, and now she’s printed that I’m terrified of you, how’s everyone going to react?”

“How many people are actually going to believe her?” Remus asked in turn.

“Too many,” Sirius whispered. “She’s made you out to be some sort of monster. I didn’t think she’d do that. All I said was that I was scared for you on the full moons. She seemed to be quite friendly with you last year.”

“Sirius, she was only friendly because she wanted me to help her with the newsletter and all those letters from parents. You know she got top marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts in third year?” Sirius nodded. “It’s because she thinks just like Professor Spion did. She believes everything she reads, just like he did, even when what she’s reading are her own stories. She might have talked to me last year, but she still thought I was a monster. That’s why I didn’t want to give her more information for the newsletter. She doesn’t care about the truth, not unless it helps to further her career.”

“But she wrote the truth about what you said about Greyback and your father.”

“Because the readers she had spoken to wanted to hear about tragedy and stuff, and what I said fitted in nicely. If I’d told her some happy memory about before I was bitten, she’d have made up something else instead.”

Remus was being so kind about things Sirius felt his eyes beginning to water.

“Come on, Sirius,” Remus said as he pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s not as bad as all that.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sirius whispered as he began to sob in earnest.

“We’ll just have to think of a way to pay her back for this,” Remus promised. “She won’t interfere again in a hurry.”

Sirius pulled back and sniffed loudly. “A prank on Rita?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, why not?” Remus replied. “Now, come on upstairs to the bathroom and get cleaned up, you look like crap when you’ve been crying.”

“I’m not usually so…”

“I know you aren’t.”

“I feel so stupid.”

Remus sighed and pulled Sirius to his feet. “We all do stupid things now and again, it just makes you human.”

“Us,” Sirius corrected. “It makes us human.”

Remus didn’t reply as he urged Sirius towards the staircase.

Sirius disappeared into the bathroom while Remus headed back into the dormitory. James and Peter were still sleeping and Remus walked purposefully towards James’s bed. He cast the Sonorus spell and leaned over the bed to scream ‘James’ into the boy’s ear. James sprang up and fell out of the bed in surprise.

“What the hell?” he spluttered. “Am I late for practice?”

“It’s Sunday,” Remus reminded him after casting the spell to return his voice to a normal volume again.

“Then why did you just scream in my ear?” James picked himself up off the floor and climbed back onto his bed.

“Why did you tell Sirius that you think he’s a snob?” Remus asked bluntly.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you even remember?” Remus snapped. “He’s not a snob and he never has been.”

“He does look down his nose at people though, you have to know that.”

“No, I don’t know that.”

“Back in first year he barely spoke to the rest of us.”

“Gee, I wonder why? You know damn well why he didn’t speak to people in his first year, and most of that was your fault anyway.”

“You’re not going to start on that again, are you?” James moaned. “So, I told him he looked down on people at times, so what? He asked me for my opinion and I told him.”

“And to try and prove to people that he’s not, he’s gone and given an interview to Rita.”

“Well, that’s a bloody stupid thing to do.”

“How bad is it?” Peter asked from his own bed, the noise having woken him up too.

“From Sirius’s point of view, not that bad, but she’s made me look like a monster all over again.”

“Bloody hell,” James swore. “How upset is he about it?”

“What do you think?” Remus replied. “We’ve got to get back at Rita for this; we can’t take it lying down. And you’re going to help us.”

“Me?”

“Yes, since this is partly your fault.”

Sirius chose that moment to come back into the dormitory and quickly assessed the situation. “Remus?” he asked quietly.

“James has something to say to you,” Remus said, giving James a meaningful glance and a harsh glare.

James looked a little reluctant and wouldn’t meet Sirius’s eyes, but he mumbled the required apology.

“So, we’re all good now?” Remus asked, making it very clear that he expected no answer that wasn’t an affirmative.

James and Sirius nodded whilst Peter shrugged his own agreement.

“Right.” Remus patted the bed beside him to encourage Sirius to take a seat. “So, what are we going to do about Rita and her bloody newsletter?”

Sirius shrugged whilst James and Peter just looked blank.

“She’s not going to get away with this,” Remus declared. “This is her revenge on me for refusing to write for her newsletter last year… and she’s not going to get away with it!”

-

A/N: I don't know if anyone else has noticed the new (?) Harry Potter AU/AR section that has appeared on the main page of the section. I am just mentioning it because I have a feeling this story (and my Too Much Trouble story) will both get shifted over there if the staff here are sorting things out. So, if you come back to the section this story is in, only to find it has vanished - I suspect that checking the male/male section of the AU/AR section will probably yeild results. I just don't want people to think I have suddenly deleted my story from this site if it vanishes from its usual place.

The next chapter is going to be the longest one in the story yet, so please bear with my poor overworked beta until she can find the time to go through it.

Notes from the reviews...

MewMew2 - I am currently about ten chapters ahead of my beta, so send a chapter to her as soon as she returns one. So updates should be fairly consistent, apart from around holiday times. Not withstanding longer chapters like the next one, of course.

Rose - I promise this story will all work out in the end. Things won't be easy for them, but there will be a happy ending on this one.

Thanks to everyone for your kind reviews as always. As always, it is nice to know I am not posting into a black hole, and that people are reading.