Harry looked side-ways at his friends. The dog barked, and Harry jumped...Sirius! He was jumping up and down slightly, panting happily and wagging his tail. He barked again. Harry turned back to Malfoy and his cronies, but they were off, running back towards the castle, looking back terrified. Ron moved to go after them, but Harry put a hand on his shoulder.
“Sirius,” he said. Harry started walking over to the dog, whom barked again, grinning widely at Harry. He started pacing back and forth.
“What’s that, Lassie?” Ron said jokingly. Sirius barked irritably. “What? Somebody’s stuck in a thirty-foot well, and wearing blue shoes with a brown suite?!” Ron said aghast. Sirius jumped on him, nearly knocking Ron over. Harry laughed.
“Come on, he wants us to follow him,” Harry said. Sirius began trotting away. Harry looked around nervously. What if Malfoy had gone to get a teacher or something? This had better be important for Sirius to risk himself so openly. They walked on, and they started to realize where Sirius was taking them.
“Sirius,” Hermione said nervously. “Why are we going into the Forbidden Forest? It’s off limits!” Harry was sure he heard Sirius give a little snort. Hermione, ever the rule-follower, seemed to notice too and glared. They followed along in silence until they were well out of sight of the castle. Sirius transformed. He was grinning ear to ear. He turned to Hermione.
“We are here, so that I don’t cause to much of an uproar. Nobody knows the big news yet,” Sirius said. Harry had never in his entire life seen Sirius this happy. He wondered what on earth could have happened.
“What’s the big news?” Ginny asked, slightly nervously. Sirius smiled, and then grabbed Ginny in a huge hug. She squealed in surprise, and then laughed as Sirius let her go.
“Only the best news I’ve had in decades, other than seeing Harry and you coming to save me from the veil that is,” Sirius added, winking at Harry.
“Well, are you going to tell us or not?!” Harry said, smiling at his godfather. Sirius took a deep breath, obviously enjoying the tension. Hermione rolled her eyes, finding it very irritating.
“I’m free.” There was a dead silence. Harry wasn’t sure he had heard correctly.
“What?” he whispered hoarsely. Sirius grinned.
“Last night they caught Peter Pettigrew,” Sirius said. “So I am free. You’ll see it in the papers tomorrow. Harry felt tears of joy spring to his eyes. Sirius was free? After seventeen long years, he was finally free.
“Are you serious?!” Hermione said, her eyes also brimming with tears. Sirius chuckled.
“Of course I’m Sirius!” he said. Hermione burst into full-blown sobs and hugged him tightly. Ginny was also tearing and took her turn to give him a hug. Harry just stared, his world turned into a wonderful, happy place. Sirius looked at him, smiling. Harry opened his mouth to try and express his joy, but found that to put it to any sentence would be a major understatement. He couldn’t express it with words. Sirius seemed to understand perfectly. Ron was grinning broadly, though he wasn’t crying like Hermione and Ginny.
“Did they put him in Azkaban?” Ron asked.
“Hell, no! Azkaban is just a base for Voldemort now, no longer a prison. The Dementors work for him now. No, we put him in a much safer place. Nobody will ever find him, in fact, I’m sure they don’t even know he’s missing yet, and probably won’t until it’s printed in the papers,” Sirius explained joyfully.
“Where did you put him?” Harry asked curiously, raising his eyebrows. Sirius grinned mischievously.
“I really don’t think I should tell you, especially in here,” Sirius said, and Harry was left to his own ideas. He nodded his understanding however.
“What about Malfoy?” Ginny said worriedly. “They saw you, I’m sure they went to tell somebody.” Sirius barked out a laugh.
“Most of the staff are in the Order, and those who aren’t will think Malfoy mad. And besides, if they catch me, we can show them Peter. I can’t wait to see the look on old Cornelius Fudge’s face,” he said happily.
“Where is Cornelius, anyway?” Hermione asked, frowning. Sirius laughed loudly.
“Have you heard of the new sweet shop ‘Fudge’s Fudgies’?” he asked, and they all broke out in unstoppable laughter. Harry could just picture the Minister in a frumpy apron holding a candy scoop. It made him laugh even harder. “I’d better go, but I wanted you to know.”
“Sirius, this is the best news I have heard in such a long time...” Harry said, trying once again to express his excitement. Sirius smiled devilishly. Hermione and Ginny were still teary eyed, now with tears of mirth as well.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I still haven’t stopped smiling. I’ve got it all planned out in my head. I’m going to walk out of Grimmauld, not as a dog, but as a human. I’m going to walk down the sidewalk, not doing anything suspicious, just walk. I’m going to walk all the way to Hogsmeade!” Sirius said, laughing.
“Hogsmeade! That’s too far!” Ron said, smiling. Sirius grinned.
“Ron, I’ve been cooped up for so many years, I would love to walk to Hogsmeade, no matter how long it takes. And then I’m going to walk straight into the Hog’s Head, sweep Rosie right off her feet, and ask her to marry me. What do you think?” he said. They all stared, and then Hermione laughed.
“Well, if you don’t die from the walk, I guess it’s a good plan!” she said. Sirius patted her on the shoulder.
“I really need to go, look for me in the Prophet tomorrow!” and he swiftly changed into a dog. He allowed Harry and the others to pat him on the head, and he took off at a run in the opposite direction. Harry’s heart swelled. Nothing could have changed his foul mood as effectively as this. Sirius was free!
The next few weeks passed by quickly, the only event being Sirius’ release. Harry had expected them to be shocked, but the event was hardly talked about, except among the Slytherins. They became much worse to deal with, and Ron had even gone so far as to give Hermione a bottle of pepper-spray to take with her on patrols with Malfoy.
“Ron! This is something that Muggles use!” she had exclaimed.
“Which is exactly why Malfoy won’t expect it,” Ron explained, kissing her lightly on the forehead. As far as they knew, however, Malfoy had been very sulky, and had only made snide remarks on occasion. Before they knew it, however, the Christmas holidays were upon them.
“Are we going to Grimmauld then?” Harry asked, one morning. Ron smiled.
“Do you really think Sirius would have it any other way?” he said. Harry laughed and shook his head, and, on the train ride taking them away from Hogwarts, he found himself feeling very cheery about seeing Sirius again. That is why, when they arrived at Grimmauld late on Christmas Eve, he was still smiling. Sirius ran up to them excitedly, wearing a large, floppy St. Nick hat.
“HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!” Sirius said, grinning. Ginny laughed. He really did look like a big puppy dog. Harry decided not to tell him this, however, sure he wouldn’t take it lightly. “Harry, a word?” Sirius said, grabbing Harry’s elbow. Everybody stared curiously at Harry who shrugged.
“I’ll see you upstairs,” he mouthed to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They nodded and went up to Ron’s room. “What’s up, Sirius?” Harry asked. Sirius looked around, very jittery.
“I have some big news for you,” he said, wringing his hands slightly.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked concernedly. Sirius laughed harshly.
“Of course I’m alright...well as alright as I can be. I’m getting...married!” he said, grinning now. Harry stared.
“You’re getting married?!” Harry gasped in shock. Sirius looked affronted.
“I told you I was going to walk to Hogsmeade and ask Rosemerta to marry me. Didn’t you believe me?” he asked, grinning. Harry blushed and shrugged.
“No,” he admitted. Sirius laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Well it is.” Harry grinned, wondering how he could feel so happy after all the horrible things he had been through. Maybe, just maybe, he was getting a break from a stressful life. Maybe all of the killings and such would end now. He almost snorted to himself. Like that would ever happen while Voldemort was still alive. Little did he know, that at that moment Voldemort was moving his piece on the chess board. Dumbledore’s next move may determine the end of the game. He also didn’t seem to notice the fact that he was the most important player on the board. If he didn’t move quickly, he would surely be erased from the game completely. The war was on the brink, waiting silently. It was as if they were all balancing on the edge of a knife, one slip-up could mean the deaths of all.
“About a year ago, if somebody told me that I would be standing, smiling and happy in the living room of Grimmauld place with my god-father, a free man, and now a husband, I would have cursed them into oblivion for telling such terrible lies,” Harry admitted. Sirius chuckled.
“Well, just to let you know, I would have too. Things have changed so much, and this is the best Christmas Eve I believe I have ever had. Tomorrow will be amazing. Rosie’s coming over, and I’m going to announce it officially to everybody,” he said excitedly. Harry laughed. “Well, Harry, we’ve got a big day ahead, I’ll see you in the morning alright?”
“Night,” Harry said, and walked up the stairs.
“What was that all about?” Ron asked as soon as Harry opened the door. Harry opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted as somebody burst through the door after him. He turned around to see Professor McGonagall. Her hair was falling out of its normally indestructible bun, and her face was taught. She bent over, gasping for air.
“Are you alright, Professor?” Hermione said in shock, moving to help her.
“I’m fine, you silly girl! Potter!” McGonagall said roughly. She stood up, and Harry felt very scared. What had he done this time? He had never seen her this disheveled before. “You will come with me!”
“Harry hasn’t done anything wrong, Professor,” Ginny said firmly
“This is no time, Miss Weasley. Potter, now. Dumbledore needs you NOW! You are to go on your first mission for the Order. This may well be what determines the war!” she yelled. Then Harry looked at her eyes, and saw they were full of tears...
A/N: Yes, I'm know I'm evil for leaving you with such a cliffhanger! So I thought, while I was being evil, I would inform you that I'll wait to post the next chapter until I get AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWS!!!! Come on, it's not that bad, all you do is hit the "Would you like to submit a review button" and tell me what you thought of the chapter! Lol, the next chapter is called "Merry Christmas," even though Harry's Christmas is going to be far from merry! Thanks to everybody who reveiws regularly, and keep'em comin!!!!!