by Lisette: Lisette_an@hotmail.com

Legalese: The television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters and material belong to Joss Whedon and UPN.  All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.  I claim ownership solely of the story idea - no profit will be made by this.

Author's Note: Well, hot dang!  Alright, because you guys rock so much, here's the requested ledge to that cliff hanger I left you all with! ;p And SORRY!  I can promise that there aren't too many other chapters that leave you hanging like that one - but at least I didn't leave you hanging for long, right?  And hot dang, there sure weren't a lot of you out there who were sympathetic to Harry! *laughs* What about what Buffy did to Giles?  I didn't hear anyone admonishing her 'foolish' actions! ;p Anyway, another HUGE thanks to WhiteWolf3, Kiwi, SparkySparkles, X-Lander, Saturn Maiden, Jedi Buttercup, Claddagh, Tara, Jeanne, Angel, solarphoenix, and buffy addict.

Empress: You know what?  For a brief moment upon reading your review I truly did feel awful for leaving you hanging - almost to the point of getting ready to post that next chapter immediately... but then I read your review again and got caught up on that whole 'leaving for Mexico' bit and immediately lost all sympathy! ;p It's times like these that I really miss college.  A year ago today I was partying in preparation for my graduation the next day as well as packing for my week long vacation to the wilds of Tennessee with all of my friends... now I'm working and saving my time off for practical things like a sister's wedding. *grumbles* All college students out there, enjoy it while you can!  Being an adult can really suck sometimes!  And Empress, whether your trip to Mexico is for work or fun, I hope that you have a blast and enjoy warmer weather than we're experiencing up here!

DragonGal: On the cameo... hmm.. maybe?? ;p Now come on, if I tell you I may spoil something.  Or not.  Okay, yes, there will be a cameo. *grins* I couldn't resist!  But I warn you, just a cameo.  Short, sweet, and to the point.

"Life is a gift that must be given back, and joy should arise from its possession.  It's too damned short, and that's a fact.  Hard to accept - this earthly procession to final darkness is a journey done, circle completed, work of art sublime, a sweet melodic rhyme, a battle won."
-The Book of Counted Sorrows> -

    Green eyes wide from beneath his cloak, Harry could only watch in amazement as the tiny Slayer dove out of the way of another strike from the basilisk even though her eyes were tightly closed against the monster.  She moved unlike anyone he had ever seen before, with a grace and speed that seemed impossible, the moon glinting off of her sword as she struck at the creature's thick hide.  "Uh..." he stammered, desperately wracking his brain for any curse or charm that could help against a basilisk.  Where was Fawkes when you needed him?  "Uh - conjunctiva!" he called out, the conjuctivitis curse shooting from his wand and attacking the basilisk.  Instantly the creature's eyes seemed to cross themselves as its vision became distorted - so much so that it was nearly blind.

    Smiling, Harry barely had time to congratulate himself on his quick thinking when he noticed the remaining vampire pull the small dagger from between its eyes and rise once again, its glowing eyes locked on Buffy's unprotected back and the dagger held firmly in one blood-soaked hand.  Cursing quietly, Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to reach either in time.  Instead, he threw his memory back, once again sorting through the vast number of spells and incantations he knew until he found something that could help.  In an instant, he had it.  Smiling grimly, Harry quickly lifted his wand.  "Ferula," he commanded, flicking his wand just right as he conjured a wooden rod on the ground before him.  Then, raising his eyes and locking them on the vampire's back, he lifted his wand once again.  He'd never exactly tried this one like this before and just had to hope that the words would bend to his need.  "Wingardium leviosa," he said, using the familiar incantation that he had mastered his very first year at Hogwarts.  With fierce concentration he raised the small rod and then sent it flying, the projectile launching itself across the clearing and burying itself in the vampire's back, piercing its heart and scattering it on the forest floor in a spray of ashes.

    Yet this action didn't go unnoticed as a pair of gray eyes focused on the patch of empty forest that the wooden rod had both formed in and been launched from.  "Potter," Draco hissed, having recognized the voice that had been calling out spells for the duration of the fight.  Even as the slayer finished driving her sword between the basilisk's eyes, killing it and freeing her up to deal with the rest of his small contingent of Death Eaters, he abandoned his hiding spot.  Nearly seething with hatred, Draco Malfoy reclaimed his wand and then aimed it at the dark patch of wood before him.  "Accio invisibility cloak," he ordered, his command rewarded as a bundle of silvery cloth flew into his outstretched hand, revealing a surprised Harry Potter to the world.  "Well, well," he murmured, his eyes narrowing even further.  "If it isn't the illustrious Harry Potter - the boy who just can't seem to die," he sneered as the disheveled teen straightened, absently brushing a wave of black from his forehead as his dark robes flowed around his lean form.

    "Draco Malfoy," Harry returned evenly, his eyes skipping over to ensure that Buffy continued to wale on the remaining Death Eaters, leaving him free to face his worst enemy - well, one of them at least.  "It's been a long time."

    "Not nearly long enough," Draco returned as the two began to circle one another, wands raised and waiting to duel.  "How's the Mudblood and the Weasel?"

    "The usual," Harry returned casually, absently arching his back to work the kinks from his tensed muscles.  "And following in your father's footsteps, I see," he quickly returned, eyeing the dark robes.  "We couldn't have expected anything more from you - although, I dare say that your father will be a bit disappointed in your complete and utter failure here tonight," he added as his eyes flickered to the clearing that was littered with two piles of ash, one demon, a basilisk corpse, and six unconscious Death Eaters.

    Smiling shrewdly at the dark-haired teen, Draco slowly shook his head.  "Oh, I think not," he countered, a slow smile lifting his lips.  "Little Potter outside the safe boundaries of Hogwarts?  Your capture will earn me a higher place in my Master's service than even my father.  Add to that the death of the Slayer that has been plaguing the-"

    "You won't harm her," Harry quickly interrupted, feeling his muscles tighten even more as he dared a quick glance to assure himself that Buffy still had everything under control.  "You can't harm her," he amended, a slight smile lifting his lips.  "I think that Buffy has already proven that point this night."

    But Draco had caught the slip and the teen felt a lazy smile lift his lips.  "So the amazing Harry Potter has fallen for a Slayer," he taunted, watching as Harry's face flushed predictably at his words.  Even when facing down each other as blatant enemies, old habits refused to die.  "While assuredly a step up from that mudblood friend of yours, she's still not a witch.  She's a Slayer, which means I'm doing a favor.  If she didn't die this night, it would only be someone else ending her pitiful life sooner rather than later."

    Ignoring the truth of his words, Harry instead focused on his earlier taunt.  "You're right," he said, nodding his head slowly as he finally stopped circling.  "She is better," he added before falling back in the customary dueling stance.  This time, there was no Professor Lockhart nor Snape to interfere - no other students to protect or impress.  Just he and Draco, just as it was always meant to be.  "She is better than us all.  Besides, I've been waiting too long for this," he murmured as Draco fell into a similar position opposite him.  And then, as though someone had indeed counted down the steps before facing off, both began yelling out their curse.  But they weren't the same inexperienced young students that they were back in third year when they first dueled.  Instead, they had five years to grow and expand their abilities.  Five years for Harry to feel confident in his knowledge while Draco fully embraced the dark arts as was his heritage.

    "Crucio!"
    "Expelliarmus!"

    Both spell and curse, powerful in their own rights, collided with each other in a shower of bright magic, sprinklings of both spells hitting each and sending the casters flying back and to the ground.  Grunting from the impact, Harry felt the weakened cruciatus curse course through his veins before dying away, quickly reclaiming his feet and facing the downed Death Eater who was still thrashing beneath the effects of his own curse.  Smiling grimly, Harry realized his sole advantage in this duel: after experiencing the agony that went along with the mind-numbing connection he shared with Voldemort, Harry's tolerance of pain was far above and beyond par for someone his age.  The pain of the faded curse had nothing on the usual pain he had been experiencing for the last four years.  Shaking away his thoughts, Harry quickly cleared his mind of everything, green eyes locking with gray.  "Petrificus totalus," he murmured, the powerful spell quickly putting Draco in a full-body bind and ensuring that he would cause no more trouble that night.  Sighing, Harry allowed himself the luxury of the support of a nearby tree as his weary green eyes finally turned back to the clearing, unsurprised to find Buffy's own eyes locked on him, a number of Death Eaters littering the ground around her.

    "Old friend?" she asked with a small smile, eyes skipping back to the boy that began their little skirmish.

    "Worst enemy," Harry automatically countered as he pushed away from the tree and moved back into the small clearing.  Still, he allowed his eyes to drift over the scattered Death Eaters, a small frown pulling at his lips.  "Are they-"

    "Dead?" Buffy finished for him, following his eyes as she too took in her handy work.  "Only one, but that's the fault of your snake-thing.  The others are simply unconscious - I don't play the killing game with humans - usually," she amended, a dark expression marring her features, so pale in the silvery moonlight.  Sighing, she allowed Lyle's visage to flash before her mind's eye, only to be replaced by Quentin Travers and the three nameless Council members that she had brutally slaughtered with her own hands, before allowing them all to drift away.  They visited her dreams often enough that she refused to allow them to plague her waking hours.  "I suppose that we better find a way to bring them back to the edge of the barrier to the castle," she murmured, forcing her mind back on track and purposely ignoring Harry's concerned gaze.

    Sighing, he allowed his unasked questions to go unanswered as he, too, returned to the humans scattered around them, some already beginning to come to.  Shaking his head, he slowly lifted his wand once more, summoning the strength for the magic from the wells he knew he contained deep within himself.  "Stupefy," he murmured, the simple spell expanding to encompass the eight Death Eaters that surrounded them, rendering them all unconscious.  And then, even as he was beginning to tire from the many spells that he has cast already that night, Harry lifted his wand once again.  "Mobilicorpus," he commanded, levitating the still bodies into the air and directing them to follow them as he and Buffy fell into step beside each other.

    Amused at the sight, Buffy absently draped Harry's invisibility cloak over her arm as she propped her gleaming sword against her shoulder, having made sure to clean the blade of demon goo on one of the masked Death Eater's robes.  "You're pretty good with that thing," she commented, nodding towards the deceptively harmless looking, narrow piece of wood that was raised before him.

    "Well, I have been schooling for it for the past seven years," Harry countered modestly, blushing at her words and trying his best to hide that blush in the shadowed woods.  "And you're not so bad with that sword of yours, either," he added, turning to watch as his compliment had the complete opposite effect that he had been hoping for as Buffy's smile faltered.

    "I've had the last five years to train with it," she murmured, her gaze drifting away.

    Sighing, Harry allowed the silence to settle between them before quickly pushing it aside as another thought caused his brow to wrinkle.  "You know, you shouldn't just go on about who you are," he stated, trying and failing to suppress the mild reproving of his voice.  "Someone will have to oblivate their memory, because if Voldemort finds out that you're a Slayer our side looses the advan-"

    Narrowing her eyes at the teen, Buffy curtly shook her head, cutting off his admonishment without even saying a word.  "I wasn't planning on letting any of them escape to tell the tale," she retorted, her shoulders stiffening slightly as she hurried ahead...

    As the world came crashing back to him, Voldemort immediately became aware of two things: the pain that was throbbing from a point on his collar bone and the panicked voices of his Death Eaters as they clamored around his prone form.  Hissing in pain both remembered and fresh, Voldemort felt his slitted nostrils flare as he angrily shoved at one of the men that was crowded over him, sending him flying across the room and scattering the rest of his higher echelon.

    "Master, are you well?" one voice finally spoke, interrupting the tense silence that had fallen over the room from the moment that the Dark Lord had collapsed to the ground beside his throne.

    Sighing, Voldemort settled his tall, skeletal frame back in his high, polished perch as he absently pulled the collar of his robe away to reveal a small, inflamed lightning shaped scar that marred his white skin.  Instantly, he knew that all eyes in the room fixed on that small blemish, questions abounding but none daring to ask.  For perhaps the first time ever, the Dark Lord felt inclined to answer those questions before his followers made their own, most likely false, conclusions.  "Surely, dear Severus," he hissed, eyes turning and locking on the Death Eater that had cautiously asked after his well-being, "that after spending so many unfortunate years teaching that brat of a Potter, you would recognize a curse scar when you see it," he murmured, his red eyes glinting in the dim light.  "This is merely the remnants of my own back-fired curse from sixteen years before.  Upon regaining my form it has plagued me since."

    For a moment, Voldemort allowed himself a moment of quiet contemplation as he reclined in his dark throne, trying in vain to sort through the jumbled images that assaulted his senses.  "And now everything begins to become clear," he murmured, absently lifting a pale hand to stroke his fingers along his pointed jaw.  "It has been he himself that has been feeding so much information back to that old fool."

    "W-who my Lord?" Snape asked, fearing that he already knew the answer as a cold knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

    "Harry Potter," the dark lord replied evenly, his gaze unfocused.  "It seems that the link that binds us is deeper than I had ever imagined," he added, a snake-like smile lifting his lips before his red eyes turned and focused on a tall man that stood with the rest.  "Lucius, your son has failed me this night," he murmured, his voice filled with ice as the man seemed to tremble ever so slightly beneath his heavy gaze.  "Yet his failure has not been complete," he added, smiling shrewdly.  "For it seems that we have a new problem on hand... Dumbledore has managed to find himself a Slayer," he mused, a death-like silence filling the cold chamber.

    "Macnair," he said, his head snapping up and his burning eyes locking on the lumbering man who still worked for the Ministry - an executioner for the Committee of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures - how appropriate.  "I want you to infiltrate the Council of Watchers and learn everything you can on their current slayer - a slayer named Buffy," he said, a malicious smile lifting his thin lips.  The little wisp of a girl had defeated a basilisk, a demon, two vampires and a squadron of his Death Eaters with the help of Potter and without even breaking a sweat.  Obviously a formidable ally - but everyone had a weakness.  It was just up to him to find that weakness and exploit it in a way that would do the most damage.  After all, Dumbledore hadn't simply found himself a slayer.  He found himself a slayer that Harry Potter seemed to fancy.  With her downfall it was possible to bring about the downfall of the Boy Who Lived himself, the thorn that had been in his side since the day he had thwarted his death curse sixteen years ago.  Dumbledore's greatest ally had the potential of becoming his greatest weakness.

    "Slayer indeed," he murmured, his gaze turning inward once again.  "Slayer indeed..."

    Sighing, Harry watched as Buffy stalked through the forest ahead of him, her back stiff and her silence unnerving.  Just from witnessing the petite slayer's interactions with her watcher, it was easy enough to see that Buffy Summers did not take well to being admonished and he wished more than anything that he owned a time turner so that he could go back and prevent himself from allowing those foolish words to leave his lips.  Buffy was right.  There was no reason to think upon her proclamation of her identity to the dark night.  Everyone who was present was either slain or floating behind him, captured and ready to be turned into the Ministry where their memories of her words would be oblivated before word could leak out.  All his words did do was manage to create a rift between them when before there had been none.  Just chalk it up to yet another stupid move by the infamous Harry Potter. 

    Sighing once more, Harry angrily shook his head and hurried to catch up to the slayer, hoping to fix whatever had been broken between them - only to still as Buffy's small hand lifted, stilling his movements as her eyes slowly drifted to the dark woods that surrounded them.  She wore a look that he was beginning to recognize and something that caused fear to course through his veins once more.  He didn't know if he had enough strength to go another round with Death Eaters and other dangerous creatures.  But then that fear was dashed as Buffy began to relax, her eyes skipping back to him.

    "We've got company," she murmured, even as his godfather's voice echoed in the dark woods.

    Cringing at the worry and anger he heard in that simple shout, Harry grimaced slightly before calling out a response.  As the group was alerted, he allowed his charges to drift back to the ground even as what sounded like a dozen people began crashing through the trees around them.  And then, before he knew it he and Buffy were surrounded as Sirius, Remus, Professor McGonagall, Arthur, Bill, and Percy Weasley, as well as Dumbledore himself broke from the trees and gathered around them.  As one the adults' startled eyes moved back and forth between he and Buffy before settling on the stupefied Death Eaters behind them.

    "Harry Potter, are you insane?" Sirius finally spoke, his voice filled with so much anger that both he and Buffy unconsciously took a step back as his godfather broke from the others and stormed to his side, strong hands gripping his arms so tight that it was almost painful.

    "Let off!" he quickly protested, his own anger spiking as he shook his godfather's hands away.  "Sirius, I'm old enough to take care of myself!" he quickly protested, flushing beneath the glares of everyone that surrounded them.

    "If not for Harry, I'd probably be much more black and blue about now," Buffy added, trying to help her friend, her anger forgotten.  But even as the words left her mouth Sirius Black was turning to her, his blue eyes cold and stormy and doing more to shut her up than anything else she could imagine.

    "If not for you, Harry wouldn't have been out here in the first place!" he hissed, so much venom in his voice that even the adults around them began to recoil.

    "Sirius, enough," Remus quickly cut in before any more hateful and unwarranted things could be said.  "Perhaps this could wait until we are once again protected by Hogwarts' barrier," he added, sending the girl an apologetic glance.

    Without a word, Sirius nodded once, briefly and in a manner that showed that this indeed was not over before latching onto his godson with a steel-like grip.  Then, as one cohesive unit the other adults formed a protective circle around the tall teen and then begin moving back towards the safety of the Hogwarts' grounds, Harry forced to keep pace and quickly leaving Buffy and Dumbledore alone with the group of Death Eaters.

    As a heavy silence once more settled over the dark wood, Buffy wrapped her arms tightly around her small frame.  "Okay, what just happened here?" Buffy asked, still reeling from Sirius' harsh words.  It was her job, the reason for her being there, to come out to the forest and kill those that didn't belong there.  It was her duty.  To be rebuked for it, and so harshly, left her feeling stunned and defensive.  After all, it wasn't as though she made Harry break the rules and follow her into the woods.  Besides, what was the big deal?  It wasn't as though he got hurt or anything!  She protected... or rather, they protected each other.

    Sighing, Dumbledore watched as the group disappeared into the trees before slowly turning and eying the mess of Death Eaters that littered the grounds around them.  With a soft clucking he moved beside one familiar figure, stooping low and allowing his eyes to caress the lad's still features.  "Draco Malfoy.  What a pity," he murmured, shaking his head sadly before slowly straightening, wincing as his old bones protested against the movement.  "And I had so hoped that he could avoid getting himself tangled in this."

    "And once more with the what happened," Buffy retorted in kind, her eyes flashing as she all but demanded an answer from the powerful wizard who stood before her.  And by the stubborn tilt of her chin, the headmaster knew that at least some kind of explanation would be needed to satisfy the girl.

    "Do you realize how dangerous it is for Mister Potter to be outside the protective barrier?" he asked, thick brows arching beneath his drooped hat as Buffy's expression turned to one of bewilderment.  "In truth, Harry Potter is one of the main reasons that such a barrier was erected in the first place," he continued when the slayer gave no response.  "You see, should Voldemort manage to catch Harry unprotected and outside the school's barrier, he would whisk him away and kill him before anyone was the wiser - something that would not only destroy Sirius, but would land a horrible blow to the morale of the entire wizarding community."

    Sighing, Dumbledore slowly lifted his head and met Buffy's troubled green eyes.  "Harry Potter is far more important to this world than he could ever imagine - than any of us could possibly imagine.  Therefore, his well-being is of the utmost importance to me and the other adults at this school."

    Closing her eyes against the wizard's solemn face, Buffy slowly turned back to the dark woods.  "Okay, I get that," she muttered, hating the guilt that was filtering through her system.  "Harry's to be protected, check," she added before frowning back up at the tall wizard.  "But it's not like I asked him to get us all in trouble and come with.  Hello, what do you think this is for?" she asked as she lifted the forgotten invisibility cloak.

    Smiling slightly at her indignant and stubborn anger, Dumbledore shrugged lightly, his heavy robes billowing around his stooped form.  "I'm afraid that you'll have to forgive Sirius his anger.  He has come too close to losing his godson too many times," he explained, his expression turning grim once more.  "He has become very protective of Harry."

    "Yeah, I can relate," Buffy grumbled before she could stop herself.

    "Which reminds me," Dumbledore immediately returned, sparkling eyes locking on her slight frame.  "Where is your Mr. Giles?"

    Instantly Buffy flushed as her anger was swept away by a wave of guilt - a guilt that she most definitely deserved this time.  "W-well, you see," she stammered, trying to look anywhere but into Dumbledore's knowing blue eyes.

    Shaking his head and turning his eyes to the heavens above, Dumbledore could only sigh in exasperation as the Slayer all but confirmed his fears.  "Why cannot the children of today understand that their elders just want to protect them?"

    "Yeah, well when will all you old people just learn that not only are we old enough to take care of ourselves, but that you can't protect us forever," Buffy quickly returned, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest as Dumbledore simply arched a white, bushy brow at her harsh words.  "Besides, there comes a point when it's our turn to do the protecting.  It goes along with that Destiny and Fate crap that has been shoved down my throat for the past five years.  As I've been told, repeatedly, I can't avoid it - and neither can he," she finished, almost daring him to continue.

    For a moment, Dumbledore could merely eye the girl, fully taking in everything that made up this Slayer.  He had known quite a few in his time, but none came even close to resembling the girl that was Buffy Summers.  Many things had shaped the short life of this young girl - experiences both good and bad, and in the end those experiences made her a force to be reckoned with.  Apparently even when the two opponents were on the same side.  "Indeed," he finally murmured, leaving the conversation at that before turning his attention back to the stunned Death Eaters.  "Well, we best be getting this lot back towards the castle," he added, inclining his head slightly at the petite slayer before leading the way.

    It seemed as though all of Harry's innumerable protests had fallen on deaf ears as Sirius never relinquished his painful hold on his godson, his face set in a fury so intense that it seemed like his features were carved from stone.  Instead, the ex-auror had drug his godson onto the grounds and through the tall castle, brushing past people and uncaring of the image that they were presenting until he finally pushed his way through the Fat Lady's portrait and into the common room of Gryffindor.  Then and only then, with Remus and the elder Weasley's following them into the room, the rest of the room going silent at the display, did Sirius finally acknowledge Harry as he swung him around and locked his large hands around his arms, drawing him angrily before him.  "How stupid can you-"

    "Let off!" Harry ground out, angrily shaking himself free of his godfather's hold.  And even as hard hands bruised his arms, Harry refused to acknowledge the pain - refused to rub at the sore muscles and instead glared at his godfather.  "What's your problem?" he demanded, aware that the room had fallen silent as three year's worth of pent up frustration finally broke free.  "You had no right to talk to Buffy that way, and you have no right to drag me around as though I am only eleven years old!  Because I'm not!  I'm not a child anymore!" he bellowed, his voice cracking as Miss Weasley quickly began gathering her children and husband, urging everyone from the room and leaving the two alone.

    "Then quit acting like one!" Sirius raged, nearly shaking as his fear and concern twisted into anger - into rage at his godson's actions.  "What were you thinking, sneaking out like that?  Especially when you knew that you'd be stumbling into a trap!  You heard Voldemort's plan yourself!"

    "I was thinking that for once I could do something for somebody else - that I could help someone!  All I ever do it sit here and watch it all happen!  I can't do that anymore!" Harry protested, his voice rising in fever pitch until it cracked at last as his shoulders seemed to sag under a great weight.  "I had to sit there and watch as Voldemort killed Cedric and.. and as he killed Fred and George.  I... I just can't sit here anymore," he murmured, his voice faltering as his eyes skipped to the floor, hating the way that the tears came unbidden and burned his vision.

    Sighing, Sirius slowly shook his head as he felt his anger dissolve under a wave of sadness.  Now, more than ever, Harry looked so much like his father that it was almost eerie.  The way that his lips would quirk at something that would amuse him, or the way that his raven-colored hair continued to fall in every which direction, no matter how much care his godson put into arranging it - it was all James - all of it.  But the hardness that seemed to line his green eyes - eyes that spoke of Lily more than anything - the eyes that contained so much wisdom and pain.  They were eyes that seemed even older than either James and Lily had ever been.  It spoke of all of the tragedies and hardships that he had to endure.

    Shaking his head, Sirius slowly moved towards his godson and settled his hands on the teen's shoulders, noting idly that they were now about the same height.  As Harry's watery green eyes lifted and locked with his own, he felt his sadness only deepen.  It wasn't right or fair that such a burden had been placed on his godson's shoulders - on anyone's shoulders when they were so young.  But especially Harry.  He had to live a lifetime without James and Lily - two of the most wonderful people that Sirius had ever had the pleasure of knowing.  In a way, he felt as though he had failed his best friend whenever he saw the pain in Harry's eyes.  If only he hadn't gone after Peter... if he had just stayed with Harry and looked after him as he had promised James and Lily that he would...  But he could never go back and change what had happened or the decisions that he had made.  Instead, he had to live with the consequences and try his damnest to make up for the lost time.  Try his best to keep Harry safe now that he finally was given that chance.

    "Harry, I'm sorry," he finally stated, drawing his godson close and hugging him as though he was afraid he would slip away at any moment, his cheek resting against his dark hair.  "I just... I just don't want anything to happen to you," he murmured, squeezing him gently even as Harry began to pull back.

    "I know, Sirius, and I'm sorry for worrying you," Harry returned, sighing heavily as he lifted his eyes to his godfather's.  "But you can't keep me locked in here forever.  You can't keep me safe forever," he murmured, watching as the man visibly struggled with his words, obviously wanting to argue and refute them - but both knew that would get them no where.  They could argue until they were blue in the face but both were far too stubborn.  It would get them no where except the infirmary when both collapsed from exhaustion.

    "Well, as your guardian I can continue to do whatever I please until you turn eighteen," he finally stated, his tone firm as his eyes dared his godson to fight him on this.  "Therefore, until July 31st you are not to leave the castle grounds under any circumstances - especially beneath the covering of your father's old cloak," he stated, frowning slightly.  He was just lucky, in a roundabout way, that the cloak had hit him on its way to Harry.  "You nearly gave us all a heart attack," he murmured, softening his gaze just slightly as Harry looked rightly apologetic and sheepish from his actions.

    Sighing, Harry slowly allowed himself the briefest nod before his own eyes narrowed.  "On one condition," he returned, a small frown pulling at his lips.

    Rolling his eyes, Sirius quickly crossed his arms across his chest.  "Apparently you're not understanding.  This isn't something to be negot-"

    "You have to apologize to Buffy tomorrow," Harry interrupted, his tone hard.  "She goes out into that forest every night, risking her life time after time in order to help us all.  She didn't deserve that."

    "Fine, I'll apologize tomorrow at breakfast," Sirius agreed wearily, knowing that his godson was right.  Then again, an apology to an angered slayer was definitely not something that he would be looking forward to.  "Truce?"

    "For now," Harry agreed, allowing the slimmest of smiles before his mouth stretched wide in a yawn.  Once the anger and fear were gone, the only thing that remained was a weariness that knew no bounds.  He had overdone it tonight and had nearly depleted his magical strength.  After all, he wasn't used to using that much magic in one small sitting.  The occasional spell during classes, of course, but a full out war against a squadron of Death Eaters and their goons?  Hardly.

    Seeing his godson's exhaustion, Sirius frowned briefly before gently pushing the boy towards the stairs.  "We'll talk more tomorrow - just get some sleep," he called, watching as the teen nodded briefly before disappearing up the stairs.  Sighing, Sirius slowly shook his head and lowered his long frame onto one of the chairs that adorned the large room.

    "That went surprisingly well," Remus commented, abandoning his place in the shadows to join his friend.

    "You stayed?" Sirius returned, obviously surprised as the professor settled beside him.

    "Of course - I had to be sure that neither of you would kill the other," he retorted, a sad smile pulling at his lips.  As a small silence fell over the two, Remus found his eyes drifting to the fire that warmed the large room.  "He's got a lot of James in him, doesn't he?" he asked, watching as Sirius merely grunted in return.  "But a lot of Lily, too," Remus added, meeting his best friend's shadowed blue eyes.  "Harry is much more responsible and reasonable then James ever was.  You can trust in him to keep his head and to keep himself safe - he managed to fare two years without either of us to look after him, and I'm sure that he will continue long without us as well.  Harry may be patient now, but Sirius, he's seventeen - nearly a man himself.  You can't keep him hidden forever."

    "No, I can't," Sirius agreed, his voice soft as his eyes drifted back to the flames.  "But I also don't intend to let him fall to the same fate as James and Lily.  Something of them must survive this.  Harry will survive this," he stated, his eyes closing wearily as he settled further back into the chair.  "He has to."

To be continued...