A/N: HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1ST! 🥰

There was one person who wasn't all that happy that Harry had been let off that easily from his case — it was Sirius Black. It turned out that Sirius had wanted Harry to move in with him as soon as possible, so part of him wished that it would happen sooner rather than later. Since Harry was let off the hook from his case and he'd still be attending Hogwarts that year after all, Sirius had resorted to sulking around the house because he was now sure he would still be stuck alone in it.

Harry expressed his concerns about Sirius's moodiness a few days after his hearing. He, Hermione, Ron, and Analeigh were in the middle of cleaning out a moldy cupboard on the third floor when he confided in them about it.

"Don't you go feeling guilty!" Hermione said sternly after Harry finished telling them how he felt. "You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he's being selfish."

"That's a bit harsh, Hermione," Ron frowned as he tried to remove some stubborn mold. "You wouldn't want to be stuck inside this house without company."

"He'll have company! It's headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn't it? He just got his hopes up that Harry would be coming to live here with him."

"I don't think that's true," Harry said. "He wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked him if I could."

"He just didn't want to get his own hopes up even more," said Hermione. "And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together."

"Come off it!" Harry and Ron said indignantly, but Hermione shrugged shamelessly.

"Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mum's right, and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your father, Harry."

As much as Analeigh appreciated Hermione's honesty, she felt like she was starting to go out of line. Harry adored Sirius, and this certainly wasn't something he'd like to hear about his godfather.

"So you think he's touched in the head?" Harry said, his voice rising.

"No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time."

"Well, of course he's been lonely. He's been in Azkaban for years and didn't exactly have the best family," Analeigh defended him. Harry stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat.

"While we're on the topic of Sirius's family, he actually showed me the Black Family Tree a few days ago."

Analeigh tensed a little but continued scrubbing the side of the cupboard she was cleaning.

"Did you know your dad and Sirius are cousins, Leigh?"

Hermione and Ron stopped what they were doing and whipped around.

"I actually only found out this summer, too," Analeigh said cautiously. Did Sirius tell Harry anything else about her father? How much did he know? "Er, what else did he say?"

"That's pretty much it. He said your granddad gave Sirius money when he ran away from home, though," said Harry. It seemed like that really was all he knew and Sirius didn't mention her dad being a Death Eater to him.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked Analeigh.

"I didn't exactly know how to bring it up."

"It's not a big deal," he then told her. "All pureblood families are connected some way or another."

"Why'd he change his last name, though?" Hermione questioned.

"He didn't like being associated with the Black name," Analeigh said without missing a beat. Well, it wasn't a complete lie; she just didn't say the whole truth.

"It does make sense. I bet Sirius would change his name if he could," Harry said thoughtfully, and Analeigh thanked Merlin that the green-eyed boy was daft enough to not interrogate her any further like Hermione would. "The Malfoys were in that family tree too, you know."

"Wait, so that means Leigh's related to that blonde git?" Ron sniggered. Analeigh slapped his arm with her dirty cloth. "Ugh, Leigh! That's gross!"

"Distantly related! Do not associate me with that ferret," she said defensively. Hermione giggled and even Harry cracked a small smile at that. "Besides, Ron, your ancestors are in that tree, too."

Before the boy could retort, Mrs. Weasley had come up behind them. She poked her head into the cupboard and looked at them expectantly.

"Still not finished?" she asked.

"I thought you might be here to tell us to have a break!" said Ron.

"Don't worry," Grace Heart said, sticking her head into the cupboard as well. "I've brought some pastries from my shop, so you can eat them when you're done with that."

Analeigh's mother left as soon as she arrived, probably going back into the kitchen already. Meanwhile, Ron huffed at his own mother who was still standing there.

"D'you know how much mold we've got rid of since we arrived here?" he said bitterly.

"You were so keen to help the Order," said Mrs. Weasley. "You can do your bit by making headquarters fit to live in."

"I feel like a house-elf," Ron grumbled as Mrs. Weasley followed Grace back downstairs.

"Well, now that you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you'll be a bit more active in S.P.E.W.!" Hermione said hopefully. "You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time — we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor common room, all proceeds to S.P.E.W., it would raise awareness as well as funds —"

"I'll sponsor you to shut up about spew," Ron muttered so lowly that only Harry and Analeigh could hear him while Hermione rambled on about her plans.

★ ★ ★

On the last day of the holidays, Analeigh helped Cedric pack his trunk for school. She learned from when he first arrived at Grimmauld Place that he was actually quite a messy person, which was a far cry from how organized and composed he seemed in front of others especially at Hogwarts. She made sure to leave some space for his books since Hogwarts still hadn't sent them their booklists.

"Velvet, get off," Analeigh scolded her cat as it tried to lie down on one of Cedric's robes. "You'll get fur all over it."

The feline meowed and sent her a displeased look as she moved to curl up by the pillows instead. While Analeigh was distracted by Velvet, Cedric tried to sneak in a crumpled excuse of a jumper into his trunk. However, the small movement was enough for her to snap her head at his direction.

"Don't you dare drop that in, Cedric Diggory," she warned.

"I wear this a lot since it's one of my favorites, so what's the use in folding it?" he said cheekily.

"How is that even your favorite if you keep ruining it like that?" Analeigh made it a point to fold the shirt she was holding at an exaggeratedly slow pace as if to demonstrate the proper way to take care of his clothes. Cedric rolled his eyes in amusement and made his way to where she sat on the other side of the bed.

"Because it's comfy," he answered. "Up."

"I'm not a broom."

"I meant lift your arms up, woman."

Analeigh made a confused face but obliged anyway, hesitantly raising her arms. Cedric slipped the thick jumper over her arms and head, the large piece of clothing sliding down over her body. It was very big on her, but she liked how warm it felt and how it smelled faintly of honey and aftershave, which somehow went well together.

"See? You're warm and snuggly now," Cedric cooed, making her blush. A knock on the door sounded, diverting their attention. "Yes?"

Amos Diggory entered the bedroom, holding two envelopes in his hand.

"Your booklists have finally arrived," he said. "I've brought Analeigh's as well. One of the Weasley kids took the other letters, so I presume he's handing them out to the others right now."

"Thanks, Mr. Diggory," Analeigh said at the same time Cedric also thanked his father and took the envelopes from him.

"I'll be heading to the Ministry with Arthur and Altair soon, so tell your mother if you need any new books or materials, alright, my boy?"

Amos and Cedric exchanged a few more words, and then the older of the two left the room, closing the door behind him with a click. Cedric walked back to Analeigh and plopped down next to her, handing her the envelope with her name on it. The two of them broke the seals and opened their letters in silence, reading through the papers. For Analeigh, one letter stated date of the start of the term and the usual reminders, and the other contained a list of her school books. She only had two new ones for that year: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, by Miranda Goshawk and Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.

"I wonder who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is," Analeigh said, folding the papers back up.

"I hope he or she's better than the last. Moody wasn't even the real Moody, and there's no way Lupin would come back —"

Cedric stopped short when he flipped over his envelope and a shiny badge fell onto his lap. Both he and Analeigh stared at it for a moment before the latter spoke.

"Cedric, congratulations!" Analeigh said, flinging her arms around him. "You made Head Boy!"

"You sound more excited than I do," Cedric laughed as he hugged her back.

"Well, it is a big deal," Analeigh said, releasing her hold on him. Cedric picked up the badge that read Head Boy in shiny, super-imposed letters, observing it carefully.

"Fair point. I think I deserve a prize, don't I?"

"You do."

Cedric was mildly surprised at how easily Analeigh agreed, and even more so when she leaned in closer and placed a quick yet sweet peck on his lips. He grinned as she moved away, and he couldn't resist returning the favor and sneaking in one more kiss, catching her off guard. The two of them laughed lightheartedly, stomachs both fluttering with butterflies despite how simple the gesture seemed.

"I just realized that I've got this and Quidditch Captain duties to worry about this year," said Cedric all of a sudden. "They really aren't giving me a break, huh?"

"Don't lie, you know you want to do it, anyway," Analeigh teased.

"Okay, I won't deny that. It still sounds very challenging, though, especially since it's my last year at Hogwarts."

"If anyone can do it, it would be you. You've faced dragons, merpeople, an enchanted maze, and nearly got killed on top of all that."

"I may be wrong, but you've done those, too," Cedric nudged her. "By any chance, did you get chosen as prefect?"

"Nope. Besides, I've had enough adventure for a lifetime after that tournament," Analeigh grinned, and it was true. The Triwizard Tournament was a complete rollercoaster, and she didn't want to have such a stressful year again. "I'd rather spend my spare time sleeping in instead of patrolling the halls at night."

"Well, since I'm Head Boy, I can schedule my shifts to be early so that I can still sleep in while having all these privileges."

"You'll get sacked for abusing your power that way."

Cedric merely shrugged at her warning and stood up, offering her his hand.

"Come on, we should go tell our parents about the books we need."

"I can already imagine your father's reaction when he finds out you're Head Boy," Analeigh mused, taking his hand and standing up as well.

Cedric cringed at the image of his father bragging.

"I hope he doesn't make a big deal out of it in front of everybody."

"Is Mr. Diggory even really himself if he doesn't boast about you in front of everyone?"

Analeigh and Cedric exited the room and made their way to the staircase, but a movement from their right caught their eye. It was Hermione, leaving the bedroom she shared with the other girls. In one hand, she held both a letter and a scarlet badge with a silver letter P embossed at the center.

"Leigh!" she said excitedly, flashing the badge at her. "I'm a prefect!"

"What a surprise," Analeigh joked. "Congratulations, Hermione. I knew you'd make it."

"Well done, Granger. You're looking at your new boss," Cedric said next with a hint of humor.

"Thanks, Cedric, and congratulations, too," Hermione beamed at him then looked at Analeigh again. "Let's go tell the boys."

She grabbed Analeigh's free hand and tugged her away from Cedric. Merlin, that woman was strong when she wanted to be. Analeigh sent the bronze-haired boy an apologetic look, but he could only chuckle at her. She was dragged into Ron and Harry's shared bedroom while Cedric proceeded to go down to the first floor where his parents were.

"Did you — did you get —?" was the first thing Hermione said after flinging open the door with a bang. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all turned to them upon hearing the loud sound. Hermione spotted the badge in Harry's hand and shrieked. "I knew it! Me too, Harry, me too!"

"No," Harry said immediately, pushing the prefect badge back to Ron beside him. "It's Ron, not me."

"It — what?" said Hermione, taken aback.

"Ron's prefect, not me."

"Ron? But... are you sure? l mean —"

She turned red, realizing a bit too late how that sounded. Ron looked at her with a defiant expression on his face.

"It's my name on the letter," he stated.

"I..." Hermione still seemed to be at a loss for words, so Analeigh stepped in.

"Well done, Ron," she smiled.

"Y-Yeah, well done," Hermione said. "That's really —"

"Unexpected," George finished for her.

"No," Hermione insisted. "No, it's not... Ron's done loads of... he's really..."

The door reopened and Mrs. Weasley strolled into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she said, eyeing all the envelopes scattered across the room. She then approached one of the beds and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me l'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing... what color would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," George smirked.

"Match his what?" Mrs. Weasley said, not paying much attention as she rolled up a pair of socks for Ron's pile of clothes.

"His badge. His lovely, shiny, new prefect's badge," Fred emphasized. Mrs. Weasley halted her movements as the words sunk in.

"His... but... Ron, you're not ...?" To answer her question, Ron held up his badge. Mrs. Weasley shrieked like Hermione earlier. "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" George scoffed as his mother pushed him aside to embrace Ron.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Ronnie —"

Fred and George were making gagging noises behind them, but Mrs. Weasley didn't care as she peppered Ron's face with kisses. He turned a shade redder than even his own badge, evidently embarrassed by what his mother was doing to him.

"Mum... don't... Mum, get a grip..." he tried to push her away.

Eventually, she let go of him and asked, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You've got to have a reward for this! How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," said Fred as if he wished he didn't buy those for him in the first place.

"Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers —"

"Mum," Ron cut her off hopefully. "Can I have a new broom?"

Analeigh didn't miss the way Mrs. Weasley's face fell slightly; broomsticks were very pricey.

"Not a really good one!" Ron added hurriedly. "Just — just a new one for a change..."

Mrs. Weasley hesitated for a second. Then, she smiled fondly at her youngest son.

"Of course you can. Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy, too. I'll see you all later... Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks... A prefect... Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

She kissed Ron on the cheek one last time then bustled out of the room with a small sniffle. Fred and George exchanged knowing looks once she was out the door.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" said Fred, pretending to sound anxious.

"We could curtsy, if you like," George offered.

"Oh, shut up," Ron scowled.

"Or what?" Fred said with a mischievous grin. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," snickered George.

"He could if you don't watch out!" Hermione defended him, but Fred and George only burst out laughing.

"Drop it, Hermione," Ron mumbled.

"We're going to have to watch our step, George, with these two on our case," Fred trembled.

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," George shook his head. Before anyone could talk back at them, the twins Disapparated with a crack.

"Those two!" Hermione said furiously while Fred and George continued to roar with laughter in the room right above them. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

"I don't think they are. They've always said only prats become prefects," Ron said doubtfully before smiling again. "Still, they've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose... She'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great.... Yeah, I think I'll go and tell her I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows..."

And then, Ron dashed out the door and ran down the stairs.

"Speaking of mums, I have to tell mine about my books, too," Analeigh remembered. She made her way out the door, but not before catching Harry's avoidant eyes. It suddenly hit her that he hadn't said one word since she and Hermione entered the room. What was up with him?

A/N: I always forget to include Analeigh's cat in here 😂 I managed to squeeze her in this one as well as the previous chapter, but I think it's the first time I wrote about her in a long time HAHA