THEY FOUND A NIFFLER IN THE WALL.

"YOU REALLY LIKE KRUM, DON'T YOU?"

Val looked up from the paper she'd been reading, previously the only one in the kitchen. She'd just sent Viktor off, who'd spent two weeks in London helping the Order and getting to know Val better. And every day that they were together, the smile on Val's face got larger and larger as she learned he was more than just a dumb Quidditch player.

He liked Puffskiens and was afraid of spiders like Ron. His favorite color was blue and he wanted to be a coach when he retired from Quidditch, taking over at Durmstrang or Hogwarts or any school that had an opening. He had two younger sisters that he loved very much. And most importantly, he cared a great deal about Val and wasn't afraid to show it.

It was Remus who asked about how she felt about the man, the newly appointed professor leaning against the doorway. He didn't look mad — if anything, he looked content, happy that Val was happy.

"I do, surprisingly," Val answered honestly. Then she smiled at the paper. "Makes me wish I hadn't of been such a bitch on the Yule Ball date."

"Well, he fell for you regardless," he joked, coming to join her.

Then Val set her paper down and looked at him, glad to have a moment alone with him. "I know that... things didn't end well between us, Rem. But I'm starting to realize that maybe you were a little right."

"About what?"

"About it really just being a schoolgirl crush," she admitted, fiddling with her nails. "And I hope that it won't get in the way of us being friends in the future."

"Of course, not, Val," he said, shaking his head. "I really and truly am happy for you and Viktor. I just hope he treats you right — Merlin knows you deserve someone that makes you happy."

"He does," she said with a smile. Then she laughed. "I think your lot would've liked him in school based on the stories he tells. Once, he was dared to fly around their pitch, naked in the freezing cold."

"Now that sounds like something Sirius would get James to do," Remus told her. "I look forward to getting to know him better during future trips."

Val studied him, glad to see that he really seemed to mean it. Gone were the snide remarks and rude comments fueled by jealousy on both ends.

"You know," she began, "you deserve someone that makes you happy too, Remus. You always have."

His face fell and he turned away, not wanting to have this conversation again. "Val, my condition—"

"Yeah, you're a Werewolf. We all know," she cut him off. "But that doesn't mean people are incapable of loving you and that you're not deserving of it. Sirius loves you. So does Harry and Ivy and each of the Weasleys. You are loved, Remus Lupin, even if you don't want to admit it."

"I know," he said softly. "Merlin, Sirius has tried all his life to understand how I feel, and sometimes it's like he can read me right down to my soul. And the last full moon, it was like Ivy was doing the same. They're so different but so similar at times."

"You're going to have to let someone help you eventually, whether it's the Flufflepuff or some other lucky girl that's more age-appropriate."

"I hate that word," he groaned, earning a questioning look from her. "Age-appropriate."

"I hated it too," she grinned, thinking back on how desperate she'd been for the last eight months, thinking the worst things about him because she simply didn't understand where his concerns and insecurities were coming from. "Age is... stupid. You could end up with someone Molly's age or someone Tonks', and it won't matter so long as you're happy. Ivy's gonna marry Grandpa one day, and she's never been happier."

"You think? It's hard to picture Sirius married," he admitted with a chuckle. "But I suppose he's not the boy I grew up with anymore. I've never seen him so in love."

"And I've never seen Ivy covered in so many hickies," she joked. "Merlin, they're so happy together it's almost nauseating, isn't it?"

"No, what's truly nauseating is some of the things she lets him do to her," Remus said with a wicked grin.

Val laughed loudly and sat up straighter. "Did he tell you about in the study—"

"I still refuse to sit on that couch. I swear, I can fucking smell it."

"Because you're a Werewolf or because it's just that unsanitary?"

"Both. Definitely both."

| | |

"Cedric, it's so good to see you," Ivy said, hugging the boy as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, his father not too far behind him.

"You too, V," he said, hugging her back. Then he stepped back, wary of her personal space with Sirius in the kitchen. He didn't want to cross any lines, and Sirius silently appreciated that.

"I didn't know you were coming to the meeting," Ivy said, smiling at Amos as well.

"Well, I figured it's about time. Last time I lost my wife. I won't lose my son too," Amos said somberly. Then he looked to Cedric. "Why don't you go find those twins? I'm sure they're running around."

"They found a Niffler in the wall," Sirius explained, a smirk on his face. "I figured someone here was just robbing me blind, but that makes more sense."

"His name is Brian," Ivy said with a bright grin. "Ced, you'll love him."

Once Cedric was out of the room, Amos moved a little closer to Ivy, keeping his voice down. "I know I've thanked you, but not nearly enough."

"Whatever for?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"Well, for what happened in the graveyard, of course. From the way my boy makes it sound, he wouldn't have made it out alive if not for you and that Valerie Swan," he explained. "I couldn't bear to lose him, Ivette. You've always been a great friend to my family, but now you mean even more."

"Mr. Diggory, you know you don't have to thank me. I couldn't have coped if something worse happened to Ced that night."

"Still, if you ever need anything, I'm in your debt," he promised. Then Amos forced a smile and looked around the room that was slowly filling with witches and wizards. "Blimey, there's Arthur. I haven't seen him since the Cup Final. Let me say hello."

As he trotted off, it left Ivy alone with Sirius, who wrapped his arms around her. "Mind if I steal you away? We've got a bit before things start."

She smiled sweetly up at him over her shoulder. "You don't ever have to ask."

Sirius held her hand and led her out of the room, taking her to a room that she'd never been in — Sirius kept it locked. It looked like an office or study of some type, but what immediately drew her attention was the walls. It was covered in a tapestry of a family tree, countless faces and names covering the fabric. She also noticed that some of the faces seemed to be burned off.

She silently pulled away from Sirius to observe some of the names. She saw some she recognized and some she didn't — Bellatrix Black, Tonks' mother, Draco's as well. Her finger drew a line from Walburga Black's name and followed the line that branched off to two faces. One boy was like a younger version of Sirius with curly black hair and a somber expression. The name at the bottom read Regulus Black.

Then she looked next to it and frowned when she saw Sirius' face burned off, only leaving behind his name.

"Why would they do this?" she asked quietly, touching the burned fabric.

"I'm a blood traitor, Darling," he reminded her, once again hugging her from behind. "But I wanted to show this to you. This is my family legacy, and it's not a pretty one. Countless dark wizards, the whole lot of us."

"Not the whole lot," she said, shaking her head as she looked at his burned-off spot. "And don't forget I come from the same kind of family. We're proof that blood doesn't run thicker than water."

"I thought maybe we could start something similar back at the manor," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her neck. "Start with us and Harry."

Ivy's cheeks heated up. "I'm not part of the family."

"You will be," he said, no doubt in his tone. "I've got something for you."

She couldn't help but smile as he turned her around in his arms. "What's the occasion?" she asked, both knowing he never needed an occasion.

"The occasion," he began while digging something out of his pocket, "is that it was missing but that pesky Niffler found it for me."

Ivy giggled but silenced herself when he pulled out a black ring box. She couldn't help the way that her heart picked up speed, a new and exciting kind of hope running through her. But Sirius was quickly dousing that excitement.

"It's not the ring I want to give you — not yet," he specified. "I know I've given you my family necklace, but I feel a ring makes the declaration a bit more significant." Then Sirius opened the ring box, revealing a signet ring that had the Black family crest engraved in it. "Ivy, I'm going to marry you one day. Soon, hopefully. But until then, I'd like for you to wear this. I want to look at this wretched crest every day and think of you and our future instead of the horrible memories I have of it."

Happy tears welled in her eyes and she nodded her head. "Of course, I'll wear it, Siri."

His grin made her heart soar before he leaned down to kiss her softly. And when he pulled away, she stood on her toes, wanting more. However, he was much too preoccupied with placing the ring on her right hand. She looked down at the golden band, loving how it looked on her ring finger.

"It fits perfectly," she beamed before throwing her arms around him, forgetting all about the ring as she pulled him down into another kiss.

Sirius hummed happily against her mouth, tongue prodding the seam of her lips as she tangled her fingers in his hair. As he deepened the kiss, he ran his hands down her jean-clad thighs, digging his fingers into her covered skin. Then he left her lips and began to assault her neck, leaving biting and bruising kisses as she leaned her head back against the wall, her eyes shut.

When her eyes fluttered open, she couldn't focus on the way Sirius was soothing a fresh mark with his tongue because Remus was standing in the doorway, an eyebrow raised. Ivy blushed at being caught and opened her mouth to tell Sirius to stop, only to be cut off with a moan when he unexpectedly pressed on her clit through her jeans.

"Siri — ah!" she moaned, her eyes falling shut once more, forgetting momentarily about Remus as she shifted her hips forward into his hand.

"You know the door is wide open?" Remus asked, sounding more amused than anything.

Finally, Sirius pulled back from Ivy, catching his breath as he looked to his best friend, running his fingers through his hair to make himself look more presentable. "You're the one that stayed to watch without us knowing," Sirius said teasingly. "Creep."

"Oh," Remus smirked, his eyes falling on a scarlet Ivy. "I think your little Bunny quite liked that I was watching."

"Rem," she mumbled, feeling embarrassed. "You're not being funny."

He grinned and put his hands up in surrender. "C'mon, you two. Meeting is starting. Just be glad it was me that found you and not Minerva."

"Now I kind of wish it was her," Sirius said, wrapping his arm around Ivy. "She needs someone to spice her life up."

"Please, no," Ivy whined. "I'd never live it down."

| | |

"What do you think they're talking about down there?" Draco asked, looking at Harry's closed bedroom door. The two boys were up there, spending time alone together as the rest of the school-aged people hung out in the living room. "In the meeting?"

"I've no idea. Sirius won't tell me anything," Harry grumbled. "Says he's trying to protect me but he also said he'd let me know before going to school. Doesn't want me uninformed."

"That's good. You're a magnet for danger, Potter," he said with a smirk.

"Does that count you?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Oh, of course," he laughed, sitting back down next to Harry on the floor. "I'm sure you'll get up to no good in Professor Lupin's dueling club he was telling me about."

"Well, just don't go summoning any snakes again," he said with a sly look.

Draco laughed and shook his head. "I am sorry about that."

"No, you aren't."

"No, I'm not," he admitted, still chuckling. "I'll go easy on you this year. You only know like two spells."

"I know more than two spells!" he insisted.

"My bad," Draco smirked. "Three."

Harry scoffed and shoved him to the side, not moving him very much. Draco was the first of the two to hit their growth spurt, so he was currently taller than Harry, but only by a little bit.

The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes, just staring blankly at the American sitcom they were watching on Harry's television set. But then as two characters kissed, earning loud cheers from the audience in the film studio, Draco got an idea.

"Potter, can I ask something of you?" the newly-turned fifteen-year-old asked.

"Anything, Dray," Harry said, looking at him with a serious expression.

"We went to the Yule Ball together."

"We did."

"And then you asked me on the Hogsmeade date just before the Second Task."

"True."

"Things got a bit hectic after that," he went on. With Ivy's kidnapping, Harry couldn't bear to think about anything but her, least of all his feelings for Draco.

Harry raised an impatient eyebrow. "Are you getting around to the question?"

"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes playfully. "I wanted to know when I could kiss you?"

"Oh," Harry said, freezing up a bit. He'd never been kissed before. "I - I suppose any - any time."

Draco thought it was terribly cute how he stuttered. Then he nodded and looked back at the TV, which made Harry's expression fall.

"Are you... going to kiss me?"

"Eventually."

"So, not now?"

"Maybe."

The pair sat in silence again, and it wasn't until the commercial break — Draco always complained at the commercial breaks — that Draco turned back to Harry. He moved quickly, swooping in to press his lips to Harry's in a soft but quick kiss.

The tips of Harry's ears turned red, and Draco was no better even though he had a cocky smirk on his face. His red cheeks gave away how he was really feeling.

"Was that okay?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, feeling a million times lighter. "That was okay."