A/N: By request, set in Harry's fourth year, shortly before the first task. This is a long one to make up for the months when I was absent.

November 1994

"I'm fine," Harry said sourly, "I don't get why you can't simply leave me be." He glared at Regulus, holding the mirror at a low angle as he climbed the stairwell that led to the boy's dorms.

Regulus' forehead furrowed a little as he leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. "Excuse me?"

"So what if I don't respond to your letter right away? I'm really busy here, you know! I got more than enough on my mind." Harry forcefully closed the door to his dorm, glad that he was alone and none of his classmates were in the room - especially not Ron.

Regulus waited until Harry held the mirror up again before speaking. "I know that it's a lot," Regulus said slowly. "All we want is to help."

"I don't need your help. All you ever suggest is taking me out of school and that's not helping."

"Harry…" Regulus sighed. "Neither I nor Sirius want to take you out of school against your will."

"Funny, because that's all I'm hearing from you recently." Harry threw himself onto his bed, propping the mirror up against his pillow. He couldn't even have a simple conversation with Sirius and Regulus anymore - at least not without one of them bringing up the Tournament sooner or later. The past two weeks since he had been selected Hogwarts Champion alongside Cedric Diggory had been stressful to say the least and he hated that neither Sirius nor Regulus did not want to accept the fact that Harry did not have a choice in competing - at least not as long as he wanted to remain part of the magical community and continue to go to Hogwarts.

"I admit we've been discussing it. That doesn't mean that we will make such a decision without including you or at least taking your wishes into consideration."

Harry rolled his eyes. If Sirius and Regulus said that he was being included in their decision-making, this usually meant that he was included at the very point at which they informed him about their final decision. He could still argue then, sure, but that was about it. "I told you, all is fine."

Regulus was silent for a long moment. "I may have believed you had you not used that tone on me."

Harry groaned in exasperation. "Can't we just drop it?"

Regulus' lips curled into a frown. "We cannot."

"Whatever. You don't get it," Harry said with a huff. He turned away from the mirror, glared at the wallpaper onto which the yolky sun was drawing warm, window-shaped rectangles.

"Harry."

Harry wanted nothing more than to turn the mirror over and silence Regulus' voice with the pillow.

"Please, pup. Turn around."

Harry whirled around. "What!?"

At first, Regulus looked like he wanted to reprimand Harry for his tone. For some reason, however, his features softened quickly. "Sirius suggested that he and I come visit you this weekend. We could meet up in Hogsmeade. Have lunch together, hang out for a bit. We miss you, you know. Maybe if we see that you're fine with our own eyes then we will worry a little less -"

"I got a test on Monday that I have to study for."

"Which subject?"

"Transfiguration."

Regulus hummed under his breath, nodding. "Sirius' favorite subject back at Hogwarts. He could help you study, you know."

"No need for that, I'm good."

"Oh. Okay." It seemed like Regulus wanted to say more, however, he didn't.

"I'll write though. Deal?"

Regulus hesitated. "Once a week at least, Harry. And if anything happens, you must inform us immediately."

"Fine. Once a week."

"At least."

Harry was silent, tugging at the sleeve of his Gryffindor sweater.

"Sirius expected to see you this weekend at Hogsmeade. Now, if that's not going to happen, he'll probably call you as well, just to check in with you."

Harry breathed out an exasperated huff. "He doesn't need to check in. I'm fine, can't you tell him that?"

Regulus' lips twisted. "I'm sure you can communicate it better." Something about the way Regulus said that made his words sound like a challenge.

Harry groaned as he saw his godfather's bearded face appear in the mirror. "I really can't talk now."

Sirius' face fell. "What's so important that you can't spare five minutes to chat with your old godfather, hmm?"

"I'm studying."

"At this hour? Isn't it past curfew? Time for bed?"

"Hermione and I will be going over our notes in the common room in just a minute." Harry kept his voice low, glancing around quickly to make sure he was alone. He didn't want anyone to overhear him lying to his godfather.

Sirius hummed. Harry could make out the piano behind him, Sirius was in the parlor, likely pouring himself a nightcap before retiring to his bedroom. "You talked with Reg for a bit. Why won't you do me the same favor?"

"Because I'm tired," Harry responded annoyed. He faked a yawn.

"Then you should be heading up to your dorm, not study with Hermione. Surely that little test can't be that hard."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione thinks that it will be."

Sirius chuckled, the eye-roll seeming to have escaped him. "She does, doesn't she? James and I always winged those tests. I must still have my fourth-year schoolbooks somewhere, it's very well possible that Professor McGonagall hasn't changed the questions much in the last twenty years. I could send you my and Reg's old tests to study -"

"No need," Harry interrupted him. "I'm well prepared."

Sirius was quiet for a moment. "Really?"

"Yes," Harry said forcefully. "Why can't you two just leave me in peace?"

Sirius whistled through his teeth. "What's gotten your wand in a twist?"

"Nothing," Harry grumbled.

A frown formed on Sirius' face. "Well, judging from that tone you're taking with me, I either must have wronged you badly or that temper of yours needs to be adjusted immediately. Which one is it?"

"I'm just tired."

Sirius looked at him, his forehead still furrowed. Harry forced himself to hold his godfather's gaze.

"And you are sure that you are fine?"

"Yes."

Silence again. Harry glanced around, now hoping that either Hermione or Neville would rush downstairs and provide a reason that would allow him to abandon Sirius and that blasted mirror that constantly exposed him to his guardians worrying and preaching.

"I can't shake off the feeling that there is more," Sirius said after a while. "Something that you aren't telling me. Maybe the Tourna-"

"There's nothing," Harry said quickly, leaning against the cushioned back of the sofa that stood in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. "I'm fine. I'm perfect. I swear. Just tired."

"Maybe then you should postpone that study session with Hermione," Sirius suggested timidly, "do it tomorrow after you've had some sleep. You're hardly going to get any studying done as tired as you are."

"I'll ask her."

"Pup," Sirius began, carding his left hand through his hair as he searched for words, "I…"

Harry interrupted him again, eager to end this conversation. "Is it alright then if I go up to get ready for bed?"

Another moment of silence, causing Harry's fingers to tighten on the mirror's handle in irritation. It was as though Sirius was trying to draw this chat out impossibly.

"I don't want to keep you up," Sirius said eventually. He sounded almost sad saying this and Harry felt his stomach tighten slightly at the concern in Sirius' eyes.

All around Harry there was a busy and slightly anxious silence. His classmates diligently scribbled down the answers to the test. To his right, Harry heard Hermione, her quill sweeping across the parchment at the speed of light. The midday sun managed to slant down onto the stone wall opposite the window. Harry squinted his eyes, watching small particles of dust whirl through the air.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall's voice cut through the silence, "It might be a good idea if you paid less attention to your surroundings and more to the test in front of you."

Harry sighed, picked up his quill and dipped it into the dirty ink pot to his right. So far, the sheet of parchment directly in front of him bore only his name and the date. A drop of ink fell from the tip of his quill and painted a black stain on the untouched part right under his name, slowly fading to a dark blue as the ink dried.

Harry's eyes shifted to the blackboard onto which McGonagall had written the questions for the test.

Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration? Surely McGonagall had never mentioned this in class and she had certainly not explained how it affected cross-species switches. And the formula she had written under question No. 2 looked to Harry as though she had simply made it up. Explain how the factor of viciousness affects the intended transfiguration based on the following formula: T= (WxC)/(VxA)xZ.

His head hurt and he lifted his left hand to rub his forehead.

Behind him, Harry heard McGonagall's footsteps move away.

Under the table, Harry gave Hermione a nudge with his left knee. She stiffened.

"'Mione?" Harry hissed her name through his teeth, now keeping his eyes fixed on McGonagall's back as the woman was moving back to the front of the classroom.

Hermione cast him an annoyed glance, tucked a strand of her bushy brown hair behind her ear. Then she moved her right arm so that it hid most of what she had written so far.

Harry couldn't say he blamed her. Hermione had spent the weekend at the library, staying there from the early hours in the morning until late at night, both studying for the test and also helping Harry to prepare for the first task of the Tournament. While the exact task was to remain unknown to the Champions until right before they were sent to compete, Hermione had taken it upon herself to research the tasks posed in the previous Triwizard Tournaments. This meant going through dozens of volumes of historical records. Harry, on the other hand, hadn't been able to focus on any studies and had instead been quite unbearable. Hermione had said that she understood that he was stressed but it seemed that her understanding didn't extend far enough for her to help him cheat on the test.

Harry turned to Ron. Ron was sitting at the desk to his right, his face pinched and nearly as red as the roots of his hair. Most of what he had written on his answer sheet consisted of crossed-out words and messy scribbling but, unlike Hermione, Ron had never been stingy sharing his answers if he had any. However, he had barely spoken to Harry since the champions had been announced. And Harry had his pride too - he'd rather hand in a blank sheet than copy from Ron.

Harry watched Professor McGonagall sit down at her desk, her glasses resting low on the tip of her nose.

"You have fifteen minutes left," she said. Her gaze met Harry's for a second. The boy quickly looked away. His eyes traveled in the direction of Hermione's open bag, which she had placed at her feet where it was mostly hidden by the tabletop. She had been studying her notes until right before McGonagall had distributed the answer sheets. He wished he had listened when she had read them to herself.

Should he…? He couldn't quite reach them without crawling under the table, however, a quick flick of his wand and they would fly directly into his lap. Maybe he merely needed a glance to remember what to write. That couldn't do any harm, could it? It was barely cheating, if at all. And it wasn't like he was looking up the answers to the test in one of their transfiguration books. Hermione had made those notes for him to use as well, it wasn't his fault he'd been distracted when she had read them to herself. A hint, that was all he needed.

The ticking of the clock making him more and more nervous, Harry slowly slid his hand into his pocket, closed his fingers around his wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he whispered, barely moving his lips. Hermione's notes fluttered in his direction with a gentle rustle. Hermione, being so focused on scribbling down the last answer, didn't even notice. Harry held his breath as he guided her notes to descend on his lap. He leaned back slightly, quickly skimming Hermione's neat handwriting.

Suddenly, the sunlight on his desk disappeared as though clouds covered the sun. He looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing directly in front of him.

"My office, Potter," she said stiffly. Her face, however, was red with fury. "Now. You will wait for me there."

She still looked furious when she closed the door and swiftly walked around her desk. However, when she spoke, her voice was controlled.

"Usually, I would have given a student detentions until the end of the year for such a transgression. However, considering that you were selected a champion in the Triwizard Tournament and for this reason…" Professor McGonagall searched for words, "wasting hours scrubbing the floors that you could spend preparing for the tasks could be detrimental, I have decided to contact your godfather. I shall let him elaborate on the severity of your behavior. He will receive my letter by the evening. You are free to use the fireplace in my office should he request you to return home."

Harry cringed hard, his stomach dropping. Sirius was going to be so mad. When he had talked to Sirius only a few days ago, he had basically sworn that all was fine, life at Hogwarts was perfect. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice failing him, "you don't have to -"

"I already sent the letter so you can save whatever you have to say for your godfather," McGonagall said, cutting him off. She lowered herself into her office chair, placing the answer sheets of Harry's classmates on top of her desk. "I expect that this never happens again, Potter, and I expect that your godfather will make sure of it. If it does, however, I promise you that I will fail you for this term."

Harry felt his throat tighten.

"Dismissed," she said curtly with a wave of her hand.

The response from Grimmauld Place was swift and to the point. Regulus' voice was cold when Harry heard him call his name through the mirror about an hour later. He hurried to find a spot where he could talk in private. One of the bay window benches was free and Harry curled up in it, knees drawn to his chest as he turned away from the students walking by.

Regulus was speaking to him from the parlor again but this time he was pacing. "We expect you to floo home right after dinner."

Harry instantly noticed that Regulus had said we. So far, he had hoped that Regulus would be the first one to read McGonagall's letter and allow Harry to explain himself. Maybe then, Regulus could talk Sirius out of being too hard on him, calm him down some. "Does Sirius know already?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"He does." Regulus' features were hard. "Don't be late." And just like that, the mirror went blank.

Harry barely managed to get any of the dinner down. It didn't help that Hermione refused to speak a single word to him. Instead, she sat with Ron.

Neville tried to be reassuring but he wasn't doing a very good job at it. "I don't think I passed either," Neville said. "Next time we can study together."

"That's not the point, Neville," Harry said coldly. He wanted to add that if they studied together, it was almost certain that neither of them was going to pass but he swallowed it down.

The walk to McGonagall's office after dinner felt like it was going to be his last.

He didn't know what he had expected but he certainly hadn't expected both Sirius and Regulus sitting at the dining table in the basement, falling silent as Harry stepped out of the fireplace. They must have had dinner not long ago, the room still held the aromatic smell of Indian food.

Harry's knees felt like jelly when he saw the letter sitting on the table in front of Sirius, the red wax seal with the Hogwarts crest on it broken.

"Harry."

"H-hi," Harry stammered. His hands were sweaty and he wiped them on his trousers to get rid of the bits of floo powder sticking to his palms.

"Come. Take a seat." Sirius pointed at the chair to his right, Harry's usual spot.

Harry wiped his feet on the old rug that covered the floor boards just in front of the fireplace. Dragging his feet over to his guardians, he felt like he was a dead man walking to the scaffold.

Sirius tapped the letter. "Sit and read."

Harry obeyed. His voice was shaky as he unfolded the parchment and read Professor McGonagall's words. "… used magic to cheat on a test…"

"This is enough," Sirius said. "Is this what you did?"

Harry nodded. He couldn't look at his godfather. "I'm sorry."

"The same test you supposedly spend all weekend preparing for?" Sirius' voice was sharp. "The test you said was so important that you couldn't even make it to Hogsmeade for a couple of hours? The same test you said you didn't need any help studying for?"

Harry curled his shoulders in.

"Harry James Potter. I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

"I didn't study," Harry said in a low voice. "I couldn't."

"Did you at least attempt to?"

Harry knew that he couldn't lie. Sirius was a human lie detector, he could smell lies from a mile's distance. He looked at Regulus for help. Regulus, however, was sitting in the chair to Sirius' left with a face of stone.

"So let me get this straight," Sirius said, reading Harry's silence as a no, "One - you told us you had to study for a test which was a lie because you clearly didn't do so. Two - you cheated on that same test by using magic in class. Correct me if I'm wrong."

Harry tensely folded his hands in his lap.

Sirius leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, clearly dissatisfied with how unresponsive Harry was. "Explain yourself."

"Nothing to explain," Harry muttered.

Sirius exchanged a look with Regulus, who had been silent until now.

"If you think that we're going to let things go just like this you are mistaken," Regulus said.

"I don't," Harry said. He hated the disappointed look in Regulus' eyes, hated it almost more than the edge in Sirius' voice. "I just can't give you an explanation."

"Can't or won't?" Sirius asked.

Harry pushed his glasses up slightly as he raised his hand to rub the side of his nose. "Can't," he responded in a low voice.

Regulus cleared his throat. "The last time we spoke you told me things are fine, you are fine. Consider your answer carefully now, please: are things fine at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Harry said, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with Regulus, "it's normal."

Sirius scoffed. "That's bullocks and you know it, Harry."

Regulus held up his hand towards his brother. "Define normal," he said to Harry.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. "How it always is at Hogwarts. Nothing special."

"Being the Hogwarts Champion isn't special?"

Harry shrugged. He wanted nothing more than for them to stop asking questions. "I don't know." Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the tips of Sirius' mustache twisting down as the man pinched his lips together, becoming increasingly annoyed with what he was hearing.

"You're not exactly making a case for yourself right now," Regulus said, frowning. "If this was just about you cheating on a test, believe me, there'd be no point in discussing this any longer. You'd be back at Hogwarts doing detentions. So why are we here? What's really going on?"

Harry let out a deep sigh. "I'd rather be in detention too. But for some, reason McGonagall is being -"

He was cut off by Sirius swiftly lifting him out of his chair and planting a hard swat on his behind. Not two seconds later, Sirius sat him back down, leaning close. "Listen, young man. No more excuses. You will tell us what is going on and you will do so without me and Reg having to force it out of you. Otherwise, we'll skip the nice part and you and I take this discussion upstairs immediately. Am I understood?"

Harry looked at him, shocked. His eyes were watering as his hands wandered to his sides, itching to rub the sting out of his backside.

Still leaning close, Sirius put a hand on his knee. "I expect an answer."

"Yes," Harry forced out, blinking rapidly. His backside was still tingling. He always forgot how hard Sirius' hand was, even if it had only been a single swat.

"Good."

Regulus was raising his eyebrows at Sirius, passing him an odd look. "The nice part?"

Sirius shrugged. "I bet Harry agrees that this is the nicer part."

Harry wasn't so sure. If he was going to be punished either way then he'd rather have Sirius get it over with. Being interrogated by his guardians - one of them being decidedly too quick to hand out a few smacks - was torture. He shifted in his chair.

Sirius sat back down, crossed his arms in front of his chest, leveling Harry with a stern look. "All right. We're waiting."

The boy hugged himself around his middle, turning his head and looking at Regulus helplessly.

Regulus decided to take pity on him before Sirius' patience wore out, thin as it was already. "Let me tell you what I think," the man began, "I think it's all pretty overwhelming at the moment. The tournament, having the Daily Prophet constantly slandering you by spreading rumors and misinformation, that's all a lot to handle. If I were in your place, I'd be extremely anxious. Maybe I'd even push people away to protect myself -"

"Yeah, you definitely would," Sirius agreed.

Regulus narrowed his eyes at Sirius. "Can I please not be interrupted?"

Sirius raised his hands. "Sorry."

"Thank you." Regulus leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, eyes fixed on Harry. "You should have seen Sirius the last time they published an article about you, Harry. He went straight to the Daily Prophet's headquarters and tore them a new one." Regulus grinned at the memory. "The editor-in-chief called the Aurors. You should have seen his face when Sirius's colleagues arrived."

"He's a bloody moron, that one," Sirius grumbled.

"Anyway, they promised to stick to the facts from now on. I wrote you that, remember?"

"Yeah, right," Harry muttered. He didn't actually remember, he hadn't exactly paid Regulus' letters much attention during the previous weeks. He also doubted that Sirius' scene had made an impression on the editors at the Daily Prophet; the only thing that intimidated these people was a falling number of sold copies. "It's too late for that. They hate me already."

"Who, the people from the Daily Prophet? They don't hate you, Harry. They're just living off of gossip. Tomorrow they'll get bored and find someone else to slander," Regulus said.

"No." Harry lowered his head. "Everyone at Hogwarts. Ron too. They think I cheated my way into the tournament."

"Ron is an idiot if he truly believes that," Sirius said.

Harry shrugged. He didn't want to think about Ron, didn't want to talk about him. "I don't care what he thinks."

Regulus and Sirius exchanged a look. "What about Hermione?" the younger brother asked.

"She believes me. But she's mad now too because I used her notes to cheat on the test."

"Did you apologize?" Regulus looked like he already knew the answer and he was not wrong.

Harry shook his head.

"Then that should the first thing you do when you return to Hogwarts. Apologize to Hermione and also once more to Professor McGonagall," Sirius suggested.

"Hermione probably hates me already. She prefers hanging out with Ron anyway." Harry's throat tightened painfully but he chose to ignore it. He lifted his chin. "It's fine though. I don't need them. I still have Neville."

"They're your friends, Harry. Ron too. You need them and they need you," Regulus said gently. He opened his hands, motioned for Harry's hand. The boy hesitated at first, then placed his right hand into Regulus'. "Same with us. It doesn't help to push your friends and family away." Regulus glanced at Sirius, extended his other hand. Sirius took it.

"Come on, you two," Regulus said with a smile as Harry and Sirius eyed each other.

Harry sighed, then slowly locked hands with Sirius too. Sirius' hand was rougher due to some calluses on the upper area of his palm, but it was just as warm as Regulus's. The silver rings he wore on his thumb and ring finger were cool against Harry's skin, causing the boy to look down. He noticed how their silver flashed up when Sirius turned his hand, reflecting the dim candlelight.

"You have more people on your side than you realize," Regulus said, squeezing Harry's hand gently, interrupting the boy's musings. "We're here, we have your back. Hermione and Ron too, even if it might take a bit for Ron to come to his senses."

"Ron will come around," Sirius added, "I can talk to him and if that won't help I'll speak with Arthur and Molly. And I'll talk to Alastor and tell him to keep an eye on you -"

Harry rolled his eyes, let go of Sirius' hand. "Please don't."

"Hey," Sirius said, holding out his hand, fingers splayed wide, "give it back."

A defiant look crossed Harry's eyes. "You're always interfering with everything! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Sirius reached out, caught Harry's hand and held it tightly, ignoring the boy's attempts to tug it free. "Sorry to disappoint you, pup, but you're never alone. We have you, you have us. That's never going to change. And that's also not something that you get to forget." His tone gained a harder edge as he spoke.

Harry blinked. He lowered his gaze, studied the bread crumbs that collected in the larger cracks in the wooden tabletop. "I haven't forgotten."

Sirius' hold on Harry's hand intensified. "Yes, you have. That's why we're here. Not because you cheated on some bloody test. I couldn't care less about this stupid test, honestly -"

Regulus cleared his throat, cutting his brother off. "We do care about the test and we don't approve of cheating in the least," he said, giving Sirius a look, "Sirius means to say that you're not in trouble because of that. Well, a little bit maybe, but not in serious trouble."

"So… I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh no, you are," Sirius said sternly, causing Harry's eyes to flicker to him. "When we allowed you to stay at Hogwarts and take part in the Tournament, we did so under the condition that you keep us updated on everything that's going on. And yet you ignore our letters, pretend that you're busy studying so you don't have to see us, hide what's going on with your friends and your school work and -"

"I didn't hide anything," Harry responded in a strained voice. For the second time, he jerked his hands away. "There's just nothing you can do to help and so far I have everything under control."

Sirius squinted his eyes, his index finger tapping on the tabletop. He turned to face Regulus, wordlessly.

"Siri," Regulus said, his gaze ping-ponging between his brother and Harry, reading the silence in an instant.

"I don't want to hear it, Reg," Sirius responded sharply.

"But do you really think you have to?"

Harry's stomach twisted painfully as he watched this, realizing that he might just have dug his own grave with his words.

"I think I do." Sirius straightened up in his chair. He turned back to the boy to his right. "Harry… I think I have to paint a different picture so you see things a little clearer."

"It - it's already clear enough, Siri, really," Harry stammered. His palms turned sweaty and he pulled at his sleeves.

"It's not. Please go to your room, Harry. I will follow you up shortly."

Harry sat frozen. His eyes shifted to Regulus. While Regulus didn't look like he was happy with Sirius' decision, his apologetic expression made it clear that he wasn't going to save Harry.

"B-but I don't need a picture painted," Harry whined softly. He knew that arguing with Sirius was pointless. Once Sirius had made up his mind, he was going to follow through on whatever he had decided on. Still, he couldn't help but at least try. "Come on, Siri…" His eyes were pleading with his godfather.

Sirius shook his head, his finger jabbing at the stairway. "Up. I'm not saying it again."

Sirius and Regulus sat in silence as the boy shuffled out of the basement, his chin trembling.

"Can't you go easy on him?" Regulus asked eventually. His voice felt hollow. They could hear Harry as he plodded upstairs. "Just this once."

Sirius grunted. "Don't worry, I won't be hard on him. Just a reminder to set an exclamation mark, so to say."

Regulus gave a long exhale. "It's just… things are hard enough already. He needs compassion more than anything."

Sirius folded his hands on the table, humming under his breath. It wasn't like he didn't have compassion for the boy but he would also be a little tough on him to get through to him. "But he also has to learn that he can't hide stuff from us."

"He didn't mean to. It wasn't about us. He probably just thought he could deal with it on his own."

Sirius tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "It doesn't matter. He has to learn that too, Reg: it doesn't matter if he wants our help or not. He needs to tell us anyway. Same lesson you had to learn too."

Regulus was quiet for a moment. Finally, he nodded. He had been in Harry's position, he understood why the boy distanced himself. Still, it was a dangerous thing to do in times like these.

"And don't worry, I won't forget to address that he cheated on that test." Sirius smirked. "If he has to crib, at least he should do it in a clever way. Cheating with Hermione's notes, Merlin." He shook his head to himself. "That's way below the level of a son of James."

Regulus pretended to be appalled by his brother's words. "I swear if you give him any ideas I'll hex you."

Sirius laughed. "No godson of mine will crib in ways that are so pathetically basic -"

A friendly smack to the back of his head silenced Sirius effectively.

Sirius straddled Harry's desk chair. The boy was sitting on his bed just a few feet away from him, legs crossed. Moonlight was spilling through the open curtains onto his unkempt black hair, painting the boy's silhouette in dark blue lines on the bed's cream-colored sheets. Sirius didn't switch the light on, the night had a soft tone to it and he hoped that it would help him to keep his voice down and his temper in check. "All this, you could've avoided it simply by talking to us."

Harry sighed to himself. "You just get worried and make me feel worse."

It could have been Regulus saying this, nearly twenty years ago. Sirius tapped his fingers on the wooden back of the chair. "Sometimes you have to feel worse in order to feel better."

Harry rolled his eyes.

Sirius raised his hand to his face and rubbed his chin. "You can't really know how we'll react anyways. Maybe we wouldn't have been as worried as you think."

Harry shrugged, plucking invisible lint from his sleeve. "Maybe, maybe not. Most times you are, though."

"And you hate that, huh - me and Reg worrying about you?"

"It's just that it never stops," Harry muttered. "Just this one year I wanted things to go differently. I just wanted to be normal, not be gawped like this is a bloody show and I'm the main attraction."

"We don't treat you like that," Sirius said, raising his voice a little, wincing as it deepened the shadows. "Don't you think that you being allowed to live a normal life is what we want too?"

"You could've at least allowed me to pretend for a while," Harry said softly.

Sirius' heart clenched a little bit at the bitterness in his godson's words. He knew how much Harry had hoped for a more peaceful year. The boy had actually looked forward to the Tournament, to not being the center of attention for once. Until he had been selected champion.

"It is what it is, Harry." Sirius hated himself for saying this but it was better than suggesting to take Harry out of Hogwarts. Reg had told him to stop doing that. It scares him even more, Reg had said, the prospect of losing his friends on top of all that's already happening all around him. Sirius took a deep breath. "And things certainly won't go differently if you don't cooperate with us. Listen, Harry, if hiding something from us had been a one-time deal I'd happily let it slide but it's not. It's becoming a pattern."

"Sometimes I simply don't want to talk about stuff," Harry said, glaring at his godfather and lifting his dimpled chin. "What's so bad about that?!"

Sirius took in the boy's defensive look. He felt like he was getting old. He was so tired of this discussing this. "It's bad because it's absolutely essential that I and Reg know what's going on at Hogwarts so we can protect you."

The boy idly rubbed his hand across his forehead, the angry glint still in his eyes. "But by constantly asking if I'm fine you just make things harder. I just want to be treated like everyone else. Even McGonagall treats me differently. When Malfoy cheated last year, he only got a detention. I get sent home for everything."

"Not for everything, I'm sure," Sirius said, his lips twisting up a bit. "But Professor McGonagall knows that detention won't fix this, will it? It's not the cheating that's the problem here."

Harry chewed on his lips. He reminded Sirius an awful lot of Regulus in that very moment, forcing an involuntary smile out of the man. Harry noticed it, curiously looking up at Sirius. "What?"

"Nothing…" Sirius ran a hand over his face, willed the smile away. "It's just that I had nearly the exact same talk with Reg when he was about your age."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He hated sticking out too. And he hated asking for help when there was trouble in sight." Harry cast him a look of expectancy but Sirius left it at that. They hadn't told Harry anything about Regulus' past with the Death Eaters yet. And while this wasn't the place for it, maybe it was time for it, soon. It was Regulus' story to tell, however, not Sirius'. Sirius sat up straighter, silver moonlight in his back. "At some point, though, he finally got it - that we're always stronger as a team."

"I know that already," Harry muttered, disappointed that Sirius brushed the story about Regulus aside like that, "but I still don't see why I'm being punished harder."

Sirius thought it was a tad bit dramatic of Harry, considering that the boy hadn't been punished yet. "Harder than who?"

"Everyone."

Sirius sighed. Back at those one-word responses. He pulled his rings off his fingers got up from the chair, pushing it up against Harry's desk before placing the jewelry on top of it. He noticed that Harry leaned back slightly as Sirius took a seat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry that I'm not one of those super laid back parents that all of your classmates seem to have," he said in a low voice, "but after we're done here we can spend a nice evening together, play some board games if you want. Maybe that'll make things a little less bad?"

Harry frowned. "If I'm still getting punished I don't care."

Sirius looked at his godson for a while, watched him shift nervously under his gaze. Somehow, he didn't have the energy to be annoyed with Harry's tone any longer. Despite the attitude in his voice, Harry looked so lost and sad that he wished he could simply hug him and promise him that everything would be fine. The problem was, Harry was too old to believe him just like that. He had to get through to the boy first.

Sirius kept his voice firm but gentle when he spoke, "you mean way too much to me to let this go. If you choose to be mad at me for that, I'll have to accept that, but it's not going to change the fact that Reg and I love you and that we'll always be there to help and protect you."

"Punishing me doesn't help," Harry muttered under his breath.

"You haven't even been punished yet, pup," Sirius said, the corners of his mouth quirking up. "And while it may be a bitter pill to swallow, it's a necessary one."

Harry cast his godfather a dark look.

Sirius patted his knees. "You know the drill. Trousers can stay up this time unless you force me to take them down."

Harry looked absolutely miserable as he reluctantly scooted over to his godfather. "I'm too old," he muttered.

"You're not even close to being too old," Sirius said as he removed the boy's glasses and set them beside him on the bed. Then he pulled the teenager across his knees.

Harry closed his eyes as soon as he landed on his godfather's hard thighs. When the first smack hit his behind, he closed his right hand around the fabric of his godfather's trousers while he brought his left hand up to his mouth in an attempt to muffle the hiss that had escaped him.

It was impossible to stay silent for long - Sirius switched both tempo and force of his swats up frequently so that Harry had trouble getting adjusted to the sting and brace himself against the pain.

Sirius only paused to secure his grip around Harry's waist. Otherwise, the boy's muffled hisses and grunts did not seem to make any impression on him.

Only when Sirius had covered every inch of his bottom, Harry began to sob softly. "It's unfair," he whispered.

"What's unfair?" Sirius asked, not skipping a beat.

Harry winced, not having expected Sirius to hear that. He closed his eyes, bit his tongue.

"Harry," Sirius said warningly, "don't make me repeat myself."

A bitter sob escaped the boy. "Or what?"

Sirius adjusted him slightly, slowing down a bit yet increasing the intensity of the swats. "Do I have to take those trousers down, is that it?"

"Oww! No!" Harry responded instantly.

"Maybe I should. Maybe I should spank your bare bottom for lying to me."

The boy was crossing his ankles and flexing his feet. "Owwww… no please! I'm sorry!"

"Merlin knows you have James' temper sometimes but it's really not wise to argue with me while you're in this position."

Harry formed his hand into a fist, pressed his knuckles up against his teeth. The pain distracted him only for so long until Sirius noticed what he was doing. Stopping the spanking for a minute, the man removed his left arm from around Harry's waist and said, "give me your hand."

Harry shook his head.

"Harry?"

A few tears escaped Harry and rolled down his cheeks despite all his efforts to hold them in. "Siri, please," he whimpered, "no more."

"All right, here's the deal: you give me your hand and you tell me what is unfair. And then it's not going to be much more."

The boy slowly lowered his hand from his mouth. "How much more?"

"Not much," Sirius said. "The more you cooperate, the less it's going to be."

"Okay," Harry said softly, breath hitching. Pushing himself up slightly, he brushed his hand across his eyes before reaching back and placing it in Sirius's waiting one.

"Good," Sirius said, his thumb gently brushing over Harry's palm. "And now tell me what's unfair."

"They all think I-I ch-cheated," Harry said through hiccups.

"On the test?"

"N-no. To get selected in the Tournament. E-even Ron. Maybe even Her-Hermione."

"But you didn't."

"Doesn't matter c-cause they all believe it. They say that I stink."

"What!" Sirius' raised voice causing Harry to jump a little.

The boy swallowed hard. "The b-badges, that's what they say. All s-students wear them. All S-Slytherins and most Hufflepuffs."

"Badges? When did that start?"

"L-last week," Harry sniffled.

"And you didn't tell me - why?"

Fresh sobs escaped Harry. A shrug was the only response he could manage.

Sirius let go of Harry's hand and began to rub his back. "Hey. I didn't know it was that bad."

"It's not t-the badges," Harry responded, attempting to get his breathing under control. "It's that everybody hates me and Ron doesn't talk to me a-and every day is terrible."

Sirius continued to rub his back and Harry took a deep breath. "I know it's hard," Sirius said softly. "I understand."

"You don't," Harry whispered. "E-everyone liked you at school."

"Not everyone. The Slytherins despised me. Well, aside from Reg. Even though he told me that he hated me a few times."

"That's not the same."

Sirius sighed. "No, I suppose it isn't. But Reg understands, Harry. He really does."

"H-how?" Harry turned his head, resting his cheek on his pillow, glancing back at Sirius.

The man winked at him, a look of deep affection in his eyes. The hard edges around his mouth had softened and his voice was gentle when he said, "you have to ask him about it. I'm sure he'll tell you."

Harry sniffled. "Okay."

"Does that mean that I've gotten through to you or do you need more of this?" The man reached back to pat Harry's behind firmly, causing the boy to wince and twist away slightly.

"Nno! I'm sorry!"

A moment of silence. Then, Sirius shifted back, placing his hands under Harry's arms and lifting him up before guiding him to sit on his left thigh.

The boy's breath hitched again and he slung his arms around Sirius' neck, burying his face in the man's shoulder.

"Easy, pup," Sirius said as he passed a hand through his godson's sweaty hair.

"That hurt!"

"Hopefully enough to remind you that I mean it. No more bottling your emotions up and shutting us out, all right? You're not alone, Harry."

"Y-yes."

"Say it. I'm not alone in this."

"I'm n-not alone in this."

"Good. Because you have us." Sirius placed a kiss on the boy's forehead. "And no more cheating on tests. Reg doesn't like that and I must say that if you're gonna cheat using your friends' notes without her permission, you certainly deserve to get caught."

"'M sorry." Harry turned his head, resting his cheek on Sirius' shoulder. He stole a glance at his godfather, was relieved to see a smile playing around Sirius' lips. "I just couldn't focus on anything. The task… I'm scared I'll fail and they'll all think I'm a complete loser."

Sirius' smile wavered a bit. "You know that you don't have to take part, do you? No, I'm not suggesting to pull you out of school, you've already stated that you don't want that," Sirius added quickly, "but if you don't want to do the task, no one - not Dumbledore, not Barty Crouch Sr., not Ludo Bagman - can make you do it."

Harry blinked up at him through tears. He nodded slowly, even though he was still a little skeptical of that claim. Being selected champion constituted a magical contract that bound him to compete. He wasn't sure if anyone knew the consequences of breaking this contract. More importantly, however, he wasn't a coward.

"And you should also know that, even during the tasks, Reg and I will be right beside you and we'll help you. I'll stop it myself if things get too extreme."

"Don't," Harry groaned at the idea of his guardians flanking him during the task as though he was a five-year-old, "that will be embarrassing."

Sirius chuckled. "From the ranks, Harry. We'll be there and watch just to make sure you're safe. Don't worry, we will try our best not to embarrass you. That is, if you're not bothered by the giant banner we'll be waving. I thought of the slogan go, pup, get the cup -"

Harry jabbed Sirius in the ribs, causing the man to wince gently. Still, his godfather's words were a relief somehow. It was almost like Sirius was accepting the fact that Harry was to take part in the tournament.

"Careful, buddy. Bear with me, I am but an old man with a bad sense of humor."

"Not old," Harry mumbled. He felt his eyelids drooping, yawned. He felt utterly exhausted.

Sirius laughed, his chest rumbling softly. He took the boy with him as he shifted back on the bed, placing Harry next to him as he drew the covers up over them both. "How about a quick nap, hmm?"

"It's not late," Harry mumbled, rolling over onto his stomach. The painful throbbing in his backside was going down a bit.

"Well… you can get up later if you feel like it. Show Reg that you're still in one piece."

"Mmh." Harry snuggled into his godfather's side, closing his eyes. He felt Sirius tuck the covers around his shoulders, then draw him in a little closer, placing a kiss on his forehead. For the first time since he had been selected champion, Harry felt peaceful, lying there in the warm arms of his godfather. Maybe all would be good in the end.