Harry and Draco soon found themselves back at Hogwarts. They rode the train with Luna, Hermione, and Dragon. They spent the train ride explaining to Luna what happened this upcoming year. She gasped and groaned in sync with the story, much to Harry's delight.
They arrived and the sorting feast occurred as usual. They were told of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, which Harry completely ignored. He did not for a moment believe Dumbledore's promises that no one under the age of seventeen could enter the tournament. He knew that was a lie.
Harry's heart did skip a beat or two when Moody came crashing in. He did not want to admit how much knowing the man was Barty Crouch Junior affected him. It just did. He wanted to think anyone in his situation would feel the same way, but that did not make any of it better.
That night, he lent Draco his invisibility cloak. Draco promised to have it back before long. Harry shrugged.
"Take it for as long as you need it, Dragon. I'm going to bed. I won't have need of it anytime soon." Harry promised. Draco smirked. Dragon whined and snuffed at the cloak.
"You want to come, too?" Draco offered to Dragon. The dog nodded its head. He rolled his eyes. "Fine." He made room under the cloak for the dog. Soon, the two of them were off.
Severus knew he heard a knock at his door. However, when he opened the door, he found no one there. He knew he was not going crazy. Something must be going on.
"Black, if this is a trick, I am not amused." He stated. Suddenly, feet appeared as Sirius turned back into a man and the cloak lifted off the younger boy. He pulled off the cloak.
"I'm not that bad." He stated, stepping into the dark man's rooms. Severus let his godson in and closed the door.
"Yes, Black, come on in. You're always welcome here, in my private quarters." Severus drawled sarcastically. Black took a seat on the couch.
"Why thank you, Severus. However, I do believe we are here concerning your godson, and not as a social visit." Sirius teased. Severus rolled his eyes.
"What is it, Dragon?" Severus inquired gently. Sirius huffed.
"I told you, Severus, I'm not the one you need to talk to." Severus and Draco glared. "Oh, not me. Got it. We really should have thought of a different name, specifically one that is not a pet name for your godson."
"Draco, what do you need?" Severus restated. Draco smirked.
"I know Father was one of the one's who attacked those muggles at the Cup." Draco told his godfather.
"Was it that obvious?" Severus teased. Draco snorted.
"I just don't know what to do, Uncle Sev. I don't agree with what he did. I don't agree with his ideals. I…I love a muggleborn, Uncle Sev. I mean, really love her, and I even think she might like me. I even think I might want to marry her someday." Severus quirked an eyebrow at that. Why was a fourteen-year-old considering marriage? "How can I bring her home to Mother and Father? How could I tell them I don't want to marry a rotten, pureblood wench? They'd kill her, Uncle Sev." Draco was near tears, his throat closing up. Severus rubbed his back.
"Dragon," Severus glared at Sirius to remain silent. "You have plenty of time to think those things through. You are fourteen. Things may change…"
"But you know they won't. I know the Dark Lord is returning, Uncle Sev. I also know Father wants to hand me over to the man, if need be. I don't want to be his slave, Uncle Sev. I want to be free. I don't want to kill anyone, but if I do, I want to do so because I was protecting the truth. I want to fight for the oppressed, not the oppressor." Draco did not mention this meant also going against Dumbledore. He did not mention the third side slowly being created. He would wait for later to tell the man all that.
"Draco, I understand. I had to make the same decision a long time ago. I, however, made the wrong one. I chose acceptance of my peers over the truth, and I had to live with my decision. I lost the woman I loved." At this, Sirius tried not to gag at the thought of Lily and Severus together. "I lost everything I knew. You might have to lose everything, too."
"I finally have friends that I love, Uncle Sev. Harry, Hermione, Luna, I don't want them to get hurt." Draco explained. Severus nodded.
"I completely understand that, too. That is what made me turn back to the light. Make your choice wisely, Draco. Know this, though. You cannot have it all, not in this war. You must choose between your friends and your family. I hate to say that to you, Dragon, but it is the truth." Severus informed his godson. I had to, Sirius thought. He once again felt a kinship for the blond sitting across from him.
"I understand, Uncle Sev. I already know who I will choose." Draco promised.
"Good, now off to bed with you." Severus ordered. Draco nodded and picked up the invisibility cloak. "What is that?" Severus asked.
"Harry's invisibility cloak. I believe it was Harry's father's." Draco told his godfather. Severus looked accusingly at Sirius. Sirius cowed.
"Well, use it well. You know I will confiscate it if you use it against other students?" His godfather noted, pointedly looking at Sirius. Sirius sneered.
"Yes Mum," He retorted. Severus glared at the man.
"Not you, idiot!" Severus snapped. Draco smiled.
"We don't use it against other students, Uncle Sev. I promise." Draco swore, again pointedly looking at Sirius. Severus let the boy out. Draco turned to the man. "By the way, Uncle Sev, Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet." Severus looked confused.
"How could he?" The man asked. Draco shrugged.
"Just something to keep in mind." Draco stated, leaving. Severus sat back down.
"I assume you're not here for moral support?" Severus presumed.
"What? Can't I kill two birds with one stone?" Sirius asked the man.
"You seem to have a lot of fun killing things, Black." Severus noted.
"I never killed you. You're here, aren't you? Obviously, my 'plans' fell through." Sirius argued. Severus snorted. "I think it is time we have a parent-teacher conference."
"I have those on my own on a daily basis, apparently." Severus sighed. Sirius scoffed.
"That's what we need to discuss. What are we going to do, Severus?" Sirius asked.
"We're on a first name basis now, Black?" Severus queried. Sirius huffed.
"Well, it's either that or Snivellus, and you never seemed to like that very much." Sirius pointed out. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Continue." Severus drawled.
"So, what is the plan? I mean, we have a year to figure out where he's going, but what about Christmas? Who will he spend time with for the New Year?" Sirius inquired.
"We're planning out a custody agreement?" Severus asked in disbelief. Sirius nodded.
"Of course, though I hate to admit it, Harry should spend time with both of his godfathers." Sirius acknowledged. Severus sighed.
"I don't think we should tell Harry, yet." Severus admitted.
"Why not?" Sirius wondered. Severus rolled up his left sleeve.
"Because of this." Severus explained, pointing to his nearly returned Dark Mark. Sirius bit his lip. "It's also been burning lately."
"Even more reason why Harry needs both his godfathers. I'm assuming this means he is returning?" Sirius inquired. Severus nodded.
"I'm positive he already has a plan in place." Severus recounted. Sirius nodded back.
"Harry will need a lot of training, and he'll need our support. As much as I would love it to be otherwise, we need you, Severus." Sirius argued.
"Let Harry enjoy this year. Then, we can start training." Severus suggested. Sirius bit back a disagreement. He could not tell him about the impostor, or the Third Task. None of it could be mentioned.
"Just…keep me in the loop. With the Dark Mark, any contact you make, anything. Even keep me in the loop with Professor Dumbledore…" Sirius commanded. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Sure, with him you use 'professor'." Severus growled. Sirius bit back.
"Well, he was my professor." Sirius stopped himself. "Severus, this will get us nowhere. Just, please, keep me up-to-date with the goings on in the castle, okay?"
"Agreed." Severus nodded. He turned to let Sirius out. "Where did Potter obtain an invisibility cloak?"
"It's been passed down the Potter line for generations." Sirius informed him before turning into Dragon and running off. Severus shut the door. Something nagged him about the invisibility cloak, he just could not put a finger on it.
Sirius returned to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady took one look at the blond dog and opened up. Sirius transformed back into himself, knowing the portraits would not tell anyone who was there. Dumbledore had already informed them of his innocence and of how he would be staying with Harry.
"So, all I had to do was come up to you as a dog, and you would have let me in?" Sirius growled out in annoyance. The Fat Lady shrugged.
"Coming or going, dear?" She inquired. Sirius rolled his eyes, transformed back into a dog, and walked on through to Harry's room.
Unbeknownst to Sirius, Neville Longbottom sat in one of the chairs, facing away from the portrait, frozen with fright. He had seen the whole exchange. He could not believe what he had heard. Sirius Black was Harry's beloved dog, Dragon? Should he say something? Did Harry know? He assumed the man meant no harm, since he had spent over a year with them and had done nothing to hurt them, but this was still a curious thing. The boy decided to keep a closer watch on Harry and his dog. What else could they possibly be hiding?