Secrets, Lies and the Daily Prophet (Alt. Fifth Year Fic)

Chapter Nineteen: End of Summer

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The rest of the summer seemed to go by in a daze. Harry felt more prepared for the coming year than he had ever been. He read all the material given regarding what to expect from the O.W.L.s. He finished all the essays assigned to him from his professors and read several chapters in all his textbooks. While he had made progress in Animagus training, he was disappointed that he couldn't manage more than a forked tongue and a few scales covering parts of his body. His garden forays after being transfigured did help eliminate Nadine's daily strolls looking for Sirius. Instead she now kept to her side of the street fearing for her own safety (and hopefully her daughter's also.)

After Sirius told Professor Figg that Harry knew about their being a couple, they no longer tried hiding their affection towards one another. Harry had never seen two adults in a loving relationship before. His aunt and uncle never seemed to express affection towards each other beyond a compulsory peck on the cheek goodbye. Now he saw what he had hoped was what his parents' relationship was like.

The day before he left for Hogwarts, Harry spent the day clothes shopping with Sirius. He bought some new underwear, socks and other assorted clothes. He took the opportunity to do a little gift shopping also. For Dobby, he picked up another pair of socks and he selected a nice pair of ragg wool socks for Dumbledore for Christmas. He thought maybe Dumbledore might appreciate that after the comment he made about his image in the Mirror of Erised.

Harry also wanted to find a nice birthday present for Hermione since it was doubtful that there would be a Hogsmeade weekend before her birthday. His gifts for her in the past years always seemed a bit lame. He had been pleased with the broomstick servicing kit and the watch that she had given him. This time, he wanted to be sure to get her something that she'd really like. He didn't know where to start and Sirius said one word: "jewelry."

As Harry and Sirius looked around in the jewelry department, he felt overwhelmed by everything and the outrageous prices. He wanted something small and simple. Sirius told him that rings were out, because those were too intimate of a gift. Rings could only come from those who were romantically involved. Harry settled on a nice gold locket. It seemed like something she'd fancy without being too personal in nature.

Harry had been a little concerned at first about how to pay for these things since he didn't have any Muggle money and all his gold was in Gringotts. Sirius told him that Dumbledore had made arrangements in regards to the expenses for Mrs. Figg for years using a credit card. Somehow or another the bills always were taken care of and never appeared in her mail. As long as they weren't extravagant, it should all be taken care of by Dumbledore's usual arrangements.

Professor Figg gave both Harry and Sirius haircuts on the last day of August. She had offered to quietly and privately cut Harry's hair at school so that he wouldn't have to worry about his hair landing in the wrong hands. Sirius on the other hand would have to allow his to grow until she would have a chance to return to the Zone.

As Harry was leaving that night carrying all his purchases back to Privet Drive, Sirius pulled him to the side.

"I've got something else for you Harry," Sirius said quietly as he slipped him a package of condoms. "This is just in case you fall in love and decide to...I want you to be prepared, understand?"

Harry felt his cheeks burn at the sight of the box, but nodded and slipped it into one of his shopping bags.

"Now Harry, I don't want you doing anything spontaneous. That's 'cause I worry about you. If you find yourself getting serious with someone, I want you to talk to me first. Got it?"

"Yeah," he said in a soft voice.

"Now, since Arabella doesn't believe in owl post here - we won't be able to send letters to each other this year. If you need to talk to me, let her know and she can call me through her fire for you. Don't try doing it from the Gryffindor common room, it's too risky."

"Hey Sirius, I've been meaning to ask you. What ever happened to Buckbeak?"

"I left him in the Forbidden Forest. All misfit creatures end up there, but don't go looking for him."

Harry started thinking of the Acromantulas he met in his second year.

"No, I won't be going in there unless I have to. I've met some of the creatures in there and it's pretty spooky."

Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and wound up giving him a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you kid. Your parents would have been proud of you."

"I'm going to miss you too, Sirius," he said with his voice cracking.

"Okay, it's off with you now! And behave yourself," Sirius said with a wink.

Professor Figg stepped towards them and gave Harry a large smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow on the train. The hard part starts tomorrow when I have to pretend that I've never met you I wanted you to know that I've really enjoyed working with you this summer. It'll be hard to not play favourites with you at school, but know that if I appear harsh with you - it may just be for other people's benefit. That is unless you give me something to be mad at you about...," she said with a sly smile.

"I'll try not to disappoint you. And thanks again for everything Professor Figg. This has been the best summer of my life," he said as she gave him a hug goodbye.

Harry left the house and looked forward to waking up the next morning to go back to Hogwarts. No more Dursleys for ten months! Then he thought about Sirius and Professor Figg. They had just become a couple two months ago and now they were going to be apart for almost a year. He knew the separation would be hard on them. Then he thought about this being their last night together and he started getting images in his mind that were hard to get rid of. It was going to be difficult having her as an instructor if he thought of her in that way.

Author's Note: The next chapter will be a long one, since I don't want to break up the scene. Harry returns to school on the Hogwarts Express and he has "A Talk with Cho." An in-depth conversation that I feel wasn't handled as it should have been in Order of the Phoenix.