"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Professor Moody yelled from the other end of the table, prompting a few people to nervously laugh.
"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed. "If you do find yourselves in trouble seek help from Aurors if possible or any trustworthy adults that may be in the area. I wish to see all of you again in September so please heed my warnings. There is a war brewing in our world, one that has lain dormant for the past thirteen years but has now returned. Good must answer the challenge of evil if our way of life is to persevere. One day you will all be asked to take your place and join the fight, but for now it is important that you dedicate yourselves to learning and focus on protecting yourselves and those you love.
"For some of you this is your last year at Hogwarts and you are now faced with the decision of what to do with your lives. I urge you to seek out where you can best serve our society, because we need you now more than ever. Harsh times surely lay ahead, and I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you plan on doing. It has been a pleasure teaching you these past seven years and watching you grow into fine young witches and wizards. Rely on each other, and we will make it through these troubling times." Dumbledore raised his cup at this point to make a toast. "To you, the Hogwarts class of 1995."
Everyone applauded again at this point, but many of them were a bit disturbed with the tone that Dumbledore's speech had taken. The students were all too young to remember what it had been like during Voldemort's reign of power and were clearly unsure of what his rebirth meant for them. But still they clapped politely, or excitedly in the case of the seventh years, and went on with their meal as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Hey Sirius," Harry said a few minutes later, "Where are we going to be staying this summer?"
"Don't worry about that, Harry." Sirius assured him. "The Blacks are an old family and owned a few homes that, since I am the last of the Blacks, are now mine. We'll be staying in one of them, the house I grew up in actually. It wasn't the happiest place but it will do."
"It can't be any worse than the Dursley's." Harry commented.
"No, not anymore." Sirius laughed. "You know I met your aunt Petunia once. She called me a freak and ran out of the room."
"Sounds exactly like her." Harry agreed. "That is pretty much how she acts around me, too."
"I tried to convince Dumbledore not to make you go back there at all this summer." Sirius explained, "But he wouldn't back down. Next year will be different, even if the old goat disagrees."
"It's ok Sirius, really. I can handle the Dursley's." Harry assured his godfather.
"Of course you can." Sirius answered. The feast was beginning to end as people left the Great Hall and headed out for one last night of fun in the castle. "So, I still want to meet this girlfriend of yours. You're not trying to hide me from her are you?"
"Maybe I am." Harry replied jokingly. "She's still sitting at the Slytherin table with her little sister. Let's go and I'll introduce you." They both stood up and walked over to the other table where they received a mixture of glares and confused looks from the students. Two seats across from the Greengrass girls were open so Harry and Sirius sat down. "Daphne, Astoria; I'd like you to meet my godfather Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Daphne and Astoria."
"A pleasure to meet you both." Sirius said with a small bow of his head.
"Funny, you don't look like someone who spent a decade in Azkaban." Astoria replied.
"Astoria, that's rude." Daphne commented with a small sigh.
"No, no, it's ok." Sirius assured her with a grin as he looked back at the younger girl. "I've had a year out and am feeling much better now. If you'd like we can all take a field trip there this summer so I can reminisce. I'll even bring the chocolate."
"No thanks." Astoria said instantly. She doubted the man was serious, but his eyes held a mischievous look that made her uncertain about that.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr Black." Daphne said. "Harry talks about you a lot."
"All good I should hope, and please just call me Sirius. 'Mr Black' makes me feel ancient." Sirius responded. "You're Daniel Greengrass's daughter, correct?"
"So you know him?" Daphne asked.
"I did, long ago. We both worked at the Ministry for a few years, though in different departments." Sirius explained. "Also our families were in some of the same social circles. He was a good man then, I trust he still is."
"I think so." Daphne answered. "Perhaps we should have you both over for dinner sometime soon."
"Lovely." Sirius replied. "And I am sure Harry is eagerly awaiting a chance to spend time with your family." The other laughed at this thinly veiled reference to Harry's worry about whether or not Daphne's parents would like him.
"Yes, Sirius." Harry confirmed. "Eagerly."
"What do you think about Harry dating a Slytherin?" Astoria asked, wanting to see if there was any tension over the situation.
"I have no problems with it. Why should I?" Sirius replied. He then looked over at Harry and pretended to whisper, although the volume of his voice did not lower much at all. "When you're older I'll tell you about the time in sixth year when Professor McGonagall caught me in a broom closet with the seventh year Slytherin girls prefect. Two weeks of detention for that, but it was well worth it."
"I think you just told me all I want to know about it." Harry answered with a small shake of his head. As they continued talking for the next half hour Harry was quite relieved to see that Sirius seemed to like Daphne and she enjoyed his sometimes odd sense of humor. By the time they had finished their conversation and left the Great Hall Sirius had told Daphne to feel free to come to his home and visit Harry any time she wanted to, another fact that made Harry happy.
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