Red hot flames nearly managed to swallow him whole but Harry put up a hasty protego that shielded him from getting burning to a crisp. Rather than staying idle, he felt the need to move and he was proven right when his shield broke with the sound of shattering glass. He tried to put some distance but he was immediately forced to use a blasting curse on a transfigured bird that tried to peck him on his head.

The very next moment he felt his wand jump out of his hands courtesy of the disarming spell.

"Ha! You lost again." said Sirius holding Harry at wand point.

"You seem like you won a duelling championship while all you did was beat a fourteen-year-old wizard in a duel." Harry said blandly while taking his wand back from Sirius.

"No. I won against the Hogwarts Champion who single-handedly wiped the floor with a dragon. Not to mention this fourteen-year-old wizard beat Voldemort when he was a baby." said Sirius, oozing mischief in his words.

"Fair point. Someday I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

"I'm eagerly waiting for that day Prongslet."

"Prongslet?" Harry asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You know…since you are the son of Prongs." said Sirius.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense." Harry shrugged, not minding the nickname. "So, what did I do wrong in the duel?"

Sirius sat down followed by Harry on one of the couches as Winky popped in with two glasses of orange juice. Thanking Winky, he took a few gulps of the juice from his glass.

"In a magical duel, flame charms are the most useless piece of magic except if the spell is darker in nature. The reason being, flame repelling charms can allow a wizard to withstand normal magical fires. So usually, flames are used as a distraction in duels." explained Sirius.

"Well, I certainly didn't use flame repelling charms on myself." Harry muttered.

"Ensure that you do so before engaging another wizard in a duel. Although, more experienced wizards have another way of dealing with fire."

"How?" Harry asked, leaning forward curiously.

"You could either dispel the flames or you could turn the flames on the castor which is far more complex." said Sirius, who drained his glass of the orange juice which once again filled up courtesy of Winky.

"How does that happen?"

"There are simple spells for dispelling flames. As for taking control of the flames, you must learn to exert your will on the element."

"Exert my will? What do you mean?" asked Harry, interested by the prospect.

"Elemental spells are all about magical power and will. The one who can exert more will through their magical power will win the battle of elements."

Harry looked thoughtful at Sirius' explanation. In a strange way, it sort of made sense.

"Are you saying that if someone throws a bolt of lightning at me I can just overpower the will of the castor?" Harry asked frowning at Sirius.

"Trust me, Harry. You won't don't want to be at the receiving end of a wizard's wand who can spout lightning bolts. Of all the elements, lightning remains the most difficult element to properly defend from simply because they pack too much power and they are very quick."

Harry mulled that over in his head a little bit. He could see why Sirius thought lightning was the most difficult spell to counter. From his admittedly small research, lightning spells were most difficult to master. But, he didn't think lightning spells were powerful enough to be undefendable like the Unforgivable curses.

"What about using a shield based on a vacuum?" asked Harry.

"Huh! What do you mean?" Sirius blinked in confusion.

"Lightning can only pass if there is a medium to form a potential difference. In vacuum there is no potential difference so there won't be a flow of electrons which means no lightning." said Harry.

"Right… I haven't got the foggiest clue what you just said. But, you sound like your mother."

Harry sighed. This was a waste of time anyway. There was no point in actually concentrating on duelling and fancy spells when all he had to look forward to in a few weeks was to rescue someone from the bottom of the Black Lake.

"Setting that aside, I received a letter from Damien Greengrass." said Harry.

"You did?" Sirius looked up in surprise, still drinking from the juice glass. "What did he say?"

"He wants to meet preferably on the next Hogsmeade weekend." said Harry, leaning back into the couch.

"Hmm… I know almost nothing of what Damien was up to in the last war. The man had most likely slipped out of the country." Sirius let out a bark of laughter before a pint of remorse entering Sirius' eyes. "He probably saved his family by doing that. James and Lily should have done the same."

"They fought for what they believed in Sirius." said Harry softly, understanding Sirius' position.

"No cause is worth the price James and Lily paid Harry. Looking back, I should have pressured them to leave the country once we knew your mother was pregnant. No doubt, it was one of my greatest failures. Some friend I am." muttered Sirius darkly.

Harry got the urge to defend that the cause of bringing down a bunch of fascists and terrorists was worth the price but thought better off it. It'd be foolish of him to be inconsiderate of Sirius' pain. Sitting before him was someone who abandoned his family to join the other side of the war knowing he was bound to fight his family. That sort of decision took guts and he was not going to demean the guy in his weakest moment.

Besides, who was he to reserve judgment on the worthiness of the cause when the cause never panned out in the first place. All that blood spilt, only for the Ministry and the supposed 'Light side' to welcome in cold-blooded murderers and rapists with open arms. The only losers in the war were those who lost their loved ones and their way of life. In that context, he agreed with Sirius. No cause was worth that amount of blood spilt when the cause they were fighting for was an illusion, to begin with.

It was almost fourteen years since the war came to a conclusion and what results did the Ministry had to show for it? To someone like Sirius who had spent more than a decade in Azkaban the whole validity of the 'cause' might not mean anything. It was then Harry found some renewed respect for Sirius who still bothered to continue with his life.

If it was him, he'd have most likely escaped the country and never looked back. The fact that Sirius even bothered to stick around made Sirius a better man.

"You know what? There was no Dark or Light side in the last war. There was the side led by terrorists and there was the side led by apathetic hypocrites." said Harry, resolve filling his eyes. "This time, we will crush them both and burn out the forest for new growth."

"Harry, I'd rather you don't involve yourself with all this."

"That's where you are wrong, Sirius. I can't run from it. One side will seek my death while the other will try to use me as a pawn. The only option is to destroy them both and that's what I'm going to do."

XXXXXXXXXX

The excitement of the Yule Ball could be seen among the student populace depending on where you looked. The Third years, Second years and First years were probably devastated that they wouldn't get to participate in the Yule Ball. Although, Harry was sure quite a few were happy they would be home instead of asking a girl to the Ball.

There was a lot of teen angst going around in Hogwarts. If this Ball was some regular event like a Prom or something Harry reckoned there might not have been this much anxiety. Instead, everyone was hyper anxious about their dates, clothes, dance steps and whatnot. The Gryffindor Common Room sort of became a platform for gossips which was not saying much but Harry reckoned it was worse than ever. Everyone was interested in who turned down who, who's going with whom, how did someone handle a rejection etc.

In fact, even the teaching staff sort of gave up attempting to teach anything new. What with, everyone discussing the music band Weird Sisters and which music they were going to play. Or the ridiculous rumours like a 700 ft tall cheesecake that Dumbledore apparently ordered. Or the thousand barrels of mulled mead that was supposedly going to be served.

Harry even heard a rumour that claimed the dragons used in the tasks were rendered for their flesh and fried dragon hearts were to be served for the Champions. There were even rumours that Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts were on the menu. Hagrid was not particularly delighted by that piece of news but he had seen many hopeful and even eager looks amongst many students when that bit of rumour took traction.

The good part about teachers not being strict with their portions, Harry had less homework to worry about. This meant he could use his time to cover portions of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

Of course, credit had to be given to Tracey who so far had shown up almost consistently to tutor him. Sometimes, even Daphne also joined in their study session. Hermione, it'd seem, was the one who was most excited about the study group. She seems intent to make friends with Daphne and Tracey. In so far, Hermione was slowly succeeding.

In a way, Harry could understand why Hermione was very eager to make friends with the two Slytherins. There were very few in Hogwarts among the female spectrum that Hermione liked. She tolerated Parvati and Lavender cause they were her roommates. The Ravenclaws were more her speed but for some reason, she didn't get along that well with the 'claws.

So, finding two Slytherin girls who are academically inclined as she is must be a ray of hope for Hermione. Not to mention, both Tracey and Daphne seemed hardly bothered by Hermione's ability to go on a tangent when it comes to random bits and pieces she read in some book.

"Alright. Enough about Anglo-Saxon runes. I think I'm going to be bored to tears if we continue anymore." said Tracey, closing her Ancient Runes textbook with a snap.

"I suppose." Harry shrugged, closing his books and packing all the parchment into his bag.

"I forgot to ask. Who are you going with to the Ball?" asked Harry curiously.

"Michael Corner." answered Tracey, who proceeded to slap her forehead. "I almost forgot. I was supposed to meet him near the Great Hall."

Tracey picked up her pace with Harry lagging behind his Slytherin friend. On his back, Hermione and Daphne were quietly whispering. He tried to pick up on their conversation but it was sort of difficult as the two were very secretive in their exchange.

When they finally reached the Great Hall's entrance there was a small crowd gathered. The entrance was packed with boys from Durmstrang and Hogwarts. Harry took note that many of them were pushing and pulling amongst themselves. Apparently, there was something very interesting going on here at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Tracey managed to shove away the boys and Harry helped her as she was in a rush. It was only when the two of them managed to wade through the crowd did they find the cause of this rush.

Harry was greeted by the sight of a swooning Ron who was on his knees before Fleur Delecour. Harry gaped at the ridiculous pose Ron was making with his left hand on his heart and the right hand extended towards Fleur as if asking for her hand.

"Will you please go to the Ball with me?"

There was nothing wrong with the question itself except for the fact that Ron was sporting a stupid smile on his face as if he was on Ecstasy.

There was pin-drop silence as everyone looked from Ron to the French Champion who looked like she was just asked to the Ball by a slug.

In the end, Fleur didn't have to respond as Ron suddenly came to his senses. For a moment, the red-head Weasley looked around at the gathered crowd. Harry could see the growing horror on Ron's face. Ron turned tail and ran with gales of laughter following after him.

"Well, that was entertaining." said Tracey, with suppressed laughter.

"That was horrible. She used her charm." said Hermione, with disapproval rolling off her in waves.

"I don't think it was intentional." said Daphne, nodding at Cedric Diggory who now chose to part ways from the French Champion.

After that fiasco, Harry and Hermione separated ways from the two Slytherins.

The two of them found Ron in the Gryffindor common room looking completely flustered.

"Harry, don't tease him." warned Hermione.

"Hey, why'd you think I am about to do that?" asked Harry, offended.

"Because Ron has not been kind to you but I don't want you to stoop to his level."

Harry raised his hand disarmingly. "Alright. I will be silent as a grave."

Somehow, Ron took that moment to look in their direction and that made Ron rush towards them.

"Hermione," said Ron as he rushed up to Hermione, looking rather mortified.

"Ron, are you okay?" asked Hermione, after giving Harry a silent stare.

"I asked Fleur Delacour to the ball," said Ron as his eyes widened, looking like a fish out of water. "What was I thinking?"

Harry had the urge to say 'Really? You can think?'.

But, as promised he kept his mouth firmly shut and slowly moved himself to a corner where the twins were marketing their fake wands to a firstie.

"Hey, Harry. Want to buy one of our fake wands?" asked George.

"No. But, I heard you guys made Flaming Fart candies. You have those for sale?" asked Harry.

"Ha! Now we are talkin' Harry." said Fred, who smiled gleefully. "Looks like someone just pissed you off. Is it Ronnikins?"

"Not Ron, although that's tempting. But no. I was rather thinking I should send a Christmas present to my relatives."

"Oooh!" Fred and George giggled with a matching wicked grin.

"Tell you what Harry. I think I like that idea. So, how many do you want?" asked George.

"I know you guys are serious about that joke shop of yours. I'll pay you double for all the Flaming Fart candies you have."

"You don't have to do that." Fred protested.

Before they could do anything else Ron and Hermione's arguing cut across their conversation.

"You know Hermione, you are a girl."

"Really, what gave you that clue?" asked Hermione, in a sour voice, as she looked at Ron with her arms crossed.

"Well, I do still need a date for the Yule Ball and I was wondering if you want to come with me," said Ron slowly. "It's not like you have a date…"

"For your information, Ronald, I do in fact have a date," hissed Hermione, looking a bit angry now.

"Oh, come on Hermione. You don't have to lie. Do you want to go to the Ball with me?" asked Ron.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I can't believe he is your brother and he just said that to Hermione's face." Harry whispered to the Twins.

"Oh, he is our brother Harry." said Fred.

"Maybe mum's hand slipped when Ronnikins was a baby but he's our brother." supplied George.

Hermione, it'd seem, finally reached her limit in patience and promptly punched Ron in his face.

"Owww!" Ron yelped stumbling back. "You…you do have a date!"

"Yes, Ron. Just because it has taken you three years to notice that I am in fact a girl does not mean that everyone else is blind." said Hermione, before adding under breath. "Or stupid for that matter."

Hermione walked off, leaving Ron standing in the middle of the common room looking like an idiot.

Harry shrugged before turning to the twins. "So, what about those Flame Farting candies we were talking about?"

XXXXXXXX

The next morning Harry didn't go for his usual routine of training. He was instead present in the common room sitting down on a chair nearby the fireplace. Not that he was looking to get warm as a simple warming charm would do the trick.

No. Rather, he was just thinking of the meeting that was scheduled today. There were many thoughts flying through his mind. The conversation with Sirius also stayed with him and whenever he closed his eyes he could only see Sirius' half-dead grey eyes.

The fact that the head of DMLE was directly intervening and was about to interrogate him despite all tangible evidence pointed to the fact that Sirius was never given a trial didn't sit well with him. What bothered him most was that Madam Bones had her brother and sister in law murdered by Death Eaters and yet she is content to turn a blind eye to these Death Eaters running free.

Harry could understand the woman has her hands tied when she inherited the position as by then many Death Eaters were cleared of all charges by the Ministry. Yet, he could not fathom why Amelia Bones has not pushed to investigate the attack on the Quidditch World Cup.

He remained silent and disenchanted with the rest of the conversation as he was mulling over these thoughts about Sirius, the First Wizarding War and the Ministry. Ron had once again started bitching and moaning but thankfully the red-head nuisance was bothering Hermione. Apparently, Ron was now obsessed with finding who was Hermione going out with and Hermione seems to contend to keep Ron in the dark.

The day continued despite Ron's innumerable failed attempts in diving the identity of Hermione's date. It was in the last minutes of the first hour of his History class Dumbledore called for his presence.

"Cockroach cluster."

The gargoyle stepped aside permitting Harry to climb the spiralling stairs towards Dumbledore's office. The doors of the office remained open. Inside, he could see a tall black-haired witch wearing silky black robes sitting opposite Dumbledore.

"Ah, Harry. Please do come in."

"Mr Potter. We meet at last, face to face. I'm Andromeda Tonks."

Harry shook the witch's hands. "Glad to meet you, Mrs Tonks."

"Now, Harry. We don't have much time but I hope you remember my advice. I strongly recommend you stay silent in this conversation. Let me answer Madam Bones. She won't be able to force you to answer as you are an underage wizard."

Harry merely nodded, showing that he understood.

"Harry, it is imperative that you keep your silence. As I'm standing in as your guardian in the absence of your family I shall discourage Madam Bones from taking too many liberties." said Dumbledore.

Both Dumbledore and Mrs Tonks continued to give him counsel stressing the need for him to shut up until finally, the floo flared up with green flames. And from those flames, a stern-looking witch stepped out followed by two others.

"Dumbledore, Mrs Tonks." The redhead woman greeted sharply before her sharp eyes traced his face before resting on his scar.

"Mr Potter." The witch nodded sharply before turning her attention to Dumbledore and Andromeda Tonks.

Harry took the time to take a look at the two companions of Amelia Bones. Clearly, they were Aurors. From the adult's conversation, he put the names on each of their faces. The Auror wearing a blue cloche hat was Kingsley Shacklebolt. Shacklebolt looked more like an Auror as the guy was always on the lookout. The other Auror who sported blond hair and frankly looked like a ponce was John Dawlish.

Once the introductions were over Harry was sitting opposite to Amelia Bones who scrutinized him with her sharp brown eyes. Harry, meanwhile, employed all that he learned in his Occlumency studies to remain as a brick wall in the emotional spectrum.

"Mr Potter, let's begin. We have reason to believe you are harbouring or perhaps unwittingly aiding a dangerous fugitive."

The opening itself made Harry predisposed to dislike Amelia Bones. But, he didn't so much as twitch. He stayed silent and let his attorney handle the law enforcement officers.

"Madam Bones, please specify your questioning. Who is this dangerous fugitive?"

"I'm of course talking about Sirius Black." said Madam Bones.

"By what definition are you claiming Sirius Black is a fugitive?"

"By the definition the Ministry of Magic has given Mr Black. Me Black is on the run from the law so he remains a fugitive." replied Madam Bones.

"I'm afraid your question is not legally sound Madam Bones. What crime has Mr Black committed?"

"His crime is breaking into Hogwarts illegally. I believe he tried to enter Gryffindor common room. If you are going to deny that please remember I do have my niece in Mr Potter's year."

Harry glanced at both Dumbledore and Andromeda Tonks as they were a bit flat-footed with the way the interrogation had gone. Indeed, Harry could see the angle by which Madam Bones was playing. She was not looking for Sirius for a crime that he was wrongfully accused of but rather for a crime, he did commit.

Those carefully constructed Occlumency shields in his mind were not enough to contain the sheer outrage he was feeling at the moment. Just how low can these politicians go for a momentary gain. Their callousness and arrogance to disregard what Sirius had suffered all to get an upper hand in the political arena.

Harry then realized Madam Bones while pressured to be present today by the Ministry has her own agenda. He suspected she hopes to score some political scoop by capturing Sirius Black well ahead of the scheduled trial. If such a thing happened he suspected Madam Bones would get a boost in popularity. Or maybe, the Ministry would look good by doing so. Or it could be that the DMLE hoped to strike a deal with Sirius and force him to not pursue legal action against the DMLE for his unjust imprisonment.

"Is that right Madam Bones? I suppose, your niece is willing to verify the validity of your accusation against Sirius Black." Andromeda Tonks prodded.

"She doesn't have to as Hogwarts staff's actions on that night is cause enough."

"I'm afraid Amelia you are terribly wrong. I assumed Sirius Black was responsible that day as I was also under the misconception of Sirius' past. Obviously, I was wrong. Most likely it was Peter Pettigrew who tried to make a forced entry into the Gryffindor tower." said Dumbledore, looking over his half-moon spectacles at Madam Bones.

"Truly Dumbledore… you expect me to believe…."

Harry got tired of this pathetic show put forth by Amelia Bones. He should not have been that much surprised. Those in power will always try to cover their asses. Sirius' case was only going blow open a hole in the Ministry and he had no doubt the DMLE was going to take the lion's share of the blame.

"Madam Bones, what is it that you hope to achieve today? You seem intent to pin blame on Sirius Black for everything that happened under the sun?" Harry asked, breaking his silence.

"Mr Potter! Mind your words."

"No. I don't think I will. If you are here to make a case to have Sirius come to a deal so that the gross incompetence of the DMLE will not blowback against you, then you have wasted a handful of floo powder." said Harry, standing up from his seat. "I will see to it that the DMLE will pay reparations even if it bankrupt's the entire ministry of magic. Before today, I'd have been amendable to a backroom deal but this conversation has shown just why murderers like Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery and Nott are walking free while my Godfather languished in Azkaban for thirteen years without a trial. "

"I wish you all the best in the days to come Amelia Bones. You will need it."

With that last parting shot Harry made his way outside of the office.

"Mr Potter, I'm not done with my questions."

"Then ask away. My attorney will answer all your queries. I've better things to do with my valuable time rather than spending it on a useless politician."

After saying that, Harry closed the door behind him and took off to his History class. On the way, he found a broom closet which he immediately took refuge in. Once he was sure he was all alone he let go of the Occlumency shields which crumbled under the wave of anger he had struggled to hold back. The entire broom closet rumbled and was promptly blown back from his violent magical energy surge.

Taking several deep breaths Harry tried to calm down. Once he was sure he purged the surging anger in his system he stepped out of the ruined broom closet. Giving one last look to the sorry shape of the broom closet he took his leave. He was confident Andromeda Tonks can deal with Madam Bones on her own.