Harry was concerned. Auror Scrimgeour, or rather High Inquisitor Scrimgeour, looked terrifying. He looked sterner than McGonagall, just as paranoid as Moody, and as capable as Kingsley. At least he wasn't wearing pink. He did however say quite plainly in his opening statement at breakfast the next morning that he thought the Inquisitorial Squad was a wonderful institution, that most of the Educational Decrees seemed reasonable, and that he would be interviewing anyone and everyone who may have interacted with Dolores Umbridge during the last day she was seen. Harry really hoped he wouldn't end up having to eat this High Inquisitor as well.

The students watched the wall covered in Educational Decrees as Scrimgeour had a few removed…a few as in actually three. Quidditch was still out to everyone's dismay. "We're taking bets on if he'll be better or worse than the toad," one of the Weasley twins whispered to Harry as they watched the slight changes being made to the wall.

"You want in?" The other twin asked from Harry's other side.

"I'll put five knuts on me getting detention by the end of his first week," Harry remarked wryly as Hermione turned and rolled her eyes at him from where she was standing just to the front of the group.

"We can't give you good odds on that one, mate. Everyone thinks you'll be getting detention by the end of the week," the twin Harry thought was Fred responded with a smirk.

"Fine, I'm out then," Harry shook his head as Ron sniggered from beside Hermione.

"I think betting should be the next decree," a voice dryly remarked behind the group, causing everyone to spin around in surprise.

Harry was face-to-face with the grizzled countenance of the new High Inquisitor that looked remarkably like a stern lion who wanted to eat him. "Er, hello, Headmaster, sir," Hermione mumbled from behind Harry.

Scrimgeour completely ignored her as he pinned Harry with a look. "Mr. Potter, I believe I would like to start my interviews tomorrow after lunch with you. I see from the school records that you had detention with my predecessor on the night of her disappearance."

"She never showed, sir," Harry quickly explained as his heart began to race.

"Regardless, you will be in my office by 12:30pm tomorrow. Understood?" The man raised a commanding eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Yes, sir," the teen quickly replied with a tense nod of his head. His stomach sank as the man walked away from their group.

"Nice knowing you, kid," the twin…probably George, clapped him on the shoulder as they walked off laughing.

"You need to get your story straight and not break down like you did with us," Hermione hissed worriedly in his ear as they walked away from the rest of the students.

"You think Snape will back you up? You said he was the one to patch you up after," Ron asked in concern while they made their way to another day of Care of Magical Creatures and Harry avoiding all the creatures to the best of his ability. "It'd suck if he just sold you out to Scrimgeour."

"He owes me," was all Harry said in response. He quickly pulled them into an alcove and cast the standard HSMC privacy ward.

"What was that spell? Where did you learn it?" Hermione gasped in interest as she examined the strong ward.

"Hermione…focus," Harry physically turned her around to face him and away from the ward. "I need to tell you both something."

"Do NOT tell me what happened that night," Ron said quickly with a scared look in his eyes. "You know I'm terrible at keeping secrets, and I'm already keeping you being a dementor a secret. I don't think I can handle another."

"Oh please, you already know what happened," Harry rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Knowing and knowing are two completely different things," the redhead protested with a glare.

"Well, you're going to have to deal with one more secret because Padfoot has decided to drop by tonight and has every intention of staying," Harry told them both with a worried look in his eyes.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's idiotic and dangerous! What in Merlin's name is he thinking?!"

"Blame Neville not me," Harry pouted at her. "He was the one that told Sirius I'd been crucio'd."

"What?!" Both exclaimed.

"That's what happened?!" Hermione gasped in horror. "That…illegal…"

"She was torturing him with a blood quill, Hermione," Ron glared at her. "Of course whatever she did was illegal."

"Yeah, that amongst other things…anyway, Neville crashed my call with Sirius and got him all worried," Harry sighed. "By the way, Neville knows about Sirius/Padfoot now too."

"You should have remembered to put up a ward like this around your bed," Hermione reprimanded him as she motioned to the ward.

Harry closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself not to lash out at his friends and reign in his temper. He pulled out a lip balm and applied it as that always calmed him down some. "Hey, can I borrow?" Hermione asked as she reached out a hand.

Harry looked at her questioningly for a bit. "Isn't that a little weird? I just put this on my lips…"

"It's not like dementors catch germs," she reminded him.

"Jamie might," he protested right back.

"Fine, be stingy with your lip balm then," she huffed.

"The dementors keep stealing them, and Ginny only gave me so much," Harry glared.

"Children!" Ron called out in frustration. "The world must be ending when I'm the reasonable one in a conversation! Hermione, that actually is a bit gross. And Harry, stop being weird."

"Fine, what time does Sirius get in and where is he going to stay? You know dogs aren't technically allowed," Hermione sighed, seeming to agree that if Ron was the reasonable one, something was very wrong.

"He gets in at 8pm, but I think Neville and I have worked out how to sneak him in and where to keep him," Harry explained with a smirk. "Snape already has a houseguest, we figured he wouldn't mind another."

Both of his friends stared at him in disbelief. "He's going to kill Sirius…" Ron remarked.

"Yeah, that's not going to work…Snape definitely didn't want the first houseguest," Hermione added on slowly.

Harry shrugged. "Well, we discussed that, and we think we may have found a way to make him at least listen. Especially if the request doesn't come from me or Sirius."

"He doesn't like Neville any better, mate," Ron reminded him.

Harry knew that wasn't exactly true. They definitely weren't friends, but Harry thought Neville might be one or two steps up in Snape's opinion than he was. "Nah, we have a plan. Don't worry guys. Besides, Dumbledore will make him see reason if we can't. We just have to get Sirius through the door, and you know Dumbledore, he'll handle it from there."

"That's like saying we just have to make sure Voldemort dies and calling that a plan…" Hermione shook her head. "You really need to work on your plans."

"Probably, but we're going to be late for Care of Magical Creatures now," Harry reminded them as he cancelled the ward. "I'm hiding behind Neville today. Creatures actually seem to like him. Maybe it'll cancel out their hate for me."

"I can't wait to see what new creature Hagrid has that wants to kill you," Ron grinned unapologetically as he put an arm around Harry's shoulders. "It's like being in a Harry-suit cancels all their innate fear of dementors and just makes them murderous."

"Ah, everything is right in the world, and I'm the sane one again," Hermione sighed with joy as she followed along behind them.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

Harry and Neville awkwardly stood out on the castle grounds at 8pm by the Whomping Willow. Harry had a small scratch on his arm from where the crup bit him during CoMC class, but Neville had thankfully talked the magical dog down so that was his only injury. Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins thought it was all very hilarious while Hagrid apologized profusely. Curfew wasn't for another hour, but they still felt like they were breaking some kind of rule, even before they snuck in a wanted felon. The tree suddenly stopped moving and with a happy bark, a large grim ran up from the roots and tackled Harry to the ground.

"Snuffles! Really, that's so gross!" Harry protested as a pink tongue licked him from his neck to his hair.

"Aw, but he missed you. At least one dog is happy to see you today," Neville laughed before he was tackled next with a yelp of surprise. "Ew, I don't even know you!"

"Serves you right; you made friends with him when I tried to keep you away," Harry huffed as he peeled himself off the ground and brushed off the dust.

"Merlin, he's heavy," Neville commented from where he was trying to shove the large, happy dog off of him.

"Snuffles, let your new friend up," Harry chuckled as Sirius gave him a doggy smile and finally let the elf get back to his feet. "Follow us and stay close or I'll conjure you a collar and leash," Harry warned the unpredictable man. "We're meeting someone who can help us get you into the castle."

Padfoot looked a little confused since he knew all the secret passages, but he still followed along behind his godson and his new friend as they made their way to a secluded area by the Forbidden Forest. "Scrimgeour kept Umbridge's squad of snitches to patrol the hallways, so the secret passages into the castle aren't guaranteed to not lead directly into the path of a patrol. Even with the map, the dungeons are too far away to chance it," Harry explained to the dog who trotted along behind the teens.

"Plus, Harry's already under a lot of suspicion having been the last person to supposedly see Umbridge," Neville added. The dog just nodded as they stood in silence with Harry scratching behind Padfoot's ear and Neville leaning against a tree.

"He's going to hate this," Harry snorted in amusement as they stood there waiting.

"Who? Snape or Draco?" Neville smiled at him.

Padfoot looked even more confused at that comment. "Snape mainly. I'm aiming for Draco never learning exactly what's going on," Harry explained while he absentmindedly continued to scratch behind Padfoot's ears.

"This had better be good, Potter. I don't know what you've dragged Neville into but…" a voice drawled as the Slytherin it matched came into view before pausing in surprise at the large, black dog.

"He's not a grim; he's just a dog," Harry rolled his eyes at the flash of fear that had crossed Malfoy's face. "And, Neville got himself into this mess."

"I snooped when I shouldn't have," Neville nodded sagely before he left the tree and hugged Draco and awkwardly walked him closer to the dog while still holding onto to him.

"Stop manhandling me, Neville," Draco protested but made no move to shove him off. "I just spent the last hour with Professor Sinistra listening to her relationship woes about her ex and then how obsessed she is with veela. I feel like I've lost a good decade of my life to boredom at this point. Whichever of you sees him first, tell Matthew he's in the clear and that he owes me one, maybe even two. That woman is drama. Seriously, she doesn't understand the meaning of too much information!"

Padfoot was bumping Harry's leg with his head at this point as if he was asking what was going on. He kept looking between Neville and Draco and Harry with confusion in his eyes. Harry shrugged at the dog; he didn't know what was going on either. "Hey, Draco, are you still on the Inquisitorial Squad?" Harry asked instead.

The blond grimaced and crossed his arms over where Neville's were still wrapped around him. "Yes, Scrimgeour is just as intense if less evil than Umbridge. Father hates him with a passion, so I thought I could get out of it, but he says it's a good political move, so I'm stuck. I desperately hope he doesn't find that creature-hating toad though."

"Don't we all," Neville remarked from where his chin was now resting on Draco's shoulder.

"So, what's up with the dog, and why was I summoned here right before curfew?" Draco drawled, looking as imposing as he could with an elf hanging off his shoulders.

"We were hoping you would deliver Snuffles here to Professor Snape's quarters," Harry began while Draco looked skeptically at the scruffy mutt. "You can say you found him on patrol for the Inquisitorial Squad and that he was trying to get into the dungeons. We just need to get him into Snape's quarters, and he can handle himself from there."

It was Sirius's turn to look skeptically at Harry then as he didn't seem very sure he could handle himself from there. Harry leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Dumbledore is staying in Snape's quarters. You just have to convince him."

The dog nodded in a very human-like manner, causing Draco to raise a questioning eyebrow. "You are correct that I know where my godfather's quarters are…but why should I help you get a dog in there? I don't see this working out well for me at all."

"How about I'd owe you one?" Neville asked seriously.

Draco shook his head with a devious look. "No, Potter owes me one and I'll do it."

Harry shuffled his feet awkwardly. He really didn't want to owe the Slytherin anything. "Nothing illegal," he qualified.

"Potter, of the two of us, you've done exponentially more illegal things since we've met than I have," Draco smirked at him. "Need I remind you about whatever happened our first year…"

Harry's eyes widened as the realization sunk in that he was directly responsible for three professors either dying or being permanently disabled. Quirrell died, Lockhart was really his own fault but would still never leave St. Mungo's, and Umbridge. He wasn't going to take any responsibility for what happened to fake Moody. "Merlin…you're right…why the hell are you right about that?!"

"He doesn't have a murderous psychopath trying to kill him," Neville reminded him kindly as Padfoot nudged his hand with his head.

Harry just shook his head. It definitely didn't cause him any guilt this time as he was finally realizing it was all in self-defense and letting go of what he viewed as his responsibility, but still… "Fine, Malfoy, but let's keep it reasonably moral anyway."

"That I think I can do," Draco looked very smug at his win. "You just need me to take the dog to Uncle Sev and let him deal with it, right?"

"He needs to actually get through the door into Severus's chambers," Neville explained.

Draco thought for a moment. "Harder, but not impossible."

A limb snapped in the forest somewhere and they all jumped apart. Neville was across the clearing from Draco who was sneering at them both like he hated their guts. They stood there for a minute before all relaxing. Sirius had never looked more confused in his life. "I think we're safe," Harry finally concluded.

"I need to head out before anyone sees me with you ingrates," Draco sighed and turned to go before looking back at the dog. "He have a leash or anything?"

"No, he'll follow," Harry turned to Sirius. "Snuffles, follow Draco and get into the chambers as quickly as possible. You know what to do from there. Play nice with Severus and stay out of trouble, ok?"

Sirius glared at him but followed the Slytherin with a suspicious look in his eyes like he was ready to push the teen into a mudpuddle at the slightest provocation. "This is going to end badly, isn't it?" Neville chuckled as the two disappeared from sight.

"Maybe the fallout will distract Scrimgeour from my interview tomorrow," Harry sighed as they slowly began to make their way back up to the castle.

"At least the club meets tomorrow night. You can tell us how it all went," the elf smiled encouragingly at his friend.

"If I'm not immediately arrested," the dementor sighed. "I got a message from the other dementors that they set up a room for me at the new prison whenever I'd like to move in. It's not really Plan A though," Harry laughed.

"Just tell as much truth as you can and stick to your lies as confidently as possible," Neville suggested. "Unfortunately, all HSMC members are pretty good at lying, so welcome to the club."

"The club where we eat crickets, play Cluedo, and learn to lie better," Harry laughed.

"And don't forget solve veela relationship drama!" Neville grinned widely.

Harry stopped mid-stride and turned to Neville. "Ok, I have to ask, it's killing me…Malfoy…do you like him romantically? Are you friends? What's going on there? Seriously? I'm fine with whatever, my curiosity is just killing me to know though."

Neville sighed and tugged on Harry's arm to continue walking. "We're friends…liking him is irrelevant. High elves can pick their own mates; Malfoy's species cannot. Their mates are chosen by magic, and they're one of the few that will absolutely not date anyone besides their mate. So, we're friends, and that's all it is or will be."

"I thought he dated Parkinson last year?" Harry asked confused and a little saddened.

"Nah, they're just friends," Neville shrugged, a little sadly too.

"Er, I guess I'm sorry then…I'm not sure if that's the right sentiment though," Harry awkwardly offered.

"No, it's fine. I'm happy. I like my prat of a friend," Neville smiled as they got to the entrance hall.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

Harry stood outside of the portrait with the evil-looking witch uncertainly the next morning before breakfast. "Aconite?" He finally tentatively told her.

As soon as the portrait swung open, Harry's collar was grabbed and he was forcefully pulled inside. "You have to get me out of here! I'll sleep under your bed in Gryffindor! Hell, I'll sleep under that blond prat's bed that brought me here! I can't take the both of them though!" Sirius pleaded with Harry, his eyes frantic.

"What happened?" Harry asked Dumbledore who was leisurely sipping a cup of tea and eating a biscuit at the little kitchen table. Snape was scowling in the corner, half hidden by an open potions journal.

"Potter, if it wouldn't give this whole situation away, I'd dock a thousand points from you and assign detention until the day you graduate for forcing that mutt on my quarters. I warned you that I'd skin you alive if you told anyone where my chambers are," Snape growled at him menacingly and in all seriousness.

Harry smirked at the man unrepentantly. "But Professor, I didn't tell him anything. Your godson was the one that brought him here…"

Snape sneered in distaste at the very Slytherin move. "I wager Longbottom had something to do with that as well. I only hope Draco got something good out of the deal or we're going to have to have a long talk about what it means to be a Slytherin."

"He just asked for a favor from me at some point in the future," Harry said as he sat on the black leather couch by the fireplace.

"That's not a bad deal then," Dumbledore nodded in approval. "I'm confused as to Mr. Longbottom's part in this all, but Mr. Malfoy could do worse than a favor from the Boy-Who-Lived, especially with his family."

Now it was Harry's turn to sneer at the name he hated. "I hope you are all getting along. Sirius was just worried about me and decided to stop by. With Scrimgeour taking over and the Inquisitorial Squad, I didn't know where else to take him."

"Dumbledore sings…like really sings…in his sleep," Sirius protested vehemently as he sat beside the teen. "And Sni…er, Snape has already hexed me about twenty times. I just got my hair back the right color, and I definitely have a rash in a place we do not want to talk about!"

"I see you can teach an old dog new tricks," Snape smirked at