Chapter 5: DADA, Hogsmeade and Trouble.
Harry was making his way towards the Great Hall the next morning. Hermione, Mia and Ron had already gone down for breakfast because Ron had been complaining that his stomach had thought his throat had been cut. Harry was taking advantage of this to make a discreet rendezvous with his secret ally.
Harry slipped into an unused classroom. He closed the door behind him and nodded when he saw Draco sitting at the desk.
"What's going on?" Draco asked as Harry moved closer to him.
"Molly opened her big mouth; Sirius' disguise charm had worn off without him knowing it. Molly saw him come out of his room and started shouting like a mad woman. Thanks to her, Uncle Sirius is now on the run for his life, god knows where. Mia is putting on a false front to make everyone think she is coping but Hermione tells me that she sometimes sneaks out of bed and goes into the bathroom to have a cry. Hermione has all these extra classes that she seems to be getting to but she is not telling us anything," Harry quickly itemized for him. Draco sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
"Mum is trying to get in contact with Uncle Sirius. She thinks he might be hiding out in one of the muggle homes that he purchased, but so far she's come up empty," Draco told him.
"Great," Harry muttered. "It would be nice if he could let us know how he is so that Mia is not worrying over him all the time. But then again, I have a feeling that our mail is being monitored." Draco agreed.
"It is. I noticed that one of my letters from my mum didn't seem to be sealed completely. Mum always seals her letters all the way, so someone has been going through my mails. The question is why though; no one knows about us," Draco told him. Harry frowned.
"Could it be that they think your father knows where Sirius is hiding and thinks he might tell you so you could try and taunt me with it?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head.
"No, dad never sends me any letters for anything like that. You never know whose hands they could end up in," Draco explained.
"Okay. We're gonna have to assume the worst, that they know about us - how they know is beyond me. Just keep an eye out on things until we figure out what to do," Harry told him. "Now, we gotta get to breakfast before someone gets suspicious that we're both missing." Draco nodded and Harry left the room before making his way down the hallway.
Draco left a few minutes later and went in the opposite direction to get to the Great Hall.
Harry made his way into the dining area and smiled when he saw that Hermione, Mia and Ron were sitting in their usual seat. Harry made his way over to them and sat down.
"Morning Harry!" Ron, Hermione and Mia greeted at the same time, causing Harry to laugh.
"Morning you three," greeted Harry. "Is there anything new going on today?"
"Not that we know of," Hermione told him without really looking in his direction. Harry nodded, not really looking at Hermione either.
Ron and Mia glanced at each other, confused to what was going on between the two of them. Harry just filled his plate up with food and started tucking in as the morning mail came.
The owls swooped down, dropping parcels and letters on the tables. A letter dropped down in front of Ginny. Percy noticed that Ginny's eyes light up before she grabbed the letter and stuffed it out of sight without opening it. Percy couldn't help the feelings of suspicion that coiled in his gut.
Ron had also received a letter. When he picked it up and opened it, he found a letter from his mother. He scanned it quickly and rolled his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Mia asked.
"My mum. She's going on again about how Harry is not safe and that he should come up to our house for the summer," Ron muttered out. "When is she going to give that up?"
"I guess she just feels like it's her job to mother everyone," Hermione spoke up but when she saw the furious look in Harry's eyes, she knew that it was beginning to grate on Harry's nerves. She reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Relax Harry. She'll have to give up sooner or later."
"I'd prefer it if she just gave up now," Harry bit out before he looked at Ron. "No offence but I had a mum and I don't need anyone taking her place." Ron shook his head, not insulted at all.
"It's no problem mate," Ron assured him. "I'll write her a letter later tonight and tell her to stop fussing. I know dad wasn't happy with her either." Harry was about to say something when a male voice cut in.
"Sirius Black has been sighted!" Dean exclaimed as he hurried over to where Harry, Hermione, Ron and Mia were sitting and threw some papers in front of Hermione so she could read about it.
"It wasn't far from here," Hermione told Harry and Mia. "Sirius Black has been spotted by the local muggles. They phoned the police but because they hadn't been told how dangerous he was, they were a little too slow. When the Ministry arrived, Black had moved on to someplace else. '...But we urge the public not to worry, Sirius Black will be in our custody sooner or later,' " Hermione recited before rolling her eyes. "At least he moved on."
"Good thing too - I'm not having my dad caught up in jail," Mia informed them.
"Why is everyone so convinced that he is a murderer? I mean, if he was really working with Voldemort, why keep the one person who got rid of Voldemort near him?" Seamus asked and everyone nodded in agreement.
"He's been framed. In order to clear him though we need to find the person who did it," Harry told them.
"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts - we better head over there," Seamus spoke up to let everyone know. They all grabbed their bags and made their way up to the third floor.
When they arrived at their classroom they discovered a wardrobe in the middle of the floor with the desks all pulled out to the edges of the room.
"Are we in the wrong room?" Mia asked as she looked at the door only to see that her suspicions were unjust; they were indeed in the correct place. Everyone placed their bags on one side of the room and congregated closer to the wardrobe only to jump back when it shook suddenly.
"What does he have in there?" Lavender whispered to Parvati, who just shrugged back. Lupin came into the classroom and smiled when he saw everybody.
"Morning class," he greeted.
"Morning Professor Lupin," they responded back. Lupin walked over to the front of the room.
"In this wardrobe, I have a boggart," Lupin told them all. Too most people, it wouldn't sound like something to be scared of, but half of the class shot Lupin terrified looks. "Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces like this wardrobe, under a bed, in a cupboard, or under the sink. But first things first. Who can tell me what a boggart is?" Lupin asked. Hermione's hand shot up into the air and Lupin smiled.
"Yes Miss Granger?" he asked.
"A boggart is a shapeshifter; it can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most," Hermione told them. Lupin nodded.
"I couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin praised Hermione and she glowed, causing Harry to smile slightly before he faced Lupin once more. "Although there is a bit of a problem. Have you spotted it, Harry?"
"There's too many of us, so it wouldn't know what to form to choose and most likely be very confused," Harry told him and Lupin nodded.
"Yes. It's always best to have company when you are dealing with a boggart. The charm that repels a boggart is quite simple, yet it requires force of the mind. You see; laughter is the one thing that finishes off a boggart - what you have to do is force the boggart to choose a form that you think is amusing." He looked around the class before nodding. "The charm is riddikulus! Try it without the wands please."
"Riddikulus!" said the class together and Lupin smiled.
"Good, now I want everyone to form a line behind Neville please," Lupin, ordered them and everyone rushed behind Neville to get a place. "Okay Neville, step forward." Neville stepped forward so that he was standing next to Lupin. "Okay, what frightens you the most?"
"Snape," Neville whispered and the class laughed knowingly. Lupin laughed as well.
"Yeah, I can understand why people would be scared of him," Lupin told him and Neville nodded. "Now, you live with your grandmother, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I don't want it to turn into her either," Neville hurried out nervously, causing the teacher to smile down at the boy.
"No, you misunderstand me. Think about what your grandmother wears," Lupin told him. Neville was about to tell him but Lupin shook his head. "Don't tell me, just think about it very clearly in your mind. Have you got it?" Neville nodded. "Okay, wands up," Neville and Lupin brought up their wands. "Ready?" Neville nodded.
Lupin flicked his wand and the latch on the wardrobe unlocked itself. The door slowly swung open and Snape came climbing out of the wardrobe. Lupin took a small step away from Neville. "Keep it clear in your mind," Lupin encouraged.
Neville's wand started to shake slightly before he managed to croak out "Riddikulus!" Snape stumbled backward before he looked down and saw that he was dressed in a green dress and a ferret shoulder shawl, complete with a stuffed vulture hat and a red handbag.
Everyone in the class apart from the Slytherins started to crack up laughing, causing the Snape/boggart to look at them.
"Good going Neville!" Lupin praised as he moved over to the old record player and put some music on. "Next!" he shouted.
Ron hurried forward and the boggart changed into a large spider. Most of the girls started to scream at this and Ron paled before he lifted up his wand and shouted "Riddikulus!" Skates appeared on the end of each of legs, causing the spider to start sliding all over the place.
Parvati hurried over next and the boggart changed from a spider into a large cobra. Parvati stared at it for a second before she brought up her wand and shouted "Riddikulus!" The snake changed into a large jack-in-the-box.
"Next!" Lupin shouted out and Mia stepped forward and stood in front of the boggart.
The jack-in-the-box bounced once more before it again started changing its shape. Mia felt the blood drain from her face and tears fill her eyes when she saw its new form.
Sirius was lying on the ground, his blue eyes blankly staring at the ceiling while a Dementor hovered over him.
"Oh hell!" Harry groaned out. Hermione covered her mouth in shock when she saw Mia's fear reveal itself in front of everyone. Mia just closed her eyes before she raised her wand.
"Riddikulus!" she shouted and a bright red light shot out of her wand and hit the boggart, forcing it to change into a live Sirius who was having a food fight with Harry - both of whom were laughing.
Mia felt her lips curl up into a smile before she looked away and moved to the back of the line.
Harry stepped forward and watched as the boggart changed from the food fight into several different shapes before it finally settled on one. Harry felt his smile fade from his face and shivers start to run up his spine as a Dementor glided towards him. Lupin ran in front of Harry, throwing his arms out wide.
"Here!" he shouted and the Dementor boggart changed into what seemed like a crystal ball to the others. Harry, Hermione, Mia, Draco and Ron, however, instantly knew what it was that he feared. The full moon. "Riddikulus," Lupin said almost lazily and the full moon image turned into a punctured balloon, soaring back into the wardrobe. With a loud thud the door slammed shut, locking itself into place.
Lupin let out a sigh before he turned back to face the class. "Okay - ten points to everyone who faced the Dementors, and ten points each to Harry and Hermione for answering the questions correctly. Class dismissed."
Everyone made their way out of the classroom and headed up to their common rooms. Everyone was discussing what they had experienced.
"I wonder why he jumped in front of you," Ron pointed out and Harry looked at him.
"Because I can't think of anything funny when it comes to Dementors - all I can hear is my mum's voice," Harry explained.
"Oh," Ron understood. "Hey, do you want to play a game of chess?" Ron asked and Harry shook his head.
"Sorry, I have Quidditch practice," Harry apologised as he ran up the stairs to his room to grab his broom and Quidditch outfit. He hurried out of the common room with his equipment, leaving everyone there staring after him.
Harry rushed into the Quidditch locker room and grabbed a seat next to Angelina, then watched as Wood paced the floor.
"Okay, listen up everybody. This year we need to get a move on with the Quidditch Cup. This could be our last chance to win it," Wood told them and Harry frowned before he placed his hand into air, causing Wood to look at him. "Yes Harry?"
"Why do you say 'our last chance'? I mean, we're still here for the next year - you could come by and watch us," Harry asked. "So, we can still win the Quidditch Cup next year, just like we have for the last two years."
"Don't worry about him, he's just paranoid," Katie assured Harry and got an insulted look from Wood.
"We have to train harder and faster this year. We'll be working in every type of weather there is," there were groans from the last order.
"Come on Wood, we are only human you know - and we do get ill," Fred complained.
"Well, you'll just have to make sure you don't get sick then!" Wood exclaimed with a manic look in his eyes.
"Okay, who let him go near the coffee again?" Harry asked, causing snickers around the room.
"I don't see you all taking this seriously!" Wood shouted, causing everyone to hold his or her hands up in denial.
"We are taking it seriously, Wood, very seriously!" Fred exclaimed.
"We have three smashing Chasers who are too fast for anyone to catch," George jumped in.
"A brilliant seeker who always catches the snitch, no matter what," Fred told them.
"And a cracking keeper who can block almost any shot."
"And, of course, us - two unbeatable beaters." Katie, Angelina, Alicia and Harry smothered their snickers while Wood just rolled his eyes.
"Speech is over! Get cracking!" Wood barked and everyone got up on their feet and rushed out of the locker room before taking their places in the air.
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It was the Hogsmeade weekend. All the third years were excited because it was their first time to attend.
They each hurried down to the courtyard and handed his or her form in to McGonagall, who was standing on the steps in front of Hogwarts door. When it was Neville's turn, he started to speak to her nervously.
"Erm, Professor McGonagall…" Neville started and she smiled down at the young man.
"Don't worry, Mr. Longbottom, your grandma owled me your permission note," she told him and Neville let out a sigh of relief before he hurried over to join the rest of his friends.
Harry and Mia made their way over to Professor McGonagall and each handed her their form.
"I'm afraid that no one will accept your forms if Sirius signed them," McGonagall told them as she took them in. She looked at them briefly and her eyes widened when she saw Mia's signature on Harry's form and vice versa. "What is this?" she asked.
"Dad somehow made us both guardians of each other; he knew that the Ministry would try and stop us from doing things if our forms had his signatures on them," Mia explained.
"You can check the records if you don't believe us," Harry told her. McGonagall waved her wand and two folders came flying out of the castle to rest in her hands. She opened them and saw that Mia and Harry were right.
"You can go," she informed them before actually letting them go. "Be careful - the ministry and Dumbledore are looking for ways to hold you," she warned them softly. Tipping her head slightly she walked off, leaving Harry and Mia staring after her in shock before they turned back to each other. Mia grinned.
"Looks like she made her choice," she told Harry, who just wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Come on sis, Hogsmeade awaits us," he told her and she laughed as they made their way out of Hogwarts' grounds to catch up with Hermione and Ron.
When they finally caught up Hermione hurried over to Harry and snuggled into his side. Harry wrapped an arm around her waist until they reached the carriages that were going to take them to Hogsmeade. They climbed into a carriage and sat back.
"What do you wanna do when we get there?" Ron asked.
"How about we just look around first to try and get the layout. Then if we have enough time we can do a bit of shopping and see if there is something we want to buy?" Hermione suggested.
"That's better than just going in and out of shops - this way, we're less likely to miss something important," Mia agreed.
"Looks like we have a plan," Harry told Ron, who chuckled in agreement.
The carriages soon came to a stop and let everyone out. They started to walk the rest of the way to the village but Hermione stopped before they had gone very far.
"Oh, my," Hermione breathed out as she looked at the small town.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Mia agreed. The town was gorgeous. There were different shops all lined up together, and people were chatting away as they entered and exited each shop. Some stopped to greet others as they passed in the street. It was a life Hermione had always wanted.
"I would love to live here," Hermione told them and Mia grinned.
"Yeah, in a nice little cottage where you could curl up on the couch in front of the fire, wrapped up in a blanket reading your book and sipping hot chocolate with snow falling outside your window," Mia summarised, causing Hermione to bump hips with her best friend.
"And you want a beach house so when you wake up in the morning you'll have the sea-salt smell - and when you can't go to sleep, you can sit on the porch in the swinging chair and just watch the waves and the moon shining off the sea," Hermione told her. Both girls just smiled at each other, obviously impressed of how well they knew each other.
Harry and Ron shot each other amused looks before Harry turned back to the girls.
"And I know that if you two want it really bad, you'll get it," Harry interrupted them kindly before leading them over to the Three Broomsticks to get some drinks before they went around to scout out the shops.
They found a table and settled themselves around it. Ron got in an order of butterbeer for everyone, which they all eagerly drank into.
"Oh, this is definitely what we needed," Mia moaned out, causing giggles from Hermione.
"Tell me about it," Ron muttered in agreement. "Classes are more gruelling this year, I mean, Snape is really is hopping mad that he hadn't gotten the DADA position."
"I think it's mostly to do with Professor Lupin - he, Dad and Uncle Sirius were best friends and from we've heard from Uncle Sirius that they kinda picked on Snape in school," Harry explained.
"Not that Dad told us any details about it - he was quite vague, really," Mia told them with puzzlement colouring her voice.
"Maybe they did something that they ended up regretting?" Ron suggested with a frown but Harry shrugged.
"We'll probably find out sooner or later," Harry suggested.
"What I want to know is... what is going on with Ginny?" Hermione asked. The question had been burning in her mind ever since they had met back up in the summer and she wanted an answer. Mia and Ron shot each other a look that caught Harry and Hermione's attention. "Well?" pressed Hermione. Ron sighed.
"She has been asking us all about you over the summer," Ron slowly admitted. "But mostly Harry."
"What did the twins have to say about it?" Mia asked, remembering that Ron went to see the twins.
"She's been asking them questions too - again more to do with Harry - the twins thinks her attraction might be growing," Ron told them. Harry's eyes widened.
"You mean you think she might start stalking me?" Harry demanded, panic entering his voice. Ron shook his head.
"Nah, me and twins are pretty sure it's not going to go that far. But what you have to realise is that Ginny grew up knowing about you and she had always had a crush on you. You saving her…" Ron trailed off and understanding dawned on Harry.
"Has just reinforced the image of me being a hero. Her hero," Harry finished off bitterly before he shook his head and pinned a glare on Ron. "The next time she's in danger, you're rescuing her!"
"But why does she keep glaring at me?" Hermione asked curiously. Mia and Ron smiled at each other before they looked at Hermione.
"Because you're the most important person in Harry's life and goes to you when he needs comfort. He can trust you and know that you wouldn't break his trust. Ginny wants to be you; she wants to be the one that Harry goes to and be the one that Harry trusts," Mia explained.
"Yeah, Mia and I know that you trust us," Ron jumped in, cutting off Harry's protestation. "But answer me this, if Hermione were to give you a potion right now, would you drink it without any question?"
"Yes," Harry told them without hesitation, causing knowing smiles from Mia and Ron.
"Harry, I gave you a potion when we were ten - you had the cold at the time - but you demanded to know what the potion was for and why you had to take it. You don't question Hermione because you trust her so much that you willingly put your life into her hands, knowing it's never been safer," Mia explained. Ron looked at Hermione.
"You do the same. You're still guarded around Mia and me, but when Harry walks into the room, you change. You know that you can be yourself around Harry and he wouldn't judge you whatsoever. You trust him so much that you reveal your true self around him," Ron explained before he and Mia sat back and took a sip of their butterbeer.
Harry and Hermione looked at them, stunned, as everything they said ran over and over in their heads.
"They're right," Harry whispered and Hermione looked up at him. "I trust you so much that I wouldn't question anything." Hermione reflected back to when he had asked her about the gold chain yet didn't push it because he trusted her to come to him when she was ready.
"And I trust you so much that I can relax and be myself around you no problem," Hermione admitted in a whisper. They looked into each other's eyes before they slowly broke away and turned back to face the others.
"Okay, enough mushy serious time, lets move on to something more light," Ron quipped, not being able to take it all. Mia huffed her frustration out, Hermione shot him a small glare, and Harry laughed softly.
"I think the main question we should be focusing on is how are we going to clear dad's name?" Mia asked as she leaned in to them to prevent anyone else from overhearing.
"We have to look back at the evidence," Ron told her as he also leaned in. "You say that the biggest thing that the ministry ever found of Peter's was his finger?"
"Yeah," Hermione confirmed before her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait a minute," she muttered, causing everyone to look at her. "Didn't the ministry say that Sirius killed muggles with the same blast as he supposedly killed Peter with?" Harry nodded. "Then how come the muggles were in one piece but Peter wasn't? All they had were burns from the blast."
"What, you think Peter cut his finger off to fake his own death?" Ron asked and Hermione nodded.
"It would make sense - what if he could transform himself into an animal and slip away from the scene unnoticed? What would work better? Frame Sirius for the murder of Callie, Lily and James and fake his death so that the Death Eaters wouldn't be looking for him," Hermione explained. "I doubt any of them were happy with Peter when they found out that Peter's actions were the ones that killed Voldemort in first place."
"That would make sense but dad never told us what form Peter took. We never asked because we didn't want to know anything about the man," Mia told them.
"And there is no way to contact him, so we can't find out. And there's no way we can go to Lupin with our theory yet - we need proof before we can go to anyone otherwise the Ministry will just say that Sirius has been addling our minds and that Lupin helped us because the two of them were best friends," Hermione told them.
Mia rubbed her forehead in frustration as a pressure built up behind her eyes.
"Bloody hell, I'm getting a headache," Mia exclaimed. "This is really annoying."
"Tell me about it," Ron muttered. "Hey, what did your source have to say?" Mia looked at him.
"They said that they have people looking out for Dad but so far they haven't had any luck. They're also looking for any evidence that could prove dad's innocence by looking at Death Eater activity, but the Death Eaters aren't exactly being too helpful are they?" she remarked, sarcastically.
"Why would they? What better way to put down a Potter's best friend?" Harry asked. "Besides, to admit that they knew that Sirius was a Death Eater, they'd be admitting that they were a Death Eater themselves."
"Catch 22," agreed Hermione. Ron just looked at Hermione, confused.
"Catch 22? How can you catch 22?" Ron asked, puzzled, causing the two girls and Harry to start laughing.
"Sorry," Hermione choked out as she tried to calm her laughter. "Catch 22 means you are stuck between a rock and a hard place - no matter what you do, you still end up in trouble. In our situation, for example, the Death Eaters can't go to the Ministry and tell them that Sirius was a Death Eater because it means admitting that they were a Death Eater themselves. They know he isn't guilty though, so if they help the Ministry catch him then the truth might come out and help get Peter caught," Hermione explained and Ron understood.
"Gotcha," Ron told her while Harry and Mia finished laughing.
"Ron, mate, you need to come over to our house one summer - I would love to see your reaction to some of the stuff we have," Harry told him and Ron grinned.
"When Sirius is cleared, I'll be the first in line at your door waiting to break it down," Ron quipped back causing everyone to start laughing again, enjoying their day of relaxation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Filch was waiting for them as the carriages came to a stop and let everyone out. They made their way up to the school, passing by Filch's wary eyes.
Harry, Hermione, Mia and Ron made their way into the Great Hall, laughing over something Ron was telling them. Dinner was served and they talked to the younger kids about Hogsmeade and what they should expect when they would be able to go.
"So, you had a lot of fun then?" Ginny asked. She had taken Mia's seat across from Harry. The black-haired girl wasn't happy about it, but she wouldn't bother fighting with Ginny until they had more information on what the young woman was planning.
"Yeah, we had a great time," Harry told her before shooting Hermione a smile that had her giggling before she turned back to her food. Both of them were still feeling weird after the whole 'friends' thing and they were trying to get their friendship back on track.
Ginny, on the other hand, saw this and smiled to herself. With any luck, Harry would turn to her for comfort and they would finally get together.
"So, I was wondering if you would like to help me study," Ginny asked Harry, who looked at her. Ron and Mia stopped with their forks halfway to their mouths and stared at Ginny while Hermione's grip just tightened on her fork.
"Sorry, I think you are better off asking Hermione. She is the best student of the school, after all," Harry informed Ginny with pride colouring his voice. Hermione couldn't help but glow slightly at Harry's praise.
"Yeah, but it's Defence Against the Dark Arts. You're the one who is getting higher grades in the class," Ginny added in. Harry gritted his teeth.
"Look, I'm too busy at the moment, Ginny. I think you are better off asking someone else to help you with your studies," Harry informed Ginny. She was about to open her mouth to protest when Mia jumped in.
"I can help you," Mia told Ginny, who looked at her. "I'm third in class, so it shouldn't be a problem for me."
"I think it will be a little too difficult for you," Ginny retorted and Mia smirked.
"Erm, you do remember that I'm in third year - you're second year, so I don't think it will be too hard for me," Mia replied. Ginny just shot her a scathing glare.
"Never mind, I'm sure I'll work it out myself," Ginny informed her grumpily before she slumped down on her seat. Harry just shook his head as he finished his dinner and stood up. Hermione stood up with him.
"Let's get back to the common room. We need to have a talk anyway," Harry told Hermione, who nodded. Ron and Mia also got up and followed Harry out of the Great Hall.
They made their way up the stairs and saw a group of Gryffindors with students from other houses standing in front of the Gryffindor common room.
"What the hell is going on?" Hermione asked.
"Someone forgot the password?" Ron suggested.
"Even if someone did forget the password, there are other Gryffindors there so they should be able to get in," Mia told him as they moved closer only to see that the Fat Lady was no longer in her painting, which was torn to shreds.
"Looks like someone attacked her," Hermione told them.
"Headmaster coming through, move to the side!" a grouchy voice ordered. Everyone moved over as Dumbledore rushed up the stairs and stopped outside of the painting. He touched the rips before he turned to Filch.
"Round up the ghosts and tell them to search every painting in the castle. We must find the Fat Lady," Dumbledore ordered him but Filch spoke up.
"I don't think the ghosts are necessary. She's up there," Filch told him as he pointed to a painting a floor above.
All of the students looked at each other before running up the stairs.
"OI!" Percy shouted. "Slow down!" but none of the students took heed. Soon, they arrived at the painting that held the hiding Fat Lady.
"My dear," Dumbledore soothed as he pushed himself to the front. Harry and Hermione were to the right of him while Ron and Mia were to the left. "Who did this to you?"
The Fat Lady peeked out from over the rock that she was hiding behind.
"Him, that man! Eyes were as black as coal! That Black, that Sirius Black!" she cried out. Everyone let out a gasp while Harry, Mia, Ron and Hermione each shared a confused look.
"Dad?" Mia asked, surprised. "Why would he want to break into the common room?"
"Maybe he was trying to get to Potter?" Pansy suggested and Mia rolled her eyes.
"Hello! Dad knows it's Halloween and that we were going into Hogsmeade today. And why would he want to kill Harry anyway when he has plenty of chances to do it while Harry is living with us," Mia finished with a scathing glare.
"I want everyone in the Great Hall!" Dumbledore ordered. "Mr. Weasley, I want you to find the other teachers and prefects - we must search the castle!" Percy nodded as he hurried off.
Everyone made their way to the Great Hall where they were informed that they were going to sleep in there for the night as the teachers weren't sure if it was yet safe for the students to go back to their common rooms.
"This is just stupid. Dad wouldn't kill anyone!" Mia ground out as she tugged at the top of her PJs. All the girls had gotten changed in the girls' toilet with the boys changing in the boys' toilet.
Dumbledore and other teachers had conjured up thick purple sleeping bags for everyone to sleep in.
Once everyone had settled down in their sleeping bags, many of the kids just dropped off, mostly exhausted from their day at Hogsmeade - the younger kids took a while to settle down but Madam Pomfrey had requested that they all get something hot to drink so they could relax more easily.
Harry just lay there, staring at the ceiling. It had changed itself to look like the night sky outside. There was the whirlwind galaxy and a shooting star shooting directly overhead. He couldn't help but smile as he reflected back to doing this same thing at his home.
On the roof of the house, there was a flat spot that allowed them to lie down on the roof and stare at the stars above without light from the street lamps interfering. He heard someone moving closer and he turned on his side, turning his back on the intruder.
"The ghosts haven't found anyone yet and they're still checking," Percy told Dumbledore, who nodded. "I don't see why you won't bring the Dementors in…"
"No Dementor will pass these grounds while I'm still headmaster," Dumbledore cut off Percy, who just looked at him, stunned, before he walked off. Snape turned to Dumbledore.
"Sirius Black is getting into this castle somehow," Snape told Dumbledore. "I wonder if you have thought anymore about my concerns that I expressed to you before the term started. That I thought someone might be helping Sirius into the castle."
"Yes, I have thought about it but there is no evidence to prove that accusation, Professor Snape," Dumbledore told him.
"There must be," Snape hissed. "We have to catch Black sooner or later. Otherwise Potter and his friends will get it in their head that they can clear him when Black is a traitor!"
"Professor Snape," Dumbledore hissed. Snape closed his mouth and looked back at Dumbledore. "We must allow these students to have as much peace as they can. Do not interrupt it." With that, Snape walked off and spoke to Filch for a minute before he left the Great Hall.
The other teachers followed him while Dumbledore looked over his students once more before leaving the Great Hall.
Harry looked up to see Hermione staring at him; she had obviously overheard the conversation between Snape and Dumbledore too.
Hermione was looking at Harry with concern in her eyes. "Lupin?" she mouthed to him and Harry nodded back in agreement. They had been talking about Lupin.
Harry was finding it hard to get to sleep. He could see that Mia was sleeping more peacefully - probably due to the fact that she knew that her father was alive. Ron was snoring as usual.
Hermione was a bit restless. She seemed to be tossing and turning slightly. Harry turned his head to scan the Great Hall to make sure that no one was watching before he reached over to Hermione. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.
Harry opened this sleeping bag and held it open as an invitation. Hermione smiled and climbed out of her sleeping bag and into Harry's. The sleeping bag expanded to accommodate two people before Hermione zipped it up and rested her head on the pillow while Harry wrapped an arm around her waist. Both of them were finally able to fall into a deep sleep.
Ron and Mia looked at each other with identical grins on their face. They both had woken up when they heard Hermione stop tossing and turned and watched the scene. They both slapped low fives before they went back to sleep themselves.
None of them knew that Dumbledore was watching from the doors of the Great Hall. He frowned when he saw the interactions between Harry and Hermione. He was torn between wanting to control Harry or to finally accept Harry the way he was. He sighed to himself; it looked like he needed to think some more.
McGonagall had also watched the scene with a light heart. She knew that she shouldn't accept this kind of thing between students but she had seen how restless Miss Granger had been and how Harry's touch seemed to calm her. She'd leave it for now.
Ginny also watched the scene with a hurting heart. She wanted to be the one who was wrapped up in Harry's arms. She wanted to be the one who was sharing his sleeping bag, but her hero wouldn't look at her thanks to her getting in their way. Ginny sighed to herself; it looked like she'll need to send another message.
Meanwhile, out in the grounds, a black dog sat on the same hill as he had when he first arrived there. He just watched Hogwarts with a steady eye before he slinked off to sleep, leaving Hogwarts to rest in peace.
TBC
A little quick note of a coming soon story that I will be posting - hopefully - soon.
Bonds of Blood and Love - Harry Potter crossovers with others - when it does come out, please check very carefully on the couplings - some people may not like the same couples that I do for each programme and may not wish to read it as it will have graphics between couples.