Chapter 7: Hospital Wing, Twins, and Hogsmeade.
Harry felt like he was drowning. As he tried to climb above the water to get some air, he found himself drifting deeper, unable to climb higher even with his struggles. There was a muffled voice somewhere far away. He couldn't make out what the voice was saying, but he knew almost instinctively that he should follow it to get up to the surface where fresh air was waiting for him.
Following the voice, it became clearer and gradually louder until he finally broke through to breathe deeply of the sweet-tasting air.
"Harry?" a female voice asked. Harry opened his eyes before groaning as the pain shot through his body. He squinted up through the bright light and saw blurry figures. "Here," the female stated as she placed something on his face. With his glasses, he could see the people around more clearly. Hermione was looking deathly pale with tears running down her cheeks in slow rivets. Ron was grimly holding a bundle, while the twins and quite a few Gryffindors surrounded Harry's bed. "How are you feeling?" Hermione asked as she sat down on the bed and took Harry's hands in hers.
"Like I fell from fifty feet," he muttered and she gave a small smile. "Where's Mia?" he asked and Hermione's smile fell as she looked over to the bed that was on the other side of Harry. He followed her gaze and saw Mia sleeping on the bed.
"She used her magic shield to stop you from hitting the ground full speed," Hermione explained and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Bet Uncle Sirius is going to love that," he muttered and Hermione grinned before her smile faded.
"I have some bad news," she admitted and Harry looked at her. "Your broom got blown off course and it hit the Whomping Willow." Harry just looked at her and Ron came forward with the bundle. He opened the cloak slightly and Harry saw pieces of an obviously broken broom.
"My broom," he whispered as he reached out for the cloak and took it into his arms.
"God, anyone would think you were holding a baby," a female voice muttered and Harry looked over to see that Mia was awake. Everyone opened their mouths to greet her only for Mia to raise a finger to her lips. "Do you want to call Madam Pomfrey over here?" she hissed, shaking her head.
"What on earth possessed you to do what you did?" Hermione demanded in a low voice to her best friend, who looked back at her.
"Because if Dumbledore had saved Harry, he would be in debt to Dumbledore," Mia explained.
"Gotcha," Ron nodded his understanding. The door to the room opened quietly and everyone turned to see Madam Pomfrey coming in from her office. She stopped short when she saw everyone surrounding the two beds.
"Oh, you two are awake," Madam Pomfrey noted aloud. She moved over to Harry first and glared down at the young man in her hospital. "I thought I told you not to come to the hospital wing because of those foul creatures," she scolded him. Harry shot her a weak grin.
"It was the only way I could think of getting out of potions," he told her. Madam Pomfrey just huffed, but everyone could see a slight smile on her face.
"You are one lucky young man that Miss Black managed to save you. If she hadn't, well, I shudder to think what state you would be in right now," she informed him and Harry nodded. "Here, I want you to take these potions, but mind you, your ribs are a bit bruised so it'll be better if someone helped you sit up to drink them."
"I'll help him," Hermione spoke up, taking over the job and Madam Pomfrey nodded in satisfaction before she moved over to Mia and waved her wand over the young female.
"Your magic levels are almost normal but I'm not happy with your stress level. It is much higher than a woman of your age should have," Madam Pomfrey informed her. Mia nodded.
"I know…it's just…" Madam Pomfrey patted her hand.
"Don't worry about your father dear. If my memories serve me well, he's gotten himself out of tighter spots than this, trust me," the nurse told Mia, who smiled gratefully up at the nurse as she made her way back into her office.
"Lovely Quidditch match, wasn't it?" Ron quipped, causing Harry to look at him.
"Hey, who won?" Harry asked.
"Hufflepuff," Dean spoke up. "Cedric got the snitch before he realised that you had fallen off your broom due to the Dementors. Once he found out he went to Madam Hooch and demanded a rematch because the game wasn't played fair. But they said it was a fairly caught snitch so they won - not that Cedric is happy mind you - I thought he was going to punch the wall."
"Falling out of the game due to Dementors doesn't count as a fair game to him but his team won fair and square. I didn't even know what was happening until it was too late!" Harry exclaimed.
"Dumbledore was furious," Hermione spoke up and Ron snorted.
"What about McGonagall? I thought she was going to hex them all right there and then!" Ron spoke up. Harry grinned.
"You know what's she like. She likes to make sure us lions are safe and protected - not being put into the hospital wing every other second," Harry told them, causing them to laugh while Mia rolled her eyes.
"It's alright for you," she grumbled. "You're not the one who will be getting a telling off for saving your life."
"I'm sure she'll go easy on you," Seamus told Mia as he moved over to her bed and sat down on the edge. "She was demanding to know how you did that anyway. I think she muttered something about extra classes and lessons."
"Oh great," Mia moaned as she drew the covers over her head. "Hermione hasn't rubbed off on me that much!"
Everyone snickered while Hermione just rolled her eyes. While Mia was a good student overall, she didn't like homework as much as Hermione did. She much preferred to just relax and hang out than to be stuck doing homework.
"When do you think we'll be able to get out of here?" Harry asked as Hermione helped him up before grabbing the goblet that held his potion. She held it to Harry's lips and helped him drink it.
"Tonight, if you are lucky," Katie promised him. "Madam Pomfrey will probably just keep you here for a few more hours to make sure that there are no lasting effects from the Dementors."
"I hate those things," Hermione mumbled. She took the goblet away from Harry once he was finished and set it on the bedside table.
"Amen to that," Mia mumbled from where she was still hiding under the covers. She yanked them down off her head and joined the rest of the gang in watching the Hospital Wing doors swing open. McGonagall briskly walked in, her face stern.
"Are you two okay?" the teacher asked.
"I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey is a little worried about my stress levels," Mia spoke up.
"Harry will be fine in time," Hermione spoke up as she helped Harry lie back down and ran her hand through his black locks. McGonagall suppressed a smile when she saw this.
"Of course. But Miss Black, you and I need to have a little chat about you running into this situation and getting yourself knocked out," McGonagall told her. Mia looked at her, incredulous.
"I only did it the one time!" Mia protested as she sat up, resting her back against the pillow. Her head teacher just arched an eyebrow at her. "Really!"
"We still need to have a talk," McGonagall repeated and left Mia grumbling to herself as she turned to face Harry. "I spoke to Dumbledore and the Ministry - Fudge was upset about the Dementors entering the Quidditch area. He hopes that it will make you change your mind about Sirius, so be on your guard," she warned him before leaving the hospital wing once more with everyone staring after her.
"She's bloody cool!" Dean, Seamus and Ron stated at the same time, causing laughter from the girls.
"That she is... but can I get out of here now?" Harry complained. Hermione just glared down at Harry.
"You fell from your broom from at least 50 feet up in the air after the Dementors attacked you and you're wanting to leave already?" she demanded and Harry just smiled up at her sheepishly before giving her the puppy-dog eyes that usually caused Hermione to crumble.
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Draco grumbled to himself as he made his way into the empty classroom where Hermione, Harry and Mia were waiting for him. Once he made his way in, he closed the door behind him and his let his temper out on Harry.
"What is it with you?" Draco demanded to Harry. "Every game you play - it always seems to end up with you in the hospital wing!"
"You'd think he was Harry's mum, wouldn't you?" Mia quipped and Draco rounded on her.
"Oh, don't you sit there and think I'm letting you off either! What on earth possessed you to use your air shield to save Harry when I could have very well made the ground softer?" Draco asked.
"Sorry, instincts took over logic," Mia apologised. Draco threw his hands up the air.
"I give up!" he exclaimed, causing Hermione to smile sympathetically at the young blonde haired man.
"Don't worry about it - Professor McGonagall already gave Mia a lecture," Hermione told him and Draco turned curious grey eyes to her.
"Really?" he asked. "What did she do?"
"She makes it seem like I do it all the time," Mia informed him despondently and Draco snorted.
"Well, you do have to admit that you're hardly rational this year, right?" Draco asked. Mia just arched an eyebrow at her cousin, who backed right off. "Do you have any ideas on how to clear Uncle Sirius yet?"
"Nope. I mean, it's not like we can ask the Death Eaters who was really in their ranks - they live on lying," Harry told him. "And the only other person is Peter, but as there is no way to tell where he is, we're kinda at a loose end here."
"I owled my mum. She's gonna keep an eye out for anything about Peter and see if there is anyway to get or trick someone who was in Voldemort's ranks to prove that Sirius isn't a death eater," Draco told them and got nods in response.
"If only we could contact dad. It would make things easier," Mia told them and they agreed.
"But we can't right now. I don't think any of our owls would be able to find him if he is moving around, and our owls can't be gone for a long time without it appearing suspicious," Harry told her.
Draco suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Hermione. "Hey, what is this about your cat going nuts over a rat?"
"Oh, Crookshanks keeps trying to chase Ron's rat, Scabbers," Hermione explained. "Ron just thinks Crookshanks has it in for Scabbers."
"How long has Ron had Scabbers? I mean, I don't remember seeing Ron having a pet the whole time I was here," Draco explained.
"About twelve years now - he was Percy's rat before he was handed down to Ron," Harry explained and Draco nodded, frowning. Mia caught on that Draco was trying to think through something.
"What are you thinking?" Mia asked and Draco looked at him.
"Nothing... I'm probably just being paranoid," Draco started but got snorts in return, causing him to glare them. "Fine - I just think it's a little suspicious that a normal rat seems have a life span of twelve years - about the same length of time that Peter has been hiding. And Crookshanks - to me - looks like he might be half kneazle. That would explain why he seems so focused on Scabbers."
Everyone looked at each other as they thought about it.
"That would make sense," Mia told Harry and Hermione. Hermione just sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Can't we have just one year of peace?" she pleaded. Harry reached over and hugged the younger girl close.
"Tell me about it. But with our lives, we'll never be that lucky," Draco muttered. Mia looked at her watch.
"Oh hell, we better get back to our common rooms - its nearly midnight and I don't fancy being caught out by McGonagall," Mia told them. She received firm agreements in return and they all walked out of the classroom. After making sure that no one else was about to spot them they went off in opposite directions.
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Harry found himself out on the grounds following Lupin the next morning. He had wanted to ask Lupin about potential lessons in how to drive the Dementors away whenever they came anywhere near him.
"It's not an easy spell," Lupin warned as they made their way through the grassy area near the lake. "It takes patience and concentration." Harry nodded.
"I know," the black haired boy told him, his green eyes hard with determination. "But I can't go through my life being affected so badly by Dementors - they'll be more likely to side with Voldemort when he comes back and I can't risk passing out if they're around." Lupin nodded.
"I will give you lessons on it but not now... I have fallen ill at a very inconvenient time," Lupin told him and Harry smiled.
"I do know about your furry little problem," Harry teased, causing Lupin to stop in his tracks before he laughed.
"Sorry, a habit of mine," Lupin explained to him and Harry nodded back as they continued walking on again. "I'm sorry about your broom. Is there nothing anyone can do?" Harry shook his head.
"No, it's damaged beyond repair - Professor McGonagall says I have to find another broom," Harry explained and Lupin nodded.
"It was impressive how Mia managed to save you. I've heard it all over the school," Lupin remarked. Harry looked up at him.
"Yeah, Uncle Sirius has been teaching us how to protect ourselves. He knows that Voldemort won't stay dead for very long and he wants us to have a fighting chance when it's time to go to war with him," Harry explained before he looked back out at the lake. He smiled when he saw one of the squid's tentacles come out of the water to squirt water at the tall red-haired boy that was walking by the lake on the side across from Harry and Lupin.
"OI!" the boy shouted. Two female figures were with him. The black-haired girl was clutching her stomach in apparent laughter while the brunette was holding the other girl up and laughing herself.
"Hm, seems like the squid likes Mr. Weasley," Lupin remarked, watching the scene. Harry chuckled.
"Yeah, he does it every time Ron walks by the lake," Harry stated. Lupin nodded.
"It seems that Mia and Mr. Weasley like each other," Lupin continued. Harry looked at him before frowning.
"I wouldn't exactly get my hopes up about that," Harry told him, causing Lupin to look at him while Harry continued to stare out across the lake. "Mia is a highly temperamental girl. She needs someone who can deal with her moods. Ron tends to run in the other direction when there is even a hint of Mia losing her temper." Lupin smiled fondly.
"Callie was the same," Lupin told him. "Man, she could make your uncle tongue-tied all the time."
"What was she like?" Harry asked, curious about his aunt. Lupin looked at Harry sharply.
"Has Sirius not told you anything about her?" Lupin asked in surprise. Harry shrugged.
"He finds it hard to talk about her. From what we gathered, Aunt Callie was killed outside of the house where my parents were hiding. She was the first one that Uncle Sirius saw," Harry explained and Lupin felt pain shoot through his heart.
He couldn't imagine how Sirius had felt when he had seen Callie, the woman he loved so much, dead.
"Callie was sassy. She was smart when it came to classes, but she preferred to have fun rather than work," Lupin started. "Merlin! She loved pulling pranks, especially on your father."
"My dad?" Harry asked, surprised, and Lupin nodded.
"Oh yeah, your mum would constantly say that they were like brother and sister. They would pick on each other, fight with each other, play pranks on each other, and so on. But when it came down to it, they would stand side by side in order to face down any enemies that went anywhere near them," Lupin recounted. "You and Mia remind me of them so much, but I don't see you pulling as many pranks as they did." Harry grinned.
"Hey, I have Hermione to keep me in line," Harry replied cheekily before his smile faded as he looked towards Hermione. All three of them were under the big oak tree. Ron was lying on his stomach as he was reading - most likely a Quidditch magazine. Mia was sitting on the edge of the grass with her feet in the water while Hermione was sitting with her back against the tree with a book on her lap as she read.
"Do you want to tell me what is going on with you two?" Lupin asked, curious. He had watched Harry and Hermione ever since he had met up with them on the train. He thought that they seemed to have a bit of unnatural space between them now. He wouldn't have noticed it at all except that the distance between them - that would have been considered normal for other people - seemed somehow tense and forced between the two of them. Harry looked up at him, his expression a bit spooked, causing Lupin to smile softly. "It's alright if you don't. I gather we need to build up some sort of relationship before you could talk to me about things like that."
"I like her," Harry blurted out, causing Lupin to stop talking as he stared at Harry in a stunned shock. "I can't talk to Sirius because none of us know where he is. I can't tell Ron because he sometimes lets things slip when he doesn't mean to, and I don't want it getting back to Hermione. You're like an uncle to us - I feel I already know you because Uncle Sirius keeps talking about you." Lupin nodded.
"Okay, why don't you start from the beginning?" Lupin asked as they moved down to a clearing closer to the lake. They both sat down and Harry looked down into the water.
"When I first met her on the train, I liked her. When I got to know her, I found myself crushing on her. She's smart, she's funny, and she's witty. She knows how to protect herself and cover her own back, and she can also get back the people that prank her - although I'm pretty sure a large part of that is thanks to Mia," Lupin chuckled slightly. "Back last year, she had this crush on Lockhart," he nodded when he saw Lupin grimace slightly. "Ginny had a crush on me, so I thought why not... if Hermione is allowed to fancy someone else, then so am I. But it didn't really work out. Hermione was jealous and kept going hot and cold. We finally talked about it before the end of term, and she explained that she was scared of this crush between us because we were only twelve and we decided that we would just wait."
"Something happened, didn't it?" Lupin asked knowingly and Harry nodded.
"Yeah," he whispered. "When she came back up this summer, my thoughts kinda went in a different direction." Lupin frowned before it hit him and his eyes widened.
"Oh," he uttered and Harry blushed slightly. "It's nothing to worry about. Hermione is certainly an attractive girl and it's normal."
"Yeah, but we almost kissed," Harry explained and Lupin cocked his head to the side and Harry found himself laughing. "Uncle Sirius does that too." Lupin rolled his eyes.
"The curse of us being canine animals," Lupin informed him dryly. "So, what happened with the kiss?"
"Ginny interrupted us," Harry explained. "We talked about the near-kiss later that day but we both decided that we would be better off just as friends."
"Ah," Lupin understood. "And you want to be more than friends?" Harry nodded. "Did you stop to think that maybe she was doing what you did?" Harry looked at him, confusion shining in his emerald eyes. "That maybe she was agreeing to just be friends because that's what she thought you would want?"
"Really?" Harry asked, a slight shine of hope appeared in his eyes. Lupin chuckled.
"If only you could see the way she looks at you when you're not looking. But you're not going to know unless the pair of you sit down and lay everything out on the table," he warned him. Harry nodded but stayed silent. Lupin could sense that something else was bothering the young man sitting next to him. "Is there anything else troubling you?" Lupin asked and Harry chuckled bitterly.
"Ginny and Mrs. Weasley," Harry told him. Lupin sighed.
"Ah, Mrs. Weasley. One woman I feel most unfortunate to have met," Lupin sighed, causing Harry to look at him, startled. "Yes, I know Mrs. Weasley and I know her mothering all too well. Why else do you think that Bill is in Egypt and Charlie in Romania?"
"She keeps trying to mother me!" Harry burst out. "She doesn't stop to think that maybe I don't want a replacement mother - that maybe I want my real mother!" Lupin nodded in understanding. "And to top it off, she's the one who outed Sirius in the first place! It's her fault that Mia's father is on the run and Mia's running herself on empty! She keeps picking fights with Snape and Pansy, and even Dumbledore sometimes! Not that I care about Snape and Pansy but if she keeps it up, she'll find herself in a situation she won't be able to get out of."
"I heard about the argument Mia had with Snape in my classroom. Thank her for me for not breaking anything, I appreciated that," Lupin told him and Harry looked at him, startled before laughing.
"Yeah, I will," Harry, told him. "I'm just worried for her. And I know Hermione is terrified for her best friend. She told me that Mia keeps sneaking out of bed, going into the bathroom and turning on the tap to drown out her crying." Lupin sighed sadly, his heart going out for his niece.
"Even Mia has her limits," Lupin reminded Harry.
"I know. But I'm scared that she will do something she will end up regretting because she can't deal with all this stress," Harry admitted. Lupin made a note to talk to Mia in private as soon as possible. If Harry was truly worried about her, then there must be some reasonable cause for it.
"What is the problem with Ginny?" Lupin asked, diverting the conversation back to the first topic. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back up at Lupin.
"I never told Hermione this... Mia knows but Hermione doesn't. Do you know about the attacks that happened last year?" Lupin frowned.
"You mean the Basilisk going around and petrifying the students? I remember that Hermione was the last victim," Lupin told him and Harry nodded.
"Well, I was talking to this person I know and he gave me some ideas. At first, we thought the attacks were random but he saw that it could have been connected to me. Like Mrs. Norris being petrified because Filch had gotten me into trouble at the beginning of the term. Colin had been attacked because he was annoying me. Justin had been attacked because he was bad-mouthing me," Harry explained.
"But what about Hermione?" Lupin asked.
"He thought that maybe the person did it to get her out of the way. I mean, Hermione is the most important female in my life - aside from Mia - but no one would have to worry about Mia as competition - we see each other as siblings," Harry explained. Lupin shook his head.
"What does this have to do with Ginny?" Lupin asked.
"When I went down the chamber to save her, Voldemort was there in the form of Tom Riddle. He told me that Ginny was the one who had been writing in the diary, making the attacks, and everything else. It turned out that Tom just encouraged her to attack the muggleborns - she was the one who picked out the victims." Lupin's eyes widened at the meaning of that statement.
"Oh Merlin," Lupin moaned. "I'm guessing no one else knows about this?" Lupin asked and Harry agreed.
"Yeah, Mia knows the truth - but how can I tell Ron that his sister selected them as victims? How can I tell Hermione that she was attacked because Ginny wanted her out of the way?" Harry asked. "I told Uncle Sirius, and it's one of the reason that he sped up her training - because he doesn't want to see something like that happen to her again."
"I'm guessing things are getting worse now with Ginny?" Lupin asked. Harry bowed his head.
"Yeah, she keeps throwing Hermione these dirty glares. And every time Hermione and I are getting close to something, she jumps in and looks at me like I'm betraying her. I've tried making it clear that I'm not interested in her, but she doesn't seem to get the message," Harry told him, pain clear in his voice. "I'm just scared that she will eventually do something she won't be able to take back." Lupin's jaw dropped from the implication.
"You think she might hurt Hermione," he uttered out in shock. Harry lifted his head and looked at Lupin, pain so clear in his green eyes that it was almost painful to look at them.
"I can't lose her," Harry whispered before his eyes flicked over to where Hermione was laughing at something Ron was telling her from his magazine.
Lupin didn't know what to say. He just lifted up a hand and placed it on Harry's shoulder to comfort him. They both watched silently as Mia conjured up a bucket. She dipped it into the lake and snuck up behind Ron before throwing the water all over him, causing Ron to let out another yell of shock.
The book fell from Hermione's lap as she clutched her stomach, laughing at the look in Ron's face before he got up and started to chase Mia in order to get her back. Harry couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"How can I tell any of them that they could be in danger because one girl can't comprehend that I don't like her?" Harry whispered once more.
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Sometime later Harry, Mia, Hermione, and Ron made their way through the corridor on their way to their next DADA class. Lupin had yet to send Harry an owl to let him know when the Dementor-fighting lessons were going to start and he was a bit worried because there was another Quidditch match coming up soon.
As he watched Hermione chat with Mia excitedly about something she had learned in a book, he couldn't help but reflect back to the conversation he had had with Lupin. Was Lupin right? Did she really lie because she thought that he didn't want to be more than friends? Harry hadn't felt more confused about anything in his life.
Hermione turned around when she felt Harry's eyes on her and shot him a bright smile turning back to face an amused Mia. When she realized she had been caught, she blushed slightly.
Harry felt his heart jump when he saw this and realised that Lupin just might be right about Hermione's feelings after all. Hope started to blossom in his heart but was interrupted when he felt a hand yanking him back. Frowning, he turned to see Ron holding onto his arm with a mixture of exasperation and amusement on his face.
"Mate, do watch where you're walking or you're gonna end up walking into a statue," Ron warned him and Harry felt his cheeks go warm before he turned back to the front and saw that they had arrived at the classroom.
Everyone made their way into the room and took up their usual seats. They waited until Lupin walked into their classroom and smiled at them.
"Good afternoon kids," he greeted. "So, can you tell me what happened between you all and Snape while I was off?" Everyone started shouting out what had happened, causing Lupin to lift his hands to ward off everyone's shouts. "Whoa, calm down!" he shouted.
Once the shouting and chattering had ceased, Lupin sighed with relief before he pointed to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, if you may?"
"Snape came in here and told us to start on werewolves. He wouldn't listen when we told him that we weren't anywhere near that topic yet and said was that we were way behind on classes already and gave us two rolls of parchment for homework on werewolves!" Ron exclaimed.
"Okay, you don't need to turn in the homework," Lupin told them all and everyone cheered. That is, everyone apart from Hermione, who had done the work. Harry smiled as he raised his hand, gaining Lupin's attention.
"Yes Mr. Potter?" he asked.
"I think you better take Hermione's homework... she needs to know if she would get full marks for it," Harry told him. Lupin chuckled and walked over to Hermione, who pulled out her homework and handed it to the Professor. "Although I'm pretty sure that she has all the information about werewolves there is." Hermione flushed slightly at the pride that coloured Harry's tone.
Lupin smiled as he looked at the roll of parchment and saw it was more than the two feet Snape had asked for.
"I'm sure you're right. But this should make an enjoyable read - I'll give it back to you by the next class," Lupin promised Hermione before he walked back to the front of the room. He placed the parchment in his bag before resuming his lesson from where he had left off, much to the enjoyment of everyone else.
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Christmas was almost here and so was another trip for Hogsmeade, much to Hermione's relief because she hadn't gotten everyone's Christmas presents yet.
"I thought you usually have them done by now," Ron remarked to Hermione, curious to why she was still rushing about.
"Yeah, but I've been so busy this year that presents slipped my mind. I have a few of them coming via owl order, but I just need to find a couple more. Then I'll be all finished," Hermione explained to Ron, who nodded.
"Come on Ron - we'll head down to the Great Hall and see if we can grab some more breakfast," Mia teased him, who just laughed.
"Oh!" he turned to Harry. "The twins were looking for you. I think they are on the second floor."
"Thanks!" Harry told him as he and Hermione made their way up to the second floor while Ron dragged Mia off to the Great Hall. As it was a weekend, breakfasts usually last longer than it did on a weekday, much to Ron's enjoyment.
Harry and Hermione found the twins next to the out-of-order girls' toilet, the same toilet that Moaning Myrtle haunted and the same one that held the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry and Hermione shared a smile when they both thought of the Polyjuice potion that Hermione had successfully created on the first try in there as well.
"Boys," Harry greeted, formally.
"Harry," The twins greeted back in the same tone before Hermione burst into giggles. Harry and the twins just grinned at each other, glad that they had been able to make Hermione laugh.
"So, what did you want to speak with me about?" Harry curiously asked the twins.
"We thought it was time for us to pass on something that we believe rightfully belongs to you," Fred told him as George handed Harry a piece of parchment. Hermione's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the old yellowed parchment but Harry's eyes lit up in excitement as he pulled out his wand to tap it gently.
"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good!" Harry exclaimed and lines spread out from his wand until some writing became clear.
"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP," Hermione recited before she huffed. "Trust them to put everything into this instead of their grades." Harry just shot Hermione a smile.
"Where did you guys get this? Uncle Sirius said that they lost it," Harry told the twins.
"Well, back in our first year, when we were young, carefree and innocent," George started but was interrupted by snickers coming from Harry and Hermione. "Okay, more innocent than we are now!"
"We had let off some Dungbombs in the corridor and for some reason that upset Filch," Fred started.
"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual-"
"Detention-"
"Disembowelment-"
"And we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."
"Oh, don't tell me…" said Harry, starting to grin while Hermione fought the smile trying to appear on her face at the thought.
"Well, what would you have done?" George asked.
"So, George set off another Dungbomb as a diversion while I whipped open the drawer and grabbed the first thing I saw. This map," Fred finished off, patting the map.
"You two are a nightmare," Hermione scolded them fondly before laughing as the twins took a bow.
"We'll take that as a compliment, my dear lady," they both told her before they both grabbed one of her arms to plant a kiss on the back of each hand. Harry rolled his eyes while Hermione blushed and laughed at the same time.
"So, why are you giving me the map?" Harry asked curiously. The twins looked at him once more.
"Because we know the whole place by heart and because you're Prong's Jr. It's time for you to take up your dad's spot and make us all proud," George told him.
"Now," Fred straightened up. "Mind you two and behave yourselves." They both walked off with Harry and Hermione looking at each other in amusement.
"Come on Harry. We better get down to the carriages - otherwise we'll be late for Hogsmeade," she told him, tugging on his arm. Harry wiped the map clean with a muttered 'Mischief managed' then stuffed it into his bag and they both hurried down the corridor.
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Everyone was having fun in Hogsmeade. Harry and Hermione made their way into the pet store to get some treats for their pets while Ron and Mia made their way into Zonko's. They were all wrapped up in heavy cloaks, hats and scarves as the snow fell heavily onto the ground, making Hogsmeade look like something out of a Christmas card.
Once they were all finished their shopping, much to Hermione's relief, they met up in the middle of the village. Ron noticed that they had a bit of time before they had to go back up to the castle.
"Wanna go to the Three Broomsticks to get something to drink?" Ron suggested, his teeth chattering. He got a round of agreement and led the way over to the building. When they stepped in, warmth waved over them, filling their veins with relief.
They found a table in the corner and sat down as Madam Rosemerta walked over to them.
"Hey kids, what you would like?" she asked.
"Can we have four butterbeers please?" Mia asked and she nodded.
"Coming right up kids," she told them as she wrote the order down. Their order tore itself off the pad and floated over to the counter, and Madam Rosemerta walked off to take another order from an adjacent table. Soon enough another waitress walked over to their table and handed them their butterbeers.
"Thank you," all four of them said politely before they dove into their glasses.
"Oh, this is life," Ron groaned out, causing Hermione and Mia to smile while Harry just chuckled.
"Yeah," Harry agreed as Hermione leaned her body against Harry's, enjoying her day.
"Has Lupin owled you yet?" Mia asked from where she was sitting with Ron. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, we're starting the lessons straight after Christmas is over. This way I'll be prepared for any more Dementor attacks that may happen," Harry told her.
"Yeah," Ron agreed before he eyed Mia. "And how are your detentions going?" Mia rolled her eyes.
"At least I have Flitwick instead of Snape. He had protested, saying that he didn't want me for detentions. He and McGonagall actually got into an argument over it before Dumbledore intervened and said that I was to do the detentions with Flitwick," Mia explained.
"Why did they have an argument over you?" Hermione asked, curious. Mia smirked.
"McGonagall said that I should do them with Snape because he was the one who assigned them, but Snape said that I was too troublesome to be left in his potions lab because he didn't want to come back and find that I had done something to his precious ingredients. McGonagall lost her temper and told him not to issue me any more detentions unless he was willing to be there to supervise rather than passing me off," Mia explained.
Harry choked on his butterbeer, laughing, while Hermione rubbed his back comfortingly.
"I can't believe that Snape is afraid of a teen-aged girl," Ron exclaimed, smiling at the thought.
"Well, apparently, my mum did something to Snape when they were younger and it left him pretty scared - I'm still trying to figure out what she did. Dad just laughs," Mia admitted the reason to why Snape wouldn't have detention with her.
"Maybe you could ask Lupin what really happened?" Hermione suggested once Harry had calmed down and wasn't choking anymore.
"Yeah, maybe," Mia agreed as Harry leaned back against the wall.
"Okay, from now on, I'm not drinking or eating around you lot ever again. I'll die of choking if this keeps up," Harry told them, causing them to chuckle in agreement.
All four of them just relaxed the rest of the day away, not knowing that things were about to take a thing for the worse.
TBC
I'm hoping that the talk between Lupin and Harry tugged your heartstrings a bit. This was mostly a chapter showing the relationship building between them (I think JK Rowling should have at least made it a bit stronger).