Hey everyone! I'm so very sorry it took me so long to update, I know it's not good to make excuses, but with everything that's going on with work, and school, things have been pretty crazy around here. I'm sorry to say that I cannot guarantee fast updates, but I promise you that I have no intentions of giving up this story. You think I came this far just to quit? I think not, haha! Anyway, here's chapter two, and I hope you all enjoy it. If there's any questions or comments, please just let me lnow. And please, please, please review! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are not mine.
Chapter Two: Breakouts and Castles
MPOV
Sirius Black Escapes From Azkaban Prison!
As of early this morning, July 31st, 1993, infamous prisoner Sirius Black, imprisoned for twelve years on several accounts of murder, has broken out of the great island fortress of Azkaban. Daily Prophet Reporters are stunned at this exclamation, as Azkaban is supposed to be an inescapable institution, guards roaming the halls day and night, and the island isolated out in the middle of the sea. However, this impossible realization was confirmed as of this morning, when the guards were making their morning rounds and found Black's cell to be empty. A full-fledged search was made over the entire premises, yet Black was nowhere to be found, and authorities at the Ministry of Magic were notified immediately.
"We are doing everything within our power to recapture Black," says Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. "We are pulling out every resource in the Ministry to hunt him down, as well as notifying the Muggle Prime Minister. Black is a deranged and dangerous man, and while I ask the Wizarding World to remain calm, I also stress the need to be cautious and to report anything if they catch sight of Black."
Sirius Black, a faithful follower in the days of You-Know-Who's reign, is considered a deadly and dangerous dark wizard, and the Ministry urges the public that if anyone should come across him, do not risk your safety by confrontation and contact Ministry officials immediately. For more on Black's escape, see pg. 9, where you will also see contact information…
Mia re-read the article from the Daily Prophet that had been published just a few days ago for what must have been the fifth time. The news of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban was unbelievable, and she couldn't wrap her mind around it when she had first heard. Azkaban was supposed to be in-escapable, and for this man to accomplish the impossible astounded her. Black was supposedly a dangerous, high ranking criminal, and Mia knew that he must be a high valued prisoner, because Black was even on the Muggle newscast. Just below the article was a picture of Black, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought she was staring at a corpse. Black's hair was matted and tangled, reaching down past his shoulders, his skin was pale and sunken in, reminding Mia of a vampire, and there was a dark look to his face, his grey eyes looking haunted and very nearly lifeless. The sight of him unnerved her, and she knew she definitely didn't want to face him alone on a deserted street. She and Hermione had talked about it almost the whole way home, worried and yet fascinated by this story. Black was sent to Azkaban for murdering thirteen people, and apparently was an old supporter of Voldemort. Mia instantly didn't like him, and the look of his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.
Mia sighed and then stuffed the article back in her bedside drawer, rolling onto her back and taking a nice stretch. She had come back home from France just the day before, and even though she had a wonderful time, she was happy to be home. Catherine had pulled her in for a suffocating hug before she even took three steps into the house, and she made Mia her favorite dinner in honor of her coming back home. She spent most of the night telling them all about the wonderful things that she and Hermione had experienced abroad, and she even presented them with gifts. She bought a blue and silver silk scarf, her father a few new ties for work, and she had given Brian a stuffed bear which he had latched onto instantly. He refused to part with it and carried it with him everywhere he went. He had decided to name it "Barnaby" for reasons unknown to Mia, but she didn't question it—she learned long ago that Brian wasn't a normal toddler.
Mia enjoyed being at home with her family, but what she really missed was hanging out with Harry. She was eager to go over his house to see if he liked his birthday present, but unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. Mia couldn't help the grin that spread across her face or the giggle that escaped her mouth as she remembered the letter she had received from Ron on that very morning. She remembered falling onto her bed from laughing so hard at the news from her dear red-headed friend—apparently something had happened over at Harry's house while she was away, because one day when Mr. Weasley came home, he informed Ron and his siblings that a group of Ministry officials had to be sent out to Number Four to reverse a very powerful bit of magic. From what Ron had said, Harry had accidently blown up his Aunt Marge—literally blow her up—and she swelled to the size of a large balloon, bouncing off the ceiling by the time the Ministry officials had gotten there. Mia couldn't help but laugh when she heard that because she remembered Harry's Aunt Marge very well, and she knew that she had most likely gotten what she deserved. Mia had only met her once, and that was enough time for her to realize that Marge Dursley was a horrible and vile woman who lived to shower Dudley with gifts and praise while making harsh and rude comments about Harry. The last time she was at Privet Drive, she and Harry had been ten years old, and Marge Dursley had brought her bulldog, Ripper, with her. Mia remembered hearing constant barking and Harry calling for help. She had run over to see Harry sitting in a tree and Ripper growling and barking at him, keeping him trapped up there. Mia had grabbed some nearby rocks and threw them at the dog, making sure she didn't actually hit him, to scare him and have Harry climb back down. Harry's aunt had screamed at her for threatening her precious dog, but Mia sent back a snappy reply to her, knowing that if she hadn't have done anything, then Harry would have been stuck in that tree until past midnight.
Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley had tried forbidding Harry and Mia from seeing each other for a while after that, to which Mia had laughed. There was no way that she would let the Dursleys keep her away from her best friend. She and Harry kept playing together, but they were more careful about it, not wanting to upset his aunt and uncle further to a point where they would actually enforce their threat. Mia hated Marge Dursley more than Dudley and that was saying something. Whatever had set Harry off to blow her up, Mia was positive that she deserved it. However, Harry's little stunt had caused him to walk out on the Dursleys with all his things, and as far as Mia knew (her source coming from Ron of course), Harry was staying at the Leaky Cauldron in London for the rest of the holidays. At first Mia didn't like the idea of Harry being on his own, but then she remembered that he didn't have to stay at the Dursley's anymore for the rest of the summer, and she was happy that he could have a little freedom.
As it turned out, Ron's dad actually won the Grand Prize Galleon Draw, and he was currently with his family in Egypt for the next week, so he would be going school shopping on the day before they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express. Hermione and Mia agreed that they would all meet up with each other then and surprise Harry. Mia couldn't believe that summer was almost over already. Soon they would be going back to school for their third year. Sometimes she would get so excited she could hardly sit straight, and a wistful smile would come to her face every time she thought about it. Seeing the magnificent castle perched upon the cliff, visiting Hagrid in his home, taking a walk by the lake, studying in the library, and eating dinner in the Great Hall with the rest of the school. A soft sigh made its way through her. She really couldn't wait to go back…
"Mia!" Catherine's voice called from downstairs. "Mia love, can you come down for a moment?"
"Coming Mum!" Mia called, rolling herself into an upright position and standing up from her bed, which was littered with scraps of paper from her sketchpad. Once she was standing, she grabbed her sketchpad off of her desk, frowning when she realized she was almost out of paper. She stuffed it inside her rucksack along with her pencils and paints, planning on going to the park to spend some time drawing. When she has everything she needed, Mia made her way downstairs to the living room where Catherine was folding up the laundry, looking particularly frazzled. Her hair was starting to come out of her bun, and her face looked tired and sweaty. Mia wasn't surprised, it was pretty hot outside today, and Catherine had been cooped up in the house all day long doing the chores and trying to keep an eye on Brian, who seemed to be everywhere getting into everything he could find. One would think that toddlers started to behave a little more once they were out of their terrible twos—but they obviously haven't meet Mia's brother, who was carrying on into the terrible threes. So all in all, Catherine was exhausted, and her bloodshot eyes turned to Mia as she entered the room.
"Where are you off to today?" Catherine asked.
"I'm going to the park for a little while," Mia answered.
"Oh, that's perfect!" Catherine said, a relieved expression coming across her face. Could you do me a favor sweetheart? Could you take Brian to the park with you? Your father has some company from work coming over for dinner tonight, and I need to finish getting the house cleaned up."
"Do I have to?" Mia groaned, not wanting Brian to bombard her with questions on the way to and from the park. The litter bugger had gotten into that stage where he was constantly asking questions, and Mia often found herself hiding from him lately, as he seemed to want to be her talking shadow. He reminded her a lot of Colin Creveey and how he had stalked Harry last year.
"Yes, you do," said Catherine firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. "It's only for a little while, I need him out from under my feet while I straighten up the house and start dinner. Please love, just do this one thing for me?"
"Fine," Mia sighed, inwardly groaning. She had really wanted to go to the park to work on her drawings, and she knew with Brian there she wouldn't get anything done. But then again, Catherine has been working endlessly all week long, she deserved some rest. It was extra strenuous because ever since last summer, Brian has been showing more signs of accidental magic. Last week Ben had told her how Brian nearly gave Catherine a heart attack by starting to climb up a tree and bouncing off the ground when he fell. Hearing that made Mia smile because she had done the exact same thing when she was his age. And when the summer holidays first started, Catherine had been giving Brian a bath, and when Mia walked in, Brian's face lit up and all the bubbles in the tub had suddenly turned a lovely shade of blue, as if he were trying to make them match her eyes. And there were other times when he used his magic to cause mischief, such as the time when Mia had come home to find her pastel paints moving of their own accord across one of her drawings while Brian was standing in front of it waving his arms, as if he were conducting an orchestra. More incidents like this was becoming more frequent, and it was driving Mia and her parents mad. She really pitied the Hogwarts teachers when Brian finally comes walking through the doors.
Five minutes later, Mia was walking down the street with an over-excited Brian at her heels, chatting up a storm. As they walked, Brian asked Mia about a thousand and one questions, all ranging from "Mia, why is the sky blue?" to "Mia, why does Father Christmas come once a year?" She had to hand it to him, Brian was very curious and absorbed knowledge like a sponge. She found that talking with Brian wasn't as bad as she thought, and as they got closer to the store, Brian started asking a whole new round of questions.
"Mia, what's Hoggywarts like?" he asked.
"You mean Hogwarts?" Mia said.
"Yeah!" Brian said, his eyes lighting up. "Wat's it like? Do you gets to use your wand there? Are there monsters? Are da witches there ugly or pwetty like you?"
A small smile came across Mia's face. Brian really was adorable when he wanted to be.
"It's a wonderful and completely magical place," Mia said, trying to put it in a way that Brian would understand. "You know the castle in Cinderella?"
"Mmhmm," Brian answered, nodding eagerly.
"Well, Hogwarts is better," Mia stated. "It's very big, with lots of stairs, and windows. There's pictures all over the walls, and brave knights that protect it.
"Do dey fight Dwagons?" Brian asked.
"There are no Dragons at Hogwarts," Mia replied. Well, except for Norbert. "But if there were, the knights would fight them. At night there's stars on the ceiling in the dining hall, and there's ghosts there too."
"Weally?" said Brian, his eyes going wide in absolute awe. "Weal ghosts?"
"Yup. There's Sir Nick, he's very friendly, and he always likes to help people. And the Fat Friar, he's nice too, and there's Peeves—he's not really a ghost, and he's a bit of a troublemaker—"
"I like him," Brian said instantly, a grin spreading across his face. Mia rolled her eyes fondly. Of course he would.
"Are da teachers nice?" said Brian.
"Most of them," Mia answered. "There's Professor McGonagall, she can turn into a cat."
"A cat? Like Sapphire?"
"Uh-huh," said Mia. "Professor Sprout teaches us about flowers, Flitwick teaches us to make things fly, and Snape is just a git—"
"Git? What's a git?" said Brian.
"Uh—it's nothing!" Mia said quickly. "Don't tell Mum I said that, okay?"
"You said a bad word!" Brian said gleefully, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'm gonna tell Mummy!"
"Oh really?" said Mia, lifting an eyebrow. "If you do, I'll send the tickle monster after you!"
"I'm not scawed of da tickle monster," Brian said. Mia just grinned and then she stooped down and pulled Brian into her arms. The little boy squealed and tried to fight her off but he kept a tight hold of him as she attacked his sides. Brian shrieked with laughter and tried pushing himself away from his sister to no avail. After about a minute of tickling him, Mia finally stopped and hitched Brian onto her hip. Brian kept giggling as they continued on walking and in next to no time, they were finally at the park. There were a small group of people parents there with their children, and as soon as Mia set Brian down on the ground, he immediately took off for the slide where some of the other kids were. Mia smiled as she watched Brian walk up to a little blonde-haired boy and started talking to him. Glad that her brother had some kids to play with, Mia sat down on one of the benches that was in the perfect position for her to keep an eye on Brian and for her to be in his line of vision if he should need anything. Once she was seated, she took out her sketchpad from her bag and turned to a fresh clean page. She took a minute to stare at it, trying to figure out what she wanted to draw. Her mind drifted to the conversation she and Brian were having on their way to the park and she smiled, an idea coming to her head. She dug around for her pencils and pastel crayons and started working. Over the past couple years, Mia has gotten better and better with her drawings and paintings. Her childish scribbles were actually turning into more defined lines, and her little square houses were becoming stone and wooden structures. Half of her sketchpad was filled with the things she saw in France, while the other half consisted of the things she loved about Hogwarts. The lake, the Whomping Willow, the school owls, the Quidditch Pitch, and of course, the magnificent castle that was her second home…
"Mia?"
Mia turned at the sound of her name, and her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of an elderly woman wearing a green and white dress, her white hair pulled into a ponytail and her grey eyes twinkling.
"Mrs. Brugger?" Mia said, smiling. "What are you doing here?"
Mrs. Brugger was a kind old lady who lived about ten minutes away from Mia. She was known as the "Old Witch" by the other kids in the neighborhood, which Mia thought was ridiculous—there was nothing even remotely dangerous about Agatha Brugger. Mia had met her only last summer, when she walked Mrs. Brugger home when she got caught in the rain with her groceries.
"Oh, I'm here with my grandson," Mrs. Brugger replied, pointing over to the blonde haired boy that Brian was playing with. "Darren—he's been asking me to bring him here all week. What are you doing here dear?"
"I'm here with my brother," Mia said. "He's the one playing with Darren."
"My, isn't he the cutest little thing?" Mrs. Brugger commented with a smile.
"That's just a show," Mia said with a smirk. "He's an evil genius."
Mrs. Brugger gave a chuckle as she sat down next to Mia on the bench.
"How have you been dearie? I haven't seen you since last summer."
"I've been away at school," Mia explained. "I go to a boarding school for most of the year."
"Anywhere that I know?" asked Mrs. Brugger.
"Probably not," Mia answered. "It's in Scotland."
"Oh," said Mrs. Brugger, her kind eyes crinkling in a smile. "I've certainly missed talking to you dear. I was hoping to run into you again."
"I've been on vacation with my friend," said Mia. "We went to France."
"France!" Mrs. Brugger said in a wistful voice, her eyes glazing over, as if she were lost in a memory. "These old eyes haven't seen the beautiful country of France for so very long. So many memories…I met my dear husband, Robert, there, at a dinner party held in a grand castle, on the banks of the lake. We had danced all night in the courtyard…so lovely. Did you and your friend have fun?"
"We did," Mia said. "Hermione and I had a great time there."
"Hermione? That is her name? It's a pretty name, so Shakespearian. Tell me, what did you do while you were there?"
And so Mia and Mrs. Brugger spent the next hour or so talking and catching up with one another with what has been going on for the past year. Obviously Mia couldn't tell her about Hogwarts or the disastrous events that had happened this past year, so she kept it nice and simple, replacing certain wizard terms with Muggle ones, such as referring Potions to "science," and Quidditch to "soccer." Mia listened intently as Mrs. Brugger told her some of the stories of her and her late husband Robert, some of them so romantic that Mia wanted to swoon, and others so funny she couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles. Every once in a while Mia would glance over to check up on Brian, and she was happy to see that he was still playing with Darren. Time seemed to fly by, and Mia was actually enjoying Mrs. Brugger's company very much. After talking about Robert's attempt to sing at a karaoke bar, Mrs. Brugger glanced down at the sketchpad in Mia's lap.
"You like to draw?" she asked.
"Oh," Mia said, now realizing that she had forgotten all about her picture. "Yes, I love to draw, and to paint…I've been doing it ever since I was little."
"That's a wonderful talent to have," Mrs. Brugger said, her eyes twinkling again. "Are you drawing something that you saw in France?"
"No, it's just something I made up myself," Mia lied, trying to keep eye contact. Mrs. Brugger smiled at her, and Mia smiled back before looking down at her watch.
"Oh no," Mia said, a little sadly. "It's almost twelve—I've got to get Brian home for lunch. I'm sorry Mrs. Brugger, I have to go. I wish I could stay."
"Me too dear," said Mrs. Brugger. The elder woman's eyebrows furrowed for a moment and she appeared to be in deep thought. She was silent for a few seconds before she spoke.
"Mia dear, how would you like to make a little money this summer?" Mrs. Brugger asked.
"What do you mean?" said Mia.
"Well, remember when I told you that my old house needed some sprucing up? Unfortunately I'm not as young as I used to be, and I can't do it all by myself. My son always says he'll come by, but he hasn't had the time and—well, I was just wondering if you'd like to help out. You'd have to ask your parents of course, and you would have to come over a few times a week, or whenever you can manage. I'd say maybe ten pounds a week would be enough?"
"Really?" said Mia, her eyes wide. "I don't know Mrs. Brugger, I wouldn't want to bother you—"
"You wouldn't be bothering me dear," Mrs. Brugger assured her. "In fact I think you'd be a great help. It would be nice to have some company again…so what do you say?"
"That would be great!" Mia said. "I'd be happy to help!"
"That's wonderful. Is Monday I good day to start?"
"Sure, I'll ask my parents," Mia replied, putting her sketchpad back inside her bag and standing up from the bench. "Thank you so very much Mrs. Brugger—I promise I'll work very hard."
"I'm sure you will dear," Mrs. Brugger said. "And remember, it's Aggie. Just out of curiosity, what were you drawing a picture of?"
"Oh, a castle—I was drawing a castle."
HPOV
Three weeks later…
Harry woke up on the last day of the summer holidays feeling refreshed and excited. He wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but he didn't really care. He was enjoying his Dursley-free vacation as much as possible, and he certainly took advantage of it. For the last couple of weeks, Harry had eaten whatever he wanted, got up whenever he please, and wandered around on his own, although it was only in Diagon Alley. After he blew up his Aunt Marge, Harry had run into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, at the Leaky Cauldron, and he was positive that he was going to be expelled. But, miraculously, Fudge simply waved away the entire situation and Harry wasn't punished at all. He had arranged for Harry to spend the rest of the holidays at the Leaky Cauldron, and he made Harry promise that he wouldn't stay into Muggle London—not that Harry would want to anyway. He had been enjoying himself immensely, looking at all the wonderful shops and sitting out in the sun, finishing his homework. He bought all his school supplies within the first couple days, and the rest of the time was spent looking for Ron, Hermione and Mia. He wasn't too sure if they had bought all of their things yet, so he had been keeping an eye out for them every day since he arrived. He ran into other students from school, such as Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom, although he didn't too much time to stay and chat.
Harry yawned and stood up from bed, taking a nice long stretch. Staring out the window, he saw that it was a gorgeous morning, and he thought a good breakfast and a trip down to Quality Quidditch Supplies was a good way to start the day. There was a new racing broom out on the market that Harry has dropped by to see every day—the Firebolt. It was an international standard broom, and it was the very definition of perfect, with its gleaming handle, smooth tail and golden title carved in the front. Harry had never wanted anything more in his whole life, but he knew that such a superb broom would probably cost him his entire fortune at Gringotts. Besides, he already had a good broom, what was the point in getting another one? Once he cleaned himself up and got dressed, he made his way downstairs to grab a quick bowl of porridge with some toast and juice before heading out into the back courtyard to open up the gateway into the alley. He went over to Quality Quidditch Supplies for a nice long look at the Firebolt, along with a huge crowd of onlookers who were pressed up against the glass. How long he stood there, he didn't know, and he was so absorbed in the sheer beauty of the Firebolt that he didn't notice when someone walked up behind him.
"How did I know I would find you standing outside drooling over a broom?" came an amused laugh.
"Mia!" Harry exclaimed, snapping out of his thoughts instantly and spinning around to see her standing behind him, her arms crossed over her chest and shaking her head at him. He barely even gave her time to say hello before he wrapped her up in a fierce hug, making her squeak in surprise.
"I'm guessing that you missed me?" she giggled, hugging him back.
"Definitely," Harry said, grinning as he released her. "This summer was awful without you. How was France? When did you get back?"
"It was great, there's so much I want to tell you! And Hermione's parents took lots of pictures, we brought them with us to show you. And we got back a few days after your birthday, I was going to come visit you but you were already gone. Me, Ron and Hermione got here not too long ago."
"Where are they?" asked Harry, looking around for his two other best friends.
"They're at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor," Mia answered, taking his hand. "Come on."
Harry followed Mia through the crowd and back up the alley towards the ice-cream parlor, where, sure enough, Ron and Hermione were sitting at one of the tables under a colorful umbrella, waving madly at them as they approached, slurping their own ice-creams.
"Finally!" said Ron, grinning at Harry as he and Mia sat down at the table. "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and—"
"I got all my school stuff last week," Harry explained. "And how come you knew I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Dad," said Ron simply. Harry nodded. Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic, and Harry was sure that he would have heard about what happened to Aunt Marge.
"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" said Hermione in a very serious voice.
"I didn't mean to blow her up," Harry said as Ron and Mia burst out laughing. "I just...lost control."
"Brilliant!" said Ron, grinning.
"Honestly Ron, it's not funny!" Hermione snapped.
"Yes it is," Mia giggled, pushing some of her ice-cream over to Harry so he could have some. "I wish I was there to see it."
"This isn't something to laugh about Mia," Hermione said.
"You don't know her Mione, she probably deserved it, right Harry?" said Mia. Harry nodded vigorously, his mouth too full of chocolate and peppermint ice-cream to speak.
"That's not the point though! Harry was lucky not to be expelled," Hermione said crossly.
"Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested," Harry admitted.
"I still think it's brilliant." Ron chortled.
"Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?" Harry asked him.
"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" shrugged Ron, still chuckling. "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening—we're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione and Mia are there as well!"
"Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things," Hermione beamed.
"Excellent!" said Harry happily. "So, have you got all your new books and stuff?"
"Look at this," said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books, too. What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted three."
"I'm guessing they're for our Care of Magical Creatures class," Mia said. "Can't think of any other reason why we'd need a book about monsters."
"What's all that, Hermione?" Harry asked, pointing at not one but three bulging bags in the chair next to her.
"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I," said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies—"
"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry. "You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"
"But Ron, it'll be fascinating to learn it from the wizarding point of view," gushed Mia playfully as she grinned at Hermione. "Right, Hermione?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at her and went rummaging around in her purse.
"I've still got ten Galleons," she said. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."
"How about a nice book?" asked Ron innocently, making Mia giggle softly.
"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig and you've got Errol—"
"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers."
Ron reached into his side pocket and pulled out his pet rat, Scabbers, Ron has had Scabbers for as long as Harry had known him, Ron's older brother Percy used to own him, but then gave him to Ron after his parents bought him a new owl.
"And I want to get him checked over," Ron added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I don't think Egypt agreed with him."
Harry had to agree. Scabbers was usually very fat and was always sniffing around for food, however, now he was looking much thinner, and there was a definite droop to his whiskers.
"He looks a little ill," Mia commented as she leaned in closer to get a better look at him. "Do you think maybe he ate something that was bad for him?"
"Not sure," Ron replied. "I fed him some of whatever I ate, but I suppose he could've gotten into something."
"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Harry, pointing. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl."
"Actually, why don't you guys go ahead," said Mia, who also was checking her purse. "There's one shop I want to go to before we head on back to the Leaky Cauldron. I can meet up with you guys at the Magical Menagerie when I'm done."
"Where are you going?" asked Harry.
"Scribbulus Writing Instruments," Mia answered. "There's just a couple things I need to pick up."
"Would you mind if I come along?" said Harry. "There's some things I might need—"
"You just want to come so you can have one last look at the Firebolt," Mia said, grinning. Harry smiled back sheepishly at her. Scribbulus Writing Instruments was only a few stores away from Quality Quidditch Supplies, and he had been hoping to get another glance at the Firebolt. Mia laughed at him before agreeing for him to go along with her while Ron and Hermione went off to the Magical Menagerie for their pets.
"What do you need to get at Scribbulus?" asked Harry.
"Nothing," Mia answered simply, smiling. "It was just to get away from Hermione—I haven't gotten her anything for her birthday yet, and I saw something that I think she would like."
"What is it?"
"They have a special new quill at Scribbulus that leaves a flowery scent on the parchment as you write," said Mia. "I think she would really like it."
Harry nodded, and at the same time, he noticed something—there was a sweet scent that was very close by, and as he inhaled it, he realized it was coming from Mia.
"What are you wearing?" he said abruptly.
"What do you mean?" Mia asked in confusion.
"I smell something…like a flower," Harry said. To his surprise, Mia face went a little red.
"Hermione and I bought some perfume and lotion in Paris," she said, not meeting his eyes. "Mine's called Midnight Cherry Blossom…does it smell bad?"
"No," said Harry. "It smells sweet."
He couldn't help but grin and chuckle a little as Mia's face grew even more red, and she changed the subject by pointing out that they were finally at Scribbulus'. They easily found the quills that Mia was looking for inside, and she got excited when they found a quill with a rose scent, because apparently, it was Hermione's favorite flower. After paying for two of them, Harry and Mia turned to walk back outside and then they saw Ron dashing past the open door, looking frantic.
"Scabbers!" he called. "Scabbers, come back!"
"Don't tell me he lost Scabbers again," said Mia.
"It looks like it," said Harry. "Come on."
Harry and Mia quickly went after Ron, carefully moving through the crowd so as not to run into anybody. Eventually they found him on his hands and knees, reaching under a wastepaper basket and pulling a terrified Scabbers out by his tail.
"Ron, what happened?" asked Mia.
"We were at the Menagerie, and I was about to pay for some rat tonic when this giant cat came out of nowhere and landed on top of my head!" said Ron. "It started hissing and then went after Scabbers! I lost my grip on him and then he ran, so I had to follow him out here."
"Is he all right?"
"I think so," Ron said, carefully checking over Scabbers before placing him back inside his pocket.
"Where's Hermione?" said Harry, realizing she was not there.
"Probably getting her owl," said Mia. "We should go back and find her."
The three of them turned back around and started going back to the Menagerie to find Hermione. When they reached it, they saw her leaving the shop, but she wasn't carrying an owl. Wrapped up in Hermione's arms was a large, furry ginger cat.
"You bought that monster?" said Ron, his mouth hanging open. Harry assumed by Ron's reaction that this was the cat that had landed on his head.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing.
That's a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. However, Mia didn't seem to think so, because she instantly walked forward and started to pet the cat, which purred instantly at her touch.
"Awww, he's adorable!" Mia cooed. "Now Sapphire can have a playmate."
"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" said Ron.
"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione.
"And what about Scabbers?" said Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket. "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"
"That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic," said Hermione, slapping a small red bottle into Ron's hand. "And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? And besides, you have no problem with Sapphire being around Scabbers.
"That doesn't mean Sapphire doesn't like him," Harry pointed out.
"And now I'm going to have two bloody cats going after my rat!" Ron said.
"I told you Ron, he'll be staying in our dorm anyway," Hermione snapped before turning back to her cat. "Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages—no one wanted him."
"Wonder why," said Ron sarcastically as they all set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.
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