Bryt woke up the next morning the same way she had all summer. She groaned and rolled over, looking up at Sofí's grinning face.
"What time is it?" Bryt asked, yawning as she sat up. Sofí had a habit of waking her friend up at very strange hours in the morning.
Sofí gave a shrug as she plopped down on her bed.
"Everyone else is already up," she said, as if that would answer Bryt's question, "But it's still pretty early."
"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," Bryt pushed her covers off her legs as Sofí headed out of the room.
Bryt got dressed and did a last-minute check on her trunk before heading downstairs. Mr. Weasley was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet while Mrs. Weasley was saying something to Ginny and Hermione that had all three of them giggling. Bryt was about to head over to them, but Sofí grabbed Bryt by the arm and pulled her over to where Julio was sitting.
"We want yah to spend next summer with us," Sofí grinned as she sat down.
"The whole summer?" Bryt grinned.
"Yeah," Julio spoke up, nodding, "And...D'you think Hermione'd like to stay the summer, too?"
"Why don't you ask her?" Bryt asked, looking over at Julio.
Julio went a little red in the face and Sofí started laughing so loudly that nearly everyone turned to look at the three.
"Fine, I'll ask her," Bryt laughed herself, "Maybe when I can get her alone."
But Bryt didn't get much of a chance to pull Hermione aside at the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone was almost in a state of chaos as they prepared to leave. Sofí helped Bryt get her school trunk down the narrow staircase of the Leaky Cauldron and they put it down with the others as Julio put Joey's cage next to Harry's Hedwig and Percy's Hermes. Bryt noticed a wicker basket next to the trunk and hissing noises were coming from inside it. Hermione, who was already there with Harry and Ron, knelt down next to the basket.
"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione said, "I'll let you out on the train."
"You won't," Ron snapped, "What about poor Scabbers, eh?"
Ron pointed to a lump in his shirt pocket and Bryt rolled her eyes.
"He seems fine there, let him stay in your pocket," she said, "We can't leave Crookshanks locked in that basket all day."
"There here," Mr. Weasley interrupted the conversation as he leaned into the Leaky Cauldron, "Harry, come on."
Bryt followed everyone outside where a few old-fashioned cars were parked waiting.
"We're gonna catch a cab to the airport from here, Bryt," Sofí said, "See you this summer, okay?"
"Right," Bryt nodded, grinning as she gave both of her home-town friends a hug, "Bye!"
Bryt turned and climbed into the car next to Hermione, then leaned out the window and waved again to Sofí and Julio as the car started off. The ride was quiet and, before long, they had reached King's Cross. As everyone climbed out of the cars, the Ministry drivers got trolleys and put everyone's trunks and cages onto them.
Bryt followed along as the group hurried to the barrier between platforms nine and ten, where Bryt knew they had to pass through to get to Platform 9 ¾ to board the Hogwarts Express. Mr. Weasley suggested that everyone go through the barrier in pairs, then headed through with Harry. Percy and Ginny followed, then Hermione and Bryt went through together at a run.
Once everyone was through the barrier, Bryt, Ron, Hermione, and Harry loaded their trunks into one of the compartments and then jumped back off the train to say goodbye to Ron's parents. As Mrs. Weasley began calling her children over to hand out sandwiches, Bryt took Hermione and pulled her over to the side.
"Sofí and Julio invited me to stay the summer with them in the States," Bryt said, "They want to know if you can come, too."
"Spend a summer in America?" Hermione asked, "That would be wonderful! I'd have to write home and ask my parents, though."
"I know," Bryt nodded, "When you find out, we can write Sofí and Julio about it."
"Why didn't they ask me this morning?" Hermione asked.
"Probably because they'll think your parents will be more willing to let you go if I ask you instead of them," Bryt shrugged, thinking of how her mother had reacted when Bryt said Ron was the one who invited her to stay at the Leaky Cauldron, "Considerin' you've known me two years, but just really met them yesterday."
"Bryt, Hermione, come on!" Ron called from where he was getting on the train.
Bryt and Hermione turned and hurried over, getting on the train themselves and Bryt leaned out the window as Mrs. Weasley started calling across the platform.
"Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"
Bryt looked over and noticed Mr. Weasley was talking to Harry in the distance.
"He's coming, Molly!" Mr. Weasley called, then turned back to Harry. They continued their conversation until the train slowly started to move. Bryt's heart started pounding slightly, wishing Harry'd hurry up before he missed the train.
"Arthur, quickly!" Mrs. Weasley called again.
Harry started running for the train and Ron pushed open the compartment door, helping Harry scramble onto the train. Then, Ron leaned out the window next to Bryt and they waved goodbye to Ron's parents.
"I need to talk to you in private," Harry suddenly said quietly as they turned from the windows.
"Go away, Ginny," Ron turned to his sister who had been with them.
"Ron!" Bryt hissed as Ginny huffed and headed off down the train.
"I was just getting rid of her!" Ron replied as the four started along the corridor.
"You could have asked her nicely," Bryt glared.
The closest to an empty compartment that they could find was one at the end of the train where a man was leaning against the train window, sleeping. The four friends hesitated, unsure what to think. Bryt studied the man, noticing he was dressed in old and patched robes and he looked almost sick. His brown hair was streaked with gray, even though he didn't look very old.
"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron whispered as they finally slid into the compartment and sad down.
"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"You gone psychic on us?" Bryt blinked.
"It's on his case," Hermione replied with a sigh, pointing up to the luggage rack.
Bryt looked up at the old, battered case that was held together in many places by strings. 'Professor R.J. Lupin' was on one corner, though the letters were coming off.
"Wonder what he teaches?" Ron asked.
"That's obvious," Hermione answered, "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Don't look like he'll break the jinx," Bryt said, looking Lupin up and down as she referred to the fact that in the past two years, they had had two different Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, "He looks really weak."
"Anyway," Ron cut in, pulling Bryt's attention over to her friends, "What were you going to tell us, Harry?"
"I overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking last night," Harry whispered after looking over at Lupin, as if to be sure he was asleep, "About Sirius Black. They think that Black broke after Azkaban to come after me. Something about Black thinks killing me will bring Voldemort back. And Mr. Weasley warned me to be careful, to not go looking for Black."
"Like you'd be insane enough to go lookin' for someone who wants to kill you," Bryt whispered, though what Harry said had her worried. A serial killer broke out of Azkaban just to hunt down and kill Harry?
"Harry...you'll have to be really, really careful," Hermione whispered, her face pale, "Don't go looking for trouble, Harry—"
"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry replied, "Trouble usually finds me."
"We'll just have to hope Black doesn't find you," Bryt whispered, shuddering slightly as she remembered the madman's face on the front of the Daily Prophet and how he had killed so many in one moment.
"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," Ron spoke up, "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner, too."
"But they'll catch him, won't they?" Hermione asked worriedly, "I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him, too..."
Suddenly, a whistling noise came from Harry's trunk. Ron asked about it, then went over to the trunk and pulled out what looked like a glass toy top which was spinning rapidly and glowing.
"Is that a Sneakoscope?" Hermione asked, moving over to take a better look at the item.
"Yeah...mind you, it's a very cheap one," Ron said, "It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry."
"Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" Hermione asked.
"No! Well...I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys...but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?"
"So a Sneakoscope is supposed to detect when someone untrustworthy is around?" Bryt asked, watching the exchange, thinking an item like that would be very handy, if it was one that could work, seeing as Harry's didn't seem to.
"Yeah," Ron said as he put the Sneakoscope back in Harry's trunk to try and silence it before sitting back down, "If it works. We can get yours checked at Hogsmeade, Harry. They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me."
"You know a lot about Hogsmeade?" Bryt asked excitedly.
"I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain," Hermione said, starting to grin.
"Yeah, I think it is," Ron replied simply, "But that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes!"
"Honeydukes?" Bryt echoed at the same time as Hermione.
"It's this sweetshop," Ron said, grinning, "Where they've got everything...Pepper Imps—they make you smoke at the mouth—and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mouse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck on in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next—"
While Ron continued to ramble about Honeydukes, Hermione was beginning to talk at the same time and Bryt had trouble trying to figure out who to listen to.
"But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione was saying, "In Sites of Historical Sorcery it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain—"
"I'd love to see that!" Bryt cut in, "Sofí, Julio, and I always tried to hunt down haunted places during the summer. I can't wait to visit Hogsmeade! It'll be nice gettin' away from Hogwarts every now and then."
"'Spect it will," Harry cut in gloomily, "You'll have to tell me when you've found out."
"What d'you mean?" Ron cut away from his sweet-ramblings.
"I can't go," Harry replied, "The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form, and Fudge wouldn't, either."
"You're not allowed to come?" Ron asked, as if it were the worst crime in the world, "But—no way—McGonagall or someone will give you permission—" Harry gave a sarcastic laugh at that. "—or we can ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage out of the castle—"
"Ron!" Hermione snapped, "I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of the school with Black on the loose—"
"Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for permission," Harry grumbled.
"You can use your cloak, Harry," Bryt said, "And who'll mess with you when you're around others, or in the village?"
"Don't talk rubbish," Hermione said, starting to undo the straps on Crookshanks' basket, "Black's already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you really think he's going to worry about attacking Harry just because there's people around?"
"Don't let that thing out!" Ron snapped, but Hermione ignored him and soon Crookshanks was in Ron's lap, looking at Ron's shaking pocket.
"Get out of here!" Ron snapped, shoving the cat out of his lap.
"Ronald!" Bryt hissed, picking up Crookshanks and glaring at her friend.
Lupin started to move and everyone turned to him, wondering if they had woken him up. Instead, the professor shifted slightly and continued sleeping.
"We need to keep it down," Bryt said slowly, putting Crookshanks down in the empty seat.
They kept talking in quiet voices until early afternoon when the witch who pushed the trolley had stopped at their door.
"D'you think we should wake him up?" Ron asked as Harry went to buy some Cauldron Cakes for everyone, "He looks like he could do with some food."
"Er—Professor?" Hermione moved over to Lupin and leaned over him, "Excuse me—Professor?"
"Don't worry, dear," the trolley witch spoke up when Lupin didn't respond, "If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up front with the driver."
"I suppose he is asleep?" Ron asked as they say back down, "I mean—he hasn't died, has he?"
"He's still breathin'," Bryt leaned over and studied the professor before leaning back in her seat.
A few hours later, the sleeping professor turned out to be an advantage for Harry, Ron, Bryt, and Hermione when Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his idiotic thugs Crabbe and Goyle, showed up.
"Well, looks who it is," Malfoy said, "Potty and Weasel."
Bryt glared at Malfoy, her hand involuntarily going into a fist.
"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," Malfoy continued, seeming to ignore Bryt and Hermione, "Did your mother die of shock?"
Bryt and Ron were both instantly on their feet, Ron knocking over Crookshanks' basket. Lupin made a small noise from where he was still sleeping.
"Who's that?" Malfoy seemed to notice the professor for the first time.
"New teacher," Harry said from where he had stood in front of Bryt and Ron, "What were you saying, Malfoy?"
Malfoy glared at them, but then turned back to Crabbe and Goyle before leaving. The three friends sat back down and Ron still looked angry.
"I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year," Ron said, "I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get a hold of his head and—"
"How 'bout I just slug him for you?" Bryt cut in, smirking as she remembered a detention she had with Malfoy during their first year and the year before when she had punched Malfoy for laughing at Ron, "I've done it before. Actually, I think I owe him a punch this year."
"Ron, Bryt," Hermione hissed and pointed to the sleeping professor, "Be careful..."
"He's sleepin', 'mione," Bryt rolled her eyes, "He can't hear us."
Hermione shook her head in a disappointing manner and Bryt turned back to Ron and Harry, deciding to change the subject to their Quidditch changes this coming up year and if they'll actually win the cup this time. Luckily, it was enough to pull Ron's attention away from his threats against Malfoy.
"We must be nearly there," Ron said several hours later after it had begun to grow dark. He had turned to look out the window as the train began to slow.
"No, it's too early," Bryt spoke up as Ron started to stand. She leaned over him, making Ron remain in his seat, to try and look out the window herself, "Why're we stoppin'?"
Bryt propped one hand against the window to brace her as she used the other to try and clear away the rain-caused dew to look outside.
"Bryt, move!" Ron obviously didn't appreciate being leaned over and pushed at the blonde, but right as he did, the train came to a stop with a jolt. Bryt yelped as she jerked to the side, grabbing onto Ron in an attempt to stay up, which didn't have the desired effect. Both teens fell forward onto the floor, Ron sprawled across Bryt at an awkward angle due to little room. To make things worse, the lights suddenly went out.