Disclaimer: Sherlock, Harry Potter, and Mulan don't belong to me.
A/N: I'm so excited about this chapter! The last part was what I've been planning ever since I started this story.
Molly could see the Hogwarts Flag waving high and proud on a pole as she approached. She dismounted, then led Hamish into the camp.
As she entered, she felt a growing sense of dread.
There were men everywhere! Some were sharpening their weapons, others were talking. Some were even ("Goodness!" Molly blushed) walking around without a shirt!
She took a deep breathe and exhaled. "Ok you can do this. Just remember Sherlock's instructions and try not to draw attention to yourself."
"Oh, that's a lovely creature, that is."
Molly turned and her jaw dropped. There stood the biggest man she had ever seen, with shaggy brown hair and a beard. He was staring at the horse, but then he looked at Molly and smiled with a merry twinkle in his eyes.
"Pardon me lad, the name's Hagrid, Keeper of the Animals in this here camp. And what might this fine horse be called?"
His cheerful manner caused Molly to relax and smile. She cleared her throat before replying in her disguised voice,
"Hamish, sir."
"Hamish, eh? Good name for a magnificent animal such as this. And you are?"
Molly felt a surge of panic. "Idiot. Of course I'll need a boy's name. Wait. What was it Mother said she wanted to name me if I was a boy?"
"Matthias, sir."
Hagrid nodded. "Well then Matthias. You look like you've come a long ways, have you not?" When Molly nodded, he continued. "Tell ya what, why don't I take Hamish off your hands for a while, get him refreshed and all, while you go grab yourself some grub."
Molly stood undecidedly. She wasn't sure that she wanted to let Hamish go. Then again, Hagrid seemed like a nice person. He must have been made Keeper of the Animals for a good reason. Plus, getting some food in her sounded great at the moment.
"Sure, all right. Thanks," said Molly as she handed Hagrid the reins.
Hagrid took them then pointed to the left. "I'll be over there with the other horses if you need anything." He then pointed forward. "Straight ahead, past the armory, then to the right is where the meal is being prepared."
He leaned closer and whispered, "Just a bit of warning, Filch's meals ain't exactly what you would call homecooked."
"It's fine. After several days journey, I'm sure anything will taste good."
Hagrid nodded and began to lead Hamish away. "Take care Matthias. O, and welcome to the Phoenix Regiment."
Molly smiled, waved, and walked staight ahead."That went well. At least there's one pleasant fellow here."
As she walked, Molly looked around taking in her surroundings.
She saw two men next to a tent, one standing, the other sitting on a rock, sharpening his sword. They were both wearing red surcoats with a yellow lion on the front.
"They must be from Gryffindor," thought Molly.
The man standing said, "Feeling hot today, Remus?"
"Yeah, sure James," replied the other, without looking up.
James grinned then dumped his cup of water on his friend's head.
The man jumped and sputtered. "Really James?!" He looked annoyed but then he chuckled along with his friend and punched his arm affectionately.
"Men sure have a strange way of having fun," thought Molly.
"What are you staring at, boy?"
Molly jumped at the voice and her heart began pounding. A black haired man with a moustache was frowning at her. He leaned into her face.
"Looking for trouble, mister? Cause guess what. You just found it."
"O Sirius, leave the boy alone."
The man in her face, Sirius, grinned and looked at the two men.
"Relax Remus, I was just having a bit of fun."
James smiled. "Making a new friend there, Padfoot?"
While the men were talking, Molly's heart beat returned to normal. "Ok, so the man called Sirius was only teasing. Maybe if I show myself to be friendly, he'll leave me alone. Let's see...that one man, Remus, punched his friend in the arm."
So she formed her right hand into a fist and swung with all her might.
Unfortunately, at that moment, Sirius turned to face her again.
POW!
Two voices cried out in pain. Molly clutched her hand while Sirius held his jaw.
James and Remus gapped in shock and amusement.
"You're right James," said Remus, "Padfoot just made a new friend." James snorted.
Molly's eyes widened with horror as Sirius, still holding his jaw, glared at her.
"O you are SO gonna pay for that," he growled before lunging at her.
Molly quickly dodged to the left only to find James blocking her path.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he made to grab her.
She darted to the right avoiding him just as Sirius was about to grab her from behind. Instead he collided with James and they both fell to the ground.
"Oof!" "Ow! Watch it!"
Molly hesitated as the two men untangled themselves, then ran off.
"There he goes! Don't let him get away!" she heard Sirius shout.
"Come on guys, not on our first day!" Remus called out.
Molly ran faster. She sped past the armory, then turned right. She glanced over her shoulder to see how far her pursuers were.
Big mistake.
The breath was knocked out of her as she ran smack into a man standing by a large cauldron full of soup.
Or at least it was full until the man she bumped into knocked the cauldron over and the soup spilled everywhere.
The man, obviously the cook, turned to her, his face red with anger.
"Y-you..look what you've done! You reckless clumsy oaf!"
Molly struggled to catch her breath. "S-sorry, about that, aah!"
She gasped when two pairs of strong hands grabbed her arms, practically lifting her off the ground.
Looking on either side, she saw Siruis and James.
Sirius leaned into her face and sneered, "Gotcha now you little..."
"ORDER!"
The men released Molly abruptly, causing her to fall flat on her face.
"Ow," she muttered, nursing her nose.
There was a moment of tense silence. Then a soft contained voice spoke.
"Master Filch, what is the meaning of this?"
"It was them that did it, Captain. They ruined a perfectly good meal that I spent hours preparing."
"Gryffindors, causing trouble," said the captain, "I might have known."
"He started it, sir. He punched me in the face!"
"I'm sure he didn't mean to," started Remus.
"SILENCE!"
Molly kept her head down during the exchange. Now she heard footsteps approaching as the three men backed away. A pair of black boots stopped in front of her.
"Uh-oh."
"On your feet, soldier."
Keeping her eyes on the boots, Molly cautiously stood up and dusted herself. She took a deep breath, looked up...
and found herself face to face with a pair of black eyes, a hook nose, and greasy black hair.
A/N: Mm-hm. Yep. ;-)
Thoughts?
