Okay, so just a quick AN before I let you read the chapter. I am SO sorry about not posting anything on here for a while. There's no excuse other than that I've just been really busy with school and work, and writer's block sort of invaded my mind there for a bit. Now, I'll let you enjoy the extra long chapter. :)


Chapter 9: The Breaking Point

The days following Sirius Black's failed attempt to gain entrance into the Gryffindor common room continued on as normally as they possibly could, given the circumstances. The worst part about all of this was the fact that it was almost impossible for anyone in Gryffindor to gain access to our common room due the new portrait guarding the entrance. Sir Cadogen, a man dressed in a suit of armor, was apparently the only portrait that wanted to take the job. When trying to get into the common room, he either tried to fight you or had changed the password for the millionth time that day, causing all sorts of problems for us. No matter how hard we tried, no other portrait would guard the entrance, leaving us stuck with the bloody lunatic and his fat horse.

Fred and I still weren't speaking. As ridiculous as the fight between the two of us was, I refused to apologize because, as childish as it seems, he started it. Since he refused to apologize first (or at all for that matter) I refused to speak to him, which definitely put a huge strain on George. However, at this point in time, I had much bigger problems to worry about. Besides, I was spending most of my time with Katie now anyway, which worked out much better for me as she never argued with me over stupid things.

Even through all of this nonsense, I was still having that same dream. These two eyes would appear in the darkness before a pair of hands would reach out to try and grab me. As scary as this dream was, there was something vaguely familiar about it, which scared and confused me even more to the point that I could no longer sleep through the night. I eventually just gave up on sleep altogether as I'd wake up in a panic. I began losing focus during the day. There would be moments where I'd just lose chunks of time. It was as if I were sleeping, but actually awake, unable to control my own body; I was on autopilot.

As a result of this, my grades began to suffer, and the professors started to take notice of this. I was also no longer able to control my metamorphmagus ability, which drew even more unwanted attention to me, and proved that I was no longer in control of what was going on in my life. All of this had gotten so bad that even though Uncle Moony was avoiding me like the plague, he kept me after class most days to try and figure out what was going on with me.

"Dora," he said, as I was trying to make my way out of the class. I had, once again, managed to doze off in his class (which happened to be the third time this week), leading him to request that I stay after class so he could speak to me. Unfortunately, I couldn't even say what had been discussed during the lesson, or even remember agreeing to meet with him after class. This time, I was the one trying to avoid him. "Come back here. We need to talk." I could see Katie waiting for me just outside of the classroom, but I motioned for her to go ahead without me, knowing full well that she would end up staying behind to wait. I then turned around, and stood just inside of the door.

"What?" I asked disinterested. This was one of the last things that I wanted to do at that moment, not to mention the fact that I was completely exhausted. I also knew exactly what he was going to talk to me about and I had absolutely no intention of telling him, or anyone else for that matter, what was happening with me.

"Will you please come all the way into the room and sit down?" I sighed and did as he asked, plopping myself down in a desk and dropping my bag on the floor. He sighed. "Now what's going on with you? And please, don't say 'nothing.' You've been falling asleep in class, your grades have declined tremendously, and that's not just in my class; your other professors have been saying the same things. I had to send your parents a message through the Floo yesterday to let them know what's going on." I sighed again. All he was doing was telling me things that I already knew. Was he seriously trying this 'concerned teacher' act with me?

"Nothing's going on," I answered, much to his displeasure. Immediately, he showed his disappointment with my response, but I honestly couldn't care less.

"Dora, please," he sighed. "This is very important. You can tell me." I just stared at him blankly, beginning to feel myself drift out again, causing him to sigh. I did all I could to remain focused, which took way more energy than I currently had. "Is this about your friends? The Weasley twins? I've noticed you haven't been spending as much time with them as you normally do. Has something happened?" There was no way I was having this conversation with him. It bothered me that this was the one thing that he noticed was different above everything else. And of course something had happened, not that I was going to give him the satisfaction of giving him any information.

"No," I answered. "It has nothing to do with them, and there's nothing going on." I was half telling the truth considering what was going on really did have nothing to do with Fred being a massive git. But then I slipped up. "I just haven't been sleeping." In my attempts to keep myself from going on autopilot, I had let that information slip. So, rather than wait for him to question me further on my lack of sleep, I got up from the desk and picked up my bag. "I have to go, someone's waiting for me." Then I walked out of the room, as quickly as I possibly could, not even bothering to turn around when he called after me.

As expected, Katie was still waiting for me outside of the classroom. She said nothing, and instead, walked alongside of me as we made our way down to the Great Hall.

"What did he want?" she finally asked as we were about halfway there.

"Nothing," I said shortly.

"Can't be nothing," she said. "He's been trying to keep you after class all week."

"Look," I sighed. "I just fell asleep in his class the other day. That's all." She seemed skeptical of my response, but didn't ask me anything else, which I was grateful for. Katie always knew when to drop the subject. We just continued walking to the Great Hall in silence, Katie knowing full well that I would speak first if I wanted to talk about it.

As the days went on, my focus had yet to return and I still had not had a full night's rest. Funny enough, the only time I was really ever fully coherent was during Quidditch practice, however, even those started to blur together pretty quickly. Oliver began to act just as stressful as he always had leading up to a big match. This time, however, his stress levels went through the roof at the final practice before our first match.

I only half paid attention, not really concerned with how the match would turn out. Oliver, however, was acting crazed and angry that Slytherin had somehow managed to weasel their way out of playing us first, leaving us to play Hufflepuff instead. I honestly was not all that surprised. It was with that announcement that I decided to excuse myself, as I no longer wanted any part of that conversation.

As the day of our first match came, Oliver seemed to be the only one completely stressed out about the current weather predicament. I honestly could not have cared less about the weather, as my only concern was getting through the match without taking another Bludger to the head. Realistically, how many times could someone take that many hard blows to the skull before going completely brain dead?

The rain was worse than I had originally thought as we got onto the pitch. We were immediately drenched from head to toe, and it was nearly impossible to see anything. We were up fifty points by the time Oliver had called a timeout, and before I knew it, it was over, and we were already back onto the pitch. It was then that I noticed something a bit odd. There, in the stands, sat a large, black dog, soaked from the rain. It just sat there watching, like it was completely normal for a dog to be actively watching a Quidditch match. The dog actually looked like it was paying attention to every detail of the match; which team was winning, which players were in which position. It was all very odd. I wondered how that dog even got up there without being seen, but was quickly brought out of my thoughts when the Quaffle came through the rain towards my face.

As I began racing towards the hoops, I felt an overwhelming sense of dread fall over me, followed by an eerie chill, freezing me to the core. I looked around and saw around three, at least in my immediate line of sight, dementors surrounding me, all coming towards me from different directions. I tossed the Quaffle to Angelina, who didn't even appear to notice the dementors, as I tried to make my escape. I zigzagged in between them in the hopes of getting away when a Bludger came flying at me through the thick sheets of rain. I did everything I could to avoid it. However, in the process of protecting my head, it managed to make contact with my arm, and with a sickening CRACK, I was thrown off of my current course, and directly into to the path of a waiting dementor.

It was as if my nightmare was now my reality as I could see those eyes coming towards me once more. My last thought as I began falling was that at least I wasn't too far from the ground. I landed hard, and even more dementors began to surround me. Knowing that both my leg and my arm were broken, I still tried to reach for my wand, but the intense pain prevented me from moving any further. As the dementors closed in on me, I began to lose consciousness, and just before the darkness took over, I saw Uncle Moony run out onto the pitch, and then those eyes from my nightmares came back full force.

The room was dark. I looked down and couldn't even see my hands. I searched for my wand in the darkness in the hopes of bringing some light into this place so I could see, but it was no use; it was too dark to see anything. I put my arms out and began to walk forward, using my outstretched arms to guide my way through this place. As I walked, my eyes slowly began to adjust and I could just start to make out the outlines of various shapes. I stopped moving, focusing even harder on the shapes that surrounded me. This place looked familiar, but I couldn't place how or where I knew this room.

I took another look around the room and noticed that the shapes I was seeing were actually pieces of furniture. Was this my room? I continued to look around, but the furniture was nothing like it was when I left for Hogwarts; even the layout of the room was completely different. Somehow, though, the room felt familiar, like it was my room from another life. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a creak come from the other side of the door.

I stared at the door, willing it to lock itself, but nothing happened. The knob slowly started to turn, and I began to back away slowly, finally realizing how small I was. Was this a memory? The door slowly opened, and a hand reached in, followed by those eyes appearing in front of me through the darkness; those eyes that had haunted me for weeks. As the door swung open completely─

I jolted awake with a gasp. I tried to sit up and felt a searing pain in my right leg, which forced me down on the bed. Looking around, I saw that I was in the hospital wing, and it was then that I remembered what had just happened: The Quidditch match; the dementors surrounding me; me falling from my broom; that horrible nightmare. Trying to ease myself up again, I let out a hiss from the pain, momentarily forgetting that I had also injured my arm. Apparently the sound was louder than I thought as some of my teammates had rushed towards me.

"Merlin, Dora," Angelina said as she and Katie gently pushed me back down on the bed. "Are you trying to break all of your limbs?" I relaxed back into the pillows and felt my arm and leg begin to throb from my movements.

"Of course," I replied. "Didn't you know it was my goal in life to be in a full body cast?" Katie rolled her eyes while Angelina just shook her head. Alicia was there as well, and she just smirked at my response.

"Well with your record of Quidditch injuries, you should reach that goal in no time," Katie said. "Seriously, though, will you ever make it through a match without injuring yourself?" I sighed.

"What even happened anyway?" I asked. "I remember the dementors showed up, but everything else is a blur. What were they doing out on the pitch?" I decided to leave out the nightmares and the dog, seeing as I really didn't want them knowing about that anyway. The last thing I wanted them to think was that I had started going mad. They'd have me committed. In all honesty, it was odd that they hadn't had me committed already considering some of the things that I've done and that have happened to me (and not just those that have happened recently).

"I don't know," Angelina answered. "All I know is that they went after Harry too."

"What?!" I asked, surprised. "Is he alright?"

"He's actually in a lot better shape than you are, surprisingly," Katie said. I rolled my eyes. "Dumbledore was furious though. Never seen him so mad before. He ran out onto the pitch when he saw them all over. Harry fell off his broom and Dumbledore had to clear out the dementors so he could slow him down before he hit the ground."

"What about me?" I asked. I realized how whiney that made me sound, but I wanted to know why I hit the ground full force.

"We all lost sight of you after the dementors surrounded you," Angelina said. "No one even realized you fell off your broom until you were already on the ground."

"Professor Lupin had run out there to get rid of them while Dumbledore took care of Harry," Katie added. I nodded my head, slightly remembering seeing Uncle Moony out there. "Then he and Dumbledore brought you and Harry up here."

"The rest of the team is over with Harry," Alicia said. "Well, everyone except Wood; he's a little upset." I guess that meant we lost, but I honestly didn't even care at that point.

"I don't even want to know," I said, voicing my thoughts. "So, what's the damage this time?"

"Well, well, Miss Hopkins," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked over to me. As she approached, I could see the rest of the team leaving the hospital wing. "Nice to finally see you awake. You gave us quite a scare." With a sharp look at Katie, Angelina, and Alicia, the three got the hint and quickly said 'goodbye' before leaving me to rest.

"How long is it going to be this time?" I asked with a sigh.

"Let's see," she said. "You've broken your right leg which will heal quickly." She then placed a few cups on the small tray in front of me. "As for your arm, that's another story. I'm afraid that break will need to heal naturally."

"Brilliant," I muttered. Then I drank the first potion that she had provided after she had explained that it helped to speed up the healing process in my leg. I didn't get why it wouldn't also work on my arm, but then again, I wasn't a healer and decided it'd be best not to question her.

"Professor Lupin has also voiced his concerns about you falling asleep in class. He said you told him you haven't been sleeping." Oh here we go. Yet another person that was going to question me on that issue. "Drink this," she said, handing me the second cup. "Dreamless Sleep Potion. That should help you sleep through the night." I was surprised, considering I expected another lecture. I was grateful though, as she seemed to realize that I didn't want to discuss what was going on with me. Either that or she really didn't care.

"Thank you," I said and gladly drank the potion. Madam Pomfrey then cleared the tray and it aside before leaving me to sleep in peace, with a promise to check in on me later.

For the next week, I was forced to stay here, mostly due to the fact that I couldn't get around on my own. The good thing out of all of this was the fact that I was finally sleeping, all thanks to the Dreamless Sleep Potion. Harry had only been held in the hospital wing for the weekend, and came by to see me before he left to ask how I was feeling. I joked that I had seen better days, and he gave me a small smile before Madam Pomfrey kicked him out.

A few others came by to see me, including Cedric and all of my friends. Well, all of them except for Fred, who apparently refused to acknowledge the fact that I was in the hospital wing in the first place. At least that's what Katie had told me, but she was probably joking.

I was kind of surprised when George came by, mostly because he came alone. I couldn't tell whether I was more upset or more angry at Fred for not going with him, and George seemed to notice this as he sat in the chair next to my bed.

"Heard you're getting out of here soon," he said awkwardly. "Think you'll be out of here in time to go to Hogsmeade?" Was that seriously what he wanted to talk about? I just raised my eyebrows at him and would have crossed my arms as well if it weren't for the fact that my arm was still very much broken. He seemed to notice that I was having none of that and sighed. "Are you going to say anything?"

"I don't know, is there really anything to say?" I replied.

"You're still angry then," he said.

"No, I'm indifferent."

"Sure you are," he said with a laugh. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I've been telling him since this whole thing started that he's being an idiot."

"Well of course he's being an idiot," I scoffed. "This whole argument is idiotic. But you and I both know that I have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm not asking you to apologize. Merlin knows when Fred'll get around to apologizing though. I tried to get him to come with me, but he said there'd be no point considering you were probably still ticked off at him." Of course he would say that. Fred would do anything and everything to get out of admitting to me that he was wrong, no matter the situation. Even George rolled his eyes when he said that, knowing full well what his brother was up to.

After talking a bit more, Madam Pomfrey soon came by and kicked him out, but not before George told me that even though Fred was being a git, neither one of them failed to notice something else was up with me.

"Just something to think about," he said, and I did, all the way through the rest of the day, and up until the Dreamless Sleep Potion took over as I fell asleep that night.

A few days after George's visit, I was finally released from the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had said that my leg had finally healed completely, and therefore, I was able to get around on my own. My arm was still broken though, pretty badly I might add, but that would take a bit more time to heal.

As the end of the term quickly approached, another Hogsmeade visit was coming up. Cedric had asked me to go with him, but seeing as how Fred and I still weren't speaking, it would not have gone over well to be seen together. I was not about to tell Cedric that, so instead, I told him I'd already promised to go with Katie, but that I'd meet up with him when I could. He didn't seem too satisfied with my response, but didn't press the subject any further.

On the morning of the final Hogsmeade visit before Christmas break, I met Katie, Angelina, and Alicia in the Entrance Hall before heading down to the village. As we made our way through the harsh blizzard-like weather, we went by Lee and the twins as they were leaving Zonko's. George waved overenthusiastically at me, and I laughed quietly at his antics. Fred, on the other hand, looked at me sadly after noticing where George was waving, before quickly looking away. Lee was oblivious to the whole exchange, and kept prattling on about whatever conversation they were having before that awkward exchange took place.

The four of us made our way to Honeyduke's to fill up on sweets. Luckily, I had remembered to bring my bag with me so that I didn't have to force one of the girls to carry my things for me. As we were about to enter the shop, I spotted that odd dog again. It was standing alone, in the middle of an alley, just staring out into the busy street. It looked around, and when it spotted me, stopped looking around and stared at me, like it knew me and was begging for me to recognize it. For some reason, the dog began to look really familiar, but I couldn't place how or why.

I felt myself begin to walk towards the dog, and I noticed its ears perk up. However, before I could get even three steps towards the dog, Katie called after me, pulling me out of my thoughts and reminding me of where I was. I shook my head and looked back over to the alley, hoping to spot the dog again, but it was gone, as though it was never even there in the first place. I shook my head again, and made my way inside the shop.

After we had all filled our arms, and I had stuffed my bag with sweets for me, and chocolates for Uncle Moony, we left Honeyduke's and began walking towards The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and to get out of the cold.

We walked inside, and I tried to ignore the many people that began to stare at me due to the fact that I still could not control my metamorphmagi abilities. We ended up sitting at a table in the back where I wouldn't draw any more attention to myself. I had originally thought that the reason for my lack of control over my ability was because I was having a hard time sleeping. This, however, had not changed at all while I was taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion, so I still had no idea what was causing that issue, and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have control over that again.

"Merlin, Dora," Katie said after we had sat down. "I'm starting to get woozy just looking at you." I completely understood where she was coming from considering the fact that I could feel every time something had changed. "At least you're consistent."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your eyes and hair are changing to the same color at the same time," Angelina said. "Have you even looked in a mirror recently?"

"Why bother?" I sighed. "It's not like I have control over it anyway. What color are they now?"

"Bright blue," Alicia said. Then I felt the change occur. "Now they're purple." I shrugged. The only upside to this was that the constant changes did not happen instantaneously; they only occurred every five minutes or so, but were extremely annoying and highly distracting.

"Purple's good," I said. "I like purple."

"Maybe when that all gets straightened out, you can keep it that way," Katie joked.

"Maybe not to this extreme," I said with a laugh.

We talked for a few more minutes, my appearance staying the same for the time being, just waiting for the room to clear out a bit before getting butterbeer. I offered to get them, much to my friends' protests, and once there was a clearing, got up and headed over to the counter to order.

I ordered the four butterbeers, and while I was waiting, saw Professors McGonagall and Flitwick walk in with Hagrid not far behind them. Shortly after, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appeared in the doorway. I would recognize that narcissistic attitude anywhere. I tried to ignore what they were discussing as they sat down at a nearby table, but at the mention of Sirius Black, I kept myself firmly planted in my place. Luckily, I was still waiting for the butterbeers.

They hadn't said anything more than what I had already known, including what Black had done to get himself locked up in Azkaban. What really caught my attention, was when Madam Rosmerta asked about what had happened to "the other Black."

"Confused the two of them for a while," she said. "Couldn't tell the difference between them if you looked, but the other one was better behaved." McGonagall seemed to stiffen slightly at the mention of the brother, but no one other than me seemed to notice.

"He was very bright," she said stiffly.

"Such a shame what happened to him," Fudge added, although he didn't seem to truly care all that much, at least in my opinion.

"What did happen to him, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

"Killed in the war," he answered. "At least that's what I heard. Lost a lot of good people in the war." Everyone at the table agreed and the conversation seemed to die out for a while.

The four butterbeers that I had ordered appeared soon after on the counter in front of me. I politely thanked the bartender, who had also provided a tray for me to carry them on, and he nodded quickly before tending to the many other customers in the pub. I picked up the tray, and as I was making my way back to the table where my friends had been waiting, something said at that table stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Who was it that he hung around with again? Sirius and James were inseparable, but his brother was very close to another student," Madam Rosmerta said. Everyone at the table seemed to get even quieter after this question was asked. I had to strain my ears just to be able to hear the answer. However, I almost wished I hadn't heard it at all.

"Remus Lupin," McGonagall answered quietly. The look on her face made it seem as though she'd have much rather said anyone else's name but his. She looked around the pub as well, checking to see if anyone had heard her. Thankfully, she hadn't seen me, or the fact that I had almost dropped the tray of butterbeers that I had been carefully balancing in my one hand.

I didn't stay over there any longer, as I did not want to hear anything more than that conversation. I hurried back to the table and passed everyone a butterbeer, inserting myself back into the conversation. I tried to hide my shock as best as I possibly could, and tried to put all of my attention back into the conversation at hand. However, I knew that once I got back to the castle, I was going to have to talk to Uncle Moony about everything I had just heard, and I knew it wasn't going to be a good conversation.

After finishing our butterbeers, we had decided to call it a day, and began making the long journey back up to the castle. The four of us made idle conversation as we walked, but spent the majority of the time trying to keep ourselves warm.

When we finally made it to the castle, the only thing we all wanted to do was go up to the common room and defrost by the fire. I knew I had to speak to Uncle Moony though, so instead I made up some excuse about my arm hurting, and said I would meet up with them for dinner. Katie had offered to go with me to the hospital wing, but I told her I'd be fine by myself, and we went our separate ways.

I began to make my way towards his classroom, knowing full well that he'd be locked away in his office since the full moon was approaching, and he never felt well when the full moon was near. I was hoping he'd at least be honest with me this time around, if not, I could always bribe him with the chocolate I bought. Regardless of whether or not he told me the truth, I knew I was still going to give it to him anyway considering I bought the chocolate for him in the first place.

As expected, Uncle Moony was in his office inside of his classroom. I could see him from the doorway, tiredly sitting at his desk, attempting to grade assignments from his classes. For a moment, I thought about not bothering him, but I was desperate for answers and knew it would be best for me to just go through with it right then, considering I had already gone out of my way to see him in the first place.

Tentatively, I made my way into his classroom, attempting to be as quiet as I possibly could. He didn't seem to notice me though, as I crossed the room and began to make my way up the short staircase leading to his office. I stood in the doorway for a moment, nervously debating with myself over whether or not I should go through with this. My curiosity got the better of me though, so I knocked a few times on the doorframe to get his attention.

He looked up quickly, surprised at the fact that he had a visitor, before giving me a small, tired smile.

"Hello Dora," he said. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I didn't want to bother you," I said while nervously playing with the fringe on my scarf. "You seemed busy."

"That's alright," he said. "I'm not too busy. Come in and have a seat." I made my way inside of his office, still nervously pulling on the end of my scarf, and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "So, what brings you all the way over here? I'd thought you'd have gone off to Hogsmeade with your friends."

"I did," I said, showing him the bag of things that I'd bought from the shops with a smile. I set the bag down on my lap and started fishing through it, looking for the large box of chocolate frogs I'd bought for him. Once I had found it, I placed it on his desk with a wide smile. "Bought you something, too." He gave me another weak smile and shook his head slightly. "Figured you'd need something to help you out." He nodded slightly and thanked me for the chocolate, something that happened after every trip to Hogsmeade.

"Now," he said as he placed the box of chocolate frogs on the shelf behind him. "What is it you really came all the way here to talk to me about?" Of course he knew that I was trying to distract him with chocolate considering this wasn't the first time I had done that. I felt my hair and eyes change for the millionth time that day and briefly wondered what color they were then. "Still having trouble with that?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "But that's not why I'm here." I got nervous again, wondering if it was really the right time to bring up what I had heard at The Three Broomsticks. I realized, though, that if I didn't say anything right then, I probably never would.

"Alright," he said. "What is it then?" This was where the hard part was. I knew I was now going to have to ask him, but I was worried at the same time. Not only was I worried about asking him, but I was also worried about what his answer would be. At that point in time, I wasn't sure which worried me more.

"Did you know Sirius Black when you were a student here?" I asked. I made sure that I phrased it in a way that didn't make it sound like I was accusing him of anything. I hoped that because of this, he'd actually give me an answer instead of just brushing me off like usually did.

He sighed, but after a moment looked at me and reluctantly replied, "Yes, I knew him." Okay, so at least he answered honestly with that question. I, however, wasn't sure how he was going to like my next question.

"Did my dad know him?" Uncle Moony seemed a bit more hesitant to answer that question. I wasn't sure why though, considering he and dad were really good friends. Surely dad would have known him if Uncle Moony did.

"Yes, he did," Uncle Moony said with a sigh. I could tell he wasn't too thrilled with how this conversation was going, but I knew that if I wanted answers, I had to keep asking him those questions, no matter how uncomfortable the whole situation became.

I was even more worried about asking him the next question, mostly because of how reluctant he had been to answer my previous questions. However, I knew the answer to this question already, but needed to hear it from him. I was just worried about how he'd take it.

"Did you know his brother, too?" I asked. Uncle Moony's head shot up and a look of surprise covered his face. He obviously hadn't expected me to ask that question, although I then became curious as to what he had expected me to ask him instead.

The look of surprise vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, and I knew this conversation wasn't going to end well.

"How do you know about his brother?" he asked.

"That's not the point," I deflected. "Did you know him?" He didn't seem at all happy about my response, and I knew it probably was not the best way to answer him as well. I could tell from the way he was looking at me that he clearly didn't want anyone to know.

"Dora," he said. "This is very important. Who told you about Sirius Black's brother?" Of course he had to turn this whole situation around on me.

"No one," I replied. He didn't like that answer either and instead of asking me again, he continued to stare me down until I eventually gave in. "I was at The Three Broomsticks with my friends getting some butterbeer, and Professor McGonagall was there…with Professor Flitwick. And Hagrid was there, too…and so was the Minister of Magic." He gave me a look as if to say 'go on,' so I reluctantly continued. "And Madam Rosmerta asked about him."

"So you were eavesdropping," he said, disappointment clear in his voice.

"No, I wasn't," I said. "I just happened to be there when they were talking."

"What else did you hear?" He seemed worried and slightly angry at the same time when he asked me that question. I guessed it was because he really didn't want anyone knowing about his friendship with him.

"Nothing," I lied. "Nothing other than that he died in the war." Uncle Moony seemed a bit relieved when I said that. I was just glad that he seemed to buy the lie. "Did you know him though?"

"Look Dora," he said, once again a bit miffed that I was making him relive some memory that he didn't seem too fond of. "I did know them, but not very well. We were just classmates. That's all."

"But what-"

"There's nothing more to discuss," he said, cutting me off and effectively ending that conversation. I knew he was lying about all of that, but I couldn't tell him because if I did, he'd most likely never speak to me outside of class again knowing that I'd never let the subject die. I also knew not to push him too far considering the fact that with the full moon approaching, he was slightly on edge, and one wrong move could cause a whole lot of problems. So, I just nodded my head sadly, before remembering something else; that weird dog.

"There is something else," I said. "It's probably nothing, but I thought I should at least tell someone."

"What is it?" he asked, a little reluctant.

"Well, there's this dog," I said. "And I've been seeing it around."

"A dog?" he asked surprised. "What kind of dog?"

"A big, black, scruffy one," I answered slightly confused. "It's probably nothing; Maybe just my imagination."

"You're probably right," Uncle Moony quickly agreed. "Anyway, do you have any plans for Christmas break? Your parents told me you were staying in the castle for the holiday."

"Yeah, I am," I answered really confused. He went from being extremely curious and almost worried about that dog, to not even wanting to discuss it, and blowing it off as if it really were all made up in my mind. I knew then that he was definitely hiding something, but I didn't yet know what it was. "No plans."

"I heard there aren't that many of you staying here this year," he added.

"Er, yeah, not really," I said.

"Should be nice here." He said, and the conversation continued on in the exact same way. Clearly, there was something that Uncle Moony didn't want me to know, and it was killing me that I couldn't figure it out. I knew that I wasn't going to get anymore out of my conversation with him than I already had, so I said goodbye to him soon after, and began to make my way towards the Great Hall for dinner.

After dinner, I went up to my dormitory and set my bag down on my bed, still thinking about everything that had happened that day. I still had no idea what he was hiding from me, and I knew I probably wasn't going to get any sleep that night. For the first time in a while, I felt like I needed to talk to someone about all of that. However, the one person I knew would understand most of all, (and would probably frustrate the living daylights out of me the entire conversation) still wasn't speaking with me, which left me with no other option than to just ponder those thoughts alone.


I spent a long time writing this one and am super proud of what I've come up with. Definitely look forward to longer chapters in the future (which means more time in between updates, sorry). Also, I'm no longer going to make promises about when the next chapter will be posted as I don't think I've ever kept up with my schedule. So, keep an eye out, and check out my live journal (link on my profile) for updates on my progress for the next chapter on all of my stories. Please be patient with me as I'm still juggling school, work, and writing and it's a lot of work for me to manage.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up in the near future.