Hello, everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of HP: Freedom's Path! This comes extremely late, but it's only because I've been working on the next book and, since I've made a lot of progress with it, I feel that it's time to post another chapter once again. This chapter is dedicated to the late Alan Rickman, who portrayed the finest Professor Snape that was ever possible. May God rest his soul.
Also...
Disclaimer: No ownership of Harry Potter, save for OC's.
Now, here's...
Chapter 10: An Unlucky Christmas
Enjoy, everyone!
It was even harder to get back to Honeydukes than it was to get to Omnifabrics, and Marcus almost was discovered a few times, but he managed to get into Honeydukes, get down into their basement, and through the trapdoor.
During his return trip through the secret passageway, Marcus kept thinking up with ways to accumulate that many Galleons. He could make his bets even larger with Mr. Booker, but he shot down that idea as soon as he thought that, due to the fact that he couldn't take the risk of losing what money he currently had. Each idea he came up with was more absurd than the previous, eventually coming to the conclusion that he'd have to wait a long time before getting himself a new battle suit.
He didn't see Harry, Ron, or Hermione until dinner, as he planned. However, upon his arrival, he was about to ask how Harry's trip went when he saw his face, full of confusion and shock. Something had happened to Harry, something bad. He didn't need his enhanced vision to know that the trip negatively affected Harry, and he was going to find out here soon.
As Harry was not in a talking mood after dinner, Marcus made straight for the Room of Requirement, where he knew Lorelei was waiting for him.
Upon entering the room, Lorelei said, "There are you, Marcus! Where've you been all day?"
Marcus saw Lorelei and said, "That's an interesting question. Here's what happened..."
He proceeded to tell her everything that happened, from Fred and George giving Harry and him the Maurader's Map, to going to Hogsmeade, and finally being able to visit Omnifabrics and even having his battle suit being in the works.
"And then he told me the cost," said Marucs, who felt physically ill.
"How much did he say it'd cost?"
"Ten thousand galleons," replied Marcus in a hollow voice.
"Wow," said Lorelei, looking shocked. "And Mr. Xerk wouldn't budge on the price?"
"Didn't bother asking," said Marcus. "Even if he knocked off a couple thousand galleons, I still won't be able to afford it."
"Well, I'm sure something good will happen," said Lorelei. "Just like last year, remember."
"Oh, yes," said Marcus with a smirk.
He knew what Lorelei was referring to: Around this time last year, Lorelei managed to find Marcus in the Room of Requirement with Professor Dumbledore's advice. Not only did they become friends, but they also became training partners. Marcus recalled how rough his training partner's physical workouts were going. Now, however, she was able to keep up with him, which was impressive for only a year's worth of training.
He looked at Lorelei closely and couldn't help but admire how far she'd come. She saw him looking and said, "Is everything all right?"
Marcus quickly looked away and said, "Yeah, everything's all right. Nothing wrong here."
But, even as he said that, he felt his face getting hot, confusing him to no end.
"What was that just now?!" he thought. "I have to be careful!"
"Marcus," said Lorelei. "How come you don't show your emotions?"
This question affected him greatly. Not only did it bring him back to reality, but it hardened his heart.
"I show emotions all the time, Lorelei," said Marcus.
"I mean, how come you don't smile, or laugh?" she clarified. "All I ever see you do is smirk."
Marcus took a deep breath as he said, "I don't want to come across as weak or vulnerable. If I were to smile or laugh, there are people who would find the source of my happiness or laughter and take it away from me. I can't risk that."
"Surely, you're not talking about -?"
"Yes," said Marcus. "The Dark Prince. I don't want him, or anyone who are Dark Magic practicioners, to find ways of getting to me, exposing weaknesses."
"Marcus," said Lorelei, who he noticed was right behind him, "I can see why you won't smile or laugh with lots of people around. But, I don't think there's any harm in smiling or laughing when you're with your friends."
"Well, you do bring up a valid point," said Marcus, who felt his face getting hot again. "Which reminds me, we have to get started on our training!"
Marcus turned around to face Lorelei, who put some space inbetween them, a blush on her face, and said, "Yes, we haven't done our training yet! Let's get started!"
Marcus awoke the next morning, did his workout in the Room of Requirement with Lorelei, went back to the dormitory, showered, and went down to the common room.
It wasn't long before Ron and Hermione joined him. Marcus looked over the American schoolbook Edwards gave him over the summer, debating on what unique spells should he and Lorelei should train on next while. Hermione spread all of her homework over three tables and went to work while Ron started eating a Peppermint Frog.
As Lorelei came into the common room, Hermione looked in the direction of the male dormitory entrance, gasped, and said, "Harry, you - you look terrible."
Marcus looked in the direction that Hermione was and found Harry, dressed and looking rather pale. He surmised that he didn't sleep well last night.
"Where is everyone?" asked Harry.
"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron, watching Harry closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and wake you up in a minute."
Harry sat next to Marcus by the fireplace. Crookshanks was also nearby, spread out in front of the fire like a large, ginger rug.
"You really don't look well, you know," Hermione said, peering anxiously into his face.
"I'm fine," said Harry.
"Harry, listen," said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, "you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid."
"Wait, what did Harry hear yesterday?" asked Marcus.
Hermione then proceeded to tell Marcus everything that happened at the Three Broomsticks, and Marcus found his body tensing up. Harry had heard the story that everyone else believed to be true, and Marcus was sure that was going to complicate things.
"What do you mean by 'doing something stupid', Hermione," asked Harry.
"Like trying to go after Black," said Ron sharply.
Marcus could tell by their voices that Ron and Hermione had gone over what they were going to say to Harry. He planned on keeping his mouth shut as much as he could.
"You won't, will you, Harry?" said Hermione.
"Because Black's not worth dying for," said Ron.
Harry looked at them in a disbelieving kind of way before saying, "D'you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me?" Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking apprehensive. "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her -"
"There's nothing you can do!" said Hermione, looking stricken. "The dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and - and serve him right!"
"You heard what Fudge said. Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others," Harry stated.
"So what are you saying?" said Ron, looking very tense. "You want to - to kill Black or something?"
"Don't be silly," said Hermione in a panicky voice. "Harry doesn't want to kill anyone, do you, Harry?"
Marcus knew that the conversation was going from bad to worse. Harry didn't know the whole story, he didn't know the truth. But, how could he? He only knew what everyone else believed.
"Malfoy knows," Harry said abruptly. "Remember what he said to me in Potions? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself...I'd want revenge.'"
"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" said Ron furiously. "Listen...you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me - the Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, and he's dangerous -"
"Malfoy's dad must have told him," said Harry, who was ignoring Ron. "He was right in Voldemort's inner circle -"
"Say You-Know-Who, will you?" interjected Ron angrily.
"- so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Voldemort -"
"- and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip, Malfoy's just hoping you'll get yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch."
"Harry, please," said Hermione, her eyes now shining with tears, "please be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants...Oh, Harry, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!"
"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them," said Harry shortly.
Marcus dared a glance at Lorelei, who was looking back at him with the same look of uncertainty. They had discussed bringing Harry to see Sirius in the Forbidden Forest when Sirius was back, so that they could let Harry learn the truth. However, all hopes and plans of doing so were now dashed, now that Harry had took what the two of them knew to be lies and wholeheartedly believed it. Marcus didn't necessarily blame Harry, though. After all, other than Pettigrew being alive and being an Animagus, there was no proof that Sirius was innocent of the crimes brought against him and Marcus knew how influential traumatic memories from the past were.
As Crookshanks stretched luxuriously, flexing his claws and making Ron's pocket shiver, Ron said, "Look, it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's - let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't visited him for ages!"
"No!" said Hermione quickly. "Neither Harry or Marcus are supposed to leave the castle, Ron -"
"Yeah, let's go," said Harry, sitting up," and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about my parents!"
Marcus, who didn't want Harry to delve into the subject of Sirius Black further, said, "I think I recall Hagrid being busy with his gamekeeping duties today, Harry. I don't think he'll -"
"I don't care," said Harry. "We're going to Hagrid's."
As they went to get their cloaks from the dormitories, Marcus turned to Lorelei and said, "Discussion before training tonight. Get there early."
"Understood," said Lorelei, who went to the dormitory herself.
Marcus quickly got his cloak and joined the others as they made their way through the portrait hole, down through the empty castle and out through the oak front doors.
They made their way slowly down the lawn, making a shallow trench in the glittering, powdery snow, their socks and the hems of their cloaks soaked and freezing. The Forbidden Forest looked as though it had been enchanted, each tree smattered with silver, and Hagrid's cabin looked like an iced cake.
Ron knocked, but there was no answer.
"He's not out, is he?" said Hermione, who was shivering under her cloak.
Ron had his ear to the door before saying, "There's a weird noise. Listen - is that Fang?"
The rest of them put their ears to the door too. From inside the cabin came a series a low, throbbing moans.
"Think we'd better go and get someone?" said Ron nervously.
"We should at least get Dumbledore," said Marcus, eager to not be where they currently were. "He should be in the castle."
"Hagrid!" called Harry, thumping the door. "Hagrid, are you in there?"
Before Marcus could scold him, he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps coming to the door before the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest.
"Yeh've heard?" he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Harry's neck.
Hagrid being at least twice the size of a normal man, this was no laughing matter. Marcus quickly seized an arm, Ron and Hermione seizing the other, and the four of them heaved him back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into tangled beard.
"Hagrid, what is it?" said Hermione, aghast.
Marcus spotted what he knew was a Ministry of Magic official notification letter, and those were usually never good.
"What's this, Hagrid," asked Harry, who spotted the letter as well.
Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Harry, who picked it up and read aloud:
Dear Mr. Hagrid,
Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.
"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" said Ron, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder. But Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his gigantic hands, inviting Harry to read on.
However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.
Yours in fellowship...
As Marcus looked at the list of of the school governors, he knew that having to go up against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures was a slippery slope, especially if Malfoy's father was the opposition.
"Oh," said Ron. "But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off -"
"Yeh don't know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" choked Hagrid, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!"
"Hagrid's right," said Marcus. "The last twenty cases over the course of three years have not gone in favor of the accused. This will be tough."
A sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin made Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione whip around. Buckbeak the hippogriff was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor.
"I couldn't leave him tied up out there in the snow!" choked Hagrid. "All on his own! At Christmas."
The four of them looked at one another. They had never seen eye to eye with Hagrid about what he called "interesting creatures" and other people called "terrifying monsters." On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. To Marcus, hippogriffs were more of the remarkable creatures.
"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," said Hermione, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."
"Won't make no diff'rence!" sobbed Hagrid. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lose the case, Buckbeak -"
Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms.
"Hagrid, I could always ask for my father for advice," said Marcus. "He's had to deal with low-lives like the ones on that committee numerous times."
"I can't ask that of yer father, Marcus," said Hagrid between sobs. "He already 'as enough on his plate."
"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" said Harry.
"He's done more'n enough fer me already," groaned Hagrid. "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around -"
Marcus found himself tense again. It was true that Sirius was lurking on Hogwarts grounds, but not since November, which would make little difference to the school's situation. He looked to Harry, since he was the one eager to bring this topic up to Hagrid, but after looking at him, Marcus could tell his friend wasn't going to bring the subject up, not with Hagrid's current condition.
"Listen, Hagrid," he said, "you can't give up. Hermione's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses -"
"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff-baiting," said Hermione thoughtfully, "where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."
Hagrid continued to howl, even louder than before. Marcus looked to Ron for assistance.
"Er - shall I make a cup of tea?" said Ron.
Marcus looked at him, half-disbelief, half-exasperation.
"It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset," Ron muttered, shrugging.
At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and said, "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together..."
Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee.
"I've not bin meself lately," said Hagrid, stroking Fang with one hand and mopping his face with the other. "Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes -"
"We do like them!" lied Hermione at once.
"Yeah, they're great!" said Ron, crossing his fingers under the table. Marcus couldn't say anything. He wasn't about to lie just to make Hagrid feel better. Ron continued, "Er - how are the flobberworms?"
"Dead," said Hagrid gloomily. "Too much lettuce."
"Oh no!" said Ron, his lip twitching.
"An' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all," said Hagrid, with a sudden shudder. Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. "S like bein' back in Azkaban -"
He fell silent, gulping his tea. Marcus remembered the one time he went there, and hoped that he'd never have to go there again. It did surprise Marcus to hear Hagrid bring up his brief time in Azkaban, as he surely thought it was a sensitive subject. After a pause, Hermione said timidly, "Is it awful in there, Hagrid?"
"Yeh've no idea," said Hagrid quietly. "Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind...the day I got expelled from Hogwarts...day me dad died...day I had ter let Norbert go..."
His eyes filled with tears before continuting, "Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep...When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."
"But you were innocent!" said Hermione.
Hagrid snorted.
"Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not."
Hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. Then he said quietly, "Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go...tryin' ter make him fly away...but how d'yeh explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An' - an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law..."
He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. "I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban."
Though the trip to Hagrid's was, by no means, fun, it did do one thing in Marcus' favor: Though he knew that Harry hadn't forgotten about Sirius, Harry was deterred by Hagrid's misfortunate dealings with the Ministry's Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. At the very least, it would either buy time for Marcus to try and soften up Harry before taking him to see Sirius or prepare Sirius for the worst.
That evening, as he entered the Room of Requirement, Lorelei immediately said, "Okay, what are we going to do about our plans for having Harry meet Sirius?"
"Nothing," said Marcus. "In fact, we'll most likely shelve the plan altogether."
"What?!" said Lorelei. "Why?!"
"Because of multiple reasons," said Marcus, sounding grim. "Between having to hear his mom's death through the dementors, everyone believing Sirius is a madman and a murderer, and having no proof other than Pettigrew being alive, there's not much to convince Harry of Sirius' innocence without that sniveling coward of a rat. No, the best course of action will have to be to prepare Sirius for the worst."
"And that being?" said Lorelei.
"Well, worst case scenario, Harry tries to kill him," said Marcus. "That, I won't allow, obviously."
"Well, at least Sirius will have two fellow Animagi helping him instead of one," said Lorelei, her face determined.
Marcus looked at her, impressed by her statement, saying, "You think you're close?"
"Oh, yes," said Lorelei. "I sense that I'll be able to shift into a creature that flies...but, I don't have anything more to go off on."
"Hey, considering you've been doing Animagus training for only a year, it's a fantastic achievement," said Marcus. "Most witches and wizards don't get this much progress in two year's training."
"But you succeeded in a year and a half!" Lorelei said.
"Well, that was with this room's help, and not even I had a sense of the type of creature I could potentially shift into," said Marcus. "In fact, I'd say I got pretty lucky."
"Well, that's one thing I'll try to beat you in: Become an Animagus in a shorter timeframe than yours," said Lorelei with a smile.
Marcus, at first, found himself smirking. Then, something he didn't believe would happen took place.
He felt a full-on, ear to ear smile. Not the slightly mad smile he wore during fighting, but a genuine smile, of happiness and joy.
It felt absolutely amazing, to finally smile, to finally be himself around someone he trusted with his every being.
He then gave a hearty, cheerful laugh before saying, "Well, if that's the case, let's not waste any time! Let's get right down to training!"
"All right!" said Lorelei, whose smile was radiant. "Let's get started!"
The next day, He, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to the library and returned to the common room laden with books that might help prepare a defense for Buckbeak. The four of them sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something relevant.
"Here's something...there was a case in 1722...but the hippogriff was convicted - ugh, look what they did to it, that's disgusting -"
"This might help, look - a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and they let the manticore off - oh - no, that was only because everyone was too scared to go near it..."
Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armor, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful and delicious smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that even Ron's rat poked his nose out of the shelter of his owner's pocket to sniff hopefully at the air.
Marcus decided to not do his workouts on Christmas morning, instead taking the rare opportunity to sleep in. Unfortunately, no such thing was going to happen as Ron threw his pillows at both him and Harry.
"Oi! Presents!"
Marcus threw Ron's pillow back at him, hitting his red-haired friend square in the face, as Marcus looked at the end of his four-poster to see a stack of presents.
Ron already started on his presents, opening one and saying, "Another sweater from Mum...maroon again...see if you two got one."
Marcus opened his first one to find that he indeed got a sweater, which was white with gold-colorled knitting in the form of a dragon and, despite his dislike of the color white, it was actually a pretty cool sweater.
He proceeded to put it on as he opened up the rest of the presents, consisting of a dozen home-baked mince pies, some Christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle. As he put the rest of his opened presents to the side, he saw that he had three presents left, the first of which a long, thin package.
"What's that?" said Ron, and Marcus noticed that Harry had a similar long, thin package of his own.
"Dunno..." said Harry.
"Hey, I got a similar package," said Marcus, bringing his own package over. "Let's open them up together."
"All right," said Harry as the two of them opened their packages together, the contents of the packages rolling onto Harry's bed.
Ron dropped the socks he was carrying, jumped off his bed to get a closer look, and said hoarsely, "I don't believe it."
They were Firebolts, identical brooms that Harry and Marcus gazed at in Diagon Alley day after day during the summer. Their handles glittered as they picked up their respective broomsticks. Marcus let his go upon feeling the vibration, watching it hang in midar, unsupported, the height it was hanging being perfect for mounting it. Marcus looked at his Firebolt from head to toe, from the golden registration number to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.
"Who sent them to you, guys?" said Ron in a hushed voice.
"Mine was sent from Quality Quidditch Supplies," said Marcus, holding up the confirmation card. He then looked at Harry's Firebolt in surprise and said, "Who sent yours?"
"I dunno," said Harry, who looked just as confused. "Ron, look and see if there's a card."
Ron ripped apart the Firebolt's wrappings.
"Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?"
"It was Sirius," Marcus suddenly thought in realization. This must've been the business Sirius had to take care of, though it didn't explain why he was gone for so long. Surely, it couldn't take more than a week to send in an order?
"Well," said Harry, who was obviously stunned, "I'm betting it wasn't the Dursleys."
"I bet it was Dumbledore," said Ron, now walking around and around the Firebolts, taking in every glorious inch. "He sent you the Invisibility Cloak anonymously..."
"That was my dad's, though," said Harry.
"Dumbledore was just passing it on to him, Ron," said Marcus. "He can't just drop twenty five hundred galleons on Harry. It's against the rules -"
"That's why he wouldn't say it was from him!" said Ron. "In case some git like Malfoy said it was favoritism. Hey, Harry, Marcus" - Ron gave a great whoop of laughter - "Malfoy! Wait till he sees the two of you on these! He'll be sick as a pig! These are international standard brooms, they are!"
"I can't believe this," Harry muttered, running a hand along his Firebolt, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head off at the thought of Malfoy. "Who-?"
As Marcus put his Firebolt with the rest of the presents, grabbing the bigger of the two unopened boxes, Ron controlled himself and said, "I know! I know who it could've been - Lupin!"
"What?" said Harry, now starting to laugh himself. "Lupin? Listen, if he had this much gold, he'd be able to buy himself some new robes."
"Yeah, but he likes you," said Ron. "And he was away when your Nimbus got smashed, and he might've heard about it and decided to visit Diagon Alley and get this for you-"
"Yes, my uncle was away, but I know for a fact that he doesn't have nearly enough Galleons to purchase a Firebolt," said Marcus, effectively squashing Ron's theory.
"What're you guys laughing about?"
Hermione and Lorelei had just come in, Hermione wearing her dressing gown and Lorelei being fully dressed. Hermione was carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy, with a string of tinsel tied around his neck.
"Don't bring him in here!" said Ron, hurriedly snatching Pettigrew's rat form from the depths of his bed and stowing him in his pajama pocket.
But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks onto Seamus's empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolts.
"Oh, Harry, Marcus! Who sent you those?"
"Mine came from Quality Quidditch Supplies," said Marcus proudly.
"No idea," said Harry. "There wasn't a card of anything with it."
Marcus happiness dropped slightly by the look Hermione sported, which he recognized: He wore the same face whenever he was thinking under a bad situation. Perhaps she thought that Sirius was the one who sent Harry his Firebolt?
"What's the matter with you?" said Ron.
"I don't know," said Hermione slowly, "but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, these are supposed to be really good brooms, aren't they?"
Ron sighed exasperatedly before saying, "These are the best brooms in the world, Hermione."
"So it must've been really expensive..."
"Probably cost more than all the Slytherins' brooms put together," said Ron happily.
"Probably does," thought Marcus. "The Nimbus 2001 costs only 300 Galleons."
"Marcus, have you not opened the rest of your presents?" asked Lorelei, pointing to the unopened present in Marcus' lap.
"Oh, that's right, I haven't," said Marcus as everyone watched him open the box.
Marcus looked inside and gasped, "I don't believe it!"
He knew at once what it was: It was his new battle suit, the same one that got fitted for at Omnifabrics. It was marvelous, especially his undershirt which, upon contact, shined white and sparkled like crushed diamonds.
"Wow!" said Lorelei, Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
"Marcus, is that your battle suit?" asked Ron.
"Yes, it is!" exclaimed Marcus. "But, I don't understand. I didn't get a chance to pay Mr. Xerk yet."
His confusion was answered when he grabbed the little card inside and silently read:
Mr. Williams,
Enclosed is your completed battle suit. I must admit, it's one of my best works. You can thank the kind soul who paid for your suit in a big way.
Mr. Xerk, store proprieter of Omnifabrics
"Who -?" said Marcus.
He looked over to Lorelei, who was blushing and said, "M-Merry Christmas, Marcus."
He felt absolutely floored in a good way. Lorelei, his trusted training partner, paid for his battle suit?!
Before he knew it, his lips were touching the right cheek of Lorelei Flamel. Upon realizing his actions, he quickly withdrew and said, "Um - thank - thank you, Lorelei."
Hermione, whose eyes were wide, said, "Open your last present, Marcus!"
"Right, right," said Marcus, who tried to go back to normal as much as he could as he could the slightly smaller package and opened it.
Whatever normalacy he had before the last present was lost after he looked inside.
It was an album book atop a blanket. Marcus took the album book, opened it, and was lost for words.
All sorts of pictures of him and Sirius were inside the photo album. From the looks of it, it was around the time Marcus was born. From Sirius holding him to playing toys with his baby self, he even saw a few pictures of his parents included, as well as his Uncle Remus, and what looked like Harry's parents as well.
He then took the blanket out, which was more like a quilt, a quilt of Hogwarts at night. There were five animals on the ground in the scene: A lion, a rat, a stag, a dog, and what looked like a werewolf happily going along the grounds, play fighting and what not.
"Oh, Marcus, these are lovely!" said Hermione. "Who sent you these?"
"Who knows?" said Marcus, who knew full well who sent it, but didn't say anything.
"Well, now that everyone has opened their presents, let's test out the Firebolts," said Ron, who sounded more than eager. "Harry, let's start with yours, and -"
"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" said Hermione shrilly.
Everyone looked at her, Marcus with his eyes narrowed: He knew that Hermione thought Sirius sent Harry's Firebolt just by her reaction.
"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it - sweep the floor?" said Ron.
But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus's bed, right at Ron's chest.
"GET - HIM - OUT - OF - HERE!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pajamas and Pettigrew attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Marcus watched as Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk of the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain.
Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tinny whistling was filling the room. Harry's Pocket Sneakoscope dislogdged from a nasty pair of socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.
"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking up the Sneakoscope. "I never wear those socks if I can help it..."
As Marcus watched the Sneakoscope whirlilng and whistling in Harry's palm, Crookshanks hissing and spitting at it, he thought, "It's reacting to Pettigrew, again. No surprise there."
"You'd better take that cat out of here, Hermione," said Ron furiously, sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe. "Can't you shut that thing up?" he added to Harry as Hermione strode out of the room, Lorelei following close behind her, Crookshanks's yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron.
As Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and throwing it into his trunks, Marcus looked at the form of Pettigrew's Animagus form. Though he hadn't forgotten his mission of getting his hands on the rat, once again, he was in no position to do such a thing. The effects of Sirius's at-large status had a great affect on Pettigrew; what was once a large and fat rat form was now practically skin and bones, and patches of fur seemed to have fallen out as well.
"He's not looking too good, is he?" Harry said.
"It's stress!" said Ron. "He'd be fine if that big stupid furball left him alone!"
Marcus would've been more than glad to get Scabbers in that moment if not for one thing: Despite Ron's frequent complaints about Scabbers being boring and useless, Ron would definitely miss him if he were to disappear, and the last thing he wanted to do was make one of his best friends sad.
Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut Crookshanks in her dormitory, but was furious with Ron for trying to kick him; Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh attempt to eat Scabbers.
Marcus, not making any attempts for them to talk to each other, heard Lorelei said, "Here, you forgot this."
Marcus saw Lorelei handing him an envelope with his name on it.
"What's this?" said Marcus.
"It was amongst your presents, but since all those crazy things happened in the dormitory, I don't think you spotted it."
"Fair enough," said Marcus, who opened the envelope and read:
10 am, Entrance Hall
Marcus recognized the writing at once and got super excited.
"I've got to get dressed now!" said Marcus who, upon seeing that the time was 9:40 am, rushed up to the dormitory, got dressed, and rushed out of the common room.
He bounded down as many stairs as he could, feeling happier and happier with each floor he went past until he finally reached the entrance hall at five to ten.
And, sure enough, at 10 am, the front oak doors opened and Marcus saw -
"Mom! Dad!" said Marcus, who rushed into the open arms of his parents.
"Oh, Marcus, it is so good to see you again," said Brynn.
"Yes, it's been far too long," said Michael with a smile.
"When did you guys get back in the country?!" asked Marcus.
"Last night, actually," said his mom. "We've finally got the other Aurors in the different countries up to speed."
"How is the search going?" Marcus asked, fully knowing the answer.
"Terribly," said Michael. "The search isn't bringing up anything to go off of, and we've no idea where Black is currently hiding. But, enough about that. Merry Christmas, son! What did you get?"
"Well, I got this cool sweater Mrs. Weasley knitted for me," Marcus stated, pointing to said sweater. "I also got my ordered Firebolt, as well."
"Yes, the same one you didn't tell us about," said Michael. Marcus was about to explain when his father continued, "No need to explain. It's your Galleons, you're free to do whatever you want with it. Just don't go spending all of your money."
"Right," said Marcus. "Harry got one too, though there was no card or anything inside."
"Is that so?" asked Michael, who Marcus saw donned the same look Hermione had earlier that morning, which made him nervous.
"Here," said his mother. "Something I picked up for you when we were going around the different Ministries."
Marcus opened it to find -
"This is a book from Beauxbatons!" said Marcus. "There's all sorts of spells that no other institution teaches!"
"I thought of you when one of the students there gave me this," said Brynn. "Oh, France was so amazing in the fall, Marcus. I wish you could've seen it!"
"Darling, you think France is amazing all year round," said Michael with a sour note in his voice.
"I can't help that," replied Brynn. "France simply loves me."
"Beauxbaton Acadamy loves you," Michael clarified. He looked to Marcus and said, "Had to endure forty-eight grueling hours of girls squealing over your mother. It was such a bore."
Brynn lightly punched his right arm as Marcus smirked.
He then heard a voice behind him say, "Marcus, there you -"
He turned to find Lorelei coming down the steps, who stopped immediately upon seeing his parents.
"Oh?" said Brynn. "Who's this?"
"Perhaps I should -" Lorelei began.
"No, no, please," said Marcus. He waited until Lorelei was near him before saying, "Mom, Dad, this is Lorelei Flamel, a second-year student. She's a good friend of mine and my training partner."
"We're well met, Ms. Flamel," said Michael, who extended his hand.
"Um, thank you, Mr. Williams," said Lorelei, who sounded very shy as she shook his father's hand.
"Hmm," said Brynn, who looked at her closely and said, "You're a very pretty young lady, Ms. Flamel. I imagine that Marcus hasn't put you through too much strenuous training?"
"Oh, not at all!" said Lorelei, who was definitely blushing. "He's helped me so much!"
"I see," said Brynn with a smile. "Well, I know lunch is taking place soon, so why don't we go up to the Gryffindor common room and have a look at your Firebolt, Marcus?"
"Um, sure," said Marcus.
As they were making their way up to the common room, Lorelei whispered, "You didn't tell me you were meeting your parents today, Marcus!"
"That's because I didn't know," said Marcus. "Did I frighten you, Lorelei?"
"I just wasn't prepared, that's all," said Lorelei.
"What do you mean?" asked Marcus.
"Your mother is so beautiful," said Lorelei. "I didn't think anyone could be that beautiful that isn't a -"
Marcus saw that Lorelei cut her words short.
"A what?"
"Oh, nothing," said Lorelei.
The rest of the walk was quiet until they reached the portrait of Sir Cadogan.
"Stand and fight, you scurvy curs!" shouted the obnoxious knight.
Marcus could see the impatient look on his father's face as he said, "What happened to the Fat Lady?"
"Still recovering from the Halloween attack," said Marcus. "Sirius Black tried to enter the common room, then proceeded to mutilate the portrait when she refused him entry."
"So, despite all the measures we've taken to ensure Hogwart's safety, Black still found a way in," said Michael, not sounding happy. "Well, I know how to deal with Sir Cadogan, regardless."
"You do?" asked Lorelei.
"Oh, yes," said Michael with a smirk on his face. "Watch this."
He then looked at the portrait, with a right fist over his heart, and said, "Knight's Honor!"
"Knight's Honor, sir!" said Sir Cadogan and the portrait swung open.
"Wait, what?!" said Marcus. "How -"
"Something I learned during my time here," said Michael. "Shall we?"
They entered the common room to find that the atmosphere was still quite intense from earlier this morning.
"Geez, I've felt happier atmospheres at Department Head Meetings," said Michael. "What happened here?"
"A rat, a cat, and two very stubborn owners," said Marcus.
Marcus then saw Ron coming down, to which Michael said, "Well, hello there, Ron! How are you!"
Ron saw Marcus' parents and said, "Blimey! I didn't know you were here, sir!"
"Just arrived, actually," said Michael. "I heard you've had a bit of a run-in with a cat?"
"Hardly a bit, sir," said Ron, who suddenly gone sour. "That monster has it out for Scabbers!"
"If it's all right, may I see Scabbers?" said Michael.
"Oh, of course, sir," said Ron, who got Scabbers out of his pocket and put him in the palm of Michael's right hand.
For one wild second, Marcus thought he saw his father's eyes flash with fire, which terrifed Marcus. However, he wasn't sure as Michael said, "He's not looking the greatest. Much too skinny, which could be stress. Getting chased by a cat is certainly not a walk in the park."
Pettigrew's Animagus form suddenly started to act crazy, trying desperately to get away from his father, which suprised Marcus. What reason would it have to run from his father? His father wasn't the one trying to get his hands on him, Sirius was.
"I think that if you keep that cat in a separate room, Scabbers should resume his normal self in no time," said Michael.
"Hang on one second, I'll go and get my Firebolt," said Marcus.
Once he got back down to the common room, Firebolt in hand, Michael said, "Well, despite how expensive it is, it certainly is an impressive broom. And you said that Harry has one, as well?"
"Yes," said Marcus.
Marcus watched his father inspect the broom as he stated, "Well, we can't have that. Listen, if you let me have your broom for a week, I think there'll be a way to distinguish your Firebolt from everyone else's."
"Um, okay," said Marcus.
"Also, I don't have a Christmas present for you right now," said Michael. "I have to wait for some things to happen first before I can give it to you, but I think you'll be pretty happy with it."
"That's fine," said Marcus, unsure of what his father was alluding to.
"Well, I think we should join everyone else at the Great Hall," said Brynn. "Plus, I'm starving."
So, everyone went down to the Great Hall to find that the House tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single table, set for fifteen, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather moldy-looking tailcoat. There were only three other students, two extremely nervous-looking first years and a sullen-faced Slytherin fifth year.
"Merry Christmas!" said Dumbledore as Marcus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lorelei, Michael and Brynn approached the table. "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables...Sit down, sit down!"
Marcus sat between Hermione and Lorelei while his mom sat next to Lorelei and his father sat next to Dumbledore.
"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
Marcus, remembering the boggart, caught Harry and Ron's eyes and they both grinned while Marcus smirked; Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once.
"Dig in!" he advised the table, beaming around.
As Marcus helped himself to pork chops and vegetables, the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward them as though on wheels, which made Marcus feel irritated at once. She had put on a green sequined dress in honor of the occassion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.
"Sybill, this is a pleasant surprise!" said Dumbledore, standing up.
"I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest, most faraway voice, "and to my astonishmnet, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness..."
"Certainly, certainly," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Let me draw you up a chair-"
And he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which revolved for a few seconds before falling with a thud between Professors Snape and McGonagall.
"Thank you, Headmaster," said Professor Trelawney, who slowly sat down.
"Tripe, Sybill?" asked Professor McGongall.
Professor Trelawney ignored her, looking around with opened eyes and said, "But where is dear Professor Lupin?"
"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again," said Dumbledore, indicating that everyone should start serving themselves. "Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day."
"But surely you already knew that, Sybill?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyebrows raised.
Professor Trelawney gave Professor McGonagall a very cold look.
"Certainly I knew, Minerva," she said quietly. "But one does not parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous."
"That explains a great deal," said Professor McGonagall tartly, causing Marcus to greatly stifle his laughter.
Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal less misty.
"If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him -"
"Imagine that," said Professor McGonagall dryly.
"I doubt," said Dumbledore, in a cheerful but slightly raised voice, which put an end to Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney's conversation, "that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus, you've made the potion for him again?"
"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape.
"Good," said Dumbledore. "Then he should be up and about in no time...Derek, have you any of these chipolatas? They're excellent."
The first-year boy went furiously red on being addressed directly by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.
Marcus went back to his dinner and was thouroughly enjoying the pork chops when he heard Hermione say, "You know, Marcus, I don't think I've ever seen you do that before."
"What are you talking about, Hermione?" asked Marcus, cutting his other pork chops into smaller bits.
"Smile," said Hermione. "You have a really nice smile. A shame you don't do that more often."
Marcus immediately froze up upon hearing his mom say, "Wait, Marcus smiled?!" He looked at his mom in horror, who continued, "Marcus, you actually smiled?! When?! Where?! Why?!"
"I think Hermione's drunken too much of the egg nog," said Marcus quickly, waving his right hand in a dismissive gesture. "She's confusing me with Harry. What a silly mistake!"
He quickly turned to Hermione and muttered through tight lips, "Don't go saying that around my parents, Hermione."
Hermione, despite looking mighty confused, said nothing more as he heard his mother say with great disappointment, "Oh. I see."
Everything was quite normal until the end of Christmas Dinner, two hours later. Full to bursting with Christmas dinner and still wearing their party hats, Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Lorelei got up from the table.
"Are you coming, Hermione?" asked Marcus.
"No," Hermione muttered," I want a quick word with Professor McGonagall."
"Wait, Marcus, Come and give me a hug before you leave," said Brynn, who hugged Marcus as tight as she could. "Behave, okay? We'll see you in the summer."
"All right," said Marcus, who went to rejoin his friends.
When they reached the portrait hole, they found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several previous headmasters of Hogwarts, and his fat pony. He pushed up his visor and toasted them with a flagon of mead.
"Merry - hic - Christmas! Password?"
"Scurvy cur," said Ron.
"And the same to you, sir!" roared Sir Cadogan as the painting swung forward to admit them.
Marcus and Lorelei sat down to look over the Beauxbatons book his mom gave him, wondering what spells they were going to try and master while Harry and Ron were both admiring Harry's Firebolt from every possible angle. Marcus and Lorelei were debating whether or not to start on the Jet spell when the portrait hole opened, and Hermione came in, accompanied by Professor McGonagall and his father, Michael Williams.
Though Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, Marcus had only seen her in the common room only once before, and that had been to make a very grave announcement. That theme wasn't to going to change, Marcus reasoned, especially with his father present, wearing a look of fury.
Hermione walked around them, sat down, picked up the nearest book, and hid her face behind it.
"So that's it, is it?" said Professor McGonagall beadily, walking over to the fireside and staring at the Firebolt. "Miss Granger has just informed me that you have been sent a broomstick, Potter."
Marcus looked around at Hermione, whose forehead was reddening over the top of her book, which was upside down.
Marcus saw his father approaching Professor McGonagall's side as he said, "Dad, what's going -"
"Get the photo album and the quilt," said his father with a deadly voice. "Now."
As if his body was moving on its own, Marcus sprinted to his dormitory, grabbed the photo album and the folded quilt, and rushed back down to the common room, handing them to his father.
"May I?" said Professor McGonagall, but she didn't wait for an answer before pulling the Firebolt out of Harry and Ron's hands. She examined it carefully from handle to twig-ends while Michael examined both the photo album and the quilt. "Hmm. And there was no note at all, boys? No cards? No messages of any kind?"
"No," said Marcus and Harry blankly.
"I see...," said Professor McGonagall. "Well, I'm afraid I will have to take these items, Potter, Williams."
"W-what?" said Harry, who scrambled to his feet. "Why?"
"Yes, why are we getting these taken away from us?" said Marcus, who was on the verge of yelling.
"To check for jinxes," said Michael in such an authoritative voice that Marcus forced himself to calm down.
"Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip the Firebolt down -"
"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.
"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," said Professor McGonagall. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free, Potter."
"There's nothing wrong with it!" said Harry, his voice shaking slightly. "Honestly, Professor -"
"You can't know that, Harry," said Michael quite sternly, "not until you've flown it, at least, and that's something we can't allow to happen unless we're sure that your Firebolt has not been tampered with."
"And you honestly think a photo album and quilt are riddled with death-dealing curses, as well?" Marcus asked his father.
"That's enough out of you, Marcus!" said Michael. "Quite frankly, I'm more concerned with what spells may lie in these objects. These will have to be inspected by the Ministry of Magic itself."
Marcus felt his heart dropping to his stomach. Artifacts that were deemed dangerous by the Ministry took anywhere from one month to six to inspect, depending on the situation and objects in question. If Marcus had to guess, those objects would be inspected for at least six months.
"We shall keep you informed, Potter, Williams, on the status of your possessions," stated Professor McGonagall before turning on her heels and walking out of the common room with Harry's Firebolt in hand, Michael following suit.
Marcus felt himself shaking from head to toe in anger, feeling robbed of what was the greatest thing he could've been given from Sirius Black, as he heard Ron saying to Hermione, "What did you go running to McGonagall for?"
Marcus looked at her as Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly.
"Because I thought - and Professor McGonagall agrees with me - that Harry and Marcus's unmarked presents were given to them by Sirius Black!"
Upon hearing that statement, Marcus punched the wall closest to him in anger, leaving a fist-sized crater in the wall, scaring everyone else present.
"So, Hermione ran to Professor McGonagall because she got super paranoid," Marcus thought, still seething with anger.
He looked at her and roared, "Don't talk to me for the next forty eight hours, Hermione!"
He then ran up to the dormitory, suppressing the tears that were forming in his eyes.
And this concludes this chapter of HP: Freedom's Path! Please feel free to leave a review about your thoughts on the chapter or book so far, as it will help me become a better writer. Also, if you want to ask me any questions, feel free to leave me a PM, and if it is within my power to answer them, I will do so. In the meantime, please keep your eye out for the next chapter of HP: Freedom's Path!