Several weeks passed fairly uneventfully as the quartet continued their classes and Bryt constantly having to cover for Hermione when she would disappear to use the time turner. Luckily, Harry and Ron didn't even seem to notice most of the time and when they did, they would brush it off almost instantly with Bryt's explanations.
Hermione's birthday also came up during the passing weeks and Bryt refused to let Hermione do any schoolwork, considering it was a Sunday, insisting Hermione needed to enjoy the day and relax.
"C'mon, 'mione, you've had two-and-a-half weeks straight of work," Bryt said as she practically dragged her friend across the Hogwarts grounds to the lake, "Actually, probably longer with that time turner. You need a break!"
"But I need to check over my essay for Muggle Studies to make sure I didn't forget something," Hermione replied with a sigh. She was carrying a book with her (Bryt had been unable to get her to leave all her books behind) titled A Detailed History of the Salem Witch Trials, which Hermione had gotten in the mail a couple of days earlier from Julio as a birthday present.
"I'm sure you didn't," Bryt said as they reached the shade of a couple of trees and pointed at the ground, "Now sit, enjoy the day."
Hermione gave a sigh, probably tired of the argument the two have been having since they woke up that morning. She sat down in the grass, leaning against the tree. Bryt grinned in satisfaction, sitting down next to her.
"I guess this lets me read the book Julio sent me," Hermione said, pulling up her knees and opening the book, propping it against her legs.
"You should be relaxin', Hermione," Bryt stated with a sigh.
"Reading relaxes me," Hermione replied simply, not looking up from the book.
Bryt sighed again, rolling her eyes, but told herself that she at least got Hermione to put away schoolwork for an afternoon. She stretched, leaning back and looking across the grounds to a group of Ravenclaw boys from her year who were talking nearby. She looked on past them to where Hagrid was taking care of already-gigantic pumpkins that he was raising for the Halloween feast that would be at the end of the next month.
Seeing Hagrid reminded Bryt of how dull their Care of Magical Creatures class had become lately. After the incident with Buckbeak, every class was spent sitting around feeding lettuce to flobberworms—creatures that were the most boring thing Bryt could ever think of. She would have rather spent a week straight listening to Professor Binns than have a lesson with flobberworms, but Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence in teaching so Bryt was beginning to dread the class she had expected to be her favorite.
Bryt flopped back into the grass, staring up into the leaves of the tree above her as she folded her arms behind her head.
"So," Bryt said, wanting to start a conversation so she and Hermione weren't sitting together in silence, "What do you think Professor Lupin will teach us about next?"
Defense Against the Dark Arts had quickly become Bryt's favorite class. Not only did Lupin know what he was talking about, but he made the classes interesting and was teaching them about dark creatures(which was a big plus for Bryt as she had often read about the creatures already in various books, but it was great to learn more).
"Hm?" Hermione glanced up from her book, blinking at the sunlight which was actually growing dim with forming rain clouds.
"Professor Lupin," Bryt repeated, grinning at her friend, "What do you think he'll bring in next for us?"
"Oh," Hermione said simply, "I don't know, but I'm sure it'll be just as fascinating as the Red Caps."
"Hope so," Bryt agreed happily, "Professor Lupin really knows what he's doing. I really hope he makes it through the year and comes back next year."
Hermione nodded with a grin before turning back to her book. Bryt sighed, deciding it was pointless to try and keep Hermione talking so went back to staring at the leaves above her, letting her mind wander from one thing to the next, enjoying the fresh air and dimming sunshine. The two girls enjoyed their time away from the boys and Bryt actually dozed off until she felt someone shaking her.
Bryt groaned and opened her eyes, noticing it was colder and she felt something wet against her cheek.
"It's starting to rain," Hermione said, "Get up."
Bryt nodded, scrambling to her feet and noticed Hermione had shoved her book under her robes. Bryt yanked the hood of her own robes over her head and she and Hermione ran from the shelter of the tree across the grounds, though the rain was only at a light drizzle at the moment.
Once the girls got inside, Bryt pushed back her hood and ran a hand through her hair, which she suddenly realized had a few leaves and blades of grass in it.
"Great," Bryt groaned, looking over to Hermione, "You head on, I'll be in there in a second."
Hermione nodded, heading into the Great Hall for dinner and Bryt turned, trying to get the leaves out of her hair. Unfortunately, though, the more she tried, the more tangled her hair became. Bryt swore under her breath, yanking her fingers hard through her hair. It was one of the things she always hated about having thick hair. It tangled way too easily.
"Er...Are you okay?"
Bryt jerked her head up, hand still half-through her hair, and blinked in surprise. She suddenly blushed in embarrassment, realizing the three Ravenclaws she had seen outside earlier were staring at her from the marble staircase. Two of them had confused looks, though one had an odd smirk on his face that Bryt didn't like.
"I...um...I'm fine," Bryt said, pulling her hand from her hair, "Just a few leaves."
Bryt turned before any of the boys could reply and ducked into the Great Hall, heading for the Gryffindor table to search for her friends. When she finally found them, she hurried along the table and sat quickly in the seat next to Hermione.
"Wow, your hair's a nightmare."
Bryt glared at Ron, kicking him under the table. Ron jumped with a yelp and glared at Bryt in return. Bryt smirked as she began to put food on her plate, suddenly finding herself very hungry.
"Where were you and Hermione all afternoon?" Ron asked after a moment, as if he were trying to decide how to ask the question without resulting in Bryt hitting him again.
Bryt did give Ron a stern look, though.
"I have leaves in my hair and our robes are wet, and you wonder where we were?" she asked, rolling her eyes. Sometimes Ron could be far too dense for his own good. Bryt turned to Harry, deciding to get off the subject. "When do you start Quidditch practice?"
"Hopefully in a couple of weeks," Harry replied after swallowing a mouthful of potatoes.
"We'd better win the Cup this year," Bryt grinned.
As Bryt, Ron, and Harry continued to talk about Quidditch, Hermione had occupied herself with her book again as she ate. After dinner, the quartet headed upstairs to the common room, continuing their conversation on Quidditch while Hermione kept herself occupied with her newest book.
A couple of weeks later, Harry began his Quidditch practices. Meanwhile, homework was piling up more and more so Bryt spent her afternoons in the common room with Ron and Hermione, trying to finish up the work. Bryt was having a hard enough time with her own classes and the idiotic assignments she got in Divination. She couldn't imagine how Hermione was managing to balance so many classes and assignments. Bryt knew better than to try and talk to Hermione about it, though. She always got the same "Don't worry about me, I can manage" response every time she even hinted bringing up Hermione's work load.
In mid-October, Bryt, Hermione, and Ron got some good news after they got to the common room while Harry had headed off for Quidditch practice. When they had entered the common room, they noticed a group of people hovering around the bulletin board. Hermione and Bryt went and sat down by the fire before the seats were grabbed while Ron, who was the tallest among them, went to check and see what the commotion was.
"First Hogsmeade weekend," Ron said happily, sitting down next to Bryt while she was pulling out her star chart for Astronomy, "It's on Halloween."
"Yes!" Bryt grinned brightly, "A nice, long day in Hogsmeade, then Hermione and I can finally attend a Hogwarts Halloween feast."
Of course, Bryt was referring to the fact that the past two Halloweens, she and Hermione had both ended up missing the feast. The first year because Hermione was crying in a bathroom and Bryt had went to talk to her. The second year, both girls had missed it, as well as Ron and Harry, due to being invited to a Deathday Party, which was something Bryt didn't even want to think about anymore. It had been one of the worst experiences of Bryt's life.
"Anyway, we should get started on these charts," Bryt sighed, pulling out her ink and quill.
Ron and Hermione followed suit and they worked in silence. Bryt was finding it hard to concentrate with everyone talking excitedly about Hogsmeade. She was excited about visiting the village herself, but also bummed out that Harry wouldn't be able to go. She was going to have to remember to buy as much stuff as possible for Harry to make up for it.
Harry showed up right as Bryt finished her chart and was putting away her quill.
"What happened?" Harry asked came over to the group.
"First Hogsmeade weekend," Ron replied, motioning over to the bulletin board, "End of October. Halloween."
"Excellent," Fred said from behind Harry, "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."
Harry dropped down into an empty chair by Bryt and looked depressed. Bryt easily guessed what was on his mind.
"I can take my camera if you want, Harry," she spoke up, "I could take pictures of Hogsmeade to show you."
"And I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," Hermione added, "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."
"Black's not foolish enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," Ron spoke up, "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages—"
"Ron!" Hermione cut in, "Harry's supposed to stay in school—"
"He can't be the only third year left behind," Ron replied stubbornly, "Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry."
"Yeah, I think I will," Harry nodded.
Bryt grinned, liking the idea that Harry might get to come to Hogsmeade. Hermione looked like she was about to argue more, though, but didn't get the chance as Crookshanks jumped into the bushy-haired girl's lap, a dead spider in his mouth.
"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" Ron snapped and Bryt shot him a glare.
"Clever Crookshanks," Hermione grinned, ignoring Ron, "Did you catch that all by yourself?"
"Just keep him over there, that's all," Ron said, glaring at the cat for a second, "I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."
Bryt sighed, rolling her eyes, though she made sure her hair was in her face so Ron didn't notice. She started rolling up her star chart now that the ink had dried, putting the chart in her bag.
"You can copy mine if you like," Ron said and Bryt looked up to see him pushing his chart towards Harry, who had pulled out his own chart to get to work.
Hermione made a face, but didn't say anything. Bryt was glad for that, not wanting to listen to a homework argument. She stretched, giving a yawn. She was about to get up to head to bed when Crookshanks suddenly jumped for Ron's bag.
"OY!" Ron jumped for his bag, trying to pull it away from the cat, "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"
Bryt jumped up as Ron jerked at his bag and Hermione called out not to hurt Crookshanks. She was just about to try and get Crookshanks off the bag when Ron slung it around again. Bryt let out a loud shriek, jumping backwards and tripping into her chair as Scabbers went flying from the bag.
"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron screamed, dropping his bag as Crookshanks took off after Scabbers. Bryt scrambled to her feet as George tried to grab the cat, but Crookshanks dodged his hands before cornering Scabbers under a set of chest-of-drawers. Bryt rushed over with Hermione and Ron as Hermione picked up her cat and Ron crouched down to fish Scabbers out from under the chest-of-drawers.
"Look at him!" Ron snapped, holding out the rat. Bryt tensed, moving behind Hermione and trying to fight back a look of disgust, "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"
"Cats chase rats, Ron!" Bryt shot back, jumping to Hermione's defense, "It's a fact of life!"
"There's something funny about that animal!" Ron seemed to ignore Bryt, fighting to get Scabbers into his pocket, "It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!"
"Oh, what rubbish," Hermione replied, "Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think—"
"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" Ron cut in, ignoring the giggling of students who had turned to watch, "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!"
Bryt glared at Ron as her friend turned and headed up to the boy's dormitories. She, then, turned to Hermione, reaching up to scratch Crookshanks behind the ears.
"Thickheaded git," Bryt said, "You just ignore him, Crookshanks."
"Maybe I should try to keep Crookshanks away from Scabbers, though," Hermione said with a sigh, "He is Ron's pet, after all."
"It probably won't be too hard," Bryt pointed out, "Ron keeps Scabbers with him practically all the time now."
Hermione gave a nod, readjusting Crookshanks' weight in her arms. "I should get back to my homework," she said.
"Yeah, you do have a ton of it," Bryt replied, "I think I'll go to bed, though. 'Night."
Bryt went over to get her bag and told Harry goodnight before heading up to her dormitory, hoping the next day would go better than that afternoon had just gone.
Bryt's wish fell short, though. Ron was still fuming over the night before, avoiding talking both Hermione and Bryt whenever he could. This greatly annoyed Bryt because she had been wanting to apologize to Ron, even though she felt there was nothing to apologize for. She just hated it when she got into a fight with a friend and wanted it settled as quickly as possible.
"How's Scabbers?" Hermione asked Ron during their Herbology lesson as they tried to pull pods from the poffapod they were working on.
"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking," Ron replied hotly, tossing one of the pods to the bucket, but missing it completely.
"Careful, Weasley, careful!" Sprout called.
Bryt gave a sigh, deciding that even if she did apologize, Ron wasn't going to let this go so it'd be better if she just kept her mouth shut and let him fume. Hopefully, he'd be over it soon enough, though she doubted it since they were dealing with Scabbers.
After Herbology, the quartet followed with the Gryffindors to Transfiguration. Outside of the classroom, though, Parvati was saying something to Dean and Seamus while she had her arm around Lavender's shoulder as the girl was crying.
"What happened?" Bryt asked as they got closer.
"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati said quietly, "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."
"Oh no," Bryt said slowly, "Sorry, Lavender."
Bryt couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel if something happened to Joey, or even to her brother's cat, Merlin. Losing a pet had to be a horrible feeling.
"I should have known!" Lavender cried, "You know what day it is?"
"What?" Bryt blinked.
"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October'! Remember? She was right, she was right!"
It took Bryt a few seconds to realize what Lavender was talking about. When she finally remembered their first Divination lesson, she couldn't help but wonder how Lavender could remember exactly what Trelawney had said. Bryt doubted any of this had to do with Trelawney's wild guesswork, though she didn't want to say anything while Lavender was so upset.
"You—you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?" Hermione asked and Bryt glanced at her, knowing her friend was as skeptical as she was.
"Well, not necessarily a fox," Lavender said, looking at Hermione through tears, "But I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?"
"Oh," Hermione said, then waited a few seconds before continuing, "Was Binky an old rabbit?"
"N-no!" Lavender cried, "H-he was only a baby!"
"But then, why would you dread him dying?" Hermione asked, gaining a glare from Parvati.
"Hermione, now's not the best time," Bryt whispered, tugging on Hermione's arm, but her friend didn't pay attention.
"Well, look at it logically," Hermione said simply, looking around, "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock—"
"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," Ron cut in, "She doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."
Both Hermione and Bryt spun around, glaring at Ron, who glared back at them. Before anything could be said, though, McGonagall had appeared at her doorway, opening the door for the class to come in. Bryt sat down between Harry and Hermione, while Ron sat on the other side of Harry, refusing to say a word to the girls during the entire class. It was hard enough for Bryt to concentrate in Transfiguration without friend-problems. Worrying over the fights with Ron were just making her concentration level go down even more.
Bryt was relieved when the bell rang, though McGonagall spoke up just as Bryt had gotten her things in her bag and was about to stand up.
"One moment, please!" McGonagall said, "As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"
"Please, Professor," Neville said, "I—I think I've lost—"
"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom," McGonagall replied, "She seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave."
"Ask her now," Ron whispered as the quartet stood up.
"Oh, but—" Hermione started.
"Go for it, Harry," Ron cut in.
"We'll wait outside," Bryt said, "Good luck."
Bryt headed outside the door, where Ron went to stand away from Bryt and Hermione. Bryt rolled her eyes at this, thinking Ron was being childish. She finally gave a sigh, deciding it was better to get this out of the way, even though she still thought she had nothing to apologize for. She headed over to Ron, standing in front of him so she knew she had his attention.
"Look, I'm sorry about last night," she said, "I know Scabbers is your pet and what I had said was rude."
'Even though it was true,' Bryt thought to herself.
"Forgive and forget?" Bryt asked, holding out her hand and glancing at Hermione, who was giving them an odd look.
Ron looked at Bryt, as if he thought she were trying to play some prank, but finally got a small grin and took Bryt's hand, shaking it.
"Yeah, sure," he said.
Bryt grinned and then looked at Hermione, jerking her head to Ron slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice. Hermione got a stubborn look on her face, crossing her arms over her chest. Bryt crossed her own arms over her chest and glared at her friend until Hermione finally gave a sigh, rolling her eyes.
"Ron? I'm sorry, too," she said in a huff, obviously only apologizing to keep Bryt from annoying her endlessly for the rest of the day.
Harry came out of the room then, so Ron didn't get a chance to reply.
"How'd it go?" Bryt asked as they started for their next class.
"She says I have to have a guardian sign," Harry sighed, "I can't go."
Bryt gave a sigh, giving Harry a quick hug and muttering an apology while Ron began calling McGonagall a long string of names, which caused Hermione to glare at him.
"I'll take a lot of pictures for you," Bryt said, "We'll tell you everything you want to know."
"There's always the feast," Ron put in, "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."
"Yeah," Harry said, though he didn't sound at all excited about it, "Great."
Bryt looked at Harry sympathetically, giving a sigh and turning ahead of her. She knew it wouldn't be the same without Harry at Hogsmeade, but there was no way he would be able to go. She was tempted to stay behind with Harry to keep him company, but she doubted Harry would want her to give up Hogsmeade 'just because of him', as she bet he would put it. She'd just have to remember to get as much worthless junk for him as she could possibly manage.