You Were Always There: Part Six

by OpenBookLina

Mia Thatcher and her friends are back for a strange and exciting sixth year at Hogwarts. This time, they have a collector as their potions teacher, Dumbledore is disappearing more often to who knows where, schoolwork and blossoming love fill their daily activities, and on top of it all Harry may find the secret to Voldemort's past and the key to defeating him once and for all.

10. Strengths and Weaknesses

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are not mine!

Chapter Ten: Strengths and Weaknesses

MiaPOV

"I'm really not like them, you know," Nessen said softly, wiping at her eyes before slowly dipping her brush pack into her paint. "I mean, like others in my house. We all had a similar upbringing, with so many high expectations from our families. Others viewed us as no good, so it's kind of hard not to fall into that category naturally. If people are going to think I'm a good for nothing Slytherin, then better to let them think that, because we don't need anyone's approval when we know who we are. Almost my entire family were in Slytherin, so I'm sure you can understand the pressure I felt to make sure I was in the same house. My parents wouldn't settle for anything else. The Sorting Hat was really considering putting me in Gryffindor."

"It was?" Mia asked in shock, her eyes widening a bit and almost making a smudge on her canvas. She and Nessen were currently sitting close to the bank of the lake, with their easels propped upright so they could work on their class assignment Professor Frendell set for them. Mia made sure that they were seated a little ways away from everyone else so they could have some privacy, seeing as whatever Nessen had to say was obviously a sensitive subject

"Don't act so surprised, Thatcher. Since you're dating Potter I'm sure you've heard the scandal that came after his Godfather was put into Gryffindor when he was at school," Nessen huffed before her voice grew more said. "Which is why I begged for it to put me in Slytherin. I couldn't bear the thought of what my parents and others would say if I was sorted into a different house, especially Gryffindor. My parents have always given me the best of everything—clothes, education, toys, things that would surely make others jealous. But the older I got, the more I started seeing how my life was being lived for me. My father expected me to go into a career in law at the Ministry, just like him, and he wasn't opposed to start finding a rich young Pureblood wizard to court me after I left school. I was only allowed to associate with those my parents deemed fit, like Draco and Pansy, I was never able to make friends of my own. Well, until last year, that is."

"What do you mean?" said Mia.

"I really don't know what had gotten into me. My family has a mansion in Birmingham, and one day I went out for the afternoon in one of the shopping squares close to home. It had started raining in the afternoon, and I was stuck without an umbrella and around too many Muggles to create one with my wand. But…there was—there was this boy…"

"A boy?" Mia asked with a smile on her face.

"Be quiet," Nessen said, but her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "He saw I was getting wet, and he offered his umbrella to me. I was going to say no at first, seeing as he was a Muggle and I had always been taught not to accept anything from them. But, he was just so kind, and so damn insistent. I accepted so he would be quiet, but of course, it was just an invitation to talk non-stop while he walked me to the closest bus stop. His name was Garrett, he was in the city visiting family with his mother, and he went on and on about the most ridiculous things—how gloomy the weather was, that there were so many restaurants on every street, and how he was looking forward to his aunt's pie when he got home. He wouldn't even stop talking when we finally reached the bus stop, and just when I thought it was finally over, he had the nerve to ask me to meet him for ice cream the next day."

"The gall of that boy," Mia put in with a soft giggle. "Well, did you go?"

"I didn't want to, I wanted to say no without hesitation," Nessen admitted. "But for some reason when he gave me that stupid grin, I couldn't find it in myself to say no. I told myself it was merely for entertainment, like seeing a monkey perform in the street, making these silly faces and meaningless chatter. Yet the more time we spent together, the more I felt comfortable, like I could be more open and be myself around him, without someone monitoring my speech or my actions. It was incredible that I had lived in the city my entire life, but he showed me wonders I never experienced. He took me to the park once, and I swear, I couldn't remember laughing so hard when he fell into the pond while trying to catch a duck who stole his sandwich."

"He sounds like a funny guy," Mia stated as she moved her hand smoothly across the canvas, mixing together two different shades of green until it came out the way she wanted so she could get the ground painted perfectly.

"He certainly thought so. Well, eventually he had to go back home to Swansea, but he made me promise to write him, since I didn't have a telephone, not that I would have been able to give him my number anyway. Amidst my overbearing parents and their pure-blood mania, his letters where the only thing that brought me comfort, and I looked forward to them all the time, especially last year with all the drama involving Umbridge. Garrett always took joy in the simple things in life, he could make walking down the road seem like a thrilling adventure. At the end of last year, he invited me to see him in Swansea, and I was scared. So far I had been able to hide our friendship from my mother and father, you can image what their reactions would have been if they were to find out that I was communicating in a friendly way towards a Muggle boy. It was too risky, too dangerous to go and see him in his home town, where I would be so out of my element…so I went."

"Really? What did you tell your parents?"

"I said that Daphne Greengrass and her family owned an estate in Swansea and had invited me to stay for the entire month of July, and instead of taking a Portkey there, I took a train, and it was wonderful. The only time I had ever ridden a train was whenever we came to Hogwarts, and being on a Muggle one was exciting. I spent the whole month in Swansea, I used money from my account in Gringotts to stay in a travel lodge that was only ten minutes away from Garrett's family's house. He showed me everything, the Marina, the parks, and his favorite bakery his father used to take him to when he was young. During that month, I wasn't worried about my parent's approval, continuing on the path they laid out for me, or meeting my Pureblood social status. I was a regular fifteen year old, something I never thought I would experience. Garrett was something special, and I will never regret meeting him."

"Hold on, you're talking about him in the past tense, though," Mia noticed, her smile suddenly slipping off her face. "Did something happen?"

"When I got home, I noticed my parents were happy about the recent events, with You-Know-Who and his followers causing so much mayhem for both wizards and Muggles too," Nessen explained. "They would never try to be Death Eaters themselves, but that doesn't mean they are against their ideals. Unfortunately my family is a firm believer that Muggles and Muggleborns are beneath those from magical families, and until then, I mostly sided with them, but after spending so much time with Garrett I felt so very uncomfortable in my own home, and I just couldn't make excuses to agree with them anymore. They had a dinner party with others who also supported You-Know-Who's cause, and the way they were talking, it made me sick. I couldn't wait to get out of there and go to school, where I could escape it all for a while, but then something…something terrible happened.

"Our House Elf was cleaning my room and he found one of the most recent letters Garrett had written to me. When he showed it to my parents, they demanded an explanation. I felt trapped, and I saw no way out of this, so I told them the truth. Once I told them Garrett was a Muggle, they were so furious. My father was ashamed that his only daughter associated with a common, filthy muggle and he tried to forbid me from seeing him ever again. I was confused, Garrett had done nothing wrong to us, and his family was so kind. I saw no reason to scorn them, they are no different from us, really, we can just do certain things they can't. He started going on and on about purity, how we should not be around those who are beneath us, and when he started insulting Garrett, I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to be their perfect Pureblood daughter, I didn't want to have the dictate my life, and I didn't want to be a part of a family who supported harming innocent people. I screamed all of this at him, and I told him that I cared for Garrett, and I wouldn't stop seeing him because it's the only time I feel happy. Both my mother and father kicked me out that very night, and I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron in London until it was time to go back to school."

"Oh, Nessen," Mia said quietly, stunned at the harsh treatment her classmate had been dealt with. "I'm so sorry. That's just terrible, being thrown out just because you have a friend who is a Muggle?"

"That's not the worst of it," Nessen said, her voice suddenly quivering and Mia could see that her hands were beginning to shake. "I can handle having a rift between me and my family—it was only a matter of time before I realized I couldn't stand by them any longer. But this morning, I—I received a letter from my father. He told me that unless I apologize for my actions and swear to never be so disobedient and a disgraceful again, I will be disowned. He has no trouble cutting me off completely, and he sent in a—a news clip taken from the Prophet. About a Muggle family in Wales that were brutally attacked."

"Wait a minute, I read that story in the paper," Mia said, her eyes widening as realization struck her. "That was Garrett's family?"

"I can't prove it, but I know my father must have been involved somehow to teach me a lesson," Nessen muttered, her eyes filling with tears as she stared straight ahead at her canvas. "He and his mom were so hurt by the time the Ministry got there. My father has friends in the law department, I know it won't be traced back to him. But the article said they'd had their memories wiped before the Aurors arrived! My father made sure that Garrett won't remember me! I finally had a real friend, someone who cared for me and now he's gone! Who knows how bad his injuries are, what if he doesn't make it?"

Mia was stunned into silence as Nessen closed her eyes and began crying quietly, tossing her paint brush to the ground, no longer interested in her painting. A feeling of sympathy and sadness came over Mia and she couldn't help but feel so very sorry for the girl next to her. For years she thought Nessen was just as stuck up as the rest of the Slytherins, so set in their ways that they cared for no one but themselves. But seeing her now, crying over a boy she deeply cared for—and a Muggle no less—was heartbreaking. She could only imagine the turmoil Nessen is feeling and she suddenly understood why she had been acting a bit off lately, and why she saw her shopping alone in Diagon Alley when they ran into each other. Feeling her heart clench, Mia stood up from the stool she was sitting on and moved closer to Nessen. Without a word, she placed an arm around the dark-haired girl, offering some small form of comfort even though she couldn't find the right words to say at the moment. At first Nessen stiffened but soon relaxed and then leaned into Mia as she continued to cry.

"I hate them," Nessen whimpered. "I hate him. I will never, ever forgive him, and I'm never going back!"

Mia said nothing and just rubbed her shoulder gently, knowing that was really what Nessen needed right now. She looked over at Mr. Frendell and the older wizard immediately came over at the sight of her comforting the young Slytherin.

"Mr. Frendell, may I please escort Claudia up to the hospital wing?" Mia asked him. "She could really use a Pepper-Up Potion."

"Of course. I will write a quick note excusing the two of you for the rest of class," Professor Frendell replied with an understanding nod of his head. Mia thanked him and then within the next few minutes, she was walking with Nessen back up the slopes of the grounds, with her one arm still around her. She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a small white handkerchief before handing it over to her.

"Here, use this," Mia told her. "Come on, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey, and don't argue about it, all right? A Pepper-Up will do you some good."

"Thank you, Thatcher," Nessen mumbled as she gratefully took the handkerchief.

"Mia," the brunette corrected with a small smile.

"Thank you…Mia. And please, call me Claudia."

…

Mia could hardly contain the smile on her face as she eagerly rummaged around in her trunk for the brightly wrapped parcels that were nestled in the corner, tied together with a big bow and wit a birthday card attached to them. Pushing down her growing excitement, she set the parcels on her bed and then turned around to look at Hermione's sleeping form on her mattress, her bushy brown hair standing in every direction and her face half covered underneath the blankets. With her smile turning into an evil grin, she carefully walked over to the left side of the bed as quiet as a mouse, her wand clutched tightly in her hand. When she was in position, she brought her wand to her throat, whispered "Sonorous," and wasted no time in yelling into the air.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE!"

There were collective shrieks and yells from everyone in the dormitory, with more than one person nearly falling out of their bed, including said birthday girl. Hermione screamed and almost toppled right down to the floor, become entangled in her blankets and her hand flying towards her chest. Mia burst out laughing, her voice still booming around the room, and after a few seconds Hermione got her bearings together and glared heatedly at her friend.

"Mia! What was that for?!" she yelled.

"Really Mia?! It's Saturday!" Rachel called from behind her bed curtains. Mia just laughed even harder at her friend's reaction, although she did pull it together long enough to return her voice back to normal volume. Once she did that she wiped the tears out of her eyes and, completely ignoring Hermione's annoyed expression, she jumped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her best friend in a tight hug.

"Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Mione

Happy Birthday to you!"

"You honestly couldn't wait another hour before waking me up?" Hermione grumbled.

"Come on, it's your seventeenth birthday!" Mia said as she pulled away, her bright smile still on her face. "You're officially of age! This is cause for celebration! Now get out of bed so we can get the day started. And don't try going back to sleep because I'll just keep coming back until you're awake."

Hermione continued to glare at her but seemed to know better than to doubt Mia's threat because she threw the covers off of her feet and then stood up, grumbling under her breath and causing Mia to laugh even more. It was roughly an hour later before the girls were both dressed and Mia had taken the liberty of brushing Hermione's hair to get it somewhat under control, tying it back into a braid and twisting it into an elegant knot at the back of her head, leaving a couple loose curls to frame her face. Once that was done, Mia eagerly thrust her gifts into Hermione hands after shoving her down on the bed to open them. She watched excitedly as Hermione opened the first bigger parcel and the older witch let out a breathless gasp when she peeled back the wrapping paper to see a pretty wooden picture frame that held a photo of the two of them when they were back in their first year, standing in front of the doors leading to the Entrance Hall. After about a minute, the images in the picture began to blur and take on a different shape, transforming into an entirely new one of when they were in second year, eating some late night snacks in the common room, with chocolate smudged on their faces. Mia explained that there was a picture from each year that would play as a montage, and she was happy to see that Hermione loved it. The second parcel was smaller and Hermione's eyes widened when she opened it to see a slim, silver watch with a woven design and her birth stone dangling from it.

"It's tradition in the magical world for a witch and wizard to get a watch for their seventeenth birthday," Mia said. "I wasn't sure if your parents knew or not, but I saw it in Diagon Alley, and I couldn't help it. It also works as a compass as well, and glows in the dark. Do you like it?"

As a response, Hermione threw her arms around Mia's neck, tears filling her eyes, claiming that she absolutely loved her gifts. She spent a few more minutes gushing over them and Ma helped her place her watch around her wrist. Then they both decided to go downstairs and wait for the boys so they could head down to the Great Hall for breakfast but to their surprise, when they reached the common room, they saw that Harry and Ron were already there, the latter with a disgruntled look on his face.

"You know, you could have told us you were planning on waking up the whole tower at the crack of dawn," Ron said.

"Good morning to you too, sleepy head," Mia giggled in greeting before she took Harry's hand in hers. "Besides, if I didn't wake you up you wouldn't have had the chance to eat my mom's strudel, she sent us extra for Hermione's birthday. And this is nothing compared to what I have planned for your seventeenth."

"Oh boy, I really can't wait," Ron muttered, sarcasm layered in his tone. Mia just grinned at him as she playfully punched his shoulder as they all left the common room together.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Harry asked as they walked.

"Well, we do have to meet with Sirius after breakfast today," Hermione reminded them. "And we really should go to the library at some point—"

"Oh no you don't!" Mia cut in sternly. "I told you, we can do whatever you want, but that doesn't include any kind of studying or school work. Today's your day, we should spend it without having to worry about our assignments."

"Hear, hear," Ron put in, nodding.

"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed in defeat. "How about we have lunch out on the grounds today, go visit Hagrid and Witherwings, and then take some cake and Butterbeer up to the common room?"

This seemed a good idea with everyone else, and so it was agreed by the time they made it to the Great Hall, where they helped themselves to a splendid breakfast as usual, courtesy of the Hogwarts House Elves. It was there that Hermione received her other gifts from the boys, with Harry giving her a new book and quill set, while Ro handed over a decorated bag of candy alone with a pretty cream colored, crocheted scarf with her initials sewn into it.

"Ron, this is so lovely," Hermione said with a big smile as she immediately wrapped the warm material around her neck. "Thank you so much!"

"Sorry I couldn't get anything better," Ron said, his face going a bit red. "Didn't have much to work with…"

"It's wonderful," Hermione assured him, making his face turn even brighter and causing Mia to smirk to herself. They continued on eating their breakfast, with Ron happily stuffing large spoonful's of porridge into his mouth along with his eggs and bacon, making Hermione scrunch up her nose in disgust. At one point Mia looked over towards the Slytherin table to see that Claudia was sitting down from the ones she usually sat wit, eating her breakfast alone and reading a crumpled letter in her hands, her face blank as her eyes scanned the words for what had to be the hundredth time. Mia could feel the sadness grip her chest again as she looked at the poor girl, knowing she must have read the letter from her father so many times, and each time was probably another blow to her gut. She hasn't talked much with Claudia outside of class since the day she comforted her out by the lake, and she could tell being disowned from her family was taking its toll on her. Mia couldn't help but worry about her since she had been thrown out of her home, but thankfully Claudia told her there was a savings account she had with Gringotts that was available to her once she turned seventeen, which was in the last week of August, so her parents at least couldn't cut her off from her money. Mia made sure she knew that she was there to help if she ever needed anything, despite Claudia saying she would be all right on her own. After about a minute, Claudia looked up from her letter and caught Mia's eye. She managed a tiny smile which Mia returned before going back to her food.

Once they were finished with their meal, Mia and the others left the Great Hall together and then proceeded up the marble staircase, heading in the direction of the third floor corridor. There were not very many used classrooms on this floor, and after expertly maneuvering their way up the moving staircases, they reached the corridor and walked along it until they finally came upon the last door on the left hand side. Harry opened the door and led them inside, where they saw that all desks and chairs had been cleared out, leaving the room practically bare, with just a chalkboard in the front and none other than Sirius Black sitting on the edge, with a couple books at his side and flicking through one of them with his wand, appearing deep in thought.

"Well, it looks like Remus is making a good impression on you, Griff," Mia stated with a smirk. "You look just like a professor about to teach a class."

"I should wash your mouth out for that comment, young lady," Sirius said with a bit of amusement in his eyes as he snapped the book shut and slid off the desk. "Hello Harry, Ron. And I believe a Happy Birthday is in order, Hermione."

"Hey Sirius," Harry greeted while Ron waved and Hermione thanked him. "So, what do you have planned?"

"Well, I figured we could start with what you all already know and practice just for a little while with that, find out where your strengths lie and what could use improvement, although with you teaching the D.A last year I'm sure it won't be much. Let's start with you, Harry. Come, stand in the middle of the room here—yes, that's good—and take your wand out. First thing you need to do is get into the habit of having your wand on hand or easily accessible at all times, because unless it's a formal duel your enemy more than likely won't give you the option of bowing before he attack. You three stand by the desk for now, and Harry just come at me with what you have."

Mia went over and placed herself on the desk and watched as Harry and Sirius stood off against each other in the middle of the room, eyeing each other up. There was the briefest moment of complete silence, waiting for one of them to make a move, before Harry raised his wand and sent a jinx Sirius' way. Sirius waved his wand across his body as quick as a flash, and easily shielded himself from the spell. That didn't deter Harry, however, as he continued to send spell after spell towards him, the two of them moving around each other in a circle.

"Very good wand movement, Harry," Sirius noted after just narrowly avoiding a Reducto spell. "Very good—just remember, don't over-exert yourself or you'll wear yourself down too easily and too quickly. You can study your opponent's movements and the kind of spells they cast to get an idea of how they fight. That way, they will make themselves predictable and you'll be able to know what they have planned next."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked.

"Your father and I were Auror's, once," Sirius explained with a small smile. "Part of Mad-Eye's new recruits after graduation—Stupefy!"

Mia jumped a bit where she sat as Harry ducked and rolled to dodge the Stunning Hex that was thrown his way. So, Sirius was once an Auror? Well, that would explain how he knows so much about dueling. He moved around with relative ease, taking turns casting spells with Harry and teaching him the best ways to dodge or send the spell right back. After a few more minutes of this, Harry eventually disarmed Sirius with a very well-practiced "Expelliarmus," and in the next moment, Sirius' wand flew out of his hand and across the room.

"Excellent," Sirius praised with a nod of his head, stuffing his thumbs into his pockets. "Excellent, Harry. However, even if you've managed to disarm the one you're fighting, make sure you give them no chance to try anything, because if you become distracted, even for a moment without having the opportunity to at least bind their hands, they could try something unexpected."

"Like what?" Ron asked from the side. "What can they do without their wand?"

Sirius merely smiled in response before he removed his one hand away from his pocket, thumbing out a small, glittering back rock that Mia wasn't familiar with. Before anyone could blink, Sirius threw the rock to the ground and then within seconds, the air was filled with pitch black fog, quickly obscuring both Harry and Sirius, spreading around the room. Mia coughed from the smoke, along with Ron and Hermione, and she tried waving the smoke away so she could try to find them through the darkness. It was quiet except for the sound of their coughing, and it seemed to take forever for it to start clearing away. Mia looked around until her eyes finally fell on harry, who had his arm over his face and was peering through the thick substance to try and spot his godfather, who seemed to disappear. It wasn't until the very last second that Mia saw Sirius materialize out of nowhere from behind Harry and place his retrieved wand up against Harry's neck, making the boy go still. Seeing he was beaten, Harry dropping his wand arm to his side and then Sirius moved his own away from Harry's neck, using it to clear away the rest of the smoke.

"Unfortunately some Death Eaters are smarter than they seem," Sirius said. "There are other ways to throw your opponent for a loop without having to use your wand. One great way to keep your head in the game when it comes to dueling is to think outside the box, and expect the impossible, as Mad Eye would say. Still, that was impressive spell casting Harry. Now, I heard Snape is having you all practice non-verbal magic, so let's work on that for a little bit before having one of the others go next."

After Harry practiced his non-verbal magic with Sirius for a while, the older wizard had him rest before asking who wanted to try next. Ron hopped down from the desk and stepped forward, eager to practice his own defensive magic. Sirius helped Ron with some of his own wand movements and knocked him down a couple times, with the redhead's face burning in embarrassment after each time. However, whereas Harry was good with spells that were more straightforward and powerful, Ron's strength seemed to be in casting excellent hexes, and that's precisely what Sirius focused on. Ron seemed to feel a bit better when he was able to cast a pretty good Leg-Locker Curse on Sirius, nearly sending him downward. Once they were through, Sirius gave Ron a pat on the shoulder and promised next time they would focus more on putting more power into his spells, that way they would have more of a permanent hold.

"How about you now, Mia?" Sirius asked.

"All right," Mia replied, hopping down from the desk as well and making her way to stand opposite of Sirius in the middle of the room, her wand already held tightly in her hand. After just a few seconds she stepped forward and cried out "Stupefy!" Sirius easily dodged the attack and sent one back with a flick of his wrist, sending a non-fatal blue light in Mia's direction. She was able to avoid it and hurriedly placed a shield around herself when Sirius wasted no time in send another spell.

"Aqua Erecto Freza!" she exclaimed, pointing her wand at the ground underneath Sirius' feet, which instantly started to freeze over. Sirius began losing his balance as he quickly moved backwards, almost taking a tumble to the floor, and Mia took the chance to send another stunner at him. They danced around each other for just a couple minutes, with Mia mostly trying stunners along with a couple different hexes, and Sirius avoiding them all. As she missed the bright red light of one of his own stunners, she glanced over at a couple of chairs that had been pushed against the far wall behind her. Thinking fast, she muttered the correct spell under her breath and sent the furniture straight towards Sirius. However, before they could get close enough to him, Sirius raised his wand, yelled "Confringo," and blasted the two chairs into pieces, setting them both aflame. In that moment, Mia froze in her movements, her eyes going wide as she saw the flames engulf the chairs and a sudden, unexpected panic started to rise within her chest. For a moment, it wasn't Sirius she saw beyond the fire, but the face of his deranged cousin, her dark hair falling into her ghostly pale face, and her eyes glinting with malice. Mia could feel the heat of the fire enclose around her, and for a minute she could hardly breathe, taking half a step backwards.

The feeling didn't last though, because in the next second a jet of water shot out of Sirius' wand, taking out of the flames and shooting Mia off of her feet, onto her back. Once the water was gone, she found that the front of her body was soaked and her wand had fallen out of her hand. Her face quickly burned with shame as she realized she froze up again and she let her fear stop her. From the corner of her eye she could see Harry try to move over towards her, but was held back by Hermione. Mia sat there for a moment, feeling very disappointed in herself, before she saw Sirius walk over towards her and extend his hand, guilt shining in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mia," he said to her. "I shouldn't have done something with fire."

"It's fine," Mia murmured, taking the hand he offered and standing to her feet, wiping her dripping bangs out of her eyes. "I'm trying to get over it, but…it's a little harder than I thought."

"I understand," Sirius said. "It can take some time to deal with bad memories like that. But I know you, Mia, you'll find a way to overcome them. I can see you're very strong in defense rather than offense, that's something we can work with, but for now, how about we take a break? Are you up for a round, Hermione?"

Hermione agreed before she walked over towards them, and without a word, she used her wand to blow-dry Mia's hair as well as her clothes in a big gust of wind. Once she found herself mostly dry again, Mia gave Hermione a smile of thanks before going back over to the desk to sit with Harry and Ron. She sat down next to Harry, who placed his hand over hers and gave her a comforting look.

"You're not weak, love," he whispered to her, as if he knew what she was thinking. "You're anything but. We'll get through this, all right?"

"Okay," Mia whispered, trying her best to give him a smile, but knowing deep down it was going to be harder than she would expect. When Hermione was done practicing with Sirius, they decided to call it a day and pick up whenever Sirius would have time to come back and teach them some more. What with having to take shifts guarding the boundaries of the school as well as do mission for the Order, he was sure exactly how often he would be able to come up to visit, but he promised it wouldn't be too long. As they left the room and started heading down the staircase, Mia looked over to see Sirius ruffling Harry's hair and laughing as the sixteen year old grumbled and tried in vain to fix it. She smiled softly at them, truly thankful that Harry now had these opportunities to spend time with Sirius, even if they didn't happen too often. She started walking on ahead, dragging Ron and Hermione with her as Sirius started talking to Harry about one of the missions he and his father head when they first entered the Auror Department at the Ministry, and the things they did to drive Mad Eye crazy and end up hexing the both of them.

"Let's take the long way down to the main floor," she suggested. "Who knows when Harry and Sirius will be able to see each other again."

"Do you think Sirius will want to come to the first game?" Ron asked.

"I think Hell will freeze over first before Sirius misses the chance to see Harry's first game as Captain, and as a free man," Hermione replied.

"I definitely wouldn't want to be the one standing in his way," Mia giggled. "Come on, let's head down to the kitchens—we can visit Dobby and get everything ready for lunch out on the grounds, I asked him to make Hermione's favorite cake."

"Mia, you shouldn't—"

"Are you really going to argue with me again?" Mia asked with a smirk. "You'd think after six years of this you'd given up by now."

"Just let it go, Hermione," Ron chuckled. "When it comes to birthdays, it's best not to get in the way of Mia's war path."

"See, Ron's finally figured it out," Mia stated proudly, patting him on the back and laughing at how he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, what would you guys do without me?"

"Finally have some peace and quiet?" Ron said, followed by a quick slap in the back of the head. "Ow! Mia!"

"Doesn't look like he's learned too much," Hermione giggled as they continued walking down the corridor.

…

The cool days of the end of September transformed into the chilly days of October, with the change of season all round, from the fluttering gold and red leaves falling from the trees to the gigantic pumpkins that were growing steadily in Hagrid's garden next to his home. Despite any type of stress from school work or lingering dangers outside the walls, life at Hogwarts went on. Mia made sure there were always time spent with her friends, whether it be studying for a test or taking a walk around the grounds, and there were always the quiet moments with Harry in the corridors, stealing kisses and just enjoying being in each other's presence. She would write letters to her parents as well as to Brian, who was actually getting pretty good at writing himself thanks to lessons from their father, and lately she had been inviting Claudia to sit with her and Rachel in their art class so she wouldn't be by herself. Thankfully, Rachel seemed to understand that something had happened when Mia spoke with Claudia, and she was acting civil and polite towards the Slytherin, which Mia truly appreciated. During one of their lessons, Professor Frendell tasked them with creating a portrait of a person who had made a significant impact on their life. It seemed a simple enough task, but Mia knew that there was quite the difference between making a portrait of a person and doing scenery. She has made drawings of people before in her own sketchbook, but nothing that had to be turned in for an assignment. The image was supposed to capture how the subject is as a person, and they would once again be bringing the subject in the painting to life, so that it would move and speak freely.

"I'm not sure who I can do a portrait of," Claudia admitted as they all gathered their things at the end of class. "It's not like I can ask my parents…"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Mia reassured her encouragingly.

"Do you have an idea of who you would like to paint, Mia?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I do have one person in mind," Mia answered, thinking of her dearly missed neighbor. "She passed away last year, but she's taught me more than I could thank her for, and she inspired me in a lot of ways. I guess it's my tribute to her memory."

"That's really nice, Mia," Rachel said with a smile. "I'm sure it'll come out great. I'll see you guys later, I have to get to my Transfiguration class."

"Bye Rachel," Mia said with a wave as Rachel hurried off down the corridor while Mia and Claudia walked in the opposite direction. "Do you want to head out onto the school grounds with me, Claudia? I have Care of Magical Creatures next, and you have a free period now, right?"

"Yes, and I would like that, thank you," Claudia replied.

"Are you going to be staying at the castle for the holidays?" Mia asked her.

"Yes, I don't really have anywhere else to go," Claudia said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But you know, I'm actually looking forward to it. This will be my first time staying at school for Christmas, and I heard it's truly beautiful. I couldn't stay during the Yule Ball, my parents wanted me home for their own party, and I was so jealous when I came back and everyone was talking about how grand it was. What about you?"

"I'm spending the holiday with friends and family this year," Mia said with an excited smile. "Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I'm sure this is going to be a great one—"

"Hi, Mia!"

Mia and Claudia turned around to see a familiar, younger boy rushing up to them, with a smile on his face and an envelope clutched in his hand. Mia recognized him as the young boy she had helped last year after he had gone through one of Umbridge's detentions.

"Michael," Mia said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great, thanks," Michael said as he came to a halt in front of them, a bit of a blush on his cheeks. "I, um, I was asked to give this to you."

Michael held out the envelope to her and Mia took it, her eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

"Thank you, Michael."

"You're welcome. Um, Mia, would you mind helping me and my friend with our homework tomorrow night? I don't really understand the essay Professor Snape assigned us."

"Of course, I'd love to," Mia told the smaller boy. "How about we meet in the library, right after dinner?"

"Great! Thanks Mia, I owe you one!" Michael beamed before he waved at her and ran back down the corridor.

"Really Mia, do you have to be so sickly sweet?" Claudia said, but without any malice in it.

"Well, I do want to come back and teach here one day, I should probably get in as much practice as I can," Mia said with a soft giggle as she opened up the envelope to find an invitation written in Harry's handwriting. The moment she flipped open the card, little wisps of light came out of it on the form of flower petals, and she smiled brightly as she started reading.

Harry Potter cordially invites Mia Thatcher

To a romantic evening for two

On Friday, October 11th

Please meet me in the Entrance Hall at 5pm

And be sure to wear warm clothing

Please R.S.V.P when you return to the common room

Forever Yours,

Harry

"Wow," Claudia said with a raised eyebrow. "And here I'm thinking Potter was a clueless git without a romantic bone in his body. He sure knows how to surprise people, I'll give him that."

Mia just continued smiling as they kept making their way downstairs, her eyes shining and her heart full.

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