Not one of my longest chapters but this one's definitely important. I hope you guys like it but any feedback is always appreciated!
Love,
Adrien
Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.
Chpt. 11: Introducing Beauxbatons and Durmstrang
"Shouldn't you be out with the rest of the school to greet the other schools?" Sirius questions, running his fingers gently through his lover's hair.
"Hmm. Probably," Remus replies, staring up at Sirius from where his head was resting on the other man's lap as he places his book on his stomach. "But it's close enough to the full moon that I can get away with it." He grins wolfishly up at Sirius.
Sirius laughs, bending down to kiss Remus lightly on the lips. He'd missed his best friend while he was in Azkaban and he'd been so afraid that Remus was going to forget about him and move on but he hadn't. Remus still loved him today as much as he had thirteen years ago and, even though he was still being forced to hide away from the rest of the world and they still had a lot of shit they had to deal with, he was happier than he had been in a long time.
"Maybe we should start with getting to know the house elves here at school." Luna suggests and Hermione grins. Ginny and Luna had ended up staying in Hermione's room the night before and, though her strangeness had initially made her, Hermione quickly realized how much similar to herself Luna was. They both cared fiercely about those around them, especially the helpless. She was also the second person to really care about SPEW which thrilled Hermione.
"That's a good idea. Maybe they would be willing to open up about their pasts if we befriended them first. We have to know the best and worst conditions house elves work in before we can help them. We also have to make sure that we make it clear to them that we don't want to take them away from their jobs but that we want to make sure that they aren't forced to hurt themselves or do things that they don't want to do."
Luna nods, shooting Hermione a rare genuine smile, but Ginny interrupts her before she can reply.
"Look, look, look!" Ginny jumps up and down, gripping her two friends' arms as she stares at the sky.
The carriage and flying horses honestly don't impress Hermione. "A bit over the top, don't you think?"
Ginny looks scandalized but Luna, Neville, and Harry all laugh at her comment. What does make Ginny laugh (along with Hermione, Neville, and Luna) is how Harry uses Hermione as a sort of human shield, burying his face in her unruly curls in an attempt to hide, when many of the Beauxbaton girls notice who exactly Harry is and start shooting his goo-goo eyes.
"All the scary big bad beautiful girls are gone, Harry. You don't have to hide anymore," Hermione teases her best friend as she lightly pats his hand (which she hadn't realized had been resting on her waist until that moment).
"They weren't that beautiful," he grumbles as he pulls away a bit but leaves his hand on her waist.
The three girls all shoot him disbelieving looks but he just blushes and looks away. Hermione's eyebrows shoot up and she moves her gaze to Neville who is conveniently looking anywhere but the three girls. Her eyes move to Luna and Ginny who look just as curious as she does. Hermione doesn't miss the look of relief on both boys' faces when the sound of roaring water catches Ginny's attention and Ginny pulls their groups attention to the arrival of the Durmstrang students.
"Bloody hell." Ginny whistles softly as the Durmstrang boys pass their little group and both Hermione and Luna burst out laughing. Harry and Neville look down at Ginny in shock but the feisty redhead just shrugs at them, her smirk firmly in place.
"I think we should wait until break to take Harry to Gringotts to have the will read." Anger flares through Sirius at his lover's suggestion and he quickly sets his fork down on his dinner plate, giving his lover his full attention.
"Why?" he growls.
"Don't you growl at me." Remus glares at Sirius but Sirius doesn't back down. "It's the smart thing to do. Clearly something's going on here and if we pull Harry out of school, it will send out red flags to anyone who's looking. I doubt we'd even make it out of Hogwarts without getting caught. The break gives Harry the perfect excuse to leave. He'll probably be invited to the Weasley's and he can tell them that he wants to do some extra shopping in Diagon Alley and that I offered to take him so that he would be safe."
The anger leaves Sirius's body though he can't shake the bad feeling that comes with this plan. "It makes sense."