Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Please don't sue.
A/N: I wanted to give another quick thanks to all readers of The Prophecy: HD. I know that I'm horrid at responding to your reviews, but they do matter to me. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. I'll get right to typing up the next one. K-P :)
Chapter 13
Harry was never quite sure if he'd done the right thing by giving Cho some space after the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game. She seemed to take on two personalities after that. Some times, she would be her normal, warm, sweet self; but other times, she seemed to be so distant and cold. Harry could only think that she was still mourning Cedric's death to some degree. Because of this, he decided to put no pressure on her whatsoever. If she wanted to spend time with him, then he would spend time with her. If she wanted him to leave her alone, then that's what he did.
The days flew by and soon the Hogwart's landscape was covered with snow. One last Hogsmeade trip was planned for the students so they could do some holiday shopping. Most all of the students were spending the holiday at the school since it was one of the safest locations at the time.
Because of this, Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers went out of their way to make the whole castle look quite festive. Even Professor Snape had a tree in his classroom. Of course, this tree seemed to take delight in tossing it's decorations at the Gryffindor students. Then Professor Snape would take delight in deducting house points from Gryffindor for unruly destruction of property.
On the last trip to Hogsmeade, Cho had insisted that Harry spend the whole day together in town. Apparently, Cho loved to shop and it wasn't long before Harry found himself bogged down with packages. He was able to get some shopping done himself, though it wasn't easy. The whole time they shopped, Harry kept watching for Ron, Hermione, the twins, or Ginny.
He, of course, met up with Fred and George in Zonko's. As he wandered around the store with the twins, they told him about what little news they'd heard from the outside. Fred and George were great at finding out the latest happenings, although Harry had no idea how they did it.
"Something's about to happen," Fred told him as they examined a nose-biting tea cup. "No one is sure what exactly ... or when. But there's a lot of moving around going on with the Death Eaters. There's still no idea where You-Know-Who is, but he won't hide forever. He'll show his ugly muzzle some time ... we just have to be ready for it."
Whenever the twins said things like that, Harry always got the impression that they were much more involved in the war activities than they let on. From the doorway where she'd been standing, Cho cleared her throat to get Harry's attention. He could tell that she didn't like being in this shop.
George grinned mischeviously as he whispered to Harry, "The little woman's tugging on your leash, mate." Fred laughed at that, though Harry just scowled at the two.
After a hasty good-bye, Harry and Cho left the shop. It was rather late when they finally stopped at the Three Broomsticks for some lunch. Cho choose a small secluded table for them in one corner. Truthfully, Harry had been hoping to see Ron and Hermione there. Not that he didn't want to be alone with Cho ... he just found that he missed his friends.
They never showed up, though. As Harry and Cho left the pub, he asked, "Where to now?"
Cho gave him a dazzling smile as she slipped her hand into his. This was rather surprising as she rarely did that sort of thing. Giving Harry an imploring look, she said, "Well, we could go for a little walk. There's a lovely little area a mile or so past the Shreiking Shack ..."
Harry gawked at her as he replied, "A mile or so? Cho!? That would mean that it's outside of the Hogsmeade boundries. We aren't allowed out of Hogsmeade."
Cho's smile quickly faded into a pout; one that made Harry very uncomfortable. He had the feeling that the more she looked at him like that, the more likely he'd do whatever she asked. "Fine! All right! We'll go to this spot," he said with resignation.
They walked hand and hand through the town to the very outskirts where the Shreiking Shack was. Harry was not at all happy about this little excursion, but he didn't want to ruin things for Cho. He was just asking how she'd found this place they were heading to when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw two people walking towards them.
He could tell that the two people were adults, but they didn't look like any of the professors from the school. Still, they seemed somehow familiar. The one person, who Harry could now see was male, yelled, "Not off on another quest to save the fair maiden, are you Harry?"
Hearing this, Harry broke into a wide grin. he dropped Cho's hand as he shouted, "Professor Lupin!" Then he took off at a quick trot to where his friend and past professor was. "What brings you to Hogsmeade? Is everything okay? Si ... Snuffles is okay, right?" Grabbing the professor's hand, he shook it firmly as he added, "It's so Good to see you!"
Remus laughed. "Good to see you too, Harry! Let me catch my breath before I try to answer all of that." The older wizard gave his past pupil a friendly hug.
As Harry pulled away, he glanced over at Remus' companion. "Ms. Jensun!" he exclaimed, surprised to see the woman from Lancer's Inn.
Shifting a box of some sort in her arms, Tilly said with a smile, "Hello, Harry ... and it's Tilly, not Ms. Jensun. How are you doing, Harry?"
Harry shrugged lightly, not sure how to answer that. "As best as I can be, considering." He turned his attention back to Remus and asked, "How is it out there? Are things getting any better ... or worse?"
Remus gave him a steady gaze before answering. "They're neither ... and yet both. At times we have some breakthroughs. But then, we usually have a set back of some kind as well. To answer one of your earlier questions, Snuffles is just fine."
Harry glanced nervously over at Tilly, wondering if she knew about Sirius. When he looked back at Remus, who slightly shook his head, he knew that she hadn't been let in on the secret.
A soft voice suddenly said from behind him, "Hello Professor Lupin."
Harry realized that in his excitement of seeing Remus, he'd forgotten all about Cho. "I'm sorry," he said, moving so the Ravenclaw girl could join them. "Cho, this is Tilly Jensun. Tilly, this is Cho Chang."
It was generally customary for two people, when introduced, to shake hands. But that didn't happen. Instead, Tilly gave a simple nod of her head as she said a low hello. And Cho, although smiling, seemed to be eyeing Tilly ... almost suspiciously. It was a bit uncomfortable for a moment until Remus spoke up. "Ms. Chang, it is very nice to see you again."
Turning to Harry, Remus went on to say, "We are actually here to see Hermione Granger. You wouldn't happen to know where we could find her, would you?"
Harry shook his head. "I've been trying to find her and Ron all day. They were supposed to come into Hogsmeade to get a Butterbeer with us at the Three Broomsticks, but I haven't seen them at all."
"Well," Remus said, looking around, "Maybe we'll just wander up to see Dumbledore and look for Ms. Granger there."
Harry nodded, then took a step as if to follow. "Harry?" Cho called, causing him to pause. "Aren't we going to go for our walk? I'm sure that Professor Lupin will find Hermione on his own without any problem."
For a second, Harry opened his mouth to protest. But almost as quickly, he closed it again. He was starting to get that odd feeling again; like he was getting tired. It passed after a moment, leaving him somewhat pale.
"You know, Harry," Tilly said, moving up to him. "You look a bit flushed." She placed the inside of one wrist onto the boy's forehead. "Well, you don't feel feverish, but ... I don't think that it would be a good idea for you to go out for a walk. What do you think, Jack?"
Harry gave her an odd look, trying to figure out who she was talking to. Remus, however, chuckled lightly as he said, "No, Tilly, I don't suppose he should."
Cho had an expression on her face that seemed to be a mixture of confusion, disappointment, and annoyance. But, she didn't say a word; just followed as they all headed back to Hogwarts. Harry noticed that she was once again acting cold and distant. All he could do was sigh as he thought, 'Oh well ... back to the ice house, I guess.'
As they entered the main entrance of the school, they were greeted by the sinister glare of Professor Snape. He looked at Remus with as much spite as he did Harry. Then his eyes drifted to Tilly. "Lupin ... what brings you back?" Snape asked, though he was still scrutinizing Tilly. "And you have a ... *friend* with you?"
Harry glanced over at Tilly to see her watching Professor Snape with an expression of amusement. She stepped forward before Remus could say anything and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Matilda Jensun ... but you may call me Tilly. And you are?"
Hesitantly, Professor Snape reached out to shake the woman's hand. "Professor Snape ... Severus Snape. I teach Potions here." He paused only a moment before asking, "Jensun? Is that the same of Ari Jensun?"
Tilly smiled widely at the name. "Pappa Ari ... yes. The same. Have you met Pappa?"
Professor Snape shook his head as he replied, "Only have heard of him."
Giving a small laugh, Tilly stated, "Yes, well ... Pappa Ari has a reputation of being someone whose heard of a lot."
Remus shifted slightly next to Tilly, gaining everyone's attention. "We really need to find Ms. Granger."
Tilly made a face at him as she muttered, "You're just no fun, Jack ..."
In an equally low voice, Remus muttered back, "I should have listened to Matteau and left you back at the Inn."
Harry raised an eyebrow, listening intently to the two adults' conversation. To his surprise, Tilly growled back, "Hey Jack ... bite me!"
"I don't think that you want him to do that," a voice drawled from behind Professor Snape. Everyone turned to see Draco Malfoy standing there. With a a smug impression, he walked up to them as he added, "At least not unless you want to have a dog's life like him."
Both Remus and Harry were watching Malfoy carefully, while Professor Snape looked positively bored with the conversation. Tilly, however, began to laugh lightly. "Oh my ... unbelievable! You just have to be related to Narcissa somehow. What's your name?"
Malfoy glanced her over dubiously before answering, "Draco Malfoy."
At that, Tilly looked absolutely delighted. "I knew it ... Lucius Malfoy's son, right?" Draco just nodded, somewhat dumbfounded. Tilly went on, "You look so much like your mother. Of course, it's been years since I've seen her. How is she?"
Malfoy seemed a bit stunned that this person, who appeared to be with some of the people he disliked the most, actually knew his parents. In a rather haughty tone, he said, "Who are You? And how do you know my family?"
To everyone's surprise, Professor Snape tutted him. "Where are you manners, boy? That is no way to speak to a lady ... Now, answer Ms. Jensun!"
At the mention of Tilly's name, Malfoy's eyes went wide and his mouth actually dropped open a bit. "I ... I didn't realize ... I ..." he stuttered, but Tilly just waved it off.
"And why should you have? Now, how is your mother? Would you tell her that Tilly says hello the next time you write or speak to her?"
Malfoy nodded, then answered in a hushed tone, "Mother is doing fine. I'll be sure to write to her tonight."
Remus rolled his eyes as he huffed, "If we are all done here visiting, can we please finish what we came here to do?"
Tilly sighed deeply. "Werewolves are So snippish."
Growling, Remus snapped, "Just think of how *snippish* I'm going to be in a couple of days if we don't get back to the Inn." Harry gave Remus a confused look, but the man didn't seem to notice.
Tilly said a quick good-bye to Professor Snape and Malfoy, then left with Remus. Harry and Cho quietly followed from behind. Speaking up, Harry said, "You know, chances are that Hermione is up in the Gryffindor common room studying. We should check there first."
Remus nodded, then he and Tilly began to walk again. Harry stated to follow, but stopped when he realized that Cho hadn't moved. "You coming?" he asked curiously.
Cho shook her head. "I should let you visit with your friends. Perhaps I'll see you at dinner."
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but instead he simply said, "Okay. I'll see you later, then." Cho gave him an odd look, then turned and walked quickly back the way they had come. Harry frowned as he watched her go. He couldn't understand why things seemed to tense between them. Sighing, he headed off after Remus and Tilly.
When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry gave the password and the three entered in. Upon entering, Harry could immediately tell that something was wrong. An odd feeling hung in the air.
"Is this place always so messy?" Tilly asked, pointing to a table that had books and papers scattered across it. Some were even on the floor. And one chair had been tipped over as if someone had flung it aside in a hurry.
Harry went over to look closer at the books and papers. As he glanced over it all, he stated, "Something's not right ... these are Hermione's. She'd never leave her things like this ... unless she absolutely had to."
Remus glanced at a book on the floor by the fallen chair. "This here is Ron's. They must have been together."
Harry didn't wait a second more, but bound up the stairs to the boy's dormatory. He rushed into his room only to find it empty. There was nothing to tell him what had happened. Harry went out and pounded on some of the other dorm rooms, but no one was around. Finally, he gave up and went back down to the common room.
Just as Harry was about to try to go up the stairs leading to the girl's dorms, which he knew was against the rules, the portrait hole opened and Hermione stepped inside the common room. "Harry Potter! Where do you think *you're* going?!"
Turning around, Harry fired out a round of questions at the sight of his friend. "Where were you? Are you alright? Is Ron alright? What happened down here?"
Hermione just looked wide-eyed at Harry as he sprouted off his questions. From behind her a voice said, "Budge up, Hermione ... we can't get through." Hermione quickly moved to let Ron and Ginny step into the room.
Harry was about to run through the list of questions again when he noticed how pale Ginny looked. Stepping towards her, he asked in a hushed voice, "Gin? ... Are you okay?"
Ginny looked up at him and gave a weak smile. It was Ron, though, that answered for her. "No ... she's not alright ... no matter what she says. We had to take her to the hospital wing after she passed out at the top of the girls' dorm staircase. It was a good thing that Li kid was where he was and caught her when she fell or Ginny might have seriously hurt herself."
Going to the other side of the younger girl, Harry helped guide her over to one of the couches. As she sat down, he asked, "You're not sick, are you? Why'd you pass out?"
Ginny leaned back against some of the cushions that Hermione had brought over and sighed. "I'm not sick, Harry. Just very tired. I ... haven't been able to sleep well. That's all."
Frowning, Harry didn't really think that was all there was to it. He couldn't voice his doubt, however, because Gin had changed the subject by asking, "How come you're back from Hogsmeade?"
In his concern for his friends, Harr had forgotten that Remus and Tilly were in the room with them. Looking up a the two adults, who were standing off to the side so they'd be out of the way, he waved for them to come over.
When Ron and Hermione saw who he was waving to, they both smiled. To Ginny, Harry said, "We've got some visitors." She looked at him with confusion, then turned around to see who the others were looking at.
As soon as she spotted them, Ginny broke out into a huge smile. "Professor Lupin! Tilly! Oh, how wonderful to see you!" She attempted to stand up, but was rather wobbly doing so. Harry, who was the closest, reached out to steady her. Even though she appeared to have gained her balance, he didn't move his one hand from where it lay protectively on the small of her back. Ginny didn't seem to mind having it there either.
Remus and Tilly walked over to the group as the past DADA teacher said, "You should sit back down, Ginny. And remember ... it's Remus, not Professor Lupin."
Ginny just nodded, but she remained on her feet. Taking just one step forward, she gave Remus a warm hug. Harry could tell that Remus wasn't used to having people hug him ... although he didn't look as if he didn't like the young girl's affection. As soon as she let go of Remus, Ginny turned and gave Tilly a hug.
To all of their surprise, Ginny didn't let go of the older woman. Instead, as Tilly murmured comforting words, Ginny buried her face in the woman's shoulder and began to cry softly. Gently, Tilly led the young girl back to the couch. She glanced up then at Remus and said, "I'll take care of this ... you take care of the business we came here for."
Remus nodded solemnly and went to retrieve the box Tilly had been holding earlier. When he sat it down, Harry was startled to see it shake. There was something alive in there. He was almost certain of that. Ron and Hermione moved closer to the table to get a better view of what Remus was doing.
"We actually were coming here to see you, Hermione," Remus said, no longer bothering with formalities.
"Me?" Hermione questioned, "Why were you coming to see me?"
Remus began to open the box as he said, "Apparently a good friend of all of ours happened across a good friend of yours. We thought you might be missing him, so ..." With that, he turned around holding something yellow and furry.
tbc
A/N: I wanted to give another quick thanks to all readers of The Prophecy: HD. I know that I'm horrid at responding to your reviews, but they do matter to me. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. I'll get right to typing up the next one. K-P :)
Chapter 13
Harry was never quite sure if he'd done the right thing by giving Cho some space after the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game. She seemed to take on two personalities after that. Some times, she would be her normal, warm, sweet self; but other times, she seemed to be so distant and cold. Harry could only think that she was still mourning Cedric's death to some degree. Because of this, he decided to put no pressure on her whatsoever. If she wanted to spend time with him, then he would spend time with her. If she wanted him to leave her alone, then that's what he did.
The days flew by and soon the Hogwart's landscape was covered with snow. One last Hogsmeade trip was planned for the students so they could do some holiday shopping. Most all of the students were spending the holiday at the school since it was one of the safest locations at the time.
Because of this, Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers went out of their way to make the whole castle look quite festive. Even Professor Snape had a tree in his classroom. Of course, this tree seemed to take delight in tossing it's decorations at the Gryffindor students. Then Professor Snape would take delight in deducting house points from Gryffindor for unruly destruction of property.
On the last trip to Hogsmeade, Cho had insisted that Harry spend the whole day together in town. Apparently, Cho loved to shop and it wasn't long before Harry found himself bogged down with packages. He was able to get some shopping done himself, though it wasn't easy. The whole time they shopped, Harry kept watching for Ron, Hermione, the twins, or Ginny.
He, of course, met up with Fred and George in Zonko's. As he wandered around the store with the twins, they told him about what little news they'd heard from the outside. Fred and George were great at finding out the latest happenings, although Harry had no idea how they did it.
"Something's about to happen," Fred told him as they examined a nose-biting tea cup. "No one is sure what exactly ... or when. But there's a lot of moving around going on with the Death Eaters. There's still no idea where You-Know-Who is, but he won't hide forever. He'll show his ugly muzzle some time ... we just have to be ready for it."
Whenever the twins said things like that, Harry always got the impression that they were much more involved in the war activities than they let on. From the doorway where she'd been standing, Cho cleared her throat to get Harry's attention. He could tell that she didn't like being in this shop.
George grinned mischeviously as he whispered to Harry, "The little woman's tugging on your leash, mate." Fred laughed at that, though Harry just scowled at the two.
After a hasty good-bye, Harry and Cho left the shop. It was rather late when they finally stopped at the Three Broomsticks for some lunch. Cho choose a small secluded table for them in one corner. Truthfully, Harry had been hoping to see Ron and Hermione there. Not that he didn't want to be alone with Cho ... he just found that he missed his friends.
They never showed up, though. As Harry and Cho left the pub, he asked, "Where to now?"
Cho gave him a dazzling smile as she slipped her hand into his. This was rather surprising as she rarely did that sort of thing. Giving Harry an imploring look, she said, "Well, we could go for a little walk. There's a lovely little area a mile or so past the Shreiking Shack ..."
Harry gawked at her as he replied, "A mile or so? Cho!? That would mean that it's outside of the Hogsmeade boundries. We aren't allowed out of Hogsmeade."
Cho's smile quickly faded into a pout; one that made Harry very uncomfortable. He had the feeling that the more she looked at him like that, the more likely he'd do whatever she asked. "Fine! All right! We'll go to this spot," he said with resignation.
They walked hand and hand through the town to the very outskirts where the Shreiking Shack was. Harry was not at all happy about this little excursion, but he didn't want to ruin things for Cho. He was just asking how she'd found this place they were heading to when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw two people walking towards them.
He could tell that the two people were adults, but they didn't look like any of the professors from the school. Still, they seemed somehow familiar. The one person, who Harry could now see was male, yelled, "Not off on another quest to save the fair maiden, are you Harry?"
Hearing this, Harry broke into a wide grin. he dropped Cho's hand as he shouted, "Professor Lupin!" Then he took off at a quick trot to where his friend and past professor was. "What brings you to Hogsmeade? Is everything okay? Si ... Snuffles is okay, right?" Grabbing the professor's hand, he shook it firmly as he added, "It's so Good to see you!"
Remus laughed. "Good to see you too, Harry! Let me catch my breath before I try to answer all of that." The older wizard gave his past pupil a friendly hug.
As Harry pulled away, he glanced over at Remus' companion. "Ms. Jensun!" he exclaimed, surprised to see the woman from Lancer's Inn.
Shifting a box of some sort in her arms, Tilly said with a smile, "Hello, Harry ... and it's Tilly, not Ms. Jensun. How are you doing, Harry?"
Harry shrugged lightly, not sure how to answer that. "As best as I can be, considering." He turned his attention back to Remus and asked, "How is it out there? Are things getting any better ... or worse?"
Remus gave him a steady gaze before answering. "They're neither ... and yet both. At times we have some breakthroughs. But then, we usually have a set back of some kind as well. To answer one of your earlier questions, Snuffles is just fine."
Harry glanced nervously over at Tilly, wondering if she knew about Sirius. When he looked back at Remus, who slightly shook his head, he knew that she hadn't been let in on the secret.
A soft voice suddenly said from behind him, "Hello Professor Lupin."
Harry realized that in his excitement of seeing Remus, he'd forgotten all about Cho. "I'm sorry," he said, moving so the Ravenclaw girl could join them. "Cho, this is Tilly Jensun. Tilly, this is Cho Chang."
It was generally customary for two people, when introduced, to shake hands. But that didn't happen. Instead, Tilly gave a simple nod of her head as she said a low hello. And Cho, although smiling, seemed to be eyeing Tilly ... almost suspiciously. It was a bit uncomfortable for a moment until Remus spoke up. "Ms. Chang, it is very nice to see you again."
Turning to Harry, Remus went on to say, "We are actually here to see Hermione Granger. You wouldn't happen to know where we could find her, would you?"
Harry shook his head. "I've been trying to find her and Ron all day. They were supposed to come into Hogsmeade to get a Butterbeer with us at the Three Broomsticks, but I haven't seen them at all."
"Well," Remus said, looking around, "Maybe we'll just wander up to see Dumbledore and look for Ms. Granger there."
Harry nodded, then took a step as if to follow. "Harry?" Cho called, causing him to pause. "Aren't we going to go for our walk? I'm sure that Professor Lupin will find Hermione on his own without any problem."
For a second, Harry opened his mouth to protest. But almost as quickly, he closed it again. He was starting to get that odd feeling again; like he was getting tired. It passed after a moment, leaving him somewhat pale.
"You know, Harry," Tilly said, moving up to him. "You look a bit flushed." She placed the inside of one wrist onto the boy's forehead. "Well, you don't feel feverish, but ... I don't think that it would be a good idea for you to go out for a walk. What do you think, Jack?"
Harry gave her an odd look, trying to figure out who she was talking to. Remus, however, chuckled lightly as he said, "No, Tilly, I don't suppose he should."
Cho had an expression on her face that seemed to be a mixture of confusion, disappointment, and annoyance. But, she didn't say a word; just followed as they all headed back to Hogwarts. Harry noticed that she was once again acting cold and distant. All he could do was sigh as he thought, 'Oh well ... back to the ice house, I guess.'
As they entered the main entrance of the school, they were greeted by the sinister glare of Professor Snape. He looked at Remus with as much spite as he did Harry. Then his eyes drifted to Tilly. "Lupin ... what brings you back?" Snape asked, though he was still scrutinizing Tilly. "And you have a ... *friend* with you?"
Harry glanced over at Tilly to see her watching Professor Snape with an expression of amusement. She stepped forward before Remus could say anything and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Matilda Jensun ... but you may call me Tilly. And you are?"
Hesitantly, Professor Snape reached out to shake the woman's hand. "Professor Snape ... Severus Snape. I teach Potions here." He paused only a moment before asking, "Jensun? Is that the same of Ari Jensun?"
Tilly smiled widely at the name. "Pappa Ari ... yes. The same. Have you met Pappa?"
Professor Snape shook his head as he replied, "Only have heard of him."
Giving a small laugh, Tilly stated, "Yes, well ... Pappa Ari has a reputation of being someone whose heard of a lot."
Remus shifted slightly next to Tilly, gaining everyone's attention. "We really need to find Ms. Granger."
Tilly made a face at him as she muttered, "You're just no fun, Jack ..."
In an equally low voice, Remus muttered back, "I should have listened to Matteau and left you back at the Inn."
Harry raised an eyebrow, listening intently to the two adults' conversation. To his surprise, Tilly growled back, "Hey Jack ... bite me!"
"I don't think that you want him to do that," a voice drawled from behind Professor Snape. Everyone turned to see Draco Malfoy standing there. With a a smug impression, he walked up to them as he added, "At least not unless you want to have a dog's life like him."
Both Remus and Harry were watching Malfoy carefully, while Professor Snape looked positively bored with the conversation. Tilly, however, began to laugh lightly. "Oh my ... unbelievable! You just have to be related to Narcissa somehow. What's your name?"
Malfoy glanced her over dubiously before answering, "Draco Malfoy."
At that, Tilly looked absolutely delighted. "I knew it ... Lucius Malfoy's son, right?" Draco just nodded, somewhat dumbfounded. Tilly went on, "You look so much like your mother. Of course, it's been years since I've seen her. How is she?"
Malfoy seemed a bit stunned that this person, who appeared to be with some of the people he disliked the most, actually knew his parents. In a rather haughty tone, he said, "Who are You? And how do you know my family?"
To everyone's surprise, Professor Snape tutted him. "Where are you manners, boy? That is no way to speak to a lady ... Now, answer Ms. Jensun!"
At the mention of Tilly's name, Malfoy's eyes went wide and his mouth actually dropped open a bit. "I ... I didn't realize ... I ..." he stuttered, but Tilly just waved it off.
"And why should you have? Now, how is your mother? Would you tell her that Tilly says hello the next time you write or speak to her?"
Malfoy nodded, then answered in a hushed tone, "Mother is doing fine. I'll be sure to write to her tonight."
Remus rolled his eyes as he huffed, "If we are all done here visiting, can we please finish what we came here to do?"
Tilly sighed deeply. "Werewolves are So snippish."
Growling, Remus snapped, "Just think of how *snippish* I'm going to be in a couple of days if we don't get back to the Inn." Harry gave Remus a confused look, but the man didn't seem to notice.
Tilly said a quick good-bye to Professor Snape and Malfoy, then left with Remus. Harry and Cho quietly followed from behind. Speaking up, Harry said, "You know, chances are that Hermione is up in the Gryffindor common room studying. We should check there first."
Remus nodded, then he and Tilly began to walk again. Harry stated to follow, but stopped when he realized that Cho hadn't moved. "You coming?" he asked curiously.
Cho shook her head. "I should let you visit with your friends. Perhaps I'll see you at dinner."
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but instead he simply said, "Okay. I'll see you later, then." Cho gave him an odd look, then turned and walked quickly back the way they had come. Harry frowned as he watched her go. He couldn't understand why things seemed to tense between them. Sighing, he headed off after Remus and Tilly.
When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry gave the password and the three entered in. Upon entering, Harry could immediately tell that something was wrong. An odd feeling hung in the air.
"Is this place always so messy?" Tilly asked, pointing to a table that had books and papers scattered across it. Some were even on the floor. And one chair had been tipped over as if someone had flung it aside in a hurry.
Harry went over to look closer at the books and papers. As he glanced over it all, he stated, "Something's not right ... these are Hermione's. She'd never leave her things like this ... unless she absolutely had to."
Remus glanced at a book on the floor by the fallen chair. "This here is Ron's. They must have been together."
Harry didn't wait a second more, but bound up the stairs to the boy's dormatory. He rushed into his room only to find it empty. There was nothing to tell him what had happened. Harry went out and pounded on some of the other dorm rooms, but no one was around. Finally, he gave up and went back down to the common room.
Just as Harry was about to try to go up the stairs leading to the girl's dorms, which he knew was against the rules, the portrait hole opened and Hermione stepped inside the common room. "Harry Potter! Where do you think *you're* going?!"
Turning around, Harry fired out a round of questions at the sight of his friend. "Where were you? Are you alright? Is Ron alright? What happened down here?"
Hermione just looked wide-eyed at Harry as he sprouted off his questions. From behind her a voice said, "Budge up, Hermione ... we can't get through." Hermione quickly moved to let Ron and Ginny step into the room.
Harry was about to run through the list of questions again when he noticed how pale Ginny looked. Stepping towards her, he asked in a hushed voice, "Gin? ... Are you okay?"
Ginny looked up at him and gave a weak smile. It was Ron, though, that answered for her. "No ... she's not alright ... no matter what she says. We had to take her to the hospital wing after she passed out at the top of the girls' dorm staircase. It was a good thing that Li kid was where he was and caught her when she fell or Ginny might have seriously hurt herself."
Going to the other side of the younger girl, Harry helped guide her over to one of the couches. As she sat down, he asked, "You're not sick, are you? Why'd you pass out?"
Ginny leaned back against some of the cushions that Hermione had brought over and sighed. "I'm not sick, Harry. Just very tired. I ... haven't been able to sleep well. That's all."
Frowning, Harry didn't really think that was all there was to it. He couldn't voice his doubt, however, because Gin had changed the subject by asking, "How come you're back from Hogsmeade?"
In his concern for his friends, Harr had forgotten that Remus and Tilly were in the room with them. Looking up a the two adults, who were standing off to the side so they'd be out of the way, he waved for them to come over.
When Ron and Hermione saw who he was waving to, they both smiled. To Ginny, Harry said, "We've got some visitors." She looked at him with confusion, then turned around to see who the others were looking at.
As soon as she spotted them, Ginny broke out into a huge smile. "Professor Lupin! Tilly! Oh, how wonderful to see you!" She attempted to stand up, but was rather wobbly doing so. Harry, who was the closest, reached out to steady her. Even though she appeared to have gained her balance, he didn't move his one hand from where it lay protectively on the small of her back. Ginny didn't seem to mind having it there either.
Remus and Tilly walked over to the group as the past DADA teacher said, "You should sit back down, Ginny. And remember ... it's Remus, not Professor Lupin."
Ginny just nodded, but she remained on her feet. Taking just one step forward, she gave Remus a warm hug. Harry could tell that Remus wasn't used to having people hug him ... although he didn't look as if he didn't like the young girl's affection. As soon as she let go of Remus, Ginny turned and gave Tilly a hug.
To all of their surprise, Ginny didn't let go of the older woman. Instead, as Tilly murmured comforting words, Ginny buried her face in the woman's shoulder and began to cry softly. Gently, Tilly led the young girl back to the couch. She glanced up then at Remus and said, "I'll take care of this ... you take care of the business we came here for."
Remus nodded solemnly and went to retrieve the box Tilly had been holding earlier. When he sat it down, Harry was startled to see it shake. There was something alive in there. He was almost certain of that. Ron and Hermione moved closer to the table to get a better view of what Remus was doing.
"We actually were coming here to see you, Hermione," Remus said, no longer bothering with formalities.
"Me?" Hermione questioned, "Why were you coming to see me?"
Remus began to open the box as he said, "Apparently a good friend of all of ours happened across a good friend of yours. We thought you might be missing him, so ..." With that, he turned around holding something yellow and furry.
tbc