Chapter 14 - Welcome to Hogwarts

"Ow! Yeh bit me!"

The large hand that had been covering Maggie's mouth loosened it's grip as she sunk her teeth into it's calloused flesh. After taking a large gulp of night air, she once again tried to wriggle herself free from the giant man's grasp as she screamed, "Put me down! Damn you, put me down!"

"Shhhhh!" came the gruff reply and his steel-like grip tightened around her midsection until it felt as if the petite teacher's ribs were going to splinter into a million pieces. Maggie's eyes widened as she noticed that they were only feet away from the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Craning her neck to see what fate had befallen Sirius, she was surprised to see the big, black dog trotting happily behind them.

"Sirius?" Maggie tried to say, but the pressure on her ribcage was limiting her ability to speak. And before she could try to free herself again, the giant man made a quick turn and stumbled through the door of a small, wooden cabin on the edge of the forest.

Maggie blinked quickly as her crazy captor dropped her unceremoniously on a large bed in the corner of the cabin that she quickly realized was someone's home.

"Get on in 'ere, quick!"

Moving over to the door, the large man with the long, tangled beard and bushy, black hair ushered Sirius the dog into the cabin, where he promptly transformed himself back into a man. Maggie, growing accustomed to this little habit of his, didn't even blink an eye.

"Maggie…"

"What is going on here?" she demanded, struggling to lift herself out of the middle of the super soft, oversized bed. Finally pulling herself to the edge and standing up, she glared at Sirius and began to shout, "If this was your idea of a joke, I can assure you that it wasn't funny! I have never been so scared in my…"

"It's alright, Maggie." Sirius said soothingly, although he seemed to be biting back an amused smile. "Just calm down…"

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" Maggie hissed, her eyes snapping with anger. "I was just transported through time and space from your kitchen to the middle of nowhere and then grabbed out of the darkness by a…"

She looked over at Hagrid, who suddenly looked more like a big teddy bear standing near the fireplace than the frightening figure who had captured her in the darkness, and something within her couldn't bear to call him the name that was on the tip of her tongue, so she simply sputtered, "…by HIM!" Fire still dancing in her eyes, Maggie demanded, "Now somebody better tell me what the hell is going on here!"

A low rumbling laugh escaped the large man who was setting a teapot on the fire and he shook his head as he remarked, "Yer' girl has got quite a mouth on her, eh Sirius? Yeh really got yourself a feisty one there, I see."

"I am not his girl!" Maggie snapped. Being laughed at by this large, strange man was only adding to her anger. Turning back to Sirius, she asked, "Why don't you start by telling me who this ogre is…"

"I am not an ogre!"

"Than who are you?" she shot back without thinking and then stepped back a bit in fear that she had angered the giant.

But somewhere in the midst of all of the hair on his face, his lips curled into a smile as he extended his hand and introduced himself, "Rubeus Hagrid, at yer' service ma'am." He shook her hand and pumped her arm so hard that it felt as if it were going to come out of it's socket as he added, "It's always a pleasure to meet a fella teacher."

"You're a teacher?" Maggie asked skeptically, reaching up to rub her shoulder as he let her hand go.

"I teach 'ere at Hogwarts." Hagrid said, puffing himself up with pride. "Care of Magical Creatures."

"I see." She answered, not really understanding at all. "And how did you know that I was a teacher?"

"Harry tole me."

"You know Harry?" Maggie asked, suddenly excited. After everything that had happened to her that evening, she had almost forgotten the real reason for their journey.

"He's a friend eh mine." Hagrid told her with a smile. "An' yours, I reckon."

"Yes, he is." The blond answered, returning his smile.

"And if he's a friend of Harry's, he can't really be that bad…can he?" Sirius reminded her quietly, as if he could read her mind. "Hagrid is one of the good guys, Maggie. He's a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Oh." Maggie could feel herself blush as she remembered her earlier behavior, so she tried to explain, "I'm sorry, Hagrid. It just that I thought you were taking me into the Forbidden Forest and….well, why did you grab me and cover my mouth like that? It was very frightening."

"So's nobody would hear yer carrying on, of course." Hagrid told her simply, pulling a tea cup out of one of the enormous pockets of his coat. "Yeh ne'er know who or what is lurking about the grounds these days."

"Right." Maggie agreed and then glared at Sirius, "But somebody could have warned me that it was going to happen."

Sirius held his hands up in his own defense, but it was Hagrid who answered, "It ain't Sirius' fault. Your escort to the castle is runnin' a bit late an' I didn't think yeh should be wandering around all by yourselves. Sirius coulda been seen."

"Our escort?" Sirius asked, watching Hagrid pour some tea into a pair of mismatched cups. "Who?"

"Yeh'll see." The gentle giant answered with a secretive grin. "But why don't yeh have a cup 'o tea while yeh wait?"

Maggie, who was completely focused on the very large dog advancing on her with interest, was not paying attention to the men's conversation and she yelped helplessly when an oversized tongue shot out of the dog's mouth and licked her face. "Hagrid!"

Hagrid turned around just in time to see Maggie fall over a pair of his large shoes in her attempt to escape from the dog's tongue. "Fang!" Hagrid commanded in his gruff voice. "Lay down." The dog looked up at his master innocently, but then jumped up on the bed to obey his orders. To Maggie, Hagrid explained, "It jus' means he likes yeh. He looks frightening, but he's harmless."

"That's happened to me a lot recently." Maggie remarked dryly, looking over at both Sirius and Hagrid. Sirius again seemed to be holding back his laughter, so Maggie ignored him and accepted the teacup that Hagrid offered. Taking a sip of the bitter liquid, she would have spit it out immediately had Hagrid not been looking at her expectantly for a reaction to his concoction. Forcing herself to swallow the sip, she smiled up at him and choked out, "It's good."

The large man beamed with pride and gestured to the pot as he said, "Well, there's plenty more." Maggie raised her eyebrows and exchanged a look with Sirius as Hagrid opened his front door and announced, "I have to go check on Gra-…I mean, somethin' in the forest. So, makes yerselves at home until yer escort arrives. I'm sure I'll be seein' ya again, Miss Maggie."

"It was nice to meet you, Hagrid." Maggie said warmly, smiling up at her new friend. "Thank you for your hospitality."

If Maggie could see more of his face she would have sworn that Hagrid blushed before he disappeared back out into the darkness. Shaking her head, she walked carefully across the room to the table and poured the rest of her tea back into the pot. Turning to say something to Sirius, she paused as she watched him run his fingers over the table top listlessly and sat staring into space.

"Sirius?"

Not looking away from the fire, Sirius answered quietly, "This used to be my favorite place in the world. Here at Hogwarts, I was truly at home…with my friends and our crazy adventures. But in four short days fourteen years ago, my whole world fell apart."

"You're back now." She reminded him quietly, not really understanding his meaning.

"Not really. Not in the way it should be." He disagreed, looking away from the fire and into his untouched tea cup. "I haven't been free to roam around these grounds in a long time. Life was just easier here." Sirius finally looked up sadly and told her, "We were so proud, so sure of ourselves. So invincible…like the kings of Hogwarts. We were like all teenagers, I suppose. Invincible. But the feeling had continued long after our adolescence, years after our graduation - until that awful Halloween night."

He closed his eyes against the pain. He would never see their faces again, she realized. And being here…where their friendship had begun and flourished, the pain was coming back to him in overwhelming waves.

"James, Lily...so much lost in such a short time." Sirius continued quietly, shaking his head. "So much lost for the defeat of one wizard. Was it worth it? Years ago I would have said that any price was worth the defeat of Voldemort. Now, with Harry…and you…in the middle of all of this danger, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Well," Maggie mused softly, "you won't have to worry about me being in danger after tonight."

"What are you talking about?"

"My purpose here is about to be served." Maggie reminded him, folding her hands in front of her on the table. "I will tell Professor Dumbledore what I know about the night you were arrested and then I can be on my way back to my life."

"What in Merlin's name gave you that idea?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "You aren't here simply to clear my name. I mean, you are here…at Hogwarts…to do so, but you are still living among the wizards because you are in danger. We still don't know if that Death Eater saw you with Harry outside of Grimmauld Place. Remus has not been able to talk with Severus about what was seen that night without revealing the fact that you are hiding out at headquarters."

"I didn't think you were serious about that." Maggie admitted sheepishly. When he looked at her sternly, she explained, "To get me to stay and tell people what I knew about Peter Pettigrew…I thought you just made up that bit about me being in danger."

Sirius jerked his head around to look straight at her. "You still don't understand what you've landed yourself in the middle of, do you?" he barked impatiently, bouncing a fist on the table to punctuate his words. "People died in this war before; my best friend and his wife, two of Molly's brothers, my brother, not to mention plenty of random Muggles who just got in the way!"

"I didn't ask to be in the way…"

"But you are, nonetheless!" He reminded her loudly. Realizing that he was shouting at her, he lowered his voice and said, "We are trying to protect you. I have seen what Voldemort can do to people who get in his way. You and I are not simply playing house at Grimmauld Place and…"

The door to Hagrid's hut suddenly burst open and Harry and Ginny burst through, out of breath and in a fit of laughter.

"I totally won!" Ginny was giggling, brushing her windswept hair out of her face.

"I let you win." Harry retorted with a smile, straightening his glasses.

"By tripping over that root and landing flat on your face?" The redhead shot back, smiling at him triumphantly. "Face it Potter, you got beat by a girl."

Harry opened his mouth as if he were going to respond, but then seemed to suddenly realize that Sirius and Maggie were in the room with them and said, "Hey guys, long time no see!"

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Maggie." Ginny chimed in, grinning over at her new friend.

"What are you two doing here?" Sirius asked, rising from the table.

"We're here to take you up to the castle." Harry replied, looking at the pair of them as if he knew that he and Ginny had interrupted a tense conversation.

"How are you going to do that?"

"With this." Harry told them, pulling out a cloak from the front of his shirt.

"Brilliant!" Sirius laughed, taking the cloak from Harry and holding it up.

"And what is that?" Maggie asked, eyeing the garment suspiciously.

"An invisibility cloak," Ginny explained, "When you stand beneath it, you become invisible to people and wizards."

"I don't think all four of us will fit under there." Maggie said, watching in awe as Sirius' body disappeared into the walls of Hagrid's house as he held the cloak in front of him.

"All four of us won't," Harry informed her, "but the two of you will."

"And what about the two of you?"

Harry put an arm around Ginny's shoulders and joked, "We are Hogwarts newest couple…out for a romantic stroll in the moonlight."

Maggie saw Ginny's skin flush a deep scarlet and knew that the young girl wished that it was more than just a game to Harry. Recovering quickly and playing along, she added, "That's our cover story. And if Professor Umbridge or Filch catches us, they'll take the two of us directly to Dumbledore's office…which is where everyone will be anyway."

"Pretty good plan," Sirius remarked with a grin, smiling proudly at his godson.

"It was Ginny's idea," Harry informed them, looking down at the youngest Weasley. "Brilliant, isn't it?" He removed his arm from around Ginny's shoulders and asked, "So are you two ready to disappear?"

Maggie and Sirius both nodded and with one quick movement Sirius draped the cloak over the pair of them.

"You'll have to stay close together." Ginny remarked slyly as she opened the door to Hagrid's hut and led the way out into the night. "If not, the cloak will shift and someone might see your feet."

"I know how it works." Sirius reminded Ginny and then looked down at Maggie as he remarked playfully, "Sirius Black, at your service, madam." His eyes lighted on Maggie with a flicker of amusement as he lifted her hand to his lips. She could feel the smirk teasing the corner of his mouth as he placed his arm around Maggie's shoulder and pulled her close to his lean body.

As the four of them began to walk, Sirius leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I think these two would appreciate some private time." He nodded towards Harry and Ginny, who were walking ahead of them and doing a bit of whispering themselves. "We'll slow down at bit…I know the way."

Maggie looked up at him in astonishment and asked, "How did you know? About Harry and Ginny?"

"Is there something to know?" he asked teasingly, clearly enjoying being back on the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Not yet," Maggie answered, nodding toward the younger couple. "But this looks promising."

"Good," Sirius stated matter of factly, "I like young Ginny. She understands Harry in a way that some others never will. And Potter men have a penchant for redheads."

The sky was a velvety midnight blue perfumed with jasmine and warm dry grass. Sirius and Maggie walked side by side as they trailed Harry and Ginny, saying nothing, but comfortable in that silence. While his closeness gave her that dizzy feeling she had been experiencing in his presence lately, she also felt a strange sort of peace and security fall about her shoulders.

As the moon rose nearly full, Sirius looked at it and grinned. Maggie glanced at him, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I used to have special plans for nights like these."

"Really?"

"Yes, a group of us always got together to…" He paused and chuckled to himself as he finished, "…celebrate the full moon."

Maggie looked at him strangely, but fell into step with him as they continued up the long,
circuitous path that wound around the grounds, past the lake, and toward the castle.

"Look," Sirius whispered, awe in his voice as they came over a short hill and Hogwarts castle came into view.

Maggie gasped involuntarily and stopped short, causing Sirius to have to do the same. The castle was beautiful. In the darkness the school shone like a beacon, nearly every window lit. She could make out three tall towers, one of them with an enormous bronze-colored telescope protruding from the roof.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Sirius breathed, gazing up at his alma mater himself. "Every time I see it I am brought back to the moment of my first glimpse of this grand castle. I was sailing across the lake under a star filled, inky sky. It had seemed to me, as an eleven-year-old, far too impressive a place for me to live, far too majestic. But it soon became my home…my safe haven. I can't wait until the day when I am free to come back and roam the grounds once more."

Maggie could hear an almost reverent tone in his voice as Hogwarts loomed before them as though a mountain carved into a castle, like a child would mold sand into the same. As they walked up the front steps, the sound was hollow and engulfed within the weather worn slabs of stone that made up the steps. The doors before them were large and reminded her of a set of doors that led through time.

Harry looked back as if he could sense that Maggie and Sirius were still behind them and then reached up to knock three times on the wooden doors. They were ten foot high and five foot wide, with the Hogwarts crest ornately carved into each one. It was only a matter of seconds before a tall, rather severe-looking woman, with her hair drawn into a tight bun at the back of her head, opened up the great doors and ushered them inside.

"We're in, Minerva." Sirius whispered once he and Maggie had crossed over the threshold into Hogwarts.

"Welcome back, Snuffles." she whispered, letting a small smile creep into her prim expression. "You know where to go."

Sirius nodded and Maggie tried to keep up as the foursome walked quickly down one darkened corridor after another with only the light of Harry's wand to guide their way. Finally, when they got to the second floor, they stopped in front of a stone gargoyle where Harry muttered, "Fizzing Whizbee."

Maggie looked on in confusion as the statue moved aside to reveal a moving staircase that reminded the young teacher of an escalator at a fine department store.

"Let's go," Sirius said, urging Maggie forward. She stepped onto the stair just below Ginny and Sirius followed as they slowly spun their way up to the Headmaster's office.

"This place is…" Maggie looked around and was at a loss for words, so she simply said, "…amazing."

"It gets better." Harry grinned down at her as they stepped off the staircase and stood in front of a highly polished wooden door. The doors opened and they walked into a large and beautiful circular room illuminated by brightly burning candles and lamps.

An elderly gentleman with bright blue eyes, flowing silver hair and a matching mustache and beard was suddenly standing in front of them. Sirius quickly removed the invisibility cloak and the older man smiled warmly down at Maggie. Something about that smile made her trust him immediately and she suddenly felt more at ease.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, my fair Magnolia," Dumbledore said in a smooth and comforting voice, "We have been waiting for you."