Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.

Chapter Fourteen: The Call

Christmas morning dawned with the usual stack of presents at the foot of Harry's bed. As always, there was a sweater from Mrs. Weasley(scarlet with a lion on the front), mince pies, Christmas cake, and some nut brittle. However, he was not expecting the long, thin package buried beneath the other presents. With much excitement, the package was opened, wrapping paper ripped away and tossed carelessly onto the ground to reveal the most magnificent broomstick Harry had ever seen: a Firebolt.

As soon as it was revealed, the object became the center of the boys' attention, and not without reason. It was sleek and glittering, nearly humming as it hovered in the air, enticing them to ride it. There was no card or any other type of clue hinting at who had sent such a lavish gift and both Ron and Harry spent the next few minutes theorizing on who would send Harry such a gift. Immediately, his relatives were out of the running, but in truth, there weren't many who would go through so much trouble(not to mention, spend so much) for Harry, even if he was the so-called savior of the Wizarding world.

It was not long after that their dormitory door opened and Hermione walked in, her cat Crookshanks in her arms. Behind her was Mira, already eating one of the Chocolate Frogs she had received from her friends. Both girls were just as surprised about the gift as Harry and Ron had been, though Mira showed less interest in it than Hermione, who frowned at hearing the sender was a mystery. It wasn't long before Hermione expressed that she thought no one should ride the broom just yet. And Mira could see her point, but she could also see the boys' point. How would Black buy a broomstick?

'Magic,' her mind provided dryly.

Before an argument about the broom could begin, Crookshanks, who had been observing Ron's rat, hidden in his pocket, pounced. The cat clawed at the boy's chest, eliciting loud yells from him, demanding Hermione to take the animal away. He tried to kick the cat after he tossed it away by it's tail, but hit Harry's trunk instead, knocking it over. From the trunk fell the Sneakoscope Ron had given his friend for his birthday, whistling shrilly and making more of a racket. In short, it was pure chaos, and it had taken only a few moments for it to begin.

In the end, Hermione had left with her cat, still furious about the treatment her pet had received at Ron's hands, but the redhead was just as furious as her. Mira chose to let Harry deal with Ron, and left with Hermione instead.

After that, the mood had grown considerably darker amongst the friends, and both Mira and Harry had given up on getting the bickering pair to reconcile(though Mira hadn't really tried very much at all). Harry spent most of his time admiring his new broom, much to the annoyance of Hermione, and Mira decided to work on some runes that she thought could be of use to her. It was dull work, but it was nice to be able to work openly, and she wouldn't have a lot more time to do so. It was a relief when lunchtime came around and they headed down to the Great Hall.

There was only one long table now, since not many people had stayed(only three other students sat at the table). The rest of the crowd was made up by the Hogwarts staff. The group of friends took their seats, and Mira had to admit, she was pretty impressed with the food splayed out before them, even if she wasn't familiar with some dishes. Then, there were the party favors; noisemakers and crackers that exploded with a loud noise, party hats bursting out of them. It was, to put it simply, unlike anything she had experienced before, and in the end, she felt a bit glad that she was able to experience such fantastic events, even if it was all very strange and, sometimes, ridiculous to her.

The feast was great, and everyone left with their bellies full of turkey and pudding and a bunch of other foods that Mira could hardly even pronounce the names of(because what kind of name was chipolatas?) and party hats still on their heads. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep on an armchair by the fire, too comfortable and full of food to even want to fight away the sleep. Harry, on the other hand, busied himself with his new broom, or more like, he sat with Ron, admiring it when he was unable to find anything to polish, tweak or adjust.

And then Hermione returned, and with her was McGonagall. Without a word, the young witch walked to a chair and sat on it, using a book to hide her face, and Harry knew something was wrong. The professor, in the meantime, fixed her sharp gaze on the Firebolt, not wasting time on asking to see it(though she did not wait for an answer). It was around this time that Mira finally woke up, thanks to the voices of the ones around her.

"Hmm. And there was no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind?" the professor said, ignoring the girl who was now sitting up, rubbing at her eyes and trying to figure out what was going on.

"No," said Harry blankly.

"I see…" said Professor McGonagall. "Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter."

And that was when Mira figured out what was going on and she knew this wouldn't end well.

"W - what?" said Harry, scrambling to his feet. "Why?"

"It will need to be checked for jinxes," said Professor McGonagall. "Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down -"

"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," said Professor McGonagall. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."

"There's nothing wrong with it!" said Harry, his voice shaking slightly. "Honestly, Professor -"

"You can't know that, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, quite kindly, "not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

Mira watched as Harry's face fell as McGonagall began to head out of the room with the Firebolt.

"Professor," she called, hurrying up onto her feet.

The older witch turned back with a questioning look.

"Is it that, um, possible, this is a trap?" she asked. "It too much trouble, no?"

McGonagall's brow furrowed at this and she looked at the girl sternly.

"Miss Miyake, I would think you of all people would realize the severity of this, especially since it is your responsibility to make sure Mr. Potter is safe. In all honesty, I expected you to be the one to bring this up, not Miss Granger," she berated, and Mira could see her point.

"Yes, so it my responsibility to make sure it safe," Mira pointed out.

"What are you talking about Miss Miyake?" McGonagall said suspiciously.

"If I ride broom and nothing is wrong, then you give it back to Harry," the girl proposed.

For a moment, McGonagall seemed like she didn't know what to say, but of course, that didn't last.

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that Miss Miyake, it would be terribly irresponsible of me. For now, the best you can do is wait for the tests to be done and inform me or any other teacher if anything like this happens again," and clearly, the last part was still meant as a light scolding.

Mira frowned, but she had known the chances weren't that great of her proposal being accepted. Still, she had to try.

"Then, can I speak to the Headmaster?" she asked.

"If it is about the broom-" McGonagall began, looking exasperated.

"No, not that, it something else," Mira responded, waving the older woman's concerns away.

"It important," she insisted.

McGonagall frowned but nodded.

"Alright, come along then."

Mira followed after her, with a light wave and a small smile, although she could already tell there would be a very explosive argument between the young wizards. A part of her was glad that she wouldn't be around for it, however guilty that made her feel. Of course, a moment later it occurred to her that Ron and Hermione would probably be arguing about it for a while.

McGonagall took her to the Headmaster's office, sending her up on her own while she went to speak with Flitwick and Madam Hooch about Harry's Firebolt. She still felt a bit bad about not being able to do more to her him keep it, but maybe it was for the best. She didn't dwell on it for too long, as she was soon standing in Dumbledore's office, the old man smiling like always from behind his desk.

"Ah, Miss Miyake, what brings you here on today of all days?" he asked kindly, speaking her language, as always.

"Black," she answered simply, because she wanted to make this meeting quick.

The old wizard's expression fell a bit, too little to be very noticeable, but Mira picked up on it.

"Please, take a seat," he said, motioning to the chair before his desk.

Mira took the invitation and sat across from the old man, still mildly impressed by the trinkets around her.

"So, what are your concerns? Or could it be you've found something?" Dumbledore asked.

"You could say that," Mira said with a shrug. "I'm curious, Headmaster, about why you didn't think it was important to mention Black's relation to Harry."

And now she was sure that something in his expression changed, but she couldn't tell what or how.

"What have you learned?" asked the Headmaster.

And Mira told him. She told him about Harry's parents, their friendship with Black, his betrayal and the fact that he was Harry's godfather, of all things. She didn't tell him how she had learned these things, and he didn't ask, oddly enough, but that was a good thing, and she wasn't going to bother pointing it out. At the end though, it was blatantly clear that she was unhappy about the lack of trust and the half-truths she had been given.

"If I work for you, I need to know everything," she told the Headmaster. "I shouldn't have to find things out through obscure articles and gossip, especially when it's something so important. I was told Black was a criminal, that he was after Harry because he was a threat to Black's master. I was not aware that he had such a personal connection."

"Does that make any difference?" the old wizard asked. "I hardly think it's that important. Whatever relation Sirius Black has to Harry is no longer important."

Mira was exasperated, she couldn't understand how the Headmaster failed to see the importance of this information when it changed so much and raised so many questions. She wasn't going to bother explaining it, though.

"If you want me to help I need the truth," she said. "If you can't give me the truth, then I'll find somewhere else to go."

And Mira knew what the Headmaster was afraid of. He didn't want her to go for help to the wrong people, even if it was unlikely. It wasn't something that Dumbledore would risk doing, and Mira liked that she had that, however small an advantage it was, because she knew the Headmaster was figuring out just what she would and wouldn't do to go back home.

In the end, he agreed to be more forthcoming with information about anyone threatening Harry's life, but Mira didn't put much hope in the Headmaster keeping his word. He was the type of man that would hide things he didn't think others needed to know, and sometimes, that was okay with Mira. She knew a lot of people like that, after all. This time though, she couldn't let that happen, not when there was the possibility that she would need to figure out Black to find her friend.

As she had predicted, when she returned from her talk with Dumbledore, the friends were no longer on speaking terms. Even Harry, whom she had always thought was more levelheaded when it came to that sort of argument, was upset with Hermione. By this point. Mira didn't even bother to point out that the young witch was merely worried about her friend and was trying to help. She figured they'd work it out in the end.

Unfortunately, things weren't so simple.

For days, Harry and Ron refused to speak with Hermione, who would often go to the library to distract herself. Mira did her best to keep her company, but between finishing her own schoolwork, patrolling the castle and working on a way back to her own world, there wasn't much time she could spare. Then, one night, just before term started, her communicator went off.

She was just starting to doze off in front of the fireplace in the common room when the gadget began to beep loudly, nearly making her fall off the armchair she was occupying. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, and as soon as she did, she picked up the device and saw that there was a signal, a strong one, and it was close. Behind her, Harry, Ron and Hermione watched on curiously, and if they asked her anything, she didn't pay them any mind. Instead, she hurried to the portrait leading out. Before she could step out, she turned back and looked at the three, particularly Harry.

"Stay here," she said, and then she was gone.

So, I was finally able to write this up, and again, sorry for the delay, but my comp. was being evil and refusing to work. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and please review if you get the chance, as always, thanks to those who have reviewed and/or added me to their lists.