"Hey." Sansa looked up to see Caradoc Dearborn standing next to her table. She was in the Study Hall trying to get through some of the tremendous amount of homework that the teachers seemed to be piling on.
"I'm surprised to see you here." Sansa said as Caradoc took a seat next on the bench next to her. She closed her book that she had been reading.
"Are you implying that I'm not studious?" He said feigning shock.
"I would never imply something so unbecoming about our Head Boy." Sansa joked tapping his badge that was pinned on his robes.
"You're in a good mood." Caradoc said. Sansa shrugged.
"Its been a good day so far." Sansa said with a small smile.
"So what are you doing here anyway and please don't say studying." Sansa continued.
"Studying in Study Hall...yeah that's definitely something that should not occur." Sansa stuck out her tongue at him.
"I just think it's a little early to be worrying about your N.E. . Besides your like a genius. You don't need to worry about the test. You're a Ravenclaw, it's in your DNA to pass." Caradoc shook his head at Sansa's rational.
"It is never too early to prepare. You should remember that for the OWLs next year." Sansa groaned.
"As if anyone would let me forget about them." It was the same speech that she and all the other fourth years had heard from all the teachers since the beginning of the school year.
Fourth year was preparation for the tests that would ultimately decided what sort of classes would be available to them for the rest of their time at Hogwarts.
"Don't worry about me. I already got that problem solved." Caradoc gave her a look.
"What's your plan?"
"I'll just get you to stop whatever you're doing and get you to take them for me. Problem solved." Sansa said cheerfully. Caradoc smiled and shook his head at his friend.
"I'm pretty sure that that sort of thing is not allowed." Sansa rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of, do you know what you want to do after you leave here? Please don't say go to work at the Ministry."
"What's wrong with working for the Ministry?"
"Nothing! It just seems like that's what everyone wants to do after leaving here." Sansa explained. Caradoc nodded. The ministry had thousands of workers some straight from Hogwarts. While working for the ministry could be a very lucrative and important job, there were to many politics involved that made Caradoc want to stay as far away from it as possible.
"I actually don't know what I'm going to do." Caradoc admitted. Sansa looked shocked.
"Caradoc Dearborn doesn't have a plan for the future. This is completely unheard of!" Sansa teased. Caradoc rolled his eyes at her remark.
"I was thinking that I would travel for a bit. See the world."
"Oh, so you plan on disappearing on me." Sansa said feigning hurt.
"Come off it! I'll write you letters from wherever I am. You know that."
"I expect more than letters from your wondrous adventures. I'm a size 10." Sansa said smiling. Caradoc nodded.
"I'll be sure to remember that."
"Do you know where you want to go first?"
"My parents bought me tickets to go to the League Cup in Ireland this summer for my birthday. So I guess I'll start there."
"Your birthday….oh bollocks. I completely forgot!" Sansa said slapping her forehead with her hand.
"It's fine...you've had more important things to deal with." There was an awkward silence as Caradoc looked for the most polite way to ask what everyone was curious about.
Ever since the accident, people had been gossiping about what had happened and why Adrianna and Nicole were still gone from school. People assumed that it must have been pretty bad but the only ones who knew exactly what was going on was the fourth year Gryffindors who were all being extremely quiet about the whole situation. Not that anyone could blame them for wanting some semblance of privacy.
"You can ask me whatever it is you want to know. I don't mind." Sansa said.
"Have you seen either of them?" Sansa nodded.
"Me and the others went to St. Mungo's yesterday to visit."
"How are they?"
"Adrianna's good. She's actually being released today so she should be back sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning." Sansa explained smiling. She had nearly jumped for joy when Adrianna had told them that she was going to be able to come back to school.
"What about Nicolaia?" Caradoc asked concerned. Sansa hesitated trying to find the right words. It was always harder talking about Nicole.
"She isn't…dying is she?" Sansa shook her head.
"She hasn't woken up from the accident yet." Sansa said. sadly. She remembered looking at Nicole's body laying in her hospital bed.
"Nicole?" Sansa said taking a step closer to the bed. She grabbed her hand that was lying peacefully beside her. Remus walked to the other side of the bed and sat down on the edge. Peter stood at the foot of the bed.
"She looks like she's sleeping." Remus said sadly.
"Will she be okay?" Peter asked in a small voice.
"Her mom said that the Healers are monitoring her closely and they're doing all they can. I'm sure that she'll pull through. Right Sirius?" Remus turned to look at Sirius who was standing by the door.
He hadn't taken his eyes off of Nicolaia since the moment that they entered the room.
"Sirius!" Remus called out snapping him out of the trance that he seemed to be in. Sirius blinked and looked at Remus as if noticing him for the first time. Sirius left the room without so much as a word.
"I'll go." Peter said. He gave Nicole once last look before leaving the room to follow after Sirius.
Remus looked at Sansa who was still holding Nicole's hand.
"She'll make it. She'll wake up." Remus said with a confidence that Sansa did not feel.
"Sansa." Sansa turned around to see Peter staring at her and Caradoc. He inclined his head to Caradoc.
"Dumbledore needs to see us." Peter said. Sansa got up from the bench.
"Is everything all right?" She asked gathering her stuff. Peter shrugged.
"He said that he wanted to talk to all of us together."
Sansa turned back to Caradoc. She hugged him.
"I'm here for you if you need anything." He whispered in her ear. She smiled.
"Let's go." Sansa and Peter left Study Hall and were walking up the staircase to the Headmaster's office.
"Do you have any idea what this is about? You guys haven't done another stupid prank, have you?" Sansa snapped at Peter as they walked up the staircase. Peter looked at her.
"No...why would you think that?" Peter asked slightly offended by the accusation.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous. There really only one reason why Dumbledore wants to see all of us together." The two of the were silent as they continued to walk up the staircase toward the seventh floor where the headmaster's tower was.
"IwantyoutoknowthatI'mhappyforyou." Peter said it so quickly that Sansa wasn't even sure she heard it correctly. She stopped Peter to make him look at her while they stood on the stairs.
"What are you talking about?" Peter looked down at his feet.
"You and Dearborn. It's been rough for all of us and I'm glad that you have somebody." He said refusing to make eye contact. Sansa folded her arms across her chest.
"Unbelievable!" Sansa stormed off. Peter watched in disbelief. He shook his head as he followed Sansa up to the seventh floor. He was really getting tired of running after her.
"Sansa wait!" Peter pleaded as he struggled to catch up with her. She spun around to look at Peter.
"You're happy for me?! How can say that to me?"
"Am I not supposed to be happy for you?" Sansa shook her head. This was definitely not the time to be getting into this argument, again.
"Just forget it. I appreciate your happiness." Sansa said sarcastically. Sansa was about to walk off when Peter grabbed her arm tightly.
"What the bloody hell is your problem?!" Peter yelled.
"My problem?! I don't have a problem! I don't want to talk about this."
"Obviously we need to talk about whatever this is." Peter argued.
"Have you forgotten what's going on? We're headed to talk the Headmaster who, most likely, will tell us some horrifying detail about our friends and you think that it's a good time to talk about your feelings and my relationship." Peter looked at her in shock.
"I haven't forgotten anything! I've been worried sick about Nicole and Adrianna ever since the day it happened so stop acting like some bloody drama queen! And don't yell at me for no bloody reason!" Peter snapped. They had made it to the seventh floor and began walking down the corridor.
"Drama queen?! Me?!"
"Do you see anyone else blowing things out of proportion? You're mad at me for being happy that you're happy. What type of bloody sense does that make?!" Peter yelled. He was looking Sansa straight in the eyes as they stood in the empty corridor.
Sansa had never seen Peter like this before. Never heard him yell, especially not at her.
"I just don't understand you anymore." Peter said, his temper subsiding.
"You don't understand me?!"
"You barely talk to me for weeks because of a prank we pulled and now when I tell you that I'm happy for you, you're snapping again. I don't get it. Nothing I do is right." Peter said sadly. He was back to refusing to make eye contact.
In that moment, Sansa felt bad for her actions. The last thing that she wanted to do was hurt Peter. She just felt so tired of not knowing or understanding where the two of them stood with each other that she had begun lashing out in ways that ultimately did nothing more than drive them apart.
Looking at Peter, she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know what she could say that would lessen the sting of her earlier words. To be honest, she wasn't completely sure why she was so angry.
"Peter…"
"There you two are!" They turned to see Lily walking toward them from the end of the corridor.
"Come on. We are all waiting on you guys." Peter nodded and walked toward the end where the gargoyle that led to the headmasters office was.
Lily looked at Peter and then at Sansa.
"Are you guys okay?" Sansa sighed and nodded. There was enough going on already that they didn't need to add-on to it.
"Let's get this over with."
Avery was walking around the room as they waited for the others to join them. He hadn't spent much time in the Headmaster's office and the time he had spent definitely did not give him the opportunity to casually look around.
He noted all the pictures on the wall of all the previous Headmasters. His eyes came upon one portrait that he recognized immediately.
"Phineas Black." Avery said to the portrait waking it up from its slumber. The portrait yawned and blinked several times. He looked at all the students gathered in the room. Someone who was past Avery caught his attention.
"You're here again! I hope you're not picking on my family there, Dumbledore." The portrait said referring to Sirius, who was standing off to the side of the room.
"I wouldn't dream of it Phineas." Dumbledore said from his desk. Phineas seemed satisfied with his answer and he took his seat once again. He was still looking at Sirius.
"Still can't believe you're a Gryffindor. Over 100 years of proud Slytherin heritage comes crashing down with a Gryffindor." Phineas shook his head, while Sirius continued to ignore the portrait. It was the same rant that he had heard from his parents countless times.
"Remove yourself to Grimmauld Place, if you will." Dumbledore said politely. Phineas was about to protest but thought better of it. He left his portrait in the Headmaster's office taking his chair with him.
Sirius offered Dumbledore a small smile of gratitude. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Avery smirking at him as if amused by the humiliation he just endured.
You did that on purpose you pathetic piece of… Sirius' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
Peter walked into the headmaster's office followed by Lily and Sansa. Dumbledore stood up from behind his desk.
"Ms. Abrams. Mr. Pettigrew. I trust that the two of you are well." Both Sansa and Peter nodded.
"So now that we'll all here, will you tell us what's going on?" Avery said impatiently.
"Yes of course. I'm sure you all are very anxious to know why I have called you all here, together. As you might have read in the papers, the Ministry is looking into the crime that occurred at Hogsmeade."
"So its true then that the Death Eaters were behind the attack?" Remus asked. Dumbledore shook his head.
"That's what the investigation will hopefully tell us. As of now, no one is jumping to any sort of conclusions on who did it and why." Avery scoffed at Dumbledore's statement.
"When people heard the words Death Eaters nowadays, they seemed to develop a sort of tunnel vision. They don't see anything or anyone else. The minute that the ministry even hinted at a connection, was the moment that everyone thought that they did it. No questions asked. " Avery retorted.
"Is that such a bad thing? I mean if they were behind the attack than they should be found and apprehended. Tunnel vision isn't necessarily a bad thing." Marlene added.
"Can you name a Death Eater, McKinnon? Can any of you? No one knows who the Death Eaters are so how are we to know if they had anything to do with the crime or not. It's complete bollocks to assume their motives when you don't know who they are or what they want. What criteria makes someone a Death Eater anyway?" Avery questioned.
"Well I think an obsession with pure blood supremacy and a hatred for all things Muggles is a good place to start. Know anybody like that?" Sirius said looking at Avery.
"Yeah. My family. Your family. Parts of Potter's. With your definition you would have half the bloody school as Death Eaters. We all know someone who doesn't like Muggles or who thinks that pure bloods are just a bit more special." Avery replied smugly.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Avery brings up a very valid point. There are a great deal of people who believe in such things such as blood purity, many who probably have no affiliation with this group. Be that as it may, the investigation will go on to find the culprit responsible and I assume that all of your help will be needed." Dumbledore explained.
Everyone looked at Dumbledore with confusion.
"How will we help?" Lily asked.
"I assume that Mr. Crouch, who is leading this investigation, will want to ask each of you some questions about the day of the accident."
"All of us? I wasn't even in Hogsmeade when it happened. What help could I give?" Avery asked folding his arms across his chest.
"I do not know, Mr. Avery. When Mr. Crouch arrives, we will know further. As Headmaster, I felt compelled to keep you informed." Avery rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's statement.
"Is there anything else, Professor...about Nicole?" Lily asked hesitantly.
"Oh my! Merlin's beard! Yes of course, you want to hear about your friends. I'm extremely happy to say that Ms. Dolohov has awakened." Dumbledore said smiling.
"She's awake?! She's going to be okay? How is she? When will she be back?" Avery said drowning out the sounds of the others who were talking excitedly.
"One question at a time Mr. Avery. I know that you are all very excited. She awoke earlier today. She will be kept for observations but if everything goes all right I'd imagined she'd be back at school sometime this week."
Avery breathed a sigh of relief as he ran his hands over his face. She's going to be okay. Thank Merlin.
"Here Ms. Evans." Dumbledore said handing Lily a handkerchief. She was crying as Remus hugged her close.
"I'm sorry!" Lily said between her tears. Remus rubbed her shoulders, his eyes glistening.
"There's no need to be sorry. I understand completely." Dumbledore said smiling. He looked at his students. The accident had really taken its toll on all of them.
"You all should return to your common rooms. Feel free to share the good news."
"I still can't believe it!" Remus said as the Gryffindor fourth years walked toward their common room.
"I'm glad that she's going to be okay. I was so scared." Marlene said.
"Yeah we all were." James said walking next to her.
"We should do something special for her when she gets back." Lily suggested.
"As long as we don't have to invite Avery." Sirius added.
"I second that." Peter agreed.
The group had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady to see Professor McGonagall exiting the common room.
"Professor. Have you heard the good news?"
"I have Mr. Lupin. I am very happy that Ms. Dolohov is going to make it and will return here." She said smiling. She began to walk past the group.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I suggest that you all head up to the boy's dormitory." Before anyone could ask any questions McGonagall was already leaving.
They all ran through the portrait hole and up to the boys dormitory taking two steps at a time.
James opened the door to the dormitory and they entered the room. They all stood in the middle of the room staring at Sirius' bed.
"I'm back!" Adrianna said happily as she sat on the edge of Sirius' bed.