A/N: Before major editing there was 33chapters, now there is far more than that. If you've not read chapter one, or ignored the summary, be warned that this is not the old chapter 33. This is what used to be the end of chapter 21. Which means I still have another 12 chapters to edits before I start writing any new chapters. Based on current projections, those chapters will likely increase to become 15 or 16. I'm trying to keep all chapters to a reasonable length instead of the stupidly long ones I had previously written, particularly in regards to third year.
A/N 2: I've tried my best to ensure that spelling mistakes have been removed, and that my grammar and sentence structure is better, but I know that I'm not an English professor nor do I have a degree in writing. This means that there will still be some mistakes in my writing. I don't have an editor/beta who can go through my work nick picking these details, so if you see something, mention it and I might go back and change it if I believe it's important enough to impact the flow of the story. Otherwise, just deal with it.
A/N: I hope you enjoy 😊
Chapter 33: Year Three: Decisions and trustRon was furious with Hermione.
As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage – Aileen tried to point out that she had been the one to make the decision to hand the broom over, but he believed that Aileen only handed the broom over because she was doing what Hermione wanted which meant any anger he had felt towards Aileen was reasoned away and redirected at Hermione. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had spoken up for the best, started avoiding the common room. This made Aileen's life extremely difficult. She spent half her free time with Hermione and the other half with Ron. When she could no longer cope with their arguing she would retreat to her practise room or the company of the Twins.
When Christmas break ended it became easier to deal with the frostiness between her friends since lessons gave them something to focus on, and Aileen had more avenues of escape in the form of Neville and Quidditch.
Wood sought Aileen out on the night the train returned.
"Had a good Christmas?" he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Aileen. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one...I mean...we can't afford you to - well -"
Wood broke off, looking awkward.
"I'm working on it," Aileen reassured him. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas."
"Ah," said Wood, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case - I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Aileen. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"
"No," said Aileen.
"What! You'd better get a move on, you know - you can't ride that Silver Arrow against Ravenclaw!"
"She got a Firebolt for Christmas," said Ron.
"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A - a real Firebolt?"
"Don't get excited, Oliver," Aileen said quickly, if he raised his voice any higher the entire common room would hear. "It was confiscated. The teachers are checking to make sure it hasn't been jinxed."
"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"
"Sirius Black," Aileen said wearily. "He's supposed to be after me. So, McGonagall reckons he might have sent it."
Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole countrys on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"
"Mail order. If he still had access to his trust vault then he just needed to fill out the form and send it to them." Aileen explained. Since Gringotts was sovereign soil and there was no proof that Sirius Black had been tried the ministry had no say over Black's vault, although he didn't have access to more than his personal vault since he would have to go in person to access the Black family vaults and Aileen would be alerted if he did so.
At eight o'clock on the first Thursday evening after Christmas break, Aileen left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when she arrived, but she lit the lamps with her wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.
"What's that?" Aileen inquired hesitantly.
"Another Boggart," said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."
"Okay," Aileen nodded. It made sense for her to practise against a boggart since her greatest fear was fear itself and it prevented Aileen from being faced with the full effect of a Dementor every week.
"So..." Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Aileen should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Aileen - well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."
"How does it work?"
"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin, "which is a kind of anti-Dementor - a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Aileen that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."
"Because it requires a lot of magic, or for another reason?" Aileen inquired. She wasn't being vain when she said her magical power was greater than most people her age. From what she could tell her magical level was probably about the same as the students around two years older than her.
"I believe it is a combination of focus and power that makes it so hard to cast." Professor Lupin answered after a minute of thought.
"What does a Patronus look like?" said Aileen curiously.
"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."
"And how do you conjure it?"
"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."
Aileen cast her mind about for a happy memory. She didn't have very many of them. Certainly, nothing that had happened to her at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, she settled on her first Christmas at the castle.
"Right," she said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, happy, loved feeling she had felt when she met her father, when she sat on the common room floor with her first friend and his family opening presents. When she saw the proof that there were people who cared about her.
"The incantation is this -" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto patronum," Aileen repeated making sure she had the incantation correct, "expecto patronum."
"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"
Aileen nodded, shifting her stance as she focused on the memory. Letting it fill her entire being. Once she was sure she had captured the memory she said forcefully "Expectro Patronum," a wisp of silvery light left her wand and formed a sort of shield in front of her. It grew it be just a bit bigger than her torso and stayed like that for a moment before disappearing.
"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. "First try as well. Most impressive. Are you ready to try it on a Dementor?"
"Yes," Aileen said, moving to the middle of the classroom where she took on a left foot stance. Her right side was the furthest from the case, her wand raised to the middle of her chest while her left hand hung relaxed at her side. It was what she called a 'half duelling stance' since it was close to the pose she would take up when duelling but more relaxed and open.
Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.
A Dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Aileen, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The Dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Aileen, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over her –
Aileen focused, allowing the memory to fill her entire being again. Ignoring the coldness and the memory that was being dragged up. She focused solely on that Christmas.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Aileen said with such force she might as well have shouted it. The silvery wisp left her wand once more and formed a shield between her and the Dementor. The memories and the coldness seemed to fade, becoming nothing but background fuzz.
Unfortunately, she could only hold the shield for thirty seconds before it fell. Professor Lupin leaped between her and the Dementor. Suddenly it changed and a moon hovered in its places.
"Riddikulus" the moon was replaced by a balloon that was swiftly returned to the case that Lupin closed.
"Are you all right?" Professor Lupin asked in concern.
Aileen moved over to the wall and leaned against it, she felt the sweat on her forehead. Even as a boggart, the effects of the Dementor where very strong. "I'm alright."
"Here -" Lupin handed her a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I hadn't expected you to do it your first time; I'm astounded that you did, in fact."
"I couldn't hold it for very long though," Aileen frowned in worry.
"What memory did you use?" asked Lupin.
"My first Christmas at Hogwarts." Aileen answered.
"Try another memory. A happier memory: the stronger it is the stronger your patronus."
Aileen frowned in thought. After a moment she chose to combine all of the memories she had of her dad. All the feelings she felt for him were positive, happy. They were feelings of love, so she just focused on all of them – even the one from when she was a very small baby (one of the few memories she had of her parents). Aileen then moved to the middle of the room and took up her stance again.
"Ready?" said Lupin, gripping the box lid.
"Ready," said Aileen.
"Go!" said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The Dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Aileen -
"Expecto patronum!" Aileen said. This time quieter than before but the effect was the same. The shield appeared, larger than before and hovered between her and the Dementor. Aileen held it for as long as she could before it fell and Lupin was forced to return the Dementor to its case.
Aileen sank into the nearest chair, feeling exhausted. None of the magic she had tried so far had taken as much from her as casting that spell had.
"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Aileen sat. "Excellent, Aileen!"
"Will I always be as exhausted as that?" Aileen asked after she had gotten her breath back.
"At first yes, but it will get easier." Lupin answered smiling brightly.
"Same time next week?" Aileen asked curiously. Lupin nodded.
Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was great news for Gryffindor, if they beat Slytherin in their upcoming match then they were particularly guaranteed the cup. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week. This meant that with Lupin's Pratonus lessons, Madam Pomfrey's healing lessons and Salazar's potion lessons (he had taken great joy in having an eager student), Aileen had just one night a week to do all her homework.
Even so, she was not showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted. Aileen found it harder getting the other girl to eat and most days she ended up forcing the girl to bed at around midnight so that she would get six solid hours of sleep. Girl's night was practically scrapped in relation to Hermione. When one did happen, Aileen drugged Hermione a little bit earlier and put her to bed while she spent time with her dorm mates.
"How's she doing it?" Ron muttered to Aileen as he took a seat next to Aileen who was just finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Aileen looked across the table at Hermione who was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books. She had decided to share a table with her so that she could offer her help with the Hagrid issue that Hermione had tried taking upon herself but Aileen refused to let her.
"Doing what?"
"Getting to all her classes!" Ron said. "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't've been there, because she was in Divination! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Ancient Runes, and she's never missed one of them either!"
"Just let it go Ron, if Hermione could tell us she would have done so by now." Aileen said before signing her work and grabbing the transfiguration essay she had to write. She had four days to get it done but would not have the time again so she was getting it all out of the way. Two seconds later, however, she was interrupted again, this time by Wood.
"Bad news, Aileen. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She - er - got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first." Wood shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly, the way she was yelling at me...you'd think I'd said something terrible. Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it..." He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's severe voice. "As long as necessary, Wood"...I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Aileen. There's an order form at the back of Which Broomstick...you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy's got."
"Oliver, I have work to do. You are already taking up five days of my week, I do not need you taking the only free time I get to do this work. If professor McGonagall doesn't return the broom in two weeks' time, I will look into getting another one. Now please leave, I need to get this done." Aileen said, her voice quite but strict.
Aileen's patronus lessons were going slightly better. Each time she cast it the spell was stronger, larger and stayed for longer. However, she had yet to be able to drive of the Dementor which was frustrating for her but Professor Lupin had assured her that it would take time. She was already doing far better than most people who attempted the spell and she was only thirteen.
Aileen was on the way back from one of her lesson with Professor Lupin, frowning thoughtfully when she nearly walked into Professor McGonagall.
"Sorry, Professor -"
"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room; well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all - you've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter..."
Professor McGonagall handed the Firebolt back and it looked to be in the same condition as before. "Thank you, professor," Aileen smiled gratefully.
"I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And Potter - do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night..."
Aileen smiled slightly at that and continued on her way back to the Gryffindor common room. She was tired but wanted to get some reading in. She had nearly finished her potion to breath under water but needed to add another ingredient to counter the poisonous effects of the belladonna without negating the effects of the Gillyweed. She turned a corner and saw Ron dashing toward her, grinning from ear to ear.
"She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?"
"Alright, but only after your sister has had a go. She needs to know what it's like to fly on a fast broom," Aileen said, smiling cryptically.
They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Nevill, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance.
"I wrote them down!" Neville was saying tearfully. "But I must've dropped them somewhere!"
"A likely tale!" roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Aileen and Ron: "Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"
"Surely you have learnt the members of this chamber, good sir?" Aileen replied as she drew near. "For the good lady would have already known the faces and name of every member of this house."
"Ah…yess… well he should still give the password." Sir Cadogan spluttered.
"I've lost the passwords!" Neville told them miserably. "I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"
"Oddsbodkins," said Aileen to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Aileen was surrounded by people exclaiming over her Firebolt.
"Where'd you get it, Aileen?"
"Will you let me have a go?"
"Have you ridden it yet, Aileen?"
"Ravenclaw'll have no chance, they're all on Cleansweep Sevens!"
"Can I just hold it, Aileen?"
"ENOUGH!" Aileen called over the excited chattered and questions. "It's just a fricken broom." Aileen said tiredly, heading to the stairs to put it away leaving a mostly stunned common room behind her. Apparently, none of them agreed that it was 'just' a broom. But she was far too tired to try and fend off her house or be subtle about it. Although the strain on her wasn't as bad as it was on Hermione, it was still affecting her and she was going to need to take a day off soon or she would risk burning out.
When she returned to the common room Aileen headed over to Hermione, Ron joining her. "Hi, Hermione." Aileen said softly.
"Aileen got her broom back," Ron said smirking. "Nothing wrong with it."
"Well there might have been," Hermione huffed with a glare.
"Ron…" Aileen warned, she wasn't in the mood to put up with his attitude at the moment, nor was she willing to listen to another one of his and Hermione's arguments. Something on Aileen's face must have warned Ron not to her push her right then because his entire form deflated from the smugness he had been pulling around himself as he gloated about the broom.
"I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic." Ron said sullenly, turning and leaving the room.
"Can I sit down?" Aileen asked hesitantly.
"I suppose so," said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair.
Aileen looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay ('Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity') and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over.
"Do you need a hand with anything?" Aileen asked. "I know I don't take divination or Muggle Studies but I'm sure I could help with all the other things. Narrow your research area down."
"No, I'm nearly done," Hermione said, looking for her rune dictionary that Aileen pulled from a stack of books and handed over. Aileen raised a sceptical eyebrow at that. She looked like she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks and she wasn't eating enough food – no matter how much Aileen threw at her.
"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Aileen asked.
"I couldn't do that!" said Hermione, looking scandalized.
"Hermione you don't like divination and you don't need Muggle Studies. I imagine you could probably take the tests for Muggle Studies without attending any of the lessons."
"No, I can't do that…" Why she couldn't Aileen never found out.
At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder - and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet.
"LOOK!" he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table. "LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.
"Ron, what -?"
"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"
Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Aileen looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like –
"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"
"N - no," said Hermione in a trembling voice.
Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Hermione and Aileen leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.
With the death of Scabbers the tension between Ron and Hermione grew worse. Ron was adamant that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, while Hermione continued to defend her cat. Aileen tried to stay out of it as much as possibly, diffusing the arguments between her friends when it got out of hand but not taking either side. She hoped that they would be able to figure it out otherwise she didn't know what she would be able to do about it.
She didn't want to lose either of them just because they were lousy friends to each other, since they were both very good friends to her. She didn't want to be forced to make that chose, especially since she slept in the same dorm as Hermione and was on such good terms with Ron's siblings. To lose either one of them as a friend would place her in a very awkward position. One of the things she did to make it clear she wasn't choosing sides was to spend an equal amount of time in each of their presences, and the rest of her free time with the Twins and Neville. She never attempted to get them to spend time together or work out their problem – they were both to bull-headed and stubborn for that to work. They would have to resolve the issue by themselves – without her input – otherwise it was likely that this fissure would happen again and she wouldn't be able to repair it that time.
Three days after Scabber's death was the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match and Aileen left the common room without waiting for her two friends (so that she could act as a buffer) because she didn't think she could handle their arguing on top of her worry about the upcoming match. She had nearly been killed the last time and hoped that the Dementors wouldn't make an appearance and that Zeus hadn't noticed her presents in his domain during the last Quidditch match.
At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Aileen, though nervous, was starting to feel hope that this match would go without problems. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond.
"You know what we've got to do," said Wood as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!" (The only practise Aileen had been able to get on her new broom which meant she was not nearly as compatibly with it as she was her old nimbus)
They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team. She was taller than Aileen by about a head. Stood next to Ginny, who had moved towards the bottom of the Gryffindor posts, was So̱ti̱rÃa. Like her last match he was barking happily, his tail wagging excitedly behind him. It seemed like only Ginny's hand on his collar stopped him from running around.
"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain. "Mount your brooms ... on my whistle ... three - two - one -"
Aileen kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom; she soared around the stadium and began looking around for the Snitch, listening with half an ear to the commentary, which was being provided by the Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan.
"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Aileen Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship -"
"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background information - the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -"
"Jordan!"
"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor, heading for goal..."
Aileen dived down, interrupting the Ravenclaws beater's aim before he could stop Katie from getting to the goal posts. A few moments later Aileen noticed that Cho Change was tailing her. She was undoubtedly a very good flier - she kept cutting across her, forcing her to change direction. Aileen smirked and suddenly she increased her speed, diving down and interrupting Ravenclaw's play while forcing Cho to stop looking for the snitch as she continued trying to tail her.
"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn - Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision - balance is really noticeable in these long -"
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put Gryffindor only fifty points ahead - a glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings - the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post...
Aileen increased the firebolt's speed to just below maximum. Surging towards the goal post but the snitch must have sensed her approach. It took a sharp dive down but Aileen followed, the firebolt responding to the slightest touch. The speed and sharp turns were too much for Cho to keep up with since she began to fall behind. Aileen continued diving but out of the corner her eye she noticed three cloaked figures. She would have thought them Dementors if not for the fact that she couldn't feel the effect that she normally felt around Dementors. She dismissed them and continued with her decent.
Meters from the ground her arm came forward and she grabbed the snitch in her hand while pulling up from the ground. Her feet skimmed the grass but she was able to pull herself to a stop and jump from her broom – raising her capture in the air in victory.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Suddenly So̱ti̱rÃa was on top of her, his wet tongue licking her face excitedly. Aileen laughed and lifted him into her arms despite the fact that he came up to her waist. Then suddenly she and So̱ti̱rÃa were being hugged by the whole team.
Aileen broke off from the group long enough to veer towards the changing rooms, allowing So̱ti̱rÃa to come in with her since he hadn't left her side yet. Aileen took a quick shower and changed into the cloths she had laid out for after the match before walking So̱ti̱rÃa back to Hagrid who was delighted for her. She spoke to him for a few minutes before heading back to the Gryffindor Common room where the party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets.
"How did you do that?" squealed Angelina as George started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Fred muttered in Aileen's ear.
Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Hermione, incredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Aileen quickly broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling butterbeer bottles and went over to her. She cast a silencing bubble around the two of them so that she could read the book without being distracted.
"Thanks," Hermione said smiling gratefully.
"When do you need to have that read by?" Aileen asked frowning.
"Monday and I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" said Hermione, sounding slightly hysterical.
"I can't see a teacher assigning you that much reading in just one week?" Aileen challenged. Although this was the muggle studies course, there was no way that a teacher would assign so much reading when the student had other lessons as well. One, two chapters at most, was what most teachers assigned so that the students would be ready for their next lesson.
"Well…" Hermione blushed. "She only assigned the one chapter, but if I can get the entire thing read then I can start reading my other books. Outside of my assignments I've not ready any of my muggle studies books." Hermione said this like it was a complete scandal.
"Hermione you already have so much on your plate, you can't be setting such unrealistic expectations for yourself. By focusing so much on trying to over excel in your homework and referencing, you're neglecting everything else in your life. Other than the bowl of apple, oats and strawberry yogurt you had this morning, what have you eaten?" Aileen challenged.
"I…I haven't…." Hermione admitted after a moment. She knew better then to lie to Aileen about this.
"Then eat." Aileen ordered pushing a plate of sandwiches towards her. "Then, when it turns eight, I want you to go up to the dorm and get some sleep. Your homework is done, you won't be working anymore tonight." Aileen waved her wand which had all of Hermione's books, notes and homework stacked neatly on the table.
"But…" Hermione tried to protest but her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly so she sighed and grabbed one of the sandwiches. Aileen nodded her approval before grabbing the Runes essay from the stack of homework. The least she could do was read through it to make sure Hermione hadn't missed anything. It was something Aileen had started doing when she noticed how tired her friend was becoming due to the amount of work she had.
The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair net at one in the morning, to insist that they all go to bed.
While everyone went to bed (including Hermione who Aileen had earlier dragged to the dormitory after locking away all of her work; something Aileen had been forced to do every night for the last few weeks) Aileen stayed up. She was reading through one of the books Salazar had collected/written over his time: this one about the wards around Hogwarts which was more comprehensive and detailed then the one she had found in the restricted section of the library back in first year.
At around three o'clock Aileen was thinking about going to bed when the portrait swung open. Aileen looked up from her book and blinked in shock. The person who stepped through the door was most defiantly not a Gryffindor.
Aileen drew her wand and intercepted the man before he could make his way towards the dormitories.
"Sirius Black," Aileen stated calmly as she watched the man's grey eyes widen in shock.
Sirius Black, for a man who had spent twelve years in Azkaban and another on the run, was not looking too unhealthy. His skin was pale, his hair hanging around his shoulders, but roughly cut, clean and untangled. He was thin but not dangerously so and he appeared to have found some new, clean cloths. In his hand he gripped a knife – Aileen assumed he had not been able to obtain a wand.
"Aileen," Black whispered, his voice almost sounding hopeful. Yet it was sad, like someone still in mourning mentioning the name of their dead friend.
"It was a very dangerous thing making an attempt on the Gryffindor common room, not once but twice." Aileen informed him.
"I didn't mean to hurt the Fat Lady. But I got frustrated. She should have just let me in." Black replied his eyes flickering with his emotions.
"How did you get past Sir Cadogan?" Aileen demanded.
"A kid wrote down all the passwords." He replied, drawing a sheet of parchment from his pocket.
"Why are you here?" Aileen asked, her wand hadn't lowered from its raised position which was something Black finally took notice of since his eyes kept flickering too it.
"To end what I started twelve years ago." Black snarled viciously, his eyes darkening in fury.
Aileen's eyes narrowed. "It is the belief of the ministry that you are here to kill me." Aileen said calmly, not showing her own emotions on the subject.
"Belief of the ministry…you don't…" but whatever he was going to say next was cut off by the sound of someone's footsteps on the staircase. He turned and ran from the common room and Aileen let him. She lowered her wand and took a deep breath – well that was interesting.
"What are you still doing up?" Ron's voice asked from behind her.
"Reading." Aileen answered.
"I heard you talking to someone…" Rom muttered as Aileen finally turned around.
"Crookshanks," Aileen motioned to the cat that was sat curled contently around a pillow a couple of feet away from her.
"Oh, right…" Rom muttered before turning round and heading back to bed. Hearing that Aileen was talking to an animal wasn't exactly weird since she was regularly talking with Hedwig, So̱ti̱rÃa, Buckbeak and Crookshanks.
Once she was sure he had left Aileen headed up the boy's staircase as well. She entered Percy's pristine room and shook him awake.
"Hu…wh'ts the matter?" Percy grumbled sleepily.
"I need you to escort me to see Professor McGonagall." Aileen answered.
"At three in the morning?" Percy questioned sitting up and grabbing his night gowned.
"Sirius Black was in the common room." was all Aileen replied with. Percy was awake immediately and looked at her with shocked eyes.
"Are you sure?" he demanded.
"Yes, now come on. The longer it takes to inform a teacher the greater the chance that he has of getting away."
Throughout the next day, everywhere the students went they saw signs of tighter security (despite the fact that they didn't know why because Aileen and Percy had been asked not to reveal what happened); Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.
Professor McGonagall was furious with Neville who had written down the passwords so that he could get into the tower. She had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Aileen refused to leave him outside the common room every night, waiting for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him, so she would tell him the password or make sure to walk with him back to the common room. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast - a Howler.
The school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual, and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Aileen and Ron, who were sitting opposite him, recognized the letter as a Howler at once - Ron had got one from his mother the year before.
"Run for it, Neville," Ron advised.
"Or…" Aileen trailed of as she fired first a silencing bubble around the howler followed swiftly by an incendio. The letter caught fire and when it had burnt to ashes she poured water over it to put the fire out before banishing the ashes.
"Thanks," Neville breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's alright, Howlers are nasty things. Researched how to destroy one after Ron got one last year." Aileen replied as she gently untied the letter Hedwig was carrying and fed her some bacon in thanks. She didn't get a lot of mail during the school year (or summer for that matter). Aileen opened the letter to discover it was an invitation for tea from Hagrid for that night around six and he added the specific statement at the end of:
WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.
So at six o'clock that afternoon, Aileen and Ron (Aileen had spoken with Hermione and tried to get her to come with them but she had some Muggle Studies homework too complete) left Gryffindor Tower, passed the security trolls and headed down to the entrance hall.
Hagrid was already waiting for them.
"All right, Hagrid!" said Ron. "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"
"I've already heard all abou' it," said Hagrid, opening the front doors and leading them outside.
The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Curled up not too far away from Buckbeak was So̱ti̱rÃa who barked happily when he saw Aileen in Hagrid's cabin. Aileen rolled her eyes and went over to him. She sat between the hippogriff and So̱ti̱rÃa and began to run her hand along So̱ti̱rÃa back, gently undoing all the knots, causing him to flop to the floor boneless. Aileen continued her observation of the room and spotted a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.
"What are they for, Hagrid?" said Aileen.
"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures," said Hagrid. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus..."
"Me and Hermione haven't complied all the information yet." Aileen said, her eyes wide in worry.
Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of buns but they knew better than to accept; they had had too much experience with Hagrid's cooking.
"I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," said Hagrid, sitting himself between them and looking uncharacteristically serious.
"What?" Aileen asked, frowning in worry.
"Hermione," said Hagrid.
Aileen nodded in understanding. Despite her best efforts Hermione had started to become sleep deprived and her body wasn't getting enough nutrients. Aileen didn't know how much time Hermione was squeezing into one day so she couldn't accurately determine the amount of sleep and food she needs – only guess. With Aileen's interference Hermione was getting a solid six hours each night and three large meals a day. Then there was the snacks Aileen would make Hermione eat at the end of every lesson and every hour or so, in the common room. The only time Aileen didn't make Hermione eat snacks was when she spent time in the library, in which case Aileen would only allow her two hours in there before getting her to sign out books and dragging her to the common room.
"What about her?" Ron asked obviously.
"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat -"
"…ate Scabbers!" Ron interjected angrily.
Aileen just sat silently, she had known Hermione was disappearing to Hagrid's but she assumed it was because she was discussing the trial with him. She normally went down when Aileen had Quidditch practise and they would walk back to the castle together.
"Because her cat acted like all cats do," Hagrid continued doggedly. "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind...She's found some really good stuff fer me...reckon he'll stand a good chance now..."
"Wait, she finished the work without informing me? I told her that I would handle it." Aileen said shocked. "She is already doing too much."
"It's not your fault." Hagrid waved away her concern, "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be getting' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night - but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."
"And I do. I speak with Hermione as much as I possibly can. We sit in the common room together every night. And by the gods, I sit next to her in every lesson. I've watched as she became more tied, thinner and more stressed despite my continued attempts to lighten her load. To make her eat. To make her sleep. I have done everything I possibly could to help her and if I had known she was feeling lonely I would have dropped Quidditch practice. Because she is more important to me then the cup." Aileen replied tartly. She did not like being accused of not helping her friends – even if it was one of her friends telling her such.
"I know yeh try Aileen, but Ron…She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you not talkin' to her -"
"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron said angrily. "But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!"
"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," said Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow. Aileen reached over and gently stocked the Hippogriff's beak before it could go for another ferret.
When they returned to the common room a couple of hours later, they saw a large group of people bunched around the bulletin board.
"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" said Ron, craning over the heads to read the new notice. "What d'you reckon?" he added quietly to Aileen as they went to sit down. Aileen had told him (and Hermione, separately) about the map and the secret passage way to Hogsmeade.
"Ron I'm not sure…" Aileen began hesitantly.
"Aileen!" said a voice in her right ear. Aileen started and looked around at Hermione, who was sitting at the table right behind them and clearing a space in the wall of books that had been hiding her.
"Aileen, if you go into Hogsmeade...I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!" said Hermione.
"Can you hear someone talking, Aileen?" growled Ron, not looking at Hermione.
"Ron, how can you encourage her to go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to her! I mean it, I'll tell-"
"So now you're trying to get Aileen expelled!" said Ron furiously. "Haven't you done enough damage this year?"
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leapt onto her lap. Hermione took one frightened look at the expression on Ron's face, gathered up Crookshanks, and hurried away toward the girls' dormitories.
"Ron, I'm not going to Hogsmeade." Aileen sighed before getting up and heading after Hermione, motioning for Lavender and Parvati to follow in five minutes. She refused to let her be on her own after what Ron had just said and since Hermione had willingly abandoned her study that night, she was going to use the excuse to make Hermione relax and talk.
"Aileen! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!" Neville exclaimed when Aileen said goodbye to her friends in the entrance hall and began to head up to the Gryffindor Common room.
"Hi, Neville," Aileen smiled at her friend. "What you doing?"
"Nothing," shrugged Neville. "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"
"How about a game of Muggle cards?" Aileen counter, having discovered she didn't really like Exploding Snape since it didn't have any verity like muggle cards (one deck holding tones of different types of games).
"Muggle Cards?"
"Yeah, I'll teach you a few games." Aileen promised.
"Alright." Neville agreed.
"Did you finish Professor Lupin's essay?" Aileen enquired curiously.
"No," Neville admitted sheepishly. "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all: do they have to eat it, or-"
He broke off with a small gasp, looking ahead of them.
It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Aileen.
"And what are you two doing here?" said Snape, coming to a halt and looking from one to the other. "An odd place to meet -" They had stopped on the third floor while they talked.
"We weren't meeting here, professor." Aileen answered. "We were simply discussing something and came to a stop here."
"Indeed?" said Snape. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason...I suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong."
"Of course, Professor." Aileen answered before leading Neville up the stairs.
Aileen and Neville spent the rest of the day together, first Aileen helped him finish his essay for professor Lupin but once that was out of the way they played some card games and even dragged Ginny and a couple of the other younger years into the game.
Once everyone had returned to the castle Aileen retreated to her room and opened the map, frowning at it thoughtfully. She knew it would be a very bad thing if someone else got their hands on it. And there was a name she kept seeing. A name that she knew shouldn't be on this map. It was a worry that had been pladuing her with a week, and Salazar had encouraged her to reach out and trust an adult. The thing was, she struggled to trust adults. McGonagall had already proven she couldn't be trust, Professor Snape wasn't exactly approachable and the other professors she didn't interact without outsideof lessons. Then there was Professor Dumbledore. She was already trusting th headmaster with far more than she had ever trusted an adult with, but the man already had a lot on his plate and he had an annoying habit of keeping things from her that she should know. It had been by his decision that she not be told that Sirius was her godfather and that order had been translate by his staff to mean that she wasn't too know about Sirius being after her at all, until McGonagall felt she had no other choice then to say anything.
But there was one member of staff who was more than a professor to her. Professor Lupin. In another time, he would have been like an uncle to her. He was best friends with her father. She didn't know why he hadn't, at the very least, sent her letters over the years. And she definitely didn't know why he hadn't attempted to tell her who he was to her. Despite his reticence, he was taking the time out of his schedule in order to teach her a very advanced charm which professor Flitwick or Dumbledore could have taught her just as easily. Perhaps it was time that she reached out and tried to trust another adult?
With this in mind she grabbed the map and headed down to Professor Lupin's office.
"Aileen, what can I do for you?" Lupin asked quite surprised as he allowed Aileen to enter his office.
"This came into my possession." Aileen answered handing the map over. It had been whipped clean but she saw the look on the Professor's face. He knew what it was.
"I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago." Lupin said after a moment of silently observing the paper and Aileen.
"Yes, it was removed from his office a couple of years ago and then passed onto me. I realised that something like that hanging around the castle wouldn't be a good idea. Also a name keeps appearing. One that shouldn't be able to appear on that map." Aileen hesitated.
"What name?" Professor Lupin asked, looking at her seriously.
"Peter Pettigrew."
Edited: 12/08/2020
Word count: 8,396
Copied: ?