Thunk!, Thunk!, Thunk!
Buckbeak squawked as the rubber ball softly hit his body.
"Sorry buddy." Harry petted Buckbeaks's side gently, calming the hippogriff.
The lone lad sat near Buckbeak, in a desolate room far away from the other occupants of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. After the events that led to him and the other Weasleys immediately moving here, he shut himself off from the others; he was sure the Weasleys didn't mind, although Ron was trying his best to make it bearable for him, which he greatly appreciated.
Harry closed his eyes and felt the familiar pain of a headache coming back again.
'Just one more day and I can get out of here.'
That line of thinking made Harry drift back to yesterday's events.
After dinner he met up with Lilith to discuss what they would do during the Christmas breaks.
"I'll be informing my parents about Tassler's involvement with Umbridge. This way they'll have no choice but to consider her as a prime suspect." Lilith said whilst in her muggle attire.
Harry's eyes roamed the classroom they were in, the same one they first met in fact, and he sat on top of the desks, "What about me? Anything I should do?"
Lilith strided over to him, "Well, there is one thing you can do." She sat down in front of him, her head almost blocking his mouth, "It'd be helpful if you were there to corroborate with me to my parents; they'll need a first-hand witness to see how horrible Umbridge really is."
Harry chuckled and rested his chin on Lilith's shoulder, "Is that really the only reason you want me there?" He heard Lilith giggle a bit.
"Maybe not the only reason." She grabbed his hand and started slowly kneading his palm.
Harry let out a sigh of content as she continued massaging his hand, though he noticed that she suddenly stopped. He peeked to see what caught her eye.
And he saw her caressing the scar that Umbridge forced him to inflict upon himself.
"I'll make her pay." Lilith let out quietly, full of pure conviction and an underlying tone of raw anger. And right then and there, he knew Umbridge's days were numbered.
Harry smiled as he remembered the fury Lilith had exhibited that day, quite honestly it was kind of hot…
Ok, it was totally hot.
Afterwards she had given him the floo address: Moon's Private Eye. They planned to confide in Lilith's parents by the 22nd of December; which means he had to come up with a plan to get out of the house without alerting everyone that he was gone.
Harry's body tensed as he felt the vibration of footsteps along the floor, someone was coming to the room he was in; and to affirm his suspicion, a knock emanated from the door of the room he was in.
"Harry? It's me. I've got Hermione with me." Ron's voice carried through behind the door. Harry jumped up and unlocked the door, revealing the lanky red-headed boy and the bushy haired girl he called his best friends.
"Come on in. Buckbeaks's here as well." Hermione and Ron filtered into the room, and Hermione made her way to Buckbeak. She petted his beak gently and Buckbeak nuzzled his head into Hermione's stomach.
Ron sat down on the floor with a grunt and Harry copied his actions, sitting near the wall.
He made a face as the smell of the room finally hit Ron, "You sure you want to stay in this room mate?"
Harry shrugged, "Buckbeak makes for pretty good company."
Hermione scoffed and made his way to him, giving him a hug, "Well hopefully he doesn't become your only companion during the hols."
Harry patted her back and let out a laugh, "Don't worry, pretty sure Hedwig would have my head if she ever knew I got another familiar. No offence, Buckbeak." Buckbeak simply curled in on himself and closed his eyes.
Hermione rolled her eyes and gently cuffed him on the shoulder, "I meant us, you dolt." Harry's grin widened as he heard Ron chuckle from where he was sitting.
Hermione stood up and sat next to Ron, causing Harry to let out a teasing smirk. Hermione and Ron noticed and reddened a little.
"After the whole fiasco during dinner at Hogwarts, I managed to find him hiding in his room. We sat and talked and we found out that we like each other." Hermione smiled as Ron held her hand in his, "And well, I'm still a bit crossed with the twins but I can't really be mad."
Harry felt a sense of déjà vu, maybe her and Lilith would get along more than he thought they would, and gave both of them a knowing nod, "I understand, to tell you the truth, you two weren't the first victims of their mistletoe."
Ron's brow rose in interest at who else was unlucky enough to be tested on by the twins but Hermione immediately connected the dots and gasped, "Is that why you and Lilith were still in the Room of Requirement?"
Harry and Ron were shocked; Ron because of the news that Harry and Lilith were the first test subjects of the dastardly mistletoe, and Harry because he didn't expect for anyone to know that he and Lilith stayed behind.
"How'd you know?" Harry asked Hermione, who simply gave him a look that made him feel dense.
"Oh please Harry, with the way you were looking at her the whole time. I'd be surprised if you didn't speak to her after the meeting." Hermione's vindicated grin only widened as Harry scratched his blushing cheek.
Ron let out an amused snicker, "Yeah mate, you weren't really that sneaky. Even I noticed."
Harry groaned and put his head in his hands out of embarrassment.
A relaxed quiet then washed over them as Harry stewed in his thoughts. He could hear the faint clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, "How are the others?" Harry asked Ron.
"They're better now, now that mum is here." Harry nodded at Ron's reply.
Hermione gave Ron's hand a sympathetic squeeze, "I heard what happened from Ginny earlier, I hope your dad gets through this fine." Ron let an appreciative smile adorn his face as he slung his arm over Hermione's shoulder.
"Thank Merlin, Harry managed to convince Dumbledore, who knows what could've happened if we were a few seconds late."
At Hermione's questioning gaze at Harry, he recounted the sequence of events that led to him saving Mr. Weasley.
"I had a dream… No, it was more like a vision. I envisioned Ron's dad being mauled by… Me." Harry grimaced as he remembered the look on Arthur's face as he was being attacked,
"Only it wasn't me, it was like I was in the mind of the thing that attacked Mr. Weasley. I woke up and I saw Ron and the others trying to wake me up. I managed to get Professor McGonagall to let me see Dumbledore and in turn managed to convince him to check on Mr. Weasley; right after that he got Ron and his family here."
Hermione listened, raptured by the story, "What happened then? What happened after you all got here?"
Harry rubbed his arm, "The twins and Sirius had a bit of a row; they wanted to go see Mr. Weasley but Sirius didn't let them. Said it was the order's job to make sure that Mr. Wealsey was alright."
Hermione took a second to collect her thoughts, "I see. What about you Harry, how were you feeling?"
Harry hesitated - How honest should he be? - But he owed it to both Hermione and Ron to tell his side of things; to include them so that they could help.
"Honestly, the way your family looked at me Ron… It felt like Second Year all over again." Harry flinched at the memory; the stares, the whispers, the contempt shown by the populace of Hogwarts.
Ron glowered at the ground, "I know. I talked to them; said you didn't do anything and if you haven't seen it Dad would have come out of it worse. Now they're coming around." Ron's eyes shone with certainty at Harry, who felt massively better after Ron's statement.
Hermione smiled at their display of friendship, "I'm sure they didn't mean it Harry. They were just afraid for their father and that made them irrational."
Harry nodded, feeling the weight of anxiety finally off his shoulders.
And it came back tenfold when he remembered what he had to ask of his best friends.
He started fidgeting in his spot, trying to come up with a good segue to asking Hermione and Ron to distract the order for a day or two.
Hermione however noticed his sudden shift in demeanor and incorrectly attributed it to Harry still being hung up on the Weasley's reaction towards his vision.
"Harry, you mustn't let this get to you. I'm sure when the time comes they'll soon realize what they did and do better by you." Harry was confused for a moment at what she was implying, then clarity came to him.
Maybe he could use this?
Harry petted Buckbeak as he contemplated what to say next.
"I know, but it's still hard to stay in this house; I love your family Ron, so the fact that they suddenly think I'm the cause for your dad's injuries hurts me a bit." Ron nodded and frowned towards the door, where the sounds of the bustling matron were still ongoing.
Harry nervously tapped his fingers against the hardwood floor, "That's why, I want to ask something of you guys; a request of sorts."
Ron and Hermione perked up at that.
Harry paused again, "I… I've been speaking with Lilith as you two know." The teasing smiles began anew as Harry reddened, "And she invited me to come to her home tomorrow, and I need you two to somehow distract the order and the others to think I'm still here."
Ron's smile grew wider as Harry finished his request, "That's it? Come on mate, of course we'll help you!"
Harry's face brightened at Ron's enthusiastic acceptance and turned to the other one-third of the golden trio expectedly. Hermione's face took on a relaxed smile.
"Oh, of course I'll help you, Harry. It's the least I can do for what happened this summer."
Harry flinched at the reminder of his horrible summer but nonetheless gave her a shining smile, "Thank you, Ron, Hermione. You guys are brilliant."
Ron donned an easy smile, "Anything for you mate."
Hermione nodded, the same smile placed upon her face, "Anything."
Harry's heart filled with happiness and euphoria.
Buckbeak snuggled and ruffled his feathers, uncaring of the strengthened bond of the three Gryffindors.
Harry laid in bed, waiting for the other occupants of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place to go to bed and fall into sleep. He turned his head to Ron, who was sitting up playing chess with himself, and let out a soft call.
"Anything from Hermione yet?" Harry whispered in Ron's direction, who only fiddled with a gold coin. Ron shook his head and Harry let him continue on with his chess game.
Another minute passed before Ron abruptly coughed, gaining Harry's attention.
Ron gave him a thumbs up and that was all that Harry needed to know. Harry slowly stood up and got his knapsack, prepared beforehand, and saluted Ron as he exited.
Harry gently closed the door and made his way down the stairs, training from sneaking to the Dursley's kitchen aiding him in traversing the squeak filled staircase, before finally standing before the floo.
As he raised his arm to get a pinch of floo powder, he felt and saw a shimmer of magic be placed around him.
"Mind telling me where you're going, pup?"
Harry went rigid as he heard a voice from behind him, he slowly turned around and saw the face of the roguish Sirius Black
"Well you see…" Harry trailed off, unsure what to even say. This wasn't a part of the plan! Hermione was supposed to signal him and Ron when everybody was asleep, so how did Sirius escape her vision?
Sirius only raised an eyebrow at Harry's lack of an explanation, "I don't suppose you were planning to go somewhere you're not supposed to?" Harry shuffled nervously at Sirius' tone.
"Um… There was no specific order for me not to go where I'm going." Harry winced at his own lame remark.
Sirius crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "And where are you going?"
Harry anxiously gulped, "To… A girl."
A pause…
Sirius walked over to Harry, and though there was not a big gap between their heights, Sirius easily loomed over Harry.
Harry watched Sirius' face, who had donned an aloof, stony exterior.
Before breaking out in a large, beaming smile.
"Look at you, running out to meet a girl!" Sirius captured Harry's head and began to give him a noogie.
Harry smiled as well despite the pain on his head from his godfather's noogie, "Sirius, come on, cut it out! Someone might hear us."
Harry heard Sirius bark out a laugh, "Come on Harry, I'm not daft! I put up a Muffliato; I might be getting on in years but I still haven't lost my touch, Harry."
Harry struggled out of Sirius' hold and fixed himself. Sirius simply kept up the enthusiastic smile.
"I remember when your father used to sneak out to meet Lily; during the Christmas hols as a matter of fact." Sirius' eyes shone with nostalgia, "In fact, I'm pretty sure Charles also told us stories of sneaking away with his wife on Christmas, this might be a Potter tradition!"
Harry laughed at that, "Then I should make sure to keep up the tradition, eh?"
Sirius smiled softened and he gave Harry a hug, "What's a teenage life without a little teenage rebellion? Just don't make me an uncle, I've already got my hands full with you." Sirius let out another laugh at Harry's blushing cheeks.
Harry stepped back out of Sirius' hug and carefully took out a pinch of floo powder, "Er… I don't suppose you'll help me make this a secret from the others?"
Sirius gave Harry a roguish grin, "Hey, you're talking to a marauder; we'll always help out others seeking to make trouble. Well, it's not like you're causing much trouble but I know how you are, and this is basically like breaking the law to you."
Harry gave an appreciative nod and a quick snort from Sirius' comments. He then threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace. As the green flames began to roar he took a step in and felt the familiar tickling feeling of the flames dancing around his whole body; he gazed at Sirius and gave him a bashful smile.
"Moon's Private Eye!"
Sirius watched Harry as he was magically transported to wherever Moon's Private Eye was, he let the silence drone on for a bit before bringing down the silencing charm and speaking out.
"Alright you two, get out here now."
A squeak was heard before the figures of Ron and Hermione stood in front of the pathway leading into the living room. Sirius gives them a look behind his shoulder before bringing up the silencing charm once again.
"Now I'm guessing he's asked for both of your help to keep this under wraps?" Ron and Hermione gave a stiff nod at Sirius' inquiry.
Sirius' gave an eye roll of exasperation at the two, "Oh come off it, I said I'd help Harry; and that means helping you both help him."
Hermione glanced at Ron, who only gave her a supporting grin, before taking a step forward to Sirius, "What can we do?"
Sirius clapped his hands and put his arms around their shoulders, almost knocking down Hermione in the process, and donned a devil-may-care smirk and a mischievous glint twinkled in his eyes.
"Let's get down to it then, shall we?"
The matron of the Weasley household, busy making breakfast for the day, heard an unexpected shout from upstairs. Worry began to eat on her mind, Harry hadn't been out of that room since she had arrived and she wanted no more but to comfort the lonely young one; what a traumatic experience he had gone through, having to watch Arthur be almost killed.
She spelled the ladle she had been holding to keep on stirring without her assistance and made her way up to where she had last heard Harry. A door blocked her path and she tried to open it but the door knob would not turn.
"Harry, dear? Are you alright in there?" She heard the incoming footsteps and the accompanying click of the door in front of her. The head of one Harry Potter popped out of the ajar door.
"Yeah Mrs. Weasley, I'm doing just fine." Molly smiled in relief as he saw the boy healthy and fine.
"Well don't stay inside in there for too long okay? And breakfast is almost ready, best get yourself ready for it." She gave Harry a squeeze on the cheek and went back downstairs humming a tune, happy that Harry was all well and good.
Harry Potter watched as Molly returned to her cooking before closing the door and facing the unseen occupants of the room.
"You guys satisfied?" Harry asked in an indifferent tone, unbefitting of the usually polite boy.
Sirius let out a chuckle at Harry, "Well I think it was perfect. What say you two?"
Hermione hummed whilst holding a quill and parchment, "Well, first of all Harry would not use that kind of tone to someone unless they did something wrong to him… Or was a Malfoy."
The boy being talked about rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. What else?"
A snort from Ron gained the attention of the Boy-who-lived, "Pretty sure he wouldn't wear something like that either."
Harry looked down on his attire, a long black jacket along with a red and black striped shirt and some ripped jeans, afterwards returning his gaze back to Ron, "Well what'd you expect? You guys sprung this on me!"
Sirius neared the boy and gave him a pat on the back, "Come on Nymphadora, don't be such a spoilsport."
If the name hadn't revealed the true identity of the boy, the flaming red hair now on his head would be a dead giveaway, "Don't call me Nymphadora!"
Sirius held his hands up in surrender at Tonks' outrage.
Tonks then let out a huff, "I don't understand what I'm even doing here." She muttered.
Hermione looked up from her notes and looked at Tonks with a small, rueful smile, "Because barring Polyjuice, which would be impossible to attain without going through illegal means in such a short notice, you're the only one who can physically copy Harry."
An indignant frown was shown on Tonks face, "Pretty sure Mundungus knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a man who can get you Polyjuice with your hands clean."
"Pretty sure Harry wouldn't advocate smuggling illegal items either. Neither should you, for that matter." Ron was paid with a glare from the transformed, young auror.
Sirius treaded towards the exit and gave them all a smirk full of mirth, "Well I'll leave three to it. I'd better think Harry came back from wherever he is, that's how good you should be!"
Tonks flipped him off, producing a belly laugh from Sirius.
A/N: I've always wanted to end a chapter by flipping somebody else off, so here's my wish granted. I like my reviews like I like my coffee: With a teaspoon of sugar and milk.