Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brittle Winter

By the end of October, her nightmares had subsided. As it turned out, the key to a dementor-free mindscape was regular meditation; it especially helped when she did it right before bed. With her REM reinstated, Alex felt like her year was finally beginning to look up. Her grades were great, her mood had improved, and her friendships had evened out at last.

Except… She and Grant weren't on bad terms per se, but something had evidently shifted since their tiff before the Sorting Feast. After a few days of stony silence on each end, Alex had swallowed her pride and apologised to Grant, who caved easily and confessed his own regrets. They were still friends, of course, and she still sat with the Ravenclaws during class and mealtimes, but it happened less frequently than it had the previous years. Part of that was due to her newfound camaraderie with her Housemates, true, but Grant definitely seemed more distant with her than before.

"Don't take it to heart," Duncan advised her with a sympathetic smile. "He's going through some stuff right now."

Still, Alex couldn't help but feel as though her insensitivity had only exacerbated his turmoil. She tried her best to restore that banter, that easy back-and-forth they had – she even went to his quidditch games, with a banner that supported Ravenclaw (as long as they weren't up against her House). It didn't seem to be enough, though.

She turned to Sirius for help via owl. His replies took a few days to get back to her, since he was swamped with responsibilities now that he had reintegrated into society. He was the figurehead of the campaign to rid Azkaban and other, lesser prisons of dementors, and to retrial all cases of other war crimes. Naturally, there was a huge pushback of the latter from those who managed to charm and buy their ways out of the courts (i.e. the Sacred Twenty-Eight of pureblood society) but that at least gave the activists more wiggle room for their first goal.

Sirius's reply, when it arrived, gave her mixed feelings. He confessed he understood to some degree what she was going through, but the situations were as similar as night and day. For one thing, it was his brother with whom he cut off all ties with in fifth year, and that was because he continued to entrench himself further into their parents' twisted ideologies.

He was a Death Eater before they even called themselves that, wrote Sirius. Even through writing she could hear his bitterly wry tone.

The only piece of advice he could give her was to let things play out as they did. If her friendship with Grant was meant to be, then it would mend itself naturally. Alex disagreed, but it wasn't like there was more she could do. She had apologised, Grant had accepted it; that was the meant to be the end of that.

Sighing, Alex finished reading the letter. She had turned to Sirius for consolation and advice, but she felt glummer than ever. What was worse was that she knew Sirius's brother had died decades ago, meaning they had never reconciled. Of course, her situation with Grant wasn't nearly as convoluted, but it didn't fill her with much hope either.

She hoped Sirius was doing okay. He had enough troubles to stump a myriad of therapists, and although he appeared well when she saw him the other day during their official first meeting—in the Trio's eyes, anyway—there was no way anyone could have recovered so quickly after more than a decade of torture. Still, he was doing better, and that was basically all Alex could ask for at this point.

Reuniting with his godson must have done him wonders. That much was obvious when Alex met up with everyone in Lupin's office last Saturday afternoon. Like his predecessors, he worked from the Defence staffroom, and decorated it per his tastes. According to the grapevine, Quirrell's room had been dim and dark, the curtains drawn closed with minimal lighting filling the room. His walls had been covered with mirrors of various kinds — which, in hindsight, made total sense. Harry had personally seen Lockhart's version of the room, much to his vocal displeasure; gone were the dirty mirrors, replaced instead with a plethora of photos of Lockhart himself. Unlike with Quirrell, the room had been brightly lit, perhaps so everyone could get a good look at the life-size poster that had hung at the back of Lockhart's door. Between Quirrell and Lockhart, it was no wonder Harry was warier of the latter.

Lupin's version of the office was bare to the point of boring. It looked like your everyday office; the only thing that showcased some of Lupin's personality was the framed photo of himself, Sirius and Harry on his desk. Alex ignored the weird lurch in her chest upon seeing that.

"You're late," Hermione had informed her once she entered the room.

Instead of a dry retort, Alex simply dragged her gaze to Lupin then back to Hermione. She smirked. It was a silly little crush that would be sure to fizzle out—and wow, Hermione seemed to have a thing for Defence professors, huh?—but that didn't mean Alex wasn't going to tease the hell out of her for it. That was what friends did, after all.

"Sorry," she said placatingly, still smirking. "I was taking a nap."

"Isn't that what History of Magic classes are for?" asked Ron from Hermione's left.

Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," replied Alex. She purposely turned away from the sceptical look Ron was shooting her and directed her attention to Harry, who was standing right next to Sirius. "So, this is your godfather?"

"Yeah. Alex, this is Sirius," introduced Harry with an awkward wave of his hand. "Sirius, this is Alex."

"Nice to meet you," Alex said with a small grin. It was a struggle to contain the laughter that threatened to spill out. The amused sparkle in Sirius's eyes wasn't helping.

"And you," replied Sirius as he leaned against Lupin's desk. "Harry's mentioned you quite a bit. Apparently, you've helped him out a good deal despite being in a separate House."

Sirius was teasing her, she knew, but there was definitely a note of sincerity in his voice as he handed her a somewhat convoluted compliment. "Yeah, well," said Alex, shifting uneasily, "you know us Slytherins – always willing to help."

"Is that what the House of Snakes is known for now?" he asked, glancing at Lupin for confirmation. "Sure has changed since back in our day."

"I mean, it's been a century since then, so." Alex shrugged.

"Oh my god," muttered Harry while Ron slapped a palm to his freckly face.

"Alex," hissed Hermione, "don't be rude." She shot a pointed look at the professor whose room they were loitering in.

Lupin, though, merely shook his head in weary bemusement as Sirius barked out his signature laugh.

That was basically all they had time for. Soon after, Harry received his requisite pseudo-parent time with his dad's best mates while Hermione quietly chewed Alex out for disrespecting the lone adults in the room. Sirius had then bid them goodbye, promised to see them soon, and used the headmaster-approved floo to leave the premises.

Sirius was staying with his cousin Andromeda in the meanwhile. In addition to the decade or so they needed catching up on, she knew Sirius couldn't bear to be alone for extended periods of time. Whenever he went out in public, he always had at least one auror with him in case anyone tried to silence him for good. There hadn't been any attempts on his life yet, but he was certain that it would happen sooner rather than later.

Rest assured, he wrote, I have a place tucked away from the rest of the world.

The kennel my dad made for you doesn't count, Alex wrote back, grinning.

"What are you smiling at?" asked Stephen, peering up his from his essay.

"A funny joke I made earlier today," Alex replied. She began putting away her things. "Club's about to start soon."

Stephen chuckled. "You're so into it," he all but sang.

She shrugged. "It's good revision," she explained. "Practical to boot."

Out of the all the extracurricular activities up for grabs, Charms club turned out to be the most fun and most useful. While frog choir did sound interesting, she knew it'd be next to useless. The Transfiguration and Potions clubs were next on her list, but they weren't as enjoyable as Charms was. Besides, it was the closest thing to a Defence club as they were going to get.

Today, for example, she was guiding the others through the Hardening Charm. There were many giggles at the name, and Alex smirked a little as well. As they worked through it, she overheard some of the members plotting to use the charm on their bullies by turning their bags into stone.

Of course, there were better uses for the spell than that. If potent enough, the charm could even transform a living being into a statue. That was the level of skill Alex was trying to muster, at any rate. In her own spare time, she managed to turn a beetle into stone, but that was it. She would slowly work her way up the animal kingdom, granted Hermione was kind enough to revert the spell each time she succeeded.

She would've relied on Cedric if she could manage to snag him from all his responsibilities. To think he wasn't even in his penultimate year yet. She dreaded how busy he would be as a seventh-year – the head boy position was practically his ever since he had received the prefect badge in the mail. And he would graduate Hogwarts no matter what; Alex would make sure of it.

Once the Hogsmeade weekends rolled around, Alex found herself seeing more of her Hufflepuff friend. They went to the village together every week, either spending the whole trip together or at least parts of it when they weren't with their respective friends. As fourth- and fifth-years, Hogsmeade wasn't too exciting, so it was especially fun when Alex accompanied her third-year friends to the village instead.

"Whoa!" gushed Ron as he entered Zonko's for the first time ever. The phrase kid in a candy store popped up in Alex's mind as she watched the trio practically drool over the sweets lined along every wall. "Where has this place been my whole life?"

"Better prepare some dental hygiene potions," she muttered to Hermione, who smiled.

"My parents won't be too pleased," she confessed, reaching for a jar of fizzing whizbees.

"Get them some jellybeans for Christmas," suggested Harry.

"You mean get some for me," said Alex. The only reason Harry was here instead of sulking away in the castle was because of her idea to forge his uncle's signature on the permission slip. His initial plan back in the summer was to plead with Professor McGonagall – she was an immovable mountain, that woman. There was a reason her animagus form was that of a cat, after all.

Harry grabbed a barrel of Bertie Botts and handed her a single serving of nougat. "Happy birthday," he said for the third time that day.

"I'm gonna kill you," she promised him. She accepted the sweet anyway.

"I can't wait until Sirius legally becomes my guardian," said Harry as they left the shop. "I'll never have to rely on the Dursleys for permission slips ever again."

Ron frowned around the giant rainbow lollipop in his mouth. "Can't believe Dumbledore is making you stay with your relatives regardless. Sirius is a more better alternative."

"Much better," corrected Hermione.

"Much more better," said Alex. She batted her eyes innocently at the dirty look Hermione fixed her with.

"Did he even tell you why?" asked a persistent Ron.

Harry glanced away in discomfort. "He didn't. He just said they were family, and they were important."

They had no response to that; it sounded like a total cop-out.

"I'm sure there's method to his madness," reasoned Hermione despite her troubled frown.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I saw that."

When they returned from Hogsmeade, the trio plus Alex decided to pay Hagrid (and Fang) a visit. He was in the midst of collecting his giant pumpkins for the Halloween feast tonight.

"So Hagrid," said Alex as she helped levitate a pumpkin into his wheelbarrow, "y'know how you wanted to do a lesson on hippogriffs?"

Hermione's shriek almost made Alex lose control of her charm. "You what?"

"Wicked," breathed Ron. His pumpkin had actually fallen, and Alex made it vanish with a wave of her wand as soon as she was able to.

"Surely you mean a theoretical lesson?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"What's a hippogriff?" asked Harry.

"Half eagle, half horse."

The blank look on Harry's told her he was busy working out which half went where.

"Nothin' wrong with hippogriffs," defended Hagrid as he grabbed another pumpkin. "They're gentle once yeh get ter know 'em."

"But they can rip you to shreds if you piss them off," added Alex.

"You sound way too excited," Harry said, matter-of-fact.

"That's because I'm confident they won't hurt me."

"What, you've met one?" asked Ron. He was busy shooing Fang out of the way in case a pumpkin fell on him.

"I met the whole herd."

Hagrid had taken her to the hippogriff part of the forest early last month, not long after his first CoMC lesson with the puffskeins. They were gorgeous creatures, albeit very proud and skittish. One approached her right away — a dark grey hippogriff named Stormwing.

Although she had taken the initiative, Alex had been forced to maintain her bow for half a minute before she had deemed her worthy. She slowly got acquainted with the rest of the herd over the hour or two she and Hagrid had spent in the clearing, but Stormwing remained her favourite.

"Anyway," Alex said, finally getting back on track, "if you don't want me hogging the herd, you should think about handing out permission slips for the lessons with more dangerous animals." She had overheard more than a handful of people plotting to ruin Hagrid's career—and possibly his life—if the creatures got too out of hand.

Hagrid frowned thoughtfully. "S'not a bad idea," he said. "I'll ask Professor McGonagall 'bout it."

They finished with the pumpkins soon after that. Hagrid pushed a wheelbarrow by himself into the castle, while Alex and Hermione applied lightening charms to the others.

The prefects were already in the Great Hall alongside the professors who usually helped out at events such as these. Alex scanned the room for Cedric, waving a hand when they locked eyes. Smiling, he said something to the other Hufflepuff prefect and made his over to them.

"Earning brownie points before next year's prefects are selected?" he laughed.

Alex's gaze slid from Cedric's teasing grin to the wheelbarrow in front of her.

"Don't tip it over," he said, reading her mind.

"Tch."

"Did you just click your tongue at me? Seems like someone doesn't want their birthday present."

Alex blinked rapidly in surprise. "You got me a gift? Why?" Everyone at Hogwarts usually saved their gift-giving for Christmas.

He shrugged. "Why not?" he countered.

Fair enough. She smiled as anticipation began to build in her. "What did you get me?"

"It's in the kitchen. Come see."

Cedric was done with his prefect duties for now, and since neither she nor the trio knew any spells for pumpkin-carving, they were free to go as well. She waved bye to Hagrid, who was busy trying to convince Professor Sprout that pumpkins grew best when spoken to.

The house-elves were busier than normal when they got to the kitchens, so Cedric hurriedly collected whatever it was he made for her and moved to an isolated section of the room.

"Happy birthday," he said, beaming, as he opened the gift box. Inside it was a small cake decorated with pink and white icing. There was a shoddy drawing of a black cat made of chocolate on the top of the cake.

Alex smiled. "You made this?" she asked softly.

Cedric nodded. "I figured you needed a pick-me-up. Fourth year can be the worst for some people."

She felt warm all over. Laughing slightly, Alex rubbed her eyes. "I love it. Thanks, Cedric."

"Anytime, Alex."

Once Halloween ended, the countdown to Christmas began. Well, Alex was sure someone was counting down somewhere. She made sure to get all her shopping done before December to avoid the mania that occurred during that period. In addition to her usual list of recipients, this year Alex purchased presents for a handful of others.

Sirius received a pocket-sized sneakoscope and a few Jurassic Park dinosaur figurines she had gotten her mum to buy and mail to her. It was tough work animating them so they would move more or less fluidly, but she was proud of her results in the end.

Remus's gift from her seemed a bit less impressive; it was a mug that had World's Best Teacher emblazoned on it. The font changed in size, shape and colour. It floated, drifted, spun and faded in and out, so it could be rather distracting at times. They were sold at a stationary store in Diagon Alley, along with mugs that read World's Worst Teacher. Alex had purchased one of those as well for future use.

Stephen ended up receiving the same thing she would later learn he bought for her — a book on Charms that had animated illustrations. It wasn't cheap, of course, as the magic and skill poured into a copy was unfathomable, but it was well worth every sickle.

Personally, Alex felt like the best Christmas gift she had given this year was Hermione's. Her bookish friend had been doubly horrified by Sirius's case after meeting him in person. His situation had all of a sudden become so real to her. She spent the rest of the week reading up on magical Britain's legal system, and wouldn't stop peppering them about it, much to Ron and Harry's irritation. It would only get worse once Hermione received the tomes, papers and books Alex had mailed to her for Christmas.

Alex herself would've read up on such matters, but if she was being honest, they were dreadfully dull even to her. Besides, Hermione would undoubtedly return from the break full of ideas and arguments, so Alex figured she would learn from her encyclopaedic friend instead.

The excitement in the air was almost palpable on the train ride home. And why wouldn't it be? For the first time in the three years Harry had attended Hogwarts, he was finally spending Christmas with family.

"Where are you gonna stay again?" Ron asked as he took out a set of self-shuffling cards.

Harry smiled as he stroked Hedwig. "Sirius's cousin's place. I'll write their address for you guys."

Alex accepted the scrap of parchment, absently noting the proximity between Andromeda's house and her own. "You better send us loads of letters," she warned him with a wag of her finger.

Hedwig nipped at it; Harry moved his arm so she could get to it better. "I'll try," he claimed, ignoring the kick to the shin courtesy of Alex.

"No fighting," admonished Hermione as she destroyed Ron in a game of Go-Kappa.

Platform 9 ¾ was abuzz with tension by the time their train arrived. Alex spotted the source of the hubbub as soon as she stepped onto the station.

It was Sirius, and he was being gawked at none-too-subtly by the other wizards and witches there to pick up their relatives. Alex choked on her laughter when she saw someone ask him for his signature.

"Harry," Sirius said affably when they—minus Hermione, who hurried off to be with her parents—neared him, "and Harry's friends. Stir up any trouble since last time?"

"No," answered Ron just as Alex said, "Obviously."

"Obviously no," amended Harry, adjusting Hedwig's cage. "How are we getting to wherever we're going?"

"We'll apparate." Sirius clapped a hand on his godson's shoulder in preparation for the trip. "Ever apparate before?"

Harry shook his head. "I've heard of it, though," he replied, glancing at Alex.

"It's awful," she told him, moving out of the way as a family rushed past her. "Try not to barf after."

"Thanks. Your parents picking you up?"

Alex bit her lip. While she would've liked to hitch a ride with the Weasleys, she didn't want to ruin the tentative peace she had with Ron at the moment. He still hadn't quite forgiven Spitfire for his supposed role in Scabbers' disappearance, but at least he wasn't taking it out on her anymore.

"I'm gonna Knight Bus it to Diagon," she said.

"Nonsense." Sirius shrunk her trunk before she could protest. "You can come with us and use the floo."

Ugh, apparating? That was almost as bad as the Knight Bus. Still, Alex wasn't keen on getting tossed around like a rag doll again, so she accepted Sirius's offer without complaint.

"Ron!" called Mr Weasley as he approached. "There you are!" His sigh cut off midway when he noticed Sirius.

Alex couldn't help but think back to the last time she had considered the two men within the same context. The circumstances were pretty different since then in the Leaky Cauldron — and to think that had been five months ago.

"Mr Black," greeted Mr Weasley, smiling tightly. His grip on his son's shoulder was equally strong, judging by Ron's widening eyes. "What brings you here?"

Sirius's expression grew a tad strained. "I'm here to pick up my godson," he declared, glancing meaningfully at Harry. "And his friend."

"Oh," murmured Mr Weasley as he glanced from Sirius to Harry to Alex. To assure him of the matter, Alex offered him a thumbs-up. "I had no idea."

"It's true, Dad," said Ron, shrugging out of the hold he had on him. "Dumbledore was there and everything."

Mr Weasley nodded absently, as though he were contemplating owling Dumbledore then and there. "Well, have a happy Christmas," he wished them as Ron pushed him away.

"See you later, Harry," called Ron from over his shoulder.

Alex sighed with disappointment at his omission of her name. She wasn't surprised, however.

"He'll come 'round," Harry told her.

Alex shook off a wave of deja vu. Hopefully she wasn't going to piss off any more of her ginger friends this year.

"What did you do?" Sirius wondered without judgement.

"He thinks my cat ate his rat," she replied, sliding him a weighty glance.

"Ah," muttered Sirius, grimacing.

"It probably just ran away," Harry said, eager to defend her.

"You could always buy him a new pet," suggested Sirius as he shrunk and pocketed Harry's luggage. "No rodents, though."

Alex nodded. She already had purchased an owl for him – a cute little thing she had seen Ginny fawn over before. It would make its way to the Burrow on Christmas morning, according to the shopkeeper.

Speaking of pets, Sirius made Harry release Hedwig so she wouldn't have to suffer the effects of apparition with them. Accommodating Spitfire was a bit trickier, but they decided to cast a Sleeping Charm on her cat instead. That settled, Sirius placed a hand on Alex's and Harry's shoulders and apparated them away.

On the bright side, Alex didn't hurl — even better, Harry did. Alex ducked her head under the pretence of recoiling from the vomit when she was really just hiding her smug smile.

Fortunately, whether it was due to any anti-apparition wards on the Tonks residence or Sirius's own good sense, they were standing outside the house rather than in it. As Sirius got rid of the puddle of sick on the pavement, Alex took in their surroundings. She didn't recognise the suburb, but it looked quaint as hell. It was very muggle, reminding her of Privet Drive, minus all the hostility.

The Tonks house proved even more benign. It was a two-storey structure with an expansive front yard cultivated to the letter. The red brick complemented the dark green tiled roof, and if Alex didn't know any better, she would've assumed nothing unusual lied in wait behind that brown door.

Sirius let themselves in with his key. Alex was struck by how normal the interior seemed. There were no talking mirrors, no animate photos, not even chairs that tucked themselves in. Alex was gobsmacked. How did the Tonks family live like this?

She never found out, because they weren't even home. Sirius guided them to the fireplace and she grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"Make sure to enunciate," Sirius warned her after making sure she had all her things.

Alex smirked at a reddening Harry. "I'll try."

After flooing to the Leaky Cauldron, Alex walked over to the parlour. Her dad was in the midst of serving someone a scoop of butterbeer-flavoured ice cream when she entered.

"Back already!" noted her dad as she approached the counter. "Good, good. I was just about to take a break. Cover for me?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Funny."

"Thank you," he said graciously, magicking the door locked. With a wave of his wand, the sign flipped from OPEN to CLOSED to BACK SOON.

Inhaling sharply, Alex took her dad's arm and prepared herself for another round of side-along apparition.

(She had to lie down for a long time afterwards.)

Since the winter break lasted a mere two weeks, Alex didn't bother unpacking completely. She took out her reading materials and parchment and quills, but otherwise left her clothes in the trunk. Although she probably needn't have packed it all in the first place, she didn't feel quite comfortable leaving all her belongings unchecked in the dorm like that. Last year, a Slytherin firstie had returned to find all her things shredded as a result of a nasty tiff with one of her dormmates.

As she had time to kill before her parents clocked off, Alex tackled as much of her homework as she could. She managed to get a good chunk of it done when she heard the door unlock. Alex descended the stairs to greet whoever had reached home first.

It was her mum. Her brow was knit together, her lips pursed, and her overall disposition seemed peeved. Had an intern messed up another case?

"Hi," said Alex, peering over the railing. "How was work?"

As it was the first time in months she was seeing her only child, Alex expected her mum's face to break out into a warm smile. Instead, her irritation deepened.

"Why were you and Harry with Sirius Black?" she demanded, hooking her cloak onto the door with unwarranted force.

Alex reeled back in shock. "Um, he's Harry's godfather," she stammered, gripping with the railing for dear life. "He helped me get to Dad's shop. How'd you even know about that?"

"I'm one of the aurors assigned to keep an eye on him," she sighed, shaking her head. "I don't want you associating with that man."

"Why?" she asked, bewildered.

"Really, Alex? You're asking why I don't want you hanging around an ex-con?"

"A falsely accused one," Alex retorted with a snort. "If anything, the only truly corrupt party here is the Ministry."

The customers at the parlour always said she resembled her dad, but Alex knew at heart that she was her mother's daughter — the glare her mum shot her was ample proof of that.

"We at the Ministry don't go out of our way to indict innocent people," she said frostily.

"Yeah," scoffed Alex, "and you let guilty ones get away with shite too."

"Grounded. To your room." The tone of finality sealed the deal; the conversation was over.

Biting back a scream of frustration, Alex stormed up the stairs and into her room. She shut the door forcefully, startling Spitfire.

"Is it too late to stay at the castle for Christmas?" she asked him. He responded by flicking his tail in her face.

Alex sighed. She just hoped Harry's Christmas was going a lot better than hers.