Ooookay. Maybe I should correct myself.

At the very least, I will try for weakly updates. But as you can see, I have pretty much no self control when it comes to posting chapters. I just wanna keep posting them! So, I'll promise to post one chapter a week at least, but you could get a lot, like now.

Also, I didn't exactly edit that last chapter, so if you find mistakes that I've missed, feel free to point it out and tell me! I'll definitely appreciate it.

Enjoy this extra chapter!

Chapter Four

"Er… James had it."

"Potter had it? He's in Gryffindor Tower. Is it a coincidence that you and your friend happened to lag behind enough for him to make the five minute walk from here without you?"

Mia sighed and took a deep breath, setting aside the emotions threatening to burst through. "I was upset and Sirius stopped to check on me. I don't think James noticed us stopping or I bed he would have helped me, too…" Wait, she didn't mention Fred. Weren't they together? "Did you happen to see a tall redhead walking with James?"

Lily shook her head, looking like she didn't quite believe the story but also didn't want to accuse a girl she's never met of lying. "Why don't I escort you two back so you don't get into trouble?" At their nods, Lily turned on her heel and began walking.

They walked in silence, but it was harshly broken when they walked in to the Tower, James trying to yell over everyone to ask if they'd seen Mia or Sirius. When he kept yelling and didn't see them, Lily clenched her fists and walked over, pushing him off the table he was standing on.

"Potter! Will you shut up!? I found your friends!" Lily had to yell, too, but Mia just smiled as she watched James's face soften when he looked at her and nodded brightly.

"Thank you, Evans. I really appreciate it. D'you wanna see the pass Dumbles gave us?" Lily bristled at hearing James's name for Professor Dumbledore just as Mia did, but shook her head and walked toward the Fat Lady. She shot a kind smile at Mia. "I'll look for you after my rounds are over; I don't believe we've met." Before Mia could respond, Lily stepped out of Gryffindor Tower, probably glad for the quiet.

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"I nearly had a bloody heart attack! I thought Filch was gonna catch you two. We're lucky it was just Lilypad. Why'd you stop?" James and Sirius had gone up to their dorms to see Remus and Peter, leaving Fred and Mia downstairs to talk.

"Mia looked like she was having another panic attack. She wasn't breathing and she was holding her fist so tight I thought she was gonna bleed. I let her talk and she calmed down. I may have, uh, told her she was adopted by the marauders." Sirius rubbed his neck sheepishly. A marauder adoption is something all of them took very seriously. It meant they were family and they would be cared for and protected. It meant that they never had to fight battles alone and that they were trusted and could trust the marauders. So far, the only Marauder adoptions that had taken place were Marlene McKinnon and Frank Longbottom. Marlene was an old friend of James's and she had a not great home life. When she was at school, she didn't have it great, either. She was a Slytherin that spent all the time she possibly could in with Gryffindors and even spent a great deal of time in Gryffindor Tower. But when she went back to the dungeons, things weren't great. They were cruel and rude and they bullied her. She had taken to spending the night with Mary, Alice, and Lily. There were five beds in the dorm, so she took up one, and Mia would take the last one.

A Marauders Adoption was always talked about and considered beforehand. Now… Well, Sirius was sure he was about to be yelled at.

"Oh, good. I was gonna ask you guys if we should. We should get Fred, too. He's fun, but he seems so sad. We can talk to them about it tomorrow." James said happily, leaving Sirius confused. "So, what did she say? She okay?"

"Who?"

"Mia, idiot."

"Oh, she told me about her best friend. Apparently they've been through… a lot. She said since she was eleven she has spent every year of her life protecting him from death, or something. They saved each other a lot and she doesn't seem too sure on how to live without him. I think… I think he died. I don't really know what's happened to her but… guys, it's bad."

Remus hummed quietly, frowning. "She's incredibly sad looking at you and James, and when she looked at me… I dunno. I would say it was hope, but I'm not sure." It was close to the full moon, Sirius reminded himself.

"But why would she be sad looking at Sirius and I? We're beautiful to look at!"

"No, I noticed it, too. When we were talking she looked at us like she'd just come from our funerals. She was… crying." Sirius may not know what happened to her, but he knew he would protect her from then on. He had too.

"Is it really your right to know why? I know we're adopting her, but I don't think it's right trying to figure it out. Let her tell you in her own time." They all turned to Pete's bed and James sighed. They'd thought he was asleep, but he was right.

"Alright, alright. We'll leave it for now. Go back to bed, Wormtail."

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Mia didn't like it when Fred frowned, she decided. He looked too serious, and any trace of the smile that cheered everyone up was erased, like it never existed. He looked too dark, too sad like this. He looked… Oh, Merlin, he looked like Percy. She reached over and took his hand gently. "I'll do research tomorrow, I promise. We'll get home." He nodded absently, like he was trying to focus on something and she was just distracting him. She knew he was having a hard time. It must have just hit him what was going on and how far away they were from George. She had just had her moment of that earlier.

A few silent minutes later, and Lily walked in through the Fat Lady looking exhausted. She shot Mia a gentle smile. "Hey. Sorry it's so late. I… Some Slytherins were out." Her voice cracked o Slytherins, and Mia could guess who at least one of them was. "Are you knew, then?"

Mia nodded. "Me and my friend, Fred here, were homeschooled. For varying reasons, we both had to transfer here to finish school. I'm sixth year and he's in seventh. We're the Potters wards for now. That's why I was talking to Sirius and why he stopped to help me."

Lily nodded thoughtfully. "It's nice to meet you both," she smiled at them, though her eyes stayed on Fred more now. "Are you alright?"

Fred nodded and squeezed Mia's hand gently. "We're both a little anxious. A lot's happened today, and we haven't even been able to talk about it… like we normally do." Mia spoke quietly but made sure to give a hint. Leave us alone, it spoke quietly. Thankfully, Lily seemed to get it.

"Oh! Well how about I leave you two alone and come back in, say, a half hour? I'd say for the night, but someone has to show you to your bed and everything!"

"That would be lovely. Thank you, Lily." Mia offered a warm smile and Lily returned it as she retreated up the stairs to the sixth year girls' dorms.

Fred let out a breath that he had been holding and released Mia's hand.

"Mione, you're brilliant. You'll get us home, won't you?" The question was fragile, filled with anxiety and fear.

"I'll do my best. We certainly can't stay here, can we?" She scooted closer on the couch they were sitting on and nervously let her head rest on his shoulder. He was all she had from the future, and she would hold on with all her might. "We don't belong."

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Next time: Hermione goes to DADA and meets some… interesting… Slytherins, Fred and Hermione are adopted by the Marauders, and they meet Peter!