A while later the hall had gotten more crowded as the rest of the school and its visitors made their way to breakfast. Freddie's ears perked up as she heard Ada tell her classmates she was going for one last walk around Hogwarts school grounds. She made her way back down the table, dodging the feet and legs of the Ravenclaw students. She waited until she saw her friend leave the Great Hall, then quickly darted out after her.
"Was that a cat?" she heard one of the students remark as she left the hall and she cringed.
"Probably," answered another student in an uninterested tone. "There's a lot of them around here, aren't there? Have you tried this marmalade?"
Having successfully made her escape Freddie hurried through the Entrance Hall to find Ada waiting for her on the stairs. She followed after her as her friend started walking towards the lake. Once she was sure they were alone, Freddie transformed back.
"It's sad to think I may not see this place again," Ada said remorsefully as they approached the lake. "I'm glad I got to spend my last year here, even if I wasn't a real Hogwarts student."
"I'm sure you'll be able to visit the castle again," Freddie assured her. "I've been here loads of times since I graduated."
"Only because you have Snape."
"Yeah, and you have me," she said, nudging her friend playfully. "If you want to come visit Hogwarts this summer Dumbledore probably won't mind."
"I'd like that," she said with a faint smile. "It's so nice here and there's so much to see and do. I really wanted to explore the forest some more, see what kind of creatures there are in there."
"Dangerous ones," Freddie told her, but Ada only grinned.
"Do you think the Order meetings will be at the castle?" Ada asked in a low, secretive voice though they were the only two out there.
"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. "Dumbledore said he was looking for a place the other night."
"I wonder why?"
"I guess it would look too suspicious to have a bunch of grown witches and wizards coming and going from the school all the time, especially once school starts back. Plus, with the way our Ministry is being, I guess a lot of people won't want to be seen conferring with Dumbledore."
"Yeah, that's a good point. I wonder how many of us there are so far?"
"I dunno. Hopefully a lot. Dumbledore's always been really well-respected, he has a lot of connections."
"Yeah but people don't want to believe that You-Know-Who is back. I mean, I wish I didn't believe it," Ada said and Freddie looked at her funny. "You know what I mean, Freddie. I wish it wasn't true."
"Yeah. Me too," she agreed.
"Do you remember what it was like before?" she asked hesitantly. "When You-Know-Who was around, before Harry Potter? I was only a kid then, I didn't even know I was a witch back then."
"I was only 7," she said with an uncomfortable shrug.
"I've read about it and I've heard people talk about it. People were afraid to leave their homes. Muggleborns were disappearing left and right – witches and wizards, too. Anyone who opposed Him. The Ministry was working overtime putting Memory Charms on Muggles to make them forget some of the stuff they'd seen. Parents were afraid to send their kids to school even."
"I don't really remember much," Freddie said, looking down at her feet. "But I'm guessing my experience was different than most."
"Because of your parents," Ada realized and smacked herself in the forehead. "I'm sorry, Freddie."
"It's okay," she said grimly. "I wish I could forget about them. Most of the time I don't even think about them."
Freddie stopped and kicked a loose rock towards the lake. They watched as it fell in with a splash and ripples spread out around it.
"...Remus told me a lot of people die in Azkaban. They just give up and quit eating. I wish they would die," she said bitterly. "They were horrible parents and they did such terrible things..."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," Ada said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
"No, it's okay that you did," Freddie assured her. "It helps to remember what kind of people we're fighting against...and what it is that we're fighting for. So there won't be people like that in the world anymore and Muggles and Muggleborns can live in peace."