Chapter 10: Hogsmeade

As usual, nothing belongs to me. I am finally uploading two more chapters of this story, for those who have been awaiting it. I'm sorry to say it's a cliffhanger again, but I am working on more of it now and I hope to finish soon. Hope you like it.

Chapter 10: Hogsmeade

Things were normal for the next few weeks. Nothing more happened with Voldemort or the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Everyone still mourned over the deaths of Cho Chang and Leslie Guthrie, and the fear of who was next was still present. Sirius had written to Harry, telling him that he'd heard about what had happened, and once again reminding Harry to let him know if anything out of the ordinary happened to him. Nothing had, and so his visits to Dumbledore that had been so common for a few days no longer happened. Classes went by and Harry and Ron reluctantly did their schoolwork, persuaded by the persistent Hermione. They had been confined to the castle for nearly a month, never going outside. The worries and entrapment made people miserable.

One day in early October, everyone was seated for dinner. Dumbledore rose to make an announcement. Everyone exchanged worried glances. Could it be more bad news?

"We have been confined to the castle for over a month now," said Dumbledore. "I know it has been difficult for you all, but given the circumstances there is not much I, or anyone, can do. I have, in fact, been able to schedule a trip to Hogsmeade for Halloween, though. There have been no sightings of Death Eaters or Voldemort there, so we will be going. This time, all students, even first and second years are invited to attend. That is all. Please resume with your dinner."

"Good," said Ron. "I don't know how much longer I can stand being trapped in here."

"Yeah," agreed Harry.

"Isn't it kind of dangerous for us to be going to Hogsmeade?" asked Hermione. "I mean, everyone will know we're there." She brought up a good point but everyone was too excited about being able to leave the castle that they didn't give it any thought.

Four weeks later, the students of Hogwarts lined up outside of their school ready to head to Hogsmeade. The fresh air seemed to make them all more cheerful. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall had a worried expression on her face as she watched them leave. Harry, Ron and Hermione chose a carriage and began to head off to Hogsmeade.

"Do you think anything will happen today?" asked Hermione.

"Who knows," said Harry. "I'm just glad we get to go." Ron agreed. Soon, they arrived at Hogsmeade. The village appeared normal. People walked the streets entering and leaving shops and houses. The sun shined brightly on the tiny town.

"Well, what should we do first?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," said Ron. They were busy discussing what to do, when Harry noticed a familiar face passing by.

"Hi Professor Lupin," he called to his old Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. He looked tired extremely hurried, and an odd smile appeared on his face at the sight of Harry.

"Oh, hello Harry," he seemed startled and looked as though something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"How are you?" asked Harry.

"Busy," said Professor Lupin in a tone that almost sounded cruel. "I have lots to do and I'm running late." Harry, a little startled, let him walk by. He looked at Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be equally surprised.

"Well, he seemed a little stressed out," Ron said finally, as they watched him walk away. He finally entered Three Broomsticks.

"I know," said Harry. "I have never seen him act that way. It didn't even seem like him. Really."

"He could have just been really busy, like he said," said Hermione. "Or maybe full moon was recently." Ron shook his head.

"Full moon was three weeks ago. It's coming up again in four days."

"I don't know," said Harry. "That was really strange, though." He exchanged glances with Ron and they looked at Three Broomsticks, which was not far from where they were standing.

"No!" said Hermione. "You are not going to follow him! It's none of your business!"

"How about a drink of butterbeer?" Ron grinned at Harry who agreed.

"Yeah, sounds good." They began walking, leaving Hermione behind. She finally came running after them.

"I can't believe you two. Always dragging me into these things," she was mumbling.

"Well, you followed us!" said Ron.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" exclaimed Hermione.

"Guys, please, don't argue," said Harry as they entered Three Broomsticks. They spotted Professor Lupin almost instantly. He was seated at a table in the far corner of the building accompanied by two other men that Harry didn't recognize.

"How are we going to get close enough to hear anything?" asked Ron. Harry shook his head.

"I wish I would have brought the invisibility cloak," he said.

"This is dumb. Can we just leave? Please?" said Hermione.

"Well, while we're here, we might as well have a drink," said Ron. They agreed and got drinks and sat at a table, which was near the table where Professor Lupin was sitting, but not close enough to hear their conversation. They had nearly finished when Professor Lupin and the other two men got up and left.

"Should we follow?" asked Ron. "I think he noticed we were here." Harry nodded.

"I think he did, too. We better not follow," he said. "Maybe we'll see him again later."

"Who do you think those two men were, though?" asked Ron.

"I guess they could have been people that are working with Professor Lupin and Sirius," said Harry. They nodded and decided that was the most logical explanation. But something about the way Professor Lupin had acted stuck in Harry's mind. There was something that was strange. He pushed the thought aside though, and didn't mention it to Ron and Hermione anymore.

They spent most of the day in and out of shops. Finally it was nearly time to head back to Hogwarts, and the group of students boarded their carriages in the street. Suddenly a man came running down the street, looking panicked.

"The Death Eaters!" he shouted. "They're coming! Run for your lives!" People began running in every direction, clearing the streets.

"Harry Potter is here!" another man shouted. "They're looking for Harry Potter!" Harry froze. How did they know he was there? Hermione looked terrified and Ron looked a little nervous. Everyone was looking for his carriage and questioning what was going on.

"Let's go! Now! Everyone!" Professor McGonagall shouted. They all left quickly just then and never got to see what happened.

Harry was relieved to be back at Hogwarts. He wondered if he should go tell Dumbledore about the Death Eaters, but he figured he'd already heard about it from Professor McGonagall. And they didn't even know for a fact that the Death Eaters were there, or that they were looking for him. They hadn't even seen them, they'd only heard those men yelling. It really didn't worry Harry much. He knew that they all were after him, so whether they'd been there today really didn't matter. He was always in danger of being caught by them, so why should have today been any different? He was still, however, curious about Professor Lupin. He wondered if he should write to Sirius and tell him about it and ask him if he's noticed Professor Lupin acting strange lately. He wasn't sure he wanted to do that, though. Sirius would have probably gotten mad at him for following Professor Lupin and suspecting him when he had no evidence. Dumbledore came to speak to Harry later in the Gryffindor common room.

"I heard about today," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.

"Did you notice anything unusual happen today? Anyone following you?" Dumbledore asked. Harry didn't know what to say. He'd been too busy thinking about Professor Lupin to pay any attention to what had been going on around him.

"No, not really," said Harry. "Not that I noticed."

"Well the important thing is that you're safe," said Dumbledore. "You're all right, right?" Harry nodded. "Well then, I'll be going now." He turned and left.