Saturday never came quick enough for certain Gryffindors, but that first week of Harry Potter's fifth year seemed eternal. Ginny, Fred, and George Weasley weren't even informed of their involvement in the plot of freeing Sirius until Friday, when Harry, Hermione, and Ron came to them with the plan.
"Fred, George, Gin, we need your help," Ron said.
"Continue," Ginny said.
"Well, first we have to explain the story, then the plan," Hermione continued.
She and Ron told the story of Sirius and Melissa to the twins and Ginny, who had learned of his innocence the previous year, while Harry looked through the yearbooks from when his mom and dad had been in Hogwarts. He looked at their class, and he recognized eight of the ten Gryffindors: Lily Jennings, James Potter, Melissa Gumtree, Sirius Black, Morgan Gumtree, Peter Pettigrew, Chris Lyons, and Remus Lupin. But the last two names, Kristin Waters and Julia Montgomery, didn't ring a bell. Harry never remembered Melissa mentioning them.
"Sure, I'm in as well," George was saying as Harry looked up from the faces in the book.
"So all three of you will help?"
"Yep."
"That's great!"
"Thanks, guys."
"I'll be right back," Harry said, and he hopped through the portrait hole. He walked right into the person he had been looking for, and apparently she had been doing the same.
"Harry, could I speak to you a moment?" Professor Gumtree asked.
"Oh, yes. I had something to ask you."
"Will Fred, George, and Ginny help us?"
"Yes, they were enthralled by the idea."
"That's good. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and maybe some others have agreed to help. Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?"
"Who are Julia Montgomery and Kristin Waters?"
"How did you find out about Julie and Kristin?"
"I was looking through the old yearbooks."
"Ah. Well, they were both close friends of your mom and I. Julie, Lily, and I were like the female versions of James, Remus, and Sirius. We frequently got into trouble, but we were nothing compared to the masters. Kristin was kind of like the Peter in our little group, she was never as close to us, but we still hung out with her, but unlike Peter, Kristin was kind, clever, and adventurous. Peter was cruel, stupid, and afraid."
"Oh. So nothing else? No other connections?"
"Actually, Remus and Julie were together for a while, but then they split up. Remus is still madly in love with her. In fact, after you kids left, that was what we were talking about: Julie."
"What about me, Melissa?"
"Julie!" Melissa exclaimed, turning around to see a small, short haired figure, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I heard you were teaching and came to visit."
"Really?"
"No. Actually, Dumbledore's been writing to me over the last few months, telling me all about Voldemort's rise, and Sirius, and everything else. He told me you were teaching here and that you had a plan to free Sirius that might require some help, so, here we are."
"We?" Melissa asked.
"We!" "Kristin! You're here too?"
"Of course, silly. I wouldn't let you bail out Sirius without me."