Chapter Four: An Unlikely Meeting
After transfiguration class, Harry told Hermione about the letter sent by Sirius. Her eyes grew wide with fear and her face turned a pale green color that made Harry wish he had never told her. Her worry seemed to add to his.
As much as Harry wanted to make Sirius's situation top priority, he could not. The first week of class was a real challenge for him. A good majority of the teachers had stayed at Hogwarts, and unfortunately for Harry, Snape was among them. It had felt rather empty in the long stone halls of the school with only the top third of the students there. He was the only one of the five boys from his room who had asked to stay. It was very quiet, too quiet. At least twice that week alone Harry had risen in the morning and gone to wake Ron up, only to find he was talking to an empty bed.
He would meet Hermione downstairs in the common room and go to breakfast. He was very thankful she was there, but she couldn't replace Ron. Things just didn't seem as funny when he was the only one laughing at something and Hermione was glaring at him.
During the first lonely week of classes, there was no sign of Madam Margerite. Hermione guessed that she was combing Hogsmeade for clues and interviewing witnesses. Whatever the reason for her absence, it didn't make anything easier for Harry. At any moment from behind a locked door, a dark corner or hallway, Harry was sure Margerite would appear and he would be helpless against her. She would know where Sirius was hiding and he would be taken back to Azkaban and given the dementor's kiss without anyone ever knowing the truth of his innocence.
Finally, Friday rolled around and Harry decided tonight would be a good night to send Sirius his long awaited reply. That night, Harry really didn't have to stay too quiet. He was the only one in the room so he didn't have to worry about waking anyone up. A little after midnight, Harry dressed quickly and pulled out his invisibility cloak from his trunk. He tucked the half-finished letter and a quill safely in his pocket and ran to the owlery, unseen by anyone.
Harry arrived at the owlery with no problems. But as he walked through the dark rows of hooting owls that flew in and out of the windows into the summer night air, he stopped dead. His breathe stuck in his throat, the unmistakable white glow of Madam Margerite's robbed could be seen sitting amongst the rows of owls. Harry moved in for a closer look to see that the woman sat right in front of where Hedwig was perched.
Slowly, quietly, Harry inched toward the stairs. He would come back another night. It was moments like this he thanked his father for leaving him the invisibility cloak. She would not see him and he would get away to warn Hermione that Margerite was back at Hogwarts.
"Who's there?" called a forceful voice. "I know someone is there. Come out and show yourself." Margerite's voice did not seem as polite as when she greeted MaGonagall, but as cold as Harry remember when she was speaking with Dumbledore. The sound of rustling cloth told Harry, who was frozen to the spot that Margerite had gotten up and was moving about the owlery. She stopped in front of the stairs, the only exit. "There's no way out except through me, and that is no easy task. Come out now!" She commanded.
Harry jumped and made a quick decision. He threw off the invisibility cloak and tossed it quickly into a dark corner. He then slowly moved out from behind a row of owls so Margerite could see him in the moonlight that bathed the inside of the owlery.
"Harry Potter." The voice said with a sudden gentleness that Harry hadn't expected at all. "Follow me." She insisted as she moved back to a small chair where she had previously been seated. He quietly followed.
Harry's eyes were finally adjusted to the darkness and he could clearly see everything. Where she sat, a single flickering candle floated next to her head. Margerite sat with her robes flowing around her, glowing eerily in the low light. She looked very much like a melted snowman. Papers littered the ground around where she sat, many of them in large piles.
Her large purple eyes studied him curiously as he looked around. Harry noticed this and shifted uneasily. "What are you doing here?" He asked casually like this was normal to run into people in the middle of the night in the owlery.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Students are not permitted to walk around the school grounds at this hour. I shall inform McGonagall of this and you will return to your designated house dormitory." She said almost robotically as she shuffled papers in her lap. "But I'll give you one chance. Tell me why you are here and I might change my mind and let this meeting stay between us."
Harry knew he could not tell her the truth.
"And don't lie to me, Harry." She added without looking up.
"Well...you see...I couldn't sleep."
"Obviously, child. Now, what trouble could be keeping you from sleep?"
"This is my first summer that I won't be with my relatives and I was feeling lonely. So, I decided to write them a letter."
At this, Margerite flipped through the papers in her lap and picked out a rather messy one and began to skim through the writing and read out loud after putting on a pair of reading glasses.
"Vernon Dursley, age 47 married to Petunia Dursley, age 43. One son, Dudley Dursley age 16. Petunia is the sister of your deceased mother. They are your only remaining family and you have lived with them since October 31st for the past fifteen years, seven months and fifteen days this Thursday. Is all this information correct?"
"How did you know all this?" He answered.
"All this is recorded at the Ministry of Magic. Standard information." She replaced the paper in the pill and took off her silver half moon spectacles. " I also have reports on your past five years at Hogwarts. You've over come quite a few obstacles and have remained for the most part unscathed, very interesting, nonetheless. You have been labeled by the teaching staff as brave, trustworthy, and an extraordinary wizard far beyond your years. Now tell me, after all that you've been through and seen, I'm sure the famous Harry Potter wouldn't be in the least bit troubled by a little homesickness." Margerite's eyes gazed at his sleepily but unwavering.
Harry did not speak, he just thought. But he knew, the longer he kept silent, the more suspicious she would become. "Well, they're family." He said quietly.
Instantly, he could see the wheels in Margerite's head begin turning. Her eyes began to dart around like she was thinking quickly, like she was about to strike. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up.
"'And you must miss the Dursleys very much. Though I have factual information, I have nothing telling of your relationship with them. Why don't you enlighten me, Harry." Harry froze. She already warned him about lying to her. Working at Azkaban must have made her sharp and enhanced her abilities to spot a lie even before it would come out of someone's mouth. Harry thought hard and chose his words carefully.
"They feed and clothe me. They put a roof over my head."
"Is that all? Doesn't sound like you miss them all that much."
"Well, they're muggles...they don't understand magic. And because of it, we often don't see eye to eye." Harry muttered as he told her the half- truth.
"Ah, I see, they distance themselves from you. They are afraid of your magic abilities, no doubt they have trouble coping with your powers." She said, seeming intrigued.
"Yes, exactly." Said Harry quickly.
"Then why would you write to them and tell them about a world that they could never understand?" Her blank face made it hard for Harry to tell whether she was buying his words or not. He opened his mouth several times but closed it immediately. He could not think of anything else to say that would not be a flat out lie.
"After your parents died, you were taken to the Dursleys and left on their door step. They were given a letter explaining everything. They knew what they were getting into from the moment they saw you. It scared them yet...they took you in anyway. And do you know why?" She began to select papers from sorted piles and put them into new piles. "Because they're..." she started, looking to Harry to finish.
"Because they're family?" He asked.
At this, Margerite's unsmiling face lit up. Her expression could be compared to a spider would look like after watching a fly become caught in its web.
"That's a very good point Harry. That's what it's all about. They may not be perfect but they're the only family you have. And family is very important to you, correct?"
"Yes."
"Of course it is." She muttered taking the new pile of papers and sliding them into a large brown envelope that had black inked writing scribbled on it.
"And of course, you know, that you do have family beyond the Dursleys." She said continuing to envelop papers. Harry was tense with fear as he felt a sinking feeling. He did not like where this was going but he tried his best to remain calm.
"But all my family is dead. There were only my parents-"
"I'm referring to your godfather."
"Godfather?" He tried to look confused but she obviously wasn't fooled. He decided to give in a little. "You mean, Sirius Black?"
" I wasn't sure if you knew, thank you for confirming that." She took up a quill and began writing. Harry mentally kicked himself as hard as he could.
"You had a brief meeting with him during your third year. According to a report handed in by a professor here at Hogwarts, Severus Snape. Black had taken you and two of your friends hostage and told you lies in order to gain your trust. I have the report right here." She took up a large stack of parchments and shifted through a couple before pulling out what Harry guessed was Snape's report. "What I don't understand is why you would ever trust a murderous convict who handed your parents to Voldemort and then come after you. Professor Snape wrote that it was the Imperius Curse that made you do it." Before Harry could answer, Margerite continued. "Personally, I find Professor Snape's report biased and embellished. Also the fact that he had been unconscious for most of the incident doesn't help. Harry, this is where I need you to tell me, were you put under the curse or did he tell you things? This is very important. What did he tell you?"
Her last sentence came out as forceful as a command. Harry did not know how to respond. He could not lie to her, but he could not tell her the truth. Now he knew why Sirius had warned him never going near her. Once she had a person cornered, there was no escape. Her presence was cold and unfeeling. Harry felt all his happiness sucked right out of him. His head was swimming with thoughts and each one was battling with another to be set free or repressed. He felt cold and clammy, the same feeling whenever he was in the presence of a dementor.
"Harry? Are you all right? You look sick." She said with an uncaring tone as she finished sorting and enveloping her papers. "Are you remembering what Sirius Black said to you?"
Harry wanted to open his mouth to answer but he felt if he did, anything he ate that night would come out. Margerite stood and began to gently picking up owls and placing them on the windowsill. All together, she had taken five old barn owls out all very awake and ready. She secured on each one of the large envelopes. Harry caught a couple of the addresses. A few said Ministry of Magic: Historical Records, Asgard Academy, and of course Azkaban.
"Well. Look at the time, it's getting late." She gathered her quill, ink and remaining loose papers. "See if you can remember anything about what happened two years ago. I'll call on you tomorrow to finish our little talk. It's been very informative Harry Potter, I'll see you." With that, she walked out and disappeared down the steps.
Harry stood frozen to the spot for a moment. He wasn't sure if all of that really happened or he dreamt it. He waited till he was absolutely sure Margerite was gone. Quickly, Harry reached into his pocket and took out his letter to finish it.
"Snuffles, I hope this letter finds you well and safe. Classes have begun and don't look too hard. Hermione thinks these summer classes will help us get a real head start on the fall term. She also says, Hi.
I understand completely, but I'm afraid it's too late. Best if you want a long vacation. There will be a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow and I plan on going to the shrieking shack first.
Good bye and I'll see you around, Harry"
Harry folded the note up and walked over to Hedwig. He tied it around her leg and brought her to the window.
"Hedwig, it's very important you take this letter as quickly as possible to- " Harry had to stop himself from saying Sirius, just incase there was anyone listening. "Take it to Snuffles." He said as Hedwig took off quickly speeding into the night.
After transfiguration class, Harry told Hermione about the letter sent by Sirius. Her eyes grew wide with fear and her face turned a pale green color that made Harry wish he had never told her. Her worry seemed to add to his.
As much as Harry wanted to make Sirius's situation top priority, he could not. The first week of class was a real challenge for him. A good majority of the teachers had stayed at Hogwarts, and unfortunately for Harry, Snape was among them. It had felt rather empty in the long stone halls of the school with only the top third of the students there. He was the only one of the five boys from his room who had asked to stay. It was very quiet, too quiet. At least twice that week alone Harry had risen in the morning and gone to wake Ron up, only to find he was talking to an empty bed.
He would meet Hermione downstairs in the common room and go to breakfast. He was very thankful she was there, but she couldn't replace Ron. Things just didn't seem as funny when he was the only one laughing at something and Hermione was glaring at him.
During the first lonely week of classes, there was no sign of Madam Margerite. Hermione guessed that she was combing Hogsmeade for clues and interviewing witnesses. Whatever the reason for her absence, it didn't make anything easier for Harry. At any moment from behind a locked door, a dark corner or hallway, Harry was sure Margerite would appear and he would be helpless against her. She would know where Sirius was hiding and he would be taken back to Azkaban and given the dementor's kiss without anyone ever knowing the truth of his innocence.
Finally, Friday rolled around and Harry decided tonight would be a good night to send Sirius his long awaited reply. That night, Harry really didn't have to stay too quiet. He was the only one in the room so he didn't have to worry about waking anyone up. A little after midnight, Harry dressed quickly and pulled out his invisibility cloak from his trunk. He tucked the half-finished letter and a quill safely in his pocket and ran to the owlery, unseen by anyone.
Harry arrived at the owlery with no problems. But as he walked through the dark rows of hooting owls that flew in and out of the windows into the summer night air, he stopped dead. His breathe stuck in his throat, the unmistakable white glow of Madam Margerite's robbed could be seen sitting amongst the rows of owls. Harry moved in for a closer look to see that the woman sat right in front of where Hedwig was perched.
Slowly, quietly, Harry inched toward the stairs. He would come back another night. It was moments like this he thanked his father for leaving him the invisibility cloak. She would not see him and he would get away to warn Hermione that Margerite was back at Hogwarts.
"Who's there?" called a forceful voice. "I know someone is there. Come out and show yourself." Margerite's voice did not seem as polite as when she greeted MaGonagall, but as cold as Harry remember when she was speaking with Dumbledore. The sound of rustling cloth told Harry, who was frozen to the spot that Margerite had gotten up and was moving about the owlery. She stopped in front of the stairs, the only exit. "There's no way out except through me, and that is no easy task. Come out now!" She commanded.
Harry jumped and made a quick decision. He threw off the invisibility cloak and tossed it quickly into a dark corner. He then slowly moved out from behind a row of owls so Margerite could see him in the moonlight that bathed the inside of the owlery.
"Harry Potter." The voice said with a sudden gentleness that Harry hadn't expected at all. "Follow me." She insisted as she moved back to a small chair where she had previously been seated. He quietly followed.
Harry's eyes were finally adjusted to the darkness and he could clearly see everything. Where she sat, a single flickering candle floated next to her head. Margerite sat with her robes flowing around her, glowing eerily in the low light. She looked very much like a melted snowman. Papers littered the ground around where she sat, many of them in large piles.
Her large purple eyes studied him curiously as he looked around. Harry noticed this and shifted uneasily. "What are you doing here?" He asked casually like this was normal to run into people in the middle of the night in the owlery.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Students are not permitted to walk around the school grounds at this hour. I shall inform McGonagall of this and you will return to your designated house dormitory." She said almost robotically as she shuffled papers in her lap. "But I'll give you one chance. Tell me why you are here and I might change my mind and let this meeting stay between us."
Harry knew he could not tell her the truth.
"And don't lie to me, Harry." She added without looking up.
"Well...you see...I couldn't sleep."
"Obviously, child. Now, what trouble could be keeping you from sleep?"
"This is my first summer that I won't be with my relatives and I was feeling lonely. So, I decided to write them a letter."
At this, Margerite flipped through the papers in her lap and picked out a rather messy one and began to skim through the writing and read out loud after putting on a pair of reading glasses.
"Vernon Dursley, age 47 married to Petunia Dursley, age 43. One son, Dudley Dursley age 16. Petunia is the sister of your deceased mother. They are your only remaining family and you have lived with them since October 31st for the past fifteen years, seven months and fifteen days this Thursday. Is all this information correct?"
"How did you know all this?" He answered.
"All this is recorded at the Ministry of Magic. Standard information." She replaced the paper in the pill and took off her silver half moon spectacles. " I also have reports on your past five years at Hogwarts. You've over come quite a few obstacles and have remained for the most part unscathed, very interesting, nonetheless. You have been labeled by the teaching staff as brave, trustworthy, and an extraordinary wizard far beyond your years. Now tell me, after all that you've been through and seen, I'm sure the famous Harry Potter wouldn't be in the least bit troubled by a little homesickness." Margerite's eyes gazed at his sleepily but unwavering.
Harry did not speak, he just thought. But he knew, the longer he kept silent, the more suspicious she would become. "Well, they're family." He said quietly.
Instantly, he could see the wheels in Margerite's head begin turning. Her eyes began to dart around like she was thinking quickly, like she was about to strike. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up.
"'And you must miss the Dursleys very much. Though I have factual information, I have nothing telling of your relationship with them. Why don't you enlighten me, Harry." Harry froze. She already warned him about lying to her. Working at Azkaban must have made her sharp and enhanced her abilities to spot a lie even before it would come out of someone's mouth. Harry thought hard and chose his words carefully.
"They feed and clothe me. They put a roof over my head."
"Is that all? Doesn't sound like you miss them all that much."
"Well, they're muggles...they don't understand magic. And because of it, we often don't see eye to eye." Harry muttered as he told her the half- truth.
"Ah, I see, they distance themselves from you. They are afraid of your magic abilities, no doubt they have trouble coping with your powers." She said, seeming intrigued.
"Yes, exactly." Said Harry quickly.
"Then why would you write to them and tell them about a world that they could never understand?" Her blank face made it hard for Harry to tell whether she was buying his words or not. He opened his mouth several times but closed it immediately. He could not think of anything else to say that would not be a flat out lie.
"After your parents died, you were taken to the Dursleys and left on their door step. They were given a letter explaining everything. They knew what they were getting into from the moment they saw you. It scared them yet...they took you in anyway. And do you know why?" She began to select papers from sorted piles and put them into new piles. "Because they're..." she started, looking to Harry to finish.
"Because they're family?" He asked.
At this, Margerite's unsmiling face lit up. Her expression could be compared to a spider would look like after watching a fly become caught in its web.
"That's a very good point Harry. That's what it's all about. They may not be perfect but they're the only family you have. And family is very important to you, correct?"
"Yes."
"Of course it is." She muttered taking the new pile of papers and sliding them into a large brown envelope that had black inked writing scribbled on it.
"And of course, you know, that you do have family beyond the Dursleys." She said continuing to envelop papers. Harry was tense with fear as he felt a sinking feeling. He did not like where this was going but he tried his best to remain calm.
"But all my family is dead. There were only my parents-"
"I'm referring to your godfather."
"Godfather?" He tried to look confused but she obviously wasn't fooled. He decided to give in a little. "You mean, Sirius Black?"
" I wasn't sure if you knew, thank you for confirming that." She took up a quill and began writing. Harry mentally kicked himself as hard as he could.
"You had a brief meeting with him during your third year. According to a report handed in by a professor here at Hogwarts, Severus Snape. Black had taken you and two of your friends hostage and told you lies in order to gain your trust. I have the report right here." She took up a large stack of parchments and shifted through a couple before pulling out what Harry guessed was Snape's report. "What I don't understand is why you would ever trust a murderous convict who handed your parents to Voldemort and then come after you. Professor Snape wrote that it was the Imperius Curse that made you do it." Before Harry could answer, Margerite continued. "Personally, I find Professor Snape's report biased and embellished. Also the fact that he had been unconscious for most of the incident doesn't help. Harry, this is where I need you to tell me, were you put under the curse or did he tell you things? This is very important. What did he tell you?"
Her last sentence came out as forceful as a command. Harry did not know how to respond. He could not lie to her, but he could not tell her the truth. Now he knew why Sirius had warned him never going near her. Once she had a person cornered, there was no escape. Her presence was cold and unfeeling. Harry felt all his happiness sucked right out of him. His head was swimming with thoughts and each one was battling with another to be set free or repressed. He felt cold and clammy, the same feeling whenever he was in the presence of a dementor.
"Harry? Are you all right? You look sick." She said with an uncaring tone as she finished sorting and enveloping her papers. "Are you remembering what Sirius Black said to you?"
Harry wanted to open his mouth to answer but he felt if he did, anything he ate that night would come out. Margerite stood and began to gently picking up owls and placing them on the windowsill. All together, she had taken five old barn owls out all very awake and ready. She secured on each one of the large envelopes. Harry caught a couple of the addresses. A few said Ministry of Magic: Historical Records, Asgard Academy, and of course Azkaban.
"Well. Look at the time, it's getting late." She gathered her quill, ink and remaining loose papers. "See if you can remember anything about what happened two years ago. I'll call on you tomorrow to finish our little talk. It's been very informative Harry Potter, I'll see you." With that, she walked out and disappeared down the steps.
Harry stood frozen to the spot for a moment. He wasn't sure if all of that really happened or he dreamt it. He waited till he was absolutely sure Margerite was gone. Quickly, Harry reached into his pocket and took out his letter to finish it.
"Snuffles, I hope this letter finds you well and safe. Classes have begun and don't look too hard. Hermione thinks these summer classes will help us get a real head start on the fall term. She also says, Hi.
I understand completely, but I'm afraid it's too late. Best if you want a long vacation. There will be a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow and I plan on going to the shrieking shack first.
Good bye and I'll see you around, Harry"
Harry folded the note up and walked over to Hedwig. He tied it around her leg and brought her to the window.
"Hedwig, it's very important you take this letter as quickly as possible to- " Harry had to stop himself from saying Sirius, just incase there was anyone listening. "Take it to Snuffles." He said as Hedwig took off quickly speeding into the night.