A/N: Okay....
I own none of this except me own characters, but of course ya already know that... It's a bit late to be mentioning all this isn't it? HAHA... ::sheepish grin::
EEEK! I just saw another preview for CoS! AAAH! When is book freakin' FIVE supposed to be out anyway! ACK!
YO! JK ROWLING! GET THAT BOOK OUT NOW BEFORE I SHOW ASTRA TO YOU! AND SHE AIN'T TOO HAPPY!
I've been drawing Harriet and the Chronos Stone. I wish I had a computer to deal with. That way I can use my scanner to show you all the perty pictures I drew! ::weep:: I wanna see CoS! ::whimper::
Chapter Fourteen
When they got back to Hogwarts and the school term started, Harry was glad for the brief distraction from being Head Boy. Harry had told Hermione and Ron about the incident in the cave. Hermione said that she thought she had remembered something about a Devnet the Dragon in her text books.
Meanwhile, Sirius was going to hold Professor Lupin to his bet. Harry felt sorry for Professor Lupin. He knew what would happen if he didn't take his potion that very day.
On the day before the full moon, Harry watched Professor Lupin glancing nervously about the Great Hall. Professor Snape seemed to notice it as well. He kept watching Lupin like a hawk.
Professor McGonagall was sitting next to Professor Dumbledore and ate her breakfast like she was in the middle of a conference. Professor Trelawny, however, kept making eye contact with Professor Lupin and batting her eyes behind those bug like glasses of hers. She may have looked younger, but she still reminded Harry of a giant praying mantis.
"Does anyone notice how much she looks like a giant praying mantis?" Ron asked through a mouthful of eggs.
"And how much she's making eyes at poor Professor Lupin?" said Nevaeh.
"Now there's an image I didn't need...." Astra commented. "A headless Lupin....."
"What?" Ron nearly spat his eggs across the table at Hermione.
Hermione kept her expression straight. "Honestly, Ron.... how did you ever get through primary school like that..."
"In case you don't recall, Wizarding families don't generally send their children to muggle schools, Hermione...." Ron grimaced.
"After a female praying mantis mates...." Hermione started in exasperation.
"She bites off the male's head and eats it...." Astra finished. Ron gulped.
"I seem to remember something about that...." Ron said. "Now I've got that image in my head...."
"Make sure Hermione doesn't bite it off...." Astra said without glancing up. "Of course.... you might not mind that..." She added with a smile as she glanced up and waggled her eyebrows at Ron. Ron's ears went pink.
"Oh... by the way.... I just looked up Draco's family and there was a mention of a Devnet being in the lineage...." Hermione said as she read one of her text books.
"Really, now...." Astra said with a smile. "Won't Draco be happy... There was a Gryffindor in his all Slytherin background...." The smile suddenly became evil.
"Don't smile like that, Astra.... it's too creepy...!" Nevaeh said.
"Just be glad that she's not doing the Miss Snape laugh...." Kennedy said.
"Five.... four... three... two..." Avalon said. Suddenly, Astra burst into a horrible laugh that sounded exactly like Miss Snape.
"Please stop! Yer hurting my ears!" Nevaeh growled. Astra was suddenly hit in the head with a book. Avalon was putting her hand down and looking satisfied as Harry glanced at her.
"How did you know she was trained by Gryffindor?" Hermione said.
Astra rubbed her head where the book had hit her. "It was obvious!"
In Care of Magical Creatures, with Professor Lupin, he showed the class a small blue, speckled bid that sat quietly on his shoulder. He looked rather nervous as he walked around the tree he was holding class under. Harry watched incredulously as every girl in the class watched his every move. Even Hermione did. Nevaeh and Astra kept slapping themselves into orientation. At one point, Astra had accidentally thrown her glasses off and they landed on Neville.
"This is a Jobberknoll... it is found in northern Europe and America. It eats small insects and doesn't make any sound what so ever." Professor Lupin said as he patted the bird on it's head. "That is to say... it doesn't make any sound until the moment of it's death at which point it lets out a long scream that is composed of every sound it has ever heard regurgitated backwards."
"Does anyone know what Jobberknoll feathers are good for?" he asked with a nervous smile. Hermione and Astra raised their hands. Astra looked like she decided to forget about it and put her hand down. Professor Lupin gulped and smiled. "Miss Granger?"
"They're used in Truth Serums and Memory potions...." she said with a wink at Professor Lupin. Ron growled and grabbed Hermione gruffly around the waist, bringing her closer to him. Harry started worrying about Ginny being in a different year than he was. If the level headed Hermione was affected like this, Harry didn't want to dream of what Ginny would be like.
When class was over, Harry went up to Professor Lupin. He looked like misery. "I should never have made that bet...." he whimpered. "All the boys are going to hate me now.... not to mention Professor Snape will try to annihilate me if he catches Professor McGonagall even glancing at me! I'm in no shape to deal with that man's fury....."
"You've done it before, as I recall...." Harry said as he patted Professor Lupin on his back.
"That was when I could think clearly. I can't right now you see.... er... how do I put it in a good way..." Professor Lupin said as he scratched his chin. There was stubble visible there and he looked as though he didn't get any sleep. "There is no good way..." he gulped.
"I already know, Professor..." Harry said, trying to save the man some embarrassment. The look of shock on Lupin's face made Harry nervous. "Er... that is... I looked at the er.. Moon charts of most werewolves... er... yeah..."
Professor Lupin stared at Harry in a strange way. Harry had always found it difficult to decipher he man's gaze. Professor Lupin sighed and laughed suddenly. "HA ha... Well.. It's lunch time, I bet..."
Harry walked with Professor Lupin up to the castle. There was suddenly a flash of chestnut hair that was rather bushy. Professor Lupin was thrown against the nearest wall as Harry recognized the girl that had pressed herself up against Professor Lupin.
"Ah... Miss Granger... could you get off of me?" Professor Lupin said weakly.
Harry wasn't entirely sure what he should do. He just stood and watched until something came up. Hermione purred like a cat at Professor Lupin. "You know... I never notice how gorgeous your eyes are, Professor.... how quick your smile..."
"M-Miss Granger... could you please not do THATACK!" Hermione had grabbed Professor Lupin somewhere Harry couldn't see. Professor Lupin squeaked helplessly.
"Alright... Hermione, I think Ron won't be too happy if he saw you like this..." Harry said as he started over towards Hermione.
Hermione growled at him and held out her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry went stiff and fell to the ground. He couldn't move and he knew exactly why. He had been hit with a full body bind and knew very well that he couldn't help Professor Lupin.
"M-Miss Granger... you shouldn't have done that... you could get your badge revoked if Professor McGonagall sees you." Professor Lupin said in a weak, but authoritative tone.
"I don't particularly care...." Hermione purred at Professor Lupin. Harry tried to move, but it wasn't any use. The spell held on him much like Hermione was on Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin tried to wriggle away from Hermione, but she boxed him in again. "Mmmmm.... did you know that you just hit a very nice spot on me?" Hermione purred at him. Harry heard a distinct squeak escape Professor Lupin. Then, Harry saw Hermione do something he never figured her to do with a Professor. She locked her lips onto Professor Lupin's and ripped open his white button up shirt.
"Miss Granger..." She grabbed his chest hairs and pulled him nearer. "YEOWCH! Miss Granger stop!"
"Hermione!" Harry managed to shout. His body was starting to loosen up now. The spell was wearing off, but he still couldn't get up.
Hermione growled and glared at Harry. Then, she turned back to Professor Lupin and purred at him again. She kissed Lupin again and this time entangled her hands in his hair, still keeping him pressed up against the wall.
"HERMIONE!?"
Harry saw a very formidable looking Ron in the hallway, although he looked a bit sideways, since Harry was on the floor. "Harry! Why aren't you doing anything?!"
"Do you honestly think I would be here if I could?" Harry said flatly. "She hit me with a body bind."
"Could one of you two possibly help me here?" said Professor Lupin, looking rather tired of dodging Hermione's hands.
Ron walked over to Hermione and yanked on her shoulders. She didn't budge and Ron flew backwards. "Damn it..." he growled. He muttered even more curse words as he stalked over to Hermione again. "Gerroff him, Hermione!"
Somehow, Ron had managed to tear Hermione off of Professor Lupin. They landed on the ground together, with Ron's arms encircling Hermione's waist protectively. Harry felt his arms move suddenly and he felt himself get to his feet. The spell had worn off.
"Ron? What's going on? Why are we on the ground like this?" Hermione's voice broke the silence.
"You don't remember?" Ron said perplexed.
Harry walked over to a slumped down Professor Lupin. He had slid down the wall and sighed. "It has been so long since I have gone through that...."
"I bet... and you still have the rest of the day to deal with before the bet is over." Harry said as he helped Professor Lupin to his feet. Harry glanced over to where Ron and Hermione were. Ron was grinning evilly down at a perplexed Hermione. Then, he kissed her.
"Let's leave them alone, shall we?" Professor Lupin said with a smile. "I'm just glad that she didn't get very far..."
They walked down the hallway toward the great hall. "It looks as though you need a new shirt... the buttons were torn off..." Harry said.
"Oh Remus...." said a seductive voice. The color drained from Professor Lupin's face. He gulped and Harry turned around. Madame Pomfrey was standing behind them in something rather racy. "Professor... I've been a bad girl... could you give me my punishment....?" Professor Lupin gulped and tore down the hallway. Madame Pomfrey ran after him and they disappeared around the corner.
Thankfully, the next day was a Hogsmeade Saturday. Harry walked with Ginny, Ron and Hermione to the Leaky Cauldron for some butterbeer. Harry was greeted with a rather amusing scene. "I'm sorry! I didn't know that poor Miss Granger was going to jump you like that!" Sirius was on his knees pleading Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin simply drank his butterbeer with something like an angry glare on his face. Harry saw Hermione blushing madly. Ron looked around and took Hermione through the door. "I'm going to play it safe for now..." he mumbled.
"Come on... I was just hoping for Madame Pomfrey to jump you! I didn't think Hermione or any of Harry's friends were going to do that!" Sirius continued to plead.
There was a surprised look on Professor Lupin's face and he snapped around at Sirius. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his drink. Sirius growled angrily and put three gold galleons onto the table a little gruffly. "There... there's you're money.... happy?!"
"What's going on?" asked Harry as he brought Ginny over to the table.
"Humorless here isn't talking to me...." Sirius said gruffly.
"I am not without humor.... I can see how your childish mind could think that, but I am not humorless...." Professor Lupin said calmly.
"Oh, so you do speak, eh?" Sirius said with a grin. "Come on... it wasn't all that bad was it? I mean... how many of those boys would love to be in your shoes at that time...." Sirius countered.
"Not many.... not unless they have the personality type of you...." Lupin said into his drink. "And that's not say anything..."
Sirius growled impatiently. Ginny smiled. "Well... at least you weren't hurt!" she said cheerfully.
"See? You weren't hurt! See? I'm not a complete fool!" Sirius said.
"No... not complete... but this is also coming from one of..." Professor Lupin stopped and smiled at Ginny. Harry watched as she started blushing to the roots of her hair. "One of the most annoying men I have ever known..." He said calmly to Sirius.
"Hey... at least you had some fun, right?" Sirius said with a smile. "I mean.. It wasn't completely horrible... not like when you were back in school..."
"No..." Professor Lupin sighed and drank some more of his drink. "I think we've had enough.... I'm going to Honeydukes...."
With that, Professor Lupin stood up and put a few coins on the bar. Sirius patted Lupin on his back and they walked out together. Ginny turned to Harry and smiled. "What was going on yesterday anyway...."
"I'll tell you later, Ginny.. It's a very long story...." Harry said with a smile.
Astra was in a jewelry shop with Draco. Draco was bored, so he just looked at some things that looked shiny. Astra stood by the door to the shop. She smiled at the breeze that flowed through her hair.
Fred Weasley showed up and surprised her. She smiled up at him. "Fred--"
Fred kissed her on her lips softly. He pulled away and ran his hands through her hair. "Make sure he takes care of you...." Then, he let go of her and ran away. Astra ran after him.
Harry was walking with Ginny towards Honeydukes. He suddenly caught sight of flaming red hair that wasn't Ginny's. He saw Fred Weasley waving and smiling at them. He ran over and hugged Ginny. He whispered something to her and clapped Harry on his back. Then, he ran away.
Ginny looked perplexed. "What the hell is going on?"
Suddenly, Harry caught the scent of smoke. The clouds overhead had been threatening rain that day and they were thundering now. Harry heard a scream of agony and terror coming from the direction of Zonko's.
"Oh no...." Harry managed to say. He ran through the crowds toward Zonko's. It finally started raining. He turned a corner and what he saw made him feel sick with grief and anger.
Astra was kneeling in the mud with the white face of Fred in her lap. He was a mangled mess of blood, mud, and shredded clothes. Blood flowed from his body onto the ground, where it stained Astra's jeans and mingled with the mud. His eyes were blank and open, staring up at the rain.
Zonko's itself was was burning. Harry recognized the image of the burning building from something. The fire surged on through the rain, but there was some sizzling as the flames started to go out.
"No... no... not him..." Harry muttered. He suddenly saw Ron and Hermione running over. Nevaeh and George showed up as well. Each was panting hard as if they had just run a long distance.
"Oh no... Fred! FRED!" George cried and he ran over. He knelt down next to Astra and touched the white face of Fred.
"He's dead...." said Astra in a flat tone.
"No.. No..." Ginny kept mumbling against Harry's shoulder. He held her close to him. She cried softly against him.
Hermione was crying as well, although Ron was walking over to where George and Astra were with what was left of Fred. He cried as much as Ginny was. George held Ron around his shoulders. "It's okay, Ron... It's alright...."
"I saw him... I saw and he ran over to me and laughed and pinched my cheek and joked around... then he ran off...." Ron choked through his tears.
"I saw him too... I was with Nev over there and he said something about telling mum about all the REMEMBERING I was doing with her....Then, he ran off before I could punch him." George said.
Astra was remarkably silent. Avalon showed up suddenly, looking solemnly at her older sister. She knelt down into the mud and blood mixture combed her fingers through Astra's rope like wet hair. "C... L... U...." Astra said in a dead tone as she traced her index finger along the scratchy writing.
Draco showed up and wrapped his arms around Astra's shoulders for comfort. He pressed his forehead to her dripping hair and sighed. "Come on, Astra...."
"Clue..." Hermione said.
"Good bye .... Fred..." Harry said softly to the wind. Harry thought he heard Fred's voice on the wind say the same. The rain had finally quenched the flames of Zonko's. Now there was nothing but a blackened mess where Zonko's stood.
I own none of this except me own characters, but of course ya already know that... It's a bit late to be mentioning all this isn't it? HAHA... ::sheepish grin::
EEEK! I just saw another preview for CoS! AAAH! When is book freakin' FIVE supposed to be out anyway! ACK!
YO! JK ROWLING! GET THAT BOOK OUT NOW BEFORE I SHOW ASTRA TO YOU! AND SHE AIN'T TOO HAPPY!
I've been drawing Harriet and the Chronos Stone. I wish I had a computer to deal with. That way I can use my scanner to show you all the perty pictures I drew! ::weep:: I wanna see CoS! ::whimper::
Chapter Fourteen
When they got back to Hogwarts and the school term started, Harry was glad for the brief distraction from being Head Boy. Harry had told Hermione and Ron about the incident in the cave. Hermione said that she thought she had remembered something about a Devnet the Dragon in her text books.
Meanwhile, Sirius was going to hold Professor Lupin to his bet. Harry felt sorry for Professor Lupin. He knew what would happen if he didn't take his potion that very day.
On the day before the full moon, Harry watched Professor Lupin glancing nervously about the Great Hall. Professor Snape seemed to notice it as well. He kept watching Lupin like a hawk.
Professor McGonagall was sitting next to Professor Dumbledore and ate her breakfast like she was in the middle of a conference. Professor Trelawny, however, kept making eye contact with Professor Lupin and batting her eyes behind those bug like glasses of hers. She may have looked younger, but she still reminded Harry of a giant praying mantis.
"Does anyone notice how much she looks like a giant praying mantis?" Ron asked through a mouthful of eggs.
"And how much she's making eyes at poor Professor Lupin?" said Nevaeh.
"Now there's an image I didn't need...." Astra commented. "A headless Lupin....."
"What?" Ron nearly spat his eggs across the table at Hermione.
Hermione kept her expression straight. "Honestly, Ron.... how did you ever get through primary school like that..."
"In case you don't recall, Wizarding families don't generally send their children to muggle schools, Hermione...." Ron grimaced.
"After a female praying mantis mates...." Hermione started in exasperation.
"She bites off the male's head and eats it...." Astra finished. Ron gulped.
"I seem to remember something about that...." Ron said. "Now I've got that image in my head...."
"Make sure Hermione doesn't bite it off...." Astra said without glancing up. "Of course.... you might not mind that..." She added with a smile as she glanced up and waggled her eyebrows at Ron. Ron's ears went pink.
"Oh... by the way.... I just looked up Draco's family and there was a mention of a Devnet being in the lineage...." Hermione said as she read one of her text books.
"Really, now...." Astra said with a smile. "Won't Draco be happy... There was a Gryffindor in his all Slytherin background...." The smile suddenly became evil.
"Don't smile like that, Astra.... it's too creepy...!" Nevaeh said.
"Just be glad that she's not doing the Miss Snape laugh...." Kennedy said.
"Five.... four... three... two..." Avalon said. Suddenly, Astra burst into a horrible laugh that sounded exactly like Miss Snape.
"Please stop! Yer hurting my ears!" Nevaeh growled. Astra was suddenly hit in the head with a book. Avalon was putting her hand down and looking satisfied as Harry glanced at her.
"How did you know she was trained by Gryffindor?" Hermione said.
Astra rubbed her head where the book had hit her. "It was obvious!"
In Care of Magical Creatures, with Professor Lupin, he showed the class a small blue, speckled bid that sat quietly on his shoulder. He looked rather nervous as he walked around the tree he was holding class under. Harry watched incredulously as every girl in the class watched his every move. Even Hermione did. Nevaeh and Astra kept slapping themselves into orientation. At one point, Astra had accidentally thrown her glasses off and they landed on Neville.
"This is a Jobberknoll... it is found in northern Europe and America. It eats small insects and doesn't make any sound what so ever." Professor Lupin said as he patted the bird on it's head. "That is to say... it doesn't make any sound until the moment of it's death at which point it lets out a long scream that is composed of every sound it has ever heard regurgitated backwards."
"Does anyone know what Jobberknoll feathers are good for?" he asked with a nervous smile. Hermione and Astra raised their hands. Astra looked like she decided to forget about it and put her hand down. Professor Lupin gulped and smiled. "Miss Granger?"
"They're used in Truth Serums and Memory potions...." she said with a wink at Professor Lupin. Ron growled and grabbed Hermione gruffly around the waist, bringing her closer to him. Harry started worrying about Ginny being in a different year than he was. If the level headed Hermione was affected like this, Harry didn't want to dream of what Ginny would be like.
When class was over, Harry went up to Professor Lupin. He looked like misery. "I should never have made that bet...." he whimpered. "All the boys are going to hate me now.... not to mention Professor Snape will try to annihilate me if he catches Professor McGonagall even glancing at me! I'm in no shape to deal with that man's fury....."
"You've done it before, as I recall...." Harry said as he patted Professor Lupin on his back.
"That was when I could think clearly. I can't right now you see.... er... how do I put it in a good way..." Professor Lupin said as he scratched his chin. There was stubble visible there and he looked as though he didn't get any sleep. "There is no good way..." he gulped.
"I already know, Professor..." Harry said, trying to save the man some embarrassment. The look of shock on Lupin's face made Harry nervous. "Er... that is... I looked at the er.. Moon charts of most werewolves... er... yeah..."
Professor Lupin stared at Harry in a strange way. Harry had always found it difficult to decipher he man's gaze. Professor Lupin sighed and laughed suddenly. "HA ha... Well.. It's lunch time, I bet..."
Harry walked with Professor Lupin up to the castle. There was suddenly a flash of chestnut hair that was rather bushy. Professor Lupin was thrown against the nearest wall as Harry recognized the girl that had pressed herself up against Professor Lupin.
"Ah... Miss Granger... could you get off of me?" Professor Lupin said weakly.
Harry wasn't entirely sure what he should do. He just stood and watched until something came up. Hermione purred like a cat at Professor Lupin. "You know... I never notice how gorgeous your eyes are, Professor.... how quick your smile..."
"M-Miss Granger... could you please not do THATACK!" Hermione had grabbed Professor Lupin somewhere Harry couldn't see. Professor Lupin squeaked helplessly.
"Alright... Hermione, I think Ron won't be too happy if he saw you like this..." Harry said as he started over towards Hermione.
Hermione growled at him and held out her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry went stiff and fell to the ground. He couldn't move and he knew exactly why. He had been hit with a full body bind and knew very well that he couldn't help Professor Lupin.
"M-Miss Granger... you shouldn't have done that... you could get your badge revoked if Professor McGonagall sees you." Professor Lupin said in a weak, but authoritative tone.
"I don't particularly care...." Hermione purred at Professor Lupin. Harry tried to move, but it wasn't any use. The spell held on him much like Hermione was on Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin tried to wriggle away from Hermione, but she boxed him in again. "Mmmmm.... did you know that you just hit a very nice spot on me?" Hermione purred at him. Harry heard a distinct squeak escape Professor Lupin. Then, Harry saw Hermione do something he never figured her to do with a Professor. She locked her lips onto Professor Lupin's and ripped open his white button up shirt.
"Miss Granger..." She grabbed his chest hairs and pulled him nearer. "YEOWCH! Miss Granger stop!"
"Hermione!" Harry managed to shout. His body was starting to loosen up now. The spell was wearing off, but he still couldn't get up.
Hermione growled and glared at Harry. Then, she turned back to Professor Lupin and purred at him again. She kissed Lupin again and this time entangled her hands in his hair, still keeping him pressed up against the wall.
"HERMIONE!?"
Harry saw a very formidable looking Ron in the hallway, although he looked a bit sideways, since Harry was on the floor. "Harry! Why aren't you doing anything?!"
"Do you honestly think I would be here if I could?" Harry said flatly. "She hit me with a body bind."
"Could one of you two possibly help me here?" said Professor Lupin, looking rather tired of dodging Hermione's hands.
Ron walked over to Hermione and yanked on her shoulders. She didn't budge and Ron flew backwards. "Damn it..." he growled. He muttered even more curse words as he stalked over to Hermione again. "Gerroff him, Hermione!"
Somehow, Ron had managed to tear Hermione off of Professor Lupin. They landed on the ground together, with Ron's arms encircling Hermione's waist protectively. Harry felt his arms move suddenly and he felt himself get to his feet. The spell had worn off.
"Ron? What's going on? Why are we on the ground like this?" Hermione's voice broke the silence.
"You don't remember?" Ron said perplexed.
Harry walked over to a slumped down Professor Lupin. He had slid down the wall and sighed. "It has been so long since I have gone through that...."
"I bet... and you still have the rest of the day to deal with before the bet is over." Harry said as he helped Professor Lupin to his feet. Harry glanced over to where Ron and Hermione were. Ron was grinning evilly down at a perplexed Hermione. Then, he kissed her.
"Let's leave them alone, shall we?" Professor Lupin said with a smile. "I'm just glad that she didn't get very far..."
They walked down the hallway toward the great hall. "It looks as though you need a new shirt... the buttons were torn off..." Harry said.
"Oh Remus...." said a seductive voice. The color drained from Professor Lupin's face. He gulped and Harry turned around. Madame Pomfrey was standing behind them in something rather racy. "Professor... I've been a bad girl... could you give me my punishment....?" Professor Lupin gulped and tore down the hallway. Madame Pomfrey ran after him and they disappeared around the corner.
Thankfully, the next day was a Hogsmeade Saturday. Harry walked with Ginny, Ron and Hermione to the Leaky Cauldron for some butterbeer. Harry was greeted with a rather amusing scene. "I'm sorry! I didn't know that poor Miss Granger was going to jump you like that!" Sirius was on his knees pleading Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin simply drank his butterbeer with something like an angry glare on his face. Harry saw Hermione blushing madly. Ron looked around and took Hermione through the door. "I'm going to play it safe for now..." he mumbled.
"Come on... I was just hoping for Madame Pomfrey to jump you! I didn't think Hermione or any of Harry's friends were going to do that!" Sirius continued to plead.
There was a surprised look on Professor Lupin's face and he snapped around at Sirius. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his drink. Sirius growled angrily and put three gold galleons onto the table a little gruffly. "There... there's you're money.... happy?!"
"What's going on?" asked Harry as he brought Ginny over to the table.
"Humorless here isn't talking to me...." Sirius said gruffly.
"I am not without humor.... I can see how your childish mind could think that, but I am not humorless...." Professor Lupin said calmly.
"Oh, so you do speak, eh?" Sirius said with a grin. "Come on... it wasn't all that bad was it? I mean... how many of those boys would love to be in your shoes at that time...." Sirius countered.
"Not many.... not unless they have the personality type of you...." Lupin said into his drink. "And that's not say anything..."
Sirius growled impatiently. Ginny smiled. "Well... at least you weren't hurt!" she said cheerfully.
"See? You weren't hurt! See? I'm not a complete fool!" Sirius said.
"No... not complete... but this is also coming from one of..." Professor Lupin stopped and smiled at Ginny. Harry watched as she started blushing to the roots of her hair. "One of the most annoying men I have ever known..." He said calmly to Sirius.
"Hey... at least you had some fun, right?" Sirius said with a smile. "I mean.. It wasn't completely horrible... not like when you were back in school..."
"No..." Professor Lupin sighed and drank some more of his drink. "I think we've had enough.... I'm going to Honeydukes...."
With that, Professor Lupin stood up and put a few coins on the bar. Sirius patted Lupin on his back and they walked out together. Ginny turned to Harry and smiled. "What was going on yesterday anyway...."
"I'll tell you later, Ginny.. It's a very long story...." Harry said with a smile.
Astra was in a jewelry shop with Draco. Draco was bored, so he just looked at some things that looked shiny. Astra stood by the door to the shop. She smiled at the breeze that flowed through her hair.
Fred Weasley showed up and surprised her. She smiled up at him. "Fred--"
Fred kissed her on her lips softly. He pulled away and ran his hands through her hair. "Make sure he takes care of you...." Then, he let go of her and ran away. Astra ran after him.
Harry was walking with Ginny towards Honeydukes. He suddenly caught sight of flaming red hair that wasn't Ginny's. He saw Fred Weasley waving and smiling at them. He ran over and hugged Ginny. He whispered something to her and clapped Harry on his back. Then, he ran away.
Ginny looked perplexed. "What the hell is going on?"
Suddenly, Harry caught the scent of smoke. The clouds overhead had been threatening rain that day and they were thundering now. Harry heard a scream of agony and terror coming from the direction of Zonko's.
"Oh no...." Harry managed to say. He ran through the crowds toward Zonko's. It finally started raining. He turned a corner and what he saw made him feel sick with grief and anger.
Astra was kneeling in the mud with the white face of Fred in her lap. He was a mangled mess of blood, mud, and shredded clothes. Blood flowed from his body onto the ground, where it stained Astra's jeans and mingled with the mud. His eyes were blank and open, staring up at the rain.
Zonko's itself was was burning. Harry recognized the image of the burning building from something. The fire surged on through the rain, but there was some sizzling as the flames started to go out.
"No... no... not him..." Harry muttered. He suddenly saw Ron and Hermione running over. Nevaeh and George showed up as well. Each was panting hard as if they had just run a long distance.
"Oh no... Fred! FRED!" George cried and he ran over. He knelt down next to Astra and touched the white face of Fred.
"He's dead...." said Astra in a flat tone.
"No.. No..." Ginny kept mumbling against Harry's shoulder. He held her close to him. She cried softly against him.
Hermione was crying as well, although Ron was walking over to where George and Astra were with what was left of Fred. He cried as much as Ginny was. George held Ron around his shoulders. "It's okay, Ron... It's alright...."
"I saw him... I saw and he ran over to me and laughed and pinched my cheek and joked around... then he ran off...." Ron choked through his tears.
"I saw him too... I was with Nev over there and he said something about telling mum about all the REMEMBERING I was doing with her....Then, he ran off before I could punch him." George said.
Astra was remarkably silent. Avalon showed up suddenly, looking solemnly at her older sister. She knelt down into the mud and blood mixture combed her fingers through Astra's rope like wet hair. "C... L... U...." Astra said in a dead tone as she traced her index finger along the scratchy writing.
Draco showed up and wrapped his arms around Astra's shoulders for comfort. He pressed his forehead to her dripping hair and sighed. "Come on, Astra...."
"Clue..." Hermione said.
"Good bye .... Fred..." Harry said softly to the wind. Harry thought he heard Fred's voice on the wind say the same. The rain had finally quenched the flames of Zonko's. Now there was nothing but a blackened mess where Zonko's stood.