Harry spent the rest of the week showing Zelda all his favourite places in
the castle. He showed her Hagrid's cabin (Hagrid wasn't there), the
forbidden forest and all the other places students weren't meant to go.
They sat down by the lake under the shade of an oak to rest.
"I never knew boarding school could be so much fun!" Zelda exclaimed. Harry knew what she was talking about. He would rather live here than back in Privet drive with his adopted family, the Dursleys.
"So what school did you go to before Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Zelda shook her head.
"I was home schooled by my Grandma." She replied. Harry raised an eyebrow. He knew she could not have meant Sirius's mother, she had passed on many years beforehand, and she was evil.
"I didn't know Snape had a mother." Harry slipped out. Zelda shot him the same icy glance her father would have done. "Well he does." She said coolly. Harry wished he had bit his tongue. Neither of them spoke for awhile. Zelda charmed a flower to dance on the grass.
*~*~*
"You're really good at duelling." Harry said finally. Zelda looked up and smiled.
"Thanks, well when you have Severus Snape as a father, you come to be good at a lot of things." She replied. Harry felt a knot in his stomach. She couldn't possibly mean, no that was stupid. He pushed the thought from his head and went back to picking blades of grass out of the ground.
"Um Harry, I wanted to ask you something." Zelda said. Harry swallowed and looked up at her.
"The other week, when we were on the train, you were having a dream about something...what was it?" Harry looked away. He didn't want to discuss the dream with anyone, still if he had to choose it would be Zelda.
"M-my parents. "Harry started.
"They died when I was a baby." Harry felt relieved that Zelda didn't have the same look of sympathy on her face that everyone else did when he spoke about his parents.
"What happened, in the dream?" Zelda asked concerned.
"N-nothing bad, I just dreamt I had a normal life, with no magic and no Snape and no Voldermort." Zelda gasped.
"You really don't like my father do you?" She asked Harry. They both laughed.
"It's not his fault, he and my father were enemies at school." Harry explained.
"Kind of like you and Malfoy." Zelda said. The sun gleamed down on her hair. Harry doubted he had ever seen anything so shiny.
"Pretty much, only Snape's usually on Malfoy's side, but I guess it's different now that you're here." Harry said hopefully. Zelda smiled. A strange feeling ran through Harry's body all the way down to his legs which were now covered in waltzing flowers. He noticed a tear roll down Zelda's rosy cheek.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Zelda sniffed.
"It's nothing." She said wiping away a tear.
"It's just, you had a dream about you parents, and I had a dream about my mother last night." Harry waited for her to go on. She was obviously upset still about the death of her mother.
"I miss her so much Harry, I can't even talk to my father about it, he forbids it." Harry looked shocked.
"Why?" He asked.
"She was killed by Death eaters Harry, he blames himself all the time, I just want to remember what she was like." Zelda now had several streams flowing down her face. Harry was unsure of what to do. He patted Zelda's back without getting too close, girls can be funny about these things.
"Can't you talk to Sirius about it?" Harry asked. This made the situation worsen.
"He doesn't like me near him either, I remind everyone of my mother!" Zelda wailed.
"Don't you have a picture or something?" Harry asked hopefully. He remembered the picture kept by his bed of his parents. Zelda shook her head and wiped her eyes.
"Well she went to Hogwarts didn't she?" He asked. Zelda nodded.
"Then there must be a picture around here somewhere!" Harry leapt to his feet. Zelda followed his lead. He took her hand and lead her through the halls at a fast pace.
*~*~*
"I found it!" Harry said excitedly. Zelda ran over to the spot he was pointing at. It was a whole school picture of when his father and Sirius were at Hogwarts. Several students in the photograph were pulling at one an others hair trying to get the most attention.
"I can see her Harry!" Zelda said excitedly. Harry was too busy watching Sirius and James play-duel with their wands. His mother Lily was in the next row shaking her head while whispering into a dark haired girls ear.
"That's you mother?" Harry asked. She had a likeness to Sirius, a very pretty face a thick curly dark hair.
"Out mothers' were good friends Harry." Zelda pointed out happily.
"You don't look anything like her." Harry protested.
"Well that's because I charmed my hair colour silly." Zelda raised her wand to her head and suddenly a mass of long dark curls blanketed the shiny blonde hair. Harry's jaw dropped. She was the spitting image of her mother, and still very pretty.
"I can see the resemblance now." Harry admitted. Though he was secretly thinking of Zelda in a Death eaters' robe. The thought gnawed away at him as he stared.
"Potter." An angry Snape marched up to him.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"N-nothing sir we just..." Snape looked at Zelda.
"What have you done to you hair?" He asked. His voice softened.
"I was just showing Harry... never mind." Zelda said looking down.
"Stand aside Potter." Snape demanded. Harry did so. He watched the expression on Snape's face change as he realised what they were doing.
"Get out of here." He said. He voice was close to a whisper. Harry didn't need to be told twice. He quickly left, Zelda followed him down the hall.
"Harry wait." Zelda called. He turned around to see what she was pointing at. Snape was still watching the picture. A mournful expression played on his face as he reached out to the picture. For a moment Harry seemed to understand why Snape never laughed or showed any sign of real emotion. It almost made him forgive four years of Snape's nastiness. His head turned sharply towards Harry who just realised Zelda was no longer standing next to him. Before Snape could say anything Harry had shot off towards the common room.
*~*~*
"Who put the Niffler in Snape's office?" Fred and George asked in the Griffyndor common room. It was night time and Harry and his friends were reading their mail sent via owls.
"Like you don't know." Hermione scoffed.
"Harry copped the flack for it as per usual." Ron added. Fred and George sympathised.
"Really it wasn't us, honest!" They walked away and left Harry to open his mail.
"It from Snuffles!" He said excitedly. 'Snuffles' was the code word given for Sirius so no one knew they were talking about a convicted felon.
"What does it say?" Hermione asked. Harry cleared his throat.
Dear Harry,
I've been stuck inside Grimuld place for a whole month now, I'm coming to see you a soon as Dumbledore sends the word.
Don't stay up too late and enjoy my present,
Yours truly
Snuffles
P.S. You're one of the gang now!
"Sounds like good news Harry." Ron said.
"What did he send you?" Hermione asked. Harry pulled out a patch with the letter 'M' stitched on it.
"It's..." Harry couldn't talk. Ron and Hermione looked at him expectantly.
"It's a 'Marauders' patch." He breathed.
"Sirius sent you his 'Marauders' patch?" Ron asked amazed. Hermione applied a permanent sticking charm to Harry's robes and the patch. He wore the red and gold 'M' with great pride.
*~*~*
Later that night Harry awoke to footsteps in his dorm. A hand covered his mouth as moonlight shone into the room.
"Shhh it's me!" Zelda said. Harry noticed she still hadn't changed her hair back.
"What are you doing here? If you get caught you'll be expelled." Harry whispered harshly.
"I have to show you something." Zelda said eagerly. Harry got out of bed and pulled his robes on.
"Quick get under my cloak." She insisted. Harry and Zelda tip-toed down the halls and out of the castle.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked. Normally he wouldn't have asked questions if it were Ron or Hermione, but he had this nagging feeling Zelda wasn't telling him everything about her.
"You'll see." Zelda kept saying. Harry wondered if she ever knew where she was leading them. They venture deeper into the Forbidden Forest until they reached a clearing.
*~*~*
"What's going on Zelda?" Harry asked impatiently. His fingers closed around his wand as he heard noises in the bushes. A shaggy black dog stepped out and barked once at Harry.
"Sirius!" Harry called stepping out from under the cloak. The dog changed into a human with ease and rushed forth to hug Harry.
"Let me take a look at you Harry." Sirius said stepping back. He smiled when he saw the red and gold 'M' looking back at him.
"And you missy." Sirius said turning to face Zelda. She hugged him tightly. Harry watched Sirius's every move. Those who didn't know him would have been quite scared at his appearance, but Harry knew better.
"Dumbledore said I would get a suprise if I came here tonight." Sirius said. Zelda beamed.
"I heard you howling from my dorm, I knew it was you immediately." She said with pride.
"So how do you like school here? She isn't beating you in too many classes I hope Harry?" Sirius asked with a smile.
"Only about all of them." Harry replied.
"Sirius." Harry said on a serious note.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius looked around. Before he could answer a voice came from the shadows.
"That's precisely what I was wondering..."
"I never knew boarding school could be so much fun!" Zelda exclaimed. Harry knew what she was talking about. He would rather live here than back in Privet drive with his adopted family, the Dursleys.
"So what school did you go to before Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Zelda shook her head.
"I was home schooled by my Grandma." She replied. Harry raised an eyebrow. He knew she could not have meant Sirius's mother, she had passed on many years beforehand, and she was evil.
"I didn't know Snape had a mother." Harry slipped out. Zelda shot him the same icy glance her father would have done. "Well he does." She said coolly. Harry wished he had bit his tongue. Neither of them spoke for awhile. Zelda charmed a flower to dance on the grass.
*~*~*
"You're really good at duelling." Harry said finally. Zelda looked up and smiled.
"Thanks, well when you have Severus Snape as a father, you come to be good at a lot of things." She replied. Harry felt a knot in his stomach. She couldn't possibly mean, no that was stupid. He pushed the thought from his head and went back to picking blades of grass out of the ground.
"Um Harry, I wanted to ask you something." Zelda said. Harry swallowed and looked up at her.
"The other week, when we were on the train, you were having a dream about something...what was it?" Harry looked away. He didn't want to discuss the dream with anyone, still if he had to choose it would be Zelda.
"M-my parents. "Harry started.
"They died when I was a baby." Harry felt relieved that Zelda didn't have the same look of sympathy on her face that everyone else did when he spoke about his parents.
"What happened, in the dream?" Zelda asked concerned.
"N-nothing bad, I just dreamt I had a normal life, with no magic and no Snape and no Voldermort." Zelda gasped.
"You really don't like my father do you?" She asked Harry. They both laughed.
"It's not his fault, he and my father were enemies at school." Harry explained.
"Kind of like you and Malfoy." Zelda said. The sun gleamed down on her hair. Harry doubted he had ever seen anything so shiny.
"Pretty much, only Snape's usually on Malfoy's side, but I guess it's different now that you're here." Harry said hopefully. Zelda smiled. A strange feeling ran through Harry's body all the way down to his legs which were now covered in waltzing flowers. He noticed a tear roll down Zelda's rosy cheek.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Zelda sniffed.
"It's nothing." She said wiping away a tear.
"It's just, you had a dream about you parents, and I had a dream about my mother last night." Harry waited for her to go on. She was obviously upset still about the death of her mother.
"I miss her so much Harry, I can't even talk to my father about it, he forbids it." Harry looked shocked.
"Why?" He asked.
"She was killed by Death eaters Harry, he blames himself all the time, I just want to remember what she was like." Zelda now had several streams flowing down her face. Harry was unsure of what to do. He patted Zelda's back without getting too close, girls can be funny about these things.
"Can't you talk to Sirius about it?" Harry asked. This made the situation worsen.
"He doesn't like me near him either, I remind everyone of my mother!" Zelda wailed.
"Don't you have a picture or something?" Harry asked hopefully. He remembered the picture kept by his bed of his parents. Zelda shook her head and wiped her eyes.
"Well she went to Hogwarts didn't she?" He asked. Zelda nodded.
"Then there must be a picture around here somewhere!" Harry leapt to his feet. Zelda followed his lead. He took her hand and lead her through the halls at a fast pace.
*~*~*
"I found it!" Harry said excitedly. Zelda ran over to the spot he was pointing at. It was a whole school picture of when his father and Sirius were at Hogwarts. Several students in the photograph were pulling at one an others hair trying to get the most attention.
"I can see her Harry!" Zelda said excitedly. Harry was too busy watching Sirius and James play-duel with their wands. His mother Lily was in the next row shaking her head while whispering into a dark haired girls ear.
"That's you mother?" Harry asked. She had a likeness to Sirius, a very pretty face a thick curly dark hair.
"Out mothers' were good friends Harry." Zelda pointed out happily.
"You don't look anything like her." Harry protested.
"Well that's because I charmed my hair colour silly." Zelda raised her wand to her head and suddenly a mass of long dark curls blanketed the shiny blonde hair. Harry's jaw dropped. She was the spitting image of her mother, and still very pretty.
"I can see the resemblance now." Harry admitted. Though he was secretly thinking of Zelda in a Death eaters' robe. The thought gnawed away at him as he stared.
"Potter." An angry Snape marched up to him.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"N-nothing sir we just..." Snape looked at Zelda.
"What have you done to you hair?" He asked. His voice softened.
"I was just showing Harry... never mind." Zelda said looking down.
"Stand aside Potter." Snape demanded. Harry did so. He watched the expression on Snape's face change as he realised what they were doing.
"Get out of here." He said. He voice was close to a whisper. Harry didn't need to be told twice. He quickly left, Zelda followed him down the hall.
"Harry wait." Zelda called. He turned around to see what she was pointing at. Snape was still watching the picture. A mournful expression played on his face as he reached out to the picture. For a moment Harry seemed to understand why Snape never laughed or showed any sign of real emotion. It almost made him forgive four years of Snape's nastiness. His head turned sharply towards Harry who just realised Zelda was no longer standing next to him. Before Snape could say anything Harry had shot off towards the common room.
*~*~*
"Who put the Niffler in Snape's office?" Fred and George asked in the Griffyndor common room. It was night time and Harry and his friends were reading their mail sent via owls.
"Like you don't know." Hermione scoffed.
"Harry copped the flack for it as per usual." Ron added. Fred and George sympathised.
"Really it wasn't us, honest!" They walked away and left Harry to open his mail.
"It from Snuffles!" He said excitedly. 'Snuffles' was the code word given for Sirius so no one knew they were talking about a convicted felon.
"What does it say?" Hermione asked. Harry cleared his throat.
Dear Harry,
I've been stuck inside Grimuld place for a whole month now, I'm coming to see you a soon as Dumbledore sends the word.
Don't stay up too late and enjoy my present,
Yours truly
Snuffles
P.S. You're one of the gang now!
"Sounds like good news Harry." Ron said.
"What did he send you?" Hermione asked. Harry pulled out a patch with the letter 'M' stitched on it.
"It's..." Harry couldn't talk. Ron and Hermione looked at him expectantly.
"It's a 'Marauders' patch." He breathed.
"Sirius sent you his 'Marauders' patch?" Ron asked amazed. Hermione applied a permanent sticking charm to Harry's robes and the patch. He wore the red and gold 'M' with great pride.
*~*~*
Later that night Harry awoke to footsteps in his dorm. A hand covered his mouth as moonlight shone into the room.
"Shhh it's me!" Zelda said. Harry noticed she still hadn't changed her hair back.
"What are you doing here? If you get caught you'll be expelled." Harry whispered harshly.
"I have to show you something." Zelda said eagerly. Harry got out of bed and pulled his robes on.
"Quick get under my cloak." She insisted. Harry and Zelda tip-toed down the halls and out of the castle.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked. Normally he wouldn't have asked questions if it were Ron or Hermione, but he had this nagging feeling Zelda wasn't telling him everything about her.
"You'll see." Zelda kept saying. Harry wondered if she ever knew where she was leading them. They venture deeper into the Forbidden Forest until they reached a clearing.
*~*~*
"What's going on Zelda?" Harry asked impatiently. His fingers closed around his wand as he heard noises in the bushes. A shaggy black dog stepped out and barked once at Harry.
"Sirius!" Harry called stepping out from under the cloak. The dog changed into a human with ease and rushed forth to hug Harry.
"Let me take a look at you Harry." Sirius said stepping back. He smiled when he saw the red and gold 'M' looking back at him.
"And you missy." Sirius said turning to face Zelda. She hugged him tightly. Harry watched Sirius's every move. Those who didn't know him would have been quite scared at his appearance, but Harry knew better.
"Dumbledore said I would get a suprise if I came here tonight." Sirius said. Zelda beamed.
"I heard you howling from my dorm, I knew it was you immediately." She said with pride.
"So how do you like school here? She isn't beating you in too many classes I hope Harry?" Sirius asked with a smile.
"Only about all of them." Harry replied.
"Sirius." Harry said on a serious note.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius looked around. Before he could answer a voice came from the shadows.
"That's precisely what I was wondering..."