I borrowed them from JKR for a while. I promise I'll give them back when she asks for them. Well, except for Astrid and the other little Malfoy's. They're mine. And some of the other characters too.
Thanks to Natalie, my awesome Beta!
If you would like to receive the email announcing chapter updates, please leave your email in your review.
Thanks
That being said:
*****
"Where is little miss Malfoy?" Ron asked, stomping into the common room on the Tuesday after Halloween. He had been in his dorm looking for his Divination homework.
"Astrid?" Harry asked, looking up from his Transfiguration notes. He was stretched out on the rug in front of the fire.
"No, Emma," Ron spat.
"What's Astrid done now?" Hermione asked from her seat on the floor against the couch. Fred sat right above her on the couch. Both were reading potions notes. George and Angelina had curled themselves into one chair and were alternating between reading Fred and George's shared Defense book and snogging. Ginny and Colin were sitting on another couch quizzing each other on dates and terms for a History of Magic exam.
"I wouldn't advise going into our room," Ron said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"My beater bat has been charmed to chase whoever is in the room around until they leave," Ron replied. Fred and George both instantly turned their attention to Ron. "Yes, there is another little prankster in our midst."
"Sweet!" Fred cried.
"How do you know its Astrid?" George asked.
"She offered to carry my bat up from the field after practice yesterday because I had to carry the balls," Ron replied.
"And the charm didn't activate until today?" Fred questioned.
"Evidently not," Ron replied.
"She's a first year, she couldn't have done that," Colin insisted.
"She's a Malfoy, I'd be willing to bet that she could and she did," Ron replied, glaring down at the younger boy.
"I don't get it," Colin said.
"The Malfoy children come to school knowing more curses than most of us will ever learn," Hermione explained.
"You're sure it was Astrid?" Ginny asked.
"It makes the most logical sense," Ron said.
"The only other people who could have had access to the bat are Seamus, Dean and Neville, they've never pranked before so I really don't think they would start now," Harry reasoned.
"So none of you have seen Astrid?" Ron asked.
"Nope," Hermione said.
"Shall I attempt to summon her?" Harry asked.
"Go for it!" Ron exclaimed. Harry closed his eyes and formed a mental picture of the little girl.
"You might hurt her!" Hermione cried just as Harry muttered "Accio Astrid."
"Too late!" Harry said, opening his green eyes and smiling at Hermione.
"Harry James Potter!" came a stern voice from the other side of the common room. Quickly enough, the source of the voice was seated neatly right beside Harry. "One of these days I will be too big for you to summon."
"Keep dreaming, chica," Ron laughed, "Harry's summoning charm has retrieved an entire desk before. You'll never be that big." Astrid glared playfully at Ron.
"One of these days you're going to regret saying that. Eventually I'm going to be tall enough to fight back," she warned.
"You're planning on being almost two meters tall?" Ron asked.
"Keep dreaming," Hermione laughed.
"I only have," Astrid paused for a moment, "About half a meter to grow." She glared up at Ron.
"The bat," George quietly reminded his younger brother.
"Oh yes," Ron said, "Astrid, what did you do to my beater bat?"
"Your beater bat?" Astrid asked innocently.
"Yes, my beater bat," Ron replied.
"What beater bat?" Astrid asked.
"The one you carried for me yesterday," Ron said.
"Oh, THAT beater bat!" Astrid laughed.
"Yes, that beater bat," Ron replied.
"I didn't do anything to your beater bat," Astrid replied.
"That's a bunch of crap," Ron said.
"No, it's really not," Astrid said with a sly smile.
"Well then why is my bat chasing anyone who walks in my dorm around the room until they can leave?" Ron asked.
"Sawyer and Jason," Astrid replied with another smile.
"What about Sawyer and Jason?"
"They put the curse on the bat," Astrid said.
"How did they know that curse?" Ron asked, "Because I know Sawyer and Jason couldn't have done that without some help from someone a little more advanced in the area of curses." He glared down at the small girl still seated next to Harry.
"Oh, that," Astrid replied, smiling at Ron. "Well I suppose I did suggest cursing the bat and even sort of suggested the curse."
"How do you sort of suggest a curse?" Ron questioned.
"Okay. I said 'hey Sawyer and Jason, I've got Ron's beater bat.' And then they said 'Gee Astrid, that's great but we really don't care.' And then I said, 'let's play a trick on him.' They said 'alright, let's.' So I gave them the bat and told them to do the curse and they did, so you can't get mad at me." Astrid's recount of the events sounded like a muggle kindergarten reader.
"Want to bet?" Ron asked.
"About what?" Astrid replied.
"That I can't get mad at you," Ron said, he started walking towards the little girl.
"HARRY! SAVE ME!" Astrid cried. She jumped over Harry to put him between her and his advancing best friend.
"Sorry chica, this is one battle you're going to have to fight on your own," Harry laughed. He tried to get out of Ron's way but Astrid clung to the back of his robes.
"Okay Astrid, hold on," Harry said. He grabbed her knees and she clasped her arms around his neck. He took off around the couch Hermione and Fred were seated on. He stopped right behind Fred and turned to look at Ron. Astrid peeked over his shoulder at the tall fifth year. Ron moved to his left so Harry copied his action, putting the two boys on either side of Fred and Hermione. Ron easily vaulted over the back of the couch putting himself face to face with Harry and Astrid.
"Where are you two going to go now?" Ron asked playfully. Harry didn't answer but half dived, half fell over the couch, Astrid still attached to his back. Astrid let out a screech that almost rattled the windows of Gryffindor tower and she and Harry crashed into the floor. Ron dived back across the couch, flinging himself onto the pile in the floor. Astrid screamed again as Ron's fingers found her sides and tickled her mercilessly. Harry threw his arms around Ron's waist.
"Run Astrid!" he cried. Astrid smacked at Ron's hands as she stumbled to her feet. She tripped over Hermione and started towards the back of the common room. Ron struggled to his feet, Harry still clinging to his waist. Ron began walking towards Astrid, dragging a limp Harry behind him.
"You know, this would be much easier if you'd let go of me," Ron told Harry as he dragged him towards Astrid's corner. Harry instantly let go of Ron and stood up.
"Thank you!" Ron exclaimed. He turned back to go after Astrid but Harry promptly jumped on his back, piggy back style, and clasped his arms around Ron's shoulders.
"RUN ASTRID!" Harry cried. Astrid darted back towards Hermione and Fred. Ron struggled to reverse his direction with the added weight of Harry on his back. Astrid, giggling madly, jumped onto the couch between Colin and Ginny.
"Your brother is psychotic," she said as she curled herself into a small ball right next to the youngest Weasley child.
"He wasn't until you became a Gryffindor," Ginny replied.
"Ginny, really think about that statement," Fred advised.
"Okay, he's been psychotic for as long as I've known him," Ginny amended her statement.
"Which is how long?" Astrid asked.
"All but fifteen months of his life," Ginny replied.
"So your birthday is in June then?" Astrid asked.
"Yes," Ginny replied, "June 16th."
"Really now? Emma's is the 11th," Astrid said.
"Um Astrid, you may want to run," Colin advised. Astrid looked up from her position next to Ginny to see Ron with a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and Harry's head peeking over his left shoulder towering over her.
"I tried to stop him," Harry said.
"Thank you Harry, now I need a new ear drum to replace the one you just screamed in!" Ron cried. Harry smiled evilly.
"If I go uncharm the bat will you leave me alone?" Astrid asked.
"Do you promise never to do it again?" Ron replied.
"Yes," Astrid said meekly. Harry rolled his eyes at her and she had to stifle a giggle. Ron couldn't see Harry's expression so he glared at Astrid. Harry crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at the girl.
"And do you promise to call off your trained monkey?" Ron asked.
"I don't have a trained monkey," Astrid said.
"Then what's this hanging on my back?" Ron asked.
"Oh, THAT," Astrid laughed, "yes, that's a trained monkey. Down boy!" Harry promptly released his grip on Ron and dropped to the ground. Ron rubbed his shoulders where Harry had been holding on to him.
"Go," Ron warned Astrid. She jumped up and ran off towards the boy's dorms.
"You know, I would expect a spectacle like that from Astrid, but the two of you are fifteen years old!" Hermione scolded.
"Actually, collectively we're thirty," Harry said, raising his eyebrow at Hermione.
"Hermione dear, you forget that they are boys," Ginny said, "they're not notoriously the most intelligent creatures on the planet."
"And they mature at a much slower rate than girls. I personally don't see how you put up with the two of them," Angelina laughed from her spot next to/with/on George.
"Oh, they're not so bad once you learn to ignore half of the things they say and do," Hermione laughed. Ron and Harry both spun to glare at their friend.
"I resent that!" Harry exclaimed
"I was kidding boys, you know I love you both," Hermione laughed.
"You have quite the interesting way of showing it," Ron joked. Hermione pointedly ignored his statement and instead looked down at her watch.
"Harry, don't you have to meet Hannah at eight?" she asked innocently.
"Yeah, what time is it?" Harry asked.
"Harry's meeting Hannah?" Fred asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied.
"OOOOO Harry and Hannah!!!" George and Angelina chorused.
"He wishes," Ron corrected. Harry turned to glare at his friends.
"It's about seven till eight," Hermione said.
"Bye guys!" Harry cried. He patted his pocket to make sure he had his wand and jogged towards the portrait hole.
%%%%%
"Chelsea, I think you've got it," Hannah said. She closed the first year transfiguration book and looked down at the younger girl. Chelsea tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and smiled up at Hannah.
"Thanks Hannah," Chelsea replied. She began putting her books and notes into her bag.
"Alright. We'll work some more next week," Hannah said. She stood up and picked up her bag.
"You've gotta go meet Harry now, doncha?" Chelsea asked.
"Yes," Hannah replied. She smiled sweetly at the little girl.
"HANNAH ABBOTT FANCIES HARRY POTTER!!!" Chelsea screeched. Even without the aide of the voice altering charm, Chelsea was loud enough to turn every head in the Hufflepuff common room.
"HANNAH FANCIES HARRY!" Chelsea cried again. She began running a crazy circuit about the common room shouting her message at the top of her lungs. Hannah pulled out her wand and leveled it at the quickly moving figure.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Hannah cried. Chelsea immediately froze and fell completely silent. The common room erupted with laughter.
"Hannah Abbott, 10 points from Hufflepuff!" prefect Susan Bones called from the corner where she and Eloise Midgen had been going over potions notes. Hannah smiled sweetly at Susan before excusing herself from the common room, leaving Ernie and Justin to deal with the frozen first year. She glanced at her watch and realized her tutoring session with Chelsea had taken longer than she expected and she only had a few moments before she was supposed to meet Harry in the Entrance Hall for their interview. She broke into a jog down the hall next to the kitchen. As she ran, she wondered exactly how quickly it would take Chelsea's little scene in the common room to make its way back to Harry. She rounded a corner and sprinted up some stairs before running the opposite direction down another long hall. At the end of that hall, she turned left through a door and made an immediate right through a picture frame. She ran to the end of that hall and turned left onto a set of stairs. She ran up the stairs and found herself in the Entrance Hall just as Harry thundered down the steps leading up to the other levels of the school.
"Hi!" Harry said. He was quite breathless.
"Hi," Hannah replied. She waved at him a bit. "Sorry I'm late, but I was helping Chelsea with some transfiguration homework."
"Mandrake Chelsea?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Mandrake Chelsea," Hannah replied. The mention of Mandrake Chelsea brought the earlier scene back into Hannah's head and significantly decreased her good mood.
"That's alright. I was definitely fighting with Ron and Astrid," Harry laughed.
"Fighting?" Hannah asked.
"Yes, fighting," Harry replied, "Astrid played a joke on Ron and we all ended up running around the common room like a bunch of first years."
"She is a first year," Hannah pointed out.
"True," Harry replied.
"It seems like she and Chelsea would get along," Hannah said.
"Maybe we'll have to introduce them."
"So who are we going to interview? You still haven't told me." Hannah said.
"And I still can't tell you. We've got to go off Hogwarts grounds to meet the person. Dumbledore has given me permission so we're going to fly out to where he is," Harry said.
"Why can't you tell me?" Hannah asked, her face turning red.
"I just can't," Harry insisted. He looked at her with his big green eyes, silently pleading with her to understand.
"I hope you have a good reason for this secrecy," Hannah said, fluttering her eyelashes down across her brilliant blue eyes and breaking eye contact with the young man in front of her.
"I do," Harry replied, "Trust me, I do."
"Okay," Hannah said. She still didn't look up at Harry.
"Well, we've got to go down to the kitchens and pick up some things from the house elves and then we can go get the brooms," Harry said.
"Alright," Hannah replied. Harry started towards the steps Hannah had just come up and Hannah quietly followed him. "What do we have to pick up from the kitchens?"
"Food," Harry replied.
"Why?" Hannah asked.
"We need to take some things to the person we're interviewing," Harry replied.
"Why?" Hannah asked.
"Can I explain that when I explain everything else?" Harry asked, sounding slightly guilty.
"Sure," Hannah replied harshly. She was a bit put off by having to wait to learn of plans for her own project. Until this point, she and Harry and shared the work, completely fifty-fifty. Adding Harry's vagueness on top of Chelsea's correct assumptions and the ensuing announcement did not make for a happy Hannah. They walked the rest of the way to the kitchens in complete silence, save the click of their shoes on the cold stone floor. Harry tickled the pear and opened the door to the kitchen. He held it open for Hannah to enter before going in himself.
"Harry Potter!" Dobby cried, sprinting over to where Harry stood.
"Hi Dobby. I'm here to pick up the things for Professor Dumbledore," Harry replied.
"Right," Dobby said, "I is getting them for master Harry Potter sir." He turned and sprinted off in the direction he had just come from.
"Crazy little thing, isn't he?" Harry asked. Hannah nodded mutely. Harry looked over at her and laughed nervously, stopping when he noticed she wasn't also laughing. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Hannah lied, immediately looking away from Harry.
"You're being incredibly silent for nothing to be wrong," Harry said. Hannah shook her blonde bangs out of her eyes and looked over at Harry.
"I'm fine," she insisted.
"Okay," Harry replied. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked over to where Dobby had disappeared to, willing the house elf to reappear quickly.
"Harry Potter!" Dobby cried, running up to the two teenagers from the other direction. He held a large paper bag in his small hands. "I is having the food for the great good wizard Dumbledore sir." He handed the bag to Harry. Harry took it and pulled out his wand. He quickly made the bag small and slipped it in his pocket.
"I's also putting two butterbeers in there for you and Miss Hannah Abbott, sir," Dobby said.
"Thanks Dobby," Hannah said warmly.
"Thanks Dobby," Harry echoed.
"Come visit Dobby," the elf insisted as the two teenagers walked out of the kitchen.
"I will," Harry called back over his shoulder. "Now we've got to get the broom."
"The broom?" Hannah asked.
"Yes," Harry replied. Hannah didn't question him any further. The walked in silence out to the broom shed. Harry had stashed his broom in the shed after the mornings Quidditch practice. When they reached the shed, Harry pulled open the door and headed inside. He picked up his Firebolt and turned to Hannah.
"Ready?" He asked. She reached for her Cleansweep, but he stopped her.
"What?" Hannah asked,
"I thought it might be easier if we take one broom," Harry suggested.
"Just because I can't fly as well as you doesn't mean I'm not competent," Hannah said, and she grabbed her broom.
"I didn't say you weren't competent," Harry said, "I just thought you might like to fly the Firebolt so I could explain about the person we're getting ready to interview!" He turned on his heel and stomped out of the shed, angry at Hannah's bad attitude towards him. Hannah allowed her broom to clatter to the floor and she chased after Harry.
"Harry, I'm sorry!" Hannah exclaimed, just as Harry mounted his broom. Harry turned to look at her. She stood in the doorway of the broom shed, hands on her hips defiantly. Her blonde bangs swept across her dark blue eyes and she nervously tapped one foot. She reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Harry quickly dismounted the broom and walked over to her.
"Here, you can fly it," he said, handing the broom to her. She smiled brightly and took the broom from him. She quickly jumped on it and turned to him. He slipped into the broom behind her and placed his hands carefully on her waist.
"Wow it feels weird to be a passenger on my own broom," Harry laughed.
"I'm sorry for being so mean earlier," Hannah said. "I was a little upset at something Chelsea did."
"Next time Chelsea makes you mad, tell her you'll have Ron step on her," Harry suggested.
"I just put her in a fully body bind," Hannah said.
"Wow. I think I'd like to do that to a couple of people in Gryffindor," Harry laughed.
"Such as?" Hannah asked.
"Well, Fred, George, Angelina, Ginny, Ron and Hermione for starters," Harry said. "And Colin Creevey."
"Just them?" Hannah asked with a laugh. She kicked off easily and started towards the stars.
"For now, yes," Harry laughed. He leaned against her back to prevent being swept backwards off of the broom by the wind.
"What did they do to warrant that?" Hannah asked.
"They were being jerks right before I left to meet you. Well, between the fight with Ron and Astrid and the time I left," Harry explained.
"Oh," Hannah said. "This broom is fantastic!"
"Isn't it?" Harry asked.
"If it wouldn't mean years worth of pay checks for my mum, this would definitely be the number one item on my list for Christmas," Hannah said. A feather light touch from her right hand made the broom turn sharply right. She pulled up on the handle, making the broom push higher into the stars.
"I'm very lucky," Harry replied.
"Yeah, you really are," Hannah laughed. "Who gave you the broom anyway?"
"Sirius Black," Harry replied without missing a beat. He instinctively tightened his grip on Hannah, afraid she would react wildly to the news. At the mention of the notorious "criminal's" name, he felt her tense visibly, but she didn't try to spin around and look at him or anything.
"Sirius Black?" Hannah asked quietly. Harry didn't loosen his grip on her.
"Yes. And in fact, that's who we're heading to interview," Harry said calmly.
"Oh, that's simply fantastic, Harry," Hannah spat. "You wait until you've got me 100 meters in the air on a bloody broom to tell me we're on our way to interview a convicted murderer."
"Something to that effect," Harry said, "But you must understand one thing about Sirius."
"What's that?" Hannah asked.
"While he's a convicted murderer, he's not guilty of murder," Harry explained.
"How do you figure?" Hannah asked. She was staying quite calm and focused on flying the broom.
"Well, I suppose you need to know the abbreviated version of the entire story," Harry said. "When Sirius was in school, he, my father, Professor Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were inseparable."
"Peter Pettigrew? As in the guy Sirius Black supposedly killed?" Hannah asked.
"Yes. My father, Professor Lupin, Sirius and Pettigrew were best friends. As you know, Professor Lupin is a werewolf."
"Yes," Hannah replied.
"The four of them were such good friends that my father, Sirius and Pettigrew all became animagi so they could accompany Professor Lupin on his full-moon transformations. My father transformed into a stag, Sirius into a dog, and Pettigrew into a rat."
"Okay," Hannah said.
"Well, when things with Voldemort got bad, my parents had to go into hiding using the Fidelius Charm. Everyone thought they chose Sirius as their secret keeper. In reality, they chose Pettigrew. He told Voldemort where to find them because he's a death eater."
"That still doesn't account for Sirius blasting that street full of people to pieces," Hannah said.
"Well, Sirius chased Peter down to that particular point. Sirius fired off a curse that made Peter lose part of one of his fingers. Peter held his wand behind his back and fired off the curses that killed all of the muggles, then transformed into his rat and disappeared into the sewer," Harry said.
"Really now?" Hannah asked.
"Yes. And all Sirius could do was stand there and laugh about it, so they arrested him. Pettigrew stayed in hiding as a rat, and, in fact, as Ron's pet rat Scabbers until our third year."
"No way."
"Yes. As you remember, that's the year Sirius escaped from Azkaban. So Sirius came to Hogwarts and we eventually caught Pettigrew, but he escaped and returned to Voldemort."
"Wow," Hannah said softly.
"Do you believe me?" Harry asked.
"You tell that story all to easily for it to be a lie," Hannah replied, "but why didn't someone kill Pettigrew while they had the chance?"
"I talked Lupin and Sirius out of it. I don't think my father would have wanted them to become killers," Harry explained.
"That doesn't explain the top of the line racing broom we're flying right now," Hannah said.
"Oh, this," Harry laughed. "Sirius and my father were absolute best friends. Sirius was best man at my parents' wedding and he's actually my godfather. If we can ever prove that he's innocent, I'll go live with him in the summers rather than the Dursleys. He gave me the broom to make up for thirteen years of missed birthdays and Christmases."
"That's definitely," Hannah said. She trailed off for a moment before regaining her voice. "Definitely interesting."
"You do realize that you're now one of a very few people who knows about this and you can't say a word to anyone," Harry said.
"I figured as much," Hannah replied, "but how are we going to list Sirius as a source in our presentation."
"We'll say we found some reports from an unidentified eyewitness in a book in the library," Harry explained, "I actually believe Dumbledore is in the process of creating us such a book."
"Good thinking," Hannah said. She shivered slightly in the cool night air. She hadn't thought to bring a cloak because she didn't plan on flying. Harry instinctively leaned in closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, hoping to reduce some of her shivering.
"So you're okay with meeting Sirius?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Hannah replied. She leaned back against him slightly, "However, I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to be going, so if you want to give me a bit of direction here, it would be quite helpful." Harry put his hands on the broom, one in front and one behind Hannah's. He slowly guided the broom down to a level more conducive to seeing the ground.
"We should be there shortly," Harry said, surveying the town of Hogsmeade flashing below them.
"Where exactly are we going?" Hannah asked, finally falling completely back into Harry's embrace. He rested his head against hers.
"When Sirius is around Hogwarts, he hides out in a cave in the mountains past Hogsmeade," Harry explained. Hannah was silent for a moment.
"Isn't that a bit suspicious?" she finally asked.
"No," Harry replied. "Sirius plays the loveable stray quite well."
"He stays as a dog?"
"Ah, yes," Harry said with a bit of a laugh, "Do you want to see exactly how fast this broom can go?"
"Sure!" Hannah squealed. Instinctively she leaned closer to the handle of the broom. Harry leaned in also and tightened his grip on the broom with his right hand. The broom instantly accelerated. Hannah squealed with delight. Her hair whipped back and Harry caught a whiff of her apple shampoo. Harry used his right hand to angle the broom towards a mountain looming in the distance. Hannah squealed again. Harry couldn't resist the urge to show off a bit. He pulled up with his right hand. The broom shot skyward so quickly that it rolled backwards before continuing in the direction they had been going. Harry instantly threw all of his weight to the left. The broom responded perfectly, pitching the pair into a tightly contained helix. After about four complete spins, Harry forced the broom into a steep dive directly at the side of the mountain. Hannah laughed cheerfully even though they were hurtling towards a rock face at an alarming rate of speed. The mountain drew closer but Harry didn't reduce the speed of the broom. Hannah didn't protest. The wind ripped through their hair and bit at their cheeks but Harry never slowed. Only two meters from the cave, Harry pulled straight up on the broom and simultaneously applied pressure with his left hand. The broom braked and the pair slid neatly into the small opening of the cave. The teenagers tumbled off the broom, both laughing. Hannah tried to smooth her hair, quite unsuccessfully. Harry ran both hands through his hair, making it stand up more.
"Must you make an entrance specifically to impress the girl?" A bodiless voice asked form a dark corner.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed. He turned to look in the direction the voice came from so Hannah wouldn't notice the red tinge coming over his cheeks.
"Harry," Sirius replied. He stepped out of the shadows and extended his hand formally to his godson. Harry grabbed his godfather's hand tightly and pulled him into a very quick, very masculine hug. Harry stepped back and pulled Hannah towards Sirius.
"Sirius, this is Hannah Abbott, my History of Magic partner," Harry said. "Hannah, this is Sirius Black, my godfather." Sirius held out his hand to Hannah. Hannah placed her hand in his. Rather than shaking her hand like she expected him to, he brushed a kiss across the back of her hand.
"Delighted," he said with a smile. Hannah turned bright red and giggled.
"Now that we all know each other, did you bring me any food?" Sirius asked. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the miniature bag. He handed it to Sirius.
"Okay smart one, you expect me to eat that how?" Sirius asked. Harry pulled out his wand and quickly enlarged the bag.
"Everything in there is yours but the butter beer," Harry said, "Dobby sent that for me and Hannah." Sirius pawed through the bag and pulled out the two bottles. He handed one to Harry and the other to Hannah.
"Shall we get started on the interview then?" Sirius asked as he examined a chicken leg as if contemplating whether or not to take a bite. Harry looked around the small cave. He quickly conjured a few candles that cast an eerie dim light across the rocks. He transfigured a rock into a blanket and pulled it back against the wall of the cave. He sat down and Hannah sat next to him,
"Sure," He said when they were situated. Sirius pulled out his own wand and transfigured himself a lawn chair complete with umbrella. He sank into the chair and smiled down at his godson. Harry shook his head at the older man. Hannah looked unsure of what to think of the older wizard.
"So what did you want to ask me?" Sirius asked.
"You don't have a pensieve do you?" Harry asked.
"No. Well. Yes. But Orion has it," Sirius said.
"Orion?"
"Jason's grandfather," Sirius explained, "My older brother. Why do you ask."
"The interview with Snape involved a pensieve," Harry replied, looking down at his shoes. Sirius looked down at Harry over his chicken leg with a sympathetic look on his face.
"Okay, so your first question," Sirius prompted.
"How old were my parents when they died?" Harry quickly asked. Hannah looked over at him. This was not the question they had planned.
"Lily was 21 and James was 20," Sirius replied.
"My mum was older than my dad?" Harry asked.
"Yes. James actually should have been in Arabella's year, but Atticus, your grandfather, was on the board of school governors at the time. He petitioned the governors to allow James to enter school a year early because James's accidental magic was out of control," Sirius explained.
"When were their birthdays?" Harry asked.
"Lily's was May 27th and James's was November 7th," Sirius said.
"He was seven days away from being 21," Harry muttered. Sirius nodded sympathetically. Hannah reached over and placed her hand lightly on the back of Harry's.
"So where were you the night my parents died?" Harry asked.
"Remus and Bella were at our flat in London," Sirius replied.
"You, Remus and Ms. Arabella had a flat together?" Harry asked.
"Yes. It was most convenient for the three of us because Arabella worked at the ministry and Remus had a job just in London. I was an unemployed bum at the time, trying to get a job at Zonko's," Sirius explained.
"So how did you find out what had happened?" Harry asked.
"Well, Bella was summoned into work, so Remus figured something had happened. Then Dumbledore appeared right in our flat and told Remus to go to James and Lily's. I had already left to check on Peter before Bella even got summoned in to work," Sirius replied.
"So did you find Wormtail?" Harry asked.
"No," Sirius replied. "I still wonder if Dumbledore expected then what was going to happen. But I didn't find Peter. His house was empty, so I decided to head over to Lily and James's to see what was wrong because things just really didn't feel right"
"Dumbledore has an odd sixth sense," Hannah replied.
"Why was Ms. Arabella summoned into work?" Harry asked.
"Harry, Arabella Figg is not someone to mess with. She's one of the best Aurors the ministry has. Why do you think she was allowed to guard you for your entire life? They wouldn't let just anyone have that job."
"Ms. Arabella? Really?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Sirius replied. "If she and Bill Weasley ever decide to have children, I'd hate to think how powerful the kids will be."
"Wait, Bill?" Hannah asked.
"Yes. Bill was our generation's Hermione Granger," Sirius explained.
"No way," Harry cried.
"Actually, yes. Bill was a dorky little kid who lived in the library, only really coming out to go to the loo and play Quidditch," Sirius laughed.
"And Ms. Arabella liked him why?" Harry asked.
"Bella was the best Defense student probably since Tom Riddle. None of us questioned her about liking the little bookworm."
"Well, now she's engaged to one of the cutest wizards in England, so I'd say it paid off." Hannah laughed.
"I find most witches your age prefer Aiden Lynch, Bradford Gianmarco or Harry," Sirius said. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Hannah. She turned a brilliant shade of rosy pink.
"Do not!" Harry insisted.
"Oh but they do," Sirius replied, "You should have seen the article Teen Witch ran on you last July."
"No!" Harry insisted.
"Actually yeah," Hannah admitted thinking of the copy of the magazine she had on her bedside table.
"Next question!" Sirius declared through a mouthful of chicken.
"Okay, So Arabella the Auror was called into duty, you were already looking for Pettigrew, and Professor Lupin was sent to sent James and Lily's house," Hannah clarified.
"Yes," Sirius agreed.
"What did you find when you got to Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked.
"Your house was quite wrecked. The dark mark was huge in the air," Sirius explained.
"How?" Harry asked. "Voldemort was basically dead." Sirius flicked the chicken bone towards the mouth of the cave and pulled another piece from the bag.
"Wormtail," came his reply.
"What did you do when you saw the house?" Hannah asked.
"I flew my motorcycle to the road right in front of the house. When I saw the house and the mark, I sat down right there on the edge of the road and cried like a baby," Sirius said. Harry tensed a bit and Hannah ran her thumb softly across his knuckles. Harry turned his hand over and carefully laced his fingers through hers.
"Remus showed up a few moments later and sat with me. We sat there on the edge of the road in silence. Then I decided to try to find Peter, so I got back on my bike and headed off. I got out over the forest next to the house and then decided they had people like Bella on that job, I needed to be back at the house. I turned around and by the time I got there Hagrid was there," Sirius said. He had paled considerably and clenched the arm of his chair with white knuckles. Harry drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his left arm around them. Hannah scooted a bit closer to Harry.
"Where was I while all of this was going on?" Harry asked.
"Well, while your father was like a brother to me and Peter, and Remy, who showed up a few minutes later, we didn't share his paternal instincts. You were definitely still in the house," Sirius sort of laughed.
"And it took the two of you how long to get me out?" Harry questioned.
"Well Hagrid showed up just after Remus got there and I left, he asked Remus where you were," Sirius began, sort of chuckling under his breath. "As it turns out, Dumbledore's whole purpose for sending Remus to the house was to see if he could find you in the wreckage. I think Dumbledore knew you were still alive."
"So instead you sat in the street?" Harry asked.
"Well, yes. Then Hagrid asked where you were. Remus sort of looked at him with a blank look for a few seconds then they got up and raced over to the house. Hagrid appeared just a moment later." Sirius said. "The front part of the house was completely blasted into smithereens, but the back wall still stood. Remus and Hagrid ran around back because they figured if you were anywhere you were either in the kitchen, the living room, or your nursery and they were all three on the back of the house. They got to the section of the living room first. Luckily, Remus is ridiculously strong because of his lycanthropy so he and Hagrid started slinging rubble out of the way. They got to a large section of the roof and heard a screech from underneath. It must have been a massive adrenaline rush for them, because the roof was large, even for a werewolf and a half giant. They managed to throw the roof section out of the way."
"Why didn't Remus levitate it?" Hannah asked logically.
"We were barely more than teenage wizards who had just lost our best friends. He probably didn't think about that," Sirius replied. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"It does happen," Harry said. "Hermione forgot she was a witch during first year when were heading to get the Philosopher's Stone." Hannah smiled slightly.
"So they threw the roof out of the way. Your mother was lying under rubble, pinned from the waist down." Sirius paused for a moment and swallowed hard. "Remus immediately fell next to her and tried to drag her from under the rubble. He managed to pull her out and he held her. You were lying right behind Hagrid and you screamed again. Hagrid quickly picked you up. You had blood everywhere, but other than that you were fine, and all of the blood was from your forehead. I showed up again right after Hagrid picked you up."
"Did you try to heal him?" Hannah asked.
"I tried, but I couldn't, and that's when we sort of figured out that something VERY powerful must have hit him for me not to be able to heal him. I was kind of an expert at healing charms. Me being able to heal us kept us from getting into trouble for several pranks." Sirius explained.
"Then what?" Hannah asked.
"Well, I let Hagrid use my motorbike to take Harry over to Privet Drive for Dumbledore. I figured even then that I would be in trouble because whether I got put in Azkaban for betraying Lily and James or killing Peter, I was going. Just after Hagrid left, I felt a wand at my throat"
"Did the death eaters come back?" Hannah asked.
"Oh no. That was good old Remy," Sirius replied.
"REMUS?" Hannah and Harry asked simultaneously.
"Well, yes. It stands to reason doesn't it?" Sirius asked.
"How do you figure?" Harry replied.
"The last thing he had heard concerning your parents secret keeper was that your dad had chosen me. Therefore I would have been the one to turn them over to Voldemort," Sirius replied.
"So he attacked you?"
"Yes. Well. He held his wand to my throat and threatened to hex me into oblivion if I tried anything because, and I quote, 'you were the sick bastard who did this'." Sirius replied quietly.
"What did you do?" Hannah asked.
"I said, 'Remus. At the last second James and I decided that I was too logical of a choice for secret keeper and it would just make me a target. He and Lily changed their secret keeper to Peter."
"Did Professor Lupin believe you?" Hannah asked.
"Yes. So we made a pact to find Peter. Whoever found him first got to kill him. I guess the rest is history," Sirius said.
"Wow," Harry said. He ran his hand through his hair and glanced over at Hannah. She shot him a sympathetic smile.
"Any more questions?" Sirius asked.
"No, I think that's about it," Hannah replied. Harry shook his head to agree with her.
"Well then, you two should probably be getting back to the castle. It's getting kind of late," Sirius replied.
"Oh look who's talking," Harry laughed. "Like you never stayed out where you weren't supposed to be until all hours of the night when you were in school." Sirius blushed a deep red.
"Guilty as charged," he replied. Hannah released Harry's hand and stood up. She brushed herself off and picked up the broom. Sirius jumped from his chair and extended his hand.
"It was nice meeting you," she said, "And thanks for the interview."
"Always a pleasure," Sirius replied. He kissed the back of her hand again. She turned bright red and started for the mouth of the cave. Sirius turned to Harry. He pulled Harry into another hug.
"Don't let that one get away," he whispered, releasing his godson. Harry replied with a crimson blush and quickly hurried after Hannah.
"You fly this time," she said, handing him the Firebolt. He took the broom from her and climbed on. She slid on behind them and they took off towards the castle.
%%%%%
*pop*
"I see you've returned."
"Yes my lord." The black-hooded figure knelt down at the knees of the tall man in the black clock.
"Do you have any news for me." A long scaly hand waved the kneeling figure back into a standing position.
"I was watching the cave like you told me and around 8:30 two figures on a broom flew into the cave."
"And?"
"They were a boy and a girl," the first person replied.
"Any idea as to who they were?" The Dark Lord asked.
"Judging by the antics on the broom just before they entered the cave, I would guess the boy is Harry Potter. No other student at Hogwarts flies that well." The Dark Lord rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and placed his fingers tip to tip together in front of his face. He tapped them together, starting with the pinkies and ending with the thumbs in quick succession.
"Exxcceelllent," he hissed quietly.
%%%%%
"That was significantly better than the interview with Snape," Harry said as he and Hannah strolled towards the castle.
"Yes," Hannah agreed. "Are you feeling okay."
"Yes," Harry replied. "I find that it's much easier to talk about them with people like Sirius and Bill Weasley who were friends with them. They can tell me about my parents rather than show me things I never exactly wanted to see."
"Sirius seemed like a really nice guy," Hannah said.
"He is. I wish they would find Wormtail so Sirius could be free and I could go live with him," Harry replied. He pulled open the door to the castle and held it open so Hannah could enter. She stopped in the center of the Entrance Hall and turned to face him.
"Well, this is where I leave you," she said.
"Yep," Harry agreed. "Goodnight." He pulled her into their usual hug. As she was pulling away, she dropped a quick kiss on his cheek right in front of his ear. His eyes widened. She smiled sweetly at him and waved before running down the stairs towards Hufflepuff. Harry watched her retreating form until she was completely out of sight. Then he reached up and touched the spot where her lips had brushed his face. His face tingled a bit and he knew he was probably bright red. Finally, he uprooted his feet from their spot and started towards the tower.