Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, places, or items.

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Chapter 18 – Open Market

Harry woke up to a soft knock on his door. He grunted as he rolled over sleepily.

"Up, Harry," Lupin called.

Harry fumbled for his glasses and opened his eyes as he slipped them on. He heard Lupin's retreating footsteps. He sat up in bed and his tiredness melted away. He got dressed and opened the door to be surprised once more at the changes that had been made in the old house. It was like walking out into a completely different house. He ambled downstairs feeling very hungry. Lupin was standing over the stove when he walked in.

"Uh, are you...cooking?" Harry asked, trying to conceal his amusement.

"Just...whoops...eggs," Lupin replied. A small explosion issued from the frying pan, and Harry saw a lump of burnt eggs within it.

He snorted. "I'm not eating it," he declared.

"I'm insulted," Lupin replied in a mock hurt tone as he dumped the eggs into the trash can.

"Yeah, well, get over it," Harry teased back.

Lupin grinned. "Looks like we're going to have cereal," he informed him, "Let's see what Molly left us."

Lupin rummaged through the cabinets. "Let's see, we have...urg, no, not that, it's definitely been in here too long...or...no, that looks pretty old, too..."

Harry laughed.

"Corn flakes!" Lupin exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a box, "They're frosted!"

"Sounds good to me," Harry answered.

After they had finished with breakfast, Lupin told him, much to his disappointment, that they would be traveling by Floo Powder. Harry would almost rather have taken the Knight Bus.

"Alright, you first," Lupin directed, holding out a pot of Floo Powder for him. Harry took a bit and threw it into the fire. He stepped into the green flames and said clearly, "Hogsmeade!" He began to spin around at an undesirably fast rate, and finally was deposited in Zonko's. He grabbed onto a nearby shelf to help keep his balance, and nearly knocked it and it's contents over.

"Whoops," he said apologetically, with a glance at the shop owner, who was glaring at him from the counter.

After a few seconds, Lupin arrived, stepping out of the fireplace much more gracefully than Harry had, although he was a bit wobbly for a second afterwards.

"Right then," Lupin said a bit dazedly, "We're meeting them by the Shrieking Shack."

He and Harry walked out of the store, and Harry found himself surrounded by what looked like a carnival, or a festival of some sort. Millions of booths lined the streets, and quite a few people milled past them.

"Come on, Harry," Lupin beckoned from a few steps away.

Harry hurriedly caught up with him, and they made their way towards the Shrieking Shack. The crowd dimmed as they got closer and closer, and as they walked through the small path that led to the clearing in front of the Shrieking shack, the crowd vanished completely. Soon Harry caught sight of Snape and Silver. Silver was leaning against the railing that separated the Shrieking Shack from the rest of Hogsmeade with her back to them, and he heard her voice, although he could not make out what she was saying. Snape was leaning the other way against the rail, but he hadn't seen them. He looked both menacing and harmless at the same time...something only Snape could achieve. Harry watched as he said something back to Silver that he could not make out. Then he saw them. He practically launched himself off the rail, as if embarrassed to be caught in such a vulnerable position. Silver turned to look at him questioningly, and then followed his gaze to them. She turned around, beaming at them.

Harry grinned back at her. Snape glared at him suspiciously.

"Hello, Silver, Severus," Lupin greeted as they neared.

"Hello," Silver replied happily.

"Hi," Snape grumbled.

"Well, it's already a bit crowded," Lupin said, turning back towards Hogsmeade, "But not nearly as bad as it will be later today."

Snape nodded curtly and began to walk with Lupin toward the festival. Silver fell into step beside Harry, a bit behind the adults.

"You didn't say hi to me," she chided.

"Yeah, well, Snape nearly bit my head off for looking at you," Harry mumbled, hoping Snape couldn't hear him.

"No he didn't. Give him a chance," she coaxed.

"I've known him for six years – you think he hasn't had chances?" he asked.

She giggled. "Well, another one, then," she urged.

He smiled. "For you," he relented.

They arrived in a slightly more crowded Hogsmeade and Lupin became interested in one of the first booths. The owner declared that he had made a fruit that was half grape, half strawberry. It looked like a purple strawberry to Harry. Lupin, Harry, and Silver each sampled one, to find that they were quite good. It actually did taste like both a grape and a strawberry, which was odd but pleasant. Snape looked disbelieving of the whole thing.

After a while of sampling different foods, all which were very bizarre, they stopped in the middle of the road.

"Well, where to next?" Lupin asked brightly.

Snape looked as if he would like nothing more than to go home.

"Hey, look, there's a cross between a tomato and an avocado!" Harry exclaimed.

Lupin wrinkled his nose. "I hate tomato," he answered.

"Well, then Silver and I will –"Harry began, but he was interrupted.

"Ooh!" Silver exclaimed, and she promptly began to walk towards one of the stations.

The three exchanged glances and then hurried after her. She had picked up something from a cage, and she turned to them with a misty-eyed look.

"Isn't he adorable?" she asked.

Harry did a double-take at the creature in her arms. It was a baby hippogriff, roughly the size of a golden retriever puppy, and black in color.

"Uh...sure...adorable," he said, watching as the tiny creature squeaked in excitement when she rubbed his forehead. Actually, more like bizarre...he thought to himself.

Behind her, the other babies ran up to the cage and began squeaking, jumping up and down and fluttering their wings.

"They want to be held," she said, handing the one she was holding to Lupin.

Lupin looked surprised, and as he patted his awkwardly on the head, it squeaked and cuddled up to him.

Silver handed another one to Harry, and yet another to a disgusted looking Snape.

Harry's began to lick him, which he was not sure he liked, and Snape's began squealing in protest as Snape held it at arm's length, glaring at it. Silver looked over and smiled at the sight.

"No," she told Snape, "You have to hold him like this."

She managed to bend Snape's arms into a suitable holding position, and his hippogriff cuddled up to him happily as he glared at it.

The keeper of the hippogriffs, who introduced himself as Davie, was tending to a feisty-looking one who kept swiping at him with his beak. It's feathers were a metallic silver, and it's body was dark gray with a black tail. It's hooves were a very shiny black, and it stomped them impatiently as it continued trying to bite Davie.

Silver was absolutely taken by it.

"I love her!" she exclaimed.

The baby looked over as if she had heard Silver, and then pranced up to her. Silver held out her arms and it jumped into them.

"Now, watch it!" Davie exclaimed, looking concerned, "That one bites, claws, kicks...you name it, she does it!"

"But she won't do it now," Silver insisted, petting the now docile baby in her arms. Finally, she turned to look at Snape with a pleading look in her eye.

"No," Snape said firmly.

"But she's so sweet," Silver persisted.

"That's a right match, too, I'd say," Davie informed Snape, "That little one has tried to destroy everyone else who's wanted to touch her, 'cept me and I suspect that's cause I feed her."

"No," Snape said, handing his palomino hippogriff back to Davie, "Come on, now."

Harry and Lupin handed theirs back, as well, but Silver was reluctant to surrender hers.

"Please?" she pleaded with Snape, "I'll take really, really good care of her!"

"Do you have any idea how big those things get?" Snape answered, annoyed.

"Yes, but she chose me," Silver insisted.

"Give it back," Snape told her firmly.

Silver's eyes were dangerously bright as she handed the hippogriff to Davie. Once it was out of Silver's arms, it began to squeal loudly in protest, biting, kicking, and scratching at a wincing Davie. They began to walk away when Silver stopped, listening to the hippogriff's near screams.

"She wants me," she told Snape desperately, "I can't leave her!"

"You will," Snape answered firmly, putting a hand on her back and steering her away. Silver's eyes were still bright as they walked away. The hippogriff's calls didn't cease, instead, Harry could swear they got louder.

"You all go in there and get an ice cream," Snape told them once the calls had faded away, pointing to a pleasant-looking shop, "I have to go get some Potions supplies."

He disappeared, and they went up and ordered ice cream, Lupin's treat. Silver moodily stabbed at hers, taking a small bite and putting it in her mouth and then playing with the rest in her bowl. Harry and Lupin exchanged glances.

"Silver," Lupin said sensibly, "Hippogriffs are a lot of work, especially babies."

"I know," she said sadly, "But she needed me."

"Somebody will take her and give her a good home," Lupin told her, "So you just cheer up and start enjoying yourself – and your ice cream."

Silver gave him a smile. "Alright," she agreed, as she began to truly eat her cup.

Snape returned with nothing in his hands.

"Couldn't find the supplies?" Lupin asked curiously.

"What? Oh, no, they were...out of stock," Snape said quickly.

"Really? Must've been pretty rare for them to be out," Lupin commented.

"Oh yes, very rare," Snape agreed, taking a seat beside Silver.

"Want some ice cream, Severus? My treat," Lupin offered.

"No thanks," Snape answered. Harry was surprised that Snape had made such a polite reply.

When they walked back out into Hogsmeade, the crowd was considerably thicker. It was hard to take a few steps without bumping into someone, and as a result, a lot of, "Whoops!" could be heard. They looked at a few more booths before the crowd became too thick.

"Let's go back to the Shrieking Shack!" Lupin yelled amidst the noise.

Snape nodded and they began to fight their way through the crowd back. Silver looked pointedly ahead when they passed the hippogriff's cage, but the silver one, who had been trying to kick down the cage, saw her and began squealing excitedly. Silver blinked hard and continued through. It didn't take long to lose the sound of the hippogriff's calls this time, thanks to the thick crowd, but Harry was sure that it hadn't stopped calling.

When they finally reached the Shrieking Shack, Silver looked very upset.

"The baby will be fine," Lupin reassured her, "Don't worry."

She nodded, but didn't look convinced. Snape looked exasperated, but he didn't say anything to her.

"Come, Severus," Lupin beckoned, "Let's talk."

Snape grudgingly followed Lupin a distance away. Harry joined Silver, who was leaning against the rail like before.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, "I just really felt...connected...to that one. I suppose Lupin's right, though, I probably couldn't properly care for a hippogriff."

Harry agreed with her, but didn't want to say anything. He felt the need for a change of subject.

"How's Snape's house?" Harry asked interestedly.

"Big," she replied, "I've nearly gotten lost once already."

Harry chuckled. "He's rich, isn't he?"

"I suppose," she answered. Both of them were thinking back to what they had seen in Snape's vault.

"The pictures in his house talk," she commented, "They don't like me, but he says it's because they don't trust me yet."

"Weird," Harry answered, trying to imagine suspicious pictures.

"And annoying. They start whispering to each other whenever I walk into a room, and they accuse me of trying to steal things," she answered.

Harry laughed. "Sounds interesting."

"A bit," she replied.

He looked down at her. She was looking at the Shrieking Shack with curiosity.

"You know, that's an interesting place," she said quietly, "If it could talk...I bet it would tell us about the days of the Marauders."

"You know about the Marauders?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, whenever Remus was on duty with me, he told me all about them," she replied.

"Oh," was Harry's response.

He felt a presence behind him, and turned around to see Lupin looking at him.

"We should be going, Harry," he said.

"Alright," Harry said, turning to Silver, "Bye."

"Bye, Harry," she replied, looking as if she wanted to hug him but didn't dare do it whilst Snape was watching.

He and Lupin traveled back to Zonko's in relative silence. When they passed the hippogriff cage, the silver one took no notice of them. It was attempting to fly, but couldn't manage it with it's baby wings, and as a result, looked very annoyed.

"It's quite a character, that one," Lupin commented, looking at the silver bundle of energy.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I think it would suit Silver, though."

"No doubt you're right," Lupin agreed, "But there's nothing we can do about it."

"Unless – we bought it for her," Harry prompted.

Lupin looked down at him thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure Snape would like it..." he said finally.

"But Snape wouldn't have to take care of it!" Harry protested.

"Well, let's just go see how much it costs," Lupin said reluctantly.

They walked over to Davie.

"Oy!" Lupin called, "How much are they going for?"

"Depends on which one you're interested in," Davie replied.

"That one there," Lupin answered, pointing to the silver one.

"Sorry, mate, that one's taken," Davie replied, "Now this red one here, he looks like he would suit you..."

"No thanks," Lupin said quickly, "We're not interested in any other one."

Davie looked disappointed. "Alright, well, have a good day then," he said.

Lupin and Harry resumed their walk to Zonko's.

"Well, it's not so bad, is it?" Lupin asked, "Somebody's going to give that little one a good home."

"I suppose," Harry answered disappointedly.

They arrived at Zonko's, and Harry went first once more. This time he fell upon landing in the Black house's fireplace, but quickly got up before Lupin came.

"Well," Lupin commented as they brushed soot off of themselves, "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "It was. I had no idea people could mix up so many foods."

Lupin laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing," he agreed.

Harry took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt; they were so dirty he could hardly see out of them.

"So, we're going to visit Silver and Snape again on Wednesday," Lupin informed him.

"At Snape's house?" Harry asked.

"Yep," Lupin answered.

"Silver says it's big," Harry commented.

"Oh, the Snape mansion is very big," Lupin agreed, "His father was very rich."

"What happened to his father?" Harry inquired.

Lupin looked a bit sad as he replied. "He's at St. Mungo's for insanity issues. He wants to beat every human being he lays eyes on. Right now he's locked up in solitary confinement, and they have to feed him his meals through a cat flap."

"Wow," Harry said softly.

"Yeah – unfortunately, Snape had to suffer through his father's condition for many years until it got to the point that he was violent outside of the house as well," Lupin said, "Messed him up for life, it did. But you've seen that."

"So that's why Snape is so...well...Snape-ish?" Harry asked.

"No other reason for it, Harry," Lupin replied, "Could've been a fine kid, he could have. But he was just pushed too far...the Dark Side was the only place that accepted him."

Lupin's eyes were clouded over with some unreadable emotion.

For the first time, Harry felt sympathy for Snape.

"So – why isn't Silver, you know...like him?" Harry asked finally.

"Well, Dumbledore's looked after her ever since he began to tutor her, and that helped her a bit, I suspect. But that girl is just special to begin with. Never seen so much determination in a person before, never. It's what kept her from getting the Dark Mark, it is."

Harry agreed. Silver did prove herself to be unreasonably stubborn often. He wondered how many would have been able to resist the urgings and punishments of Death Eaters for as long as she did.

"It's a good thing we got her when we did, though," Lupin added suddenly, "Because she couldn't have stood it for much longer. Was just at the breaking point when we got her."

Harry wondered what would have become of Silver if they hadn't gotten her. Would she have turned to the Dark Side, as well?

"Why didn't you get Silver sooner, if you knew about what her mom did?" he asked.

"Well, Dumbledore knew from the get-go, but he wouldn't take her until she admitted it. She was too proud...too stubborn...to admit what happened to her. Dumbledore saw right through her though. That man sees through everybody."

"Yeah, he does," Harry agreed.

"She knows when she needs help, though," Lupin said, "Not until she desperately needs it, but the important thing is that she recognizes it. She came to him, and he rescued her right away. Didn't hesitate one moment."

Harry knew that there was no way Dumbledore would have left her in that house even a second after she told him. He felt a new appreciation for Dumbledore.

Lupin sat on the couch and stretched back, gazing at the picture of the waterfall intently.

"Look at the picture, Harry," he said finally.

Harry looked over at the picture and saw a beautiful silver hippogriff not unlike the baby Silver had been so in love with. It was fully grown, however, and drinking out of the pond, every so often pausing to look up. Suddenly a girl walked into the picture. Harry couldn't see her face, but he saw beautiful dark reddish-brown hair and a familiar slim figure, and he had a feeling he knew who it was. She walked up to the hippogriff, patted it, and climbed onto it's back. The two took off, soaring up into the air and out of the picture.

Lupin and Harry looked at it for a long while more, before turning to look at each other.

"It was Silver," Harry said.

"Indeed," Lupin replied.

They turned to look at the picture again.

"I had a feeling that picture was special," Lupin commented finally.

"Do you think it's – the future?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Lupin answered carefully, "Or maybe it just shows things that could happen, depending on the choices we make."

Harry nodded and the two studied the picture for a while longer. A group of centaurs wandered in and splashed through the pond, but nothing else of interest happened. Harry turned behind them to look at the picture of the farmhouse. One horse was trotting around the pasture, looking very lively, while the rest were grazing. The cows were grazing as well, and it seemed a breeze was blowing that made the door to the farmhouse open and close periodically. Harry had a feeling that, had there been sound, the door would have creaked.

Suddenly their fire turned green, and Mr. Weasley's head appeared in it.

"Harry, Remus!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed happily, "Just where I wanted to find you!"

Lupin grinned. "Hello, Arthur," he greeted.

"Molly and the children were wondering if you two wanted to join us for picking out a Christmas tree tomorrow," Mr. Weasley said.

"I think we'd like that," Lupin replied, turning to Harry. "Would we, Harry?"

"Yep!" Harry replied happily.

"Good, then," Mr. Weasley said, looking very happy indeed, "Come to our house around eleven tomorrow and Molly will make lunch before we set off."

"Will do, Arthur," Lupin agreed.

"Right then, see you tomorrow!" Mr. Weasley replied.

Harry and Lupin echoed him, and he disappeared.

Both of them turned to look at the waterfall picture suddenly, as if something important had happened while they weren't looking. The picture remained empty, however, with no sign of a silver hippogriff or a girl.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what, exactly, the picture had been trying to tell them.