Chapter seven - The Meeting
Mrs. Weasley woke up early and headed to the kitchen. Everyone was still sleeping except for Rex who was lying on the bed next to Lia waiting for her to wake up.
Harry opened his eyes. Ron was snoring. He got up slowly and got dressed, trying not to wake Ron up, and then he went downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning Mrs. Weasley." He said, rubbing his eyes and adjusting his glasses.
"Good morning Harry. How did you sleep?" she replied.
"Fine, I guess. How's Lia?"
"Still asleep. Nothing happened at night, thankfully."
Harry sat near the table and Mrs. Weasley gave him a cup of tea. "Here, drink this. Breakfast will be ready soon." She said.
Harry took the cup and put it on the table. He wasn't in a mood to drink tea at this moment. All he wanted was to see Lia alright. After a few moments Mr. Weasley entered the kitchen, followed by Ginny and Remus.
"Good morning everyone." Mr. Weasley said as he sat next to Harry.
"Good morning dear." Mrs. Weasley replied.
"How is Lia now mom?" Ginny asked.
"I think she's fine dear. She's still asleep."
Lia opened her eyes slowly. She looked around and noticed that Rex was near her, his head on her stomach. She smiled at him and tried to remember where she was. Finally, her memory came back to her and she remembered that she was at the Burrow. Only, she couldn't remember why Rex had that concerned look in his eyes. The last thing she remembers was being in the kitchen helping Mrs. Weasley.
"Hi Rex." She said in a tired voice. She tried to sit, but her whole body ached. It seemed to her that she had been working on a construction site or something. Rex raise his head and then nuzzled her neck and face.
"I'm alright. Don't worry." She said and petted him. She lay there and looked at the window. It was morning she assumed. The sunlight was coming through the curtains. She could hear birds singing happily outside.
"Rex, could you go and call Remus or Harry?" she asked the dog.
Rex got up quickly and managed to open the door, which was slightly opened, by sticking his nose between it and the wall. He went downstairs and headed to the kitchen.
"I'll have some toast please." Remus said.
"Here you go." Mr. Weasley said as he passed the toast to Remus.
Rex entered the kitchen and headed to Remus.
"Well, looks like we have another hungry fellow." Remus said. Rex started to pull his pants. "What is it boy?" Remus asked.
Rex let go of Remus's pants and went to Harry and started pulling his shirt.
"I think he wants us to follow him." Harry said.
Remus got up. "I think he wants to say that Lia is awake. I'll go and see her." He said.
"I'm coming too." Harry said and also got up.
"Excuse us." Remus said and he went to Ginny's room with Harry. Rex hurried upstairs with them waving his tail proudly.
Lia smiled when she saw them enter the room. She tried to sit but Remus stopped her.
"Don't get up Lia. You need to rest." He said.
"But I'm fine. Only my body hurts a little." She complained.
"That's exactly why you should stay in bed." Remus said.
"How did you sleep Lia?" Harry asked. He felt stupid now. He didn't know what else to say at this moment.
"Well, I really don't know." Lia said. "I don't remember what happened last night."
"You were on the ground in the kitchen, screaming in pain." Harry said.
"I was?"
"You don't remember it?" Remus asked.
"No. I just remember that I felt warm. I don't remember anything after that. It's all blurry to me." Lia said.
"After we brought you here, you lost consciousness." Harry said as he sat next to her on the bed. "We were so scared. And then Madam Pomfrey came and Professor Dumbledore too."
"The headmaster? He was here too?" Lia was surprised.
"Yes. And we are going to Hogwarts today." Remus said. "We'll leave as soon as you feel better."
"But we were supposed to go on Tuesday." Lia said.
"Plans changed. I'll go and ask Molly to bring you some breakfast." Remus said and went out.
"You really don't remember anything?" Harry asked.
"Nothing at all. Usually, I know what's happening to me and Rex is always there to help."
Harry thought that Voldemort might have possessed Lia. But then, he remembered about Ginny telling him about how it felt to be possessed by Voldemort. Ginny couldn't remember what she had done on the next day. But Lia just felt pain. She didn't do anything. This was confusing him.
"Lia, do you remember hearing voices?" he asked her.
"No. I guess not." She thought for a moment. "I remember seeing my mother!" she said suddenly. "Yeah, I saw my mother and then my scar started to burn. I don't remember anything after that."
"I wonder what would Dumbledore say." Harry said.
"What would he know about it?"
"He knows a lot. Trust me. Even if he doesn't show it, he knows more than anyone else." Harry said.
Mrs. Weasley came into the room with a tray full of bacon, eggs, toasts and a cup of tea.
"How are you feeling dear?" she asked as she put the tray on a small table near the bed.
"I'm fine, thanks." Lia said with a smile.
"You scared the ghosts out of us you know."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"I know that you didn't mean it dear." Mrs. Weasley said with a motherly smile. "Now eat your breakfast, and you'll feel better. I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Okay, thanks."
"Mrs. Weasley, is Ron awake?" Harry asked.
"Yes, he's in the kitchen now."
"Okay, I'll see him later. I want to tell him that I'm going to Hogwarts today."
"Alright dear." Mrs. Weasley said and went out of the room, closing the door gently after her.
"You're coming too?" Lia asked.
"Yeah. I asked Professor Dumbledore if I could come and he said yes." Harry said with a smile.
"Good. And I thought I wouldn't see you until September."
"I won't let anyone separate us." Harry said. "I wonder which house you will be sorted to."
"Sorted? How does that work?"
"There's this hat which is called The Sorting Hat. Each first year student puts it on and the hat shouts the name of the house they should join. The houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."
"Wow! Which house are you in?"
"Gryffindor. It's a good one, the best I should say. And I must inform you that the Slytherins are not that friendly."
"So I guess I should avoid them, huh?"
"Not if you can handle them." Harry laughed. "They can be so annoying sometimes."
"I see." Lia tried to sit up and this time she managed to do so. "I hate lying in bed."
"Tell me about it! I had such times at the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me move!"
"Doctors are all the same." Lia said.
"You should eat your breakfast, it's getting cold."
"Yeah."
Harry got up and gave her the tray; she put it on her lap and started to eat. "This tastes good." She said.
"Mrs. Weasley cooks pretty well." Harry replied. "Listen, I should go downstairs and see Ron. Will you be alright without me?"
"Yeah, you go ahead. I'll be fine. I'll send Rex if I need anything."
"Okay." Harry went to the kitchen to see Ron.
Lia ate some toast and bacon and gave the rest to her dog. She wasn't feeling hungry. She drank her tea and put the tray on the table near her bed.
"I think I better get dressed." She said and got out of bed. She took off her nightgown which she couldn't remember wearing it last night and put on her blue jeans with a white T-shirt. She packed her bag and covered the bed. Then she took the food tray and went to the kitchen to join the others. Rex followed her closely.
"Good morning everyone." She said with a cheerful voice.
"Lia! You shouldn't be out of bed!" Mrs. Weasley said.
"Oh I don't like lying in bed all day." Lia said.
"Had breakfast?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Yes." She turned to Mrs. Weasley; "It was delicious. Thank you."
"I'm glad you liked it." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile.
Lia pulled out an empty chair and joined the table.
"Harry, how about flying for a few minutes?" Ron asked.
"Sure."
Lia didn't know how were they supposed to fly, but she thought that it has to be magic. She would wait and see.
Ron and Harry finished their breakfast and headed to their room to get their brooms, and then they went to the back yard.
"Ready?" Ron asked.
"Yes." Harry replied as he mounted his Firebolt.
"Okay. Let's go!" Ron said and they both kicked the ground and flew high in the sky.
Lia and Ginny also came to the back yard. Ginny looked at the sky at once, but Lia looked around instead.
"Where are they?"
"Up there." Ginny said and pointed to Ron.
"Wow! You fly on brooms?" Lia asked as she looked up.
"Yes."
"And I was wondering how were they going to do that. It's amazing!"
"Hey Lia! Wanna try it?" Harry called from the sky.
"No thanks. I'm fine here." Lia replied as she looked at him.
"Harry has the best broom. It's the latest model." Ginny said.
"They come in models?"
"Of course! He had a Nimbus 2000 but he crashed it a couple of years ago and then he received his Firebolt as a present from his Godfather. Ron's broom is a Cleansweep. He got it when he was chosen as a prefect."
"Oh. How… impressive." Lia said, not sure what a prefect was. But she figured that it's some sort of a title at school. "You know, Harry told me about the sorting hat. Which house are you in?"
"Gryffindor. Ron is a Gryffindor too. In fact, all of our family members were Gryffindors."
"It must be great to be in the same house with your brother. Isn't it?"
"Sometimes." Ginny giggled. "If you don't count Fred and George."
"Ah, the twins. They seem to be nice kids."
"They are nice to the people they like. But if you ask any teacher about them they can tell you tons of stories about the problems they caused at school. And the last ones they did before they left were impressive. They know so many tricks."
"I think I'll ask them to teach me some." Lia laughed.
Ron and Harry landed in front of the girls.
"You should start broom racing games at school." Lia said.
"The only game we play on brooms is Quidditch." Ron said.
"You'll learn about it when you see us play." Harry added.
"A stupid teacher who worked for the Ministry banned Harry from playing on the Gryffindor team last year. As well as Fred and George." Ron said.
"But why?" Lia asked.
"Because we had to use self defense." Ron said.
"And you were banned from playing just because of that?" Lia turned to Harry.
"Yeah. She didn't like me because I was a mad-boy who said that Voldemort is back." Harry said. Ron and Ginny flinched at the name.
"Does she still teach there?"
"No. Thankfully, Harry and Hermione got rid of her." Ron said.
Harry told Lia everything about Umbridge, since the day she came to school. Lia couldn't stop gasping at the awful things Umbridge had done to the students.
After he finished his story they went inside. Harry went to pack his trunk and Ron went up to help him, while Lia and Ginny went to the living room.
"Where were you?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"We were watching Ron and Harry flying on their brooms." Ginny said as she sat down.
"When are we leaving?" Lia asked.
"Just as soon as your ready." Remus said.
"I've packed this morning."
"Really? So, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Remus said.
"Harry is packing his trunk." Ginny said.
"Alright then, we'll wait for him to finish."
"Remus, how are we going to get there?" Lia asked.
"Floo powder. We're going to Hagrid's Hut first as we can't get straight into the castle."
"Why can't we get into the castle?"
"The school is protected with many charms. There are some kind of magic that wouldn't work there." Remus replied.
Lia just nodded. This whole place was confusing her and she knew that she was going to see more stuff that were going to cause her more shock. She decided that she wouldn't ask questions anymore and will wait until she sees everything and try to figure them out.
Harry came into the living room. "I'm ready." He said.
"Good. Because we were about to leave." Remus said.
"Really? That's wonderful! So, how are we going to get there?"
"Floo powder. Arthur will you give us some?" Remus turned to Mr. Weasley.
"Sure." Mr. Weasley said and brought the floo powder.
"Now, Harry take your trunk and go to Hagrid's Hut." Remus said.
Harry took some powder and threw it in the fireplace and said: "Hagrid's Hut." The fire gave green sparkles and Harry waved good-bye to the others and stepped through it pulling his trunk after him.
Lia watched him disappear in the fire with an opened mouth. "He… He…" she tried to say something, but couldn't manage.
"He's alright Lia. Don't worry." Remus said. "Now it's your turn. Come one."
Remus took some floo powder and put it in Lia's hand. "Now throw it into the fire and say 'Hagrid's Hut' with a clear voice. Don't be afraid, you can't get lost. I'll bring Rex with me. Just tell Harry to keep Fang away for a while."
Lia nodded and took the powder. She threw it into the fire, which gave green sparkles. She hesitated for a moment but then she said "Hagrid's Hut" clearly and slowly stepped through the fire. For her amazement, it didn't burn. It was like a cool breeze. She closed her eyes and felt herself being dragged. Then she felt herself falling on a solid ground and heard a dog barking.
"Shut up Fang!" Hagrid said.
Harry helped Lia to stand up and took her bag and put it to a side.
"Hagrid, this is Lia. My cousin." Harry said.
"Blimey! Yeh look jus' like yer mum." Hagrid said. "I mean… Nice ter meet yeh Lia."
"Nice to meet you too Sir." Lia said. She was amazed by the size of the man standing in front of her.
"Call me Hagrid. Just Hagrid." Hagrid said.
"Alright, Hagrid." Lia said with a smile. He wasn't bad after all. But Fang kept barking at her.
"Fang! Where're yer manners?" Hagrid said, shooting a disappointed look at Fang who didn't seem to care.
"Maybe he could smell Rex from my clothes." Lia said.
"Who's Rex?" Hagrid asked.
"Her dog Hagrid. And you better take Fang away for a while, because Remus is coming with Rex."
"Fang wouldn't hurt him." Hagrid said.
"But they don't know each other Hagrid. Alright, just keep hold of him." Harry said and at that moment Remus came out of the fire accompanied with Rex. Who jumped at Lia and started licking her face.
"Hi Rex. Liked the journey through fire?" she asked. Rex barked once, but that made Fang restart his barking again. Rex turned to see a huge black dog behind him, being held by his master. He walked slowly toward fang and barked.
"I think we should let them go out." Remus said. "I wouldn't want to witness a dog fight inside here."
But as soon as Rex barked, Fang stopped his share of barking. The two dogs sniffed each other and seemed to be accepting one another's presence.
"I don't think we need to send them out." Harry said.
"Hagrid, can you keep Rex with you while we go and meet Professor Dumbledore?" Remus asked.
"With pleasure." Hagrid replied.
Remus, Lia and Harry went to the castle. They all headed straight to Dumbledore's office. Remus said the password and the stone gargoyle moved aside to open the entrance to the hidden staircase. They climbed the stairs and reached Dumbledore's office. Remus knocked and opened the door.
"Professor?"
"Come in Remus." Dumbledore said. Remus entered, followed by Harry and Lia.
"Ah! I see that you're feeling better Miss Jones." Dumbledore said.
"Yes Sir. I feel a lot better today." Lia replied, her face turning pink.
"Good." Dumbledore said. "Everyone, have a seat please."
Dumbledore waved his wand and three chairs appeared. Each one took a chair and sat, while Dumbledore sat in his chair behind his desk.
"First, Harry you will stay in your Gryffindor dormitory. As for Miss Jones, since she isn't sorted yet, she will have a separate room in the west tower. That will be next to Remus's room." Dumbledore said. "Remus, I want you to show Miss Jones the school and the way to her room."
"Of course Professor." Remus replied.
"We have other guests who are settled in the guest dormitory next to Gryffindor's." Dumbledore said.
"Guests? At this time of year?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry, they are not representing a wizardry school. They are here on a quest. We will discuss more about this when you meet them."
Lia looked puzzled. What do those guests have to do with her? Why should she meet them at the first place? She felt that there was something being hidden from her. But she didn't know what.
"Now, Miss Jones." Dumbledore turned to Lia. "As you know, you were supposed to start your lessons on Tuesday. But due to change in plans you didn't have the time to visit Diagon Alley do to your required shopping. Remus and Harry will escort you there tomorrow to buy all the required materials and on Tuesday, you will start your first lessons. Professor McGonagall will hand your schedule to you that day. Remus is appointed as your guardian since you do not belong to a house yet."
Lia nodded silently. Harry looked at her. He had the same confused look on the first day he arrived at Hogwarts. But he was only eleven and he went to classes with students of the same age. Lia's case was different. She was 25 and lived all these years as a Muggle. It would be so hard for her to adjust to the wizarding world. If only Hermione was here. She should've known what to do.
"How about going to the great hall to have some lunch with our guests?" Dumbledore suggested.
"Good idea." Remus said and they all got up. They headed to the Great Hall and on their way Dumbledore Nearly Headless Nick passing.
"Nicholas!" Dumbledore called.
"Yes Professor?" Nearly Headless Nick flew toward them. Lia's eyes flashed open. A talking ghost! A ghost!
"Nicholas, will you ask our guests to come to the Great Hall for lunch?"
"With pleasure." Nearly Headless Nick said and flew through the ceiling.
"You have ghosts around this place?" Lia asked.
"Of course we do. We can't live without them. They are so helpful. If you don't count Peeves of course." Dumbledore replied as they continued to walk to the Great Hall.
"Who's Peeves?" Lia whispered to Harry.
"You don't wanna know." Harry said.
"Okay." Lia muttered as they continued their way to the Great Hall.
"Are all the teachers here Professor?" Remus asked.
"Yes, Remus. I've asked them to spend their summer at Hogwarts to teach Lia." Dumbledore replied.
As they entered the Great Hall, Harry saw all his teachers gathered near a small table in the middle of the hall.
"Good afternoon." Dumbledore said as they approached the table. "I see that our guests are not here yet."
"Have you sent anyone to call them Professor?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes Minerva. They should be arriving now."
At that moment four pale faced people entered the Great Hall. Harry knew instantly that they haven't seen a ghost before and Nearly Headless Nick's appearance might have frightened them.
"Ah! Here they are." Dumbledore said. "Come my friends, join us."
They all sat around the table. Hagrid beamed at Harry and Lia when he saw them and they smiled back. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table and when he saw everyone settled, he stood up.
"First, let me introduce you to our new guests who come from the far Fourth Kingdom." Dumbledore said. "King Wendell White, Mr. Anthony Lewis and his daughter Miss Virginia Lewis and Mr. Warren Wolfson, simply known as Wolf."
The teachers greeted the guests and Dumbledore continued. "As you notice, Harry Potter is also here with us, as well as Professor Remus Lupin."
Snape didn't seem happy to see Remus again. But greeted him with a nod.
"And this young lady here is Lia Jones. Daughter of once a Hogwarts student Emily Potter."
Everyone gasped at the mention of Emily's name. Lia looked even more puzzled. The teachers also greeted her and she managed to smile at them.
"As you all know Emily has died several years ago by the hands of no one else but Voldemort. Thankfully, her daughter survived. Although in a mysterious way as Harry."
Lia lowered her head. She didn't like to be reminded of that event.
"Now, how about filling our stomachs? Work discussion can wait until after lunch. We have so much to do this summer. We have a witch here who doesn't know anything about the wizarding world and we have to do our best to fill her in." And with a wave of his hand different dishes of food appeared in front of them and they started to eat.
"Mmm, delicious." Wolf said between bites.
"Wolf, behave yourself!" Virginia whispered to him, but he didn't seem to listen. He kept filling his stomach with everything he could reach.
After finishing their plates, Dumbledore cleared the table with a wave of his hand. Wolf seemed disappointed though; he wanted to eat more.
"Now, to our main subject." Dumbledore said, and everyone listened carefully. "Miss Jones here has been protected with powerful charms by her mother to keep her away from the wizarding world. But after Emily's tragic death, the charms seemed to lose their effects and Professor McGonagall's magic auto-quill has detected an inexperienced witch. So, we have invited Miss Jones to study at Hogwarts. And due to her age, she cannot join classes with the first years, so I am suggesting that all of you teachers do your best to teach her everything she need until the start of terms. I need her to reach the level of a fifth year student. She will be attending classes with the fifth years and give her O.W.L.s exams with them at the end of term."
All the staff members seemed surprised. Lia was concerned. She didn't know how was she going to take a four-year length course within three months. Harry squeezed her hand and when she looked at him, he smiled, meaning that he will help her with her lessons. Lia smiled back.
"Professor," Professor Snape spoke. "Don't you think it's impossible to learn a four-year length of different subjects within a few months?"
"Not when the student is twenty five years old Severus. I know that Miss Jones will do well. And even if she fails to pass the exams before the start of terms, she will still be receiving privet lessons. And of course, she will attend classes with the appropriate year."
"Is she going to be sorted?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"Of course. She will be sorted with the new first years who will arrive on September." Dumbledore replied.
"Now, if you don't have anymore questions concerning Miss Jones' education, I want to talk to you about something rather important." Dumbledore paused for a moment to see if there were any other questions, and when no body talked, he continued. "Our friends from the Fourth Kingdom have arrived here to seek our help in saving their kingdom. Miss Lewis has seen a dream where Snow White warned her about a possible danger threatening their world."
"Snow White?" Snape said with sarcastic tone. "The last time I heard about Snow White was when I was six years old. She is believed to be a legend. Along with the nine kingdoms."
"In fact Severus, the nine kingdoms do exist. And Snow White too. Although she is dead, but she continues to exist as a fairy." Dumbledore said.
"I've seen her once." Virginia said, looking at Snape.
"And she is my grandmother." Wendell said.
Snape pursed his lips and nodded to them trying his best to form a smile, which he couldn't manage.
"Your grandmother?" Professor Flitwick said with a look of surprise on his face. "I should've figured it out when Dumbledore introduced you. Ruler of the Fourth Kingdom, and your last name is White! It's an honor Your Majesty."
Wendell smiled proudly. Finally someone, other than Dumbledore, recognized his grandmother.
"Miss Lewis, could you please inform us about what exactly did Snow White tell you?" Dumbledore asked Virginia.
"She said that the kingdoms are in danger and she couldn't know who is the source of the danger because there was some kind of a strong magic covering it. She also said that only the-girl-who-lived can help us save the kingdoms." Virginia said.
"But we don't know how to find her." Wolf said.
"I am please to inform you that you have found her. Miss Jones is the-girl-who-lived." Dumbledore said. Wolf gasped. Virginia looked surprised and a wide smile formed on her face. Wendell and Tony exchanged surprised looks.
"I am what?" Lia asked.
"You and Harry are the only ones who survived the death curse." Professor McGonagall said.
"So? How am I supposed to help if I don't even know about their place?" Lia asked.
"We don't know yet. Snow White didn't say anything." Virginia said. "She just said that you're the key to saving the kingdoms."
"Miss Jones can't be helpful if she doesn't know anything about wizardry. So, I say that we wait until she masters at least the basics of magic and then we will start planning." Dumbledore said.
"I agree with the Headmaster." Said Wendell. "If she is going to break a strong curse, I believe she should know about them."
"But we don't know when will the enemy strike!" Tony said. "They might start right away!"
"I am sure if Voldemort is behind this whole mess, then he won't act that fast. He loves long planning." Dumbledore said.
"What if it's not Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"Good point Harry. I was waiting for that question." Dumbledore replied. "Even if it's someone else, they need Voldemort to get to Lia. Otherwise, why should she be the key to solve this problem?"
"I just can't understand the point of Lia being the key." Remus said.
"All of us will understand when the time comes Remus." Dumbledore said. "Now, I think that it is time for you to take Lia to Diagon Alley. She needs her equipment to start her lessons."
"Yes, Professor." Remus said and got up. "Lia, let's go. Harry, are you coming?"
"Yeah." Harry said and also got up. They went out of the Great Hall and walked through the corridors.
"Now, we will first go to Hogsmeade and then to Diagon Alley." Remus said.
"How are we supposed to get there? Are we going to use brooms?" Harry asked.
"Harry, I am so disappointed with your way of thinking!" Remus said. "Who used the Marauder's Map to sneak to Hogsmeade three years ago?"
"Oh, I forgot about it." Harry blushed.
"It's okay. Now, let's go to the third floor." Remus said.
They reached the statue of the one-eyed witch and Remus took out his wand and tapped the statue.
"Dissendium!" he said and the hump of the statue opened to show a wide passage. "Harry, you go first."
Harry did as he was told and Lia followed. Remus looked around to make sure no one saw them and finally, he also entered the passage.
Both Harry and Remus held out their wands and called "Lumos!" and a light appeared on the top of the wands. They walked through the thin passage until they reached the basement of Honeydukes. They got out carefully and closed the hole. Then, they walked into the shop as they were one of the customers and they got out of it quickly. Remus took them to Three Broomsticks.
"There's a secret passage to Diagon Alley located at the Three Broomsticks." Remus said.
"You mean like the one at the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked.
"Exactly the same."
They entered and Remus headed to the door behind the bar. Harry and Lia followed him. They got out in a place that seemed like a back yard, only filled with trashcans and surrounded by brick walls. Remus took out his wand tapped the wall with it. The bricks started to move and parted away to open the way to Diagon Alley.
They walked through the streets of Diagon Alley. Lia couldn't believe her eyes. This place was full of wizards and witches!
"We need to go to the bank first." Remus said.
They went to the bank and Lia took out some money that her mother has left her in her bank account. Then they went to buy all she needed for school, except for a broom. As she was a new student, and considered equal to the first years, she wasn't allowed to have one.
They came back to the Three Broomsticks and sat there to drink butterbeer, after which they headed back to Honeydukes. On their way Harry caught a glimpse of a black shape moving. He stopped and looked around but didn't see anything. He shrugged and continued to walk. After a few moments he saw the shape again, he tried not to turn, and looked by the corner of his eyes. At the sight of a familiar looking black dog, Harry stopped and turned around.
"What is it Harry?" Remus asked.
"I… I think I saw him!" Harry said, still not believing what he saw.
"Saw who?" Remus asked.
"Snuffles." Harry said.
"Harry, you know that he's…"
"Yes. I know. But I jus saw him!"
"Maybe it was just an illusion. Come on, let's go." Remus said and they continued their way to Honeydukes.
When they reached the castle, it was darkening outside. Remus noticed that Harry was nervous.
"Harry, do you want to talk about it?"
Harry looked at him. "No." he said and shook his head. "It was an illusion. I think I miss him and that's why I thought I saw him."
"Who's Snuffles?" Lia asked.
"Sirius." Remus replied simply.
"Oh."
"I think I'll go to my room." Harry said. "I'll see you tomorrow Lia, okay?"
"Okay."
Harry left them and went to his room at the Gryffindor tower.
"He can't get over it, can't he?" Lia asked, still looking at Harry who was heading to the stairs.
"I don't think so. He was devastated when Sirius died." Remus said. "But I think he will get over it in time."
'Easy for you to say.' Lia thought.
"Alright, let's go and take your stuff to your room." Remus said.
Remus helped Lia to take all her shopping to her room. After which he wished her a good night and went to his room to sleep.
Lia lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was going to start her lessons tomorrow and she was excited. She hoped that she could master everything she was about to learn, so she would make her mother proud of her.