No Hogsmeade for Harry

"I'm afraid the answer's no", Dumbledore told a disappointed Harry.

"You saw; you were there. They've got Pettigrew! Sirius is in the clear!"

"Until Black has been formally pardoned, Minister Fudge insists the dementor patrols remain, and that you are to stay in the castle, so I'm unable to give you permission to visit Hogsmeade at this time".

The arrest of Pettigrew made the Daily Prophet. The consensus was that Sirius Black had been framed for crimes he did not commit. However, there was still a problem: Sirius had escaped Azkaban, and that was a crime in itself. Furthermore, Black had not yet answered the Ministry's and the Prophet's call to turn himself in, even with the Minister's guarantee that he would not be subjected to the dementor's kiss.

Harry knew why his godfather was still laying low: he was an animagus who had failed to register his status as required by law. He didn't want to be freed from Azkaban only to be sent right back there.

0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

On the morning of Samhein, Harry got up and went to the Great Hall with the rest of his house mates. Feeling thoroughly depressed, he did his best to hide it.

"We'll bring you loads of treats from Honeyduke's", Hermione promised.

"Yeah, loads", Ron agreed. "I promise I won't eat 'em all".

"Don't worry about me", Harry said in what he hoped sounded casual, nonchalant. "See you at the Feast; go and have a good time".

He accompanied Ron and Hermione to the entrance hall. There, the Caretaker, Argus Filch, stood by the main doors, list in hand. He peered into every face, checking names, and undoubtedly looking forward to catching anyone without the required permission.

"Staying here, Potter?", Draco called out, "Too afraid to go by the dementors?"

He ignored Draco as he headed back up the marble staircase, through deserted halls, to the Common Room.

"Password?", the fat lady awakened.

"Fortuna major", and the portrait swung aside to let him in.

"Harry! Harry! Hiya, Harry!", it was Colin Creevey who was with some other second year students not eligible for a Hogsmeade weekend. There were a few upperclassmen who'd stayed behind, the novelty of Hogsmeade having worn off. "Aren't you going to Hogsmeade? Why not? You can sit with us!"

Creevey was a big fanboi who never passed up a chance to be with Harry. As a firstie whose father was a normie, he'd come to Hogwarts with his camera to take pictures to send home. He became a pest, always asking Harry for pictures. This hadn't been helped when Colin was told about the potion that made the pictures move like animated GIFs.

"Maybe some other time", Harry explained, "I have some work to do in the library and need a book".

He had no choice now, but to fake it. He went up to his dorm, came back down, and exited the Common Room.

"Why did you disturb me, in and out?", the Fat Lady complained. Harry ignored her protest, and went his way.

He ran into Filch, who was returning from door guard duty.

"What do you think you're doing?", Filch challenged.

"Nothing", Harry answered truthfully.

"Nothing", Filch replied, "that's what they always say when they're up to no good. Why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets, Belch Powder or Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

"The Headmaster said to stay in the castle, and that's what I'm doing: staying in the castle".

"Then get back to your Common Room where you belong".

He stood there, glaring, until Harry rounded a corner, and out of Filch's sight. He had no desire to go back to those fanbois, and headed for Professor Lupin's office.

"Harry!", Lupin greeted as he answered the knock. "Where are Hermione and Ron?", he asked.

"Hogsmeade".

"Ahhhh… Do come in. I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson".

The grindylow was in an aquarium. It was sickly green with small horns on its head, nose pressed against the glass while flexing its long fingers.

"Another form of water demon", Lupin explained. "Not so dangerous or aggressive as kappas. They won't bother you if you stay out of their weeds. The trick is to break their grip. Notice the long fingers? Strong, but brittle".

The grindylow shook a fist at Harry and Lupin before retreating into a stand of green weeds.

"Cup of tea?", Lupin invited. "Thinking of making one myself", as he tapped a kettle with his wand, bringing the water to an instant boil. He took out a dusty tin.

"All I have is teabags, but I daresay you've had your fill of tea leaves".

"You heard about that?", Harry asked.

"Harry, you've undoubtedly learned there are no secrets here, given the efficiency of the school grapevine. I heard about it from Professor McGonagall.

"You're not worried, are you?"

"About Trelawney's tea leaves and death omens? No, not at all".

"Anything else?"

"No", Harry lied. He took a sip of tea, set the cup on the desk. "Yes, actually, there was something I wanted to ask about. That day in class with the boggart".

"What about it?"

"Why didn't you let me or Hermione fight it?"

"I thought that would be obvious".

Harry was mildly surprised Lupin didn't deny he did any such thing.

"How so?", Harry asked.

"I heard all about how Voldemort, while possessing Professor Quirrel, attempted to rape Hermione, and I wouldn't want her reliving something like that.

"In your case, I figured the boggart would become Voldemort for you. It wouldn't do to have the whole class panic when Voldemort stepped out of that wardrobe".

Harry noticed how Lupin used the actual name and not one of the euphemisms. Aside from Harry himself, the only other one who did was Dumbledore.

"Clearly I was wrong, but still not a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the Staff Room".

"I… I… was thinking about the dementor…"

"I see, and I'm impressed".

Lupin paused at the look of surprise this got.

"That means that what you fear most… is fear. Very wise of you", Lupin congratulated.

Harry didn't know what to say, so he sipped more tea.

"You were, perhaps, wondering if I didn't believe you had what it took to face the boggart?", Lupin suggested shrewdly.

"Well, yeah…"

There was another knock at the door.

"Come", Lupin called out.

His next visitor was Professor Snape, bearing a gift: a goblet filled with something that gave off wisps of smoke. He stopped to glare at Harry.

"Thank you very much, Severus. Just set it down on the desk".

"I've made an entire cauldronful, if you need more".

"Thanks again, and I should probably have another tomorrow".

"You should drink that directly", Severus reminded.

"I shall… I was just showing Harry my grindylow".

"Fascinating", Snape said without looking, on his way out.

"Professor Snape has agreed to brew a potion for me as I've been feeling a bit off colour lately, and this is the only thing that helps. Too bad sugar renders it ineffective", he said as he took a taste. "Nasty stuff.

"It's fortunate being here at Hogwarts as this is a particularly difficult potion to prepare, and many wizards can't manage it. I wasn't particularly good at Potions myself".

Lupin drank the rest of the goblet fast to avoid what must've been a particularly foul tasting potion. The goblet was still smoking when Lupin set it down.

"There was something else I wanted to ask", Harry began.

"And that would be?"

"You knew my parents".

"Quite well, your father, James, Sirius, myself, and Pettigrew had a gang of sorts: the Marauders. We were the school pranksters, especially James…"

"Then why didn't you ever come for a visit?"

"I wanted to… Sometimes I'd drive by Privet Drive, just to get a glimpse of you. Professor Dumbledore thought it best if I kept well away".

"But… why?!"

"You have to understand the times. There was a war on, and a lot of us who opposed Voldemort didn't live to tell about it. After Lord Voldemort fell, his Death Eaters were still out there, and Albus believed there were some of that element who wouldn't hesitate to take their revenge on you. I was known as one of Voldemort's opposition, and he believed they just might tail me to discover your location.

"After graduating Hogwarts, I took a different direction that sort of scandalized magical Britain. I went to university to earn degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. Instead of joining the Ministry, I opted for a muggle career instead. You noticed the condition of my robes? I haven't worn them in years; I haven't been back to the Wizarding World until I took this job. The economy turned sour, and I was laid off. Finding employment in this economy, especially at my age… it seems that everyone wants to hire twenty five year old engineers with twenty years of experience. Dumbledore's offer of a teaching position was a God-send.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"I'd still like to ask more questions…"

"Any time, my door's always open".

"Oh, by the way, you wouldn't happen to have any kids?", Harry asked.

"No, I never married. Why would you ask?"

"No reason, just being nosy".

Gryffindor Common Room:

"As promised", Ron said as a shower of brightly wrapped confections cascaded into Harry's lap. "As much as we could carry".

It was dusk, and Ron and Hermione – both pink faced from the cold winds – had just returned from Hogsmeade, looking as though they had the time of their lives. He picked up a packet of the tiny Pepper Imps.

"So how's Hogsmeade? Where did you go?"

Pretty much everywhere: Dervish and Banges: "That reminds me", Ron said as he handed over Harry's pocket Sneak-o-scope, "they told me it's in good working order". Zonko's Joke Shop…

"The post office!", Ron described it, "about a couple hundred owls all sitting on colour coded shelves to tell how fast your mail arrives. Honeydukes has a new kind of fudge: they were giving away free samples…"

"Then the Three Broomsticks", Hermione cut in, "big mugs of hot, foamy, butterbeer…"

"Warms you right up", Ron added.

"And we think we saw an ogre there", Hermione said.

"You get all sorts visiting the Three Broomsticks", Ron completed the thought.

"What did you do?", Hermione asked, anxious. "Get any work done?"

"No, I had tea and a visit with Professor Lupin instead. Asked about my parents… That's when Snape dropped by with a potion. Lupin said he wasn't feeling quite well…"

"And he drank it! Is he nuckin' futs?!", Ron called out.

"I'm sure that if Professor Snape wanted to poison our DADA professor, he wouldn't do it in front of Harry", Hermione objected. "We'd best be getting along", she said after consulting her watch. "Five minutes till the Feast".

The Great Hall was decorated for the sabbat with hundreds of candle filled jack-o-lanterns, a flock of live bats fluttered overhead, and flaming orange streamers swam lazily across the stormy skies of the enchanted ceiling.

The Feast was excellent as always, and even Ron and Hermione, already stuffed with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Harry checked out the staff table. Professor Lupin, looking much improved, was having an animated conversation with Professor Flitwick, the Charms professor and faculty adviser to Ravenclaw. Snape was still glaring at Lupin. Harry was relieved to see that whatever Snape's potion was, it was working the way it should.

The Feast ended with a floor show put on by the Hogwarts ghosts. They burst through walls, and up through tables. They did formation flying. Nearly Headless Nick, the patron ghost of Gryffindor, stole the whole show with a re-enactment of his own botched beheading of centuries ago.

At least this time, Harry found the feast put him in such a good mood, in contrast to how he felt about it as a firstie, that not even Malfoy could ruin it as he shouted: "The dementors send their love, Potter!" on their way out.

0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

While the students were getting ready for bed, Dumbledore was wide awake, alone, in his office complex. He was beginning to suspect that things were not going his way. First, there was that Sirius Black and his escape. Had he been in contact with Potter, and did he tell Harry about the wills? If he hadn't, then it was just a question of time.

As for Harry, an independent streak was beginning to show. He obviously took the initiative to contact Amelia Bones without ever giving Dumbledore the chance to give "advice". There was the inexplicable figuring out who Scabbers really was. Dumbledore was certain that Harry hadn't done that on his own. Dumbledore, himself, had no reason to suspect that Scabbers wasn't just another pet rat.

Even worse, Bones had arrested Pettigrew in the Great Hall, in front of the entire student body. There would be no covering that up. No possibility of dismissing the arrest as a case of mistaken identity. After all, no one had seen Pettigrew in human form for years, so how could anyone be sure? Dumbledore could slow up the process, but not stop it. It would be a question of time until the investigation was complete, the Wizengamot's clearing Black's name.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Arabella Figg, the Order of the Phoenix spy who was installed on Privet Dr to keep tabs on Harry, had reported seeing an unfamiliar girl visiting 4 Privet Dr. She positively identified the new girl friend as Hermione Granger whose visits were not provoking Vernon and Petunia. Up till now, Harry had been isolated from any magical contacts over the summer holiday.

That wasn't the worst of it: there was Severus' news about an unknown author and a biography. So far, none of his connections had turned up any such author, so he had no way of knowing how much this author knew and what he might reveal. Worst of all, Harry Potter was either learning Occlumancy, or was somehow a natural Occlumens without Dumbledore's having been aware of it.