Chapter 19 - Back to Hogwarts

Megan came back later that day. She was no longer crying or angry. She looked extremely calm, but Harry noticed that her eyes looked empty. It was as if she had banished every emotion inside her in order to stay calm. Harry felt sorry for her, but wasn't quite sure what had happened, so he didn't know how he could help. He sighed in resignation while talking to Ron in the living room.

"Harry can I talk to you?" Sirius called from the doorway.

Harry started at the sound of his voice, but nodded and followed Sirius into the entrance hall.

"What exactly did Megan say to you when you went after her?" Sirius asked in a low voice.

Harry explained what Megan had said. Sirius frowned.

"Thanks Harry" he said and walked up the stairs.

Harry sighed and returned to the living room to talk to Ron again.

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Sirius knocked on Mel's door.

"Come in" said a tired voice.

He opened the door slowly and saw that Mel was sitting up in bed. She looked extremely tired. She sighed when she saw who it was.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you" he said politely.

"It's fine" she said, sighing again. "I wasn't asleep anyway"

She motioned for him to come forward. Sirius entered the room and closed the door behind him. She motioned for him to sit as she picked up her dressing gown from the end of the bed and wrapped it around herself. Sirius was silent for a moment.

"When are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked, trying to keep the bitter edge out of his tone.

Mel closed her eyes.

"It's complicated" she said softly.

"Why are you abandoning Megan?" Sirius asked quietly.

Mel's eyes shot open and she looked at him shocked.

"Who said that?" she asked.

"Harry" Sirius said, watching her reactions closely. "That's what she said to him when he went after her. She said first is was me, now you. Why does she think I abandoned her?"

Mel shook her head in shock.

"I don't know. I guess because you haven't been there for her. She's never known you before. I never used to talk about you. I guess she just assumed." Mel trailed off and looked down at her hands.

"I would never have left if I knew you were pregnant" Sirius said angrily. "Did you tell her that?"

Mel shook her head guiltily. Sirius ran a hand through his hair with frustration.

"So why does she think you're abandoning her?"

Mel put her head in her hands. She burst into tears. Sirius moved toward her and pulled her close to him. It took a few minutes for her to stop crying.

"Come on Mel" he urged gently. "Tell me what's wrong"

Mel hesitated. She wanted so much to tell him. To confess everything. But she couldn't bring herself to say it again. She shook her head slightly.

"Not yet" she said softly. "Maybe later"

Sirius sighed. He knew that if he pushed, she would be angry at him. He contented himself with comforting her. The feel of her body against his was heaven. He smiled softly as he held her. She had stopped crying now, but had not moved away. Sirius didn't intend to let her go unless she asked him to. After a few more minutes he became aware that her breathing had slowed considerably. He looked down at her and realised that she was asleep. He gently laid her down on the bed and pulled the blankets over her. He hesitated for a moment, before kissing her softly on the forehead and leaving the room.

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"Where's my shoe?"

"I can't find my potions book!"

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!"

It was the morning of the train ride back to Hogwarts. Harry reflected on the past few days. Ginny and Hermione had come back for the last two days of holidays and spent most of their time in the bedroom talking amongst themselves.

Megan had been quite distant since the outburst in the street. Considering that Megan had already been quite reserved, it made it extremely difficult to start up a conversation with her. Harry sighed. He always seemed to fall for girls with problems. He thought about Cho Chang's behaviour the year before, but shook his head. It wasn't like that. Megan didn't cry and talk about other boys. She didn't try to make him jealous. She was. different. Finally, they were all ready to go to the station. There was a knock on the front door and Harry opened it.

"Harry!" Fred called out, jumping forward to shake his hand "So wonderful to see you"

"You're looking well Harry" George added, pushing Fred out of the way to shake Harry's hand as if he were royalty. "Absolutely smashing"

Harry shook his head with a grin. He was quite used to their behaviour now.

"What are you both doing here?" Harry asked.

"Taking ickle Ronnikins and our darling baby sister to the station" Fred said in an exaggerated tone which cause Harry to snicker.

"Why isn't Mrs Weasley taking us?" Harry asked as Fred and George picked up

Ginny's and Ron's trunk and pulled them outside toward a car that was parked and waiting.

"Order business" Fred said in Harry's ear.

George nodded solemnly.

"You're not coming with us though. I'm not sure who's taking you" George said. "They wanted everyone split up for some reason, but I think you're going with Hermione"

Harry nodded, looking slightly confused, and made his way inside. Sirius and Remus were talking in the entrance hall.

"All ready to go Harry?" Sirius asked as Harry approached them. Harry nodded.

"How am I getting to the station though?" he asked.

"You're going to be travelling with Tonks and I" Remus explained. "We're taking Hermione too"

Harry nodded.

"What about Megan?" he asked.

Sirius glared at him for some reason and Harry took a step back in surprise.

"I'm taking Megan to the station" A voice came from behind him.

Harry looked up to see Mel. She was wearing black leather and had a motorbike helmet in each hand.

"I don't want to go with you" Megan said, walking down the stairs.

Harry looked up at her with raised eyebrows. It was the first time he had ever seen her in muggle clothes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t- shirt. Mel sighed.

"Why don't you take Harry with you Mel? Remus and Tonks can take Hermione and Megan" Sirius suggested, realising that Megan was still angry with her mother and knowing that the children would be late if there were any more delays.

Mel sighed resignedly and passed a helmet to Harry. Remus took Harry's trunk and Hermione and Megan came downstairs with their trunks also. Mrs Weasley ran into the entrance hall and hugged all of the children goodbye before she disapparated.

Tonks came in and told everyone that they needed to get going. Sera and Emily came in long enough to bid Harry farewell and wish him luck for the year at Hogwarts. Sirius gave Harry a warm hug before Harry followed Mel out the door.

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Harry got off the motorbike feeling a little windswept, but exhilarated. Fred and George met them and Mel had to leave. She gave Harry a note to give to Megan before she sped off into the distance.

"Ron and Ginny are on the train and the others haven't arrived yet" George explained when Harry asked where the others had gone.

He looked up at the time. They still had fifteen minutes.

"I do believe that this is the first time the Weasley's aren't late for the train" Fred said wistfully. "Shame we had to break the tradition"

"I guess it's our fault. We're no longer there influence the behaviour of our younger siblings" George replied in mock regret.

Harry laughed.

"So how's the new joke shop coming along?" Harry asked with a grin.

He was rewarded by a deep explanation of all the plans that Fred had for the shop. George seemed a little preoccupied throughout the discussion. As they reached the barrier, Harry nearly ran into a small boy who looked extremely worried. A small girl came up behind him pushing a large trolley in front of her.

"Where are we supposed to go?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know" the boy said. "No one seems to have heard of it."

Both of them seemed oblivious to the fact that there were three figures standing over them and watching the scene in amusement.

"Lost are you?" Harry offered.

The two children looked up at him and nodded.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Hogwarts" The boy muttered quietly.

Harry remembered his first time to Hogwarts and how worried he'd been and felt sorry for them.

"Come with me. I'll get you on the platform" Harry said. Both of the kids smiled, relieved.

"I'm Harry by the way. Harry Potter" Harry offered. "This is Fred and George Weasley"

"I'm Andrew, Andrew White. This is my twin sister Katie" the boy said.

They reached the barrier and Harry explained how they could get to the platform. After watching Fred and George go through, Harry let the two younger students go through and then went to go through himself, but someone grabbed his arm before he had walked through and stopped him from getting onto the platform.

It was Megan.

"Harry can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked softly, her faint Irish accent coming through.

Her dark eyes were looking straight into Harry's, but he could see no emotion behind them.

"Sure" he replied, following as she led him aside so that the other students could go through.

"I'm sorry about the other day" she said quietly, staring at the ground.

"Why were you so upset?" Harry asked.

She hesitated for a moment before answering, still not meeting his eyes.

"Mama wants me to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. She's going overseas and doesn't want me to go with her" Megan replied after a moment.

Harry put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Well I'll be staying for the Christmas holidays too, so at least you won't be alone" Harry said with a smile.

She returned the smile.

"Well we best be getting on the platform" she said quietly. "I'm a prefect this year so it wouldn't do for me to be late"

"You're a prefect?" Harry asked, surprised.

She nodded and motioned towards the barrier. Harry walked through and she followed close behind.

"There you are Harry" Remus said relieved. "The train's about to leave"

Harry nodded and made his way to the train with Megan.

"I have to go to the front carriage with the other prefects" Megan said as they boarded the train.

"Oh, alright. Well I guess I'll see you later then" Harry said, a little disappointed.

Megan nodded. Before Harry knew what was happening, Megan leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. She blushed slightly as she pulled away, then hurried off towards the front of the train. Harry grinned as he watched her hurry up the corridor.

"Well that was a touching scene" came a voice from behind him. Harry spun around to face the owner of the voice.

It was Cho Chang. She had a sour expression on her face. Harry frowned.

"What's the matter Harry? Wasn't Hermione good enough for you after all?" Cho asked with a bitter edge in her voice.

Harry felt his cheeks flush with anger. He really didn't feel like defending himself to her again.

"What are you going to do? Cry again?" he said venomously.

He saw hurt flicker through her eyes for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by anger.

"So how does is feel to be dating the village bike then?" she asked hotly. Harry's eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in an icy tone.

She laughed at him.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of her? I mean, she must have shagged every other male in fifth year or above. But no, you probably don't notice the late night comings and goings of the girls in your house do you? Too preoccupied in your own little world aren't you Harry?" she asked, tauntingly.

She laughed again and walked away down the corridor. The train had begun to move by this time and Harry decided that he had better find a compartment before they were all full. He found Neville sitting in a compartment by himself, staring dazedly out of the window. He looked up when he saw Harry enter the compartment.

"Oh, hello Harry" he said cheerfully.

Harry mumbled a response and Neville frowned.

"Bad day?" Neville asked.

Harry nodded. He wished that Ron and Hermione weren't at the prefects meeting. He desperately wanted to talk to Hermione about what Cho had said. Hermione seemed to always know what to do in these situations, and he wasn't quite sure if Cho was trying to make him angry, or whether she was telling the truth.

"Do you know anything about Megan Black?" Harry asked Neville suddenly.

Neville's eyes lit up for a moment.

"Yeah she's in the year below us. She helped me with my charms once. She's really smart, but I don't think she likes talking to people very much" he said.

"Do you know anything else about her?" Harry found himself asking.

Neville raised his eyebrows and hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Well she does have a bit of a reputation at school for. well I'm sure you can guess" Neville said, a slight tinge coming into his cheeks as he spoke. "I don't know whether or not it's true though. You'd probably be best to ask her yourself"

Harry sighed heavily as Neville got up.

"I'm going for a walk to stretch my legs. I feel like I've been sitting down for the entire summer." He said as he walked towards the door of the compartment.

Harry nodded and looked out the window as Neville left. He heard the compartment door open and looked around. It was Ginny.

"Hi Harry" she said cheerfully.

What is it with people being so cheerful today? Harry asked himself. Ginny's smile quickly turned to a frown when she noticed Harry's expression.

"Anything wrong?" She asked.

Harry sighed and looked at her for a moment.

"You're friends with Megan aren't you?" he asked suddenly.

Ginny nodded, looking at him quizzically. Harry explained the conversation that he'd had with Cho. Ginny nodded understandingly throughout the explanation. When Harry had finished he looked up at her.

"Do you know if she was telling the truth?" Harry asked feebly.

Ginny thought for a moment.

"She's often out after curfew, but she's never told me where she goes. That doesn't necessarily mean it's true though" Ginny said quietly.

Harry's nodded thoughtfully. The compartment door opened again and in walked Neville, followed closely by Ron, Hermione and Megan. Harry had trouble looking Megan in the eye. She seemed to notice this as she sat down, but didn't say anything to him about it for most of the trip.

Ginny and Neville were having an in depth conversation about Herbology and Ron and Hermione decided to go down the train to check on the younger students. They invited Megan to come with them, seeing that she was also a prefect this year, but Megan declined. As soon as they were gone she turned to Harry.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Her brown eyes showed nothing of the emotions running through her mind. She had learned long ago how to hide her emotions from the outside world. Harry explained vaguely what he'd heard from Cho. Megan's expression did not change the entire time he spoke.

"So what's wrong?" she asked when he had finished.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Well is it true?" he asked, feeling a little unnerved by her reaction to what he'd just said and wondering if he'd explained it properly.

"Would it matter if it was?" she countered. "Does it make me a different person to who I was before you heard that from Cho?"

Harry looked at her stunned for a moment.

"I guess not" he said slowly.

She smiled at him.

"Then why worry about it?" she asked, turning back to the window.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't understand her at all. He stuffed his hands into his pocket and then remembered the note. He handed it to Megan. Megan looked at it quizzically for a moment before opening it and reading it. Her face flushed with anger. She crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor before excusing herself and walking out of the carriage. Neville and Ginny looked at Harry curiously, obviously wondering what he'd done to upset her. Harry shrugged at them and they went back to their conversation. Harry reached over and picked up the note from Mel.

It read: Dear Megan,
I really am sorry about all this. I wish that you didn't have to go through it. If I could change things I would. I will owl you when Rupert and I get to America and let you know how things are going. Remember always that I love you.

Harry stared at the note for a moment. There was no signature at the bottom, though he knew that it was from her mother without it needing one. He felt a flood of pity for Megan and decided to go looking for her. No sooner had he gotten out the door of the carriage when he ran into the person he wanted to find least. Malfoy and his gang were making their way up the corridor towards him. They stopped dead when they saw Harry and Malfoy's face turned up in a smirk.

"Told you it would only be a matter of time didn't I Potter?" he said with a superior air.

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Harry asked angrily.

He wasn't in the mood for Malfoy's games. Malfoy laughed.

"Haven't you been reading the daily Prophet? My father escaped Azkaban. I told you he would" Malfoy said, clearly enjoying his fun.

Harry rolled his eyes and made to push past them, but Crabbe and Goyle stepped in front of him. Harry reached for his wand and pointed it at Goyle.

"Expelliarmus" someone cried from behind him.

Harry felt the wand slip out of his grasp and turned to see who had stolen his wand. It was Megan.

"What seems to be the problem here?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing we can't handle so kindly be on your way" Malfoy said coldly.

Megan's eyes narrowed.

"I happen to be a prefect this year Draco. You have no authority over me" she said in a quiet, but dangerous tone.

"Did you hear father escaped? I can always talk to him about your little interferences" Malfoy said with a smirk.

Harry noticed Megan wince and become a little paler than usual, but a moment later she set her jaw determinedly and moved closer to Malfoy.

"Even he isn't that stupid. If you were still sending correspondences then he would most certainly be caught again" Megan said calmly. "I'll be sure to inform Professor Snape of your appalling behaviour on the train ride today."

"You know Megan, you're worse than that Mudblood Granger" Malfoy said in a sneer.

What happened next happened so quickly that no one could actually see how it happened. One moment, Malfoy was standing in the middle of the corridor a few feet from Megan, laughing with his friends, and the next moment, Megan had him pinned against the wall with her wand pointed at his throat. Her eyes were ablaze with rage and her expression was filled with hatred and fury.

"Don't you ever use that word in front of me again" she hissed.

"Or what? You wouldn't dare curse me while I'm unarmed. And you know I'd beat you in a duel" He said with a sneer, but his eyes betrayed his nervousness.

"As you know, I have sufficient knowledge of the Dark Arts to be able to counter anything that you could throw at me" Megan said in a whisper so that only Malfoy could hear, before retracting her wand and handing Harry's wand back to him.

Harry was amazed to see that Draco and his friends left after this comment. He shrugged and followed Megan into the carriage. Hermione and Ron entered again a few moments later.

The rest of the trip passed by quietly. When the train finally stopped at Hogsmeade station the group disembarked and headed towards the carriages.

"First years this way" came a voice that Harry had never heard before.

He looked over and saw a youngish man standing with a lantern.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked as he turned to Ron.

Ron shrugged. Harry continued to look at the man who was standing there for a moment before being dragged towards a carriage. He got in and saw that Hermione and Ginny were in the carriage, but he couldn't see Megan.

It was a clear night. Harry could see that the moon was full. He hoped that Remus was alright, wherever he was tonight. He sighed as the carriage began to move and they made their way up to the castle.

They entered the Great Hall and Harry sat down beside Ron and Hermione. He saw that Megan was sitting down the other end of the table with Ginny and Colin Creevy. Harry looked up at the head table and noticed that there were quite a few new teachers this year. He could see that Professor Sinistra had been replaced by a tall wizard in bright purple robes. Next to him was the man Harry had seen down at the station, he was sitting in the seat usually reserved for Hagrid. Harry felt a jolt in his stomach as he wondered where Hagrid was. He stopped short when he saw a figure sitting in the seat reserved for the defence against the dark arts teacher.

Snape looked very uncomfortable and was giving quick glances at the dark figure next to him. The figure was wrapped firmly in a dark cloak so that Harry couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman. He was brought out of his thoughts when the sound of the doors opening again indicated the arrival of Professor McGonagal and the first year students. Harry saw Andrew and Katie walking towards the front, looking a little nervous, but obviously excited. He smiled and they waved back at him.