Chapter Three: Apple or Orange
Cat closed the door and threw herself on the bed. Well that should do it, she thought. Cat thought that Granger needed something to knock her off her broom. Hermione thought too highly of herself. Cat did not like her…but maybe with time we'll be good friends, maybe… I'm not promising anything and while she wondered at the things that they might do if they did become friends she drifted to sleep.
"Wow, and you guys thought I caused mayhem," said Tonks.
"I hope she doesn't pull one like that at Hogwarts," warned Mrs. Weasley.
"Dumbledore wouldn't expel her. Anyways, she's not stupid," said Lupin defensively.
"Lupin she is not your daughter."
"I know that."
"Then stop spoiling her."
"I do not spoil her, and you should be one to talk, Molly."
"That's different, Remus. Don't treat her like she's Fiona because she's not."
"Obviously, Cat wouldn't do such a stupid thing like she did."
"That's it!" Moody interfered. "No more talk about Fiona. Let her rest in peace."
Hermione stormed into the room behind Ron and Harry.
"I TOLD YOU! I WARNED YOU ABOUT HER, RON! Now she's filling your head with empty, pretty words, which is just that Ron, WORDS!" Hermione shouted.
"What in the world are you talking about? What you just said made absolutely no sense," said Ron bewildered.
"Don't play stupid with me Ronald Weasley! I can't believe you like her!"
"I what? Are you mad? Of course I don't like her!"
Ron and Hermione's screams made Harry's eardrums ring. Their shouts were interrupted by two loud cracks.
"AND YOU TWO!" Hermione yelled.
"Us? What?" The Twins said. "Where? When? Why? Who? How?"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Geez, Hermione," said Fred.
"Don't get all your drawers in a bunch," declared George.
"I honestly don't know why you're making such a big deal Hermione," pointed out Ron.
"I'm not."
The Twins snorted. Hermione turned around and gave them a mean look.
"You can't like her."
"Why not?"
"Because…because, because she's stupid that's why!"
Hermione turned and slammed the door.
"I'll go get her," said Harry and left after her.
"Well, that just proves it," said Fred.
"Proves what?" Ron asked.
"That Hermione likes you, of course," said George.
"What?" Ron said half-laughing.
"Well, yes, Ron," said Fred.
"You do get thicker by the minute!" George exclaimed slapping his forehead.
"Why don't you just tell her and get it over with?" Advised Fred slumping down on the red velvet armchair.
"I don't…I mean, I..."
"I don't…I don't…duh, duh," George mocked.
"You don't what?" Fred asked.
"I don't like Hermione…I think," said Ron.
"Do you like Cat?" George asked Ron.
"I don't think I do…"
"Look Ron, this situation calls for the best technique in choosing between girls known to mankind!" Fred exclaimed excitedly.
"What's that?"
"George," said Fred as he snapped his fingers.
"Compare and Contrast!" George yelled.
"But that's elementary stuff," said Ron.
"And it never gets old!" Fred shouted. "Now, Ron, you'll sit here," informed Fred getting up from the armchair and pushed Ron down on it. "Okay, good. George, will you do the honors?"
"Gladly," replied George. "All right Ron, let's start with comparing."
He summoned a small blackboard with his wand. Then he wrote "Kitty Cat" on one side and "Hermione" on the other. Afterwards he tried to draw a straight line between the name but failing at his attempts, he gladly consoled himself with a crooked line; which kind of reminded Ron of Snape's abnormally large nose.
"What is it that you like about both of them?"
"Well, um…I…well, why don't we try contrast first?" Ron pleaded.
"Good idea," said George and handed Fred the chalk.
"Alright let's start with Hermione," said Fred.
"She screams at me for every little thing…"
"So in other words, she's been hanging out too much with mum?" George asked.
"Yes, that's about right."
"What else?" Fred asked.
"Well, she has bushy brown hair which kind of distracts you from what she is saying sometimes. It's amazing how…um, never mind. That's all I can think of right now."
"Good, Ron, now let's go to my favorite subject: Kitty Cat," said Fred.
"Kitty Cat? Oh you mean Cat," said Ron.
"Exactly," said Fred.
"Okay, whatever," said Ron and rolled his eyes. "She's pretty and she is a bit of a snob sometimes."
"Well…that didn't work," said Fred.
"Time for the next method. Fred, get the fruits," ordered George.
Fred summoned two kinds of fruits: an apple and an orange.
"Fruit? Why do you want fruit for?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"How dare you question my method!" George exclaimed passionately.
Ron and Fred stared at him for a while and then looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Okay Ron, let's pretend that the bright red, dry yet delicious apple is Hermione," said Fred. "And that this juicy nice smelling and tasty orange is Kitty Cat."
Ron looked bewildered and shook his head.
"How can you compare them to fruits?" Ron asked.
"Focus, Ron!" George yelled and threw the apple at him and hit him in the head.
Ron frowned at George and rubbed his head.
"It's called imagination. I'm sure you've heard of it," said Fred.
George went over to Ron and picked up the apple.
"Okay, George, give me Hermione," asked Fred.
George handed him the apple.
"Ron, now you have to choose."
"Huh?"
"Choose, Ron! Choose!" Fred screamed.
"Now Ron!" George Ordered.
"Can I think about it first?" Ron asked.
"Sure you can Ron," said Fred.
They stood quiet for two seconds.
"Now, choose! Just choose one bloody fruit, Ron! One…Bloody…Fruit!" Fred shouted. "Apple or orange, Ron? Apple or orange?"
"Stop it!" Ron protested and slapped away Fred's hand.
Then the apple flew across the room from Fred's hand and smacked against the wall. The apple broke into pieces. The twins gasped. Fred walked towards the remains and carefully picked them up.
"Look what you did to Hermione, Ron! Look! You killed her!" Fred yelled.
"Murderer!" George exclaimed.
"I…" said Ron.
His bottom lip began to quiver.
"Never meant to hurt Hermione."
Ron covered his face.
"Oh, boy, Ron. You are pathetic," said George.
Fred hands the apple pieces to George and smacks Ron over the head.
"Snap out of it, Ron! It's just a fruit," stated Fred.
"But you said…" Ron began to say.
"No! Have you not learned in your entire life of knowing us to never ever listen to a word we say?" Fred screamed.
"Now, Ron, listen," said George.
"But you just said…" Began Ron, confused.
"No, Ron! Listen. We are going to try another method. You wait here," explained George.
The twins Disapparated and left Ron on his own. What mess he had gotten himself into? Cat was right. Trying to stop the Twins was like trying to stop a freight train and before Ron could ponder more deeply about this the Twins had Apparated once more. They carried bundle of clothes.
"Ron, close your eyes," ordered Fred.
"Why?"
"Just do it, Ron!"
Ron closed his eyes. He was tempted to peek but decided upon not doing so. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to see what the Twins were up to.
"All right Ron. You can open your eyes now," said Fred.
Ron opened his eyes. He laughed. Fred was wearing a purple, lacy dress and a brown, bushy wig, while George was wearing a black skirt and sweater, with a black wig. All of which did no fit them properly. The clothes were probably three sizes too small for them.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked.
"Focus, Ron! You're going to have to use your imagination again," said Fred.
"I don't think the girls are going to be happy about you taking their clothes," warned Ron.
"Shut up and listen," said George.
"Okay, pretend I'm Hermione," said Fred. "And George is Kitty Cat."
"What?" Ron laughed. "How am I…"
"It's called imagination Ron!" George screamed.
"Okay, Ron," said Fred imitating Hermione. "Tell me how you feel."
"This is…really disturbing," said Ron. "This is not going to work."
"Oh, Ron! Kiss me!" George mocked.
"No, Ron! You love me!" Fred said.
"No! He loves me!" George said and grabbed Ron's face trying to kiss him.
Ron struggled to get loose. Harry came into the room.
"I'm just going to…get…a book," said Harry when he saw what was happening.
"Harry, it's not what it seems," said Ron pushing George away.
"Right," said Harry suspiciously.
"No, I can explain."
"No, it's okay. I mean, hey! Whatever floats your boat," said Harry.
He took the book and left. The twins started to laugh out loud.
"It's not funny," said Ron fuming.
"You're right, Ron. It's not," apologized George.
"It's hilarious," finished Fred.
Ron grunted in despair and hid his face behind his hands. How was he going to explain this to Harry? What if Mum finds out?
"Fred, does this dress make me look fat?" Asked George.
"Weirdoes," snorted Harry.
He didn't know what was that all about, and honestly, he didn't care. Harry had gone into the room to get a book. He was just looking for an excuse to go into the room. Just in case Cat was there. He never did get to talk to her, but he didn't want to make it too obvious.
So she wasn't in the room he shared with Ron. Maybe she's at hers, or perhaps she's already asleep. Harry decided to check anyways. He turned right down the hallway and stopped in front of the third door to the right. He thought about knocking. Then finally did. The door opened.
"Hi, Cat," said Harry breathlessly.
"Hi…again," said Cat.
"Were…were you sleeping?" Harry asked.
"Not anymore," she said, rubbing her eyes.
"Come in."
Harry walked into the room. It was very small. He wondered why she chose it when she could have had any room in the house.
"You can sit on the bed if you like," said Cat.
Her back was turned to Harry.
"It's okay. I'll sit on the floor," said Harry.
He sat on the floor, his back against the bed. Cat turned around and frowned at him.
"Whatever floats your boat."
Black turned and continued her search in the closet.
"There it is," she said and pulled out a brown cardboard box.
She sat cross-legged in front of Harry with the box between them. Cat pulled out a couple of pictures and pushed the box aside then handed the pictures to Harry.
"I found these when I was cleaning the room," Catherina said.
Harry looked at the pictures. It was James and Sirius. They had their arms around each other and were smiling and waving at him. The other one was James, Sirius and Lupin together. James was wearing the Gryffindor Quidditch team uniform. Harry stretched his hand towards Cat. Black shook her head.
"No, keep them," insisted Cat and pushed them back.
She looked in the box and pulled out one more picture. Catherina looked at it first and smiled.
"I think you'll like this one," she said and handed the picture to Harry.
It was a picture of Harry's mom, Lily Evans. She waved at him. It was when she was in Hogwarts with another girl who smiled sheepishly at him. She was short but had a nice face and pretty brown, curly hair. Then, he noticed them. They eyes…they were violet.
"Is this your mum?" Harry asked cautiously.
Catherina nodded.
"I think you're going to want to keep this one," Harry said and started to hand the picture to Cat.
Black shook her head once more and pushed his hand back towards him.
"Don't you want to read what's in the back?" Cat pointed out.
Harry turned the picture and read:
To: Sirius
Hey! Hope you like the picture. Fi made me come out in the picture so it wouldn't seem so obvious, if you know what I mean, wink, wink Anyways I'm going to let Fi write now. She wanted to be last so I couldn't read what she wrote. Take care!
Lily
To: Sirius a.k.a Padfoot
Hi! How are you? Don't listen to Lily. You know she isn't right in the head. Anyways, please write this summer, Sirius. I really do care about you. You shouldn't listen to what they say. Especially that ugly ogre, Snape and don't you dare show this to James or Lupin! I'm warning you!
Yours always,
Fiona
P.s. Write please…I don't know what I'll do if you don't.
Harry looked up at Cat. Black laughed when she saw his face. He had a confused look but yet was amused.
"Your mum and mine were friends?'
"Best friends actually."
Harry's mouth was open. Cat laughed some more.
"How do you think your dad and mum ended up together?"
"I was wondering how," said Harry remembering how his father acted like such a jerk and his mum hated his guts.
Harry decided to take advantage of the situation.
"Your mum and Sirius…"
Cat looked up at him questioningly. Harry blushed.
"You don't have to answer," replied Harry embarrassed.
"No, it's okay. It was one of those… sappy forbidden love stories," said Cat rolling her eyes. "My mum was a pure blood but like the Weasleys, it didn't mean she didn't' like half bloods and muggles and all that other stuff," she said as she waved her hand. "And the Blacks were a…well, you know. So both families forbade them to be together. However, Sirius and Mum didn't care. The year after they left Hogwarts they lost touch, but obviously never stopped loving each other. They met again at your parents wedding and…that's when I happened. No need to go into detail about that."
"Right." They laughed nervously.
"Well, then Voldemort did what he did to your parents. Sirius went to Azkaban because of Pettigrew, and thanks to you that's why we know he was framed…now," said Cat with a confused look in her face.
She sighed and scratched her neck.
"So then, since Sirius was in Azkaban he never knew my Mum was pregnant."
She paused. "My mum never told anybody for personal reasons that even today I still don't know. She died a couple of years ago."
"I'm sorry," said Harry.
"I'm sorry too."
She stretched her legs before her.
"Well, that's what you wanted to know right?"
"How did you…?"
"Well, I figured it was that. I also heard you were a nosy little git."
She stood up.
"Now if you don't mind, I want to get some sleep."
"Oh, sorry," said Harry getting up. "Good night then."
He walked to the door.
"Night," said Cat and closed the door.
"Hermione, wait," said Ginny.
"Can you believe her?" Hermione shouted. "She comes to this house and thinks she can do anything she wants."
"It is her house."
"Whose side are you on?"
"On yours of course," said Ginny and pushed Hermione down onto the bed. "Maybe you need to go to sleep."
"Sleep? No thank you."
"Shhh! Lights out," said Ginny turned off the lights.
"Honestly…" Hermione started.
"Hermione…"
"Alright, sorry. Fine. Night."
"Night."
Ginny closed her eyes then opened them again.
"Hermione, do you like Ron?"
Hermione snorted. She hesitated.
"No."
The next morning Harry got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Breakfast was ready.
"Morning," said Harry.
"Morning," chorused everyone.
He sat down next to Ron who was looking rather sleepy. Then he looked up. Cat was eating undisturbed by the intense stares she was getting from Hermione. He wondered if they would make up or hate each other forever just like he hated Malfoy. Around him was the whole Weasley family. Bill and Charlie were next to the twins and Ginny was talking to Hermione. The only one missing was Percy, who was probably still estranged from the family. Harry decided to ask Ron about it…later.
"Did you have a have good night's sleep, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Harry nodded. She smiled. The doorbell rang and the shouts from Mrs. Black's portrait followed it.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt! Mudbloods, half-breed, freaks, get out! How dare you enter the house of my ancestors!"
Cat got up and hurried off the table looking absolutely furious. Mrs. Weasley frowned.
"I told them not to ring that bell. Now why on Earth would they do that?"
She hurried out of the kitchen too. Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other. They got up and followed Mrs. Weasley.
"SHUT UP! You stupid old hag! SHUT UP!" Cat screamed, struggling to get the curtains around the portrait closed.
Sirius' mom eyes opened wide.
"Get away from me you child of filth! How dare you call yourself my granddaughter! You're nothing but a bas-"
"Trust me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't. Now…SHUT UP!" Cat said at last closing the curtains.
She turned around heaving. Mrs. Weasley opened the door quickly before they rang the bell again. Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt hurried inside the house. They looked extremely worried and beaten up. Tonks was pale and looked like she was about to faint. Shacklebolt was wearing a big bruise on his forehead.
"Molly, contact the rest of the Order. Tell them it is an emergency meeting and that it is as we feared," barked Moody.
Moody turned around to look at Cat.
"Cat you can join the meeting if you like even if you are not in the Order."
Mrs. Weasley looked appalled at Moody's suggestion. He raised his hand.
"It is better if she knows everything that is going on. Dumbledore's orders."
Harry turned to look at Hermione's and Ron's faces. Tonks and Shacklebolt made their way between them. They walked through the door that leads to kitchen. Ginny walked out with a piece of toast in her hand. Her face was red.
"It's not fair!" She complained.
"How come we are not allowed?" Ron asked in an obvious outrage.
"Because I said so!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.
Ron frowned. Harry opened his mouth to protest but closed it again at the look of Mrs. Weasley's stern face.
"Actually, Mrs. Weasley, I think that they would be better off knowing what is happening out there. No matter how much you try to protect them you can not always be there for them, and in the end, they are going to have to fend off on their own," Cat said looking at the trio.
Harry thought he saw the smallest hint of a smile on her lips.
"And to do that, they need all the information necessary."
Mrs. Weasley frowned for a while then nodded in agreement. Ron and Hermione smiled. Ginny glared at them then at Mrs. Weasley.
"They'll end up telling me anyways," she said angrily.
Mrs. Weasley sighed.
"You can attend too, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley before turning around and heading for the living room.
Cat turned to Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"Come on," she said. "We better get going before the meeting starts."
They walked through the door and walked into the living room. Harry had never seen a room so crammed. Everywhere he turned was a witch or a wizard. The whole Order was here, well almost everyone. Dumbledore was missing. Cat walked in and sat on the empty armchair next to the fireplace. Harry followed suit and sat on the other empty armchair. There was a puff of dust and smoke. Harry coughed. He looked up and saw that Tonks had somehow tried to light a fire in the fireplace but failed to open the latch, letting all the smoke in.
"TONKS!" Moody roared. "Open the damn latch, you fool!"
"Sorry!" Tonks whined. "I'm so sorry."
She opened the latch.
"Where is Dumbledore?" Moody asked to no one in particular.
"Here I am," said Dumbledore who had Apparated just this instant. "Let the meeting begin."
Dumbledore made a complicated wave of his wand and conjured a red velvet armchair. He sat down and looked up at Moody expectantly from behind his half-moon spectacles. Moody cleared his throat but the murmuring continued. Moody once again cleared his throat. However, the murmuring got even louder. A whistle ran through the room silencing everyone on its way. The wizards and witches turned to where the piercing sound came from. Cat smiled back and raised her eyebrow at Moody. Mad-eye nodded and cleared his throat.
"Thank you, Black," said Moody. "Now I think we all know why we are here."
"Yeah…Kind of…but what are the details?" A wheezy-voiced wizard with silver hair asked.
"Well," Moody trailed off. "We all know the dementors have left Azkaban to join forces with You-Know-Who." Moody finished quickly. "Today, they came back."
Once again the murmuring rose. There were shouts of anger and some quaking with fear from the crowd.
"The Aurors guarding Azkaban did the best they could…but ultimately the dementors managed to release the prisoners."
Harry looked from worried face to worried face. Surely this was expected…but what seems to be the problem?
"We have to be even more precautious about where we go, what we do and what we say outside these walls. You don't know whom you can trust. It seems that the Dark Lord is gathering forces quicker than we expected. Shacklebolt?" Moody said, his magical eye searching for the tall, bald black man through the crowd.
There was a grunt coming from the back of the room.
"Why don't you get started on the search hunt?"
Moody turned to whisper something to Dumbledore. They bent their heads together. Harry looked to his left and saw Ron leaning against the armchair with a frown. Then he turned to his right and there was Hermione. She looked pale. Cat was across from him, quickly tapping her foot floor. Cat and Ginny walked up towards where the trio was sitting.
Harry drew in a sharp breath. This meant Lucius Malfoy was free. Malfoy will be even more detestable this year. Harry was starting to hate the idea of being here. He would much rather be in Hogwarts where he could forget about most of his preoccupations, even if it meant seeing Snape and Malfoy again. Harry looked over at Dumbledore who seemed to be giving out orders to Moody. Mad-eye walked up to Tonks. He started whispering something to her. Tonks just nodded and soon left. Slowly, one by one, and some in pairs, the members of The Order left all with tasks to complete. Harry turned to Hermione who had "that look" again.
"What?" Harry asked.
Hermione didn't answer.
"Hermione!"
"Huh? Um, I was just thinking…" Hermione drifted into thought.
"Thinking about what?" Ron asked frowning.
Hermione stared at the floor silently and then looked up.
"It's nothing. Never mind," she said with a wave of her hand.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. Ginny scoffed and Cat grinned.
"What?" Hermione asked incredulously.
The boys shook their heads.
"I think we've known you long enough to tell when you're lying Hermione," said Ron.
Hermione fidgeted.
"Well…apparently you don't know me that well, Ronald."
Harry frowned. They aren't going to start at again, are they?
"Guys…it is not the time to argue. Okay?" Harry pointed out.
Hermione grunted and Ron dug his hands into his front pockets. Ginny suppressed a chuckle. Cat kept tapping her foot rapidly.
"I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Burst out Cat.
"And just what are you planning to do?" Hermione inquired.
"Something…anything," Cat said as she continued to tap her foot faster and faster. She cursed and walked away towards Moody.
"Hey!" Harry yelled. "Where are you going?"
Cat ignored him and kept on walking. The trio and Ginny looked over at Cat who was apparently trying to convince Moody to allow her to do something. Moody kept trying to get away from her; however, Cat was persistent and followed him to every corner he went along the room.
"NO BLACK!" Moody screamed. "How many times do I have to tell you? You're too young and it's too risky!"
Moody cleared his throat once and turned to Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny.
"Don't worry. You are perfectly safe here," as he said this he shot a look at Cat, who crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned.
She stomped her foot and uncrossed her arms.
"Moody if I could just…" Cat started.
"Merlin's Beard, Cat! I said NO!" Roared Moody. "Bloody Hell, child, you're worst than your father."
Moody cleared his throat.
"I got to go kids, stay put."
He walked out of the living room. Harry saw Hermione smiling. He didn't have to ask why. Harry was very aware that Hermione detested Cat and he was sure the feeling was mutual. Cat sighed and walked out of the room without saying a word. Ron turned to Harry.
"Persistent isn't she?" Ron stated.
"Well…at least she didn't get her way this time," said Hermione with a smirk. "I bet she's fuming."
The trio along with Ginny spent the rest of the day seeing people come in and out of the house. Tonks came once after lunch to tell Mrs. Weasley that Mr. Weasley had to stay at the Ministry to solve a case of regurgitating toilets.
"Must be the same guy as last year since the prisoners broke out and all," said Tonks.
She also announced that there was a recent sighting of Dementors near Devon and Shacklebolt was checking up on it along with the other Aurors. The dinner wasn't as happy as Harry was used to seeing it this summer. Bill and Charlie were down at the Ministry along with Mr. Weasley. The Twins had gone to check on their store at Diagon Alley and Lupin was locked up in his room. It would be a full moon tonight. So the trio ate along with Cat, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. Cat was extremely quiet and Ginny chatted contentedly with her mother. Hermione couldn't stop talking about how the Daily Prophet must be writing special articles about how to defend themselves from dementors and how the list of the escapees must have come out in the Daily Prophet also.
"The O.W.L. results should be arriving soon," said Hermione before placing a spoon of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
Harry just nodded and Ron turned pale. Hermione smiled.
"Oh, don't worry, Ron. I'm sure you did just fine."
"Yes, yes I did so well I probably got 3 O.W.L.S. if I'm lucky," groaned Ron. Hermione sucked her teeth.
"You know Ron, you could do just fine if you believed in yourself more, I mean…" Hermione continued to trail off.
Ron rolled his eyes and went on eating. He nodded here and there while Hermione kept on ranting. Harry smiled. He was stuffed. Harry couldn't eat any more if he wanted to. He was sleepy and excused himself from the table. Harry walked upstairs and threw himself on the bed. He soon fell asleep.
