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Unwelcome Visitors At Hogsmeade
Harry was relieved when weekend finally arrived. The week had been a particularly difficult one. Harry, Ron and Hermione were extremely edgy. They had been scanning the Daily Prophet daily for news on the Death Eaters' attack on the Browns, or any mention that hinted at the return of Voldemort. But there were none. In fact, the only bad news reported in the Daily Prophet that week was of a Mrs Hickory losing her broomstick.
They were unable to get much information out of the professors either. Professor Dumbledore was hardly around in the school these days and Professor McGonagall was tight-lipped as always. The only professor who might fill their information gap was April, but she had been distancing herself from them lately.
The more Harry thought of his earlier conversation with Dobby, the more he was certain that the house-elf's warning should be heeded. "I'll write a letter to Snuffles. He'll tell me what's going on," Harry said grimly.
Hermione was horrified. "You can't tell Snuffles what Dobby told you! Don't you remember what April said?"
Ron kept silent, looking uneasily at his best friend.
Harry was feeling increasingly frustrated that his friends were not siding with him this time. Ron and Hermione had been telling him at every opportunity that he should make peace with April over the past few days and there had been times when he was dangerously close to losing his temper. Again, Harry held back nasty retorts just in time. The last thing he wanted now was to get into an argument with his friends as well.
Harry grudgingly decided to give in. For the time being, anyway. "Alright. I'll just write to Snuffles about school," he said.
When Hermione raised an eyebrow in skepticism, Harry defended himself. "It has been sometime since I last wrote to Si...Snuffles. He'll start thinking that something is wrong if I don't write soon."
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione admitted. "I should trust you. It's just that…we can't be too careful. Like April said, this can implicate a number of people."
"You're right," Harry agreed reluctantly.
"This is getting too intense. I think we should give ourselves a break. It's lucky that we're going to Hogsmeade later," said Ron.
Harry and Hermione returned Ron's smile half-heartedly. They could really do with a break now.
*
Sirius Black was bored. He was tired of getting holed up in the Shrieking Shack and relying on Dumbledore and April for news on the outside world.
Restlessly, he got up from his bed, opened his cupboard, and took out a worn-out photo album from a drawer. He had borrowed this album from Remus a week ago.
Tears slowly welled up in Sirius' eyes as he turned the pages. There were pictures of the young Marauders and Lily beaming and winking at him on every page.
Sirius closed the album with an abrupt snap. Part of him longed to look at the pictures again, and reminisce about the past…the good old days of innocence, when they were four friends looking forward to bright futures ahead of them. Another part of him wanted to return the photo album to Remus and pray that his eyes will never see these pictures again. It was too painful…
Sirius shoved the album back into the drawer and closed the cupboard door. He had been repeating this action every single day over the past week. He could not bear to look at those pictures. Yet, at the same time, he could not bear returning them to Remus either. It gave him odd comfort to know that the pictures were with him in his bedroom. It was as though he was keeping a slice of the past close to him…a past with Prongs, Moony and yes, the scumbag Wormtail…a past where each day was spiced with pranks and daring adventures…a past of being Padfoot who was surrounded by friends and was content and complacent…Padfoot who had never lost his best friend…who was not betrayed by another… a Padfoot who had not spent almost half his life in Azkaban.
A quiet knock on his bedroom door brought Sirius back to the present.
Sirius opened the door to find Remus with Hedwig perched on his shoulders. He grabbed the parchment from Remus' hand and unrolled it immediately.
Dear Snuffles,
Sorry for not writing for such a long time. We'll be taking our O.W.Ls this year, and the teachers are dishing out tons of assignments everyday.
But I know this week will be better. We'll be having our first Hogsmeade visit of the term. I'm not sure how long it would take before you receive this letter. By the time you're reading this letter, we would probably be back at Hogwarts munching our purchases from Honeydukes.
Harry
Sirius grinned. He had found a much better way to spend the rest of his day.
"I was just wondering why Harry hasn't written recently," Sirius said as he handed the letter to Remus.
Remus read the note quickly and said thoughtfully, "I wonder why Harry did not deliver this letter through April. Hedwig was tapping on the window for a while before I removed the board and let her in."
"Who knows? Maybe he can't find that girl," Sirius replied happily, trying to hide the excited grin on his face.
*
"Cool! Check this out! Chocolate Clusters!" Ron said excitedly.
Harry grinned at his friend, as he piled some Chocolate Clusters into his hands.
Soon, Harry, Ron and Hermione were happily walking out of Honeydukes with their pockets filled to the brims with all sorts of sweets.
Their visit to Hogsmeade had been enjoyable. Harry's spirits were very much lifted as he wandered from shop to shop with his two friends. He had received a reply from Sirius just before he was leaving for Hogsmeade. Sirius' letter had been brief and it was clear from the untidy handwriting that it was scribbled in a hurry.
Harry,
Meet me at the same place at the same time during the event mentioned in your letter.
Snuffles
Harry was looking forward to spending a few precious minutes with Sirius.
*
At half past one, Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to start making their way to the stile at the end Hogsmeade to meet Sirius.
As they were making their way up the High Street, they were startled by Mad-Eye Moody's amplified voice that could be heard throughout Hogsmeade.
"ALL HOGWARTS STUDENTS ARE TO ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE THREE BROOMSTICKS NOW!" Moody's voice barked.
"Something must be up!" Hermione exclaimed, worried.
They immediately made their way back, and met a pair of very nervous fifth-year Ravenclaw prefects, Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, along the way.
"Do you know what's the matter?" Harry asked, running towards them.
"Professor Moody has given instructions for students to assemble in front of The Three Broomsticks," said Anthony nervously.
"We heard that," Ron said impatiently. "What we are asking is why!"
The two prefects exchanged terrified looks. Again, it was Anthony who replied, "I heard Professor Moody tell Professor Sprout that de…demen…those horrible creatures guarding the wizard prison are here in Hogsmeade."
"The professors will escort us back to Hogswarts," added Padma.
The three friends stood there with their mouths open in shock.
"Dementors." Hermione stated shakily.
"And they're in Hogsmeade," added Ron with fear in his voice.
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. They exchanged anxious nods and retraced their steps to the High Street, ignoring protests from the two Ravenclaws.
They had to warn Sirius. If the dementors get to him before they do, it might be time to say good-bye.
***
Lil Lupin / Audrey / Stiny Stan / Sunshine*girl-Hermione / Ms Padfoot / rara / Chunhyaeng: THANKS!!!
Ainsley Sloan: He's really gone and JKR is not going to bring him back. She said that in an interview. But maybe if we swarm her with requests, she'll change her mind…
Fire'N'Ice: More Sirius in this chapter! But I know you'll hate this cliffhanger…
Destructor-of-peace: You want to find out more? That's simple…review and I'll post sooner! LOL
