In this chapter, Mary will go to the Leaky Cauldron.
She'll be staying there for a while.
It'd be a pretty good place to meet with her friends.
Chapter 31: We've Sprung a Leak
The Knight Bus took Mary to the Leaky Cauldron.
There was hot chocolate available for the riders, but she questioned that decision given how bumpy the ride was. If she ended up burning herself, Aunt Marge might not be the only one who would be going to St. Mungo's.
There were also beds, but she imagined she would fall out of them.
It didn't take long for the Knight Bus to reach its destination.
At the Leaky Cauldron was Cornelius Fudge.
It was surprising seeing him in a place like this.
Though she had seen him at Hagrid's hut last year at Hogwarts.
"Hey, Fudge! I remember you! I'm glad you released Hagrid from Azkaban!" exclaimed Mary.
"I sure did." nodded Fudge.
Hagrid hugged him after that.
Speaking of which, Rubeus was currently at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Good to see you again! I hope I can get my aunt fixed…" noted Mary.
"No worries! We took care of that." assured Fudge.
Specifically, Bill Weasley did.
"Whew!" exclaimed the girl.
Her uncle Vernon was no doubt happy about that.
"She's completely deflated now." continued the minister.
Mary decided to ask Hagrid what he was up to this year.
"I'm going to be yer care fer magical creatures this year." explained Hagrid.
"Oh really?" asked the girl.
He nodded. He had lots of plans for the class.
Now that people knew he wasn't the wizard who opened up the Chamber of Secrets, people were a lot more welcoming towards him.
"You might want to use a book that doesn't have fangs." suggested Mary.
She didn't want Hagrid to get fired from his new job.
"In me defense, ye can tame them if ye stroke their spine…" explained Hagrid.
"I didn't know that…" answered the girl.
He might have wanted to include that in a note.
Mary decided to watch what was on the magic mirror.
It seemed it was the wizard equivalent of a TV. Dudley would love these if he were a wizard.
It had mostly the same information about Sirius Black.
But it had some information she hadn't heard before.
"Sirius Black was responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter." said the newscaster.
"Wait…Sirius Black killed my parents? I thought Voldemort did!" exclaimed Mary.
The people at the Leaky Cauldron gasped.
"Sorry, I shouldn't say his name out loud." noted the girl who lived.
"Well, they both killed them." explained Hagrid.
"I'm a bit confused…" said Mary.
Up until now, she thought Voldemort was the only one responsible.
But now it seemed that there was a second person involved as well.
Rubeus sighed.
He was going to have to tell Mary about this sooner or later.
Now seemed like the best time.
"I could have told ye this before, but losing yer parents was hard enough as it was." noted Hagrid.
"I suppose I understand." nodded Mary.
"Yer parents caught early wind tha' You-Know-Who was coming after them. So they figured they should go into hiding." explained the half giant.
"I don't blame them." agreed the girl who lived.
Sometimes it was better to hide than to stay and fight. Even if her parents were Gryffindors.
"They decided tha' they would use the Fidelus Charm. As long as teh charm was active, finding teh Potters would be harder for You-Know-Who than findin' a needle in a haystack!" exclaimed Hagrid.
"That sounds pretty useful." noted Mary.
Perhaps she should consider using it if she was hunted by Death Eaters.
Though based on her parents' demise, the charm hadn't worked out.
"In order fer it teh work, however, ye need a secret keeper. James and Lily chose their friend Sirius Black teh be the Secret Keeper." explained Hagrid.
"And I take it he spilled the beans to Lord Voldemort?" asked Mary.
She couldn't imagine how her parents would have died otherwise.
"He sure did! Because of him, yer parents are dead! And ye could have died too! Not to mention those Muggles he killed. Perished in a huge explosion, they did…" exclaimed Hagrid.
"He sounds horrible." noted the girl.
Seems he really was an undercover Death Eater.
"I met him after I recovered ye from yer house. He asked me if he could have ye, since he was yer godfather. I told ye that it was Dumbledore's decision as teh where ye'd be going. He was upset, so I made teh worst mistake in me life…I comforted teh murderin' traitor!" exclaimed Hagrid.
"That must have been horribly painful." remarked Mary.
"Sure was! I'm glad I didn't part with yeh too…he would have snapped yer neck. And on tha' subject, he should have stayed in Azkaban, because once I see him, I'm going teh break every single bone in his body!" exclaimed Hagrid.
"Did you see him while he was in Azkaban? I imagine that would be pretty tantalizing, seeing him behind a cell." noted Mary. "Of course, I'm sorry you had to go there in the first place."
She wondered why Sirius didn't simply kill Hagrid so he could kidnap her, though she was happy that both Hagrid and herself were still alive. Although, people did say he was crazy.
"No, I did not. But Fudge has." answered Hagrid.
"For some strange reason, he seemed right as rain while he was in his cell. Everyone else needed tissues. But not Black. It was the most magical thing…and believe me, I've seen magical things." noted Fudge.
"Well, you are the Minister of Magic. But I agree with you. That is weird…" noted Mary.
"It didn't seem like the Dementors had sucked the joy out of him at all." remarked the man.
"Dementors?" asked the girl.
"They guard Azkaban. While in their presence, you can't experience happiness. Ever." noted Fudge.
"That's horrible." answered Mary. She wasn't sure how long even a cheerful person like her could last.
"I think I'm going to have to send them to make sure Sirius Black is found." said the minister. It would be best if Sirius was found as soon as possible.
Mary gulped.
No doubt the wizarding community was going to be unhappy about that. They had heard scary stories regarding the creatures. Stories that would keep them awake at night.
Hopefully the Dementors would find Sirius Black soon.
Otherwise Britain would be the most miserable country on Earth.
Dumbledore recommended that they not be sent to Hogwarts, since the students there had less control of their emotions than an adult would. They would be tempting for the Dementors to feast on.
"I'm afraid I have bad news. We have reason to suspect that Sirius Black is hunting you down." noted Fudge.
"He is? Well, I did end up killing You-Know-Who…" remarked Mary.
Perhaps he wished to avenge his master's death.
"It would be best if you stayed here for safety." said the man. Nobody wanted Sirius Black to have his revenge…other than Sirius Black himself.
Luckily, Fudge would pay for the expenses.
Before Mary stayed at the Leaky Cauldron, she decided she would apologize to her foster parents for all the trouble she accidentally caused.
Luckily, Fudge gave her some money to tip Stan with.
She had her wand, just in case Sirius Black showed up.
Mary wasn't sure if her mother's sacrifice would protect her from Sirius Black, however, even if it did work on Voldemort.
"I'm sorry I inflated Aunt Marge." apologized Mary.
"You're lucky that somebody came along to fix things." noted Vernon.
She couldn't exactly feed her bulldogs when she was a balloon.
Thankfully, his sister would not remember this.
"If you want you can tear up my permission slip." remarked Mary.
She would understand if he did.
The girl who lived held out the permission slip.
But much to her surprise, Petunia grabbed it instead.
She wrote her signature on it using a pen.
"You're singing the permission slip?!" exclaimed Vernon.
"Mary was on her best behavior all week…even though she dislikes your sister." noted Petunia.
"But she inflated your sister-in-law!" bellowed the man.
"My sister once caused a boy who was spying on her while she was dressing to sprout goat horns." pointed out Vernon's wife.
She was very sorry when it happened, much like Mary was sorry for what she had done in the present.
It actually made Petunia not feel envious of her sister in a change of pace. Perhaps being a witch wasn't all good. Though the good did seem to outweigh the bad based on what her parents thought.
He too had the accidental curse undone, however.
"I'm going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron until I go to Hogwarts. There's a madman after me." noted Mary.
It would be best if she stayed at an area that was more public.
Vernon was happy to hear that. He needed a break from Mary after what she had done.
Still, he appreciated her apologizing for her accidental use of magic.
If she wasn't a witch, he might actually consider having her work at his company.
He knew who was going to inherit his money though. His name started with a D.
Not long after Mary decided to stay at her Leaky Cauldron, Ron, Ginny and Neville decided to give her presents.
Neville gave her a Remembrall.
"I might as well give you one considering what you did for me in your first year." noted the Gryffindor boy.
Besides, she had saved his bacon last year.
"Thanks!" exclaimed Mary.
"Ribbit!" shouted Croaky.
"What's that? You want to take a look at the Remembrall? Sure, why not." answered the girl who lived.
Croaky gave the Remembrall a close look.
For some strange reason, it turned red when she looked at it.
Had she forgotten something?
She hoped it wasn't important.
Ron gave Mary a Sneakoscope.
She could use it if she found someone she thought was untrustworthy.
"Thanks!" exclaimed Mary.
She also got chocolate frogs…though she had to assure Croaky they weren't actual frogs.
"By the way, I heard Hermione got a new pet." notified Ron.
"She did? What is it?" asked the girl.
"I'm not sure." answered the ginger boy.
They found out when they went shopping the next day.
As it turned out, Hermione had bought…
"Oh no…" said Ron.
A cat.
"Meow!" exclaimed the cat.
"Like him? His name is Crookshanks!" asked Hermione.
"I don't think Scabbers does." noted Ron.
Scabbers whimpered.
Crookshanks hissed.
"I think he looks like Garfield." noted Mary.
Hermione chuckled.
"He sure does!"
"I don't think Crookshanks likes Scabbers." remarked Ron.
"He doesn't seem to mind Hedwig." noted Mary. Even though she was a bird.
Crookshanks waved at Hedwig with his paw.
"Who is Garfield anyway?" questioned the pureblooded boy.
Since he read wizard newspapers, he was not familiar with them.
"Maybe your dad can give you some Muggle newspapers." suggested Mary.
Draco Malfoy had gotten a pet as well.
His was a bat.
Mary realized his presence when her Sneakoscope went off.
"You got a bat? But that's the natural prey of an owl." noted the girl who lived.
"I might not have thought things through." remarked Draco.
Though in his defense, his bat enjoyed being with him. It would be a shame if his pet had to leave.
Luckily, Hedwig didn't seem interested in eating the flying mammal. Perhaps she didn't want Lucius Malfoy to sue Mary.
"I decided to name her after Salazar Slytherin!" exclaimed Draco.
"But she's a girl. You just said that." pointed out Mary.
"I found a way to make it work. I decided to call her Sally." said the blonde.
"While I don't appreciate you bullying my friends, I do think that was a good idea. But didn't Salazar almost get Hogwarts closed down?" asked Mary.
She found that decision questionable given all the trouble that he had caused. Who would want to leave a basilisk at Hogwarts, anyway?
"Maybe, but he's still one of the founders of Hogwarts." noted Draco.
"True." nodded Mary. "But if it weren't for Ginny and myself, Tom Riddle's Diary would have sent basilisks to schools all around the world!"
Draco Malfoy actually considered that to be horrifying. There had been a rumor that Lucius Malfoy had been involved in the attacks last year, but he doubted that he would go that far.
"I suppose I owe you one, though I hate to admit it. Don't expect me to go easy on you this year at Quidditch though." noted Draco.
"I wouldn't want you to do that anyway." answered Mary.
That would make the game too easy, especially given how crucial a seeker was.
Unsurprisingly, the manager of Flourish and Blotts was unhappy about stocking the Monster Book of Monsters. Why did Hagrid want these for his class again?
They all seemed to want to fight each other.
"I don't think you all want to fight." questioned Mary.
The monster books wondered why that is.
"If you keep fighting, My Immortal might join in." warned the girl.
The monstrous books agreed to stop fighting after hearing that.
"Thank you!" exclaimed the manager.
"You're welcome!" answered Mary.
As thanks, the manager gave her a discount for her books.
"I'm sorry that there's a maniac after you." sympathized Neville as Mary left the store.
First Lord Voldemort, and now his deranged supporter.
"If it makes you feel better, he's being hunted like a dog." remarked Mary.
Perhaps her third year would be nice…
…however, the threat of dementors was looming over her head.
And a deranged serial killer too.
Was everyone going to be alright?
She could only hope.
I hope you liked this chapter.
You're probably not going to like the Dementors though.
And yes, Mary will be going to Hogsmeade.
She got her permission slip signed.
This is one of the deviations I made from canon.
She might not be going there for too long, however.
She's being hunted down.