Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban Timeline
"I Hold the Moon"
ooo
"Your heart and my heart are very,
very old friends."
- Hafiz
HIPPOGRIFFS
After Transfiguration, Tristan, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the crowd to the Great Hall for lunch.
As Tristan piled food on his plate, eager to dive in, he felt Harry start to squirm anxiously beside him. He tried to ignore it at first, but when Harry was still squirming five minutes later he gave up trying and shot his friend an exasperated look. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing," Harry grumbled between bites.
Tristan didn't buy it. "C'mon, Potter, spill."
Harry seemed to debate with himself for a second before finally telling his friends what was on his mind. "It might not be the best time to say this, given Trelawney's death omen this morning and all that... but I sort of saw this massive black dog near the Dursleys the night I left..."
Ron dropped his fork with a clatter. Tristan halted with his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"It was probably a coincidence," Hermione said calmly.
"Right," Tristan immediately agreed. Of course it was, he thought. Had to be.
Ron, on the other hand, looked at them both as though they'd gone insane. "If Harry's seen a Grim, that's… that's really bad! My uncle Bilius saw one a-and he died twenty four hours later!"
"Coincidence," Hermione repeated while pouring herself some pumpkin juice.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron sputtered angrily.
"Yeah all right, mate, calm down," said Tristan, getting annoyed with the hysterics.
"Don't tell me to calm down! Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"
"There you have it — they see the Grim and die of fright," Hermione explained in a superior, know-it-all manner. "The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death. And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think — right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"
Tristan snorted, nearly spilling juice out of his nose. Hermione shot him a mildly disgusted look as she grabbed her bag to take out her new Arithmancy book, all the while ignoring Ron, who was mouthing wordlessly at her.
"I think Divination seems very woolly," she said conversationally, flipping through the book in search of her page. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."
Ron's face turned crimson. "There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!"
"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep."
"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!"
That last jab made Tristan wince. "You really shouldn't have said that…"
Hermione slammed her book shut so hard, bits of meat and carrots flew everywhere. "If being good at Divination means I must pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!"
She pinned Ron down with one last seething glare, then snatched up her things and marched out of the Great Hall.
"Now you've done it, haven't you?" Tristan pushed his plate away and picked his bag off the floor too.
"How's this my fault?" Ron shot back indignantly, looking at him with a scowl. "And where the hell are you going?"
"To tame the beast, obviously!"
Tristan jogged out of the hall to catch Hermione, who was already halfway across the entrance courtyard. For someone so small, she really covered a lot of ground fast.
"Why are you letting him get to you?" he asked as he fell into step with her. "You know Ron's always running his mouth."
"But he's right, isn't he?" Hermione hugged her Arithmancy book close to her chest. "I am bad at it, and I really can't stand it."
"You can't be perfect all the time, it's not fair on us mortals," Tristan joked.
She huffed a little. "That doesn't mean I can't try."
"You wouldn't be Hermione Granger if you didn't," he replied cheerfully, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Seriously, though, you heard McGonagall — Divination's a meaningless branch of magic. Ron's just spooked, he'll get over it."
"He's still an insensitive jerk."
"Can't argue with you there."
Harry and Ron caught up to them a few minutes later and together they headed down the familiar path to Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Dark Forest for their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Hermione walked beside Tristan without acknowledging Ron the whole way. On the other side of Harry, Ron did the exact same thing. It was nothing new. Tristan and Harry were used to their spats.
Tristan cursed inwardly when he noticed Malfoy and his goons up ahead. Brilliant, he thought dryly. The one class he was most excited about and they had to have it with Slytherin. Just his luck.
Standing at the door of his hut, with Fang at his heels, Hagrid was waiting impatiently for his students to arrive. "C'mon now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
They trailed after him as he led them around the edge of the Forbidden Forest and further down the lawns until they were outside a kind of paddock.
"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" They all rushed to comply to Hagrid's instructions, scattering around the fence in small groups. "That's it — make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books—"
"How are we supposed to open these things?" Draco cut Hagrid off in a cold drawl, pulling out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with rope.
Others pulled out their books too. Everyone seemed to have found some way to forcefully keep their book subdued, even Harry had tied his with a belt. Tristan glanced at his own book that was gurgling deeply but unbound.
"Hasn'… hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid glanced around, looking crestfallen.
Tristan raised his hand. "I did!"
Hagrid cheered up a bit at that. "'Course yeh did, Tristan! Can yeh show everyone how it's done?"
"You just have to stroke them. Like this—" Tristan flipped his book around and brushed his fingers down its spine. The book shivered, then fell open and stayed quietly in his hands. "They're a bit feisty, but it's easy to calm them down once you've figured out the trick."
"Oh, it's easy, is it?" Malfoy glared darkly at him. "Maybe for a freak like you. But how would the rest of us have guessed we were supposed to stroke these monstrosities?"
"Monstrosities?" Hagrid repeated uncertainly. "I — I thought they were funny..."
"Yes, tremendously funny! Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry hissed at him.
"Just ignore him," Tristan told Hagrid quietly. "I thought they were funny too."
"Righ' then." Gathering himself, Hagrid cleared his throat, "So yeh've got yer books an' — an' now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…" He walked away and into the forest.
As soon as Hagrid was out of sight, Malfoy continued his tirade, "God, this place is going to the dogs. That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him."
"Just shut up, Malfoy," Harry hissed again.
Malfoy sneered arrogantly, "Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you!"
Tristan took a threatening step forward. "I'll show you a dementor—"
Lavender's squeal cut him off. She was pointing to the opposite side of the paddock where about a dozen creatures were trotting toward them. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of giant eagles, with steel-coloured beaks and large orange eyes. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain.
Everyone drew back from the paddock as Hagrid secured the chains to the fence. Tristan, of course, couldn't resist moving closer. "Woah," he awed. "Hippogriffs!"
"Righ' yeh are, Tristan!" Hagrid roared happily while waving a giant hand at the creatures. "Beautiful, aren' they?"
Beautiful didn't seem to do the creatures justice in Tristan's opinion. Their coats gleamed prettily under the pale sun, changing smoothly from feather to hair, all of different colours: stormy grey, warm bronze, pinkish roan, rich chestnut and inky black. Tristan had read plenty of books about hippogriffs; he almost couldn't believe he was actually seeing not one but several of them.
"So, then!" Hagrid rubbed his hands together with a bright grin. "If yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"
No one seemed to want to except Tristan, who was already as close to the fence as he dared to. Cautiously, Harry, Ron and Hermione came to join him.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," Hagrid explained. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cos it might be the last thing yeh do. Yeh always wait for the hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cos those talons hurt."
The hippogriffs were tossing back their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings. Tristan's cheeks ached from how broad his smile was. He got to work with real hippogriffs, how incredibly wicked was that? Wait until I tell Nora about this, he thought excitedly.
As though it could sense his excitement, one of the beasts locked eyes with him. Tristan felt a familiar stirring in the back of his mind as the hippogriff blinked its huge, orange eyes and crooned quietly, ruffling its bronze feathers.
"… I'll do it."
He looked away in time to see Harry climb over the paddock fence. Further back, he could hear their classmates whispering about Harry's death omen and rolled his eyes. "Oh, give it a rest already, will you?" he snapped at Parvati and Lavender when they wouldn't stop gossiping. They both glared at him indignantly.
Hagrid untied the restraints of a grey hippogriff, tugged it away from its companions and slipped off its leather collar. The whole class held their breath as Hagrid guided Harry into what to do to earn the hippogriff's favour. At first, when Harry bowed, it didn't seem as though he would be getting it. But then, Buckbeak bent his scaly front legs and bowed back.
"Well done, Harry!" cried Hagrid, ecstatic. "Yeh can touch him now! Pat his beak, go on!"
Hesitantly, Harry reached out and patted the hippogriff's beak, smiling when Buckbeak closed his eyes, obviously enjoying the attention. A great sense of excitement and wonder bloomed inside Tristan's chest as he watched his friend climb onto Buckbeak's back, and then take off with it. He could tell Harry wasn't quite as sure as Hagrid about the whole thing, but he held on impressively as they flew around the paddock once before landing back on the ground.
Everyone broke into applause, all but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Those three were looking deeply disappointed the hippogriff hadn't attacked Harry.
"Good work, Harry!" Hagrid roared over the loud cheering of the class. "Okay, who else wants to go?"
"Don't need to ask me twice!"
Hagrid had barely loosened the restraints on the other hippogriffs and Tristan was already bolting over the fence to find the bronze hippogriff that had locked eyes with him before. He bowed. The hippogriff bowed back and trotted over to nudge him lightly in the head with a friendly noise.
"Such a good girl," Tristan crooned lovingly, stroking her neck, feeling the softness of her feathers under his fingers.
Hermione came up to his side. "How do you know it's a girl?"
"She told me. Her name's Bronzequill. C'mere—" He grabbed Hermione's hand and placed it on the hippogriff's beak. Her eyes widened with wonder.
"You can talk to them?" she asked excitedly, brushing her fingers down the hippogriff's beak. "Like you did with Fluffy?"
Fluffy was the three-headed dog that was guarding the sorcerer's stone during their first year in Hogwarts. When they decided to sneak past the dangerous dog so they could find the stone and protect it themselves, Harry, Ron and Hermione had screamed their heads off until they realised Tristan was petting the large beast as though it was a harmless little puppy.
"Sort of," Tristan said with a smile. "It's different, but yeah, more or less like Fluffy."
She smiled back at him, "That's really interesting—"
A sudden angry caw followed by a high-pitched shriek had Tristan and Hermione nearly jumping out of their skin. When they went to check what was going on, Tristan couldn't help but to scoff. Malfoy was curled into a ball in the grass. There was a long and deep gash on his arm that was bleeding heavily, pouring blood all over his robes.
"I'm dying! I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"
"Yer not dyin'!" argued a very frantic and pale Hagrid while wrestling Buckbeak back in his collar. "Someone help me...! Gotta get him outta here!"
Hermione raced ahead to hold open the gate while Hagrid picked Malfoy up. As fast as his massive legs could take them, Hagrid carried the Slytherin boy up the slope toward the castle. The class followed after them. Tristan was about to as well when Bronzequill nudged him again.
"Don't worry, girl." He returned the gesture by giving her neck an affectionate pat. "I'll come visit some other day."
Bronzequill tilted her head to the side, cooing.
Tristan nodded with a chuckle, "Yeah, it's a promise."
The rest of Nora's day went by uneventfully. Seventh years were only required to sit through classes according to NEWT's they decided to take and as such they had several free periods in order to study and practice. Other than Defence Against the Dark Arts, Nora had decided to take Herbology, Care for Magical Creatures, Potions, Charms and Transfiguration. It was heavy workload, considering she would need to study the entire curriculum from first to last year for each class. She'd wanted to take Ancient Runes as well, if only because it was taught by Professor Babbling who she thought was brilliant, but in the end decided against the idea. Five NEWT's were enough challenge.
Liam was in all of Nora's classes, but Emma, not overly fond of scary-looking beasts, had chosen not to pursue Care of Magical Creatures and had also dropped Potions due to her lack of talent for potion-making. Unlike them, Julia had a much lighter coursework as she wasn't very concerned about which NEWT's to take or even her grades since she planned on playing professionally after graduating.
Once they were done with last period, the four of them met up on the way to the Great Hall. Nora was starving, her belly wouldn't stop growling viciously. She was in the middle of trying to decide what she was going to eat at the feast when she heard someone call out her name. Turning around, she found her brother and company sprinting down the corridor, all looking awfully distraught.
"What's the matter?" Nora demanded worriedly.
"M-Malfoy…" Tristan paused, trying to catch his breath. "Malfoy was attacked by a hippogriff in Hagrid's class this afternoon!"
"What?!" Nora and her friends all exclaimed at the same time.
Hermione, Harry and Ron nodded their heads furiously.
"What do you mean Malfoy was attacked? Hippogriffs don't simply decide to attack people out of nowhere, they're very noble and friendly creatures. He had to have done something to make him angry," Nora said with a frown.
Harry made a face. "He called him an ugly brute."
"Oh of course he did." Nora clicked her tongue in annoyance. She should've guessed. Hippogriffs were incredibly picky about etiquette and good manners. Without a proper greeting they wouldn't let anyone by them. If Malfoy had insulted one to his face, no wonder he got attacked.
"Serves the prick well if you ask me," Liam muttered not so inconspicuously. Nora swatted him in the arm when Tristan snickered, but he just shrugged. "What?"
She rolled her eyes and ignored him. "How bad's the injury?"
"Dunno," Tristan said dismally. "Hagrid took him to the hospital wing straight away."
"I don't think it was that bad…" Hermione trailed off uncertainly.
"There was a lot of blood, though," Ron added with a frown.
"And on his first day too…" Julia sighed, shaking her head. "Poor Hagrid… he must be taking it pretty hard."
"With good reason," said Emma. "It doesn't look good, does it? I mean, one of his younger students was attacked by a dangerous beast on his watch. The Ministry's going to lose it once they get word of this."
"A hippogriff is not a dangerous beast," Nora argued firmly. She couldn't stand it when animals were blamed for the actions of humans. "Hagrid is a skilled handler of magical creatures, it's not his fault if some students don't listen. He shouldn't be punished for their stupidity."
"That's not how the Ministry will see it, is it?" Emma tossed back, not unkindly, but more like she was stating a fact.
Hermione twisted her hands nervously. "You don't think they would fire him, do you?"
Nora hesitated. Although she knew Dumbledore wouldn't fire Hagrid, there was no telling what might happen if Malfoy's father was called in. But she decided against telling Hermione that and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Don't worry, love. I'm sure everything will work out for the best."
"We were thinking of checking on him later. Wanna come?" Tristan asked hopefully, pleading blue eyes sparkling like sapphires. Nora chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"All right. After the feast, then."
They talked for a bit longer before following the crowd of students into the Great Hall.
A shadow fell over her plate as soon as Nora sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Looking up, she found Percy staring down at her from his nose. Percy had a long, slim face, splattered with freckles. His ears were slightly too big and his eyes a tad too close. He wasn't handsome, though he wasn't ugly either. For the most part he was a plain-looking young man who carried himself far too arrogantly and far too pretentiously, always puffing his chest out to better show off his golden badge.
"I trust you're feeling better, Cavanaugh," he said in business-like manner. "Will you be doing your rounds tonight?"
Nora smiled placidly, "I am, Percy, thank you, and yes, I'll be doing my rounds."
"Excellent. I actually have a few things to go over with you, but perhaps it's best we talk during the next Prefects meeting." Percy eyed the twins as though they were spies and he was about to disclose an important state secret. Nora had to swallow the urge to laugh.
"Can't wait," she told him.
Once he was gone, Emma made an annoyed noise through her nose. "Merlin, he must think himself the king of England now, mustn't he? The cocky bastard. Dunno how you manage to put up with him."
Nora shrugged as she began to load her plate. "He's not so bad."
"No reason to play nice when it's just us," Liam said, elbowing her playfully. "He's insufferable, admit it."
"You're insufferable," she teased through a mouthful of roasted potatoes.
He gasped dramatically, hand coming to his heart, "How dare you after I, so chivalrously, offered to do your rounds for you yesterday."
"No one asked you to, did they?"
"Ungrateful wench."
"Smug scoundrel."
Emma laughed loudly, "Where do you two come up with these insults?"
Much later that evening, after everyone had retired to their respective common rooms, Nora parted with the twins and met up with Tristan and the others at the bottom of the staircase. Then they all headed out.
She smiled, thinking about the familiar situation she was once again in. Ever since her brother started hanging out with Harry, sneaking around after hours and breaking school rules had turned into a big part of her life as she tried her best to help them out whenever they came to her. More than once Ron had declared her an honorary member of the group. Nora was extremely flattered by it.
When they got to Hagrid's small hut, they knocked and waited.
"C'min!"
Hagrid was sitting at the scrubbed wooden table with Fang's head on his lap. Nora could immediately tell he'd been drinking by the strong stench of alcohol in the room. He had a pewter tankard as big as a bucket set in front of him. His eyes were glazed and red-rimmed when he faced them.
"'Spect it's a record," he drawled thickly. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted only a day before."
"Come now, Hagrid, no one's fired you yet," Nora said gently, grabbing the tankard and going to empty it in the sink before he could have any more.
"No, not yet," Hagrid wailed miserably, clenching and unclenching his meaty hands over the table in sheer helplessness. "But's only a matter o' time, innit, after Malfoy…"
One unspoken look passed between Tristan, Harry, Ron and Hermione, and then they all gathered around the weeping giant. Nora stood behind her brother's chair, leaning against the counter, arms crossed over her chest.
"How is he? It wasn't serious, was it?" Ron prompted gently.
Hagrid sniffed a little. "Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could, but he's sayin' it's still agony… covered in bandages… moanin'…"
Tristan and Harry scoffed in unison.
"He's faking it," said Harry. "Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it all it's worth."
"Yeah," Tristan nodded. "This is Malfoy we're talking about. The git loves attention!"
"School gov'nors have bin told o' course," Hagrid continued as though he hadn't heard either of them. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs fer later… done flobberworms or summat… Jus' thought it'd make a good first lesson… is all my fault…"
Nora tried to reason with him, "Nonsense, Hagrid. Why would any of it be your fault? Didn't you tell everyone to be polite? Didn't you warn them how dangerous it would be to insult a hippogriff? Malfoy decided to ignore your warnings, now he must face the consequences. It was one stroke of bad luck, happens to the best."
Hermione was nodding her head fervently. "That's right, Hagrid, you did everything an experienced teacher would do! It was just bad luck!
"We're all witnesses, we'll tell Dumbledore what really happened," Harry added just as eagerly.
"Yeah, Hagrid!" Ron smiled in a valorous attempt to comfort the giant. "We'll back you, don't worry."
Tears had started leaking from Hagrid's eyes. Nora could see that he was deeply moved by their unconditional support. Smiling softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he responded by leaning his large head against her shoulder.
"Don't despair, Hagrid. You're not alone. We're all here for you, for better or worse." He nodded with another sniffle. After another minute, she pulled away and patted him on his back. "Now, why don't you go and wash your face? Cold water will sober you right up."
Hagrid took Nora's advice to heart. Rather unsteadily, he hefted himself off his chair and staggered outside. Seconds later they heard a splash.
Harry glanced at the door worriedly. "Think he'll be fine?"
"I'm sure he will," Nora told him, dropping a kiss on the crown of his head that turned his cheeks pink.
Hagrid's hair and scruffy beard were dripping wet when he returned. He wiped water from his eyes, shaking his head like a dog and splashing them in the process. "That's better. Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really—" He cut himself off abruptly, staring at Harry as though just now realising he was there. "WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH? YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY!"
His thunderous voice seem to shake the foundations of the small hut. They all jumped with the scare. Harry's eyes were wide as saucers, and even Nora shrunk a little when Hagrid's furious gaze fell on her next.
"AN' YEH, NORA...! YEH'RE THE HEAD GIRL! YEH SHOULD KNOW BETTER! TAKE THEM BACK RIGH' NOW, LASS!"
"At least I didn't let them come alone," Nora rebutted after the initial shock had passed. "Come on, you lot. Let's head back."
"AN' DON' LET ME CATCH YEH OUT AT NIGHT AGAIN!" Hagrid thundered out after them.
They only slowed down once they were finally in the courtyard. The night was crisp and cold so they slipped inside the castle and sought shelter under the warmth of a torch. Nora shook her head, still trying to make sense of Hagrid's outburst.
"What in Merlin's name was that about? Since when does he care what time we stop by for a visit?" There was a suspicious pause. She caught Tristan's enigmatic look toward Harry and squinted her eyes. "Spill, Tristan Alexander. And you too, Harry — right now."
"Well…" Harry rubbed the back of his neck, shuffling his feet. "It would seem Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban to come after me… I found out just before boarding the train..."
"Sirius Black?" Nora echoed, voice rising an octave. She pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long, exasperated breath. "Honestly, why am I even surprised? Never a dull year with you, Harry." He had the decency to look sheepish. "Is that why the Ministry sent dementors to Hogwarts? To protect you because they're certain he's coming here?"
"I suppose..."
"Great," she sighed again. "Then Hagrid was right, you should not be walking around after hours. It's far too dangerous."
"But you were with us the whole time," Tristan insisted stubbornly.
"I'm sure you could've handled Black if he'd shown up," Ron said with much conviction.
Nora was both touched and amused by their blind faith in her. "That's all very flattering, but I'm not entirely sure I'd like to take the chance and find out. You should all try to stay indoors after dark from now on. And most importantly, please don't go looking for trouble."
"We never go looking for trouble," Harry replied quickly.
"Evidence would argue otherwise," Nora teased.
"You're right," said Hermione, ever the most coolheaded and rational of the group. "But I promise we'll be careful. We don't want anything to happen to Harry either."
"I'm holding you to that!"
Tristan groaned, "Don't get all grown up on us now! You're supposed to be part of the group, remember? It's too late to back out, you're far too deep in already."
Nora could only blurt a laugh because the little devil did have a point. Maybe there was a bit of Gryffindor inside of her too, she thought with a smile.
To ensure they went straight to Gryffindor Tower without any deviations, Nora escorted them all the way back, knowing by heart which hallways and which passages to take to avoid crossing paths with Filch or any of the teachers on patrol duty. She might've been Head Girl, but if Tristan, Harry, Ron and Hermione were caught out of bed after curfew, even accompanied by her, they would definitely get themselves a week's detention, at the very least.
It was almost midnight when she finished her rounds and fell into bed, exhaustion weighting heavily on her mind and body. But as much as she needed sleep, Nora was terrified of closing her eyes. She knew all too well what awaited her once she did. Flashes of green light and blood-curling screams... Horrible things she was better off not remembering. Tossing and turning for the better part of an hour, she finally gave up with a huff. She sat up against the headboard and looked over to the bed on her left hoping Emma might still be awake. No such luck; she was out like a light, as were her other roommates. Not even Ophelia seemed to be around.
A glass of milk might help sooth her spirit, Nora decided, throwing on a robe over her nightgown before quietly slipping out of the room.
The castle had gotten significantly darker. Most torches were out, only the very bare minimum still burning. Again, her knowledge of the castle proved useful as she easily reached the entrance to the kitchens. It was just beneath the Great Hall, in a basement-like corridor decorated with food-themed paintings. The largest of them depicted an ostentatious fruit bowl. She tickled the pear on it and the pear released a giggle, morphing into a large green doorknob.
The kitchens lied behind the painting. Much like the Great Hall, it was a greatly spacious area with a high ceiling and stone-flagged floors. Walls were covered with countless pots and pans, all of which shiny and immaculate. There was a large brick fireplace and set in front of it four long wooden tables. Usually, over a hundred house-elves could be found bustling around the room, cooking, cleaning or scrubbing pots and plates, however they had all retired for the evening, proof of how late it really was. Nora had expected this already since she was used to stopping by in the middle of the night. What she didn't expect was someone else to have had the same idea as her.
Sitting at the table closest to the fireplace, Professor Lupin was staring at a steaming mug cradled between his hands with a tired, pensive frown. His head came up when she walked in and he immediately spotted her, frozen in the doorway. His frown eased into an amused smile.
"We seem to keep bumping into each other, Miss Cavanaugh."
Nora managed a nervous laugh, venturing closer to him and the fire, rubbing her arms to create heat.
"May I?" Lupin gestured as if to say "go ahead", so she pulled out the chair in front of him and took a seat. Whatever he was drinking smelled something heaven, it made her mouth water. "I hope you don't report me for being out of bed so late."
"Don't worry, your secret's quite safe with me," he said with a hint of playfulness. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Something like that," was Nora's vague answer. "What about you, professor?"
"My first night in a strange room's always complicated, takes me a while to get used to." Lupin drummed his fingers on the side of his mug. "Hot chocolate helps me sleep better. There's still plenty left, do you want me to pour some for you?"
She didn't even think twice. "Yes, please!"
Lupin waved his hand toward the counter. At once, one of the top cabinets opened and out came another mug, which was then filled by the lone pot that sat on the stove before flying over to Nora, who was very impressed by the display of wandless non-verbal magic. She brought the mug for a sip, closed her eyes in pleasure when the thick, rich liquid met her tongue. She loved hot chocolate.
"Good, right?" Lupin chuckled. "I may not be much of a cook, but I do make a great cup of hot chocolate."
Nora hid a smile behind her mug. "Could that be because you've had a lot of practice making it for yourself?"
"I confess to nothing," he quipped good-naturedly. "How's your brother? I heard there was an accident in his class earlier, I hope he wasn't hurt."
"He's fine, it was Malfoy who got hurt, though I'm not too worried about him to be honest. Malfoy has a bit of a theatrical streak." Nora couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. Just thinking about Malfoy annoyed her. "Hagrid's the real worry. He might be taking the blame for something he shouldn't have to."
Professor Lupin hummed in agreement, "That is worrisome... I'm afraid the Malfoys aren't very reasonable people."
"Have you met them?"
"Our paths have crossed on a few occasions." Not pleasant occasions, Nora thought when Lupin's face darkened grimly. Shaking his head, he finished his beverage, then set aside the empty mug. "But I'm sure Hagrid'll be fine. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to such a loyal and dedicated member of this school."
Nora sighed tiredly, "I hope so..."
Lupin studied her for a moment, eyes flickering back and forth across her face in a way that made her stomach twist anxiously. "You look very familiar, Miss Cavanaugh."
"Oh." She tucked a curl shyly behind her ear. "Well, maybe I remind you of someone."
There were times when Nora thought he looked a bit familiar too, like this morning in class, but she would've remembered if they'd met before. There's no way she could've forgotten someone like him.
They chatted for a little longer while she finished her hot chocolate and afterwards Professor Lupin insisted on walking her back to the Ravenclaw common room. The trip was quiet as even their footsteps sounded twice as loud in the dead of silence and they didn't want to rouse any of the sleeping portraits. Still, it felt comfortable, peaceful. At the door, he wished her goodnight with one of his charming smiles. She waited until he disappeared around the corner before going back in.
That night, when Nora finally closed her eyes and slept, instead of nightmares she dreamed of hot chocolate and profound green eyes.
