Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay. I tried to do my best to keep up with NaNoWriMo and I planned on posting another chapter last weekend, but I've been sick since Thanksgiving. I was so worn down that I didn't even feel like reading *gasp* I know! But I've been feeling better the past few days and I'm gonna power through this chapter to give you something else to enjoy besides the upcoming weekend :)
Thank you SO much for the follows and favorites! 261 follows! That's CRAZY! :D
Thanks to Evelanda, haleygur7, GraceMonroe, and Ivgotmadskills for the reviews! My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard from each of your reviews, thank you so much! :D
Also, I read recently that words ending in "s" should still have another "s" after an apostrophe, so I'll be writing Sirius's and Severus's from now on.
Chapter 18
Over the course of the following week, Professor McGonagall received the four remaining responses to her inquiries pertaining to alternate worlds and Ava's precarious situation. One by one, the letters arrived, increasingly dousing all hope Avalynn had of ever returning to her own reality. Although the young witch continued to attend her classes, tutoring sessions, and meals in the Great Hall, everyone could tell that she was withdrawn. Each time that someone daringly asked her what was wrong, she resolutely ignored the question and changed the subject. It seemed that Ava was unwilling to accept the truth, thus shrouding herself in denial. The joyful, inquisitive, determined girl appeared as an entirely other person to the Gryffindors, Severus, Regulus, her Aunt Minerva, and even Kingsley. Of course, she diligently continued to learn magic, but she was no longer enthusiastic. Ava knew that she was going through the motions of her days mechanically, distancing herself from her mentors and friends, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She was numb. Faced with the truth of her situation proved to be too much for the girl to handle.
Ava absentmindedly packed up her belongings at the end of Astronomy class, and walked to the library in a practiced mental silence. Even though the boys had helped her charm a small notebook, Ava had yet to write a single word of information on its pages. In the back of her mind, the witch knew that she should be organizing everything that she could recall about the Wizarding World, but the fact that it was only late October of 1977 comforted her and enabled her procrastination. Ava knew that the chances of her returning home had been slim, but she had still been desperately clinging to a tiny sliver of hope. Yeah, being able to do magic was wonderful, but she couldn't imagine never seeing her family or friends again. Or Moose. My poor puppy, she thought briefly, causing tears to form in her eyes. Ava shook her head to dispel those thoughts and began to mentally run through her list of homework as she headed towards her study table with Severus.
The Slytherin joined her just a few minutes after she had settled down, and instructed her to review all of the material from first-year Potions. Even though Avalynn's emotional state had suffered this past week, she managed to successfully brew the potions expected of first-years, proving to Severus that she was ready to take the first-year exam. As she looked over her notes, Ava could feel Severus's eyes boring into her. Out of everyone, she assumed that he would be the last person to ask about her feelings and she silently hoped it stayed that way.
"Muffliato," Severus whispered, causing Ava to flick her head up at him. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. "Look, McGonagall. Ava. You're obviously going through something." Ava could feel her face contort in anger. "Calm down. It's obvious that you don't want to talk about it, but you don't seem to be handling whatever is going on very well." Ava's face softened at the idea that Severus might actually be worried about her. Maybe I should tell him. However, his next words dashed that thought. "You need to be at your best if you still intend on ridding the world of the Dark Lord."
Of course, she scolded herself. Ava looked down to her parchment full of notes, not wanting Severus to see her wet eyes. God! Get it together Avalynn! They're all counting on you.
She tried to discreetly wipe her eyes before glancing back up at Severus. The wizard's dark eyes narrowed, but he continued speaking. "There are some…meditation techniques that could help you calm your thoughts and organize them in a way that won't be distracting."
"Occlumency?" Ava asked without any intonation in her voice.
Severus looked surprised but nodded. "I'll bring you a book that will help when we meet up tomorrow for the experimental potion." He frowned and muttered, "Our fourth attempt."
Not willing to expend the energy on reassuring the future Potions Master, Ava merely shrugged. Their third attempt proved to last about half of a day, requiring Ava to only consume it twice a day. However, even though she wasn't taking in any more high levels of toxic ingredients, she would still get dizzy spells and random bursts of time when her hands would shake uncontrollably. Ava mentally sighed, recalling that neither Severus nor Madame Pomfrey were able to give her a real answer as to whether or not those lingering side effects would ever go away.
With determination in his voice, Severus said, "I will create a potion that will last you all day, if not a couple of days. I have a theory about a longer preparation process for the plant ingredients involved in the potion, so tonight I plan to work on those. After I let them soak overnight in a concoction of my own making, we'll be able to use them for the fourth test potion."
Ava gave him a nod of acknowledgment, then returned to reviewing her first-year Potions notes.
Unseen by the witch, Severus's eyes flicked over her face, making note of the dark circles under her eyes. Without his consent, the wizard's expression showed concern for the girl in front of him. But what was he to do when she was so unwilling to share her burdens?
A few hours later, Avalynn was dueling Sirius in the Room of Requirement, cashing in on his offer to train with her. After the Animagus was able to get over his initial shock at not knowing about the transformative room, he finally followed Ava through the door only to be shocked once more by its contents. The witch was pleasantly surprised by the massive dueling mat that spanned the distance of the room and the target dummies that were lined up against the back wall. But when Sirius wouldn't quit bemoaning the fact that he was only discovering the room in his last year at Hogwarts, Ava sent a Stinging Hex his way, eliciting a yelp and subsequent glare from the wizard as he rubbed his backside.
Throughout their spell-casting, it became more apparent to Sirius that Ava was in some sort of mood. Granted, she had been in a mood all week, but this was something else. The witch seemed to be casting as fast and hard as she could with her offensive spells, but lacked the same enthusiasm for any defensive spells. At first, Sirius was in awe of Ava being able to brush off the spells that managed to land on her, but the longer it continued to happen, the more it confused the Animagus. It's like she doesn't care if one of my spells hits her, he thought with a frown. After deflecting a Tripping Jinx, he fired a Slicing Hex at Ava before ducking and rolling—he had learned rather quickly that Ava liked to move around a lot during a duel.
Hearing a gasp of pain, Sirius immediately lowered his wand and began walking towards Ava. "You alright?" he called, seeing her clutch at her shoulder with a grimace.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going," she shouted back. Ava dropped her hands and rolled her shoulders, wincing from her wound.
Sirius had stopped walking at her demand, but sniffed the air discreetly. He couldn't see the damage that his spell had done, but he could definitely smell the blood from across the room, which was concerning. "Hey, let's take a break and patch you up first. We can keep going after." He began to walk towards Ava again when his eyes widened as a Stinging Hex was sent his way. He quickly cast a shield and yelled, "Oi! What was that for?"
"I said that I was fine," Ava grounded out around clenched teeth. She then cast red sparks with a follow-up of Flipendo, forcing Sirius to defend himself.
"What is your problem, Ava?!" Sirius shouted as he flew around the room, dodging spells as he went. He quickly realized that the angered witch wasn't going to give up, but he decided to simply cast shielding spells rather than firing spells in return. See how you like that, Sirius thought as he continuously defended himself. He took a second to glance at Ava and noticed that she had shed her school robes, revealing that the entire left sleeve of her white uniform shirt was stained red. Her ponytail was becoming loose and sweat was dripping down her face, which was still set in a murderous glare.
"Fight. Back. Sirius," Ava screamed as she rapid fire cast Flipendo, Everte Statum, and Bombarda, all intending to throw Sirius into the wall behind him. He would've stayed on the defensive, but that Bombarda had packed a punch that Sirius did not want to experience if Ava decided to cast Bombarda Maxima.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled as he began walking straight towards Ava. He cast several harmless spells in quick succession to distract Ava before casting Expelliarmus. After catching Ava's Blackthorn in his hand, Sirius raised his voice once again. "Honestly, what the fuck is your problem, Ava? You've had something going on all week and you've been dodging all of us, and we're just trying to make sure you're alright." He stopped a couple feet in front of the witch, who had her hands on her hips. "Well?" he asked firmly when Ava stayed quiet. She merely shuffled jerkily from foot to foot while maintaining a glare at him. "What. Is. It. Ava?" he asked in a gruff voice that he hoped brokered no room for argument, but the witch merely looked to the ground. He stepped closer to her, and opened his mouth to angrily ask once more what her deal was and his question died on his lips. Ava tried to sneak a glance up at him, and revealed her reddened eyes full of tears. Oh no, he thought with a sigh. James will never let me hear the end of it if I've made her cry.
Avalynn tried to keep her emotions from running over and looked away from Sirius, towards the ground. She peeked up to see that he had stepped closer to her, and quickly ducked her head. C'mon, Ava. Deep breaths. Get it together. You're fine. Everything's going to be fine, she thought.
Ava could hear Sirius let out a sigh before he softly tried to reassure her. "Hey, it's alright. Whatever's going on, I'm sure that we'll figure it out. You're not alone, you know that, right?" She refused to look up at the wizard and continued to mentally psyche herself up, demanding that she remain strong and keep her feelings in check. Since her eyes were squeezed shut, Ava couldn't see Sirius reach out to her. The sudden touch startled the witch, and before she could do anything to stop it, Sirius had cupped her chin and forced her to look up at him. Blinking rapidly to disperse the tears, Ava felt some of her resolve crumble at the blatant concern on his face.
"C'mon, Ava. What's wrong?"
She pressed her lips together and shook her head slightly, letting out a small, broken whine as she tried to tell him "No."
Releasing her chin, Sirius grasped her hands and bent forward slightly to make direct eye contact with her. "It's obvious that you're struggling with whatever this is. And trust me, I get not wanting to share a personal burden with your friends, but that's what we're here for, right?" He gave Ava a small smile that she could feel disarming her current defense system. Not that it was working well to protect her anyway. She just didn't know how to process the fact that she would never be going home. That it would never even be an option.
Avalynn's eyes roved over Sirius's face, trying to bide her time. The throbbing in her arm was a nice distraction, allowing her mind to focus on the pulsing of the wound. She glanced down at the slice across her shoulder, and immediately regretted that action when she looked back up to see the concern on Sirius's face had doubled.
"Please, Ava. Tell me what's going on," he whispered, eyes wide with what Ava assumed was worry.
The witch took a slow, deep breath and whispered in return, "I can't go home." Despite how quietly Ava had spoken, she knew that the Animagus would hear her, and he clearly had based upon his eyes widening further and his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.
"Oh," he breathed out.
Ava's jaw dropped before she let out a loud laugh, that quickly turned bitter. " 'Oh'! I tell you that I can't go home, that I can't return to my world, and that's all you have to say? Oh?!" Tears left salty tracks on her face as she continued, "It's not like we haven't tried either. Aunt Minerva and I have read every last book in this fucking school and she's written letters to people who might actually know something about traveling between worlds, and nothing has turned up. Nothing." She had stepped away from Sirius, raising her voice as she spoke. "I can't go home, Sirius." Her voice had broken over the last sentence, and her legs felt like jelly. Ava's emotions released through her like a tidal wave, forcing her to her knees. Loss. Grief. Hopelessness. Frustration. Longing. "I'm never going home," she mumbled as she looked up at Sirius. The thought repeated within her mind like a blaring horn. Her breathing increased rapidly and she began taking big gulps of air, sputtering out the phrase once more, "I'm never going home, Sirius. Never."
The wizard had a look of utter shock on his face as he gazed down at the distraught witch. He must've noticed Ava's erratic breathing because he crouched down to the ground and pulled her into his arms, firmly telling her to breathe. Wrapping her up in a hug, the Animagus soothingly ran his hand over Ava's hair and upper back as her breathing evened out. Just a moment later, she burst into sobs and clutched onto his robes, pulling him closer. As Ava continued to cling to him, Sirius softly patted her back and let her ramble on about everything that she had been forcing herself to internalize. At the mention of the witch's dog back in her home world, Sirius raised his eyebrows as a smile began to grace his face.
One moment, Ava was burying her wet, snotty face into Sirius's robes, holding onto him for dear life, afraid that she would never be able to stop crying. The next, hair tickled her nose and she felt soft fluff in her hands. Pulling back from Sirius, she could immediately see that he had transformed into Padfoot. Ava stared at the black dog in surprise for a second before laughing, and then covering her mouth with her hand as she cried even harder. Ava flung herself onto the large animal, practically trying to drown herself in his black fluff. The dog nuzzled into her and whined, causing Ava to instinctively soothe him. She ran her hand over his head and softly said, "Shhh, I'm alright," in between sniffles. After wiping her eyes, Ava continued to pet Padfoot, trailing her hand from his head, down his back repeatedly as she laid with her head near his. Minutes later, the two friends were in the same position and Ava's crying eventually subsided into shuddering breaths, and her mind was able to calm and settle. She let out a deep sigh before saying, "It's not only the fact that I can't go home that I'm freaking out about."
Padfoot lifted his head and stared intelligently into Ava's eyes before nudging her cheek with his cold nose, prompting her to explain herself. "Well, I know things, remember?" She raised her brows slightly and sighed once more. "Well, since I'm not going anywhere, the welfare of the entire Wizarding World kinda rests on my shoulders." The dog whined and nosed the side of Ava's face, seemingly to console her, before he began to sniff down her neck to her injured shoulder. "Ahhh!" Ava startled as a wet, warm tongue caressed the slice of open skin along her shoulder. "Eww, Padfoot, no!" she scolded. The black dog looked up to her and seemed to narrow his eyes, before returning to the task of cleaning her wound. Rolling her eyes, Ava said, "You get one minute," and lectured Sirius for the next sixty seconds about hygiene and that even though his current form was a dog, that he was, in fact, decidedly not a dog. Once finished tending to his friend, Padfoot rested his head upon the forearm of Ava's hurt arm, indicating to the witch that she was not to move it. And that was fine with her since she was currently using her other hand to pet the Animagus anyhow. Just a few minutes later, exhaustion crept in, and Ava fell soundly asleep cuddled next to her furry companion. The fluffy, black dog could be seen clearly rolling his eyes, but he settled down for the time being, seemingly accepting the fact that the witch needed some rest.
About an hour later, Ava was woken up by a cold nose pressing into her cheek, and at her hesitance to fully awaken, subsequently earned a moist tongue trailing up the side of her face. Lurching up from her position on the floor, Ava glared at the black dog beside her and said, "That was entirely unnecessary Sirius Black." Padfoot whined and nuzzled his nose against the side of her leg, but Ava shook her head. "Your puppy eyes won't work on me, Padfoot," she said as she stood and began to collect her belongings.
"Well, it was worth a try."
Ava startled and turned around to see that Sirius had transformed back into himself. Rolling her eyes, the witch said, "Maybe you should try just not licking people."
He barked out a laugh. "Where's the fun in that, Ava?" He picked up his schoolbag and joined her by the door. "How are you feeling?"
She noticed that the amount of concern etched onto his face hadn't diminished from before her crying induced nap. Ava sighed. "I don't know, Sirius. It's just a lot to handle, you know?" She felt better after having admitted to her friend what was bothering her, but she was still conflicted about the amount of information to share with anyone about upcoming events. Since Ava accepted the fact that she couldn't return home, it became clear that she wasn't going to be able to just sit back and watch Voldemort trash the Wizarding World.
He grimaced. "James and I really are sorry. For all of this." Ava waved him off. "Yeah, well, please remember that you have us to lean on if you need to."
She raised her hands to place them on Sirius's shoulders, but flinched when her left shoulder sharply reminded her of the Slicing Hex that managed to land on her, and dropped her hands.
"Careful," Sirius chided.
Ava reached out for Sirius's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't thank you enough, Sirius."
"What for?" he asked with confusion lacing his tone.
She cracked a small smile. "For making me deal with my emotions. I have a feeling that I've been quite obnoxious this week, and you helped me pull my head out of my ass."
His expression seemed to be painted with pain as he said, "I know a thing or to about not feeling like you can go home."
Ava's jaw dropped. I totally forgot about why he's living with the Potters, she thought, feeling like a shit friend.
Seeing her reaction, Sirius must've assumed that Ava was upset at his statement because he raised his hands and said, "No, I get that it's not the same, but—oomph." He was cut off by Ava smacking into his chest and wrapping her arms around him, clenching her teeth to push through the pain of raising raising her left arm.
Her words were muffled by his robes, but the Animagus could make them out. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to live with the Potters though. And I'm here for you too. If you ever need anything or want to talk, I'm here. No matter what."
Sirius chuckled and pried Ava off of him, holding her at arms length. "Wait just a minute, Ava. I'm the one who's offering help right now. You need to promise me that the next time you feel overwhelmed, or need help in any way, that you'll come to me or James. Got it?" Ava huffed but nodded. "No, I want to hear you say it."
"Fine," she grumbled. "But only if you promise too."
Rolling his eyes, Sirius said, "I promise that if I need help, I'll talk to you."
Ava nodded. "Good. And I promise the same. If I ever need help again, I'll ask for it instead of wallowing in a glass case of emotion."
He smiled. "Exactly. Good. Now we're on the same page." He gently placed his arm around her shoulder and steered them towards the door. "So, when are we gonna start plotting and helping out the Order on missions?"
That question caused a wave of panic to roll through Ava. She paused in her steps and gave Sirius a stern look. "I'm going to compile the necessary information and then Aunt Minerva and I are going to meet with the Order. You, Sirius Black, are not doing anything of the sort at least until you've graduated."
The wizard huffed but nodded after a moment of silence. "I suppose that's acceptable. Not like Mum and Dad would let us join any sooner anyhow."
What Ava neglected to tell him was that she intended on ridding the world of Lord Voldemort before graduation. Eight months. Ava gulped. Eight months to take down a powerful and cunning monster. I can do it, she told herself. She glanced up to Sirius as he reenacted a Marauder story from classes that day while he escorted Ava to her quarters. Maybe I do need help.
After having left Ava at her shared quarters with McGonagall, Sirius made his way up to Gryffindor Tower. He hadn't left the witch without a reminder to ask for help when it came time and the demand that she have her aunt take a look at that Slicing Hex on her shoulder. He provided the password to the Fat Lady cheerfully, feeling happy that he accomplished breaking through the walls that Ava had put up that week. Sirius spotted his friends in their usual spots of the Common Room and was about to announce his happy news when he was unexpectedly accosted by Remus.
"The fuck, Remus?" Sirius asked in annoyance as the werewolf shoved him, then grabbed him by the robes, pulling him in close.
With a blaze of fury in his amber eyes, Moony growled out, "Why do you smell like her?"
Sirius's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, boy. Um, look, Moony? Let's talk upstairs, yeah?" He looked over towards James and tried to convey his thoughts nonverbally.
Just as Remus started to drag Sirius up the staircase to the boys' dormitory, he could hear James behind them, making excuses for their odd behavior and swiftly joining them on the stairs.
"What the hell, Remus?" James whisper shouted. The only response from the werewolf that James received was a low growl as he continued to pull Sirius up the spiral staircase.
Sirius whispered, "Not Remus. Moony." Apparently he wasn't discreet enough for the werewolf's hearing because he paused for a moment to turn a glare on Sirius and James, revealing that his usual green eyes were still golden amber.
Moony barged into their dormitory and shoved Sirius and then James through it, before slamming and sealing the door shut behind them. His two friends glanced at each other and gulped. The werewolf had never felt the need to purposefully lock them in a room before when he was having a bit of a furry temper tantrum. The enraged wizard whirled around and stormed up to Sirius, gripping him by the robes, and asking once more in a deep, commanding voice, "Why do you smell like her?"
Now away from prying eyes, Sirius had to endure his friend nosing around his body and sniffing him all over. As the werewolf did as he pleased, Sirius tried to explain. "Look, we were dueling and—"
Moony paused in his inspection to glare at Sirius. "You hurt my mate?"
Judging by the awestruck look on James's face, Sirius assumed his own must look something similar because that's exactly how he felt. "Your mate?" he whispered with wide eyes.
Moony growled in what could only be construed as agreement. But before Sirius could open his mouth to finish explaining, the werewolf had pinned him to the bed, pressing down on his throat with an arm. "What did you do to her? I will not ask again."
Sirius could hear James yelling in the background, trying to reason with their friend. "She's fine," he managed to wheeze out.
Moony released Sirius from his grip and immediate stood with his arms hanging at his sides, hands clenched into fists. "Explain," he demanded.
Sirius rubbed at his aching throat and cautiously began speaking once James had convinced their friend to sit down and hear him out. "We were only dueling so she could practice for Defense, okay? We weren't trying to hurt each other. Or at least we weren't until—" Moony growled and lunged for Sirius, only to find himself held back by James. Sirius threw up his hands and yelled, "It was Ava, not me! Okay? She went completely mental when I wouldn't fight back. I wanted to stop because I wanted to make sure that she was alright. As a friend, Moony. We were just practicing and she had such a temper on her, and well, she sort of had a breakdown." He grimaced and looked down at the floor from where he sat on the edge of the bed. "Probably shouldn't have said that."
"What happened, Sirius?" he heard a rather familiar voice ask in a calm tone.
The Animagus whipped his head up to see that green eyes had replaced amber. "Remus?" he asked, hopeful.
The werewolf frowned and looked from Sirius to James and back again. "I'm sorry for acting that way. I could smell Ava all over you, and it's like my head got all fuzzy and Moony took over."
Sirius waved his friend off. "It's fine."
It was quiet for several moments before Remus cleared his throat and asked, "So, what happened with Ava?"
"You know how she was acting all…off this week?" His friends nodded. "Well, she kinda just unleashed that bottled up emotion and had a good cry." Both James and Remus glared at him. "Look, I may have been there, but I wasn't the real reason she was crying."
"Why was she so upset?" James asked with furrowed brows.
But Sirius shook his head, knowing that they couldn't talk about it in front of Remus. "That's private, guys. You'll need to ask her yourself. But give her some time to process what she's dealing with."
Remus laughed. "Since when did you become so emotionally intelligent?"
"Well, I feel a little responsible for her, you know?" Sirius grumbled. James's eyes widened and Remus looked confused. "Oh, uh, you know, cause she's new to Hogwarts and a Gryffindor? Not to mention, she's Minnie's niece and she's our age. It's kinda our job to make sure she feels welcomed."
Remus narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded in understanding as James did the same. Slowly, they all stood, intending to go back downstairs to the Common Room when Remus paused in front of the door. He turned around to James and Sirius with a frown and asked, "Are either of you bleeding? I feel like a can smell some blood."
Without thinking, Sirius said, "Oh, that must be Ava's. I clipped her shoulder a bit with a Slicing Hex." Remus's eyes flashed amber for a second and the next thing Sirius knew, his face erupted in pain and he fell to the ground. It took him several moments to gather his wits and when he did, he spotted James attempting to hold down Remus a few feet away, yelling at the werewolf that Ava was fine and that Sirius didn't mean to hurt her. Remus didn't seem to be in his right mind because all he responded to James with were growls and snarls of "my mate." However, once Sirius was able to stand, he approached the others with his hands out in a placating stance, and tilted his head to expose his neck in an attempt to appease Remus's wolfish side. As Sirius stepped towards his friends, he slowly repeated that Ava was currently safe and with McGonagall who would never let anything happen to her. As soon as Remus took a look at Sirius's injured face, he came back into himself and began apologizing profusely.
Sirius waved him off once more. He had literally brought this upon himself, being party to casting the soulmate spell for his friend. "Nah, it's fine, Remus. Really. If you had hurt my mate, I probably would've done the same," he told him with a cheeky grin.
Remus's eyes widened. "I didn't—I don't—She's not—" he sputtered. "That's—that's not why I punched you," he tried to reason.
James and Sirius glanced at each other and promptly bursted out laughing, clutching their sides and gasping for breath. Poor Moony, Sirius thought. We know for a fact that Ava is his mate.
The werewolf dragged a hand down his face and flopped back on the bed. "It's not," he protested with a whine.
"Yeah?" James asked once his laughter had died down. "And why else would you have punched Padfoot?"
Remus mumbled something unintelligible, causing Sirius and James to dramatically lean towards the werewolf, each cupping an ear with a hand. "What was that?" Sirius asked.
Suddenly sitting upright in the bed, Remus grounded out between clenched teeth. "I said, 'I don't know'."
Of course, James and Sirius laughed at the expense of their friend once more and devolved into giggles at the idea of Moony asking out his mate. Over their laughter, Remus could be heard protesting, swearing up and down that he had no intentions of pursuing Ava. That sobered the boys up real quick.
"Why not?" James asked. "She's a great witch." He was frowning and looked to Sirius expectantly, twitching his head towards Remus minutely.
Sirius nodded vehemently. "Yeah, Remus. She's a really great girl. You've just got to get to know her better."
James cleared his throat. "I know that we've been pestering you to ask a girl out and finally have a girlfriend for once, so why can't that girl be Ava?"
"Yeah," Sirius agreed emphatically.
Remus looked back and forth between his friends for what felt like an eternity. "Yeah, maybe I do need a girlfriend," he mumbled absentmindedly.
James and Sirius both whooped and hollered for joy at the idea of Remus asking out Ava. They reached across the beds and high-fived each other. Their spell was finally doing its job and everyone would be happy soon enough. And hopefully, Sirius thought. We won't have to keep lying to Moony about who she really is.
Remus looked back and forth between his friends for what felt like an eternity. I can't believe I punched Sirius! Over Ava! He could barely remember everything that had happened since Sirius arrived in the Common Room. He just recalled noticing Ava's scent lingering around Sirius, but it was much stronger than usual. Next thing he knew, Moony was rearing to pummel his friend since the smell meant they must have been within close proximity of each other for a while. Remus knew that Moony was convinced that Ava was their mate, but he refused to believe such a thing. There's gotta be a way to change Moony's mind, he thought. "Yeah, maybe I do need a girlfriend," he mumbled absentmindedly.
While James and Sirius celebrated the idea of their werewolf friend finally accepting that he should try out a relationship, and seemingly with Ava, Remus's thoughts were like a whirlwind. The sheer possessiveness that Moony, and himself, if he were being completely honest, showed towards Ava scared him. He had had crushes on girls before, sure, but he had never felt this strongly about a particular girl and it was causing him to panic. I just need to keep my distance from Ava before she gets hurt, and hopefully Moony will forget about her. Remus ignored the pleading whine of Moony in the back of his mind, as well as the twinge his heart seemed to feel at the thought of romantically pursuing someone else. He absentmindedly rubbed at his chest where the pain flickered behind his ribs while he considered the details to a plan that he mistakenly believed would distract Moony from Ava once and for all.
Avalynn attempted to enter her quarters discreetly, trying to avoid her aunt at all costs. After her meltdown with Sirius, the witch knew that she had been quite a pill this past week, and she felt plenty embarrassed about her behavior. The living room and kitchen appeared to be empty, so judging the coast to be clear, Ava tip-toed towards her bedroom. She slowly reached down to the doorknob and began to twist it as a throat was cleared behind her. Yelling in fright, Ava jumped around to see Aunt Minerva peering at her with raised eyebrows.
"Oh my God! Was that really necessary?" she yelped while still catching her breath.
"You tell me, my dear. Is it necessary for you to attempt to creep into your room without even saying goodnight to your aunt?"
Ava flinched. "I wasn't 'creeping'," she protested.
Without a word, Professor McGonagall grasped Ava's right shoulder and led her over to the couch where both witches sat down. After a few moments of silence, her aunt said, "We've hardly spoken today, but am I sensing a change in your attitude from this week."
Ava sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. In one breath she said, "I'm sorry, I know I must not have been easy to deal with, but it was a lot for me to handle. You know?"
The professor tutted and reached out to grasp Ava's hand in hers. "No, Avalynn. I wouldn't know because you haven't been very open with me. Occasionally, we all need help from others and it very well isn't the end of the world to ask for it."
Ava let out a chuckle. At the questioning look from McGonagall, she explained. "Sirius essentially told me the same exact thing earlier tonight." Ava squeezed her aunt's hand slightly. "I really am sorry for being so…closed off this week."
Her aunt reassured her, "I've had my fair share of moody teenagers over the years, dear."
Ava was gob-smacked. She couldn't believe how quickly she has dismissed discussing her worries with McGonagall, and the woman was absolutely right. As a Head of House, she would've had to deal with a lot of teenage drama. Taking another look at her aunt and considering everything she knew about Minerva McGonagall, Ava felt ashamed that she hadn't leaned on the older witch sooner. This was the same witch who took several Stunners at once. The same witch who gave Harry Potter a biscuit after he sassed Umbridge. The one who chased after Snape when she thought he was a true Death Eater after Dumbledore's death. She had been a part of the Order during both wars, and she deserved Ava's respect. Ava cleared her throat. "Aunt Minerva, I know I've already said it, but I'm sorry." The older witch frowned and opened her mouth, but Ava held up her hand. "I know, but you deserve better. I've entrusted you with my secret and I know that you're a loyal and intelligent woman, and I should've remembered that instead of bottling up all of my emotions and fears. I know that you're strong enough to help support me, and I swear that I won't forget that in the future."
McGonagall had tears in her eyes and let out a breath. "Well, that was unexpected, dear."
Ava smiled. "But true." She leaned forward and began to raise her arms to wrap up the professor in a hug when her left shoulder gave a sharp pain in protest. "Ow! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Ava breathlessly exclaimed as she dropped her arms, her face scrunched up in pain. The young witch glanced up at McGonagall to see her waiting with an eyebrow raised expectantly. Looking away from her aunt, Ava said, "I may have gotten hit with a Slicing Hex earlier."
"Let me see."
Ava sighed and began to take off her robes. "It's not that big of a deal, it's—" and she let out a gasp of pain as her eyes began to water. Ava looked down to see that McGonagall had pulled the fabric of her sleeve off of the wound, which it had been previously stuck to, the dry blood acting as an adhesive of sorts. The professor merely tutted and set about cleaning the wound and sealing it with a quick healing spell. During the process, Ava explained that she was only dueling with Sirius for practice when the injury occurred.
"While I commend you for practicing outside of your scheduled tutoring sessions, may I suggest that you learn some simple healing magic as well?" McGonagall said once she had finished wrapping a bandage around Ava's shoulder. "That way, if one of you does receive a minor injury again, you'll be able to heal one another and continue practicing. As for more severe injuries, I'm assuming you're intelligent enough to not use spells against each other that would cause such serious damage." She gave Ava a pointed look, earning a quick nod of agreement from the young witch. I don't even know that kind of magic, Ava thought. Yet.
Now that her shoulder was taken care of, Ava leaned forward to give her aunt that hug. After squeezing the professor tightly for a moment, Ava pulled back and took a deep breath. She launched into an explanation of everything she had been feeling that week, from each returned letter battering against the hope that she held out for returning home, to the realization that the fate of the Wizarding World seemed to rest on her shoulders. She finished with a defeated, "It's not fair," before the professor wrapped up the young witch in another hug. Ava didn't think she could cry anymore, but a few tears managed to escape.
Pulling back from the hug, her aunt reached out to wipe off the stray tears running down Ava's face. "There, there, dear child. Everything is going to be alright. I may not be privy to all that you know, but you have myself and Poppy, as well as those rambunctious boys of yours to lean on. We're here for you in any way that you need."
Ava sniffled and nodded. "I'm going to start writing everything down that I know. All of the important information." She leaned over the side of the sofa to reach into her schoolbag and pulled out a blank notebook. "The boys showed me how to charm this so that no one can read it unless they have the password. I haven't written anything yet, but I'm going to start tonight. And I want to give you the passwords."
McGonagall huffed and shifted in her seat. "Nothing will be happening to you, dear, so there's no need—"
Ava cut her off. "There is most definitely a need, Aunt Minerva. You may not realize it yet, but this is going to be dangerous. As Voldemort gains supporters and power, it'll be more underground than anything, but it'll only get worse. Prejudices run abound, people go missing, and a lot are killed." McGonagall sucked in a breath, and Ava nodded. "That's why I feel so strongly about this. And I want to end this before it really even begins, but we must prepare for worst-case scenarios."
The professor nodded and solemnly asked, "What do you need of me, dear?"
Ava smiled, grateful that her aunt was trusting her. "For now, I just need you to learn the passwords for the notebook. And yes, there are two. Apparently, the charms are more difficult for someone to break into if there's another password to seal the information inside." McGonagall gave a hum of agreement, so Ava continued, "Well, to open it, the password is Zac Efron."
Her aunt frowned. "Zac…Efron?"
Ava smiled. "Yes. And to close it, the password is Red Vines."
"Red Vines," McGonagall repeated with a nod.
"Okay, so let's try it. I'm going to do it real quick and write something small." Ava then proceeded to mutter "Zac Efron" while pressing the tip of her wand to the parchment, scribbled a single line into the notebook, and then sealed it with an utterance of "Red Vines" and another press of her wand. She then handed it the professor.
McGonagall held her wand to the notebook and clearly said, "Zac Efron," allowing for Ava's written words to appear— "Important Events"—before she whispered "Red Vines," causing the words to vanish. She silently returned to notebook to Ava's hands.
"Awesome. This makes me feel so much better now that I've got somewhere to get all my thoughts organized and someone who can access them just in case. I'm starting out by listing everything I can remember and then I'll worry about putting it all in chronological order later." She stood from the couch and picked up her schoolbag, intending to get ready for bed before starting on the notebook.
"Ava," McGonagall called. The girl paused and turned back around to see her aunt pale and visibly shaken. "Please keep me apprised as you compile the information you deem necessary," she said in a shaky voice.
Understanding that this entire situation was a lot to handle, Ava said, "I go back and forth between feeling confident and anxious. You'll come to grips with it eventually, and by then, it'll be time for action. Like I said before, I fully intend on becoming a part of the Order, which will have a much bigger role in the coming years if we don't do anything preemptively." She let out a breath. "Which we will. Like you said earlier, no need to worry." Ava flashed her aunt what she hoped was a reassuring smile and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Away from the older witch, Ava let out a breath as her shoulders sagged, and ran a hand down her face. She seemingly stared into nothingness for a few moments, he thoughts running rampant, before startling and going through the motions of getting ready for bed. Several minutes later, she settled down onto her bed with the charmed notebook, wand, as well as a quill and ink resting atop a closed textbook. Pressing her Blackthorn to the parchment, Ava whispered, "Zac Efron," with a slight smile and got to work.
Author's Note:
For those of you who didn't catch the A Very Potter Musical references within the passwords, I highly recommend watching it. You won't be disappointed :D I also strongly advise watching the sequel. It's just too funny not to :) All of the videos are on YouTube.
