"Why was my uncle your Boggart?"
"What?" said Bella.
"My uncle. Rodolphus. Lestrange? You really don't know what I'm talking about do you?" said Draco as Bella stared at him with a blank expression.
"I have no idea why your uncle is my Boggart. I've never seen him before." said Bella.
"Are you sure?" said Draco.
"Of course I'm sure." she snapped.
Draco cringed away from her and she sighed.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that." said Bella.
"It's okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." said Draco.
"Thank you. I need to go and find Freya, see if she's okay." said Bella, standing from the windowsill.
"Yeah, she'll be shaken up after that." said Draco.
Bella bid him goodbye and headed to Gryffindor Tower in search of Freya. When she checked their dorm, the hangings were pulled tight around Freya's bed and Bella could hear her sobbing. Bella pulled back the hangings and her heart broke. Freya was curled up on top of the covers, face and pillow covered in her tears.
"Oh, Freya." said Bella sadly.
She climbed onto the bed beside her and pulled Freya into her arms. Freya clung to her tightly and buried her head on her shoulder, gut-wrenching sobs muffled by Bella's jumper. Bella stroked her hair, waiting until she had calmed to find out what was wrong.
"What's going on?" Bella asked when Freya hiccuped.
"I-I-It's my m-mum." Freya could hardly speak for trying to catch her breath and Bella rubbed her back and she slowly calmed.
"It's my mum." she repeated.
"Was that who your Boggart was?" said Bella softly.
"Yeah." said Freya sadly. "She's not well."
"What happened to her?" asked Bella.
"She was a Seer. A damn good one too." said Freya with a smile as she wiped away the stray tears. "Dad said she'd always been good at making predictions and stuff. After I was born her predictions became less accurate, she started seeing things, things that weren't really there. My brother was older so he remembers what it was like but obviously I was just a baby so I don't remember." Bella took Freya's hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. Freya continued, "Growing up with a sick mum was difficult. For the first part of my childhood, my dad could handle her outbursts but when I was six, it became too much and she had to be admitted to hospital. She used to tell me that the Grim was coming for her and that she wasn't safe. The day she was admitted to hospital, she told my brother, like she usually did, to cover the windows and lock the doors so the Grim couldn't get her. She said that people were coming. Being so young, I didn't know what was happening and when I tried to comfort her, she snapped. She thought I was trying to hurt her and she went mental. I broke seven bones that day and that's when my dad knew that our safety came first."
A fresh wave of tears poured down Freya's face as she spoke. "She's in St Mungo's now. We go and see her but she's so far gone now that she doesn't remember who we are. My brother doesn't like me going, he's scared mum'll hurt me again. It was really hard for him, I know that, and it was hard for dad, it still is. He's as much in love with her now as they day he met her and it's killing him."
Freya stood from the bed, pacing in front of it. "I still love my mum and I miss her but the woman lying in St Mungo's just isn't her. I only wish my dad could see that."
Bella stood and wrapped her arms around Freya, holding her tight. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through so much." said Bella softly. "And I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you."
Freya chuckled, pulling away to look at Bella. "Don't be sorry, you weren't to know."
"But still, I'll always be here for you, you know that, don't you." said Bella.
"I do, and I'm there for you, one hundred percent."
They didn't know it yet but the moment they shared helped cement a solid friend-ship between the two that nothing could break.
As always seemed to happen, Ron and Hermione had had a fight. Crookshanks had attacked Scabbers in the common room the night before and Ron was still fuming.
"Ron, cats chase rats, it doesn't go any deeper than that." said Bella. The twins were sitting in the Great Hall with Fred and George, Ron glaring hatefully at Hermione from the corner of his eye.
"Scabbers is ill and that evil creature has it in for him. She should put the wirebrush on a leash." he snarled.
"You really need to get a grip, Ron." said Fred.
"Scabbers is nearly at death's door anyway, just look at him and tell me he looks like a healthy rat." said George.
"Hermione is your friend, incase you've forgotten. Maybe you should be a little nicer to her." said Bella.
"Right okay, get off my case." snapped Ron.
"Just giving you something to think about." said Bella, raising her arms in defence.
After lunch they had Transfiguration and Harry looked a nervous wreck as he tried to think of how he would ask McGonagall to let him come to Hogsmeade. When they reached the corridor, Lavender was sobbing into Seamus' shoulder at the front of the line, he had his arms around her and was patting her back.
"What's going on?" asked Bella, looking between the pair.
Seamus flew away from her and Lavender stumbled slightly.
"She got a letter from home this morning." whispered Parvati, stepping forward to wrap her arm around Lavender's shoulders. "Her rabbit, Binky, was killed by a fox."
"Oh that's horrible, Lavender, I'm so sorry." said Emily softly.
"I should have known!" she wailed. "You know what day it is today?"
"Er -"
"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October' remember! She was rigth all along, she was right!"
Everyone had gathered around Lavender now. Seamus was shaking his head sadly and Bella kept looking between Seamus and Lavender.
"You - you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?" said Hermione hesitantly.
"Well, not necessarily by a fox." said Lavender, her voice quivering. "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I"
"Oh." said Hermione. She paused again, looked over her shoulder at Bella, turned around and said, "Was Binky an old rabbit?"
"No!" cried Lavender. "He w-was only a b-baby!"
"But then, why would you dread him dying?" said Hermione.
Parvati glared sharply at Hermione.
"Well, look at it logically." said Hermione to the rest of the class. "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he, Lavender just got the news today -" Lavender's cries became louder "- and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock -"
"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender." said Ron sharply. "She doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."
"Not everything is about you, Ronald." said Bella dryly.
Thankfully, McGonagall appeared in the doorway of her classroom at that moment and they all filed in, Hermione and Ron sitting on either ends of the table.
"Ignore him, Hermione." whispered Bella. "He's always been a drama queen."
None of them spoke a word the entire lesson and by the time the bell went, Bella could feel the anger radiating from Ron.
"One moment please!" called McGonagall as they made to leave. "As I am oyur head of house, you must hand your Hogsmeade forms to me by Halloween. No form, no visiting the village. That will be all."
"Ask her now, Harry." said Ron.
"Oh, but -" said Hermione.
"Ask her." said Ron stubbornly.
Bella rolled her eyes and pulled Hermione along with her out into the corridor. They continued down the corridor, not turning back to see where Ron was.
"Aren't we going to wait for Harry and Ron?" asked Hermione.
"Nope." replied Bella.
Hermione giggled as they strode down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower, Freya and Emily right behind them. When Harry returned to the common room he delivered the bad news that he wouldn't be attending Hogsmeade with them. Ron had gotten angry and called McGonagall a torrent of names, much to the displeasure of the girls.
"You're not missing much, Harry." said Percy, in what was meant to be words of encouragement. "There's not really much worth seeing. Yes, there's Honeydukes but Zonko's jokeshop is frankly dangerous and the Shrieking Shack isn't much to look at either. So, as I said, you really aren't missing much."
Bella woke up excited on Halloween morning. She was up and dressed in a flas, unable to contain her excitement for the Hogsmeade trip. She walked through the quiet corridors, enjoying the peace of the normally bustling castle.
"Cedric!" she called, spotting him up ahead of her in the Entrance Hall.
"Hey, tiny," he said cheerily, "how are you?"
"I'm okay, thank you, how are you?" said Bella.
"Good." replied Cedric. "Are you going to Hogsmeade today?"
"Yeah!" beamed Bella.
"You'll love it." he replied.
"I hope so." said Bella.
"If you need a tour guide, just let me know." chuckled Cedric.
"I'll keep that in mind." smiled Bella.
Seeing as she had never been to the village before she thought she might take Cedric up on his offer. When she told the others of his offer she recieved mixed responses.
"I'm not walking around Hogsmeade with that model wannabe." huffed Ron.
"Oh, Bella, you have to say yes!" said Emily.
"I agree, say yes!" added Freya.
"I don't know, isn't a little weird?" said Hermione.
"It's only Hogsmeade, Hermione, calm down." laughed Bella.
Harry looked thoroughly perturbed as he accompanied them to the Entrance Hall after breakfast.
"We'll bring you back sweets from Honeydukes!" said Hermione enthusiastically.
"Yeah, loads!" beamed Ron.
"Don't worry about me, go and have fun." said Harry with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Filch was standing just to the side of the entrance to the castle, ticking off names on a list and peering suspiciously at each student who passed him. The five of them bid Harry a sad farewell and followed the crowd through the courtyard and onto the sloping path that would take them to Hogsmeade.
"It doesn't feel right, Harry not being here." said Bella.
"No it doesn't." agreed Freya.
"We'll just need to get him sweets from Honeydukes to cheer him up." said Hermione.
Quicker than they thought, they reached the small village of Hogsmeade. Bella thought it looked much like Diagon Alley, just with more space.
They were in and out of shops packed full of Hogwarts students, buying sweets, prank products and everything between. In Honeydukes, they each filled their arms with as many sweets they could carry and bundled them into one large bag, leaving Ron to carry it around the village. To no one's surprise, they ran into Fred and George in Zonko's joke shop.
"We're going to need our test subject again soon." Fred whispered to Bella as they browsed the aisles.
"What's in it for me?" she asked lazily.
"Free prank products." said George.
"I'll think about it." she smirked.
After Zonko's, the five of them settled in the Three Broomsticks for steaming mugs of Butterbeer, the exquisite warmth spreading through them from their chilly fingers to their frozen toes. There was just something about a mug of Butterbeer that cheered Bella right up.
Bella didn't take Cedric up on his offer of tour guide, much to Ron's pleasure. Before they made their way back up to the castle they decided to visit the Shrieking Shack. Bella didn't think it was much to look at, a dilapidate shack, left to decay.
Up in the castle, they found Harry in the common room.
"Here." smiled Ron, dumping a huge load of sweets on Harry's lap.
"Thanks." replied Harry, sifting through the pile. "What was Hogsmeade like? What did you do?"
Ron began to tell Harry about everything in Hogsmeade; Zonko's cool products, the delicious sweets in Honeydukes and the wide mixture of people they saw in the Three Broomsticks. Bella took the bag of sweets they bought up to her dorm and began to sort through it when she felt a blinding pain behind her eyes. She clutched her hand to her head, groaning in pain. As quick as it appeared, the pain vanished, leaving Bella breathing deeply, leaning against the bed post for support.
Leaving the unemptied bag on the bed, she stumbled back down to the common room. Ron and Harry were still talking animatedly about Hogsmeade, Hermione reading one of her textbooks while Freya and Emily played Exploding Snap.
"Are you okay?" asked Hermione as Bella sat down beside her on the sofa.
"Yeah." replied Bella, rubbing away the phantom pain in her forehead.
On the way to the Halloween feast, Harry told them all about Lupin and the goblet he received from Professor Snape.
"Lupin drank it?" gasped Ron, "what is he, mad?"
"If Snape was trying to poison Lupin, don't you think he would have waited until Harry wasn't there?" said Hermione quietly.
"You might be right." said Harry.
The Great Hall had been decoarted magnificently. There were hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins floating all around the hall. Fluttering live bats flew over their heads and Bella smiled brightly. The elves had really outdone themselves with this feast. Even with all of the sweets they'd eaten and Butterbeer they'd consumed in Hogsmeade, they all managed second helpings of the scrumtious food.
With full bellies, Bella and the others followed the usual path back to Gryffindor Tower after the feast but when they reached the corridor with the Fat Lady, they found it full of students.
"Why isn't anyone going through the portrait hole?" asked Ron curiously.
"Let me through, please." said Percy importantly as he pushed through the crowd. "What's the hold up? You can't have all forgotten the password - excuse me, I'm headboy!"
A silence fell over the crowd, sweeping from the front to the back. They then heard Percy say, in a sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore, quick!"
People looked around curiously; the people at the back on their tiptoes.
"What's going on?" asked Ginny who had just arrived.
"Beats me." replied Bella, gesturing to the fact she couldn't see over anyone.
The next moment, Professor Dumbledore arrived in the corridor, sweeping towards teh portrait at the bottom of the corridor; the Gryffindor's bunched together to let him through and Harry pushed forward to see what was going on. When the crowd parted to allow Dumbledore access, Bella finally saw what all the fuss was about; The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait that had been slashed so visciously that pieces of the portrait littered the floor. Dumbledore paused when he reached the portrait, bending to retrive a piece of torn canvas. He turned, his eyes dark, to see Professor's McGonagall, Lupin and Snape rushing towards him.
"We must find her." he said quickly. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."
"You'll be lucky to find her!" said a cackling voice.
Peeves, the Poltergeist, was bobbing over the heads of the crowd, rubbing his hands together gleefully and looked delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage and worry.
"What do you mean, Peeves?" said Dumbledore, calmly. Peeves grin faded a little, but never faltered, he daren't insult Dumbledore. He instead spoke in a oily voice that was no better than his cackle.
"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful." said Peeves gleefully.
"Did she say who did this?" asked Dumbledore quietly.
"Oh, she did, you see." said Peeves wickedly. "Got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, sir. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."
