14

Hogsmead…

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Harry woke up early and forced Neville to wake up as well. The boy sat up looking at him with half sleepy and half annoyed look.

"It's Hogsmead weekend," Harry said.

Neville looked at their dorm mates who were all still asleep. "Why…so early?" he asked yawning.

"I need a new broom," Harry said, "and…I need to get out of this place. With all the time we've been spending looking for that clue…I really need this break."

Neville sighed tiredly as he got off of his bed and headed towards the bathroom. Ten minutes later they were in the great hall having breakfast.

"Did you talked to Cedric and the others?" asked Neville.

"They're all having the same problem," Harry said as he took a bite from his toast. "None of them have been able to figure out what that deafening scream is supposed to mean. We'll be lucky if we can still hear properly by the time the second task takes place."

Neville could only nod. It was true. They had no idea what the clue could be. Every time they opened the egg it would scream so loud they thought they'd go deaf. Nothing worked on it – no silencing charms, covering spells, nothing. Daphne had gone through almost all the books that Hogwarts' library had to offer but none of them mentioned anything about a fake dragon egg which screamed. After their first week of working hard trying to figure out the clue they had decided to take a small break, since the second task was still about two months away from taking place.

As the two were done with their breakfast they left the castle and Harry insisted on walking rather than taking the carriage all the way to the village. He wasn't in a hurry. He simply needed the peace and quiet away from the castle. Neville didn't mind. The sun wasn't strong and the wind was slightly cold, making the weather somewhat perfect for a morning walk. Besides, the village wasn't that far either and so the two took off on their foot.

After Harry's outburst at his housemates they had steered clear from him. No one would talk to him. They wouldn't look his way and step aside whenever he walked past them. It was like they were all afraid of him and it seemed reasonable. If they still didn't consider Harry to be a future dark wizard after his performance during the first task, his anger towards them had definitely convinced them of that now. Not that Harry cared about any of it. In fact he was happy that for once his housemates had left him alone. He had told Neville, Daphne and Tracey that he didn't mind being called a dark wizard. It was his house's betrayal that had hurt him. They wanted to bask in his glory and his success and leave him alone whenever he was in trouble.

The two arrived at the village. Despite it still being somewhat early almost all the shops had been opened because the students were coming to the village that day. Hogsmead's was about a tenth of Diagon Alley but it definitely reminded Harry of latter's busy streets during these weekends. Besides, seeing there were students from two other schools this year the place was going to be extra crowded today and maybe that's why the shops were already opened as Harry and Neville had already spotted a few Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.

Without wasting any more time Harry took Neville to the only shop in the village that sold flying brooms – Dervish and Banges. Despite it being a small place the shop sold and repaired almost all kinds of magical equipments one could think of, including brooms, which is why Harry had brought his completely charred firebolt in the hopes that he could get it repaired. If that could be done than he wouldn't need to buy a new broom as brooms were expensive and while they weren't as expensive as a firebolt which sold for about 4-5 thousand galleons they still came with a hefty price tag of up to a thousand galleons. Harry's monthly expense was about two hundred galleons which he spent mostly on stationary and snacks while he was at Hogwarts.

The shop was completely empty, for which Harry thanked his stars as he went up to the counter where the owner was surprised to see him. "H…Harry Potter," the man said.

Harry sighed mentally before he forced a small smile. He wasn't surprised by the shop owner's reaction. After all, the news outlets were still writing about his 'bizarre' performance in the first task of the tri wizard tournament. What astounded him was how some of these reporters had developed their own theories when it came to deliberating over whether Harry was going to be the next Voldemort or Dumbledore.

Pushing those thoughts to the side he took out his shrunken firebolt and put it on the counter. He then enlarged it and looked at the shop owner. "Can this be repaired?" he asked.

The man took one look at the burnt broom and shook his head. "Unfortunately, this is beyond repair, Mr Potter," he said, "but even if it could be repaired we don't have the license from the firebolt company to sell or do any service on any of their brooms. I am sorry. You can look for other brooms if you want. We have every model except for the firebolts and nimbuses."

Harry pressed his lips as he slowly nodded. He then walked over to the showcase where the brooms were kept. Neville was busy browsing the shop so Harry didn't bother him as he had already ruined his morning by bringing him to Hogsmead this early on a weekend. Besides, Harry knew he could shop for a new broom all by himself. He knew quite a lot about them thanks to his interest in flying. However, he was finding it difficult as to which model to buy.

He liked fast brooms because he loved the thrill he got when he flew on them. Except for Firebolt and Nimbus all the other brooms were considered slow as their companies focused more on handling, comfort and rather than just the flying speed.

Because of the tournament Hogwarts wasn't having its Quidditch matches this year which meant Harry hadn't flown even once since the term had started. He often flew in and around the Quidditch ground during his free time to clear his head or pass whatever free time he had but this year it hadn't been possible.

As he looked at the brooms, his eye caught hold of a cleansweep model 3. Harry knew about the brand very well. They made their brooms with their focus on stability, comfort and control which made the cleansweeps perfect for beginner flyers. They were also popular amongst the beaters during a Quidditch match. Because the bludgers weren't that fast the beaters didn't need fast brooms. Instead they relied more on better controlled brooms while flying. This allowed them to focus more on the bludgers and less on controlling their brooms mid-air.

Harry had flown a cleansweep once. Since it was Hogwarts' it was very old and almost to the point of breaking down but despite that he found it very easy to control and it was also very comfortable. It flew smoothly despite its horrible condition. The seating area was comfortable and it was easy to turn.

Harry had then realized why that broom was the first choice amongst the beaters. One could fly it without having to even hold it by their hands. While flying on a nimbus or a firebolt was thrilling and exciting Harry had to admit that they were also difficult to control. He still hadn't used his firebolt in a Quidditch match but he could already guess that flying on it while pursuing the golden snitch would be a difficult task as it was already hard to control his nimbus broom. He could only imagine how hard it would be to do the same with his firebolt.

So after deliberating on it for a while he decided to buy the cleansweep. He could buy a firebolt when he'd go to Diagon Alley next time. He saw the price on it which was eight hundred galleons. Harry had about a thousand with him so he paid the shop owner the broom's price and smiled as he held his new broom in his hands. He couldn't wait to fly on it. It had been a long time since he had flown and while it wouldn't be as thrilling as flying on his firebolt it was still better than nothing. With everything going on with him this year he really needed anything that could get him to clear his head with all the over thinking he was doing because of the tournament.

Neville bought a mud scraper which prevented any unwanted weed from growing wherever the gardening tool was used. He said that using potions to kill the weeds sometimes harmed his plants. After paying for it the two left the shop.

"Do you have something else to do?" Harry asked.

"I have to buy some stationary but I'll do that when we are heading back to the castle," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"I have someone coming to meet me," Harry said smiling. "Would you like to come with me?"

Neville looked at him nervously. "Will that be okay?" he asked.

"Of course," Harry said so Neville agreed and together they headed towards the Shrieking Shack. Neville realized where they were going and looked at Harry.

"Why…are we going to the shack?" he asked sounding nervous.

"It's not a scary place," Harry said assuring him. "Besides, we are going to see Sirius. He said he would come to see me during the Hogsmead weekend and that shack is the only place safe enough for us to meet without anyone noticing him."

"Si…Sirius Black is coming here?" Neville asked.

Harry looked at him. "Really, if you don't want to come then it's alright," he said.

Neville seemed to be thinking for a moment before he looked at Harry. "I'm coming with you," he said confidently. Harry smiled as they took the vacant trail that lead outside the village and towards the infamous shack. Approaching it Harry was reminded of his last year when he had met Sirius there and how they had all faced a turned Remus. He and Hermione had almost died trying to save his godfather. Thinking of that memory Harry wondered why she had not believed him this year. The two had gone through a lot together so for Hermione to betray him like that, it really hurt Harry.

They arrived at the place and Harry cast a small patronus sphere, much to Neville's shock before he whispered something to it and let it go. The glowing sphere flew into the shack and disappeared.

"You…You can do the patronus charm?" Neville asked.

Harry nodded. "Do you remember how dementors affected me last year?" he said. Neville nodded. "Well, Professor Lupin taught me the spell. It's not that hard once you understand how to cast it. Focus is the main thing that you need in order to use this spell. I can teach you if you want."

"Really?" Neville asked. "Thanks, Harry."

It was then that they saw Sirius walk out of the shack. He was looking a lot better than before. However, he was still skinny. He had tied his long hair into a bun and was wearing baggy clothes which seemed to be of Remus'. Harry guessed the two must be living together. The man smiled and spread his arms wide as he saw Harry who ran and hugged his godfather. Sirius laughed loudly while Neville looked around in worry.

"Relax, this place is secluded enough for us to be safe," Harry said before he looked at Sirius. "How are you?"

"Stop asking about me," said Sirius. "How are you? Man, your life just doesn't seem to be normal just for once, huh James?"

Harry smiled. He knew Sirius liked calling him James because of how much Harry looked like his father. Also, he knew that calling him by his father's name was a way for Sirius to cope with losing his best friend. He turned to Neville and introduced him to Sirius. "This is…"

"Neville; Frank and Alice's son," Sirius said before Harry could introduce them. "I'm so sorry for what happened to them."

"You…know them?" Neville asked.

Sirius nodded. "I do," he said. "Your parents, I and Harry's parents…we were all very close friends. I still wish I could've done more to stop all of this from happening. I'm sorry I haven't been able to meet them."

"It's not your fault, Mr Black," Neville said. "You were wrongly incarcerated."

"You…You believe that I am innocent?" Sirius asked his voice a little shaky.

"If Harry believes you than so do I," said Neville.

Sirius could only nod as his eyes became slightly wet. "Well," he sniffed before looking at Harry, "tell me everything. We have the entire day for ourselves."

Harry smiled as he nodded.

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The sun was about to set when Harry and Neville said their goodbyes to Sirius before the two headed back for the village. Talking to his godfather had really helped him even though Sirius could barely do anything because he was still on the run from the ministry. However, sharing all of his experiences up until now with someone who wouldn't judge him seemed to have done the trick as Harry felt a lot better.

He looked at Neville who seemed to be in deep thought so Harry nudged him. "What are you so seriously thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," Neville said.

"You can tell me," Harry said.

Neville seemed to be thinking about it before he sighed. "When you and Sirius were talking about his false incarceration I couldn't help but think why Dumbledore didn't do anything."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, Dumbledore knows that Sirius is innocent, right?" he asked. "I mean that is why he gave Hermione the idea to use her time turner so that you two could save him from going back to Azkaban."

"Yes, but I'm not getting what you're trying to say," Harry said sounding confused.

"If Dumbledore knows that Sirius is innocent then why didn't he do something to give Sirius his freedom?" Neville asked. "He's not just our headmaster, Harry. He is also the chief warlock of Wizengamot and conducts over all the trials that take place there. So he definitely has power. You said Sirius never got a trial, right? And if he had he would've definitely been proven innocent. Dumbledore could've easily gotten him a trial so I was thinking why he didn't."

"You mean to say that despite being able to get Sirius a trial Dumbledore did nothing all this time" Harry asked. Neville nodded. Harry didn't even know much about the Wizengamot or Dumbledore's positions in the ministry but if Neville was right then it really bothered him as to why Dumbledore hadn't done anything to get Sirius a trial.

"Harry?" Neville said realizing he had gone quiet.

"I…I don't know," Harry responded slowly.

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Thanks for reading…