Chapter Fifty-One: The Argument
"You know this reminds me of when Harry was a little boy." Severus began as he started filling up his potion bottle with swelling solution before glancing up at Lupin. "No pun intended." He quickly added while Lupin tried extremely hard to keep a straight face. "He had gone missing then as well, but that time it was on an island with pirates and dragons." He told him.
"Ah I see. Well, Harry sure has been leading an interesting life." Lupin said while Severus screwed on the lid to his potion bottle.
"Yeah, and it's been even more interesting since he met Weasley and Granger." He told him while Patches had leapt up onto his hind legs and placed his front paws over the cauldron pot to look inside. That's when suddenly Severus gave a whistle. "Patches, come with me. You need to help me find Harry and his friends." He told him before the dog scampered after him.
"So then what does that make Malfoy?" Lupin wondered.
"More like a frenemy." Severus responded before he went out the door with Patches.
…..
Meanwhile, Spooky the spider had managed to crawl up Hagrid's beard and had awoken him with a rather loud gasp and that's when Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco had walked over to him and attempted to explain what happened to them, but unfortunately, they had been talking over each other.
"Wait! Hold on a second! Blimey! I can't hear all of you when you're speaking over each other like that." He told them when suddenly Severus Snape burst through the front door with Patches by his side.
"I take it that the children are in here." He said while holding up his potion bottle. That's when Hagrid pointed over to where the other students were, and Severus unscrewed the lid. "Now stay right where you are." He instructed before he started pouring the liquid substance over them, and everybody including Spooky the spider started to grow.
"We're our regular sizes again." Hermione commented with a rather large grin while Harry and Severus exchanged smiles and a tight embrace and then they quickly let go of each other and Ron cleared his throat inside his fist and everybody turned to look over at him.
"Uh,.. thanks Snape." He told him. "If it wasn't for you, we would have probably been food for the owls or something." He added while nervously avoiding eye contact with him as he just stifled a laugh.
"You're welcome." He told him.
"Oh come on Ronald! Would it kill you to give him a sincere compliment!?" Hermione cried out before grabbing a pillow off the couch and whacking him on the head with it.
"Ouch." Draco began with a grin. "You can get a bit feisty sometimes can't you Granger?" He questioned her.
"Don't encourage her." Ron told him with a roll of his eyes as Severus laughed.
"You three really are something else you know that?" He inquired with another chuckle and a slight shake of his head.
"I just want to know what we're going to do with him." Harry said while pointing over at Spooky and Hermione's face suddenly lit up with excitement.
"Can I keep him!?" She exclaimed excitedly.
"What!?" Ron squeaked. "You already have that stupid cat of yours and now you want a spider!? Are you trying to torture me or something!?"
"Yes Ron, I constantly think up ways night and day to make your life a living hell and I won't rest until I stop." She told him sarcastically with a roll of her eyes as Draco burst out laughing.
"You know what? I think I'm really starting to like her." He told them.
"No kidding. You've been making goo-goo eyes at her whenever she passes you in the hallway." Ron said with a roll of his eyes as Hermione blushed.
"What's the matter Weasley? Not jealous, are you?" He questioned him.
"I really don't want to be involved in this." Severus said with a roll of his eyes as he left the cabin and Harry started walking with him and Patches trotted along after him wagging his tail.
"You and me both." He replied. "So Dad, you wouldn't happen to know where Professor Lupin is would you?" He asked him.
"Yes I do and I already know what you're going to ask me next and I already talked to him about it and he wants to start training you to perform the patronus." He told him. "Since the dementors seem to have such an effect on you, I want you to be prepared to know how to defend yourself." He explained. "He's waiting in the defense against the dark arts classroom." He told him as Harry nodded.
"Thank you." He told him before he ran off towards the castle.
..…..
"You know I heard that it's supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain." Hermione said as her and Draco stood outside the shrieking shack since Hermione wanted to show it to him, but Draco seemed to be spacing out before Hermione turned over to look at him. "Draco? Are you listening?" She asked him.
"Oops, sorry,.. I just had something on my mind that's all." He told her.
"Like what?" She wondered before he took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"I've done something bad Hermione." He began.
"How bad?" She questioned him eyeing him suspiciously while he sighed again and slowly turned his head away from her.
"Remember that hippogriff? Well, I told my father what happened and now he's going to be put down." He explained.
"What!?" Hermione cried out while quickly backing away from him. "How could you!? I trusted you! I thought you had changed!" She hollered angrily at him.
"I have changed Hermione, I didn't have anything to do with this as I didn't know this is what was going to happen I swear!" He cried out.
"So I am to assume that you thought that the same man that abuses you wouldn't try to harm Buckbeak?" She questioned him and a moment of silence fell between them as Draco simply just looked at her before watching her run back up to the castle.
