Fred and George burst into the common room an hour later. I could see their relief as soon as they spotted me sitting by the fire.
"Where the bloody hell have you been?" Fred asked in a frustrated and anxious tone.
"Cedric brought me back," I replied.
"Ron told us you were almost eaten by a Grimm?!" Fred continued hysterically.
I rolled my eyes and put it in the back of my head to have a talk with Ron later on.
"Well, Cedric and I did see a huge, black dog, but it didn't harm us," I continued, still feeling numb about the whole thing.
I didn't mention the fact that it had seemed to be sentient enough to indicate that it wanted Cedric and I to stand apart. And who new what would have happened if Ron and Harry hadn't shown up.
"What was it?" George asked more graciously than his twin.
"Well, maybe it was a Grimm. I don't really know…" I drifted off, feeling my head start to overcrowd with thoughts.
"Marnie, I believe you that you saw something, obviously, but you honestly think it was a Grimm? That sounds a little mad doesn't it?" George asked with heavy skepticism.
"No, you know what sounds a little mad?" I asked, focusing my scattered thoughts on the parchment seemingly burning a hole in my pocket.
I pulled out the map and waved it in front of Fred and George. I watched as their expressions turned guilty.
"He is being hunted by a mass murderer! How could you give this to Harry?" I shouted, feeling the anger boil in my stomach.
"Well, so are you and you still go to Hogsmeade," Fred reasoned, with an edge in his voice.
"And you didn't even think to tell me beforehand, I'm your best friend and I didn't even know you were thinking of passing over the map!" I continued vehemently.
"Well, you are always so protective of Harry, we knew you would never agree but we saw that Harry had more of a need for it than us," Fred continued.
My face must have been entirely flushed, the anger felt like I was gearing up to explode.
"So now I'm Harry's sister before I'm your best friend. If you haven't noticed, you and George are twins and best friends from way before I ever came along, and we have managed pretty damn well on staying best friends. Looks like you still can't trust me enough. Well, piss off the both of you!" I shouted at both of them before storming up to my dormitory.
Thankfully, the girls still hadn't returned from Hogsmeade, so I had the entire room to myself. I threw myself onto my bed and pulled the blankets up over my head. I just wanted my thoughts to stop racing and for the anger to stop streaming tears down my face.
It was probably only thirty minutes later before I heard three sets of footsteps enter the dorm. I couldn't decipher their whispers as they went about the room and put their purchases away. However, I did sense when they were all standing around my bed.
"Ahem," I heard Angelina clear her throat to get my attention.
I just rolled over and waited for them to leave.
"Come on Marnie, we aren't going anywhere," Katie said firmly.
'Why are Gryffindor's so stubborn?" I retorted back at them.
"I don't know hunn, but you are the most stubborn lion of them all," Ange replied as she pulled back my curtains and climbed onto my bed.
The other two quickly joined her which left me no choice but to surface from my blanket burrow.
"We heard you had a pretty horrible day," Alicia started, looking at me with concern.
"I don't really want to talk about it," I responded, still feeling exhausted.
"That's alright, from everyone downstairs, we got a pretty descriptive lowdown," Ange replied.
"Who's downstairs?" I asked intently.
"Well the twins are a mess, going on about how they fucked up. And then there are Harry and Ron. Ron is brooding, which is pretty typical when he does something wrong and Harry is trying to discuss a plan with the twins about coaxing you out of here," all three of the girls rolled their eyes at this.
"Ooh!" Alicia squealed which made me jump. "And that handsome boy of yours is sitting outside the common room. He looks the least worried, but he is obviously concerned. He gave us the clearest explanation and said he just wants to make sure you are safe."
I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. This also loosened my stomach which had been roiling in knots.
"The rest of those boys are idiots," Katie said and just shook her head.
"They've been prattling on and scheming ways to get you to come downstairs. We just came back and told them to stop wasting their time. As if they didn't think to ask your dormmates who are also your best mates," Angelina stated in mock insult.
"I still don't want to go downstairs," I replied.
"We don't blame you," Katie said honestly. "They all need to cool off down there."
"That's why we brought back these!" Alicia said, pointing at the four butterbeers which I now noticed were sitting over near her bed.
"We figured something was up after you didn't show. We weren't with the twins when Ron told them what happened," they explained.
I just smiled and graciously accepted the warm beverage from Leesh.
"Can you guys do me a favour though?" I asked.
"Of course," they all replied kindly.
"Can you go convince Cedric that I'm alright and will just be staying in for the night. I would go see him myself, but I don't want to have to talk to any of the other boys in my life," I said.
"I'll go!" Ange eagerly answered. "I know the poor bloke still feels guilty about that whole Sirius Black incident after I had told him to keep you safe," she admitted rather sheepishly.
"Ange!" I groaned at her.
"Well, I did tell him to watch out for you," she replied matter-of-factly.
"No wonder he's intimidated by you guys," I muttered.
"He is?" Ange asked slyly.
"Just go tell him please!" I replied, throwing my pillow at her.
"Alright, alright, I'm going," Ange said, running away from my pillow arsenal and out the door.
XXX
That night I still had trouble sleeping and ended up looking over the map which I still had in my possession. It had started off with me double checking that Cedric wasn't still standing guard at the entrance of the Gryffindor common room, but thankfully he had listened to Angelina.
Plus, I'm sure the security trolls wouldn't have let him stay there past curfew.
I looked over his name indicating he was probably asleep in his Hufflepuff dormitory. He hadn't moved for over an hour and I could see his other dormmates' names adjacent to his.
I also looked over my friends who were all in their dorms; mostly everybody in the castle was asleep. Aside from some teachers, including Remus, doing their rounds, no one else was walking about the castle. Unfortunately, this was my only form of entertainment and I still wasn't feeling tired.
I flipped over to the next section of the map and was somewhat surprised to see some fast-moving footsteps along the Charms corridor.
Peter Pettigrew.
I had to cover my mouth to stifle my gasp.
Of course, I knew all about Peter, Remus' childhood friend who had also befriended my parents. Apparently, he was a quiet fellow and had been bullied a lot in school.
He was also dead.
I whipped off my covers before booking it to the door and out of the Gryffindor Tower. I followed the familiar path towards Remus' name and found him returning from his rounds in the Defense hallway.
"Marnie?" he asked surprisingly when he saw me turn the corner into the corridor.
"Remus! I have to show you something!" I replied urgently, trying to catch my breath.
Without saying anything, Remus took my arm and led me to his office chambers. He ended up guiding me towards a comfy looking chair and went to make some tea. Moments later, he returned with two steaming cups and sat across from me expectantly. He was waiting for me to speak.
"Well, I know I've never told you or dad…" I started, putting the map between us on a small table.
"I know what the map does," he said evenly.
I couldn't decipher what Remus was feeling but was very surprised to hear that he already knew of the map.
"Oh," I replied, trying to recollect my thoughts. "Well, I was looking over it tonight…" I started again.
"Marnie, don't you think a map, that could have been easily left about or used to our advantage, should have been brought forward once Sirius Black first breached the castle?" Remus asked reproachfully.
"Erm…" I paused, feeling my cheeks start to burn in embarrassment and regret.
Remus sighed and looked at me thoughtfully. "What was it you saw?"
It was my turn to sigh and try and collect my thoughts again.
"Peter Pettigrew," I whispered, not able to make myself any louder.
There was a heavy silence between us.
"Marnie," Remus paused. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
There were several more, long minutes of silence.
"You know, Harry came and talked to me today," Remus said, surprisingly changing the topic.
I raised my eyebrows at him and suddenly realized what that meant.
I could see the worry etched onto Remus' face.
"Marnie… I have to ask that you don't ever leave the castle alone again," he said solemnly, and without room for objection.
"Well, I wasn't alone. And the security is already pretty tight," I replied.
I didn't understand Remus' sudden worry. He was usually more forgiving than my father when it came to any perceived danger. Plus, the big dog hadn't really done anything to us. Maybe Harry had used Ron's story and blown it out of proportion.
"Uncle…" I started, wanting to placate his fear.
"Marnie, you can't afford to be reckless. Harry is bad enough, just like James he is. Trust me, I gave him just as much warning as I am giving you. But, I am disappointed you didn't turn the map in sooner. Your mother sacrificed herself and was betrayed by this man. Wandering around and putting yourself in danger would be a poor way of honouring her sacrifice," he finished.
My stomach had returned to roiling knots and it felt like my chest was also constricting. I could never live with myself if I dishonoured my mother in any way.
Remus escorted me back to the tower shortly after and confiscated the map. We hadn't talked about Peter after I had told him what I'd seen, but I think Remus thought I was seeing things after coming face-to-face with a Grimm. He also seemed very weary of this large beast and was adamant that I don't leave the castle walls unescorted. I felt very uneasy about the whole thing after I had re-entered the Gryffindor common room and Remus returned to his chambers. I had a suspicion that my uncle wasn't telling me something.
XXX
The next morning, I didn't have any alternative than to face the guys. The twins were already waiting for me when I went down early, and surprisingly, so were Harry and Ron.
I only sighed and let each other them hug me, apologize, and then re-iterate how each of them only wanted to keep me safe. I felt too tired to argue and still felt the nagging worry from my encounter with Remus the previous night.
The bad feeling only worsened when Hermione received a letter over breakfast from Hagrid, saying that Buckbeak had been sentenced to death. My gut was clenching with guilt over my betrayal to everyone. First, I had taken my mother's own sacrifice for granted, then I hadn't even thought of handing over the map to aid in the apprehension of that bastard Black and now I was regretting not helping out with Buckbeak's trial or being there for Hagrid in his time of need. Hagrid had always been there for me when I needed someone, and I had been too caught up in my OWL homework and everything else to go down and help him. Suddenly, I lost my appetite.
The next week passed in a nervous and overwhelmed state. I would stay in the library from the time I woke up until the few minutes before curfew. Cedric, Harry and my friends would visit me and usually study as well since most of us had our OWL exams coming up. It should have been comforting to have them there, but I felt as if I were in my own glass orb and the others were on the outer side, just out of reach. I still felt immensely guilty and had since spared an afternoon to visit Hagrid. He had thanked me from coming down and said it helped to be around friends, but I did not feel abated for my guilt.
The only person who I did feel was in the same world as me was Hermione. We would often walk to the library together in the early hours of the morning and would sit with each other until one of us had class, and then we would return to the dormitory at night together. Somehow, she seemed even more busy and stressed than I did, and was taking an inordinate number of classes. I had asked her about it once, but she only waved me off and I decided she would tell me if she felt the need.
XXX
"Good morning Marnie," a rather frazzled looking Hermione greeted me.
I had gotten to the library earlier than usual since I had dreamt I forgot the entire unit on memory charms. I refused to be one of the students who had a breakdown in the middle of the Great Hall; so far there had only been two.
"I had a run-in with Malfoy," she said rather smugly.
"What happened?" I asked worriedly, knowing full-well that Malfoy was just as bad as Flint.
I also knew the Slytherins had been surlier and more aggressive than usual, with the upcoming quidditch finals. The game was set for tomorrow and it was another reason I had snuck off to the library early, I was admittedly tired of hearing non-stop quidditch strategies and facts.
"Oh, nothing really. I just punched him in the nose for being rude," she said as non-chalantly as she could.
I whipped my head up at her and could see her smug grin.
"That's brilliant! Of course, he deserves it," I replied enthusiastically.
"I am rather proud of myself, plus Harry and Ron got a kick out of it," Hermione said before bringing out an alarming number of books from her rucksack.
"Good morning my lovely girl," I heard a voice say from behind me only moments later.
It was almost like his voice was made of honey with how sweet and warm he sounded.
I turned around and knew I was blushing at Cedric while he came up and planted a kiss on my forehead.
"Hey Ced," I answered sweetly and stood up to kiss his cheek.
I lingered for a moment, but grudgingly pulled away since I didn't want to make Hermione uncomfortable.
"Good morning Hermione," Cedric said politely, already pulling over his own seat to join our study session.
"Hi Cedric," she replied with a friendly smile.
Hermione was not nearly as bad as my other girl friends who would always badger me about Cedric being so sweet and caring whenever he was around. I did however catch the smug look Hermione gave me before she ducked behind her book.
Cedric and I followed suit, not feeling the ability to have a long conversation. I was always panicking about something I thought I had forgotten, and Hermione was taking way more classes than should be possible. I think Cedric felt surer of himself and was more here for my benefit. Or maybe his own since he probably wouldn't ever see me if he didn't come and track me down.
We continued like this throughout the morning, only exchanging a few words when one of us needed clarification on something.
"Hey Marnie," I heard Harry say which caused me to look up from my book on flobberworms.
"Hey Harry. Ron," I acknowledged as they stood across from me.
I assumed they had come to join our study group and immediately returned to my book.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked after several moments of feeing them staring in my general direction.
"Erm- I was wondering if I could have a word?" he said timidly.
I knew he was still feeling guilty about the other day regarding Hogsmeade even though we had already buried the hatchet.
I obligingly got up and followed him to an empty row, leaving Ron behind.
"So, I wanted to tell you…" he paused. "I told Remus about the Grimm."
"I know," I said simply.
My guilt started to churn my stomach as I remembered what he had told me about my mother's sacrifice.
"Oh. Well, I just wanted to warn you and tell you that I did what I thought was best…" he looked as if he was preparing for my anger.
"I know you did," I answered truthfully. "He took the map though."
"Oh," was all Harry could say.
I didn't really want to talk about my guilt or re-hash my previous anger, so I just hugged him and returned to my seat. Harry and Ron left the library soon after and I didn't see anyone else until dinner. Cedric had to pry me away from my books when he told me he could hear my stomach from across the table.
"I'll come and escort you to the big game tomorrow?" Cedric asked with a big grin in his face.
I knew he was almost as excited as the rest of my friends who would actually be playing in the game tomorrow.
"Of course!" I replied happily.
He wrapped me in his arms before kissing me softly on the cheek. I wrapped my own arms around him, trying to keep the embrace for as long as possible before he let go and returned headed over towards the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. I knew I was absolutely smitten with this boy and wanted to savour every minute with him. With a mass murderer and a Grimm running about, one never knew how much time there actually was.