Chapter 27 Harry's Hogsmeade Adventure

Harry felt like he had walked for miles. The passage twisted and turned and his wand couldn't seem to get enough sufficient light. Several times he almost turned around to go back, but the thought of seeing Honeydukes kept him going.

'I wish Cassie had come with.' He thought to himself.

Just as he had that thought, the tunnel started to climb up. Ten minutes later, he came to the bottom of some stone steps. He climbed them, watching his feet and looking to see if he would fall. When he hit his head on something hard.

Harry massaged his head while he listened to the otherside of the trapdoor. There wasn't any noise so he slowly opened the door to peer in. He was in a cellar, which had wooden crates and boxes. He got into the cellar and quietly closed the trapdoor. It blended with the floor, so no one could tell it was there. If they didn't know about it.

Harry crept toward the staircase that led upstairs. He strained his ears to hear a little tinkle of a bell and the opening and closing of a door. He could hear faint voices above him. Before he could think of how to get out of the cellar, he heard a door just above him open up.

"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out -" A woman said.

Steps were coming down the stairs. Harry hid behind an enormous crate and waited. When he heard shifting boxes on the other side of the cellar he stepped out quietly, saw a huge backside and a shiny bald head in a box. He got up the stairs and when he came to the door. Harry didn't hesitate and slipped through the door. He ducked behind the counter and crept around it before standing up straight.

Harry looked around the shop. It was so crowded, that the Hogwarts student didn't look twice at him. He had a moment where he thought of Dudley and contained a laugh. He would give anything to see Dudley's piggy face at this shop.

The shelves were lined with all sorts of sweets. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut rice, fat, honey colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolates in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron mentioned; along yet another wall were "Special Effects" sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ("breathe fire for your friends!"), Ice Mice ("hear your teeth chatter and squeak!"), peppermint creams shaped like toads ("hop realistically in the stomach!"), fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons.

Harry squeezed through some sixth years and saw Hermione and Ron under a sign in a far corner of the shop. "Unusual Tastes." They were examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops.

"Ugh, no, Harry and Cassie won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect," Harry heard Hermione saying.

"How about these?" Ron shoved a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.

"Definitely not," Harry said.

Ron nearly dropped the jar.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed. "What are you doing here? How - how did you -?"

"Wow!" Ron looked impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"

" 'Course I haven't," Harry gave a laugh.

"Where's Cassie?" Hermione asked, looking around.

"She stayed behind. She really doesn't want anyone thinking she's trying to contact Black." Harry answered.

"How did you get down here?" Ron asked.

Harry dropped his voice and told them about the two maps and how Fred and Geoge gave him one and Cassie has the other.

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" Ron was outraged. "I'm their brother!"

"Why didn't Cassie tell us about hers?" Hermione asked.

"She got it from her mom. She wasn't ready to share it with anyone, Fred and George figured out she had it since the maps can communicate with each other."

"So why did she tell you about it now?" Ron asked.

"I dunno." Harry shrugged.

"But Harry's not going to keep it, is he?" Hermione asked, suddenly sounding ludicrous. "And Cassie shouldn't either! They're going to hand their maps to Professor McGonagall, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!" Harry said defensively.

"Are you mad?" Ron said, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!" Harry explained.

"Besides, Cassie's had hers since first year!" Ron pointed out.

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed back. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"He can't be getting in through a passage," Harry explained quickly. "There are seven secret tunnels on the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three - one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through - well - it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar, so unless he knew it was there…"

Harry hesitated. What if Black did know the passage was there? Ron cleared his throat and pointed to a notice posted on the inside of the door.

-By Order Of-

The Ministry Of Magic

Customers are reminded that until further notice,

Dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade

Every night until after sundown. This measure has been put

in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will

Be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is there-

Fore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.

Merry Christmas!

"See?" Ron said quietly. "I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!"

"Yes, but - but -" Hermione struggled with finding another problem. "Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet - what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?"

"He's have a job spotting Harry in this," Ron gestured through the window at the thick swirling snow. "Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas, Harry deserves a break!"

Hermione bit her lip, looking worried about this situation.

"Are you going to report me?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Oh - of course not - but honestly, Harry -"

Ron grabbed Harry's arm and started to walk him around and show him the different sweets around the shop.

"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?" Ron asked. "And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven - it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember mom walloping him with her broomstick." Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box. "Reckon Fred'd take a bit of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?"

Ron and Hermione paid for their purchases, they left the store and Harry was grateful Cassie had given him her cloak.

Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card. Little thatched cottages and shops were covered with a layer of snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. Harry still gave a shiver, not wearing a winter cloak and only two regular cloaks didn't do much against the cold.

"That's the post office -" Hermione pointed out first.

"Zonko's is up there -" Ron pointed up the street.

"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack -" Hermione suggested.

"Tell you what," Ron chattered through his teeth, "shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Harry tried to nod his enthusiasm, but the wasn't seen very well by his friends. Luckily, they went to the Three Broomsticks anyway.

It was an extremely crowded inn, but it was soisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," Ron pointed. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" He offered, going slightly red.

Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.

"Merry Christmas!" He raised his tankard.

Harry toasted with Ron and drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted and it warmed him right up from being outside.

"I wish Cassie were here." Harry said after drinking some of his butterbeer.

Before his friends could reply, the door to the Three Broomsticks opened and all three of them choked on their drinks.

McGonagall and Flitwick had entered the pub together, bringing with them a flurry of snowflakes, and Hagrid. Hagrid though, wasn't alone. He appeared to be in a deep conversation with a man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak - Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

Ron and Hermione both placed a hand on Harry's head and forced him under the table. Harry clutched his empty tankard and watched the legs of the group. He heard Hermione whisper, "Mobiliarbus!" and the tree next to their table floated a few inches and covered their table from view.

Through the branches, Harry watched the legs of the adults walk towards them, make a right, and sit down at the table next to theirs.

Next, he saw a pair of sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice.

"A small gillywater -"

"Mine." McGonagall spoke up.

"Four pints of mulled mead -"

"Ta, Rosmerta," Hagrid answered.

"A cherry syrup with ice and umbrella -"

"Mmm!" Flitwick made a noise and smacked his lips.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosemeta, m'dear." Fudge said. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us…"

"Well thank you very much, Minister."

Harry watched the heels march away and come back again.

Harry swallowed hard. Why hadn't he thought that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? He needed time to sneak back to Honeydukes to get back to the school. Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch against him.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" Rosmerta asked.

Harry watched the lower half of Fudge's body twist around, looking for evesdroppers.

"What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?" Fudge asked.

"I did hear a rumor," Rosmerta admitted.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" McGonagall said exasperatedly.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" Whispered Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it." Fudge responded shortly.

"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twice?" Rosmerta had a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away… It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, m'dear, I don't like them any more than you do," Fudge said uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution… unfortunate, but there you are… I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore - he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," McGonagall's voice was sharp. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" Flitwick's feet didn't touch the ground.

"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse… We all know what Black's capable of…"

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," Rosmerta said thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought… I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," Fudge was gruff. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" Rosmerta's curiosity was piqued. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do." Fudge answered.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta?" McGonagall spoke up this time. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," Rosmerta answered with a laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here - ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Harry dropped his tankard, earning a kick from Ron.

"Precisely." McGonagall said. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course - exceptionally bright, in fact - but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers -"

"I dunno," Hagrid chuckled. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" Flitwick chimed in. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," Fudge said. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"His daughter's best friends with Harry. They're hardly inseparable too." McGongall had a touch of something in her voice.

"I warned Harry about staying friends with her." Fudge sounded disappointed.

"She wouldn't turn her back on him. She almost walked through flames for him their first year." McGonagall said defensively.

"We thought Black would never turn on Potter, it's better to be safe than sorry." Fudge answered back, his voice cool.

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" Rosmerta whispered.

"Worse than that, m'dear." Fudge dropped his voice and finished in a low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from, Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" Rosmerta asked breathlessly.

Flitwick cleared his throat, "an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find - unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refuses to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" Rosmerta whispered.

"Naturally." McGonagall answered, "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell where they were, that Black was planning on going into hiding himself… and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" Rosmerta gasped.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," Mcgonagall's voice grew dark. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did," Fudge said with a heavy voice. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed -"

"Black betrayed them?" Rosmerta breathed.

"He did indeed, Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it -"

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said so loudly, the bar went quiet and Harry gave a jump.

"Shh!" McGonagall hushed.

"I met him!" Hagrid growled. "I musta bin that last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead… an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride . Never occurred to me what he was doing there. I didn't know he'd bin Lily and James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.

"Hagrid, please!" McGonagall said. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him -' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncles. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says." Hagrid took a breath.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn't he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him."

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to 'em anymore."

A long silence followed Hagrid's story.

"But what about his daughter?" Rosmerta asked, "surely he wouldn't have turned if he had her?"

"Cassiopiea's mother, Karen, made sure no one knew who her daughter's father was. I was surprised myself when I read the letter Miss Zwart had wrote to Black. The Ministry was in all sorts of chaos when she revealed herself." Fudge answered.

"What did happen to Karen Zwart? She was a lovely girl, best friends with Lily." Rosmerta asked.

There was a sigh and Fudge answered, "I'm afraid she was killed just before the Potter's were found out. She had gone missing and Dumbledore found young Cassiopiea alone in her house. Karen's body was later found at a park. It was devastating. We have assumed that Sirius killed her, as he had killed most of his friends, but he hadn't admitted it."

"But Black didn't managed to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him the day after the Potters' death!" Rosmerta sounded desperate.

"Alas, if only we had," Fudge said bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew - another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, from losing Karen early that year, and then losing the Potters', and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew… that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" Rosmerta asked.

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," McGonagall answered, "he even had a crush on Karen while he was there. He wasn't as flamboyant about it as James was with Lily, but everyone knew. He was never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I - how I regret that now…" She suddenly sounded like she had a head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," Fudge said kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses - Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later - told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens…"

McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy… Foolish boy… he was always hopeless at dueling… should have left it to the Ministry…"

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands - I'd've ripped him limb - from - limb." Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," Fudge said sharply. "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black one he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I - I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him… a heap of bloodstained robes and a few - a few fragments -"

There was a pause and five noses blew.

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," Fudge's voice was thick.

"Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."

Rosmerta let out a long sigh.

"Is it true he's mad, Minister?"

"I wish I could say that he was," Fudge answered slowly. "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man - cruel… pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them… but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving . You'd have thought he was merely bored - asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes I was astounded at how little effect the dementors seemed to be having on him - and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night. When I was there, I also delivered the letter from Miss Zwart. He was quite surprised to find out that Karen's daughter was his. But he didn't seem too excited about it. He did ask how she was doing but I couldn't give him an answer as I didn't know."

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" Rosmerta asked. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't he trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his - er - eventual plan." Fudge said evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing… but give him back his most devoted servant and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again…"

"Has Zwart come out to Hogsmeade? I think I would recognize her if she has." Rosmerta asked.

"Her guardian, Charlotte, has sent her permission form earlier this year. And she doesn't want her friends to know so that she can stay at Hogwarts with Potter, as she doesn't want people thinking she's in contact with Black." McGonagall answered.

Hermione gave a gasp.

"The poor dear, she had no idea what would happen, did she?" Rosmerta said in pity.

There was a chink of glass on wood.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle." McGonagall said.

There was scraping chairs and one by one, the feet stood up and cloaks hemmed the ground. The door opened and closed, letting in another flurry of snowflakes.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up and saw Hermione and Ron's faces were under the table looking at him. Both at a loss for words.

"Cassie!" The strange voice said.

I don't know what noise I made, but I finally got my legs untangled and I let out a noise. One of fear? One of triumph? Both? But before I could even take a step, my cloak was grabbed and his arms were around me.

I opened my mouth and his hand covered it.

"I'm not going to kill you."

DUN! DUN! DUN! YOU GOTTA WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK FOR THE UPDATE! AND DON'T WORRY I'M DYING TO TELL YOU TOO!

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