AN: I apologize for the rather short chapter, but I had some scenes I really needed to get in before the gang breaks for the holidays. I do have a new outtake up though, so go check that out! Thanks to all the reader out there. Gaggles of thanks to the 551 favorites and 812 follows going out for this story. Tons of thanks goes out to reviewers phoebe turner, Cassandra30, serenityselena, Majerus, B00kw0rm92, Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER, MariusDarkwolf, Firenze Fox, becuzitswrong, draconic skysong, Element Kitsune, Spring Raine, Tellur, serialkeller, RRW, Kairan1979, and Janna Kalderash.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
"There he is!" Neville jerked away from Dean and Seamus in the Common Room to get a better look at Harry as the boy climbed in through the portrait hole.
"Quit moving!" Dean ordered before turning to find his first model grinning sheepishly. "Harry!"
"Good to see you alive, mate," Seamus joked, standing to clap Harry on the back.
"Guess what?" Dean hurried toward them. "I posted one of my drawings of you on the message board, and now everyone wants me to draw them."
"That's great!" Harry exclaimed.
"Yeah. I've even got a waiting list. It was all thanks to you."
"Oh, uh, I dunno." Harry gazed at the ground. "I'm sure people wouldn't do that if they didn't see how good you are."
"Still," Dean shrugged. "No one was even willing to give me a chance until you did."
"Ron said he would," Neville pointed out.
Dean shook his head. "Yeah, but he doesn't count."
"Where is Ron, anyway?" Seamus scratched his head.
"In the Great Hall," Harry told them. "Something about fighting basilisks makes him hungry, I guess."
Neville's eyes almost popped out of his skull. "That was real?"
Harry blanched. "Well, yeah, I thought you knew."
"Rumors like that go around all the time about you," Dean said.
"Yeah, remember that one that said Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the ones to stop Quirrell?" Seamus said with a laugh.
Harry cringed. "That one was true too."
"Bloody hell," Seamus gasped.
"You've got to talk to us more often," Dean said reproachfully.
Harry blushed. "Sorry 'bout that. D'you wanna go see Ron?"
Dean packed up his art folder and the four boys set out.
"Hermione!" Lavender and Parvati pounced as soon as the bushy haired girl stepped foot in the dorm.
"Are you alright?" Parvati fussed automatically.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Of course she isn't, look at her hair!" Lavender shrieked.
"Lavender," Hermione said patiently. "My hair's always like this, remember?"
"Oh." Lavender deflated quickly.
"What happened?" Parvati guided her to the make shift vanity Lavender had set up at the beginning of the year.
"Is it true that you were petrified? And that someone died? And that Harry saved you all?" Lavender fluttered around the room, bursting with anticipation.
"No, no, of course not. I wasn't petrified, no one died, and…well, I suppose that without Harry it wouldn't have been possible, but I don't know that he really saved us." Hermione leaned back against the wall, smiling.
"Well? What happened? I need details," Lavender stressed.
"A lot of stuff went on. I don't think…"
"What?" Parvati asked worriedly.
"I don't really know if I should tell you. It's not my place to say." Hermione tried to avoid saying that she didn't want them gossiping, but the girls were smarter than she gave them credit for.
"Oh," Parvati said emptily.
"We get it." Lavender drooped. "It's fine, you don't have to tell us anything. I just thought…"
"No, guys, I want to tell you, honestly-"
"Really, you don't have to," Parvati protested weakly, turning away.
"I-I'm sorry," Hermione pleaded.
Lavender closed the curtains around her four-poster, and Parvati hurried into the bathroom.
Hermione Granger was alone.
Leann was worried. Katie had always been slightly distant, a friend that wasn't always around. But lately, Katie had been gone from most of the things that Leann and the other girls did. The girls had made plans to meet up in Hogsmeade, but Katie had been unable to give a definitive answer on whether she was doing something.
And it had started long before that. Katie had blown off study sessions and more, only to be found with her new friends. Merlin, how Leann hated them. Katie had always stuck with Leann, not Wood, Johnson, the twins, or even Granger! Worse still was that Cormac McLaggen, one of the dreamiest boys in their year, had taken an interest in Katie, not Leann.
Katie knew Leann had liked him since forever, and Leann knew that Katie had expressed her doubts about his intelligence several times. What had he done to convince Katie that he was a good guy? And were they dating? Is that why Katie hadn't said anything about Hogsmeade? Was she going with Cormac? Leann wasn't sure she would be able to handle that.
And now, there were rumors of Katie being involved in destroying the monster. Cormac had been there with her, as well as her usual group of weirdoes. Leann couldn't stand them, and the way they strutted around like they could do whatever they wanted now. Why couldn't Katie be content with her old friends? Were they just too boring for her?
Leann wouldn't admit it, but she missed Katie. Hadn't the two been best friends? The necklace around Leann's neck sure said so. Katie had picked up a pair at a muggle jewelry store, claiming that girls did it all the time. Leann had grabbed the one that said "Best" out of pettiness, but Katie had just smiled and tied the "Friend" half around her neck.
Leann would give the "Best" half to Katie if it meant having her friend back.
"Hey Leann," Katie greeted, meandering into the dorm.
"Where have you been?" Leann hadn't meant to sound like an over-concerned parent, but that was the way it had come across.
"Oh, y'know, around," Katie said airily, grabbing a hairbrush from her trunk.
"With who?" Leann demanded.
"The usual. You know, Oliver, Angelina, Cormac—oh, and Penny was there too—and Harry-"
"I know who the usual is," Leann cut her off harshly. "Didn't you think it would be dangerous?"
Katie straightened up, a serious look coming across her face. "You heard."
It hadn't been a question, but Leann answered anyway. "Yes."
"What were we supposed to do?" Katie asked defensively. "Hogwarts was going to shut down. We couldn't just sit back and let it happen."
The we Katie spoke of made Leann sick to her stomach. "I heard Cormac was with you."
"Yeah, he was," Katie said warily. "He didn't really do much, to be honest."
"Do you like him?" This wasn't how Leann had intended the conversation to play out, but she found that she couldn't stop the words from falling out of her mouth.
"Who? Cormac? No, of course not, Leann. I know you like him," Katie snorted.
"Say I didn't."
"What?"
"Just say I didn't," Leann insisted, moving closer to read Katie's face. "Say I didn't like Cormac. Would you then?"
"You know what?" Katie snapped, stumbling toward the door. "I don't have to have this conversation with you. I'll just go off and find some real friends that care about me. And yeah, maybe that does include Cormac!" She shouted, taking off.
It wasn't this last parting shot that jarred Leann; it was the sight of Katie's neck, devoid of any necklace.
"Alright, everyone listen up." Oliver Wood couldn't feel better. The monster was slayed, he was signed, and Hogwarts was definitely open. This meant that Quidditch was back on, of course.
"Ugh!" Alicia picked at her muddied uniform. "I hate practicing in the rain!"
"You look rather beautiful in the rain, though." Fred gave her a cheesy grin.
George pretended to gag.
Angelina felt her lips curve up before she forced them down. Unfortunately for her, George caught it and gave himself a pat on the back.
"Hey Harry," He said suddenly, changing the subject. "I don't suppose our dear brother has informed you of our mother's invitation to spend Christmas at the Burrow, has he?"
The black haired boy seemed taken aback. "Are you sure?"
"No, he's not," Fred chimed in. "That's why he asked you."
"Er, well," Harry became incredibly flustered as attention turned to him.
"No, he hasn't," Harry admitted finally. "But, I'd love to go," He added quickly.
"Wicked!" The twins chorused. "We'll let her know right away."
Harry felt the now familiar warm burst in his chest. It seemed to accompany every good thing that ever happened to him, which made sense, since it had never happened at the Dursleys.
"Is anyone even listening to me?" Oliver asked angrily.
"Nope!" The twins cheered.
"Hello," Andromeda Tonks said breathlessly as she arrived in the Hospital Wing. "I came as quickly as I could."
"Lovely to see you again, Andromeda," Minerva said, ushering her over to the bedside. "You didn't have to come right away."
"I know, but I just felt like it would be good for me to be here, in case anything went wrong." Andromeda smoothed down her skirts and perched herself on the bed next to the Headmistress.
"You'll be shown to your quarters by Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies Professor and Head of Gryffindor House. Typically, I would send the deputy to do it, but with the state of things," Minerva tilted her head in the direction of the sleeping Sinistra.
"I understand," Andromeda bobbed her head graciously.
"Now, Charity will be a more than acceptable substitute, but I must warn you that she can be a tad nervous. It's nothing to worry about, of course, but she does have a tendency to ramble on about muggles…"
"Oh, that's fine, Ted's muggleborn, you know, so I've heard quite a bit about them-"
"I'm sorry I'm late, I was just informed that—oh, you're here." Charity strode in, hair flying out behind her. "You must be Professor Tonks, I'm Professor Burbage, but you can call me Charity." The petite blond shook the elder woman's hand profusely, blinking fast.
"Then you must call me Andromeda," She smiled politely.
"Oh, wonderful. Let's get started, shall we?" Charity bounced along the halls.
The two walked in uncomfortable silence. Andromeda was just starting to get desperate enough to mention muggles when a small boy carrying a large camera came running towards them.
Click!
Andromeda blinked dazedly.
"Who's this?" The boy asked eagerly.
"Colin, this is Professor Tonks. She'll be your Transfiguration professor from now on," Charity introduced them gently.
"Oh, okay." Colin practically vibrated with excitement, staring up at Charity.
"You can be excused," Charity told him calmly.
"Thanks!" He ran off with an energy that reminded Andromeda of Nymphadora.
"That was Colin Creevey. He's a first year Gryffindor. I've been trying to teach him some manners. We're starting out slow, and hopefully we'll make it to 'no more taking pictures without asking' before the end of term," Charity explained.
"AAAAHHH!" A loud, feminine scream could be heard from almost directly below them.
"Oh no!" Charity gasped. "Come on!"
Andromeda hiked up her robes and took off toward the stairs, only to be faced with an irate Slytherin girl.
"Oh dear," Charity whispered. "Are you alright?"
"Don't talk to me!" She snarled. "It was your people who did this to me!" She pointed to her periwinkle hair. Andromeda was so used to Nymphadora's metamorphagus abilities that she didn't bat an eyelash at the strange shade. But clearly this wasn't the girl's usual.
"The twins?" Charity asked sympathetically.
"Yes," The girl ground out. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find someone to take this off."
She stormed away.
"I don't know her, because most of the Slytherins don't take my class, but the Weasley twins are some of the biggest pranksters I've ever met, and I went to school with the Marauders!"
"You did?" Andromeda felt her stomach give a little lurch at the thought of her cousin. She'd truly thought he was one of the good ones.
"Well, we were a couple years apart, but yes." Charity sagged a bit before shaking herself.
Andromeda decided to take pity on her. "My daughter went to school with a Weasley. Charlie, I believe it was."
"Oh, I missed him by a year. But everyone says great things about him, so I suppose that's good. And here we are." Charity stepped forward with a flourish. "Right now, you don't have a password, but you can set it very easily. I'm afraid you have to be in Minerva's old quarters, but they do have a nice view."
In front of her eyes was a portrait of a solemn looking old woman. Her hair was black, tinged with gray, and she had an amulet on. She spared Andromeda a mournful glance before turning to her writing.
"She never talks," Charity explained, swinging the portrait open. "I suppose she must've written a book or something, but no one knows which one, because she doesn't even say her name. Anyway this door leads to your quarters, and the one on the left here leads to a bathroom, and this one is the most important. This is your office!"
"There is a door for the students to enter, so you don't have to reveal your password, but-oh!" She screamed upon finding three students already in her office.
Andromeda was almost certain that one of them was her nephew, Narcissa's son. Who else could have such pale skin and such light blonde hair but Lucius' son? He sneered in their direction, and Andromeda was sure of it.
The other two boys were big and bumbling, and they didn't appear to have much in the way of brains. One nudged the other, and they moved to flank the Malfoy boy.
Like bodyguards, Andromeda realized. Lucius' doing, she knew it. Narcissa had always been one to fight her own battles, or to not fight them at all. But Lucius wouldn't want his son to be seen backing down.
"You shouldn't be in here," Burbage scolded them. "20 points from Slytherin for snooping."
"20 points?" One of the bigger ones objected.
"Each," Burbage replied sternly. "Now move along, before I make it more."
The three skulked away, Charity shutting the door behind them. "I'm terribly sorry about them, they're big troublemakers to be honest, you're going to have your hands full. If you have any questions at all, let me know, but I'm afraid I have to be going right now. Have a good time."
Charity made her exit out the portrait hole immediately before an explosion went off.
"Oh no…" She groaned. "Not again."
Andromeda fell sideways into her desk chair. How had she ever thought teaching would be an easy job?