Waaaasssuppp! Omg, this would've been here sooner, but I spent a few days without my laptop - remember how one got totally smashed (poor thing)? well, the other one started installing a whole bunch of crap (excuse my French) - including 5 different anti virus' - and well, everything clashed together, they all got into a major fight... and BOOM! My laptop went to tech-heaven ... Or so we thought! We managed to get both my babies out of eternal coma and back into business!

Wow... Crazy story...

So as for my reviewers...

Dream Lightning - hahahahah omg another Cho hater. I love you :x Gosh, I sooooo totally disliked Cho. Urgh, she appears in part 4 and onwards. . Sooo sad D: (but I need her!) :p

MeganAllard - naaa verdade, o Athos CRIOU a mapa em si. A estrutura toda e blabla... O Sirius vai falar isso no final da parte 3. É que o Athos é/sempre foi Mr. Certinho, entao ele se recusou a se transformar - cof é porque ele nao conseguiu mesmo cof - e durante uma briguinha besta, o James fala que ele nao terá o nome dele no mapa... Mas no fim, os meninos acabam precisando dele pra fazer o mapa em si.. mas mesmo assim o Athos decide nao por o nome dele nem nada :p (athos é adoravel)

Bluegreen216 - NOOO, I'm not! hahahah. I do speak Portuguese, however, very fluently. But no. I'm British :p

Guest - OMG... When I read your review, I already had written the DracoJess bit! *o* In all honesty, I can't remember if there will be more in Part 3... but there's pleeenty in Part 4 :p - though he does share the spotlight with Cedric Diggory in the next one! hahahaha. Spoiler :x

Phew! Reviews done... OH! This chapter is MUCH shorter than the others. It was supposed to be longer, but then it would've become too long and I wasn't liking it at all. So I decided to cut it down up to - where it ends - and then continue on in the next chapter. \o

Enjoy! ^^

The Golden Key

Insomnia decided to pay a visit to Jessica on the last night of their holidays. She had been tossing and turning in her bed ever since Hermione had dragged her to their room at ten. It was now three in the morning and she was completely sleepless. She wondered if her lack of sleep had to do with all the things in her mind. Her only brother had been avoiding everyone lately, he didn't even participate in the prank that Fred and George pulled off in the Great Hall during dinner. He hadn't been speaking to Lila, or acknowledging anyone. She worried for him. She knew he had been sleeping just as little as her, due to the dark circles that were slowly forming under his eyes. He always looked as though he were up to something, something which he shouldn't be doing. It wasn't like when he avoided getting detention, however; it seemed much more serious. He still hadn't explained his reasons for heading back early. Jessica never pushed him to explain either. She was quite afraid of what he'd say. Her parent's hadn't sent her anything. If they wrote to Josh, he didn't tell her. Didn't they care? Her mother sometimes drove her mad, but that didn't mean she wanted to be ignored completely. Then, of course, there was the whole situation with Harry. He'd explained a little more about what he overheard. She couldn't believe someone could be so evil. No wonder her mother was overreacting over everything. She turned on her belly and dropped her head on her pillow. She had to get some sleep before classes started. It was very unlikely that the teachers would be sympathetic with the sleepy ones on the first day back. She soon started feeling suffocated, with her nose and mouth buried in her pillow, and sat up. She flattened her messed up hair and swung her feet to the side. She'd probably get more sleep in the common room.

She wasn't entirely surprised when she saw Harry, lying on the floor, with a big book in front of him. He looked up when he heard the footsteps approaching him, but didn't say anything. Jessica wordlessly took the spot on the floor next to him and rested her head on her crossed arms.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Hagrid gave it to me. It's got their pictures... I wanted to know if he was in any of them." Harry mumbled.
"Do you really think that's a good idea?" She perked her head up slightly and gave him a worried look. She knew first hand that it was never easy to search for something you didn't want to find.
"Do you know what he looks like?" He asked, ignoring the previous question.
"Maybe... I know from all the notices and posters, but he might've been different back then." Jessica said.
Harry began flipping through the pages. He stopped on a picture of his parents' wedding day. There was his father waving up at him, beaming, and the untidy black hair Harry had inherited standing up in all directions. His mother, alight with happiness, arm in arm with his dad. Harry tapped his finger on the man standing next to his father. His face was sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter. Had he already been working for Voldemort when this picture was taken? Was he already planning the deaths of the two people next to him? Did he realise he was facing twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him unrecognizable?
"The Dementor's don't affect him. He doesn't have to hear my mum screaming if they get too close." Harry slammed the album shut and pushed it aside.
"Harry-"
"I'm going to bed. You should too." Harry said, avoiding eye contact.

x.x

Jessica nearly fell asleep twice during breakfast. She could hear Hermione scolding her non-stop for having bad sleeping habits, but she mostly heard muffled words. She hadn't been able to sleep after Harry left. All she could think about was how he spoke of the Dementor's. Could he really hear his mother screaming? She knew the Dementor's were terrifying creatures, but hearing your dead parent scream is on a whole new level. Jessica tried her very best to stay awake during breakfast, but she was practically drooling by the time Harry decided to join them.
"You look terrible." Ron looked up from his plate of food as soon as Harry sat down.
"Thanks." Harry muttered. He grabbed two pieces of toast and started nibbling them. He didn't have much of an appetite, but he probably wouldn't be able to go without eating until lunch.
"Honestly, you two need to sort out your sleeping habits. I'm going to start dragging you both to bed at eight." Hermione said, in a very motherly tone.
"It won't work... I'll still be awake at midnight." Jessica yawned.
"Well it has to work, eventually. You can't keep falling asleep during class!" She exclaimed.
"You know, she has a point... I mean, we're just two years away from our O.W.L's and they say that if you don't do well the previous years, you won't pass." Ron said.
"Exactly! I am quite surprised to hear Ron saying something like that, but he's absolutely right!" Hermione said.
"Don't you worry; I can take on O.W.L's." Jessica yawned once again and rested her head on her arms.

Jessica wasn't sure how she managed to stay awake during her morning classes; she barely remembered moving at all. She'd fallen asleep at the table during breakfast and was practically shaken awake by Hermione ten minutes before class. Ron had kept her awake during the lesson, but she barely understood a thing. He kept poking her side whenever he noticed she was drifting off. It was quite annoying. By lunchtime, however, she was back to her energetic state. Harry, who had been moody all morning, also seemed a bit more cheerful.
"I need your help." He whispered, as he pulled her to the side, just before she entered the Great Hall. "Malfoy knows about Black. Do you think he'd tell me anything?"
"Malfoy? As is Draco Malfoy?" Jessica asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course. Who else could it be?" He asked, not understanding why she seemed so confused.
"I was just checking... You do realise you're making no sense, right?" She suppressed the urge to smirk at that moment, only because he sounded quite serious.
"He's in the library." Harry said.
"Fine, fine... Let's get this over with." Jessica sighed.

Draco Malfoy was indeed spending his lunchtime in the library. Thankfully, he was alone and focusing solely on his homework. It was possible that hardly anyone knew that he studied almost as much as Hermione did – almost. Jessica was quite hesitant to approach him, seeing as he and Harry didn't get along at all.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" He said, in a very bored tone, not even bothering to look up from his work. Harry nudged Jessica forward, hoping that Draco would at least answer to her.
"Harry and I wanted to ask you something." She said flatly.
"Well, I figured that much out on my own. What is it?" He now looked up, and he seemed quite annoyed that they were disturbing him. Harry still couldn't believe he actually sat in the library and studied. He was curious to know what Ron would have to say about this. Draco had three different books open, lots of parchment – most of which were already written on – and five different quills.
"What do you know about Sirius Black?" Jessica asked, taking a seat next to Draco, so he wouldn't have to raise his voice much. He continued to write, partially not caring whether or not Jessica and Harry stayed.
"I know what everyone else knows. He's a murderer, got locked up in Azkaban, managed to escape and is now on the hunt." Draco replied, emotionlessly.
"But there's more... You know more." Harry insisted.
"What if I do? Why would that concern you?" Draco smirked at him.
"I overheard a few things about him. I just want to know whether it's true or not." Harry said, hoping it sounded convincing enough.
"The man is crazy, yet, you still doubt him? You really are thick, aren't you, Potter?" Draco snorted.
"Draco... Please... Is there anything of importance that maybe Harry should know?" Jessica practically begged. She lightly grabbed his arm and shook him from side to side. Luckily for him, his quill hadn't touched the parchment; otherwise he would've messed up pretty bad. Draco sighed. He gave her a slight nudge with the arm she was holding onto, quickly finished the question he was on, closed the books in front of him, and only then did he pretend to be in deep thought. Harry took a deep breath and took control of his anger. He wasn't going to start yelling at Draco just for stalling; that would've been rather ridiculous. Draco took hold of Jessica's hand and urged her forward. Harry also came closer, disliking the sudden proximity between his best friend and mortal enemy.
"Black needs to find Potter. I'm not entirely sure why, but Black needs Potter dead. It's probably got something to do with You-Know-Who, but I can't be sure." He whispered. Jessica tensed instantly.
"Anything else?" Harry asked, his bad mood creeping back.
"You already know everything else." Draco smirked.
"Right... Thanks for your time then." Harry quickly pulled his chair back and dashed out of the library. He didn't glance back and Jessica silently wondered if he expected her to follow him or not. She decided she'd give him some space for the time being, so she sighed deeply and sat back. Black wanted Harry dead. There was no way she was going to allow that to happen.

"Stop it." Draco said, as he began gathering his things together.
"I'm not doing anything." She said, rolling her eyes.
"You're thinking about how you're going to help Potter out of this mess. This isn't your fight, Jess." He looked up for a slight moment. It had been a while since he'd given her a sincere look. She sometimes missed this side of him. If only he knew that he didn't have to pretend to be someone else for others to respect him.
"He's my friend. I'm not going to allow Sirius Black to hurt him." She said, confidently.
"Would you stop being so daft? Black could kill you in a heartbeat. He will eventually find Harry and there's nothing you can do about it." Draco said, quite angrily.
"I'm not being daft. You... You just don't get it. Friends look out for other friends. I'm not going to let Black simply get to him so easily. Even if he does win in the end, at least we would've tried." She frowned.
"You'd throw away your whole life, just because you believe its right to help him?" Draco asked. His voice was soft, worried, it was something Jessica was certain no one had ever heard before.
"It sounds a bit daft when you put it that way." She said, with a small smile.
"You really are unique, Selwyn." He said, shaking his head. "Extremely stupid sometimes, but unique. Just don't act foolishly."
"Is Draco Malfoy actually worried about someone other than himself?" Jessica smirked. He sent her a short glare and stood. He fidgeted with some of his parchment for a while, before he realised she wouldn't leave without a proper answer. He rolled his eyes.
"I do care about others, contrary to what you believe. I may not show it, but that's my problem."

Jessica started to think of an answer, but she was interrupted when her brother suddenly showed up, clearing his throat. Jessica was quite surprised to see him around at all. He looked much better than he had been lately. The dark circles that had been under his eyes had disappeared, he looked as though he'd been eating properly again, and more importantly, there was a small smile on his face. At least it was one less person she had to worry about.
"Munchkin, you should get something to eat before your next class. I need a word with Draco."
"Fantastic." Draco muttered, sarcastically.
"Can't I stick around?" Jessica asked, sounding rather hopeful.
"Harry's looking for you." Josh answered simply. Jessica frowned instantly and left. Josh was certain she was muttering and grumbling all the way to the door. He lazily took a seat where his sister once was and looked up at the blond third year. Draco was purposely avoiding eye contact. Joshua didn't want to get him involved, but the thirteen year old was very good at gathering information. "Did you find out what I asked you?"
"I think I should start getting paid for these things." Draco smirked.
"Malfoy-"
"No. The answer you're looking for is 'no'. I don't know all the details, but it's a 'no'." He answered.
"You're absolutely sure?" Josh asked, making sure to keep his voice down at all times.
"Positive. My father's ridiculously terrible at hiding things." Draco said.
"Okay... Well, I'll let you know if I need anything else." Josh nodded.
"Listen... You also shouldn't do anything stupid, okay?" Draco muttered. Josh bit his lip to keep him from laughing.
"Are you feeling alright, Draco? Do you have a fever or something?" Josh teased.
"Hilarious." Draco said, rolling his eyes.
"I won't make my move... Not yet, at least." Josh smirked.

x.x

Harry insisted they went to see Hagrid once their lessons were over. Hermione had tried her best to persuade him to stay in the castle, but nothing was changing his mind. He was desperate to know why Hagrid didn't tell him about Sirius Black after all this time. He wanted answers. They got their cloaks from their dormitories and set off through the portrait hole, down through the crowded hallways and out through the oak front doors. Most of the snow had already melted away, but there were a few ice patches here and there. They soon reached Hagrid's hut and Ron reached out to knock on the door. There was no answer.
"He's not out, is he?" Hermione said, shivering under her cloak. Ron had his ear glued to the door.
"There's a weird noise in there... I think its Fang." Ron said. The other three huddled around Ron, trying to listen. From inside the cabin came a series of low, throbbing moans.
"Should we call someone?" Jessica wondered. Harry rolled his eyes and pushed past his three friends.
"Hagrid!" He called, as he pounded against the door. "Hagrid, are you in there?"
There was a sound of heavy footsteps, and then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest.
"You've 'eard?" He bellowed, and he flung himself on Harry.

With Hagrid being at least twice the size of a normal man, this was no laughing matter. Harry almost collapsed under Hagrid's weight, but was rescued by Jessica, Ron and Hermione, who seized Hagrid under an arm and heaved him back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.
"Hagrid, what is it?" Hermione asked, worriedly.
"What's that?" Harry asked, nodding toward an official looking letter lying open on the table. Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter forward. Jessica picked it up and read it aloud:

Dear Mr. Hagrid,
Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.

"Well that's not bad!" Ron grinned. Jessica glared at him for having been interrupted. He mouthed a 'sorry' and allowed her to continue on:

However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.
Yours in fellowship...

"Hang on... My dad's on here... How could he do this?" Jessica said, as she read the list of names that followed the letter.
"Don't yer blame him! He did what he could... His name's gotta be there cause he's one of the governor's ain't he? There ain't nothin' he could do for my Buckbeak!" Hagrid sobbed.
"Isn't there anything we could do?" Ron wondered. "Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off-"
"Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures! They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!" Hagrid cried, as he tried to wipe away the tears.

A sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin made them all whip around. Buckbeak was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor.
"How did I not see him sooner?" Jessica said, thoughtfully.
"I couldn't leave him tied up out there in the cold!" Hagrid choked. "All on his own! He's got feelin' s too yer know?"
The four students looked at one another. They had never seen eye to eye with Hagrid about what he called 'interesting creatures' and other people called 'terrifying monsters'. On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. In fact, by Hagrid's usual standards, he was positively cute.
"You'll have to put up a strong defence, Hagrid." Hermione said, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."
"Won't make no diff'rence!" Hagrid sobbed once again. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! And if I lose the case, Buckbeak-"
"My dad isn't scared of Malfoy." Jessica pouted slightly and crossed her arms. His name shouldn't have been in that letter.
"What about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"He's done more than enough fer me already." Hagrid groaned. "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them Dementor's outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around-"
Jessica, Ron and Hermione immediately looked toward Harry. He had initially wanted to question Hagrid about keeping this from him, but now wasn't a good time for this. They just hoped Harry knew this. Harry did, in fact, realise that now wasn't the best of times. He couldn't bring himself to do it after seeing Hagrid so miserable and scared.
"Listen, Hagrid..." He said. "You can't give up. Hermione's right, you just need a good defence. You can call us as witnesses-"
"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff baiting where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened." Hermione nodded.
"And, of course, there's me." Jessica smirked, mischievously. "I'm more than ready to put Lucius Malfoy in his rightful place. Never really liked him that much. He's always so full of himself and putting others down-"
Hagrid howled still more loudly. Ron sighed and headed toward the teapot.
"I'll make a cup of tea. It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset." He said.

At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and sighed.
"Yer right. I can't afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull myself together." Fang, the boarhound, came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee. "I've not been myself lately. Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes-"
"We do like them!" Hermione said at once. It wasn't exactly the truth, but they had enjoyed their first lesson.
"Yeah... They're great." Ron smiled, nervously. Jessica rolled her eyes at him. She'd have to teach them all how to lie properly someday.
"How are the flobberworms?" She asked.
"Dead." He said gloomily. "Too much lettuce."
"Oh." Was all Jessica could say to that. She had expected something much more cheerful.
"An' them Dementor's make me feel ruddy terrible an' all. Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. Like bein' back in Azkaban..." Hagrid said, with a slight shudder. He fell silent, gulping his tea. The four students watched him breathlessly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in Azkaban before. After a pause, Hermione spoke up, rather timidly.
"Is it awful in there, Hagrid?"
"Yer've no idea! Never been anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind... The day I got expelled from Hogwarts... Day me dad dies... Day I had ter let Norbet go..." His eyes filled with tears. Norbert was the baby dragon Hagrid had once won in a game of cards. "Yer can' really remember who yer are after a while. An' yer can't really see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, everythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the Dementor's weren't keen on lettin' me go."
"But you were innocent!" Hermione said.
"Think that matters to them?" Hagrid snorted. "They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not."

"That's more or less what Dumbledore said to us at the beginning of the year." Jessica said, thoughtfully.
"Good times." Ron breathed out. Hagrid finished gulping down his tea and looked toward the hippogriff. He sighed.
"Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go... Tryin' ter make him fly away... But how d'yer explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An' I'm scared o' breakin' the law... I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban!" He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again.

x.x

Jessica and Hermione sat by the fire that evening, researching more about Buckbeak's case and how they could get a good defence for Hagrid. Many useless books were scattered across the floor, open in various different pages. Most of them explained what happened to the condemned Hippogriff's, but none had a solution. They were right in the middle of a very long and complex paragraph, which looked rather promising, when Harry and Ron came running down the stairs. Harry was holding onto a broomstick and both boys looked ecstatic.
"We're busy at the moment. Some of us actually want to help Buckbeak." Hermione said, rather irritably.
"Harry got a Firebolt!" Ron practically screamed.
"A Firebolt? Who do you know that would have that much money?" Jessica asked, rather surprised.
"Other than you, you mean?" Ron wondered. Jessica rolled her eyes at him.
"If I'd bought him a broomstick, you'd know."
"We don't know who it's from." Harry shrugged. He didn't seem to care that he didn't know... It was a Firebolt, after all.
"Maybe it was Dumbledore." Jessica said, almost as excited as Ron was. Hermione rolled her eyes, though no one saw.
"We thought so too, because he sent me the invisibility cloak first year, but I really don't think he'd spend hundreds of Galleons on me." Harry said.
"Maybe it was Lupin!" Ron grinned.
"Doubt it." Jessica said, shaking her head. "I don't mean this in a snotty way, but if he had that much gold he'd probably buy himself new robes."
"Good point." Ron sighed.
Hermione eventually decided to give up on the paragraph and looked toward her three friends. They were all swooning over a broomstick. Even Jessica, who was extremely terrified of flying! Then, as something clicked in her mind, Hermione stood up abruptly and pulled the broomstick out of Harry's hand. He stared at her, confused by her actions, and tried to get it back. She backed away, instantly, looking very angry.
"Isn't it a bit odd? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, right?"
"It's the best broom there is, Hermione!" Ron said, exasperatedly.
"So it must've been really expensive..." She continued.
"We already know that." Jessica said.

However, before Hermione conclude her thoughts, Scabbers came rushing down the stairs, closely followed by Crookshanks. Ron went pale and quickly ran toward his rat. Jessica, who wasn't exactly a big 'rodent running free' fan, had taken one look at the rat and dashed onto the sofa.
"Crookshanks! Stop it! Get back here, Crookshanks!" Hermione cried.
Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at the cat, which hit the sofa and almost caused Jessica to lose her balance.
"Watch it, Ronald Weasley!" She said, angrily. The last thing she wanted was to accidently fall to the floor and land next to the filthy rat. Hermione also managed to grab hold of her agitated pet and tried her best to calm it. She held it closely to her and whispered soothing words into its fur.
"You'd better get that cat out of this room, Hermione!" Ron said, furiously. Hermione ignored him completely. She didn't even bother to send him an angry glare.
"He's not looking too good, is he?" Harry said, nodding toward Scabbers, who now rested in Ron's hands. The once fat rat now looked skinny and patches of its fur had fallen out.
"It's stress! He'd be fine if that big, stupid fur ball left him alone."
"I've told you before, Ronald, Crookshanks can't help but hunt your rat. It's in his nature." Hermione huffed.
"I honestly couldn't care less, just please get that horrid rodent away from me." Jessica said, still quite angrily.

Hermione told Professor McGonagall, early the following day, about Harry's new broom. The Professor had, quite kindly, asked to see it right after breakfast. Luckily for them, their first class was Transfiguration, so they didn't have to worry about being late.
"There was no note?" She asked Harry, as she looked the broom over.
"Nothing." Harry replied, blankly.
"I see. Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter." She said.
"W-what? Why?" He asked, desperately.
"It will have to be checked for jinxes. Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down-"
"Strip it down?" Ron repeated, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.
"It shouldn't take long. You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx free." She smiled, slightly. "Now hurry up, otherwise you'll all be late for class."

"Did you really have to go to McGonagall?" Harry said, bitterly, as they walked to McGonagall's classroom.
"I was just worried Harry." Hermione said, frowning slightly.
"Why would anyone want to give him a jinxed broom?" Ron said, still in shock.
"So he could fall off during the next game, obviously." Jessica said, rolling her eyes.
"Look..." Hermione stopped in front of them and sighed. "Professor McGonagall and I both agree that Sirius Black might've sent you the broom. I just want to make sure you don't get hurt."
"Black just escaped Azkaban; he won't have that kind of money." Ron said.
"We don't know that." Jessica said, thoughtfully.
"Exactly." Hermione nodded.

x.x

Joshua silently climbed up the stairs that led to the astronomy tower. He mentally cursed himself for choosing such a far location to meet. At least going back down was less tiring. He tried to think of that as he climbed the last set of stairs, breathlessly.
"You're late." Joshua rolled his eyes at the uncharacteristically arrogant tone.
"In my defence, Professor, my last class was in the dungeons." He said, as he rested his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths. Remus Lupin chuckled and moved away from the railings.
"Well? I too have classes to attend, so this cannot take too long."
"Next time..." Josh said, still breathlessly. "We meet up somewhere else."
"A part of me hopes there will be no need for a next time." Remus said.
"Yeah, well... There will be. I've decided to wait around for a while, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to get anything done." Josh said. Remus sighed in response. "I've got something for you. Maybe you and my dad can figure out what it's for."

Joshua tossed Remus a small, black box. Carved, ever so beautifully, in silver, was a snake. Remus looked up for a moment, hoping he'd get an explanation from the sixteen year old, before he decided to open it. The inside was much deeper than what it appeared to be. It was perfect for hiding things. Remus caught a glimpse of a golden chain, which he carefully pulled out. Hanging on the end, was a long, slim key. It was golden, like the chain that held it, but it was decorated with precious, colourful gemstones.
"I have no idea what it's for." Josh shrugged.
"Where did you get this?" Remus asked, thoughtfully.
"That's the curious bit... I found it under my pillow, but I remember my mum mentioning she was going to sell it at Borgin and Burke's. I also remember that she sold something there last year. I was pretty sure that was it."
Remus furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Harry receives a very decent broomstick, anonymously, which so far had no jinxes whatsoever hidden inside it, and now Josh finds something that shouldn't be with him. He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not, but there was something strange going on, and he didn't like it at all.
"Are you sure you have no idea what it could be for?" Remus insisted, slightly.
"To be honest, I did think about that entrance Munch – I mean Jess – discovered, but that wouldn't make any sense. She didn't have this key with her at the time; at least I don't think so."
"Perhaps we should ask her then?" Remus suggested.
"No!" Josh said, suddenly. "Just... No."
"If you're capable of discovering things, then I'm certain-"
"No... Okay? Just leave her out of this for now." Josh frowned slightly. Remus sighed and decided to go with it, for now. Jessica wasn't stupid; she'd figure things out eventually. "Draco said it's a 'no', just so you know."
"No?" Remus repeated, though he didn't sound so surprised.
"No."
"Do you need to talk?" Remus asked.
"No. There's nothing to talk about." Josh mumbled. "Just make sure my father hears about it, okay? It would be unfair to him if he's the last one to know."
"I'll deliver the message personally. Are you sure you can trust Draco Malfoy?" Remus wondered. Joshua snorted.
"Draco Malfoy isn't as bad as people think. Besides, this whole thing involves my sister. Draco will always be around anything that involves Jessica." Josh smirked.

aaaaand scene! I guess this might've been a filler chapter in some ways... An important filler, perhaps? I don't know - but I think I understand why Masashi Kishimoto likes fillers (though, that man loves them, I mean seriously LOOOOVES them... and urgh... it just gets annoying after 20 filler episodes -.-)

He's the creator of Naruto btw. :x

Speaking of Naruto... I NEED TO WRITE MY NARUTO STORY D: Okay so... I'll start the next chapter once I'm done with my Naruto chapter (which is truthfully almost done! I swear! :p)

xoxo!