Disclaimer: Ripping pages out of a Hogwarts library book is liable to get you drawn and quartered by Madam Pince the librarian. While Mister Flinch is no longer allowed to use corporal punishment, according to Hogwarts, A History, the old ways are still the best ways when dealing with library books. JK Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter, I don't. I'm just having fun with her world.
Chapter 7: A Sirius Dilemma
"Hello Lexi," the man said with a mystifying smile.
"How did you know my name?" Lexi asked hesitantly. No one other than Harry had ever called her Lexi before and now her mysterious savior knew her nickname. This wasn't right.
"I'm an old friend of your parents," the man replied. "I've known your name since the day you were born. Your mother wanted to name you Lexa while your father wanted to name you Alexandra. They compromised on Alexa, but your mother insisted on calling you Lexi anyways."
Lexi's eyes grew wide at what the man was telling her. Her mother called her Lexi. It was a strange feeling to know something about her mother. For so long she was just a mystery to Lexi, merely an idea. Everyone has a mother, so she and Harry must have had one at some point. But now she knew something about the woman who brought her into this world. Perhaps this man could tell her more.
"Who are you?" Lexi asked once she realized she still didn't know his name.
The man nervously licked his lips. "My name is Sirius Black, and I'm your godfather."
Lexi crouched down to the ground as low as she could go to the ground. Harry had told her about Sirius Black, the escaped prisoner. What was he doing here? Should she try to run away? What if he had a wand and was planning on hurting her?
"Please, just give me a chance to explain," the man said holding his hands up in front of him, stalling Lexi's thoughts. "I needed to know that you were alright. They only mentioned Harry, so I was afraid that something had happened to you. If you want I'll go away and leave you alone. I just needed to know that you are safe."
Lexi was definitely confused at the convict's behavior, but she didn't have many options. He was blocking her way to escape the alley.
"Alright," Lexi replied slowly. "Explain."
"It all started before you were born," the man began. "Your father and I were the best of friends, brothers in everything but blood…"
~*~
Harry quickly sat down at the Gryffindor table after Quidditch practice to eat a fast dinner before the dinner hour was over. Their practice had once again ran over their allotted time, which meant if the team members were not fast, they would likely be without dinner that evening. All of Harry's teammates seemed to have reached the table with the same speed and urgency as Harry did, except for the Weasley twins, Fred and George.
When practice ran late, the twins never seemed to make it for dinner. Oliver Wood, their captain had vocalized his suspicion that they had a secret stash of food in their dorm room on more than one occasion. Oliver was an amazing captain who worked each member of the team hard to reach their full potential. He and the female members of the team were rather friendly with Harry.
The only noticeable exceptions were Fred and George Weasley, the beaters. They both seemed to hate Harry with a passion and even seemed to aim the Bludgers at Harry more often than any other team member. Harry guessed that was to be expected considering they were Ron Weasley's older brothers and Ron himself did not particularly care for Harry since their meeting on the Hogwarts' Express.
Since joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry's time at Hogwarts seemed to pass at a rapid rate. Before Harry realized it he had been at Hogwarts for over a month. Quidditch practice tended to take his mind off of his troubles with his classmates and gave him something to look forward to other than the classes every day.
That being said Harry had another bright spot in his life at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger started sharing a two-person desk with Harry at every class. While they did not talk a lot, other than to ask the occasional question about the task they were attempting to perform. It was still far better and more comfortable then when Harry either sat alone or with someone who didn't want to share with him.
All things considered things were significantly better for Harry than when he had first arrived at Hogwarts.
The only thing now was Lexi's birthday was coming up in less than two weeks and Harry didn't have a present for her. Harry had wanted to purchase a dress for Lexi to wear at school, and now even though he had the money to purchase a dress for her, he did not have the resources to buy one while he was at Hogwarts.
Harry felt it was best to save purchasing a dress for Lexi for when he went home for the holidays. It would be the first Christmas that both Harry and Lexi would be able to not worry about how much something cost when they went to buy each other presences.
But that didn't solve his current problem. Harry had only a few days to come up with the prefect present for Lexi and he was currently out of ideas. He couldn't conjure or transfigure something to give Lexi since it required magic well past his skill level. Perhaps he could make her a potion of some sort, but would he have enough ingredients?
"Are you almost done, Harry?" Harry's thoughts were cut short by the familiar voice of Hermione Granger.
"Just about," Harry replied hesitantly. This was a bit odd since even though they interacted more frequently than at the start of term, they were not exactly friends and never spoke outside of class. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"No," Hermione replied quickly. "Actually, there is something I can help you with."
As soon as Harry had finished he followed Hermione out of the Great Hall and followed her to a part of the castle he had never seen before. They were two floors up from the ground floor, and they had twisted around several corridors. To tell the truth if Hermione did not guide him back to the main stairwell, it was very likely that Harry could get lost.
"Where are we going?" Harry finally asked Hermione when it seemed as though their progression through the castle was not about to end.
"The trophy room," Hermione replied in her brisk tone of voice. "There is something in there I want to show you."
Once again they fell into a comfortable silence until they reached their final destination. The trophy room wasn't a room per say. It actually looked more like a long hall where all the school awards and special merits were kept on display. The room seemed to be endless from what Harry could tell. However, immediately Harry was able to see that the newest awards were placed closest to the entrance of the room.
"It should be right around here," Hermione said walking a few feet away from Harry, while examining the awards in the trophy case.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Harry asked, once again a bit confused on why she would bring him up here to show him something.
"It should be here," Hermione said a bit distractedly, not answering Harry's question in the least. Harry decided he would have to wait until Hermione's attention was fully concentrated on him before he attempted to ask her another question.
Walking to the trophy case, Harry began examining the awards within. Even though he did not know what Hermione was looking for, at least he wouldn't be completely bored standing around in this large room. There were several different types of awards in the case. There were awards for academic achievement, special services to the school, and several plaques listing the winners of the Quidditch Cup winning team for each school year, and others listing the prefects and headboy and girl for each year.
It seemed as though these trophies were an endless supply of various information.
"Here it is!" Hermione's excited voice was hard to ignore.
Harry walked over to join her and saw she was pointing to a plaque listing the Quidditch Cup winning team for the 1977-1978 school year. On further examining the plaque, one name caught Harry's attention more than any other. James Potter was listed as Chaser that year. Harry reached forward and touched the glass of the case. Even though Madam Hooch had told Harry that his father was a Quidditch player, he had yet to see any physical proof yet there it was.
"That's not all, Harry," Hermione said in barely more than a whisper. "Look at the plaque to the right of it."
Harry had nearly forgotten that she was here. At some point he would have to return to this room to look at the plaque alone. Looking to the right, Harry found another plaque. This one was listing the student leadership of the school. The school prefects and heads for the 1977-1978 school year.
"Thank you Hermione," Harry said in a trembling voice, for there under Headboy was his father's name, James Potter. "I had no idea that my father was Headboy during his seventh year."
"Harry," Hermione said while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you recognize any other name on there?"
Looking at the other assembled names nothing stuck out to Harry. Except, the Headgirl's name was Lily, just like his Mum…
"Evans," Harry said to himself, once again forgetting about Hermione's presence. "Could my mother's name been Lily Evans?"
"It was, Harry," Hermione answered causing Harry to jump a bit. "Your mother and father were the Headboy and girl during their seventh year here at Hogwarts. You really didn't know, did you?"
Harry shook his head unable to express what he wanted to say with words.
"Take this," Hermione handed Harry a list. "These are the names of several books that may be able to give you some information about your parents."
"Thank you," Harry said his voice full of emotion as he took the parchment. "I don't know how to repay you."
"You owe me nothing," Hermione said quickly. "I wanted to do something for you. To show you how sorry I am that I didn't believe you on the train."
No words were spoken but none were needed. Harry gained something he never thought he would receive a piece of his parents past, while Hermione gained the one thing she sought, forgiveness from a peer.
~*~
As Lexi walked out of school, she could see the big, black form of Snuffles waiting for her. He was sitting under the shade of a big apple tree, watching all of the students leave the school, while he waited for her. It was a strange feeling to have somebody other than Harry wait for her or want to be in her company, but it was a nice feeling to have.
Since Snuffles' appearance in her life nearly three weeks ago, her world had turned upside down. When Harry left, she was all alone. Now, she had Snuffles as her constant companion and she wouldn't trade him for the world. Well, perhaps for Harry, but for nothing less than her brother at the very least.
Walking past the big shaggy dog, Lexi nodded at the animal and he shot up and followed her. When Dudley had attended this school, Aunt Petunia would pick all three of them up from school everyday. Now that she was the only child attending the school, she had to walk to and from school by herself. Lexi believed Aunt Petunia purposely had her walk alone as a means to make her life more miserable; instead it gave her an opportunity to be away from Privet Drive a bit longer every day.
Once they reached Privet Drive, Lexi covertly approached number four. As long as Aunt Petunia didn't see her through the window, Lexi could spend up to a half an hour longer talking with her houseguest, Snuffles. Also, Lexi had to watch out for the snoopy neighbors. If they saw Lexi too frequently sneaking into the shed with a big dog, they would say something to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon.
Seeing that the coast was clear, the odd pair snuck around the side of the house and into the shed. As soon as the shed door was closed, Snuffles immediately transformed into his human form of Lexi's convict godfather, Sirius Black; the transformation always made Lexi smile. She loved watching magic at work and loved the fact she could see it happen everyday this way.
"So how was school, kiddo?" Sirius asked in a bit of a raspy tone. Even though he had been hiding out at the Dursleys for a few weeks now, he sometimes still seemed as frail as the day he arrived.
"It went rather well," Lexi answered in a reserved tone, "I got an 'A' on my History exam."
Lexi knew that Sirius was supposed to be her legal guardian, the one to have raised her in her parents' absence, but unfortunate circumstances had found him in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Yet, it was still rather difficult for Lexi to open up to the man she barely knew, even though he had rescued her from Dudley's 'friends'.
"I'm very proud of you, Lexi," Sirius replied with a smile, which caused Lexi to blush. She rarely received any praise from adults and she reveled in the attention.
"Is it warm enough out here for you?" Lexi asked Sirius trying to divert the topic of the conversation away from her.
"Yes, it's much better than I've been used to," Sirius responded. His attempt at a joke did not go unnoticed by Lexi. One really good thing about Sirius was he always tried to make her laugh.
"Where will you go once it becomes really cold?" Lexi questioned genuinely concerned about how long she could expect to have Sirius stay with her.
"I come with a fur coat," Sirius replied inferring to his dog form. "I can stay out here all winter long since the cold won't affect me, as long as I can use the shed as a shelter from the elements. Lexi, I will stay here as long as you need me."
Lexi's mouth dropped open; how did he know what she meant?
"I'm your godfather," Sirius continued, "I should have been here from the very first day you got out of the hospital as a baby. I wish I could have been." Sighing Sirius continued, "But the past is in the past and I will do my best from this day forward to be the best godfather that I can be under the circumstances. Harry right now is safe at Hogwarts; you are the one stuck here!" Sirius made a face at the thought of the Dursleys, "So this is where I am."
"Thanks, Padfoot," Lexi said using the nickname he wanted her to use for the first time. Even though Sirius had said the same thing to her many times over the past few weeks, it was just beginning to sink in that she had an adult who cared for her.
"No problem, kiddo," Sirius replied. "Would you like me to tell you a story about your parents?"
Lexi frantically nodded her head repeatedly; she loved it when Sirius told her stories about her parents' time at Hogwarts.
"Well let's see…" Sirius said while starching his chin. "Have I told you about the time your father covered the Slytherin common room in pink hearts that said 'Severus Snape loves Preppy Prefect Avery'?"
Lexi quickly shook her head no.
"Well it all started when Snape decided to hex, a second year Hufflepuff girl named Hooch, for bumping into him," Sirius began. "Unfortunately for Snape, James had seen the whole thing…"
~*~
Harry was in the library for the third straight day. While being in the library was nothing out of the ordinary, the subject matter he was studying was definitely different. Harry couldn't believe that it never occurred to him to look up the defeat of Voldemort, or his family for that matter. Hermione had told him on the Hogwarts Express that she had read all about him, he just never thought about it until Hermione gave him the booklist.
So here Harry sat with Hermione, at their favorite work station trying to learn about his parents from a series of textbooks and academic studies on Voldemort's rise to power and downfall. Occasionally Harry would glance over the top of his book and give Hermione a small smile, which she would gratefully return. While they weren't exactly friends, at least they were both friendly with one another.
Harry continued to read the book, a bit surprised at what he was learning about the reign of Voldemort. Apparently this wizard, if one could truly consider him that, decided that muggle-born witches and wizards were not worthy to live in his 'perfect world' and he and his followers went on a rampage of fear and violence killing muggle-born witches and wizards as well as muggles.
Quite frankly it was scary to imagine exactly how much power this Voldemort and his followers had. It seemed that most of the wizarding world still to this day refused to call him Voldemort, just You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It was clear to Harry that the fear invoked by Voldemort's name alone was a cause of terror for the wizarding world.
Harry closed the book he had been reading with a sigh. While he learned a lot of general facts about Voldemort's reign, he never learned the specifics about why Voldemort attacked his family. All the books stated that the Potters were strong supporters of Albus Dumbledore, Harry's current Headmaster, which made them targets; none of them could give a specific reason as to why Voldemort chose that moment, that time to go after the Potter family.
The very surprising thing was none of the books ever mentioned that Harry had a sister. Some of the books had even gone as far as to claim that Harry was the 'only child of Lily and James Potter' which really confused Harry. He could say with complete certainty that he had a sister. Heck, he could legally prove his sister was the daughter of James and Lily Potter. But like the sorting hat back on his first day at Hogwarts, it seemed that no one was either aware of, or cared about Lexi.
Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes a bit before he opened the last book Hermione had told him to look at. Maybe this book would be the answer to at least some of his questions. Harry's eyes widened when he stared at the first page he opened to, it was a complete welcomed surprise.
No one knows for sure why You-Know-Who was interested in killing the Potter family. The only thing that could be said with some certainty was that the Potters stood for everything that You-Know-Who opposed. James Potter, a pure-blood from a family that dates back to the Age of the Founders, had married a muggle-born witch, Lily Evans. Both were extremely skilled with magic and their half-blood son, Harry poised a threat to everything You-Know-Who stood for.
You-Know-Who had been after the family for almost a year before he succeeded in finding the family. The Potters had been hiding in a home in Godric's Hollow with the only person aware of their location being their secret keeper and friend, Sirius Black. Unbeknown to all at the time Black was actually an agent working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Black revealed the Potters' location to You-Know-Who, which lead to the attack on the Potter family. Pictured left are Lily and James Potter along with Sirius Black.
Harry had never seen a picture of his parents before. Even though the picture was just in black and white, it was the greatest thing in the world.
~*~
For the next several days Harry continuously returned to the library to look at the picture of his parents. He didn't dare take the book out of the library since he would never want to return it. Finally at the end of the third day of Harry's trips to the library, he did the unthinkable. Harry ripped out the page with his parents' picture on it. He quickly slipped the page into the front pocket of his robe and rushed out of the library.
Later in his dorm room, lying on his bed, Harry stared at the picture on the page in front of him. He knew Madam Pince, the Hogwarts Librarian would be furious if she ever learned that he ripped a page out of one of her precious books, but he just had to have that picture. He couldn't keep coming back to the library to continue to look at it on his free time; he needed it for himself.
They were so happy. His parents had the most joyful looks on their faces. His mother had a beautiful smile that looked just like the one Lexi would always give him. She had long straight hair that Harry could imagine was the same shade of red that Lexi's hair used to be. Her eyes, well even though the picture was black and white he could clearly see the joy and happiness reflected through them.
His father was a different story. Harry knew the minute he saw the picture that he looked just like him. His face was the exact same face that Harry saw in the mirror every day, even down to similar frames for their glasses. They had the same messy hair that would always refuse to stay flat, which made him smile since a piece of him so clearly reflected his father. The only difference was Harry had that cursed lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the same scar that had cost him so much throughout his life.
The picture was a wizarding photo which meant that the occupants of the picture were moving. His parents were standing together, looking at one another until they turned and laughed at something the other occupant of the picture, the man who betrayed them, said.
Just looking at Sirius Black's picture made Harry's blood boil, and filled him with a rage he never experienced before. That man was the one responsible for his lack of parents. He was the reason Harry and Lexi were forced to live with their darling relatives, the Dursleys.
The only thing was the man didn't look like the classic villain, nor did he look like the man pictured in the Daily Prophet. This man had the long shaggy hair of the man pictured in the newspaper, but instead of it being messy and unkempt, his hair was sleek and clean. The man in the Daily Prophet looked old, crazed and insane, where as his picture of Sirius Black he seemed young, vibrant and happy.
It was a lot for Harry to take in. While the picture of his parents was special and something he wanted to treasure forever, he still hated it due to the man featured in the picture with his parents. Perhaps he should use this picture as a lesson to learn. The picture was a reminder to Harry; you can't trust anyone other than your family.
~*~
Harry and Hermione were sitting together in the Great Hall at dinner. Hermione was rambling on about the subject of a recent piece of transfiguration homework, while Harry couldn't get his mind to focus on the conversation. He now only had four days till Lexi's birthday and he was still confused as to what to send her for her tenth birthday.
Suddenly all conversation in the Great Hall stopped. Hermione had even stopped speaking and her attention was turned to the head table. There Harry saw Professor Dumbledore was standing before the assembled students with a grave look on his face.
Once every student's attention was focused on their aged Headmaster he began to speak. "My students I have some grave news," the elderly man said, with his eyes sweeping across the room. "As many of you heard the criminal, Sirius Black, has escaped from Azkaban prison, and as to date there have been no genuine sightings of him in the magical world."
There were a lot of murmurs across the room since what the Headmaster had said was a frequent subject of conversation around the various common rooms. The Daily Prophet had frequent updates listed about the lack of progress in the Black case. This of course led to many different rumors around the school as to why Black had escaped.
After a few moments of the Headmaster waiting patiently for the talking to cease the hall was once again completely silent.
"Yes, I can see that many of you are keeping up with recent events affecting the wizarding world," the Headmaster stated with an approving look on his face. "Since there has been no contact between Black and the magical world, no one can be exactly sure what his motives may have been for breaking out of the prison. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic has insisted that we take extra precautions around Hogwarts."
At this point the Headmaster's face took on a solemn appearance. It was quite clear to the students that whatever the Headmaster had to say, he was not completely in favor of it.
"As of tomorrow afternoon the Guards of Azkaban will be posted outside of the school entrances to protect us from Sirius Black in case he should decide for whatever reason to come to Hogwarts." This time when the murmuring began the Headmaster raised his hand to stop it, so he could continue. "The Dementors of Azkaban are not to be trifled with; therefore, I must warn all of you to be stringent in following the school rules. The rules are there for your protection."
"While they will not be on school ground, I feel it is necessary to inform you. The Dementors do not discriminate; anyone out of bounds attempting to enter the school will be apprehended by them. They are not fooled by disguises or invisibility cloaks." Headmaster Dumbledore stared directly at the Gryffindor table as he finished his speech. "The Dementors do not care if whether or not you are their intended target. A student of this school will be treated in the same manner as a criminal being appended by them."
"So please, I urge you to follow the guidelines of our school," the smile returned to the elderly man's face. "Thank you for your attention and please enjoy your desserts. "
"Harry!" Hermione hissed as soon as the Headmaster had sat down at the head table. "We better get to the library right away. If we don't get there soon, we will have to wait in line for a book about the Dementors."
Reluctantly Harry rose from the table and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall. Harry guessed that he could miss dessert to learn more about these strange creatures that would be at Hogwarts to protect them from Sirius Black.
~*~
As transfiguration class was wrapping up for the day Harry continued to dwell on his dilemma. Lexi's birthday was in two days, by now Harry realized what the only thing he had to give his sister for her birthday. The only thing was it was hard for him to do so. It was going to be a challenge for him to give up the one thing of his parents that he had. But Lexi needed it just as much as he did.
Harry sighed as he packed up his school bag. It wasn't like Harry would never be able to see it again. He would be able to look at it once he went home for Christmas, and perhaps during break he could go to Diagon Alley and purchase a copy of that book so he could have his own copy of the picture of his parents. This wasn't the end of the world; it was merely the right thing for him to do.
When the bell rang Harry got up from his seat and started to follow Hermione out of the room. However, the stern voice of Professor McGonagall stopped him in his tracks. "Mr. Potter, I need a word with you before you leave."
Hermione turned around and gave Harry a questioning look, Harry just shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he had no idea what this was about. Hermione slowly turned around and exited the room last, closing the door behind her.
Harry was in no hurry to reach Professor McGonagall's desk. He had no idea why he was being held after class, but for some reason he couldn't understand he thought it couldn't be good.
Then a sinking feeling began in Harry's stomach. Maybe Madam Pince found out that he had damaged one of her books. For all Harry knew an alarm could have been set off the minute he pulled the page out of the book. But if that was the case, why did it take so long for them to approach him about it?
Harry took a deep calming breath. "You need to speak with me, Professor?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter," the usually stern look on her face was gone. In its place was a look of sadness. "I have some bad news. Due to the addition of the Dementors to the security of the school, several additional measures have to be taken. I'm sorry to say, Potter, but the Headmaster has decided to revoke his permission for you to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
Harry knew in that instance his heart stopped as his face fell into a look of total despair. Quidditch was his life at Hogwarts. All he had here was school work, Hermione and Quidditch. Now that he didn't have Quidditch anymore, what would Harry do with himself?
"Do they think Black is coming after me?" Harry asked without thinking.
"Why would you assume that, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall countered with a floored look on her face.
"Well, Black was the one who told Voldemort where my parents were." Harry replied in a matter of fact tone. "He is the reason Voldemort went to my house. I don't know why Black would want me, but it is likely he does if the Dementors were placed around the school and now I can't play Quidditch."
"Yes, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall hesitantly confirmed. "We do believe if Black comes to Hogwarts, he would indeed be after you. We would prefer that you stay in the castle until Black has been captured."
"Of course, Professor," Harry began. "Why do they think Black may come here?"
"There have been several sightings of Black reported around Hogsmead, and even though the ministry cannot confirm any of these sightings to actually be Black, it was decided by the Board of Governors for us to be safe instead of sorry." Professor McGonagall seemed to personally disagree with the governors' decision by the change in her tone towards the end of her statement.
"I understand," Harry quietly said, his head facing the floor. "Is there anything else, Professor?" Harry asked desperate to leave the room.
"No, there isn't," McGonagall said with concerned look on her face. "I really am sorry, Mr. Potter. I was looking forward to you playing for Gryffindor. You remind me so much of your father. It would have been a real joy to see a Potter playing for Gryffindor again."
~*~
Hermione Granger was very concerned for her friend, Harry. It was still odd to consider him her friend after their rocky start, but he definitely was. Ever since Professor McGonagall called Harry aside that morning after class, he had been acting a bit different. While he was never very outgoing, he was acting almost as if he were a bit depressed.
By dinner, Harry was still acting differently and Hermione decided she needed to get to the root of the problem. He hadn't even attended Quidditch practice, and Hermione knew how much he always looked forward to it every day. It was her duty, as his friend, to help him when he was in need.
"Harry," she began turning to face him, "what did Professor McGonagall want?"
"It's nothing that important," Harry replied while still concentrating on the plate in front of him.
Hermione was no fool, she knew what ever was wrong stemmed from his conversation with Professor McGonagall. "Well if it isn't anything important, then you won't mind sharing it with me?"
Harry turned towards her and Hermione thought he was going to snap at her due to the look of hurt on his face. "McGonagall said Dumbledore revoked his permission for me to play on the Quidditch team." Harry had tears forming in his eyes, although Hermione noted, he was not allowing them to fall. "Dumbledore must think it is too dangerous for me while Black is on the loose."
"That is ridiculous," Hermione responded without thinking. Harry's face fell even more than before. "What I mean," Hermione amended, "is that there must be something that can be done so you can still play. You should talk to the Headmaster about it."
"I don't think so," Harry said once again not looking at her. "Why would he change his mind? There is nothing I could say or do to change the circumstances. Black is out there, and for some reason they think he is likely to come after to me now that he is out of jail. Case closed end of discussion."
Hermione, however, had a different attitude on things. "Sometimes, Harry, things are worth fighting for." With that the bushy-haired witch rose from her seat and marched out of the Great Hall with a purpose. She had to show Harry, if you want something bad enough you need to fight for it.
~*~
Finding Professor McGonagall was rather easy. Hermione's Head of House was on her way to the Great Hall for dinner and it was quite easy to intercept her in the Entrance Hall.
"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione called preventing her from entering the Great Hall. "Could I please speak to you about something important?"
"Of course, Miss. Granger," the stern Professor replied. "What can I do for you?"
"It's about Harry," Hermione quickly blurted out. "I'm afraid that there is something wrong with him."
"What may that be?" the Professor asked, her concern was evident.
"Harry hasn't been himself since his meeting with you earlier," Hermione began only to be cut off by Professor McGonagall.
"Miss. Granger, I know where you are going with this," Professor McGonagall said with a frown on her face. "But I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done about the Headmaster's decision. It is far too dangerous for Mr. Potter to be on the grounds unsupervised by a professor and that unfortunately means no Quidditch for him, even though it pains me to admit so."
"That's why the boy wasn't at practice!" The surprised voice of Madam Hooch rang through the Entrance Hall. "I was worried something had happened to him."
Neither Hermione nor Professor McGonagall had heard the new arrival's approach and both were taken by surprise in Madam Hooch's inclusion in their conversation. Hermione, however, recognized that perhaps Madam Hooch was the ally she needed to get Harry reinstated on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"It is such as shame that Harry can't play anymore due to there being no professor volunteering to supervise the Gryffindor team practice," Hermione carefully chose her words. "Quidditch gives Harry such joy it is as if Harry was born to be in the air."
"That it is," Madam Hooch readily agreed. "It would be a crime for Potter to be prohibited from playing." Madam Hooch seemed to be considering something while Hermione crossed her fingers.
"Be as that may," Professor McGonagall continued, "there is nothing we can do about it."
"Actually, Minerva," Madam Hooch interrupted. "All Potter needs is a professor to supervise the Gryffindor practices to make sure nothing hinky happens to him, right?"
"Well, yes," Professor McGonagall said taken a back.
"Well, you've got your professor!" Madam Hooch exclaimed to a confused Professor McGonagall and a beaming Hermione. "I usually watch part of their practice anyways. It wouldn't be an imposition for me to stay there the whole time Potter is in the air."
A gracious smile crossed Professor McGonagall's face. "Thank you, my friend; you've just made an entire house of students extremely happy."
"It's nothing," Madam Hooch replied unable to hide her blush.
"Well then, the only thing left to do would be to tell Mr. Potter and the Headmaster of our arrangement," Professor McGonagall said in an almost giddy tone.
Audrey the fifth-year prefect had told Hermione that Professor McGonagall was always a bit Quidditch-crazed but Hermione had never witnessed it, and it was hard for Hermione to imagine her stern transfiguration professor as an obsessed fan. However, now that they had found a way for Harry to play, Hermione could see a bit of what the older girl had been telling her about.
Professor McGonagall led the procession into the Great Hall. Hermione just looked on with wide eyes as her stern professor skipped all the way to the head table. Luckily Hermione had reached Harry before the shock over took her and she felt the need to sit down.
"What's going on?" A confused sounding Harry asked her, unable to take his eyes away from Professor McGonagall.
"Hopefully, something that will make you very excited," Hermione vaguely replied. She would hate to tell him now, only to find out Professor Dumbledore had vetoed their plan.
Both students watched the head table along with the majority of the school. A skipping Professor McGonagall was something Hogwarts had never seen before. After a minute Hermione saw the Headmaster nod his head in agreement to what was being said and Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and gripped it tight.
Professor McGonagall, followed by Madam Hooch, started to skip again, this time directly towards Harry. Since Hermione had only seen Professor McGonagall skipping from behind before, she wasn't aware of the large grin she had on her face the whole time, now that Hermione was in full view of it.
"She looks like the cat that caught the canary," Hermione said to herself, but she heard Harry try to stifle a laugh as well.
"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said once she stopped in front of Harry, Hermione's grip on his arm was nearly cutting off the circulation. "I have some exciting news for you. Madam Hooch has agreed to supervise all of the Gryffindor team practices, therefore, the Headmaster agreed to reinstate you to the team."
"Thank you, Madam Hooch," Harry choked out.
"Think nothing about it, Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch said in a dismissive tone, but with a wide grin on her face.
Shortly thereafter both Madam Hooch and a still skipping Professor McGonagall returned to the staff table.
"What did you do?" Harry asked.
"Harry," Hermione said, loosening her grip on his arm, "sometimes you need to fight for what is important to you."
Harry nodded his head, agreeing with her point while they both shared a smile.
~*~
Lexi walked down Magnolia Crescent with a large smile on her face and a big black shaggy dog by her side. Hedwig had just delivered her birthday present from Harry and she couldn't wait to open it. Snuffles, her companion, had suggested that Lexi should wait until she reached the privacy of the park before she opened the gift. Now she was bouncing for joy barely able to contain herself as she approached the park.
After what felt like forever, Lexi made it to the park and ran, along with her four-legged friend, to the edge of the line of trees. As she ran, she came across Malcolm and the rest of Dudley's gang as she crossed the park. They ignored her like they had been doing since that glorious day in the alley.
Once they were safely covered by the trees, the grim like dog turned into an extremely thin man with long shaggy black hair and dull gray eyes. The man seemed nearly as excited about Harry's gift as Lexi was.
"So, what do you think your big brother sent you for your birthday?" the man asked with nearly unhidden glee.
"Come on, Snuffles!" Lexi replied with a laugh. "I don't need to guess! It is right here in front of me!"
"What did I say about you calling me, Snuffles?" the man asked, fake anger laced in his tone. "Call me Padfoot while I am in human form."
"Yeah, yeah," Lexi said in a dismissive tone as she gingerly opened the package.
When Lexi opened the packaging only two pieces of paper fell out, taking Lexi by surprise. She at least thought Harry would give her something special now that he was at Hogwarts. Maybe Harry had spoiled her by sending her the books at the beginning of term, but it was almost a letdown not to get something incredible from him.
Opening the first sheet of paper, she realized it was a page out of a book. The first side she looked at didn't seem like anything spectacular. It just was some writing about some guy named You-Know-Who. But when Lexi turned it over she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. In her hands she had a black and white picture of three people. One of the men she recognized as Sirius, her godfather, but the other man and the woman, it was almost too much to even consider.
Instead of speculating, Lexi just handed the sheet of paper over to Sirius.
"What's this, kiddo?" Padfoot asked as he looked at the picture, while Lexi remained silent. "Oh, I remember when this was taken," Sirius said with a faraway look on his face. "It was just after we graduated Hogwarts, before we all started to work for the Order."
"Are they…" Lexi began before she faltered in her question. Taking a calming breath, she tried again. "Are they my parents?"
"Yeah, kiddo," Sirius quietly replied. "That's Lily and James."
Lexi carefully took the picture back from Sirius, and began to study it closer. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She was an idiot. Of course her brother would get her the one gift that would be more special than anything else in the world.
After what seemed like forever, Lexi finally put the picture in her school bag and unfolded the letter.
Dear Lexi,
Happy Birthday Lexi!
You would not believe how crazy the last few days have been. Remember how I told you Hermione Granger is now my friend? Well she did something simply amazing for me after the Headmaster decided I should go on the school grounds due to this criminal named Sirius Black...
Lexi tore her eyes away from the letter as she fell onto the grass due to her laughter. Not for the first time did she wonder how her brother would take the truth about Sirius Black when he came home for Christmas.
~*~
A/N: Well here is the end of the seventh chapter. Please don't kill the author for the short first meeting between Lexi and Sirius. I didn't want to go through everything on why Sirius escaped quite yet. I did give you enough clues to figure it out if you wanted to, between previous chapters and this one. But I do promise to fully explain everything once Harry comes home from Hogwarts. I hate stories where everything is spelled out numerous time by the same character to each new one he or she meets. So I refused to do that. The meeting with Harry/Sirius/Lexi is far more interesting than just the Sirius/Lexi one.
I must thank everyone who reviewed last chapter. I got over 30 reviews and I was in shock with the turn out and the wonderful words and critiques. I really never thought anyone would be interested in my story. A big thanks to zephy for her amazing beta skills.
Foria
Next Chapter: The Bonds of Friendship