Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's except for Jamie, Luka, and Ariana.
Chapter 12- Happy While It Lasts
So I think that it's safe to say that I didn't sleep for the rest of that night. Professor McGonagall had taken me to the hospital wing yet again to be cared for by Madam Pomfrey. The nurse didn't seem to mind in the least though she only shook her head a mutter, "Poor girl you've been through the ringer recently."
I was given calming draughts but even that wasn't enough to help me off to sleep that night. I also I learn the following morning that Black has escaped again which doesn't bode well for my sanity at the moment.
I was cleared to go back to class for class that morning with the warning to take it easy and to let my nerves settle down. Of course no one told that to Malfoy who had jumped out in front of me from around a corner, and I was set right back on edge again.
Throughout the day, everywhere we go we see signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick can be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch is suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan has been fired. His portrait has been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady is back. She has been expertly restored, but is still extremely nervous, and has agreed to return to her job only on condition that she is given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls have been hired to guard her. They pace the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.
I can't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remains unguarded and unblocked. It seems that Fred and George have been right in thinking that they — and now Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I — are the only ones who know about the hidden passageway within it.
"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Harry asks Ron.
"We know he's not coming in through Honeydukes," says Ron dismissively. "We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into."
Harry is glad Ron took this view. If the one-eyed witch was boarded up too, he will never be able to go into Hogsmeade again. Ron and I have been going on the premise of sitting and standing near each other but not actually talking to one another. It's because both of us need to be by Harry and neither one of us will budge.
Hermione won't come within ten feet of Ron now. Ron has become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life, people are paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it is clear that Ron is rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he is happy to tell anyone who asks what had happened, with a wealth of detail.
". . . I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft . . . I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down. . . . I rolled over . . . and I saw him standing over me . . . like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair . . . holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches . . . and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered."
I of course think that the prat is over doing it but it's not my call to make. At lunch that day Luka had raced up to me and engulfed me in another hug swearing to any being listening that he wouldn't let that mad man touch me. I clung to my brother not bothering to admit that he would most likely be dead if he had even attempted such a thing.
After he had let go Ariana had come up to me while biting her lower lip. "Are you okay Jamie?" She asks me seriously starting me in the eye to judge whether I'm lying to her or not. So I let out a shaky breath and decide to tell her the truth.
"Not really… it just all came back you know." I say softly trailing off at the end of my sentence. Ariana nods her head slowly and reaches out to squeeze my hand softly.
"Well since we're officially friends now you can definitely come to me anytime that you need me. I'm a Hufflepuff you know, we're very protective of our friends." She tells me with a smile. Its one of the dorkiest things that I've ever heard her say and I can't help but giggle at her, and that makes her smile widen even more.
"I'll catch you later okay?" She tells me. I nod my head confident that I can make it for at least a whole day without having another mental breakdown. Ron goes back to questioning Harry about the whole Sirius Black event again.
"Why, though?" Ron adds to Harry as the group of second-year girls who have been listening to his chilling tale departs. "Why did he run?"
I'm pretty sure that's what we've all been wondering. "He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once you'd yelled and woken people up," says Harry thoughtfully. "He'd've had to kill the whole House to get back through the portrait hole . . . then he would've met the teachers. . . ."
Neville is in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall is so furious with him she has banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Neville is forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leer unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments, however, come close to matching the one his grandmother has in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sends Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student can receive over breakfast — a Howler.
I still shiver from Ron's last year. Mrs. Weasley is not someone you mess with.
The school owls swoop into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual, and Neville chokes as a huge barn owl lands in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Harry, Ron, and I who are sitting opposite him, recognize the letter as a Howler at once.
"Run for it, Neville," Ron advises.
Neville doesn't need telling twice. He seizes the envelope, and holding it before him like a bomb, sprints out of the hall, while the Slytherin table explodes with laughter at the sight of him. We hear the Howler go off in the entrance hall — Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he has brought shame on the whole family.
I feel horrible for him, but it was his mistake that brought Sirius Black into our tower and triggered another panic attack so I don't feel nearly as bad as I could for him. Harry is too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immediately that he has a letter too. Hedwig gets his attention by nipping him sharply on the wrist.
"Ouch! Oh — thanks, Hedwig." Harry tears open the envelope while Hedwig helps herself to some of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said: Dear Harry, Ron and Jamie,
How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six?
I'll come and collect you from the castle.
WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.
Cheers,
Hagrid
"He probably wants to hear all about Black!" says Ron. I groan shoving my head into my hands.
"Not everything is about you and your terrified heroics Ron!" I cry. Ron glares at me from the other side of Harry.
"Yeah well you looked like some courageous hero yourself in the common room there and when you first came around Black! You nearly fainted both times!" Ron snaps back at me. I wince and pale feeling the horror of the moment wash back over me.
"Ron that's enough!" Harry says slamming both his palms down on the table hard enough to make the silverware rattle and me jump. Harry grabs my arm reassuringly, and gives me a stern look as well expect mine is loads less cross than Ron's.
"I don't want to hear it from you two anymore. If you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything nice at all." Harry says with a note of finality. I swallow hard and nod my head at Harry feeling bad for upsetting him. I know what it's like to be in the middle of warring friends and now his friends are having a three-way war with different targets.
So at six o'clock this afternoon, Harry, Ron, and I leave Gryffindor Tower, pass the security trolls at a run, and head down to the entrance hall. Hagrid is already waiting for us.
"All right, Hagrid!" says Ron. "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"
"I've already heard all abou' it," says Hagrid, opening the front doors and leading us outside.
"Oh," says Ron, looking slightly put out. I was right. I stick close to Harry on the walk outside of the castle. Its still too soon after my last episode to feel comfortable with walking around outside where Black could be.
The first thing we see on entering Hagrid's cabin is Buckbeak, who is stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Averting my eyes from this unpleasant sight, I see a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.
"What are they for, Hagrid?" says Harry.
"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures," says Hagrid. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus. . . ."
I grimace feeling bad that I hadn't been able to help with as much as the research as I would have liked. I attempted whenever Hermione seemed to be in the mood but past that not really. "Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath buns, but they knew better than to accept; they had had too much experience with Hagrid's cooking.
"I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," says Hagrid, sitting himself between Harry and Ron and looking uncharacteristically serious. I'm guessing that he's directing this at them.
"What?" says Harry. I look uncomfortably in my tea, I feel like I'm intruding on a private conversation.
"Hermione," says Hagrid. Oh no has something happened to her?
"Hagrid is she okay?" I jump in interrupting their conversation. Hagrid turns his eyes to me which turn soft and kind again upon taking me in.
"She's okay at 'ter moment Jamie." He tells me. I heave a sigh of relief, I don't think that I could handle if something bad happened to Hermione as well at the moment.
"What about her?" says Ron.
"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat —"
"— ate Scabbers!" Ron interjects angrily. I feel even worse knowing that I wasn't doing a good enough job making her feel better.
"Because her cat acted like all cats do," Hagrid continues doggedly. "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind. . . . She's found some really good stuff fer me . . . reckon he'll stand a good chance now. . . ."
"Hagrid, we should've helped as well — sorry —" Harry begins awkwardly. I can feel my silent tears rolling down my face. I'm a horrible friend. I've just been too caught up in myself.
"I'm not blamin' yeh!" says Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night — but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."
Harry and Ron exchange uncomfortable looks. "Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her —"
"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron says angrily. "But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!"
"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," says Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spits a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow. Oh Merlin why won't he just shut up about he stupid cat and the rat?
That when the three of them seem to notice that I'm crying. "I'm sorry Hagrid I've tried so hard to be there for her— b-but it's just so hard!" I cry between ragged breaths. The half giant gets up and comes over me, and takes me into his arms surprisingly gently so as not to squish me.
"'Don worry Jamie. Hermione ain't mad at you. You've 'een doing your best." He tells me softly allowing me to cry into his shirt. I really don't like what these panic attacks do to me. I've never really been the type of person to cry in front of other until now.
We spend the rest of our visit discussing Gryffindor's improved chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walks us back up to the castle.
A large group of people are bunched around the bulletin board when we return to the common room.
"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" says Ron, craning over the heads to read the new notice. "What d'you reckon?" he adds quietly to Harry as we go to sit down.
"Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes. . . ." Harry says, even more quietly.
"Harry!" says a voice in his right ear. Harry starts and looks around at Hermione, who is sitting at the table right behind us and clearing a space in the wall of books that have been hiding her.
"Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again . . . I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!" says Hermione.
"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" growls Ron, not looking at Hermione.
"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell —"
"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!" says Ron furiously. "Haven't you done enough damage this year?"
Hermione opens her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leaps onto her lap. Hermione takes one frightened look at the expression on Ron's face, gathers up Crookshanks, and hurries away toward the girls' dormitories.
"I seriously can't believe you two. I would have thought that after almost losing me over something petty you two would not make the same mistake by losing Hermione as well. Maybe I was wrong back in first year. Maybe you two aren't the kind of people that I though you were. The Harry and Ron I knew wouldn't be spiteful to Hermione or me just because we do things you don't like. It's time to grow up boys and this time I'm dead serious, or be prepared to face the consequences." I tell them.
With that I turn and go up into my dormitory as well.
Saturday morning comes bright and clear, and I can tell that Harry and Ron are going to be going to Hogsmeade together today. Honestly, I'm not going to bother trying to stop them. If they're not going to listen to reason and be smart about all this, then who am I to care?
Hermione keeps shooting the two of them guarded and searching looks as if she can just tell by looking at them that they are actually going to be at Hogsmeade today. When Harry and Ron leave the table, Hermione does so as well in a huff. I sit there in my seat and place my head in my hands while letting out a long suffering sigh.
When did my relationship with my friends become like this? I honestly didn't see it coming. Is this what happens when friends get older, they drift apart? I don't want that to happen with the first real friends that I've ever had. "Hey Pendragon, you all right?" A soft voice asks me, and I peek up form my hands to look at Ariana Dumbledore leaning on the table next to me.
"Yeah just dandy, I'll be fine in a few minutes." I tell her not bothering to turn my full attention to her. Ariana heaves a sigh and grabs me by the arm, hauling me out of my seat at the table.
"Ariana…" I protest but silence once she shoots me one of her 'open your mouth and die Pendragon' looks.
"You're coming with Luka and I to Hogsmeade today and that's final. I don't want to hear any excuses Jamie. You need a day out!" She exclaims guiding me over to the Ravenclaw table where Luka is finishing up his breakfast. When my brother spots me his face brightens.
"Hey Jamie? What are you up to today?" He questions me standing up to join us in our exit of the Great Hall.
"Jamie is joining us in our trip to Hogsmeade today Luka. She could use a little fun and relaxation for once." Ariana tells him firmly. He flicks his gaze to me and I give him a helpless look in response.
"Yeah you could definitely use with some relaxation Jame. You're always tense nowadays." Luka concurs, and we head out the front doors after having our name checked off the list.
"This is great! Just like old times when you two came over to hang out when Kingsley was busy!" Ariana exclaims looping her arms through Luka's and mine, so that she's sandwiched in between the two of us. Now that I think about it that's how she's always been with us.
I can't remember a day when she hasn't been around in practically my entire life. We make our way down the path with all the other excited kids. Being cooped up in a castle all the time isn't good for our health. By the time that we make it down to Hogsmeade we're laughing and our cheeks are tinged red with the exertion.
"You haven't been here before right? We have to show you all the shops!" Luka cries, grabbing me by the hand and running off towards a shop. Ariana follows behind us laughing at the young child like exuberance that we're exhibiting.
After dragging me to the curio, dress, and book shops, my eyes land on a sight that is almost too beautiful for words. The sign on the window says Zonko's joke shop. "We have to go in there!" I cry hurrying forward to the door, but I'm tackled to the ground by Luka.
"No! If I let you go in there then I'm guaranteeing that I end up with at least one of those pranks in my bed when we get back home!" He complains attempting to pin me to the ground.
I knee my brother in the gut, and he rolls over onto the ground with an oomph. Ariana is shaking her head at the two of us while other students are staring and my brother and me. "You might as well let her go Luka. Jamie will find her way in there eventually. I jump up and grin wildly at her.
"You're the best Ariana!" I cry squeezing her in a quick hug, before rushing into the joke shop with glee. The other two follow me much more controllably.
There are jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest dreams; I don't even know where to begin. An hour later we leave Zonko's with me money bag considerably lighter than it had been on entering, but my pockets bulge with Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup.
As we start back up the path to the castle, I can't help but slip a dung bomb out of my pocket. I set it off, and toss it casually at Luka. The little bomb hisses for a moment then explodes engulfing my brother in a cloud of stench. Ariana stops beside me shocked, and teary eyed from the stench.
My brother drops to the ground holding his nose. "JAMIE!" Luka roars, but sputters when the taste gets into his mouth. "I'm going to kill you!" He growls. I grin confidently back at him when the first splatter lands. All across my front is a giant mud stain. I narrow my eyes at my brother dangerously.
"Oh its on brother dearest!" I say. I quickly bend down, and fling mud into my brother's fleeing backside. Ariana is in hysterics from beside me, and I grin faintly before splattering mud all over the side of her face. She pauses, and gives me one of the most indignant looks that I've ever seen her use.
"Run for your life Pendragon." She says deadly. With that the three of us chase each other back up the path to the castle. By the time that we're back at the front entrance of the castle the three of us are almost covered from head to toe in mud. You can't miss the bright smiles on our face though, even if you tried.
We go our separate ways promising that we're going to do this again sometime because it had been a lot of fun. I have to dodge Filch on the stairs going to the tower since I'm tracking mud in his hallways. "I'LL HANG YOU BY YOUR FINGERNAILS IN THE DUNGEONS!"
Well someone's having a bad day. I manage to make it back to my common room undetected by the enraged caretaker, and up to my dorm to take a shower. Hermione looks up from her bed when I come in. "Oh Merlin Jamie, what happened to you?" She asks her eyes wide.
"I ticked off a Dumbledore Mione, I would highly suggest in not doing so." I chirp heading into the showers after grabbing a fresh change of clothes.
When I return from the showers feeling refreshed I go back into the room and find Hermione looking down at a letter stony faced. "What's the matter Mione?" I ask her worriedly, thinking that something bad had happened to her again. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to keep up with much more of this.
"It's Hagrid… Buckbeak's lost his case, he's going to be executed. Horror washes over me when I think about poor Buckbeak and how miserable Hagrid is going to be. Well there goes my happy bubble.