I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH IT. I ONLY OWN DEVYN AND HER PARENTS.

Chapter 26

Devyn yawned widely as she sat at the small circular table she always did in Divination, with Neville. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at the table next to theirs. Neville was staring into the crystal ball they were supposed to be trying to See something in.

Devyn thought it was a load of tosh, which was why she was only staring at it and not really seeing it. She was mulling over the events of the past two weeks. Defense Against the Dark Arts had been slightly awkward all week, but it was getting easier as Devyn forgave Moony slowly.

It took some much needed encouragement from Hermione, Neville, and Harry but she was really making an effort to put their fight behind her. She didn't like fighting with Moony, so she was trying to get over it as quick as she possibly could. It was easier said than done, but there you go. She thought she was getting close to moving on from that argument and the resulting feeling of betrayal.

To make the entire process of forgiveness easier for herself, she stopped going to the Patronus lessons, but kept practicing on her own. Without the Dementor Boggart to give her real practice, it was much easier than it would have been, but now she could keep her corporeal Patronus around for at least thirty seconds. Once she went back to the Patronus lessons (for she planned to, very soon), she would see how much she had actually improved.

Surprisingly, as she forgave Moony bit by bit, she found that her love for him was growing stronger, which in turn made her Patronus memory stronger, which in turn made her Patronus stronger. So maybe this fight was good for them. And true to his word – although she didn't expect Moony to be anything else – he had given her the space that she needed and she thought that she might be finally ready to fully forgive him.

After all, Devyn thought with another yawn, no stable relationship is without its flaws and occasional arguments. We'll make it through this.

"Broaden your minds…you must look beyond…the art of crystal-gazing is in the clearing of the Inner Eye. Only then, can you see…try again."

Devyn blinked her way out of her stupor as she became dimly aware of Trelawney's voice floating somewhere behind her. She sat up a little and looked into the crystal ball, giggling to herself when she saw that Ron was completely passed out and Harry seemed very close to following his lead.

Devyn glanced at Neville and smiled to herself; he had been angry on her behalf once Devyn told him exactly what was going on. He understood that she was trying to forgive Moony but told her, in no uncertain terms, that he wouldn't forgive Moony until she had, in full.

Devyn thought that was extremely sweet; this was a thought she had very often when it came to Neville. She was very lucky to have him as a friend, and luckier still to have him as a boyfriend.

Thankfully Trelawney flitted right past their table and went straight to Harry, Ron, and Hermione's.

"Now, what do we have here?"

Ron woke up with a snore-like grunt and Hermione said, "Oh…ah, do you mind me trying?"

"Ah!" Trelawney said, and Devyn raised an eyebrow. Why on earth would Hermione be so eager to try and see something in the crystal ball? She thought Divination was a bunch of rubbish, an opinion that Devyn was quickly coming to share.

"The Grim," Hermione said after looking at the crystal for a moment. "Possibly."

Oh, well, there it is, Devyn thought. She wants information. Trelawney is always going on about that stupid Grim…very clever Hermione, but she'll see right through it. Perhaps if it were Harry that 'saw' the Grim…she might have indulged it then…but for you…

Trelawney's eyes left the translucent ball, which was swirling with fog, and went to Hermione. She leaned forward and said, "My dear, from the first moment you stepped foot in my class, I sensed that you did not possess the proper spirit for the noble art of Divination."

Hermione's expression cooled, but Trelawney didn't seem to notice it. Devyn nudged Neville and when he looked up, she nodded in Hermione's direction. Neville turned slightly to watch what was happening.

Devyn raised both eyebrows this time as she watched Trelawney take Hermione's hand and turn it upwards, and traced the lines on her palm. "No, you see, there…ah you may be young in years, but your heart is as shriveled as an old maid's, your soul as dry as the pages of the books to which you so desperately cleave."

Trelawney, clearly under the impression she hadn't said something rather offensive, smiled and closed Hermione's hand, causing her fingers to curl up like she was making a loose fist. Hermione's expression went from annoyed to furious in the blink of an eye.

Devyn nearly keeled over from shock when Hermione pulled her hand out of Trelawney's, grabbed her backpack, and stormed out of the classroom, knocking the crystal ball off the table as she did, causing it to hit the floor and roll out the door after her.

"Have I said something?" Trelawney asked Harry innocently. Harry didn't respond but that might have been because he was as dumbfounded as everyone else. Hermione Granger had just stormed out of a class. Hermione Granger.

Devyn thought she would die from sheer and utter astonishment in that moment. She honestly never thought she'd ever see the day when Hermione left a classroom right in the middle of a lesson. That just wasn't Hermione.

Something was definitely going on with her, and Devyn was actually happy about it. She loved Hermione dearly but sometimes she did act like she had a stick the size of Europe up her rear.

She could do with a little lightening up.

"She's gone mental, Hermione has," Ron commented. The four of them – Devyn, Neville, Ron, and Harry - were making their way back down from the North Tower and Devyn shot him a look, which he ignored. "I mean, not that she wasn't always mental, but now it's out in the open for everyone to see."

"Ron!" Devyn scolded him. He shrugged and offered no other response beyond that. Devyn rolled her eyes and stopped walking when she noticed the crystal ball that Hermione had knocked over resting on one of the stairs. Harry, who was slightly ahead of her, stopped as well when he saw it and said, "Hang on."

He crouched down and picked up the large glass sphere. "We'd better take this back."

Ron looked at like he was insane and said, "I'm not going back."

"Fine," Harry said. "See you later."

"See you," Ron said and he kept walking. Devyn turned to Harry and said, "I'll go with you."

"Okay," he replied.

Neville kissed her quickly and said, "I'll see you later, Dev."

She nodded and smiled brightly at him before turning around and going back up the stairs with Harry. "So, how are things going with Lupin?"

Devyn shrugged and said, "As well as can be expected. I'm getting there..."

"Do you think you should tell him?" Harry asked, looking at her significantly. Devyn blinked and said, "Tell him…what?"

"You know what I'm talking about Devyn. Do you think you should tell him about…" he whispered the next word, "Snow."

Devyn inhaled slowly and said, "Yeah, I think I should. I think I might…I mean, he's going to figure it out sooner or later, and he's been left out of the loop for so long."

Harry nodded in agreement and said, "That might be a good opportunity for you to actually forgive him…if you think you're ready of course."

"Yeah, I think I am ready. I really hate fighting with him…and I mean, I know where he was coming from when he said those things. He still shouldn't have said them but I think I understand why he did. I just want to put the whole thing behind me…behind us."

Harry smiled and nodded. They had at last reached the top of the North Tower and went back into Trelawney's classroom. Harry noticed a small pedestal that looked as though it was made to hold a crystal ball such as the one Harry had in his hands.

The two of them moved towards it and Harry placed the crystal ball down on the pedestal, before they went to turn away and leave the classroom once more.

"Harry Potter…"

The two of them turned back around and stared at the crystal ball, which was now emitting a faint golden light. The closer they looked, the more they could make out what appeared to be a face…a man's face…but not just any man, Devyn realized as her heart sank deep into the pit of her stomach.

It was Sirius Black's face that was staring at them from inside the depths of the crystal ball. She and Harry looked at each other, shock and fear written on both of their faces. Devyn was not the least bit afraid of Black, but the fact that his image had just appeared in this crystal ball – the same one that had been sitting on Harry's table – was very disconcerting.

"Harry Potter…" the crystal ball said again. Before they could even react to the second declaration of Harry's name, someone wheezed – although it sounded more like a death rattle to Devyn – and seized their shoulders from behind.

Harry and Devyn jumped and turned around, only to be faced with Professor Trelawney…but she looked strange…stranger than usual and normally, Devyn would have marveled at the fact that this was even possible, but there was something very wrong with Trelawney.

"Professor Trelawney –" Harry said, his tone suggesting that he was going to try and explain why the two of them were back in the classroom. Evidently, however, Trelawney was not interested because she cut him off with another wheeze and said, "He will return tonight."

"Sorry?" Harry said, looking more and more nervous with each passing second. Trelawney's grip on their shoulders was becoming tighter and tighter and growing increasingly more painful. Devyn tried to ignore the pain and focus on what Trelawney was saying. It seemed, if Devyn's assumptions were correct, that their Divination professor was delivering an actual prophecy.

"He will return tonight," she repeated, looking somewhere off into the distance. She was clearly unaware that they were even there. "He who betrayed his friends, whose heart rots with murder shall break free. Innocent blood will be split and servant and Master will be reunited once more!"

She choked on her own saliva, sputtered for a moment and jerked as though she had just reentered her body. She looked around in confusion before spotting Harry and Devyn, both of whom were looking like they had just encountered several Dementors at once.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, children…did you say something?"

Devyn shook her head, her eyes wide and fearful. Harry gulped and said, "No. Nothing."

The two of them pulled away from Trelawney as fast as they possibly could and practically ran from the classroom, down the North Tower stairs and only slowed down when they were sure they were far shot of the Divination classroom.

Devyn turned to Harry as they were walking back up to Gryffindor Tower and said, "What the hell was that? Was that a real prophecy?"

"I don't know," Harry said, running a hand through his ever messy hair. "But I think I know what it was about. Sirius Black is going to break free tonight and he's coming after me. And I'm going to kill him."

"Not on my watch, he bloody well isn't," Devyn growled and for what felt like the seven millionth time in far less days, Black's words from their meeting months ago came back to her.

I'm not trying to kill Harry!

It's Pettigrew you have to worry about, not me! He's the one trying to kill Pettigrew, not me!

Devyn suspected this was actually true because the Map showed them that Pettigrew had been in the castle and the Map never lied. Moony had helped make the Marauder's Map…he wouldn't have left any room for errors; not at the time that he and his friends made it, nor now.

Peter Pettigrew was alive, and if Pettigrew was alive, then that meant…

"Harry…do you think there's even a possibility that Black's innocent? That he's not trying to kill you?"

Harry looked at her sharply and said, "What do you mean? He's been after me this entire time!"

"Harry, just hear me out, okay? Look, Pettigrew was in this castle."

"The Map was lying."

"I don't think it was, Harry. I think Pettigrew is alive. And if he's alive then that means that Black never murdered him at all."

"That doesn't mean he wasn't in league with Voldemort!" Harry snapped. "Black betrayed my parents and I am going to avenge them. So stay out of my way if you know what's good for you, Devyn. He's going to find me tonight, and I will kill him."

Harry stormed off, leaving Devyn standing there in shock.

Harry's not going to listen to reason. He's convinced that Black's guilty and that he's out to kill Harry. But I really think that he's only here to try and protect Harry. Oh, this is such a bloody mess.

For once, Snow was silent and Devyn was thankful for that. Perhaps it was because Snow agreed with her, but she really didn't need two voices – hers and Snow's – arguing with each other in her head right now. Snow could be really helpful sometimes, but other times she could be a right pain in the –

Devyn, who had been walking slowly up the stairs, stopped suddenly.

Snow. Moony. I've got to tell him. I have to tell him now. I have a really bad feeling that if I don't tell him now, he's going to find out very soon and not necessarily from me.

Devyn turned on her heel and went straight to the DADA classroom. Luckily the door was open and she saw Moony sitting at his desk, reading a paper.

"Moony!" she said. He jumped and looked up. He smiled widely when he saw her and immediately got up.

"Devyn!" he said, walking towards her. "I was just thinking about you. You know…I was wondering…I know I said I'd give you your space, but being at odds with you is driving me insane. I was hoping maybe we could just put this behind us and…is everything alright, Devyn?"

Moony clearly had just noticed the slightly frantic expression on Devyn's face and she nodded. "Yes, everything's fine. There's just something I need to tell you. You see…I don't really know how to put – are you alright, Moony?"

Moony had just grimaced in pain and was rubbing at his shoulder muscles. "Yes, I'm fine…just hurting a little."

And then it dawned on her.

"It's tonight, isn't it?" she asked, being very careful to use vague terms. He nodded and Devyn inhaled sharply and nodded. "Have you taken the…the potion yet?"

Moony shook his head and said, "No, not yet. Professor Snape is just finishing it up for me. Should be ready in a couple hours."

Devyn nodded and was about to go on with trying to confess about Snow to him, but before she could, Moony grumbled and said, "Oh, I hate this. I hate having to go through this every month. Do you know, before I was…you know… I really actually liked wolves? But ever since that night, and ever since the very first time I…I changed, I've absolutely hated anything to do with wolves. Anything! That's why seeing your Patronus is so hard for me. I know it's only a shape, but it's doesn't make it any easier."

Devyn closed her eyes momentarily. How on earth was she supposed to tell Moony that she was a wolf Animagus now? How could she tell him that she could willingly change into the form of the animal that he hated the most? How?

"I'm sorry, Devyn…you said you needed to tell me something. What was it?"

Devyn bit her lip and did some very quick thinking. She knew she couldn't tell Moony about Snow now. If she did, he'd never accept her. How could he? How could he accept her, knowing that she could transform into the animal he loathed more than anything else in the world? The only things he probably hated more than wolves were Greyback, the werewolf that infected him, and Voldemort.

"Oh...uh… I just wanted to…to tell you that…that I want to put the whole fight thing behind us as well. I've decided that I don't want to fight with you anymore…and that I'm grateful you gave me the space that I needed."

Moony smiled brightly and said, "Oh! Well, that's a relief. I'm glad that we can move past this. I've really missed you."

Devyn suddenly rushed at Moony and hugged him tightly while still being wary of the pain he was in. "I've missed you, too, Moony. I'm sorry I was so mean to you…"

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Devyn," Moony said firmly as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I shouldn't have said those things. I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am. So very sorry."

"Well, we can be sorry together, then," Devyn said, earning a chuckle from Moony. She smiled up at him in response, really very glad to hear his laugh again. Her godfather didn't laugh enough.

"There now…that's what I've missed," Moony said affectionately, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head and squeezing her tightly before letting her go.

"So," he said, looking down at her. "How's your Patronus coming along?"

"How did you know…?"

"Devyn, please, I'm your godfather, I know you…plus, Harry told me you'd carried on practicing on your own."

Devyn rolled her eyes and shook her head playfully. "It's coming along pretty well. I can hold it for about thirty seconds now, but that's without the Dementor Boggart around so I don't know how long I'd be able to hold it when faced with either a Boggart Dementor, or a real Dementor."

"Don't sell yourself short, Devyn…a Patronus, corporeal or not, is a huge achievement for someone your age, and to be able to hold it for that long is incredible."

Devyn flushed happily and said, "Yeah I know… well, anyway, I should get going. My friends are probably wondering where I am."

Moony nodded and pulled in her for one last hug before letting her go. She left the classroom, feeling both better and worse about the situation she found herself in. She was glad that she and Moony had made up, but how would he react once he found out that she was an Animagus, and a wolf one at that?

Life is getting really complicated…she thought, feeling annoyed. She walked back up to Gryffindor Tower, thinking about her frustratingly complex predicament, and she barely noticed that she had been standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, which had been restored some time ago, and she was looking aggravated.

"Are you going to just stand there, muttering to yourself, or are you going to give me the password?" the Fat Lady asked, sounding very snooty.

"What's got your panties in a twist, then? Oh, aperta sesamae, by the way."

"Thank you," the Fat Lady said, her eye twitching. Devyn raised her eyebrows and walked through the portrait hole.

"Oi, what's up with the Fat Lady? She's in a mood, isn't she?" Devyn asked, seeing her friends sitting on their usual couch in front of the fireplace.

"She's always in a mood," Ron commented, but it was without any humor at all, which was quite unlike her red-headed friend. In fact, he sounded positively glum.

"What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Hermione, who had tears swimming in her eyes, looked at her and said, "Buckbeak's execution is today."

Devyn felt the air leave her lungs and she collapsed into one of the armchairs. "Oh, bloody hell…"

After a few minutes of silence, Neville cleared his throat and said, "So are we just going to sit here, or are we going to go down to Hagrid's?"

They looked at each other and said in unison, "Let's go."

Devyn couldn't know for sure of course, but with Trelawney's prediction in mind, she felt that something big was about to happen…

…she only wished she knew if it was bad or good.