CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: HOGSMEADE
That night, my family came to visit me as there were no students or teachers around. The moment Uncle Severus saw me sitting up glumly in bed; he was by my side embracing me in one of his famous loving hugs. His hugs always made me feel better.
'Thank goodness you are alright,' he breathed, before allowing Grandmother and Grandfather to hold me tightly.
'You gave us such a fright,' Grandmother almost cried out.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,' I muttered.
'We don't blame you, sweetie,' Grandfather replied firmly. 'We blame those monstrous creatures.'
'Your grandfather's been giving the Ministry an earful about the dementors,' Uncle Severus informed me, looking slightly amused.
'So are the dementors gone?' I questioned.
'Unfortunately no,' Grandfather sighed unhappily. 'We're stuck with them until Sirius Black is caught. However, if they come into the grounds again and attack anyone, I will make sure they are removed.'
'I just hope he is caught soon,' Grandmother said quietly.
'So when can I get out of here?' I asked. 'It's very depressing in here.'
'Madam Pomfrey wants to keep you in here for the rest of the weekend.'
'Why? I feel fine,' I nearly whined.
'We want to be safe,' Grandfather replied patiently. 'Besides, dementor attacks aren't to be taken lightly.'
I gave another groan.
On Monday I was free to leave the Hospital Wing, where I then had to endure Draco and the other Slytherins taunting me about happened in the last Quidditch match. They all found it hilarious that I fell of my broom. Thankfully, I had Ron and Hermione by my side. They always stood up for me. Ron even managed to get a detention in Potions when he stood up for me. This ended up putting him in a foul mood, though. Not that the mood was aimed at me but rather Uncle Severus.
Luckily, Uncle Severus wasn't taking Lupin's class again, seeing as Lupin was back, looking as though he had been sick.
During that Defence lesson, Lupin taught them about hinkypunks, after he had listened patiently to everyone complaining about the way Uncle Severus had taught the class. He also informed us that we didn't have to do the werewolf essay. Hermione had already done it, so she wasn't too thrilled.
After the lesson, Lupin asked me to stay back. Now, a part of me want to ignore his request to obey Uncle Severus, but it was over powered by how comfortable I felt with him and how I trusted him. Hence, I stayed to speak with him.
'I heard about the match,' said Lupin, piling books into his briefcase, 'and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?'
'No,' I replied sadly. 'The tree smashed it to bits.'
Lupin sighed.
'They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts,' Lupin told me. 'People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end a boy nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance.'
'I've seen what it can do to a car, so there's no need to tell me that a broom wouldn't stand a chance,' I said.
'Ah yes. The flying car incident. Professor Sprout told me all about that.' Lupin looked slightly amused.
'Why doesn't it surprise me that you've heard about that?' I wondered. 'Did you hear about the dementors too?'
'Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time; furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds. I suppose they were the reason you fell?'
'Good guess,' I said with a hint of bitterness, 'but what I don't understand is why they went for me out of everyone else out there. Why was I their target? Is it because I'm a Valkyrie?'
'I don't think it was because you are a Valkyrie, but rather because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have,' Lupin replied thoughtfully.
'Ron and Hermione told me about the dementor on the train and how you made it go away,' I said as an idea suddenly occurred to me.
'There are certain defences one can use against dementors,' replied Lupin, 'but there was only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist.'
'What defences?' I said at once. 'And can you teach me?'
'I'm not an expert at fighting dementors, Harri, quite the contrary...'
'But if the dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them,' I argued. 'And you are the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who better to teach me.'
Lupin looked down at my determined face, hesitated, then said, 'Very well, I'll try and help.'
'Thank you!' I exclaimed.
'It'll have to wait until next term, though,' Lupin informed me. 'I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill.'
Thrilled with the aptitude of dementor lessons and the improvement in the weather, the rest of the term seemed to fly by. Before I knew it there were two weeks left before the end of the term.
Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Several teachers had gone all out and had decorated there classroom for the occasion.
This year, my family and I decided to have it that I pretended to leave Hogwarts. I told Ron and Hermione that I would be staying with my grandparents, which wasn't a complete lie. I was surprised, however, when I learnt that Ron and Hermione were remaining at Hogwarts. Ron stated that he couldn't stand being in Percy's presence over the holidays, while Hermione insisted she needed to use the library.
However, any good feelings I had vanished when the next Hogsmeade trip arrived. I was the only third year remaining at school, hence the only one not excited. That meant that on the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, I ended up bidding Ron and Hermione goodbye, before heading up the marble staircase alone making my way back towards the Gryffindor Tower.
'Psst - Harry!'
I turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at me from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.
'What are you doing?' I asked curiously. 'How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?'
'We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go,' said Fred, with a mysterious wink.
He something from inside his cloak and handed it to me. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. I gave them an unimpressed look.
'And what is this supposed to be?'
'This, Harry, is the secret of our success,' said George, patting the parchment fondly.
It's a wrench giving it to you,' Fred added, 'but we decided your needs are greater than ours.'
'So you're giving me some rubbish?'
'Rubbish!' said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though I had mortally offended him. 'It's not rubbish at all.'
'When we were in our first year, Harry, we got into a spot of bother with Filch by letting off a Dungbomb in the corridor,' George explained. 'So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual detention disembowelment and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.'
'Don't tell me,' I said with a laugh.
'Well, what would you've done?' said Fred. 'George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, giving me the chance to grab this.'
'And what is it?'
The twins exchanged a long before George took out his wand and touched it with the tip.
'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' he said, watching my face closely.
Immediately, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed: Messrs' Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map. It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds, but the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labelled with a name in minuscule writing.
Now, while that was truly amazing, what touched me even more was that this was one of my father's, and his friends', creations. I was holding something that had one belonged to my dad.
'I don't believe it,' I whispered.
'Yeah, amazing, isn't it?' Fred said, mistaking my reaction.
'Why would you give me something like this?' I asked them curiously, though I knew that this rightfully belonged to me, Lupin and Sirius Black.
'Showing where everyone in the castle is isn't the reason we're giving it to you,' replied George. 'Another benefit of this map is that it shows several secret passages out of the castle, and this one –' he pointed to a certain part of the map, will lead you right into Honeydukes cellar.'
'Which means I can go to Hogsmeade without any teachers or dementors knowing,' I said as I slowly began to see the Christmas present the twins had given me. They had given me the means to visit Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione.
'Exactly. Now, don't forget to wipe it after you've used it or anyone can read it,' Fred warned. 'Just tap it again and say, "Mischief managed".'
'Thank you so much!' I replied sincerely.
'It was nothing,' Fred said, waving the gratitude aside. 'Just make sure you have a good time and we'll see you in Hogsmeade!'
The twins then left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.
It didn't take me long to follow. I ran from the room all the way to the statue of the one-eyed witch. There, I looked at the map again and saw the tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to my figure on the map. The word inside said, "Dissendium".
'Dissendium!' I whispered, tapping the stone witch with my wand.
At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Without thinking, I ended the passage, casting Lumos as I went seeing as the passageway was very dark.
After what felt like an hour, I finally arrived at the end of the passage. Above me was a trapdoor. Very slowly and carefully, I pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.
I was in what appeared to be a cellar, which was full of wooden crates and boxes.
I climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it - it blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was nearly impossible to tell it was there. With this done I cautiously made my way toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs, where I could hear voice and the tinkle of a bell signalling the opening and closing of a door.
With much care, skills and luck, I managed to sneak out of the cellar and into Honeydukes store, where I blended with my school mates. None of them gave me a second glance as I took a look around. Some didn't even look at me once as they were too focused on the sweets.
Anyway, I ended up eventually leaving Honeydukes and made my way to the Shrieking Shack, where I knew Ron and Hermione wanted to go. And it was there that I found them, but they weren't alone. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were with them.
'... are you two shopping for your new dream home?' I heard Draco question my friends with a mocking cruelness. 'Bit grand for you, isn't it, Weasley? Don't your family all sleep in one room?'
'Shut your face, Malfoy!' Ron growled angrily.
'Oh, not very friendly,' Draco sniggered. 'Boys, I think it is time we show Weasley who his superiors are.'
'I hope you don't mean yourself!' Hermione retorted angrily.
'How dare you speak to me, you filthy little Mudblood!'
Eyes darkening, I quickly grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a ball, and hurled it straight at the back of Draco's head. I didn't stop to see if it had hit my target, for I was silently, but quickly, moving to a better hiding spot, throwing more snow and mud balls as I went.
When I was in my new location, close by to where Draco and his friends stood, I cautiously looked through the bushes and took in the muddy Draco and snow covered Crabbe and Goyle. I was glad to see that they looked scared. I then looked at Ron and Hermione. Both of them were looking uncertain.
'Go away!' I said in a voice similar to the Bloody Baron's. I almost laughed out loud as my classmates all jumped violently. 'Go away or be cursed!'
'Let's get out of here, Draco!' Goyle yelled, grabbing Draco's arm and dragging him away. They were soon out of sight.
Ron and Hermione stood there nervously, wondering whether or not they should leave. They then jumped as the bushes I was hiding behind rustled as I revealed myself. They relaxed dramatically when they saw me.
'Harry? What are you doing here?' Hermione gasped.
'I came to see Hogsmeade and hang out with you two,' I replied casually.
'How did you get passed the dementors?' Ron asked in awe.
'Fred and George gave me an early Christmas present,' I explained as we began to walk back to the village. 'They gave me a map that shows me where everyone is in Hogwarts, and it shows several secret passages out of the castle. The one I used that goes straight to Honeydukes.'
'How come Fred and George never gave it to me!' Ron demanded, outraged. 'I'm their brother!'
That's not saying much, I thought. They have many brothers. Besides, it rightfully belongs to me!
'But Harry isn't going to keep it!' said Hermione, as though the idea were absurd. 'He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?'
'What makes you think I'd do a stupid thing like that?' I asked. 'I might as well hand in my invisibility cloak while I'm at it!'
'But what about Sirius Black?' Hermione argued. 'He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!'
'He can't be getting in through a passage,' I said confidently. 'Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three - one of them caved in, one's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, and the one I just came through. Black wouldn't use it because he would end up alerting the owners of Honeydukes to his presence, not to mention the small detail that the passage entrance is well disguised.'
'And I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village after sunset.'
'Yes, but –' Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. 'Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet - what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?'
'Hermione, you're being paranoid,' I told her calmly. Besides, he would have a hard time going around unnoticed and an even harder time finding me with all the other students around.'
Hermione didn't look convinced, but she reluctantly let the matter go as Ron led me over to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.
Facebook page: link on profile
Azaelia Silmarwen Facebook page: link on profile
Written: 23 September 2013
Updated: N/A
Beta: BETA WANTED
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OVER THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN THIS STORY. THIS IS A NON-PROFIT FANDUB CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED, FAIR USE ONLY.
