Author's Note: *slinks out and shuffles feet awkwardly* Uh...hey everyone! You know it's been a long time when you go to reply to a review and the link takes you to a page that says the link no longer exists. *laughs but hears crickets so stops* Erm...anyway, I'm off for Christmas break for a month so I plan to update much more often than before. This is a nice long chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it!
Chapter 12 A Meeting to Remember
Alex was sitting in Dumbledore's office across the table from the Headmaster, waiting for him to start the discussion. She didn't know anything about these kind of sessions and wasn't sure when she should start talking. And wasn't she supposed to be lying on a couch instead of sitting down? Or was this not considered a trip to a psychologist? Would it be weird to ask?
"Relax, Alex," chuckled Dumbledore, "Think of this like a chatting session between friends. You may say whatever you feel, I shall not be offended. However, I would appreciate it if you still called me "sir" or any of the other proper names."
"Of course, sir!"
"Very well. I think the first question, and probably the most important one, is how are your nightmares?"
"All right," said Alex with a shrug. Dumbledore pressed his fingers together and gave her a disbelieving look. "Well," she added, "They haven't gotten any worse. It's still me looking for my father and the Minister keeping him with the dementors. But after I wake up, I can't go back to sleep. I just keep picturing Dad and those...monsters. Where did those things come from anyway, sir?"
"They have been on Earth for as long as people have been here," replied Dumbledore sadly, "As long as there is happiness in the world, there will always be dementors there to try and take it away."
Alex shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold as though those horrid creatures were there in the room.
"Dementors, boggarts...it seems the world is full of horrible things," Alex said dully, "And Muggles don't even know about it!"
"Let them be ignorant because they have their own problems too. They have political scandals and those contraptions I believe that they call guns. Imagine if they knew about a creature that turned into the thing that they feared the most! No Muggle would want to leave their house."
"My boggart changed, you know," Alex said suddenly, thinking back to before she left for Hogwarts at her dad's house.
"Did it now?" asked Dumbledore, raising his white eyebrows in surprise, "What is it that you fear instead of dementors?"
"Helplessness," she whispered, "After being in the graveyard with Harry and not being able to stop Voldemort from hurting him, I'm terrified of not being able to save the people I love. It's horrible just being forced to stand there and watch it all happen, like you're watching a play instead of reality." Alex let out a cold bark of laughter and continued, "And Harry thinks I don't understand what he went through? I endured it all with him as well as the pain of not being able to do anything. If anything, he has no idea what I went through!"
"I take it that you and Harry have been arguing?"
"He's just...ARGH!" Alex exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, "Professor, can I vent? Without you judging me?"
"Of course, Alex. I'm here to listen and help," replied the old man kindly.
"Okay, good," said Alex. She took a deep breath and began, "I love Harry like a brother. He's practically related to me anyway after all we've been through together, not even thinking about the fact that we were joined at the hip before Voldemort attacked us. He's a great friend: loyal, funny, and always there for me. But lately, he's been acting, pardon me sir, like a real git."
"How so?"
"It's just...he's been really moody lately. One minute, he's laughing and joking and then the next, he's all pissed off at the world. It's like he's having his period...all the time! And it's not little mood swings and bouts of anger, it's like full-blown PMS-ing!" said Alex, gaining speed with each word as she got on a roll, "I know that I can be really bitchy sometimes so I'm not one to judge. But it's always, "Oh woe is me! My life sucks and everyone needs to know because no one understands me!". But the thing is, I completely understand what he's going through! I lost everyone that night and I'm scared shitless because Voldemort wants me dead too."
"Have you told him this?" asked Dumbledore. Alex snorted and raised an eyebrow to which the older man said, "I'll take that as a yes."
"Professor, you know me pretty well. When have I ever been able to keep my fiery emotions to myself?" said Alex and she sighed before continuing, "I know that life for Harry hasn't been easy. I was fortunate to grow up with people who loved me and to be reunited with my father. But Harry...he didn't have to worry about hiding his powers from the school or his heritage. He doesn't have to balance extra lessons where you're pushed to your limit physically and mentally. Having these powers is a gift and I'm grateful for them, but..."
"With great power comes great responsibility," the Headmaster finished. Alex nodded and stared at her hands, hearing the older man sigh and say, "My dear, you are a special witch. I know how difficult these past few years have been for you and you have handled them with strength beyond your years. I know you may not see the reason why you have all these lessons but one day, you will."
"I know they're important, sir," said Alex quickly, "Without them, how would I control my gifts? And they need to be controlled because if they were left wild, I could hurt someone."
"Again, you show maturity of a young woman much older than yourself," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Ah how I wish I had been that way when I was young."
"I'm sure that you were very mature, sir," said Alex respectfully and truthfully. It was impossible for her to imagine Dumbledore being a wild and crazy teenager.
Dumbledore could only chuckle to himself. He observed Alex for a moment before asking, "Would you like to humor an old man and listen to a story of my childhood?"
"I'd like that very much!" she replied eagerly. She knew that Dumbledore never talked about his childhood and relished at the chance to learn more about the old Headmaster.
"My brother and I were orphaned when I graduated Hogwarts. Not wanting to leave my brother alone, I postponed my career for a few months in order to take care of him over the summer. While I was in town, I met a young man and we became good friends. One night, we went out to a bar and, ah...had a little too much to drink," said Dumbledore, smiling sheepishly as Alex grinned.
"We were walking back to my house and along the way, we passed a field full of sheep. We lived in an all-Wizarding country village. Anyway, in our incapacitated state, we thought it would be amusing to reenact the scene from Homer's The Odyssey when Odysseus escapes the Cyclops by hiding under the sheep. However," Dumbledore said, "These sheep were a lot smaller than the giant sheep that the Cyclops owned. So instead of riding the poor creatures, we manage to frighten them to the point that they called out so loudly that they woke up the shepherd. The two of us received a good thrashing that caused us to sober up quite a bit and since then, I vowed never to drink Firewhiskey again."
Alex couldn't help laughing long and hard at Dumbledore's tale. Not only was it hilarious to imagine the Headmaster drunk enough to try and ride a sheep upside-down but also the fact that he had wanted to reenact a poem from Ancient Greece while he was that drunk. Finally, Alex calmed herself down and wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
"So you see, Alex, teenagers can do some incredibly stupid things," said Dumbledore with a smile, "Not everyone has their head on as straight as you do. Give Harry time and continue to remind him that you know what he is going through. It may take time to get through his thick skull, but it will get there I assure you."
Alex nodded, feeling a little better after her rant. They spent the rest of the time talking about how Alex felt now after everything that happened with Nick. She insisted that she felt completely fine, albeit a little more wary around guys that she didn't know well. Dumbledore insisted that was normal and probably for the best. This way she wouldn't be naive enough to fall for any tricks.
After being in the office for a good two hours, Alex was dismissed and asked to return in a month. She left in a good mood and went straight to the library where she knew Hermione had her books waiting for her so she could get a start on her homework. Alex had to go down to the dungeons to work on her potion with Draco the next day and wanted to get as much work done as possible.
"How'd your meeting go?" Hermione asked as Alex sat down with a smile on her face.
"It went very well. Did you know that when Dumbledore's drunk, he likes to act out scenes from Homer's classic poems?" she asked with a wicked grin while Hermione looked quite taken aback.
...
The next day, Alex was down in the Potions room with Draco working on an advanced potion. Her fingers were sweaty from the gloves and she kept losing her grip on everything. Finally, after she almost put too much copperhead venom into the potion, Draco said something.
"Alex, why don't you take those gloves off?" he asked, gesturing to Alex's black, fingerless gloves, "I know it's the end of October, but it's not that cold down here!"
"I'm fine," she lied.
"No, you're not," said Draco, a playful smile forming on his lips, "Take them off or I'll make you!"
"Really, I'm fine. Draco, please," said Alex quickly, but he was too quick and ripped them off her hands. His smile faded when he saw her heavily bandaged right hand.
"What happened?" he asked worriedly, "What did you do to your hand? Has Madame Pomfrey seen this yet? She can fix it without batting an eyelash."
"No, I don't want Madame Pomfrey to see this," said Alex, trying to pull her hand away. However, he held onto it tightly but gently enough that it didn't hurt her wound.
"Why? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Alex snarled with a touch of venom, "It's that little toad-faced munchkin bitch who did this!"
Sighing, she carefully removed the bandages and Draco's eyes widened with horror at the sight of the words on her hand, which were now beginning to bleed again.
"Remember how I told you I had to write lines?" asked Alex and he nodded, seemingly unable to speak just yet, "Well, this was her twisted way of doing them. The ink I have to use isn't ink…it's my own blood."
"This is torture," Draco said hoarsely, "That monster! I'll complain to Snape, even Dumbledore if I have to! She can't do this to you, not while I have anything to do about it!"
"Draco, I know you're upset but-"
"Upset? I'm not upset, I'm outraged at this!" said Draco angrily, letting go of Alex's hand and she put the bandages back on, "This has to be illegal!"
"Draco, listen to me," Alex said softly, "There's nothing Snape or Dumbledore can do. Umbridge is here because of that stupid educational decree. If Dumbledore couldn't find a teacher over the summer holidays, he obviously can't find one now."
"But she can't-"
"Apparently she can," said Alex dryly, "But look, this will heal in no time. I've been using the murtlap tentacles every night and it's already a lot better. And I'm sure I can control my temper long enough for the skin to become fully healed."
Draco sighed and took her hurt hand again, looking at the bandages as though he could see through them to the wound.
"It'll scar, you know," he said quietly, "You'll have that forever."
"Well, at least it'll help me remember to control my fiery temper," Alex joked to make him laugh.
Instead, he turned his eyes on her and said seriously, "No Alex, never do that. Never stop telling others how to behave. Don't control that temper because it allows others to see the nonsense they're doing. Plus it's extremely…funny when you blow up at people."
Alex smiled and gave him a playful shove. He cracked a smile and they continued working.
Later that evening, Alex found her three friends working on homework in the common room. She sat down without a word and started working on her homework. She felt Harry watching her but kept her head down. As they were working, Hermione spoke.
"Harry, have you thought anymore about…about what Ron and I suggested? About you and Alex teaching us defensive magic?"
Ron looked up in alarm but Hermione gave him a silencing look. Alex was eyeing Harry nervously from behind a curtain of hair but he didn't even look up from his work for a full minute. Finally, he sighed.
"Yeah, I have actually."
"And?" Hermione asked, looking eager and anxious.
"I'm not sure," he said, looking at Ron and then Alex.
"I'm all for the idea, mate," said Ron, relaxing somewhat since Harry wasn't shouting, "We know you said it was all luck and stuff, but you can't deny that you're amazing at Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I like the idea, Harry," said Alex, managing a small smile, "Think about it, we'll be going behind the Ministry's back and even the school's! And we'll be teaching people about defending themselves! Isn't that remotely exciting to you?"
"It is," said Harry nervously, "But I don't think many people are going to want to take the risk just to be taught by us. We're the whack-jobs, remember?"
"I think you'd be surprised how many people will want to learn," said Hermione, "Look, why don't we ask anyone who'd be interested to meet us in Hogsmede next weekend?"
"Why then?" Ron asked, "Why don't we try and meet here in an empty classroom or something?"
"Because," said Alex with her full-blown mischievous smile, "I don't think Umbridge would like our little idea."
They agreed to let Hermione organize the entire thing and decided they should get some sleep. As Alex got her books together, she heard Harry telling Ron that he'd be up in a bit. Hermione was already gone so it was just the two of them.
"Alex, I'm really sorry. You know that, right?" he asked sincerely.
"I know," she sighed, putting her bag on her shoulder, "And I also know that you're going through some kind of growing pain thing right now. Just please don't come out on the other side of this as a complete asshole, all right? Because I don't have assholes for friends and I'd hate to lose your friendship. Also, remember that I'm always here for you."
"You're too good to me, Alex," said Harry with a grin. Alex smiled back and held out her arms, enveloping him in a hug.
"Yeah, I know," she said in a joking tone. Alex wasn't sure about later on down the road but right now, it seemed that everything was going to be all right with them.
...
The week went by slowly, too slowly for Alex's liking. She was really looking forward to the Hogsmede weekend but there was something bothering her. She really wanted to tell Draco about what they were doing and maybe ask him to join, but how would she be able to explain to everyone that he wouldn't go to Umbridge? Plus people talk and soon his friends would find out, not to mention his father. No, she didn't want to risk her friend's reputation. Still, she hated keeping a secret from him. He was one of her closest friends. She felt she could tell him almost anything and he'd do his best to help her out.
There were things she obviously couldn't tell him, like her real father. That would mean she'd have to explain that Sirius was innocent and he probably wouldn't believe her. Plus, she had promised her father she wouldn't tell anyone and she intended to keep that promise. If there was one thing Alex respected, it was promises she made.
One evening, the night before the Hogsmede trip, Alex was walking back from dinner by herself when someone came out of a door. It was Snape. He seemed to have been looking for her because he walked up to her and she stopped.
"Come with me."
Feeling like she had done something wrong, she followed the Potion's master down to the dungeons. Once in his office, she sat down as he joined her.
"It's time for you to start up your lessons, now that your detentions have come to an end," Snape said and Alex felt her stomach drop. She was enjoying her time away from his sneers. "But this year, we will be focusing on Occlumency and Legilimency only. You will meet me here every Thursday after dinner like before."
Alex nodded coldly. She hated using Legilimency on others and Snape knew that all too well.
"And one more thing," said Snape, "You are not to tell Professor Umbridge about these lessons or give any indication you know about them. If anyone asks, you are taking extra advanced Potions lessons with me. You may go."
Alex left and went to her bed. That evening, she was haunted by the dreams again. She woke up in a state of panic and it took her hours for her to calm down. By that time, she decided to get ready for the day.
A couple of hours later, Alex, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were walking down the main street of Hogsmede. The wind was bitter and Alex could feel that winter was coming soon. As they pulled their cloaks more tightly around themselves, Alex saw that they were passing the Three Broomsticks, the local pub of Hogsmede.
"Hermione, where exactly are we meeting?" Harry asked.
"There's a pub not far down the road," said Hermione happily, "Not many students go in there but it's not out of bounds. It's called the Hog's Head. It's a little shady but this way, no one can overhear us like in the Three Broomsticks."
When they found the pub, Alex wished they could just turn around and leave. It was very dirty and dusty. The only people in the pub were a man wrapped in bandages enjoying his sixth shot of a smoking drink (Alex could tell by the empty shot glasses around him), two women chatting in heavy Scottish accents, and a woman dressed in a long, black dress and veil that came to the middle of her torso.
Behind the bar was a tall, skinny man with blue eyes and silvery white hair. He was cleaning the extremely dirty glasses with an equally dirty cloth. Alex went up to the bar and waited for him to look up.
"Excuse me?" Alex said after a while and he looked up sharply, "May we have four butterbeers please?"
He let out a grunt and slammed the four glass bottles on the bar.
"Eight Sickles," he grunted again.
Alex paid for the drinks and went over to her friends. Once they had each taken a sip, Alex looked back at the barman to find him watching them closely.
"Is it just me," whispered Alex, "Or does that barman look really familiar?"
Harry looked at the barman but just then, the door opened and a large group of people entered. Neville came in first followed by Lavender, Stevie, Parvati, and her twin sister Padma. Padma was in Ravenclaw, but their year. Following Padma was Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang (Harry's face went redder when she smiled at him), and one of her friends Alex always saw giggling. She wasn't laughing now, or even smiling. In fact, she looked like she would have enjoyed being anywhere but there. Following Cho and her friend were Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchly, and the blonde Hufflepuff girl from Arithmancy class. Alex didn't know her name but didn't get a chance to wonder because more people were coming in.
Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinet entered followed by the Crevie boys, Denis and Colin. Three Ravenclaw boys came in followed by Ginny. The boys were on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, but Alex couldn't remember their names. Following Ginny was a Hufflepuff player named Zacharias Smith, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Levina Snowpetal. Levina grinned widely and gave Alex a wave, which Alex could only return with a weak smile. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth any wider, the men doing a tap-dance in her stomach would jump right onto the table.
"Hermione," said Alex, feeling her hands sweat as she shifted nervously, "How many people did you say where coming?"
"Just a couple," Hermione said, looking just as nervous as Alex felt.
"Just a couple?" Harry asked, his face pale, "Hermione, how did all these people find out?"
"I told them," said Hermione, taking a deep breath, "Look, I think that anyone who wants to know how to defend themselves should be able to come."
Fred went up to the bar and ordered drinks for everyone. Once he passed them out, he asked everyone to cough up the Sickles.
"I haven't got enough money to pay for all of this!"
Once everyone was seated, they looked at Alex and Harry eagerly. Hermione stood up shakily and they all turned to her.
"Well…um…hi everyone," said Hermione with a small smile, "I…uh…I guess we all know why we're here. We want to learn how to protect ourselves against…against what's out there."
"And what is out there exactly?" Zacharias asked loudly.
"I don't think that's the point of this discussion, is it?" Alex said coldly, nerves forgotten as she came to her best friend's aid, "Dumbledore told us everything that happened at the end of last year, in case your memory is as bad as how your face looks."
"Thank you Zacharias!" Hermione shouted as the boy rose to his feet. "Now listen everyone, Harry and Alex have agreed to teach us defensive magic…real defensive magic and not that theory stuff that Umbridge says is the right way."
"Did you two really get the Sorcerer's Stone in your first year?" one of the Ravenclaw Quidditch boys asked eagerly.
"It was all of us actually," said Harry shyly.
"And don't forget when you killed the Basilisk in our second year!" Neville said with a smile.
"Yeah, but Dumbledore's bird and the Sorting Hat helped me."
"Well what about the dementors?" Lee asked, "You managed to fight off all those dementors two years ago."
"Well that's only because-"
"And look at Alex!" George said, causing Alex to jump and turn bright red, "Is there any spell she can't do both verbally and nonverbally?"
"And last year," said Hermione with a smile, "They were there and saw everything. Harry even fought him."
Everyone gasped and Harry looked rather annoyed. "Listen, I had help with all that stuff," said Harry.
"So you're saying you didn't do all that stuff?" Zacharias asked.
"Just can it already, Smith," Levina growled.
"I don't remember Harry saying that at all," said Fred icily.
"Why don't we clean your ears out for you?" George asked and Lee cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"Well he's denying he did those things," Zacharias said while shrugging his shoulders, "I bet all that stuff Dumbledore talked about didn't even happen."
Everyone stared at Harry and Alex. Finally, Harry let out a sigh.
"Look, if you came here to know what happened that night," he said and looked directly at Zacharias, "Then you'll be leaving very disappointed. I'm not here to talk about Cedric or what happened to him so if that's why you came, then I suggest you leave now."
No one moved a muscle so Hermione spoke. "So…are we all in agreement to be a part of this club?" she asked.
Everyone either nodded, clapped their hands, or shouted, "Here, here!", although the latter two were done by the twins.
"Good!" said Hermione, relieved, "Now we're getting somewhere. I have this for all of you to sign."
The crowd went still and a little tense. They were all eager to say they would participate, but they were frightened about putting it in writing.
"When you sign this," said Hermione as she pulled a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink well out of her bag, "You're agreeing that you won't tell anyone who's not a part of the group anything about what we do."
"Why do we have to sign?" the Ravenclaw girl, Cho's friend, asked suspiciously.
"So you all don't go telling Umbridge," said Alex with raised eyebrows, "Is that a problem for anyone here?"
There were mumbled words and Ernie spoke up.
"But what if Umbridge were to find this?" he asked nervously, "Some of us are Prefects and we can't afford to-"
"Ernie," said Ron, "Hermione and I are Prefects too. And do you really think Hermione's going to be leaving this list lying around for anyone to see? I mean, she's the most organized person I know!"
It was Hermione's turn to blush bright red. But what Ron said worked because everyone signed without complaint.
"Thank you everyone," said Hermione, "Now we're not sure when we'll be meeting but we promise it won't conflict with anyone's Quidditch schedule. Also, if anyone has any ideas about where we could meet, they would be greatly appreciated."
"The library?" the blonde Hufflepuff asked.
"I don't think so, Susan," said Hannah, "Madame Pince wouldn't like us practicing spells in her library. Plus there's the fact that Umbridge could come in there at any moment."
"What about somewhere in Hogsmede?" another Ravenclaw boy asked.
"I think we outta meet more often than every two months," said Stevie quietly and everyone looked at her. The American girl looked shocked that she had spoken and met Alex's eyes with a frightened gaze. Alex nodded with a kind smile and the other girl continued, "I...I mean, if we wanna really learn how to defend ourselves, we outta meet like…once a week or something."
"Well, we'll worry about that as the time goes on," said Hermione, "I think that's it for now and we'll keep you posted. Thanks for coming!"
Everyone got up and began putting their jackets. As they left, a few people went up to Alex and Harry to shake their hands. She met Terry Boot, Michael Corner, and Anthony Goldstein (the Ravenclaw Quidditch players), and Susan Bones (the Hufflepuff Alex couldn't remember the name of from her Arithmancy class). Finally, after everyone left, Alex and her friends walked down the main street.
"That was interesting," said Alex as they turned into the quill shop, "That Zacharias dude is horrible! How did you find that guy?"
"Well, he heard me talking to Hannah, Ernie, and Susan. He seemed interested so I invited him along. But the turnout was better than I expected. I suspect that's because Ginny told her boyfriend, who told all his friends about it."
"She told WHO?" Ron asked, rounding around on Hermione.
Hermione cursed under her breath. Apparently Ron wasn't supposed to know about that. Alex watched as Hermione raised her eyes to the heavens for protection.
"Her boyfriend, Ron," she said with a sigh, "Michael Corner? He was the darker one of the Ravenclaw team boys."
"Him? I knew I didn't like him for a reason!" said Ron angrily as he followed Hermione around the shop, "When did she meet him?"
"At the Yule Ball. And stop walking on my heels, Ronald!" snapped Hermione as she tripped for the fourth time, "Look, this is why she didn't want you to know. She knew you'd go ballistic on her and I wasn't supposed to tell you in the first place so she'll be mad with me! Just ignore it."
"But I thought she fancied Harry?" Ron asked as Hermione paid for her quills with the others.
"She used to fancy Harry," said Hermione, "But she gave up months ago after he didn't take the hint. Of course, she still likes you, Harry…just as a friend."
Harry nodded but looked like he hadn't been listening at all. Alex smiled and fell into step beside him as they went back to the castle.
"Cho seemed to enjoy herself, didn't she?" Alex asked casually but Harry jumped and turned bright red.
"What do you mean?" he asked, looking up quickly.
"Well, she was staring at you the entire time, wasn't she?" Alex said with a huge smile, "Or were you too busy trying not to look her way to notice?" Harry just smiled sheepishly and Alex chuckled. But then she put on a serious face and said, "But poor Levina, she'll be crushed."
Harry's smile dropped and he looked terrified as he said, "Oh Merlin, you don't think so, do you? I didn't meant to hurt her, honestly! You have to believe me, Alex, I'm not that kind of person who-"
"Relax Harry!" Alex said while letting out a bark of laughter, "I was only joking. You were the one who seemed interested at first. And besides, I think she may have a thing for Fred and, unless my womanly powers of perception are failing, Fred just may like her back."
"How can you tell?" asked Harry curiously.
"A woman always knows," she replied mysteriously before chuckling, "Ah, young love! You must tell me if it's worth it when the time comes!"
"Oh come off it, Alex," said Harry, "You don't like any guy here?"
"Just you and Ron, but nothing like you feel for Cho," said Alex with a smile. She didn't mention Draco because she knew it would upset Harry.
"So that secret admirer means nothing to you, huh?"
It was Alex's turn to blush. In fact, she had been writing to the mystery man everyday for the last two months and felt herself liking him even more with each passing day.
"Well, it would be nice to know who that person is before I start broadcasting," mumbled Alex, causing Harry to laugh at her embarrassment.
Author's Note: So, who liked Dumbledore's story? Any guesses as to who Dumbledore's companion was? I bet you all know! ;) How about the little venting session with Alex and Dumbledore? Did you guys enjoy that at all? If you guys liked it a lot, I was thinking of adding a few more throughout the story. If not, I can make it implied and you won't have to read them. I'd really like some feedback on this so let me know! Now onto the review replies:
madscientist128: Haha, your use of capitalization expressed your opinions perfectly! And as to what Draco was up to so late, I really have no idea. Okay, I do but I'm not telling...hehe! :P Thanks for reviewing! :D
Aileen Autarkeia: Yes, you will be seeing more of Stevie! As the story continues, she becomes more prevalent. While I'm not from the deep south of America, I'm very patriotic so I love writing Stevie in as much as I can. She's just so much fun and I love developing her character! :) Thanks for your review! :D
Are you calling me crazy: Don't worry about not reviewing in a while! I haven't reviewed your story in ages and I'm just updating this story after being away FAR too long. Needless to say, I'm a bit behind. How'd you like Levina in this chapter? I hope you don't mind that I'm pushing for Fred/Levina here. I do think that they would be cute together. :) Thanks for your review! :D
AmoreVampiresv-v: Wow, all of the books in two days? I'm so glad that you enjoyed the series enough to read them that fast! I'm also a huge Remus and Sirius fan so I loved writing the third book since it's pretty much all about them. Haha! :) I'm sorry that it took me so long to answer your review and update, I'm usually not this far behind. :P I hope that you continue to read the series and thank you so much for your review! :D
cutiekatec: I'm so glad that you enjoy the story so far! Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy it. Thanks for your review! :D
ItsGonnaBeAwesome: Wow, thank you so much! I can't thank you enough for your review, it made me so happy to hear how much you enjoy my writing. Hopefully you'll continue to like the story and thanks for reviewing! :D
In case you guys were curious, my first semester of college went really well! I'm fully adjusted and happy where I am. My only problem is that I'm too busy to update regularly and I really feel bad about that. :( But thank you to the fans who have stuck with me this far! You won't regret it, I promise! Thank you for all the reviews, story and author alerts, and story and author favorites! It's so wonderful to have people enjoying this story and I am so grateful to you all. :D