Author's Note: So since I have never pretended to be J.K Rowling, does that mean I still have to tell people I'm not her? Really? That's annoying…fine! I'm not J.K Rowling and all I own is Alex and the plot points you don't recognize. Hope you're happy now…

Chapter 5 Heart Lifting and Heart Dropping

Alex awoke to the sound of growling. Startled, she jumped and looked wildly around. Little Monster had Hermione backed up against a wall, Hermione looking ready to be sick with fear. Possibilities

"Little Monster, stop that! You don't scare my friends!" Alex said exasperatedly, climbing out of her bed and grabbing the still growling textbook, "Sorry Hermione, what's up?"

"Mrs. Weasley told me to get you because breakfast is ready," Hermione said, watching the book purr in Alex's hand, "I take it you managed to keep it calm?"

"Yeah, they just need discipline, that's all. I'll be down in a minute, let me get ready," Alex said, putting down the book and running to the bathroom.

Once she was dressed and ready to go, Alex left her room with Hermione and went to eat. Everyone was sitting at the table when they came in. As soon as Alex sat down, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Alex, can I talk with you for a moment?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking around.

"Uh…sure," she said, putting down her toast and following Mr. Weasley to a corner where Harry stood.

"Mr. Wealsey, this is about Sirius Black, isn't it?" Harry asked knowingly.

"What?" he said surprised, "How did you know that?"

"We, um…We heard you and Mrs. Weasley talking last night," Alex said, not meeting the older man's eyes, "Harry and I had to fetch Ron's rat tonic and we couldn't help overhearing…"

"Oh…I wasn't expecting this," Mr. Weasley said frowning.

"This is better though," Harry said quickly, "Now you can honestly say you didn't mean to tell us anything."

"But you two must be very worried, there's a madman looking for you."

"Actually, I'm not that frightened. No really," Alex said, seeing Mr. Weasley's skeptical face, "If I was on my own and had Black looking for me, yeah I'd be pretty darn scared. But I have Dumbledore and Harry on my side, not to mention all my other friends and my Uncle Monty. Voldemort's scared of Dumbledore, so why wouldn't Black be since he's Voldemort's right-hand man?"

Mr. Weasley shuddered at the mention of Voldemort's name and sighed, turning to Harry.

"Mr. Weasley, Alex is right. I have the entire school looking out for me, and Black wouldn't try anything right under Dumbledore's nose," Harry said confidently.

"Well, I'm glad you two feel that way, but you have to promise me something," he said gravely.

"That we'll be good children and keep our noses clean?" Alex asked forlornly.

"Well, if you want to, that would make things easier. But I know you two and that's not your thing," said Mr. Weasley with a tiny smile, "No, I want you both to swear that you won't go looking for Black."

Alex and Harry stared at Mr. Weasley and turned to each other, both having looks of shock on their faces.

"Mr. Weasley, why would we go looking for someone who wants to kill us? We're not stupid, we know not to go looking for death. It just so happens death-involved situations find us," Alex said shrugging.

"I understand that, but I still want your word, all right?" Mr. Wealsey said, his voice serious and his face grave. Harry and Alex nodded, and he relaxed, "Now go and eat your breakfast, we need to leave in fifteen minutes," he said checking his watch.

Harry and Alex sat down and stated eating, although Alex only ate a little toast. She was too busy thinking about what Mr. Weasley had inadvertently told them: Black was crazy enough to try and kill them while they were in Hogwarts. Why else would he make them promise to not go out looking for him? The thought of Black made Alex's blood run cold and she shuddered. What had they done to make him so obsessed with finding them? It wasn't their fault Harry and Alex's mothers loved them enough for their love to protect them. As this thought crossed her mind, Alex began fiddling with the locket around her neck.

"Hey, you all right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Harry?" she said as he turned back to his food, "We're in this together until the end, right?"

"Of course, I don't know if I could do all this without someone at my side!" Harry said with a smile, knowing what Alex was talking about. "So, remind me what that thing is?" he asked, pointing to the locket in her hand in order to change the subject to something lighter.

"It was my mum's and my aunt had one too, but I gave that to Hermione. It's an Invisibility Necklace. When you turn this little knob to the right, you become invisible. When you turn the left, you become visible again. Apparently there's only three in the world, my great-step-grandmother made them for her step-granddaughters and one for herself. Pretty cool, huh? It's almost like your Cloak," Alex said, glowing with pride.

"Yeah, I remember you using that in our first year. Come on, I still have to pack most of my stuff," Harry said, standing and leaving the table.

Alex followed him up the stairs and turned to her room. When she entered, she sighed and picked up The Monster Book of Monsters and began to pet it.

"Come on Little Monster, I have to put you in my trunk. No eating the other books! If you're good the entire way there, I'll give you some parchment to eat when we get there," Alex said as she put the book on the top and closed the lid.

She then started getting her stuff to entertain her on the train ride. She took her Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks and her sketchbook. Once that was completed, she coaxed Monty into his cage. Alex brought her stuff downstairs and went over to Fred and George, who were both wearing mischievous grins.

"All right, what did you two do?" she asked with a smile.

"Do you remember last night when we messed with Percy's badge?" George asked and Alex nodded.

"Well, he had a fit when he found it this morning, cursing his head off at Ron. I've never seen him that mad before, have you George?" asked Fred.

"Expect for the one time we took his Prefect badge and replaced with one that shouted rude remarks when people passed him," sniggered George.

Alex rolled her eyes and pulled up a chair. She had just sat down when the rest of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione came down together. Mr. Weasley was constantly checking his watch and finally went outside.

"They're here!" he called and started helping the others load their trunks and pets outside.

"Who's here?" Alex asked Ginny as they left the inn.

"Dad managed to get Ministry cars to drive us to the station," Ginny said with a smile, "Since we don't have a car anymore."

Alex giggled when she remembered the look on Hermione's face when they had learned the boys crashed the tree into the Whomping Willow. Once all of her stuff was loaded, she and Ginny got in the car and scooted over to make room for Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Percy. The car ride was short (because these cars were able to jump ahead of traffic) and silent (because Ron and Percy were refusing to speak to each other).

Alex was very happy to get out of the car and as far away from the strained silence of the two brothers. Once everyone reached the barrier, Mr. Weasley stopped.

"Let's go in pairs, shall we? Harry and I will go first."

Alex watched as the two went to the barrier and disappeared. Ron and Ginny went next, followed by Fred and George, Percy and Hermione, and finally Alex and Mrs. Weasley. Alex didn't need to run at the barrier anymore so she and Mrs. Wealsey just leaned against it, chatting calmly as though they did this everyday. When they crossed, Alex and Mrs. Weasley went to the group of redheads.

"All right, I packed sandwiches for everyone!" Mrs. Weasley shouted over the commotion. As she handed them out, Mr. Weasley led Harry and Alex away from the others.

"Remember what I said you two, try not to get into too much trouble this year and don't go looking for Black, whatever you may hear," he said seriously.

They nodded and helped Mr. Weasley as he loaded their trunks onto the train. They left them off to the side and went back onto the platform to say their good-byes. Once it was Alex's turn to give Mrs. Weasley a hug, the older woman smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Be careful now, will you?" she whispered.

"Of course Mrs. Weasley, I always am," Alex said with a grin.

The train gave a loud whistle, Alex gave a hurried wave, and they all ran onto the train. She grabbed her trunk and owl cage and went to find the others. The twins and Percy were gone but the others were standing in the corridor, waving Alex down.

"Go away Ginny," Ron said abruptly.

"Oh thanks Ron, I really feel the love right now," she said sarcastically.

Once Ginny was out of earshot, Alex turned on Ron, her eyes burning, and gave him a not too gentle slap on the arm.

"What in Merlin's name was that for?" she whispered.

"Harry said you two needed to tell us something in private," Ron said defensively.

Alex gave an annoyed sigh and led the way down the train, looking for an empty corridor. The only one that was remotely empty was at the end and the only occupant was a sleeping sandy haired man. Alex opened the door quietly and looked in.

"He's out like a light, he won't mind," she whispered to the others.

"Who is he? I've never seen any adults on the train, except for the trolley lady," Harry asked quietly.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione stated.

"How d'you know that?" Ron asked surprised.

Alex sighed and pointed to the tattered suitcase above him with 'Professor R. J. Lupin' written in faded gold lettering. Ron's mouth made an 'O' of understanding but frowned again.

"What do you think he's teaching?" he asked.

"That's obvious, Defense Against the Dark Arts," Alex said with a smile, "That's the only job opening after what you and Harry did with the last one."

Ron and Harry grinned sheepishly. Their last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher lost his memory with his own memory charm. Alex hadn't witnessed his because she and Hermione were petrified and in the Hospital Wing, but apparently the professor used Ron's broken wand. When the spell was cast, it backfired and left the man with no memory.

"So, what's the matter? Harry, you said it was important," Hermione said worriedly.

Alex began telling them what she and Harry overheard and what Mr. Weasley told them. When she finished, she then told them about what happened with her uncle. She thought they deserved to know. When she had finished, Ron whistled and Hermione had her hands up to her mouth.

"Can't we have a normal school year without having to worry about being killed?" Ron asked shaking his head.

"You must be so worried!" Hermione said, looking from Harry to Alex.

"Not really," they said at the same time.

"We're in this together," Harry explained.

"It would be different if we were alone and not going to Hogwarts," Alex said, trying to calm Hermione down.

"I guess Hogsmede is out of the question for you two, huh?" Ron asked. Hermione gave him a hard shove and he cried out, "What? I wouldn't want to go walking around with madman looking to kill me!"

"I wasn't going to Hogsmede anyway," Harry said sadly, "My aunt and uncle were a little too preoccupied with Aunt Marge growing to the size of a small house."

"I can't go either," Alex said, "My uncle's busy with all this legal stuff."

"And you have all that to worry about too! Oh Alex, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said, reaching across and holding her friend's hands.

"Thanks for putting it out there Hermione," Alex said sarcastically but smiling nonetheless, "That makes me feel really happy."

Everyone laughed, but stopped abruptly when they heard a loud snort from Professor Lupin. Harry, who was the closest to their sleeping companion, leaned over to look at him.

"He's still sleeping and he needs it too. He looks like he hasn't slept in a week," Harry said, concerned.

"You think he'll be up to the job?" Ron asked, looking over Harry's shoulder.

"If you keep leering over him like that, he'll wake up and run off the train." Alex said, shaking her head, "He's just tired, let the poor guy sleep."

Ron and Harry returned to their seats and Ron started going on about Hogsmede so Harry knew what it was like. Alex wasn't interested so she took out her sketchbook and continued her sketch from last night. She looked at the sleeping figure and decided to add him in. She needed something to fill in the space below the window. She had just started shading in her drawing when the compartment door opened, but she was too into her sketching to even bother looking up.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ron asked icily.

Alex sighed and put down her book. She stood up and held out her arms.

"I was hoping you'd at least wait until we got to school, but I guess this'll be fine. Where is he?" Alex asked, noticing the shocked look on Ron and Hermione's faces out of the corner of her eye.

"Right here," Malfoy said taking a large bundle from under his cloak and handing it to her, "This better work," he whispered as he handed the bird over.

"I've never failed before, partly because I've never done this before, but I have a special way with animals," Alex said and sat down, placing the bird in her lap. She noticed Malfoy didn't move and sighed, "Anything else we can do for you, oh nasty one?"

"I want to watch to make sure you aren't going to hurt him," he said, ignoring the sniggers behind him.

"And how would you like it if someone was breathing down your neck when you're working?" Ron said heatedly.

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Weasel," Malfoy said coldly and turned to Harry and Ron, "How was your summer then, Weasel? I heard you went to Egypt, did you have to sell that your house to get there?"

Ron launched himself at Malfoy, but Harry managed to hold him back. Lupin gave a loud snore and rolled over, making Malfoy back away.

"Who is that?" the Slytherin said nervously.

"Oh him?" Harry said casually, "That's our new teacher, what were you saying before Malfoy?"

Malfoy frowned and turned to leave. He stopped and said, "Come and find me when he gets better," and left. Alex rolled her eyes and started checking the bird over.

"Hey there fella, what's the matter with you?" Alex whispered, feeling all eyes on her.

"My…baby." the bird said softly.

"Baby?" Alex said, jumping up in her seat, "You mean, you're pregnant! But Malfoy said you're a boy, how can you be pregnant?"

The bird closed its eyes and fell asleep. Alex looked at the others who were all staring at her.

"The idiot doesn't even know what sex the bird is," Alex said shaking her head angrily, "It's female and she's pregnant. No wonder she didn't feel like carrying his letters, she has a baby inside her for Merlin's sake!"

"Alex, why are you even helping Malfoy?" Ron asked, "Look at all the crap we've put up with because of him!"

"Yes, but I'm helping the bird, not Malfoy," Alex said pointedly, "She can't help it if her owner's a complete ass-"

"Alex!" Hermione said in a hurried whisper and pointed to the still sleeping professor.

"I highly doubt he can hear anything, Hermione," Harry whispered back, "He's still breathing like he's sleeping."

But just in case, the rest of the train ride was quiet and clean. Alex spent most of the ride sketching while Harry and Ron traded Chocolate Frogs. Hermione sat and read one of her many textbooks. Suddenly, the train began to slow down.

"Oh good, I'm famished!" Ron said as he stood.

"We're here already?" Alex asked, putting away her sketchbook and looking at her watch with a frown, "We still have to change into our robes."

"Apparently, but I can't see the castle from here," Harry said as he strained his eyes.

"You can't see anything out there anyway," Hermione said thoughtfully, "It's pouring rain and dark out."

The train gave a lurch and Ron fell into his seat, cursing loudly. Hermione didn't even try to tell him off because she was consoling Crookshanks in his cage. The lights went off and Alex gasped, not from the darkness but from the intense cold that just came.

"Merlin! It's freezing in here!" she said, holding the pregnant owl closer.

The compartment door opened and Alex heard two familiar voices.

"Hello, anyone?" It was Ginny, "Where are you? What's going on? It's dark and cold in here!"

"Guys? Oh, sorry, whose foot was that?" This was Neville.

"Mine," growled Alex, "What are you doing here?"

"I freaked out and Neville found me and brought me here," Ginny said, her voice shaking.

"I'm going to sit down, oh sorry!" Neville said, sitting on Alex.

"Ow! Ginny, that was my foot!" Ron gasped in pain

"Watch the owl!" Alex cried.

"Everyone be quiet!" came a gruff, unfamiliar voice. They turned and saw the now awake Professor Lupin holding a jar of flames, and were silent in an instant.

Alex felt cold fear rise in her and turned to the compartment door. She saw a hooded figure standing outside and watched to door slide open. The figure entered and looked around, Alex could hear its ragged breathing. The figure stopped and turned to Alex and she felt like ice water had been dumped on her. The world began to spin and Alex felt a wave of nausea come across her. She put her head between her knees but that didn't stop the whirling noise and the faint sound of screaming mixed with a high, cold laugh. Alex heard a thud next to her but knew if she moved, she'd vomit. She sat there, hoping this would all end as the cold spread throughout her entire body.

Author's Note: Hello readers, I'm back from my visit! I had a nice time but am going to wait to hear from all the schools before I make my decision. That's just the kind of person I am, I need everything in front of me before I decide. But enough about me, let's talk about this chapter.

What did you think of it? I know some of you were curious about how I would have Alex handle the dementors since she was there with Harry so hopefully this was satisfactory. Also, did you enjoy my little cliffhanger? Hehe, I feel rather evil today! Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging for too much longer. I like to try and update every other day. :)

Thank you to those of you who reviewed, added me to your favorites, and added me to your alerts while I was done. I love coming back from a trip to see my inbox with new messages from you all. If you haven't reviewed, I'd love to hear from you and I promise neither the review button nor myself bites. Well, I don't bite. I can't say the same for the review button…