Author's Note: I only own Alex and the stuff you don't recognize. This chapter will definitely have stuff you don't recognize from the original canon so enjoy!

Chapter 12 The Worst Hogsmede Trip Ever

Before Alex knew it, it was the middle of December and the Christmas decorations were up. It was a snowy Saturday morning and Alex was eating porridge when an unfamiliar owl landed with a letter in its beak. Alex took the letter and read the two words aloud.

"It's time," she said.

"Time for what?" Ron asked with a mouthful of bacon.

"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin!" Alex exclaimed and ran out of the Great Hall. Then, she spun around and sped to the Slytherin table where Malfoy was showing the microscopic scar from where Buckbeak had attacked them.

"See, right here," he was saying when Alex grabbed his outstretched arm and dragged him away.

"Get your cloak and meet me here in two minutes," Alex commanded.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?"

"Do what I say or you'll have a real scar to show off."

Two minutes later, Alex tore down the steps, jumping the last four. Malfoy was there, putting his scarf around his neck.

"There you are, what-?" Alex ignored him and grabbed his wrist, running outside.

"I'm showing you the miracle of life," Alex called over her shoulder as she raced across the grounds.

"What?"

"Your owl's egg is cracking, you're going to be a grandfather!"

They raced to Hagrid's hut, Malfoy hurrying to keep up, and Alex banged on the door. Hagrid opened it and Alex stepped over the threshold and Fang, who was whimpering in his attempt to beg for food.

"What's he doing here?" growled Hagrid, seeing Malfoy.

"Well, it is his owl," Alex said, "It's not everyday you get to see a baby owl hatch."

Hagrid sighed and led them to his bed where the mother owl was sitting in a nest made of paper and twigs.

"Try to be hospitable," Alex said to Malfoy as he looked around hut distastefully, "You're lucky he's even letting you within ten feet of him after what you've done." She turned to the owl. "How's it coming?" she asked worriedly. The other two eggs hadn't survived so this was the last one left.

"He's coming," the owl said. She stood up and Alex saw quite a few cracks in the egg. Gently, assuring the mother she wasn't going to hurt the baby, Alex took the egg and put it on the table. It began rattling and a beak emerged, followed by a head and the rest of the body.

"Mamma?" the baby asked Alex.

"No honey, she is," Alex said and pointed to the adult owl who flew over to her baby.

Alex looked and saw Hagrid with tears in his eyes. She turned to Malfoy who looked shell-shocked.

"'Scuse me," Hagrid said and he went outside, possibly to blow is nose.

"Amazing isn't it? Life is a beautiful gift that can be taken so easily and never returned," Alex said as she sat on the bed.

"It is," Malfoy said and Alex looked up questioningly, "I lost my grandmother when I was nine. I know just how easily it's taken."

"I'm sorry," said Alex sincerely. She hadn't expected Malfoy to understand even a little of what she had went through. He had everything he could want: family, money, and power. Hearing him tell her about his grandmother made him seem…almost human.

"Can you, you know, "ask" who the father is?" he asked awkwardly.

Alex nodded and asked the adult owl. She smiled when the owl answered and turned to the Slytherin. "A Mr. Bird is the owl, ring any bells?"

"Oh Merlin," Malfoy said disgusted, "Crabbe and I are in-laws."

Alex couldn't help it, she laughed. Of course an idiot like Crabbe would name his owl that! She felt bad for the poor creature. What surprised Alex, however, was that Malfoy laughed too. The both were laughing so hard that they were crying. Finally, they stopped and wiped their eyes.

"Well, now you have a grandchild owl. What are you going to do with him?" Alex asked, still tearing.

"I can't keep him so you can have him. It's definitely a him, right?" Malfoy asked, eying the bald bird.

"Yes it is, you want to see for yourself?"

"No, I'm fine, really," Malfoy said and shuddered.

"I already have an owl, but I have a friend who might enjoy him," Alex said, thinking Erin could us a bird to keep her company, "She's not really used to owls as pets so I'm sure she'll enjoy him."

"She's a Muggle then?" said Malfoy coldly. Alex nodded and he continued, "You do realize that this owl comes from a pureblood family?"

"You do realize that without my help, you would still think that your owl was a male?" she growled, "I'm warning you, Malfoy, because I'm in a giving mood. Don't make the same mistake you did last year by pissing me off, unless you enjoyed having your hair dyed hot flamingo pink?"

Just then, Hagrid came back in and Malfoy left quickly. Once the doors closed, Hagrid made a pot of tea while Alex calmed herself down. There was a knock at the door and Alex opened it to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing outside, shivering.

"So this is where you went!" Ron said, "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Come in, Hagrid's making some tea."

They came in and Hermione gave a loud "AWW!" when she saw the baby owl. They gathered around and Alex explained what happened.

"It was amazing, better then I imagined," Alex said happily.

"But why did you bring Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"It's his owl," Alex said, "He should see it."

Hagrid set down the tea tray with shaking hands and accidentally spilled the milk. Alex cleaned it with a wave of her wand.

"What's up Hagrid?" she asked, seeing her large friend's sad face.

"I got this today from the Ministry o' Magic," he said and pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it on the table. Harry picked it up and read it aloud:

"Dear Mr. Rubeus Hagrid, we, the school governors, find you not accountable for the attacks on one Mr. Draco Malfoy."

"Well that's good, Hagrid," Ron said but Hagrid gestured for Harry to continue, tears running into his scraggly beard.

"However, the same cannot be said for the hippogriff in question. There will be a hearing for the creature, otherwise known as "Buckbeak". This hearing will take place February 20th in Courtroom 5. The time of the hearing will be given closer to the date. Signed,'"

Harry read out the names of all the school governors. Hermione patted Hagrid's large hand as he cried.

"Don't worry Hagrid," she said, "We'll help you make a strong case."

"Yeah," Alex said, she too putting her small hand in Hagrid's, "Buckbeak's done nothing wrong, he's bound to get off."

"Yer the best, yeh four!" Hagrid wailed and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Ron made a new pot of tea (Hagrid had forgotten to make the water hot in his sorrow) while Hermione and Harry tried to calm Hagrid down. Alex went over to a corner of the hut where she saw a much larger nest made for Buckbeak.

"Why is Hagrid shedding so many tears?" the hippogriff asked.

"He's upset with someone," Alex said. She didn't want to tell the creature why Hagrid was upset, it would cause Buckbeak to be depressed and make Hagrid even sadder.

"Have they hurt him?" Buckbeak asked, rising with a fire in his eye.

"No!" Alex said quickly and watched as Buckbeak relaxed, "He'll be fine, just watch over him for me, all right?"

"You can count on me."

After tea, the four went back to the castle and to the library where they started looking for information to help build a case for Buckbeak's innocence.

That night, Alex, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came back from a full day of reading. Alex dropped onto the couch and rubbed her throbbing temples.

"How do you spend a full day, everyday, at the library?" Harry asked Hermione tiredly.

"Hard work, perseverance-"

"And someone to keep us from falling asleep, usually me," Alex finished.

"Hey, there's a Hogsmede trip the last weekend before Christmas vacation," said Ron, looking at the notice board.

Harry and Alex groaned simultaneously.

"Let's hope this time is better than the last," Alex said with a shiver, "I still haven't recreated a patronus yet and I don't want to have to deal with them again."

…...

The day of Hogsmede trip came quickly and found Alex in the library, struggling through her Arithmancy. She looked up to see Harry running toward her, holding up an old piece of parchment and his father's Invisibility Cloak, wearing a look of triumph.

"What's up? You finally found a way to get back at Malfoy?" Alex asked.

"Better, I found a way to get to Hogsmede without running into the dementors," said Harry.

"Well, what are we standing around for? Let's get this show on the road!" said Alex as she threw her papers into her bag.

She followed Harry and eventually came to a statue of a one-eyed witch. Harry looked at the parchment, tapped his wand on the hump, and whispered, "Dissendium!". The hump opened and revealed a tunnel into the black abyss.

"How did you know about this?" Alex said, looking around for teachers.

"Fred and George gave me this for Christmas, and you don't need to worry about Filch," he added, seeing Alex look around for the wheezy old caretaker, "He's with Peeves in the dungeons."

He showed Alex the paper and she gasped. It was a mini-map of the entire castle and surrounding grounds. She looked and did see Filch and Peeve's names in the area marked "Dungeons"

"How did they get this?" she asked in awe.

"Knicked it from Filch in their first year they said," replied Harry, "Look, watch this."

He pointed his wand at the parchment and said, "Mischief managed," causing the map to disappear. He then said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," and Alex leaned over to see what it said.

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present:

The Marauder's Map

"Now this is my kind of map!" Alex said, a mischievous look in her eyes, "Imagine the possibilities! With our invisibility objects and this, we'd be able to perform the greatest pranks ever! Malfoy won't know what hit him!"

"One thing at a time Alex," Harry said, but he was smiling too, "Let's go before anyone comes." Alex nodded and turned the knob on her locket to the right, becoming invisible. "Ladies first," said Harry, eyeing the dark passage warily.

"Oh thanks Harry, a true gentleman making the woman go first into the dark hole," she retorted sarcastically.

Alex went down, dropping to her knees. She looked up and told Harry it wasn't too far and to go ahead. She moved quickly out of the way as he jumped.

"I'll leave my bag here so I don't have to carry it," Alex told Harry.

They walked down the dark tunnel, using their wand light to see. About a half an hour later, the tunnel came to a dead end with a ladder leading upward. Alex climbed and lifted a large, loose tile.

"Good sir, I give you Hogsmede," Alex said as she climbed through the hole and kept watch as Harry did the same.

"I think we're in Honeydukes cellar," whispered Harry, looking at boxes upon boxes of sweets.

The two snuck up the stairs and into the shop. Alex saw Ron and Hermione and became visible again, Harry following suit. They made their way through the crowd and stood behind their friends, Alex grinning and putting a finger to her lips.

"You think Harry'll like these?" Ron asked, holding up a moving, chocolate cockroach.

"Ew Ron!" Hermione laughed, "How about this for Alex?" She held up a candy fang with red ooze dripping off the tip.

"And I thought you knew me," Alex said in a fake appalled voice.

"I was only-ALEX!" Hermione spun around and almost knocked over an entire container of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"Harry, Alex, how did you get here?" Ron asked, moving away from the shelves.

"There's a secret passageway in the hump of the one-eyed witch statue," Alex explained.

"And I found it, courtesy of your brothers," Harry said and showed Ron and Hermione the map.

"Isn't it awesome?" Alex asked, staring at it in amazement.

"I don't think you should be showing it around," Hermione said worriedly, "What if Black was to find it? It's a map straight to you and Alex!"

"He won't know how to work it," Harry said, "I can clear it whenever I want." He showed them how he could, but Hermione still looked worried.

"Oh come on Hermione," Ron said, rolling his eyes, "Harry isn't going to leave it lying around."

"But what if Black finds him here? What if a teacher sees you two? They all know you're not allowed to be here."

"Lighten up Hermione!" Ron said, "It's Christmas for Merlin's sake, they deserve a break. They've been working hard all year."

"Are you going to tell on us?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Of course not! But still…"

"Come on then, let's give you the grand tour!" said Ron and led Alex and Harry around the shop.

"It'll be fun Hermione," Alex told her friend as they left the sweet shop, pockets bulging, both she and Harry becoming invisible, "And besides, what's life without a little risk once and a while?"

They next went to Zonko's, the wizard joke shop. Alex saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan leaving with their pockets full and holding ripping bags. Afterwards, they went to the post office where Alex saw, and heard, thousands of owls chatting amongst themselves.

Once they left the post office, Alex began to shiver. All she had on in the bitter winter weather were jeans, a shirt, and a sweatshirt over it while Ron and Hermione had on heavy coats and scarves. Poor Harry only had the cloak and a long-sleeved shirt with jeans to keep him warm.

"Let's get a butterbeer and then we can see the Shrieking Shack," suggested Hermione and Alex readily agreed.

They walked into the Three Broomsticks and immediately Alex felt warmer. It was a relatively large pub and was jam-packed with all kinds of people: witches, wizards, warlocks, and, Alex pointed out to the others, a pair of goblins.

"I'll get the drinks," Ron said quickly and went up to the bar where a pretty barmaid waited on him.

"That's Madame Rosemerta," Hermione said with an eye roll, "Ron's latest fancy. Let's get that booth in the corner."

They took the booth and Alex turned the knob to the left, her visible face showing a grin. She was having so much fun and was enjoying every minute of the wizarding village. Ron soon came with four butterbeers and Alex took a sip, her stomach feeling warm and happy.

A cool breeze came in and Harry, facing the door, choked on his drink. Alex turned and dove under the table with her drink as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Hagrid, and the Minister of Magic came into the pub. Harry soon joined her and Hermione managed to move a heavily decorated Christmas tree in front of their booth with her wand. Through the bottom branches, Alex could see four pairs of shoes: a pair of large boots, a pair of expensive leather shoes, a pair of little shoes that weren't even close to touching the ground, and a pair of plain women's shoes. Then, two sparkly heels came over and a woman's voice drifted toward them.

"A small gillywater-"

"That's mine," McGonagall said.

"Four pints of mulled mead-"

A hearty laugh that Alex recognized as Hagrid's ran throughout the pub, causing Alex to cover her ears.

"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella-"

"Yum!" Flitwick's high voice said.

"And a red currant for you, Minister?" the woman finished.

"Thank you Rosemerta. Why don't you join us for a drink?"

"Thank you Minister, I'll be back in a moment."

The pair of heels left and Alex looked at Harry. His tankard was empty and she saw his shirt was wet. Quietly, she pulled out her wand and dried it off, receiving a thankful smile from Harry. Just then, the heels were back followed by a chair.

"I hope you are well," Cornelius Fudge asked.

"I'd be better if those dementors weren't popping in at night and scaring my customers out of their minds," Rosemerta said with a touch of iciness in her words.

"It's only a precaution until we catch Black," said Fudge uneasily.

"But why here? You surely don't think he'll go after the school again, do you?"

"It's hard to say," Fudge said uncomfortably.

"What made him do all those terrible things?" asked Rosemerta curiously.

"No one truly knows," the minister said mysteriously, "We can only guess that something must have pushed him over the edge."

"Like what?" persisted the barmaid.

"Do you remember who Black used to hang out with when he was at school?" asked McGonagall.

"Of course I do!" Rosemerta laughed, "I only remember one of his four friends because they used to make me laugh. James Potter and Sirius Black were the best of friends at school. Always bringing their girlfriends in here, and a different one every time for Black."

Alex looked at Harry who was staring at the pairs of feet. She then turned back to the conversation.

"Of course," Rosemerta continued, "I think it was their last year, he kept bringing the same girl. I remember because I used to see her and her sister when they were younger, walking in and completely oblivious to all the boys ogling around them. Those Tortelli twins were the heart-breakers of the school."

Alex's stomach dropped. Her mother's maiden name was Tortelli.

"Exactly, Black and Alana were going out in their last year," McGonagall said, "I remember having to give them detentions because they would hex each other in the hallways. I never thought they would get together. It seemed they were very close, and still were after they left.

"Black was about ready to propose to Alana, he even asked James Potter to be his best man. But just a week before he was going to ask, she broke up with him. Black was heart-broken and went into a deep depression, which only increased when Alana told everyone she was engaged to David Ratcliff, a Muggle friend of hers. He was her landlord if memory serves me right."

"Oh no," Rosemerta whispered sadly, "The poor man."

"Yes, he was very upset but still attended the wedding. He even wished them happiness at the reception. But under his cheeriness, he was a changed man. He was probably already working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Fudge said, "Just a few months later, he was the best man at the Potter's wedding. James trusted Black more than any of his other friends."

"So," McGonagall picked up, "When Dumbledore told the Potters that You-Know-Who was after them, he told them to perform the Fidelius Charm."

"What is that?" Rosemerta asked with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.

"It is when the secret position of someone is kept inside a trustworthy person, called a Secret-Keeper," the Charms professor said, "Only the Secret-Keeper can reveal the information. This way, as long as the Secret-Keeper refused to talk, You-Know-Who could never find them, no matter how hard he looked."

"So, the Potters chose Black?" asked Rosemerta.

"I believe Dumbledore offered to be their Secret-Keeper, but Black was James' best friend in school and he still thought so," Fudge said seriously, "But there is more to the story."

"More? What else could there be?" Rosemerta asked with curiosity.

"Many of You-Know-Who's followers are descended from the Black family line and were related to Sirius Black," the minister said slowly, almost regretfully, "They knew that Alana had been very serious with one of their own and were bent on forcing her to regret it. They were hunting her, her husband, and her child so James and Lily, being true friends, asked them to join them in hiding. They agreed and Black was to be both their Secret-Keepers. Now, you can imagine how Black must have felt. He had the power to make the one who hurt him pay for what she did and kill the Muggle man she chose instead of him."

"Oh Merlin," Rosemerta breathed shakily, "All because of a break-up?"

"It was barely a week after the charm was preformed when…" Fudge paused, taking a breath before continuing, "When You-Know-Who came and killed the Potter's and the Ratcliff's, both children surviving. Black was tired of his double-life. He wanted to show the world that he was the loyal servant of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. So, when the plan backfired, Black was left in a difficult situation. Everyone knew he was the only one who could have told You-Know-Who where the Potter's and Ratcliff's were, so he decided to run for it."

"I saw him," growled Hagrid in a voice that made the glasses rattle, "I saw tha' filthy traitor tha' night! He came on tha' motorcycle he used to ride and saw me with the babies. He knew what happened, but I didn't know how much he knew. He started cryin' and I comforted him, I COMFORTED THA' TRAITOR!"

Alex was so caught up in the conversation she didn't even cover her ears. The whole pub went silent for a few seconds and then the noise picked up again.

"Hagrid please," McGonagall said sternly, "Keep your voice down."

"Sorry, I'm just so mad at meself for doin' it. After he stopped, he told me, he says, "Let me take the children, Hagrid. I am Harry's godfather and I'll raise Alex too." But I told him, I says, "I have me orders from Dumbledore to take them to their next relatives." He wasn't too happy, he tried to fight me. I just thought he was grievin' but I now realize he just wanted ta finish the job. Once I calmed him down, he says "Take my bike, I won't need it anymore." He loved that bike, I should've guessed somethin' was up but I just took it an' went away."

There was silence and Alex realized her face was wet. Quickly wiping the moisture away, she heard Rosemerta speak.

"Well, at least he didn't use the bike to get away faster. The Ministry managed to get to him before he went far."

"Alas, if only we did. It was Peter Pettigrew who was the first to find Black," Fudge said thickly.

"Peter Pettigrew? The mousy-like boy who always followed the others around?" Rosemerta asked, surprised.

"He didn't just follow them around," McGonagall said in a voice Alex never heard her use. It was full of sadness and guilt. "He worshipped them, wanted to be them. He was never as good as they others and I was sometimes hard on him. Now, I feel so horrible about it…" She trailed off and Alex heard someone blowing their nose.

"We all feel sorry, Minerva," Flitwick said comfortingly.

"Peter died like a hero," Fudge said kindly, "Once he heard the news of the death of his friends, he tailed Black and cornered him. He drew his wand, but Black was quicker and, well…got to him first."

"He was always bad at dueling," McGonagall said thickly and someone blew their nose again.

"When we arrived," Fudge said, he too sounding like he was extremely upset, "All that was left were pieces. I was new to the Ministry and I remember it very well, lately I've been having nightmares about it. There was Black in the middle of a crater, bodies everywhere, laughing."

"Laughing?" Rosemerta asked, her voice barely audible.

"Yes, laughing. He laughed while we arrested him and all the way to Azkaban. There was no trial because it was obvious he was the one who did it, what with all the eye-witnesses. We covered it up for the Muggles and said it was a gas explosion I believe. It was a very messy affair."

There was the sound of noses being blown, one much louder than the others, and Fudge continued, his voice thick.

"We gathered the largest part we could find of poor Peter and sent it to his mother, along with an Order of Merlin First Class. It was the least thing we could do for a man who tried to stop a killer. The poor woman had lost her husband only a few weeks before. Black's been in Azkaban for twelve years and we know the rest."

"Is it true that he's a madman, like they say in the Prophet?" asked Rosemerta.

"To some extent, I believe so. But, just a few days before he escaped, I went to visit him as I do with all the high-security prisoners, to make sure they are not trying to plan an escape. When I sat down with him, he seemed completely normal. Most prisoners mumble incoherently when you ask them something, but he answered me clearly and even asked if I was done with the paper. He said, and I remember this like it was yesterday, "I miss doing the crosswords". Black was under top security with dementors around his cell every second. And when the dementors found he had escaped, it was horrible."

There was silence and Alex saw the pairs of legs stand up and leave, exchanging good-byes as the sparkly heels stayed to clean the table and then headed to the bar.

"Harry? Alex?"

Alex looked up and saw Hermione Ron looking at the two of them under the table.

"We should head back now," Alex said in a hollow voice, nothing like her usually happy, go-lucky one.

…...

Alex didn't remember the trip back at all, only except for the silence of it and getting her bag. Once back in the common room, she went up to the dormitory and to her trunk, puling out her mother's photo albums, flipping to the school pages. There were many pictures of her mother and aunt and Alex saw the man she never learned the name of, the man she now knew was Sirius Black, the man who betrayed her parents. As Alex looked at the smiling handsome young wizard, she only saw a slight resemblance to the man on all the newspaper covers. She put away the album and climbed into bed, even though it was still light out. She heard Hermione come in and was thankful she didn't check on her, Alex really needed to be alone for a while. When Alex did finally sleep, she dreamed of Black killing Pettigrew and heard her mother's screams.

Author's Note: Ta-da! This is one of my favorite chapters so far, but what did you think? There's a lot of new information here so please let me know if I left any important stuff out. Granted, there is still stuff that needs to be explained and that will happen later on but if you ask me questions, I can let you know whether or not they will be answered. I really want some feedback on this chapter because it's so important to the plot of the series. If you haven't reviewed before, I would really appreciate it if you could just say whether or not you liked/disliked this chapter. Thank you all and I hope you enjoyed this! :)