Ron didn't come to breakfast with Hermione and I that morning. Still bitter about the cat and rat situation. I was feeling extra hungry, however, and piled my plate high with toast, my favorite. Hermione was poking an egg around.

"Come on, Hermione," I said, buttering my toast. "We both know it isn't your fault. Ron's just…" I sighed. "He'll come around." I handed her a piece of toast. "Toast?"

Hermione took it from me. "How do you eat so much and stay so small?" Hermione wondered. "You eat three times as much as me, but we're the same size."

I shrugged, stuffing another piece of toast in my mouth. "Carbs, Potter," came a sneering voice behind me.

Draco Malfoy was there, of course, with Crabbe and Goyle.

"So?" I said, buttering my third piece of toast.

"They make people fat," he said, walking away.

I stopped buttering my toast. "Uh…I'll meet you in Herbology, Hermione," I told her. She didn't even seem to hear me, as she ventured towards Herbology alone.

I ran up to my dormitory in record time. I went into the bathroom, and stared at myself. I turned to the side. My stomach didn't stick out at all. My thighs were as slender as ever. What was he talking about?

I laughed. I couldn't believe I had let Malfoy get to me like this. I was pathetic. I laughed the whole way down to Herbology, but stopped abruptly when I reached the greenhouses.

Ron and Hermione were there, not talking, and glaring at each other. "Where were you?" they asked at the same time.

"Checking to see if I was fat," I told them, cheerfully. "I've concluded I'm not."

Ron and Hermione couldn't help looking at each other, bewildered, and then burst out laughing. I sighed with relief. At least Malfoy calling me fat had led to one good thing.

After Herbology, we had Transfiguration. I waited until the very end of class when most of the class had filed out to ask Professor McGonagall. Ron and Hermione promised they'd wait outside.

"Professor?" I said, approaching her desk. I had always liked Professor McGonagall; she was stern, but almost maternally, and I knew she loved us all.

"Yes, Miss Potter?" she asked, looking up through her glasses.

"Well, about Hogsmeade," I started, but Professor McGonagall shot me a look that shut me up.

"I'm sorry, dear, but if you don't have a form signed then I can't let you go," McGonagall said, wearily. She almost frowned. "It's for the best. Now, run along."

I nodded, and left the room. I shook my head when Ron and Hermione opened their mouths to ask how it went. "I'm sick of being people treating me like a baby! It's as if I need bodyguards following me around everywhere—like I'm being baby-sat!"

My rant was interrupted by a sound of crying coming from the Great Hall. We hurried in there to see Lavender Brown in tears, with the rest of our class trying comfort her.

"What happened?" I asked Parvati, who was rubbing her back.

"Her baby rabbit died," Parvati said, solemnly. "And…you remember what Professor Trelawney predicted. The thing you're dreading will happen on the sixteenth of October."

Lavender blew her nose.

My heart sank. If Lavender's prediction came true, then…

Hermione was not affected. "But, if it's just a baby, how could you dread it? And you just got the news today, so it doesn't mean…"

"Stop while you're ahead," I advised, and she shut up under the sobs of Lavender and the glares from Parvati.

The next morning, everyone awoke excitedly to go to Hogsmeade—even Lavender who had cried herself to sleep that night. I slept in while Parvati, Hermione, and Lavender got ready.

I eventually got up when they left, wanting to see Hermione and Ron off. I ran downstairs after dressing, my hair thrown back in a messy ponytail. They were just leaving as I arrived.

"By the looks of your hair, Potter, I can tell you're not going out. Don't worry, I'll say hello to the dementors for you," Draco called to me. His Slytherin buddies laughed.

I rolled my eyes and wished Ron and Hermione a load of fun. After, I decided to go grab some breakfast by myself. I ate with the second and first years who were not yet old enough to go. They crowded around me, fascinated.

I made an excuse to leave after being pestered with questions for nearly ten minutes. I hurried out of the Great Hall and up the stairs before running straight into Professor Lupin.

"Oh, hi, Professor," I said, looking down. "Sorry."

"No matter," he said, looking confused. "Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?"

"No permission slip," I explained gloomily. What was I supposed to do all day?

"Why don't you come with me? I was just going to my office to check on the grindylow for our next lesson."

I nodded eagerly, and we walked down the corridor to his office. The grindylow was a little green creature in a tank of water. "Water demon," Lupin said pointing. "He won't be any trouble, though."

I laughed as the grindylow pulled faces at us. "Very cute," I said sarcastically.

Professor Lupin sat down at his desk, and motioned for me to take a seat. "Have a cup of tea," he said, pushing a glass towards me.

"Thanks," I replied, sipping the hot drink.

"So, I've heard about that silly prediction," Lupin said, raising his eyebrows.

"You too?" I groaned. "Look, I'm not really worried about it."

"Nor am I!" Lupin said, good-naturedly. "You haven't seen any great big dogs around, have you?" He chuckled.

"Well, actually, I saw one the night I left the Dursleys over summer," I offered, in an offhand voice.

Lupin's eyes darkened. "D-did you?" he said, not meeting my eyes. "Well, perhaps, it really was, you know, just a dog. Not an omen, just a…dog."

I nodded. "That's what I'm banking on," I said, cheerfully, sipping my tea again.

"So, nothing worrying you, then?" Lupin said, perking up.

"Well, just one thing. Why didn't you let me fight the boggart?" I asked, shyly.

"Well, Haile…I thought it was obvious. I assumed your worst fear would be Lord Voldemort."

I was a bit startled. I never had heard anyone besides Dumbledore speak his name. It gave me a new respect for Professor Lupin.

"Well, I was actually thinking of dementors," I told him.

Lupin's eyes widened and he nodded. "Impressive. To fear fear itself."

Professor Snape entered at that moment. "Here it is," he drawled, his lip curling. He was carrying a smoking goblet of some kind of potion.

Lupin smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, Severus. Could you leave it right here?"

Snape set it on the desk, and eyed me maliciously. "Afternoon tea?" Snape said, raising an eyebrow.

Lupin nodded. "Yes," he said. "Well, I best be back to work, Haile. Thanks for having tea with me."

I didn't like the idea of Lupin taking a potion Snape had given him. Lupin was already ill-looking at it was. But I nodded, and left the room with Snape behind me.

"So, Malfoy mentioned…have you put on a few, Potter?" Snape said, sneering.

My jaw dropped open, and I was stunned a teacher would even consider saying that to a student. "I'm not fat!" I retorted, backing up.

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not!" I screamed and ran up to my dormitory.

I caught up on homework, grumbling under my breath about Snape and Malfoy, while I waited for Ron and Hermione to get back from Hogsmeade.

When they did, they brought me back a ton of candy from Hogsmeade. I narrowed my eyes at it, and then helped myself, not really caring what Snape or Malfoy thought about me.

During the delicious feast, Ron and Hermione told me all about Hogsmeade—it was if I had gone, too. I told them about Snape bringing Lupin the potion, and Snape asking if I gained weight.

"Snape gave Lupin a potion?!" Ron exclaimed at the same time as Hermione squealed, "Snape asked you what?"

After the feast, we trudged up to the common room, behind the rest of the Gryffindors. When we finally arrived, all of the Gryffindor house seemed to be crowded around the Fat Lady portrait.

"What's going on?" Ron yelled.

Percy was making his way to the front of the crowd. When he made it, he gasped. "Someone get the headmaster, quick!" he said sharply.

Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers arrived shortly. Soon, the word spread throughout the massive crowd that the Fat Lady was gone.

"Search the whole castle for her and see who did this to her," Dumbledore ordered the rest of the staff.

Fred and George lifted me up, so I could see over everyone's head. I gasped. The portrait of the Fat Lady was ripped in several places as if someone been on a rampage.

Peeves came out of nowhere, zooming over our heads, cackling. "Good luck finding her!" he said, laughing his head off. "Nasty little temper he has, that Sirius Black."

Sleeping bags were immediately set up in the Great Hall for all four houses. Dumbledore left the Head Boy and Girl in command while the teachers were to search the castle for Sirius Black.

My head was numb. Sirius Black…in the castle…at the same time as me. I should have felt frightened, at least, but I mostly just felt shocked.

The Gryffindors were eagerly telling the rest of the school what had happened. Percy started breaking conversations up, telling us to go to bed.

Hermione, Ron, and I were talking with a bunch of other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. "He can't have gotten in!" Hermione was busy telling everyone. "There are enchantments around Hogwarts that can't be penetrated by Apparating or anything else! Plus, with the dementors standing guard…"

"Lights out!" shouted Percy. "Go to bed!"

The lights turned out a few seconds later. Everyone scrambled to find a sleeping bag. Ron, Hermione and I were left with ones by the entrance to the Great Hall.

This turned out to be an advantage, but because after a couple hours, mostly everyone fell asleep. I, however, stayed up, thinking, my mind in continuous motion.

Suddenly, Percy seemed to be standing right at the foot of my sleeping bag. I shut my eyes tight. "Professor Dumbledore…any sight of him?" he asked, worriedly.

"No," Dumbledore said solemnly. "We've searched…everywhere."

Professor Snape was there, too. "We've asked all the portraits and searched in every last secret entrance to the school…" he said darkly.

"How did he get in?" Percy asked, his voice dropped to a whisper.

I could imagine the twinkle in Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes. "We can only assume…that he got in the same way he got out."

By that, he must have meant Azkaban, but Percy was silent, and so was Snape.

Snape finally broke the silence. "Headmaster. If you remember our conversation prior to the term beginning...it seems almost impossible for Black to enter alone."

It was Dumbledore's turn to be silent. Finally, he spoke. "Severus, I do not believe Sirius Black had any accomplices in breaking in."

After that, Dumbledore and Snape left. I opened my eyes back up when Percy walked away. I turned to look at Ron and Hermione, and to my surprise, both of their eyes were wide open.

They mirrored my curious look. "We'll find out," I mouthed at them, turned over, and fell asleep.

Over the next week or so, the school talked of nothing but Sirius Black. The Fat Lady had been replaced with Sir Cadogan, an insane knight that changed the passwords twice a day. Every time you climbed in the portrait hole, he'd yell, "Come back, and fight, you coward!" or something of the like.

Also, I found myself constantly under watch of members of authority. Teachers always seemed to be at my side, and Percy tailed me religiously.

Two and a half weeks after the incident, Professor McGonagall couldn't stand it any longer. "Miss Potter," she said, at the end of class. She waited until the rest of the class filed out the door. "I'm very sorry to inform you of this, but—"

"I know that Sirius Black is after me, Professor," I told her. "I'm not worried, or anything. Just alert."

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened. "Well. I'm very impressed at the maturity you're handling this with. Just—listen here. Whatever you may…find out about Sirius Black, keep your head clear. Don't let it get to you. He'll be captured soon enough and he'll suffer more than anyone he's ever hurt."

I wasn't really sure what she meant, but the thought of Sirius Black being captured sounded good to me.

Quidditch practice was still going well except for one major problem: the nasty weather. We were all extremely discouraged when we were informed that we were no longer playing Slytherin. They used their injured Seeker, Malfoy, as an excuse, but it was obvious they didn't want to play in this weather.

Wood was furious. "We're playing Hufflepuff instead!" Wood spat. "We'll have to rearrange our whole strategy. And they have an excellent Seeker, Cedric."

I blushed, and Katie, Angelina, and Alicia giggled.

"What?" asked Wood, Fred, and George.

We waved their question away, but we shot each other secret smiles. Cedric Diggory was extremely good-looking, tall, and an excellent Quidditch player.

The day before the match, we had Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, instead of Professor Lupin, Snape greeted us at the entrance.

"Where's Professor Lupin?" Dean piped up.

"He's feeling ill," Snape said without emotion. "Sit down."

We all took seats, looking apprehensive. Professor Lupin was ill? After Snape gave him that potion, too…

"Today, we're going to cover werewolves," Snape said, with some sort of a twisted smile.

Hermione's hand shot up and she interrupted. "Please, sir, we're not supposed to start werewolves for another month or so."

"Speak out again, Miss Granger, and I'll take points away and give you detention," Snape told her, his eyes burning.

Hermione fell silent, and didn't speak again for the rest of the class period. I happened to know getting detention was her worst fear.

At the end of class he assigned a ridiculously long essay on werewolves.

I woke up late the next day. Hermione was gently shaking me, and I jumped out of bed, grabbing my Quidditch robes and my Nimbus 2000, and ran down to the Quidditch field.

It was windy and rainy out. Terrible Quidditch weather. But the match would go on.

The rest of the team was there when I arrived. I began to get butterflies in my stomach. Diggory really was an excellent seeker, and older than me, too. Did I stand a chance?

"How do you feel, H?" George asked. I rubbed sleep out of my eyes.

"Just peachy," I grumbled, as my stomach gave a huge growl.

Oliver Wood took me by the shoulders. "Haile, we need this win," he told me. "You can do it. I know you can."

I nodded. "I'll try my best. Just as long as there's no dementors on the field," I joked.

The team laughed, and we walked into the bitter cold rain to play a game of Quidditch.

It was hard to focus on the match with Cedric Diggory as your opposer, but I managed to keep my eyes peeled for the Snitch.

I felt very confident. Even though I was shaking and trembling because of the wind and rain, I was sure I was going to catch the Snitch.

That's when a couple things happened at once. I looked down below me, and saw a huge black dog by the Forbidden Forest. Cedric Diggory zoomed forward to catch a speck of gold that sped right past me. And I looked down to see at least a hundred dementors below me.

The familiar wave of cold swept over me and I felt myself fall into unconsciousness.

I heard the screaming again, and it was clearer this time.

"Not Haile, not Haile, please not Haile!"

"Stand aside, foolish girl."

"NO! PLEASE! Take me instead! Not Haile, not Haile! Have mercy, have mercy…"

But Lord Voldemort didn't have mercy, I knew, as I heard a cold, high-pitched laugh.

Time passed in a blur when you were asleep.

"Lucky Diggory managed to catch her before she fell."

"How'd he manage to catch the Snitch and her?"

"He's so amazing like that."

My eyes opened. The Gryffindor Quidditch team plus Ron and Hermione was standing over me. I realized at once I was in the hospital wing. They were covered in mud, and dripping wet, so I can't have been asleep long at all.

I quickly remembered everything that had happened. The black dog I had seen, the dementors, the Snitch, the screaming…

"What happened?" I asked them.

Oliver Wood looked like someone had just died. "We lost."

There was a terrible, terrible silence. My face scrunched up and I knew I was going to cry.

Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were holding my hands, and stroking my hair at once. "Don't cry!" Alicia squealed. "You're still the best Seeker we've ever had!"

"H, there was nothing you could do," Ron added, lightly. "There were a hundred dementors down there."

I nodded, my eyes brimming with tears. I couldn't look Oliver Wood in the face. "I'm really sorry, Oliver," I whispered.

"Don't be," he said at once. The team looked at him, surprised. "It's not your fault. It won't happen again, either. Dumbledore was furious."

I nodded, feeling ashamed. Why was I the only one to faint and hear my mother dying to save me? My insides felt like they had been chewed up and spit back out.

"So, wait, I was in the air," I said, wiping the tears that hadn't yet fell. "What happened when I fainted?"

Alicia, Angelina, and Katie giggled again. Even Hermione smiled. "Cedric Diggory caught you," Fred said, rolling his eyes.

"Right after he caught the Snitch," George said evenly. "He tried to call the match off, to schedule a re-match, but it couldn't be done."

I sighed, suddenly feeling loads better. Cedric had saved me, for the second time, except this time was much more crucial. Now I would have an excuse to talk to him again.

"I've got to do something about this," I told them. "Just in case it should happen again. Anyway, where's my broomstick?"

The team looked at each nervously. "Well," Hermione started.

"Here," George said gently. He held up a clear bag, containing pieces of what looked like chopped wood.

Fred explained. "When you fell, your broom got blown away…straight into the Whomping Willow."

After that I didn't want to talk anymore and they left me alone.

Ron and Hermione stayed behind, and I told them what I heard when I fainted and what I saw right before I did.

Ron was uneasy about the dog, but trying not to make me panic, and Hermione waved it off. They were really concerned about me hearing my mom scream, though. They tried to be comforting but ended up making me feel even more uneasy about it all. What did this all mean?