Chapter 15

Not much happened between Christmas and the Quidditch final. Kaitlyn and I spent the time studying and trying to stay ahead. Or in my case, trying to stay caught up. I had to get a tutor for Charms. It was my least favourite subject, and even though Professor Flitwick was terrific, I was still falling behind. Hermione found time in her busy schedule to help be a few hours a week.

Quidditch again. I really hated this sport. 'Do I have to go?' I asked Kaitlyn, looking up at her over the mountain of toast in between us. 'You know I don't like it.'

'But it's the Final! Us versus the Slytherins! Even you can get into this game,' Kaitlyn said before taking another sip of her orange juice.

Sadly, she was right. I wanted nothing more than for our house team to beat the Slytherins. It would certainly mean bragging rights for the rest of the year. 'Fine. Let me run upstairs and get my cloak. It's a bit breezy outside.'

After I finished what was left of my breakfast, I raced up to the girl's dormitory and grabbed my cloak. On the trip back down, I ran into the Quidditch team on their way to the locker rooms. They had their brooms over their shoulders and sombre looks on their faces. 'Good luck,' I called, waving at them.

Fred and George waved back, though the rest of the team looked a bit nervous. Slytherin was a tough team but more than that, they played dirty. The last game, they tried to trick Harry into falling off his broom. How mean! We weren't even playing them.

Kaitlyn was waiting for me at the entrance to the Great Hall, and together we walked down to the pitch. I pulled my cloak tighter around me as we walked up the steps and into the small towers. The Gryffindor side was already filled and it was difficult to manoeuvre through the crowds.

'And here are the Gryffindors! Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnett, Weasley, Weasley and Wood! Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years,' Lee Jordan announced just as we got to our seats.

'I see Lee is commentating again,' Kaitlyn said, sitting down on the cold bench next to me. 'I wonder how many times McGonagall is going to fuss at him today?'

'Who knows? I'll bet ya a chocolate frog that it's more than ten.'

'You're on,' Tommy interjected from behind us. He slid down and sat next to me, his hands buried in his cloak. 'Lee can never keep his temper to himself, but McGonagall might be a bit lenient today. She wants the Quidditch Cup as much as the rest of us.'

Despite the fact that I don't like Quidditch or sports in general, I did get into the game. I cheered on my team when we scored and booed the Slytherins when they knocked a bludgers at one of our Chasers. Madam Hooch must have called twenty penalties before the score even hit thirty, both against the Slytherins and us.

The Slytherins played dirty. They knocked our team off their brooms, shot bludgers at their heads and Malfoy tried to mark Harry, rather than search for the Snitch himself. So lazy!

'You cheating scum! You filthy, cheating…' Lee yelled into the microphone after Malfoy had grabbed a hold of Harry's broom. Kaitlyn and I stood up, glancing over toward the broadcasting tower.

I couldn't hear Madam Hooch over the roar of the crowd, but I could tell she was furious. As her broom zoomed up to where Harry and Malfoy were hovering, she waved her arms at both teams. Her face was red and I would have hated to be on the receiving end of her rant.

We both waited for McGonagall to tell him, but instead, she shook her finger at the Slytherins. 'Red card,' Tommy yelled, his face turning beat red.

'Red card?' Kaitlyn asked, taking a break from the screaming to look over at him, confused.

'It's in football. The player gets thrown off the field.' He resumed booing the other team and Kaitlyn and I joined in.

'They don't have that in Quidditch.'

'Well, they should!'

Dean Thomas, a third year, leaned down and nodded. 'I said the same thing, but no one else agreed,' he yelled over the crowd still booing the Slytherins.

We were up, eighty to twenty. And then, everyone gasped as Harry sped towards… something. 'He saw it,' Dean yelled from behind us.

Harry trailed Malfoy, sped forward, knocked Malfoy's hand out of the way and the crowd erupted in cheers. 'He won! He got it!'

Kaitlyn took my hands and together, we jumped up and down, large grins on our faces. 'We won! We won! He got the Snitch!'

Harry landed and held the snitch high above his head. The team landed next to him and I was dragged out with the entire Gryffindor house. We stormed the field, cheered and lifted the team up. Everyone was so happy, so proud; even I couldn't hold back the happiness.

Professor Dumbledore brought over the cup to our screaming and crying team. Even Professor McGonagall was crying.

Okay, so I did actually get into the game. I did enjoy watching our team beat the Slytherins. Who wouldn't like to watch the Slytherins get beat? 'Grace! We won,' Kaitlyn yelled in my ear. She grabbed my hands and jumped up and down with the people next to us.

'I know,' I yelled back, giggling.

The team threw a party in the common room again, though this time, it was much more exciting. Kaitlyn, Tommy and I followed the procession into the common room where we crowded in.

I should have been doing my homework or reading for Charms. Hermione would be upset if she knew I was down here.

'I can't stay long,' I said to Kaitlyn when the music fell silent. 'I have to finish that Charms essay.'

'Can't it wait 'til morning? Come on! How often do we win the Quidditch Cup?'

Frowning, I scanned the crowd. 'I know, but if I don't do it now, it won't get done.'

'Boo,' she said, frowning at me as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I rolled my eyes and sat on the arm of her chair, looking around the room. Tommy was talking to Dennis and Colin Creevy near the fireplace; the Quidditch team was scattered around the room; and I was sitting with one of my only friends.

Moments like this really made me miss my friends back home. 'Hey, Kait, I think I'm going to head up now. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep just sitting.'

'Okay. If you're awake when I come up, I'll let you know what you missed.'

'You do that,' I said with a smile. 'Good night.'

Leaving the packed common room, I slowly ascended the steps to the girl's dorm. When I reached the top of the stairs, I could barely hear the party. 'Silence,' I whispered with a giggle.

Now for my date with Charms homework.

...

Two days after the Quidditch match, I stepped gingerly into the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom and scanned the room. Professor Lupin was nowhere to be found, but that didn't mean anything. He could be hiding in his inner office. 'Professor Lupin?'

I took a few more steps into the office and tried to peer into the smaller room. The door was open, but that didn't mean anything. Unless he was in his bedroom. I would not go looking for him there. Did the Hogwarts professors even have bedrooms? Did they live here all year round?

'Grace? What are you doing here?' Professor Lupin's voice asked from behind me and I spun quickly, nearly knocking over a chair. 'Well, at least you didn't inherit your mother's clumsiness. She would have fallen on her face.'

'I…' I felt my cheeks glow hot and quickly sat down in the nearest chair. 'I know what you're going to say.'

'Grace,' he said, shaking his head. He sighed and took a seat near me, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. 'If you're going to ask me the same thing you asked me before, you're right, you do already know what I'm going to say.'

Avoiding his eyes, I chewed on my lip. 'I sound like a pathetic kid, don't I?'

'No,' he said softly, smiling, 'you sound like someone who really wants to know about her father. Grace, I can't promise anything, but I can try to talk to your Mum. With the tension lately regarding Sirius Black, it's a bit difficult for me to get out of the castle for extended periods. But I'll try, okay?'

'Okay,' I agreed. There was no way my mother was going to give in. She'd never tell me about him.

'S… your father was a good person when we were all friends. That's all you need to know at the moment.' He stood and I knew I was being dismissed. He was annoyed, tired of having to talk to me about this. Fine, I wouldn't say a word to him outside of class anymore. 'Don't forget your essay for class tomorrow.'

'Yes, sir.' I walked quickly from the room, sighing as I went. I did sound pathetic, even if Professor Lupin wouldn't honestly tell me. I'll ask Mum one more time before just giving up, I thought as I walked down the empty hallways.

As I headed back to the common room, I went over the conversation in my head. He said he'd talk to her. Wait. I stopped in the middle of the hallway. Thankfully, no one was around or I would have been run over. 'He started to say a name,' I whispered, remembering back. 'He said S before changing it to my father. My dad's name starts with an S?'

The delight in at least knowing that much, caused me to grin. I would never tell anyone I knew that. I'd let Professor Lupin think I hadn't caught it. Now, maybe, I could do some research. 'Oh Merlin,' I moaned, my mind coming across the first name I knew that started with an S. "What if Snape is my Dad?'

I cringed and shook. There was no way my mother would ever have anything to do with him. 'Ugh,' I said, shaking my head. There was no way. Mum had standards, didn't she?

...

Remus Lupin's POV

I wanted to tell her, I really did, but I knew what Krista would say. She was right, of course. We didn't need to tell Grace about Sirius, not now. She was too young to handle that information.

Maybe after he was caught. Maybe after a few years and she had grown up some more. What would she say now? How would that make her feel, knowing that her father was a convicted murderer? Knowing that her father betrayed two of his best friends and murdered another.

I hated knowing. I hated knowing what he did to them. To Krista. To me.

He was guilty. I didn't want to believe it at the time; I didn't want to say the words out loud. But he did it. Who else? They made him the Secret Keeper. We all volunteered, even Dumbledore, but James picked Sirius. He trusted him more than anyone else. They were inseparable, brothers even. But Sirius betrayed them.

And now, I have to face his daughter and hold back information.

I wish I had seen. I wish I had realized what he was before. Maybe none of us would be in this situation. Maybe he would have been in Azkaban before. Maybe James and Lily would still be alive. Maybe Harry wouldn't have had to grow up without his parents.

But I didn't see. Even Dumbledore didn't realize. Now, all we can do is hope that the Aurors can catch him and put him back in prison. All we can do is wait.

AN: Sorry this one is short again. It's another sort of, filler chapter. The action starts again in the next one, promise. Thank you to: LadyStrider17, Hi, AaheliBlack, amrawo, HpGinny77, Olga and Elias and the_werewolf_gal for reviewing the previous chapter. If you have any requests, or things you think I should add in for future chapters, do let me know and I'll try my best!