Author's Note: I'm so so so sorry about not updating sooner. I have had the worst month ever, it's so much work -.-. Oh well no more excuses, I will try to update at least twice a month, but there are no promises. Onward to the story and review damn it! ｡◕‿‿◕｡
~Of Silver and Gold~
Chapter 18: Rescue
They walked down into the woods, hiding into the darkness for protection without so much as one word to one another. Harry followed behind somewhat amused at seeing Angel trying to dodge Buckbeak's beak as it reached for ferrets. She hated that chicken, but she believed what Potter had said to her, it was better to save two lives.
As Harry walked behind the pair, he noticed how quiet the environment was. He knew that they had done one task, which he was happy already but now that they were scot free, he knew that he had to say something.
"Thank you" he said simply.
He saw her stop and Buckbeak grabbed the last piece of ferret from her shoulder as she turned to face him. Her face didn't change as the creature ruffled its feathers against her cheek as it had pulled back. He felt so small with her stare fixed at him. He knew it was stupid, but the silence bothered him. It was ironic how she was shorter than he was and yet she radiated confidence when angered of course. He looked away and heard her feet shuffle.
"Let's go" she said ignoring his gratefulness.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"We're going to save Sirius" she said.
He looked at her in surprise.
"And we do that….how?" he asked.
He heard her sigh.
"I have no idea" she mumbled.
They continue to walk deeper into the woods and the silence remained. Harry studied her and raised a brow as she interacted with Buckbeak. She pushed the creature's face away as it tried to nuzzle her once more, and tilted her head away avoiding contact. She was fearful of the bird, especially after she had gone to the hospital after her brother's incident.
"Shoo" she said towards Buckbeak.
She patted its beak nervously as it tried to nuzzle her once more and Harry cracked a smile. He noticed that she threw the scraps on the side trying to get Buckbeak to move away and he indeed did. She smiled tightly and began to walk towards the clearing.
Towards the fields they now saw the Whomping Willow. They immediately began to walk towards the tree, that is until they saw Lupin walking towards the same place. They saw the tree thrashing violently but with a whoosh of his wand, he poked a knot in on the trunk and the Willow calmed.
"Wait until Fred and George hear about that one." Harry mumbled.
She turned to look at him and rolled her eyes, thinking about how easily he was distracted. She then saw Lupin disappear.
"There" she mumbled.
"What?"
"We now wait" she replied.
They laid down to the ground waiting for the events to come towards them. Harry looked up at the sky as it darkened and turned discretely to see Angel lying on the grass tired. She closed her eyes resting, and he took this opportunity to study her.
Her skin was paler than usual; something he thought was because of her stress. Her skin was usually slightly pinker in her skin, something that gave her a look of a flush state. Her lips were red; he noticed that this was because every time she thought, held her tongue, was amused or was nervous she bit her bottom lip. Her lashes were long and black, fluttering as the winds blew through. His gaze moved towards her hair, it was longer than her remembered and a little more frazzled. Again stress he thought, but it was soft, almost tempting to touch. The most garish thing on her person were the bruises. He saw hints of them on her neck, and her legs. He figured that she was in more pain than she let on.
He looked back up to come face to face with a pair of brown eyes. They held no anger, they held no annoyance, they held no amusement; they held curiosity. He felt his skin begin to warm up and he felt it begin to spread, as her eyes began to roam towards his neck. He cursed the Dursley's for keeping him indoors for so long; his pale skin was revealing secrets he didn't want to be noticed.
"Well?" she asked.
"What?" he asked.
"What do you want to ask me?" she replied.
He blinked confused.
"I mean, that's why you were staring right, trying to find a way to ask me a question" she commented.
He immediately nodded. He thanked Merlin at how oblivious she was at her own charm. He half-heartedly smiled and began to think of a question.
"How was it that you reached our location?" he asked.
She rolled and laid on her back staring towards the sunset and sighed.
"Simple, we asked" she replied smirking.
He looked at her incredulously at how she replied and then he heard something that he hadn't heard before: her laughter. It was soft at fight, a mere giggle, but he saw her eyes light up and then they closed shut as she let out another belt of laughter. It was light and teasing, he noticed, just like her attitude with anyone but him.
For once he didn't mind being the butt of the joke and he found himself smiling. He enjoyed seeing her let go, if only for a moment as they waited for a decisive moment. He let her calm down and her eyes fluttered opened once more. They sparkled slightly and as she fixed her gaze at him once more, she was met with a smile matching hers.
They stayed in silence once more and they didn't do anything to stop it. Angel was calm, not really knowing what was going on, but it gave her time to mull over ideas. She wasn't stupid; she knew that Potte-Harry was looking at her not for questions, but just staring at her. The questions behind it was: why? Her thoughts immediately went into her looks, or rather how bad she might have looked. She frowned slightly. He wasn't a spring daisy himself she decided. His hair was so messy and unkempt, his skin very pale, paler than hers even in her worst days, but there was one thing she could not call unattractive: his eyes. She never forgot those eyes, the boy who had waived at her, the one she thought about even before she had entered Hogwarts itself. She closed her eyes and let herself be nostalgic.
"Take a nap, we have two hours before sundown" he whispered.
"Hm..." she replied.
She curled to her side and promised herself she could just rest her eyes, but her body had other thoughts. She fell into an easy slumber and relaxed as the cold grass lulled her to sleep.
Harry on the other hand noticed she had gone very quiet. He turned to see her curled up and sleeping soundly. He smiled and he let his mind wander towards possibilities. His first was Sirius: he was promised a new life, one of peace. He imagined himself in a home where he was loved. Sirius was the closest thing he had to a father, he knew his father, he and Lupin could tell him stories of them and make him closer to his past. He smiled slightly at the thought of Angel being around them too.
'She had to, she's his daughter' he thought.
Maybe she wouldn't want him there, maybe he was intruding and taking her only family member, he frowned at the thought once more. It was a shame, maybe it sounded too good to be true.
"What are you thinking about Potter?" she asked him.
He jumped slightly and turned to see the girl who was asleep a few minutes ago, staring at him bright eyed and curious. He saw a tired smile looking at his direction.
"Well?" Angel asked.
He couldn't talk about such stupidity with her, she already was warming up to him, that is when they were alone. He felt a grumble in his stomach which he heard a snicker.
"Hungry, is that why you are having such deeps thoughts?" she asked amused.
He gave her a lopsided smile and began took out a piece of chocolate. He mentally thanked his self control to save the chocolate. He unwrapped it and broke off a piece, trying to hand it to a surprised Angel.
"What?" she asked.
"Here" he said and tugged her hand out to place it on her palm. She looked down at the chocolate bar, and frowned slightly. She took off a bite gingerly and began to chew it in a slow motion.
Harry then remembered that she hated chocolate, she had told them this as Dumbledore had handed them some.
"You hate chocolate" he commented.
She looked at him and shrugged, swallowing with some difficulty. She tasted her mouth a few times trying to get rid of the aftertaste.
"I'm hungry" she replied after making a face of disgust.
"How can you not like chocolate?" he asked out of the blue.
"I don't appreciate the aftertaste, the taste, the chocolaty taste, the sweetness-"
"That's the best!" he said interrupting her.
"I don't like sweets much" she replied. "but I'm starving"
As they both talked to one another they noticed how comfortable they were being with one another. He found himself laying beside her as they both stared at the skies. Turning over he found himself curious about something.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked.
"You already did Potter" she replied amused.
He chuckled and shook his head at her antics.
"I mean to say is: Why are you so fickle towards me? I mean you act friendly, then you act cold, you act hostile, then you act like you care." Harry ended with showing his frustration.
Angel blinked a few times and let out a small smile.
"You answered it yourself, I'm just fickle." She replied shortly.
Harry showed great displeasure at her comment. That was clearly not what he was looking for. The frown on his face told her that maybe she wasn't being fair to him. Sighing she tugging on the grass lightly letting the wind take them away.
"I don't mean to be really" she added as an afterthought. "you just have to realize that I do it for a reason. I can't tell you more than that for I don't even know the real answer."
Silence consumed them once more, but was broken immediately as Buckbeak was running around chasing a bat. Angel made a face of disgust and placed her hand over her stomach.
"And I'm no longer hungry" she muttered.
"Least someone's enjoying himself." Harry said snorting. "Good meal Bucky"
Angel rolled her eyes and before they could lie in silence, Harry interrupted it.
"Angel…" he said softly.
She was still getting used to hearing her first name from his lips, she rarely heard it, and when she did she quite liked it.
"Yeah?" she asked staring up at the darkening sky.
"Before, down by the lake. When I was with Sirius... I did see someone... that someone made the Dementors go away..." Harry said softly.
Angel showed no signs of change in expression.
"-with a Patronus. I heard Uncle Severus telling Professor Dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it." Angel said unfazed.
"It was my dad" Harry blurted out.
He heard nothing from her side and turned to face her. She had rolled and was now on her stomach staring at him intently.
"It was my Dad who conjured the Patronus." He added quietly.
"Look…Pot-Harry…you're dad he's.." she stopped looking away.
"-dead. I know. I'm just telling you what I saw." He said looking away from her frame.
Angel sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder. He patted her hand and looked onward towards the Whomping Willow his hand never leaving hers, but rather intertwining. Angel's eyes hardened slightly as she remembered what went on during that situation. Her father, had immediately clashed with her, and then it happened, he was bonding with Harry.
"You see Sirius talking to me? He's asking me to come live with him." He commented forgetting for a moment who she was.
"Really…" she said in a whisper.
"When we free him, I'll never have to go back to the Dursley's. I'm going to tell him I'd like to live someplace in the country. I think he'd like that, after all those years in Azkaban. We don't need a big place and I can help him..." He said in a wistful tone.
Angel closed her eyes as they began to water. She felt horrible over that idea, feeling already like he had taken her place.
"-and you of course, you can come with us." He added tentatively.
She let out a shaky laughter and shook her head.
"Get used to just the first part, I have my family" she said.
Before he could utter something, they heard a howl.
"It's happened. Lupin's transformed." Angel muttered.
As she saw Lupin digging his paws into her shoulder, she winced in pain remembering it and lifted her hand to her shoulder rubbing it lightly.
"Which means Pettigrew is slipping safely into the night. While we just stand here..." Harry growled in anger.
Harry saw as he followed Sirius and Lupin into the grass. He heard the aggressive growls between the creatures and saw himself hurling the stick, before he was stalked by Lupin, then looked up as she saw Angel get up immediately.
"What are you-"
"Awooooooooooooooooooooo" She howled.
He immediately got up and covered her mouth, earning a glare from her.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"Saving your life" she replied after she tugged his hand from her mouth.
He looked confused but turned to the scene to see Lupin frozen, trying to figure out just where the howl came from.
"Thanks. But we have to move." Harry said and tugged her.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because that werewolf you just called is running right this way." Harry finished.
He began to run tugging Angel right along with him. They panted as they tried to avoid anything that would slow them down. Angel couldn't handle it she was feeling the danger in her body. She trembled slightly and did something rash.
As she saw the werewolf coming their direction she pushed Harry against the tree and shushed him.
"What are you-" he whispered.
"You run towards the lake, go and make sure Black lives" she whispered.
He looked at her incredulously.
"And you?" he whispered.
"I'll get him to leave you alone." Before he could utter a protest she leaned up and gave him a kiss at the corner of his lip.
"Good luck Harry, don't disappoint me" she whispered centimeters from his lips.
She pulled back and winked, running the opposite direction. Harry stood wide-eyed, and shocked what she had just done. He stilled as he heard Lupin towards his location, but he then heard a howl far away. He knew it was her and Lupin ran his opposite direction. Harry waited for a little bit, but waited then ran towards Sirius.
Angel ran, she was running out of breath and the cold winter wind was doing nothing for her. As she began to pant, she was running at a slower pace, being worn out. In her exhaustion she had failed to notice a tree root that caused her fall. She yelped in pain and then heard a crinkling of leaves.
She felt that it was her moment, her death. She had always wondered when her luck would run out and it seemed like this was the very moment. She was too tired to run, her lungs gasping for air, the cold air doing nothing but chilling her to the bone.
As the werewolf got closer to her she wondered if Potter had done it. She wondered if now her father, her only parent left was saved and was freed from his imprisonment. It sniffed the air and let out a low growl making her tremble in fear.
It got on all fours, and she knew that it was her demise. She curled away covering her face and before she could feel him pounce she heard a loud squawk. She looked up immediately to see Buckbeak, that disgusting chicken saving her life by clawing the werewolf. She was wide-eyed as Lupin ran away howling in pain. As it left Buckbeak relaxed and turned to face her nuzzling her cheek affectionately
.
Angel lifted her hands to caress the creature's cheek and he aided her to get up. She smiled softly and nuzzled it in return. Her hands shakily petted the creature's head.
"Thank you Buckbeak, I owe you" she whispered.
The creature squawked and it leaned down. She took the hint and straddled the bird. She smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around its thick neck as it began to soar in the sky. She clung to it as she the cold wind hit her face. She looked down and shivered slightly at the height.
There she saw a tornado form of Dementors flying around in a circle, that's where they had to be. She kicked Buckbeaks sides softly signaling it to go down and it swooped down in a clearing. She got off with some difficulty and she ran towards the lake. She felt her chest becoming heavy as she got closer and closer till she saw that on the other side of the lake was Sirius and Harry.
"Angel" she heard someone hiss.
She turned to see Harry staring at her from behind the rock. She ran over and bent down to be in level with him.
"Harry, why aren't you stopping this?" she asked.
"Don't worry. My Dad will come..Right there... you'll see... he'll come... any minute... he'll conjure the Patronus" Harry said.
He gripped her hand and stared on as she looked terrified; she had never seen something so horrible. She felt a shiver rising from her spine and the lake immediately froze over.
"No one's coming, Harry..." she whispered softly.
"He will! He will come!" he said.
Her eyes looked at the scene in desperation. She didn't know how to summon a Patronus, but they had to, they had to do something.
"No one's coming! You're dying, both of you... and no one's coming!" she said frantically.
She stood up and took out her wand, but it was no use. She was exhausted, and the Dementors were depressing her greatly. She was losing all her happiness and anger was clenching her heart. Harry stood up and whipped out his wand. He looked at her and nodded and began to walk their direction.
"Harry no!" she wailed.
He walked towards the location where he thought his father would appear. He took in a shaky breath and looked directly at their location. He closed his eyes and saw many things flashing to his head, he first saw Angel laughing happily alongside him, then when she kissed the corner of his lip telling him that she had hope for him, but at the end there was something that brought him hope: Sirius and a new family with him and Angel.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled.
A wisp of silver escaped his wand, hovering over like mist and it bloomed greatly into a bright light. Angel gasped in delight as it began to shift-shape into a stag. It crossed the lake and it pushed all the Dementors going into different directions. And as he saw the Dementors flying away, and Sirius still breathing, he knew that he had done it.
He heard crackling and turned to see Angel running his direction. He saw her giving him a bright smile and jumped to hug him tight. He hugged her back immediately surprised at her reaction and smiled.
"You did it you imbecile, you saved them" she whispered.
"I didn't want to disappoint" he replied blushing slightly.
"Thank you" she whispered.
She kissed his cheek once more and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, we now know where to go" she said in a calmer tone.
They had one simple task to do before saving everyone that was necessary.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
She tugged him along and took him to the clearing. Harry's eyes set immediately on Buckbeak as it rested in the clearing. She winked and let go of his hand and headed towards Buckbeak.
"You found him?"He asked in surprise.
He was gob smacked as she began to caress Buckbeak lovingly, Buckbeak in turn flapping its wings in glee. She didn't even need to bow down to get him to respect her.
"He found me, and saved my life." She smiled softly at the creature.
Harry looked at Buckbeak who cooed happily at her caresses.
"Come on Potter, give me a hand" she said as she touched Buckbeak's sides. Harry did ask asked and gave her a life, blushing slightly at seeing relying on him. As she straddled the creature she leaned down and she tugged him and he hopped up in front of her.
"We need to go to the jail cell come on" she said.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and he kicked the sides of Buckbeak and it flew into the air. She clung to him tight and he looked up at the night sky amazed at what they had done.
"You were right, Angel. It wasn't my dad I saw earlier. It was... me. I saw myself conjuring the Patronus before. I knew I could do it this time, because... because I'd already done it. Does that make sense?" he asked.
"Not really Potter" she said confused. "But I am relieved you managed to save them all."
As they saw the tower overhead, Angel relaxed her head on his shoulder and felt her heart thudding faster. They were going to save him from a death sentence and he'd be fine.
"Land here Buckbeak" Harry ordered.
As it landed on the cliff side of the tower, Harry hopped off first and grabbed Angel aiding her down. They muttered a thank you and they rushed towards the cell.
Once they reached the cell, they saw Sirius. He was in a small cell with his back against the exit as he entertained himself with something unseen. The cell was so small and he looked like he was condemned. As the moonlight created a shadow, he turned to see the pair and he looked at them wide-eyed.
They heard a meow and a purr only to see Coeur looking up at Angel with her tail swaying.
"Coeur" she whispered in delight.
The familiar shimmied her was out of the cell and jumped happily into her mistress's arms. The pair nuzzled one another and were oblivious to a pair of silver-eyed male. Before they could relax slightly, they saw a light heading their direction and they heard the voices of her Uncle Severus and Fudge. Harry froze and Angel knew it was time for action. She pushed through him and took out her wand.
"Alohomora!" she said.
Angel looked up and met Sirius' glance. He tested it out and it was still lock causing the pair to frown.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked.
"Didn't really expect that to work." She muttered.
Harry took Coeur from Angel's hands and she bent down trying to get it open.
"Dunamis! Liberare! Annihilare! Emancipare! No. No. No. No." she huffed annoyed.
Spell after spell, Sirius was paying close attention to the girl. She was unlike the other Malfoys; she was determine and not to mention aiding in his escape. Her hair was brown and wavy, something unlike the traits the blue bloods held.
"You might want to try-" he began.
"Quiet! I'm trying to think." She hissed.
He stepped back surprise having a sense of déjà vu.
"Last choice" she mumbled. "Bombardia!"
A large explosion occurred and Sirius immediately walked out of his cell.
"I suppose that will work" he said.
They rushed towards Buckbeak who looked prepared. Harry and Sirius aided Angel up to him and climbed on after in the order of Sirius, Harry and Angel in the back. As they soared through the night, Sirius laughed in glee at being released.
"You truly are your father's son, Harry!" he said happily.
They flew into the night until they reached a clearing at Hogwarts. Sirius slid off first and helped Harry get off. Lastly he placed his hands on Angel's waist and lifted her off the creature. He felt a small shock of electricity as their hands touched. Silver eyes met brown and they stared one another down. Sirius shook if off and he placed her next to Harry.
"I'll be forever grateful for this. To both of you." Sirius said grateful.
Harry looked saddened by the comment.
"I want to go with you" he said determined.
"One day perhaps. For some time...life will be too... unpredictable. Besides, you're meant to be here." Sirius said clapping Harry's shoulder. "But promise me something, Harry."
Harry looked at him with bright eyes.
"Anything" he answered immediately.
"Trust yourself. No matter the challenges you face - and I fear they will be many - you'll be surprised how many times you can find the answers..." Sirius said tapping Harry's chest. "here"
He winked and stepped back towards Buckbeak. He climbed on the creature and at the very moment a shooting star flew over the sky.
"A shooting star. Make a wish." He said.
He nodded towards Angel's direction and she nodded feeling disappointed through it all. He flew into the air and Angel and Harry remained.
As they walked back towards the hospital wing, Harry spoke up.
"Why didn't you tell him?" he asked.
"I wouldn't want to spoil your moment" she replied.
He placed his hand on her shoulder and stopped her.
"You should have told him" he said somberly.
"And what Potter? What would happen? I would drop everything and everyone behind, deny my name and throw a burden his direction? He doesn't need a child, he needs a friend and that's you." She finished sadly. " I need a family…and I have one with the Malfoys, where I probably belong."
Harry frowned but knew that she was stubborn. Harry looked at the clock.
"We have to go" he said.
They ran towards the hospital wing and as they reached up the last stairs, they saw Dumbledore closing the door of the wing.
"Well?" Dumbledore said innocently.
"He's free — Sirius. We…we did it" Harry said panting slightly.
With a twinkle of his eye Dumbledore merely replied.
"Did what?"
He walked off and the teens stared at one another. As they opened the hospital doors they saw a glimpse of themselves disappearing.
"How'd you two get over there? I was just talking to you... over there." Ron said baffled.
Hermione merely smiled at the pair knowing that they must have done the deed.
"Ron, you've had a hard night" she said and caressed his forehead. Angel and Harry merely shared a small smile.
"I should go" Angel said suddenly.
Harry looked at her surprised and nodded.
"I'll walk you" he offered.
"No thanks Potter" she said.
Harry frowned noticing she had returned to her former name calling. Still as she reached forward she squeezed his hand signaling him that she was grateful. He squeezed her hand in turn and she smiled softly.
"I-I need to clear my head" she said in a softer tone.
He nodded and saw her walk away. They were good….at least in his perspective they were.
"Rough night" Hermione commented.
"Absolutely" he said tiredly.
He threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes falling into slumber.
...
Meanwhile Angel walked along with Coeur towards the Slytherin Tower. They had done it, they had saved Sirius. She had to admit to herself she was somewhat disappointed at her cowardliness: she supposed that's why she wasn't in Gryffindor.
"Puridad" she mumbled and the chambers opened.
She entered the common room and found no one in there. She thanked Merlin they couldn't see her in this state. She noticed her room was empty, Astoria had left for her Christmas break. As she heard a squawk she learned that it wasn't as empty as she once thought. She saw that at her window was Fortis waiting for her annoyed. She walked over and took the scroll.
Dearest Angeline,
Your mother and I are suggesting that you strongly think about coming for Christmas and New Years. This is strongly suggested as you might have guessed. Your mother complains how it is not the same without her darling daughter and Draco missed you as a Quidditch opponent. Return as soon as possible I will get you a new familiar if necessary.
Love,
Your Father
She took out her suitcase and opened it knowing it was time to head home.
"Mew" she heard.
"We're heading home Coeur" she said.
Coeur mewed once more and she curled up in the bed. Angel began to pack everything and she mused aloud to her.
"You know maybe it was for the best." She said " I couldn't see myself being a Black, too awkward. We have a home"
Coeur mewed in content.
"I'm mad at you, you know" Angel said. "you abandoned me."
Coeur purred and she sat over the suitcase.
"Let's head home, " she said winking.
She walked over to her desk and took out a fresh scroll. She began to write a quick letter and took out a small box. As she finished she took out a green ribbon and tied it neatly.
"Fortis, do me a favor please?" she asked.
The big owl stared at her waiting.
"Give this to Harry Potter and no one else got it?" she asked. "After you do, leave before he gives you a correspondence and return home."
Fortis squawked and flew into the sky. And as Angel saw him leave, she closed the window shut and locked it. She grabbed the last of her things, and walked downstairs with Coeur in tow. As they reached the Floo Network, Angel smiled as Coeur hopped into her arms.
"Malfoy Manor" she said.
Immediately she closed her eyes and landed in her home. She felt the warmth immediately and dropped her bags. Coeur immediately hopped off and rushed towards the couch.
"Mistress Lili!" she heard a squeak.
She smiled at Twinkle and smiled.
"Good morning Twinkle" she replied.
"Twinkle will rush off and tell Mistress and Master about your arrival" she cheered.
"No need" Angel said. "They'll see me fine enough in the morning. You should go rest"
Twinkle nodded and popped away. Angel sighed and with a flick of her wand turned on the chimney fire. She sighed and climbed onto the warm couch and sighed in relief. A blanket was immediately conjured and she smiled thinking about how thoughtful Twinkle was. She tugged it and covered herself sighed.
Moments later a pair of feet shuffled through the house. He looked up and smiled seeing the fireplace on. Bags were on the floor, and Coeur was sleeping in a couch: she was here. He immediately walked towards the couch and saw her curled up in the couch.
"Angel" he whispered.
Angel's eyes opened slightly and she smiled.
"Hop in" she mumbled.
Draco smiled and climbed on the couch lying next to her. Angel placed her head on his shoulder and they shared a blanket.
"I missed you" he said wrapping his arms around his baby sister.
"Ditto" she replied.
They closed their eyes and fell asleep quickly, Angel's last thoughts being that she was finally home.
Morning…
Harry returned to his room after bidding goodbye to Professor Lupin and flying his new broom that Sirius had sent him. He was having a great day. He wondered where Angel was and how he hadn't seen her all day.
As he placed his broom down he noticed that Hedwig was glaring at the other side of the room menacingly. He immediately turned to see a large owl looking at him. Before he could say anything, the owl dropped the mail and flew away.
Harry walked towards it and picked it up. He noticed the bright green ribbon and unwrapped it to see a letter attached to the gift. He knew who it was from and smiled slightly.
Dearest Potter,
I just wanted to thank you for saving Sirius and saving me…for the second time. I have to say what I appreciate more is that you didn't let out my secret to anyone.
I don't want you to think we have a friendship or anything…we don't but I just wanted to show you that I know then to be grateful. I have a little thing for you that you might like.
Don't think much about this Potter and anything mushy that we said, never happened. Just so you know. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Angeline Malfoy-Black
P.S.- If you talk to me about this I will blankly deny it.
Harry smiled and felt his face warm up at her note. It was so like her. He opened the box and saw something unsuspecting: a pocket watch. It was simple and silver but what was interesting were the charms. It was a lion and a snake intertwined with one another.
"Thanks" he whispered to no one in particular.
He placed the gift in his pocket and smiled slightly.
"Hey Harry!" he heard Ron yelling from downstairs.
"What Ron!" Harry yelled in return.
"Up for a friendly match?"
Harry let out a toothy grin, grabbed his broom and ran downstairs. This had to be the greatest year so far.
Author's note: I really wanted to finish the book as fast as possible and I'm sorry if people were disappointed. I tried to make it as fitting as possible without it being too dramatic such as Angel telling Sirius and what not. It wasn't the time. Next chapters won't be next book..yet, but merely summer. Can't wait to read the reviews. NO FLAMES!.