Again, studying for the OWLs took up most of my little spare time. I still went to the patronus lessons with Harry and Remus, though I really hadn't progressed much. Thankfully, Harry seemed to be handling the dementor/boggart better, but still, he hadn't produced as strong a patronus as I had which seemed to be really frustrating him. I hoped it was something else, though. The two of us would leave the lessons worn to the bone, ready to just fall into our beds. Tonight, though, I left almost immediately so I could get back to my classwork.
I was so grateful that Harper was back with me. Studying went so much easier when I had someone to study with. She told me all about her holiday with her family, but she had an awful time doing her work during the break.
"I swear, Delly," She groaned as we sat on my bed to study during the second week back. "They wanna kill us! This is entirely too much stuff to do. I think my brain might just turn to mush."
Chuckling at the memory of her over-dramatic reaction to a rather difficult assignment from Charms, I looked over my books, trying to remember what I needed to get done and when. I always try to get my assignments done at least by the night before they're due, but due to the increasing difficulty of them, it made it way more difficult to keep track.
"Ah, Care needs to be done!" I exclaimed, shoving a few books and pages of parchment out of the way. I scratched at the spine of my book, then stroked the same path. The almost alive book flickered its eyes closed, enjoying how kind I was to it, before flopping open.
I was halfway through my work about Horklumps, which were oddly boring even though they have many uses as an ingredient for potions when I noticed the common room had gotten a bit livelier. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Harry finally returning to the tower, but with his broom over his shoulder.
As nearly everyone rushed over to Harry, I noticed Neville sneak past the group looking dejected.
"Nev!" I called, waving him over when we made eye contact. "What's wrong Neville?"
He heaved a sigh as he slid into the seat next to me. "I couldn't remember that spell you taught me, and with Cadogan, I can't remember all of the crazy passwords. I wrote down this week's list, but…"
My shoulders sagged and I gave an exasperated sigh. "You lost the list of the passwords, didn't you?"
"I don't know why I'm so bloody forgetful!" He put his head in his hands, and I just knew he felt awful about this.
I put my hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Nev, we can figure out an easier way for you to keep track of them. It's not the end of the world." He looked up at me looking slightly hopeful.
Since Neville was right here, I decided to ask for some help with my Herbology homework, and he immediately perked up, going on about Fanged Geraniums in delight. About fifteen minutes later, I was finished with the Herbology in record time, and I actually retained some of the information thanks to Neville. I just knew he would make an amazing professor one day. I closed my book as Neville made to leave the table and Harper took his place. All of the sudden an awful yell echoed down from the boy's stairs. Everyone was silenced, looking up and over at the staircase as someone loudly blundered down them.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOUR RUDDY CAT DID!" Ron bellowed as he finally reached the common room with what I would assume was his sheets in his hand, as he shook them around in the air as he stomped over to poor Hermione.
"Can she not catch a break from that hothead?" I groaned making Harper snicker.
"Ron, I don't-" Hermione looked so confused.
"Blood! It's his blood! And this was on the floor!" Ron yelled as everyone in the common room sat in silence, watching this painfully awkward situation play out. Ron took another step forward just to toss something onto Hermione's book.
Now, she looked nearly white as a ghost. When she didn't say anything, Ron turned and stormed back up to the dorms. Again, Harry would be caught in the middle of his two best friends' awful fighting.
Harper shifted her papers and books around, drawing my attention back to our work. "There's nothin' she could've done, honestly. Kneazles can get out of nearly any pen ya' put 'em into. Havin' a cat and rat on the pet list together was a dumb decision. I'm surprised that Ryker didn't eat the rat before Crooks did." She quietly commented, pulling the feathered end of her quill through her index finger and thumb. "Though, now that I think 'bout it, that rat was scraggly and gross lookin'."
"Don't say that around Ron," I grinned across at her. "He might just lose it."
We both laughed for a bit, but after a slightly bossy comment from me, we got back at the insane workload.
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I don't understand how students get through this mess. I had so much to do in each class that I barely got any sleep, maybe three to four hours a night. I was very aware that I looked like I was half-dead, and during meals, I would eat enough to quiet my stomach, then proceed to nap with my head leaned onto my folded arms. The twins would nudge me awake once it was time to leave, making light jokes about my naps as we walked. Well…as they walked, I shuffled my feet, yawning behind my hand as I followed behind them.
On our way to Care of Magical Creatures, I had apparently zoned out pretty badly. One moment, I'm staring down at my feet as I shuffled, the next moment I was tackled to the ground with a loud exclamation of "Bloody hell!" bursting from my lips.
Harper's laughter rung out around us, joined shortly after by the twins. "Sorry, Delly! I didn't think you'd fall over."
"Well, she never did claim to have good balance," Fred commented helping Harper up.
George laughed. "Yeah, your failed attempt at a false step proved she did in fact not have the best balance." He added as he offered me his hand, which I took while I glared at his laughing face.
"Oi! We don't talk about that step, Georgie!" Fred griped.
"Anyway," Cutting in, Harper linked her arm with mine. "Are you gunna be goin' to the Quidditch match tomorrow, Delly? I hear it's gunna be a great one."
"Course it will"
"We'll be playing"
"So it's bound to be great!" the twins both exclaimed boastfully.
I shook my head at their antics, then looked at Harper. "Well, I guess. I just need to be sure I've got everything done classwork-wise beforehand."
"We had better see you there, Dels," Fred informed me with a grin.
"After all," George flung his arm over my shoulders from my right, "We're good friends now, right?"
I smirked at him mischievously, "Well, I don't know about that, George. Maybe I want to go to the game just to see Wood's ass in those tight pants."
Harper burst out laughing while George gasped, flinging himself away from me. "I'm hurt, Dels! My heart aches at your poisonous words!"
Fred held his brother like he was comforting him, "Now, how will we focus on our classwork, and the practice later today? Oh, woe is us!" He wailed dramatically.
I shook my head at their antics, yet again. As we neared Hagrid's hut I smiled at the two. "I wouldn't miss you two playing for the world, honestly. I'll even take a pepper-up potion to stay awake, promise!"
The twins' bright grins had goosebumps ghosting across my skin, which confused me a good bit, but I didn't dwell on it. What I didn't notice was the look that crawled its way across Harper's face at that moment. I had no idea of the scheme she had brewing in that crazy mind of hers.
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The Great Hall was bursting with life the next morning, as was typical on a Quidditch morning. The house pride displayed at each table was nearly enough to give one a headache, what with the oceans of house colors and all.
Of course, I sported the red and gold with pride, wearing an old button-up jacket of Remus'.
"It is so soft!" I said for about the millionth time this morning.
Harper groaned, "We know, Delly, we know." Her patience was really limited this morning since she had been up nearly all night working on assignments.
Suddenly, the entire hall broke out into slightly louder, excited chatter. I looked up to see Harry walking in with what looked to be every boy from Gryffindor's third year. Wood started bragging about the stats of the Firebolt, his voice echoing over the others' as he congratulated Harry on receiving the broom yet again. The entire Slytherin table looked just about as sour-faced as they could. Their Quidditch team seemed to be huddled together, trying to figure out how to handle this new development.
"I bet they're happy that they aren't the ones facing Harry today." Ginny was practically gushing praise of Harry and the Firebolt with every sentence that left her mouth.
"Not to stick up for the snakes," I said as I grabbed a piece of cinnamon toast. "but if they had a skilled enough player, they could still catch the snitch before Harry. No offense, cousin dear." I added the last bit, smiling over at Harry, who was seated down the table a bit.
His brows pulled together in confusion. "Cousin? What do you mean?"
"Well, I figured we may as well be cousin's," I took a quick bite of my toast, then continued, "Remus was best friends with your father after all."
This time, his brows shot upwards. "What?! All he told me was that he knew him."
I grimaced slightly. Oops… "Ah…well…Time to get outside, right Harper?!" I quickly hefted her up, dragging her away from her eggs with an indignant cry from her. "Got to get some prime seats! Go Gryffindor, am I right?!"
When we had made it outside, the cool breeze blowing our hair away from our faces just slightly, I finally slowed, sighing in relief.
"What in Sam Hill's name was that about?!" Harper huffed, glaring at me, though it didn't hold any malice. "You just pulled me away from those freakin' awesome fried eggs, so you'd better have a damn good reason, missy!"
I squirmed under her frustrated gaze. "I may or may not have just told Harry something about Remus that Remus hadn't."
"You didn't tell him," Harper glanced around like she was looking to see who was around to listen, then whispered, "I mean, you didn't let slip that your pops has a big, fuzzy problem, did you?!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. "What? How did-?"
She held up her hands in a 'calm down' manner. "I may not act like the brightest person, but I noticed when he was missin' from class. I, for one, don't give a crap about it. He's an excellent teacher, and considerin' you're still alive 'n kickin', he can't be too bad." She shrugged dismissively.
Letting go of the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, I wrapped Harper up in a tight hug. "Harper, you have no idea how much that means to me."
"Alright, alright!" Laughing, she pulled loose from the hug, and we both continued walking down to the Quidditch pitch. "Besides, he's not too bad to look at, either."
"Oh, ew!" I shoved at her, laughing at her as she stuck her tongue out at me.
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The match started with a roar of applause and cheers from every house. Red and gold blurring together with blue and bronze as they shot about in the air. As per usual, Lee's commentary was exquisite, and poor McGonagall was kept busy keeping Lee focused on the match. Harry and Cho Chang, Ravenclaw's seeker, seemed evenly matched, at least until Harry actually used his Firebolt like he should. I wasn't too knowledgeable about brooms, but watching Harry bolt around on that Firebolt made me want to try it out myself.
A good while into the match, George got off a hard hit on a bludger, aiming at the beater that had just hit the other bludger at Harry. The Ravenclaw player rolled on his broom and looked pretty well shaken up from that maneuver.
"Ay! That a boy Georgie!" I shouted with my hands cupped around my mouth. I barely saw the corners of his mouth pull up into a grin before he was flying off to defend Katie from Ravenclaw's second beater.
Harper nudged me, then wiggled her eyebrows at me when I looked over at her.
"What?" I asked as I looked back out at the pitch.
"Nothin', Delly." Her smirk said otherwise, but she didn't say anything else.
The next thing I knew, I saw a bolt of bright, silvery light shoot from the sky down at the pitch. My eyes darted up to see that it was Harry that cast the spell, the patronus spell at that, but then he shot further down to catch the snitch. Confirming that he was alright, I looked back down to the ground.
"Those aren't dementors!" I cried, pointing down at the struggling masses of black robes.
"What are they then?" Harper asked, her eyes squinting to try to make out what they were.
As the stands emptied onto the pitch, I pulled Harper along with me. I spotted Remus close to Harry as we got closer ourselves.
"What were those things?" I called out to Remus over the noise. I would guess that he had just told Harry that the 'dementors' weren't actually that, judging by the confused look on Harry's face. My question was answered by Remus pointing through the crowd. There at the edge of the field was Malfoy and friends finally untangling themselves from the massive robes they were covered with, and McGonagall was standing nearby with her arms crossed and her face that of pure fury.
"Oh-ho!" Harper began to laugh, shaking her head at the absolutely awful attempt to throw off Harry's concentration. "They are gunna be in heaps of trouble!"
"Yes," Said Remus as he motioned to Dumbledore, who was swiftly making his way over to the pile of Slytherins. "They are." At that, Remus grinned down at me, ruffled Harry's hair, then wandered off into the crowd.
Harry was gone shortly after, so Harper and I decided to squeeze our way out of all the celebrating teens.
As soon as we made our way out of the mess, I felt an arm slide across my shoulders. "Joining us for the party in the common room, yes Delly?" Again, Harper wiggled her brows at me, then she turned away, leaving me with George.
What was with her strange behavior? Shaking it off, I looked sideways and up at the twin. "Wouldn't dream of missing it- Oomph!" Suddenly I was being lifted up and over someone's shoulder. I struggled to keep my jacket and shirt from riding up as I was dangled upside down, and I was severely thankful I pretty much always wear jeans when out of uniform. "Fred! Put me down!"
"No can do, Dellykins!" He informed me, and George laughed as he walked along behind his brother, flicking my hair around as Fred tromped up to the tower.
Finally, as Fred ducked down into the common room, which was already filled with loud, excited chatter, he decided to sit me down on the couch by the fire.
About halfway through the journey, I had given up on trying to get down and kept tossing color-changing spells at George. After being sat down, I admired my handy work. George huffed, but still grinned at me. His Quidditch uniform shirt was about seven different colors, not including the original house colors.
It didn't take long for the party to take over the entirety of Gryffindor tower, and it kept on well into the night. The twins disappeared at one point for a good while, just to come back with sweets, butterbeers, and pumpkin fizz. Taking a bottle of fizz from Fred, I asked him how they were able to get these things.
He grinned, reminding me of a Cheshire cat, "With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." He whispered in my ear, before disappearing into the mass of Gryffindors.
I, however, couldn't move from the spot I was standing in. How did he know those names? Those names that Remus himself hadn't uttered in ages. I didn't have time to think on it, though, because shortly after, McGonagall broke everything up telling everyone to head off to bed.
As I slept, I had that strange dream again. I was running through the forest as fast as I could, this time, though, I made it through the branches. I ran across the grounds with the creature from the forest chasing after me, something in me told me that I knew what it was that was chasing me. This time, the huge black dog appeared alongside the other thing…wait, was that a werewolf? I had chanced a glance backward, but seeing the werewolf had caused me to stumble. I landed in a heap on the ground. I woke with a jolt because just as the two giant canine creatures lunged at me, a loud wail broke through from reality.
"Wha's goin' on?" Harper sleepily asked, before yawning.
I shrugged, not trusting my voice. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise that sounded like a door slamming shut. That seemed to snap Harper out of her half-asleep state. We looked at each other, then nodded. Bounding to the door, we rushed out into the common room.
A few students were already there, including a crazed looking Ron and his either terrified or confused dorm mates.
"I tell you, he was right there!" Ron cried out.
From behind us, I heard one of the twins ask if we were carrying on with the party. Next, Percy came into view, looking ruffled as he pinned on his stupid Head Boy badge.
"It was Sirius Black!" This time Ron sounded about like he was going to faint. "Perce, he was in our room! He had a knife, and he was standing over me!"
At that, everyone fell silent. I suddenly felt a presence right behind me, looking to see Fred and George with the most serious expressions that I had ever seen on their faces.
"Ronald, really," Percy scoffed, "You just had a nightmare."
Just as Ron was about to protest, we heard a severely irritated voice join the fray. "This is getting ridiculous! This was to have ended hours ago! Percy, I expected better of you as Head Boy!"
"Ron just had a nightmare, Professor," Percy defended himself, "I was just telling them all to get back to bed."
"I DIDN'T HAVE A NIGHTMARE!" Ron shouted, drawing everyone's attention to him. "He was there, Professor, Sirius Black was standing over me with a knife!"
"Don't be ridiculous," McGonagall looked the tiniest bit shaken at Ron's outburst, but she remained firm. "How would Black have been able to enter the tower?"
"Ask Cadogan!" He pointed at the back of the painting. "He would know!"
The Professor pursed her lips, eyeing Ron skeptically for a moment before doing just as he suggested. She opened the portrait hole, and turned around the edge of it. "Sir Cadogan, did you let anyone other than a student into Gryffindor Tower, just a moment ago?" She asked.
"Why, yes I did!" He replied cheerfully.
It was as if all of the air had been sucked from the common room. Everyone stared terrified at the opening and the back of the portrait.
"Wha- Why did you let the person in, might I ask?" By the sound of McGonagall's voice, she was feeling just as scared as we were. "What- what about the passwords?!"
"Why, he had every password I've used this week, dear lady!" Cadogan sounded so proud of himself. "Had them all on a little piece of parchment, he did!"
McGonagall slowly entered back into the common room, looking white as a ghost. "Who…Which one of you was so foolish as to write down the passwords and leave them lying around?!"
My heart sank as I found Neville's shaking form looking down at the floor. He lifted his hand painfully slowly. McGonagall pulled him outside to talk with him, and I hoped she wouldn't be too harsh.
I, however, felt so vulnerable here in the common room. Black may be focused on Harry, but he surely didn't like Remus after his sentencing. He also might decide that since I had survived the attack on my family, that I needed to be taken care of as well. I mean, Voldemort had to have had a reason to do the damage he had done to my family, so why wouldn't he want me taken out as well. If Black was truly one of the Death Eaters, then he would finish up his lord's dirty work, wouldn't he...
My breathing was coming out in short, uneven puffs when I felt rough fingers intertwine with my own, smaller ones. We weren't even safe in our own beds anymore, but something about those two hands had made me feel safer.
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**edited**