14th November cont'd…
"Kathryn?" Madam Pomfery looked as though she had asked me a question.
"Sorry?" I came back down to earth again.
"You seem perfectly fine to me." She glanced over to George and Oliver and back to me again, "Here's something to prevent strain on your back in the morning." She handed me a tiny cup of an orange liquid. I downed it. The taste was revolting and it took everything I had not to throw it all back up again.
"Now, go up to the common room, get yourself a nice warm bath or shower and put on some dry clothes and head down early for dinner. You may go."
"Thank you." I stood and made my way towards the door not looking at anyone, trying to prevent further embarrassment.
"Kathryn?" Oliver called.
"Hmmm?" I turned to him.
He smiled, "Thanks for earlier, you're a good friend." I nodded to him and turned to leave again, "And Kathryn?" he got my attention again, "let George assist you to the common room, he'll get you that hot chocolate you were telling me about."
"I can walk up three flights of stairs on my own, you know." I put my hands on my hips.
Oliver smiled, "I insist."
So George stood and directed me towards the door and I waved over to Harry who was now looking comfy back in bed again.
"I'm not a child you know." I said to George.
"I think you may find that you are." He nudged me, "And sometimes it's okay to have someone walk with you and make sure you're alright."
"And bring me a hot chocolate." I rolled by eyes jokingly.
George shook his head and suggested, "Only if I can have one, too?"
"Sure." I smiled at him before Sir Cadogan was being a hassle telling me that George and I made a lovely couple and he would happily be the best man.
"I'm afraid that job has already been taken by Fred." George teased. "And I'm almost certain that Hermione and Ginny will be our bridesmaids." I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Yesterday George wouldn't have looked at me twice. What has him talking like this? There was something about George, though… From the day we met there has always been- I can't afford to think that way, not right now.
"If you two don't stop talking nonsense, you, George will be wearing something pink and frilly and you, Sir Cadogan will not be invited." I threatened. That shut him up. The portrait entrance to the common room was opened.
"Perhaps we will get married someday..." George said as he closed over the entrance.
"Perhaps. Depends if you're serious." I looked at him both my eyebrows raised and turned towards the girl's dorms. I looked over my shoulder to see a look of deep thought on his face.
He must have noticed me as he suggested, "Hot chocolate in an hour?"
I smiled and pointed to the ground, "See you here."
A little over an hour later I was completely dry with my hair and makeup sitting perfectly. George was standing in the exact spot I had pointed to with two mugs of hot chocolate in hand.
"Thanks!" I said before I took a sip. I wondered what my chances were of choking, my throat burning or some other whacky happening, given that I just accepted a drink from George Weasley. But all seemed to be just fine.
"I'm really sorry, Kathryn." George said. I wondered if I needed to spit out my drink. "I promised Lee that I would- I've got to go…" and just like that, he was gone.
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? I wondered to myself. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? I sat down beside Ginny who was chatting to a few of her friends.
"I recall you telling me that there was nothing happening between you and George…"
"There isn't." I sighed.
Later on that evening I went to visit Harry at the Hospital Wing.
"What are you doing here?" Oliver saw me first, he was dressed in his normal clothes, sitting on the edge of his bed, seemingly ready to get back to normal life. Bones healed surprisingly quickly in the wizarding world!
"Am I not allowed to visit Harry?" I asked in such a way that threatened his response, "Besides, Ron and Hermione have had another fight. Ron is sulking in the dorms with Dean and Seamus and Hermione is-"
"In the library?" Harry finished my sentence. Our two friends were so predictable.
If Oliver wasn't sitting down I would have sworn he would have taken a step back, "I just thought you'd be with George, that's all." He spoke calmly.
"Well, he just left me like every other-"
"I'm going to find him." Oliver added before I could finish my sentence and with that, he was gone. It was just Harry and I left in the wing.
"Can I tell you something?" he looked sincerely into my eyes.
I smiled, "Anything."
"I saw the grim again, just before I had my accident. That's the second time I've seen it and nearly died as a result."
"Well, you've cheated death a few times now, Harry. Here's hoping it'll give up." I rubbed his shoulder gently.
"I'm being serious, Kathryn. Professor Trelawney even predicted-"
"You don't believe in that Codswallop, do you?"
"I'm beginning to think I should."
I rolled my eyes. Not intentionally, though. "Honestly Harry, Voldemort tried and failed to kill you. This grim has tried, Dementors have tried. Yet no one has managed to do the deed." I poked him in the arm, "What are you? Made of steel? Covered by some protective spell?"
"Cursed?" he suggested.
I snorted, "Definitely, 'Harry Potter, the boy who was cursed' if anything, I should be blessed with the title 'Kathryn Pink, the girl who is damned to a life of sorrow and misery'! Come on Harry, you know us, we can survive anything."
He smiled a little, nudging me, "You know us." Then his face grew more serious, "It's my mum I can hear screaming, when the Dementors come. I think that's getting to me the most…"
I suddenly had an idea, "Remember when Professor Lupin did that spell on the train?"
"That made the Dementors go away?"
"What if you learnt how to perform it?"
18th December
A lot has happened over the past month:
1) Lupin promised to teach Harry the Dementor repelling spell after the holidays.
2) Draco was mocking Harry for falling of his broom, Ron snapped and threw a crocodile heart at his face. (He lost 50 points for Gryffindor but it was SO worth it.)
3) I got an O in my Muggle Studies essay!
4) Lupin finally taught us about Hinkypunks and told us to ignore Snape's essay. (Yay!)
5) Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff in their next Quidditch match, giving Gryffindor a better chance to win the house cup after all.
6) Ron and Hermione have decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas with Harry and me.
7) Today is our trip to Hogsmede.
The three of us felt horrible leaving Harry behind as we walked towards Hogsmede. We decided then and there that we would each buy him an extra Christmas present. Our first stop was Tomes and Scrolls, where Ron helped me pick out a book about Quidditch for Harry. 'The Best and the Worst of: Quidditch' was the chosen one, it included all the common teams, best and worst players of all time and popular tournaments. Hermione bought a number of books in the time Ron and I managed to find one.
The next stop was Honeydukes, the place we were most excited to go. The smell of sweet treats hit us as soon as the door opened. About half the school was in there, but we couldn't resist the temptation any longer. We each lifted paper bags and began to fill them up. I got a wide selection, including: Charm Choc, Glacial Snow Flakes, No Melt Ice-Cream, Pixie Puffs, Shock-o-Choc, Jelly Slugs and some Wizochoc. I turned to find Ron and Hermione with, if you can believe it, fuller bags than mine.
"What about these for Harry?" Ron suggested.
"The blood lollies? I'm almost sure those are for vampires, Ronald." Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"What about the acid pops?" I pointed to the dish beside me.
"They look lovely." Harry's voice sounded from behind me.
Ron and Hermione nearly jumped out of their skins at the sight of Harry, who should have been at Hogwarts. Hermione started her rant about how he shouldn't have snuck out and how dangerous it was and how if he got hurt no one would have known where he was. Ron looked stunned and wanted to know how he managed to do it.
"It's good to see you." I whispered into his ear during all the commotion.
When the other two finally decided to calm down, Harry told us about the Marauder's Map which he had received from Fred and George less than an hour before. The map could only be read if you said 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' and tapped your wand on the piece of parchment. Then when you are finished, you have to tap the map and say, 'Mischief Managed'. It's a map of the school and its grounds that lets you see what everyone is doing in Hogwarts, every minute of every day.
"COOL." Ron was very excited, but also exasperated that his brothers hadn't passed it on to him.
Hermione started ranting again. This time it was about how dangerous the map would be if it got into the wrong hands. The hands of Sirius Black, for example. She had a very good point. But I wasn't about to play mother and tell Harry what to do. If he wanted advice, he would come to me. The idea of the map was a great one, but at the same time, it was a bit creepy to think that Fred and George could have followed my movements throughout the castle. But I tried to move that from the forefront of my mind. Besides, Harry was in Hogsmede for the first time, we had to show him around.
Hermione took the lead, as always, showing Harry the closest sights, but he hadn't a coat and it was freezing. "Shall we get a butterbeer?" she suggested after hearing just how load his teeth were chattering. We were all in agreement, well, I wasn't going to get a butterbeer, that was for sure. Not after last time. When we got there, Hermione and I guarded Harry from direct sight of others and found a more secluded table whilst Ron ordered drinks. He returned with 3 butterbeers and something fruity and warm, it was far more drinkable.
Harry nearly choked when he saw Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Hagrid and the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge enter the pub. The worst thing was, they came and sat at the table right beside us. Hermione, being Hermione thought of a plan and moved the Christmas tree behind the table to in front, blocking us from immediate view. Harry scrambled under the table, holding his now empty tankard, praying that he wouldn't be seen. He kept hitting my leg under the table, it was rather annoying actually until I worked out exactly what he was whispering.
"Invisibilia, Kathryn."
"I can't do it for too long, it's exhausting you know. You'll end up carrying me back to Hogwarts."
"Just do it." He kept prodding my leg until I took a hold of his hand, under the table, and made him invisible. From that moment on, we overheard a juicy topic of conversation coming from the teacher's table where Madam Rosmerta had now joined them.
"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
Fudge was rather short with his answer, "I'm sure of it."
You could tell she was frustrated, "Dementors have searched my pub twice! They're really bad for business."
"They are there to protect you from much, much worse…" Fudge claimed, "We all know what Black's capable of."
"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," Madam Rosmerta said thoughtfully, "Of all the people to go to the Dark side, Sirius Black was the last I would have thought… I mean, I remember him as a boy at Hogwarts…"
"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta…" Fudge muttered, "the worst he did isn't too widely known."
"The worst?" Madam Rosmerta's voice rose in curiosity, "What could possibly be worse than murdering all those poor people?"
"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta?" Professor McGonagall spoke at a whisper, "Do you remember who his best friend was?"
"Naturally," Rosmerta snorted slightly, "never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had seen the two of them in here. They were quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"
Harry dropped his tankard with a large clunk. His grip on my hand tightened as he let out an almighty gasp. I was the only person able to hear, thankfully- an advantage of being an invisibilia. You can walk around completely undetected and no one can hear you, should you choose.
"Precisely," McGonagall confirmed, "Black and Potter were inseparable. Both very bright, exceptionally bright, in fact. I don't think we've ever had quite a pair of troublemakers!"
"I dunno abou' tha'," chuckled Hagrid, "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money!"
"You would have thought Black and Potter were brothers, you never had one without the other- completely inseparable as you said Minerva." Professor Flitwick added.
"Of course they were," Fudge concurred, "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how that idea would torment him."
I had both eyes of Ron and Hermione on me as I felt Harry's grip loosen and shudder. There was no doubt that Harry hadn't taken the news well. None of us had. The look of shock on Ron's face and the single tear in Hermione's eye was only a slice of what Harry was feeling. Sirius Black was best friends with his father, there could be no greater deception than to betray your friends… I grabbed onto Harry's hand just that little bit tighter.
"Not many know that the Potters knew that You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore who was working tirelessly against You-Know-Who had a number of useful spies who got word to James and Lily immediately and they went into hiding. Dumbledore told them their best chance was the Fidelius charm."
I saw Hermione nod beside me.
Clearly Rosmerta was confused as Professor Flitwick explained, "It's an immensely complicated spell, involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information would then be hidden inside the 'Secret Keeper' and would be impossible to find unless the Secret Keeper chose to divulge it. So You-Know-Who could have his nose on their sitting room window and not see them!"
"So was Black the Potter's Secret Keeper?" Rosmerta confirmed the thought in all our minds.
"Naturally." Fudge confirmed, "James Potter said that Black would rather die than tell him where they were. But I do remember Dumbledore being worried."
Rosmerta's curiosity continued, "Did Dumbledore suspect Black?"
"It was suspected that someone on our side had been feeding information to You-Know-Who for some time…" Professor McGonagall sighed.
"But Potter insisted on using Black?"
"He did," Fudge said heavily, "It seemed as though Black had it all planned, as the Fidelius Charm had been broken in less than I week… But as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. With his powers gone, You-Know-Who was horribly weakened and he fled. This left Black in a very nasty position indeed. He had no choice but to run for it-"
"I met him!" Hagrid growled so loudly that half the pub went silent. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me who rescued Harry from Lily and James' house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead… an' Black turns up on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. He was white an' shakin' he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared. "An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, I'm his godfather' but I was on strict orders from Dumbledore so I was, to bring Harry to his aunt an' uncles'. He eventually gave in an' told me ter take his motorbike. I shoulda known there was something' fishy goin' on then... He loved th' bike. An' Harry was their bes' friend's son!"
There was a long silence after Hagrid's story. Ron, Hermione and I stared at each other not knowing what to say.
"But he didn't escape! The Ministry caught up with him the next day." Rosmerta said almost gleefully.
"Alas, it was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew, another of Potter's friends."
"A little lump of a boy, hero-worshipped Black and Potter. Probably so overturned by grief he went after Black himself…" McGonagall added, "I was always quite sharp with him; you can imagine how I regret that now…" It sounded as though she was about to cry.
"Now, now Minerva," Fudge said kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. He went for his wand, but Black was faster. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens."
"Foolish boy… He was never good at duelling." McGonagall sniffled.
"I will never forget the day." Fudge added thoughtfully, "Crater in the middle of the street, cracked sewer, bodies… everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, covered in blood, a few fragments-"
Hermione reached for the tissue in her pocket. Ron had gone a new shade of white. I felt myself shaking as I moved to sit on the ground beneath me. I wrapped my arms around Harry, who was now in floods of tears. I held him tight and didn't let go.
"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta." Fudge concluded, "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was of some comfort to his poor mother."
"Is it true he's mad, Minister?" Rosmerta asked.
"I wish I could say he was. On my last inspection of Azkaban, you couldn't make much sense of any of the prisoners, but Black… He spoke quite rationally to me. I was so shocked at how normal he seemed. It was really quite unnerving. I was astounded on the little effect the Dementors appeared to have on him. He was the most heavily guarded prisoner, Dementors outside his door, day and night."
"What do you think he's broken out to do, Minister?" Rosmerta took a sharp inhale, "Good gracious, you don't think he's going to try and re-join You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I think that will be his, er- eventual plan…" Fudge said ambiguously, "But we do hope to find Black long before then."
I heard the clink of glass on table, "Perhaps we should make our way back up to the Castle, Minister if you're to be dining with the headmaster." McGonagall spoke, standing to put her coat back on and within a minute they were gone. It was only then that Ron and Hermione could see the look of utter devastation on Harry's face.
"I think we should go…"