Chapter 17: Trouble With Dementors
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It was the day after they got back to the dorms, when Harry finally got all the statements done about Buckbeak and want had happened in Care of Magical Creatures class. Yeah, everybody in Gryffindor signed it. That had been in the class, anyway. He even had a few from the Slytherin side that didn't like Draco Malfoy and thought he was a prima donna. He took them to Phil so he could give them to his friend, who would then pass it on to his father.
"Here you go, Phil. I got those signatures that you asked for," Harry said, handing over the statement. They were walking down the hallway and were between classes.
"How many did you get?" Phil asked, looking over the two pieces of parchment. One had signatures on it and the other had the statement. It looked to be just what he needed. Even if it was poorly done since it was done by a teenager. Then Harry handed him a third piece of parchment.
"Well, I got everybody on the Gryffindor side to sign it. They were more than happy to do it. Nobody there likes Malfoy and they wanted to tell the truth about it. And I even got a few of the Slytherins to sign it. They don't like Malfoy either. And of course, Hagrid gave his own statement of what happened. I had him write it in his own handwriting, but his English isn't that good," the younger teen said, pointing to the third parchment. It had taken him a while to get Hagrid to make that statement. He had to talk to him for quite a while and make him understand that he needed to do this to save Buckbeak's life.
"That's even better because it sounds like he wasn't coached," Phil assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder as they walked.
"Oh, okay, good," Harry said, looking around and seeing where he was. He had a free period next and needed to get to Quidditch practice.
"Thanks. I'll get this to my friend's father, and we'll see what we can do about saving your friend, Buckbeak. I wouldn't worry too much about Hagrid's job. Dumbledore is pretty good about keeping people hired on," the older teen said, putting all the parchment in his backpack and getting ready to get to his next NEWT class.
"Okay, well I gotta go practice for quidditch. Woods got us practicing in this weather just in case it doesn't let up," Harry said with a look of despair as he glanced out the window, seeing the torrents of rain coming down.
With that the two parted their separate ways.
It was going on November 8th and coming up to the time when they were supposed to be playing Slytherin for Quidditch, but Draco Malfoy was complaining so much about his arm that they were going to be playing Hufflepuff. Wood was in such a state because he had to completely rework his strategy. Harry didn't care. He was worried about playing in the weather that didn't seem to be changing. It was storming out.
And even though they had caught Pettigrew, the dementors were still around the school. Which means they hadn't cleared Black yet.
The day of the game came, and there was a big storm out. The rain was coming down in sheets and there was thunder and lightning everywhere. You could barely see anything, let alone hear anything. The thunder was crashing so loud.
"Are we gonna be playing in this?" Harry asked as a huge thunderclap sounded throughout the changing room. It was so loud that a few people put their hands over their ears just to keep it from hurting them.
"It looks like," Wood said, but even he looked grim. Even the quidditch fanatic that he was, didn't want to play in this type of weather.
"They're not going to call the game because of the weather?" asked Angelina, who, besides Harry, was one of the smaller players and was very worried about getting tossed around in the winds that were going on outside. Brooms were not conducive in keeping one steady in the air.
"No. If they play like this in the professionals, they're gonna play like this for us," said Wood. He too looked worried about them playing in these types of conditions. He could see the two small players just getting hurt out there.
"But we are just a bunch of kids," said Harry. He wasn't sure how Millie would feel about this.
"Look, they're not going to call the game. We're just going to have to deal with this," said Wood, making slashing motions with his hands because there was nothing he could do about it besides forfeit the game himself, and he wasn't going to do that. He had never forfeited it a game before, and he wasn't about to do it now.
With that, they all got bundled up together and got ready to face the storm. It was a howling storm, and Harry could barely see out of his glasses. Hermione had put an impervious charm on them, but the water still kept running off of the glasses, and he could barely see. The game went on. And he did see the snitch. So he went after it, and it seemed to climb higher and higher, and it got colder and colder, and it wasn't until too late that he realized that there was a dementor there.
He heard a lady scream. And he got so cold. And he heard his parents, and the last minutes of their life. And he passed out and fell from his broom. And that's the last thing he remembered.
He woke up in the hospital wing, surrounded by his friends and Phil and Amy. The team was off to the side, like they wanted news and had been left hanging in place of his closer friends.
Millie was also there, but she was talking with the nurse.
"Millie," he called, in a thready voice. He was happy to see her, but he just couldn't seem to raise his voice above a small croak.
"Oh, Harry, are you okay? Of course, you're not okay. I mean, how are you feeling?" Millie said. As she came over to him. She had been talking to Madam Pomfrey, who said it was a miracle that he was alive. But he was okay. He was going to be staying in the hospital for the weekend. Just for observations. He had had pneumonia because they had been playing in the weather and he had hurt his back even though Dumbledore had caught his fall.
Madam Pomfrey had cured it all, but she wanted to keep an eye on him anyway. The other players had all gotten Pepper up potions as well, to stave off the pneumonia, most of them had better constitutions than Harry. The audience had been protected with a barrier against the weather.
"Cold. Scared. What happened?" Harry asked, looking around at everybody's faces and happy to see that they were all there for him. The last thing he remembered was hearing his mum begging for his life, the yelling of the Killing Curse and a man's hideous laughter. And that was kinda scary. He was going to have to talk to Millie about that, but he didn't want to have to unburden it in front of all of his friends. He really needed to learn the Patronus Charm.
"The dementors came, and they knocked you off your broom. I am so angry at Dumbledore, you would not believe how angry I am right now," she said, grabbing his hand and holding it tight. She almost hurt his hand with how tight she was grabbing it. She was that angry, but she relaxed and just held on to it gently.
"Why would the dementors be on the pitch? I thought they were supposed to stay outside of the grounds," Harry asked as his friends let the two sorta siblings talk. They did seem to be going back and forth as they watched the two have their conversation, but they were keeping out of it for the moment.
"They don't know why they were on the pitch. Some say that it was the excitement of all the children that drew them there. I don't know either. All I know is I'm going to be having words with the minister about this. You are a national icon and you almost got Kissed. And that's not what I'm upset about. You're not a national icon to me, but I'm going to milk it for every bit it's worth, yeah," Millie said with an evil smirk on her lips. Now that she was the guardian of the Boy-Who-Lived, she was going to use that for all she was worth. She'd ask him first, of course. Like she was doing right now. In a roundabout way.
"You do what you have to do," Harry said, he loved it when she got devious.
"You bet your sweet arse I am, yeah" she said. She loved it when he agreed with her. They seem to be of like minds sometimes.
"Oh, Harry, I was so worried," said Hermione. She just couldn't take being left out anymore. She had to get her feelings out there. She was just going to burst. There were tears pouring down her face now that she knew her friend, best friend, was okay.
"I was too, mate," said Dean. His sentiments were echoed by the rest of his friends as they all patted Harry on the arm or whatever part of his body that they could reach.
"I think we all were," said Phil, reaching over and ruffling Harry's hair.
"How did I survive the fall?" asked Harry once everybody got through touching him. He looked around and saw there were all sorts of presents everywhere. He didn't know who all these people were that were sending him gifts, but he was happy for it, he guessed.
"Well, I cast the Patronus as well as Amy and a few others. There must have been ten on the field. I've been busy in the common room. Even Dumbledore cast one and he also was the one who prevented you from falling to your death. Anyway, there were quite a few Patronuses on the field, and then Dumbledore's prevented you from falling. And that's how you survived," Phil said, using wide hand gestures to show just how many Patronuses were on the field and how wild it was at the time that Harry was falling, and how scared they all been that he was going to die.
"You're going to teach me that spell," said three different people. Millie, Harry, and Hermione. Then they looked at each other and nodded firmly. They were going to learn this charm, and they were going to do it together.
"Not a problem. I'll teach it all to everybody I can. We'll have a little group," Phil said, chuckling at their determination.
"What happened to my broom?" Harry asked, looking around and not seeing it anywhere. He thought maybe they had taken it to his dorm room.
"Well, we didn't really care about your broom at the time, so it just kind of flew away into the Whomping Willow and was smashed to pieces," Amy said, with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh, well, what am I gonna use to play my next game with?" Harry asked, a bit downtrodden that he didn't have a broom to play on, but not too broke up over it. It wasn't like he bought the broom. Then again, it was a gift and one of the first gifts he had ever received, so he should feel a little broke up over it.
"Don't worry, I'll get you another broom, yeah. That, and you have plenty of money to get one for yourself, but I'll buy this one for you," Millie said, reaching over and ruffling his hair.
"Why don't we split the cost?" said Harry, knowing that he has more money than she did. Even though her shop was doing really well.
"We can do that," said Millie, more than happy to split the cost with him.
"Who won the game?" Harry asked, the thought just coming to his brain. It really was the last thing on his mind, but he did notice that Wood was not in the room.
"They called the game right before Cedric caught the snitch," Angelina said as the team came over to enter the conversation.
"Yeah, they thought he won for a minute, but they called it. So, we're going to have to replay the game," Katie added, getting excited that they were going to have to replay the game.
"Oh, that's too bad," Harry said, feeling bad for Cedric that he had the victory taken away from him just when he thought he had it.
"Why do you say that? Shouldn't you be happy that they called it?" Fred asked, wondering why the boy was upset that Hufflepuff didn't win.
"No, it's just that he went through all that trouble to catch the snitch. He should have the win," Harry tried to explain himself.
"Well, I don't agree with you," said Fred, puffing his chest out a little bit. "I think we should play it on better terms."
"And in better weather," said George, matching his brother's movements.
"I guess you're right," said Harry, slumping down in his pillows a little bit. He was getting tired now.
Having worked out all the important things, they settled down and talked about inane things for a while just to relax.
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It been over two weeks since they caught Pettigrew and the dementors were still hanging around the school. Not that anybody knew they'd caught Pettigrew except for Harry, Phil, and Amy. And possibly Susan. But Harry was still confused as to why the dementors were still around the school.
"I don't understand, Phil. What's going on? Why haven't they taken the dementors away when they know Sirius Black is innocent?" Harry asked quietly as they sat and did their homework in the middle of Study Hall. He was taking a break from his Transfiguration homework. It was getting hard this time and he wanted to give his mind a rest.
"They'd probably don't know that he's innocent of everything. Sure, Pettigrew is still alive, but what about the twelve muggles that he's supposed to have killed?" Phil said as he too took a break from his strenuous homework. NEWTs were not something to laugh at. If he thought OWLs were bad, he was wrong. These are so much harder.
"Oh, I didn't think of that," Harry said. He hadn't really thought about the twelve muggles. All he thought about was that the dead man was alive. That had really blown his mind.
"They still probably have to question Pettigrew and find out what he knows," the older boy said logically. It did make sense to him. They'd have to question him about everything. For all he knew, the man was a Death Eater. I mean, he did give over the Potters to You-Know-Who.
"But it's been two weeks. How long does it take to question a man?" The younger boy asked. To him, it didn't make any sense. You arrested somebody, you questioned them, and you threw them in jail. That's how it worked on the telly.
"The wheels of justice move very slow unless you grease them with money," Phil said sagely with the nod of his head. He'd heard of all the back door dealings with Minister Fudge and how people got away with just claiming they were Imperiused. Not to mention the ministers before him. Though he didn't think there hadn't been a crooked minister in a long time.
"That's unfair," Harry groused, picking up his quill and marking his paper with a slash. He just noticed a mistake. He was going to have to redo this paper. Dang it, he hated using quills.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of justice and politics," Phil said with a chuckle. He too, picked up his quill and started working again. It was time to get back to work. He needed to get this done. If he put it off much longer, he wasn't going to get it done in time.
"So that's it? We're going to have to continue dealing with the dementors until somebody comes along and greases the palm of the minister? I don't understand," Harry said, finally getting a grasp on it, but not really understanding because it just didn't make sense to him why somebody would have to buy their freedom. That wasn't the way it worked in the real world, was it?
"Yes, that's pretty much what that means," Phil said as he continued to write on his homework.
"Is there any way I can get it to go faster?" Harry asked, hoping beyond hope that there was a simpler, more legal way to get the wheels going.
"I don't see how you would. You're just a kid," Phil said, thinking for a moment.
"Yeah, but, as people are fond of saying, I am the Boy-Who-Lived," Harry said with the lifting of his eyebrow and a quirk of his lip.
"I don't know what you can say, though. What are you gonna tell them? 'Oh, I'm the one who found Peter Pettigrew'," Phil said with a bit of a chuckle. He'd never seen Harry use the 'I'm the Boy-Who-Lived' bit before.
"Oh, well, I am the one who found him," said Harry, puffing out his chest a little bit. Then looking around to make sure nobody was listening to them. Everybody else was concentrating on their homework and they were keeping their voices rather low. Maybe Phil had put up a bubble when they started talking. He didn't know.
"I don't know, Harry. I don't think that's a good idea," Phil said. Getting serious for a moment and letting Harry know what he really felt.
"I guess you're right. But still, I just want the dementors gone," Harry said, slumping down in defeat. He knew it wasn't a good idea to invoke the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing. People would think he was pompous and start treating him differently.
"Just give justice a chance. It's just slow. I'm sure they'll be gone soon," the older boy said, giving him a winning grin. He clapped him on the back and went back to his homework.
"Millie said she was going to be doing something. Maybe she's got something going that'll get them gone faster," Harry said, getting hope in his eyes. He, too, went back to his homework.
"Maybe."
And with that, the two went silent and scribbled on their parchments, so they could get their homework done as quickly as possible, yet as thoroughly as possible.
It was a week later that the dementors were finally called back. The day after that, the Daily Prophet showed that Sirius Black was an innocent man. It said that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor and the one who killed the twelve muggles. That he was the one who framed Sirius Black for all his crimes, and that Sirius Black was innocent of everything. It called for the man to come in and get his exoneration papers and all of his personal effects that were taken from him when he was arrested.
"Do you think he'll go into the Ministry, or do you think he'll think it's a trap?" Hermione asked, worrying her lip. She didn't know who Sirius Black was, but if it were her, she would think it was a trap.
"I don't know. He probably doesn't trust the Ministry at all," Harry said. He knows he didn't trust the ministry after the things Phil had told him.
"I know I wouldn't if they locked me up for twelve years," Dean said. He didn't know the ex-convict from Jack, but he wouldn't trust anybody who locked him up for twelve years.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Harry said, wondering what was going on back at Millie's place.
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It was Yule break and Harry, and his friends, had permission to visit Hogsmeade while he stayed at the castle. He and his friends were able to go back and forth down to the village and visit Millie and the shops. Along with anyone over third year. One day when he was down there visiting her, he noticed that Padfoot was gone.
"Millie, where's Padfoot?" Harry asked, looking around the room for the large black dog. He hoped he hadn't run away again, or permanently.
"He had to go visit the ministry, yeah," she said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She was doing the dishes and not looking at him when she said this.
"He had to go visit the ministry? That doesn't make sense," Harry said, looking at her like she had lost her mind. What dog needs to go to the ministry? Maybe to get certification papers for being well trained.
"Well, you see, Padfoot, is really Sirius Black," she said, finally turning around and facing him and letting go of the joke.
"You mean to say my dog is actually a mass murderer…ex-mass murderer?" he said, sitting on the floor, just losing the feeling in his legs, and completely flabbergasted. A complete mass murderer in the house with Millie and he didn't even know it. What a complete moron he was. He was the one who let the dog in. He had begged to let him stay.
"Well, he wasn't really a mass murderer, was he?" she said, going over to him and pulling him up off the floor and putting him on a stool. "Don't fret so, Harry. He was harmless, yeah."
"How did you find out?" Harry asked, letting go of the fact that he had let somebody who could have been a killer into the house. He was going to not have to bring strays home anymore. First the dog, then a rat. They could be anybody. This wizarding world was just blowing his mind. Heck, even his teacher was a cat. Next thing you know, there's going to be bugs flying around. They could be people too. He was gonna have to be careful.
"He told me after he read the paper," she confessed. It had been quite the sight to see him turning into a man. She threw him over her shoulder so fast it hurt his pride.
"Did he scare you or hurt you in any way?" Harry asked, very concerned over her. Then again, she was quite the badass when it came to protecting herself. Maybe he should be more concerned over him.
"Well, he scared me at first, but he didn't hurt me at all. I must have put him on his arse about three times before he stopped whinging," she said, chuckling a bit about how much she had made that man whinge.
"I'll bet you did. So, he's at the ministry getting his stuff. And his exoneration?" the teen asked, getting up and going to get something to drink as all this talking was making him tired. There was some hot cocoa on the stove. He was going to grab some of that. It was cold outside.
"Yes, but there's something else I have to tell you, Harry," she said, going over to grab a cup for herself. They both went back to the bar at the end of the kitchen and sat. Both grasping the cups in their hands to keep them warm.
"What's that?" Harry asked, hoping it was good news.
"Sirius Black is your godfather." She looked at his face to see how he was taking the news.
"What does that mean exactly?" he asked, slowly putting his cup on the table.
"It could mean a lot of things, or it could mean nothing. That is completely up to you. I have Power of Attorney over you, which means I'm in charge of your physical, financial, and mental health. I can keep that power over you, or I can give it up to your godfather, but I'm leaving that decision up to you, yeah," she said, all in one breath, just to get it out there so that it would be in the air, and he could decide on what he wanted to do.
"Well, I don't know Sirius Black from Jack, so I want you to keep it," Harry said, folding his arms defiantly, as any other teenager would do when they'd want to get their way.
"I think you should meet Sirius first before you say anything like that," she said, but she graced him with a sweet smile.
"Okay, I'll meet him, but I don't think I'm going to change my mind. You're Millie," he said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You're such a sweet kid," she said, reaching over and ruffling his hair, as she always did.
"I'm not a kid anymore." Harry said, batting her hands away as he had done a million times before.
"I love you, Harry."
"I love you too, Millie."
Now it was up to how the meeting between Harry and Sirius went, but Harry was sure it was going to stay the same. He was going to stay with Millie. In the magical world.