Last time...

"Look, I'm not sure I can tell you where I've been going. It's kind of a secret." She replied pointedly.

If they didn't take the hint, they weren't as smart as she believed them to be. The way their eyes lit up at the same time told her they'd gotten the message. They didn't ask to see the place, and she didn't think she was ready to share it yet, but they felt better about knowing where she was going now. Neither Fred nor George had ever made fun of her or ostracized her for being able to speak to snakes. Maybe she would talk about it with Jör, see what he thought.

Chapter 13

"Potter." Draco called, stopping the young witch about to head into the Great Hall. "A word?"

Potter paused for a moment, and then replied. "Potatoes." before promptly swanning off into the Great Hall anyway.

Red faced with embarrassment and confusion, it took Draco more time than it should have to realize that Potter had given him exactly what he'd asked for; a word. Potter was not supposed to be clever, or witty, or even funny. She was supposed to be a stupid bloody Gryffindor, never mind that strangeness that was First-Year, or that duel he'd barely managed to keep up with her on in Second Year; only it was that stupid bloody Gryffindor instinct that he owed a Life Debt too now. Despite what his father might think, he knew Potter was powerful, and it was that power he needed to ally his family with. After all, if Potter was powerful enough that a burst of accidental magic had boosted her strength to the point she could punch a bloody Hippogriff in the face, how powerful could she be if she intentionally focused that?

"Potter." He tried again, following her out of the Great Hall after supper. She had the great ginger oaf and the sentient hairball with her. "I would like to speak with you…alone, if I may."

"If you're sure. I would suggest a couple of lookouts though." Potter shrugged. "My friends are notoriously nosy, and highly protective of me."

"Oi!" Weasley objected, but Granger just shrugged with a "She's not wrong."

"I'll have Blaise and Theo stand at either side of the third floor corridor. No one goes there now, so we won't be bothered." Draco agreed, surprised at Potter's assessment of her friends. "Meet me there in twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes later, and he had everything set up. Both Blaise and Theo had chess sets with them in case they encountered Weasley, and a copy of Hogwarts a History to debate over if they encountered Granger. There were privacy wards he knew how to set up, thanks to his godfather, and all he needed now was to talk to Potter. Uncle Severus had explained what it was like to live under a Life Debt for long periods of time, that it took a toll on ones magic, and that it was not something Draco should attempt at such a young age. It was best to get out of it as quickly as he could. The only thing he did not know was what Potter wanted.

"Got here as quickly as I could." Potter called, as she met him in front of the door that had housed a Cerberus she called 'Fluffy'. Apparently she'd spent most of first year with a Cerberus she insisted was a 'cuddle monger', and he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her, but after watching her punch a bloody hippogriph…well, let's just say he was rethinking that now.

"What do you want, Potter?" He demanded outright. He had assumed she would appreciate a straightforward approach, but here she just looked confused. "You are aware that I owe you a life debt, yes? My father is a barrister, and he said if you don't-"

"Your father is a barrister?" Potter perked up, suddenly interested. "If I ask him to defend my godfather for me, will that count as you fulfilling the life debt?"

"No, but it will if I ask him to do it." Draco pointed out. "You would use the life debt I owe you to save someone else?"

"If it makes you feel better, it's partially selfish." Potter admitted. "If Sirius gets his name cleared, and gets the okay from mind healers, I get to live with him instead of the Dursleys. Even if he only gets his name cleared, and doesn't get the okay from the mind healers, I might still get to visit, and even that's better than nothing."

"I'll strong arm Father into coming for the next Hogsmeade weekend. It'll be easier when I tell him this is what you wanted to settle the life debt." Draco replied, a bit flummoxed that Potter would want to get away from her muggle family, not that he showed that, forgetting that she'd called them magic hating at the end of First Year. "Just be sure that you bring your godfather."

"To the first meeting?" Potter asked, doubtful, but Draco didn't have to press. "I want Sirius cleared so that he can take care of me, but I haven't even met him yet. He won't have his head on right at that first meeting. I'll have to tell your father why I want to live with Sirius, in detail, and if Sirius hears that when he's not mentally sound…well, maybe he'll earn that Azkaban sentence."

"He'll need to be there." Draco confirmed.

Potter took a bracing breath, and nodded. "I'll find a way to tell him."

"You do that, Potter, and tell your friends to stop trying to get around mine." Draco cracked with a snort, pointing towards Weasley who had just trounced Blaise in wizarding chess, and Granger who hadn't even batted an eye when she tried to hit Theo in the face with his own book for misquoting a section. Potter just grinned like a loon, and proceeded to fetch her friends.

Christmas was upon them before too long, but this year was different. She'd stayed in her dorm room that night, having spent time with Jör the night before. Hermione had been a godsend this year, because even though they didn't help each other keep track of their time, they did help each other work through homework, and each whittled the other about eating and sleeping enough. Hera spent most of her free time going through the things in the Chamber of Secrets; there was still stuff she was discovering down there. Her current mystery was trying to figure out the blank book that she was fairly certain had been bound in human skin; and why she thought that, she had no bloody idea; but while the material the book was bound in was disturbing, the magic wrapped up in it was fascinating.

"Psst…Hera…Hera, are you awake?" She hears, and groans an affirmative. She wasn't quite awake enough to be considered human. Grunts and groans as a form of communication would have to do. "I wouldn't wake you, but it's just…well…one of your gifts is…um…floating."

That woke her up.

"If it's what I think it is, Ron's gonna murder me." Hera groaned, rolling over and reaching for the package.

"Won't you need your glasses, Hera?" Hermione asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Hermione, if you haven't figured out that I don't actually need my glasses by now, I would be worried about you." Hera replied pointedly, before breaking out into a grin.

"How very Slytherin of you, Hera." Hermione commented cheekily, before grabbing one of her own gifts.

"Same as you." Hera replied, raising up the previously floating package as if to toast her.

It was their shared secret, one of the things that truly bonded them as friends, that the Sorting Hat had wanted to place them both in Slytherin. At least, Hera liked to think it was. When Hermione had gotten up the nerve to talk to her alone, she'd explained that she should have been sorted into that House, but had been too afraid of what would happen to her after everything she'd read about them. It's why she reacted so strongly to what Hera had done, because the snake was a sign of the House, and she didn't want her friend to turn evil. Her great love of books had lead her wrong here, having forgotten that snakes were also in the symbol for healing, in her fervent desire to save her friend.

"What do you tell people when they notice you doing something not Gryffindorish enough?" Hera asked, after a moment's pause.

"Ravenclaw." Hermione admitted, which made sense. "You?"

"…Hufflepuff." Hera stated with a straight face, at least before she made eye contact with her friend, before they both descended into laughter. "What? They wouldn't believe I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw, and the Hufflepuffs love me after that whole thing at the end of First Year!"

"Think we'll ever tell them the truth?" Hermione pondered, and Hera paused; having been about to open her gift as well.

Hera's face broke out with the biggest grin it could, as she replied. "Maybe, but not today."

...

"Ron, I know you complain about hand-me-downs and whatnot, but does that count with friends gifting you their used stuff?" Hera asked cautiously, peeping into the boys dorm.

"Dunno. Reckon not." Ron shrugged; which meant yes, but he didn't want to say anything that would make him sound ungrateful.

"It's just, I think Sirius is trying to buy my love, so he got me some kind of sleek new broom, and-" Hera couldn't help herself, proceeding to bolt into the room, and hand him her old broom. "I want you to have my Nimbus."

The boy looked like he'd turned to stone for a second. Hera wasn't even sure he was breathing, but the longer he didn't react, the more nervous she got, and then she started rambling.

"I know it's not the newest model or anything, but it doesn't have any scratches on it, and I've taken really good care of it. I'm pretty sure you could try out for reserve Keeper if you want, which would be awesome, and we'd get to be on a team together, and-" Hera only stopped rambling because Ron had literally covered her face with his hand, splaying out his fingers so she could at least see.

"Hera, are you seriously giving me your Nimbus for Christmas?" Ron asked, in a tone of seriousness that he rarely used. Unable to help herself, she stuck her tongue out. "Hera!"

"Well I don't know how you expected me to answer you like that." Hera remarked cheekily, before holding out her broom again. "Merry Christmas!"

She was suddenly enveloped in a hug, and since Ron was taller than her, her face was smashed against his chest making her unable to breathe.

"Tell me we can go flying after this?" Ron asked, and she nodded; unable to do anything else. "Will Hermione be worrying in the stands?"

"What do you take me for?" Hermione asked with a snort, having been standing in the doorway. "Of course, I'll be worrying in the stands."

Hera was worried that Ron would let his envious streak shine through, but she needn't have. They took turns with the Firebolt and the Nimbus each, worrying Hermione with equal abandon. By the time that they were ready for dinner, Ron was giving her the rundown on everything he knew about the Firebolt and its capabilities, and Hermione was offering to look up if there were any special instructions for its care. It was over dinner that night that she got written confirmation from Sirius that he was the large black dog that she'd named Grimm, but she'd already suspected such was the case before that. She shared the news with Hermione and Ron, and the three looked forward for what this could mean for her.

The beginning of next term was pretty uneventful. The team celebrated the new broom, and the possibility of Ron trying out for reserve Keeper next year. Professor Lupin asked to meet with her again, and apologized for his lack of time in her life. He was ashamed of the illness he had, and hadn't wanted to be a burden on her. She hadn't been able to begrudge him that, as she didn't want to be a burden on others either. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed how many absences he'd had this year, and Professor Snape had obviously assigned that essay to out the man, which was a dick move; though only Hermione seemed to suspect what Lupin was.

"Hera, I don't want you to be alarmed, but I've invited someone here to meet you." Professor Lupin alerted her, right before the man who must be Sirius Black stepped out from behind the corner.

She could tell that even though he'd cleaned up a bit, he was still recovering from his stay in prison. His skin was sunken almost, like he was just getting used to food again. His dark hair hung limply, having been stripped of any life it had once had. His eyes were haunted, but he looked at her like she was the only star in the night sky. Tears rimmed his eyes, but he took a steadying breath as the two continued to stare at each other.

"Saw your game today, kid, you were great." Sirius began, a bit nervously. She hadn't reacted to him, frozen in the swirling emotions that were running through her. "We've missed a lot of time, you and I."

Ah, and there it was; anger.

"Gee, I wonder who's fault that was." Hera drawled, completely unimpressed with him in her barely suppressed rage, shocking the man. "You know I'm friends with Hagrid, right? He told me that you were the one to pull me from the house, that you gave me to him. I assume this is so you could pursue the rat. I remember the flying motorcycle."

"Hera, I…It was Pettigrew! He betrayed your family, betrayed you!" Sirius insisted, before sending a pleading look to Lupin, who only shrugged as if to say 'I've taken my lumps, Man, it's your turn'.

"No, you did that." She snapped angrily, shutting him up. "You're the one who left me. You're the one who handed me off to Hagrid so that you could pursue your revenge instead of doing what my parents wanted you to do, what your friends wanted you to do; which was take care of me. I wasn't important enough to be put first over your selfish need for revenge!"

"Hera, I…No one else knew I wasn't the Secret Keeper." Sirius insisted desperately.

"How long would it have taken to tell someone? For them to do a check on your wand? I hear there's a spell for that." Hera countered scathingly, without a bit of sympathy, and Sirius slumped a little. "Instead, you ran off half-cocked after Pettigrew. Not only did he escape, people died, you were thrown in Azkaban without a trial for your efforts, and now I have to meet with Lucius Malfoy."

"Why would you have to meet with Malfoy?" Sirius asked in alarm. "Hera, he's a Death Eater! They're all Dark!"

"I hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly a ray of warmth and sunshine yourself there, Black." Hera countered, and damn that one must have cut to the quick, because Sirius snapped back like he'd been slapped. "People are more than just Light or Dark, there's shades of Grey in there too, and it would do you well to remember that Light doesn't always mean good and Dark doesn't always mean evil. I myself have killed at least two or three people by now, by proxy at the very least, so I'm not exactly a shining example of light and benevolence either. So yes, I will meet with Lucius Malfoy in the hopes that I can get him to represent you to settle a life debt his son owes me. You will go, and you will listen to what he has to say, to what I have to say, or so help me I'll feed the Firebolt to the Whomping Willow!"

The man just slumped down into a chair, thankfully provided by Lupin, and blinked rapidly in shock for a moment before replying. "That was like getting my arse handed to me by Lily!"

Which was exactly the right thing to say, because it sent Lupin into a fit of giggles he couldn't recover from for what seemed like a good five minutes.

"I mean it, Sirius, you can't be running off half-cocked like that again. I'm the kid, that's my job. You have to prove that you're fit enough to raise me, and that means meeting with Malfoy, and mind healers, and whoever else I say to, or else they'll never okay this, and I'll have to keep living with the Dursleys." Hera huffed, when Lupin calmed down.

Sirius sighed heavily, but nodded, even though he's grumbling. "Malfoy though?"

"Tell him why Draco Malfoy owes you a life debt." Lupin says, descending into giggles again.

Sirius is looking at Lupin like he's never seen him before, and honestly it almost makes up for being raised by the Dursleys…almost.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked, intrigued, and then remembers something. "And what's with you killing three people? You're not even out of Hogwarts yet."

"More on that later." Hera replies, waving her hand dismissively, which means she plans on avoiding telling that story for as long as possible, and leans forward in her seat. "So Hagrid's a teacher now, Care of Magical Creatures, and he's amazing. Gave us a book that bites. Anyway, first class, he brings out hippogriffs. Have you ever flown on one? It's awesome. I highly recommend it, at least once. So, everyone gets a go, do the bow, pet the hippogriff, but before anyone else can get a chance for a fly, Malfoy insulted the hippogriff…sort of like how you talk to a dog that doesn't know it's being insulted because you're using a happy voice while you do it; except the hippogriff understands it's being insulted, and is rightfully brassed off about it."

Sirius has his head in his hand, because he knows the dangers of insulting a hippogriff, but Lupin just descends further into giggles.

"Tell him." Lupin wheezed through his giggling. "Tell him what you did."

"Honestly, it wasn't even that bad." Hera rolled her eyes, which just caused Lupin to snort, so she shows Sirius the scar on her left forearm. There are talon marks, deep ones, across her arm now that the wrap had been removed. "Caught Buckbeaks talons with my arm when I pulled Malfoy out of the way, and then hauled back and punched that hippogriff square in the face…erm…beak?…area."

Sirius just blinks at her owlishly as a slow smile spread across his face.

"And then…and then she just…scolds the hippogriff!" Lupin snickered. "Ronald Weasley said the hippogriff looked like a sulking child as it went back to its paddock, and she just stood there, blood dripping down her arm like she had no idea. He had to point it out, and her first thought…her first thought was wondering what Minnie's reaction was gonna be!"

The grin on Sirius' face gets bigger, and suddenly he's horse laughing along with Lupin.

"James would be so proud!" Sirius manages to say. "And also scared out of his mind, like absolutely terrified. Hera's inherited Lily's temper!"

"Even better. I didn't get a chance to tell you this." Lupin reveals animatedly. "I was with her on the train ride to Hogwarts, and the Dementors stop the train. She grabs the Dementor as it makes for her friends, and then fusses at it for scaring her friends!"

"Still don't know why my hand turned blue." Hera muttered, which only made their laughing fit worse.