Ravenclaw

30 JUNE 1995—The hardest part of escaping was waiting for Crabbe to leave. Oh, and falling. After finding her wand hidden under a chair cushion and successfully prying open an attic window, Belle had lost her grip on the weathered brick of Crabbe Mansion. That hurt.

Hiding under an Invisibility Charm, Belle limped down the street, wishing she had paid more attention to the healing spells. She also wished she had money on her, to hire a cab. She figured she was somewhere in London, but navigation was nearly impossible. Her family lived and operated in just a tiny corner of the great city, and all the street names around her were unfamiliar.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She swung around, ready to punch his lights out like her father showed her, but the sight of George Weasley's familiar face made her freeze mid-swing.

"George!" she gasped, throwing her arms around his shoulders. He stiffened at her unexpected display of affection. "I was so scared. It's getting dark, and I have no idea where I am, and…and…" To her embarrassment, she started sobbing.

George patted her back awkwardly. "There, there. Uh, let's get you someplace safe, and then you can talk all about it."

A thought hit Belle, stopping her tears. "Oh, my mother, she doesn't know where I am. She must be worried sick."

"We'll send an owl," George assured, taking her hand and beginning to walk. "You can spend the night with us."

"Do you have a Portkey?" Belle asked, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she fell in step with George. The Burrow was in Devin County, and George wasn't old enough to Apparate yet.

"We aren't going to the Burrow. Freddie and I are staying over with Sirius, learning from a master, if you would," George explained. "His flat is just up the way."

"Oh," Belle said as they entered an apartment building. "You sure he won't mind me coming?"

"Sirius? Nah. He'll like the company." George led Belle up a flight of stairs, finally stopping in front a door emblazoned with the number seven. "Just…he doesn't like to clean. It's a bit of a mess in there."

George turned the knob. The flat was messy, yes, but it wasn't unbearable. There was an assortment of stuff lying everywhere, but the floor was visible and there was room to sit on the couch, which was where Belle immediately sat. Then she realized Sirius had a television. It wasn't turned on, with a sock flung over top corner, and it seemed rather beaten up.

Sirius noticed Belle looking at the television. "The guy told me that everyone had one, but I can't make the bloody thing work," he said, leaning against the counter and pulling a piece of pizza out of an open box. Through a mouth full of cheese, he continued, "Arthur tried playing with it. I think he messed it up even more."

Curious, Belle got up to get a closer look. She hit the "on" button and nothing happened. Then she went to look at the backside of the boxy television. It wasn't plugged in to the wall. Well, that was easily fixed.

Before long, everyone was settled on the couch to watch a movie that Belle found by flipping through the few channels that would come in. Tired from the ordeal of her day, Belle soon drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning, everyone had left. Almost everyone. Belle could feel the gentle rise and fall of someone's chest under her cheek, and there was a warm arm curled around her shoulders. Her hand was resting on a flat, toned stomach, thankfully clothed. She slowly opened her eyes, not that it helped much. Her vision was obscured by dark curly hair.

She had fallen asleep cuddling with Sirius.