Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England
The house which was situated on the outskirts of the little village of Ottery St. Catchpole was different from others. The house looked liked it had been built haphazardly. In fact, the land on which this house was built used to be a pig sty before the patriarch, one Arthur Weasley felt the need to construct a house for his wife, a plump red-headed woman named Molly Weasley nee Prewett. The Weasleys were purebloods through the generations and were rumoured to have been descended from Godric Gryffindor himself, albeit distantly. They were also poor and seen with disdain in certain echelons of the society.
The house was initially built with only the ground floor but eventually the family grew and the Weasleys kept adding floors to it haphazardly one on top of another. It looked like it might topple off at any moment and was held together with magic, which was true. The Weasleys had seven children- 6 boys and 1 girl.
Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department. It was not a very lucrative position in the ministry but Mr. Weasley loved everything to do with muggles and their inventions. He was amazed by the technology which the muggles had developed as an alternative to magic and how effortlessly they went by without magic. Just outside was house was a hen house and an old shed. No one really knew what was in the shed but it contained things like spark plugs, batteries etc. Mr. Weasley liked to collect these things so he could figure out how they worked.
This morning, Mr. Weasley was getting ready to go to work when there was a knock on the door. He opened the door to peek out a little and saw the head of DMLE Madam Bones on the door. Surprised with what Madam Bones wanted to do with him, he opened the door wide and said, "Amelia, what a pleasant surprise. Please come in. Have some breakfast."
She waved off the offer, "Thank you for the offer, Arthur but I am on duty right now."
He snapped to attention, "How can I help you?"
"Would you be kind to step out?", she asked him.
He came out and noticed there were four Aurors near the orchard and they seemed to be restraining someone between them, "What's going on, Amelia?"
"Arthur, I have no doubt that you have read about the Sirius Black fiasco by now?", she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. What does it have to do with me?", he asked cautiously.
"We apprehended Peter Pettigrew in Hogwarts after Minerva had called us. Pettigrew has been in hiding in his animagus form and his form is a rat", she explained waiting to get some reaction out of her.
"A rat you say?", he asked apprehensively, paling at the implications, "You mean to say that the rat which my sons kept as a pet was a wizard in disguise?"
She nodded, "I am afraid so. Peter told in detail about where he has been through the years and he told us that he picked up you-know-who's wand that night when he disappeared".
"You mean You-know-who's wand is in our house?", he asked, horrified at the mere thought of it.
"Not so much in the house as under one of your apple trees", she told him, "We have brought him to find the wand and take it under our possession."
He nodded, "By all means, please find it and take it away."
With Pettigrew between them, they walked in the orchard. Peter led them to a tree which had withered and looked like it had been sapped of its life and vitality over the years.
"Is it here?", barked Madam Bones.
Peter squeaked, "Ye... Yes. There is a hollow near the roots where I stowed the wand and often checked on it monthly basis."
She nodded to one of the men with her, "Find it, Kingsley."
Kingsley Shacklebolt, a dark tall man, with rippling muscles, deep baritone voice and a ring in one of his ears was an Auror. Aurors were what police would be in the muggle world and they were extremely talented with magic. There were a lot of exams that they had to go through and further studies for three years before they could be selected as an Auror. Kingsley carefully inspected the tree and found the hollow. It was bit difficult for them to find because it had camouflaged well with the bark. After he found the hollow, Kingsley levitated the wand out of it, not even willing to touch the foul thing.
It was 13 ½ inches long, crafted from Yew, and affixed with Phoenix wand core. The handle was made of ivory and others shuddered at the sight of it. This wand had wrecked so much havoc on their world, killed hundreds of witches, wizards and muggles. This wand had done so many terrible deeds that the enormity of them was incomprehensible for the ordinary wizards and witches to process. This wand was the weapon of the most feared dark lord and was the lament of many a people. This was the wand that made Harry Potter an orphan and the wand that had failed to kill the boy-who-lived.
Amelia produced a box which was marked with engravings and the wand was put in that box and sealed. It will be produced during Pettigrew's trial and will leave no room for suspicion that Pettigrew was one of you-know-who's servants. After the trial, the wand would be put on display in the Ministry of Magic as the minister had so desired. Amelia wanted nothing more than to snap the wand and be done with it.
Arthur who had been quiet said, "Now I understand why this tree withered and died. It was one of the best trees of this orchard and produced the most number of fruits but with that thing in there, I suppose it died due to the dark residue in it."
"I will take your leave now, Arthur", Madam Bones said before she and the Aurors disappeared into thin air on the spot.
Potter got a letter
Oliver Wood was getting his team work through a practice session which made them groan. Wood, quidditch maniac that he was, had them wake up in the dead of the morning and practice their moves for the upcoming match against Slytherin. This match would decide the fate of the Inter-house Quidditch tournament.
Last week, Ravenclaw had been flattened Slytherin by a very narrow margin. The week before the Slytherins had been thoroughly defeated by Hufflepuff which put the badgers in the first position for the Inter-House Quidditch competition. To catch up to them, the Lions needed to win the match by minimum of 100 points and if they were to win, they had to win by at least a margin of more than 100 points. Wood had told them about it for so long that they could recite it in their sleep if they needed to. It was getting on everyone's nerves but they all tried to show a brave front.
Harry was practicing earnestly and knew that the hope of the team was riding on his shoulders. Even Wood was relying on him to seal a Gryffindor win. It also didn't help that their next match was with Slytherin and the rivalry between the two houses was nothing short of legendary.
"Intruder alert", said George as he could see some students coming their way.
"What are the snakes doing here?", said Fred as they could see that the students were those who belonged to the House of the Serpent.
"Ignore them and let's practice some ordinary moves", said Oliver Wood, "let's not give them any idea about what we can do."
"Hey Wood, we have been practicing for 3 hours now", said Angelina, "Maybe we should get back to the tower."
Others also protested and reluctantly Oliver agreed, "Alright everyone. Let's go back to the tower."
At breakfast, Harry was there at the house table with his friends however his attention was on something else. His thoughts were on his godfather. He finally had the chance to live with someone who would consider him family and he would get to leave the Dursleys. They may not have hit him but the violence they otherwise did on him was unforgiveable. However Harry didn't wish any bad on them. They had not been given a choice in regards to raising him so it kind of made sense that they would not like him. However, it was simply unimaginable that his Aunt Petunia, the sister of his mother had no love in her for him. He would leave them behind and that will be that. There will be no contact between him and them.
"Harry, the owl is waiting for you", Hermione said from his right.
He was snapped from his musings and found a barn owl looking at him as if it were giving him a look. Harry could not help but chuckle, "You know you are not very formidable before my Hedwig."
He untied the letter and the owl took off immediately. Harry didn't know the owl and he had no idea who would send him a letter. The Dursleys would not take the trouble to write him and definitely not through owl post. That would go against everything being normal. If Mrs. Weasley would write him, she could simply send the letter through Errol and Harry knew that owl.
Shrugging, he turned the envelope and found that there was no name of any sender. It was simply written:
"Heir Harry James Potter
Gryffindor Table, Great Hall,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Harry still had no idea about the heir business though Sirius had told him that he would explain. He opened the letter and it was written in a very elegant hand-writing.
"Heir Harry James Potter,
I am writing this letter to you because I cannot talk to you directly. It is not that we are enemies or there is any animosity between us. It is simply that I feel shy to talk to you directly. I am in your class and in a different house. For the past three years, I have been watching you from afar and I love what I have come to know about you.
I am big fan of you. No, not the boy-who-lived but the boy Harry. I like the boy who walks in baggy clothes, who is painfully shy, who does not talk to anyone unless he is being talked to, boy who has done things that none his age can really do. I want to know the boy who eats treacle tart as if it's going to be banned tomorrow. I want to know the boy who flies on a broom like he is walking on the land.
I wish I can know you more in the future. I cannot tell you my name right now but with time, I will definitely tell you. To help you a little, I am not in your house.
I will really appreciate if you will not show this letter to anyone or talk about me.
Later"
"Who has written to you, Harry?", Ron asked from across him.
"A... friend?", Harry said as if he himself was not sure.
"Why are you confused then?", Hermione asked him.
"I am not confused, Hermione", he said, "Just don't want to talk about it."
He had no idea why but he wanted to keep it a secret. May be later, he will tell them but not for now.
Hermione was looking at him with a look which said that she was trying to look into and find out what was really happening however she chose not to say anything because the bell rung at that moment and they all got up to go to classes.
The first lesson was Herbology which they shared with the Hufflepuffs. As they walked towards the greenhouses, Harry and Ron were talking about the upcoming match and Hermione trailed behind them. Suddenly they turned and Hermione was not there.
"Harry", Ron exclaimed, "Where is Hermione?"
Harry was also surprised, "She was just behind us. Do you reckon something happened to her?"
"I don't know. May be she went back to the Great Hall to get something she had forgotten", Ron said before they walked towards the greenhouses. They knew that Hermione would turn up sooner or later and they could not afford to be late for classes.
Harry also realised that it had been happening regularly. Hermione would be walking with them and suddenly she would be gone. When they would ask her, she would make some excuses that sounded ridiculous in hindsight. In fact, one day she had even missed Charms class and she had been right behind them. When they had returned to the Common room, they found her surrounded by books and snoring on a table. She had been in right state for missing such a crucial class.
When they entered the greenhouses, all the tables had been taken but there were a few where they could join. What it meant however was that they would not be able to be in this lesson together. Ron joined Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-fletchley while Harry looked around and realised he had no option than to join two hufflepuff girls whom he recognised as Susan Bones and Hannah Abott.
As he joined them, Hannah said to him cheerfully, "Hi Harry."
"Hi Hannah", he returned her greeting before Professor Sprout hushed them, "Today we are going to study Nettles. Who can tell me about them?"
As predicted Hermione's hand was already up, "yes Ms. Granger."
"Nettle or also known as stinging nettle is a plant known for stinging hairs that grows on its leaves. It is mostly used in potion-making such as the Boil-cure potion and is the main ingredients in beverages like Nettle Tea or Nettle wine. It is also rumoured to improve the glossiness of one's hair."
"Take 5 points for Gryffindor", said Professor Sprout before she directed them to study the plants in front of them.
Harry hadn't seen Hermione coming in the Greenhouse. He and Ron shared a look which was not unseen and Hannah asked him, "What happened, Harry?"
"When did Hermione come in?", he asked of the dark haired girl.
"She was here before anyone", Hannah told her, "It is a bit surprising because I swear I had seen her with you and Weasley in the Great Hall before we came to the class."
Harry was also suspicious of it. He knew there were no secret ways between the Great Hall and the greenhouses which would be a short cut. Besides, Hermione had been with them until she mysteriously disappeared.
Susan Bones who had been quiet asked him, "Harry, did you really cast a patronus?"
"Who told you?", he asked her. As far as he knew, he had not told anyone about the incident at the lake. His involvement with the Dementors was a secret which was not known to anyone except the headmaster, the Minister and Madam... Of course, Susan was somehow related to Madam Bones.
"My auntie sent me a letter telling me that you can cast a corporeal patronus", she told him.
He said to her in an undertone, "Yes, I can cast a patronus but will you please tell no one."
She nodded, "Have you finished the essay on Red-caps that Professor Lupin had set for us?"
He shook his head, "No. I was thinking about starting on it today."
Susan said shyly, "If you don't mind, you can join us in the library today and we will work on the essay today."
Harry had no idea why did she ask that or why did he agree to it but it won't hurt to at least make friends with people in other houses.
The library session actually went very well. Susan Bones was a very studious student and she kept their attention in the book while they worked on their homework. Hannah Abbot, a black haired girl with hazel eyes kept trying to make small talk with him. It wasn't until Susan snapped at her that she started paying mind to her work. It was a nice change for him to work with someone other than Ron and Hermione. Hermione, as was becoming the norm, was busy somewhere and he couldn't find her. Ron was busy demolishing opponents at chess in the Gryffindor Common Room.
You want some bulbadox powder?
That evening, Agelina Johnson came into the common room, limping. The twins who were in the common room saw it and rushed to her, "What happened?"
"Some snake sent a tripping charm at me and I missed a step spraining my leg. I went to Madam Pomfrey and she told me I will be alright tomorrow."
"Why would they attack you?", asked Gred.
"Maybe because of the match", she replied, "If they take out even one player, they have a decent shot at the cup."
Oliver Wood who was listening to everything with impassive face said, "Alright. None of you will go alone anywhere till the match now. Everywhere you go, take someone with you."
Everyone was nodding while the twins leaned in towards Harry, "We need the map, Harry."
"What do you need the map for?", Harry asked them.
"We have some slytherins to prank", they said casually.
Harry handed the map to them, "Be careful with it. Professor Lupin knows about the map and everything. He was one of the four who helped write it."
The twins who had turned their back towards him, stopped cold and asked, "What did you just say?"
"What?", Harry asked.
"Did you say that Professor Lupin made this map?", they asked, just to confirm what they had heard.
"Yes. My father, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew made this map."
They looked at each other incredulously, "That is how he knows all the passages in the castle."
Harry couldn't ask what they meant because they were not sharing.
The next morning, it was chaos. Scratch it. It was mayhem.
Draco Malfoy was sitting with his lackeys at breakfast when the owl post began to arrive. A tawny owl landed in front of him extending its leg to him. On the envelope, it was only his name written.
He opened the letter carelessly and as the wax seal broke, some sort of mechanism activated spraying him and others beside him with powder. He seethed in rage at whoever had sent this letter to him but he had no idea. As his rage went on, suddenly he and other students around started to scratch their skins due to a persistent itch. Snape who had seen from the Head table about what was happening, was already hovering over them and cast some cooling charms on them while he drawled, "Someone has sprayed you all with Bulbadox powder. Run along to the infirmary and tell the matron. I will take this up with Professor Dumbledore."
On the other end of the table, Cassius Warrington had just bit into his breakfast when he suddenly started twitching. A moment later, he was braying like a donkey. Snape hit him with a silencing charms while the great hall broke down in laughter.
He approached Dumbledore, "Headmaster, someone has attacked my students.."
Dumbledore asked, "It appears so, Severus. Do you have any idea who it can be?"
"No, Headmaster", he said sourly. He had an idea that it could be Harry though he had no means to prove it. He could not name the boy as such because Remus was sitting right there.
"Come to me if you find anything Severus", said Dumbledore.
Later that day, Harry was stopped by Snape, "Potter, if I hear you doing it again then I will have you expelled."
"What are you talking about, Professor?", Harry asked him.
"I know you sent the letter to Draco which had Bulbadox powder", he sneered.
As Harry vehemently refused, Snape looked at him as if trying to pry the answer out of his mind. When he realised that Snape was telling the truth, he had no option than to let go.
Later that night, Marcus Flint was found in a corridor by Argus Filch with his tongue engorged and out of his mouth and the boy rolling on the floor. The tongue looked like it weighed a ton and Flint had no idea who had done this to him. What he only remembered was eating a toffee which had caused this to him.
Malfoy was released from the hospital wing within an hour because there was no damage caused to him which would merit keeping him overnight in the hospital. He was also looking for whoever had done this to him. His father will teach them a lesson if he ever found who had done it to him.
Oh! Another letter
It had been a few days since the incident. The lions had taken to going anywhere together. They would remain in groups and most of the house had taken to protect Harry from the Slytherins. On Wood's request, they would find ways to walk with him between classes, would accompany him wherever he would go. Harry was getting bored of this but knew there was no other way for him than to agree. It was for his good after all.
In fact, many Slytherins had looked for chance to cause harm to him but whenever they would find him, he was surrounded by groups of people. This had prevented a lot many attacks on him by discouraging the Slytherins.
On the morning of the match, the team had arrived leading their house with their brooms on their shoulders. Having placed the Firebolt in a place of honour, they sat down to eat. People from other houses would come and wish them luck. A few even jokingly said that they would be on the ground with a net to catch Harry should he fall.
As it was time for owl post, a scoop owl landed before Harry and it contained another letter. Harry opened the letter cautiously, as he had seen what had happened to Malfoy.
Turns out, it was another letter from his friend. It was addressed to him the same way as the last one:
"Heir Harry James Potter
Gryffindor Table, Great Hall,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
"Heir Harry James Potter,
I wanted to wish you best of luck for today's match. I know you will win. Malfoy cannot catch the snitch even if it is hovering right beneath his nose.
Good luck, Harry. Please don't do any dangerous stunts.
I will tell you about me, maybe in the next letter. For now, I have black straight hair.
Later."
Harry was surprised to say the least. The girl was playing games on him. He had an idea that the girl was not in his house at least. But then she could be a Slytherin! He had no idea what he would do it was true. It also got him thinking. Why a slytherin would be writing to him? Didn't they all hate him on principle? No, it made sense that the girl would be a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff. But then there were 6 girls in those houses who had straight black hair. He tried to count their names on his fingers- Hannah Abbott, Megan Jones, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin and... He drew a blank there. There were at least two girls he didn't know. One was a very shy ravenclaw he had sometimes seen talking with Padma but he didn't knew her name. Another was a quiet Asian girl whose name eluded him for the moment.
"Harry", Oliver Wood called him out of his musings, "Let's go. We are ready."
The Gryffindor team marched towards the stadium with their brooms on their shoulders and half of the school cheering them on. Rest were either Hufflepuff who were in the first place or they were slytherins who were interested in seeing the lions bite the dust.
As the team disappeared in the lockers, the students made their way towards the stands, walking lazily and enjoying the weather which promised a very fine quidditch match ahead today.
"Welcome to the final match of the season which will decide who will win the Quidditch cup today", Lee was announcing, "This match is going to be more exciting than ever. Slytherins have a win under their belt having defeated Ravenclaws and the Lions have won the last match defeating Ravenclaw. May the lions win."
Inside the dressing room, Wood was giving a final prep talk to his team, "Alright, here is the last chance. My last chance. We need to make sure that we win or I will never have won the Quidditch cup here. It rests on all of you, especially you Harry. You have to keep them away from the snitch we are atleast 100 points up from them."
Angelina snapped, "We know all this Oliver. Let's not stress over this but play our best game today."
With that, the team walked out and mounted their brooms.
Outside Lee was continuing, "Here comes the referee Madam Hooch. She will read the riot act..."
"Jordon", snapped Professor McGonagall.
"Sorry Professor. Madam Hooch will revise the rules for the benefit of the players. Here come the teams followed by their players. This time, there is no fan fare or show up by either of the teams. The Serpents follow their captain Marcus Flint, Graham Montague, Cassius Warrington, Lucian Bole, Peregrin Derrick, Miles Beltchley and Draco Malfoy. Now here come the lions from the house of the brave- Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Oliver Wood and Harry Potter."
"Alright. I want a fair game up there. If I see those bats used on anything other than a bludger, you will be out before you can say unfair", Madam Hooch was warning the captains, "Captains shake hands".
Oliver and Flint shook hands as if trying to crush each other's hands. She blew the whistle and 14 brooms rose in the air.
"And they are off", Lee said excitedly.
"Angelina grabs the quaffle and flies straight towards the Slytherin end and that's DELIBERATE!" he shouted, "Flint collided with Angelina deliberately".
"Here is Madam Hooch and that's the whistle. Penalty to Gryfindor and Angelia takes it", Lee was commenting, "She feints towards the right hoop and Bletchley falls for it. That's 10-0 for Gryffindor."
The quaffle was retrieved as three fourths of the stadium erupted in joy. The fans were celebrating the lead but it was still too early.
"Flint grabs the quaffle and flying straight towards the Gryffindor hoops and ouch! That's got to hurt. Fred and George did the Dopplebeater defense and almost unseated Flint who is now trying to keep his hold on the broom."
The crowd roared in approval as the game continued, "Alicia has the quaffle and she is flying towards the other end and that's a foul", Lee was howling.
Cassius Warrington had collided with Alicia forcing her to drop the quaffle.
"Madam Hooch awards penalty to Gryffindor for Cobbing and Angelina takes it and... it has passed widely clear of all the hoops", he groaned in disappointment.
Angelina was shaking like a leaf in anger and had missed the shot entirely.
"Warrington in possession and he flies towards the Gryffindor end. Angelina moves in to take the quaffle from him and he does a reverse pass to Graham Montague who has the quaffle and he has thrown it straight towards the hoops. COME ON WOOD, SAVE IT!"
Oliver Wood came out of nowhere and batted the quaffle aside and it was retrieved and snatched by Katie Bell.
"Katie flies in hawkshead formation flanked by Weasleys who had just swatted away two bludgers from the Gryffindor chaser who has thrown the ball and it's a fast ball! Bletchley had no idea what happened! Its 20-0 for Gryffindor."
"Flint in possession and flying straight towards the other end. Oliver Wood is there to meet it and that's a foul!", Lee was howling in anger.
Madam Hooch was arguing with the captains and Lee said in disappointment, "There will be no penalty on that one. Flint in possession and he throws a curve ball! Wood sees it coming and saves it by the tips of his fingers!"
"Katie in possession and Warrington and Flint have closed on either side of her! She drops the quaffle which is picked up by Montague who throws it straight at the hoops! Oh... Wood fails to save it. Its 20-10.", Lee groaned.
The Slytherin erupted in cheers.
"Angelina in possession and that's Flint flying straight at her! Montague and Warrington was coming from both side going to trap her in parkin's pincer!", Lee continued.
Harry had been looking for the golden ball and trying to keep it from Malfoy when he saw what was happening. He drove in and thrust his broom forward like a javelin forcing the Slytherins to disperse.
"Harry Potter arrives out of nowhere scattering them!", Lee was continuing.
"Montague in possession and Ouch... Fred Weasley does a Bludger backbeat and it hits him smack in the middle of his back... Montague has dropped the quaffle and picked up by Angelina. The slytherin chasers try to close in on her and Harry Potter arrives again giving her time to escape with a nose dive! They are flying straight at Harry and they are going to coll... Amazing... Harry Potter turned his broom upwards and flew straight out of the trap and the chasers have collided... Take that you..."
"Jordon..." Professor McGonagall snapped, "If you can't commentate in unbiased way, maybe you should leave."
"Sorry Professor", Lee said and continued commentary, "Fred Weasley sends a bludger at the Slytherin captain who swerves out of the way to be caught by the second bludger sent by George Weasley."
The game went on like that for a long time and the score kept climbing. As emotions ran raw and tensions rose, Harry kept an eye on the score board. With the game getting more dangerous and violent, it was important to finish it as soon as they got the lead they needed to win the cup.
"It's 100-40 for Gryffindor and if the Lions catch the snitch now, they stand to... Harry Potter is rushing to one side and he HAS SEEN THE SNITCH."
Draco Malfoy was tailing the Gryffindor seeker and pushing his broom for what it was worth but it was no match for the Firebolt. Harry was elated and kept pushing his broom to its top speed and he felt his broom slowing! NO! This can't be happening! How was his broom slowing down?"
He turned and saw that Malfoy had caught the end of his broom and was hanging on it, slowing him. Harry tried to kick Malfoy in the smug, ugly face but the boy let it go at that moment. His work was done and the snitch had disappeared.
"The backstabbing thief! The traitorous villain!", Lee was howling at the Slytherin seeker.
Professor McGonagall herself was standing and looking at the Slytherin seeker, shaking in fury. In between all this, the snitch again disappeared.
"Madam Hooch awards penalty to Gryffindor and Angelina takes it. It's fast ball and Bletchely could not stop it! That is 110- 40 for Gryffindor."
Harry suddenly saw another attempt at the Griffindor chasers and ran into them again to disperse and suddenly had a very sick feeling in his stomach! Malfoy was flying towards the snitch.
"GO! GO! GO!", Harry urged his broom, laying flat to the handle of the broomstick and pushing it to its strength. Suddenly they were neck to neck in the quest for the snitch, each trying to take it. There it was just within hand's grasp!
Harry swatted Malfoy's hand out of the way and closed his fist around the golden ball, catching it.
"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! TAKE THAT YOU CHEATING SLYTHERINS!"
Professor McGonagall for once was not reprimanding him. She was clutching a big Gryffindor flag and wiping her eyes with it. Percy Weasley was jumping up and down in joy, tears streaking his face, all dignity forgotten.
The team mobbed Harry in the air and they met for a group hug in the air. As the team landed together, Oilver Wood hugged him tightly, "That's my boy! That's my boy!"
There were Ron and Hermione running towards him, hugging him and congratulating him. They too were crying like other students. The team then hoisted him on their shoulders and walked towards the podium where Dumbledore waited with the house-cup.
As Dumbledore gave him the house cup, Harry felt that he could produce world's strongest patronus at the moment if there was a dementor around.
St. Mungo's
Healer Eileen was performing some tests on the former Azkaban inmate, "You are in good health all things considering, Mr. Black. You have severe malnourishment issue but that can be cured by some nutrient potions. What you need is a vacation and it will help you become better sooner. You don't need to be in the hospital anymore than you really want to."
Sirius Black nodded, "Many thanks! I have a lot to do and a lot to catch up on. Will you be kind to get me some of those nutrient potions that you just mentioned?"
She nodded, "Sure. I will get them to you as you are leaving. Madam Bones has told me that you are to inform her of your whereabouts until your trial."
He nodded, "I will do that, Healer Eileen. Thank you."
As soon as he was let go, Sirius Black apparated to Hogsmead. He wanted a place to stay for the time until Harry was in school. There were a lot of things to do but they could not be done without Remus being there. The other man would be great help to him. Albus Dumbledore had told him how Remus had found find Peter Pettigrew and captured the rat.
In Hogsmead, he apparated directly outside the inn 'Hogshead' and went inside. A few patrons who were inside the inn stiffened at his sight and he said gruffly to the barkeep, "A room for one for a few days, barkeep."
The barman nodded, "The first room on the right on the first floor."