Chapter 31: Flight of the Fat Lady

Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter. I just saw the new Fantastic Beasts movie and while I was disappointed Johnny Depp was replaced the movie gave me quite a few ideas. So I hope you like what I have planned. Please Review and Enjoy.

At Hogwarts, things were starting to get interesting as we moved into October. Prof. Lupin's class was a big hit. They finally had a DECENT Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Alright for my next lesson I'm going to show you all a very handy spell. Mr. Snape come on up." Prof. Lupin insists.

"Uh okay." Sam said standing up.

"Since the Boggart lesson wasn't a fancy of yours you will test this spell. It's the Seize and Pull Charm, Carpe Retractum which can be used to not only pull objects towards you but can also pull you towards them." Prof. Lupin explains positioning Sam diagonal from the second level.

Taking out his wand, Prof. Lupin aimed for the top of the stairs.

"Watch me. Carpe Retractum!" Lupin flicks his wand and a purple cord shot out pulling him to the top of the stairs.

"That's pretty handy." Sam admits.

"Indeed. Now you." Lupin said making his way down the stairs.

Taking out wand, Sam aimed for the stairs.

"Carpe Retractum!" Sam said as the purple cord shot out pulling him to the top of the stairs.

"Very good Mr. Snape. 5 points to Slytherin." Prof. Lupin said as the bell rang.

"Hey Sam, can you help me?" Neville asks walking up to him.

"Sure Neville, what's up?" Sam asks.

"It's Prof. Snape. He found out about the Boggart and he's making my life miserable." Neville said.

"Can you blame him? You dressed him up like an old lady. Of course he was gonna find out sooner or later." Sam shrugs.

"Please Sam, I need you to tutor me in Potions or I won't make it through the year." Neville begs.

"Hmm help me with Herbology and you got a deal." Sam offers.

"Deal." Neville smiles as they shook hands.

"Have you boys ever seen something so pathetic?" Malfoy mocks with Crabbe and Goyle by his side. "Bargaining with the likes of Longbottom? Talk about pathetic."

"You want to talk pathetic Malfoy? How about the fact that Hagrid is being blamed for your screwup? When are you gonna grow up and be responsible for once?" Sam asks.

"Excuse me?" Malfoy hissed.

"I don't have time for this. I got Quidditch practice." Sam said heading out.

"You may think you're on top of the world Samuel but you can easily get knocked down in a second." Malfoy said.

"Whatever. I have enough problems to deal with and you're not one of them." Sam rolls his eyes not caring pissing Malfoy off.

At the Quidditch field, the Slytherin team was lined up.

"Alright team listen up." Marcus said as Sam stood next to Orion and Skye. "This is my last year at Hogwarts and I expect us to win the Quidditch Cup. Last year's incident robbed us of our chance to win so I expect all of you to be able to pull your weight and get us that top spot."

"That'll be tough when Gryffindor is our first match." Orion points out.

"They are always our biggest competition." Skye adds.

"I know, but this year our match has been moved." Marcus declares surprising them.

"But we always face Gryffindor first. I was already so pumped to face Harry." Sam said.

"You're part of the reason of this change. I want to win and I have to make sure you won't throw the match for your little buddy." Marcus glares.

"I would never do such a thing." Sam said.

"Well then you better make sure we beat Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff." Marcus hisses. "All of you get to practice."

"Why are so many people jerks?" Sam growls.

"He may sound awful but deep down he speaks some true. You and Harry are best buds." Orion said.

"I would never go easy on him because of that." Sam said defensively.

"We know, but you gotta admit. Harry has a whole year of Quidditch ahead of you. Wouldn't hurt to get a little more practice in." Skye points out.

"Fine. Let's just do this." Sam said grabbing his broom as they headed to the field.

"Hey." Walking up to him, Skye put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks a lot."

"For what?" Sam asks confused.

"What do you think, Slytherin's Champion?" Orion smiles walking alongside them.

"Oh this again." Sam rolls his eyes.

"Thanks to you people actually want to hang out with us." Skye said.

"Let me tell you, when people found out we were your team they were—"

"Whoa whoa whoa? It's not my team. It's our house team." Sam said defensively.

Stepping away, Sam turns to face them.

"Please, no celebrity treatment I cannot stress that enough." Sam begs.

"Not a fan?" Orion snickers.

"Not really." Sam admits.

"Good, that means I won't have to knock you off your broom to knock some sense into you." Skye said.

"Ha good one Skye." Sam chuckles nervously.

"I wasn't joking. The last thing I need is for you to let all this fame go to your head." Skye said.

"Oh." Sam said nervously making Orion and Skye snicker.

"Come on, we got a match with Ravenclaw to prepare for." Orion said as they took off into the sky.

A few days later, it was the day of the first trip to Hogsmeade.

Currently, in the Great Hall, Sam was sitting down with Eric, Cole, Barnaby, Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"So how's being an assistant teacher going?" Harry asks.

"It's kinda cool. Granted Hagrid's really dropped the excitement since the whole Hippogriff incident." Cole cringed.

"Spoiler alert: we're working with Flobberworms next." Eric said making the Slytherins and Gryffindors groan.

"Flobberworms? Those are some of the lamest creatures in the magical world." Barnaby said.

"No arguments here." Ron agrees.

"Hagrid's shaken up. Thanks to Malfoy he has to be extra careful not to piss off any more parents or he could be fired." Cole explains.

"It's not fair, meanwhile is milking his new cast for all its worth." Hermione said.

"What do you say we teach him a lesson Sam?" Eric asks but got no answer. "Sam?"

Looking over at him, Sam's mind was elsewhere.

'The wolf is on the hunt? What does that mean?" Sam thought thinking about what Prof. Trelawney told him.

"Hey Sam are you alright?" Harry asks but didn't get an answer.

Down the table, Daphne couldn't help but wonder what, while Bea was listening in nearby.

"Guys! Guys!" Tulip yells snapping Sam out of it.

"Who what?" Sam asks confused.

"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" Dean yells putting the paper down.

"Who's been sighted?" Ron asks.

"Sirius Black!" Dean said showing them the paper.

"Dufftown? That's not far from here." Hermione realized.

"You don't actually think he's coming here do you?" Cole asks.

"With Dementors at every entrance?" Tulip asks.

"He's slipped past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?" Dean asks.

Sighing Sam put a hand on his head and sat back down.

"Hey you okay?" Barnaby asks.

"First the Philosopher's Stone, then the Chamber of Secrets and now this? When am I ever gonna get a break from this?" Sam groans.

"Hey you'll get through this. You're Slytherin's Champion for crying out loud. If last year has proved anything it's that you can take care of yourself." Barnaby said.

"Thanks Barnaby." Sam smiles softly.

Suddenly the owls that were delivering the mail to all the wizards flew in and Noctis landed on the table next to Sam.

"Oh hey Noct. What you got for me?" Petting his owl Sam sees a letter with a seal with the letter Z on it.

"Oh great. What does she want?" Sam groans opening it.

"Hi Sammy how's Hogwarts? Things here in Ilvermorny are so quiet and boring hopefully next year I'll join Hogwarts. Heard there was an attack from the dementors on the Hogwarts express I almost got scared if you got hurt keyword "almost". There is only one way to keep those monsters away. Since you have the instincts, you'll find out what it is and since I'm a nice girl I'll give you a hint: " Even in the darkest situations try to have happy thoughts like me" good luck on finding your answer."

PS: Hope you don't have any holiday plans because when Christmas comes you and I will be doing a magic show with dad. Better practice up so I don't beat you too badly.

XOXOXO

Z

"Ugh she drives me crazy." Sam growls. "Now she's pulling stuff like this?"

"Says it's from Z? Who's Z?" Barnaby asks.

"Her name is Zanna. I met her over Summer break. She can be a real pain sometimes." Sam said with a soft blush on his face.

"Oh so she's like your girlfriend or something?" Barnaby asks making Daphne almost choke on her drink.

"What?! No she is not girlfriend. She drives me nuts!" Sam said.

"Who drives you nuts?" Ron asks as he, Eric, Cole and Harry walked over.

"Zanna sent him a later. Apparently, they're gonna do a magic show for Christmas." Barnaby said.

"Who's Zanna?" Ron asks.

"She's a girl Sam and I met over break." Harry said.

"She goes to another wizard school and here's the kicker she like Muggle Magic tricks too." Eric chuckles.

"Oh man talk about lucky. Getting a girlfriend over break? Now I'm jealous." Ron said.

"She's not my girlfriend. She drives me crazy." Sam said.

"Sounds like one to me." Cole chuckles getting Tulip's attention.

"You two did spend a lot of time together before we left." Eric points out.

"Her dad was teaching us magic." Sam points out.

"So what about all those funny little moments you two had?" Harry adds making Tulip lean in needing to know more.

"It's not like that." Sam said but the 5 boys seemed to enjoy messing with him.

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" Hermione asks walking over.

"Yes." Eric, Cole, Harry, Ron and Barnaby smile.

"No!" Sam said louder.

Hearing this Bea couldn't help but get an idea.

Entering the Hufflepuff Commonroom, Bea went in search of her sister who was getting ready for Hogsmeade.

"Hey Sis." Bea said getting her attention.

"Beatrice." Penny acknowledges. "Sorry but you have to wait one more year before you can come with me."

"It's not about Hogsmeade. Listen I heard something that might be interesting for you to know." Bea said.

"I'm not really into gossip." Penny said.

"Oh? So I guess you don't wanna hear that Sam might have a girlfriend?" Bea said casually making Penny stumble before recovering.

"S-Sam? Girlfriend?" Penny asks briefly snapping at out of her usual depressing mood.

"That's what I heard. She must be pretty amazing to get his attention. Not gonna lie I thought you liked him." Bea smirks.

"I-I do, but not like that." Penny said.

"Well I know one thing for sure. I doubt Sam wants a girlfriend who's all sad and depressing." Bea said leaving her sister with something to think about.

'Come on Penny, snap out of it before you lost everything.' Bea thought worried.

Later that afternoon at Hogsmeade, the students arrive to see quite a few Wizard Shops including Honeydukes sweets, Zonko's Joke Emporium, the 3 Broomsticks and a few other places.

"Hey Sam want to join us for Honeydukes? We're gonna get Harry something since he's missing out." Ron offers.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm just going to do some exploring." Sam said.

"Don't stay too long." Hermione said as Sam headed off on his own.

As he made his way down the street, he overheard quite a few Witches and Wizards talking about him but he didn't worry about it.

He was Slytherin's Champion and he was gonna have to learn to deal with his new fame.

It wasn't gonna be easy but he would have to get used to it.

Making his way down the road, Sam looked to see it was pretty much isolated.

Sighing Sam didn't mind the peace and quiet, but then he suddenly heard a noise down an alley.

"Who's there?" Sam asks reaching to his wand.

As the strange noise got closer, Sam looks in horror to see a dementor fly in.

Panicking, Sam fell backward in fear as the Dementor closed in and he suddenly heard more voices.

"Please take my son, protect him and when he's old enough tell him how brave his family was." Lucy's voice echoed in his head.

Suddenly a white spell was fired blasting the Dementor off him.

Shrieking the Dementor flew away.

"Blasted things." Turning around Sam sees an elderly man with a big hat and a long white beard who looked vaguely familiar to him.

"Thank you sir." Sam said as he helped him up.

"Come on in. You need a Butterbeer." He said leading him inside a place called The Hog's Head Inn.

Looking inside, Sam saw that compared to the Three Broomsticks this place was not appealing to look at not to mention it was practically empty.

Sitting down at the bar, the old man pours him a glass.

"Hey thanks, I really—" Sam was about to reach for it when the old man stops him.

"It's not for free kid. That'll be 4 Sickles." He said.

Narrowing his eyes, Sam couldn't believe he was still charging him.

"I'm giving you a good deal." He glares back.

Reaching into his pocket, Sam handed them to him and got the glass.

Taking a big gulp of it Sam started to feel better.

"I swear as if business wasn't bad enough. Now we have those things everywhere." He said wiping his glasses when he noticed Sam staring at him. "What are you staring at?"

"Sorry it's just…have we met somewhere before?" Sam asks.

"Have you been to Hogsmeade before?" He asks.

"First time." Sam shook his head.

"Then no. You must be thinking of my brother." He said taking off his hat and giving Sam a better view.

"Wait. Anyone ever tell you that you kinda look like Dumbledore?" Sam recognized.

"Because I am one. Albus Dumbledore is my brother. My name is Aberforth." He declares.

"I didn't know Dumbledore had a brother." Sam said surprised.

"Of course you don't. Who would?" Aberforth mocks.

"Well my name is—"

"Samuel Snape. The Champion of Salazar Slytherin and conqueror of the Chamber of Secrets." Aberforth interrupts again.

"I swear all this fame is starting to become a pain." Sam sighs taking another drink.

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before sticking your nose into secrets and clearing Slytherin's name." Aberforth said.

"Hey, I didn't know your brother was gonna tell the newspaper about me." Sam said.

"Guess you don't know my brother like I do. He loves the spotlight. I didn't want to be anywhere near him unless I had to." Aberforth said.

"Why? If I had a brother like Dumbledore I'd—" Sam said.

"Hate every second of it." Aberforth interrupts. "Look I'm not saying you're a fool for doing what you did. You're young you think everything is black and white but it's not. It's just one big mess."

"You don't like your brother much do you?" Sam asks.

"Albus and I once had to make the same choice. Family or Hogwarts. I chose my family while my brother chose his school and became a legend. Tell me how many stories have you heard about my brother?" Aberforth asks.

"Lots." Sam said.

"But do you know of any that mention me or anyone else in his family?" Aberforth asks.

"I-I don't know." Sam admits.

"The answer is no. I've read about you. Why do you do the things you do?" Aberforth asks.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"Why did you choose to look into these things? Help Harry Potter? What is your reason for choosing to step off the sidelines?" Aberforth asks.

"Why does that matter?" Sam asks.

"Because unless you know why you make these choices are they really yours or are you just following behind Harry Potter and my brother?" Aberforth asks.

Pausing Sam wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Well I mean I did it because—well I just thought—you know." Sam stutters.

"Yeah I'm totally understanding. If you don't a real answer the door is that way." Aberforth said pointing to it.

Sighing Sam gulped the last of his butterbeer down before standing up.

"Can I ask you one question?" Sam asks.

"You already did…but I'll let it slide. What?" Aberforth asks.

"What was that spell you did? The one that drove off the Dementor?" Sam asks.

"It's a Patronus Charm. Very powerful and advanced but it's the only weapon you can use against a Dementor." Aberforth said.

"Can you teach me that?" Sam asks.

"Do I look like a teacher?" Aberforth said turning to him. "You want to learn it find yourself a mentor who knows his stuff."

"Thanks." Sam said annoyed.

As he turned to the door he opened it, but before he left he turned to Aberforth.

"When I figure out my answer I'll be back." Sam said.

"Then you better think long and hard." Aberforth brushes off.

Closing the door Sam left the Hog's Head.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Harry was spending time with Prof. Lupin.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get McGonagall to sign his form so he wasn't able to go to Hogsmeade with the others.

"Professor. I was wondering. Why did you jump in front of me when it was my turn to face the Boggart?" Harry asks.

"Well partially because I was worried it would turn into Lord Voldemort." Prof. Lupin admits.

"You say his name?" Harry said surprised to hear another person say it aloud.

"Although I was happy to see it didn't turn into him." Lupin said.

"I thought about it, but then I remember those dementors." Harry said.

"So in a way what you fear the most is fear itself. Very wise." Lupin said.

"I wonder what Sam's fear would have been?" Harry admits.

"Well I can't say I speak for him but I think Neville's stunt certainly startled him." Prof. Lupin chuckles.

"The first time I fainted. I heard a woman screaming." Harry said.

"Dementors force us to relive our worst enemies. Even if we don't remember them." Prof. Lupin said.

"I think it was my mother. The night she was murdered." Harry said.

"You know I recognized you the second I saw you Harry. Not by your scar, but by your eyes. They're your mother's. I met her when I was a student. She had a unique ability for seeing the beauty in others, even when they couldn't see it for themselves. Now your father on the other hand. Had a habit of getting himself into trouble." Prof. Lupin said.

"You knew my parents?" Harry said interested.

"Yes I went to school with them and—" Before he could finish, the door opens revealing Prof. Snape holding two goblets. "Ah Serverus. I was just having a talk with Harry."

"Fascinating." Severus said handing the Goblet to him. "I recommend drinking it directly."

"Yes, yes I will." Lupin nods taking it.

"I have an entire cauldronful if you need more." Severus said.

"Who's the other goblet for?" Harry asks.

"For someone who needs to drink it." Snape said dodging the question and leaving.

"It's a shame I can't add sugar. Thank goodness Prof. Snape is here to make it for me." Lupin said drinking the goblet.

"Are you okay sir?" Harry asks.

"Yes, I'm quite fine. Just a little under the weather." Lupin assures.

Down the hall, we see Snape give the other goblet to Chiara who took a big drink of it.

"The headmaster will have your escort to the Forbidden Forest ready just like before. You know where the cauldron is." Snape reminds.

"Yes sir." Chiara said finishing it. "Ugh still can't get used to it."

"Seeing as how it helps. I suggest you not take it for granted." Snape said before leaving.

After returning to Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the commonroom when they noticed a crowd in front of the painting.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Hermione asks.

"Has Neville forgotten the password again?" Ron asks.

"Hey, I'm right here." Neville said offended revealing he was nearby.

"Guys something's wrong." Jae said leaning against the stairs to get a better view.

"Let me through please. You can't have all forgotten the password." Percy said making his way to the front.

"What's going on?" Dumbledore said arriving on the scene with Mr. Flich.

Making their way to the portrait he gasps to see the Fat Lady was gone and there were vicious slash marks on the painting.

"What happened to the Fat Lady?" Ginny gasps.

"We need to find her. Flich round up the ghosts. Search every portrait in the castle until we find the Fat Lady." Dumbledore orders.

"No need for that sir." Peeve said flying in.

"What do you want Peeves?" Flich glares.

"I know where she is. She's on the 4th floor crying her eyes out." Peeves points.

Making their way up they see the Fat Lady hiding in a savannah painting.

"My dead lady who did this to you?" Dumbledore asks as she popped her head out sobbing.

"Eyes like the devil and a soul as dark as his name. Scared the living the living daylights out of here." Peeves snickers.

"Who?" Dumbledore repeats.

"It's him, headmaster. The one they all talk about. Here's here! In the castle! Sirius Black!" The Fat Lady declares much to everyone's horror and fear.