XXVI. Imposing
Grand and impressive in appearance.
It looks like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship.
Each teen is so angry with the other that Harry and Jayla can't see how they'll ever make it up. Ron is enraged that Hermione has never taken Crookshanks' attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hasn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him and is still trying to pretend that Crookshanks is innocent by suggesting Ron looks for Scabbers under all the boys' beds.
Jayla also talks with Fee, Crookshanks and Hades, learning something shocking and immediately writes to her parents, who send her something to help.
Hermione, meanwhile, maintains fiercely that Ron has no proof that Crookshanks has eaten Scabbers; the ginger hairs might have been there since after Christmas, and Ron has been prejudiced against her and Jayla's cats ever since Hades attacked Scabbers their first year on the Hogwarts Express and Crookshanks landed on his head in the Magical Menagerie.
Personally, Harry is sure Crookshanks has eaten Scabbers but doesn't tell the girls outright, and when he tries pointing out to Hermione that the evidence all points that way, she loses her temper with him, too. "Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" She yells shrilly, and Jayla is by her side in seconds, comforting her. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"
"I thought better of you, Harry," Jayla remarks, hurting his heart a little with her words as the girls walk away. Ron has taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed, even with Fee, who he keeps on him at every waking moment.
"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred reminds his baby brother bracingly. "And he's been off-colour for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly. One swallow - he probably didn't feel a thing."
"Fred!" Ginny gasps indignantly.
"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," George agrees with his twin brother.
"He bit Goyle for us once," Ron argues miserably. "Remember, Harry?"
"Yeah, that's true," Harry agrees with his best friend.
"His finest hour," Fred nods, unable to keep a straight face. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy something for Fee. What's the point of moaning?"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
In the final practice before the Ravenclaw match, Harry brings Ron, surprising Jayla as she stands with Fred and George. "I feel like he's playing Harry now," Jayla comments, making the twins laugh. Oliver frowns at them, letting Ron stay until the end of their practice. Madam Hooch is still watching over the Gryffindor team because of Sirius Black, and she takes the Firebolt from Harry, inspecting the broomstick with his permission.
"Look at the balance on it!" Madam Hooch marvels, giving her professional opinion. "If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail-end - you often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle, too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows - a pity they've stopped making them, I learned to fly on one, and a very fine old broom it was too…" She continues until Wood grows bored, needing to start practice immediately.
"Er - Madam Hooch?" Oliver buts in, stomping towards them, making the Weasley twins snicker behind their hands. "Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? Only we need to practise…"
"Oh - right - here you are, then, Potter," She says, seeming to have forgotten. "I'll sit over here with Weasley…" She moves away with Ron off of the Pitch to sit in the stadium, and the Quidditch team gather around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's match.
"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw are playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth-year, and she's pretty good… I really hoped she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries…" Wood scowls his displeasure that Cho Chang has fully recovered, then says, "On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt." He gives Harry's broom a look of admiration, probably imagining their victory. "Okay, everyone, let's go -," At last, everyone mounts their broomsticks, and Harry mounts the Firebolt with a kick off the ground. Harry smiles, feeling like he's dreaming. Maybe even better. The Firebolt turns with the lightest touch; it seems to obey his thoughts rather than his grip. It speeds across the Pitch so fast that the stadium turns into a green and grey blur. Jayla watches from her Nimbus 2001 as he sharply turns, making Alicia scream in fear, but he goes into a perfectly controlled dive, brushing the grassy Pitch with his toes before rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into the air again.
"What an idiot," Jayla mutters, shaking her head at the foolish boy as he messes around on his new broom, testing it out.
"Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!" Wood calls, and Harry hears him, turning and racing a Bludger towards the goalposts, outstripping it easily, spotting the Snitch dart out from behind Oliver and, within ten seconds, catches it tightly in his hand. The team cheers madly at the stunt. Harry lets the Snitch go again, giving it a minute's head start, then tears off, weaving in and out of the others. He soon spots it lurking near Katie's knee; he easily loops her and catches it again.
Harry believes that that was the best practice ever; the team, now inspired by the presence of the Firebolt in their midst, perform their best moves faultlessly, and by the time they hit the ground again, Wood doesn't have a single criticism to make, which, as George points out, is a first. "I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" Oliver announces. "Not unless - Harry, you've sorted your Dementor problem haven't you?"
"Yeah," Harry assures the Captain, thinking of his feeble Patronus and wishing it was stronger.
"The Dementors won't turn up again, Oliver, Dumbledore'd do his nut," Fred reminds him confidently.
"Well, let's hope not," He remarks. "Anyway - good work, everyone. Let's get back to the Tower, turn in early…"
"I'm staying out for a bit; Ron wants a go on the Firebolt," Harry informs Oliver, and while the team par, Harry and Jayla head for the changing room as Harry and Jayla stride over to Ron, who vaults the barrier to the stands and comes to meet them. Jayla sits in the stands with a sleeping Madam Hooch, who falls asleep at some point, and the Darkmore Heiress stays, wanting to keep an eye on the boys. "Here you go," Harry says, handing Ron the Firebolt, whose expression turns into pure ecstasy before mounting the broom and zooming off into the gathering darkness. At the same time, Harry walks around the edge of the Pitch, watching him. Night falls before Madam Hooch wakes with a start, telling Harry, Ron and Jayla off for not waking her and insisting that they go back to the castle. Harry shoulders the Firebolt, and the three Gryffindors walk out of the shadowy stadium. The boys discuss the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, phenomenal acceleration and pinpoint turning as Jayla stays silent, still not talking to them.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The boys and Jayla are halfway towards the castle when Harry glances to his left, seeing something that makes his heart turn over - a pair of eyes gleaming out of the darkness. Harry stops dead, his heart banging against his ribs. "What's the matter?" Ron asks, looking at him, and Jayla stops, seeing Harry pointing at something. Jayla pulls her wand out with Ron, muttering, "Lumos!"A beam of light falls across the grass, hitting the bottom of a tree and illuminating its branches; there, crouching amongst the budding leaves, is Crookshanks. "Get out of it!" The redhead roars, and he stoops down and seizes a stone lying on the grass, but before he can do anything else, Crookshanks vanishes with one swish of his long ginger tail.
"You are a horrible little boy, you know that," Jayla shakes her head at the youngest Weasley boy, still knowing that it's not Crookshanks' fault that Scabbers has gone missing.
"See?" Ron sneers furiously, chucking the stone down again, earning a slap on the arm from the Darkmore Heiress. "She' 's still letting him wander about wherever he wants - probably washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now…" Harry doesn't say anything, looking at Jayla. He takes a deep breath as relief seeps through him, glad he hasn't encouraged anything dangerous that's lurking around the school grounds. They set off for the castle once more. Slightly ashamed of his moment of panic, Harry doesn't say anything to Ron or Jayla - nor does he look left or right until they reach the well-lit Entrance Hall. Jayla can see the panic fading in Harry's eyes as they grow closer to the castle, and she keeps her wand raised, lighting the way.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Jayla sits on her bed, reading the book she got from the Restricted Section thanks to Professor Lupin later that night, seeming totally engrossed when Hades jumps onto the bed, which makes Jayla look up. "What are you reading?" Hades asks, peering at the pages and trying to decipher what her owner is reading.
"How do you know Sirius?" Jayla changes the subject, glancing at her cat, who looks back at her.
"I thought you knew," She replies, curling up on the Darkmore Heiress's lap. "He's in the Shrieking Shack; me and Crookshanks were wandering around a few weeks ago and happened on him."
"I see…" The two-toned-haired girl muses, thinking of her next step and turns back to her book. "Could you send him notes if I need you to?"
"Sure," The feline agrees, closing her eyes as she enjoys the natural warmth coming from the teen.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry goes down to breakfast the following morning with the rest of the boys in his dormitory, all of whom think the Firebolt deserves a guard of honour. As Harry enters the Great Hall, heads turn toward the Firebolt, and there is a great deal of exciting muttering. Harry sees, with enormous satisfaction, that the Slytherin team are all looking thunderstruck. "Did you see his face?" Ron grins gleefully, looking back at Malfoy. "He can't believe it! This is brilliant!" Wood, too, is basking in the reflecting glory of the Firebolt.
"Put it here, Harry," Oliver intrust, laying the broom in the middle of the table and carefully turning it so its name faces upwards. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables are soon coming over to look. Cedric approaches the Gryffindor table, standing on the other side, amazingly right behind Jayla, touching the girl's back. Jayla tries to fight the burning blush as she feels the contact, though there isn't that usual flutter in her stomach anymore.
"Congratulate, Harry," Cedric beams, admiring the broomstick. "It looks like a superb replacement for your Nimbus. I'm still sorry about your poor broom."
"Thanks, Cedric," Harry smiles stiffly, looking at the Hufflepuff Seeker and wondering how Cedric and Jayla know each other, as they seem to be friendly at least.
"Can I hold it, Harry?" Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope, asks, holding her hands out when she joins the crowd of onlookers, and Harry allows her, who takes it gingerly into her hands.
"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" Percy declares heartily as she examines the Firebolt closely. "Penelope and I have got a bet on," He informs the team. "Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"
"Leave Penny alone, Percy," Jayla rolls her eyes as Penelope puts the Firebolt down on the table again and thanks Harry before returning to her table.
"Harry - make sure you win," He ignores the Darkmore Heiress and urgently whispers. "I haven't got ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" He bustles off to join her with a piece of toast.
"He is so ridiculous," She mutters, rolling her eyes and continuing to eat her syrup and blueberry porridge.
"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" A cold, drawling voice questions. Draco has arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him.
"Yeah, reckon so," Harry replies casually, not bothered by the Slytherin Prince and his goons.
"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Malfoy asks, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute - in case you get too near a Dementor." Crabbe and Goyle snigger to themselves.
"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," He retorts snarkily. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you." The Gryffindor team laugh loudly, making Malfoy's eyes narrow in anger, and he stalks away. They watch him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, doubt asking Draco whether Harry's broom really is a Firebolt.
"Eat your breakfast, Harry," Jayla instructs him, making the raven-haired teen turn to her and seeing her holding a plate of toast with strawberry jam with butter, just how he likes it.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
At quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the changing room, with the weather seeming utterly different from their match against Hufflepuff. It is a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there will be no visibility problems this time, and Harry, though nervous, is starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match can bring. He feels a little sorry about Jayla missing out but understands the arrangement between the girls as they've made it fair amongst them. The team can hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond; Harry takes off his black school robes, removes his wand from his pocket, and sticks it inside the t-shirt Harry will wear under his Quidditch robes. He only hopes he won't need it. He wonders suddenly whether Professor Lupin is in the crowd, watching. "You know what we've got to do?" Wood asks, preparing to leave the changing rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just - Just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Gryffindor team walks out onto the Pitch to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, are already standing in the middle of the Pitch. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, is the only girl on their team. She is shorter than Harry by about a head, and Harry can't help but notice, nervous as he is, that she is extremely pretty. But not as beautiful as Jayla. She smiles at Harry as the teams face each other behind their Captains; he doesn't feel anything like Jayla does whenever she looks at him. "Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch instructs briskly, and Oliver shakes hands with the Ravenclaw Captain. "Mount your brooms… on my whistle… three - two - one -." Harry kicks off into the air, and the Firebolt zooms higher and faster than any other broom; he soars around the stadium and begins squinting around for the Snitch. Listening all the while to the commentary, which is being provided by Lee Jordan.
"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt which Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to 'Which Broomstick', the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship -," Lee commentates in the stand with the teachers, mainly selling the Firebolt to the audience.
"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall's voice interrupts.
"Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background information. The Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -," He continues.
"Jordan!" She shrieks, making some of the students laugh.
"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal…" Harry streaks past Katie in the opposite direction, gazing around for a hint of gold anywhere and noticing Cho tailing him closely. She is undoubtedly a very good flyer - he couldn't help but compare her to Jayla, who is a much better flyer - and Cho keeps cutting across him, forcing him to change directions.
"Show her your acceleration, Harry!" Fred yells as he whooshes past in pursuit of a Bludger that is aiming for Alicia. Harry urges the Firebolt forward as they round the Ravenclaw goalposts, and Cho falls behind. Just as Katie succeeds in scoring the match's first goal, and the Gryffindor end of the Pitch goes wild, he spots it - the Snitch - close to the ground, flitting near one of the barriers. Harry dives, and Cho sees what he is doing and tears after the Gryffindor Seeker. Harry speeds up, excitement flooding him; dives are his speciality. He is ten feet away, then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, comes pelting out of nowhere; Harry veers off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those few crucial seconds, the Snitch vanishes.
"Ooooooooh!" Disappointment comes from the Gryffindor supporters, but applause from the Ravenclaw's end. George vents his feelings by hitting the second Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who is forced to roll right over in mid-air to avoid it.
"Gryffindor lead by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now. See it turn - Chang's Comet is just no match for it. The Firebolt's precision balance is really noticeable in these long -." Lee continues his commentary and promotes the Firebolt.
"JORDAN!" McGonagall shouts. "ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!" Ravenclaw is pulling back; they now score three goals, which puts Gryffindor fifty points ahead. If Cho gets the Snitch before Harry, Ravenclaw will win. He drops lower, narrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw Chaser, scanning the Pitch frantically. A glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings - the Snitch is circling the Gryffindor goalpost… Harry accelerates, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead - but the next second, Cho has appeared out of thin air, blocking him.
"HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Wood roars as Harry swerves to avoid a collision. "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!" Harry turns and catches sight of Cho; she is grinning. The Snitch vanishes again. Harry turns his Firebolt upwards and is soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Cho following him… she's decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch herself. Right then…if she wants to tail him, she will have to take the consequences… He dives again, and Cho, thinking he's spotted the Snitch, tries to follow. Harry pulls out of the dive very sharply; she hurtles downwards; he rises fast as a bullet once more and then sees it, for the third time: the Snitch is glittering way above the Pitch at the Ravenclaw end. He accelerates; so many feet below, so does Cho. He is winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second - then…
"Oh!" Cho screams, pointing and distracting Harry, who looks down. Three Dementors, three tall, black, hooded Dementors, are looking up at him. He doesn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of his robes, he whips out his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"Harry roars, and something silver-white, something enormous, erupts from the end of his wand. He knows it has shot directly at the Dementors but doesn't pause to watch his mind still miraculously clear; he looks ahead - he is nearly there. He stretches out the hand, still grasping his wand, and just manages to close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch. Madam Hooch blows the whistle, and Harry turns around mid-air and sees seven scarlet blurs bearing down on him. The next moment, the whole team, including Jayla, hugs him so hard that he's nearly pulled off his broom. Down below, roaring comes from the Gryffindor crowd.
"That's my boy!" Wood keeps yelling. The Chasers kiss Harry all over his face, making him blush a little, especially considering that one of them is Jayla, and Fred has him in a grip so tight that Harry feels his head will come off. In complete disarray, the team manages to make its way back to the ground. Harry gets off his broom and sees a gaggle of Gryffindor supporters sprinting onto the Pitch, Ron in the lead. Before he knows it, he has been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
"Yes!" Ron screams, yanking Harry's arms into the air. "Yes! Yes!"
"Well done, Harry!" Percy cheers, looking delighted. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me-," He races off to collect his winnings.
"Good on you, Harry!" Seamus roars in the boy's ears, making him cringe a little.
"Ruddy brilliant!" Hagrid booms over the head of the milling Gryffindors.
"That was quite some Patronous," A voice says in Harry's ear, making him turn around to see Professor Lupin, who looks both shaken and pleased.
"The Dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry informs him excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"
"That would be because they - er - weren't Dementors," Professor Lupin informs him, seeing the delight on his face drop. "Come and see…"
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Remus leads Harry out of the crowd until they can see the edge of the Pitch. "You gave Mr Malfoy quite a fright," Lupin hides his smile as Harry stares, seeing the lying crumpled heap on the ground are Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looks as though Draco is standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, is Professor McGonagall.
"An unworthy trick!" McGonagall shouts. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!" If anything can have a set seal on Gryffindor's victory, it is this. Ron fights his way through to Harry's side, doubling over with laughter as they watch Malfoy fighting to extricate himself from the robes, Goyle's head still stuck inside it.
"Come on, Harry!" George shouts, fighting his way over. "Party! Gryffindor Common Room, now!"
"Right," Harry agrees, feeling happier than he has in ages. Jayla races over, taking something from Hermione, which Harry realises is a camera, and takes a picture of the four Slytherins.
"This is going on the Christmas Card," Jayla giggles, running back to Hermione. The team, still in their scarlet robes, lead the way out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Gryffindor team feels as though they have already won the Quidditch Cup; the party goes on all day and well into the night. The Weasley twins disappear for a few hours and return with armfuls of bottles filled with Butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets. "How did you do that?" Angelina squeals as George starts throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," Fred mutters in Harry's ear, making him smirk at the inside joke. Only one person isn't joining in the festivities. Hermione, incredibly, is sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled 'Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles'. Harry breaks away from the table where Fred and George start juggling Butterbeer bottles and goes over to her.
"Did you even come to the match?" Harry asks her, standing before her.
"Of course, I did," Hermione retorts in a strangely high-pitched voice, not looking up from her book. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."
"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," He encourages her, looking over at Ron and Jayla, wondering whether the redhead will be in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet. However, it seems he's getting along with Jayla, who is talking with Katie.
"I can't, Harry, I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" She argues, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway…" She glances over at Ron, too, "he doesn't want me to join in."
There is no arguing with that, as Ron chooses at that moment to shout, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of these Fudge Flies, he used to really like them -." Hermione bursts into tears, and before Harry can say or do anything, she tucks the enormous book under her arm and, still sobbing, runs towards the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.
"Can you give her a break?" Harry asks Ron quietly, feeling a burning glare on the back of his head.
"No," Ron replies flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry - but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on holiday or something."
"You, Ronald Weasley, are ridiculous. You've made her cry. Yet again!" Jayla shouts, storming over to him and grabbing his robes with her hands, glaring at the redhead, who looks at her, growing a little red as everyone watches. "It wasn't Crookshanks! Why can't you accept that! You absolute idiot!" She pushes him into the bottles of Butterbeer, spilling a few before she races up the stairs after her best friend.
"You kind of deserved that," Harry mutters, helping his best friend to his feet, and the party soon ends with the help of Professor McGonagall turning up in her tartan dressing gown and hair-net at one in the morning to insist that they all go to bed.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Jayla lies in Hermione's bed, comforting the bushy-haired girl as she cries into her pillow; even Hades and Crookshanks join the girls as they try to get some sleep with the rowdy party going on downstairs in the Common Room. Jayla rubs Hermione's back as she cries, though it becomes less as she calms down, and the Heiress can barely make out some of the words as she cries. "I know. I don't like Ron right now either," Jayla mutters, rubbing Hermione's back as Hades plays with her hair, and Crookshanks keeps telling her off, being older and wiser than the young cat. "Hades, stop that," She scolds her pet, who stares at her and curls up on the top of the pillow. "If you want, I can get Hades to mess up Ron's pillows. She likes destroying pillows." The Darkmore Heiress suggests, making her friend laugh, and the tears stop a little. "I don't mind, and I'm sure Hades doesn't either."
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry and Ron climb the stairs to their dormitory, still discussing the match. At last, exhaustion catches up as Harry climbs into his bed, twitching the hangings of his four-poster shut to block out a ray of moonlight, lying back and feeling himself almost instantly drifting off to sleep… He has a bizarre dream.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry finds himself walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery white. It is winding through the trees ahead, and he can only see glimpses between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, he speeds up, but as he moves faster, so does his quarry. Harry breaks into a run and ahead, hearing hooves gathering speed. Now, he is running flat out and ahead, and he can hear galloping. Then he turns a corner into a clearing and…
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Harry wakes as suddenly as though he's been hit in the face. Disorientated in the total darkness, he fumbles with his hangings - he can hear movements around him and Seamus's voice from the other side of the room.
"What's going on?" Seamus asks sleepily, and Harry thinks he can hear the dormitory door slam. At last, finding the divide in his curtains, he rips them back at the exact moment. Dean lights his lamp. Ron is sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of the utmost terror on his face.
"Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!" Ron shouts in terror.
"What?" Neville frowns, looking around the dark dormitory.
"Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!" He yells at the other boys.
"You sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" Dean asks him calmly, not taking him seriously yet.
"Look at the curtains!" The redhead shouts, gesturing to the curtains hanging around his bed. "I tell you, he was here!" The other boys seem to agree and scramble out of bed; Harry reaches the dormitory door first, and they sprint back down the staircase. Doors open behind them, and sleepy voices call after them.
"Who shouted?"
"What're you doing?" Other students shout after the third-year boys, upset about their disturbed sleep.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Common Room is lit by the glow of the dying fire, still littering the debris from the party. It is deserted. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?"
"I'm telling you, I saw him!"
"What's all the noise?"
"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!" A few girls come down, joining the others from their dorms, pulling on dressing gowns and yawning. Boys, too, are reappearing.
"Excellent, are we carrying on?" Fred asks brightly, tying his loop on his robes.
"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy demands, hurrying into the Common Room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pyjamas as he speaks.
"Perce - Sirius Black!" Ron says faintly, missing the look of dread and confusion on Jayla's face as she looks around the room. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!" The Common Room goes very still.
"Nonsense!" He shakes his head, looking startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron - had a nightmare -."
"I'm telling you -," The younger redhead argues.
"Now, really, enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall exclaims, coming back into the Common Room, slamming the portrait behind her as she enters the room and stares furiously around. "I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!" She turns to the Head Boy.
"I certainly didn't authorise this, Professor!" Percy assures her, puffing himself up indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My Brother, Ron, here had a nightmare -."
"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yells, hating to be called a liar. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!" Professor McGonagall stares at him.
"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possible have got through the portrait hole?" She argues, not believing him and hoping he's wrong.
"Ask him!" He screams, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture. "Ask him if he saw -." Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushes the portrait back open and goes outside.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The whole Common Room listens with bated breath. "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?" McGonagall questions the Knight.
"Certainly good lady!" Sir Cadogan cries, and there is a stunning silence inside and outside the Common Room.
"You - you did?" She questions, looking at him in shock as the students gasp amongst themselves and look at each other in shock. "But - but the password!"
"He had 'em!" He tells her proudly. "Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!" Professor McGonagall pulls herself through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The Professor is white as chalk as she stares into the crowd of Gryffindor students. "Which person," McGonagall says in a shaky voice, "which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?" There is utter silence, broken by the smallest terrified squeaks. Trembling from head to fluffy-slippered toes, Neville raises his hand slowly.
"Neville, I forgot to give this to you," Jayla says, breaking the silence and making everyone look at her as she gets something from the desk in the corner, which seems to be a piece of parchment. Neville looks at it in surprise, seeing his handwriting. "I found it the other day," She lies, knowing she had found it just moments ago on the floor, possibly from Sirius accidentally dropping it on his escape.
"Then how did he find a piece of paper with all the passwords?" George questions aloud, making everyone nod in agreement, and there's a mystery afoot.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
No one in the Gryffindor Tower can sleep that night. The students know the castle is being thoroughly searched again, and the whole House stays awake in the Common Room, waiting to hear whether Black has been caught. Professor McGonagall returns around dawn, telling them he has escaped yet again. Everywhere they go the next day, they see signs of tighter security, almost reminding them of the year before. Professor Flitwick can be seen teaching the front doors to recognise a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch is suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan was finally sacked. His portrait has been taken down to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady is back. She has been expertly restored but is still extremely nervous and only agreed to return to her job on the condition that she is given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls have been hired to guard her. They pace the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.
Harry can't help noticing that the one-eyed Witch statue on the third floor remains unguarded and unblocked. Fred and George were right in thinking that they - and now Harry, Ron, Jayla and Hermione - are the only ones who know about the hidden passageway within it. "D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Harry asks Ron when they walk through the halls to class.
"We know he's not coming in through Honeydukes," Ron assures him dismissively. "We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into." Harry is glad Ron takes the same view. If the one-eyed Witch is boarded up, too, he will never be able to go into Hogsmeade again. Ron has become an instant celebrity.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
For the first time in his life, people are paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it is clear that Ron is enjoying the new experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he is happy to tell anyone who asks what happened with a wealth of detail. "...was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draught… I woke up, and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down… I rolled over… and I saw him standing over me… like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair… holding this great long knife must've been twelve inches… and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scarpered." Ron finishes his chilling tale to the second-year girls before they leave, and he turns to Harry. "Why, though?" He adds to Harry. "Why did he scarper?" Harry has been wondering the same thing.
"Why did Black?" Harry wonders, looking at his best friend. "He got the wrong bed, so what? He could have silenced Ron and got to me. He had no problem with murdering people before, what's changed now. There are only four unarmed teenage boys between him and me. Why didn't he do it?" Harry frowns, stopping the dark thoughts from running rampant in his mind. "He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once you'd yelled and woken people up," He reasons thoughtfully. "He'd've had to kill the whole House to get back through the portrait hole… then he would've met the teachers…" Neville is fortunate that Jayla stuck up for him last night. Professor McGonagall is so furious with him for having a list of the passwords, though now that is no longer a problem. Strangely, Jayla disappeared most of the morning but soon came back, comforting Neville, who has been forbidden for the foreseeable future to know the password to the Tower and detention for the list of passwords. However, Jayla argued that Sir Cadogan is slightly to blame.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Poor Neville must wait outside the Common Room every night for somebody to let him in while the security trolls leer at him. Jayla tries to be with him most of the time, and Seamus, too, both feeling sorry for him. None of these punishments come close to matching the one his Grandmother has in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sends Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student can receive over breakfast - a Howler. The school owls swoop into the Great Hall, carrying the post as usual. Jayla gets her usual letter from her family and sends hers with Ryder, and unfortunately, Neville chokes as a giant barn owl lands in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Harry and Ron, who sit opposite him, recognise the letter as a Howler at once - Ron having gotten one from his Mother the year before. "Run for it, Neville," Ron advises him, and Neville doesn't have to be told twice as he seizes the letter and, holding it before him like a bomb sprints out of the Great Hall while the Slytherin table explodes with laughter at the sight of him.
"I don't see what's so funny. I just got my letter. Guess what," Jayla says, making the boys look at her, seeing the letter in her hands as she reads. "I told my Mum what Draco did during the last match. She told Aunt Cissa…" She looks up at them with a big grin. "Draco is in so much trouble."
"Brilliant!" Ron beams as they hear the Howler go off in the Entrance Hall - Neville's Grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he has disgraced the whole family. Harry is too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immediately that he has a letter, too. Hedwig gets his attention by nipping him sharply on the wrist.
"Ouch!" Harry yelps, making his friends look at him as he stares at his owl, who gestures to the letter that he finally notices. "Oh - thanks, Hedwig…" Harry tears the envelope while Hedwig helps herself to some of Neville's abandoned cornflakes. The note inside says:
Dear Harry and Ron,
How about having tea with me this afternoon round six? I'll come and collect you from the castle.
WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.
Cheers, Hagrid
"He probably wants to hear all about Black!" Ron suggests and looks at Jayla, who smiles, leaving, wanting to go to the library for a secret meeting with Cedric while they're gone. "Where are you going?"
"Library," Jayla answers. "Have fun at Hagrid's, let me know how it goes. Also, tell him, I'll come down next week to help him."
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Six o'clock comes around, and Harry and Roon leave Gryffindor Tower, passing the security trolls at a run, and head down to the Entrance Hall. Hagrid is already waiting for them. "All right, Hagrid!" Ron smiles, glad to see him. "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"
"I've already heard all abou' it," Hagrid declines, opening the front doors and leaving the boys outside.
"Oh," He grumbles, looking slightly disappointed, and they head for Hagrid's cabin.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
The first thing they see on entering Hagrid's cabin is Buckbeak, stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight, Harry sees a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow and orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door. "What are they for, Hagrid?" Harry asks, pointing to the outfit.
"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures," Hagrid explains. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus…" Harry feels a nasty pang of dread and is glad Jayla didn't come down with them. He almost completely forgot that Buckbeal's trial is so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Ron's face, he has, too. They have also forgotten their promise about helping him prepare Buckbeak's defence, the arrival of the Firebolt having driven it clean out of their minds. Hagrid pours them tea and offers them a plate of Bath buns, but they know better than to accept; they've had too much experience with Hagird's cooking. "I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," Hagrid tells them, sitting between them and looking uncharacteristically serious.
"What?" Harry asks, looking at him.
"Hermione," He informs them.
"What about her?" Ron questions, not seeing what this is about, still blaming her for the disappearance of his rat, Scabbers.
"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot with Jayla since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' a little lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat -." Hagrid informs them, glad to see the two girls.
"- ate Scabbers!" Ron interrupts angrily.
"Because her cat acted like all cats down," He continues doggedly. "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me and Jayla with Buckbeak's case, mind… she's found some really good stuff fer me… reckon he'll stand a good chance now…"
"Hagrid, we should've helped as well - sorry -," Harry begins awkwardly.
"I'm not blamin' yeh!" The friendly half-giant assures them, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with, I've seen yeh practisin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night - but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all." Harry and Ron exchange uncomfortable looks. "Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her -."
"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron snaps angrily, "but she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!"
"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," Hagrid says wisely, and behind him, Buckbeak spits a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow. They spend the rest of their visit discussing Gryffindor's improved chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walks the boys back up to the castle.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
When Harry and Ron return to the Common Room, the boys find a large group gathered around the notice board. "Hogsmeade, next weekend!" Ron exclaims, craning over the heads to read the new notice. "What d'you reckon?" He adds quietly to Harry as they go to sit down.
"Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes…" Harry mutters even more quietly, not wanting anyone to accidentally overhear.
"Harry!" A voice shouts in his right ear, and he turns, looking around to see Hermione and Jayla sitting at the table right behind the boys and clearing a space in the wall of books hiding them. "Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again… I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map," Hermione warns him, trying to protect him.
"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" Ron growls, not looking at Hermione.
"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to you!" Jayla snaps at him, defending her best friend.
"I mean it, I'll tell -," Hermione says.
"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!" Ron growls furiously. "Haven't you done enough damage this year?" Hermione opens her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leaps onto her lap. She takes one frightened look at the expression on Ron's face, gathering her cat up and hurrying towards the girls' dormitories.
"You are a horrible person, Ronald Weasley," Jayla sneers, smacking the redhead over the head. He yelps in pain and looks at Harry for help, but he shakes his head, not wanting to get on the wrong side of Jayla Darkmore.
"So how about it?" Ron asks Harry as though he wasn't hit on the head or interrupted. "Come on, last time we went you didn't see anything. You haven't even been inside Zonko's yet!" Harry looks around to check that Hermione and Jayla are well out of earshot.
"Okay," Harry agrees. "But I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time."
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
On Saturday morning, Harry packs his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, slips the Marauder's Map into his pocket, and goes to breakfast with everyone else. Hermione keeps shooting suspicious looks down the table at him, but he avoids her eyes and is careful not to let her see him walking back up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall as everybody else proceeds to the front doors. Jayla and Hermione go early, wanting to explore Hogsmeade and leaving without Ron. "Bye!" Harry calls after Ron. "See you when you get back!" Ron can't help but grin and wink back at him before leaving with the rest of the students on their way to the Hogsmeade.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry hurries up to the third floor, slipping the Marauder's Map out of his pocket as he goes, crouching behind the one-eyed Witch; he smooths it out. A tiny dot is moving in his direction. Harry squints at it. The minuscule writing next to it reads 'Neville Longbottom'. Harry quickly pulls out his wand, muttering, "Dissendium!" He shoves his bag into the statue, but before he can climb in himself, Neville comes around the corner.
"Harry!" Neville shouts. "I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"
"Hi, Neville," Harry replies, moving swiftly away from the statue and pushing the map back into his pocket. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," He shrugs. "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"
"Er - not now - I was going to go to the library and do that Vampire essay for Lupin -," The glasses-wearing boy lies, trying to slip away from his friend.
"I'll come with you!" Neville declares brightly. "I haven't done it either!"
"Er - hang on - yeah, I forgot, I finished it last night!" Harry lies again.
"Brilliant, you can help me!" He tells him, his round face anxious. "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all - do they have to eat it, or -." Neville breaks off with a small gasp. Looking over Harry's shoulder. It is Snape. Neville takes a quick step behind Harry.
"And what are you two doing here?" Snape questions the two Gryffindors, coming to a halt and looking from one to the other. "And odd place to meet -." To Harry's immense disquiet, Snape's black eyes flick to the doorways on either side of them and then to the one-eyed Witch.
"We're not - meeting here," Harry argues. "We just - met here."
"Indeed?" He muses. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are rarely there for no reason… I suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong." Harry and Neville set off without another word. As they turn the corner, Harry looks back. Snape is running one of his hands over the one-eyed Witch's head, examining it closely. Harry manages to shake Neville off at the Fat Lady by telling him the password and then pretending he's left his Vampire essay in the library and doubling back. Once out of sight of the security trolls, he pulls out the map again and holds it close to his nose. The third-floor corridor seems to be deserted. Harry scans the map carefully and sees, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot labelled 'Severus Snape' is now back in its office. He sprints back to the one-eyed Witch, opening her hump, heaving himself inside and slides down to meet his bag at the bottom of the stone chute. He wipes the Marauder's Map blank again, then sets off at a run to make up for the time he lost.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry makes it to Hogsmeade, completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerging into the sunlight outside Honeydukes and finally finds Ron, prodding him in the back. "It's me," He mutters.
"What kept you?" Ron hisses under his breath so no one thinks he's talking to himself.
"Snape was hanging around…" Harry explains, and they set off up the High Street.
"Where are you?" He keeps muttering out of the corner of his mouth. "Are you still there? This feels weird…" They go to the Post Office, with Ron pretending to be checking the price of an owl to Bill in Egypt so that Harry can get a good look around. The owls sit, hooting softly down at them, at least three hundred, from Great Greys to tiny little Scops owls ('Local Deliveries Only'), which are so small they can sit in the palm of your hand.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Then, the boys visit Zonko's, which is packed with students. Harry exercises excellent care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There are jokes and tricks to fulfil even Fred, George and Mason's wildest dreams; Harry gives Ron whispered orders and passes him some gold from under the Cloak. Harry spots Hermione and Jayla, looking around, wondering if they'll get anything, but he knows Jayla's Brother Mason is a big prankster. He is probably getting something for his upcoming birthday.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry and Ron leave Zonko's with their money bags considerably lighter than they were on entering, but their pockets bulging with Dungbombs, Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap and a Nose-Biting Teacup apiece. The day is fine and breezy, and neither of the boys feels like staying indoors, so they walk past the Three Broomsticks and climb a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. The Shrieking Shack stands a little way above the rest of Hogsmeade, and even in daylight, the abandoned house is slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank, overgrown garden. "Even the Hogwarts Ghosts avoid it," Ron says as they lean on the fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick… he says he's heard a very rough crowd live here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut…" Harry, feeling hot from the climb, considers taking off the Cloak for a few minutes when they hear voices nearby.
Someone is climbing towards the House from the other side of the hill; moments later, Malfoy appears, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Draco is talking, not spotting Ron yet. "... should have an owl from Mother or Aunt Sophia any time now. Aunt Sophia had to go to the hearing to tell them about Jayla's shoulder… about how she saved me and couldn't use her arm for weeks…" Crabbe and Goyle snigger. "I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself… 'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest -'... that Hippogriff's a good as dead -." Malfoy suddenly catches sight of Ron. His pale face splits into a malevolent grin. "What are you doing, Weasley?" Draco looks up at the crumbling House behind him, but Hermione and Jayla walk towards them, interrupting their little spat, and, with one look on their faces, convince Harry that they've got something to say, and it's not good. "How's it going, Cousin? Excited to hear the news?"
"No!" Jayla snaps, glaring at Draco and turning back to Ron. "Go away, Draco!" Malfoy looks at Crabbe and Goyle, knowing not to get on her wrong side and walks away. Once the three Slytherins are out of sight, Jayla looks at Ron. "Harry, come out."
"How?" Harry questions, taking off his Cloak and revealing himself.
"It doesn't matter," Hermione argues, holding a letter in her hands and trembling lip. "I just thought you ought to know… Hagrid's back from London."
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Jayla and Hermione quickly lead Harry and Ron to the Black Lake, finding Hagrid, wearing a gigantic, hairy brown suit and ugly yellow and orange tie, standing knee-deep in the shallows of the water, skipping rocks as big as flagstones across the water. He turns a little, and the four friends catch a brief sight of his red, teary eyes, then he looks away. "How'd it go, Hagrid?" Hermione asks him, knowing it's not good news.
"Buckbeak liked London," Hagrid answers, not wanting to tell them.
"We meant the hearing," Jayla tells him, growing scared and wishing this had never happened.
"Oh. Thay. Well, I got up an' said my bit - You know, how Buckbeak was a good Hippogriff an' as long as yeh treated 'im with respect, he'd treat you the same. Then the Ministry lawyer got up an' said his bit - you know, how Buckbeak was a deadly dangerous beast that no teacher in their righ' mind would expose their students to…" He explains, tears streaming down his face into his beard.
"And…?" Hermione asks, dreading the answer, and Hagrid slings another rock into the water. "You mustn't blame yourself, Hagrid."
"Draco. It's him the Committee should punish. It's him they should send off to the forest, not Buckbeak," Ron argues, seeming to get along with Hermione for now.
"Buckbeak's not going back to the forest…" Hagrid informs the teens, who look at each other.
"Where's he going, Hagrid?" Jayla asks, gulping in fear of the answer.
"He asked fer the worse, yeh see, the Ministry Lawyer did. An' the Committee granted it. Buckbeak's bin sentenced ter death." He announces, breaking into sobs. Jayla runs away, with Hermione chasing her back to the castle. Harry and Ron look at each other, unsure how to feel, though Harry goes after the girls with Ron not far behind.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Dementors drift in the distance of Hogwarts during the night, seemingly restless, while inside the Gryffindor Tower boys' dormitories, Harry lies awake while everyone slumbers around him, but his mind is racing from a few nights ago when Sirius Black got inside to possibly kill him. Harry gives up trying to get any sleep, and he turns to his cupboard, taking out the Marauder's Map from inside the drawer. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry whispers, and the map comes to life; crooked corridors and serpentine passageways of Hogwarts radiate across the parchment, and then… a tiny dot catches his eye, making him frown as it reads: 'Peter Pettigrew'.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry tiptoes down the stairs from the boys' dormitories and looks around the empty Common Room. He is about to go to the portrait hole when someone calls his name, making him swirl around to see Jayla lying on the sofa. "Jayla? What are you doing down here?" Harry asks, seeing her in her grey pyjamas with a book in her lap.
"Never mind that, where do you think you're going?" Jayla changes the question, standing up and walking towards him.
"I saw something that doesn't make any sense," He tells her, showing her the map, and he sees the terror in her eyes.
"We need to go," She agrees, taking his hand and pulling him out of the portrait hole on the hunt for the man, who is supposed to be dead.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry and Jayla venture out of the safety of the Gryffindor Tower and walk along the dark corridors with the Marauder's Map in the boy's hand and his wand aglow in the other. Harry and Jayla look around, passing the sleeping painting, all the subjects snoring softly, and they look at the map again, spotting their names and Peter's getting closer and closer. Jayla squints towards the end of the hallway, then down at the map as Pettigrew moves quickly down the adjoining corridor. "He better show up," Jayla mutters, moving her wand around, though careful not to wake the paintings. The name gets closer, at least twenty yards away. Ten. Only seconds away… Harry feels his wand trembling in his hand and glances from the map to the dark corridor ahead repeatedly. Then… as the three dots are about to collide… they look slowly up. Turning the corner… their hearts in their chests… and meeting themselves, seeing their reflections in a mirror.
"God…" Harry mutters and blinks, startled, then glances at Jayla, who smiles sheepishly before they both look down at the map. Pettigrew moves past them. Harry spins around, casting his wand along the walls, lighting some of the paintings by accident.
"Watch it there, boy!" An old man in a painting shouts, making the teen jump and turn around to see the scowling old man in the glare of the teens' wand light. On the map, 'Pettigrew' continues to move away, and the teens try to follow them but stop, hearing approaching footsteps. Harry quickly looks down at the map to see 'Severus Snape' storming towards them.
"Mischief Managed!" Harry mutters, stashing the map into his hoodie, and the teens extinguish their wands, darkening the corridor. Jayla thinks quickly as Snape comes around the corner; she pulls Harry by the hoodie into her and covers his lips against hers. Harry almost yelps in surprise, but he begins to enjoy the kiss when Snape interrupts them with the harsh glare of his wand light.
"Potter. Miss Darkmore," Snape sneers, making the teens pull apart to look at the Potions Master. "What're you two doing canoodling in the middle of the corridors at night?"
"I thought it was pretty obvious, Professor," Jayla replies, earning a sneer from the formidable dungeon bat.
"How extraordinarily like your Father you are, Potter. He, too, was exceedingly arrogant. Strutting about the castle. And I expect better from you, Miss Darkmore," He retorts, glaring at the boy.
"My Dad didn't strut, and nor do I. Now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate you lowering your wand," Harry replies, glaring back at Snape, who eyes him coldly but lowers his wand.
"Turn out your pockets," The Potions Master orders the teens. Jayla shows the insides of her pyjama bottom pockets to show there is nothing there, and Harry doesn't move at first, his eyes still boring into Snape, angry for his snide comment to Jayla and about Harry's Father. "Turn out your pockets!" Snape demands, and Harry finally obliges, pulling out the map and making the dungeon bat's eyes glitter with suspicion. "And this. What might it be?"
"Spare bit of parchment…" He answers, shrugging, not wanting to panic or draw attention to the map.
"Really…" Severus sneers, poising his wand at the map. "Reveal your secrets!" He touches his wand to the parchment, and thankfully nothing happens. Harry clenches his hands to stop them from shaking, and Jayla holds his hand, calming his nerves a little. "Show yourself!" Snape snaps, tapping the map sharply. It stays blank. Harry and Jayla take a deep, calming breath. "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" He demands, hitting the map with his wand. Jayla has to stop herself from laughing at the last words to leave the Potion Master's mouth but stops when the teens see words beginning to appear, to their horror, as if an invisible hand is writing upon the smooth surface of the map. "Read it." He instructs the boy, who looks nervous about the request.
"Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," Harry reads off the Marauder's Map, making Snape freeze, and Harry stares, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map doesn't stop there. More writing appears beneath the first. "Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git." It would be hilarious if the situation wasn't so serious. And there is more… "Mr Padfood would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor." Harry closes his eyes in horror. When he opens them, the map has its last word. "Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball." Harry and Jayla wait for the blow, and Snape's smile drops.
"Why you insolent little -!" Snape growls, gunning for the teenage boy, and Jayla steps between them when Professor Lupin comes around the same corner.
"Professor…?" Lupin questions, making everyone turn to look at him as he stands in the shadows.
"Well, well, Lupin. Out for a little walk in the moonlight, are we?" He sneers, turning around to face the DADA Professor, shining the wand light in his face.
"Harry? Jayla? You two all right?" Remus asks the teens, who are glad for the save from the Potions Master.
"That remains to be seen. I've just now confiscated a rather curious artefact from Mr Potter," The dungeon bat snatches the Marauder's Map back off Potter and shows it to Professor Lupin. "Take a look, Lupin. This is supposed to be your area of expertise." Remus takes the parchment, which now displays a rather unflattering caricature of Snape and a pair of potions. Lupin tries to hide his smile as he looks fondly at the Marauder's Map. "Clearly, it's full of Dark Magic."
"I seriously doubt that, Severus. It looks to me as if it merely insults anyone who tries to read it. I suspect it's a Zonko product. Nevertheless, I shall pursue any hidden qualities it may possess/ As you say, it's my area of expertise." He smiles nicely at Snape and turns to the teens. "Come, Harry, Jayla." He walks away with the teens following, leaving Severus alone in the dark corridor.
"Turn that bloody light out!" The old man in the painting shouts, making the Potions Master snarl but comply as he storms down the corridor in a hissy fit at not getting his way.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑶
Harry and Jayla follow after a fuming Lupin, who grips the map fiercely as they come to the teacher's office. "I don't know how this map came to be in your possession, Harry, but I'm astounded that when you learned that he had this, you did not have him turn it in, Jayla. Did you two ever stop to think that this - in the hands of Sirius Black - is a map to you, Harry?" Professor Lupin fumes once they enter the office, and the teens silently stand there, staring at the teacher, who can barely contain his anger. "Your Father, Harry, didn't set much store by the rules either. But he and your Mother did give their lives to save yours. Gambling their sacrifice by walking about the castle unprotected, with a killer on the loose, strikes me as a poor way to repay them. I won't cover up for you again, Harry." Remus tosses the map on his desk and begins to sort through some papers. Jayla looks at Harry, seeing the look in his eye, and goes to leave, but Harry lingers briefly in the doorway, absently eyeing the waxing moon that glimmers beyond the window. He turns away to join Jayla but stops.
"Professor. Just so you know, I don't think the map always works," Harry informs him, making the DADA Professor look up. "Earlier, it showed someone in the castle. Someone we know to be dead."
"And who was that, Harry?" He questions, only half-listening.
"Peter Pettigrew," Jayla answers, making Lupin hesitate ever-so-slightly, then returning to his papers, but she notices.
"That's not possible," Lupin mutters under his breath, and the teens go to leave the office again. "Oh, and Harry, Jayla?" He calls after them, making them stop. "Don't take any detours." They look at him, and Remus taps the map, confirming something for Jayla. "If you do. I'll know."
