The Firebolt
Harry wasn't how he had managed to get back into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel, and into the castle once more. All he knew was that the return trip seemed to take no time at all, and that he hardly noticed what he was doing, because his head was still pounding with the conversation he had just heard. He wondered why nobody had ever told him.
"Probably because nobody wanted to be the one to actually break that news to you. And, until Sirius broke out and it became relevant, they thought you were too young for such information," said Bill.
Harry thought about that. Before Sirius broke out, he could kind of understand. It was pretty difficult to imagine sitting down in Hagrid's hut one day and his friend telling him out of the blue that his dad's best friend had been the one to betray his parents to Voldemort. Maybe Dumbledore could have told him in the hospital wing at the end of first year? But this year, after Sirius escaped… he should have been told. He said as much out loud.
"I agree, Mr. Potter. I should have informed you, as I should have informed you sooner that we believed Sirius was after you specifically. I let my own feelings on the issue cloud my judgement. Something I am seeing is becoming unfortunately common," Minerva stated with a regretful sigh.
Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Cornelius Fudge, none of them had ever mentioned the fact that Harry's parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them.
"I'm not sure Fudge would ever have been the one to tell you that information," Amelia said with a slight smile. She could only imagine the Minister's reaction and discomfort if he'd had to broach such a topic with Harry.
Ron and Hermione watched Harry nervously all through dinner, not daring to talk about what they'd overheard, because Percy was sitting close by them. When they went upstairs to the crowded common room, they found Fred and George had set off half a dozen Dungbombs in a fit of end- of-term high spirits.
"The common room smelt awful for ages," Neville complained.
"Sorry Nev," George said, in a manner that suggested he was not sorry in the slightest.
Harry, who didn't want Fred and George asking him whether he'd reached Hogsmeade or not, sneaked quietly up to the empty dormitory and headed straight for his bedside cabinet. He pushed his books aside and quickly found the leather-bound photo album Hagrid had given him two years ago, which was full of wizard pictures of his mother and father. He sat down on his bed, drew the hangings around him, and started turning the pages, searching, until he found the picture of his parents wedding day. He stared at the best man, who he'd never given thought to before then.
Sirius gave an exaggerated, feigned groan of offense at that, trying to lighten the mood. It worked to a certain extent as several people chuckled lightly at his antics.
"Not even a single thought?" He complained.
"Sorry," Harry grinned.
If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was Black in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter.
Sirius winced.
"Wow, shot right to the ego," Remus chuckled, continuing Sirius' endeavour to keep the mood light for as long as possible.
"I think the hair was the bigger factor," Emmeline said with a teasing smile. "It even made Harry feel like his hair counts as well groomed when he saw you on the muggle news."
"And anything that makes Harry's hair seem well groomed must be awful," Fred added. "No wonder you were unrecognisable."
Sirius grumbled about them all ganging up on him and ran a hand through his hair, glad he had the opportunity to freshen up and cut it.
He wondered if Black had already been working for Voldemort when this picture had been taken. If he was already planning the deaths of the two people next to him.
Sirius flinched.
He wondered if Black realized he was facing twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him unrecognizable. Harry thought about the fact that dementors didn't affect him.
Sirius grimaced. They certainly did affect him, even if being a dog made it more bearable. While he may have kept his mind in Azkaban, he wasn't entirely convinced that was a good thing. Of course, being able to escape and find his godson was a good end result, but he wasn't sure that keeping his mind and knowing the rest of his life would be spent in the exact same conditions was a blessing. He still experienced the happiness being sucked out of him, being forced to relive his worst memories, and was still sane enough to understand what was going on around him.
Black didn't have to hear his mum screaming if they got too close.
No. No, he didn't. But he did see James' dead body swimming in front of his eyes. Heard him telling Sirius he'd betrayed them after the prank he'd played on Snape. Voice and images overlapping so he could see James' dead body, calling him a traitor. Telling him he'd never forgive him. Which was fair. Sirius would never forgive himself either.
"Padfoot?" Remus' voice jerked him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Yeah?"
"You alright? You kind of zoned out there."
"Fine," Sirius told him hurriedly. "Just thinking." Remus obviously didn't believe him but thankfully didn't press any further. He saw Harry looking at him with concern and shot him, what he hoped, was a reassuring smile.
Harry slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed it back into his cabinet, took off his robe and glasses and got into bed, making sure the hangings were hiding him from view. The dormitory door opened. Ron's voice called his name uncertainly. But Harry lay still, pretending to be asleep. He heard Ron leave again, and rolled over on his back, his eyes wide open.
Ron sighed. He wished he knew better how to help his friend.
A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing through Harry like poison.
Sirius shuddered.
"I don't hate you," Harry told him quickly.
"I know, pup. I'm too awesome to hate for long," Sirius flashed him a smirk.
He could see Black laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from the album over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew, who in his mind resembled Neville Longbottom into a thousand pieces.
"Wow, thank Harry," Neville said sarcastically.
"Sorry, Neville," Harry winced. It was an even worse comparison now he knew Pettigrew's true nature. Neville was nothing like that traitor. "You're nothing like him."
"Well, at least, even if you got a bit blown up, he thought you resembled the guy who went out heroically," Fred told him in a faux consoling tone. Neville glared at him.
Despite having no idea what Black's voice might sound like, he imagined a low, excited mutter of Black telling Voldemort the Potters had made him their Secret Keeper.
Sirius thought he might be sick if the book didn't change topic soon.
"Do you want to skip this bit? Go into the other room? It's not going to get any better for a while," Harry told him quietly.
"I'll be fine," Sirius assured him. It hurt, badly, and it sucked that Harry thought those things about him, far more than the teacher's gossip in the pub, except possible Minerva's, but he didn't want to miss anything. And he wanted to be there if Harry needed him. He'd missed enough of his godson's life, he'd let him down in so many ways, he could handle hearing a few bad thoughts about himself to ensure Harry felt as comfortable as possible. It was nothing worse than what he'd thought about himself over the years.
"There's no shame in leaving for five minutes," Remus said.
"I know. I'll stay."
Then he heard the same laugh that Harry heard inside his head whenever the dementors drew near.
Harry drew closer to his godfather, not entirely sure who was comforting who at this point.
Someone called his name, saying he looked terrible.
"Just what every bloke wants to hear," George snorted. "Bet it was Ron that said it."
"No bet. That's obvious," Charlie grinned. Ron glared at his brothers.
Harry hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak. He had awoken to find the dormitory deserted, dressed, and gone down the spiral staircase to a common room that was completely empty except for Ron, who was eating a Peppermint Toad and massaging his stomach, and Hermione, who had spread her homework over three tables.
"Three tables?" Tonks asked.
"That wasn't even all her homework," Harry told her. Everyone looked at Hermione.
"That's far too much work. Even for the holidays," Andromeda stated. "You will burn out."
"I did and I've dropped a couple of subjects," Hermione said.
Harry asked where everyone had gone, and Ron told him it was the first day of the holidays, so they'd gone home as it was nearly lunchtime. Ron had been going to wake him up shortly.
"Can't have you missing lunch as well as breakfast," Ron muttered.
"Because Harry needs to eat or because you just can't imagine actually missing two meals in a row?" Neville asked with a grin.
"Both."
Harry slumped into a chair next to the fire. Snow was still falling outside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front of the fire like a large, ginger rug. Hermione stated Harry really didn't look well and Harry told her he was fine.
"Oh, wow, was it Hermione the first time too?" Charlie asked.
"No, that was Ron," Harry assured him. Ron flushed.
She exchanged glances with Ron and said that, even though he must be really upset about what they'd heard the day before he shouldn't do anything stupid. Harry asked like what, and Ron said like going after Black. Harry suspected they'd rehearsed the conversation while he'd been asleep.
They both blushed.
Hermione said Black wasn't worth dying for and Harry felt like they didn't understand at all. He told them about what he experienced whenever the dementors were near and said that if they found out someone who was supposed to be their friends had betrayed them, but Hermione cut him off saying there was nothing he could do.
"Yeah, running off after a supposed mass murderer isn't your best idea," Bill said uneasily.
"Wanting revenge is understandable, what happened was…" Amelia trailed off momentarily, shaking her head. "But that doesn't mean you should risk your own safety."
"What worries me is that, between the cloak and the map, Harry would be able to sneak out of the school pretty easily. And it wasn't particularly difficult before. If he wanted to sneak out and try to find Sirius, he could without anyone noticing for too long," Kingsley said thoughtfully.
"I didn't do that," Harry put in quickly, before anyone could start yelling. He decided against mentioning he had definitely thought about it, and hoped the book wouldn't give him away. But based on what they'd read so far, his hopes weren't particularly high.
She continued that the dementors would catch him and he'd go back to Azkaban which would serve him right. Harry argued that Azkaban didn't affect him like normal people and wasn't a punishment. Ron asked if he was saying he wanted to kill Black. Hermione told him not to be silly, sounding panicky, and that Harry didn't want to kill anyone. Harry didn't answer.
Everyone turned to look at Harry, who shrunk back against Sirius. Thankfully, Percy kept right on reading.
He didn't know what he wanted to do. All he knew was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was almost more than he could stand.
"Yeah, that would be horrible," Charlie nodded.
He abruptly realised that Malfoy knew, recalling that he'd said that if it was him, he'd want revenge. Ron furiously asked if he was going to take Malfoy's advice instead of theirs.
"He didn't say he was taking Malfoy's advice, just that he had already known," George pointed out fairly.
"Well, yeah, but given what Malfoy had been encouraging him to do, I didn't want him thinking about that, or considering following that 'advice'," Ron said.
He told Harry that the biggest bit of Pettigrew they had found was his finger, Black was a madman and dangerous.
"The biggest bit of him they found, or the only bit they found? Because I don't know of any spell that leaves behind only a single finger," Bill frowned.
"I believe it was the only part they found," Kingsley said.
"But we know he was the real culprit now anyway, so he, what, faked his own death by cutting off a finger?" Charlie mused.
"And everyone assumed Sirius was guilty so there wasn't a proper investigation. And without a trial, all the holes in the story never came out," Tonks realised. Sirius nodded.
"So, Sirius went after Pettigrew, Pettigrew cuts off his own finger and somehow evades Sirius while also faking his own death?" Fred summed up. He guessed Pettigrew had escaped by turning into a rat, but he knew not everyone knew about that part yet.
Harry ignored this, saying Malfoy's dad must have told him and he was right in Voldemort's inner circle. Ron asked him to say You-Know-Who and was ignored as Harry continued that the Malfoy's knew Black was working for Voldemort.
"Did you know Sirius was innocent?" Harry turned to Narcissa who was taken aback by the sudden question.
"I thought it unlikely my cousin ever joined the Dark Lord," she said carefully. "However, it was widely known that Sirius was James' best friend and, with him having supposedly turned to the Dark Lord, it was considered a horrific betrayal even without the addition of being their Secret Keeper." She had never known Sirius didn't have a trial and had always assumed he had only been put away for murdering Pettigrew and the muggles. She knew full well he had never been a Death eater, Lucius would have mentioned it if he were, though she had not known who the true spy was.
Ron interjected that Malfoy would love to see Harry blown into a million pieces like Pettigrew.
Draco winced at that.
Malfoy was just hoping Harry would get himself killed before he had to play Harry at Quidditch.
Despite the situation, several people snorted at that.
"Of course, Quidditch is the most important thing here," Bill chuckled.
Hermione told him to be sensible. Black did a terrible thing, but he shouldn't put himself in danger as that was what he wanted. She pointed out he'd be playing right into Black's hands, and his parents wouldn't want him to get hurt or go looking for Black.
Several people grimaced. Hermione had the right intention, but bringing up Harry's parents was not going to help there.
Harry retorted that he wouldn't know what they wanted because thanks to Black, he had never spoken to them.
Sirius flinched.
There was a silence in which Crookshanks stretched luxuriously flexing his claws. Ron's pocket quivered. Ron changed the subject by suggesting they go and visit Hagrid. Hermione said Harry wasn't supposed to leave the castle, but Harry cut her off, saying they should go as he wanted to ask Hagrid why he'd never mentioned Black when telling Harry about his parents.
"Good try, Ronnie," George chuckled.
"Nothing is going to distract Harry when he's in that mood," Fred stated.
Further discussion of Sirius Black plainly wasn't what Ron had had in mind, so he suggested they play a game like chess or gobstones.
"Not a chance he's going to go for that," Ted shook his head.
Harry said they should go to Hagrid's, so they got their cloaks from their dormitories and set off to the gamekeeper's hut. They made their way slowly down the lawn, their socks and the hems of their cloaks were soon soaked and freezing. Ron knocked, but there was no answer. Hermione wondered if he was out.
"Possible, he has quite a lot to do during the winter," Pomona said.
Ron had his ear to the door and said there was a weird noise that could be Fang. Harry and Hermione put their ears to the door too and heard a series of low, throbbing moans.
"What? Was Fang ok?" Charlie asked.
"Fang was fine," Harry assured him.
Ron asked if they should get someone while Harry called Hagrid's name and knocked on the door. There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest.
"Oh no! Was Hagrid alright?" Tonks asked.
"He wasn't hurt. He'd just had some bad news," Ron said, glowering at Draco.
He bellowed that they had heard and flung himself onto Harry's neck. Just as Harry was about to collapse under Hagrid's weight, he was rescued by Ron and Hermione, who each seized Hagrid under an arm and heaved him back into the cabin.
"Thanks guys," Harry muttered.
Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard. Hermione asked what the matter was. Harry spotted a letter on the table and asked what it was which made Hagrid cry harder. Harry read the letter aloud. It was a letter from the Ministry saying they had accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that he bore no responsibility for the Buckbeak incident. Ron said that was ok, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder.
"If that was all it said, Hagrid wouldn't be crying like that," Bill said grimly.
"At least there is some good news in there. Hagrid shouldn't be held to account, considering the whole thing was Malfoy's fault for being stupid and not paying attention," Fred pointed out.
"They won't blame Hagrid, they'll blame Buckbeak," Charlie snarled.
"Pretty sure Kettleburn had way worse injuries in his classes than a small scratch," Tonks scoffed. "Remember the manticore?" Everyone who had been at Hogwarts for that incident winced in unison.
"Yes, but the manticore never hurt a Malfoy who had to whine to daddy about everything," Charlie said in disgust.
Hagrid continued to sob and waved a hand for Harry to keep reading. The letter continued that they had upheld the complaint of Lucius Malfoy and would take the matter to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. A hearing would take place at the Ministry on the 20th April, where Hagrid and Buckbeak should both be present. Meanwhile, the hippogriff should be kept isolated and tethered.
"Poor Buckbeak," Luna sighed sadly.
Ron was hopeful Buckbeak would get off as he wasn't a bad hippogriff. Hagrid said he didn't know the gargoyles at the Committee who had it in for interesting creatures.
"That's not true," Amelia said.
"Well, we all know what sort of creatures Hagrid considers 'interesting'," Kingsley sighed. "And that he has no real concept of safety."
There was a sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin that made Harry, Ron, and Hermione whip around. Buckbeak the hippogriff was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor.
Charlie and Luna both smiled.
"Of course he put the hippogriff in his cabin after being told to keep it isolated," Ted rolled his eyes.
"Buckbeak didn't do anything wrong," Harry protested.
Hagrid choked that he couldn't leave him tied up outside, alone, on Christmas.
Charlie and Luna both nodded in agreement.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another. They had never seen eye to eye with Hagrid about what he called "interesting creatures" and other people called "terrifying monsters." However, Buckbeak didn't seem that bad, especially considering Hagrid's usual standards.
Most people nodded at that.
Hermione said he would have to put up a strong defence and prove Buckbeak was safe.
"Unfortunately, it won't be that easy with Lucius on the case," Andromeda sighed.
"Well we couldn't just do nothing," protested Hermione.
"Of course not," agreed George.
Hagrid sobbed that it wouldn't make a difference as the committee were all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket and if he lost the case Buckbeak would die. Harry asked if Dumbledore could help and Hagrid said he'd done more than enough already and had enough on his place.
Dumbledore sighed regretfully.
He mentioned Sirius, which made Ron and Hermione glance worriedly at Harry as if expecting him to start berating Hagrid, but Harry couldn't bring himself to do it. Not with Hagrid looking so miserable and scared.
Several people nodded approvingly.
"I don't think I ever ended up asking Hagrid about it," Harry mused.
Harry told Hagrid he couldn't give him. He offered the three of them as witnesses and Hermione put in that she'd read about a case of hippogriff baiting where the hippogriff got off. She would look it up.
Most of the adults smiled at that.
"You're good kids," Bill said proudly. Ron and Harry exchanged guilty looks. Neither of them had ended up doing much to help Hagrid. They knew in the end it wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it was the principle of the thing.
"Well, now Hermione is the on the case, Malfoy better watch out," George stifling cheerfully.
"Yeah, Malfoy, better watch out for Hermione," Ron sniggered. Hermione blushed while Draco scowled.
Hagrid howled still more loudly. Harry and Hermione looked at Ron to help them. He offered to make a cup of tea.
A few people chuckled while Molly smiled at her son.
Harry stared at him and Ron shrugged, saying it was what his mum did when someone was upset.
Molly nodded. "Nothing beats a good cup of tea."
At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and said they were right. He had to pull himself together. Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee.
Charlie smiled. "Poor Fang. It must have been hard for him, hearing Hagrid like that."
"And having a Hippogriff in his space. Hagrid's hut is hardly that big," Emmeline added.
Hagrid stroked Fang and admitted he hadn't been himself lately. He had been worried about Buckbeak and nobody liking his classes. Hermione immediately lied that they did like them. Ron agreed, while crossing his fingers under the table.
There were a few chuckles.
"Its a shame really, because that first lesson had a lot of promise until Malfoy ruined it," Charlie scowled.
He asked how the flobberworms were doing and Hagrid told him they were dead from too much lettuce.
Luna frowned sadly
"Wow, I didn't know that was possible," Tonks whistled.
"Well, if every class was feeding the same group of flobberworms lettuce every day, I suppose it makes sense," Bill said.
He mentioned the dementors, saying every time he wanted a drink, he had to go past them, and it was like being back in Azkaban.
"Oh," Minerva gasped. "I hadn't thought about that."
"Poor Hagrid," Arthur murmured.
He fell silent, gulping his tea. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched him breathlessly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in Azkaban before. After a pause, Hermione timidly asked if it was awful there.
A few people stared at her and Hermione blushed. "I mean, I knew it was terrible, but I also wondered how much of it was an exaggeration," she explained.
Hagrid told her they had no idea, and he had never been anywhere like it. He thought he was going mad and kept going over the day he got expelled, the day his dad died and the day he let Norbert go.
"That's one of his worst memories?" Sirius snorted. "Letting a dragon go?"
"Nothing wrong with that," Charlie said defensively. "To him that was probably like having to let Fang go."
He continued that you can't really remember who you are after a while and can't see the point of living. He had hoped to just die in his sleep.
Several people let out quiet gasps at that statement.
Harry glanced up at Sirius. Hagrid had felt that way after only a few months. He wondered if his godfather had felt like that.
Sirius caught the look and sighed. Then he shook his head and Harry took the hint it wasn't the right time for that discussion.
When they let him out it was like being born again. The dementors weren't happy about letting him go. Hermione protested that he was innocent and Hagrid snorted, saying they don't care about guilt as long as they have victims to leech the happiness out of.
"Awful things," Emmeline muttered.
Hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. Then he said quietly that he had thought about just letting Buckbeak go, trying to make him fly away, but it would be difficult to explain to a hippogriff it has to go into hiding and he was scared of breaking the law and going back to Azkaban.
"Yeah, I think pretty much anyone would think Hagrid had hidden Buckbeak or set him free if he disappeared," Charlie said sadly.
"And we know the Minister doesn't care about evidence before sending him to Azkaban," Fred added snidely.
"So, even if someone else did it, they'd still blame Hagrid. And Buckbeak would probably end up coming back anyway. He clearly likes Hagrid if he's happy being cooped up in his hut all the time," mused Bill.
The trip to Hagrid's, though far from fun, had nevertheless had the effect Ron and Hermione had hoped. Though Harry had by no means forgotten about Black, he couldn't brood constantly on revenge if he wanted to help Hagrid win his case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.
Sirius perked up at that news as well.
He, Ron, and Hermione went to the library the next day and returned to the empty common room laden with books that might help prepare a defence for Buckbeak. The three of them sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases If marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something relevant.
"Honestly, I want to know how Hermione has time for this as well as all her homework. Surely the boys could take the bulk of the research work?" Emmeline wondered.
"There was no stopping her," Harry shrugged. "And we did need the help, there were so many books to go through."
"As nice of you as it was to help Hagrid like that, you still shouldnt neglect your schoolwork, and Hermione had too much as it was," Andromeda pointed out.
"I managed," Hermione put in. Ron and Harry exchanged looks at that statement. She had managed, but not without some difficulty, and a minor breakdown involving punching Malfoy and missing a class. Not to mention storming out of Divination.
There was a case in 1722, but the hippogriff was convicted. A manticore savaged someone and they let it off, but that was because everyone was too scared to go near it.
"Oh dear, well, I don't think they will be too scared to go near Buckbeak," Charlie sighed.
"What gets me is that they want to condemn and execute Buckbeak for a provoked attack on a student who decided to ignore explicit instructions, but the Ministry allows dementors around the school still when they have attacked a student twice, with zero provocation. Causing Harry to fall from his broomstick could have had far more serious consequences than a scratch that Madam Pomfrey cured in minutes," Fred noted. "I know they are there for protection supposedly, but so far the dementors have caused far more harm to Harry than the supposed mass murderer."
"The difference is that Lucius Malfoy wants Buckbeak dead and doesn't care about the dementors," Charlie scowled.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. The Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars.
"Hardly anybody stayed that year," Ron said.
"Well, with the Sirius business, especially with him having broken in once, it made people nervous," Neville pointed out, with an anxious glance at Sirius.
"There was a basilisk petrifying people last year and more people stayed for Christmas," Harry reminded him. Sirius grimaced.
On Christmas morning, Harry was woken by Ron throwing his pillow at him and yelling 'presents'. Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, squinting through the semi-darkness to the foot of his bed, where a small heap of parcels had appeared. Ron was already ripping the paper off his own. He had a maroon jumper from his mother and asking if Harry had received one, which he had.
"Sorry dear," Molly apologised, now knowing her son didn't like maroon jumpers.
"It's ok," Ron shrugged.
His was scarlet with a Gryffindor lion on the front. She had also sent some homemade mince pies, some Christmas cake and a box of nut brittle.
"Thanks, Mrs Weasley. It was all delicious," Harry told her gratefully.
"Call me Molly, dear. And you're very welcome."
Underneath these, he spotted a long, thin package. Ron asked what it was, and Harry said he didn't know. He opened it and found a broomstick.
"Woah," Charlie breathed.
"You got a new broom for Christmas, excellent," Tonks grinned. Sirius looked smug.
"But who would have bought it for him?" Kingsley wondered.
"My bet is not the Dursleys," Bill muttered. A few people snorted.
"Who could afford to get Harry a new broom is the better question," Fred stated.
"Sirius could," Andromeda said wryly.
"But he was on the run," pointed out Ted.
"There are ways. And we know he was at the match, so he would have known Harry would need a new broom," George said.
"But he left before Harry fell, so he wouldn't have seen what happened," frowned Arthur.
"I saw the broom crash. I was on my way back to the Forest, past the Whomping Willow and saw what happened to it," Sirius admitted. "And, to be honest, it's probably what I would have gotten him anyway. I hadn't seen him enough to know what he liked apart from Quidditch."
"I never did get to say thank you for that," Harry realised. "So thanks, it was brilliant."
"You're welcome, pup," Sirius smiled.
Ron dropped his socks and jumped off his bed for a closer look. It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley.
Everyone turned to look at Sirius who was grinning even more widely now.
"Of course you found a way to send him the best broom on the market while on the run," Tonks grinned at her cousin.
"Too right I did. I missed twelve years of birthday and Christmas presents."
Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.
All of the Quidditch enthusiasts groaned appreciatively.
Ron asked who sent it to him. Harry suggested they look for a card, so Ron ripped apart the wrappings but found nothing. He asked who would spend that much on him and Harry commented he was betting it wasn't the Dursleys.
Bill and Harry exchanged grins.
Ron suggested Dumbledore as he had sent Harry the cloak.
"No way. Giving him a family heirloom is one thing. Buying a brand new broomstick is quite another," Emmeline shook her head.
"Even Dumbledore's favouritism hasn't gone quite that far yet," Ted stated.
Harry pointed out that had been his dad's. Dumbledore wouldn't spend hundred of galleons on a student. Ron thought that was why there was no card, in case some git like Malfoy claimed favouritism.
"That would absolutely be favouritism," Arthur told his son, amused.
At the mention of Malfoy, Ron whooped with laughter, saying he would be sick as a pig when he saw Harry with the Firebolt.
Draco pouted. He had been incredibly jealous when he hear Harry got a Firebolt. Even more so when he'd seen it up close before the Ravenclaw match. It was the main reason he'd come up with the plan to dress up like dementors.
"I doubt Malfoy was the only jealous one," George grinned.
Harry ran a hand along the Firebolt, saying he couldn't believe it, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head off at the thought of Malfoy. Ron the suggested Lupin which made Harry laugh.
"Certainly not, though I wish it was within my capabilities," Remus sighed.
He pointed out that if Lupin had that much gold, he'd have bought himself some new robes.
"Sorry," muttered Harry, going red.
"No matter. You are hardly incorrect," Remus said kindly.
Ron argued that he liked Harry and he was away when the Nimbus was smashed so could have heard about it and bought a new one. Harry said he was ill, not away and Ron stated he wasn't in the hospital wing as that was when he'd had detention in there.
Several people glared at Snape.
Harry frowned at Ron and said he couldn't see Lupin affording something like that. Hermione's voice interrupted them, asking what they were laughing about. Hermione came in, wearing her dressing gown and carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy, with a string of tinsel tied around his neck.
Groans sounded around the room.
"Hermione! Why? Why would you bring Crookshanks into the boys dormitory when you know he's spent the whole term trying to attack Ron's rat?" Tonks asked in exasperation.
"I didn't want him to be alone on Christmas," she said.
"You should not be in the boy's dormitory anyway, Miss Granger," Minerva pointed out.
"He would hardly be alone the whole day, and if that was the case, you definitely should have waited until the boys came down to the common room. Taking your pet, known for attacking your friend's pet, into Scabber's safe space was incredibly selfish of you," Tonks explained.
"Sorry, Ron," Hermione mumbled, thinking it a bit unfair she kept getting chastised for it when there was nothing she could do now, and Crookshanks had been right all along anyway.
Ron hurriedly told her not to bring Crookshanks in there, snatching Scabbers from his bed and putting him in his pocket. But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks onto Seamus's empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolt.
"You didn't even keep hold of him?" Bill winced.
"At least she didn't drop him on Ron's bed I suppose," Kingsley said.
She asked who sent it to him and Harry told her they didn't know. To his great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit her lip. Ron asked what the matter was, and Hermione pointed out it was a bit odd as it was supposed to be quite a good broom.
Most of the Quidditch lovers looked offended at that statement.
"Quite good? Honestly Hermione, you have so much to learn," George said in a faux disappointed tone. She rolled her eyes.
Ron exasperatedly told her it was the best broom there is. She continued that it would be expensive, and Ron gloated that it probably cost more than all of the Slytherin's brooms put together.
Draco scowled.
She wondered who would send Harry something so expensive and not say it was from them. Ron asked who cared.
"You should, when there is a murderer out to get Harry," Moody grunted.
"I didn't think Sirius would be able to just buy a broom to send to Harry. Especially not one of those. He'd already broken into the castle once, it seemed like an expensive option just to jinx him when he could probably break in again," Ron shrugged.
"And when did you think of that argument?" Fred asked him brother, grinning. Ron flushed.
He asked Harry if he could have a go on it. Hermione said she didn't think anyone should ride it just yet.
"It should be checked over. Obviously we know Sirius wasn't trying to kill Harry, but at the time, it should definitely be given a once over," Amelia agreed.
They both looked at her and Ron asked if Harry was supposed to sweep the floor with it.
Charlie, Sirius and the twins all looked horrified at such a suggestion.
Before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus's bed, right at Ron's chest.
"Of course he did," Bill sighed.
"Poor Scabbers," Tonks winced.
Ron bellowed to get Crookshanks out of there as his claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain.
"Don't kick Crookshanks," Charlie said reprovingly. Luna also gave him a reproachful look.
"He was trying to kill Scabbers!" Ron protested.
"I know, but that doesn't mean it's ok to hurt him. It's not his fault he hasn't been trained properly and was brought into the room despite how foolish it was," his brother replied.
Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill whistling filled the room.
"What is that?" Ted frowned in confusion.
"Dunno but it probably saved the day if it's distracted Crookshanks," Neville said.
The pocket Sneakoscope had become dislodged from Uncle Vernon's old socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.
"I'd forgotten about that," Remus said in surprise.
"Honestly, so had I," Harry shrugged.
"It's still going off? That's weird," Bill frowned. "It wasn't going off at the Dursley's. It only started once you got on the train and it's still going," he mused.
Harry said he had forgotten about that and bent down to pick it up. The Sneakoscope whirled and whistled in his palm. Crookshanks was hissing and spitting at it.
"Yeah, I bet that's horribly annoying," Sirius winced.
Ron furiously told Hermione to take her cat out of there. Then asked if Harry could shut the Sneakoscope up. Hermione strode out of the room, Crookshanks's yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron.
A few people shook their heads at how fixated the cat was on one rat.
Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and threw it back into his trunk. All that could be heard now were Ron's stifled moans of pain and rage. Scabbers was huddled in Ron's hands. It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron's pocket, and he was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very skinny; patches of fur seemed to have fallen out too.
Sirius smirked smugly.
"Poor thing," Charlie frowned.
Harry commented that he wasn't looking too good. Ron declared he was stressed, but he'd be fine if the stupid furball left him alone. However, Harry, remembered what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had said about rats living only three years, and couldn't help feeling that unless Scabbers had powers he had never revealed, he was reaching the end of his life.
"Most likely," Percy nodded, a little sadly. "He did very well to reach ten or eleven years old."
"Ten or eleven?" Kingsley blinked in surprise. "I'd forgotten he's that old. That's definitely not right, unless he's magical in some way."
"Familiars can live longer than the usual lifespan on their species, but Ron got him from Percy, so he's unlikely to be a familiar," Charlie stated thoughtfully. "They usually bond for life."
"Well, given how these books have gone, and how often Scabbers has come up in this one compared to the last two, I'm sure we'll find out what's going on," Amelia said.
And despite Ron's frequent complaints that Scabbers was both boring and useless, he was sure Ron would be very miserable if Scabbers died.
Ron grimaced.
Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut Crookshanks in her dormitory, but was furious with Ron for trying to kick him.
"I mean, you do have a right to be upset he tried to hurt your pet, but he also has the right to be upset with your complete disregard for his pet's safety," Bill stated mildly.
Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh attempt to eat Scabbers.
Several people nodded. If they were both just in the common room, that was one thing, but deliberately taking him into Ron's dormitory was incredibly thoughtless.
Harry gave up trying to make them talk to each other and devoted himself to examining the Firebolt, which he had brought down to the common room with him. For some reason this seemed to annoy Hermione as well. She didn't say anything, but she kept looking darkly at the broom as though it too had been criticizing her cat.
"You thought the broom was from Sirius, didn't you?" Tonks realised.
"But why not say something to the boys? You were clearly about to say something before Crookshanks attacked Scabbers upstairs," George frowned.
"I didn't think they would listen to me," admitted Hermione. "Harry was too happy about the broom, and Ron and I were angry with each other."
"You should still have at least mentioned it. Clearly the boys haven't even thought of the possibility the broom could be jinxed," Emmeline said.
At lunchtime they went down to the Great Hall, to find that the House tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room.
"Only twelve people stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas? Including professors? Wow," Charlie whistled.
"I don't think I've ever seen it that empty," Kingsley said.
Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather mouldy- looking tailcoat.
"What about you, Remus?" Wondered Ted.
"Unfortunately the full moon had been the night before so I wasn't up to attending," Remus said with a sigh.
"That's a shame. On Christmas too," Emmeline said sympathetically.
There were only three other students, two extremely nervous-looking first years and a sullen-faced Slytherin fifth year. Dumbledore greeted them with a 'Merry Christmas' as Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached the table. He stated that it seemed foolish to use house tables as there were so few of them.
"Yeah, that does seem a little much, five tables for twelve people," agreed Bill.
"Eating with the professors though, and Filch at that," Fred shuddered theatrically.
"Filch in a mouldy tailcoat," corrected George.
"It wasn't too bad. He didn't really actually say anything," Harry told them.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down side by side at the end of the table. Dumbledore enthusiastically picked up a cracker and offered the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
Sever people sniggered at that.
"Oh, I wish we could have seen that," Fred groaned, but he was grinning widely.
"His face must have been hilarious," Tonks giggled.
Harry, remembering the boggart, caught Ron's eye and they both grinned; Snape's mouth thinned, and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once. He advised the table to dig in. As Harry was helping himself to roast potatoes, the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward them as though on wheels.
"She actually left the tower?" Neville asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it was weird," Ron told him.
She had put on a green sequined dress in honour of the occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly. Dumbledore stood up and said it was a pleasant surprise.
"It was a surprise, certainly," Minerva muttered.
"Don't tell me you didn't have a little fun, Minerva," Pomona smiled. The Transfiguration professor's lips twitched.
"Maybe a little."
She declared she'd been crystal gazing and to her own astonishment had seen herself joining them for lunch, so she promptly hastened down and begged them to forgive her lateness.
"If she was supposed to attend, you've have thought the inner eye would have given her more warning," Ron muttered. Harry snorted.
Dumbledore easily agreed and conjured her a chair between Snape and McGonagall.
Several people snickered at that.
"Honestly, Albus, of all the places," Minerva complained. Severus nodded slightly in agreement. He smiled serenely at her.
Trelawney, however, did not sit down. Instead, she suddenly uttered a kind of soft scream and said she dared not. If she joined the table, there would be thirteen of them. She declared nothing could be unluckier and to remember that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise would be the first to die.
"So, who's betting Harry stands up first?" Fred laughed
"Pretty much a given, but given she predicts his death pretty much every lesson, at least he's prepared," Neville grinned.
"Although, they did think someone wanted to kill Harry, so I suppose it's not quite as ridiculous as one would think," put in Ted.
McGonagall stated they would risk it and told her to sit down as the turkey was getting cold. Trelawney hesitated, then lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut, and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table.
"Nobody had even risen yet," Hermione rolled her eyes.
McGonagall poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen and offered her tripe. Trelawney ignored her. She opened her eyes again, she looked around once more and asked where Lupin was. Dumbledore stated he was ill again which was unfortunate on Christmas.
Many people shot Remus sympathetic looks.
McGonagall said that surely Sybill already knew that.
Several people snorted with laughter at that.
Trelawney gave McGonagall a very cold look and stated that certainly she knew, but one does not parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. She frequently choses to act as those she does not possess the Inner Eye. McGonagall said that explained a great deal.
There was another round of laughter at that.
"Nice one, Minnie," Sirius chuckled. She narrowed her eyes at him for the nickname.
Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal less misty. She added that she had seen Lupin wouldn't be with them for very long and he himself seemed to know his time was short.
"Well that couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that nobody has lasted longer than a year in that post for decades," Emmeline rolled her eyes.
He practically fled when she offered to crystal gaze for him. McGonagall dryly replied: 'imagine that'.
There was yet more laughter.
"The professor was on a roll," chortled Fred.
Dumbledore interrupted in a cheerful, if slightly raised, voice, saying he doubted Lupin was in any immediate danger. He asked if Snape had made the potion for him, and he agreed. Dumbledore said this was good and that Lupin should be up and about in no time. Then he changed the subject and asked Derek if he had had any chipolatas as they were excellent.
"Subtle topic change," Sirius snorted.
"At least Snape didn't say anything about Professor Lupin," George shrugged.
"He wouldn't. Not with Dumbledore right there," Emmeline said, shooting Snape a disgusted look.
The first-year boy went furiously red on being addressed directly by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.
Dumbledore frowned slightly at that.
Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally until the very end of Christmas dinner, two hours later. Full to bursting with Christmas dinner and still wearing their party hats, Harry and Ron got up first from the table and she shrieked loudly, asking which of them left their seat first.
"Of course it was Harry," Charlie grinned.
"But Ron stood up at the same time. Double death or does it not work if two people rise together?" George wondered.
They looked at each other and Ron said he didn't know. McGonagall said she doubted it would make much difference unless a mad axe-man was waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first one into the entrance hall.
Some people laughed at that while the others looked at Minerva with raised eyebrows.
"Possibly a bit too blasé about that considering a supposed mass murderer had already broken into the school to try and kill one of the two who stood up," Kingsley said.
Minerva flushed slightly.
Even Ron laughed. Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted. Harry asked Hermione if she was coming and she declined, saying she wanted a quick word with McGonagall.
A few people narrowed their eyes wondering what Hermione could want with a teacher on Christmas day.
Ron suspected she was trying to take more classes.
"Hogwarts doesn't offer any more than she was already taking," Bill said.
"Unless she wanted to talk about dropping a subject. With Buckbeak's research, it's a lot," suggested Tonks.
They made their way into the entrance hall, which was completely devoid of mad axe-men.
There were a few chuckles.
When they reached the portrait hole, they found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several previous headmasters of Hogwarts, and his fat pony. He pushed up his visor and toasted them with a flagon of mead. Ron gave the password, and they entered the common room. Harry went straight up to the dormitory, collected the Firebolt and the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his birthday, brought them downstairs, and tried to find something to do to the Firebolt.
"It's brand new, it won't need servicing," Fred pointed out.
"Yeah, but I just... I wanted to enjoy it," Harry shrugged.
"Fair enough."
However, there were no bent twigs to clip, and the handle was so shiny already it seemed pointless to polish it. He and Ron simply sat admiring it from every angle until the portrait hole opened, and Hermione came in, accompanied by Professor McGonagall.
"You didn't?" Fred turned to look accusingly at Hermione.
She turned slightly pink but held her head high. Percy read on with a hint of trepidation.
Though Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, Harry had seen her in the common room only once before, and that had been to make a very grave announcement. He and Ron stared at her, both holding the Firebolt. Hermione walked around them, sat down, picked up the nearest book, and hid her face behind it.
"Not a good sign," Charlie muttered.
McGonagall asked if this was it, moving over and staring at the broom. She stated that Hermione had just informed her Harry had been sent the broom.
Several people groaned, or shook their heads in disbelief.
"It wasn't your place to do that," Tonks told her bluntly.
"The boys weren't going to. Someone had to tell a teacher before they decided to go flying," Hermione defended herself.
"You don't know what they would have done. You didn't bother even trying to share your suspicions with them," Fred argued.
"You were correct in telling a teacher your suspicions," Andromeda said. "However, you absolutely should have first given Harry the opportunity to do so. You didn't mention it in the dormitory because you were interrupted and then you made no effort to tell them what you thought, you simply when went your friend's back. It's not what you did that is the problem in this situation, it is how you went about it."
"Honestly, it seems like you did it to punish them," Ted frowned. "It seems like you were going to say something and then Crookshanks attacked Scabbers. You were angry with Ron for trying to attack your pet after you should never have brought him in, in the first place. Then you made no further effort to dissuade them. Ron was just as excited about the broom as Harry, so instead of talking to them while you were angry with Ron, you went straight to a professor."
"I was protecting both of them not punishing them. I knew Ron would want to fly it and Harry would let him," Hermione argued.
"I'm not saying you didn't want to protect them," Ted assured her. "I know you would never want your friends to get hurt. But what you should have done was tell them you thought it was from Sirius, and likely cursed, and that they should hand it in. If they both chose to ignore you, then, by all means, tell a professor. But at least give them the option."
Harry and Ron looked around at Hermione. They could see her forehead reddening over the top of her book, which was upside down. McGonagall asked if she could, but didn't wait for an answer before taking the Firebolt and examining it. She asked if there was any note or message of any kind which Harry denied. She stated she would have to take it.
"That sucks," Tonks frowned. She knew it was necessary, but she still felt bad for Harry. It wasn't like he got many presents either, so having such a nice one temporarily confiscated was even worse.
Harry asked why and she explained that it would need to be checked for jinxes and possibly stripped down.
"Stripped down?" Sirius gasped.
"I hope you got a professional to do such a thing," Emmeline frowned.
"We were more than capable," Minerva sniffed.
"Last I checked, nobody on the staff was a broomstick expert. Not even Madam Hooch. That is an international standard, brand new broomstick. Checking for basic jinxes should be fine, but stripping it down? That should be done by an expert only," Charlie said.
Ron repeated the words 'stripped down' ad McGonagall said it shouldn't take more than a few weeks and Harry would have it back as soon as they were sure it was jinx free.
"A few weeks? That hopeful. Depending on how thorough a check you're doing, I'd say at least a couple of months to do it properly and safely, taking into account staff schedules," Charlie stated.
"How do you know that?" Percy wondered.
"I know a few people who went pro and one of them had an issue with their broom. It had to be stripped down and it took Nimbus themselves six weeks to fix the issue."
Harry protested there was nothing wrong with it and she replied that he couldn't know that until he'd flown it which was out of the question until they were sure it hadn't been tampered with.
"That is a fair point, but perhaps tell him why you need to check his broom for jinxes," suggested Remus.
"Yes, my apologies Potter, I didn't realise Miss Granger hadn't spoken to you and I believed you knew Sirius may have sent the broom."
McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Harry stood staring after her, the tin of High-Finish Polish still clutched in his hands.
"But you got it back fine, didn't you?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "It's brilliant." Sirius relaxed at that.
Ron, however, rounded on Hermione and demanded to know why she had gone running to McGonagall. Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly. She stated she had done it because she thought, and McGonagall agreed, that the broom had most likely been sent by Sirius Black.
"It was," Sirius said proudly.
"The chapter is finished," Percy announced.
"It's my turn next, so I'll read and then that will be the last chapter for the evening," Molly said. Percy handed his mother the book.