For the last few weeks of their time at Hogwarts, for that year at least, Harry didn't speak to them. He wanted to. He really wanted to. But just looking at Matthew's face was enough to annoy him, to remind him that their three years together had been based on a pile of lies. He would see them in the common room, or at the front of class. They would both look at him hopefully. And then their eyes would dim when he turned around and walked away. Harry knew that such a reaction wasn't warranted. Hermione, after all, had learnt the same truths and had decided to forgive Matthew almost instantly. But it just wasn't that easy for him. He wished that it were easier. He knew all he was doing was pushing them closer together, the one thing he had been most fearful of. But that didn't stop him doing it.
The issue was that he didn't want to be alone either and it became strikingly apparent just how much he relied on their presence to get him through the school year. He tried spending time with other people. Neville was surprisingly funny once he was relaxed enough, though he had spent most of their initial time together thanking Harry again for not telling anyone that it had been his slip up with the passwords that had allowed Sirius Black to get into the tower. He even spent time with Ginny, who he was glad to note was able to talk to him without any starry-eyed looks. In fact, it seemed that she was more enamoured with Hermione than him. That seemed to be a common occurrence, he thought bitterly. But their conversations would thankfully turn away from that topic, fascinated to learn more about her magical perspective coming from a pureblood family.
With the term dwindling down and little work to do, Harry allowed himself to relax and play games amongst the busy crowds in the common room. He would also spend as much time as possible with Sirius, who was staying in the castle for the foreseeable future. Harry had been surprised that his godfather had been so willing to remain cooped up, but then Sirius had told him that he was used to it by now. They would spend evenings together, Harry listening closely to all the stories the older man had to tell him. Pranks they'd done as kids, how life at Hogwarts was different to what he was used to. It was an act of bonding that Harry had never expected he'd have at the start of the school year but he was more grateful than ever that such a presence existed.
Their conversations would invariably turn to the fate that awaited Peter Pettigrew. Harry had spotted Cornelius Fudge walking up to the castle the morning after the incident , as people were referring to it, along with a woman that he guessed had to be Amelia Bones. With such a high profile case to deal with, it turned out that Pettigrew wasn't going to be taken to Azkaban, instead being kept under constant surveillance at the Ministry itself. Locked away in a room where his Animagus abilities had been nullified. Harry was content to learn that the evening after their visit. It transpired that there were too many people in prison who would have wanted to have their way with Pettigrew, and Dumbledore wasn't risking anything happening to the key piece of evidence they needed to free Sirius. Even his godfather had thanked the headmaster for that intervention.
As ever, the Hogwarts rumour mill was working overtime and it wasn't long before Pettigrew's existence was common knowledge. People would come up to Harry asking for any details he could provide and, quite a few times, he wished he had the buffer of Matthew and Hermione to keep them away from him. Neville wasn't quite as effective as warding eager students away. Although Pettigrew being very much alive was out in the world, Sirius didn't risk showing his face. Harry wondered if that had anything to do with Professor Snape, who seemed to spend the remaining weeks punishing Harry for the smallest of discrepancies. The Potion Master's mood had distinctly soured after that revelation, though Harry was still left wondering why. He knew that he had been at school at the same time as his father and his group of friends, but more details were reluctant to escape Sirius' mouth.
Feeling rather ashamed that he hadn't seen him more frequently over the year, Harry also went to visit Hagrid down in his hut. Now that people were no longer terrified of a mass murderer being on the loose, Harry was now free to walk the grounds when he wanted, although evening strolls were still advised against. The half giant was all too happy to see him, feeding him endlessly with cakes and baked goods. It felt like he was consuming the same amount of pastries in a fortnight as he would have done over a normal year of visits, as if Hagrid was trying to make up for being so on edge. There was just one side effect of seeing the Care of Magical Creatures professor, and that was the inescapable reality that his two friends weren't with him. Hagrid kept mentioning that they were visiting him too, whenever Harry wasn't there, and the questions kept coming about why that was. It seemed that Matthew hadn't told his story to their overly sized friend and Harry was coming to realise just how easy it was to be complicit in keeping those secrets locked away.
He kept seeing them in the common room. It wasn't as if he was trying to bump into them. It was just that, as large as Hogwarts was, it was frustratingly difficult to hide from someone. And Harry felt that he deserved to be in the common room just as much as them, disregarding the fact that he'd been the one to self impose this punishment. When he clambered through the portrait hole, ignoring the remarks from the Fat Lady to ask Sirius for reparations for the damages he'd caused to her canvas, Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to the pair, sitting by the window, sitting in their usual seats by their usual table. He wanted to go up to them, to sit down, and to pretend like nothing had happened. But he also wanted to punish them. Maybe he was also punishing himself. But he chose to walk away all the same.
Hermione watched his brief hesitation and sighed as he turned his back on them. She'd long forgotten the abandoned book lying in front of her. Her head rested heavily on her hands, refusing to watch Harry leave even if she wanted to track his every movement. Matthew peered over a deck of cards that he was currently shuffling, getting frustrated at the joker that kept switching places by itself, and saw what was frustrating his friend. He dropped the cards to the table, not caring about the mess. He looked at her slumped form, her wild brown hair covering her face as she lay head down against the wooden surface. Under any other circumstances, he might have smirked at her behaviour. Instead, he drummed his fingers against the table, even tapping her on the head a few times when she didn't react.
"What?" she grumbled, her voice obscured. She didn't move.
She'd been like this since the evening in Dumbledore's office. When Harry had stormed out, there had been an awkward air around them. That was probably because they were in the company of a murderer who had faked his own death, and a fabled wizard who likely didn't care too much about their teenage troubles. Not when he had the Ministry to deal with following the latest developments. But it wasn't as if they'd been able to take the Tardis either, with Lupin still trapped inside and the both of them not wanting to risk occupying the same space, so, for as long as Harry had stayed out there, they had been forced to remain in that unorthodox company. It had served to ruin Hermione's mood further and Matthew had been attempting unsuccessfully to cheer her spirits ever since, ignoring his own pained heart.
"I'm sorry," he said, almost choking the words out. It had been playing on his mind for days and now he was only just finding the courage to say it to her.
It was enough to make her look at him, Hermione slowly raising her head to avoid too much of a rush of blood. She puffed out some air to sort her hair out. It was the least of her concerns presently. "Why are you apologising?"
"Because I put you in this position. I put you in between me and Harry, when it's supposed to be an equal balance. I was selfish. I thought I could tell you and have it not damage the friendship we have with Harry."
"You would have damaged another friendship if you hadn't told me when you did," Hermione reminded him pointedly. "All you've done this year is try to manage a juggling act to make sure everything stays the same, when that's not the natural order of things. Things change. People change. Having your whole perspective of another person altered is going to change the way you interact with them."
"But has his view of me really changed that much? The way I see it, he's always known that I was a little bit different. He's just got the explanation now. Surely that's a better position to be in."
She smiled sadly at him. "People don't always act that rationally, especially when it impacts someone they care about. Harry cares about you…a lot…and you hiding this from him must feel like it's not reciprocated."
Matthew pulled a face. "That's ludicrous. If I didn't care about him, I wouldn't have told him! I wouldn't have risked exposing the Tardis to save him, not that he really needed saving in the end."
"I know. But Harry's obviously not looking at the wider picture. Instead, he's honing in on everything you've said to him, analysing every bit of information. And can you blame him? It's a lot to take in for someone who hasn't been blessed with these sorts of relationships before. Frankly, none of us have, which is probably why we've made such a mess of this."
Matthew picked up on her language. Hermione was the sort of person who considered it carefully. "We?"
She should have known that he'd notice. A part of her had wanted him to. "Well, I haven't exactly been the best of friends for Harry recently, have I? There's a reason why he thought something was going on between us and that's because I've been pushing towards you. I've wanted to find out as much about you as I possibly can, and that's meant I've spent less time with Harry. It isn't as if I've ignored him…but he might have felt it was bordering on that at times."
Matthew huffed, not willing to give her any portion of the blame. "He was perfectly happy to have his own private sessions with Lupin. We're not complaining to him about that."
"Like I said, we've all played a part in this. And it will be an effort from all three of us to make sure things are mended. Because I'm certainly not having it end like this."
That seemed to put a temporary stop to the conversation as Hermione gazed out of the window, knowing that she wouldn't have this view for much longer. She would be back home soon, back with her parents, and maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe that would allow things to cool down. But she also wished that there was more time left, more time for her to work through this quagmire whilst Harry didn't have anywhere to truly run away. Once he was at the Dursleys, they would be separated and that would only serve to let the problem fester.
Matthew busied himself with tidying up the cards. He could have done it with a sweep of his wand but the menial process gave him time to consider what she'd said. "You said that people change after learning about something like this. Does that mean you changed? Have you altered the way you act around me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a small laugh. He didn't answer. He didn't want to risk getting it wrong. "Your confession…it brought me closer to you. It could have pushed me away, like it's doing with Harry. But I saw you willing to trust me and…it was like some sort of barrier was erased. Somehow, I became even more fascinated by you. You're still just as much of a puzzle to me…it's just that I now have all the pieces to put you together."
"Is this what this is then? Just fascination?"
"What's brought this on?"
Matthew shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe…maybe seeing Harry push away is a reminder that people eventually leave, one way or another. And I'm worried that, if you are just fascinated by the idea of me, then that intrigue can fade."
Matthew," she said softly. He was showing that different side to himself, the one she felt he only truly showed her at times. It was more vulnerable than the typical facade he operated with. "It's not just a passing fancy." The implications of her words were clear. "I'm not going anywhere. And neither is Harry. He's not leaving. He's just taking time to process this. Surely, with a Tardis up your sleeve, you understand just how quickly time can pass."
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Defence Against the Dark Arts classes had been cancelled for the rest of term, which was probably understandable. With exams having been and gone with their typical torturous fanfare, there wasn't much left for them to learn. Professor Dumbledore had announced during one of the meals in the Great Hall that Professor Lupin was taking his leave a bit early, though he wouldn't elaborate why that was to the rest of the student populace. That, of course, prompted most of the children to come to Harry for answers. Answers he was never going to give. If the headmaster was keeping Lupin's secret intact, then he was going to do the same. If he knew one thing, it was not to get on the bad side of a werewolf. He'd already been through that once more than he would have liked.
With nothing else to do, and the temptation to return to his friends almost overbearing, Harry decided to venture down to Lupin's office. It was highly likely that the professor would have already left but, even so, Harry felt like being in that comforting space. He had spent a great deal of his year in that classroom, learning more about his family than ever before. And, although their sessions had come with facing dementors and every black thought circling his head, they had also been opportunities to embrace the power of the light. Harry believed he needed a reminder of that positivity more than ever.
When he walked into the classroom, he quickly picked up on how the office door, sitting above a short, spiralling staircase, was still open. There were rummaging sounds coming from within and, since Harry was unabashedly nosey, he ventured closer. He was pleased to find the professor inside, a pile of boxes littering the floor. The drawers of his desk had been emptied, left hanging open. The trunk, the one Harry remembered seeing during their first meeting aboard the Express, was in the process of being packed. At the sight, Harry had a sudden sinking feeling.
Lupin, his back previously to his uninvited guest, turned around. "I saw that you were coming, Harry." He tapped a familiar stretch of parchment that remained spread across the desk. Now that he was facing him, Harry could see just how frail the man was looking. Whereas Sirius had regained a fraction of his strength in the short time he'd spent in the sanctuary of Hogwarts, it seemed that Lupin had lost all of his. His face was pale, his skin was clammy, and there were new scars that were looking particularly fresh. Harry guessed that Matthew's ball pit hadn't stopped him from scratching himself.
"You're not leaving, are you?" Harry blurted out. He was panicking now. He wasn't prepared to lose the first teacher of that specific class that had actually taught him something. The other years, he had relied on his own studying, mixed with the efforts of his friends, to ace his tests.
"I am." It was a frustratingly simple response, even if Harry understood that Lupin likely didn't have the strength to say much more. Even his wand movements were a little more jaded than usual.
"But…you can't! You can't go! You're the best professor I've…we've had." He knew it was a selfish position to take up but, after everything he'd been through in the past few weeks, he felt that he'd earned the right for a bit of selfishness. "I reckon everyone would say the same, including the Slytherins!"
"Harry…Harry…" Lupin held up a placating hand that was effective enough to stop Harry's fearful tirade. "I'm leaving, yes, but not forever. I'll be back in the new year. I'm just…not in the right state to be teaching at the moment, as you can probably tell from the sight of me."
Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Oh."
"Though it's reassuring to know that you still want me around after what happened."
"Nothing happened…in the end, at least. Sure, it was a close call. But it was a one time thing. I'd rather judge you on the plenty of good moments we've had this year, rather than the one bad one."
"That's a very wise position to take for someone of your age. But it doesn't make it any less foolish. You should judge me on what happened, because you could have been seriously hurt, or worse. I still can't remember much of that experience. I wasn't even in the right mental state to appreciate your friend's…contraption afterwards."
Harry didn't respond. He didn't really want to think about the Tardis. Lupin picked up on his visible discomfort but chose not to pursue it. "Frankly, I had my resignation letter ready to place on the headmaster's desk. But he was the one to tell me he'd never accept it. Because we always knew this was the risk when I joined. And the fact that, even though I lost control, I was so easily kept from everyone…well, it eased my concerns a fraction."
"We won't tell anyone about your…condition," Harry promised him. Was there a better way of wording it?
"Probably a good choice. I can only imagine the response from parents if I'd managed to get onto the grounds. I'm grateful for your dedication. It truly means a lot." Lupin leaned against his desk, all pretence of his packing now ignored.
"It's Matthew you should be thanking…he's the one who made sure you stayed where we could keep you." Harry's voice was surprisingly glum as he spoke.
The professor nodded his head. "It was quite a show of quick thinking on behalf of Mister Mormont. But I was also told that it was your intervention that allowed his hair brained scheme to actually work."
"I guess I was involved, yes." It was a begrudging admission.
"You make a good team," Lupin said pointedly. "I've seen how well you work with each other. The three of you. It doesn't quite seem right when you're separated."
"Is there a point to this?" Even Harry was surprised with the venom in his tone. "I suppose you've been speaking to Sirius about what happened after we got back."
"In part. But I've also been speaking to Matthew and Hermione too. They visited me a few days after I was fit to welcome guests again. And, barring a couple comments about my wellbeing, all they spoke about was you." Lupin was watching the boy carefully, examining his every move.
"Do you want me to feel sorry for them? Or grateful that they were actually thinking about me?"
"I think you underestimate just how important you are to them. When you're surrounded by such brilliant people, it can be easy to think less of yourself. Trust me, I know that feeling. It can be easy to believe you're almost holding them back. But that's because you can never see for yourself the impact you have on others. Matthew and Hermione would not be the same people if they had never met you. Do you think Matthew would be so open if he had not learnt how to embrace a friend like you? Do you think Hermione would have her confidence if she hadn't witnessed you take on every obstacle in your path? They need you, Harry. As your professor, it's not really my position to get involved in such matters but…I've always wanted to look out for you since I arrived back at Hogwarts."
"I think it's pretty hollow to say that Matthew's been open and honest to me. I don't know what sort of person he is anymore."
Lupin's fingers drummed against the desk. "Do you see me as a werewolf, Harry?"
The change in conversation took Harry by surprise. "What? No! Of course not!"
"Then why would you see Matthew as any different? He's not defined by what came in his past, but by his actions now. He chose to be your friend and you willingly embraced that. The part of him that came before shouldn't detract from that. Sirius and your father never focused on my differences."
"This isn't the same," Harry tried explaining.
"Maybe it isn't." He prodded the map that was still left open. "What do you see here?"
Harry took a step forward, leaning over the parchment. "People walking around the school?" A part of him immediately wanted to search for Gryffindor Tower, to see what his friends were doing. It was funny how he kept referring to them as his friends, despite his ill feelings.
"At the top."
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," he read, not making much sense of it.
"Nicknames. I was Moony for obvious reasons. Wormtail…well, you've sadly met Peter. Padfoot is Sirius and Prongs was your father, for the mighty antlers he grew when he changed into his animal form."
Harry stroked the lettering tenderly, feeling another connection to his dad. Lupin watched his action, smiling softly. "As I've told you, we wrote that map when we explored the grounds. Four boys coming together, mainly to cause mischief. But the only reason that happened was because one of those boys kept his identity a secret, and the others eventually figured it out. They could have ended the friendship there and then. But the truth brought them closer together. They discovered that their identities, the identities their nicknames represented, came from that shared solidarity. Those identities don't forget the past, but they are also not dictated by it. Maybe you should think about that, Harry."
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Harry didn't know what he was feeling as he made his way to the Hogwarts Express. A part of it was relief, which he'd never experienced before when leaving the school. A summer of Dursley torture awaited him and that should have been enough to send him running in the other direction. But he knew that he needed the berak. The final few days had been painful, constantly battling against his desires to speak to his friends, as if approaching them would signal defeat. Like he was forgiving them, letting them off the hook. Was he wanting to punish them? How long did the punishment have to last? Did Hermione deserve to be treated like this, when she had been in the same position as him? Did Matthew's actions really warrant this reaction? All Harry knew was that it was easier to think negatively of them when they weren't around and that was why he kept pushing them away. Because he wanted to think like that, even though his heart wasn't in it.
He'd chosen to wait until the last moment to make the journey to the train. That was partly to avoid those two people, who he had spotted waiting at the portrait hole for quite some time until they'd eventually given up. It was like they were trying to ambush him, force him to speak to them after weeks of silence. On a few occasions, Hermione had stomped over to him in the common room, evidently frustrated by the lack of progress. She would speak to him, using that clipped tone she normally reserved for when he and Matthew weren't focusing on their work. But he wouldn't return the favour, as much as he wanted to fall back into that easy dynamic. Harry found he couldn't quite look her in the eye. It would usually put Ginny in an awkward position when Hermione tried to use her to act as a mediator, before she would ultimately give up and plan her next line of attack. All the while, Matthew kept his distance, giving Harry the space he craved and detested at the same time.
The other benefit of waiting until it was almost too late was that everyone else had already boarded the train. That meant he'd been able to make the journey with Sirius by his side, a now comforting presence, even if they sometimes didn't know what to talk about. The temptation was to bring up memories of his parents since that was what connected them more than most. But Harry didn't want that to be what defined their growing relationship. He wanted to learn more about the man that had existed before he'd been sent to Azkaban. Sirius wasn't the most willing to dredge up stories about his family, so any tales he came up with mainly revolved around life at Hogwarts. Harry was quickly realising that he'd barely left school before Pettigrew's betrayal had been enacted, and he couldn't quite picture the young man that had been locked away.
The station came into view. He could spot Hagrid wrangling the last few first years onto the train and he smiled at the memory of when he'd been in that position. It had only been a couple of years, and yet Harry felt like so much had passed. He hadn't had a family at that point (as long as you ignored the Dursleys, which he was perfectly happy to do) and now he was in the company of his godfather. Even Lupin was beginning to feel like some sort of uncle, a guiding figure. He wondered whether the professor would be travelling on the train again, like he'd done at the start of the year, or whether he'd kept to his word and left early. Harry hoped it was the former, so that he would at least have someone to sit with for the journey.
They were walking in a brief period of silence. The train's appearance had brought home the fact that they were going to be separated. And neither of them quite knew how they were supposed to say goodbye. Was a handshake too formal? Was it too early for a hug? They'd only known each other for a few weeks, barring that blissful year when Harry had been a baby. Were they overthinking this because neither of them had been in this position before?
"When will I see you again?" Harry asked. He was wanting to bring up the point of living together, a topic that had gone ominously quiet, but he also didn't want to sound too desperate. But being in the Dursley house was enough to leave anyone aching for something different.
"The truthful answer is that I don't know." Sirius' voice had lost most of its raspy nature over the weeks, thanks to being able to relax and have proper meals, though it still had the tendency to sound dry. "With Pettigrew in custody, it's only a matter of time before the trial begins. Trust me, the Ministry will be wanting to get this over and done with as quickly as possible."
"But you want them to do a proper job obviously. They better not rush it and mess this up." Harry couldn't afford for this to go wrong. Surely the Ministry would reach the right decision. The same Ministry that had locked up Hagrid and Dumbledore just the year before? A little bit of his faith wilted at the thought.
"At least I'm getting a trial this time. That was a luxury that wasn't afforded to me last time." His tone was bitter, which Harry could understand. "We were coming off the back of a war, people were still confused about whether Voldemort was truly gone, and they wanted to push me under the rug to put the matter to bed. I won't go away that quietly this time."
"So I'll see you at the trial then? Because I'll be there. No one will be able to stop me. I'm testifying no matter what."
Sirius let out a small laugh. It was still an unusual sound to hear coming from him. "I have no doubt about that. Although I think you're exaggerating just how exciting the process is going to be. It should be an open and shut case, as long as we have Peter."
"Still…I want to make sure everything works out."
Sirius smiled down at the boy next to him. "For the first time in a long time, I'm starting to believe that it will."
"I guess the trial will take up the summer."
"The Ministry has a tendency to draw things out." Sirius could already tell what he was alluding to. "I'm hoping we'll have plenty of summers to spend with each other. Trust me, I'm looking forward to living with you, if that's what you still want. But, as you said, this needs to be done properly. I want there to be no doubt about my innocence."
"I understand." Harry's face made it clear he didn't have to be happy about that. "I'll just have to survive several weeks with the Dursleys. I've managed it before."
Harry came to a juddering stop, confusing Sirius. He looked towards the platform, quickly figuring out the cause of his godson's strange behaviour. There were two figures still waiting outside the train. One was more serene whilst the other's head was turning every which way, only pausing when it landed on the sight of them. Hermione gave them an unsure smile, testing the waters. Matthew's expression remained neutral, as if any change would scare Harry away.
"They're not giving up easily, are they?" Sirius commented.
"I'd be surprised if they did," Harry admitted.
"You should speak to them. Before you go your different ways for the break."
Harry wanted to respond. He wanted to focus on what Sirius was saying. But all he could notice was the way his words were accompanied by a cloud of his breath. They were approaching Summer and it certainly hadn't been cold enough to warrant such a reaction. Unless…
He knew they were approaching before he spotted them. He'd spent so many hours in their presence that he had become accustomed to what they felt like. But it still didn't prepare him for the sight as a horde of dementors swooped over the train. He idly noticed how the windows froze over, obscuring the watching, terrified faces within. He watched as they closed in on his friends, closer to the platform as they were. He watched as Matthew put himself in front of Hermione as they began to swoop down, the boy helpless to do anything but take the brunt force of the attack. But many of the dementors were evidently more focused on the man standing beside him, who was already shaking, as if remembering those twelve years in their vicinity. It was a writhing force of black that headed towards them, unearthly groans and screeches being emitted.
Harry didn't know what possessed him. It was the fear of losing his newly found godfather. It was the knowledge of what a dementor's kiss would do to him. It was the aching thought of what his friends were going through. He held his wand aloft. He thought about how ecstatic he'd been when Sirius had told him they could live together. He was buoyed by every memory of times spent with friends who had made him who he was now, just as Lupin had implied. It was the professor himself, showing him kindness and a route back to his parents. The smiling photo of their wedding day. The photo of him, Hermione and Matthew, under the tree by the Great Lake, able to be kids, something that hadn't been afforded to them up to that point. He wanted more memories like that and he wasn't going to allow these creatures to deny him that right.
"Expecto…Patronum!"
It didn't feel like his voice when it escaped his mouth. But it was his wand that erupted. It was his wand that saw a beam of pure light pour out from it. He saw the flapping of wings, a golden creature soaring towards the beasts. An owl, just like the one that was waiting for him on the train, but larger, more imposing. It weaved in and out of the dementors, its talons digging into their sides, its beak nipping at their coat tails. They fled from this show of pure brilliance, fearful of what it would do to them. He might have smiled in triumph at the sight if he hadn't already been running towards the train, to his friends.
He saw Hermione bent over Matthew, his head in her lap. At least she was moving. She looked up at him as he approached, his feet skidding to a halt just before he reached them. There was a groan from Matthew and that was when Harry finally released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.
"Harry!" Hermione cried, though there were no tears in her eyes. In fact, she was smiling. "That was incredible! I've never felt anything like that! It was like…I was overwhelmed with happiness. That was a patronus, wasn't it? A true one! Oh, Harry, that was brilliant!"
"You'll have to…teach me that one," Matthew coughed. "It seems I'll need it. Though why the dementors chose to attack, I don't know."
"They must have seen Sirius," Harry said. "If they weren't told about Pettigrew, then they would still want to hunt him. Although I can't believe no one thought about that."
"Well, I didn't consider it. But it's a good job you were on hand, Harry." Matthew managed to push himself up. "I'm going to need the biggest bar of chocolate Honeydukes sells."
Hermione was watching them both with a smile on her face, though Harry didn't know whether that was just a side effect of his patronus. "What?" he asked, perhaps a bit too bluntly.
"It's just…it's just good to see you two talking like normal," she said with a sigh. It prompted both boys to share a look, maybe acceptance. "Maybe you'll want to share a compartment with us now."
"I should…go check on Sirius. And tell Dumbledore about what happened. He'll want to know. He'll want to put it right."
"Then we could come with you?" she proposed hopefully.
Harry looked to Matthew, who was already staring at him. He shrugged. "If you want us to. I've got other means of travel if we have to miss the Express."
Harry considered it for a few moments. Could he relent so easily? Maybe it was the effect of his patronus, and the pride he was feeling of actually conjuring it, but he wore a begrudging smile. "I'd like that."