Emily Granger, older sister of Hermione, had a firm set friendship with the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan since first year and was notorious throughout the school for their pranks.
Once their fifth year comes around the corner, Emily decides she can...
"Harry's due back any minute" Mrs Weasley said, bustling around the kitchen, her nervous energy being poured into prepping an early lunch. "I feel sick" Hermione muttered, pale with anxiety as she stared at the doorway, Ron awkwardly patting her shoulder. "He'll be fine - it's Harry" "Yeah, he could get away with murder" Fred grinned, bumping Hermione with his elbow. George echoed his movement on her other side, forcing a huffed laugh from her, "Besides, Dumbledore would sooner fight everyone on the council than let them expel him" I laughed, turning to Lee with a raised eyebrow, "I wonder if he'd do the same for little old us" "Are you kidding? We're his favourites by far" he sniggered.
A scuffle at the door grabbed everyone's attention, Harry and Mr Weasley appearing. "So?" "I got off" he laughed, waving his arms about. "I knew it!" yelled Ron, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff !" "Go on HP!" I cheered, Lee whooping beside me. "They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, now holding a shaking hand over her eyes. "There was no case against you, none at all. . . ." "Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off," said Harry, smiling. Mrs. Weasley wiped her face on her apron, and Fred, George, and Ginny started doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went "He got off, he got off, he got off —" "That's enough, settle down!" shouted Mr. Weasley, though he too was smiling. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry —" "What?" said Sirius sharply. "He got off, he got off, he got off —" "Be quiet, you three! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know." "Absolutely," said Sirius. "We'll tell him, don't worry." "Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet in Bethnal Green waiting for me. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner —" "He got off, he got off, he got off —" "Join them?" Lee asked, holding his hand out towards me with a grin. "Why, of course" The two of us joined in the chant, ignoring Mrs Weasley's calls for quiet, only pausing to shove different snacks in our mouths before continuing. As the five of us danced around the kitchen, we bumped into the back of Harry, who just gave us a smile. "I think it's time for a key change" Fred suggested, clearing his throat before raising his voice even higher, projecting even louder. The rest of us matched him, giddy grins on all of our faces. "HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF —" "SHUT UP!" roared Mrs. Weasley.
Later, when everyone had calmed down slightly, I slipped into the seat next to Sirius, passing him a butterbeer. "Lupin out on a mission?" "Hm?" I smiled at his distracted hum, nudging the mug of beer further into his hand, "I asked if Lupin is out on a mission" "Oh - oh right. Yeah, he'll be away for a while" "I'm guessing I'm not allowed to know where?" Sirius scoffed, somewhat bitterly, downing his drink, "I don't even know. 'Order secrecy' and all that" "But you are in the order" "I'm not much use though am I" he sighed, rubbing his temple with a frown, "I'm sorry - it's just - everything that happened with Harry today" "I get it - but he's ok. He got off" That didn't seem to lighten Sirius' mood, the man dipping further into his seat. After a few moments of silence, he sighed. "Is it bad that a part of me wanted him to stay here? Not go back to Hogwarts?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I - um - no I think it makes sense. You shouldn't feel guilty for wanting to keep your family close" I eventually replied, "I'm guessing that's the same way you feel about Remus going out on his missions?" A silent nod was the only reply I got, Sirius steadfastly avoiding eye contact. "You were alone for so long, Pads. Don't blame yourself for wanting to hold on to people you just got back" Sirius laughed, a wet, broken kind of laugh, before finally turning to look at me. "You even sound like her sometimes" "What?" "Lily" he said, clearing his throat before continuing, "I thought I was going mad when I first saw you at Hogwarts. You look like her when you pull certain faces - now you're starting to sound like her too" I just smiled sadly at him, letting him continue. "Remus - Remus' mum used to tell me that she believed people we loved, family, that when they died we could find parts of them in new people that enter our lives" he let out a weak chuckle, "I used to think she was nuts - never told her that of course, Hope Lupin was bloody scary when she wanted to be - but when I lost... I wanted to believe her" "That's beautiful" Sirius tilted his head back, "God, you must think I'm mad" I shook my head, gesturing to Mrs Weasley who was using magic to clean up the kitchen. "I was brought up thinking magic was a fairytale and it's now a reality in my everyday life. I don't think that anything's mad anymore" He laughed at that, a more happy sounding noise this time, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "You'll get through this Sirius" I said, "and Harry will be back here, every holiday. You're not going to be left alone again" He nodded, taking in an unsteady breath before slapping on a smile, "Right"
