Together (A Harry Potter love story) 3

59

MILLIES POV

I had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; lupin was following close behind, his wand lit and held out in front of him; Dad, Pettigrew and Ron went next, looking like contestants in a six-legged race. Next came Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as we descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius, who was already deep in conversation with Harry. Mione and I brought up the rear.

"You know what this means?" Mione said to me, as we made our slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Scab - Pettigrew in?"

"Sirius is free," I replied, my eyes fixed on Snape's limp body; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. I had the impression Sirius was making no effort to prevent this.

"Yes, and he's Harry's godfather, isn't he?" said Mione, a small smile tugging at her lips. "That means that once he's free, he'll be Harry's guardian...."

A warm realisation hit me, and I couldn't help but smile. I had always felt sorry for Harry when it came to him having to live with his aunt and uncle, for I knew that they treated him horribly. Once Sirius was free, Harry would finally have the home he deserved.

"Erm - Millie?" said Mione, gently nudging me with her elbow. "You might want to - er..."

I moved my gaze from Snape to Mione. She was staring straight forward, an expression on her face that was a mixture of amusement and nerves. Confused, I followed her eyeline to see Sirius and Harry now speaking with-

Dad.

"Ah, shit," I mumbled, sighing deeply. By the amused look on Harry's face, I instantly knew that this was not going to end well. I pressed myself against the side of the tunnel and began shuffling my way as quickly as I could towards them. Considering Dad had just spoken to his best friend for the first time in twelve years, I could only assume that he would be in a good mood, so I decided to use the opportunity to tell him about Harry and I's break-up, hoping he would be too happy and distracted to care much.

"Right - Dad, listen-" I paused, noticing the disgruntled look on Dad's face. "What's wrong?"

He looked at me, before sighing. "Sirius, here, is finding it very funny that you and Harry are - dating."

Sure enough, Sirius was bent-doubled with laughter, clinging onto the side of the wall to support himself as we walked. His lips kept parting wordlessly as though he wanted to say something, but clearly this situation was beyond words for him.

"You told them?" I hissed to Harry, my eyes wide.

"I didn't," he said casually, his emerald eyes glinting. "Jake did - said something about a bet..."

"A bet?" I repeated blankly, trying to ignore the smug expression that had taken over Harry's features.

"Your dad owes me one hundred galleons, Millie!" Sirius managed to say, wiping his tears away.

"I do not owe you one hundred galleons, Padfoot," said Dad fiercely, and upon noticing my confused expression, added, "As soon as James found out that Ruby and I were having a daughter, he told anyone who would listen that one day she and his son would get together. I, of course, argued against it, so we made a bet. I came up with the amount of money, because I obviously thought it was never going to happen. One hundred galleons...bloody ridiculous... what was I thinking...?"

"We should put money on it next time we make a bet," said Harry, nudging my shoulder with his. His voice was quite croaky, and I suspected that it was because he was feeling overwhelmed.