The Curious Tale of Harriet Potter

9 - Articles and Secrets

A/N (02/05/21): The first part of this chapter was added after the chapter was initially posted and depicts a character having a panic attack. I have personally never had a panic attack, so I'm really not trying to offend anyone who has or does regularly. I wrote this in because I think the trigger for the panic attack is something very important for the character's development and something else that happens later in the chapter.
I think her having a panic attack makes sense for the situation and for that to be her reaction just seems right. Also, the fact that she had a panic attack isn't really touched on much after because this is set in 1994 and panic attacks weren't widely regarded then and mental health was nowhere near as cared about so even she doesn't know what it actually is.

It was a normal day for Harriet. Or at least, she hoped it would be. Everything was going fine - more than fine really. She had woken up before her alarm, gone on a morning jog and was actually early to breakfast for once.

She had decided to sit at the Gryffindor table as Cedric wasn't there and most of the Hufflepuffs really didn't like her. Granted, her own housemates weren't particularly fond of her either but they mostly stayed out her way. Really, she was just biding time until either the twins, Neville or Cedric came down.

That was until the morning paper arrived.

She picked up the Daily Prophet, expecting the front page article to be some kind of further development in the quidditch scandal the Wolverhead Wasps' captain was currently involved in, and not noticing the way silence had befallen the room as everyone read their own papers.

What she did see on the front page made her heart stop beating.

SIRIUS BLACK CAPTURED IN HOGSMEADE!

Yesterday evening, Sirius Black was spotted in Hogsmeade and the woman responsible, Madam Puddifoot, alerted the hotline right away.

Within minutes, aurors had arrived to the cave Black was hiding out in and secured the perimeter so there was no way he could get in or out.

Once it was confirmed the man in question was in fact Sirius Black, the law enforcement team wasted no time at all in getting the dementors there and administering The Kiss.

Since his escape from Azkaban the summer before last, finding Sirius Black has been a major concern and priority for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had this to say. "Sirius Black has been at large for too long, and rest assured justice has been served. We hope the public can sleep more peacefully now with the knowledge that Sirius Black is no longer a danger to anyone. It is only due to the diligence and hard work of the Ministry and cooperation of the public that we have at last served Sirius Black the justice he's deserved since he was first put in Azkaban."

Sirius Black was a loyal follower of You-Know-Who during the War, and after his demise Black killed no less than 13 people - 12 muggles and his childhood friend Peter Pettigrew. Last July, Black became the first person to escape from Azkaban Prison. It is still unknown how he managed to break out.

Harri couldn't even make it past the headline. No. This couldn't be true. She quickly skimmed the rest of the article and looked up to the teachers' table to see Professor Dumbledore absent.

No. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't sure when she stood up, everyone else's voices seemed to somehow blur into one and be distinct all at the same time. She felt like she was about to pass out at any moment, that the world had completely stopped spinning and everything was going wrong at the same time. She didn't know what she looked like to other people, but she was sure it was probably like a crazy person.