Midnight Disaster | Harry Potter FanFiction

Capitulum Sextum

By the time dawn arrived, the heavy rain had subsided which was good news for Harry. Having just received his timetable for the year, Harry noticed that he had Herbology first followed by Care of Magical Creatures that morning and Double Divination in the afternoon. Harry could only groan at the sight of how his afternoon would be spent. Divination was his least favorite class which considering Potions with Professor Snape that was saying a lot. Professor Trelawney seemed to enjoy predicting Harry's death during every class. The only difference was this year there wasn't an Azkaban escapee 'out to get him'.

Hermione had been the smart one and dropped the class last year. Harry wished he could do the same but he needed to take two electives and hadn't overloaded on classes like Hermione did last year. Hermione had taken every class available to third years, needing a Time Turner to attend them all. The stress, however, made Hermione extremely irritable from time to time so when she dropped Divination and Muggle Studies, Harry and Ron were extremely relieved.

There was a rush of owls entering the hall. Harry didn't bother looking up which proved to be a mistake when a small package hit him on the head before landing beside his plate. For a long moment Harry stared at the package completely bewildered by its arrival. He rarely got mail and when he did it was usually from Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and good friend to Harry.

Some of his confusion lifted when he noticed his name written in the handwriting of his godfather. Well, sure Sirius would write him but so soon? Still trapped in his confusion, Harry didn't notice his friends watching him as he carefully pried away the letter attached to the package. Harry bit his lower lip in anticipation as he slowly opened the letter and began to read.

Pronglet,

Moony informed me that he forgot to give this back to you so I sent it as quickly as I could. I don't understand him some times but he's Moony. Just so you know we're already working hard on cleaning up old Black Manor for you. I am honestly contemplating on asking Dumbledore to let us switch house elves. Kreacher for Dobby. You remember what I told you about Kreacher, right? The Black family house elf? Well, he's worse now than what I ever remember which is pretty bad.

Anyways, just remember what I told you at the platform. Don't forget to have fun this year. I know you're not one for pranks but there's more than one way to have fun at good ol' Hogwarts. Just be sure to tell me all about it when you can! Oh, and Moony is shouting at me that if I don't tell you hello from him he'll skin me alive...and people are worried about the wolf...if only they knew...

Take care of yourself, kiddo. Remember we're here if you need us.

Padfoot and Moony

Harry bit back a smile as he folded up the letter. He doubted he could handle Dobby being the 'Black family elf' but perhaps it would be better than Kreacher. Sirius had informed Harry all about the Black family history this summer. Evidently, Sirius was one of the few Blacks to stand against Voldemort. The Blacks were a proud pureblood family just like the Malfoys.

Actually, Sirius had revealed that he was related to the Malfoys by marriage (Narcissa Malfoy was a member of the Black family) making Harry somewhat related to Draco Malfoy now that Sirius had adopted him but Harry didn't agree. The simple thought of him being related to anyone like Draco Malfoy was enough to make his stomach churn. Harry hadn't taken the Black name but he was a Black heir. This fact was probably what had so many people up in arms about the adoption because of the 'dark' reputation the Black family had.

Glancing down at the package, Harry already knew what was inside so didn't take the risk of opening it in front of anyone. There was only one thing he had given Remus that Sirius would want Harry to have since it was only useful at Hogwarts. The Marauder's Map. Remus had confiscated it last year and with everything that had happened must have forgotten about it. Harry could no longer hide the smile on his face as he placed the letter and package in his school bag. Suddenly, his day was looking up.