𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡.𝐩

𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 3, 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 11: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓫𝓸𝓵𝓽𝓼

~ chapter eleven: the firebolts ~

"Harry, Y/N, you—you look terrible."

Since the whole thing where we found out Sirius Black was my godfather and Y/N's father, I invited her to sleep in our dorm tonight so we wouldn't have to feel alone tonight. We hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak, though. We had awoken to find the dormitory deserted, dressed, and gone down the spiral staircase to a common room that was completely empty except for Ron, who was eating a Peppermint Toad and massaging his stomach, and Hermione, who had spread her homework over three tables.

"Where is everyone?" said Y/N.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron,watching us closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to comeand wake you up in a minute."

We slumped into chairs next to the fire. Snow was still fallingoutside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front of the firelike a large, ginger rug.

"You really don't look well, you know," Hermione said, peeringanxiously into our faces.

"We're fine," I said.

"Harry, Y/N, listen," said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, "you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid."

"Like what?" asked Y/N.

"Like trying to go after Black," said Ron sharply.

I could tell they had rehearsed this conversation while Y/N and I had been asleep. We didn't say anything.

"You won't, will you, Y/N, Harry?" said Hermione.

"Because Black's not worth dying for," said Ron.

Y/N and I looked at them. They didn't seem to understand at all.

"D'you know what we see and hear every time a dementor gets too near us?" Y/N asked sharply. Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking apprehensive. "We can hear our mums screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her—"

"There's nothing you can do!" said Hermione, looking stricken. "The dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and—and serve him right!"

"You heard what Fudge said," I said. "Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others."

"So what are you saying?" said Ron, looking very tense. "You want to—to kill Black or something?"

"Don't be silly," said Hermione in a panicky voice. "Y/N and Harry don't want to kill anyone, do you, Y/N, Harry?"

Again, neither Y/N or I answered. I didn't know what he wanted to do. All I knew was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was almost more than I could stand.

"Malfoy knows," Y/N said abruptly. "Remember what he said to us in Potions? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself . . . I'd want revenge.'"

"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" said Ron furiously. "Listen . . . you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me—the Order of Merlin, FirstClass, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, Y/N, and he's dangerous—"