Little Padfoot ~Book 3~

2.4

Delaney's POV

I tapped my fingers against my knee as I glanced nervously between the Twins. They both had big grims on their faces, brooms in hand as they paced back and forth in front of the Great Hall doors. They had a plan, and I had full trust in them, everything was just moving so quickly. "Freddie." I called out to him, standing up from where I sat on the steps to the left of the doors. Fred hummed in reply and handed George his broom, heading over towards me. "Hey honey, are you okay?" He said and I gave him a small smile, his hand finding mine and squeezing it in reassurance. "It'll be okay. George and I know what we're doing. And we spoke about me leaving school, remember?" Fred pointed out and I sighed, nodding my head. It's true. Fred and I had spoken about him and his brother leaving school many times. The twins didn't need their N.E.W.T.s to open their joke shop and I would support them no matter what. I looked up at Fred.

"I'm not worried per say. Something just doesn't feel right." I explained to him and he let go of my hand, cupping my cheek in his palm and he leant down to place a soft kiss on my lips. He pulled back and smiled. "Everything is going to be okay, honey. I promise." He said and I nodded, moving slightly so I could pull him into a tight hug. He hugged back just as tightly. We stood there for a few moments before George cleared his throat, mentioning that it was time. I sighed once more. "Look after our daughter." I said and we let go of each other, Fred nodding. "With my life." He said and I smiled. We would protect our daughter with everything we had. I was just happy he got to spend time with her now that he wouldn't be at school. I watched as Fred headed back over to George, taking a hold of his broom once more. The twins walked off, hiding as they sent forth their first firework and I quickly headed up the stairs as well, staying out of sight for now but continued to watch as the little spark banged against the Great Hall doors.

The doors opened and out stepped Professor Umbridge in an overly disgustingly pink outfit like usual. The firework spark danced around her face before whizzing off into the Hall, setting off a small explosion. Umbridge furrowed her eyebrows, walking further out into the hallway, looking around. She glanced to the left and right. A few seconds passed and soon enough Fred and George came whizzing down the stairs on their brooms, flying past Umbridge who stumbled and nearly fell backwards as they flew over her and into the Great Hall. I hurried down the stairs and pushed past Umbridge, wanting to see the fireworks display. The twins cheered and sent all the exam papers flying, the students jumping up from their desks in surprise and excitement. I spotted the Golden trio and ran over, laughing with them as we watched Fred and George set off their fireworks.

The display was beautiful. All different colors and sizes, all exploding at different times. The look on Professor Umbridge's face was priceless as well. Fireworks whizzed around, small displays coming to a stop in front of our faces. Ron and Harry laughed and I glanced up at the twins, catching Fred's eye. He winked at me and I let out a laugh, the two of them having way too much fun flying about. They high fived and Umbridge came rushing down the walkway, dodging fireworks as she did. The students lined the sides, my gaze wandering and spotting Mr Filch as he came rushing in as well, a mop in hand. I nudged Harry as I noticed him looking at Umbridge. She looked distraught. "Time for the big finale." I said to Harry, Ron and Hermione as I looked up at the twins, a big firework in hand. The twins gave each other a thumbs up, throwing the firework in the air and moving out of its way as it exploded.

The firework took the form of a chinese dragon, orange eyes glowing as it locked onto Umbridge. The dragon roared and started its descent, heading straight for her. She turned and ran, shrieking as she went. Students laughed and looked on, amazed at the firework dragon. I too was amazed. I knew Fred and George were creative, but I had no idea they would create something like this. Something so amazing. They were going to have no problems with their joke shop. We continued to watch as the firework dragon continued to chase Umbridge from the room, snapping its jaw shut as it caught up with her before exploding into hundreds of tiny little sparks, all shooting up in different directions and breaking her framed decrees that lined the walls. The glass came raining down, almost like snow, followed by the frames crashing to the ground. The twins started moving again, flying from the Great Hall and over the top of Umbridge, who screamed. Her screams were drowned out by the hordes of students cheering as we followed the twins out into the courtyard. They continued to set off fireworks as they flew into the sky, the rest of the student body filling up the courtyard, having caught wind of what was happening.

Hermione and I had an arm wrapped around each other as we cheered along, jumping up and down in excitement along with everyone else. I even spotted a few teachers clapping along with us. I turned around and smiled at Harry as he stood next to Ron, the two of them cheering and clapping as well as the twins left off their last firework. A golden orange "W" filled the sky, shimmering as the twins continued to fly off into the distance. The smile on my face was enormous. I was so proud of them, of Fred. They were following their dream. And it made my heart happy that Fred was going to get to spend plenty of quality time with Valerie. Plus, little Val would be more than happy to be with her dad.

My smile faded quickly though as I was hit with that feeling once more. Something wasn't right. Something felt off. I thought to myself, letting go of Hermione as I turned, searching the crowd for Harry. The heart-shaped scar on my wrist tingled, which could only mean one thing. Harry. I pushed through some of the students, spotting my younger brother on the ground, eyes frantic as he looked around. What was he seeing? "Harry?" I called out to him, kneeling in front of him. His eyes locked on mine but the look in his eyes told me he wasn't 100% here. That moment only lasted a few more seconds before Harry broke out of the trance, staring at me wide eyed.

"Sirius." He said, scrambling to his feet. My heart cracked. What did he mean? I stood up, grabbing ahold of his arm to help him. "What? What about Sirius? Harry!" I asked, trying to get more information about what Harry had seen. What was happening? Harry didn't say much as Ron and Hermione found their way to us, Harry turning and taking off towards the Castle. I followed, my heart beating like crazy as I worried about what was happening. Something wasn't right. The thought kept repeating in my head, the feeling never leaving as we ran through the castle. "Are you sure you saw Sirius?" Hermione asked as we reached the moving staircases, hurrying up them. Harry nodded, not stopping. "It's just like with Mr Weasley. It's the same door I've been dreaming about for months, only I couldn't remember where I had seen it before." We continued up the stairs as Harry spoke, my head spinning with worry.

"Sirius said Voldemort was after something. Something he didn't have the last time and it's in the Department of Mysteries." Harry explained and we stopped as the staircase moved. I stared, not saying anything as Hermione spoke. "Harry, please listen. What if Voldemort meant for you to see that? If he's only hurting Sirius because he's trying to get to you." She said, looking in between Harry and I. I felt sick. "What if he is? I'm supposed to just let Sirius die?" Harry shot back and I turned from looking at Hermione to looking at Harry. He seemed just as distraught as I was. "Hermione, he and Delaney are the only family I've got left." He said and I felt like crying. Why was I so emotional? I knew my Dad. He was strong. He could withstand any torture Voldemort sent his way. I cleared my throat. "He's my Dad. We can't just leave him." I said and the group fell silent for a few moments. Ron, Harry, Hermione and I all looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation. It was Ron who broke the silence. "What do we do?" He asked and Harry turned, the four of us rushing off the stairs.

"We'll have to use the Floo Network." I said, as we headed to the Gryffindor dorms to prepare. "Umbridge has all of the chimney's under surveillance." Hermione pointed out and we entered the common room. It was quiet, no one was in here. I wouldn't be surprised if no one was in the dormitory at all. "Not all of them." Harry said and he and Ron headed up to their dorm room. Hermione and I looked at each other before heading to our respective rooms. The sick feeling remained. I doubt it would go away at all; at least not until I knew my father was okay. Suddenly, I wished Fred were still here. I already felt like forever since I had seen him last but in reality, all of this had happened in a matter of minutes. I entered the shared dorm room, heading over to my bed and grabbing whatever I felt like I would need. If it came down to a fight, I wanted to be ready. After gathering all my stuff, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked sick. My skin was pale, hair lighter than normal. I sighed and closed my eyes, concentrating on my metamorphic abilities to help me look less like death. I winced as it changed, cursing myself for not using these abilities for so long. My cousin, Tonks, would shake her head at me if she knew I hadn't been using these abilities. She always said its makes you feel worse when you suppress it. I guess she was right. I opened my eyes, happy with the change and headed back out to meet up with the trio. The feeling remained. Something wasn't right. Something bad was happening.