"It's lonely to be more powerful than any man you know."
- Merlin
Twelve years after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort and put an end to the First Wizarding War, the Wizarding world is shaken by the news that Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. But no...
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Scabbers' death by Crookshanks' teeth looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was so angry with the other that Harry and Rhea couldn't see how they'd ever make up. Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him, and was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds.
Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.
Personally, Rhea found Hermione's arguments pretty weak since it suggested that the house-elves hadn't cleaned the boys' dormitory since Christmas. She did, however, keep those thoughts to herself after witnessing Hermione losing her temper when Harry tried to point out that the evidence all pointed to Crookshanks as the killer.
"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"
Rhea tried not to take sides, which meant she had to divide her time between an angry Hermione and a grieving Ron, who had taken the loss of his rat very hard. And unluckily for him he had two older brothers that knew exactly what not to say in these circumstances.
"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred said bracingly "And he's been off-colour for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly—one swallow—he probably didn't feel a thing."
"Fred!" Ginny said indignantly.
"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," George said.
"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry?"
"Yeah, that's true," Harry said, awkwardly patting his best friend on the arm.
"His finest hour," Fred said, unable to keep a straight face. Rhea felt like a terrible human-being for struggling not to laugh when he continued, "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory."
Rhea brought a hand up to cover her mouth and George, who sat next to her, turned his head away to hide his laughter. "Oh, come on, Ron," Fred added when Ron remained miserable, "get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"
"Fred," Rhea scolded, "he can't just replace Scabbers. It's like if Ron died — you wouldn't just buy yourself a new brother, would you?"
"Of course, I wouldn't," Fred said. "I already have four more brothers — why would I want to buy another one?"
