𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐠𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬

Ch 197 - Letter from Ministry

Everywhere they had gone the next day, they saw added security in the castle.

Flitwick was teaching the front doors to recognize large portraits of Sirius Black.

Filch was seen bustling up and down corridors, boarding up any and every tiny crack in the castle.

Sir Cadogan had been sacked and his portrait was moved back where it belonged on the Seventh Floor.

The Fat Lady was back and her portrait was expertly restored.

She came back on the condition of getting extra security, which was in the form of trolls.

Lucifer remembered the one Troll from First Year, and he hoped none of them had to come to the same fate as that one.

At breakfast that morning, Lucifer was sitting with Hermione when he heard Neville squeak from the other end of the table.

He looked and saw that the round faced boy had gotten a Howler from his grandmother.

He quickly ran with it out of the Great Hall but it already went off ; his grandmother's voice was booming and telling him how much of a disgrace he was to the family name.

"That poor child..." Lucifer said, turning back to his food.

Hermione was picking at her food as she continued reading a book.

He looked over and read a piece of it, "Oh... dammit..." he said.

"What?" Her attention was on him, her concern growing.

"That's why you've been seemingly swamped with work lately... Buckbeak's case... Hermione I-" he started but she cut him off.

"Don't worry about it. You've been busy as of late, so don't worry about it," she eased his mind and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I still could've helped... or something..." he set his fork down, looking at her.

Her hand was still on his shoulder as she spoke, "You worry none about it, alright? I've got it covered," Hermione smiled at him.

"But I made a promise to Hagrid that I would help, and I haven't. The trial is soon, right? I'll help you until Hagrid leaves for London with Buckbeak," Lucifer promised her.

Hermione felt her face burn a bit, "I-If you're sure..."

"Of course. You're my girlfriend, I'll do whatever I can to help you!” he pulled her into a side-hug, which got a laugh out of her.

Ron had become an instant celebrity after Sirius Black had broken in, going on regarding almost getting stabbed, then Lucifer running him down towards the Common Room.

Unlike Ron, he hated the attention, being cornered by gossiping girls who were frantically bouncing on the balls of their feet as they offered their pieces of parchment for Lucifer to sign.

Romilda Vane had taken an interest in Lucifer, as his unfortunate luck would have it, and could be seen batting her eyelashes and winking at Lucifer whenever she saw him in the corridors between classes.

“• •” It made Ron, who became a celebrity felt like a fool.

Lucifer had to stop Hermione from charming Romilda multiple times, as she was trying to make her nose transform into a pig's.

Ron would go into story mode whenever someone would ask him what happened that night, but every time he told the story, it grew further and further away from the actual events.

"... I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draught... I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down... I rolled over... and I saw him standing over me... like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair... holding this great, long knife, must've been twelve inches... and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scarpered. That's when Lucifer leapt out of his bed and took off after him...”