Protection In The Dungeons

Breakfast, Prep, And An Invite

I walked downstairs, smelling the bacon, eggs, and pancakes. My mouth watered. I got to the kitchen, and saw Snape at the stove. He obviously hadn't slept at all since the late night visit of headmaster dickface. I stepped closer, and he looked at me over his shoulder.

"Good morning, Katria. Breakfast is almost ready..." He masked his exhaustion very well. "Go ahead and sit down. . You'd better be hungry. I made loads of bacon."

I sat. He finished up with the pancakes and bacon, and brought them to the table I dished myself up with some eggs, three pancakes, and some bacon. . "It looks pretty good!"

"It'd better taste good too." He joked, dishing himself up a hearty portion, and pouring himself a cup of coffee to drink along with his breakfast. "I can't stand burnt breakfast."

I chuckled at his joke. "Neither can I."

He poked me. "Thats why we don't let you in the kitchen."

"Hey! My cooking isn't that bad!" I indignantly shot back.

He laughed at my response. "Oh? Last time I let you in there unattended you put a square of ghirardelli milk-chocolate into your eggs! If that isn't bad, then I'm Albus Dumbledore!"

"Hey, sweet eggs could work! Just not with that... eggs are a neutral base!" I retorted.

"Well, I don't think I could survive any more of your... 'breakfast experiments.' That was nasty." He chuckled, and took a sip of coffee. "I don't even know what possessed you to do that... you want something sweet, then just eat the chocolate square! Those eggs had the texture of wet dog food!"

I huffed. "How would you know what texture wet dog food is? Unless... you didn't eat any, did you?!"

"Of course not! But I have fed dogs multiple times! And I can tell what the texture is, because I have eyes, Katria." He took another sip of coffee. "And besides, that's not the point. The point is, it was nasty. Makes me wonder how you even passed last year's potion exams if you can't follow a simple omelette recipe..."

I finished my breakfast, and began to wash the dishes. The conversation had almost made me forget about the conversation I overheard earlier this morning... almost, but not quite... "when will we be going back to Hogwarts?"

Snape swirled his coffee around in the mug. "In a few weeks... which reminds me, we should go to Diagon alley to get you some robes that fit. You've been growing like a little weed." He stood up. "Might as well go today while it's on my mind... we could stop and get lunch there too."

I nodded. "I think I'll need new books for my classes too... when are we going?"

"Let me take inventory of my potion ingredients so I know what I'll need to stock up for the school year..." He threw on his cloak. "I'm going to floo over to Hogwarts for a little bit. I should be back in about an hour, or two. Be ready to go when I get back, and we'll go together."

And with that he left. I set about cleaning up the rest of the breakfast items, and began doing my chores. And that's when noticed it... a large, black, wolf like dog, about a quarter mile away... standing near the tree line, almost blending in. A chill ran up my spine. I made sure all the doors were locked and barred. I checked all the windows to ensure they were locked as well, and i closed all the shutters.

Even if Sirius Black wasn't dangerous, I didn't want to chance meeting him... especially alone. Even if it was perfectly safe, I wouldn't want to meet him. I still can't forgive him... I'm not sure if I ever could.

• • • • • •

   An hour later, Snape returned. He raised an eyebrow when he saw all the shutters closed, and locked, as well as the door locked, and barred.

   "I think I saw Sirius over near the forest right after you left." I explained. "It kinda spooked me, so I locked everything..."

   He nodded. "Good. You went with your gut. That's a good skill for a girl your age to have. It may hurt some people's feelings, and you might be wrong about some people, but you're better off safe than dead."

   I nodded, pulling on my jumper. "Thanks. So... Diagon alley?"

   He nodded, and grabbed his wand. "Apparate, or floo?"

   "Apparate."

   And with that, we were in Diagon alley, ready to shop for the coming school year.

   As we walked through the bustling market, I noticed a distinct blonde boy... "Draco!" I ran to him, and hugged him.

   "Hey, squirt! What are you up to?" He asked, returning the hug.

   "We're shopping for back to school supplies. You?"

   "Same. And camping supplies as well." He gestured to his trolley.

   "Camping? You? Without a mirror or hairdryer?" I laughed. "I didn't take you for the type to rough it in the wilderness."

   "What supplies do you think I'm getting?" He ruffled my hair. "And it's not that type of camping really... my family and I are going to see the quidditch World Cup. It's going to be loads of fun! You should join us! We have extra tickets..."

  "Why do you have extra tickets?"

   Draco smiled, cheekily. "We were invited by the minister. And when we were invited, I was dating Pansy. So. he gave us an extra ticket for a plus one."

   "Why aren't you taking Pansy then?" I asked.

   He shrugged. "We broke up. We just weren't a right fit. And between you and me..." he leaned In conspiratorially. "I couldn't be happier. She was a shrew."

   I laughed. "And your parents wouldn't mind if I came?"

   He shook his head. "Not at all! We'd love to have you come along! Just bring an overnight bag."

   I turned to Snape. "Can I? Please?"

   Snape smiled. "I'm inclined to say yes, but first I would have to speak with Lucius. Just for security purposes..."

   Draco nodded. "Father's grabbing some books from the bookshop... apparently they have some first edition books from... something. To be honest, I wasn't listening. But don't tell him that. If he asks, I find his first edition books very interesting."

   We all laughed, and made our way toward the book shop.