Finding Father

Chapter 13-What Are Friends For?

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I'm so lost. Everything's falling apart. I thought that starting school at Hogwarts would be the beginning of the best time of my life, but instead it's brought nothing but worry and sadness and the unexpected.

The door crashes open recklessly, and one of my roommates comes in. She slams her books on her desk.

"McGonagall gave us so much homework!" She complains. "I won't be done by the holidays."

"Great," I mumble, not really registering what she said. The girl, Katrina, rolls her eyes.

"Not great. Are you even listening?"

"Not really," I reply.

"Ugh. Whatever. What's up? Something wrong?" I sit up and look at her.

"Everything. But it's not really your concern."

"Fine." She turns her back to me, her blonde curls bouncing.

I have to find Macy.

***************

I head out of the Ravenclaw common room, and jog down the stairs. Macy had told me one time that the Hufflepuff common room was by the kitchens, and by God, I was going to find it. I'm on the main floor, passing the Great Hall, when two people catch my attention and I get an idea.

The red-headed twins are legends at Hogwarts. Even a first year Ravenclaw like myself knows of the Gryffindor fifth year professional pranksters. Right now they are the most helpful people I could possibly find.

I run up to Fred and George Weasley, and they spin around, surprised.

"I need some help," I blurt out.

"There's only one situation in which you would need our help," says Fred, grinning.

"So who do you need to punish?" asked George. I can't help but snort.

"Nobody, good grief. I need to find the Hufflepuff common room. You guys know the castle really well, can you give me directions?" The boys laugh a little.

"Come with us," they say together. They take off at a walk and I hurry to keep up with the tall boys.

"What's your name, by the way?" Fred asks as we walk.

"Avery," I reply.

"Nice to meet you, Avery," George smiles.

They lead me in a small maze of halls and down a staircase to another corridor.

"Well," George says, "this is the portrait to the kitchen." He points to a painting of a fruit bowl. "Just tickle the pear and it'll let you in."

"And down here," continues Fred, "is the Hufflepuff common room." He jogs a little ways down and stops in front of a some barrels on the wall.

"And why would a couple of Gryffindors want into our dorms?" a voice asks. We all turn to see an older Hufflepuff girl coming towards us.

"Hey, wait, can you help me?" I ask excitedly as she pushes through us to the barrels. She stops and turns around.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"Do you know Macy Fillinam? Can you find her and tell her Avery needs to see her?" I say.

The girl nods and taps on a barrel in a sequence. The lid of the barrel swings open, revealing a passageway. She disappears into it. I turn to the twins.

"Thank you so much for bringing me down here," I say. "I think I'm good now." The boys nod.

"No prob," they tell me. "And don't forget to grab snacks from the kitchen before you come back up!" They both grin widely and take off down the hall.

I stand waiting for a couple minutes before the barrels lid swing open again, revealing my best friend. She steps out and looks at me curiously.

"What do you need?" She asks.

"We need to talk," I respond. She gets the message.

"Come on," she says gently, taking my hand. I follow her down the hall.

******************

Ten minutes later I find myself in a remote corner of the library, sitting across from Macy.

I had refused to tell her much on the walk here, and after the first couple times she stopped asking. Now that we're alone, she's full of questions.

I take a deep breath, trying to control my nerves. I decide there is no sugar coating it.

"I got pulled aside today by some of the teachers," I say, my voice shaking. "They had some really bad news for me." Macy's watching me intently, her eyes asking me to go on.

"My mom died." I can feel the hot tears starting to well up in my eyes. Macy's shock is immediately evident. Her eyes grow wide and she lets out a small gasp.

"Oh Avery. . ." she says softly. I blink quickly.

"Yeah, er, it was Sirius Black, apparently. They- they found her this morning."

Macy is quiet, but I see that she still has her eyes fixed on me, trying to read my thoughts, unsure of what to say.

"Well," she finally says, "I'm really, really sorry and if there's anything I can do, let me know, okay?" I nod.

"Thanks," I reply quietly.

"Hey. Avery. I know that's what everyone says, but I mean it, okay?" I smile a little bit.

"Thank you, Macy." She is silent for a few more seconds, and then looks up suddenly.

"Avery, you and your mom lived alone... right?" She looks slightly panicked.

"Er, yeah..." I respond hesitantly.

"So, do you have somewhere to go?" Macy looks as though she knew she was hitting on a very touchy subject. I cringed.

"I'll work something out," I tell her.

"But, do you, like, have grandparents or something?"

"I said I'll figure it out," I say, starting to get unreasonably angry at my best friend. On my behalf, look at the day I was having. . . Macy seems to catch my drift.

"Avery, do you want some time alone? I'll stay if you want me to, but I think you might just need some time to think or something," she says cautiously.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm gonna go back to my common room. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. If you need me again, to get into the Hufflepuff room, you have to tap the second barrel from the bottom in the middle row, to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. Got it?"

I nod, hoping I can remember. With that, Macy stands up and I follow. She quickly grabs me in a tight hug, and then disappears.

With that, I walk back to Ravenclaw tower.