The Half-Blood Black

Chapter Thirty-Three✨

December ends and soon after the time seems to slip away from me, everything happens so fast. I keep learning more and more and then one day when I'm researching Apparition again my eyesight goes bad.

"Hermione?" I ask, getting out from my corner in the common room and walking over to her and Ron and Harry.

"Yes?" She asks not looking up.

"Okay, crazy question, but is there a spell for like ... I don't know ... making old prescriptions in glasses new?"

She looks up at me puzzled and shakes her head. "You have glasses?"

"Just for reading."

"I would ask Dumbledore to see if someone can bring you to London. He would probably understand." she adds.

"Thanks."

I throw all of my books into my bag and leave the common room. I make my way down the halls before knocking on Dumbledore's door and entering when he allows me to.

"Miss Black," he says. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need glasses, sir." I reply. "I was wondering if I could go to London with my someone. Tomorrow is Saturday and I thought I could apparate there and back ... save time."

"Yes, of course we can plan for that, but I actually have to speak to you about apparition. As much as I condone your practicing, and you are getting very good, our members in the Ministry of Magic simply cannot keep up with you. It is getting harder to stop your records from reaching anyone, and reflects poorly on me when I can't give an answer to which one of my students is practicing, technically at your age, illegal magic."

"So ... you're saying ... I have to do it without the ministry knowing?"

Dumbledore chuckles. " All underage magic is reported, and sometimes you might be expelled if you continue to do so. So, no more apparating without someone above age. You understand why I had to bring this up, of course?'

"Of course, I hope I did not offend, Headmaster."

I leave his office without saying another word, completely annoyed. I am not doing anything wrong, I only apparate to see Sirius. What am I supposed to do, tell the ministry I'm going to see their Undesirable #1?

Dumbledore follows me out, standing at the top of his stairs. "I'm sure you will need some assistance in the Muggle world, seeing as you didn't have much time there. Should I arrange for someone to help you about?"

"That would be greatly appreciated," I say turning back around.

"How about Harry? Your fathers god son? He also has some experience with glasses..."

-

"So, what do I do?" I ask Harry as we stand in front of cases upon cases of glasses.

"Just pick out a pair, I guess." He says looking at some. "Here, we can be matching!"

He places a pair of round ones on my face and we both laugh at how ridiculous I look. We do this multiple times before the lady at the counter tells us to stop fooling around. Harry and I pay with muggle money and start to leave the shop. We walk down the street towards where we hid Harry's broom when we are suddenly stopped.

"Well, well, well," Lucius Malfoy says standing before us. "Isn't it Harry Potter and my sons newest friend ... Black am I correct?"

"Don't speak to her." Harry says stepping in front of me. My hand travels to the back of my waistband where my wand is hidden, while I see Harry's hand inching towards his. 

"Oh, are you her body guard? You are going to protect the daughter of Sirius Black?" The woman standing next to Lucius, who I can only imagine to be his wife, snorts and looks down at us. "Murderer of over twelve muggles, like your mother?"

"I can protect myself, thank you very much." I say stepping forward.

"Aren't you a cute little girl?" The woman says. "What are you going to do? Cower away like your father did to his family?"

"Don't you dare talk like you know my father."

"Oh but I do, little Black. What are you named after again ... the star Lyra?"

"The brightest one, bitch."

"How dare you, you disgusting--"

"Do you wanna fucking go, Cruella DeVille?"

Harry grabs my arm and steers me away when I pull out my wand. He basically drags me as the woman and I yell obscenities at each other, causing quite a scene.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Harry says.

"She was talking about Sirius," I say. "And I just kind of blacked out. I've watched too much Seinfeld, they live in the city ... that's all I could think to say."

"The Malfoy's are Voldemort's right hand ... he's coming back ... and they are going to have power soon."

"Did you just say Voldemort was coming back?"

Harry nods slowly before looking around and bending down to my ear. "My scar has been hurting lately ... that only happens when he is near. Like when we had Professor Quirell our first year. Or Tom Riddle in the Chamber."

I nod, thinking of everything he told me happened in his first years here as I run a hand through my rambunctious curls. "Have you told Sirius?"

"I don't want to worry him."

"I'll tell him. This is serious, Harry."

He cracks a grim and says, "This is Sirius eh?"

I roll my eyes and punch his arm, handing him his broom. "Shut up."

We board his broom as he takes off into the sky, the invisibility cloak around us. We don't talk much until we make it back to Hogwarts. As we walk across the fields the crispy air burns my nostrils and I fall to the ground, the snow puffing up around me.

"What are you doing ! You'll freeze!" Harry says, reaching his hand down.

I grab it and pull him down next to me. He lands with a flump and we laugh together, making snow angels that flow into each other. When we stand he throws a snow ball at my back and I shriek as it falls down my back and melts, leaving an ice cold trail down my spine.

I throw one back and we sprint across the covered bridge, dodging students coming back from Hogsmeade. A few students yell at us to watch where we're going but I beat Harry inside.

We race up the stairs to the portrait of the singing woman, who serenades us for a few minutes as we catch our breath. The common room door opens and Harry and I share a knowing glance as he joins Ron and Hermione in the corner, probably where they will be discussing the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. 

After a little bit of coaxing, and Cedric desperately wanting my forgiveness from the Yule Ball fight, Cedric helped Harry with the lake task. I think he was hoping that Harry would tell me that he owes it all to Cedric, which he did, but it took much longer than that for me to even face him. And many butter beers that he snuck back from Hogsmeade and left at the same spot I always sit in in the library. 

I don't bother joining them, some times it's better to leave well enough alone. I swing my book bag off my shoulders and move to the corner of the room that I've claimed to be my own, stripping off my winter jacket and wet sweater, enjoying the fire and my newfound friendship.