Thick Smoke

He Was Here

For the rest of the day, Harry and Eliza talked about random stuff until they went for a walk through the castle sometime later.

"There are a lot of stories about you, and your adventures at Hogwarts" Eliza started as they walked around. "You caused a lot of trouble." She tried to put it in a way that wouldn't sound rude.

Harry laughed but nodded nonetheless. It was extremely funny how hard she was trying to express her opinions without insulting him.

"I'm sure you only heard half of the story." He said without sounding cocky.

"Why don't you tell me your side of the story then?" She asked, her eyes widening a bit since she was genuinely interested and curious.

"Well, it's not much to say,"

But he told her anyway.

There was something about her that made him feel comfortable and he couldn't help but tell her everything, underlining how Hermione and Ron played important roles that ultimately saved their lives and Hogwarts.

At some point, they took a turn and found the door to a classroom largely open. Inside was none other than Professor Lupin.

His eyes narrowed into two crescent moons when he saw Eliza's dark hair popping around the door. He was ready to say something when Harry followed.

"I see you two are having fun." He commented from the side. "Please come in. I've just taken delivery of Grindylow for our next lesson. Would you like some tea?"

Eliza hummed and glanced at Harry before she turned to Remus. For her godfather, meeting Harry was just another reason to come to Hogwarts so she decided she might as well just let them have a chat.

"I actually have to go to the library. But Harry, you should go on. "

Harry nodded and Remus smiled knowingly before he too nodded and called a soft, "Take care on the way back," knowing she had been getting lost ever since she arrived.

Eliza didn't want to go to the library, she fidn't feel particularly studious, so she just wandered around. She was in a corridor in the dungeons when she felt this intense pull towards one room. She was walking when she heard someone approach her and they met right in front of the door.

"What are you doing lurking in front of my office, Molley?" Snape asked. The way he said her name resonated in her mind.

But Eliza's eyes fell on the goblet he was carrying, a strange smell oozing off it.

"What's that?" She asked innocently.

Snape raised an eyebrow, "None of your business." He said but didn't leave.

The professor stood there, looking into her eyes, and for a fraction of moment Eliza could swear she saw...pain.

"I recommend you don't come into the dungeons by yourself next time. Especially not around my office," he said, all emotions gone from his eyes.

Of course, he couldn't leave before having the final word. She didn't know, but as she walked away, Snape couldn't help but stare after her, after how familiar that back of her head was.

*****

An hour or two later, Eliza was back wandering the castle, not caring that opening every door she found could actually be dangerous.

One particular door closed back in front of her face with so much force that she stumbled back, almost falling on her bottom. Another door pushed her out, another had a face screaming at her before a ghost approached Eliza and looked at her up and down before he left.

"You're wandering really far from the places you know," Lupin's voice startled her even more than the ghost. "That's Peeves, the castle's poltergeist. He usually causes great discomfort to everyone." He explained.

Eliza frowned and turned to her professor, "He looked at me and left."

"Who knows what he's thinking about,"

"Maybe he recognized me?" Eliza added quickly.

Remus sighed and turned the same way she came from, urging her to come after him.

"No one knows who your parents are, Eliza. I want you to enjoy the time here as much as possible."

It sounded like he genuinely meant every word he said but Eliza's mind was wandering to other places and couldn't bother sinking them in.

"About the next full moon..." Eliza trailed, her green eyes peeking at the werewolf man.

"It's been taken care of. Professor Snape was kind enough to prepare something for me."

A snort was ready to come out of her mouth at the word 'kindly'. That wasn't an expression she would use with Snape's name in a sentence.

"What about you and Harry?" Remus changed the subject quickly as they were getting towards the Great Hall. "It looks like you finally acknowledge his existence."

"So you noticed?" She asked, the man nodding with a glint of amusement in his eyes, "When I first saw him, something about him made me feel nauseous. I avoided him because it felt like I should." Eliza explained though Remus didn't look like he wanted an explanation in the first place.

"What about now?" Remus asked.

"It's not that bad," she said making the older man smile.

*****

At dinner, Eliza sat between Neville and Harry, surprising everyone when she started to talk and joke with Harry.

"What have you two done while we were gone? Did you put a spell on each other or something?" Ron asked, bewildered that shy and blunt Eliza was talking and laughing with the person she used to avoid so badly.

The culprits glanced at each other and laughed, shrugging Ron off and continuing with their curiosities of Hogsmeade; well, more like Harry's curiosities.

Dinner was already over and the third year Gryffindors were returning to their Common Room. Ron was going on and on about the shops, where to go and where not to go - like the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in Britain.

"I'm sure it's not haunted. Those are probably only rumors." Eliza mumbled, munching on a green acid pop that Hermione bought for her. It was delicious and it smelled like fresh mint.

"Exactly! Rumors are based on real facts!" Ron continued, trying to push his opinion onto her.

It wasn't working well and everyone else could notice how stubborn both Ron and Eliza were in their opinions.

They were ascending the new set of moving stairs when they noticed a huge crowd in front of the Fat Lady. There was only one problem: the Fat Lady was gone, her painting empty and bearing large scratches. The students were in a panic and so were the figures in neighbouring paintings.

Eliza took a step back, watching Dumbledore make his way up the stairs to the painting. The whole Gryffindor house was talking loudly but once the headmaster appeared, the whole house became silent. Eliza raised an eyebrow when she noticed how fast Dumbledore's demeanour changed when he saw the scratches.

Eliza glanced over her shoulder at a person that was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Remus' face was blank; no expression at all and that alone was so new and strange for Eliza. Their eyes met and for a moment, she swore she saw the eyes of the wolf instead of those of a man.

"You'd be lucky to find her~" A voice nattered grabbing the attention of everyone.

Eliza's head snapped at the voice, recognizing it as the poltergeist that ignored her earlier that day. The rest of the conversation passed her incredibly fast with the noise around her but she did catch Peeve's most important comment.

"A nasty temper's got, that Sirius Black."

Eliza's eyes widened with a joyful glint that only Dumbledore and Lupin feared. The daughter was bound to meet her father sooner or later and Dumbledore was worried about what the two might talk about.