unforeseen [h.p.]

BEWARE OF BLACK

Alex was shaken awake from her very deep sleep by Amelia the next morning.

"Alex, it's near noon! You've been asleep all day. I hope you're not ill." She proceeded to feel her forehead.

"I'm not ill," Alex told her. In truth, she had been awake half the night reading her new books (except the Monster book, Alex refused to untie that thing). She was a few pages into Quidditch Through the Ages when she passed out.

"Well, get up now and you can eat lunch downstairs. Mark's down there having a chat with Mr. Weasley."

Reluctantly sliding out of bed, Alex went on to make herself look presentable before going downstairs. She spotted Mark and Mr. Weasley sitting at the bar, a copy of The Daily Prophet in each of their hands.

"It's complete bollocks is what it is," Mark stated. "Taking us all off our regular jobs to find him. How'd he escape from Azkaban in the first place? Who does that?"

"Someone extremely clever," replied Mr. Weasley. "It'd be best if he's found soon. Before he gets the chance to--"

"Afternoon," Alex said, taking a seat at one of the tables in the parlor. They greeted Alex with smiles and small talk, all the resentment in the two men's earlier conversation thrown out the window. She knew they must've been talking about that man, Sirius Black; the one Amelia seemed so anxious about. Her aunt and uncle have yet to actually talk to Alex about him, but she recalled them saying they would warn her about him.

What Alex could decipher from conversations that she'd heard was that Black was a prisoner who escaped from wherever he'd been locked away. She could understand how he'd be a threat to the students at Hogwarts, but why would he go after children? He must be entirely deranged.

Alex was eating her lunch of pumpkin soup when she saw three people enter the Leaky Cauldron. Harry, Ron, and a girl carrying the cat she'd seen in the magical creatures shop yesterday. They all greeted Mr. Weasley and Mark, setting down their shopping on the bar.

Ron noticed Alex sitting at her table and walked over the join her, Harry and the girl following behind. "Hey, Alex!"

Alex swallowed her mouthful of soup before replying, "Hey!"

"Hello, Alex. I'm Hermione," the bushy haired girl introduced herself. Alex returned her hello. "Ron's told me about you."

"All marvelous things, I hope," Alex said, casting a wary glance towards the freckled boy. She doesn't think she's done anything embarrassing or horrible enough for Ron to tell his friends about. There was that one time she fell in the river when trying to swat away a bee that was attacking her. Hopefully that wasn't a topic of discussion.

"It was mostly him talking about what an excellent broom flyer you are."

"Oh! Well, in that case," Alex flipped her ponytail over her shoulder in a pretentious way, making them all laugh.

"I've heard of you before though. Earlier this summer I received a letter asking me to help tutor a new third year student. Unfortunately I couldn't, seeing as I would be taking so many classes," Hermione explained.

Alex raised an eyebrow. No one mentioned this to her. Maybe Gemma didn't know. "That's news to me. It's alright though, Gemma Douglas will be helping me."

"Gemma would be a good tutor, innit? She's second in our year," Ron said.

"Who's first?" inquired Alex.

"Hermione," Ron and Harry chorused, causing Hermione to blush slightly. She wore a proud smile nonetheless.

At that moment the rest of the Weasleys entered the bar. Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George, Percy, and Ginny.