Bookworm

16

"She's a vile woman! Albus, you can't allow her to stay!" Mira cried, slamming her hands down on the table.
"I have no choice." Dumbledore replied gravely. Mira cast her look around the table.
"Isn't there anyone here that could step up and take the job?" she practically begged. Remus had been sat in the same position ever since he had been told what the toad called him-back straight, shoulders stiff and rigid, hands neatly clasped together on the table before him and his jaw clenched. His eyes hadn't moved from Mr Weasley's cup of tea for the past half hour as Mira and Dumbledore argued back and forth.
"Don't you think everyone here tried everyone that we knew?" He finally asked. "Mira, we couldn't find anyone." Mira slumped back in her chair.
"She's refusing to let them practice anything. They just have to read books all lesson. And it's not going to end well!"
"Why?" Snape suddenly spoke up, his beady eyes moving from wherever he was staring to her. "What's going to go so wrong?" Mira bit her lip. The whole point of the DA was to keep it a secret...and for the trio and their friends to learn to fight. If news of it caught wind before the thought even entered Hermione's mind it would be squashed like a dung beetle in Snape's classroom.
"Well...some of the students...they form a secret duelling club and teach each other what they know."
"No doubt Potter and his friends." Snape sneered. Sirius sent him a glare.
"Oi, watch how you talk about my godson Snivellious."
"Gentlemen, please." Dumbledore interjected. "Mira, please tell us how that would be a problem?"
"Because that foul toad makes a rule against it! And they carry it on, so when they get caught as members of an illegal club-"
"You'll just have to make sure they don't get caught." Sirius told her, shrugging his shoulders. "Surely, as a seer, you'll know when to avoid meeting?"
"She's a seer, Sirius. It is a very...imprecise branch of magic. Not everything she sees will be 100% accurate, nor will she always see everything." McGonagall spoke up.
"Nevertheless, she isn't our main concern here."
"She did it." Mira blurted. Everyone looked at her in confusion. She cleared her throat. "She's the one...that sent the dementors after Harry."
"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed. There was a slight uproar at the table.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore yelled. His eyes stayed focused on Mira as everyone fell quiet, urging for her to go on.
"I cant remember exactly why...but she's dangerous and powerful. We cant just overlook her!"
"It's simple." Arabella Figg spoke up. "Albus, Mira, Minerva, Severus, Filius and Hagrid. You keep tabs on her as often as you can. You're up in the castle with her, after all." Dumbledore nodded.
"As staff members, talk to her as often as possible. Mira, as a student you keep ears out for anything floating around." Mira nodded her head, leaning back in her chair as the meeting continued.
"Arthur is on duty tonight, Dedalus you're on tomorrow night. Who was agreed to be on Thursday?"
"Me." A middle aged woman Mira didn't know the name of spoke up. Albus nodded. Mira zoned out as they continued speaking, and eventually it was the end of the meeting.
"See you next time you manage to get here." Remus muttered in her ear before pulling her into a hug. Mira was surprised for a moment before she hugged him back tightly. He stepped back with a smile before Sirius engulfed her in a hug.
"Keep an eye on Harry for me, will ya M?" he muttered before patting her shoulder and pulling away. Mira nodded slightly before she felt something wrap around her legs and nearly toppled over.
"Goodbye Miss!" A voice croaked. The room fell mostly silent as they observed Kreacher hugging Mira tightly. Mira chuckled awkwardly before bending down and pulling him into a weird half hug with one arm.
"Be good for me, alright Kreacher?" she laughed airily and stood back up, winking at Sirius.
"That's what being nice to him can achieve." before he could respond she jumped in the fireplace and was back at Hogwarts with a yell of the name.
Dumbledore had had the fireplace in her room directly linked up to Grimmauld Place, but separated from the rest of Hogwarts when Mira had expressed her concern for the future control of the transport. That way, she could still travel to and from the Order meetings. So when she returned to her room, and stumbled out of the fireplace directly into the path of a spell, she was shocked. It smacked her right in the face and sent her stumbling to the floor in pain before she could even take out her wand.
"What the-Mira!" someone was crouched by her side in seconds and she looked up into the face of Fred Weasley.
"Why the hell did she just come out of the fireplace?" she heard Alicia ask.
"Oh, that looks bad. George, have you got the purple end?" Fred called out. It was only then did Mira realise she had blood pouring from her nose. Fred helped her sit up and pulled her to her feet, guiding her to the nearby sofa as the shock began to wear off. George reached over and shoved it in her hand and she quickly ate it before pointing her wand at her face.
"Woah, what are you doing?"
"Scourgify." She muttered before sending a glare at the group surrounding her. "What are you doing here?"
"You were in detention...apparently. And we had nowhere else to practice." Fred told her as he narrowed his eyes in sync with George.
"Yeah, about that. Why did you come out of the floo whilst you were meant to just be in the dungeon?" Lee inputted. Mira glanced at the twins.
"I was at a meeting." She admitted quietly. Their eyes widened and they glanced at each other before looking back to her.
"What?"
"How?" Everyone else was looking between the trio in a confused silence. Mira sent them a guilty glance as Fred looked up.
"Mira's in the Order of the Phoenix." He told them.
"Fred!" She hissed, hitting his arm. "I'm not meant to go shouting it out!"
"Hey, ouch woman! They can be trusted!" Fred cried, rubbing his arm where she had hit it.
"You're actually in the Order?" Lee whispered, his voice full of awe.
"Yeah, but I'm not really supposed to talk about it." the last few words were directed at Fred, her teeth gritted and eyes wide as she hissed it out.
"That's so cool." Angelina muttered.
"As soon as we leave, we're joining too." The twins said together.
"You have fun with that." Mira told them, standing up and strolling over to her bed. "Now, if you don't mind. I've had quite a long taxing day and I would prefer it if you'd let me go to bed."
"How's mum and dad?" George quickly asked.
"They're fine, George. Although your mum wasn't too pleased with Ron arguing with Umbridge." Fred snickered before they bid her goodnight and left her room all to herself.

The next week passed quickly. Mira had noticed Harry was more and more reluctant to use his left hand for anything, and she knew exactly why. Although she hadn't been able to attend the Order meeting (they insisted that she rarely leave the castle in order to avoid suspicion) she had passed on the news of the torture Umbridge was inflicting on Harry to McGonagall, receiving a promise that it would be discussed amongst them and she would shortly get a reply of what was decided. Harry himself had been avoiding going anywhere near her. Hermione didn't seem to mind either way-she didn't enjoy Mira being on her level in every class much. Ron seemed confused by their choice to stay away-he quite liked Mira- but followed his friends nonetheless.
Mira herself had become very secluded, as she brooded over the end of the year. She was trying to come up with a plan to save Sirius-or to even stop the battle in the department of mysteries happening at all. But so far, she was coming up with nothing.
This had also lead to her slight seclusion from Fred, George, Lee, Alicia, Angelina and Katie. Rather than spending all of her free time hanging out with them, she spent it pouring over books-both school and franchise alike. She only really attended lessons she deemed important- so transfiguration, charms and potions. Everything else she learned by heart out of books she found in the library or room of requirement. Umbridge had tried to throw a hissy fit at Mira not showing up to her classes, but as it was pointed out to her, Mira was not a registered student and was therefore not obligated to attend.
She was currently sat in her room pouring over her battered copy of the Order of the Phoenix when her heart stopped. Sturgis Podmore. She had completely forgotten about him!
"Shit." She muttered, pulling on a pair of robes and sprinting from her secret room. She hurtled out of a passage near Dumbledore office and seemed to surprise a certain blonde and his group of friends, whom approached her with similar smirks.
"What's Moriarty up to then?" Malfoy drawled. She tried to shove past him, but was roughly shoved back by Goyle.
"When someone like me talks to someone like you, it's a privilege and you should answer." He sneered. Mira didn't have time for this. She stood on her tiptoes and saw the last person she wanted to see leaving Dumbledore's office-well, not the last. But he was certainly low on the list. Hopefully he would notice her state and help her out.
"Professor Snape!" she called out. He paused his retreat and slowly turned to stare at her with his lips pursed.
"Miss Moriarty." He drawled. Malfoy snickered and began muttering under his breath.
"Yeah, cos Snape is actually going to help you."
"Professor Snape, I need to speak to you." She widened her eyes, hoping he would catch her drift. He lazily slid his eyes over the Slytherins surrounding her before nodding his head once and gesturing for her to come forward. Their laughs immediately stopped, and they watched with shocked expressions as she approached him.
"I suppose you want to see Albus, also?" He questioned, and with another nod of her head they were ascending the stairs.
Mira burst into his office as soon as they reached the top, and upon seeing only Dumbledore she launched into an explanation.
"Sir, Sturgis Podmore can't go on duty tonight!" she cried."I-I completely forgot about it!" Snape felt slight pity for the girl as she frantically ran her hands through her hair and apologised profusely.
"Calm down, Miss Harfield." The use of her actual name seemed to soothe her, and she took a shaky breath and looked between the adults.
"Someone Imperius's him whilst he's on duty, and send him to retrieve it. But he's going to be caught trying to get into a door, and they send him to Azkaban for six months." She gushed out. Dumbledore was instantly on his feet and beside the fireplace.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention...as short notice as it may be. I'll alert everyone immediately."
"And maybe send someone that can throw off the effects of an Imperius." Snape cut in, the undertones of his voice bored. Almost as if he knew it would happen. She sent him a questioning glance, and he met her eyes for a moment before looking away. Dumbledore nodded before leaving through the fireplace and leaving teacher and student in an awkward silence together.
"I must ask something." Snape finally cut the silence, something she hadn't heard in his voice before quivering. He sounded...scared?
"Go ahead." She responded. Despite their conversation, one had not yet looked at the other. Mira was staring hard out of the window as Snape inspected the pictures surrounding them closely.
"Do you trust me?" Mira instantly understood. He was worried that he slipped up, or maybe in the future changed sides. The answer was obvious to Mira. She didn't even have to think twice before it fell from her lips.
"With my life, Severus."