Redemption For A Monster (Marauder fanfic) Book Three

47- Thief On The Loose

Sara hadn't realised how much time her and Sirius used to spend alone together, until she no longer had him to talk to every day.
Now that the Order was no longer needing to go behind the Ministry's back quite as much, their meetings were becoming much less frequent. They were lucky if they had one meeting every fortnight, as Dumbledore prefered to talk to people individually to give them their tasks, instead of having group meetings.
Sara was happy about this, as it meant that she didn't have to visit Grimmauld Place very often, and be surrounded by painful memories of Sirius. But on the other hand, it meant that she was often very lonely, as she had no one to talk to.
During the summer she'd had a lot going on, and regular visits with Harry to keep her occupied, but now she spending a lot of time alone, in her father's house.

Molly too, was feeling lonely, and hated being stuck with no one but Fleur to talk to during the day, so she often invited Sara around for tea, several times a week.
Despite not really wanting to see Fleur either, Sara always obliged, and joined Molly for dinner.
Harry did send regular owls to Sara, but it was hard to stay in contact that way, as there was only so much you could put into a letter.
So Sara began to count down the days until Harry's first Hogsmeade visit in October, when she could see him again.
And when the day finally arrived, she could hardly contain her excitement.

Sara had Apparated to Hogsmeade rather early, so that she could ensure that she got a good table in the Three Broomsticks. And she had ordered them all a Butterbeer.
She kept looking at her watch every few minutes to check the time, until Harry and his friends eventually entered the pub.
"Harry, over here" Sara called out.
Her godson looked very angry, but he managed a quick smile when he saw her.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just Mundungus Fletcher" spat Harry, as he sat down at Sara's table.
"What's he done now?"
"I just caught him selling Sirius' stuff, that he'd knicked from Grimmauld Place. Can't the Order control him, or at least stop him from stealing everything that is not fixed down, when he's at Headquarters?"
"Shh. Harry, you shouldn't talk so loudly about the Order".

"She's right Harry. I get why you're annoyed, since it's your stuff he's stealing but-" started Hermione, who stopped when Harry began coughing after taking a sip of his butterbeer.
"Yeah, it's my stuff. No wonder he didn't look too happy to see me" replied Harry, who had momentarily forgotten that he now owned 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Well, I don't think we'll be seeing him for a while now then. If you've scared him off" admitted Sara.
"Why is he even a part of the Order, when he's a thief and a coward?" Harry asked quietly.
"Well he knows things that we don't, about the murky underworld he is so fond of, so it's useful to have him around"
"Hmm. Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore what he's been up to, since he's the only one that Mundungus is scared of"
"Good idea. Though I'm not sure what use it'll do, since I expect Dung has gone into hiding, after being confronted by you".

"We also so Tonks outside, after Mundungus Disapparated. She didn't look too good" admitted Hermione.
"Tonks is stationed here, so it's not surprising that you saw her. But I haven't seen her in a while actually, since she hasn't been at the Burrow in a few weeks, or Grimmauld Place" revealed Sara.
"What do you think is wrong with her?" Questioned Ron.
"I honestly don't know" sighed Sara.
"Do you think she is still grieving for Sirius?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I doubt it, since she'd only known him for about a year, when he died. But whatever the reason for her unhappiness, she certainly hasn't confided it to me" replied Sara.

"Right... Ron, what are you staring at?" Demanded Hermione, looking at Ron, who had been staring off at the bar in the distance.
"Nothing" mumbled Ron.
"Well, I expect nothing, is in the back getting more Firewhisky" snarled Hermione angrily, as she knew that he had been trying to catch the eye of the attractive barmaid, Madam Rosmerta.
Sara chuckled at the kids behaviour, and turned to face Harry.
"So, how's school? You glad to be back?" She asked.
"Not really. There seems to be an awful lot of work that we have to do now" muttered Harry.
"Well, I did warn you".
"Harry's right. I thought getting free periods would be cool, but we have to use them to study and do our homework in" complained Ron.

Sara caught Hermione's eye, and they shared a smile.
"Well, you are at a school" Sara reminded the boys.
"I know... How have you been? Any dangerous missions that you've been on, that I should be aware of?" Harry asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. My life has been just as boring, as I've said in my letters" replied Sara.
"I'd rather have you bored and alive, than dead"
"I suppose you're right. And after everything I've been through, Dumbledore seems reluctant to put me in any real danger"
"Good".
Sara looked outside at the snowstorm that was beginning to get stronger, and she sighed.
"You three should probably get going, if you want to make it back before nightfall" she admitted.

"I'll see you at Christmas then?" Questioned Harry, as he and his friends stood to their feet.
"Yep. I'll keep writing to you until then, and then I'll be there on Platform 9 and 3/4, to see you off the train" replied Sara.
"Promise?"
"Promise".
Sara hugged Harry, before waving him and the others goodbye, and watching them leave the pub.
Since she was out of the house, for the first time in days, Sara decided to make the most of it, and approached Hagrid, who was having a drink in the corner of the pub.
"Hey Hagrid" smiled Sara.
"Hello Sara, I didn't see you there" replied Hagrid.
"May I join you?"
"Sure".

"So, how have you been?" Sara asked.
"Good, good. I've just been talking to Grawp up in his cave. His speech has really come on you know" admitted Hagrid proudly.
"That's good"
"Yeah. And then I thought I'd have a little drink before I made my way back up to the castle"
"Fair enough. I was just having a catch up with Harry, who bumped into Mundungus, who's been selling Sirius' stuff"
"That thief!"
"Yes, Harry wasn't too happy when he found out. He said that he's going to talk to Dumbledore about it"
"That's a good idea. Dumbledore will sort him out"
"I hope so".

"How are you doing then Sara? Losing Sirius can't have been easy for you" said Hagrid.
"No, it wasn't. But I've still got Harry" replied Sara, as bravely as possible.
"Harry's a good lad"
"Yes, he is... Buckbeak, went to live with you, didn't he?"
"Beaky? Yeah, he's called Witherwings now. He misses you, I'm sure, but he's having a great time"
"I'm glad. I don't think he liked being confined in Sirius' mothers bedroom"
"He's so happy now that's for sure... Would you like to see him?"
"Could I?"
"Course. He's tied up outside my hut at the moment, though I let him come in when it gets too cold... Let's go and see him, I know he'll be happy to see you"
"O.K then, let's go".
After finishing their drinks, Hagrid and Sara got up and made their way outside, and into the cold.

The snow was falling very hard and fast, and it was getting hard to see, which is why Sara suddenly collided with someone coming the other way.
"Oof" wheezed Sara, who had been knocked off her feet.
As she stood up, the boy who had run into her, did the same thing, which is when she realised that she had bumped into Harry.
"Harry, are you alright?" She asked.
"You- you've got to come. Someone's hurt, I think they've been Cursed or something" panted Harry.
"Cursed? Not Ron or Hermione?"
"No, it's Katie Bell, a girl in my year. Please, you've got to help, it's this way"
"Don't worry, of course we'll help. Lead the way Harry".
Harry nodded and began running up the hill towards Hogwarts, with Sara and Hagrid right behind him.