Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 37: Broaden Your Mind

The snow that once covered the school grounds in a thick blanket of white had almost completely melted, leaving behind the dark green and brown tones that would slowly ease into brighter colours as spring quickly approached. 

Since their visit to Hogsmeade, Shaye and Harry had been spending more and more time away from the group. Harry spent most of his free time getting private lessons from Lupin, who was teaching him the Patronus charm so he could defend himself against the dementors. Shaye, on the other hand, spent most of her free time sneaking into Hogsmeade to visit Hattie and writing letters back and forth with her. 

When Hattie had said she wanted to be involved in Shaye's pursuit of the truth surrounding Lorelei, she hadn't been joking. The two spoke almost daily, one way or another, trying to piece clues together. Of course, the mystery didn't become any easier to solve just because one extra mind had been added. If anything, the addition of the weird object with the Dark mark only made things more complex. 

Whether in class, at mealtime, or in her dormitory, Shaye was almost always thinking about her sister. It became overwhelming at times, but she felt as if it were her responsibility. As Hattie had said, someone had to look for Lorelei, and Shaye was that someone. 

"Beautiful day," Hermione commented as the group of four friends ventured out of the castle. It was one of the first truly warm days since the snow had melted and Hermione had insisted they all get some fresh air.

"Gorgeous." Ron scoffed. "Unless, of course, you've been ripped to pieces!"

Shaye and Harry shared a confused glance. Clearly, there was something going on that the two of them weren't privy to. "Ripped to pieces?" Harry asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Ronald has lost his rat," Hermione clarified. 

"I haven't lost anything!" Ron denied. "Your cat killed him!"

Hermione shook her head. "Rubbish."

Ron then turned to Harry and Hermione turned to Shaye, each of them trying to recruit their friend to their side of the argument. "Harry, you've seen the way that bloodthirsty beast of hers is always lurking about," Ron said. "And Scabbers is gone."

"Well, maybe you should learn to take better care of your pets!" Hermione retorted. "Even Shaye said you should keep that rat in a cage. Right, Shaye?"

Shaye opened her mouth to say she didn't want to pick sides, but before she could, Ron snapped back. "Your cat killed him!" Ron insisted.

"Did not."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Why don't we go visit Hagrid?" Shaye suggested, hoping it would derail the argument or at least postpone it until she and Harry weren't around. "Wasn't Buckbeak's hearing supposed to be today?"

With a collective nod from the rest of the group, the four friends set off across the bridge and toward Hagrid's hut. He had been away that morning due to the incident that had occurred with Buckbeak and Draco at the beginning of the year, and thanks to Draco's father, a hearing had been called.

The hut, however, was empty. So, the group tried all of Hagrid's usual spots and eventually, they managed to locate him down by the lake. With his dress pants rolled up, his brown, furry jacket blowing in the breeze, and his yellow polka-dotted tie standing out like a sore thumb, Hagrid was standing knee-high in the cold water, skipping stones across the lake.

"Hi, Hagrid!" Shaye greeted.

When Hagrid spun around to face his visitors, he didn't look pleased in the slightest. He didn't even return the greeting.