MAGIANIMA // Hermione Granger

A Means To An End

A sudden breeze blew back Atlas's hair and she winced at the biting cold, looking through narrowed eyes at who had entered. Unsurprisingly, the newcomers were Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Hagrid followed by the minister, Cornelius Fudge, himself. She knew they'd be here - besides the minister - because she'd always see Minerva when she'd visited with Cedric and Bella, it was the last trip of the term after all. 

However, Harry seemed to have a very different reaction and at the sight of them, she heard him choke on his butterbeer and saw Hermione and Ron practically shove the boy beneath the table. "Mobiliarbus!"

The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view. Atlas took up Ron's discarded butterbeer and sipped from it nonchalantly, she had nothing to worry about, she had permission to be in Hogsmeade after all, unlike the boy who apparently lived under the table now.

The teachers and minister - when she had heard his voice Atlas had scowled - settled into idle chatter, accepting their drinks from Madam Rosmerta and even inviting her to join them. Atlas knew Fudge had only done it out of convenience, he wasn't ever simply nice for the sake of being, that just wasn't him. Beside her, however, Hermione seemed to twitch nervously, obviously not sharing the nonchalant sentiment Atlas had.

To assure her, Atlas took the girls hand in her own casually, looking across the room through the thick of the Christmas tree as she sipped on her stolen butterbeer - Ron clearly didn't miss it, he was too frozen to have even noticed. The act seemed to calm her as, soon, Hermione was back to her own drink, chewing on a few sweets she had bought from Honeydukes.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.

Atlas didn't really pay attention even as she heard the minister shift in his seat and even when she heard his next words, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?"

"I did hear a rumour," Rosmerta admitted and Atlas rolled her eyes, her mood now completely shifted to one of annoyance, she'd wanted to get away from the talk of her father, wanted to enjoy the day with her friends but that clearly wasn't happening, and she couldn't have just got up and moved.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" Minerva asked exasperatedly and Atlas scoffed into her stolen drink, looking at Hermione confusedly when the girl nervously offered her a chocolate frog.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta whispered just as Atlas took it, not letting the chatter get to her, she never had, so why would she start now?

"I'm sure of it," Fudge said shortly and Atlas felt Harry shuffle at her feet.

"You know that the Dementors have searched the whole village twice?" Madam said Rosmerta, a hint of hostility in her words. "Scared all my customers away...It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," Fudge said uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution...unfortunate, but there you are...I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore -- he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," Minerva interjected sharply and Atlas mentally pounded her fist into the air, a satisfied smile on her face despite the topic, "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around? Just a few weeks ago a student was almost attacked!"

"Hear, hear!" Professor Flitwick cried.

"All the same," Fudge challenged, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse...We all know what Black's capable of..."