Alexandra Weasley: Book 5

57

"I met Magorian." Hermione flopped into the seat next to Alex. The latter was making a herbology worksheet to settle Hannah's nerves.

"Ew, why?"

"He and a bunch of centaurs threatened Hagrid who took us there to meet a giant."

"You met Grawp?" Alex asked, mildly interested.

"Why am I not surprised that you know about it?"

"Saph told me so I followed Hagrid once."

"I found a treehouse in the middle of the woods with a monkey living out of it." Hermione grumbled and Alex grinned.

"Monkey's not officially yours until you name him."

"He doesn't exist. I just wanted a reaction." She slammed her book open.

The exams were fine, as usual. She thought the examiners were somewhat lenient with the papers but Ron definitely did not feel the same.

"Come on, breathe in." She instructed. Harry took in a deep breath. "And out." He exhaled. "Remember to stay calm. Bury all your emotions deep inside in a little box." He breathed in and out as she stood. "Focus deep within yourself. Ignore everything on the outside. Tune it out. The breezy wind. The hard ground. The rustling leaves. Even my voice, eventually."

"That's impossible." He groaned.

"What's on your mind now?"

"My dad." He said. "I talked to Remus and Sirius. They said he was just an idiot. That they were all just idiots. Everyone's an idiot at fifteen, but..."

"But bullying isn't just being an idiot." She finished. He nodded and she walked around and sat in front of him again. "I am the last person to advocate for Black, and your dad. But I am someone who understands what it's like finding out your parents was such an arse during school."

"You're comparing my father to Voldemort?"

"What? No! Why would you think that? Look, Sirius almost killed Snape once, and Snape might not be my favourite person, and I might be avoiding him, but no one deserves what happened to him. Black admitted to luring him to the shack on a full moon. When his best friend was transforming. He didn't try to stop him, even as Snape got close. He almost killed a student, and he almost scarred his best friend. Lupin would have had to live with blood on his hands."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes. Your dad probably only saved Snape for Lupin. And because he knew your mother would have hated him. He was a bully and he did hurt people. But that's not the man your mother married. He grew up. He didn't apologise for everything, but he grew up. He stepped up. They graduated and he turned his energy into a force for good. He became an auror and he stood up to Voldemort and he became a hero."

"But he wasn't always."

"Like I said before. Not everyone is like you. Not everyone is a hero from birth. I saw a memory of my biological mother a year ago. Her best friend fell in love with a muggleborn and she all but disowned her."

"Oh."

"Yeah, exactly. That was her initial reaction. Of course it didn't last long, and a week later they reconciled and she apologised and tried to make it right. That bit I didn't find out until very recently."

"So what?"

"Maybe our parents sucked. I'm not going to think just the worst about her. You shouldn't think just the worst about your father, either. I've done things I regret too. I'm not who I was five years ago. I'm glad for it. You can't judge a person by their very worst, just like you can't judge them by their very best."

"What do I judge him by then?"

"Well, he was an order member. He probably saved lives and stopped dark wizards. People grow up. He grew up. He was human, he had faults, but he had good qualities."

"What was your mother's?"

"When she got pregnant with me, she left behind everything she knew and gave me up to Dumbledore so that I could have a better life. So that I wouldn't grow up under the reign of an evil bigot. My biological father was a muggle. She didn't want me to grow up hating him and people like him."

"Did you know who he was?"

"No." She lied. "Not at all. She never told anyone. Not Dumbledore, not Voldemort. I'm pretty sure she didn't tell even him. I think she wanted to protect him."

Hagrid was sacked during the astronomy exam. Everyone watched as Umbridge had enlisted several aurors to take him in, stunning him over and over. Didn't seem to do much good, though it did have an effect over time. McGonagall stepped in, though, and took four stunners to the chest. She had had to be carried out back to the school, though Hagrid had gotten away.

He did leave the aurors in a somewhat bad state which made Alex smile.

A/N- Favourite line is "I found a treehouse in the middle of the woods with a monkey living out of it." Hermione grumbled and Alex grinned.