Petals of Oleander

Chapter 20: Be safe.

The following Friday started like any other day, I woke up, brushed my teeth, pulled my hair half-up, caught up on the latest drama, and made a final attempt at mascara before throwing the tube away entirely. BUT, one detail set this day apart from the others I had been experiencing lately. When I left the common room and began searching for my assigned adult-of-the-day, I was instead greeted by Harry Potter himself. 

"Winnie, hey!" He said running up to me.

"Harry! What's up?" I asked, wondering if he had come to inform me of his success in securing my freedom. 

"You're free! Mostly, that is." He wiggled his hands excitedly. 

"What do you mean mostly, Potter?" I asked.

"Dumbledore assigned Ron, Hermione, and me to look after you instead of the staff. So we won't be taking you to every class, but we'll be checking up here and there, and keeping tabs and such." He explained.

"I see. Well. It's better than before, I s'pose." I sighed and began walking toward the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Right. So now you have to keep up your end of the deal." 

"But you only mostly kept yours." I raised an eyebrow. "So I'll tell you SOME of the marauders, how's that?"

"Fine. Go on." 

"I think the part you'll find most interesting is that Mr. Prongs is your dad." I smiled as Harry's eyes widened. 

"MINE? As- as in James?" He stumbled over his feet. 

"Unless you've got another one, yeah." I giggled.

"So then, the rest would be his friends, right?" He asked, nearly out of breath. 

"Yup. My dad, is Padfoot." 

"WHICH ONE?" He yelped. Unlike him, I did in fact have two.

"Which one do you think, dimwit? Padfoot? Pad-foot." I laughed.

"OH! Like a dog! So Sirius?" Harry beamed like a child who just drew his first letter.

"Obviously."

"Okay, so what about Moony and Wormtail?" He asked. 

"Once again, context clues my dear. Who's missing out of your dad's school friends?" 

"OH! Your other dad! MOONY! HE MUST BE MOONY!" He shrieked. 

"Great job! Gold star! Shush though, please." I held a finger to his ever widening lips.

"What about Wormtail? Who is he?" He whispered. 

"That's the part I'm going to keep secret. For my sake and yours. I don't like speaking his name, and besides, he's an irrelevant piece of absolute shit. Rotting in Azkaban for good. I hope he's dead by now. And I hope his death was long and painful and I hope his body wasn't found for weeks. I hope he was eaten by maggots and disposed of, to be forgotten by most and hated by all who are cursed to remember." I spoke through my teeth. 

"Wait, why is he in Azkaban?" said Harry.

"He committed a crime." 

"What crime?" Harry prodded.

"A bad one, Harry. Let's move on." I said dismissively.

"No. What did he do that was so bad?" said Harry.

"Harry, please. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't think you want to hear it." I begged.

"Elowen just tell me what he did! Why did he go to Azkaban?!" Harry said, pushing me over the edge and into a total fit of passion.