Black and Potter | H. Potter

37 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆ dadfoot returns.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

| DADFOOT RETURNS |
song: back to the old house by the smiths

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

ONE OF THE MOST ANNOYING THINGS ABOUT THE AFTERMATH of the second task for Ara was that everybody was very keen to hear details of what had happened down in the lake, she would try and give as little detail as possible, she would only say, "I saw black, then Harry came and I woke up." She could tell they were disappointed by the lack of information, but she couldn't go around telling the whole story.

"Was that necessary?" questioned Harry, amused, as a group of first years ran away from Ara after she told them that if they didn't stop asking questions, a giant squid would eat them.

"Of course it was! They're getting annoying," said Ara as she threw herself on the couch beside him, exhaling a breath.

"Ara, those are first years, you shouldn't—"

"I don't need a lecture," Ara cut off Hermione's scolding. "But if it satisfies you, I won't say a squid will eat them, I'll just say I'll throw them into the Black Lake myself."

Harry and Ron let out laughs, Hermione still looked disapproving, however, she didn't say anything else.

As they entered March the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. The brown owl that Ara and Harry had sent to Sirius with the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend turned up at breakfast on Friday morning with half its feathers sticking up the wrong way; they had no sooner torn off Sirius's reply than it took flight, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again.

Sirius's letter was almost as short as the previous one.

Be at stile at the end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can.

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" said Ron incredulously.

"It looks like it, doesn't it?" said Hermione.

"I can't believe him," said Harry tensely, "if he's caught . . ."

"He's a marauder," said Ara as if stating the obvious. "Sneaky things they were, he won't get caught."

Despite her careless words, Ara couldn't deny the slight anxiety she felt at the thought of her Dad being spotted anywhere near Hogsmade. Nevertheless, something inside her felt lighter at the fact that she would see him again, though as much as she'd like to enjoy her time with him without a care, she knew she needed to tell him about her suspicions regarding Atlas Auclair, whom she'd seen very little of lately, he was mostly with his classmates nowadays.

Feeling slightly more cheerful, she approached the final lesson of the afternoon — double Potions — dreading it a bit less than she usually did when descending the steps to the dungeons.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in a huddle outside the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. All of them were looking at something Ara couldn't see and sniggering heartily. Pansy's pug-like face peered excitedly around Goyle's broad back as Ara, Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached.

"There they are, there they are!" she giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart. Ara saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands — Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand.