Stars || Fred Weasley

✰ chapter ten ✰

2007 words
I crept out of the boys' dorm before they woke up and smiled at Alicia as I left my own. I avoided the great hall and made my way to where I knew the kitchens were. There's a small pear sitting in a fruit bowl on the portrait and to get inside, all you have to do is tickle it. The twins and I found it on the Marauder's Map, and it came in handy for pranks and experiments. The portrait swung open and the smell of food from breakfast poured out into the corridor.

"Hello, Miss Lyra, how may we help you?" One of the elves asked, bustling around the corner.

"I was wondering if you could get me some dead animals, maybe a ferret?"

"Miss?" Another elf froze at the request.

"It's for my owl," I lied.

"Why of course miss, Dobby will help." A small house-elf said from beside me. He snapped his fingers and he held out a bag, smiling up at me.

"Thank you very much, Dobby. I'll see you another time."

"It is my pleasure, Miss."

I grabbed the bag and walked out of the kitchen, slipping into the one-eyed witch passageway. I made it to the cave making sure not to be seen by anyone, if I was, they would alert Professor McGonagall. The large black dog lay asleep with a ray of sunlight hitting its back and its paws stretched out.

"Hey Buddy, I'm back." The dog shot up and bared its teeth before realising it was me and lay back down.

"I brought some treats for you again," I untied the bag containing the animal and flipped it, so it emptied on the floor before walking across the cave and sitting down with my legs crossed. The dog rose slowly and began eating the ferret and once he finished it, he lay back down, resting its head on my lap. I began running my fingers through its long black fur before summoning a brush and trying to separate the knots.

He sat stiffly for a moment, eyes glancing around the cave until it let out a huff and relaxed his body. Was what I was doing crazy? Taking care of a stray dog. Hogwarts didn't let you keep any dogs, Remus told me that when he was telling a story about his years here. Maybe I could try telling him about it.

"So where's your family, bud? Do you have any? I don't know if I have a family, I mean I do. You see, I've never met my Dad. He's not a nice person. I don't know anything about my Mother. Just her name, Malia. I live with Remus, but he's not my uncle, and he doesn't have any family. Sometimes I feel like I don't have a family." The dog cried softly, reminding me to keep brushing.

"I found out one of my friends is my Godbrother. The only problem is, he wants to kill my father," the dog leapt up and stared at me.

"I feel the same way, buddy." I kept brushing the dog, pulling all the knots out of its fur and casting a freshening charm on it. I had class in ten minutes and if I didn't leave now, I would get a detention.

"I'll see you soon. Don't go anywhere." I waved goodbye to the dog and crept back into the Honeydukes cellar. Fred began pestering me the moment he saw me, asking where I had been and why I had left. Alicia, thankfully, didn't say anything about seeing me leave early in the morning. He sat with me in some of my classes, and I sat with Cedric in any that we shared.

"Hello again. I'm just dropping off some dinner because I have to get back to school." I stole some dinner from the great hall and left before anyone could stop me. The sun had set an hour ago and the stars hung high in the sky.
The dog didn't even flinch when I walked in and barked happily when I placed the food down for it. Fred's voice in my head was scolding me for doing this without him, and Remus's was scolding me for doing this at all. I bid goodnight to him and crept through Hogsmeade, hiding behind a shelf when someone started talking in Honeydukes. I dodged behind pillars and into alcoves when the prefects were near, but I made it back to the common room safely.