Charms. | h. potter

015

At half past eleven that evening, Harry leaves the Common Room under to cover of his Invisibility Cloak, placing a hand on Cameron's shoulder as he passes to let her know he's going. She continues with her book, keeping an eye on the time and the people who are lingering in the Common Room. When the Creeveys finally give up with their project on the POTTER STINKS badges, which now read POTTER REALLY STINKS, and walk up the stairs to their dorm, Cam lets out a relieved sigh just as she hears the Portrait Hole open up and footsteps burst through. Harry pulls off the cloak and throws himself into the chair, breathing heavily.

"Do you want me to go?" she asks, smiling softly at the boy.

"Stay. Please," he requests, the only light being the embers of flame.

"Of course." She joins him on the sofa closest to the fire and they wait in a comfortable silence. Suddenly, Sirius' head enters the fire. Harry jumps out of his chair, kneeling by the fire and grinning properly for the first time in a while. Harry beckons for Cameron to join him and she does so with a smile.

"Sirius— how're you?" he asks breathlessly. Sirius' face looks fuller, his hair much less matted and tangled than last year. He's cleanly shaven and looks happier, but his eyes still hold a slightly haunted look. Only time will be able to diminish that.

"Never mind me, how're you?" Sirius says, his face morphed into concern.

"I'm—" Harry stops. He clearly wants to say fine but then the floodgates open. He talks about everything— how nobody seemed to believe him about not entering the Tournament, about Rita Skeeter's lies, about the sneering and dirty glares in the corridor, Ron, Ron's non-existent faith in him, Ron's jealousy. The only exception to every part is Cameron, the girl beside him who watches him cautiously and carefully, listening intently to see if there is absolutely anything more she can do for him.

Sirius can see it in the way she looks at him, the way her hand drifts towards his until they're holding hands peacefully, the way Harry looks back at her, the way his hand in hers brings him some semblance of peace. Sirius can't help but smile to himself momentarily. They may not know it yet, but that's a sign of young love.

"...and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the First Task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finishes desperately.

His godfather's eyes are filled with concern, yet he had let Harry speak himself to silence. "Dragons we can deal with," he answers. "But we'll get to that in a minute. I've broken into a Wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."

"What?" Harry asks. Cameron feels her stomach drop. If they can deal with the dragons, what does Sirius need to warn them about?

"Karkaroff," he says. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"

"Yes— he — what?"

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year— to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff in the first place," Sirius explains.

"Karkaroff got released?" Cameron asks. "Why did they release him?"

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic," Sirius replies bitterly. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways and then he named names... he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place... been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well." Cameron feels a sting of offence.