𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍 | 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺

Chapter 81 - In his memory

It was another beautiful summer's day.

She supposed that Islington would be hot and leafy, the flowers that littered the posh housings a riot of colour. The thought gave her a nostalgic delight. She smiled as she turned another page Wuthering Heights by a muggle writer, Emily Brontë.

"Love," a deep voice called from behind her with a sweet tone. "I've been searching for you."

Betelgeuse subtly smiled, closing her book. "Fred, I am not going to vanish if you cease laying your captivating eyes on me for a minute."

Fred scoffed, shoving his hands in his trousers' pockets. "I'm not taking any risk." He stood there, looking at the world outside the castle with a deep frown on his freckled face. Betelgeuse turned, looking up to Fred with her silvery grey eyes he loved so much. "Where's Sirius?"

"He went back to Grimmauld Place as soon as Harry recovered for that atrocious ordeal," the Black replied in a sombre voice.

She could imagine her father's horror at the news of the return of the Dark Lord. Everything he had done for the safety of his family could be vanished by the smallest of mistakes.

☆☆☆

The weather could not have been more different on the journey back to King's Cross than it had been on their way to Hogwarts the previous September. There was not a single cloud in the sky.

Fred, George and Betelgeuse had managed to get a compartment to themselves, with Angelina, Lee and Alicia.

Castor was once again perched on Betelgeuse's left shoulder; his bright orange eyes scanned the compartment with rapt attention.

They had broken off their conversation about what action Dumbledore might be taking, even now, to stop Voldemort only when the lunch trolley arrived. When Betelgeuse returned from the trolley and put her money back into her green velvet pouch, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had been carrying in there.

"That bird unnerves me, Black!" Lee declared as he plucked the paper from Betelgeuse's hands.

"There is nothing in there," she calmly spoke as she petted Castor's feathers, ignoring his previous statement. "You can look for yourself, but there is nothing at all. I have been inspecting every day. They did not even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. It is painfully obvious that Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet."

"He'll never keep Rita quiet," George sneered. "Not on a story like this."

"Oh, Rita has not written anything at all since the third task," Betelgeuse stated in a detached manner, a wicked smirk on her fair visage. "As a matter of fact," she added, her voice now adorned with a cruel tone. "Rita Skeeter is not going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she desires me to spill the beans on her."

"What are you talking about?" George inquired.

"I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she was not supposed to," Betelgeuse replied as Castor cooed affectionally.

"How was she doing it?" Angelina asked at once.

"How did you find out?" Alicia continued, staring at her.

"Woman, stop leaving us on edge!" Lee nearly shouted.

"Bugging," Betelgeuse cryptically stated.

"I swear to Merlin, Betelgeuse —"