The town of Hogsmeade forced me into a sense of bewilderment, as it always would. "Woah!" Harry breathe heavily from under the cloak, reaching out to quickly grab a lollipop from Neville Longbottom's hand. I chuckled, hitting him on the arm playfully. Neville looked on at the floating lollipop in sheer confusion and disbelief. Harry pulled it into the cloak, causing it to disappear completely.
"Where should we go first?" I asked, our footsteps being the only indication of our presence in the snow. He shrugged, allowing me a taste of the strawberry lollipop. "Maybe, we should try and find Ron and Hermione?" My brother suggested, causing me to hum in agreement, taking a big chunk of candy as we made our way around the town.
It took us a while to find them both, eventually discovering their whereabouts at none other than The Shrieking Shack. Only, I now found myself less scared at the sight of the crooked, old house; for its monthly inhabitant was now none other than my Godfather -no ghosts or ghouls were ever to be sought in such a place, given its namesake. A deterrent, Lupin told me, that Dumbledore created to ensure nobody would step foot in the 'haunted' building, especially on a full moon...
Hermione and Ron were alone; a little closer than normal. Treading carefully through the snow, we snuck up behind them and removed the invisibility cloak, springing ourselves onto them both with an almighty "RAW!"
They cried out in terror, grabbing each other's hand quickly. But their horror soon turned to embarrassment and relief at the sight of us both. "Blimey, you two! That wasn't funny!" Ron spoke in pants of breath. We, however, were laughing far to much to get a word out between us both. "You should have seen your faces!" I chuckled, my stomach beginning to ache.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back." Hermione reassured her red-headed friend, who nodded in agreement. Harry put the cloak into my pocket as we lifted our hoods over our heads. I was a little shorter than the other third years, but not enough for anyone to be suspicious, as we made our way into the town centre.
My brother resumed to telling his closest friends about the map Fred and George had given us as an early Christmas present. Ron appeared jealous, to say the least. I wasn't sure why, but the Weasley twins seemed to like Harry and I. I had recalled them mentioning once, how I reminded them of Ginny.
Hermione and I walked ahead, allowing the boys to talk. "I know how you've been getting to your classes this term, Hermione." I spoke simply, her head shooting to face me in my peripheral vision. I waved my hand dismissively, taking her arm in mine. "It's alright, I wasn't going to tell anyone. But, how did you get it?" I asked, sending her a reassuring grin.
Her worried eyes did not subside, however, as she glanced towards the village in front of us both, "McGonagall gave it to me at the start of the year. But, I think I've bitten off more than I can chew, Em. I'm so tired of all the studying!" She sighed exasperatedly. I shrugged, pouting, "Well, either you quit now...Or you let me help you?" I suggested.
Hermione's concern soon turned to disbelief, "Really? You'd help me?"
I nodded, scoffing "Of course I will. We'll go to the library every day if we have to." The Gryffindor girl shrieked, crushing me into a tight hug. "Oh! Thank you, Emerald!" I chuckled, returning the favour. "Just promise me you'll let me borrow it from time to time."
Granger nodded with enthusiasm, interlocking our pinkie fingers, "I promise." Her attention soon diverted, however, onto a woman with blonde, curly hair nailing a sign into the Three Broomsticks Pub. "Oh, look who it is; Madam Rosmerta-everyone fancies her!" She giggled sarcastically, causing me to chuckle as my brother and Ron joined our side in the square.
"That's not true!" Ron protested, a carriage pulling up outside the pub. "What's Fudge doing here?" I asked, watching as the Minister of Magic made his way from the carriage. Hagrid helped him down, causing Harry and I to conceal our faces a little more. If anyone would recognise us both, it would be Hagrid.
"Rosmerta, my dear, I hope business is good?" Fudge queried with a false sense of hopefulness. The pub worker waved her hammer in the Minster's face aggressively, "It would be a lot better if the Ministry wasn't sending Dementors to my pub every other night!" A hand reached over her arm, Professor McGonagall preventing Rosmerta from hammering the Minister's head in.
"We have a killer on the loose." Fudge spoke worriedly. "Oh! Sirius Black in Hogsmeade. And what would bring him here!?" She sung sarcastically. Fudge whispered something we couldn't hear. But Rosmerta waited less than a moment to repeat aloud, "The Potters!?"
My mouth was ajar, as they shushed the bimbo and shoved her back inside the pub, glancing around worriedly to make sure nobody else heard. I glanced over at where my brother stood, finding he had cloaked himself and began walking after them into the pub. "Harry!?" I whisper-shouted after him, a little envious that he had decided to follow them without me. His footsteps disappeared as Ron, Hermione and myself were stopped from entering without identification.
The three of us waited impatiently outside, Ron trying to distract me by going through the different things he had bought from each of the shops in Hogsmeade.
"Em? What are you doing here?"
I recognised the voice immediately, "Bugger." I spat under my breath, getting up from my seat and making my way over to none other than, "Malfoy. Fancy seeing you here." I smiled. The blonde boy chuckled with a slight nervousness, "Yeah. I thought you weren't allowed to come to Hogsmeade?"
"Snape made an allowance." I shrugged in dismissal. He nodded, believing my white lie. "In other words, you snuck out." Apparently not. I chuckled, biting my lip, "I did. You won't tell, will you?" He shook his head, "Of course not. You'd cover for me, right?" His mind opened up a little, allowing me to decipher he was being truthful in his claim. Nodding, I pursed my lips together, "I would." Confirming Draco's assumption. I was never one for telling on people. Luckily, Crabbe and Goyle didn't see me otherwise they may have gotten a kick from grassing on me.
"Psst!" I glanced around in the direction of the noise, my eyes meeting those of Hermione's as she waved me over in the distance. My brother had left the pub. "I've got to go. Sorry Draco." I apologised, hearing him shout out behind me that 'it was alright' as I ran after the two friends.
We followed the footsteps into the woods surrounding Hogsmeade, finding they ended with a clearing. Hermione and Ron halted, my eyebrows furrowed and the concern overwhelming me at the sound of sobs from under the invisibility cloak. The feeling of my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, slowly walking towards the end of the trail.
Gulping, my hand reached out to find the fabric, removing the cloak. "Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked, my brother's emotions of wrath and sadness radiating onto me from his mind. I could have seen what he saw in those few, vulnerable moments that his mind opened up...But I chose not to make him relive them.
"Sirius......He told him where mum and dad were hiding...He betrayed them, both! HE WAS THEIR FRIEND!" He cried out agonizingly, falling into my arms. I sobbed, unable to control the tears from streaming down my cheek. Sirius Black was the reason our mother and father died. "And he was my Godfather!" My brother spoke between muffled sobs. I held him tighter, refusing to let go of him in those moments that he fought to push me away. I knew he needed my comfort...As much as I needed his.
"When he finds us, I'm going to be ready. I'm going to kill him, Em!"