CHAPTER THIRTEEN
❛Just open the damn map already!❜
After dinner that night, Neville Longbottom sat up in the Gryffindor Common Room glancing at the clock every few minutes, waiting for Hope Lupin-Black to return. Once the clock struck midnight, he grew more worried for the Lupin-Black girl.
Seamus Finnegan slowly walked down the steps from the Boys' Dormitories, furrowing his eyebrows at the Longbottom boy. "What're you still doing up? We have class tomorrow--"
"I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders, looking towards the door. "Hope still hasn't come back, and it's getting late. Do you think she's alright?"
"She's probably fine, you know how she is," Seamus sighed, taking the seat next to Neville. "Probably off with that Violette girl and her friends--"
"That's exactly why I'm worried!" exclaimed Neville, running his hand through his hair in worry. "When she's around her, she thinks she can solve all of her problems with a bottle and a pack of cigarettes!"
Seamus glanced up at the clock, and then to the door. Hoping that their friend would walk through the door. "You know, she skipped Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Neville's eyebrows raised at the Finnegan boy's words, he didn't know that Hope hadn't shown up to class with Umbridge. After having to spend all of his afternoon in the Hospital Wing after an accident in the Herbology classroom.
As Dean Thomas approached the two boys, he shook his head. "You two shouldn't be down here, it's the middle of the night--"
"Precisely, and Hope's still not back here," Neville refused to budge from his place on the couch. "Nobody's seen her for hours. Aren't you even a tad bit worried?"
"She's probably avoiding you if I had to guess," said Dean, narrowing his eyes at the Longbottom boy. "She's probably camped out in someone's dorm--"
Out of nowhere, the portrait door swung open to reveal Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, the two fifth-year boys bickered back and forth. "I'm telling you, Weasley, I know my cousin. She probably isn't even here."
"She has to be, it's past curfew," scoffed Ron, rolling his eyes at the Slytherin. "What're you even doing out here anyway? Trying to sneak in?"
The Malfoy boy rolled his eyes, avoiding his question before he saw Neville staring at him with an upset look. "Longbottom, hey, where's Hope? She was supposed to--"
"You're telling me she isn't with you? Risking her life with that group of yours?" scoffed Neville.
"What? No, we were supposed to meet with Milo tonight, but she never showed," explained Draco, worry lacing his features. "Milo said she gave him her word, and it's not like her to not show up."
Ron looked between the two boys, letting out a sigh. "Look, she probably sleeping--"
"Actually, nobody's seen her for hours now," Seamus spoke up, making the Weasley boy's face go pale. "She skipped class and dinner and hasn't come back. No one's got a clue where she is."
"Well haven't you heard from her?"
The Thomas boy glanced at Seamus and Neville, who looked to each other guiltily. Both boys never meant to hurt Hope's feelings as much as they did. Draco furrowed his eyebrows, gesturing to the two. "Is there something I'm missing, or?"
"Neville hasn't spoken to Hope since he blew up on her the other night," Dean told him, making Neville put his face in his hands. "He brought up Cedric and everything."
Draco's eyes went wide, as he exclaimed. "You did what?"
"We can't just not talk about it," snapped Neville, glaring his eyes. "Cedric's dead, and he isn't coming back anytime soon. Hope thinks that if she does these things, she'll bring him back. You let her--"
"Listen, I know my cousin--"
Neville slammed his hand as he stood up from the couch, getting dangerously close to the Malfoy boy. "Do you? Then where is she? Because I've been up waiting for her, for about five hours now, and she hasn't bloody returned!"
"Uh, guys?" Ron managed to say, making everyone's attention fall on him. "I think I might know a way to see her location?"
"Huh?"
Ron anxiously itched the back of his neck as he spoke. "There's this map and it's not even mine, it's Harry and Hope's. But I know exactly where it's at in Harry's trunk, I'm sure. It shows the location of everyone really--"
"How about you stop wasting our time talking about it," Draco started, before shouting. "And go get the map, Weaselbee!"
"You are in my common room--"
Seamus Finnegan let out a groan, pointing his finger at Ron. "Seriously, Ron, go get the map. We're really wasting time here."
Ron Weasley ran up the stairs two at a time, coming back with a blank piece of parchment in his hand. The four boys stared at the parchment with confusion lacing their features, not knowing exactly what Ron was holding.
"How does it work?" questioned Draco, taking the map from Ron's hands.
"Uh," Ron stuttered, furrowing his brows. "I think you say something to it, and it reveals the map or something."
Neville nodded, waiting for Ron to say more. "And you say what to it?"
"I don't bloody know!" exclaimed Ron, holding his hands up in defense. "I just knew where the map was, not how it works!"
The sound of loud footsteps echoed through the common room as Hermione Granger walked down the stairs, a furious look on her face. Once her eyes fell on the Marauder's Map in Draco Malfoy's hand, her eyes went wide.
"Ron! It is the middle of the night, and why is Malfoy in our common room?" she yelled, pointing to the map. "And is that Hope and Harry's map?"
"We're just borrowing it, 'Mione, calm down--"
She narrowed her eyes at the five fifth-year boys. "Using it for what?"
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "To find Hope, she's disappeared."
"And what about your girlfriend, hm? She hasn't returned to our dorm since dinner, and she skipped half of that," Hermione told them, rolling her eyes. "She's probably just out with Ginny and those french girls."
"Hey," Ron spoke up, pointing his finger at his friend's cousin. "She is not his girlfriend."
The Malfoy boy rolled his eyes. "And if she isn't? Look, do you know how to open the map or not?"
"Fine," Hermione groaned, shaking her head at the boys. "But you should really learn to respect her privacy--"
Seamus Finnegan looked ready to explode. "Just open the damn map already!"
Hermione Granger took the piece of parchment from Draco's hands, muttering the words 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'. And with that, the map opened revealing the map of Hogwarts. As the six looked over the map, they saw Hope Lupin-Black's location at the base of the Whomping Willow.
"The Whomping Willow?" Neville questioned aloud, finding no reason why Hope would ever be there. "That doesn't make much sense--"
"Well, let's go check it out then--"
The Granger girl held her hand up to the boys, looking at them as if they were crazy. "You cannot go in the middle of the night. What if Umbridge sees you?"
"But what if Hope isn't okay?" Ron asked, shaking his head. "You know how she's been since Cedric, she's destroying herself and pushing herself too far. And the fact that no one has seen her since lunch today doesn't sit right with me. We're going, with or without you."
The walk from Gryffindor Tower to the Whomping Willow was tense amongst the five Gryffindors and Slytherin, not one of them saying a word. If any of the dorm boys were honest, they were scared out of their minds. They knew how Hope Lupin-Black was spiraling out of anyone's control, and it felt like there was nothing they could do.
"Umbridge is going to catch us," Hermione Granger spoke up, glancing behind her every couple of seconds. "I just know it—"
Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You could've stayed back at the tower."
"Thank you, Malfoy," said Ron, giving his friend a smirk.
"I just don't understand how she ended up at the Whomping Willow," muttered Neville, shaking his head as he stared at the map. "It just doesn't make sense."
Neville Longbottom couldn't shake the feeling that Hope was hurt, and as they got closer, the feeling only got stronger and stronger. Guilty thoughts raced through his mind, wondering if it was something he said that pushed Hope too far.
"She's probably fine," Seamus tried to assure everyone, even though he knew it might not be true. "You know how she is."
Ron nodded his head, unintentionally walking faster. "Exactly, we know how she is. That's why we have to go down there and make sure she's fine."
As they made their way down to the base of the Whomping Willow, across the field was the body of Hope Lupin-Black. Hermione was the first to rush over, noticing her body to not be moving, the five boys following behind her in fear.
Hermione turned her body over, seeing the scratches covering her arms, face, and chest. The sight made Neville Longbottom gasp, barely being able to say. "She's dead—"
"She's not dead, Longbottom," Draco quickly interrupted, pointing out that his cousin was still breathing. "She was probably hit by the Whomping Willow. But what in Merlin's name was she doing?"
The Weasley boy turned to look at Hermione, furrowing his eyebrows. "Didn't you say Hope was with Ginny?"
"Well, I didn't see her, Hope, Violette, Celine, or Vera at dinner," she responded sarcastically. "One would assume they're all together."
Dean Thomas looked around, not seeing any sight of the four other girls. "But I don't see them anywhere."
As the Granger girl began to heal one of the larger gashes on Hope's arm, her eyes began to flutter open. Making the five boys let out a sigh of relief as Hope Lupin-Black sat up straight, rubbing the side of her head.
"Merlin, that hurt," she managed to say, before realizing the six of them were there standing around her. "Hey, when did you guys get here?"
The smell of alcohol was strong on her breath, making her cousin give her a stern look. "Have you been drinking?"
"What? How dare you accuse me of such a thing," Hope scoffed, smirking slightly. "I'm hurt, honestly."
"Do you think you're funny, Hope?" snapped Neville, growing tired of her drunken actions. "You were hit by the Whomping Willow!"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I stumbled into it, my bad."
As Hope Lupin-Black tried to stand up from her spot on the ground, the bottle of firewhiskey fell from her jacket pocket and onto the ground. Before she had a chance to grab it, Draco Malfoy snatched it up with a fed-up look.
"Hey, give that back—"
"No, this is wrong, Hope. You went too far this time," Draco yelled at her, throwing the bottle across the field. "You're so drunk that you can't even realize what you did wrong."
"Because nothing I did was wrong—"
The Malfoy boy held up his finger, not even letting his cousin continue further. "You were drinking, because you think it's going to heal you, again. I'm assuming you had a party with your friends and pushed your limits, again."
Hope scoffed, pushing his finger away from her face. "You're wrong, you don't know me, Draco."
"Hope," Ron finally managed to say. "Are you even listening to yourself right now?"
The Lupin-Black girl rolled her eyes, turning around as she went to walk back towards the Whomping Willow. Seamus Finnegan ran in front of her, holding his hand out for her to stop. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think? Back to my party."
"Do you think you're going to get there by walking into the tree?" yelled Neville, following after them as Hope attempted to continue on her way.
She groaned loudly, rolling her eyes once more as she said. "Well, it's inside the tree, so I certainly hope so."
The four boys looked at each other in confusion, thinking that Hope had really lost her mind when she got hit by the tree. But Ron Weasley only furrowed his eyebrows, realizing exactly what Hope was talking about.
"You've been going to the Shrieking Shack?" Ron finally realized, her words making complete sense to him. "That's where you go?"
"The Shrieking Shack?" Dean exclaimed, in disbelief. "Why would you even want to go there? It's been haunted for—"
Draco Malfoy nodded along. "And you can't get there through the tree!"
"Actually, you can," Hermione Granger countered, remembering the night in their third year. "There's this tunnel that leads there."
"Why thank you, 'Mione. Now, can I go?"
The Weasley boy looked ready to come unglued as he shouted. "Are you bloody insane? No."
Hope glared her eyes at Ron as Draco continued to question her. "Is Ginny in the Shrieking Shack then?"
"Of course, where else would she be?" laughed Hope, before confusion came over her face. "Hold on, what are you six even doing here? How did you find me?"
All five of the fifth-year boys shared a look, not one of them even beginning to admit what they had done. Hermione rolled her eyes as she told. "They used the Marauders Map."
"You used my map on me?"
Not one of the five boys answered her, they all stood there in silence, not quite knowing what to even say to Hope. But before long, Neville Longbottom took a brave step forward, taking a deep breath before he spoke.
"You skipped class with Umbridge, and then didn't come to dinner. And without a single word from you, didn't come back to the dorm all night," Neville snapped, shrugging his shoulders. "What did you think we were going to do?"
"Mind your business?" Hope replied as if it were obvious, shaking her head at him. "You haven't spoken to me in weeks, Neville. Why are you even here?"
"Because you are doing exactly what I said you would do!" he screamed, trying to make his words come across to her, hoping she would just understand. "Do you see yourself right now? You were so drunk, you wandered out into the Whomping Willow and could've got yourself killed? But do you care? No—"
Hope Lupin-Black didn't say a word, only turning around in the direction of the Black Lake to walk away. The Longbottom boy was quick to run after her, grabbing her arm to hold her back. "Would you stop—"
"No, I won't," Neville told her, pleading with her to stop. "I'm sorry for what I said about Cedric, it was out of line, but what you are doing is not okay. I can ignore the smoking and the drinking, but you are out here making a complete fool of yourself, Hope."
Dean Thomas walked forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We all care about you, we just don't want to see you get hurt."
"And you're scaring us," Seamus explained, giving her a sympathetic look. "I know this year hasn't gone how any of us planned. But we're gonna get through it. Like we always do."
She ran her fingers through her hair, the air around her feeling as if it became thinner. It was at that moment, that Hope's mind truly processed everything. All the grief, anger, and despair that the past year had brought her.
"Hope, Cedric's death wasn't your fault," Draco emphasized, trying to make it clear to her. "I don't give a damn what Bishop said, there was nothing you could've done. And I think we should get revenge, but that isn't what's happening."
"But I could've stopped him—"
He shook his head, making his cousin look up at him. "No, you couldn't have. Not even Bishop knew what was going to happen, he just knew it was something bad. It isn't your fault, there was nothing you could do."
Hope broke down in Draco Malfoy's arms, feeling as if Cedric Diggory had died all over again. Except for this time, she knew it was real, she had been living the reality for months. No one had seen her this way since before summer, and it comforted her friends knowing that Hope allowed herself to process it all.
"I just want it to stop hurting," she admitted, letting the tears escape her eyes. "I want Cedric back."
"This is why we're fighting back, Hope," Ron reminded her. "Somehow, someway we'll get revenge for Cedric. I don't know how to get it to stop hurting, but we're all here for you whenever you need us."
Seamus shrugged his shoulders as he laughed. "What do you think we're here for?"
She looked at Neville, beginning to feel guilty for all she had done. "I'm—"
"Don't be, it was my fault," he interrupted, pulling her into a hug. "I shouldn't have said it that way, you didn't deserve that."
"Let's get back to the common room," said Ron, slowly realizing if Umbridge caught three prefects outside in the middle of the night, she'd lose her mind. "I bet you're in enough trouble with Umbridge as it is."
"She can kiss my arse, I know enough about Defense Against the Dark Arts to teach myself," Hope scoffed, remembering how she practically taught herself for most of the past years. "It isn't like it's hard."
The second the words left Hope Lupin-Black's mouth, Hermione Granger looked fascinated. As if an idea had magically popped into her head. "Really? You think so?"
"I know so," she laughed. "I've taught myself enough over the years—"
"She could produce a Patronus before Harry," added Ron Weasley, faking a shudder as he continued. "And have you seen her do her wordless magic stuff? It's scary."
Draco Malfoy stifled a laugh, knowing the true reason why Hope was as powerful as she was. And part of it, wasn't even her doing. The group of fifth-years walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, chatting and cracking jokes. And as they did, Hope only wished it could last forever.
The following day, Hope Lupin-Black faced the wrath of Dolores Umbridge, the fact that she skipped class alone got her three more weeks of detention. The thought of spending all of her time with the professor, for weeks on end, made her want to take the quill to her throat.
It was close to midnight by the time Hope Lupin-Black and Harry Potter got done with their nightly detention. Their hands bleeding worse than ever before, and even with Hope attempting to wrap bandages around them, it wouldn't stop seeping through. When they got back to the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley sat up waiting for them.
"Here," Hermione said as she quickly stood up, rushing toward Hope and Harry with a bowl of yellow liquid. "Soak your hand in that, it's a solution of strained pickled murtlap tentacles, it should help."
Harry looked up at her thankfully, placing his hand into the bowl immediately. "Thanks."
"I can push through it," Hope shrugged it off, pretending that her hand wasn't in pain. "I've had worse Quidditch injuries honestly."
"Stop playing tough and put your hand in there." ordered the Granger girl, giving her friend a stern look.
"I still reckon you should complain about this," Ron cautioned, his eyes not leaving his friends' hands. "I mean, McGonagall would go nuts if she knew."
Hope only shook her head, giving the same answer that she gave over and over, but Harry began to grow frustrated as he explained. "Yeah, she probably would. And how long do you reckon it'll take Umbridge to pass another Decree saying anyone who complains about the High Inquisitor gets sacked immediately?"
Ron went to reply, but not one word came out of his mouth. He wasn't sure what to say, because Harry was right.
"She's an awful woman, awful," Hermione repeated. "You know, I was just saying to Ron when you came in, we're got to do something about her."
"You are so right, 'Mione," Hope agreed, nodding intently. "We can just go push her off the bridge, what a great idea. I'll go grab the cloak—"
The Weasley boy burst out laughing. "Let's go with that idea, I suggested poison."
"No," Hermione shut the two down quickly, staring down at her hands in thought. "I mean, something about what a dreadful teacher she is. And how we're never going to learn any defense from her."
"Well, what can we do about that?" yawned Ron, shrugging his shoulders. "It's too late, isn't it? She's got the job, and she's here to stay. Fudge will make sure of that."
A look came onto Hermione Granger's face, the same look Hope Lupin-Black had seen the night of the Whomping Willow. It was obvious there was something she wanted to say, but Hermione just stayed quiet.
The Lupin-Black girl let out a loud groan. "Enough with the looks and tell us. I can't wait any longer."
"Well, you know, I was thinking the other night," she avoided the topic, eyeing Harry and Hope as she spoke. "I was thinking that maybe the time's come where we should just do it ourselves."
"Do what ourselves?"
"Maybe, well, learn Defense Against the Dark Arts ourselves."
Hope's jaw dropped as she quickly began to shake her head. "Hermione, I was only joking when I said that—"
Ron let out a laugh, not taking his friend seriously. "Come off it. You want us to do extra work? Do you realize that we're all behind on homework already and it's only the second week?"
"It's true," Hope admitted. "I haven't done any of the Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts assignments this year."
"You don't understand," Hermione stressed, staring at her three friends desperately. "This is much more important than homework!"
The three fifth-years looked at their friend as if she had completely lost her mind. After knowing the Granger girl for nearly five years, all of them knew there was nothing she treasured more than homework and her education.
"Did she really just say that?"
"Uh," Ron said with furrowed brows, not even sure if Hermione knew what she said. "I didn't think there was anything in the universe more important than homework."
"Don't be silly, of course there is!" she exclaimed, looking to Hope for assurance. "It's about preparing ourselves, I've heard Hope say it since the year started, we need to be prepared for what's waiting out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves, and if we don't learn anything for a whole year—"
Ron gave his friend a look, finding flaws in her thought process. "Except we can't do much by ourselves, we're not all Hope and Harry. I mean, sure, we could go to the library and look into some books, but who wants to do that—"
Hermione nodded her head, stopping the Weasley boy from continuing. "No, you're right, Ron. We need a teacher, a proper one. Who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."
"If you're talking about Remus—" Harry started to say, growing frustrated with Hermione's ideas.
"No, no, I'm not talking about him," she dismissed the assumption quickly. "He's too busy with the Order anyway, the most we could see him is during Hogsmeade weekends and that's not nearly often enough."
Hope raised a brow to her words, asking. "Then who are you talking about then?"
"Haven't I been obvious?" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes playfully. "I'm talking about you guys, Hope."
There was an awkward moment of silence that followed her words. Hope Lupin-Black sat wondering if it could work, she knew with the war coming up everyone needed to be prepared, and with Umbridge, no one would.
The Potter boy looked very confused, trying to make what they were saying make sense, but there was no point. "About us what?"
"Idiot," Hope groaned, lightly smacking him in the back of his head. "She's talking about us teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Harry Potter then went silent, just as his godsister had done a minute prior. He stared at Hermione in disbelief, before looking to Ron to share his annoyance with. But Ron Weasley didn't look annoyed, rather displaying no emotion as he stared deep in his thoughts.
"That's an idea." was all he said, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.
Hope looked at her friend with a serious expression. "Hermione, I was seriously joking when I said that. I can't teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, I don't even know how I do half the stuff I do."
"You gave her this idea?"
"Well—"
Hermione shook her head, not letting the two continue any further. "Hope, you were right. I mean, even Ron agreed. You and Harry are the best in our year at Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Me?" he questioned, looking at her skepictally. "I mean, sure Hope knows her stuff. But you've beaten me in every test—"
"Actually, I haven't," Hermione told him, letting out a deep breath as she explained. "In third year, the only year we both took the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. You beat me that year. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry, look what you've done."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing what she meant. "How do you mean?"
Ron Weasley rolled his eyes, his friend's unawareness getting to him. "You know, I'm sure I want someone this stupid teaching me. Let's think, Harry. First-year, you saved the stone from You-Know-Who."
"But that was luck," Harry shrugged. "And besides, I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without you guys."
"Fine," shouted Ron, waving that one off. "Second year, you killed the basilisk and destroyed Riddle."
The Potter boy raised his finger once more, shaking his head showly. "Technically, but without Hope and Hermione. Even more, if Fawkes hadn't turned up I—"
Hermione Granger and Hope Lupin-Black sat back, watching as the two Gryffindor boys continued to get louder and louder with each statement they made. Hope wondered if McGonagall would hear them, and save her from their antics.
"Third year," Ron was practically screaming at this point. "You fought off Snape and helped free Sirius—"
"You know, that was a fluke," he retorted, matching his best friend's volume. "That was a weird night and you know it—"
"Last year, you fought off You-Know-Who again—"
With that statement, Harry Potter snapped, finally having enough. "Listen to me! Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all of that was luck. It's like Hope's said millions of times, I didn't even know what I was doing half the time. I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I always had help—"
"You expect a lot, 'Mione," Hope spoke softly. "We're not skilled Aurors with years experience, we're teenagers."
Ron and Hermione sat there, smirking as Harry continued to get worked up about it. Their grins didn't seem to affect Hope, because as the idea settled in her mind, it was becoming more and more appealing. But their smiles made the Potter boy furious.
"Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" exclaimed Harry, looking between the two friends. "I didn't get through any of it because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because help came at the right time or because I guessed right, but I didn't have a clue what I was doing— Stop laughing!"
The bowl of murtlap essence fell to the floor, the ceramic bowl shattering into tiny pieces. It was at that moment that Ron and Hermione were no longer smiling, but rather sitting there in complete shock.
Hope shrugged her shoulders. "Harry, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing—"
"No, they don't know what it's like and neither do you!" he sneered, not even letting himself think straight. "You've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own."
As Harry continued on, his words struck the Lupin-Black girl hard. It made her rethink everything she had settled within, and it scared her. But no one besides Ron Weasley seemed to notice as Harry continued to shout.
"They never taught us in class how to deal with being tortured or watching your friends die, or what it's like to deal with things like that," Harry stressed, pointing his finger at Ron and Hermione. "And you two sit there, pretending like Hope hasn't gone through hell and is killing herself over Diggory, acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here alive like he messed up."
"We weren't saying anything like that, mate," Ron replied, rather defensively. He glanced over at Hope, but even she couldn't take her eyes off the ground. "We both know, neither of us would ever have a go at Cedric, we didn't mean it that way. You've got the wrong end of the—"
The Potter boy looked at Hermione, hoping that she would help him. But she only let out a deep breath as she said. "Harry, don't you see? This is exactly why we need you. I know you don't think you're the best at Defense, but that's why we have Hope. But we need to know what it's really like, to face him. Facing Voldemort."
It was the first time that Hermione Granger had said his name, no longer feeling that she should live in fear because of a man and his ideals. He had a name, and they weren't doing anything but giving him more power by living that way.
"I'm on your side, 'Mione. I'll help, I think Cedric would've wanted this," Hope spoke up, trying to force a smile as she looked to her godbrother. "We know you've been through a lot, Harry, but just think about it."
Harry looked down guiltily, realizing everything he had said in rage. The Granger girl stood up from her place on the couch. "Well, I'm off to bed. Night, everyone."
It was awkward as she made her way up the stairs. Hope and Ron were quick to stand up after Hermione was out of sight. The latter looked down to his best friend. "We're going too. You coming, Harry?"
"Yeah, in a minute. I gotta," he looked down to the floor, where the bowl still laid shattered into pieces. "I gotta clear this up."
As Ron Weasley and Hope Lupin-Black walked up the stairs, the two didn't say a word to one another. Almost frightened by the Potter boy's outburst, and with every passing second, it made Hope wonder if she had acted the same way.
It was a Saturday morning when Draco Malfoy and Hope Lupin-Black decided to use their time to go to Hogsmeade Village. Draco had insisted it was what his cousin needed, time to chill out and have fun.
As they walked down the long path, enjoying the warm Autumn day. The Malfoy boy looked over to his cousin as he said. "How have you been since the other night?"
"I've been fine," Hope replied, shrugging her shoulders. "There's just been so much on my mind. And just when everything starts to be okay, Hermione decides to stir the pot. She brought up this idea, and honestly I kinda agree with it."
"Uh-huh," he nodded along, motioning for her to continue. "And she said? I don't have any guesses."
"She said that we need to know how to fight back, and we should teach ourselves what Umbridge won't," she explained, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Hermione then suggested that Harry and I lead everyone. But it's all her idea."
Instead of making a comment or snide remark, Draco burst out laughing at his cousin's words. "I'm sorry, what? Granger is starting a retaliation gang against Umbridge? I never expected that, not in a million years."
"I thought the same thing. But, the thing is, Harry blew up about it," Hope added. "He didn't even give anyone a chance to explain."
"I mean, it makes sense," Draco pointed out, holding his hands up in defense as he cousin glared at him. "No, it's the way that you and Potter are alike. You both try to tackle things head-on, and you don't like to risk anyone else so you go it alone. Sure this rebellion will probably help, but what if it turns for the worse?"
Hope Lupin-Black narrowed her eyes at her cousin, only joking. "Since when are you wise?"
"Since you made me hang out with Bishop," he shot back, laughing as he spoke. "Do you think he can hear us?"
"Probably," answered Hope, looking around the fields. "I swear he appears behind every corner, it's like you never expect him."
The Malfoy boy shrugged his shoulders, staring at the ground deep in thought as they walked. He wished often that he had the ease of making friends like his cousin did, or to be able to walk down the corridor without people thinking he was evil. "You think they'd let me join the rebellion? Me being me and all?"
"It is your destiny to become an insider," she reminded him. "I don't think it'd do you any good sitting on the sidelines."
"But half those people hate me."
Hope rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she spoke. "For literally no reason, you haven't done anything wrong. They hate you because of your father's and our family's past actions, and they shouldn't."
Draco let out a laugh, looking over to his cousin with a hopeful stare. "Tell that to everyone else, will you?"
"Okay, where are we even going?"
As the two cousins walked up to the Three Broomsticks, they were excited to see that they had Autumn decor around their bar. It reminded the Lupin-Black girl why she loved the season. Draco led his cousin over to an empty booth along the wall, placing his stuff down on the seat.
"We're just getting some butterbeer, would you relax?" the Malfoy boy joked as his cousin sat in the booth. "Merlin, I never thought I'd hear someone, who loves butterbeer, complain about getting some."
She playfully glared her eyes. "Would you shut up?"
Draco Malfoy came back with four things of butterbeer in his hands, hardly being able to hold them as he walked. But, as he walked back to the table, he caught sight of the tight bandages wrapped around Hope's hands. Both of them still stained with blood.
Once he got to the table, Hope tried to pull down her sleeve but it was too late. "What's that?"
"Why do you have four things of butterbeer?" she asked, pretending to not hear him. "There's only two of us."
"What happened to your hand, Hope?"
Hope looked down at her butterbeer, trying to avoid her cousin's stare. "It's nothing, really. Especially nothing you need to worry about."
"No, that's obviously something," he insisted, trying to get a better look. "What even happened?"
The door to the Three Broomsticks opened to reveal George Weasly, he looked around before seeing his girlfriend and her cousin at the table. Once Hope caught sight of him, she jumped with excitement, hoping he was there to save her from Draco's questions.
"George, what are you doing here?" she said, as he took the seat next to her with a smile. "I thought you had detention."
"We both knew I wasn't going to that," laughed George, taking a sip of his drink. "You know, Fred went. And one twin is good enough in my opinion."
Draco chuckled along, before asking his cousin's boyfriend. "Weasley, have you seen her hand?"
"Draco—"
George Weasley let out a deep breath but only shook his head. "I'm not even going to get started on that. Haven't you seen it?"
Draco continued to stare at his cousin, raising his eyebrows angrily as he questioned. "What haven't I seen? What's on your hand?"
Hope Lupin-Black groaned as she took the bandages off of her hands, revealing the two sets of words that looked even worse than they did weeks before. Both her cousin's and her boyfriend's eyes went wide at the sight.
"Merlin, Hope," her boyfriend gasped, reaching into his bag to pull out different bandages. "You didn't tell me it had gotten this bad—"
"Umbridge is a liar?" Draco read aloud, his eyebrows furrowed until he read the other hand. "Did she carve this into your hand? Is this what's been happening? I swear, I'll get father involved and she'll be gone."
"It's this quill she has, it's what comes with detentions." Hope told her cousin, taking her hand out of view. "I just won't carve 'I must not tell lies' without 'Umbridge is a liar'. You should see how mad it makes her."
George's eyes went wide, though he was not surprised by his girlfriend's actions. "And that's why you still have detention with her nearly every night!"
"You're supposed to be in detention right now," Hope shot back. "And you're telling me about detention?"
The Weasley boy narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, shaking his head. "Mine's with McGonagall, we both know it's totally different."
"Hold on a minute, why haven't you told anyone?" Draco Malfoy questioned, still not understanding any of it. "There has to be something that can be done."
Hope shrugged her shoulders. "Harry doesn't want to do anything about it, and I kind of agree. Umbridge has ties to the Ministry and they're trying to get rid of Dumbledore. I don't want to draw any unwanted attention."
"Haven't you tried healing it?" he continued to ask, frustrated by his cousin's attitude about the whole thing. "And who cares about the Ministry? You certainly don't, Umbridge needs to be fired."
"It's an enchanted quill, besides," George tried to explain. "Fudge himself thinks Umbridge is a saint."
Draco smacked his fist on the table, irritated by the fact that Hope was letting it go. "She can't just get away with this! Look at your hand—"
"Yikes, what'd you do to your hand?" a voice said from behind them in a thick Scottish accent. "That doesn't look like it's from Quidditch."
All three of the students turned around to see Oliver Wood standing at the end of the booth, the former Quidditch captain had a smile on his face. Hope Lupin-Black quickly jumped from her seat, embracing him in a hug.
"Olly!" Hope exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
Oliver Wood glanced over at the Malfoy and Weasley boys, smirking as he said. "These morons owled me, of course. Besides, it's about time I visited."
"You owled him?"
"Maybe?" Draco replied, not even seeming if he was sure. "I remember Diggory once told me, Wood was one of the only people to get through to you. And if none of us can, maybe it's his turn."
Hope furrowed her brows as she asked. "What?"
"Actually, I meant to stop by last year," added Oliver, looking guilty as he explained. "Before the third task, Diggory had owled me saying how he was worried about you. Something about you smoking again. But, everything just happened so fast last year."
The Lupin-Black girl stared down at her cup, the mention of the Diggory boy being worried about her the past year hitting her straight in the heart. George placed his hand on her arm. "Love—"
"I don't need someone to get through to me," she snapped. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
"When did you start smoking again?" Oliver questioned, giving the Chaser a serious look.
She fumbled with her fingers, trying to figure out when she even started. "Last year, I think, but I've tried to quit a couple of times. It just doesn't work that way, Olly."
"But why did you start?"
Hope didn't have an answer, not even sure of the reason she was smoking anymore besides it easing her stress. "I don't know, okay? Is that what you want me to say? I don't know why I'm doing any of this?"
"Not at all, I wanted you to realize that there is no reason behind your smoking. It isn't helping you and it doesn't have a purpose," Oliver stated, letting out a sigh. "I won't make you stop, only you can do that, but remember that you can do better than this."
Draco Malfoy blinked his eyes a couple of times before saying. "That's all you can say?"
The Wood boy shrugged his shoulders. "Let me put this simply, shouting at her isn't going to get you anywhere. Cause Hope will shout back and hit you. And taking her cigarettes away doesn't do anything either."
"Believe me," George spoke up, letting out a chuckle. "I've wasted my time doing it."
"You can't say I didn't warn you while you did it," Hope joked in reply.
Oliver Wood had missed the two Quidditch players, and even with things at Hogwarts being the way they were, he was happy to see everything working in their favor. "How's Quidditch been going—"
"Please don't get her started—"
Hope Lupin-Black shook her head, interrupting her cousin's complaints. "It should be great, Angie and I are co-captains, but then Umbridge goes and gives Harry and me loads of detentions. Oh, and I am so mad at you, Oliver."
"Me?"
"Well yeah, everyone's still on the team except you," George joined in, glaring his eyes at his former Quidditch captain. "So guess what position needed to be filled?"
"Yours!" exclaimed Hope, pointing her finger at him. "And, of course, no one's as good a Keeper as you are. So we got Ron—"
Oliver's eyebrows furrowed as he gave the Weasley boy a smile. "Oh, your brother made the team, George? That's great—"
"Don't you say it like that." he immediately said. "He's an idiot!"
Hope groaned loudly as she explained. "Our first practice and he's fumbling all over the place. And Fred, the complete fool, gave Katie some of these blood candies that made her nose bleed everywhere."
The former Quidditch captain burst out laughing, not shocked that the Weasley twins were still up to their pranks. "And who gave them that idea?"
"That doesn't matter!"
"It sounds like I was captain at a great time," laughed Oliver. "I should've known you Weasley twins wouldn't have gotten more mature."
George started shaking his head as he spoke. "She literally gave us the idea, and Lee's the one who mastered the potion. I'm practically innocent here."
Draco Malfoy narrowed his eyes at his cousin's boyfriend as he asked. "Who's the one who invented the capsules though?"
"Yeah, George, who did that?"
"Totally irrelevant."
For the first time in many weeks, Hope Lupin-Black had a true smile on her face as she sat in the Three Broomsticks drinking butterbeer with three people who knew how to make her feel better. And for the first time since June 24th, it felt like things just might be okay.
hey guys! this chapter right here made me happy. and for an apology, for not updating for as long as I have, i brought back oliver wood! what did you guys think of this chapter? i feel like it took so long for me to finish, but I'm pretty proud of it.
let me know what you guys are hoping to see in the next chapters! honestly, i read every comment that's on here, and i usually try and add it in the best i can.
also, i came up with this epic idea for year six. and i am so so so excited for it. and i think you guys will like it too. thank you so much for reading!