he was their friend
It was a beautiful snowy day, and the day of another Hogsmeade trip. Harry and I had decided that we were going to go to Hogsmeade and this whole parental permission shit was rubbish. We walked slowly under his invisibility cloak, following everyone in the courtyard.
Fred and George suddenly stopped and stared at our footprints. The twins quickly grabbed onto us and walked away, pulling us in the opposite direction.
"Guys, let us go!" Harry shouted at them.
"Oh clever, Harry and Harper," Fred said.
"But not clever enough," George added.
"Besides, we've got a better way," Fred chimed in.
"Guys, come on!" I said as we tried to resist. "We're trying to get to Hogsmeade!"
"We know," they said at the same time.
"Don't worry. We'll get you there," George said.
"We'll show you a quicker way," Fred added.
"If you pipe down," George finished.
"Ow!" Harry cried out.
"Aw, bless him," Fred said.
"Let us go," Harry tried again as they dragged him into a staircase tower. "Come on, guys. Don't..."
"Now, Harry and Harper," George said.
"Come and join the big boys," they said in unison, ripping the cloak off of us. We stared at them angrily, and I crossed my arms.
"What are you doing?" we asked, aggressively. Fred handed Harry a folded-up piece of paper.
"Shh!" George said, glancing to make sure no one was around. The twins both had mischievous expressions on their faces with slight smirks.
"What's this rubbish?" Harry asked.
"What's this rubbish, he says," Fred laughed. "That there is the secret to our success."
"It's a wrench giving it to you, believe me," George said.
"But, we've decided, your needs are greater than ours. George if you will," Fred motioned towards George and then the paper.
George pulled out his wand before saying "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said it and pointed his wand at the paper, causing the ink on it to be revealed.
"Messieurs Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, & Prongs are proud to present The Marauder's Map," Harry and I read aloud.
"We owe them so much," George stated as Harry unfolded the paper and I examined it.
"Hang on. This is Hogwarts," Harry observed. "And that...no. Is that really..."
"Dumbledore," Fred confirmed.
"In his study," George said.
"Pacing," Fred continued.
"Does that a lot," George added.
"So you mean, this map shows..." Harry started.
"Everyone," George finished.
"Everyone?" I asked.
"Everyone," George repeated.
"Where they are," Fred continued.
"What they're doing," George added.
"Every minute," Fred said.
"Of every day," George concluded.
"Brilliant!" Harry and I said together, looking between them excitedly.
"Where'd you get it?" I asked.
"Nicked it from Filch's office, of course," Fred answered. "First year."
"Now, listen," George said. "There are seven secret passageways out of the castle. We'd recommend..."
"This one," they both said, pointing together.
"The One-Eyed Witch passageway. It'll lead you straight into Honeyduke's Cellar," Fred elaborated. "But you best hurry. Filch is heading this way."
"Oh, and, don't forget," George said, pulling out his wand. "When you're done just give it a tap and say..."
"Mischief managed," they said in unison as George tapped the paper with his wand. The ink began disappearing. "Otherwise, anyone can read it." With that, Harry and I took off up the stairs to find the secret passageway.
Harry lifted a floor tile up, and the twins were right. We climbed out and were in Honeyduke's cellar. We threw on the invisibility cloak and headed up the stairs. Inside, Honeyduke's was even more amazing than I'd pictured. It was bright and cheerful, and every type of candy imaginable lined the walls.
We began walking towards the Shrieking Shack, knowing our friends said they didn't get the chance to see it last time.
"Do you want to move a bit closer?" I heard Hermione say. I could barely see them in the distance, but sure enough, the two were standing right next to each other.
"Huh?" Ron questioned.
"To the Shrieking Shack?" Hermione clarified.
"Actually, um, I'm fine here," Ron said nervously.
"Why are they standing so close?" I muttered, feeling slightly jealous.
"It's cold?" Harry said, confused. It was then we saw Draco and his goons cutting across, heading for our friends.
"Well, well, look who's here?" Draco taunted, causing them to turn around. "You two shopping for your new dream home? Bit grand for you, isn't it Weaselby? Don't your family sleep in, uh, one room?"
I went to run forward and tackle Draco, but Harry quickly stopped me, shaking his head. I huffed.
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy," Ron replied, glumly. Ron's expression made me want to knock the daylight out of Draco.
"Ooh, not very friendly," Draco commented. "Boys, I think it's time we teach Weaselby how to respect his superiors."
"Hope you don't mean yourself!" Hermione laughed, stepping in front of Ron.
I went to go help, but Harry stopped me and motioned towards the ground. I looked at him quizzically as he bent down and picked up some snow. He patted the ball together before chucking it right at Malfoy. I smirked. Maybe Harry did have a good plan after all.
"Who's there?!" Draco said, looking around nervously. I packed together some snow and threw it as hard as I could at him. It felt good.
Harry and I began lobbing snowballs at him as all five of them looked around for the source. The Slytherin boys backed away and began panicking.
"Don't just stand there, so something!" Draco shoved Crabbe.
"What?!" he asked, throwing his hands up as they continued to be pelted with snowballs. It took everything in me not to start laughing.
I pulled the beanie over one of the boys eyes while Harry pulled down Crabbe's pants. While he was bent over trying to pull them back up, Harry and I kicked him, causing him to fall on his face. Ron and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
I grabbed the scarf around the other boys neck, and Harry and I swung him around until he fell. I shoved Draco to the ground after that and we each grabbed one of his feet, dragging him away. His expression was pure panic and fear.
"What's up, Malfoy? Lost your skis?" Ron joked, causing us to snicker as we dropped his feet. Draco scrambled back up, almost tripping multiple times, shoving his friends out of the way as he took off running. The three whimpered in fear as they ran away, falling every few steps up the hill, and it was the best thing I've seen in awhile.
Harry and I walked back over to our friends who were laughing at the site. Harry pulled up some of Hermione's hair while I pulled up the strings on the adorable hat Ron was wearing.
"Harry! Harper!" Hermione laughed while Ron adorned a face of fear. We pulled the cloak off, revealing ourselves as we continued laughing.
"Blood hell, guys. That was not funny," Ron complained, but the rest of us couldn't stop laughing. Ron eventually caved and began laughing with us too.
We then headed back into the village, eager to explore.
"How'd you guys even get here?" Ron asked.
"Did you walk all the way here under that cloak?" Hermione guessed.
"Fred and George gave us this map of Hogwarts with all of the secret passageways on it," Harry explained.
"It's called the Marauder's Map. Plus, it shows where everyone is at at that exact moment!" I added.
"Those weasels," Ron scoffed. "Never told me about any Marauder's Map."
"But Harry and Harper aren't going to keep it," Hermione said seriously. "They're going to turn it over to Professor McGonagall. Aren't you?"
Harry and I looked at each other questioningly.
"Oh, sure," Ron scoffed. "Along with Harry's invisibility cloak."
"Oh, look who it is. Madam Rosmerta," Hermione pointed out. "Ron fancies her." I looked over quickly at the woman. She had long curly blonde hair tied back behind her face, and she was wearing a dress and a pretty necklace. She was certainly pretty.
"That's not true!" Ron instantly denied, sneaking a look at my jealous expression.
"Allow me, Minister," Hagrid said, drawing our attention over to them where Hagrid was helping the Minister of Magic out of his sled as McGonagall approached them.
"Professor McGonagall! Cornelius!" Rosmerta greeted them.
"Oh, Hagrid," Fudge sighed as Hagrid ripped the entire door off the sled instead of just opening it like he intended.
"Sorry about that," Hagrid said, stepping back.
"Rosmerta, my dear," Fudge said, stepping out of the sled and approaching her. "I hope business is good."
"It'd be a lot better if the ministry wasn't sending dementors into my pub every other night!" she complained, getting in his face.
"We...have...we have a killer on the loose," Fudge stuttered out back.
"Oh, Sirius Black in Hogsmeade!" Rosmerta mocked. "And what would bring him here?"
"Harry Potter," Fudge whispered back, but still loud enough for us to hear.
"Harry Potter?!" Rosmerta repeated, looking between the two incredulously. The two quickly shushed her before guiding her inside.
The three of us gasped and turned to Harry except he was gone under his invisibility cloak again. We looked down and watched his footprints walk away towards the building they entered.
"Harry!" I called out as he ran into someone, utterly confusing them as they saw nothing there. The three of us ran and pushed open the door.
"I say, no underage wizards allowed in today," a shrunken head said. We looked over to see quite a few of them dangling there, just like the one on the Knight Bus. The three of us just looked at them, trying to figure out what we were looking at.
"Shut the damn door!" one of them yelled at us.
"So rude," Hermione scoffed as we backed away, letting the door close behind us.
"Thick heads," Ron muttered. I heard one of them repeat it, clearly offended. We peaked through the tiny window on the door, watching them walk up the stairs. We huffed before going to sit on a bench outside, waiting for him.
We sat pretty close together for warmth and I was very much enjoying being this close to Ron again. It'd been awhile since just the two of us hung out, and I missed it.
I leaned into Ron's side, resting my head in his shoulder. It wasn't unbearably cold outside, but it was chilly. I looked over to Hermione sitting on the other side of me, and she just smirked knowingly.
"Are you cold?" Ron asked, peering his head down to look at me. "Your cheeks are bright red," he laughed, stroking his gloved hand along my face. That certainly only made my cheeks more red, but I definitely felt warmer.
"I'm fine," I shrugged, but then started shivering.
"You're lying," Ron deadpanned. "Here," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I melted into his side as he rubbed up and down my arm to warm me up.
"Thanks," I said, feeling the butterflies in my stomach. We sat there contently as I leaned against Ron.
"Look!" Hermione said after a few minutes, pointing in front of her where Harry's footprints were. He shoved through a group of carolers, causing us to exchange a glance before following after him.
We finally caught up to him and saw his footprints stop at a rock. Then we heard the quiet sobs. I ran over to him, the others following me slowly and hesitantly.
I pulled the cloak off of him to reveal his tear stricken cheeks. "Harry, what happened?" I asked tenderly.
"He was their friend..." Harry said, breathing deeply. "and he betrayed them," Harry said, breathing deeply. "He was their friend!" Harry screamed angrily. "I hope he finds me. Cause when he does, I'm going to be ready. When he does, I'm going to kill him!" We say there quietly, letting Harry vent.
"Harry..." I said softly. "What did you hear?"
"Our parents went into hiding when they were marked for death. Sirius Black was one of the only people who knew where they were. He turned them in. He told Voldemort where our parents were. Their friend, Peter Pettigrew, even tried to stop them, but Sirius killed him too. And worst of all, he's our Godfather, Harper. Our Godfather!" Harry yelled.
I stepped back in shock. Our Godfather is the reason our parents are dead. Our parents' friend is the reason they're dead. Tears began to fall down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying.
Harry got up angrily and threw his cloak over his head before storming away. I stood there, unable to move when I felt two arms wrap around me. I recognized it to be Ron's scent instantly. I fell into his embrace, pressing my cheek into his chest.
Ron softly stroked my hair with one hand while holding me tightly with the other. My sobs got Ron's jacket all wet, but he assured me he didn't care.
I finally calmed down and sniffled, looking up at him. He looked back down at me with so much compassion in his eyes. I wanted to melt under his gaze. His eyes and freckles sparkled under the bright sunlight.
"Are you okay?" he asked, wiping my tears away with his thumb and cupping my cheek with his hand. "That was a dumb question," he interrupted before I could respond. "Of course you aren't okay. I just—How're you feeling?"
"No, it's okay. It's nice that you care. Thank you, really," I said, tempted to cry again as I subconsciously leaned into his hand. "I'm feeling a lot of things right now."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Ron asked.
"Not really," I sighed. "I think I just want to go back to the common room."
"Okay," Ron nodded. "Whatever you want." I smiled at him as we let go of each other and started walking. I linked my arm around his and leaned my head on his shoulder, and I saw him smile when I did. I smiled too, happy Ron was there to comfort me. Like he always was.
"Fancy a red velvet cupcake?" Ron asked as we entered the castle. I smiled up at him, my eyes gleaming with excitement.
"We haven't snuck into the kitchens at all yet this year," I remembered. "I'd love one." Ron smiled and we both started running down the stairs to the kitchen.
We tickled the pear at the same time, causing it to turn into a handle to let us inside.
"One red velvet cupcake please, and a snickerdoodle for Ron," I told Krafty when he approached us.
"Snickerdoodles are my favorite..." Ron said, looking over at me with surprise.
"I know," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back at me and the elf returned with our treats. We sat on the counter together like we always used to before digging in.
"This is my favorite thing to do," Ron sighed once he finished eating.
"Because of the food?" I questioned, throwing away my cupcake wrapper.
"Well, yes," Ron laughed, "but also because of y-you." He blushed as he said it, looking away from me shyly. I could practically feel my heat melt.
"Ron..." I said sweetly, causing him to look back over at me. He looked up at me through his eyelashes. "This is my favorite thing too." He lit up when I said it.
"You're the greatest friend anyone could have," Ron said, and I felt my heart drop. Friend. Right. That's what we were. Friends.
I faked a smile at him and he smiled back. "You're the greatest friend, Ron," I replied, fully meaning it. Even if we were just friends, he was still the greatest friend I've ever had.