"Have you seen Harry?" Neville asked.
"No, I haven't." Ron answered around a mouthful of food, chunks of turkey flying out of his mouth. Herm smacked the back of his head before whispering "Manners, Ron!"
"Did you say something about Harry?" Draco shouted from the Slytherin table across the room.
"Have you seen him? We were supposed to meet up." Neville yelled back and Draco gave a panicked look. He climbed over the Slytherin table before doing the same to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, ignoring the other students muttering about his shoes in their lunch plates.
"I saw him this morning before class." Draco was frantically scanning the Great Hall as if Harry was hiding under one of the tables. Neville wouldn't be worried except Harry was always on time. He said it was a habit leftover from his childhood with those horrid muggles.
"Who here has seen Harry?" A Ravenclaw raised her hand before saying "I saw him heading towards the North Tower this morning." Neville grabbed his sandwich before following Draco out the door, the rest of the HFC scrambling behind him.
"Why would Harry be going to the North Tower? He doesn't have any classes over there this semester." Ginny said and Ron muttered "stalker much?" She punched his shoulder but didn't deny his claim.
"Sorry some of us pay attention to our friends, who just so happen to have people out to get them." She snapped back.
"Do you think Dumbledore has something to do with this?" Neville asked worriedly. Herm whistled loudly and Crookshanks appeared in a burst of black smoke.
"You called, summoner?" She picked him up and he rubbed his head against her chin.
"Hi Crookshanks. Is Dumbledore still in that muggle town?" Crookshanks crossed his eyes before sneezing.
"Yup! He hasn't moved since yesterday." He answered as he shook his head.
"So if it isn't Dumbledore, who is it?"
"Maybe we're overreacting?" Ron said, his face showing how unconvinced he was.
"I would rather overreact than ignore it and Harry actually be in danger." Neville nodded his head. He agreed with Draco. Harry tended to attract danger like a magnet. Neville took the steps two at a time before looking around.
"Who goes there? Announce yourselves!" A voice boomed from in front of them.
~~~~~~
Hermione stepped forward before declaring "Good day, Sir Cadogan! It is I, Hermione. How are you on this lovely day?" The portrait gave her an elegant bow.
"I am well, fair maiden! Who are you companions?" Her friends introduced themselves and Ginny whispered "Who's this nutter, Herm?" She elbowed her in the side before spreading her arms wide.
"My friends, may I introduce you to Sir Cadogan? He was a knight on King Arthur's round table!" She had stumbled upon his picture during her fourth year because she had been hiding from the twins. They had accidentally burned her favorite journal during a potion experiment and she had been devastated. It had been Sir Cadogan who had cheered her up. He had told her all about his adventures with Merlin.
"Wow! Nice to meet you, Sir." Neville looked starstruck and Hermione was happy someone was excited as she had been.
"Sir, we are looking for my beloved. Have you seen him?" Sir Cadogan looked around before lowering his voice.
"Does your lady love have flowing black locks of hair with shining green eyes?" Draco nodded his head rapidly and the knight continued.
"Perhaps a flattering scar on his forehead?"
"Yes! Have you seen him?" Sir Cadogan beamed at them before saying "No, I have not! Are you sure he came this way?" Neville held Draco back from setting the portrait on fire.
"Yes, we are. If you see him, will you let us know?" Hermione asked and the silly knight put his hand over his heart.
"Of course, fair maiden! It would be my honor to help such a beautiful lady." He hopped on his fat pony before riding away.
"Merlin, he's a trip!" Ginny snorted and Ron laughed with her.
"I like him! He had a presence." Ron pretended to swing a sword in front of him as Draco started looking around before he took his wand out.
"Point me Harry Potter!" They watched his wand spin before pointing straight up.
"Oh Merlin, Harry got stuck in the ceiling!" Draco gasped and Hermione was already digging through her bag. She knew she had something they could use to break the stone.
"Or maybe he went through that trap door?" Ginny pointed it out and Hermione climbed on top of Ron's shoulder before banging on it. They quickly jumped out of the way as a silver ladder was dropped.
~~~~~~
Draco climbed up the odd ladder into the Divination Classroom. He had opted out of the class since he didn't believe you could accurately divine Fate. It simply was. Fate had brought Harry into his life. It was foretold and he didn't need to look any further into it. He knew the Gryiffindor's had taken Care of Magical Creatures so they looked as curious as he was. He found Harry sitting at one of the tables with Professor Trelawney. Draco had never actually seen the Divination Professor up close. Her eyes were huge behind her glasses and she seemed to have ten different scarves draped over her shoulders. His Uncle was always muttering about her "dipping into her cooking sherry." Harry happily slurped his tea before waving at them.
"Hi guys! What are you doing here?" Draco wound his arms around his heart before kissing his cheek.
"You didn't show up for lunch and we got worried." Harry blinked before looking down at his watch. It had been a gift from Sirius and Severus for his seventeenth birthday. Apparently it had belonged to Sirius's younger brother.
"I'm sorry to worry you guys, I didn't realize what time it was. Professor Trelawney was giving me a free tea reading as our wedding present!" Harry drank the rest of his tea before slamming the cup on the table. The Professor creeped closer before eyeing it seriously.
"Oh my!" She gasped as she clutched her shawl.
"What is it?" Harry leaned forward as he asked.
"One moment, dear. My inner eye is processing what I'm seeing." She tipped the cup back and forth as she hummed.
"Very interesting!" He could see Herm roll her eyes and agreed with the sentiment. Her inner eye seemed to work as well as Cho Chang's. Cho had scammed half of Hogwarts before she had graduated.
"The leaves are telling me that you will have a very beautiful wedding." She said, her bangles bouncing off each other as she set the cup down. Harry gave a squeal before thanking her. He waved goodbye but not before promising to stop by more often.
"You do know she's a phony, right Harry?" Ron asked slowly.
"I like her." Harry said firmly and Draco sighed before reminding himself to send the woman a wedding invitation. Anything for his fiancé.
~~~~~~
Sirius coughed before dumping his cake into the sink, smoke pouring out of the oven. Sev was coming home tonight and he had wanted to do something romantic for his partner. Unfortunately, Sirius was a Black and Black's could not cook to save their lives. He looked at the burnt cake before sighing in disappointment. He was so sure he had done everything right this time too! A hissy laugh drew his attention and he scowled at Bubbles, the basilisk laying on the corner of the table.
"If you think you can do a better job, you're more than welcome to try! What was that? Oh yeah! You don't have hands!" He snarled out and Bubbles hissed some more before sticking the end of his tail straight up.
"I know what you're implying!" A middle finger translated well, despite the lack of fingers. Bubbles slithered away and Sirius picked up the ruined cake before heading to dump it in the back garden. He didn't want Severus to see it and feel obligated to try it. It would probably kill his husband and he did not want that. He watched the grass die where he had tossed the cake and called out "Kreature!" His old elf answered with a pop.
"Master be calling Kreature?" He wheezed loudly. Sirius was worried that the elderly elf was going to die soon. He didn't know if he could stomach mounting his head on the wall.
"Watch out for this part of the garden. It's unsafe." He said, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
"Ah. Mistress used to throw her failures in this same spot." Sirius grimaced at the comparison before the house elf left.
"Good to know." He mumbled to no one before heading back into the house. He found Severus waiting for him in the kitchen. The oven was still spitting out black smoke and he hurriedly opened a window.
"Sev! I didn't know you were coming early." His husband ignored him before reaching out to grasp his chin.
"Love, you know I don't care if you can cook or not. If I did, I would have married Lucius."
"I would still like to be able to do it once in a while." He shuffled his feet and Sev kissed his forehead.
"How about we try together?" An hour later, a sheet of charred cookies joined his cake.
"Do you want to order out?" Sirius asked and Severus kissed the back of his hand.
"I would love to."