Neville had gotten the tent set up while I made a fire. It was getting quite cold out so we all sat around it. "So, uh, we haven't really been introduce. Actually, you haven't technically been introduce to any of us. I'm Layla, and this is Draco and Neville. I didn't know you before--well, you know," I said, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear.
"Well, nice to meet you, I guess, though it would probably better under different circumstances. So, uh, how did I know you?" he asked, gesturing to Neville. He seemed to be less sulky since we landed, fortunately.
Neville looked down. The fire reflected in his eyes, making them glow intensely. "We were friends. Really good friends, actually. We were both in the same house, Gryffindor, though you probably don't know what that means now. And we were in the DA together... Shame you don't remember that stuff."
Harry was looked down at his hands. "Yeah, shame." He looked back up, this time at Draco. "And how did I know you?"
Neville snorted from where he was seated. "Well...it's-it's complicated. We weren't exactly friends," Draco said. I wondered what their relationship was like when Harry was Harry.
"Yeah, you could say that. Or you could say that you two hated each other. That would probably be more accurate," Neville said, laughing.
"Yeah, well, I guess it would. We were kind of...enemies. But a lot has changed since then. I mean, Neville and I hated each other too. And I would have never even spoke to a muggle," he said, gesturing to me.
"Okay, I'm really starting to resent the term muggle. Can you please refer to me as Layla? Thanks," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn't a muggle, I was a person. "Besides, we should be discussing plans! Not past times."
"Right, well, obviously we need to get Harry's memories back first. But where do we find McGonagall?" Neville wondered, grabbing a stick off the ground and throwing into the fire.
I didn't know who McGonagall was or anything about her but I did remember one thing. "Well...Hagrid said that she wouldn't be far from Hogwarts. Maybe we should go there?" I suggested, though I had no idea where or what Hogwarts even was.
"I don't think that would be a good idea. She wouldn't be at Hogwarts anyway.... But maybe Hogsmeade...," Draco said, more to himself.
"We can't go to Hogsmeade. We would be recognized, I'm sure of it. It's just way too risky--" Neville began.
"But she wouldn't be recognized," Draco interrupted, gesturing to me.
My eyes widened as I turned to him. "Me? I can't--I don't even know what that is! You can't expect me to--"
"You want revenge, right? Well, Harry's memories could be the key to that. He's stopped You-Know-Who before and I'm sure he can do it again. But we need your help... It's up to you, obviously, but I was under the impression that you wanted your parents back."
He knew exactly what buttons to press, didn't he? I sighed in annoyance. They can sit there and call me a muggle all day but when they needed something... "Fine. Of course I'll do it. I just don't know if I can... I might ruin everything. What if they figure out I'm a muggle?"
"They won't. You won't be there long enough for anyone to notice. All you have to do is get in there, look for Professor McGonagall, and get out. It'll be easy."
Even though his face and his tone said that he was telling the truth, how could he know that? For all we knew, You-Know-Who himself was at Hogsmeade and I would be the one to pay for our monumental mistake. But what choice did we have?
The next day, we ended up at a cave in the middle of nowhere, but according to Neville and Draco, it was right outside of Hogsmeade. Harry sat quietly in a corner, probably nervous about what was about to come, while Neville and Draco sat discussing what was going to be done.
Instead of hanging around Neville and Draco, which would only cause me to be even more high-strung than I already was, I opted for a spot next to Harry--whom I hardly knew. "So, uh, ready to become Harry Potter again?" I asked, sitting on the hard ground. I picked up a large feather that appeared to belong to Buckbeak, though he, along with the Thestrals, hadn't made it into the cave before Neville told them to go back to Hagrid. He had said that we wouldn't need them because we could apparate from Hogsmeade, as there were so many wizards using magic here that it would go unnoticed.
"I guess... I mean, I don't know. I don't really know anything about who I am. What if I'm better off being Thomas? What if Harry is a real tosser?" he said and I laughed even though he didn't.
"Well, from what I've heard, you're a pretty good guy--like, the best. I'm sure you'll like what you find. Or remember."
"Yeah... I hope so." He looked down, tracing the cave floor with his index finger.
At that point, Neville and Draco had stopped talking and walked towards us. "So, we've figured out what you'll do," Neville began. "We'll give you one of our wands, just in case they get suspicious, you can pull it out and show 'em that you're a wizard. Just go straight into the village and look, and I mean everywhere, for a silver tabby cat with square markings around it's eyes."
I furrowed my brows. "I'm looking for a cat?"
"Yes, and if you find it, go up and ask--quietly, of course--if she's Professor McGonagall, okay?"
I held my hands up. "Wait a second, are you telling me that your old professor is a cat?"
They both nodded. "She's an animagus. She can turn into a cat."
I let out a whoosh of air. "Well, God, what are you going to tell me next? Is there also some kind of monster near here that I should watch out for?" I asked jokingly.
"Well, there used to be a Basilisk that lived in Hogwarts but Harry killed that during our second year."
I stared after him with wide eyes. "Right. Of course he did." I took another breather, just to go over what I was supposed to do in my head. "Alright, well, let's get this over with."
Draco handed me his wand somewhat reluctantly, though I could vaguely understand his hesitation. From what I understood, wizards were essentially muggles without their wands--not that that was a bad thing, of course. "Thanks," I murmured.
"Well, uh, good luck," Harry said from his corner. The others merely nodded to me and I nodded back, setting off on the rugged trail that supposedly led to the village of Hogsmeade.
I hoped that I would be able to see it because, if not, this trip would have been a waste. There was some debate over whether or not I could even go, with the charms around it, but it was determined that even though I'm a muggle, I should be able to see it because I know that it's there. And I was crossing my fingers that they were right.
I walked and walked for over half an hour along a winding, stony path and was beginning to lose hope when I came to a stile, which I quickly climbed over. I turned a corner and sure enough, I began to seen the beginnings of cottages and gardens. Civilization. I could also see a magnificent castle in the distance.
You'd think this would have made me feel relieved. The trip wasn't a waste after all and I might be able to get Harry's memories back, but instead, I felt my heart stammer against my chest and my breathing accelerate. I was walking into the unknown and that scared me more than I could describe.
Soon, cottages turned into buildings and my guard went up. I searched the nooks and crevices of the buildings outside, looking in alleyways and behind homes. None of the shop names that I read made any sense: Dogweed and Deathcap, Honeydukes, The Hog's Head, Spintwitches--all so foreign and intimidating. Still, there was no sign of any cat, much less a silver tabby one with square markings.
I had given up, completely and utterly. Slumped in defeat, I rounded a corner that seemed to lead onto another beaten path. A building stood in the distance, worn and unstable.
I sat for a moment to collect myself, preparing to head back to the cave with bad news, when a peculiar and dreadful feeling washed over me. Every bad memory I'd ever had resurfaced. My grandmother dying, my dad getting cancer, all the hospital waiting rooms and never-ending chemotherapy treatments. Every goose-bump in my skin rose to the surface and my flesh tingled with a chill that swept over me like a tidal wave. I thought for sure I was going to die. There was no way a person could live with this feeling.
"Expecto Patronum," I heard from my right. A white, glowing light of pure joy and happiness reached me, warming my freezing skin and chasing away the bad feelings that had overcome me. I closed my eyes, basking in the incredible feeling and then it vanished. I was felt normal again.
I looked up to find a severe-looking woman with jet black hair, stuck inside a tight bun, and square glasses staring down at me. "May I ask what a muggle like yourself is doing all the way in Hogsmeade...? With a wand, no less?"
That was it. I was done for. I was going to be turned in to You-Know-Who and be killed. That feeling earlier must have been a premonition. "I-I-I don't know, I just--"
"Now, now, dear girl, I'm not going to hurt you. You shouldn't be here though. Especially now. It's too dangerous for your kind."
An idea crossed my head, and I figured I ought to spit it out before I could talk myself out of it. "Are-are you Professor McGonagall?" I stammered, not meeting her eyes.
Her brows furrowed. "Yes, who's asking?"
"I'm Layla Wright... I was sent here to find you... I-I have," my voice lowered to a whisper, "Harry Potter with me and he wants his memories back."
Her hands found her temple which she rubbed softly, closing her eyes. "Oh, he's found out, has he? That poor boy. After he'd left, I couldn't believe I'd done it... But he was just so-so...damaged. Alright Miss-Wright, was it? Take me to him."
"Okay," I began, grabbing the wand off the ground. When I turned back around though, I found myself talking to a cat instead of a person. "Oh...that's what they meant," I mumbled.
The walk back seemed to take less time, with the cat--Professor McGonagall--trailing behind me. And soon enough, I was met by three sets of eager eyes. "I found her," I said smugly.
Professor McGonagall, the human, was suddenly walking in front of me. "Mr. Longbottom," she nodded to him. She then looked at Draco with surprise, as if she wasn't seeing clearly. "Mr. Malfoy? I surely wasn't expecting to see you here...
"Ah, Mr. Potter. Are you ready to get your memories back?"