Finley bit her lip as she waited outside the DADA classroom, mentally smashing her head in for not going in there to see her real godfather. Godfather, goodness it was a dream come true to have a chocolate giving Professor was her godfather. She wanted to pack her bags and move with him, but she can't.
The night she, Harry, and Hermione came back from their past correcting venture. She thought back about what Snape said to them back at the shrieking shack.
"I can and I will! I lost Lily once to a Potter, and I'm not losing her daughter too!"
Finley huffed, after hearing that she doesn't think she could really abandon Snape like that after hearing his fear of losing her like how he lost her mother. But how did he lose her mother? What was he to her mum?
Questions Finley wanted answered, yet she refrains from actually asking for it after the last time she asked the man. Since then, she was afraid to ask anything about her parents, or even anything about his Hogwarts days.
"Hey Finley," a voice said from behind her. She turned around and saw Harry in his uniform, unlike her Slytherin attire and her missing robes, Harry had his tie on and his Gryffindor robes.
"Harry," she subtly greets.
"Are you here to see Professor Lupin too?" Harry asks. After last night, Harry and Finely barely talked through their newly found sibling relations. They only came to accept it, but never really come to talk about it.
"Yeah," Finley replies, turning towards the door and finds herself hesitating again.
"Let's go in together," Harry suggests holding out his hand towards her, trying to tell her that he was going to be with every step of the way. And she gladly took it, she held onto his hands tightly as they opened the door seeing an empty classroom. No professor Lupin writing on the board for the next lesson, no new creature for them to study. It was empty.
Wandering around the classroom, both students heard a thud up the office which lead them to believe that the man they were looking for was there.
True enough when they walked up the steps, the whole office was a mess. Not the usual mess that Finley often sees during her tea time visits on Hogsmaede weekends, it looked like he was packing up.
"Harry. Finley," the professor greeted them with his back turned away from them. As soon as he turned, he looked even more pale and exhausted than he usually does, maybe it was the effects of the transformation.
"Professor," Finley greets as she starts eyeing the things he was packing.
"I saw you both coming in," he says pointing at the map that was open on the table. With a flick of a wand a small box that was beside Harry closed shut.
"I looked worst, believe me," Remus said taking the stack of books from the desk and placing them in a trunk.
"You've been sacked," Harry points out, not believing that the one capable DADA Professor was fired, but he was wrong.
"No, I resigned actually." The smile on Remus' face did not meet his eyes at all, he was as distraught as these two were. Finley most of all, if anything, she wanted Remus to stay at Hogwarts.
"Resigned? Why?" Harry asked as confused as Finley was.
"You're the best teacher we've ever had," Finley starts, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice. She actually liked going to Defence Against Dark Arts now since Remus began teaching, Finley hated to go back to the habit of skipping DADA to self study in the library if the professor was a dud.
"Well, it seems that somebody let slip the nature of my condition," Remus said it simply while he continued packing his things.
"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving and parents will not want a—um, someone like me teaching their children," he continues.
"So they'd rather have a clueless mongrel to teach us about hair care and shit like that?" Finley snaps and afterwards looked down in shame as Remus gave her a pointed look. Swearing was something Finley gained in school that Remus looks down upon, he voiced this out on one of their tea hours. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly.
"Dumbledore had risked enough on my behalf. Besides, people like me are," he paused. Finley could clearly said the retrained pain and disorientation in his tone, werewolves must've had it hard. "Well, lets just say that I'm used to it by now."
"But you shouldn't though," Finley voiced as she picked up the one picture frame that caught her attention the first time Remus offered her tea in his office.
"This really unfair to you Mooney," Finley says looking up towards the professor who only gave her a soft look. He didn't want to leave either, but nothing was ever fair to people like him.
"I'll be fine moonlight," he said as he flicked his wand, the trunk that had most of his personal belongings tucked itself closed. Remus looked up seeing the faces of the two teenagers, "Why do you both look so miserable?"
"None of it made any difference," Harry says. "Pettigrew escaped," he finished in disdain. Hating how the man responsible for his parents' death escaped under their noses.
"Didn't make any difference?" Remus chuckled in disbelief, in truth it made all the difference. "It made all the difference in the world, you helped uncovered the truth."
"You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."
He gave out a hearty laugh at how it seemed to Harry and Finley that the things they did didn't make any difference. "It made a great deal of difference," he finishes as he zipped his bag closed.
"I am proud if anything, it is how much you have learned this year," he says as he picked up his bag and coat.
"Now, since I am no longer your teacher. I feel no guilt whatsoever about giving this back to you," he says pointing at the open map that laid on the desk.
"So now I'll say good bye Harry, Finley. I feel sure that we'll meet again sometime." Glancing back at the map, "Until then, mischief managed."
The two students watched as the map closed by itself, all the ink that was written on it vanished. "Wicked," Finley whispers seeing as it was the first time she ever saw the map in action.
"I will miss you Mooney," Finley sniffed turning to the man that she now proudly calls godfather. She let herself embrace the man tightly, afraid of letting him go.
"I'll miss you too moonlight," Remus replied as he hugged the girl just as tight before letting go and walking out the door with his cane, coat, and bag on his hands.
"He'll be okay Finley," Harry whispers as he wraps and arm around Finley who couldn't help but tear up at Remus' departure.
It was time face it, she and Harry only had themselves now.
After that tearful goodbye from Remus, it was time for Finley to face another thing that bothered her. She ran towards the Slytherin common room, seeing as it was free period for all Slytherin third years. It was time to face her best friends, crossing her fingers that they don't hate her.
"Sanguinis Pura," Finley said in great haste as soon as she faced the common room entrance. She ran inside but not completely as she was thrown back and yet still was caught by two pairs of arms.
"Finley, why are you running?" Blaise asked worriedly as he saw his best friend looking frantic. Theo pushed her up slightly to stand up right, as worried as Blaise.
"I—" Finley choked on her words, she didn't know how to apologise to her friends, normally she never needed to apologise to them. "Hey, are you alright?"
No words came out at first, which lead the three of them to the couch they usually occupied. Muttering a muffling spell, in their guts they knew that Finley was going to say something not for the other Slytherins to hear. "Finney Winney, are you okay? We haven't seen you at dinner last night," Theo asked, begging that Finley would stop crying since it worried him and Blaise to no end.
"Finney, love. Tell us," Blaise begged as well as his hand made its way to Finley's.
Being ignored by Finley for weeks since they showed her what they discovered, both of them admit that they were dysfunctional knowing that Finley was mad at them. They missed her as much as she missed them, maybe even more.
"You were right," Finley spoke.
"You were right about Iolanthe marrying a Potter. You were right about James and Lily having a first born daughter, you were right," Finley says, as she squeezed Blaise's hand reminding herself that her best friends were with her.
"And I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Finley cried, retrieving her hand from Blaise and covering her eyes with them. She poured all the regret she had for doubting her best friends, she released the loneliness she felt without them. She cried facing the fact that without Blaise and Theo, she was always crashing and burning.
"Finley—"
"Don't forgive me, I was terrible to you," she sniffed, and yet she still felt a pair of arms around her hugging her close.
"We understand Finley," Blaise says as he stroked Finley's hair. Of course they understood, they knew the possibility of telling Finley something that they had no proof of. And now that Finley confirmed their theory to be true, it was good enough that she apologised and made her way back to them.
"But—"
"Hush child, we knew what we were doing when we told you about being Harry Potter's sister. You under reacted actually," Theo explains.
"Under reacted?" Finley sniffed, sobering up from her crying.
"Yeah, we actually expected you to charm us to the library ceiling," Theo jokes, earning a smack from Blaise who wasn't pleased with the joke, that and he didn't want Finley to get any ideas.
"I thought of that," Finley said truthfully, then paused. "But I was actually scared, that maybe with what you found out was actually a lie that I got my hopes up on."
"I take offence in that, my researches are always right," Theo scoffs.
"Aside from how you can't identify a plant properly, yeah you're right," Blaise fired at his friend.
It was all starting to get normal again, and now it didn't feel like Finley was completely alone anymore. Yes she had Harry as a brother now, but seeing as how her two friends bantered in front of her like they usually did made her feel complete again. "I love you both," Finley blurts out before pulling her two best friends into a tight hug.
"I love you too Finney bear."
"Love you too Finney Winney!"
It was evening, the news that Harry received a fire bolt spread like wild fire in Hogwarts from an anonymous person. Even with that, it wasn't a reason for Finley to be awake at twelve in the morning. Only a few hours left and they were returning to their regular classes again, but it wasn't the reason why Finley stayed awake.
The whole afternoon, Slytherins were saying farewell to her since she really was leaving for Beauxbatons next year, meaning that she won't be seeing them again. She couldn't approach the head of house to reconsider seeing as that earlier this evening, she received a letter from Snape that he was officially kicking her out of Cokeworth.
"Now that you have learned that you are a Potter, I have no more reason to keep up under my roof. From here on out, you are evicted from my home, and when you are to return from France you are to stay with Mirelle Thorns. Aside from all that, you shall not inquire with me with your living arrangements as I do not care whatsoever."
It was another one of those notes that was unprofessional and held lesser care. No greetings nor slightly sincere regards, just cold writing that she was forever banished from the place she used to call home. She wrote to Mirelle shortly after she read the letter. Finley couldn't deny that she was heartbroken that the man whom she grew up with didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Maybe it was for the best.
"Evans?" She turned around and was surprised to see a familiar blond boy standing at the foot of the boy's dorm entrance. He wore grey pyjama pants and a white shirt, not really something she pictured a multi millionaire Malfoy heir to sleep in.
"Are you done checking me out?" He grinned causing Finley to roll her eyes at him.
"I just thought about how much trouble you get fitting that big head of yours in that shirt," Finley replied, turning her head back to the flames in the fire place.
Wrapped in her quilt blanket, Cassian her sweet cat curled on her lap asleep. She felt couch dip slightly, knowing that Draco was now sat beside her.
"I'm sorry about the chicken," Draco starts, his guilt still circled around the dead Hippogriff whom he sued for his own stupidity.
"He's a Hippogriff," Finley chuckles softly as she remembered what he's gone through when he tried to watch the execution. But she wouldn't tell him that it was alive and well with an escaped convict, he was Malfoy and she wasn't sure if she's up for exposing her brother's godfather to him.
"Anything with feathers is a bloody chicken," Draco grumbled, his hand founds its way petting Cassian the cat's head.
"Now I really don't feel like apologising for Hermione punching you," Finley remarked as she saw the reddening ears Draco has gained.
"Stupid Granger."
"You deserved it," Finley says as her hands found their way to cupping Draco's cheeks, checking for a bruise which she doubts that he received. He was too much of a drama queen to have a single bruise on his pretty face.
Pretty face. Draco really does have a pretty face, prettier than Blaise's in fact and no one is prettier than Blaise except his mother. But to Finley, Draco was pretty. And to Draco, Finley was pretty too.
If it was one thing that Finley was going to miss aside from her friends and generally Hogwarts, it was Draco and their occasional Room of Requirements ventures.
She would miss raiding kitchen with Draco as well as dancing the night away in the room of requirement with the record player in the corner of the room. She was going to miss all of than, she didn't want to leave that behind.
"Hey, Draco?" Finley calls, Draco looks at her with curiosity.
"Fancy raiding the kitchens with me?" She asked with a gentle smile placed on her face, thankful that the flame from the fire place wasn't enough to illuminate his flaming cheeks. He has never seen Finley this radiant before, it didn't compare to when he first saw her in the train at the start of the year.
"Sure."
"I can't believe pretty boy Diggory let you get away with this much!" Draco mused as he carried a basket full of food leading up the stair cases to the place where the room of requirements always appeared for them.
"It's his own version of a going away present," Finley grins as the both of them stopped in front of a wall. She turned to Draco slightly, grabbing hold of his free hand.
"Now close your eyes," she says, she couldn't stop herself from giggling.
"Why? What are you thinking?" Draco asked amused.
"Hurry and just shut them," Finley urges. And when Draco did, Finley squeezed his hand once and sighed.
"Imagine a place where we could see the stars," she whispered.
"If you wanted stars, the astronomy tower is open twenty-four seven," Draco remarked earning a small pinch on his arm from Finley who playfully glared at him. Not that he could really see her glare at him.
"Hurry!"
"I am!" Draco chuckled, imagining the clear sky full of stars. Someplace he most often imagined himself fazing the stars in, mostly with her. And when he opened his eyes, the door appeared.
"Shall we?" Finley asks with a sly smile on her face. Opening the door, they went in hand in hand, and was met with a wondrous sight. No floors, just grass. The whole ceiling seemed to vanish as they were now just seeing the sky full of stars. Pulling Draco in, they were both lucky that Finley brought the quilt she wrapped herself with.
"We could've just went outside by the lake you know," Draco commented as he set the basket of food from the kitchen on the quilt Finley laid down.
"What if it rained?" Draco fell silent, he hasn't thought of that one, not only that, the insects will kill them eventually.
"Hot chocolate?" He heard Finley speak, he look towards her as she offered him a mug of hot chocolate that they smuggled from the kitchen. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Finley smiled at him.
Was it odd to have your heart to skip a beat? Because he has been experiencing that from every now and then, and they all involved Finley smiling at him. Was he alright?
"I'll miss this you know."
Draco turned to Finley who still had her eyes up the sky, hand on the quilt to support her leaning back while her other hand held a mug of hot chocolate. Smiling as she gazed at the stars adoring them. The stars didn't look so special anymore as his eyes always find themselves looking at Finley, the girl was radiant alright, he felt so unworthy to be in presence with her.
"Will you write me when I leave?" Finley asked now turning to Draco who avoided her gaze.
"Maybe," Draco replies. Who was he kidding, he would write to her alright, three times a day everyday if he wanted to.
"I would write to you if you write back."
"Then I would need to stock up on parchment now do I?" Finley grinned. She meant all this literally, he wasn't the only one he was going to write to. Knowing her two best friends, they would demand her letters at least four times a week or they would force Dumbledore to floo them to France.
A few more minutes of Silence, the stars on the enchanted ceiling was beautiful, no doubt she was going to miss the room of requirements. If she could, she would most definitely not want to leave for Beauxbatons and just stay here with the people she's grown to love.
An empty mug of hot chocolate and a half empty basket of food from the kitchens later, both Slytherins knew it was time to go back as they both had classes in a few hours. With one last look inside the star filled room, Finley's hand held Draco's as they both exited. Hand in hand walking to the kitchen to return the basket and left over food for the elves and back to their common room.
Secretly wishing that their time together doesn't stop there, muttering the password revealing the empty common room. Cassian was still sleeping on the couch where they left him, maybe it was time to catch up on the little hours of sleep they could get.
"Good night," Draco said first as he left go of Finley's hand, scolding himself for letting it go too quickly.
"Good night Draco," Finley smiled, tugging his sleeve as she pecked her lips on his cheek before walking towards the girl's dorm hall. Leaving Draco in the middle of the common room surprised and glowing red that made a great contrast to his platinum blond hair. 'Holy Hell she kissed my cheek!'
'Sweet Merlin I kissed his cheek,' Finley grew an even brighter red as soon as she got in her room. Whatever came over her to kiss Draco's cheek, she blamed it on the heat of the moment. Goodness she was in it now.
She laid down on her bed, trying to cool down her red face and as she did so she listed all the things she was going to miss in Hogwarts. Not realising that she never had the chance to catch up on her sleep before classes.
Now the plan was clear to her, she was going to spend her remaining days in Hogwarts the best and most Slytherin way possible.
"Now for that bottle of Pixie brew."