The next quidditch match of the season, didn't exactly end well. Jade didn't want to go at first, because the forecast showed that there was to be a rather nasty thunderstorm that day. But Ciara had managed to drag her there regardless, she was excited to see if the Hufflepuff team could match up to Gryffindor's apparent dominance that year.
However, as they sat there, rain pouring down on them, a legion of Dementors had suddenly pulled up, sending the spectators and teams into a frenzy.
In the aftermath, Dumbledore was furious, not only because the Azkaban creatures had broken their promise of not entering the grounds, but also because several people wound up inured, this including one Hufflepuff player and Harry Potter, whose broom also was smashed to pieces, having been blow towards the Whomping Willow.
"Well that was rather exciting, wasn't it?" Jade asked grumpily, wringing out her now soaking wet scarf.
Ciara, who had been glancing up towards the window at the top of their room, turned back towards her roommate with a wince.
"Sorry" she apologized.
"It's fine." Jade said quickly "I still can't believe those things entered the grounds. What could've possessed them to do that?"
Ciara took a shaky breath,
"I don't know...but it can't be anything good..."
~*~*~*~*~
As the months began to grow colder, Ciara's anxieties began to fade with the falling temperatures. When she caught sight of the first snowflakes falling from the sky as she passed by one of the windows in the hallway, she had practically squealed with delight. And better yet, those pesky headaches had all but disappeared, and she was able to focus on school better.
This time, she didn't need anyone to drag her to Hogsmeade, she was practically bouncing to go when the time came.
As she pulled her green and grey scarf tightly around her neck, she turned to greet her roommate with a smile, only for it to fade instantly.
"Oh Jade-" she said sadly "You look terrible"
Her roommate had a blanket wrapped tightly around her body, a light dusting of red across her cheeks, signifying a fever.
"Thanks" Jade mumbled, before flopping down into her bed. "Bring me back something from Honeydukes will you?"
Ciara nodded,
"Course" she said, heading for the door "Get some sleep"
"That is entirely the plan" Jade mumbled, waving her goodbye.
Ciara took off out of the castle, and managed to catch up with Hermione and Ron just as they were taking their first steps into the village. They greeted her with smiles as she explained that she was without companions that day. Before she knew it, the three of them were taking on Hogsmeade together, swapping stories and advice from their separate experiences last time.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok in just that Ciara?" Hermione asked "You aren't even wearing a hat"
Ciara laughed,
"I'm fine. I quite enjoy the cold actually" she said "Say, did either of you visit the Shrieking Shack last time we were here?" she asked suddenly.
"Why the blazes would we have?" Ron asked, bewildered.
Ciara shrugged nonchalantly,
"Dunno. Heard it was interesting is all"
"I guess it couldn't hurt to visit now" Hermione suggested, her voice wavering a bit, but the Gryffindor didn't miss the way Ciara's eyes lit up.
"Brilliant!" Ciara exclaimed "Come on then!" she said before taking off, Hermione scrambling to catch up with her.
Ron looked on, absolutely gobsmacked.
"They're mental" he mumbled before forcing himself to run after them.
A few minutes later, the three had made the trek to the absolute edge of Hogsmeade, far beyond the comfort that the village had to offer.
Looming before them, the land covered by the snow, was a tall, rickety building. Ciara thought it looked beautiful in the mist that the snow provided, while the two friends behind her looked on more apprehensively.
"It's meant to be the most haunted building in Britain" Hermione noted "Did I mention that?"
"Twice" Ron muttered in response.
"Reckon we could get a bit closer?" Ciara said, rhetorically of course as she was already moving towards the path that would march her right up to the shacks front door.
"I...uh, I'm actually fine from here" she heard Ron say.
She had turned to look over her shoulder back at them with a smile, but it instantly faded as she caught wind of three other figures marching out of the forest heading directly for them.
"Oh Merlin..." she groaned as she jogged back over to where she left her friends.
"Well, well. Look who's here!" Draco's voice broke through the previously peaceful silence that the snowfall created "You two shopping for your dream home?"
As the two subjects he had dragged along with him laughed, Ciara quickly placed herself in between her friends and her fellow Slytherin's, meeting Draco head on with a challenging glare.
"Beat it, Malfoy" she ordered through gritted teeth.
Draco's eyes flickered across her face angrily,
"Don't think I was talking to you, snowflake" he snapped, then pushed her shoulder back with his own as he charged the Gryffindor's again.
"Seems a bit grand for you, Weasel-Bee" he continued to taunt "Don't your family all sleep in one room?"
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy" Ron retorted.
Draco scoffed,
"Now that's not very friendly" he said sarcastically "Boys, I think we're going to have to teach Weasel-Bee to respect his superiors."
Ciara's anger flared, jumping forward to throw herself at Draco again, but Hermione harshly pushed her back, guarding her two friends as she laughed harshly.
"Hope you don't mean yourself" she growled.
Draco's gaze darkened as his attention turned to Hermione.
"How dare you speak to me" he spat "You filthy, little mud-"
Before anyone could even react, Draco's face got slammed with a large chunk of snow.
The entire group looked in the direction that the projectile had come from but...no one was there.
"Who did that?" Draco demanded into the empty air.
Ciara, Hermione, and Ron exchanged a glance of confusion when suddenly two more snowballs soared over the ridge, nailing Draco in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards. He yelped, then turned around to his two lackeys,
"Well, don't just stand there!"
The two of them looked around for something to fight, but there was nothing there. All Ciara could do was stand back and watch as the situation delved further into chaos. Crabbe's pants were yanked down by an invisible force, and the boy stumbled around in a panic. The other Slytherin had his hat pulled down in front of his eyes.
Draco had tried to run out of terror, but he was shoved to the ground. Again he screamed in fear, as his legs were then seized and he was dragged down the path towards the Shrieking Shack.
Ciara had to cover her mouth to muffle her laughter.
Eventually, whatever had ensnared him, let him go and he was able to scramble to his feet before taking off for the rise, pushing past the other two Slytherin's as he jetted out of sight, leaving the two of them to sprint on after him.
Ciara shared one look with Ron and Hermione and the three of them burst out laughing. As they did so, the strings at the head on Ron's hat began to lift into the air a bit.
Hermione giggled,
"Harry..."
With a laugh, Harry dropped the invisibility cloak, revealing his smiling face.
"Bloody hell, Harry" Ron exclaimed "That was not funny!"
But he was smiling, just like the rest of them.
Ciara grabbed a fistful of snow, and launched it forward, nailing Harry in the shoulder. With a gasp, an all-out snowball war had started, the sound of their laughter echoed throughout the woods, even with the Shrieking Shack looming in the distance.
Later on, the four of them wandered through down the main street of Hogsmeade together. Harry was covered with a scarf and a hat in order to shield his face from anyone who might see him and bust him for sneaking onto the trip.
At that particular moment, Harry was explaining to them how exactly he had done so.
"Those weasels! Never told me about any Marauder's Map!" Ron complained
"But Harry isn't going to keep it." Hermione said with emphasis "He's going to turn it over to Professor McGonagall, aren't you?"
"Oh sure" Ciara said, rolling her eyes "Along with his invisibility cloak, his pack of exploding snap cards, his-"
"Oh shut up" Hermione mumbled, but Ciara could see the small smile on her face.
"Rosmerta, m'dear!" a voice suddenly shouted from a few paces in front of them.
They turned their heads to see someone climb out of a rather fancy sleigh right in front of the Three Broomsticks. The man who had spoken was easily identified as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself. Hagrid and McGonagall could also be seen at the doorway of the pub.
The woman, who Fudge must have been speaking to, turned towards the minister, placing a hand on her hip.
"Look who it is! That's Madam Rosmerta" Hermione pointed out "Ron fancies her"
"It's not true!" Ron defended as Ciara giggled.
"Shh" Harry said forcefully, listening in on the conversation.
"I trust business is good?" Fudge asked cheerfully.
"It'd be a right sight better if the Ministry wasn't sending Dementors into my pub every other night!" Rosmerta said boldly.
"We have a killer on the loose" the Minister tried to reason.
"Sirius Black? In Hogsmeade?" the pub-owner scoffed "And what would bring him here?"
"Harry Potter" Fudge said plainly.
Hermione gasped, and Ciara cocked her head to the side curiously.
"Harry Potter?" Rosmerta exclaimed.
McGonagall shushed them from her position by the door, and the group all shuffled inside, the door swinging shut behind them.
Suddenly, Ron's voice piped up,
"Harry?" he asked.
Ciara turned around to see that the boy-who-lived was no longer standing at their sides.
"Look" Hermione said, pointing forward where they could see a line of footprints appearing in the snow, heading towards the pub.
The three of them immediately ran forward, following in Harry's footprints right up to the door of the pub, but right as they stepped into the threshold, the door slammed shut on their faces.
Hermione huffed, and the three of them had no other choice but to sit on a bench outside the door and wait for their friend to return.
It was only a few minutes later when Hermione spotted the footprints again, now walking away from the Three Broomsticks, and with haste this time around. In fact, Harry barreled right through a clump of unsuspecting carolers, sending a few of them toppling to the ground.
The group of them took off after him, mumbling apologies to the singers as they dashed towards the outskirts of town.
They made it back towards the forest, and the footprints came to an abrupt stop in front of a large boulder, and against the whistling wind, quiet sobs could be heard. Hermione moved to go forward, and Ron made a feeble attempt to stop her but she continued on anyway.
Gingerly she approached the rock, before crouching down in front of it and then very slowly, took the cloak off of Harry's back.
His eyes were glossy with tears as he tilted his head up to look at the three of them, he sucked in a breath through gritted teeth.
"He was their friend. And he betrayed them...he was their friend!" his scream echoed across the plain, and none of them had to ask who he was referring to. Harry's gaze suddenly turned cold. "I hope he finds me. Because when he does, I'm going to be ready. When he does, I'm going to kill him!" he announced angrily.
They all knew he was hurting, and decided it was best they stay silent for the time being.
Ciara absent-mindedly bent down to pick up a handful of snow. She ran the cold flakes through her fingers, trying to calm down her mind.
~*~*~*~*~