Old Friends and Unexpected Discoveries
Somewhere the Countryside, England, July 27, 1998
“So this is where it crashed,” Blaise sighed.
“Guess that book did help.”
“She’s not here, why? I just…”
“It’ll be okay?” Theo said mouthing to Blaise, ‘What do I do?’
“You interested in that thing?” a park ranger called at them.
“Yeah,” Blaise called back, “What do you about it?”
“It’s a motorcycle’s sidecar, but not only is it illegal to drive one here, you’d probably crash a dozen times before that. These hills can’t be easy to drive on. Anyway, it showed up ‘bout this time last year. There was an owl in the cage, practically dead. Nursed it back to health and gave it to my sister-in-law. She’s taking good care of it.”
“She’s alive? She’s alive!” Harry said, bursting into tears and hugging the man.
“I’m gonna guess ya know the owl,”
“Yeah, she was the first gift I ever received. I mean, I definitely got things from my parents when I was a baby, but she’s the first gift I can remember.”
“How’d you get an… Never-mind. You Harry?”
“That’s my name. How… How did you know that?”
“You’d want to talk to Ari, uh Arabella, Figg.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, she had the owl last I checked. Said she knew it and wanted to keep it safe. Check with her.”
“We will, I know where she lives!”
“Thank you, sir!”
“You’ve been a giant help.”
“Who’s Arabella Figg?”
“Crazy Cat-Obsessed Lady that lived next door to me growing up. Turns out that she’s a squib. Apparently, Dumbledore wanted her to watch out for me. Didn’t know until she showed up when I cast a Patronus to protect Dudley. And Umbridge wanted me destroyed for it.”
“That’s fun!”
“So crazy cat lady has you best friend, and we now need to interact with crazy cat lady to get your owl. Okay!”
Harry knocked on the door of No. 7 Private Drive.
“Hello,” a woman started as she squished Harry into a hug, “I thought you died! Why does nobody ever tell me things?”
“He was, but only for like 20 minutes during the Battle of Hogwarts!”
“And you two are?” Mrs. Figg asked.
“Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott, Ma’am,”
“Oh, Harry?”
“We’re friends now.”
“Alrighty, La…I was informed that you fought on Hogwarts’ side, but I wasn’t all that sure. I suppose you’re here for a reason other than to tell me about the end of the war.”
“Ah, you need to access the Quibbler!”
“That’s brilliant, discussing the papers so that people related to wizards, witches, and the magical world as a whole, can access them! Harry when you call Grimmauld, tell them that.”
“Sure. And, Mrs Figg, we would have stopped by sooner if I had known that you weren’t told of the end of the War. But yes, I was informed that you have my owl.”
“Yes, come in, let’s have tea,” she let them in, and turning back to Harry asked, “Are you sure you don’t need ‘em roughened up?”
“Yes, but thank you!” Harry laughed and immediately burst into tears. “Hedwig!” The Snowy Owl, who had been silently passing judgements over the cats, as usual, flew over to Harry and landed on his arms and nuzzled her head under his neck. “My best friend is okay? Thank…Well, Mrs. Figg and the Random Park Ranger!”
“My Brother-In-Law, he was too calm for me. My husband was a fighter just like me!”
“Fighter?”
“Back in the 40’s, I took up boxing in what used to be a speak-easy. Met my husband there. He thought I was full of fire. He was the first to see me as something other than a little girl or a fist-fighting boy. Boy was I a criminal back then. I really should hang up my mugshots!”
“What in the absolute fucking hell!” A frightened Theo whispered under his breath to an impressed Blaise and a confused Harry.
“I grabbed the tea, Ari. Did you say something about guests?” A girl asked, coming from the kitchen. She was limping, with a cast on her leg, a broken arm, and a crutch. She had her hair up and a peasant top on, showing lines of scars all across her visible body.
“Young Lady, I told you to rest on the sofa! That was the deal with you getting out of bed!” Before the newly pleasant woman could continue, Hedwig flew over to the girl and started ‘Whoo’-ing loudly. The girl quickly sat down and started having what was best described as a seizure mixed with a heart-attack, with a cruccio thrown into the mix.
When the torture seemed over the girl said, “Thank you, Hedwig. She’s been a huge help. She must have sensed your nightmares in Fifth Year because she always knows when I’m about to attack. She’s like a muggle service dog in a way, ‘cept she’s an owl.” The girl laughed and winced. “It’s a side effect of my medicine,” she explained, “My injuries are so bad, it’s a wonder that I had been able to apparate near here. I was unconscious for 43 days because of it. Everything in tubes. But I will be happy once that horrid BEAST gets an Adva, or Azkaban for as long as IT exists.”
As she finished speaking, she finally noticed her guests' faces or shock. “The Savior with two Snakes? Seems fitting enough. I assume the war is over, and I’m gonna guess you thought I was dead? I should be, and I did sort of just exist for 6 weeks, not dead nor alive. But Hedwig’s yours as long as I can borrow your services from time to time? I’ve come to rely on her warning systems…”
She was right. For the second time this month, a member of the golden trio saw a face that they truly couldn’t believe.