Can Things Change

“I will have a go Miss Evans,” said Alastor Moody as he summoned the book to himself.

“The Potions Master” 

“Snivelly gets a whole chapter about him,” Peter said, laughing.

“Don’t call him that,” Lily and Draco both demanded. James looked at his girlfriend, and shook his head at his friends. It was time for them to grow up. They were in their final year of school, and there was a war going on.

Sirius just nodded, he understood better than some of the others, afterall he was tortured by his own mother for telling her he wouldn’t join the Death Eaters. 

“There, look.”

“Where?”

“Next to the tall kid with the red hair.”

“Wearing the glasses?”

“Did you see her face?”

“She’s so small.”

“She’s really pretty.”

“She’s not pretty,” Fred announced, earning looks from everyone before he continued. “She is the most gorgeous woman in the world.”

Aurora smiled at him serenely, and said, “You and Neville can switch back now.” She cuddled into his side when he was next to her once more.

“You were super tiny though,” Neville said, once he was out of range of her hands. Aurora glared at him and stuck out her tongue.

“Did you see her scar?”

Whispers followed Aurora from the moment she left her dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at her, or doubled back to pass her in the corridors again, staring. Aurora wished they wouldn’t, because she was trying to concentrate on finding her way to classes.

“Merlin, didn't that get annoying?” Sirius finally asked.

“It was a pain trying to get anywhere the first few weeks of school,” Ron and Neville answered. They were the ones with her most often.

The Weasley twins and Cedric seemed to have appointed themselves as her protectors and showed up after almost all her classes to help her find her way to her classes and avoid most of the gawkers. 

“Such good boys,” Molly and Columba both stated.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn’t open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren’t really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Aurora was sure the coats of armor could walk. 

“They do,” McGonagall said.

The ghosts didn’t help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, “GOT YOUR CONK!”

The Professors turned to the Marauders with a glare.

James and Sirius were quick to defend themselves, “It wasn’t us,” they exclaimed.

Lily, Marlene and Alice couldn’t keep in their giggles, and Severus was smirking. The teachers looked at the girls in horror.

“You didn’t?” James asked, trying to be shocked, but beaming at Lily’s deviousness.

“Of course not,” Alice replied, giggling. “That would be wrong.”

Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Aurora, Ron and Neville managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn’t believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons, chained by their ankles, when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.

“At least he was good for something,” Neville muttered.

“Chained by their ankles,” Augusta said, her voice low and angry, looking at the Headmaster for an explanation.

“That is something I would never allow to happen,” Dumbledore assured.

“Either way, it should not be threatened to children. Especially ones who do not even know their way around the castle yet.”

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch’s. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she’d whisk off for Filch, who’d appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)

“I’m sure there are people who know it better,” Peter chimed in, glancing at the other Marauders.

Fred knew what he was trying to do, and laughingly said, “Yea, Aurora found places that we never could have.”

This caused all four of the Marauders to frown thoughtfully. 

and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. Like her books said, there was a lot more to magic, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets, which she found fascinating, after all she had been named for the polar lights. 

“You are a Black afterall,” Regulus said proudly. 

Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for, luckily she had Amice and Neville with her, She wasn’t a fan of Herbology. She had spent far too much time forced into her aunt’s garden to ever appreciate plants outside of what was needed for potions or cooking. 

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. Cedric said that the best way to learn anything that they would need for exams, especially the big ones in the 5th and 7th years, was to do self study in the class.

“He really isn’t the best teacher,” Alice sighed. “I love history, but the only thing I ever learned with him was to not piss off the goblins.”

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Aurora’s name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

“I apologize for my behavior Miss Potter,” Flitwick sighed. He couldn’t believe he had done that over a student, famous or not.

Professor McGonagall was again different. Aurora had been quite right to think she wasn’t a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. 

“Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts,” she said. “Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.”

The Marauders couldn’t contain their laughter. “There’s no need to lie Professor Minnie.”

“Do not call me that ridiculous name, Mr. Black,” she scolded, her lips thin to hide her smile. She was well aware that she would never kick out any student who truly enjoyed transfiguration like that group seemed to. She just didn’t like it being broadcast outloud. It was an unspoken secret that the whole school knew.

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn’t wait to get started, but soon realized they weren’t going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Aurora and Hermione Granger had made any difference to their matches; 

“Very well done girls,” McGonagall stated. James was so proud that his daughter seemed to have inherited his skills in transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall showed the class how they had gone all silver and pointy and gave them a rare smile.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell’s lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he’d met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. 

“It wasn’t a blood sucker he found in Romania,” Aurora murmured to her friends, her hand gripping Fred’s so hard he was starting to lose feeling in his fingers.

His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren’t sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. 

The time-travelers all fought back growls, doing their best to keep their faces neutral.

Aurora was very relieved to find out that she wasn’t miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like her, hadn’t had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn’t have much of a head start.

“People like Ron,” he asked, trying to sound offended. Aurora stuck her tongue out at him.

Friday was an important day for Aurora and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

“What have we got today?” Aurora asked Ron as she poured sugar on her porridge.

“Double Potions with the Slytherins,” said Ron. “Snape’s Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we’ll be able to see if it’s true.”

“Wish McGonagall favored us,” said Aurora. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn’t stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before. 

“None of the Professors really favor Gryffindor,” Luna said. “The other heads aren’t too bad, but they do favor their houses. Professor McGonagall is the only one who truly tries her best to stay neutral in regards to points.”

Aurora honestly didn’t care much about house points, to her it just seemed a way to drive a wedge between the houses. And she had been looking forward to potions so much that she didn’t care either way who favored who.

Just then, the mail arrived. Aurora had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. 

Hedwig hadn’t brought Aurora anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Aurora’s plate. Aurora tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:

Dear Aurora,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

“That’s so sweet of him,” Lily sighed, on the edge of tears. She was glad her baby girl had someone to care for her.

Aurora borrowed Ron’s quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.

It was lucky that Aurora had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to her so far.

At the start-of-term banquet, Aurora had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked her. By the end of the first Potions lesson, she knew she’d been wrong. Snape didn’t dislike Aurora — he hated her.

Lily finally released the sob that she had been holding, looking over at Severus. “Do you really hate me and James so much that you would pass it onto our child?”

Severus had no answer for her. He could never hate her, and he would do anything for a child of hers, but if that child also looked so much like James Potter, he didn’t even want to think of how he would treat them. 

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Aurora’s name.

“Ah, Yes,” he said softly, “Aurora Potter. Our new — celebrity.”

Sirius and Remus growled, while the other Professors in the room all looked like they wanted to comment.

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid’s, but they had none of Hagrid’s warmth. They were cold and empty and sad and made you think of dark tunnels.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. Aurora was writing down everything he said. 

“That’s what you were doing,” Draco exclaimed. 

“I love potions,” Aurora said. At all the time travelers incredulous looks. She amended, “I love potions outside of school.”

“As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death —

“That was well said Mr. Snape,” McGonagall praised. Severus sat a little straighter at the praise, he held great respect for McGonagall, like the Lovegood girl said just a bit ago, she tried her hardest to stay neutral with all the houses.

if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

“That last point didn’t need to be mentioned though.”

More silence followed this little speech. Aurora,Ron and Neville exchanged looks with raised eyebrows.

Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn’t a dunderhead.

“Potter!” said Snape suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

“That’s a sixth year potion!” Sirius yelled.

“Why would she know that in her first potions class,” Lily said, her voice deceptively calm.

Hermione’s hand had shot into the air. Aurora thought for a moment, she had remembered seeing those in one of the advanced books she had read.

“A powerful sleeping potion, Sir,” said Aurora.

Snape’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Let’s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, Aurora thought this rather annoying as she had been asked the question. Even if it was more rude of the Professor to single her out and not ask everyone else.

“As a potions master I would assume in your potion pouch, but if you are talking about elsewhere it is found in the stomach of a goat.”

“Very cheeky,” Alice laughed.

Snape did not like that Aurora seemed to know the answer’s to his questions, and glared at her, “Too good to tell the purpose of the item, instead making snide remarks.”

“Why are you doing this?” Lily cried. 

Sirius got up and started pacing behind his seat, his wand was in his hand as if he was going to curse someone - Snape. Aurora had a close eye on both her fathers.

Aurora forced herself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. She had looked through her books at the Dursleys' and the questions that he had asked were far more advanced than a first year on their first lesson would know. In fact the only reason she knew them was because she was looking forward to potions and read advanced books. These answers were not in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

Snape was still ignoring Hermione’s quivering hand.

“What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?”

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

“While I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I greatly disagree with what Professor Snape is doing,” Flitwick said looking at Hermione, “he is asking a certain person a question, and you are not that person. It can be both very distracting to the person trying to answer, as well as very demining if they do not know the answer.”

Hermione looked down ashamed. She knew that she had gotten better over their years at school, but there were still instances that she tried to answer every question, whether she was the one it was asked to or not.

“I obviously know the answer,” said Aurora quietly. “I think Hermione does also, though, so why don’t you try her?” 

A few people laughed; Aurora caught Neville’s eye, and Neville winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.

“Sit down,” he snapped at Hermione. “For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren’t you all copying that down?”

“Because you had been asking questions, not teaching them,” Sprout commented.

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, “And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter.”

“Wait, all that and he only took a point,” Regulus asked.

Things didn’t improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs, which looked a little too runny compared to the description in Aurora’s book, when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus’s cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people’s shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

“Oh no! Are you okay,” Alice, Lily and Marlene asked Neville. He just nodded, he was terrible at potions and over the years had gotten much better about dodging any disasters he caused when brewing. Now if he needed something brewed, he would ask Aurora or Draco.

“Idiot boy!” snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. “I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?”

“Don’t yell at him!” Lily yelled, finally having enough of how her former best friend was treating children that he was entrusted to teach. 

Severus just looked down in shame. He might not have wanted to be a teacher, but that was no excuse to treat a child this way. Potions was a volatile subject, but he also knew what it was like to be yet at all the time also.

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

“Take him up to the hospital wing,” Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Aurora and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

“You — Potter — why didn’t you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he’d make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That’s another point you’ve lost for Gryffindor.”

“Accio,” Aurora said, holding out her hand for James and Sirius’ wands that flew into her hands. “I said no cursing each other, you’ll get these back at lunch, and if you can behave yourselves I will let you keep them after.”

This was so unfair that Aurora opened her mouth to argue, but Ron kicked her behind their cauldron. She has been following his directions and looking at Malfoy’s potion when it happened, otherwise she would have helped Neville. She didn’t want to see her brother hurt.

“Don’t push it,” he muttered, “I’ve heard Snape can turn very nasty.”

As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Aurora’s mind was racing and her spirits were low. She’d lost two points for Gryffindor in her very first week —why did Snape hate him so much? 

“Two points are nothing,” Sirius joked. “I lost 10 points my first day for recreating the howler my mum sent me when I was sorted into Gryffindor.”

“And another 10 the next day, if I recall correctly, for the recreation of the one from your father,” McGonagall added.

“Well I just wanted to let the whole school know that I am not a typical Black.” McGonagall smiled at the boy.

“Cheer up,” said Ron, “Snape’s always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?”

“Sure but I’ll meet you there. I want to go check on Neville, make sure that he’s okay.” Ron nodded before the two friends went in different directions. Aurora only made one wrong turn on her way to the Hospital Wing, and ended up stumbling upon Cedric and Amice leaving their common room. They decided to join Aurora when they heard what happened to Neville during potions.

“I did wonder why they were with you.”

Madam Pomfrey was reluctant to let the three of them in to see Neville. It was only when Aurora called Neville her brother that she allowed them in for fifteen minutes.

Neville was covered in bandages, and squeaked when they walked in, trying to cover himself with his blankets.

Aurora threw herself at him, only to be stopped by Cedric grabbing her arm and whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine, to be careful.

“I really don’t want to hear this,” James shouted, covering his ears. Lily just laughed and pulled his hands down.

“She’s only eleven, nothing is going to happen,” Lily reassured.

“No that’s still a couple years away,” Neville and Ron joked, which caused Amos, Columba, James, Lily, Sirius and Fred to frown.

“What are you doing here?” Neville asked, confused.

“I came to make sure you were okay,” Aurora answered, climbing up onto the end of his bed.

“You guys really didn’t need to do that,” Neville exclaimed, seeming rather embarrassed.

“Of course I did, you’re my brother.”

“You’ll probably be in here a lot for me,” Neville said, blushing an even brighter red, “I’m really clumsy.”

“That’s okay,” Aurora said, trying to cheer him up. “I’ll end up in here eventually and I expect you to return the favor.”

“It’s true,” Neville said.

“Madame Pomfrey put a plaque over a bed proclaiming it as ‘Aurora Potter’s Corner - Reserved for Aurora Potter’,” Ron laughed.

Cedric growled at the idea of Aurora being hurt enough to be in the Hospital Wing, and put his arm around her shoulder, “Don’t think like that.”

“Yeah Ro,” Amice sighed, “you’ll be fine.”

“I’ve always hated how casually you talk about being hurt.”

Neville laughed when he saw the blush creepy up onto Aurora’s ears from Cedric’s arm.

The four of them talked for a while, Cedric giving Neville and Aurora pointers on how to avoid Professor Snape’s wrath, and offered to help them if they needed it, he was ok in potions but his friend Roger was the top of their year outside of Slytherin, who got special tutoring from Snape, in potions. 

Eventually Madame Pomfrey came and kicked the three visitors out.

Aurora invited Amice and Cedric to go to Hagrid’s with her and Ron. Only Amice said she would, Cedric was heading to the library before the detour to the hospital wing, as he had some homework to do. He hugged Amice, before placing a soft kiss on Aurora’s forehead, which made her sigh longingly as she watched him walk away.

Their parents once again frowned.

“He has a girlfriend you know,” Amice said, breaking Aurora out of her trance. 

“Then what is he doing messing around with Aurora,” Sirius shouted.

“He was drawn to her in a way that he wasn’t with Cho,” Amice explained. “He didn’t understand at first, and he tried to deny it for the longest time.”

Aurora shook her head negatively. She did not know that he had a girlfriend, and while part of her was heart broken, she vowed that she wouldn’t let it affect her friendship with the older boy, and that she would get over her silly little crush on one of her best friends' brothers.

“Oh,” Ron sighed, looking at Aurora and Fred.

At five to three Aurora, Ron and Amice left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When Aurora knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks.

Then Hagrid’s voice rang out, saying, “Back, Fang —back.”

Hagrid’s big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

“Hang on,” he said. “Back, Fang.”

He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

“That sounds rather cozy,” Regulus said. 

“Make yerselves at home,” said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

“It’s always the ones with the fierce names that are the softies,” Remus said. 

“You need to watch out for the ones that have the normal, cuddly, names,” Peter continued.

“Yeah, like Fluffy,” Ron, Hermione and Aurora laughed.

“This is Ron, and Amice,” Aurora told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

“Another Weasley, eh?” said Hagrid, glancing at Ron’s freckles. “I spent half me life chasin’ yer twin brothers away from the forest. And you look jus’ like yer brother Cedric.”

“We really don’t look that much alike,” Amice grumbled.

“Other than your hair color, yes you do,” Draco said.

“Your chin isn’t as square,” Luna added, causing all the time travelers to laugh.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Aurora and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons, while Amice claimed that she had a large lunch after seeing the other two struggle. Fang rested his head on Aurora’s knee and drooled all over her robes.

Aurora and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch “that old git.”

“An’ as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I’d like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D’yeh know, everytime I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can’t get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it.”

“Actually, Mrs. Norris follows him around because he’s soothing to animals,” Luna said. “He’s so kind to them.”

Aurora told Hagrid about Snape’s lesson. Hagrid, like Ron and Amice, told Aurora not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

“But he seemed to really hate me.”

“Rubbish!” said Hagrid. “Why should he?”

Yet Aurora couldn’t help thinking that Hagrid didn’t quite meet her eyes when he said that.

“He would know all about it,” Marlene and Lily said.

“How’s yer brother Charlie?” Hagrid asked Ron. “I liked him a lot — great with animals.”

Aurora wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie’s work with dragons, Aurora picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.

“But we’re not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what’s good for you,” said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon.

Aurora remembered Ron telling them on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn’t mentioned the date.

“Someone got that close to a vault?” Andromeda asked.

“They usually catch anyone stupid enough to try and break in long before they actually make it to the vault,” Narcissa added. The trio all laughed.

“Hagrid!” said Aurora, “that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might’ve been happening while we were there!”

There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn’t meet Aurora’s eyes this time. He grunted and offered her another rock cake. Aurora read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

Alastor, Amelia and Kingsley looked very impressed with Aurora’s deductive skills.

As the three of them walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they’d been too polite to refuse Amice taking extras to make up for not eating any earlier, Aurora thought that none of the lessons she’d had so far had given her as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn’t want to tell Aurora? 

“That’s the end of that chapter,” Alastor grunted. “And we old friend,” he said, looking at Dumbledore, “need to have a chat about your teachers and how they treat their students.”

Augusta just nodded her head, she would be joining that conversation. She was on the board of governors and would be keeping a closer eye on how the school was run from now on.

Aurora interrupted before they could talk more, “Let’s do one more chapter before lunch, and then you can have that conversation.”

Before anyone could offer, Fred said, “I want to read the next one.”