Chapter 6
The castle, though shook from the break in, rebounded quickly. The winter weather was beginning and snow had already blanketed the grounds the day of the first Hogsmeade trip.
Rebecca grinned at Harry, pulling her hat down enough that it covered the tops of her ears as the third years submitted their permission slips before the carriages left. Hermione had qualms about taking an entire day away from Buckbeak research, but Hagrid forbid them from missing Hogsmeade to work further.
Fred and George had been true to Fred's word, helping every opportunity they could. But they too were greatly anticipating showing their friends all around Hogsmeade.
Professor McGonagall tapped her wand to the stack of signed slips in her hand, frowning as one flew out. "Harry Potter?" Harry's head shot up. "Plagarised signatures do not grant access to Hogsmeade."
The class turned and watched as Harry stepped forward, McGonagall's rebuke entirely public. "But professor-"
"No 'buts.' You're lucky I don't assign detentions." Minerva looked over her glasses at him, silencing anymore reasons. It pained her to see him so deeply saddened, it really wasn't his fault, but she knew it would be easier to keep an eye on a single Potter than the two.
Besides, trouble truly did seem to seek them both out wherever they went.
Harry went back to Rebecca's side and Rebecca apologised instantly. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't think-I had no idea she'd charm-check them."
Harry shook his head. As sad as he was to not go to Hogsmeade, he couldn't have her be sad before she went. "How could you have? It's alright."
Hermione snorted, thinking he was joking. "How could you have known a professor at a school for magic would use magic? I don't know..." Her voice trailed away as Harry and Rebecca looked at her blankly, finding no humour in the situation.
"It's alright, Harry." Rebecca hurried, trying to think of a backup plan. "Maybe we can go play Quidditch. Oliver'll unlock the room if we tell him we'll train and-"
"Don't be mental. You've been going on about Zonko's for ages." Harry sighed, looking up to the castle. "I'll be fine. Probably start that Potions essay, take a trip up to see Hedwig, I'll be busy."
Harry and Rebecca went back and forth a few more times as he walked with the others to the carriages, she trying to convince him they could do something together and Harry trying to tell her she couldn't not go because of him.
"Bring me back some licorice wands and I'll hardly notice you were gone." Harry said at last, waving as Fred and George joined them. Only one carriage remained. "Go on, you don't want to be the last ones now."
Harry turned and left, not wanting to stand and watch them leave him.
Fred and George, in a moment of complete synchronicity, nodded to one another. They knew what they were going to do. "Stall two minutes, forgot something!"
Ron got into the last carriage, sitting down and sighing. Who knows what they forgot or how long it would take them to come back?
Hermione and Rebecca had no idea how to stall a carriage driver. Hermione sighed. "What does this do?"
Question after question, the driver answered. Just as he was to tell them that they needed to go if they were to go to Hogsmeade, Fred and George appeared and dove into the carriage with red-faces.
Ron snorted, raising his voice in a poor imitation of Hermione. "How many calories does the average horse need to pull a load of students? Two horses? How does inclimate weather factor into these figures?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, looking out the window after a cursory glance at Fred and George as they offered no explanation as to their delay. "At least I did something, Ronald."
George and Ron quickly launched into it, nearing shouting as Hermione tried not to laugh at some of their more absurd points.
Rebecca looked over Fred and saw nothing overtly different. "What did you forget?"
Fred shrugged, feigning innocence poorly. "Forgot."
Rebecca's suspicions climbed, but she was too cold too argue with them. Hermione pulled a pair of gloves--Rebecca's gloves--out of her bag and tossed them to her. "Do you make it a habit to carry around my wardrobe?" Rebecca asked with a grateful tease.
Hermione sighed. "Rebecca, you could be cold on a shady summer day. I simply know you by now."
The others nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.
"You know what this is?" Rebecca asked, pulling the gloves on. "Teaming up. It's cruel."
"Come now, don't be cross!" George insisted, looking out the window as they came to a stop. "We're here! Hogsmeade!"
The carriage driver eyed them as they exited, rushing the horses onwards before any of them had the opportunity to ask questions. Fred and George checked the time on the clock in the square they arrived in, excusing themselves. "We've got...somewhere to stop first. Honeyduke's is around the corner to your left, we'll meet you outside there in a bit. Don't go to Zonko's yet, we're saving that for last."
In a flash, they were hurrying out of the square. "What's with them?" Rebecca asked.
"Who knows." Ron answered flatly. "Let's go, I can already smell the chocolate!"
Rebecca and Hermione found themselves near dragged to the doors of the sweet shop. Rebecca's hesitation to dive into Hogsmeade near-contagious cheer was all the much harder inside the warm, overwhelmingly filled store.
Aisle after aisle of every sweet imaginable seemed to exist, chocolate covered everythings and toffee laden all-of-thats. While Ron made a direct route to the chocolate frogs and Hermione eyes the sugar quills, Rebecca wandered to the licorice wands and grabbed a few.
She whirled around at the brushing of something against her arm, but found only an empty row. Thoroughly creeped out, Rebecca began to traverse the other students towards the clerk. Ron held his bag up above his head, clearly excited while Hermione next to him seemed less so.
"We're stepping outside, if that's alright. Not all of us like being roasted you know."
Rebecca gave Hermione a cheeky 'ha ha' and shooed them towards the door. The queue for the till was only a few students long and the displays along the sides were intriguing. Rebecca found her eyes especially caught by the 'Dragon Scales.'
Pearly white in colour and scaled like their namesake, the sign said they would give the eater the ability to breathe fire and roar momentarily. They were something she thought Hagrid would enjoy and she put them onto the counter with Harry's licorice.
Hagrid was having such an awful time of it and Harry had been left behind. Rebecca hoped that the sweets would cheer them up, if only a little and for a little while. Hagrid felt as if he wasn't doing as much as he could for Buckbeak's defense, but the books she and Hermione were pouring over were unintelligible to Hagrid.
Rebecca found herself thinking about Buckbeak's defense as she stepped back out into the wind, wondering if she should have stayed back at the castle and insisted that more research be done. The weeks were winding down and she and the Weasleys would be leaving for Christmas at the Burrow shortly.
Fred and George's reappearance were pleasant enough to sent away the guilty thoughts and she found her usual spot of between them vacated as she joined their little group.
"'Twas a good idea, brother!" George cried out in a posh accent.
"No, fair brother! 'Twas a brilliant idea!" Fred replied, offering Hermione and Ron a little bow.
"What was a brilliant idea?" Rebecca asked.
Fred whirled around, his voice cracking. "No-nothing." George cleared his throat and gave Fred a look, causing Fred to elaborate. "Nothing besides...this." He waved his hand out to showcase the nothing in the middle of them all.
"You made a prank involving air?" Rebecca asked confused.
"Not quite." Harry's voice startled her, but not so much as his head appearing for a second. "A little more than air."
Rebecca gasped, stopping herself from hugging the invisible-again Harry. "How on Earth did you two do this? Filch was watching the exit!"
George crossed his arms, buffing his nails on his coat. "Who said he used that exit?"
Harry peeked out again, nodding madly. "Wait until I show you later! It's absolutely mental!"
Hermione frowned, looking over her shoulder warily. "I said it already, but it needs to be said again. With Sirius Black running around no one, especially one of you two, should be out unallowed."
Harry sighed, looking out from under the cloak one more time so that she could see he truly was apologetic. "I understand that Hermione. But, unless you have a way to go back in time, I'm here for the time being." Hermione paled and didn't say another word, looking past Harry to the sign for the Leaky Cauldron down the road. Harry followed Hermione's gaze and smiled. "Can I buy you a butterbeer to warm your bend-a-rule bone?"
Hermione looked at them all in turn, finding far too much pressure put onto whether or not she would accept that they were bound and determined to get themselves expelled before they graduated. "If you insist. It's probably smart. Rebecca's lips are turning blue."
Fred leaned down, nodding. "Yeah, let's go warm up before we have an ice lolly."
"I'd be the lolly, yeah?" Rebecca and the others began to trudge their way through the mostly-cleared-but-not-quite street.
"Obviously." Ron quipped, falling into her trap.
"Because I'm so cool?" Rebecca snorted, cracking up at her own pun while the others mimed that they were dying in various, dramatic ways.
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Finding a table inside had been easy enough, they needed one out of the way to hide Harry and the corners of the shop were fairly empty.
Fred and George returned from the banter of the shop owner--Madam Rosmerta--with butterbeers for them all and Harry was delighted to find the drink as delicious as they had told them it would be.
Rebecca was simply happy it was warm.
Fred and George slid into the booth around their friends and laughed, they were all quickly joking over one another.
Hermione looked out over the rest of the shop, her smile falling flat. "Under the cloak, Harry. Now!"
Professor Lupin paused at the head of their table, looking over their clearly-hiding-something faces. "Hello there. We are behaving, aren't we?"
"Oh yes, professor." Fred fibbed easily, nonchalantly.
"We aren't known to misbehave, are we?" George added on with an innocent shrug.
Lupin chuckled, going to say something more. Professor McGonagall stopped behind him though, putting a hand on his back. "Let me buy you a drink, Remus." Something in her voice betrayed a deeper meaning.
"Have a good day now, children." Professor Lupin gave them a final smile before stopping at the bar and hurrying to catch back up with McGonagall who was not, in fact, buying him a drink. Instead, she was leading him to the upstairs room.
Harry winced apologetically, knowing what he was going to do was not what they would want him to. "Sorry."
"Harry? Harry, don't you-" Hermione went silent as they all felt Harry crawl out from under the table under the cloak. "You know, I wonder sometimes if you two aim to cause me grief."
Rebecca scowled. "I can start trying, if you want." Hermione's immediate looking to Rebecca caused the rest of them to laugh uneasily. "I'm drinking his butterbeer." Rebecca declared, sliding it in front of her. "The nosy shite."
"I'm sure it'll be okay." Fred said as the minutes passed. "Let's move towards the door slowly, he'll see that we're leaving wherever he is."
Rebecca only nodded, confused as to what they could be talking about that would take this long.
But then they saw how a student at the bottom of the stairs was thrown aside, shoved by an invisible force. The path of falling people continued to the door which was thrown open roughly, blamed on a gust of wind.
"Excuse me." Rebecca rushed after him, apologising. "Sorry, excuse me!"
There was only one pair of footsteps being left as Harry ducked through an alley and stopped at the end, finding a secluded part of Hogsmeade to mourn. Rebecca followed the sound of his crying, crouching lower towards where she thought he was.
Hermione and Ron were behind her, Fred and George lingering by the back in case they needed to dissuade anyone's entrance.
"Harry, what happened?" Rebecca felt relief as Harry pulled the cloak off.
Harry's cheeks were streaked with tears, his voice heavy. "He was their friend! He was their friend and he betrayed them."
"Who?"
Harry snapped at her. "Sirius Black! It's why he's after us!"
"I don't think-"
"Why aren't you angry?" Harry demanded, standing and wiping his tears with his shoulder. "He-He murdered them just as much as Voldemort did!"
Rebecca looked down, taking a slow breath. "I am angry, Harry. Don't think for a second I'm not. James and Lily's-"
"You can't even call them mum and dad!" Exasperation entered Harry's voice, then fury. "How could I possibly think you would care?" Harry threw the cloak back over him and stormed away. He had sat and listened to a story about a murder of a boy and a crowd of muggles after hearing the rehash of his family's destruction. Directing it all onto a singular person was so much easier than facing the magnitude of it all.
"We'll go that way, after him. Looks like he's headed for the Shrieking Shack. You go on." Hermione sighed as Ron squeaked.
"The Shrieking Shack?"
"It's alright, I'll protect you from all the ghosties." Hermione stopped teasing and grew somber. "He didn't mean it, any of it. Know that."
"I do." Rebecca swallowed, forcing the growing lump at the bottom of her throat away. "I should come with you."
"Go to Zonko's!" Hermione said, shooing her back. "We'll meet back at the castle, our time's almost up anyway."
Ron waved forlornly as Hermione dragged him after Harry, wondering how he managed to get stuck in the group going to the most haunted building in all of Britain when the other was going to a joke shop.
Fred and George took their customary positions of either side of Rebecca, both linking their hands through hers and trying to draw her back up into the spirits of before. "Y'alright?" George asked.
"I'm fine." George didn't look away though, and Fred tightened his hold on her hand. "I'm serious, George." She forced a laugh, albeit phony. "Let's go on, to Zonko's."
George looked at her a moment longer, his eyes wide. "Good. You're not allowed to be upset."
Fred continued, nodding. "It's against the law to enter a prank shop upset."
Rebecca found their play contagious and she held their hands tightly, trying to tell them that she was thankful for them. "Really? And what's the punishment for something like that?"
Fred shrugged. "I think it's to be pranked until the end of time, but I'm not entirely sure. Never done the crime."
"That sounds horrible!" Rebecca gasped in mock-shock. "Guess I'd better put on my happy face."
George nodded, giving Fred a look. They had separated earlier because Fred was afraid of scaring Rebecca off if they were to tell her about their idea. George, however, was convinced that it was utter genius and they needed her in on it as soon as possible.
"We've actually been meaning to talk to you." George started, giving Fred a pointed look. "About something important."
"Potentially important." Fred amended, steering them to the side of the walkway before Zonko's. "It very well could be not important, too."
George carried on, leading Fred to the actual point. "You know how we revise our pranks, right? Change bits about them, make them bigger or faster."
"Yeah, we make them better." Rebecca looked between them carefully. "Why?" She wondered if she had done something wrong, edited a prank too much or not enough or-
"We want to start making our own pranks." Fred said. "But the two of us alone can't do it."
"Not good enough, at least." George sighed. "We need another person. The two of us won't cut it."
"You want me to help you two make pranks?" Rebecca clarified, feeling a rush of relief. "Bloody hell, I thought something was wrong you prats!"
"What could have been wrong?" Fred asked curiously, wondering if she voiced this fear of hers that it would lessen it.
"Nothing." Rebecca looked over the entrance to Zonko's, ready to explore inside. "Are you ready?"
"If you are." George frowned at the building. "We'd never do this."
"Do what?"
Fred waved to the plainness of the building. "This! A prank shop should be as thrilling as a prank itself!"
Rebecca laughed. "You guys are prank shop snobs!"
Fred threw the door open to reveal a bustling store inside. "Lee!" George shouted, dragging all of them over the other boy.
Rebecca looked to the display next to them, letting their conversation fall to the background. On the shelf was a parchment and an opened wrong-word-writer. Rebecca picked the quill up and wrote out the letters for 'something.'
'Nothing' appeared.
She tried another, grinning as it worked again. Harmless in practise but potentially infuriating if slipped into one's bag by accident.
"You know," Fred leaned down closer to her to not interrupt George who was lost on a tangent. "There's a lot more than this in here. I'll show you around, they're bound to go nag Zonko in a few anyway."
Rebecca followed Fred and tried to look at everything, each aisle teasing near endless pranks.
"This here's the sweets, but you should probably stick to Honeyduke's." Fred pointed to the squirming chocolate bugs before guiding her attention up to the Acid Pops. "George and I slipped one of those to Ron when we were little, mum nearly killed us."
"I'm certain it would have been deserved." Rebecca teased and followed, Fred acting the perfect guide.
"This is the school-related stuff." Fred tallied things off. "Enchanted quills, enchanted parchment, fake Howlers, the like."
Rebecca liked the little shelf at the bottom, things going out of style. There was a bag of what looked like marbles, though the tag labelled them as Ice-Makers. When dropped, a square meter of ice was supposed to appear.
They were last on the shelf and Rebecca decided that they were to be her purchase of the trip. Fred sighed as they found Lee and George hassling Zonko at the till.
"You don't have anything new?" George wheedled. "Anything at all?"
The man behind the register was old, so old his mustache was white as the snow outside. It was long, too. He winked and tallied up her purchase. "I'm glad to see those going! I thought for sure they'd melt on the shelf."
"They'll be put to good use." Rebecca wasn't sure what yet, but good use was always a goal. "Thank you."
Zonko slid back the change and held her bag out. "Happy pranking, troublesome lot."
Fred paused at the door, George stopping to do the once-over of the store that he had missed out on in his badgering. "Got your cap?"
"Yeah, never took it off." Rebecca smiled, looking up at him. "Thank you by the way."
"For what?" Fred asked, reaching down and straightening her hat. "For showing you Zonko's?"
"Sure." Rebecca slipped the Ice-Makers into one of the pockets in her coat and faced the outside gravely. "Let's see if we can make it back to the carriages without freezing, yeah?"
"An aspiration!" Fred eyed the darkening sky. "It looks like it's to snow again."
"Good to go." George panted, abandoning Lee who was now trying to strike a bargain. "Let's peek down towards the Shrieking Shack, make sure the others made it back alright."
"It's on the way, at least." Fred was seriously considering the chances of the snow starting before they made it to the carriage and the danger that would pose if it were to fall as heavily as it had been. "Quickly, George. No stopping to look or to-"
"Yes, yes!" George shrugged his twin's concerns off, giving Rebecca a look as if Fred were truly mental. "He worries so much! Can you believe we're twins?"
"Oh yes." Rebecca laughed, linking her arms through theirs. "I believe it."
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Fred looked up in alarm as the clearing before the Shrieking Shack's viewing area, voices flooding out from it. "Is that-"
"Son of a bitch." Rebecca muttered, tearing her arms from theirs and marching forward. "Back off, Malfoy!"
"Oh good, Saint Potter is here!" Draco scowled, caught harassing Hermione and Ron.
Crabbe and Goyle were there two, snowballs in hand that they quickly launched towards Rebecca, Fred, and George. Hermione and Ron were already covered.
Harry moved, the distraction of their arrival giving him the opportunity he needed. Crabbe and Goyle's trousers were around their ankles and Malfoy got shoved backwards, hard.
"It's the Shack!" Goyle screamed, pulling his clothes back on and running away the best he could. "The ghosts!"
"Yeah they are!" Ron shouted, throwing a final snowball at their retreating figures and missing.
Draco stopped and turned back to them, sure to say something horrible. Rebecca bent down and made a snowball quickly, holding it threateningly. "Go on, say it!"
He sneered and turned back around.
Rebecca threw the snowball anyway, hitting him in the back of the head despite the fact that she was far farther than Ron had been.
"Damn, there's a reason you're a chaser!" George said in awe.
"T-That was impressive." Fred managed, clearing his throat. "Where did he go, Hermione?"
"Harry?" Hermione clarified and looked to Rebecca who had moved to the fence between them and the Shrieking Shack. "He had to go to make it back to the castle. He wouldn't say anything other than for you to go to the Common Room tonight at midnight."
Rebecca nodded so that Hermione knew she had heard, but said nothing else. She was too stuck on the sight of the leaning, aged building in the distance. It didn't look like the 'most haunted building in Britain.' The most sad, maybe.
"Back to the carriages, yeah?" Fred asked, putting his arm through hers again. Neither of them noticed how George did not, they were too busy chatting.
"How was Zonko's?" Hermione asked.
"Good." George glanced over, raising an eyebrow. He may have said more, if he hadn't looked past Hermione and saw Ron picking his nose. "Ronald! You're giving us a bad name!"
"What?!" Ron asked, jumping and blushing. He hadn't thought anyone would notice. "Just walk, George!"
Rebecca and Fred turned the corner ahead, oblivious to the antics of those behind them. "Ready for supper?"
"Definitely." Rebecca took the liberty of steering them to a different carriage than then had arrived in. "I wish the castle wasn't so far, I'm knackered. What a day."
"Would you have changed anything?" Fred asked, reaching forward and emptying her hood of snow with a smile.
"About today?" Rebecca shrugged noncommittally, climbing into the carriage as the others reached them. She yawned, finding the warmth of the carriage intoxicatingly comfortable compared to the near-constant chill outside had brought them.
They had hardly gotten settled when the carriage took off, slowly bobbing from side to side as the wind began to pick up. They were silent, but not uncomfortably so.
They were all just tired.
Fred chuckled as Rebecca's head dropped yet again, the movement startling her awake only to do it again. "You can close your eyes, we'll wake you when we get there."
"I'm not tired." Rebecca sat back against the bench, looking up at him with a caught smile as he gave her a look to say he knew. "For a little while then." Fred swore his heart stopped when she leaned against him, though he was certain of it when she opened her eyes again a moment later. "This alright?"
"'course." Fred managed, looking ahead while Rebecca closed her eyes again.
Hermione and Ron were looking out the windows, deep in their own thoughts while George leaned forward to look around Rebecca--who was between them--and struggled not to laugh at Fred's face. "What is the matter? You look like you're going to cry!"
"I am not!" Fred hissed. He was begging, pleading, praying Rebecca was asleep. "She's going to hear my heart, George! Oh Merlin, this is-"
"Are you kidding me?" George went to give Hermione a look of disbelief that he knew she would have returned, but she hadn't noticed the interaction at all. "Fred, she's not going to hear it. Take a breath and calm yourself before you pop a blood vessel. Bloody hell, you're mental!"
Fred looked out the window, wondering if he tried hard enough if he could disappear. Taking a slow breath, Fred steeled himself and loosened the arm underneath Rebecca enough to come out and drape over her shoulders lightly. She was warm, and still.
And, soon enough, he was as asleep as she was.
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"Up!" Professor McGonagall shouted, clapping her hands. "Up! Dinner has started, get or wait for breakfast!" She had gone to the last carriage, the one where no students had moved to exit. Therein she found them all sleeping soundly, exhausted from their outing.
Hermione and Ron were identical with their heads against the back of the seats. George was slumped to the side, his head resting on Rebecca's arm. Fred and Rebecca were more entwined than not. He had his arm around her shoulders and her head rest against his chest.
"Don't make me start deducting points!" McGonagall added, startling them to move faster than the sleepy stumbling they had been. Fred and Rebecca launched apart, keeping a distance between them as they walked up to the castle with the others.
Hermione and George sniggered at their behaviour. Ron was more concerned with which soups would be at dinner and, as an additional explanation for his detachment, couldn't care less about Hermione and George's gossiping.
Rebecca fumbled around her pockets, waving as she saw exactly who she was hoping to. "Hagrid!"
"Who's that callin' me?" Hagrid teased. "There's no student in all that coat!"
Rebecca laughed, pulling her hood off and finding the treat she had found for him. "I found these today, thought you'd like them."
Hagrid took the Dragon Scales and sniffed. "Like Norbert."
"Exactly." Rebecca hugged him tightly.
Hagrid stood back up and wiped his nose sheepishly, offering her a little smile. "Go on then, get something warm."
"Good night, Hagrid." Rebecca waved and continued to the Great Hall. The fires were roaring and the hall was awash with conversation and laughter. There were only a few weeks until the holidays and happiness was layered in the air that evening.
Though she still couldn't look at Fred without feeling her face warm embarrassingly, the peace continued with their friends up to the common room. Rebecca pulled the law book she had been struggling though out and opened it to where she and Hermione had gotten, the two of them beginning to work.
Ron took out the Wizarding Chess and asked George. George laughed, shaking his head and settling back onto the couch in front of the fire he and Fred were lounging on. Fred reacted similarly, though he at least offered an explanation. "I don't want to have my arse beat, Ron. Go ask Harry!"
"I can't."
Rebecca looked up, something catching her attention in Ron's tone. "Why not?"
Ron looked down at the board. "He's...busy."
"With what?" Rebecca made a face. "Oh, okay. Never mind. Bloody hell, give an excuse at least!"
Ron's face was as red as his hair. "No! He's not-He's crying." He said quickly.
Rebecca stood up. Hermione took note where Rebecca left off and moved so she could step away from the chair for one they two had been on. "Since we got back?"
Ron shrugged. "At least since supper."
"Oh my god, Ron! What the hell!" Rebecca took the stairs two at a time, not pausing in case there was a charm like there was on the girls'. Luckily, there wasn't. The doors were labelled, like they were down the girls' hall, but with far more boys per room.
Finding Harry's name, he shared with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Rebecca only shared with Hermione and Ginny and that was just since this year. One of those strange thoughts that only occur to you outside of an appropriate moment was that maybe Hogwarts had learned that there are less fights if less girls are in one room.
"Harry?" Rebecca knocked and opened the door, not waiting for an answer. There room was messy, that was clear. Rebecca ignored that for the most part, stepping around the piles of laundry and various school things, to get to Harry's bed where he lay with his back to the door. His shoulders shook intermittently, his sniffles audible. "Harry, can I come in?"
Harry didn't answer, but he did move so that there was enough room on his bed for her. Room she filled in immediately. Rebecca lay her head on top of his, letting her arm drape over his chest and rub his shoulder soothingly. Eventually, his sniffles stopped and he closed his eyes and turned into her. Holding her tightly, speaking into the crook of her neck, he began to apologise.
"I'm so sorry I shouted at you. I-I'm sorry I said that, said that you didn't care about them."
Rebecca shook her head, using her sleeve to wipe a tear making its way down towards his jaw. "You were upset. Did you mean it?"
"Of course not." Harry felt the tears well in his eyes again and he fought to keep them from spilling. "I know that you didn't know about them. James and Lily. I have had my whole life to mourn them, to think about them, to miss them. You've only had a few years."
"I knew that you knew that." Rebecca took a shaky breath. "I don't think they would have liked me, either. That's another reason why I can't call them 'mum' and 'dad.'"
Harry's head shot up and his mouth fell open though he was speechless.
"Don't look at me like that, Harry." Rebecca lowered her voice, bringing him back into a hug. "We've both dealt with things we shouldn't have." That was all she would offer on the subject, unable to open up anymore without losing herself completely.
"They would have loved you." Harry whispered, not saying anything about the tears that escaped her eyes--The tears she wiped away immediately. "I love you."
"I know you do." Rebecca kissed his forehead. "I love you, too. I got something for you while we were out." She sat up and rummaged through one pocket and then another.
"You and Hagrid must do your shopping together." Harry smiled, offering a tease of normalcy.
"Shut it." Rebecca found the licorice wands and held them out with a grin, taking one back. "But now you have to share, since you went anyway."
"I want to show you how." Harry reached under his pillow and pulled out the tattered old piece of parchment.
"That's a really nice piece of parchment, Harry."
"Watch." Harry held his wand to the paper. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Red swirls grew along the edges of the parchment, shapes growing more and more clear until the castle was there with names moving about. Rebecca sat up straighter, holding her hands out for the map.
"Where did you get this?" Rebecca traced her fingers over it, recognising the names.
"Fred and George." Harry said quietly, watching as she unfolded it and oriented herself with it. "They gave it to me so I could take one of the hidden passageways with the cloak. I would have sat about all day if it weren't for them."
Rebecca blushed and turned to another section of the map as she caught sight of Sam and Oliver in the broom closet together alone.
"I..." Harry wondered if he was overstepping his bounds. "I like that you three are all friends."
Rebecca folded the map back up, nodding. Harry let what he wanted to say fade away. It wasn't the time, and he didn't want to scare her away when he had already made such a fool of himself. "You have to tell the map 'mischief managed' when you're through. The map will hide itself again."
Rebecca did as he said, standing back up. "I like Fred and George, too."
Harry held the map out to her. "You keep it for now. I'll keep the cloak and you can have the map. No trouble without the other."
"Harry," Rebecca grinned cheekily. "There's never trouble without me. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"
Harry nodded, laughing to himself. He didn't want to see the others, not when until the morning when it would be a new day.
Rebecca whacked Ron up the head as she walked back to her seat next to Hermione. "That should have been shared earlier!"
"Ow!" Ron rubbed the back of his head dramatically. "You ought to be more careful! You're stronger than you look--You'll take my head off next time!"
Rebecca looked at him in mock-testiness. "Are you saying I look weak?"
Ron shook his head immediately. "No! Not at all!"
Ginny snorted, looking up from where she was sitting with a second year. "Geesh Ron, where's the white flag?"
A course of laughter went up through them, laughter Ron joined in on. They spent the evening together and stayed up later than they should have.
But the good feelings were just too enticing.
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<3