AN: I'm so sorry for the four months of silence. I really wanted to go over the previous chapters and revise everything so that it won't get deleted. I also had all of this college planning to get through and deadlines to do! I'm also trying to get a hand back in my original writing, which seems to be going nowhere again.

You might have also noticed that I'm doing some heavy revisions on this. Extra details have been added and some scenes have been altered.

Feel free to check out my tumblr: Zadi-Zadi-Zadi

Thanks to everyone that has left reviews, faved, and/or alerted to this (a big one to RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley for inspiring a part!). It does mean a lot that people are reading this. Feel free to let me know what you guys like so far or what you're looking forward to.

Happy holidays/Festivus/Christmas/very belated Hanukah!

Disclaimer: Just because JK Rowling used a pseudonym doesn't mean that I'm her. Bloomsbury and Warner Bros makes sure of that.

Title: Sun in its Flight: Prisoner of Azkaban: Diagon Alley and the Firebolt

Words: 6K

Summary: The Girl-Who-Lived, the smartest wizard of his age, and the second youngest girl of seven. What could possibly go wrong at Hogwarts? A take on seven years with a gender-bended cast with canon ships, too.

Is the dog dead?

That was the first thought that rattled through Halley's mind. She had landed on her back, her vision blurry from her glasses falling off her face. This was a fantastic way for her evening to end: getting in big trouble with the Ministry, blowing up her aunt Marge, and now a possible dead dog on her hands. She wasn't even looking for trouble, but it was like a demented owl and it found her anyway.

"'Ere yeh go, miz," a voice said, handing Halley her glasses. "Yeh okay?"

A pimply and pallid face of a young wizard swam in front of her vision. Her was wearing a purple uniform that had the same shade as Dumbledore's favourite pair of robes. "M'alright," she mumbled. Looking around, she raised her lit wand. "Where's the dog?"

"Yeh got a dog?" the wizard asked. "Thatta costs extra for you lot to travel on the Knight Bus, yeh know."

Extra? Halley thought. She looked beyond him and gaped at a violently purple double-decker bus. "Oh," she said, now understanding what was going on. "Extra."

She had a bus. As useful as this was she had no clue where to go next. The Burrow was out of question because they were still in Egypt, and she didn't wanted to get them in trouble thanks to her. Not when things were turning out all right for them. That was the same for Hector who was at France. Hogwarts was also out of the question. This only meant…

"Can I go to the Leaky Cauldron?" she croaked. She briefly recalled something from Rory's latest letter. "I'm meeting some friends there soon."

Halley soon found out some extraordinary facts about the Knight Bus: one was that it had rather nice hot chocolate; only wizards could summon, and she had done it unintentionally with her wand; it could go anywhere in Wizarding Britain; and it was on par with using the Floo.

Quickly forgetting about the dog, her newest concern was now keeping her dinner in her stomach.

Her nerves were already unsettled with what happened at the Dursleys, and now the way that the bus was moving wasn't kind to her stomach at all. Each new BANG had brought a new wave of nausea that she didn't like. The bed that she was on would bounce around the inside of the bus, making narrow misses of certain deaths by a flying chair or a seat cushion or a tea cosy.

"Don't yeh worry," the conductor said. He was causally holding onto a poll for support. "It takes a special kinda nerve for this job. What'cha gotta worry 'bout nowadays is Sirius Black, girlie."

Halley looked up. The image of the crazed-eyed man flashed through her mind. That didn't sound right. She had seen him on the telly "What? I thought he was a mad muggle?"

"Don't you scare the girl!" the driver said firmly. "Stan, you already scared off a family today. I don't wanna lose anymore paying customers."

"Public s'got a right to be 'fraid," Stan argued. "The madman escaped from Azkaban!"

That was when a timely crack of thunder filled the air.

Then Halley had to ask. "What's Azkaban?"

The next terrifying moment of her night was seeing the Minister of Magic outside of the entrance for the Leaky Cauldron. He was a short and almost pudgy wizard, and was one of the few that could probably pass as a muggle even for his love of plume purple and olive green attire.

"Miss Potter!" he said cheerfully. He took off his hat and bent at the waist. "Such an honour to finally meet you."

"Yeh're not Nellie Longbottom?" Stan asked her.

There was no use denying anything at this rate. Halley moved her fringe and showed him the scar. "Sorry," she said.

"Oi! Ernie!" Stan hollered to the driver. "The girlie's Potter! That'll do us good for business!"

The Minister of Magic guided Halley inside the Leaky Cauldron as she forlornly watched the Knight Bus leave with a bang. Now she was alone on the threshold to the Wizarding World with the one wizard that could determine her fate.

It wasn't a pleasant thought.

Her trunk and owl cage were brought inside and she was led to a private parlour. It looked a tad more cheerful than the interior of the pub with the soft cushions and a roaring fire; but Halley was more worried about her inevitable fate than to admire the decorating. A tea set was laid out between her and the Minister and the smell of freshly made biscuits made her rolling stomach growl.

The Minister sat down at the opposite seat and held the steaming kettle up. "Would you care for a cup, Miss Potter?"

Halley wasn't expecting that. "Aren't I'm in trouble?" she asked. "I broke the law—"

The Minister held his hands up, pausing her. "Let us start at the beginning, shall we? I am Minister Fudge, and I am here to tell you that you are not in any trouble. But you did gave us quite a fright when you ran off." He poured her a cup of tea. "Cream or sugar?"

Halley was suddenly hard of hearing. All of her fears vanished and she almost couldn't believe it. She was going back to Hogwarts! "But I did accidental magic," she admitted in a soft voice. "There's an entire Statue about the underage doing magic." The cup of tea that was dissolving the large lump of sugar shook in her hands.

"Circumstances, dear," the Minister said. He took his bowler hat off to reveal a shiny bald spot. He drummed his fingers on the rim and stared into the fire behind her. "Accidents happen and we, the Ministry, acknowledge that."

"But what about last year? I got an official warning then, too."

"You're surely not going to go take a long trip to Azkaban for levitating pudding and making family members float," he scoffed. "Do you wish to be expelled?" He looked at her scar as he said that.

Dumbfounded, Halley shook her head no. Why would she want to be expelled from a place that she thought of as another home? The thought of being away from that, her wand snapped and stuck at the Dursleys seemed like a very special part of Hell to her.

"Now have a biscuit and some tea." The Minister stood up and put his bowler hat back on his head. "It would be the best of interest of you shall stay the rest of your summer holiday here in Diagon Alley. Yes, Tom shall keep an eye on you, so be back before nightfall…I should go get that room ready for you, Miss Potter…"

Life in Diagon Alley was surreal.

It took her a few days to make use of her new surroundings. Her newfound freedom was almost frightening, and almost made her wonder if this what her life would be like when she would get older. The magical area was a whirlwind of fascinating colours, fellow magical people, and rift with activities of all kind. She was so swept up that she almost forgot to finish the rest of her summer homework, and getting her new school things for the upcoming term.

(During the mad rush to get her supplies, she had tripped over an invisible stack of books, her copy of The Monster Book of Monsters almost ate her new school robes, and Hedwig attempted to steal her potion ingredients.)

Within the last week she was overjoyed to finally catch up with the Weasleys. She had woken up one morning and there they were in the pub. Rory had gotten taller and more freckled, and Hector was there with his family and also gotten taller and more tanned. They waved her over and Halley gleefully joined her two dearest friends for breakfast.

The twins ruffled her hair. "Look at this, Felicity!" said Georgia. "It's the mysterious Potter. We have found this strange and magical creature at last!"

"Good for us," agreed Georgia. "Here we thought that we were going to look at the popular spots for a Potter—like a Quidditch store or an ice cream place."

Halley laughed and greeted Rory with a hug. "When did you guys get here?" She found herself having to look up in able to speak to her best friend.

"Late last night," Rory yawned. She covered her mouth with a very freckled hand. "Three international portkeys and a time change or two."

"Just in time for school." Hector joined in and gave Halley an one-armed hug. "How long do you think it's going to take her to fall asleep in class?"

They all sat down at a large table and made a good commotion of enjoying the company. Rory and Hector barely took time taking turns with sharing stories about their holiday: Hector told them all about the Eiffel Tower and the museums, while Rory would but in with something about the pyramids and family antics. Both had fascinating stories to tell, and she wished that she could have been there with them. It sounded wonderful to be exploring pyramids under the Egyptian sun, and seeing all of Paris at the Eiffel Tower.

"So I take it that you've heard what happened to me?" Halley said. She passed a plate of sausages over to Priscilla (who was busy reading a book about Hogwarts' prefects).

"Dad found out first. Can you do the same to my great-aunt?" Rory asked. She grinned over the brim of her hot chocolate.

"Aurora!" reprimanded Mrs Weasley from across the table.

"What, Mum?" Rory rolled her eyes. She almost knocked over a pitcher of lemonade when reaching for her second cup of hot chocolate. "They got Halley's aunt back together again. And it wouldn't hurt old Muriel some sight-seeing, anyway." She mumbled the rest: "The old bat needs it."

"I still can't believe you did it," Hector said. "You blew up your own aunt."

"You had to be there," Halley said. She frowned at the memory and the words that were said about her parents. About her mum. "She was awful."

"Have you got all of your shopping done?" Mrs Weasley asked. "Rory will be needing new robes, and poor Scabbers has been feeling poorly. Perhaps you should go to an apothecary, dear?"

"Mum and Dad thinks he picked something up from Egypt," Rory explained. She looked down at her plate of eggs. For once she seemed uninterested in her food. "He hasn't been feeling so well."

"We can stop by the Magical Menagerie," Hector said. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Mum and Dad gave me some money for an early birthday present. I would love to get a pet."

"His cat's a menace."

"Rory."

"It is!" Rory insisted. She had her hands on her hips and scowled. Personally, Halley thought that she looked a lot like Mrs Weasley, but she wasn't going to mention that. Rory cupped Scabbers protectively and kissed the top of the rat's shaking head. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the mean fuzz ball."

"I'm sure Hector will get his cat under control," said Halley. He was scratching his cat behind the ear. Hector was smart. He knew his much Rory really cared for Scabbers despite the complaints.

"Is everything all right, dears?" Mrs Weasley asked. She and Gabriel appeared from a crowd holding stacks of books. The boy gave her a shy smile and ducked his face behind the new copies transfiguration textbooks. It made it hard to return the smile when he was hiding his face.

"Fine, Mum," Rory said. "The shopkeeper gave Scabbers some tonic that can help. Hector got a cat."

"Is that so?" Mrs Weasley turned to Hector. "Did you gave him a name?"

"Crookshanks," he said proudly. "Isn't he handsome? The witch there said no one wanted him. Poor thing." The poor thing made a hissing noise from Hector's arms, and his orange eyes were bugging out from his squished face. Halley could start to see why no one wanted the cat to begin with. She wasn't feeling many warm feelings to it either. Why couldn't Hector had gotten an owl or a nicer cat that wasn't looking hungrily at Scabbers?

"I wonder why…" Rory's mumble was loud. Hector glared at her. Halley sincerely hoped that the two won't start of the school year mad at each other. That would be an absolutely horrible way for her year to begin with her two best friends not talking to each other.

"Has anyone seen the new broom yet?" Halley asked loudly. "Real amazing, isn't?"

"Yeah!" Gabriel piped up suddenly. His face could be seen now above the stack of schoolbooks. His voice was energised and Halley thought that it was the first time that she had seen him light up about something. "150 miles per hour—fastest broom in the world. The wood that they used is made for hard contact, and the bristles are charmed to withhold anything. I heard that the Bulgarian League has already…" His voice quieted when he saw that all eyes were on him. He ducked his head again. "It's a good broom," he said in a somewhat muffled voice.

Rory and Hector were giving each other looks, but they had stopped their arguing for now. They angled their pets away from each other and their voices released some of the beginning tension of an argument.

"I would love to take a look," Rory said cagily.

"I wouldn't mind either," Hector agreed. "The charms work on these brooms must be impressive to look at."

Halley sat cross-legged on Rory's bed and admired the pictures that were spread out before her. The lack of colour on the photos only hindered the majestic view of the pyramids and how the sun would set below the sand dunes. Halley traced Rory's laughing face in the picture of her with her family. "These are fantastic.

"I wish you were there with us," Rory said. "You especially would have loved these tombs." She showed Halley the pictures of a dark network of room with shadows covering statues and skeletons. "The cursed stuff's really something, but Mum wouldn't let Gabriel go inside them to see the three heads or the rib cages that were pushed out." She mimicked the motion with her hands.

"How is your brother?" Halley asked. "He looks better than he did last year."

"Being away was good for him." Rory frowned and played with the end of her plait. "Mum and Dad were thinking of sending him to a different school, actually. It took him most of the holiday to convince them that he wanted to go back to Hogwarts."

"That's…" Halley couldn't find the right word to use. She thought back to her meeting with the Minister, and how terrified she was at the idea of being expelled from the school. "I hope this year will be quiet for him."

"What about us? Don't you want a quiet year, too?" Rory teased.

"Tempting, but never in our favour." She remembered the news about Sirius Black and his crimes. "I don't think we're ever lucky."

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Rory said.

"Good, you two are together." Mrs Weasley closed the door behind her and moved a chair closer to the bed. "Girls, you are—or about to become teenagers, and which means that your body will…" She played with her hands. "Four times already and this never becomes any less awkward…"

Rory's face turned white. "Mum, you don't have to give us this talk."

Halley looked at them both, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You can give Halley the talk, Mum. The twins already told me too much." Rory shuddered.

Mrs Weasley's smile almost turned wry. "And you trust whatever comes out of Felicity and Georgia's mouth?"

Rory's face turned pink and she squeaked.

"Halley, has your aunt ever told you about what happens when a girl grows up?"

"A little…" Halley said. She felt very hot under her shirt collar. "She told me the basics…about my body…and stuff…"

"That woman is capable of something after all," Mrs Weasley said under her breath. Then she launched into a small speech about what happens to a witch's body when they grow up, the monthly cycle that Halley wasn't so fond to hear about, and what would happen if they would ever want to become intimate with someone with what protection that they should use. Halley had a hard time believing that someone would…and they…it wasn't what she wanted to have in her mind. At all.

"Now, there is no need to rush when you're in a relationship with someone," Mrs Weasley said. "Wait until you're comfortable with the idea and you know that—"

"Rory, where's my Seeker Weekly?" Gabriel opened the door. "Georgia says that you have it."

There was a very tense sort of silence in the room.

"Sweetie, can you come back at a later time?" Mrs Weasley asked. "We're having a private discussion."

Gabriel blinked several times. "Gross!" He slammed the door and they could hear the footfalls moving very far away from the room.

"Of course," Mrs Weasley sat up. "Nothing is ever private with six sisters."

"You think he's after you?" Hector whispered.

"I told you it wasn't going to be a quiet year," Halley told Rory. "I overheard Mr and Mrs Weasley talking about the guards of Azkaban, the way that the Minister was acting, and your Mr Weasley told me not to go looking after Black. It makes sense now. Even Black was saying that there was something at Hogwarts."

"Maybe we're lucky enough that he only wants to find his missing deck of Exploding Snap cards." Rory hushed Scabbers who making some noise in her robe pocket. Their mysterious Defence Against the Dark Arts' professor stirred under his blanket.

"At least you know why they're not allowing you to go to Hogsmeade," Hector mused. Crookshanks meowed for attention in his basket. He fumbled with the straps of the basket.

"Don't!" Rory said.

Crookshanks leaped from his basket and rammed his head into Rory's knees. Scabbers squeaked and burrowed himself in Rory's lap as she pushed the cat away. Hector grappled for his pet and held him securely in his arms. "You're being too harsh. I think Crookshanks wants to get to know you better."

Crookshanks jumped to sit between Rory and Hector, and curled himself into a ball with his tail swaying in the air.

"I don't want to be your cat's friend," said Rory firmly. "And he doesn't want to be mine."

"I'm sure that—"

"No." Rory crossed her arms. "I won't be making your cat any friendship bracelets, either."

The food cart arrived finally and they had gotten their share of sweets. Half of Hector's sandwich was given to Crookshanks as well as some cat treats. Scabbers was happily distracted from the cat by sleeping inside a Chocolate Frog box. Halley was separating her pile of jellybeans from the good ones from the bad ones was when she looked at Mr Lupin.

He was still sleeping, and there appeared to be no change since the start of the train ride. He was so quiet that she actually forgot that they were sharing a compartment with him. "Should we wake him up?"

"He looks peaceful." Rory broke a Cauldron Cake in half. "I would let him sleep some more first." She plopped a large piece in her mouth. "M'be 'e s'not sle'p," she said around the mouthful of pastry. She took a large swallow much to everyone's delight. "He could be dead."

"I think he's breathing," Halley said.

"Someone should check." Rory looked at Hector. "Be brave."

Halley was missing the Sorting because she had fainted.

This wasn't the start of a good year, she suspected. She slumped in her seat and ignored the looks from Hector and her professor as Madame Pomfrey fussed over her.

"You poor thing," the healer said. She checked Halley's temperature again. "You certainly won't be the last one to collapse this year. Poor Mr Weasley is already in the hospital wing for the night. Those Dementors have such an effect on people who are delicate—"

"I'm not delicate!" Halley protested. "I'm fine!"

"You're clammy but your pulse is steady." Pomfrey let go of Halley's wrist. "I would feel much better if you stay in the Hospital Wing for the night, dearie."

"But—" Halley tried to get the upper hand, but McGonagall was nodding in agreement.

"Miss Potter," the teacher said. She looked sternly over the rims of her glasses. "Given what you have gone through in two years alone, it would be the best interest of everyone if you do spend your night in Madame Pomfrey's care."

She looked to Hector for help, but she knew that her friend could do nothing to help her win this. "I'll make sure Rory saves some treacle tart for you."

"Thanks." Halley gave him a glum smile.

She followed Pomfrey out the room and walked in silence as the Healer hummed a popular tune from the wireless. They entered the mostly empty Hospital Wing and Halley saw Gabriel sitting on a cot with a small mountain of chocolate next to him.

Pomfrey flicked her wand at the cot to his right and a pair of stripped pyjamas appeared. "Up you go, Miss Potter." Another flick and the bed was surrounded by privacy curtains.

Halley bit her lower lip and tried not to think about what she was missing with her friends. She threw her glasses on her pillow and roughly took her uniform off to replace it with the borrowed pyjamas. They were as itchy as always, but now they felt worse than usual. She wiped her nose on the sleeve and took some deep breaths to calm herself.

She pushed the curtains away and saw on the table were the enchanted plates and goblets from last year when she and Rory had spent the evening in McGonagall's office. A bottle of Pepper Up was next to the goblet with a written note from Pomfrey.

Gabriel was gnawing on a turkey sandwich; his potion bottle was already empty. He wasn't as pale as he was in the compartment, but he still lost a good amount of healthy colour in his face. It only made his eyes look darker and his hair redder. He gave her a shy wave. "Hi."

"Hey." Halley put her glasses back on, not caring that they were crooked. "How are you?"

He picked at the lettuce that was in his sandwich. "Tired, hungry, cold." He reached for his goblet and closed his eyes. Hot chocolate bubbled inside and he took a hefty swallow. His cheeks bulged but he managed to drink it. "Hot," he rasped.

"Hot chocolate can be like that." Halley took her plate into her lap and was happy to see some roast beer appear. It could be worse, she thought. At least there was some friendly company. "How was Egypt?"

"Really sandy. Dad's arms got sunburnt. The tombs were wicked." Gabriel's face was pink, but at least he wasn't speaking in monosyllables anymore.

"Rory still has sand in her shoes," Halley tried to contribute. "I bet it was nice seeing how your older sister works."

"Yeah." He looked down at his sandwich and picked at the crust. He fidgeted and looked over at his empty bottle of Pepper Up.

Halley drummed her fingers at the edge of he plate. "You're not okay, are you?"

Gabriel didn't say anything.

"The Dementors made me remember stuff, too." Her voice was really small and quiet. She shivered. "I heard my mum's voice."

"I heard him." Halley almost couldn't hear the words. "He was laughing at me."

She shivered at the memory that the Dementors gave her. She knew that the laugh that she had heard was the same one from the Chamber. "You helped at destroying him," Halley said. "He's gone."

His brown eyes were very solemn. "The Dementors won't let me forget that. "

"Even when I say that, it feels like I'm jinxing myself," Halley complained. "Why me? That's all I want to know."

They were walking to Hagrid's first lesson with the words of Professor Trelawney ruminating in her mind. Apparently she was going to die. She knew that this shouldn't bother her, but her track record throughout the few years has proved how close she would come to dying. Third time is the charm, she thought darkly. Quirrell failed at killing me, Tom Riddle and the Basilisk failed at killing me, so what's going to happen this year?

"Good thing you aren't going to Hogsmeade," Rory said with false cheer. "You'll probably choke on a gumdrop or fall face first into a puddle…" The words fell very flat.

"Maybe I'll just die from boredom?" Halley grumbled.

"Rory has a point," Hector said, frowning. "With Sirius Black on the lose it is the safest for you to stay here." He looked to Rory. "Black can't be mad enough to go against the Dementors here, right?"

"He did a lot of mad stuff," Rory hesitantly agreed. "Lots of rumours about him like how he can turn into smoke—that's how some think he escaped Azkaban, or that he can do loads of really Dark Magic." She shuddered and rubbed her arms. "Lot of the stuff that even You-Know-Who wouldn't touch." There was a pause. "I'm kinda related to him."

They stopped walking.

"What?" Hector said.

"Oh, you know, we Purebloods are related to everyone." She wrinkled her nose. "Plenty of cousins marrying cousins and whatnot. I think there's some ties with Dad's side, like a great-grandfather or someone like that. I had to look through the attic before we left for Egypt, and I found this old family tree and it's weird."

"Weird?" Halley asked.

"Thanks to the Blacks I'm vaguely related to Malfoy." Rory shook her head. "I was having a nice summer and then I found that." Halley stared at her friend's face and tried to see any similarities. Maybe if she squinted enough there could be a hint about the cheeks and the chin…

"I'm very glad that I'm not a Pureblood, then," said Hector. "All of that interbreeding can't be good. Imagine all of those horrible diseases that those old families must have."

"My dad was a Pureblood…" Halley said slowly. "Who am I related to?"

"Hopefully not Malfoy or Black." Rory patted her on the back. "Look on the bright side, your mum was a Muggleborn, so you're probably safe. But nothing will keep you safe from what Hagrid could have in store for us!"

Halley's textbook for Care of Magical Creatures wriggled in her arms at the mention of the caretaker's name. She held into it tighter and tried not to think of her impending death.

Halley was disappointed again when she was in Professor Lupin's office. All of her friends were at Hogsmeade, and she was alone for the first time at Hogwarts. It was the beginning of another strange year, and Halley was happy now to throw normalcy out the Astronomy Tower. Nothing seemed to be going right again: Rory and Hector were having trouble talking to each other, Wood was putting an insane amount of pressure on them to win this year, and Trelawney was always going on how Halley was going to meet the Grimm soon.

Now here she was, left to wondering the abandoned halls of the school with nothing to do. Except that her adventuring was cut short when Professor Lupin when he invited her to his office for some tea and a talk.

Halley's stomach was twisting itself into knots. It was going to be about her fainting near the Dementor, and how he had shielded her from the Boggart, wasn't? Congratulations, Potter, a snide thought went. You're weak again.

"Would you like cream or sugar?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Sugar," Halley mumbled. "Please."

He handed her a chipped mug that reminded her of the ones from the Burrow. "I assure you that tea leaves were not used in the making of this tea."

"Does everyone know?" she complained.

"If it helps," he said. "She made a same prediction about a friend of mines. He still survived all seven year of Hogwarts. You have nothing to worry about."

"Who says that I'm worried?" The tea now tasted bitter despite the sugar. "I'm fine. Honest."

"But everyone's worried about something." Professor Lupin calmly drank his tea. He stared at the fuming grindylow. "Cowardliness, fear, anger…we can never escape those feelings."

"I'm not a coward!" The words came out louder than she had intended. Embarrassed at the small outburst, she shrunk into her seat and resumed to her tea.

"I never said you were." There was a funny twitch of a smile. "It takes a special kind or courage to brave these corridors alone. You may never know what's hiding."

Halley wondered if anyone told Professor Lupin about the three-headed dog, the trolls, and the basilisk. "Then how come you never let me faced the Dementor?"

He poured himself more tea. "Isn't it obvious?"

"That setting a Dementor on a class would be a bad idea?" Halley had trouble keeping the sarcasm from her voice.

"A Dementor?" The tea sloshed on his sleeve. Professor Lupin frowned. "No, I thought that it was going to become Lord Voldemort."

She almost dropped her cup. "Lord Voldemort? No! My greatest fear isn't him, it's the Dementors."

"Ah." There was a pause. "It's almost philosophical," he mused. "What you fear the most is fear itself. The emotion is more powerful than others think. Do you agree?"

Halley woke up to see her entire team surrounding her bed. Rory and Hector were also there by her side and were frowning heavily.

This couldn't be good. Even without her glasses she could make out the gloomy expressions on their faces. "Don't tell me," she said in a hollowed voice.

Georgia handed Halley her glasses. "You were doing really good."

"You were up really high when you…fell," Alex Spinnet added.

Halley rubbed her eyes. Images were flashing through her mind's eye about the game. The freezing cold, Diggory, the Dementors…someone was laughing, screaming, crying…and then everything had gone dark and cold. "We're not having a rematch, are we?"

"Diggory caught the snitch." Felicity sounded hoarse. "She wanted a redo, but she won fair and square. Guess I'll never make fun of a Puff now. Man, Wood was—"

"Where's Olivia?" Halley asked, now realising that her captain wasn't here.

"I heard she's still in the showers," Andrew sighed. "We can't tell if she's trying to drown herself of not." He turned to the female members on the team. "Can one of you go check soon?"

Shame made Halley's eyes tickle with tears. She sniffed and rubbed her runny nose with her sleeve and tried her hardest not to breakdown into tears.

"There's always the next match," Hector said.

"There isn't," Rory said to him. She explained to him what was going to happen next since they'd lost to Hufflepuff, and it would take a very large amount of points for Hufflepuff to lose for them to get back on top.

"What now?" asked Halley. "I've completely shot our chances of winning this year."

Everyone tried to tell her differently, that there was still a slime chance of winning in the end. Hufflepuff could somehow lose to Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and they would somehow be able to play in another match soon enough. But Halley knew that if it wasn't for the Dementor then they would have won.

It really was her fault.

"We thought that this could cheer you up," Georgia said. She and Felicity shared a quick smile before taking a battered piece of parchment from her coat pocket. It was a large and square piece, and Halley sure that they were showing her a joke to make her feel better.

"No more jokes, please," Halley said. "I'm tired and I think I'm going to head back to the Common—"

"So you don't want to go to Hogsmeade?" Felicity smiled. "That's too bad because we have your ticket there, and to many more secrets about the castle." She tapped the parchment with her finger. "You can think of this as an early Christmas present. So don't expect anything else from us this year."

"It's a piece of ratty parchment," Halley said blankly. "It's falling apart."

"Ah, but this ratty, falling-to-pieces parchment is the key to our success!" Georgia brandished her wand and threw harmless sparks in the air. "Why, we wouldn't be half the amazing and dashing witches that we are today without it. Isn't that right, Felicity?"

"It's a fascinating tale," Felicity continued. "Such a wonderful tale about two sisters, some dungbombs, and Filch. We would love to tell you the whole story but you need to meet Moody, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs so they can help you on your way."

"Didn't your dad told you to never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain?" The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she remembered the Diary. "That stuff is dangerous."

"Oh, we've used it loads of times," said Georgia. "No blackouts and evil unleashed unless you want to count us messing around with Filch. This map is safe, insane, and fun for the whole family!"

"A map?"

"I think we got her attention," Georgia said in a sing-song voice.

"No," Halley said. "You two are winding me up. There is no way anyone could make a map out of Hogwarts—"

"Only if they're up to no good," Felicity said with a knowing smile. "Will you do the honours?"

Georgia lightly touched the parchment with her wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

Halley wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and leaned back on some pillows that supported her back. She stared unblinkingly at the photo album that was opened before her. The laughing man with the dark hair now spiked rage instead of curiosity. He was her father's best friend, her godfather, and he had betrayed them.

Now he was back to finish the job.

"Your mum looks really pretty," Rory said. She climbed into bed and sat next to Halley. "You're starting to look a lot like her."

"They trusted him," Halley whispered. She watched her parents dance in their wedding photo. They looked so happy. Everyone in the picture looked very happy. "It doesn't make sense." She knew now that the Black was immune to the Dementors' powers. He didn't have to hear her mum's screams. Tears stung her eyes. "I hate him."

"Please don't do anything stupid." Rory closed the album and handed her a tissue. "Halley, please don't."

"But I want to do something," she said. "I have to do something."

"Black isn't worth it." Rory rubbed Halley's back. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up and we can go visit Hagrid." She handed Halley her Weasley jumper from last year, and her boots with a Warming Charm in them.

They got dressed and saw Hector waiting for them by the staircase. He was also ready to go outside and to brave the elements. "I was about to ask you two if you wanted to see how Hagrid is."

"I'm going to ask him about my parents." Halley hated how high-pitched her voice was. "I'm going to ask him about Sirius Black."

"We're only visiting for tea and Buckbeak, not for revenge and stupid plans," Rory said sharply. She looked over to Hector for help.

"Halley, maybe you should—" But she walked past him and out the Common Room.

Once outside the castle she could feel the sting of the winter air on her face, and the cold that was unlike a Dementor's. She waddled through the deep banks of snow, her wand clumsily making a shaky pathway to Hagrid's. Her breath fogged her glasses and she stumbled over the ice and the slipperiness of the snow. Rory and Hector both grabbed an arm and hoisted her up.

"Halley, let's talk about this. Let's be rational." Small puffs left Hector' mouth. "You're not thinking."

"I shouldn't have given her the idea," Rory moaned.

"Listen, you're mad and you're upset." Hector took some deep breaths. "You need to be calm about this."

Halley struggled in their grasps and kicked at the snow. "I don't care!"

"But we do!" Rory almost shouted. "We care about you and we don't want you to do something stupid."

Then Halley started to cry. She cried a lot of noisy tears and she couldn't stop. Her friends hugged her, and tried to console the best that they could.

"Hector, you're mad!"

"Doesn't it seem a little suspicious to you?"

"Oh, right, a convicted madman just so happened to find out that Halley likes Quidditch, so he walks into a store and buys her a broom. Be real!"

The two stared down at each other darkly, almost daring the other to make the next move. Halley watched nervously from the steps with the package in her arms. This was scaring her. She knew that Rory and Hector were mad at each other for several reasons, but enough was enough and she was afraid of losing her best friends. "Guys? Please don't—"

"I'm telling McGonagall!" Hector turned on his feet and his bathrobe swirled behind him.

Rory stared at him with her wide blue eyes. "Fine!" She spat and she stomped up the stairs to her dorm. The door closed with a bang.

Halley looked down at her broom. She was alone and left with a possibly cursed broom. "Happy Christmas," she sighed.